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Angel Pagan is the first player in 39 years to score and drive in a run during each of his first four games with a new team.
In 22 plate appearances this season, Pagan is batting .313 with six RBI, four walks and two doubles.
…had he not had such a hot spring, i would be reserved in how i judge pagan…but, he had talent years ago, did well with the Cubs, continued to evolve, hit great in the spring, in which he hustled and played hard, and now it continues through the first week of the season…i’m not saying he’s going to be on the All-Star team, but i’m more confidnent in his ability to play every day than i thought i would ever be…
Jose Reyes has reached base just seven times in 24 plate appearances, including just one walk and no stolen bases, while hitting .238.
Meanwhile, Luis Castillo is batting .190 with a .261 OBP.
…if these two do not get on base, the Mets do not score consistently…it’s that sikmple, and we all know it…get it out of your system, boys…
Carlos Beltran is 5 for 7 against lefties, but just 2 for 12 against righties.
Carlos Delgado is batting .350, but with one extra base.
Speaking of Delgado, read the New York Post and Newsday.
In 22 plate appearances, Ryan Church is batting .381, while going 2 for 8 with three RBI against left-handed pitching.
So far, Reyes of 2008 is looking the same as Reyes of late 2007 – no smiles and no confidence…he needs to start getting some hits and be more patient at the plate…
Agreed. This team is playing a lot like they did the end of last year. Maybe Pedro going down has disheartened them, I don’t know. What I do know is that this isn’t the way the fans were expecting the season to start.
As for Delgado, if he can hit .300 and drive in runs with the homers, that’s fine by me. Yeah, the homers are nice, but it’s the RBIs that concern me. We already have a high average guy with little production in Castillo.
Church has been a pleasant surprise. I would still rather have Milledge, but the trade hurts a little less right now.
Jose has me me worried right now. He pops up way to much, much like the second half last year. I hope Hojo fixes that asap.
I wish I could go back in time to April 2007. I’m 99.99999% positive you’d see posts in every thread stating that “so far, David Wright of 2007 is looking the same as David Wright of late 2006″ and talking about how he has no power, and they hope the coaches could fix it. Well, it got fixed, and he worked it out just fine. Let’s give Jose some time.
Amen. Thank you for posting this.
I’m willing to give him time and then some. I am a patient fan and I love Jose. I am just observing things with him that I don’t like. I want to see him look like he’s having fun again. I don’t know if it’s pressure or what, but this is a place where coaching / mentoring etc. plays a big role and I’m sure he’s getting it. He just needs to go back to being himself again. Yeah, cut out some of the blatant showmanship, which he’s done, but have fun and hit more balls on the ground already.
I agree with you about that. But I think part of it is that he’s pressing, I think he wants so badly to start hitting again, and that’s effecting every part of his approach to the game. I think once he lets it come to him again, you’ll see him loosen up and start smiling again.
We’re all making valid points here. Yes, giving him time is the right thing to do – the key here is that we’re comparing his first week with his last week, and I’m sure we were all hoping not to see identical hitting trends – but unfortunately, so far, we are! I didn’t watch too much ST, but Jose wasn’t lights out in those games either….I just hope he gets out of this and gets his sh*t together. I’m sure we’re all hoping for a .400 OBP from him this year… And dammit, I’ve read it a few times in the comments section, but I gotta mention it too – Castillo gotta start swinging the bat. Jeez – with Wright, Beltran, and Delgado behind him, he has to figure he’s gonna see strikes. Stop bunting and start swinging little man!
While it may be early in the season to be concerned, I think we have a right to be. Last season’s collapse was horrible, and thus far, they have done nothing to show that anything has changed. Yeah, we have Santana, but we can’t expect him to throw a shutout every game. At some point, this team has to show some inspired play. If that’s Willie’s fault or not, I don’t know. I tend to subscribe to the “players play, managers manage” school of thought. Maybe we need a brawl with Philly to wake this team up. Too bad Pedro is the only one with the guys to drill someone… then again, Pelfrey might do it by accident…
regarding beltran, i think it’s more that he hits better as a lefty. i would leave him on the left side 100% and forget switchhitting
i agree completely! just because you CAN switch hit doesn’t mean you HAVE to. if he’s successful one way, stay that way! and the most disturbing thing about the Met’s BA now is Castillo. wow, i hope he comes out of this, cuz he is horrible! get the ball past the mound buddy!
No, he is a natural right handed hitter. He is 5-for-7 against lefthanders so far (batting from the right side).
Guy’s been raking from both sides for 10 years.
maybe he’s struggling against righties but hitting well against lefties because so far he’s faced righthanders like Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, while facing lefties like Mark Hendrickson and Andrew Miller…
Stop it. You are making too much sense. Let us have our grim outlook and pessimism.
Either you guys are on crack or you’re not realizing that he’s hitting .600 off righties this year…
lefties…
Bottom line. We can talk about pitching depth, righties off the bench, bullpen moves, ect.
You’re not going to win jack squad when your #1 and #2 hitters are hitting about .200 collectively.
