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…some familiar faces make their return to Shea Stadium tonight as the Mets take on the Nationals in the first of three…with that in mind, I did a quick Q & A with Chris Needham, who blogs about the Nationals for Capitol Punishment…
D.J. Short:
First things first, have you had a chance to visit the new Nationals Park? If so, how do you like it?
Chris Needham:
I’ve been to three games so far, and it’s a pretty big upgrade on RFK. There are some really nice seats in the place and some really overpriced ones, too. It’s not a bad place to see a game, but it’s missing that one “WOW!” factor, whether it’s the view of the skyline in Pittsburgh or the Bay in San Fran. Solidly average isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The biggest adjustment, though, has been watching games where balls actually travel over the fence; batters really prefer these power alleys to RFK’s.
D.J. Short:
What are your thoughts on Lastings Milledge thus far? Is he saying all the right things? Any new rap songs I should know about?
Chris Needham:
I really like his approach to the game. In the small number of games I’ve seen, he’s the kind of player that’s really fun to watch: a little bit of speed, a little bit of power, and just enough flash to keep you entertained. His first game or two, it looked like he was trying to do too much, but he’s settled in nicely, and I’d still make that trade 100 times out of 100.
As far as saying all the right things, what’s been telling is how it’s the other guys around him. Dmitri Young really welcomed him, pointing out that criticism of the high five incident was done mostly by people with sticks firmly lodged up their backsides. (Seriously, it was off Armando Benitez! What Mets fan wasn’t doing that happy dance after that one?)
Milledge, in a blowout earlier this week, dogged it in the middle of the game, and stood up, on his own, and apologized to the team, even though he was far from the only one to mail it in. He’s definitely making the most of his fresh start.
D.J. Short:
The Nats organization seems adept at acquiring and stockpiling major league position players, but pitching remains a major question mark. Is there young pitching on the way, possibly this season?
Chris Needham:
The team certainly claims they’ve got a lot stashed in the minors. I’m a bit more skeptical. Columbus’ rotation is all prospects, even if they’re not high upside guys. John Lannan, who you’ll see this week, already graduated. Collin Balester, Tyler Clippard, Garrett Mock and Mike O’Connor round out the staff — and that’s about the order of chance of success I’d give them.
A bit further down is Ross Detwiler, last year’s first-round pick. He had a cup of coffee last season, and there was some talk of him starting with the Nats in the bullpen, but they’re giving him more time. There’s really nobody blocking his way, so if he pitches really well, he can shoot right up and into the majors.
D.J. Short:
I noticed Jesus Flores was sent down the other day. Does it frustrate you to see veteran players like Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada in front of him on the depth chart, or do you think Flores needs more development in the minors?
Chris Needham:
Grumble, grumble. The team’s plan all along was to send Flores down to work on defense and to refine his hitting. In some ways it makes sense, in that I’d rather have a year of Flores in his prime than one of him developing now. But when your alternative is Pauly Walnuts and Estrada — whose arm is about as good as Carlos Delgado’s — it’s harder to convince your heart of the facts. It hasn’t been helped by LoDuca’s cold start with the bat and the glove. I understand what they’re doing, but I’m not completely sold on it.
D.J. Short:
The Nationals played the Mets very tough in the role of spoiler last September. Was it as exciting to watch for “you” as it was painful to watch for “us”? Do you think the team grew from that experience, or is there no crossover at all?
Chris Needham:
The fans certainly get a bit of a rise out of it. The Nats message boards have been looking forward to this series to continue to what “we” started last season. Lost in all that jubilation, though, is the part where we rolled over and played dead for the Phils, but you won’t hold that against us, will you?
As a fan, yes, it certainly was exciting to play in games that matter, and it was a nice test for the team, to see if their second-half improvement was for real. As far as carryover, the only thing I think it did was convince some of the players in Manny Acta’s steady approach. He preached patience after last year’s disastrous 8-25 start, and it paid dividends down the stretch.
…thanks as always, Chris…
The Mets have a task on their hands. Everyone knows, Lo Duca holds sour grapes over the way he departed. He made note of that in an interview a few days ago. Milledge is still immature, but he can play. If the Mets control these spoilers, they will have a shot at winning the series. LET’S GO METS!
