|
|
|
The Mets will play the White Sox today at 5 pm 
in Memphis, Tenn., in the second annual Civil Rights Game.
The game will air live on ESPN.
John Maine will start for the Mets.
SS Jose Reyes will hit leadoff, followed by 2B Luis Castillo, 3B David Wright, OF Carlos Beltran, 1B Carlos Delgado, OF Ryan Church, PF Angel Pagan, C Brian Schneider and DH Brady Clark.
…well, that is the opening day lineup, plus clark as the designated hitter in place of maine…
For more on why the Civil Rights Game is so important and personal for Willie Randolph, check out Anthony DiComo’s report for MLB.com.
Today is the final exhibition game of the spring.
My negative feelings about the Mets stupidly getting rid of Milledge and Gotay aside, I am pumped for this season to start and am interested to see if this is a break-out year for Maine. I also hope Hughes-Joba-Chamberlain become the Generation K of the Bronx.
You do know that Joba and Chamberlain is the same guy, right… Kennedy, maybe?
SHOW BLOWS!!! We should trade him as well.
lets let go of the Ruben Gotay thing, its not that big of a deal, we as a team have bigger issues
Don Hahn!!!!!!!!!!!
HAS ANYONE SEEN ANY KIND OF UPDATE ON DUQUE TODAY?
IS HE FEELING HEALTHY?
Matt, what about a spring training report on all the players? I know spring stats don’t mean as much but a nice little summary on everyone would be really cool and put things into perspective.
Why would they have the Civil RIghts game during Spring Training? It kind of minimalizes it
mlb.com is really dropping the ball with their tv services. One minute the things working and then I accidently refresh the page and it refuses to work no matter what.
great article with willie. this truly is a great event.
What’s the story behind the uni they’re wearing today ?
That is the road uni of the New York Cubans. The Cubans were a Negro League Team. A couple years ago after 2033 Mets won their 9th WS in a row in MVP Baseball, I made a Negro League All Star team and tore through the game again.
Here is some info on the Cubans:
http://www.nlbpa.com/new_york_cubans.html
Those are the road uniforms of the New York Cubans a former Negro League team. The Cubans were awesome. I tried to put in a link to some info on them, but it didn’t show up. Do a Google search on “New York Cubans”.
I’m familiar with the Cubans’ home uni and their red on black caps.
I love their home uni.
I just flipped on the game and saw Minnie Minosa wearing a White Sox jacket. Not sure if ESPN mentioned it or not, but Minnie played on the Cubans.
wow joe morgan, I didn’t know odalis perez is our 3rd starter
Joe Morgan referred to Oliver Perez as ODALIS Perez. lmao.. ESPN RULES…
and just when u thought Joe Morgan couldn’t say any worse:
“It’s like the old saying, ‘don’t do as I say, do as I do.”
Someone help him.
I’m going to Miami for Johan on Opening Day! Woo Hoo!
I was wondering if the Mets players would actually just stay in Florida for the first series since they were already down there. I guess this game in Tennessee answers my question.
This is a nice event, but does anyone know why these two teams were selected?
I would assume its because both teams have a manager and a GM who are minorities.
also, who else is happy that joe morgan (ugh, my fingers actually cramp when i write that name) has told us, that contrary to what many people say, center field is a more difficult position that you may think. HUH?
The worst is the “contrary” opinion that 2nd is harder to play than shortstop. How does Joe Morgan have his job?
Yea my jaw dropped through the floor with that one..
so if you think also, according to joe, that short stop is easier than 2nd or 3rd, you’d also be incorrect…duh
Or the fact that people assume shortstop is EASIER than second base… Joe Morgan is the equivalent of Charles Barkley over at TNT.
Joe Morgan is a disgrace to baseball broadcasting, hands down.
Through 2 innings, the stupid comment count is up to 3
In uni’s with no last name on the back Pagan really looks like Beltran.
somethings never change… these guys still can’t hit…
The game just started, buddy.. Sit back and relax..
Any score yet?
How does Maine look?
Looks good.. 0-0 3rd
maine looks very very sharp…fastball has a lot of movement (it looks like beckett’s today) and the changeup is diving down and in really nicely…made some people look silly with down and away sliders (to right handers) as well…3 k’s through 3
Thanks.
No cable. Live in Chic. No local coverage even on radio!
Waiting for my neighbor to return so I can invite myself over.
