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OF Reed Johnson was released Sunday by the Toronto Blue Jays, according to ESPN.com.
Johnson, 31, hit .238 in 79 games last season, limited by injury. He batted .319 in a breakout 2006, and is carrying a .289 average through 38 at-bats this spring.
A right-handed batter, Johnson was competing for Toronto’s starting left field spot.
…a right-handed left fielder…hmm…a look-see probably wouldn’t hurt, but i’m excited to see what Angel Pagan can do at this point, given the options…
…having reed johnson fall in our laps in late march is not like having Jason Bay do the same…oh, wait…
Happy Easter to those celebrating!
Pagan lifetime against RHP: .279
Pagan lifetime against LHP: .219
There’s nothing that indicates Pagan is even remotely the answer… either as a fill-in for Alou or to rest Church against tough lefties.
On the other hand…
Johnson lifetime against RHP: .267
Johnson lifetime against LHP: .308 with a .833 OPS
Now that’s what we’re looking for. Let’s grab him and see if there’s anything left in the tank.
Good point with the splits, you’ve convinced me.
Oliver Perez & Jason Bay go in the same deal for the Padres. Ouch for them…
.219 in 128 ABs. His BABIP from the right side in that tiny sample size is .221. His K rate is lower and his BB rate is higher right-handed, and he’s shown more power. (.189 ISO-P RH vs. .142 ISO-P LH)
Looking into the numbers more before you throw him under the bus for a tiny sample. I’d rather have Pagan out there than anyone they’ve mentioned. Not only is he much younger and much more athletic, but he’d probably give better production, too.
To put it another way, the difference between him being a .300 hitter right-handed, and being worthless to you is 10 infield hits or bleeding quails or favorable official scorers.
I am a big baseball fan, can go toe to toe with anyone interms or facts and travia. Honestly, I have no idea what you are saying and I am not trying to be funny.
I can stand all these stats and sabermetics. Show me runs scored, rbi’s, total bases, walks, average, even Totalbases. None of this rc/27x (night games-day games/ total games) stats.
I meant I can’t stand
Need help? This should explain BABIP.
http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2005/04/glossary-of-terms.html
It just means that batting average fluxuates a lot over the course of a small number of ABs due to chance, and Pagan hasn’t had enough of them to make BA a useful measure of how he does against lefties. That he strikes out less and walks more, and that he shows a little more power means that he might actually be a better hitter from the right side, given the opportunity.
But I can’t stand all the people who say they can’t stand sabermetrics, and then site a bunch of other stats anyway. If you don’t like stats, fine, we can talk about a scout’s kind of impression — but if you’re gonna talk about stats, why cling to the ones that don’t mean a lot? Because you’d rather denounce what you don’t understand than learn about it?
can’t say it any better than Tim. why not try to understand what’s going on? once you do a little reading they’re not that hard to understand.
I’m torn on the issue of Sabermetrics. I strongly believe in them as a tool to predict future performance, and think every team should at least have a “sabermetrics department” the way they have scouting departments. But I can’t stand when people use them to evaluate past performance and decide that a guy with a higher WARP or VORP or whatever tool they want to use, but only 90 RS and 90 RBI was more valuable than a guy with a lower WARP but 120 RS and 135 RBI.
For example, you can dig into Pagan’s stats and determine that there is a significant chance that he’ll be better against lefties in the future, but there’s no way you can evaluate him that will convince me that he HAS been good against lefties. Maybe he was unlucky, but that doesn’t make him good.
I pretty much agree with you. But I was responding to a comment where someone “convinced” Evan Drellich that the Mets should go after Reed Johnson instead of sticking with Pagan, based on very meaningless batting average stat.
I actually don’t think Pagan is anything special. I just think we don’t know enough to say that he’s better against righties than lefties. I don’t see a necessarily ugly swing from the right side.
And I’d rather have a young guy with tools and a chance to improve than a retread we have to pay for.
OK, let’s go back to his last full season in the minor leagues, then In 2005 in Norfolk…
vs LHP – .282 BA with a ridiculously low .309 OBP
vs RHP – .265 BA with a .340 OBP
You can complain about small samples all we want, but all the evidence out there indicates that against lefties, this guy is Joe McEwing. If you have a hunch that’s all going to change starting in April, 2008, fine… I hope you’re right. But nothing in Pagan’s history indicates that.