It’s so tremendously early. We’ve scored a bunch of runs, just in bunches (if you follow). It will all even out.
I realize this. But I’m just saying, any 5 game stretch where Reyes-Castillo play as they’ve played, we’re not going to win many of those games. It’s not a procolamation for 162 games.
jack squat (sorry)
its obviously early and wright was AWFUL last april so things can turn around. but because of how reyes finished last year im a little worried. reyes needs to just play his game and not worry about what people think of him bc id rather have a 300 hitting leadoff man making the opposing team angry than a 250 hitting leadoff man thats “behaving”.
You are right, Is it just me or does the new Reyes remind you of Pedro Cerrano in Major league II. Going around on a love fest for all his fellow players. That movie sucked compared to the origional also.
haha the only flaw with that analogy is that delgado looks EXACTLY like david palmer i mean pedro cerrano so i cant help but associate delgado with cerrano.
You are right they do look a like.
HoJo needs to take a page outta the Major League script and make Jose do 20 pushups every time he hits the ball in the air… seriously though
that’s so funny, david palmer…you are right though, they do look alike
It is even funnier if you think about Maine and Schneider running out to KFC because Delgado want’s to sacrifice a live chicken in the club house.
Uh, KFC doesn’t sell live chickens…
looks like someone didnt see major league, which i thought was a pre-requisite for being a baseball fan.
I feel like Castillo doesn’t even try and get a hit when he is up there. He’s either going for the walk, the bunt, or just banging it into the ground and hoping for the best. His foul balls don’t even have any air under them. The bounce right at the catcher’s feet because he is falling away to the right side trying to Ichiro. And of course the one time when it would have been ok to bang it into the ground and roll it to second base he hits it in the air and it’s to short for Santana to tag
The way that Castillo is hitting you feel like you are watching girls softball with that Drag/ slap hit bunt thing.
Well we know that Castillo is not “done”. He is what he is, a career .300+ hitter. It will even out.
I wouldnt mind seeing Pagan get a chance in the #2 hole in Castillo keeps this up for a few more days.
I don’t agree with people that Castillo is the prototypical number 2 hitter. Maybe he was like 3 years ago. He has no pop at all and can’t even drive the ball. At least Paulie (in ‘06) could drive one into the gaps. You’re number 2 hitter is someone that puts the ball in play, but you want your number 2 to put the ball in play for hits, line drives, not slaptastic hitting.
Also, obviously not anytime soon, but like seeing how the month goes, maybe put Church 5 and Delgado 6 on a day with a righty on the mound?
Let’s come out tomorrow and spank Philly, nothing like a good, solid like 5-2 win over the Phils to quiet the “worries”.
LET’S GO METS
You also want your #2 hitter to have a good OBP. LoDuca never took a walk, thus his OBP always sucked. At least Castillo will take walks.
true, but Castillo last year right around the same OBP as Paulie did in 2006. I know he can take walks, but he can’t walk every at bat. Hitting .190 won’t get you an OBP of .360. But I agree, he does work the count very well.
2006 was one of LoDucas best years in recent memory . He won’t likely reproduce that. In in Castillos’ case, he is a career .294 hitter and hit .301 last year. His .190 batting average right now is not going to stay there. And for what it’s worth, LoDuca is hitting .167 thus far.
Very true Mister Koo. Valid point. All I am saying is yes that is his career, and hopefully he will keep it up and produce this year and replicate those numbers, but we are worried about this year. Delgado had 10 seasons of 30+ HR’s and 100 RBI’s. You worry about declines. I hope Castillo does give us a near .300 average with a .360 OBP, especially him being here for the next 4 years. It starts tomorrow. Hopefully hitting can be contagious and this lineup can all click together at the same time.
Pagan’s screamer last night in the 9th would have tied the game if the braves hadn’t made the real gem of a play at first.
That was Schneider
it’s easy to get them confused though, since they look so much alike
lol,
I watched the game after the fact looking for “that” play. I thought it was Pagan and was confused when he walked…I saw that schneider hit the screamer but my brain couldn’t get Pagan out of my mind..
Point was though- the braves won the game with that play…balls goes (should have) through and we are tied. That was one great stop darn it!
I know its early and I really like Willie Randolph but I have to say that he’s made huge blunders the past two games.
7th inning Saturday, none out, two on in a 5-3 game and Reyes is bunting? Worse yet, what if Reyes tried that play on his own!!!!
What sense is it to give up an out to put runners in position for Castillo who is hitting .190 when Reyes is more a threat and a feared bat and could draw a walk to load the bases. Moylan was under pressure why bunt? Just insane.
Johan Santana had to make an incredible play in the 3rd inning sunday to save a run because the Mets have NO WHEEL PLAY!!!!
After 3 seasons you’d think Willie would put that play in but nope no wheel play. What if Santana tore an ACL catching a ball that should be the 3rd baseman’s ball.
