Monthly Archives: January 2007
I went back through the past Confidence Rating graphics to create the All-Time Confidence Rating, which is featured below…
To follow the events during certain highs and lows, click here.
…roughly 1,000 votes are cast per poll, which essentially guages how confident we are in the overall direction of this team…
…since Omar Minaya and Willie Randilph came on board during October, 2004, the rating has been positive and has been trending upwards, which is nice to see…
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin catches up with Endy Chavez, who’s dramatic catch in Game 7 of last year’s NLCS, has made him a star in Venezuela, where he had been playing winter league ball this off-season.
Chavez’s team, which also included Ricardo Hidalgo and Edgardo Alfonzo, was eliminated from the Carribbean Series tournament this past Friday.
…it took about four seconds to make the accompanying picture my desktop wallpaper…
The Associated Press is reporting that the Blue Jays and RHP Victor Zambrano have come to terms on a minor-league deal.
The following is the first in a series of new promotional spots from SNY to publicize the coming 2007 season.
…funky…what do you think…
At his blog for the Daily News, in a post about the legend that is Endy Chavez, Adam Rubin notes that Edgardo Alfonzo is not expected to rejoin the Mets organization this season.
Alfonzo ended last season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit just .241 in 42 games with three HR and 19 RBI.
Michael P, from Mamaroneck, sent in the following e-mail, asking…
“Who do you think will be the starting rotation for the Mets this season? I worry about Oliver Perez, and I can’t stomach the idea of watching Jorge Sosa.”
…first off, keep in mind that perez is out of options, and will not be sent to the minor leagues, so you can more or less ink him in to the starting rotation…second, though Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya will publicly down play John Maine, as they should, as long as he can stay poised and comfortable on the mound i feel you can ink maine in the rotation too…
…couple maine and perez with Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez, and you are left with just one spot…
…the Mets continue to praise Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber, as they should…and i do not doubt for one second that both minaya and willie feel these two youngesters can be impact pitchers down the road…however, if they have total faith in pelfrey and humber for today they never would have expressed interest in Tomo Ohka, or Tony Armas, and others, despite minaya’s love for stock-piling pitching…
…in other words, i do not think the Mets intend to start the season with humber occupying the final spot in the rotation, and unless pelfrey dominates spring training i feel the same may go for him…
…i suspect that by the end of march, instead of humber and pelfrey, we will be debating who out of sosa, Aaron Sele or Dave Williams, and the like, will step in to round out the rotation…
…remember, the fifth starter is used far less in april then he is during other months…therefore, my gut feeling is that they will send pelfrey and humber back to the minors to refine their skills and control their emotions, while a player like sosa or williams can hold down the forte until either a) an earned promotion by pelfrey or humber, b) a trade is made, or c) Pedro Martinez’s return…
…again, this is just a hunch, as i sit here freezing my toes off in the late January…in other words, a lot can change over the next nine weeks, which is how long we have until opening day…
Ken Davidoff of Newday spoke with Mets P Tom Glavine yesterday at a wheelchair wiffleball game at Henrey Viscardi School in Albertson, New York.
Glavine spoke about the possibility of retiring after the 2007 season…
“If I had to guess right now, I think I’m 50-50. Knock on wood, if I
stay healthy and I win my 300th game, I think it becomes really hard
for me to pitch next year.”“I think that for me right now, I’m focused on this year, and it would
take something bad happening or something really, really good happening
in order for me to pitch next year. I’ll cross that bridge when I get
there, I guess.”
Glavine will start the 2007 with 290 career wins.
…originally i wasn’t in favor of tommy coming back, as i grew
frustrated by his lengthy decision…but now i’m glad he is back…it
will be nice to have Mets fans take part in a historic personal achievement…
Although the Mets did not acquire a significant starting pitcher Glavine agreed with the Mets moves…
“I think our organization was smart in not spending the money on
[Barry] Zito,” Glavine said, referring to the seven-year, $126-million
deal that the Giants gave Zito. “I think that we were smart in not
pursuing some of the rumored trades and giving up some of the guys that
we were rumored to be giving up. In the end, they did all of the right
things, and we’re going to go into spring training in a situation where
there’s going to be a lot of competition. And that’s not a bad thing.”
At his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos has asked you to name
your all-time favorite Met and which Met will be a surprise in 2007.
Now, Delcos wants to know, who will be the most important Met of 2007?
…i don’t have one Met that is the most important, but a group of Mets, the offense…the offense is strength of the team…with the starting rotation currently constructed of 40-somethings
and young, still developing pitchers the offense will most likely need
to bail the pitching staff out on occasion…
Although Delcos does not name his most important Met of 2007 feel free to leave your answer in the comments section of his blog.
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin has posted pictures of Mets 3B David Wright demonstrating motion-capture technology that was used to make the upcoming PlayStation release, MLB 07: The Show.
MLB 07: The Show is scheduled to be released on February 26.
Rubin also provides a side note about Mets pitching coach Rick
Peterson, who has used the same technology to analyze the mechanics of
pitchers.
OurSportsCentral.com reports that the Mets have signed right-handed pitcher Dustin Cameron to a minor-league contract.
Cameron played for the El Paso Diablos of the American Association, an
independent league, in 2006 where he appeared in 33 games going 4-3
with a 3.88 ERA and averaging close to a strikeout per inning pitched.