Did Joe Morgan just say that we don’t really know much about AROD? Is he joking? I can’t take a dump without hearing about the guy. I also love how he says that baseball should market the individual like the NFL (which the NFL doesn’t) and he mentions Peyton Manning, because we all know Peyton Manning makes black kids want to play football.
you don’t need to wait for your neighbor…its being broadcasted for free on mlb.com today
i missed…how did delgado get to 2nd? a double???
he hit a towering double.
Jose Reyes’ second at-bat was pathetic.
yup…ground rule double to the right center warning track
I cant stand this stuff, enough with all the civil rights stuff. They might as well not even have a game, just interviews with a bunch of black people. Its ridiculous!
lmao i’m sure it’s not what you meant but “enough with all the civil rights stuff” made me laugh
it’s a freaking exhibition game, relax
i’m sure if you go to the klan website you can get yourself an “i’m dreaming of a white christmas t-shirt.”
Actually the civil rights did a lot of damage to the constitution. Nothing in the constitution has the civil rights agenda in it. And there was a good reason why it was not there.
And now it is there, but they are there illegally (no amendment was made to make it legal) so now you can live with your affirmative action, a destroyer for those who earned they’re own by working for it.
And if you do not have a clue that good workers was replaced by others who were not so good and done with force was good thing, then you will love your civil rights agenda.
For example just look at our education system in America, from one of the tops in the world to one of the worst.
So tell me how did that happen??? Huh!
you are dumb. the civil rights acts are not in the constitution. they are laws like the other tens of thousands of laws passed over the years.
read the 14th amendment. apparently the education system didn’t satisfy your needs as you are clueless and uneducated
This rotation is going to have to put the team on its back the first few weeks. These hitters look dreadful…they need to get their timing back in a hurry….
I think we are in for a lot of 1-0 2-1 scores.
you serious? youve obviously never been discriminated against in your life and youre obviously arent old enough to appreciate the integration of minorities in “America’s Pastime”. Before you make an ignorant comment like that do some research about a man like Jackie Robinson and what he endured.
They keep talking about how to get children into baseball, well… baseball takes more parent involvement than many other sports, maybe the black men should play catch with their son, instead of going to jail.
um, wow
Haha, whatever happened to filtering on this site…
who let the pig out of the pen?
Yes, that was ignorant.
As an Afram myself, I’d be the first to admit the males of my ethnicity have a lot of work to do. However, assuming you’re not black yourself, that comment is just plain stupid and racist. If you are black then it’s just stupid.
It’s comments like that that make me feel so naive for thinking most Americans will judge me and my kids for what we do and say not how we look or sound.
Maybe it’s just me, but America’s impressive gains in Civil Rights is perhaps our greatest achievement. And it is something we all can take pride in because it took the sacrifice of blacks, whites, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and many others in between.
And by the way, I did play catch with my two sons today.
That being said: GO METS GO METS GO METS!!!!!!
I know who Jackie was, and after a season or two his main cause is to be a winner, not race.
I grew up in Brooklyn and I not only loved JR big time, but he was a model of what I had to do to be a winner. And I meant being a winner in making a living.
For what he did was prove that if you worked hard at work at it, then that is the only way to win the game of baseball but also of earning money in order to have a life.
I kid you not he was the biggest instrument of going out to win at playing the game and also the game of life.
AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH COLOR.
All my life I loved Jackie, and it had nothing to do with civil rights, which was a bad thing, put upon the white people of America who had nothing to do with the bad that happened over a hundred years ago all over the world. And the black people were just as much responsable for it as the white people were.
Watching the Mets on offense is giving me bad flashbacks from last season.
its a long season, wolverine. Its a game of streaks.
it would be good for my health if they start on a hot streak.
i love you carlos beltran.
qns native, do you ever go into the hotfoot blogs chat room?
haha right on cue
I cant watch ESPN baseball anymore…no more John Miller saying “ruBEN goTIE”
They keep talking about how to get children into baseball, well… baseball takes more parent involvement than many other sports, maybe the black men should play catch with their son, instead of going to jail.
okay maybe “enough with civil rights” is what you meant
1 in 53 white men have been in jail in their lives
while
1 in 15 black men have been in jail in their lives
okay this has nothing to do with baseball so i’m not going to argue with you but i will say that your statistic is seriously flawed as an argument
I saw it on a news broadcast a couple weeks ago.
as an argument to children’s involvement in sports, he actually brings up a good point. stop worrying about if he’s being racist or not and realize he is just pointing out facts.
just stop, are you 15? because then maybe you wouldn’t yet understand society, but if you’re older then that, shame on you for your ignorance.
good point? football doesn’t require the same amount of parent involvement as baseball? it sure does. apparently you never played sports for your trailor park teams
Ill bite. Yes, a larger percent of African Americans go to jail then Whites.