Guys, I know you have to do this to protect your site. However, I hope it is only temporary that it will take this long to get comments posted. If it is not you are going to lose a lot of people that enjoyed blogging with each other while staying respectful. Now it just does not seem the same, not that it did the last few weeks with all the garbage on here either. So that being said you know your site, do as you wish.
Back to baseball
The Nats really do have a decent young offense, it’s just the pitching. I wonder if they would be interested in Heilman? Assuming that Sanchez comes back effective and Smith and Muniz are reliable then Heilman could have good value to a team as a starter/reliever. Maybe they would trade one of their real relievers for him? Or maybe we could work out a trade for Young or Johnson?
Have we replaced Milledge with Pagan? Milledge has 8 R, 1 HR, and 5 RBI’s while Pagan has 9 R, 0 HR, and 10 RBI’s. I think it’s possible that with Pagan’s defense, base running, and hitting skills, Mets fans will soon forget about Millege. Although, Milledge could be a great player in a few years, Pagan gives us what Milledge didn’t, a mature young OF who plays hard all the time w/o “Pimpin Homers”. Plus, Pagan is willing to play his role while Milledge only wanted to start. Good luck Milledge except when you play the Mets!
“I really like his approach to the game”
what are you talking about hes a cancer and he shows up the other team. hes the reason tom glavine was throwing beach balls in game 162 and gave up 7 runs in the 1st inning. why do you think tom glavine wasnt devestated he knew it wasnt his fault he knew the entire collapse lay squarely on the shoulders of lastings milledge.
thrilledge is a monster and everyday is halloween. nuff said
interesting comment about Manny Acta’s patience. There’s a perception here that Acta’s “fire” is missing from the Mets bench, but here it is that he’s pushing Willie’s line about patience and steadiness.
Off Topic but does anyone know when the next dog day at Shea is. If i’m not mistaken I think they have two per season
It’s also interesting that the Nats sent Flores back down to the minors even though he was hitting .364! Hmm, does Acta have a problem with young players? Paulie’s hitting just .200, and they have Estrada as the backup. I know if this situation existed on the Mets, Willie would be skewered here. But I guess Acta’s different because the grass is always greener on the other side!
If I were the Nats, I would not have gotten both Estrada and Lo Duca. I’d have Flores split duties 50-50 with either of them.
On another note, I’m glad they’re giving the bulk of the catching duties to Lo Duca. He’s just not a very good catcher anymore and is hitting just .200. He hurt his hand the other day and he’s insisting on playing against the Mets. Sounds selfish and familiar to me, but it’s to the benefit of the Mets.
In case anyone missed it, Schneider told the FAN today that he’s been breaking in a new mitt. Because of the problems he’s had with passed balls and wild pitches, he tossed the new glove out after Sunday’s game. So those errant balls should decrease. He also said he wasn’t using that as an excuse and another problem has been him just getting more familiar with the pitchers.
Actually if you watch Flores he is HORRIBLE on defense. He’s just bad. And being a backup for the Nationals isn’t going to help him. HE MUST be in the minors to learn how to control the field and the game behind the plate.
I loved when Milledge high fived the fans. I think the Mets need more guys who play with that sort of emotion. They took it away from Reyes, traded away Milledge and LoDuca, and Pedro and Duque are hurt. For the most part this team just looks like they are going through the motions.
my ideal scenario for tonight:
mets win 9-1, pelfrey goes 6 2/3 of strong-dominant pitching, heilman goes 1 1/3 and duaner throws the ninth inning. the 1 run comes on a bomb HR by lastings off of big pelf in the 7th, milledge is drilled in the back his next AB.
that would be a pretty entertaining game to watch.
The Nationals have lost 8 out of their last 9 games. So in short….the Mets better win 2 of 3…and convincingly.
This is not a good team were facing here…and its time to get it going. Otherwise…..expect the boo birds to dominate Shea all week long.
Sidebar: Imagine if Manny Acta were the Mets coach right now. I’d take him in a heartbeat. Talk about motivating a bunch of scrub players…hes the master, and knows strategy. Too bad were stuck with the brainless wonder.