Like I said, I don’t think he’s anything special, and I’m in the group that thinks it’s silly to get excited about his spring training numbers. I just don’t think he’s much different hitting right-handed vs. left-handed. He’s a below-average hitter, but a good athlete. There’s a slight chance he breaks out into something better, but even if he doesn’t, he’ll give you solid D, swipe a few bases, score a few runs. I’d rather have that than any of the other realistic options. I’d love to have Nady or Rivera or Morales, but that’s not likely happening. So I’d rather stick with what we got.
Hey guys, long time reader (despite being a Nats fan), first time poster.
Anyway, I was searching for some scouting reports of some college players when I came across http://www.saberscouting.wordpress.com. It looks really cool, and when I was there I found other nifty things. I guess they just started up, but its really worth checking out.
Keep up the good work Matt!
AS
Thank you for the link.
milledge vs LHP – .317
nuff said
Milledge against a decent curveball -still garbage.
Nuff said.
Reed Johnson would make a nice Easter gift, but is he better than Brady Clark?
Happy Easter to all who observe the day.
Brady Clark is decent, but he has a very small platoon split. Reed Johnson can really eat up lefties, he’s younger, and he was an excellent everyday player in 2006. He was apparently something of a fan-favorite in Toronto. The problem is, he’s coming off a back injury; he may not have much left.
I’d say put Pagan (or Clark) on opening day roster, negotiate a minor league contract with Reed Johnson, and if he’s doing well or Pagan/Clark don’t seem to be holding up then promote him. Then you platoon with Marlon Anderson and Endy Chavez.
Look at Clark’s (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=276054&statType=1)
and Johnson’s (http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=407862&statType=1)
career stats. They are essentially the same player, except Johnson is younger. I think Johnson is an option for long-term. It’s worth a shot if he accepts a minor league contract. At the moment, I trust Clark more.
well he did hit .289 this spring
Well, from what I can see, Johnson will get you more hits but strikes out more often. Their lifetime averages are:
Johnson .281/.342/.752
Clark – .278/.358/.745
Johnson is 31, so it’s not like he’s a much young player. I’m afraid if we take him, we can’t keep both him and Clark, and we know BC had a decent (injury-free) spring.
Can somebody tell me what’s going on in the game? Why did Delgado come out already?
I am wondering the same thing. I am watching to game about 25 minutes behind on DVR.
Today is little Carlos’s 1st birthday. I guess they had a party at Mc Donalds.
they just said on the broadcast that they were only playing delgado for 2 innings and it was planned all along today…probably so he could be with his family on easter
They didn’t say exactly that . They said that maybe that was the plan all along, which is different. I am hoping that they and you are right by that assesment.
Oh okay, that makes sense, just wanted to make sure it wasn’t because of another injury
its carlos’ son’s first birthday today…that’s why he went to leave early
Whatever happened to Endy Chavez?
Wow Evan…that one hurt :( ignorance is bliss!
It really depends on who is willing to go to aaa. Unless
Alou is out for the year or we trade someone there is no room on the fulltime roster for pagan clark or reed.
well theres room for 2 of them until Gotay & Alou are ready to play
Also, please no stache on the 25-man, I like the guy I think he’d make a great coach, but his baseball skills are non-existent at this point and he provides nothing that someone else cant do better…sound like oh I dunno, Julio Franco?
Both Duque and Pelfry got smacked around today. Thankfully, our concerns involve the number 5 pitcher, and not the no 3.
Sign Johnson and trade Endy for Marquis. I don’t trust Elduque or Pelfrey to give us what even Marquis would.
Wow, Pelfry looks even worse than Duque did.
Terrible job out of Pelfrey today…
13 hits? are u kidding me? He pitched himself right off the roster today. Embarassing
Duque is done, put Pelfrey in the spot.. even moving Duque to the ‘pen is useless if he cant pitch an inning.. hes gonna do nothing but hurt this team, its time to release him or let him suck it up in AAA or AA ball
Did you see Pelfrey pitch? I would not want to rely on him all year either. Send Pelfrey to AAA and hope that he can get it together. Right now neither he or Elduque can be relied on so might as well try and save one. I would trade for Marquis.
Jason Marquis sucks!
As a Mets fan I would love to sign Johnson but unfortunately he does not fit what the Mets are looking for. He’s not over 40 and latin. Sorry Mets fans. But if Roberto Kelly ever decides a comeback at 45 I’m sure Omar would give him 2 million.