So is it a cultural issue or is it more then likely-
(1) Mandatory minimums impose tougher penalties on crimes associated with blacks then whites- (For instance check out sentancing requirements for Crack versus Cocaine or Meth).
(2) The courts have a far higher rate of giving white people suspended sentences or treatment for drug based crimes then black people. Something on the order of two-three times.
(3) Racial profiling by police results in a lower rate of arrests for whites then blacks.
(4) Prosecutor discretion statistically favors more severe charges against minorities for the same crimes.
(5) Finally poverty breeds crime and America still has not eliminated the aftermath of slavery and institutional discrimination that contributes to poor education and higher poverty for blacks.
So yes, it would be better for the kids if their parents stayed out of jail. If only the justice system and the legacies of racism didn’t seriously contribute to a higher incarceration for African Americans.
Finally, your argument is obviously flawed for a far more serious reason (one that reveals you as a troll)-
African American participation in baseball has declined however the incarceration rates of African Americans has not risen since their participation was at its peak. There is no correlation whatsoever.
That has to be the dumbest thing I ever heard.
That would help, but can you see that coming???
right on cue indeed.. Beltran 2 run homer. Mets 2-0
Nice hit by Beltran
carlos beltran’s hair? reminds me of mike piazza….
yea i was thinking the same thing…since alou didn’t pee on his hands this spring since he was injured…maybe he just peed on beltran’s hair
i hope this doesnt catch on like the head shaving last year.
hahahah well i did like how they seemed to come out of that slump after the head shaving
his mole could be a reservoir of bleach…the possibilities are endless
hahah
I was thinking the EXACT same thing when I saw it
is beltran’s hair the result of a practical joke? that is a seriously bad bleach job.
anybody catch that old school Robin Ventura white sox jersey in the crowd?
A side note – I just flew into LaGuardia – we went right over Citi Field…it’s looking awesome…
i look forward to seeing it as soon as i get back from ASU
i look forward to seeing it as soon as i get back from ASU
Go ASU!
hell yeah
I did the same thing a couple of weeks ago, and you’re right, it looked great. I’m very excited about it!
anyone know what these pitchers have in common:
WIll Ohman
JC Romero
Ray King
Taylor Tankersley
Not very intimidating names…These are the left-handed pitchers in the bullpens of the Phillies, Braves, Marlin, and Nationals. Teams we play 47% of the 162 game season.
Does anyone really feel we have to worry about being too left-handed???
doesn’t scare me
yes, and if dont know who they are watch more baseball and less mr. roto….jc romero was possibly the best reliver in baseball the last 60 games of last year, and it wasnt a fluke hes good….ill give you that blowfish ray king
The reason that baseball is going outside for talent now is that kids just don’t get out there and play anymore. If they do, it’s organized no-score everybody gets a trophy ball. Playing baseball means plugging in the video game. Of course this is a generalization, but when I go to park where we ran to play every chance we got, I see the fields empty. We’ve created a generation of lazy, obese, instant gratification children.
Not really, more kids are just into basketball and football now.
that may be true, but it doesn’t discount that fact that the younger generation doesn’t have the same patience for baesball, and the fact that more kids live far more sedentary lifestyles partly contributing to the obesity problem in this country.
I totally agree, and I see it with so many fellow dads of my generation. It’s just nothing like when I was a kid. Hate to sound like an old fart @ 44, but it just seems so different.
Do these announcers ever take a breath? Seriously?
Why only 4 innings for Maine?
being cautious i suppose
He’s already thrown close to 100 pitches in a ST game, they’re just saving him for the real games.
Maine got to ST too early, not only was he bored a week ago but he’s now ‘wasted’ three good starts his last three tune ups. Hopefully he’ll stay strong through the summer.
Heilman has been dominant this spring.
I def think this will be his best season of his career!
Or he’ll blow out his elbow in May. Kind of the Mets’ way, you know.
David Wright:
I think he might start off slow again and then erupt to have a huge year after April. Just like last year. He’s stricken out a little too much this spring and doesn’t seem to have his great timing and clutchness quite yet
Wright has been being overly patient all spring, unpurpose, in an attempt to get ready for certain situations he’ll face during the season. Even so, spring means nothing in terms of stats.
I’m not saying you’re right or wrong about this, but, how do you know that’s what he’s doing?
he mentioned it a couple weeks ago, not sure where i saw it
Got it.
he doesn’t have his clutchness yet. ahahaha
oh man.
