Matthew Cerrone

Note: The 2008 New York Mets
By Matthew Cerrone - Mar 30, 2008 12:21 pm

According to the team, Orlando Hernandez, Duaner Sanchez and Ramon Castro will begin the season on the 15–day disabled list.

As such, Raul Casanova, Mike Pelfrey, Joe Smith and Brady Clark have been added to the team’s 25-man roster.

Clark will wear No. 44, i.e., R.I.P. Lastings Milledge.

Therefore, the following will be the 2008 New York Mets:

Starting Pitchers: Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Pelfrey

Relief Pitchers: Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoenweiss, Jorge Sosa, Matt Wise and Smith

Starting Lineup: Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Angel Pagan and Brian Schneider.

Bench Players: Brady Clark, Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley and Casanova.

For what it’s worth, Brian Stokes was designated for assignment while Fernando Tatis, Ricardo Rincon and Nelson Figueroa were sent to minor league camp for reassignment.

RSS feed

69 Comments »

Comment by vitto79
2008-03-30 12:23:32

Good moves

The reason they let Register and Gotay go now is because with everyone healhty they have no room….SO they would of been out of options soon anyways

Had to be done people and atleast they were fair to them………

SO keep the guys up that have minor league options

When Duque is back in two weeks Pelfrey is down

When Sanchez is back Smith is down

When Alou is back Clark is down or allectcs FA

When Castro is back Casanova is down

I like Clark over Tatis and when I saw him playing yesterday I figured he made it plus Tatis has a minor league deal

I guess Figueroa could of started but the way they were using him was in relief lately………..

Also Sosa can help Pelfrey if he needs it…………..and Scho had a good spring and according to him he was hurt most of last yr so let the guy try and redeem himself

Comment by Nate W.
2008-03-30 12:49:41

I see Pagan going down with Alou comes back. He has options, isnt really a bench player, and he’ll be hitting .225 anyway.

The guy ended ST hitting .329 which is down from something like .425 at the mid point of ST. He there is no way he is hitting anything over ~.260 the second half of ST…

It doesnt seem to follow that you take a slumping player with options over other big league choices…

Comment by metinDC23
2008-03-30 13:59:07

Agree- Clark is more the type of player they need on the bench. Pagan is kind of redundant since they have endy…

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by thrilledge 4 prez
2008-03-30 15:48:33

nobody can fill the shoes of blastings thrilledge…its like letting a bench player on the bulls wear 23.

 
Comment by cyclone
2008-03-30 19:12:13

zzzz @ crappings milledge…. he will be exposed soon enough.

 
 
Comment by TilMetsDoUsPart
2008-03-30 22:12:07

Pagan has spent his whole career on the bench. Let him temperature control it once more!!!!

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by Nate W.
2008-03-30 14:01:54

Delcos is reporting that the three suspected guys have been officially put on the DL. And Stokes has been DFA.

mets.lohudblogs.com/2008/03/30/roster-moves-2/#comments

 
 
Comment by stickguy
2008-03-30 12:37:23

overall, given the players available, this is probably the right roster to go with. Tatis would have been a mistake. I still would have liked Register to get a shot, but that isn’t likely to make or break the team.

Only real concern is Pelfrey. He is only keeping the seat warm until ED comes back, so I would have gone with Figgy or Sosa, or even better 4 starters, until they really needed the #5.

I guess it is a low risk option to see if Pelfrey can handle real games yet. He will have 2-3 starts, and then goes to AAA.

Unless the Mets don’t expect to ever see ED again, it is just a bit curious, but they seem fine with sending Pelfrey up and down.

As a fan, I can only hpe he pitches so good that it makes the decision tough though!

 
Comment by stickguy
2008-03-30 12:41:00

Also, better hope that DW and Jose stay healthy, and that Wright wants to play every inning, since there isn’t a BU 3B to be found, and Easley as the SS and 3B guy is pushing your luck.

 
Comment by Nate W.
2008-03-30 12:45:10

Clark doesnt make much sense, the guy has no pop and that would be the one thing that Tatis could provide the bench. The bench completely lacks any power threat.

Not to mention carrying 6 OF’s when versatility was a big talking point for Omar the last couple of days. We were double crossed!

Comment by guierllNO MOta
2008-03-30 13:43:15

are you counting marlon an OF? he is nothing more than a pinch hitter, he actually provides the least versatility and Brady Clark can play a modicum of 1B as well. Clark was a great move.

My only complaint is Joe SMith who had a good spring last year and then produced nothing after May in the majors, actually he cost the mets a ton of games later on, AFTER he was given “rest” in the minors.

oh well, he’s only here till May when Duaner or Juan Padilla is ready.

Comment by MudvilleNine
2008-03-30 16:37:41

Why would you say that Clark can play any firstbase? Because he bought a firstbaseman’s glove? Didnt he say he played a few innings at first in the winter league a few years back? He’s never played there in the majors or minors. He played a couple of innings at thirdbase 6 or 7 years ago, should we say he can play third too? But you are right when you say Anderson is just a pinch hitter, though I think he does just as good a job at shagging flyballs as Alou does, so you could say he was an OF if we call Alou one.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by Ryan Scott
2008-03-30 12:46:21

Where is Pagan?