Right, I can’t wait to see the newspaper tomorrow. Schneider, Church, Wright, and Maine exposed to be Latin players. Come on that arguement is dead.
the Yankees have barely any Latin players
Terrible attempt at humor.
Find another blog.
Another idiot with nothing better to do than troll…
okay, so we have a true #5 starter, i.e. not a good one. el duque, pelfrey, or whoever…bad. but, i guess if you have four good starters, you can’t complain.
omg, so since my post two minutes ago, pelfrey has given up six more runs for a grand total of eight, all earned. oh, and he’s going against the indians scrubs. holy crap. i would say pelfrey has let his opportunity pass him by.
They were playing the Cardinals. Get it together.
Pelfrey looked horrid today. He’s just not mentally ready to pitch every day in the majors…he doesn’t yet have the ability to bear down and stop the bleeding once the other team has some momentum. Duque looked OK, but he’s not ready either, and quite honestly may never be if he’s topping off in the mid-eighties.
I’m guessing we might start hearing about a third, not-yet-announced option after today’s display..
by “pitch every day,” I obviously meant taking a regular turn in the rotation…
i wonder who that could be?
minaya has already said the 3rd option is figeuroa and the 4th is sosa…i heard him on the fan with benigno and roberts the other day
I am now genuinely concerned with our no 5 pitcher. Today made it painfully obvious where we stand with respect to that.
Which pitchers are available?
i wanted to say i was concerned, too. and, i guess i am. but, the point i would make is that it IS the fifth spot in the rotation. however, you can’t imagine pelfrey in that spot and el duque seems to be (possibly) done. someone is going to have to pretend to be a major league pitcher.
this was El Duque’s first start of the spring, I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s done. Sure, down the road, we might find that out, but I feel we still have to give him some time to figure it out. Obviously he’s not ready to start the season, but with El Duque you never know, I just wouldn’t call him done yet after his first start.
you’re right. but, you have to admit with him changing his delivery, not having his foot healed after a long break, his age, his inability to get his full body behind is fastball…it’s all pointing toward trouble. that’s precisely why i said possibly done. but, it doesn’t look good.
Right, I hate those comments like Delgado is done. Elduque is done. They are right, they have already done more than any of us and will continue to do more than we ever will. When Elduque is finished he will have had a good career. Right now he has earned the right to decide on his own.
Besides, does this mean Pelfrey is done?
what bothers me is the need to criticize someone else’s opinion. i said el duque could possibly be done. it was my opinion. i mean, would you have me censored for voicing a (valid, for sure) opinion?
and, about pelfrey…
he got rocked by scrubs. he’s certainly not done, but he’s certainly not ready. it’s disappointing to say the least. the kid had a great opportunity to make this ball club, but with that performance, i would say he blew it.
can anyone argue with that?
It’s not really you. It’s the ones that say that they are def. done after a spring training outing. This is Elduque’s first start I will give it more time before I say he is done. You are right, you said possibly and I am sorry for coming back that way but there are those on here that say things like “dump Delgado he’s done” and just make the site difficult to read.
i hear you and appreciate you re-reading my comment. we are, if nothing else, passionate about our team. we all are on the same side in the end.
Lima time???
It’s a pointless annual ritual, I know. But I’m wondering that if the pieces fall into place, if Sanchez is ready to return, if Register and Wise and possibly Rincon are valid options, would the team consider starting Heilman? His secondary pitches have looked good this spring. He’s been downright dominant. Plus, we NEED a fifth starter.
I’m ready to be shouted down.
heilman has to be better than el duque and pelf, but could he actually start at this point having not stretched himself out in years? probably not.
i’ve missed games when heilman has pitched. has he been throwing any breaking stuff?
I have been on this bandwagon for a while. Got shot down last year though whenever I suggested it!
Big difference now is, they seem to have (almost too many) options for the pen.
Might be a tad late to get him ready for starting (but who really knows how long it would take to get him ready, even if he might go shorter early on). But very possibly, you could make a more solid pitching staff with him in the rotation, and some of the overflow of arms in the pen to replace him.
Seemingly not much downside. Right now, odds are the # 5 will suck, and both options need time to get ready. So Heilman probably can’t do worse, and almost guaranteed will do better, just might not go deep right away. Not that dDUque or Pelf will either.
So, if it works, they are in great shape. And if he can’t hold onto the spot, back to the pen he goes.
I would think that Marquis is. Maybe Gotay or Endy for Marquis would work. For the Cubs he is in the middle of a 3 man race for the #5 but is owed the most money. He has pitched really well this spring and you know you will get league average and a bunch of innings from him.