Wright talked about this specifically more than once on teh ST broadcasts. The guy is impressive in so many ways.
GREAT catch church!
I don’t like this guy so far.
I know I know it’s ST. We still could have gotten so much more for Milledge though…or just kept him
Yeah, but at least Church doesn’t listen to rap and show emotion.
i hate to fill up this comment section with my rants, but I could legitimize some of the complaints about the Mets trading Milledge if the people who did so actually used real arguments. Saying random things like this, when you are actually serious about how you don’t like that the Mets traded Milledge, is just ridiculous, it totally DElegitimizes your argument. “doesn’t listen to rap and show emotion”…great one man.
what else could we have gotten? Santana…oh wait, we already have him. But seriously here, how can you not “like this guy so far”?, the season hasn’t even started! Sure, if after the first couple months, you don’t like him, thats fine, but at least let the season start!
Because he shown anything to me that says he’s better than Lastings Milledge. That’s why. The guy had no pressure in Washington. I just hope it translates in NY.
i love that “no pressure” argument, like players only feel pressure in big bad NY, oooo. That’s not even an argument. An argument is looking at stats, production, something other then spring training. And by the way, players feel pressure wherever they play, its called producing to keep your job.
You talk about the guy as if the Mets HAD to trade him. They didn’t. He was a blue chip prospect who the Mets got rid of at his lowest possible value. Why not just keep the guy, he certainly showed the ability to hit, and was a capable right hander on a lefty heavy lineup. I don’t want to hear the “immature player” BS, the guy was only 22 years old.
yeah, he was 22, so? this argument is so old, all you guys want to do is live in the past and complain about it. It’s over people, move on. Milledge is an immature player because he’s 22. He’ll get better obviously, but that has nothing to do with winning THIS year.
I’m with you. I would have preferred Milledge and Estrada over Schneider and Church. Maybe this year that combo wouldn’t be much more than a wash, but I think Milledge is going to be a pretty darn good ballplayer in the future.
Of course, it’s too late now. It’s all blood under the bridge, as my wife would say.
Why didnt they keep Gomez and Guerra? They would have gotten better also. Because they got better players to help now. Omars job is on the line ( which is a joke to begin with). Milledge holds much, much more value as a CF, which he would not have been in this team. The people who say we could have gotten more…. really? How often do you see a single prospect (and in this case, a prospect who had fallen measurably in the eyes of the league, and also has a questionable reputation) traded for 2 everyday players. The thing you guys dont seem to realize is that Milledge may become Gary Sheffield, or he may become Jay Payton or he may be out of the league in 4 years. We dont know. Those who say that Milledge in RF with the Mets would have provided the same production that Church does as the RF for the Mets are kidding themselves. Church is a more polished player more primed for a run into the playoffs then Milledge, who still cant hit a slider. Schneider is literally better then Lo Duca in every single aspect of the game besides batting average, and makes up for that fact by actually drawing walks. He has a great K/BB ratio for a catcher, and is a top tier defender. I can say that in 5 years Minnesota will have the better end of the Santana trade, and the Milledge is the same thing, only too a much lesser degree.
To me, in getting Church we took the safe option of what Milledge will become, and also added a very good catcher in a market with no catchers available at all. People dont realize how much better Schneider is going to make our already ridiculous pitching staff. He made a bunch of AAA scrubs in Washington look somewhat decent for ever. You all dont think the games getting beat by the likes of the Zach Day’s, Billy Traber’s, Jason Bergman’s etc of the world had something to do with having a top backstop back there?
“I can say that in 5 years Minnesota will have the better end of the Santana trade, and the Milledge is the same thing, only too a much lesser degree.”
I seriously challenge this. There is nobody we gave up in that trade that is a “sure thing.”
As for your original statement about Guerra and Gomez, that makes you look like a fool.
As for the Milledge side of things, I like Church, and i actually think he’ll be better than a lot of people think. And I agree that Schneider is better than LoDuca in every way.
My beef with the trade is that it didn’t fill any glaring holes. We had a catcher — Estrada — and we had a RFer — Milledge.
I just don’t like that we got older and more expensive with that trade. I think the Mets seriously undervalue youth. I think the Mets ignore the fact that players at 29 and 30 are actually PAST their primes typically.
I’m not saying Milledge is going to be Gary Sheffield. I doubt he will. What I’m saying is he is likely to be good (maybe very good) he is young, and he is cheap. Those are desirable qualities.
Like I said, I like Church, but remember we don’t really know what he’ll be as an every day player either.
Lots of people agree with you. I’m not one of them.