Willie also has this “thing” with leaving relievers in the game too long. Aaron Heilman in the 8th inning got both right-handed hitters out. Up comes Chipper who batted lefty. Heilman showed in that at-bat that his stuff was not clicking for lefties.
Which means that he couldn’t bust Chipper inside for a pop out.
Clearly, after you see this and the fact that Chipper walks and another power-hitting lefty is up and Heilman can’t go inside, then it would make sense to bring in Feliciano to turn Teixeira around. But of course that didn’t make sense so Heilman tries to go inside to get a pop up and Teixeira muscles him out of the park.
I know its early but I’m annoyed. I have to say that I would advocate a mid-season change if Willie keeps making these little mistakes that really end up being huge when you look back on the game.
I know Willie can do the job but he needs to step up.
Okay lets see. Saturday, the so called book says to bunt in that situation. A lot of guys complain on here that Willie goes by his gut too much when the book says different. The book says bunt with your leadoff hitter because he may be able to beat it out but at least you moved the runners up for your 2 and 3 hitters. Yes I know Reyes is a better hitter and Castillo is having problems but you have to expect your 2 and 3 hitters to get one hit between them.
As for the wheel play, well there are a lot of teams that dont use it, but that is neither here nor there. No manager would have called the wheel play in that situation and here’s why. You have a left handed gold glove winner on the mound. Being left handed he is falling off the mound to the thirdbase side and when he fields the ball he is already in position to throw to third. The thirdbaseman on the wheel play would have to turn 180 degrees to throw back to third, and a right handed pitcher would have to turn all the way around to throw to third. So in that situation, no manager calls the wheel play.
As for Heilman, he’s clearly afraid of Chipper so he walks him. As for keeping him in against Texiera, well Heilman is suppose to be our best reliever behind Wagner. Texiera hits better for average right handed but does homer more left handed, a basic toss-up, though as said and thought, you had your best set-up guy on the hill. You could bring Feliciano in but if Tex gets a hit, there are 2 right handed hitters coming up next, and now you have to bring in a lesser reliever to face the number 5 hitter in their lineup. Looking at all those possibilities, leaving Heilman in is the correct decision.
So all three points came down to the execution of the players which didnt happen. Willie may have to go eventually, but lets blame him for what he really screws up and not for just everything.
Interesting but i disagree with you.
Saturday, with two on and none out you don’t have to bunt. Moylan was getting wild so why GIVE Moylan an out when he’s struggling. Secondly, Moylan struggles against lefties and kills righties. Giving up Reyes when Moylan couldn’t throw a strike(both strikes on Reyes were failed bunt attempts) to face a slumping right-handed bat is not good baseball.
Let’s clarify the Wheel play. Its designed to prevent the pitcher from fielding a suicide bunt. If you recall, Cox had the Suicide play on. So instead of Santana diving to stop a ball, it would have been an easy play for David Wright.
Cox knows Randolph doesn’t use the Wheel so he tried the suicide bunt. If there was a runner on second base then you would not use the wheel play, you would concede a run to prevent the second run from scoring. There was only one runner on at 3rd base so your argument doesn’t make sense.
The Chipper at-bat can be debated. However, when you see your pitcher doesn’t have his fastball working on lefties then perhaps it woud make sense to change the plan or call an “audible.” It wouldn’t hurt Willie to examine the intangibles every now and then.
Players sometimes need to be managed to success they can achieve at that time and not just expectations.
Baseball is not that simple sometimes. Its those moments that make great managers stand out from the pack.
Willie needs to get out of the pack.
If we go back to Saturday I am sure the book says somewhere not to let your reliever load the freakin bases then give up a Grand Slam to someone who was hurt and should be on the DL reading freakin books.
Agreed. But everyone in America could see Sosa was not sharp except one man….everyone in America could see Johnson is a lefty and Sosa is a righty except one man……..Every Met fan knew Feliciano was in the bullpen perhaps with the exception of one man…….but I digress.
Thank you, sounds like I was not the only one yelling at my TV.
LOL, ok, its obvious you really havent played the game. If the bunt is called, the batter is suppose to bunt at strikes. If the pitches he attempted at werent strikes then thats Reyes fault. If the pitches were called balls, the count would have been 2-0 and the bunt might have been taken off. As for the slumping right handed bat, well Castillo is a switch hitter (are you sure you even watch the games?) and would have been batting lefty and Wright can hit lefties and righties and wasn’t in a slump at that point.
You totally lost any credibility to me when you described the wheel play. The wheel play is used when you have a man on secondbase and you’re trying to prevent him from going to third. It has nothing to do with a suicide squeeze. You do know that a suicide squeeze is used as a suprise tactic? You cant call a play for the thirdbaseman to charge on the pitch if you dont know the squeeze is coming. Its a good way to get the thirdbaseman killed.
As for the Heilman thing, he just got two batters easy, and was basically pitching around Chipper cause he was scared. Had nothing to do with his fastball command. He was trying to get him to chase, he didnt want to throw him a strike, that was clear. He stays in, there was no decision to be made.