If no trade then I would go this order
Sosa
Figgeroa (sp)
After you have tried those two the Elduque should be ready for a try.
By that time Pelfrey should have gotten about 7-10 starts in the minors and if he is not ready then we have a problem. We can survive with crap at the #5 for a little while as long as they can eat some innings. They may just have to take one for the team now and then.
sosa could be the guy. i don’t see trading anyone for marquis.
Marquis has a 1.93 ERA this spring. Last season he had a 4.60 ERA in 191 innings. Those are almost the same numbers that Glavine gave us last season. You would not take those numbers from our #5 right now? If he is only costing us an extra player or a old AA guy I would do it.
not for our number one back up outfielder (endy) and quite possibly the next melvin mora (gotay).
fair point about marquis. i just wouldn’t want to trade endy and gotay for him. he seems like one of those guys that just becomes available for less. maybe i’m wrong about that.
Now we have actuall dialog. I did not say both of them. With Pagan, Clark the versatility of Church and the heavy LHness of the lineup I think Endy could be used in a trade. If you noticed I also mentioned signing Reed Johnson to take his place, the RH version of Endy.
As for Gotay, I see very little similarities between Gotay and Mora only that the Mets will eventually trade him and they don’t value his defense? If they like Gotay at all then they would not have traded for Castillo, resigned him, Anderson and Easley. Gotay is a nice bench player but his inability to hit LH pitching and play multiple positions well makes him expendable.
Endy should not be traded. He hits lefties better than righties. The fact that he is left handed means almost nothing
WOW… Are some here serious and Gotay or Endy for a starting pitcher(Marquis)? Marquis hasbeen healthy and made 30-33 starts and over 190 innings for the past 4 years.
Derosa for the Cubs has better offensive numbers than Gotay and Endy . The cubs wouldn’t trade their utility guy for either of your scrubs, much less a healthy starting pitcher
The more and more I see of Pelfrey, the more I think he’d be better suited for a relief role. I mean, if Heilman isn’t good enough to start, why is Pelfrey? Heilman’s secondary stuff is better than Pelfrey’s. I’m not giving up on Pelfrey and I certainly would like to see him develop more at AAA, but I’m just getting a feeling he may be more effective as a reliever than a starter. To be honest, Sosa or even Figueroa seem more deserving of the No. 5 spot than Pelfrey or a clearly struggling El Duqe.
You can’t say that because he is not as good as Heilman he would make a better bullpen guy. Pelfrey’s mental makeup would be terrible for the pen. Plus he is a pitching machine, for hits that is.
Pelfrey is usually decent the first time through (or first inning today at least) and has one plus-pitch, which he could crank up to upper 90’s if he was coming in for an inning at a time. I think Rick Peterson (who I truly believe is a great coach) sometimes doesn’t get through to certain guys, and I think the approach of making Pelfrey more of a “pitch to contact” pitcher has hurt him. I’d like to see him just come in and throw seeds out of the pen and see if he could be of use. Right now, I shudder to think of him in the rotation, and he really should be ticketed to AAA after today. Time to stretch Sosa out and let him duke it out with Figueroa over the next week. Winner is a starter, loser is your long-man in the pen.
Look today is obviously a bad day to analyze Pelf. But his lack of progress is upsetting.
We all want him to take a step forward but it appears as the season is approaching…just like last year by the way….his stuff is just not good enough to get out the ml hitters. In the beginning…he’d throw 2 innings against some ML hitters that were still knocking the rust off the winter. Then as his innings per start grew and the competition gets better…his performance gets much worse.
I think he is fast approaching bust status
Kind of random but I remember, about two months ago, a little bit before the Santana trade went through, reading that the twins were much more interested in Humber than they were in Pelfrey. Maybe their scouts saw something ours didn’t.
Well, Humber might not have the pure stuff (fastball wise) Pelfrey has, but his secondary pitches (especially his curveball) are much more refined. I don’t see Humber as any more than a No. 3 or No. 4 starter at best, but it could be argued he is farther along. I still believe if Willie gave Humber more of a shot other than god-awful Brian Lawrence, the Mets just may have won the two games required to get over the NL East hump. Oh well…..
I think it’s mostly mental with Pelfrey. I mean in the Post today the headline of a story on Pelfrey says, “Pelfrey thinks final starter won’t be him.” Thinking like that won’t get him where he wants to be. He should have a different mentality.