Does this mean the 25th spot on the roster will go to Brady Clark over Fernando Tatis??? If that is the case BRAVO Willie and Omar…and yes believe Brady Clark was more valuable to this team than Gotay…Tatis is worse than Gotay but RH, Clark could be extremely valuable and frees up Endy to pinch hit
DOes anyone know where I can buy a Casanova jersey? Hopefully professor Reyes is replaced by professor Casanova
Clark has 1 extra base hit in nearly 75 AB’s this spring.
Please, he should be happy that anyone wants him for AAA. Pagan, Tatis, and Gotay are all more useful on this team than Clark. The only reason he is still around is because he’s unwilling to go to AAA.
The guys who got all over me yesterday about Show being better than Register are right. You guys really made me look like a dummy.
Show is a top notch batting practice pitcher.
Please do not remind me that we gave back a young guy who throws 95+ back to the Rockies without ever knowing if he’ll be good in the majors. He beat out S,ith and Stokes and Blowenweis to a certain extent. It just sucks that we could have just kept him around until at least Sanchez got back to see what he could do. Those other guys have options, so that scenario would have been possible.
isnt stokes a rule 5 too? and doesnt rick peterson and willie know more about the ability of pitchers than you or me?
No Stokes isn’t a rule 5
Relax, clearly the Mets know what they’re doing when it comes to getting rid of young pitching talent….
clearly you are destined for a managerial/GM position on a major league team, way to go man, you’ll all be doing us proud!
wait, you mean veterans that are guaranteed roster spots don play/pitch well in spring training…stop the presses, the guy that is trying his hardest with every pitch in march must be better than the veteran who is saving himself for the season….can we please all remember the AMAZIN spring Pelfrey had last year…howd that turn out…or Millege or Gomez…they both sucked last year, they will be good, but they both had good springs and terrible 07’s
I guess Show was saving himself all of last season too……the guy sucks move on.
Schow looked as bad as ever, however, I will say that he should NEVER, under any circumstance, be pitching to righties. What will it take for Willie to learn this.
Moreover, Joe Smith just threw three nasty strikes
“Shows one of my guys…its a long season”
Can you imagine this team?!?!?
1. Gomez – OF
2. Gotay – 2B
3. Millege – OF
4. Mike Jacobs- 1B
5. Melvin Mora – 3B
6. Justin Huber – OF
7. Jesus Flores – C
8. Joe McEwing – SS
SP: Brian Banniser/Scott Kazmir
RP: Heath Bell/Steve Register
these are the people you knuckleheads complain constantly about the mets “giving up” on or however you want to word it…you whine and whine and whine and look at this team…you know how they would finish in 2012? maybe in the playoffs, you know how they would finish in 2008? well the 62 mets would no longer be the worst team ever.
I want to know who whined about Joe McEwing! That guy was AWFUL.
Speaking for this one knucklehead its not that we got rid of some of those players its that we gave up Mora, Milledge, Gotay, Flores,Kazmir and Register for Bordick, Church, Schiender, and Zambrano.
Sounds like a great deal to me.
yeah you’re right, other teams only make really good deals, in fact, no other team ever gives up players that end up doing well other places, and the Mets, have never been involved in a good trade for themselves.
Who in that list other than Gomez and possibly Jacobs could be considored gone in a good deal for the Mets?????
I didnt post the list just responded to it.
it was a general comment on my part, not all Mets trade are bad, as some on this board seem to insinuate when they only bring up those to rip on the Mets.
and it cost themets what? NOTHING, you make bad moves and then every once in while you bring in Endy or Marlon to spring training invites and look what happens, if you wanna rip Omar for Gotay remember Endy, his good moves have so outweighted the bad…
I mean he traded 2 worthless guys, a guy who may never get higher than AA and an overrated Carlos ” i can barely hit a fastball let alone a slider” Gomez and got back JOHAN SANTANA, yeah so we got nothing back for Gotay but we gave up nothing for JOHAN…I think Omar wins
Joe Smith just abusing the Cuban pheonom with that slider. Wow!
joe smith pitched worse than show last year…im not defending show but cmon guys….theres a reason the rockies didnt want register either, the guy hadan OK spring,
and lets please remember the Mets gave Heath Bell about 7 chances and he sucked every single time, so maybe they thought register would too…
people on this blog always want to make the next guy we let go be the 2nd coming, it happens all the time, every year. People don’t want to realize that despite Register getting a bunch of saves last year in the minors, the Rockies exposed him, and he’s never pitched above AA, and now we want to guarantee him a spot on the roster? You have to keep him all year to keep him, that’s asking a lot.
