Daily Archives: January 24, 2008
In 66 appearances last season, Billy Wagner was 2–2 with a 2.63 ERA, during which opponents hit .216 against him.
He closed out 34 of 39 save opportunities in 2007.
However, his ERA has gone up each of the last three seasons, from 1.51 in 2005 to 2.24 in 2006 to 2.63 last year.
[poll=44]
Tagged Poll |
At ESPN.com, Buster Olney breaks down the Open-Ended Questions that Face Every Team at the start of spring training.
For the Mets, Olney asks:
“Who will take the ball at the front end of the Mets’ rotation, and is that good enough to overcome the Phillies, Braves and the mental ghosts of last September?”
…i can answer this one, if the Mets get Johan Santana…everything else else is irrelevant...
As for the rest of the National League East, Olney inquires:
“Braves: Can John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton take the ball for 85-90 starts?
“Phillies: Will Brad Lidge be dominant Brad Lidge, or will he give the Philly fans reason to boo him?
“Marlins: Can the stable of injured young starters bounce back?
“Nationals: How will their new ballpark play, and how will it affect the current group of players?”
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…brandon is right…and this is exactly why i am so eager for this santana story to end…
…it’s just so hard to start analyzing the Mets and 2008, because with one swift move the entire dynamic could change…
In a column for ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick takes a look at the large number of free agents who are still looking for work in MLB, such as outfielders Barry Bonds and Shannon Stewart.
…let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that the Mets ended up trading Ryan Church in a deal for Johan Santana, as Michael Silverman alluded to in this morning’s Boston Herald, then who will play right field for the Mets…
…it better not be bonds…nor stewart, who has one of the worst arms i have ever seen, especially if he had to play from right…
The following free-agent outfielders are also available: Luis Gonzalez, Shawn Green, Kenny Lofton, Kevin Mench, Trot Nixon, Reggie Sanders, Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson, Preston Wilson and Alex Escobar
…yes, thee Alex Escobar…jeez, could you imagine…anyways…
…i could be talked in to considering wilkerson, if for no other reason than he can also back-up first base…
However, in last 1200 at-bats, spanning three seasons, the 30–year-old Wilkerson is hitting just .230, while averaging at least one strike out per game.
…i put a lot of stock in to knowing how a player will handle New York City, especially with regards to this coming season for the Mets, who are going to be under a ton of 
pressure to win…that said, note the following:
In 130 games for the Mets last season, Shawn Green hit .291 with 30 doubles, 10 HR and 46 RBI, while playing 110 games in right and 17 games at first base.
In 243 at-bats hitting from the seventh– and eighth-slot in the batting order, Green hit .300 with a .367 OBP.
…i’m sure some fans will advocate making a trade, but such a move will be unlikely considering what will be needed in a deal for santana, which is why we’re having this discussion to start with…therefore, any replacement for church will need to be a free agent…and who better to replace church than green, the guy church was supposed to replace in the first place…
By the way, during a recent chat at ESPN.com, Keith Law had the following to say regarding the Church rumor…
“I wonder if Omar slapped himself in the head and said, “Why the hell didn’t I offer Church sooner?” He’s a fourth outfielder who’s spent a lot of time in the trainer’s room. You put that guy in the deal every time.”
…to church’s credit, it’s his defense that gets touted when people connected to the team speak about him…minaya seemed really excited about the idea of upgrading the team’s overall defense, but, who knows, that could also just be spin…
MetsBlog reader, Brian, recently sent in the following email question…
“Any idea what Carlos Beltran‘s numbers were the last two season after the 6th inning? I love him, but am afraid he is not clutch?”
…it’s odd, every so often this subject comes up and i don’t know if its because we still have this everlasting image of the 2006 season ending with beltran’s bat sticking to his shoulder with bases loaded or if Mets fans still have this feeling that beltran should be better than he is…
As you can see below, Beltran, from the seventh inning on, has been consistent with his run production over the past two years. In fact, his production is right in line with his career averages…
|
2006 |
7+ Inning |
2007 |
|
159 |
AB |
163 |
|
11 |
HR |
10 |
|
28 |
RBI |
36 |
|
39 |
K |
35 |
|
.283 |
AVG |
.270 |
|
.953 |
OPS |
.933 |
In addition to Beltran’s numbers from the seventh inning and later, here are his ‘clutch’ statistics (late and close and two out, runner in scoring position) from the past two seasons…
|
2006 |
Late & Close |
2007 |
|
77 |
AB |
57 |
|
4 |
HR |
1 |
|
15 |
RBI |
9 |
|
22 |
K |
16 |
|
.299 |
AVG |
.175 |
|
.943 |
OPS |
.627 |
‘Close and late’ is a player’s results in the seventh inning or later with the batting team either ahead by one run, tied or with the potential tying run on deck.