Of course if I were in his shoes and saw the way Minaya and Willie keep putting faith in El Duque despite him obviously struggling so much I’d have to think the management just doesn’t want me as the 5th starter.
I also wouldn’t be against trading for Marquis, as long as price was right. Gotay or Chavez and a lower-level prospect should get it done.
Funny but the Cubs seem to want a RH batter who can play CF to back up Pie. They did not feel that Pagan was the answer and wanted Endy a long time ago I guess due to his splits against LHP. Kinda puts Pagan in perspective. To me Marquis or Morris from Pitt. seems to easy.
Hasn’t Morris been having a horrible spring? Why would you want him?
Because I don’t put that much stock in spring training. Perez has not been that great but I still want him.
I would rather have Marquis but anyone I could get for little that could give me 200 innings with under a 5.00 ERA I would be interested right now.
Morris is garbage. Not just this spring but last year he was horrible.
I would definitely take Marquis over Morris.
Compared to our current options is he that horrible? Do you really think Pelfrey could give us those numbers this season?
I don’t see how trading anybody for Morris makes us that much better than putting Pelfrey out there. I’d be more willing to get Marquis if you wanna do anything like that. And the only way I’d take Morris is if we get Nady and they want us to take Morris and his salary as well.
Anyways, I don’t think it’s gonna happen so why bother debating it? I’ll be really surprised if we trade for just Matt Morris.
You don’t think Pelfrey could give us a 4.9-5 ERA over 180-200 innings? I beg to differ.
I think he could post that ERA, but I’m not sure about the innings.
What is our trading chips to get any of these guys…we already have the problem of not having much to trade to get security in the OF, what makes anyone think we can get an inning eater starter?
Maybe we should offer Clemens a contract? I jest.
Pelfrey would like post an era above 5. He has not shown the progress to think he could survive pitching to a high 4 era
I say Heilman stays in the bullpen. If you wanna think about putting him in the rotation do it next year when possibly Pedro, Ollie, and El Duque should be gone. We’ll need at least two starters assuming Pelfrey ever gets it together.
I would assume that Pedro comes back. As for the other 2 spots, who knows.
Sosa was excellent in the rotation before his injury last year. So far a very good spring.
Why not give him a try?
I am for this but that does create a hole for a long man in the pen.
Figueroa and/or Armas (when he’s ready) could certainly fill that role better than Sele did last year. And since the No. 5 starter isn’t needed until April 12 or so, Sosa could fill that role in the meantime.
word is the mets will start with a 5 man rotation, so the 5th starter will start the 5th game.
IS Tony Armas still kicking around at camp?….doesn’t he have to be after El Duque and Pelf if niether of them look ready?
he is around, but too far behind to have any chance at opening the season. He is now back up material for AAA
El Duque is done
Pelfrey is not ready
give the job to Nelson Figueroa. He’s had a great spring and if he fails then you have to call up Pelfrey.
What pitchers are still available on free agency? We are looking for a number 5 starter here. We have some space to take a look at some guys.
If ESPN free agent list is up-to-date there are still some names looking fro work…..
like who?
Yeah, don’t think Omar should be calling David Wells’ or Jeff Weaver’s agent. Although John Patterson might be worth a flyer for a minor league deal.
did i really just read JOHN PATTERSON?!
I’m not saying he’d definitely be the No. 5 guy, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring him in for a look and get him some work at the AAA level. He’s only 30, a former first-round draft pick who has nasty stuff when healthy, which is pretty much never. However, if he works himself into shape, you might just catch lightning in a bottle for a few starts.
John Patterson.
Same idiocy all over again: It’s spring F-ing training you bird brains!
Yes, it’s spring training, but you’ve got to be a bit concerned about Pelfrey’s lack of progress. He seems to have the physical tools, not so sure about what’s between the ears. At this point, it’s obvious El Duque isn’t physically ready and Pelfrey isn’t mentally ready, so the Mets need to go maybe Sosa or Figueroa. It makes you wonder if this implosion happened last week if Lohse would have been called.
lohse for one year doesn’t actually sound like a bad thing at this point.
And too bad you can’t take Duques head and put it on Pelfreys body (OK, that would look goofy, so hoe about just a brain transplant?)