Sorry, that was my resonse to Metchamp78
Jim, I was and it’s getting old.
Agreed, I have always been a Willie supporter but his style and lack of energy is getting to me early this year. I know we are only 5 games in and everyone is going to straighten out, but with the past these guys should be playing a little more inspired out of the gate.
MudvilleNine.
You assume Cox is stupid. If Reyes reached then Cox would have gotten a lefty for Castillo if Castillo was hitting. But with Castillo NOT hitting and Reyes already out why tinker? DUH. Willie made the decision for Cox!!!!!!
Willie… “here bobby have two outs”
Cox…..”thanks Willie, I needed to save my arms”
If you watched the game saturday Reyes bunted foul twice when he tried to bunt balls OUT of the strike zone. Is that Willies fault no. But clearly Reyes was upset that he had to bunt in that spot and clearly Randolph was annoyed that Reyes didn’t get the bunt down.
Castillo hitting lefty or righty is still hitting .190!!!!
So your point is what?
The Wheel has different versions depending on the situation. I’m talking about firstbase and thirdbase charging the bunt with second base covering first. there were no other runners on and the batter was claerly bunting. Why not have your fielders in to cover the bunt.
Bobby Valentine used it all the time. Its quirky but it worked. My only reason for suggesting it was to save our pitchers from having to field balls like Johan did saturday.
Again, just because a bunt is called, doesnt mean the batter has to bunt the ball no matter where the pitch is, you only do that on a squeeze play. You only bunt at a pitch in the strike zone. I was watching the game, didnt look to me like Reyes was upset he had to bunt, looked more upset afterwards that he didnt get it down. No I dont think Cox is stupid, in fact if he was managing the Mets he would have called for the bunt as well. Oh and dont throw an average at me, you have to expect your #2 hitter to get a base hit in that situation otherwise he shouldnt be hitting there, so if you want to say he shouldnt be batting second then thats fine, but to say bunting isnt the right play is wrong.
As for the wheel play, again, there are no “different versions”. The wheel play is only used with a man on secondbase, period. The thirdbaseman charges, the shortstop goes to cover third, the secondbaseman goes to second so the runner cant get off the base as far as he wants, the firstbaseman stays at first, and the pitcher covers the firstbase side for the bunt. Thats it, thats the wheel play, there are no other versions. Its used to combat a bunter who would normally bunt the ball to third to make the thirdbaseman field the ball so no one would be covering third, thus moving the runner up. The wheel play just rotates the infield the opposite way so the SS is covering third. Thing is with a lefty gold glove pitcher on the mound, that play is not needed. I understand you not wanting a pitcher to get hurt fielding bunts but thats part of the game. A pitcher will always have to field bunts, and actually on that bunt, Johan fielded it pretty easily. It was the grounder up the middle that he dove for and got with the runner on third.
Rereading your last post I noticed you said bunting with no one on. Well thats called bunting for a hit and there are no set plays for that. Thats a reaction play by the pitcher, thirdbaseman, catcher, and firstbaseman, depending on where it was bunted. What you described is the normal bunt defense with a runner on first. First and third do charge with the secondbaseman covering first, but that doesnt mean the pitcher has the play off. He may have to field it and is charging as well in hopes of being able to make the play at second. But even so, thats not called a wheel play.
MudvilleNine.
I played HS baseball and my coach had 4 versions of the wheel play. Maybe you’re not aware of it but when a runner on third breaks for the plate for a bunt then thats a suicide squeeze. The Braves telegraphed the play, Castillo read the play and ran to cover first while Delgado and Wright charged at the last minute(I just watched it). First and third charging and 2b covering first is a wheel play. Its only called a wheel because the 2b covers first. All plays that have another position covering a different base is termed a version of a wheel play.
The very next pitch, the Met infield played straight up. The batter showed bunt again. No one charged. Santana diving to make any play in the field is a BAD idea. I don’t care what you say.
As far as Castillo’s hitting, if your gonna tell me that Bobby Cox wouldn’t have gotten a lefty for him if he was swinging well, then thats your opinion. The bottomline is Reyes failed to give himself up and was pissed and hit a liner to center and Cox felt Moylan could handle Castillo. When you oppenent doesn’t respect you enough to turn you around and make Castillo hit from his weak side then that says it all.
Cox didn’t flinch for Castillo.
Another Wheel play is when a batter hits a single with two out and a runner on and the runner tries to take second on the throw to home but the throw is cut off and the runner is thrown out at second. Thats another wheel play.
Go to metstoday.com and get a little better understanding of the wheel play
Metschamp, as I was reading this little feud, it seems more and more clear to me that you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. First of all, Santana pitched yesterday, not Saturday. Problem #1: be clear what freaking day you’re talking about. Secondly, the play you just described is a standard infield set up when (at ANY time) the ball goes into the outfield. It’s not called a wheel play. A wheel play is only applied for bunts – and only when there’s a force at 3B or home. You’ll see managers put on the wheel sometimes to try to force the runner at home, but it’s very rare, simply because a squeeze is rare. When you apply the wheel, 99% of the time, the goal is to get the runner forced out at 3B. A play when the 1B and 3B charge on a bunt and there’s no runner on second on third is called regular bunt defense. The manager can choose whether to have the corners charge in based on the situation, but regardless if they do or not, it’s not a wheel play, even if it looks like one.
