Daily Archives: September 25, 2007
…there is a lot of talk in my e-mail and on talk radio about whether or not Rickey Henderson is having a negative influence on Jose Reyes, who has struggled through much of the second-half of the season…
…if you do out the math, you’ll notice that jose played very well during rickey’s first week or so, then he struggled over the next week, then he did well again, then he struggled again, and so on…in fact, in August, there were many of us who praised reyes for looking so strong on the bases, but nobody seemed to be complaining about rickey then…
…as such, i can’t completely buy in to the Rickey-Hurting-Reyes theory…for starters, from what i can gather, henderson spends most all of his time either playing cards or working with Lastings Milledge…plus, prior to September, reyes’s worst month had been May, when he hit .268, and henderson was not even on the team…if rickey has had an impact on jose it would be regarding his efforts on the base paths…and that effect had been positive, in that jose stole a ton of bases during rickey’s first month…however, it could also be a negative, in that jose seems to be way too aggressive lately…
…instead, to me, jose’s problem is in his swing…which is not technically rickey’s department…
During 20 games this September, Reyes has grounded out roughly 25 percent of his plate appearances, compared to popping out 30 percent of the time, and lining out just four percent of the time.
…he’s not hitting the ball on the ground enough, and he does not have the same level swing he shows during a hot streak…i still contend that he’s just tired, or burned out…and so, if rickey is at fault, it could be because he encouraged jose to run so much, or, at least run more than he had in any other month prior, which may be why jose is so damn tired, and may be why he is dropping his shoulder and looking confused on the bases…
During last night’s loss, Mike Pelfrey allowed seven runs, seven hits and five walks, through 5.2 innings pitched.
He was 3–0 with a 3.48 ERA in his previous four starts.
Pelfrey, talking to reporters after the game…
“I fell behind guys and I couldn’t get out of it. I got what I deserved. I gave up seven runs and I let the team down.”
…Doug Mientkiewicz, is that you?…
…seriously, though, the loss does sort of fall on pelfrey, who looked quite good through most of the game…but, wow, it just all fell apart so fast…
…nevertheless, moving forward, it’s amazing to think that in what is the biggest stretch of games this season, it’s pelfrey and Philip Humber who will be pitching…i would love nothing better than to see humber thrive, but i’d be lying if i wrote i was totally confident and comfortable with this decision…i have been sent a lot of e-mail over the last few weeks regarding how humber should be given the ball…well, here’s your chance to be right…and i hope you are…
…it’s just amazing to me that 365 days after worrying about the starting rotation, i’m still worrying about the starting rotation in nearly the exact same way…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber |Mets OF Moises Alou extended his hitting streak to 28 games with a double to lead off the sixth inning last night.
Tagged Moises Alou |According to multiple reports, Orlando Hernadez removed the protective boot from his sore foot prior to yesterday’s game, which was followed by some light throwing off flat ground.
…from what i can gather, he will be examined today, to see how the foot feels following yesterday’s activity…if he feels well, a) he’ll start up some running and cardio to get back in shape, b) attempt a bullpen session in the next few days, and then c) hope to pitch an inning or two in relief over the weekend…
Tagged Orlando Hernandez |David Wright, talking to reporters after the game…
“We’re not getting it done in a lot of areas. This is where we need to be our best…It’s embarrassing, with the season on the line, seven games left, to go out there and get embarrassed on our home field like that, (pause, head shake), I thought we had a lot of momentum coming into today…This is when we need guys to step up and be big…We’re just not getting the job done. This is the stretch, this is where we need to be at our best. To start this homestand off like this, this is not what we wanted.”
Carlos Beltran, talking to reporters after the game…
“There is no more options, we just need to win.”
Paul Lo Duca, talking to reporters after the game…
“You can’t expect to win a division the way we’ve been playing. To me, we’re fortunate to be where we are right now. We could have put the screws in this two weeks ago, and we could have put the screws in tonight, but we didn’t. We keep making it harder on ourselves.…We need to come out and play better or it won’t matter if we make the playoffs because we won’t be around much longer. I mean, if we were playing some of the upper echelon teams we’d really be getting our butts kicked…That’s the bottom line…I don’t even know what to say anymore.”
…neither do i, paul…the thing is, sometimes you lose…it happens…it’s just so hard to digest on a day like last night…the key is to just get up today, shake it off, and go win tonight…keep moving forward, because, the fact is, if the Mets just win this series and the next, they’re most likely going to win this division…the question at that point will be, though, will be: does this team have what it takes to wake up, play hard, and keep winning against the best teams…
…the thing is, i understand paulie’s doubts, i do…again, going back to Game 7 of last year’s NLCS, this group of players has yet to show that they’re capable of really dropping the hammer, i.e., putting the game away, out of reach, taking advantage of big opportunities, etc…it’s really yet to happen…it’s the 800 lb. gorilla that lo duca and wright are essentially pointing out…the thing is, there is still time, but the clock is ticking very loudly…
Tagged Paul Lo Duca |In case you missed it, the following is ESPN’s post-game clip from last night’s game…
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