Cardinals picked up Lohse last week. The head-switching experiment intrigues me. If it works, maybe we could see if Ted Williams’ head is still available.
sounds like someone’s had a tad too much sugar today….
no more peeps for you
El Duque to the pen. Its not like he was going to give us a ton of innings this year anyways, might as well maximize his potential effectiveness.
I like Pelfrey for the 5th spot. We should considering signing John Patterson who was released by the Nats the other day for some depth. I know about the injuries but it seems like a nice low risk/high reward type thing. The guy was a K machine a few years ago.
its funny all yall talk about hernandez and pelfrey and nobody, i mean nobody is saying anything about that nelson fig. guy! hes been pretty good this spring. i know hes not the long term but better than all these other guys we have messed around with the last couple of years in the 5 hole. happy easter!
omar mentioned figuera as the 7th starter (after duque and pelfrey) in his interview with wfan the other day..
I dont believe in Pagan or Johnson’s potential. I would like X man to return to NY. I still think a trade is imminent. perhaps not for X man though. I think the bigger problem is starter#5 – Both El Duque and Pelfrey looked horrible against the Cards.
Aside from his cool name, why would you want Xman? He is Brady Clark with a little power and worse glove.
Nady – .272/.327/.768
Clark – .278/.358/.745
Please explain.
K Korner
He has been here before and knows the pressures of NY. B Clark is not proven in this area. You and I know fans can be like fierce. Nady can handle it.
m29, he was here for 75 games, and had a lower average and OBP than his career numbers. Fans didn’t have a chance to boo him. I need more than he didn’t cry while he was here.
“I still think a trade is imminent. perhaps not for X man though.”
yahoo sports rumors page is claiming we’re in trades talks with the Tigers for Marcus Thames.
WOW. AT THIS POINT, I DONT KNOW WHO SHOULD BE OUR FIFTH STARTER, BECAUSE BOTH EL DUQUE AND PELFREY LOOKED DREADFUL TODAY….
Well, we could try Sosa, Figueroa, Armas, Vargas, Collazo, Bostick, Niese, Parnell, or wait until we really need a 5th starter in mid-April. Seems a bit permature for panic.
Remember the Brian Lawrence experience?
oops, I meant PREMATURE. Sorry
Aaron Heilman.
not panic , you just gotta get your ducks lined up u know. pelfrey is not ready in my opinion. i just wanna say im not a orlando hernandez hater! he was pretty good last year , give him more than one start. just saying we do have better options than last year at this time. just wanna say one other thing, n-a-d-y
people always say what did he do? hes not special. I dont live in ny and i can only watch the games on the baseball package and about 3 or 4 games a year in dc, but he brought somthing extra to the team than just playing. eveyone saw it after he was traded.i know hes too expensive but thats my take.
va beach, I respect your take, but the team had a .599 winning percentage in 2006 overall. In the games X played in, it was .613, so the results say his spark was worth about .014
I’ll leave it to you guys to judge the significance,
And hell yeah on the kick ass comment!!
= 2 Games
Might have come in handy a few months ago.
I really liked the X-Man as well. I don’t mind Brady Clark, it would just be nice to have a righty hitter as a spot starter/bench player that has some pop in his bat.
hey, i just want them to kick some ass this year and show what they are reallt capable of!!!!!
come on guys reed johnson is a mistake waiting to happen if we get him we have to pay him 3 million dollarsa in which he is not worth.slammin sammy sosa has wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better history than he does and sosa is not injured and for the same price or maybe less can be really helpful and he can hit
He was released. He’s due league minimum.
nelson figerua just might be the guy. I also good see Sosa, with Figgy taking over his spot in the pen.
I do agree that Duque needs extended spring to see if he can ever get back to ML ready, and Pelfrey needs to go to AAA for at least a couple of months to get his head together, and all his pitches working
Thinking about it more, Heilman is possibly the best option in house right now. Sanchez, Register, Wise can all replace him in the pen (Sanchez if full recovered), and even Pelf later on if needed.
you have got to be stupid, HEILMAN IS OUR BEST OPTION!!!!!!! what is wrong with you? you need to put both pelf and Duque in extended spring training and let both of them just work both physically and mentally. When you need that 5th starter in mid april then you can look at both their progress and take the best one.
If its Pelf stick Quque in the pen (if hes even healthy enough for that) and if its Duque, then put Pelf in AAA and if(when) someone gets hurt, dont bring him up bring up someone else to make one spot start.