As for Willie’s decisions, yes I guess he could have taken Heilman out, but Texeira IS a switch hitter, and there is no guarantee that Feliciano would have done any better, and with right handed hitters coming up, you want to have your best guy on the field. Who would you have pitched to the next guy – Joe Smith? I’d rather give the ball to Heilman. All that said, it’s not like Tex hit a bomb – that ball barely got out, so you can’t say that Heilman got hit hard, or that Willie should have seen it comind. As for Jose’s bunt – with runners on 1st and 2nd and 0 (key = 0) out, you certainly bunt with your #9, #1, #2, #7 hitters – you’re putting 2 runners in scoring position with enough room to get a sac fly or ground out in. The fact that the whole thing wasn’t executed is in no way Willie’s fault. You can’t assume that your #2 and #3 hitters won’t get any runs in with 2 runners in scoring position with less than 2 out… Again, all that said, and I’ll ask you this question: what makes you assume that Reyes would have gotten a hit? If you let him swing away and he does nothing – a pop out, fly out, groundout, etc. then you’re stuck with a force at every base and no rbi chance – not smart baseball.
You should read up on baseball strategies, and probably get better sources than metstoday.com…
Absolutely zer09. They are all basic plays and not called wheel plays. Funny on that squeeze play the announcers as they were watching the replay said the Braves disguised it perfectly so dont tell me they telegraphed it. So you played high school ball, good for you. You sure cant tell by what you say in here. I played high school too, and college. I also coached high school, as well as Div. 2 and Div. 1 college, and had my team one win from the college world series. I think I might know what I’m talking about. I’m not saying I’m right all the time, but I do have a very good knowledge of the game, more than some and less than others. After all these years I still learn new things. So take what I said anyway you want. I on the other hand will just shake my head and let you believe what you want.
Defense bunt
Playname : Wheel bunt coverage – p throw
Wheel play#1
Bunt situation
Ideally the hitter will try to lay the bunt down the 3rd base side to force the 3rd baseman off the bag, freeing up the backside for the runner on second to advance.
The shortstop must keep the runner at second close before the play even starts. SS must be chatting in the runner’s ear to let him know he is there.
Shortstop continues to mess with the runner.
Smacking his glove, saying, “BACK, BACK.”
The closer the runner is to second, the easier he is to double up.
Shortstop rotates INFRONT of the runner, obstructing his view. This is the moment both 1st and 3rd basemen begin to break toward home ready to field the bunt.
Pitcher sees the runner is “missing” and delivers the pitch. This delay by the runner at second will hold him there a split second longer.
Shortstop begins SPRINTING to cover 3rd. If the play is tipped off and the runner at 2nd is smart, he can race alongside the SS to 3rd and we have blown the play. 2B begins to break to cover second in case there is a chance for a double play.
There is no need for a fielder at 1st right now. However, if the ball is fielded by the 3rd baseman, 1st baseman should return back to 1B to cover the bag.
Runner at 1B gets a secondary lead and waits for the ball to be bunted. Pitcher begins to charge home along with 1st and 3rd basemen.
2nd baseman arrives at second. Short is almost at 3rd. The 3 fields covering the bunt have the “net” almost closed. Runner at 1B secondary is large.
The net is set. 2nd and 3rd are covered.
Runners can’t advance.
Ball is bunted towards pitcher. Runners begin to advance. Catcher directs traffic.
Pitcher charge the bunt, 3B breaks to back up catcher (actually to get out of the way)
1st baseman begins to sprint back to 1st incase an error is made by the runner
Center field has also moved behind second to assist.
Out of view is the left fielder backing up the throw to 3B
Out of view is the right fielder backing up the 1b side and will cover 1B if no one else does.
11
Pitcher baseman makes his throw and nails the runner
12
Center fielder backs up 2B on an angle to recieve an overthrow from 3B.
3rd baseman is off the field but ready to back up from a throw from LF because of an overthrow from the Pitcher to SS.
Defense bunt
Playname : Wheel bunt coverage – 3b throw
Wheel play #2
Bunt situation
Ideally the hitter will try to lay the bunt down the 3rd base side to force the 3rd baseman off the bag, freeing up the backside for the runner on second to advance.
The shortstop must keep the runner at second close before the play even starts. SS must be chatting in the runner’s ear to let him know he is there.
2
Shortstop continues to mess with the runner.
Smacking his glove, saying, “BACK, BACK.”
The closer the runner is to second, the easier he is to double up.
3
Shortstop rotates INFRONT of the runner, obstructing his view.
This is the moment both 1st and 3rd basemen begin to break toward home ready to field the bunt.
Pitcher sees the runner is “missing” and delivers the pitch. This delay by the runner at second will hold him there a split second longer.
