Daily Archives: September 14, 2007
At Minor League Ball, the informative John Sickels provides a Crystal Ball for Mets RHP Philip Humber. As Sickles is sure to point out, “Remember, the Crystal Ball is not a PROJECTION. It is meant to stimulate 
discussion about the player in question.”
According to the Crystal Ball, Humber will have his best season in 2011, when he goes 14–10 with a 4.29 ERA in 32 starts with the Mets, after which he’ll move on as a free-agent to play with the O’s, followed by five seasons in Houston, before retiring in 2019 with the Brewers.
…from what i can gather out of other minor-league experts, at best, humber could eventually be a tick below Mike Mussina, but more likely he’ll end up having a back-and-forth, Paul Byrd, Jarrod Washburn type of career…
…oddly, a lot of my expectation for humber is tied to my expectation of Mike Pelfrey…i mean, if pelfrey can be what i hope he can be, i can live with humber being a back-of-the-rotation starter…if pelfrey is a flop, suddenly i will expect more from humber, which is really not fair to phil…
Tagged Philip Humber |According to Jon Heyman, at SI.com, Moises Alou has been telling teammates that he expects to retire after this season.
Alou has played in just 60 percent of games over the last three seasons, during which he is batting .316 while averaging one home run every 20 at-bats.
Tagged Moises Alou |According to the Mascot Hall of Fame, Mr. Met has been named a member of the 2007 Mascot of Hall of 
Fame.
Mr. Met came up 2,500 votes short of the fan’s choice, the San Antonio Coyote, but the honor was ultimately granted by a Hall of Fame committee – not the fan vote.
Mr. Met will join the Phillie Phanatic, The San Diego Chicken and Phoenix Sun’s Gorilla in the virtual hall.
Tagged Mr. Met |In the Star-Ledger, Jeremy Cothran runs an outstanding report on the life and times of a player who gets traded to New York during the middle of a season, and how the player adapts, finds housing, gets around, learns the city, and sets his kids up in school, among other hurdles.
The report mainly focuses on Mets 2B Luis Castillo, who, based on the report, was never very happy with living in Minnesota, and who is now very excited to be in New York.
Castillo has a .349 OBP in 34 games since joining the Mets.
For more on Castillo, check 
out Anthony DiComo’s recent profile of the Mets second baseman at MLB.com.
Ruben Gotay, as quoted by DiComo…
“You can look. He’s always in the right spot. That comes from somebody who plays the game every day, who knows the game…I see him play, how easy he does it. It’s good to see him play, so I can get better.”
By the way, Castillo was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with a sore right knee that has troubled him all season.
On Thursday, Willie Randolph told reporters that Castillo will be fine, and should be back in the lineup today.
Tonight, the first-place Mets welcome the second-place Phillies for a three-game series in Shea Stadium, roughly two weeks since the Phillies completed a painful sweep of the Mets in Philadelphia.
Phillies 3B Wes Helms, on the up-coming series, as quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer…
“It’s a big series. Even though the Mets have a big lead, they’re going to be gunning for us.”
On the Thursday afternoon of the sweep’s final game, the second-place Phillies celebrated quite loudly on the field, near the Mets dugout, with still 30 games left to play.
Billy Wagner, on the Phillies post-sweep celebration, and the up-coming series, as quoted by the Bergen Record…
“That’s why when you win, you win with class. You win because you expect to win. You don’t sweep and make a big deal about it. Now they are a bigger target for us. They embarrassed us…
“When they come in there’ll be a heightened awareness that, ‘Hey, they’re here and they think they can whip our butts.’ I honestly think you don’t want to wake a sleeping dog…
“It’ll be great to go out there and pound on them, just like they want to pound on us. When I played there, the Braves could come to town and it’s all right. But the Mets come to town, and it’s, ‘All the press, the lights.’ They wanted to be like the Mets. There is something to the Mets and Phillies.”
Popper also quotes Paul Lo Duca on the same subject, as well as David Wright, who disagrees with Wagner.
…i have never bought in to the Mets-Phillies rivalry, mostly because this is really the first season ever in which both teams competed for the same playoff spot deep in to September…now, though, it’s becoming a rivalry…and i like it…i’d rather them be our biggest rival than the Braves, because a) philly is closer, and b) Phillies fans are far more passionate than Braves fans, and Phillies fans are crazy, at least before and after football season…
By the way, since the sweep, the Mets are 10–2, and have increased their lead in the NL East from two games to seven.
Tagged Phillies |According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs OF Cliff Floyd recently told reporters he may retire after this season, especially if the Cubs in a World Series.
…honestly, i hope cliff retires, and dedicates himself to the Cliff Floyd Foundation, which, from what he had told me, will be about inner-city development, youth-baseball programs and teaching children about hard work, responsibility and discipline…
At Amazin’ Avenue, Eric Simons describes an anti-Mets movement in the national media, which he uses to frame 
our favorite team as underdogs - despite having a $115–million payroll, being a week or so away from winning back-to-back division titles, and having been in first place for roughly two years straight.
…honestly, i don’t read or watch as much national coverage as i used to, mostly because i don’t value a ‘professional’ columnist’s or broadcaster’s opinion more than i value yours…to me, when it comes to opinion, we all count equally…so, if there is a Mets bias, as eric suggests, i would not know about it…
…seriously, we’re not debating national security here…it’s sports and entertainment…so, i am far more interested in what we, as fans, are saying…i’ve always been fond of self-awareness, anyways…
…however, as a Mets fan, surrounded by Yankees fans, media coverage aside, i will always feel like an underdog…until the Yankees are knocked down from their pedestal, i will likely always feel this way, no matter how many division titles or regular season wins the Mets pile up…
…this is why, as much as i want to deny it, and as much as i know it is wrong, deep down inside, i can’t help but hope the Mets can play the Yankees in the World Series…i slap myself when i say that out loud, believe me…but, damn, how great would it be to get one more shot at Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera…i mean, even Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite are back…
…of course, if the Mets lost…again…yikes…i have no idea how i would handle it…which is why i am not ‘cheering’ for the Yankees to make it…if the Mets are there, and the Yankees get in, great, let’s do it…bring it on…but, until then, like the player will say, ‘i’ll take it one game at a time.’…
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