The thing that hurt Pelf last year was him comin up and down, puttin to much pressure to throw a prefect game so he can stay up. He either needs to make his 30 starts somewhere this year, either with the Mets or in AAA not 15 for both
how could duque be this much worse than he was last year…which was pretty good…i know he changed his windup and everything and that he’s old and his bunion…don’t give me the obvious reasons…but i just want to give him a few more starts before i say he’s completely done…i would think with ab 4 more starts he could increase his velocity where that his fastball is consistently 85 which isnt much slower than he was throwing last year…i agree hes not ready for the opening day roster…but lets give him a month or so with can survive with sosa or figueroa until then…i would do sosa and put fig in the pen as the long man…case closed atleast until we see better results from duq or pelf
im sorry….but it just amazes me w/ a blog of mostly intelligent fans rooting for the best team in baseball can be soo gullible. its one start!!!! pelf got the ball up alittle bit but he hung in there tough. u have too look at the little things. im tired of hearing of “its spring training results dont matter” well i agree parcially but what u do have to look at is how they play the game. the thing about duque today was that his results should be better in the number but his problems are easy to fix or tinker w/ in the next week or so. his velocity isnt overly satisfocatory but acceptable and better than i expected. he got up to 86. he slider wasnt getting the back door action he needs but that was all part of his arm angel. i dont want to get too rick petersen on ur ass but thats what it came down to. he didnt look in pain wich is good but in time he will get better control on his curve. the two seam fastball wasnt getting in on the lefties and was out over the plate wich is a problem but i think is b/c of his arm angel again. just ask josh beckett. new motion may help his health but not results. pelfrey’s seemed to get tired alittle and wasnt striding the way he should wich made the ball hang over the middle of the plate. his movement was still fine. sure if all this happened in a game i wouldnt be happy but still know that this was practicly a rehab start for duque. think like this. if delgado comeing back from his hip injury 2 weeks ago and he went 0-3 with a walk wouldnt be good. but lets just say he drove 2 balls to deep left center feild but were fly or line outs? i’d be happy….as long as its spring training. by opening day i’d hope everybody to be ready. as far as reed johnson goes i dont want to sound statistics iggnorant but yea, sure pounce on him. 3 million isnt a big problem pay roll wise. he hits lefties great….isnt too old….phenominal defense all 3 positions….good speed on basepaths(hit lead off when healthy) so yea in have no problem w/ pagan but while johnson is out there he’s exactly what the mets say their looking for. w/out giving up prospects. and can most likeley take some lefty at bats away from church in right but not full time platoon. hopefully can pinch hit. i can compare him alittle to his short time former teamate david echsktine(cant spell but u know who i mean). he plays the game hard. ive got a chance to watch johnson play alittle bit and liked what i saw. as some say “gritty”. i dont want to sound too desperate but y wouldnt i want a player like that? especially wen he’s availible.
Roster wise- we can go w/ our top 4 starters until the 12th of april . pelf or duque will be acceptible. no trades please. i like our prospects. give duque the time he needs but im hopeing for 18-25 starts from duque wich i honestly think is fair if not genorous. i know things happen mid season but thats just that. i want pelf to develop as much as he can w/out getting [for lack of a better word] bored in AAA. im fine w/ 10-15 from him. but please everybody do u have to be so dramatic?? if duques next start is great i garantee the guy today saying “hes done” will be saying “i always knew he had it in him”
Yikes…capital letters are our friends.
How many more games like this does Pelfrey have to pitch before people are ready to admit he sucks. Come on, I understand some of you guys live and die with these prospects. Perhaps some of you are even friends with Pelfrey, and if that’s the case, I’m truly sorry. But for chrissake, it’s time to start calling a spade a spade. I mean. how long do we have to hear that “he just left the ball up a little” or “he’s got good stuff, it’s just a mental thing.” Well, no, he doesn’t have good stuff at all. Are you watching? He doesn’t have great stuff. He has stuff that has gotten him to this level, and he’s flattened out now and this is where he’s at. It’s not like this is a guy with wicked stuff that just needs to learn to trust his stuff. His stuff just isn’t that good. At best, Pelfrey may be a back end starter in this league, and that’s a couple years away. And the idea that some people think he would be better suited in the bullpen? What on earth would make you want this guy to come out of the bullpen? Mike Pelfrey should not be anywhere near the major league club this year, unless perhaps it’s to get a few starts in at the end of the year, and the Mets have already put the division away. And that’s assuming he’s pitched well at the AAA level, which is far from a given. Please, let’s start calling it as we see it, and put the emotions aside. I understand that Pelfrey may be a nice guy, or a friend, or someone you’ve followed and have read a lot about and want to do well because he comes from within the organization, but really now – Have you watched this guy pitch the past couple seasons? Aside from a scant handful of outings, what have you seen that has even remotely impressed you? It’s time to get real in regards to Pelfrey.