4
Shortstop begins SPRINTING to cover 3rd. If the play is tipped off and the runner at 2nd is smart, he can race alongside the SS to 3rd and we have blown the play.
2B begins to break to cover second in case there is a chance for a double play.
There is no need for a fielder at 1st right now. However, if the ball is fielded by the 3rd baseman, 1st baseman should return back to 1B to cover the bag.
5
Runner at 1B gets a secondary lead and waits for the ball to be bunted.
Pitcher begins to charge home along with 1st and 3rd basemen
6
2nd baseman arrives at second.
Short is almost at 3rd.
The 3 fields covering the bunt have the “net” almost closed.
Runner at 1B secondary is large.
7
The net is set.
2nd and 3rd are covered.
Runners can’t advance.
8
Ball is bunted 3rd base side.
Runners begin to advance.
Catcher directs traffic “THREE, THREE, THREE!!!”.
3rd baseman charge the bunt.
9
Pitcher breaks to back up catcher (actually to get out of the way).
1st baseman begins to sprint back to 1st incase an error is made by the runner.
Center field has also moved behind second to assist.
Out of view is the left fielder backing up the throw to 3B.
Out of view is the right fielder backing up the 1b side and will cover 1B if no one else does.
10
3rd baseman makes his throw and nails the runner
11
Center fielder backs up 2B on an angle to receive an overthrow from 3B.
Pitcher is off the field but ready to back up from a throw from LF because of an overthrow from 3rd baseman to SS.
Defense bunt
Playname : Wheel bunt coverage
Wheel Bunt Coverage Play
1
Bunt situation
Ideally the hitter will try to lay the bunt down the 3rd base side to force the 3rd baseman off the bag, freeing up the backside for the runner on second to advance.
The shortstop must keep the runner at second close before the play even starts. SS must be chatting in the runner’s ear to let him know he is there.
2
Shortstop continues to mess with the runner.
Smacking his glove, saying, “BACK, BACK.”
The closer the runner is to second, the easier he is to double up.
3
Shortstop rotates INFRONT of the runner, obstructing his view.
This is the moment both 1st and 3rd basemen begin to break toward home ready to field the bunt.
Pitcher sees the runner is “missing” and delivers the pitch. This delay by the runner at second will hold him there a split second longer.
4
Shortstop begins SPRINTING to cover 3rd. If the play is tipped off and the runner at 2nd is smart, he can race alongside the SS to 3rd and we have blown the play.
2B begins to break to cover second in case there is a chance for a double play.
There is no need for a fielder at 1st right now. However, if the ball is fielded by the 3rd baseman, 1st baseman should return back to 1B to cover the bag.
5
Runner at 1B gets a secondary lead and waits for the ball to be bunted.
Pitcher begins to charge home along with 1st and 3rd basemen.
6
2nd baseman arrives at second.
Short is almost at 3rd.
The 3 fields covering the bunt have the “net” almost closed.
Runner at 1B secondary is large.
7
The net is set.
2nd and 3rd are covered.
Runners can’t advance.
There’s about 4 more would you like me to post them all? They are variations of the wheel play.
Theres not a single variation to anything you just typed. You repeated the same thing three times. Where is there a difference? You just totally wasted space describing exactly what I already said and thats a bunt with a runner on second. You were saying about using it with a runner at third, with no runners on, a ball hit to the outfield and cutoff positions. I think you should stop now before really embarassing yourself.
NO i just got tired of copying and pasting. I just got emailed 7 wheel play variations from a buddy in an instructional league, those where the first 3. You said there is only one play to get a runner advancing to third. But whatever I don’t care anymore. I guess as a Coach you never taught them.
I said using a wheel play with runner on third no out and the batter bunting.
zer09
Apparently you think that Luis Castillo is and RBI threat. Bobby Cox deosn’t think so. If he did Cox would have used a lefty to make Castillo bet right-handed. But he didn’t. Why? You tell me.
Jose Reyes is MUCH more of an RBI threat than Castillo is so I see no reason for Reyes to bunt in a 5-3 game. A 2-1 game, sure. But you can watch Willie put Castillo in that position all year but its not going to work out well for the Mets long-term. Reyes needs to be given the chance to get big hits.
on that note, the sky is falling…
It did fall…sept 2007. 2008 is about putting the sky back where it belongs
Reyes
Milledge
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Pagan
Torrelaba
Pitcher
Castillo
I mean…
Reyes
Church
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Pagan
Schneider
Pitcher
Castillo
Church is batting .381/.409/.524 and Schneider is batting .333/.409/.333
Milledge is batting .267/.313/.400 and Torrealba is batting .200/.200/.267.
Some downgrade we made there. It’s still early, but I’m pretty confident that Schneider is a huge upgrade over Torrealba, and Church isn’t a huge downgrade over Milledge, at least in the short term.
I’ll keep saying it. Church is going to be a real good player for the Mets. He will be better then Milledge. Milledge has pop but he can’t hit a breaking ball worth a crap.
