Daily Archives: August 21, 2007
Over at his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin reports, in honor of “Fiesta Latina” taking place at Shea Stadium on Friday, the Mets will don jerseys with “Los Mets” across their chest during their game against the Dodgers.
For more on the event, head on over to Rubin’s blog.
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…this bugs me…not for any other reason than the name on the team’s jersey
isn’t The Mets…it’s just Mets…and Los Mets is
The Mets…it just makes no sense…i could honestly care less that the
organization wants to do a special uniform here and there, most likely for
additional sales…at this point, they have so many uniforms i can’t keep track
anyway…and i’m fine with it…again, i’d rather 100 uniforms and a world series
ring then one uniform and last place…my point is that i am far more concerned
with how they play, then i am with what they wear…but don’t mess with the team’s
name…that’s just wrong…
…added to by Regis Courtemanche…
…i like the throwback uniforms when they wear them, but to come
up with a new novelty uniform doesn’t make sense to me either…what’s
next, subway will have the team sport jerseys with pictures of jared on
the back…i’m obviously exaggerating, but on a uniform that the
players have worked so hard to earn, i never like to see the team
reflect any kind of sponsorship on them…
At Hot Foot, Sidd Finch is back with yet another edition of Sidd Speak, in which he tosses around random, but always relevant, statements about the Mets, such as…
If the Mets acquire any more former Marlins they’ll have to incorporate teal into their uniforms.
Currently the Mets rosters consists of eight former Marlins. They are: Guillermo Mota, Luis Castillo, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, Ramon Castro, Paul Lo Duca, Damion Easley & Jeff Conine.
…eight former marlins is certainly better than eight former yankees…
Tagged Mike Nichols |
At SI.com, Jon Heyman looks forward to what will most likely be a very weak free-agent pitching market, with name such as Carlos Silva, Bartolo Colon, Jason Jennings and Matt Clement, among others.
…thanks to jim b for the link…
Lastly, Heyman writes, among other news and notes…
“Several teams have inquired about switch-hitting
catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia since the Rangers acquired him as the key piece in the Mark Teixeira trade.”
…i have no idea what it would take to get him, but how wild would it be if the Mets could get Salty from the Rangers, and have him flourish as a young, star catcher, which the Mets could use, right in front of Atlanta’s eyes…
Chris from North Carolina sent in an e-mail asking…
“Has there been any talk about bringing Pedro Martinez back in a limited roll in the bullpen?”
…not that i am aware of…i understand that it’s an intriguing idea, you know, Aaron Heilman to pedro to 
Billy Wagner…however, from what i can gather, pedro is very disciplined, and very particular in his warm-up process, which takes him quite a long time, a lot longer than it would take to get ready and pitch effectively from the bullpen…
…yes, he did it for boston a few years ago, but that was in one game in a pinch…to do it as his regular job, throughout october, with regular preparation for each one of his appearances, i don’t believe it is an option…
…however, if John Maine and Oliver Perez return to form over the next few starts, and if i had the wheel, i’d at least talk with pedro about this, because in theory i assume it would put less stress on his shoulder and i have to think he’d absolutely dominate in a 20–pitch span given his repertoire…think John Smoltz, circa 2003…
According to Toby Hyde, at the Mets Minor-League Report, Mets Triple-A OF Ricky Ledee has retired, “so the Mets placed him on the restricted list.”
Matt Murphy, the Mets fan who caught Barry Bonds’s 756th home run, is auctioning off his Jose Reyes jersey that he wore while making the infamous catch.
To make a bid, go to Ebay.
In the auction’s write-up, Murphy writes…
“I have not washed the jersey…There are several ketchup stains on the front as well as back.”
…lovely…forgive me if i don’t make a bid…
…and thanks to jose cuervo for the link…
According to Adam Rubin, in the Daily News, the Mets 
have signed OF Luis Matos and assigned him to Triple-A New Orleans.
In 1,605 at-bats with the O’s and Nationals, the 28–year-old Matos hit .255 with 30 HR and 140 RBI.
In 2003 he hit .303 for the O’s in 109 games with 13 HR.
…nice…i mean, we may never see matos, but he’s got a very good glove, and a sub-par bat…no risk, limited reward…
By the way, be sure to check out Rubin’s blog, Surfing the Mets, for the Daily News.
I will be appearing as a guest at 10 am EDT this morning on WHTK 1280 in Rochester.
To listen live, click here.
As noted yesterday afternoon, the Mets have acquired 1B Jeff Conine from the Reds for Single-A OF Sean Henry and SS Jose Castro.
Conine, 41, hit .265 with six home runs and 32 RBI for the Reds.
At his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman comments on the trade writing, among other things…
“The acquisition of Jeff Conine by the Mets was good strategy and good emotionally…
“He is 41 and contemplating retirement at the end of the season. So the Mets should have a player motivated to go out right. And Conine has always been known as a good guy on a team, a player willing to accept a role and attempt to thrive at it.”
Conine, as quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer…
“I can’t think of a better way to go out than to do it in the playoffs in New York…I kind of made up my mind it’s time to call it quits. You always want to go out on a winning note. Fortunately, I’m going into a winning situation…
“This is the third time (I have been traded) into a pennant race. The first time was a World Series victory…It would be nice to repeat that.”
…i have heard and read some people complaining that the Mets, once again, acquired an old veteran, as if bringing on a player like Craig Monroe or Jason Lane would have been a better option…the thing is, in terms of talent on the waiver wire, i’m not even sure how much better the best-available young player is than conine…
…talent aside, i would much prefer a playoff-tested, professional veteran with two world series rings who knows how to handle himself in october, like conine, because i want a player who will be in control of his emotions, he’s been there before, he’s consistent, confident, comfortable, and so on…october is no time to integrate a new young player…can it be done, sure…but, to me, it’s not the preferred method when building a bench for the playoffs…conine is the perfect addition…
In his third minor-league rehab assignment in Port St. Lucie last night, Pedro Martinez faced 20 batters allowing two unearned runs on two 
hits, while walking just one and striking out four, through five innings of work.
Martinez told reporters that he woke up yesterday with a stiff neck, so he reduced his pitch count from 80 to 72.
According to one eye witness, Martinez had a very impressive sinker, which resulted in two double play ground balls, and he reached 89 mph with his fastball on a number of occasions, up from his last outing, ‘while sitting at 86 mph most of the night.’
…as i said yesterday, from what i can gather, if all goes well over the next day or so, his next start will most likely be in the minor leagues this weekend…
…from what i understand, he needs one more rehab start to just ‘let it rip,’ so to speak…
Martinez, talking to reporters after his start…
“The body has to take five days, because I’m a starter. If I was a reliever I’m pretty sure I’d be up there, because you don’t need to make that many adjustments…
“I got ground balls…remember when I said I was working on my sinker…well, I got ground balls when I wanted. Those are things I like to see. Regardless of what happened, if they go through, whatever, I just want to get those ground balls…Thank God I’m making improvements every time I go out there…
“I miss my fans, I miss my teammates, I miss being around the big-league field. It’s hard to handle. That’s probably the toughest part: being away from what you are used to doing…I wish I was there with them, but they know that they want me healthy…
“They want a Pedro Martinez that wants to help them. They don’t just want to see my face over there, I’m not that good looking. They want to see me when I’m able to perform for them, because maybe in a big game I’ll give them a chance to win.”