|
2006 |
2 Outs, RISP |
2007 |
|
42 |
AB |
67 |
|
5 |
HR |
3 |
|
28 |
RBI |
19 |
|
13 |
K |
19 |
|
.310 |
AVG |
.224 |
|
1.180 |
OPS |
.751 |
…even with those stats, it’s difficult to determine if beltran is or isn’t a clutch performer…i mean, we all have an idea of what ‘clutch’ is, but each of us define it differently…to some, clutch is exactly what those numbers represent, but to others, hitting a 1-2 pitch for an opposite field single to move a runner from first-to-third may be their definition of clutch…
…yes, you can look at those numbers and come to the conclusion that in 2007 beltran wasn’t as ‘clutch’ as he was in 2006, but in reality, i don’t think clutch can be defined by a players performance in late-innning situations, each situation is different and a key hit in the first inning that results in the game-winning run is just as clutch as one in bottom of the ninth…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Stats |Today at 2 pm, Amy Nelson will host a chat at ESPN.com that aims 
to answer: Who will steal more bases during their career? Jose Reyes or Carl Crawford?
…hmmm…well, who will have the longer career…whomever it is will be my guess to steal more bases…three cheers for logic…
In 596 games, during his five-year career, Reyes has stolen 234 bases.
In 226 more games, Crawford has stolen 43 more bases.
For what it’s worth, Rickey Henderson had over 300 stolen bases through his first 600 games.
In a webcam segment for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal refers to Mets OF Fernando Martinez as, “A hitting machine, who could reach the majors this season at age 19.”
…hitting machine…wow…
…umm, isn’t this the same farm system that was supposedly being laughed at during december…now, i’m looking at a teeange hitting machine…
In today’s Boston Herald, citing baseball insiders in touch with both the Mets and Twins, Michael 
Silverman writes…
“The Mets, and not the Red Sox or Yankees, remain the front-runner as the team most likely to succeed in pulling off a trade for Minnesota ace Johan Santana.”
According to Silverman, “There are indications that Fernando Martinez would be in the deal, along with major league outfielder Ryan Church and at least two other prospects.”
…well, church is major-league ready, which, if you’ve been following this, is exactly what the Twins have been waiting for…
In 144 games for the Nationals last season, the left-handed hitting Church, 29, hit .272 with 15 HR and 70 RBI through 47 at-bats.
Church will be eligible for arbitration following next season, and able to be a free agent after 2010.
…if you recall, i mentioned church back in December, but assumed he would not be enough…of course, that was back during the Winter Meetings, when there was still plenty of time left on Minnesota’s clock…today, with a bit more pressure to make a move, combining church to martinez and two pitching prospects could be the Twins best play, in my opinion…
…at the time of church being acquired for Lastings Milledge, myself and others wondered if it was a way to get a more valuable outfielder to trade, since milledge’s stock had dropped…
…that said, if this is accurate, and church is to go, who exactly will play right field every day for the Mets…i mean, since he will not be included in the deal, is Carlos Gomez really ready to handle the load…i’m not so sure that he is…
…for what it’s worth, this is why i prefer to not dissect every single move made by Omar Minaya as it happens…instead, i prefer to wait, see how things play out, and evaluate the off-season as a whole…i look at the regular season in the same way…
…at any rate, jeez, just when i though the Hot Stove was running out of gas, suddenly i’m knee deep in wondering about potential right-field acquisitions…
Tagged Ryan Church |When asked how best to improve the bullpen during a poll in early November, the majority of people said to pray for the health of Juan Padilla and Duaner Sanchez – as opposed to signing a free-agent to a multi-year deal.
…i have been getting lots of e-mails about sanchez from people who are down in St. Lucie for Mets Fantasy Camp, all of which check out when mentioned to people connected to the team…from what i can gather, sanchez feels great, his arm feels great, and he’s looking forward to the start of pitchers and catchers, which he’ll be ready for, and which starts in roughly three weeks…additionally, the team’s coaching staff is pretty positive as well, adding that duaner is ahead of schedule…
For recent photos of Sanchez throwing in St. Lucie, click here, here and here.
…thanks to Scott from Live Auctioneers for the photos…
…however, the word from Port St. Lucie is not a rosy for padilla, who may not be ready until after opening day…
Since the poll in November, the Mets signed, traded for, drafted and/or invited Brian Stokes, Matt Wise, Steve Register, Joselo Diaz, Andy Cavazos, Ryan Cullen and Ricardo Rincon to camp – none of whom are guaranteed a spot on the opening day roster.
[poll=43]
…Monday night, on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove, i talked briefly about the latest MetsBlog Confidence Rating and how Johan Santana may be impacting it from afar…
To watch the clip, click the play button below…
To watch more clips from Mets Hot Stove, go to 
…we’ve spent way, way too much on this site 
discussing whether the Mets should trade for Johan Santana, how to get him, when to get him, what to pay him, etc…so, the following seems somewhat relevant, to say the least…
In the New York Times, reporting from Venezuela, Daniel Cancel traveled to Santana’s hometown to talk with his father, his first coach and others, to learn more about the left-handed pitcher.