Both Reyes and Castillo will snap out of it.
Yes, we could have very easily won yesterday’s game, and the blown call by the umps on Saturday changed the complexion of that game. If we rock the Phillies tomorrow, the outlook will change dramatically. Remember, the Phillies started out the season in the dumps, and they came back… We’re not even in the dumps yet!
if lmillz is batting 2nd, he will see a lot of fastballs in front of DWright and beltran…… and nobody on here cant say milledge doesnt crush fastballs
Lets just take the good with the bad. Yes it was a tough, fustrating loss to the braves yesterday. Though all of this though santana looks good with the bat, delgado is not as awful as we thought he was going to be, church is looking really nice at the plate, wright was looking good in the #3 hole until yesterday, beltran seems to be doing fine in the #4 hole, pagan is contributing and schnieder would have driven home the runs to tie that game had it not been for a very lucky play by tex. Now reyes looks as if he has no life at the top(like he looked at the latter portion of last season) and castillo needs to get his bat off his shoulders on borderline pitches. Hopefully they can tee off the phills pitching and get some confidance back. The only thing that worrys me is the braves bullpen is not as bad as i thought. What we should take out of this is that it looks like santana has adjusted well to the NL and give us a fighting chance and can go into the 7th. Our table setters need to get on base more often but otherwise than that we should be ok
its too bad im going to be at work bc im kind of curious to listen to the reaction randolph gets when hes introduced.
the mets, phils, and braves are about even. it’s going to be a close race through september. if alou and pedro were heathy all year the mets had an edge, but most knew that wasn’t happening.
the mets offense will struggle without alou. the biggest part of yesterday’s game was castillo not getting santana in from 3rd with 1 out after reyes got him over from second. small is the difference btw winning and losing when your team is based on pitching and defense.
yes, I thought that was a big part of the game to be honest…the would have put us up 1-0, and I think changed the tide of the game, as both smoltz and johan were putting up 0’s…I just didn’t like that swinging bunt to first nonsense that he did each time he put the bat on the ball.
that was def the missed opportunity of the game, and drives me absolutely nutso.
You are right about Alou but so far Pagan is doing as good as Alou would have.
Hey. I cant make Saturday’s game. Got 2 cheapies free if anyone wants them. Going out in 10 minutes so I have to mail them then or you can meet me at the game tomorrow. FCFS.
I’ll take ‘em if nobody else wants them. Is Saturday’s game sold out does anyone know? This weekend’s gonna be the only time I’m gonna be in NY until the end of July so I want to go either Sat. or Sunday
Yours. e-mail me bengals55 comcast.net so we can make arraingements.
hurry cause I’m heading out to the post office shortly. LOL
I still think overall, the Mets are the superior team in the NL East. The Braves threw their two best at the Mets and they were both on their game. In the meantime, the Mets bullpen and lineup stumbled. But over 162 games, the mets should prevail over both the Braves and Phillies because of their superior rotation.
And don’t expect Smoltz to pitch the rest of the season anywhere near the way he did on Sunday. He had to leave early because of a sore shoulder. He’s not going to last 200 innings this year. He’ll be on the DL a few times. And we all know the Phillies pitching stinks.
It’s going to come down to the Mets starting pitching. And I think they’ll be good and healthy enough all year to win the division.
Without Pedro, the Mets rotation is no better than the Braves or Phillies rotation. The other problem is that our lineup and bench isn’t as good as either of them. Omar didn’t give this team any depth. This is going to be a problem all year.
Wait a second Not better than the Phils or the Braves?
You’re kidding, right Jim?
You’re joking, aren’t you?
Phillies have maybe one #1-2 type pitcher in Hamels. That’s it. Their bullpen stink.s. The Mets pitching is in a different league.
Braves have two #1-2 type pitchers in Hudson and Smoltz. But Smoltz is clearly hurting this year and he’s not going to reach 200 innings. So they have one healthy frontline starter.
The Mets have Santana and Ollie and Maine who together are better than Hudson and an unhealthy Smoltz.
Probably the Braves rotation right now is just a notch below the Mets. But the Mets are clearly superior to the Phillies in terms of both bullpen and rotation strength.
As for the Mets starting lineup, it , is equal to or slightly below the Phillies and Braves. This will be born out by their OPS+ at the end of the year which I predict will be better or at least close to theirs.
I think the Mets’ bench is as good as theirs.
So it comes down to the pitching and the Mets are clearly better than the Phillies and arguably better than the Braves.
And pitching wins (usually).
getting on base isnt the problem with the mets lineup, its getting around to home.
Hmm, well I didn’t mention OBP.
But in terms of BA w-RISP, the Mets were 4th in the NL last year, way ahead of the Phillies who were just 15th. So if everyone is worried the Mets are going to be as weak as last year in terms of hitting, then 4th in BA w-RISP is not bad.
you are aware of one of the factors in determining OPS right?
Yes, of course. It’s OBP + SLG. So were you just dismissing SLG? And if so, why?
