Daily Archives: April 3, 2008
Braves LHP Mike Hampton was scratched from his scheduled start against the Pirates tonight, which would have been his first major-league start in two years.
Meanwhile, at his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos asks his readers, “As a fan, do you fear the Braves? Do you think the Mets are beyond the Braves mentally?”
…yes…in fact, i am more worried about the Braves in 2008 than i am worried about the Phillies…a) because of pitching…b) because of Bobby Cox…i like atlanta’s pitching far, far more than philidelphia’s, and as long as cox is in the NL East he will concern me…there is just something about this Braves team that alarms me…maybe it’s Mark Teixiera in a walk year, with Scott Boras as his client…maybe it’s Chipper Jones, lingering in the comments section of a blog taunting David Wright…maybe it’s young hitters like Yunel Escobar and Brian McCann, plus a veteran pitching staff…whatever it is, like i said, they worry more than the Phillies…
…of course, i essentially said that last year as well…so, you know…
According to Jayson Stark at ESPN.com, the Mets continue to show interest in RHP Claudio Vargas, adding:
“Their plan would be merely to add him to their Triple-A inventory, along with Tony Armas Jr. and Brian Stokes…There are no indications, meanwhile, that the Mets are pursuing any of the other unemployed or dfa’d starters out there: David Wells, Jeff Weaver, Robinson Tejada, etc.”
…a pedro contingency plan should be the team’s highest priority right now, and i bet omar’s blackberry is on 24/7…
…thanks once again to Peter Wade for the link…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Orlando Hernandez will make his first rehab start for Single-A St. Lucie Mets tonight at Tradition Field.
Before last night’s game, Orlando Hernandez told reporters he intends to make three minor-league rehab starts before rejoining the major-league club.
…so, as i said last night, this suggests he will be unavailable until at least the middle of April, which means the Mets will only need to start Nelson Figueroa once, on April 12, assuming a) the Mets push up their rotation, to start Oliver Perez next Tuesday in the home opener, and b) el duque does not suffer a set back…
Tagged Orlando Hernandez |
…from what i can gather, while he’d love to re-join his old organization, more realistically in Triple-A, there have been no discussions between Edgardo Alfonzo’s representatives and the Mets…
…which is good and bad i, i guess…i mean, emotionally speaking, i’d love to see fonzi in a Mets uniform one more time…on other the hand, there is a reason he has just 11 major-league hits since leaving the Giants in 2005…
The Mets will recognize William A. Shea in a pre-game, on-field ceremony prior to the final Opening Day at Shea Stadium, during which the Shea family will unveil the Shea name above the left-field wall.
According to a team press release, “The circular logo with the name “Shea” will be located alongside the only retired numbers in the 45 seasons of Shea Stadium,” while Bill Shea Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season.
Tagged Shea Stadium |Yesterday in Detroit, Royals RHP Brian Bannister allowed no runs and two hits through seven innings while striking out four.
Mets GM Omar Minaya traded Banniser to Kansas City in December, 2006, in exchange for RHP Ambiorix Burgos, 
who has pitched in just 17 games for New York, and who will miss most of this season following Tommy John surgery.
In 27 starts for the Royals last season, Bannister was 12–9 with a 3.87 ERA, though he struggled in September going 1–2 in five starts with a 7.30 ERA.
In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish writes that it may still be premature to fully evaluate the Bannister-for-Burgos deal.
…i have been sent a lot of e-mail in the last day whining that minaya traded away bannister and does not get enough flack for it, which i think is mostly heightened by the sudden need for a fifth starter…
…i’m not sure why some people operate with the idea that every trade will be a gem…bad trades happen…especially when scouts and executives put so much stock in ‘stuff,’ like they all do…
…yes, the Mets should regret trading bannister, just like they should regret trading Heath Bell, as they will both likely continue to be poor trades…
…at the same time, they should continue to believe in burgos, and Jason Vargas, while boasting about deals that brought in Duaner Sanchez (for Jae Seo), John Maine (for Kris Benson), Johan Santana (for four minor leaguers), and Xavier Nady (for Mike Cameron), who helped get Oliver Perez…
…again, bad trades happen, but good trades happen too…it’s all part of the game…you take the good with the bad and hope it all comes out in your favor in the end…
Tagged Omar Minaya |Carlos Beltran was robbed of a home run during last night’s 13–0 win over the Marlins in Miami.
…as i wrote last night, the ball, which clearly bounced off the railing in center field, was initially called a home run…however, 
with beltran back on the bench, after having rounded the bases, all four umps gathered on the infield and reversed the call…look, even without instant replay, logic should dictate that any ball bouncing directly 20 feet up in the air had to have done so by ricocheting off metal, not the padded wall…
Willie Randolph, who jogged out to discuss the call, speaking with reporters after last night’s win, said:
“It’s funny, the guy thats closest to the ball saw it as a home run, and he let the other guys over-rule him, which I didn’t understand…He made some excuse about, they weren’t moving. I guess, when you’re running out to the position, which you should be, I guess your head moves…What are ya gonna do, it didn’t hurt us.”
According to the Daily News and Star-Ledger, Beltran, who had already been in favor of instant replay for such occasions, is now 100 percent in favor of instant replay for such occasions.
According to Brian Moritz from the Press & Sun Bulletin, the Mets Double-A affiliate will remain in Binghamton, NY, through 2010.
Fernando Martinez and the B-Mets will open their season Friday against the Trenton Thunder at NYSEG Stadium.
MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin interviewed several players from Binghamton, including Martinez and Jon Neise, complete with video and pictures, all of which will be posted to MetsBlog in the next few days.
For more on the Binghamton Mets, check out Moritz’s blog about the B-Mets for the Press & Sun Bulletin.
…in an effort to track Willie Randolph’s Job Approval Rating among fans, i plan to run the following poll at the end of every series and will track the results with a graphic in the sidebar…
[poll=66]
Tagged Poll, Willie Randolph |During last night’s 13–0 win over the Marlins, Oliver Perez pitched 
six scoreless innings, and allowed five hits and one walk while striking out eight…
…as i said last night, his slider was terrific, changing speeds, and all around the zone…his success his two fold, a) remain focused, and b) get the best from his slider…that’s all…and he did that last night…
Willie Randolph, on Perez, following last night’s game:
“Man, I could bottle that and put it away…He was awesome tonight…All his pitches were pretty crisp, even his change up…He stayed in his rhythm the majority of the game, that’s the real key for him…He needs to mature. That’s a big part of his development. He needs to be able, when things go wrong, to lock back in and stay focused on the task at hand. Obviously, he’s very capable of doing that, which he showed tonight. He just needs to be able to do it more consistently.”
According to Filip Bondy in the Daily News, last night’s performance by Perez was just what the Mets needed following the disappointing news about Pedro Martinez’s hamstring injury.
David Wright essentially agreed, saying the following, as quoted by the New York Post:
“It was big of Oliver Perez to do what he did…To do it on the same day Pedro went down makes it that much bigger.”
…i tend to agree…i mean, personally, i was feeling a tad dejected prior to last night’s game, which is not to say i was pessimistic…i was just, blah, a bit bummed by the set back…however, i feel much better today, while daydreaming of how great i believe perez, John Maine and Johan Santana can be together…it was sort of like ollie’s outing smacked me in the face and woke me up…thanks, opie…
Tagged Oliver Perez, Willie Randolph | ← Older posts