I would have preferred they hold him with the purpose of finding a better time to offer him back to the Rockies. If he gets exposed early then no one else would claim him, as happened anyway… but maybe the Rockies have some injuries and end up filling their roster where they cant take him back.
I agree with that. It is hard for a team with the goal of going to the post season to commit to a kid for an entire season.
sorry I meant after april Joe Smith was worse than Chan Ho Park and after june Show was better than any mets reliever than wagner or heilman, his ERA was much better than Feliciano in the 2nd half…but he should be a lefty specialist not an inning pitcher
thank you darkstar, its nice to know someone else on this site understands baseball…yikes…I mean that Billie Bean is a genious and theyve won how many titles in his regime? but fans here rip on Omar for his moves when we were an Aaron Heilman pitch away from the WS, and no one is crying for heilman to get lost…
I guess i dont know baseball but I know math…. Billy Beane has the same amount of titles in his regime as Omar does…….Zero!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the sad thing is, its like your proud of that…either way, Beane’s been a GM far longer then Omar has.
Im not proud of it as a Mets fan I’m embarassed by it.
embarrassed of what, in 3 years, our new GM hasn’t won a world series yet? have kind of high expectations do we?
Yes I do
so you’re telling me, after the 2004 season when we got a new GM, you said to yourself, man, if this new GM doesn’t bring us a world series title within 3 years, i’m going to be embarrassed? Really?
beane had half the payroll that the mets have had. i like how much people hate on billy beane. he didn’t write moneyball, guys. also, success shouldn’t be measured by WS wins. not a good way.
by JUST world series wins*
um, wasn’t hating on Beane at all, in fact I think he’s done great things in Oakland, and I know he didn’t write moneyball, great book though, also, if anything, you should have taken from my comment that success is not always measure in titles.
Darkstar is the reason u should be embarrassed aqua, he continually destroys anything you post and makes you look like a childish 10 year old in the process. You are embarrased that we havent won a WS in 3 years? Wow. Go be a Yankee fan then. You really should be embarrased at your knowledge of baseball if you think a new GM not winning a WS in 3 years after taking over one of the biggest jokes in sports is an embarrasment. I thought after getting Johan people would relax a little, but now instead of legit complaints we have idiots complaining about Gotay and Milledge. Its a shame that such a good site with a lot of hard work being put in has such an unbelievable core of idiots as the main readers. In this thread, honestly darkstar and guillerno mota are the only 2 posters who have posted rational thoughts. I think the majority of you just like to complain about anything and everything. Not the way to live your life, unless you preferred being bitter and annoying to just being happy.
You cant really make a post like that and target every poster on the site…Omar like any GM has made some great moves and some poor moves…the Santana trade was a great move…the milledge move was questionable…the Bannister trade was awful
whats up with all the snappy aggitated comments today?
We’re on the verge of the opening day of a season with more promise than any we’ve had in a long time and you would rather bicker? Ya bunch of fools!
You go, Nate!
You’ll soon give up on the comment section like I have.
You almost gave up, but it appears you’ve been sucked back in!!!!!
church is starting to hit the ball a lot better. much needed. maine is going to make this staff the best in the nl. they’ll need to be as the bottom of the line-up will struggle at times
Finally! Lets the games begin. I can’t wait. 2 days.
that was Rincon in the 9th btw, not Joe Smith as the electronic sources are saying…
I would be excited Nate, but since we no longer have Ruben Gotay (who by November we all realized didnt have a shot of making this team if there were to only be 13 position players) clearly we are going to be worse than the Pirates.
Ruben Gotay = World Series, you suck Omar
PS. Omar why havent you tried to trade Brian Stokes for Pujols, we need a better 1B than Delgado, do it Omar…or else you are the worst GM ever
This is such a good post, really. If I wanst familiar with you on this site, and I didnt know that you were being sarcastic, there is a good chance that I would have taken you seriously because that is what so many of the posts here look like. We have a fanbase that wants to be unhappy and miserable. Its sick.
To the person who mentioned that Heath Bell sucked in his 7 chances that we gave him…
While his numbers were not good I forget which stat guy did it, but someone did an analysis on Bell and concluded that he suffered an inordinate amount of hits that would normally be outs (mostly little dinkers, some errors, etc). He predicted that given another chance Bell would pitch effectively. While no one thought he’d become the force he was last year, at least one stat guy noticed that he’d be good.