Your comment just seemed odd since it didn’t seem to have much to do with what I said.
And, btw, OBP is a pretty good predictor of the teams that make the postseason. Some feel it is more important than OPS for a team’s success.
PLEASE, the season barely started, do you expect to win every game? Every player has cold streaks and hot steaks during 162 games. 2-3 and only .5 games out is definitely not a reason to get alarmed. I’m not convinced Church and Pegan will have good years and Castillo and Reyes to have down years. Lets wait at least another month before we start making assumptions and going histerical. Santanah though will win the Cy Young.
hey, off topic …but anyone lookin to buy seats? I have a season package…upper box in section 10, row C…. Face value for all games for fellow mets fans..
email me at matt.rose1120 [at ] gmail.com
This week, I have Wed, Fri, Sunday open so far…and possibly thursday…. email for prices
Lets go mets
Jose may turn out to be no better than he already is…which is still a terrific player. I think, after his exponential growth between 05 and 06, expectations (fair or not) were that he would trend up at the same rate. Could be he is who he is.
i’m sure this was already discussed, but I just had to comment on Beltran looking at, like, FIVE strike-3’s in two at bats. While totally understanding that drawing walks is great, that was pretty frustrating.
Everybody sweats Jimmy Rollins so much, go check out what Rollins was doing at Reyes’ age. Reyes is so far ahead of him it’s not even funny.
Not saying Reyes will not further develop, I’m saying he may not develop further. And I’m certainly not sweating JRoll, I’ll take Reyes any day of the week. I was referring to perception, not comparing him to anyone but himself and our (perhaps) inflated expectations.
Yeah, it was a reasonable post. I was just trying to put Reyes’ numbers into some perspective. He’s really, really good at a young age.
mos def. I do hope he starts hitting, though. Like tomorrow would be nice!
Holy Crap, No Fire Willie Posts??
What the hells goin’ on??–Its a cloudy day again and I sat
in traffic this morning, I was sure it was Willie’s fault!!?
Hahaha I know right. It’s all Willie’s fault, I tell ya…
I tihnk Pagan looks great at the plate. He is the only hitter right now that am confident will get a hit when he is up. Church comes in at a close second. I believe Reyes, Wright and Tran will turn it up eventually. I hope Pagan makes it very difficult for Willy to throw Alou back in the mix.
All I’m worried about is tomorrowws home opener. I hate to say must win, must play good.. but yeah. it’s seriously about time we rocked the core of the Phillies pitching staff. Seriously, it’s personal.
380! Ryan Church IS a star. :p
“380! Ryan Church IS a star. :p” – UR A RETARD
- to bad we have a losing record now and thrilledge & the nats have more wins than us
Signing Luis Castillo to a 4 year deal was the most retarded thing ever.
Pagan looks good at the plate but I just don’t understand why he didn’t jump and try to make the catch. he just watched it land about a foot behind him. I know our offense provided no help to Santana or ourselves but I still think he could hae made that catch…I know Endy would have
Maine a number 2. Maybe so, but in his last 12 starts (back to last Aug 1), he’s 3-6 with a 6.32.
i dont know what it will take to change my mind but to me no matter how good he can look ill always be very nervous anytime he starts.
Are some of you serious when you say the Mets lineup is a “notch” below the Braves? Come on…..The Braves are better right now at 1st, 2nd, catcher, left and right. they are pretty much even at 3rd and the mets are better in center. Shortstop, I would like to say Reyes but to be honest, big spot, id rather have escobar up and you would be lying if you said you disagreed. The lineups dont really even compare.
And although i love Maine and Perez, please dont compare them to Tim Hudson. Still overall the Mets pitching is probably better and with Pedro definetely better.
I don’t know if it’s fair to say they are even at 3rd and I’m also not going to easily give in to the Braves being better at 2nd or Left.
Maine was 15-10 with a 3.91
Perez was 15-10 with a 3.56
Husdon was 16-10 with a 3.33
Looks pretty close to me. Hudson used to be great, but has leveled off. Plus I’ll take the Mets Bullpen over the Braves any day.
And you’re Comparing one of the most talented hitters over the past two seasons to Escobar? Talk about not being fair. I’d rather have Reyes up in a big spot.
Escobar is older than Reyes, too. Something almost no one brings up.
i agree, the braves have legit power in their lineup. they have a couple of guys that really scare you and everyone can put one in the gap at any time. wright is a GREAT hitter, and beltran can be great when hes on, but honestly the mets dont have that big bopper and havent since 2000 with piazza. we dont have that guy that is just terrifying for a pitcher to face with guys on (ala tex, chipper, utley, howard). the phils are the same way, they strike out a ton but they have a lot of guys that can put it out of the ball park (and no not just the one they play in). i think we have a decent lineup and its certainly enough to win with but to say a notch below is just silly.
luis castillo can play, hes just cold right now..
whats suprising is delgado, church and schneider.. can’t pin it on them..
we need reyes to get going, he is the catalyst, and he needs to get unleashed… come on willie work you magic on his psyche