I fully agree! I had high hopes for Pelfrey, especially after the Scott Kazmir nightmare… but it’s pretty obvious by now that he is just not that good. He has no movement on his fastball whatsoever and does not have enough of an arsenal of pitches to offset that. If I were batting against him, I would sit on the fastball as well, too. And, its plain to see he loses focus in the mid-innings and does not have any semblance of mental toughness to bear down when the going gets tough.
He’s had more than enough chances to develop and show Willie and the organization he is part of the team’s future, but he has disappointed them every time.
I would not be surprised at this point if he gets traded away by midseason or this next offseason if he doesn’t show any dramatic improvement either in the majors or AAA.
He is currently so close to being a BUST, instead of a unform the Mets will need to determine his bra size!
I agree.
Pelf had an era of 5 in 2006 and 2007.his era last year in the monors was 4.His supporters point to that one great game in atl and say he pitched great in sept.Do you know what his era in sept was? 5.00 again,even with that game. just about any major leaguer can pitch one really good game in 15 trys.
His overall spring training #s last year and this year were bad.
Maybe he will be a good pitcher somewhere down the road but he needs to develop more than one pitch and he is not close.
Sometimes I miss Brian Bannister. I’m sure I’ll miss Humber and Mulvey this year. That said, we’ve got to make it work with the guys we’ve got until June. If El Duque, Pelfrey, Sosa, Armas and whoever else gets a shot can’t make it stick, I’m sure there will be more than a few fat contracts that will need to be unloaded by the deadline.
Jonathan Niese, anyone?
This guy has shown me a lot more than Pelfrey has.
Willie announced the first four in the rotation. It’s Santana, Pedro, Ollie and then Maine. I see he wants it to be L, R, L, R but Maine has passed Perez and is a #3 in my eyes as Perez should be the #4.
Does the order really matter? Aside from the first few days of the season, who your number 1 and your number 5 is has almost no bearing on what happens to your team throughout the course of a season. Factor in off days and injuries, which don’t happen to each team at the same time, and everything is off kilter anyway.
I never said it matters nor do I care the way it is lol to me Maine is better/more consistent so he’d be my #3 while Perez is #4
From MLB.COM:
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Rangers are close to signing right-handed pitcher John Patterson, who was released by the Washington Nationals earlier this week.
The Rangers have a set rotation of Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Jason Jennings, Kason Gabbard and Luis Mendoza but are interested in adding Patterson on a Minor League contract for protection against injury. They have already lost pitcher Brandon McCarthy until May because of severe inflammation in his elbow.
You need to put both pelf and Duque in extended spring training and let both of them just work both physically and mentally. When you need that 5th starter in mid april then you can look at both their progress and take the best one.
If its Pelf stick Quque in the pen (if hes even healthy enough for that) and if its Duque, then put Pelf in AAA and if(when) someone gets hurt, dont bring him up bring up someone else to make one spot start.
The thing that hurt Pelf last year was him comin up and down, puttin to much pressure to throw a prefect game so he can stay up. He either needs to make his 30 starts somewhere this year, either with the Mets or in AAA not 15 for both
No way would I compare Reed Johnson to Jason Bay. One was a prospect the other is a step away from coaching high school ball.
I would postpone choosing a fifth starter until absolutely necessary. Duque needs an extended spring training. Pelfrey isn’t ready. David Wells looks pretty good right about now. he could be ready for the April 12th start if he was brought into camp now
Not worried about the 5th starter cause it is just that the 5th starter
Our top 4 is so good with Santana, Martinez, Perez and Maine plus the pen is solid
Duque is the 5th starter………it’s not rocket science……if he is healthy he will get the ball and well he has one more start and then 2 weeks so we will see
Pelfrey got rocked but he still has talent and is fine as the extra man or even 5th guy to start
I rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreally like Reed Johnson……if we can get him great!!!…………..but i doubt it cause their are teams like the Padres who have no OF depth and will grab these types of guys first
Wow 150 comments about Reed Johnson…impressive…
And vitto79, you need 5 starters, not 4…im a little worried about it, i need to see duque or pelfrey step up and come through