As for my eyes, I liked his kind of funky delivery and thought the ball really zipped out of his hand. More importantly, I think we sold REALLY low on him and Ring by getting Ben Johnson and John Adkins for him. Even at the time (w/o Bell’s good season), that tried looked bad.
someone was probably looking at his BABIP (one of those newfangled nerdy nerd stats that those sabermetricians who live in their moms’ basements came up with) and realized that it was abnormally high. but hey, these new stats are useless. give me avg w/ risp and RBI!!!!!!!!1111
I hope this post was sarcastic
just a bit
I don’t think Gotay is the most special player in the world, but he can hit and is not as bad a fielder as some say he is (he is serviceable IMO). Overall, I would say that is a good backup. Considering that we are replacing him with Tatis or Clark I think is pretty weak. Lastly, every Mets fan has to know that Gotay will come through at least once for the Braves against the Mets…that is just how these things always work for us.
the mets needed a solid righthanded bat. gotay didn’t show he could hit from the right hand side, it was common knowledge. defense was subpar for 2b, little experience at ss and and the inability to make consistent contact from the right side all conspired to spell doom for gotay.
the braves need depth after losing omar infante to injury. who’s to say the braves don’t dump him when he comes back. not to mention, they also have brayan pena and martin prado on their roster who are basically gotay but with more experience and better defense. there’s not guarantee gotay lasts with the braves either.
With Clark or Tatis the Mets still need a solid RH bat.
that may be but gotay couldn’t do it either. i’m fine with gotay being gone. i liked his upside but i’m not crying over the 25th man on the roster. if he goes on to do some good things then good for him but i guarantee you that it’s not going to be overnight and there’s no guarantee he’s going to get the playing time necessary for him to develop his skills to reach that point.
in other words, you’re probably looking at a fringe major leaguer. he can hit, yes, but his deficiencies elsewhere will always give a manager pause in certain situations thus limiting his opportunities.
Gotay makes a servicable starting 2B, but we have Castillo locked up for 4 years. A backup should be in AAA, but Gotay is out of options. As a bench player, Gotay doesn’t fit because ideally he would need to have some pop and be a plus fielder or at least field many positions. As can be seen when he came off the bench after Castillo came over, he didn’t hit really bat that good off the bench and he will be in the same situation this year. Even though he is young, we really need some experienced guy to be able to hit in the clutch. Batting average doesn’t show everything. Late in the game you need some experienced guy that can moves guys over..take a walk .all the little things that Gotay is not ready for.
After the game baseball tonight said that the Mets are leaning towards Pelfrey as their fifth starter essentially saying that they want to give him a shot and look at what hes got knowing that they will have an El Duque with a couple of more spring training starts under his belt to call up if Pelfrey stinks it up.
it’s really not a bad idea, because you can allow El Duque to take it easy for a bit longer, and yeah, if Pelfrey does something, then great. There’s downside of course, because Pelfrey probably belongs in the minors, but I can see where they’d be coming from if they did that.
The Nats have given Nick Johnson the job at 1st. Think we can pry Dmitri Young away for insurance at 1st? The guy used to play the outfield (although that may be out of the question considering the shape he’s in) too.
NO thank you. It’s not like we have unlimited number of roster spots. A backup 1B with no other skills makes this team weaker, not stronger.
not to mention, he’s one of those guys who has weight issues and is always a benching away from being a bomb in the clubhouse. see detroit in 2006.
good hitter though.
wow I missed the game and was looking for a little insight on what happened, so I looked here.. big mistake. Guess I should know better by now, but that was one of the lamest, most obnoxious comments sections I’ve read in a long time guys. To read that, you’d have thought we lost the game!
I am looking forward to a well pitched season, and lots of low scoring, exciting baseball (like it should be, and like it used to be!) Welcome to the post-steroid era boys.
Omar is friends with Tatis and his family.
How else can I a non-roster “invitee” make the roster, despite being in camp for what seemed like only 15 minutes?
Omar is not racist. I really feel he is not. What Omar is guilty of IMHO is having too many friends who are over the hill, crappy ballplayers. See Lima, Jose… See Franco, Julio (who turned out to be a huge detriment in the clubhouse last season).
That Omar could not do better than Clark (who is not anything home to write about, either) or his buddy Tatis.. that is the big disappointment. I LOL at this sudden notion that Tatis, who at best was a marginal 3B in his heyday, is Mr. Versatility. I saw him in the OF a couple of times, and he looked real slow.
Gotay? I liked this kid off the bench last season. It should be about production, but with the Mets, I wonder about that sometimes. I’m more upset because they simply tossed Gotay to the curb, and got nothing in return.
