Daily Archives: March 26, 2008
…so, because i am confused, i talked with some one who would know, and it appears that Ruben Gotay has yet to be put on waivers, which is not to say he won’t be…it’s just that, as of right now, he has not been put on waivers…
By the way, yesterday I wrote that WFAN’s Ed Coleman had said Gotay was on waivers.
In review, it instead sounds like Coleman said: “I still put a question mark on Gotay, though he’s out of waivers.”
…like others, i thought i heard coleman say gotay is on waivers, but instead he said he is out of waivers…whatever that means…i assume he meant to say that gotay is out of options…of course, ii was not alone in my confusion, since the two hosts who coleman had been talking to, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, spent the next 10 minutes talking about gotay being on waivers, and what a huge mistake it would be to let him go…
…at any rate, as of now, gotay’s fate has yet to be determined…
…the thing is, it sounds like he’ll hit the wire at some point, and likely clear it, thus coming back to the Mets and making this whole miscommunication irrelevant…
For instance, as noted earlier, today at MLB.com, Marty Noble writes: “The Mets might give Gotay his outright release, though the club is fully aware they could lose him through waivers.”
Tagged Ruben Gotay |
According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, speaking to WFAN yesterday, Mets management may meet today to discuss who will be the team’s fifth starter.
Meanwhile, the Brewers released RHP Claudio Vargas yesterday, according the the Journal Sentinel.
In a post to his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman says he would not be surprised to see the Mets try and sign Vargas.
Also in the New York Post, Bart Hubbach quotes Minaya as saying he will take a close look at Vargas, who is a ‘good name.’
Vargas, 29, was 11-6 with a 5.09 ERA in 29 games for the Brewers last season, during which he started 23 games.
His ERA has gone up in each of his last three seasons.
…my question is: will vargas make for a better fifth starter than what the Mets have now…i’m not sure he will…he might…but i don’t know that he will…again, he may be better than Nelson Figeuroa, he might not…who knows…he’s far from a sure thing, which will likely be the case with any potential number five starter, including Mike Pelfrey or Orlando Hernandez…like with the rest of these players we keep reading about, i’d welcome vargas to the Mets, assuming he is not guaranteed a roster spot, because he is a decent pitcher with potential…i just don’t want to see the Mets in a position where they committ to vargas, creating other restrictions down the road – mostly because i do not trust this organization when it comes to roster management…
During his interview with WFAN, Heyman had the following to say about Pelfrey, who has allowed 16 runs in 17 innings this spring:
“I would not give him a start…he has just not done it. The scouts are saying he’s throwing 90 to 92, which isn’t him and he’s not locating - even the fastball…The Mets are saying he’s got the stuff, he’s just not using it properly. It might be mental toughness or something like that. The scouts are saying he’s really not locating and he’s not throwing quite as hard and he’s just not looking very good. I would send him back. I think the Mets figure he’s a number one pick and he has the ability and he can be a number five starter on talent alone and a lot of people still think he can be a Kevin Brown type pitcher ultimately.”
In Heyman’s opinion, the Mets should give the job to either Nelson Figueroa or Jon Neise, who allowed two runs and six walks through four innings yesterday against the Braves.
…by the way, thanks to Peter Wade for the quote, who does a great job keeping tabs on the media for MetsBlog…
Meanwhile, In a report for MLB.com, Marty Noble says the Mets will consider Jorge Sosa for the fifth starter job as well.
…i’m sure he is being considered, but i just don’t see this happening…he has not been stretched out enough…i mean, if they want to use him for one start, knowing the bullpen will need to fill in that day, fine…but, right now, he’s not the answer…he’s been preparing for the long-man role, which he is a perfect fit for…
…personally, as i suggested last week, assuming vargas is not in the picture, i, like heyman, would use figueroa as the team’s fifth starter for now, while letting pelfrey get work in Triple-A, and letting el duque get ‘healthy’ back in extended spring training…once el duque shows that he is ‘healthy,’ he can take the stage and entertain us with his wiffle-ball magic show, because he has earned the right to do so…
…in the end, though, we’re talking about the fifth starter, which is always a mish-mosh of rookies and journeymen, all season long, for every team…the Mets are not special just because we cheer for them…in other words, there is no silver bullet here, there is a lack of quality pitching in MLB, we need to accept it and just hope for the best - like more or less every other team in the league…
For more on the fifth starter, check out Joe Janish at Mets Today, who breaks down every candidate, and then some, while listing why each should or shouldn’t be considered.
Yesterday, the Daily News was the first to report that the Mets had placed RHP Steven Register on waivers.
According to the Denver Post, “The Mets put Register on waivers with the intention of returning the Rule-5 pick to the Rockies.”
…register’s spot on waivers has now been reported by a variety of mainstream outlets, which suggests the emergence of Brian Stokes and the resurgent Joe Smith will fill in for Duaner Sanchez, who will likely start the year on the disabled list – as we have all been predicting for weeks…
…by the way, good for you, joe…way to get back on the map…
Additionally, according to WFAN’s Ed Coleman, speaking on air during yesterday’s mid-day show, the Mets have also put Ruben Gotay on waivers.
However, in today’s New York Post, citing ‘a source who had access to the waiver wire,’ Bart Hubbach states that Register is the only player on the Mets who has been included on the waiver wire as of yesterday afternoon.
Nevertheless, at MLB.com, Marty Noble writes: “The Mets might give Gotay his outright release, though the club is fully aware they could lose him through waivers.”
According to Noble, if Gotay is released, “The chances of Fernando Tatis earning a roster spot is enhanced due to the need for a right-handed bat off the bench.”
…there is a lot of talk coming from the team mentioning tatis, Brady Clark and Angel Pagan…a lot…which is odd because, a) is probably why gotay is in trouble, considering he is out of option, struggles on defense and is a bit injured, and b) he’s losing ground to Fernando Tatis…repeat, Fernando Tatis…
…does tatis also come with a time machine so he can go back to 1999 and hit well again…
…seriously, how did this happen, ruben…ugh…
In eight major-league seasons, the 33–year-old Tatis has played second base, third, left field, right field, short and first base.
In 2006, his last season in the big leagues, he hit .286 in 28 at-bats against left-handed pitchers.
Tatis did not play in 2005 or 2004, but hit .240 against lefties in 2003, and .230 against lefties in 2002.
He has not finished a season hitting over .290 since 1999, since then he is batting .235 in 1,081 at-bats, during which he has struck out more than 25 percent of the time.
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