Comment by ravi3
2008-03-30 12:50:58

Starting lineup

 
Comment by Steal Home Jose!
2008-03-30 13:49:03

Are you Mike, or the Mad Dog?

Comment by Charlie
2008-03-30 14:32:55

very funny SHJ! very funny.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by Ceetar
2008-03-30 12:47:36

You know, we’ve been bitching about Age all week, but they go with Pagan, and Joe Smith, and Pelfrey after all.

 
Comment by InsaneMetsFan
2008-03-30 12:51:16

GO BIG PLEF!

Please everyone keep focus, the Mets desperately need Mike Pelfrey to be a part of this rotation in 2009. Pedro, El Duque, and Perez are all free agents after 2008. The only one of the three likely to return is Pedro, leaving only Santana, Pedro, and Maine in the rotation (They won’t want El Duque back and Perez’s agent is Scott Boras).

If Pelfrey can step up and prove he can be a reliable MLB starter then the Mets will only need to look for 1 starter for 2009.

Comment by TobeRinkler
2008-03-30 13:25:53

And I need four brand new Armani cashmere sportcoats by next tuesday. Based on realities, neither look like possibilities at this point. (But I hope I’m wrong on both counts.)

 
Comment by MetsRmilife
2008-03-30 13:34:16

Lets get through this season before we are dissecting the 09 rotation

 
 
Comment by CitizenSnips
2008-03-30 12:56:18

Anyone have a good example of a pitcher like Pelfrey that kept getting shots at the majors and just couldn’t make it? I like this team’s attitude to keep trying but eventually if the guy can’t make it he’s not worth it.

Comment by sincekindergarten
2008-03-30 13:00:57

In his defense, how old is Pelf? 24? And just how long was Pelf in the minors before he came up for the first time–half a year, maybe?

I didn’t know that El Duque was on the DL.

 
Comment by anais
2008-03-30 13:18:13

A few pitchers who were awful in their first two or more years in the majors:

John Maine
Johan Santana
Greg Maddux

Comment by Massey
2008-03-30 13:33:00

Maddux became an ace at 22. Maine was a 6th round pick, and his career had an unexpected turnaround at 24. Santana was undrafted and an all-star in AAA at 22, ace at 23. Pelfrey was a high 1st round pick, and was 3-6 with a 4.01 ERA in AAA last year (at 23) and we all know how his year went last year with the Mets.

His career isn’t exactly meeting expectations so far.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by anais
2008-03-30 13:46:12

Meeting unrealistic expectations is always difficult. Pelfrey has 2 years of pro experience — less than 300 career innings including the majors and minors. Maybe he’ll never adjust, but he certainly isn’t a “bust” yet.

 
 
Comment by cver
2008-03-30 16:54:41

SANDY FRIGGIN KOUFAX
NOLAN RYAN!

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by getupkids026
2008-03-30 13:45:18

two that quickly come to mind are roy halladay (whom pelf resembles in size and stuff) and chris carpenter. let me think on it a little more and i could come up with a few morw.

Comment by Nate W.
2008-03-30 13:51:10

I thought of Halladay as well, but he was good, then tanked completely, and was then awsome.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Roy-Halladay.shtml

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by Nate W.
2008-03-30 13:48:38

Chris Carpenter is a decent comparisons IMO.
He was a 15th overall pick.

At age 22 he went 3-7 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.78 whip in 13 starts including one complete game shutout. (also 4-9, 4.50 ERA, 1.38 whip at AAA) Looks alot like Pelfrey last year.
age 23 he went 12-7 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.36 whip in 24 starts and 9 relief appearances. (nice year)
age 24: 9-8, 4.38 ERA, 1.50 whip in 24 starts.
age 25: 10-12, 6.36 ERA, 1.64 whip in 27 starts and 7 reliefs.

Not exactly the ace we know him as today. But it wasnt until the age of 29 and a full year of rehab that he turned the corner.

Comment by Necciai27
2008-03-30 20:58:18

Carpenter is a good comp, but I thought of two that go back a bit further: Claude Osteen and Jim Kaat. Osteen was never really given the shots he deserved with Cincinnati, pitched like crap there, and got traded to the Dodgers, where he turned into a what today would be an ace caliber pitcher (having Koufax and Drysdale ahead of you in the rotation kinda has a tendency to make people forget you).

Jim Kaat was a borderline Hall of Fame caliber pitcher. He was given shot after shot and failed three seasons in a row pretty miserably (well, kinda…he was dreadful the first half of 1961, but then pitched well down the stretch). He finally put it together in his third season after controlling his two breaking pitches (12-to-6 curve and slider). Also, unlike Osteen, Kaat put it together with the same team and same pitching coach (though his manager changed from Cookie Lavagetto to Sam Mele in mid 1961).

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Necciai27
2008-03-30 21:02:24

Correction, Osteen was traded to the Senators, put it together there, then went to LA.

 
 
 
 
Comment by zen
2008-03-30 12:58:41

i’d like to see an agreement btw the players and owners to get rid of the dh in the american league and add an additional roster spot on all teams.

it’s silly that it’s still 25 man roster with the way bullpens are used. reyes and wright were supposed to get more rest this year. at leas coming out of blow-out games if not days off. who plays ss and 3rd? just easley?

regardless. solid team especially the starting pitchers and top of the line-up

Comment by stickguy
2008-03-30 13:06:17

I agree about