I really, really hope that Tatis is nothing more than some early April Fools joke being played on Mets fans. He had one good year (1999?), and he is suspected of juicing. We didn’t want Mota here just because of that.
John Delcos in the LoHud Mets Blog on the Gotay move:
I can see both sides of the Gotay issue, but for me the downside in seeing the guy go is the potential problem at second base. Luis Castillo has two bum knees and is there anybody besides me who can’t see a breakdown there?
Yeah, there’s Anderson Hernandez in the minors, but he can’t hit. Gotay is no Gold Glover, but he’s not a butcher, either. I can see Hernandez kicking away more Met rallies with his bat than I can see Gotay blowing games with his glove.
Losing Gotay isn’t going to make or break this season, but he’s young and athletic. However, because he hasn’t had full time at-bats we don’t really know what to expect. Fernando Tatis, on the other hand, is 33 and coming off injuries. He’s been relatively non-existent the past few years.
I think Gotay can do more things overall, such as bunt and pinch-run.
I would think Gotay has a greater upside, and if the Mets really needed a Tatis-type player, they could get one at anytime. If not re-signing him later..
Gotay was picked in the 31st round in the 2000 amateur draft, and has mediocre numbers at every stop in the minors and majors, with the exception of last year where he hit lefties well. Somehow many of you are mistaking him for a real prospect.
This Delocs post–implying that he’s a better fielder than A. Hernandez and can bunt and pinch run is a little absurd. A bad attempt to make Gotay seem more valuable than he is.
If Gotay is so good, why didn’t other teams try to pick him up–the team with the worst record gets preference, and no one worse than the Braves wanted him. Wonder why….
Delcos is right on the money, IMO.
I was watching the Mets-Marlins game the other day, and there was Castillo limping around the bases, with a pained expression on his face.
NO WAY does he finish out that 4 year deal. I expect him to be on the shelf for 2-3 lengthy periods of time just because he has to rest his knees.
Shhh, the Gotay-haters might be listening. They don’t like logic or common sense.
***yawn*** is it opening day yet?
no one hates gotay. we’re just not drinking the kool-aid that deludes people into thinking he’s going to be the second coming of ryne sandberg.
you’re probably the same ones who were crying when keppinger got traded and cursing omar for that when he was an older version of gotay. some of us would rather focus on the players who are actually going to make a difference for this team.
Posting this to see what people’s thoughts are regarding the 25th man. Should it be a guy capable of lining a double off the bench at any time, or a jack of all trades guy like Chris Woodard or Super Joe McEwing, at least capable of making plays at the different positions ?
I have a feeling the dissatisfaction with Tatis is that his only positive is that he lines up at the plate from the 3rd base line vs the 1st base line. Considering he hasnt played in 3-4 seasons it’s hard to believe he is going to do much. And he has not demonstrated the versatility for the role he is being brought in to fill.
Being a fan since 1973, and having sufferend through the late 70’s and early 90’s teams, I think it is FANTASTIC that we are worrying about the 25th roster spot as an issue on this team.
I don’t really care if it’s Tatis, or Gotay or Charlie from Metsblog. It’s the 25th man, and he will make absolutely no difference in how the team finishes this year. Thanks for the entertainment on this issue. Let’s play ball, puh-lease.
I read on Sportsline that the Nats are actively shopping Felipe Lopez
Pros: 27 years old, a 20-20 threat with 40+ steal potential, switch hitter with career even avg splits against lefties and righties, and has played 2B, SS, and 3B. He hit > 20 HR twice in a 6 year career. 3.9 million 2008 salary means Nats might have to settle for 50 cents on the dollar in trade value. 2005 All-Star.
Cons: he’s due 3.9 million in 2008, he’s got a .100 BA as a PH (20 AB), and he’s coming off a bad year in RFK…and…the Nats see him as a bench/role player. Yikes…the Nats!
I personally think the Nats are delusional in their assessment of his talent (they’re playing Guzman over Lopez at SS and Beliard over Lopez at 2B), but who knows what we aren’t privy to. I can see him as a valuabe addition to the Mets roster in a utility role if we can get him on the (relative) cheap. Spell Castillo at 2B, Reyes at SS. He’d be an above-average replacement should someone go down for a while. Since he seems to have positional flexibility, maybe he can shag flies in the OF and learn to play RF on days we face lefties (I realize I’m stretching). Maybe he’s less likely to whine about playing time on a contender. I’d really rather find a guy like Lopez than a Woodward/McEwing clone.
Any interest/thoughts?
sign me up. only problem is…you know who they’re going to ask for first.
first name: aaron.
last name: heilman.