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In an article for the New York Times, Joshua Robinson documents the family of Nelson Figueroa, who have been in attendance for each of his starts.
Robinson writes:
“For both of Figueroa’s starts, Billy Wagner has offered his private suite for use by Figueroa’s friends and family. On Thursday night, there were about 60 more friends and family scattered throughout the stadium, including a group behind home plate that danced and roared with every out.”
“Nobody wanted to give him a chance,” Nelson Sr. said. “But I told him, ‘Have arm, will travel.’ ”
…it’s a great story, and it reminds me a bit of tennis player james blake’s entourage at the u.s. open, although not quite as vocal…the question is, how long will this ride last…i suppose that answer lies within the health of pedro and el duque, which is always a mystery…
…thanks to ross m. for the link…
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Let him start until he shows he cant. El Duque wont be back this season, imo.
Yes, but Pedro probably will. Then what do they do with the Big Fig?
I would send Sosa down (or trade him) and have Fig be the long man in the ‘pen.
good idea, never thought of that. he surely wont take big pelfs spot. we need to keep this guy around though. then again, willie has this loyalty to vets who arent especially talented so sosa may stay.
Figgy will be here for awhile…just a great story that continues to get better every week!
Man, this is turning out to be a terrific staff….and with Duaner back, I’m really getting excited about it.
Now, talk to me on Monday, and I may feel totally different. This weekend will be the test.
wow, comparing Nelson Figueora to James Blake, couldn’t really think of two athletes who are complete opposites. Figgy, never given a chance, doubted his whole career, not the most talented, but persevered and has made it this far. James Blake, immensely talented, rich kid from Connecticut, who is too strong headed and a head case to realize his talents and buckle down and become consistent. I guess that’s all beside the point though.
Totally agree with you, but to clarify, I was referring to the “entourage” they both bring to events.
If our guys keep pitching the way they can, who do we drop from the rotation when Pedro or Duque comes back?
Pelfrey?
Figgy?
Duque?
Duque to the bullpen is easy, but what about Pedro? I guess we put Fig in the bullpen and get rid of……Sosa?
If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath on Duque
I’m not, considering he hasn’t started pitching yet. But pedro is anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks away, what then? I know lots of things can happen between then and now. But for argument sake (7 hours til gametime):
What if Pedro came back Healthy today, what move do the Mets make?
How about a six man rotation since Pedro needs 5 days rest?
it may be tough to put figs in the pen, since wise will be coming back – that means for fig to go theyd have to send two current relievers to the minors. the only one to go would be smith and hes pitching well. at first we didnt have enough good pitchers, now we have too many
I can’t believe I’m reading this nonesense in the comments. Who shuffles starters in and out of the bullpen? Figueroa is a STARTER and he should stay that way. There’s no sense to putting him in the bullpen as a “for now” move only to have him rotate back into the rotation when needed. The only logical move to make is to send him to AAA until he’s needed again. You don’t know what he’ll bring to you out of the pen – and that’s not where he belongs to begin with – same goes for Pelfrey. I read so many suggestions on this blog last year and in the offseason to move Pelfrey to a reliever role. WHY?? We don’t need help in the pen – we need to have quality arms on standby if (when) one of the starters goes down. If El Duque is to be sent to the pen, then that’s where he’ll be the entire season. Everyone got on Willie for not having defined roles in the pen last year yet the same people are suggesting a revolving door bullpen with starting pitchers shuffling in and out. It’s ridiculous. If Pelfrey and Figgs keep pitching the way they’re pitching, then Willie’s/Omar’s decision will be very tough when Pedro comes back – but chances are, in a month’s time we’ll have a clear cut winner for that role and the other guy will hit AAA to “polish up his skills”. Rest assured, though, if Pedro AND El Duque are back, then it’s back to AAA for both Pelfrey and Figueroa – but one of them will be back within a week after Hernandez burns his fingers on a hibachi table he just recently installed in his Miami home by cuban refugees.
keep sosa and dump Heilman!
As much as Billy is a loud mouth sometimes, give him credit for allowing figgy to use his box…on that note, why does billy have a “personal” box
It’s called a perk…players like Wags get them. He was a free agent, and other teams were vying for him. He got his 4th year, a private box, and who knows what else.
love the figgy story. nice article by robinson. i’d love to hear a few more stories like this about mets players to balance things out.
“the question is, how long will this ride last…I suppose that answer lies within the health of pedro and el duque…”
In other words, it will last a long, long time…
That’s right TJ….El Duque is indeed toast!
Now that Tejada revealed that he’s really 33 and not 31, when will El Duque reveal his?
that ESPN interview was awesome, and so awkward
I don’t think we’ll see El Duque again this season, if ever, so Figgy will have a role on this team. When Pedro comes back, Figgy can slide into the bullpen. The question is, whose spot does he take?
As is the situation with Pagan and Alou, I think these are good circumstances to worry about. If these guys are playing over their heads, we have an opportunity to ride them while they were hot. If they are the real deal, with the noted frailties of Alou, Pedro and El Duque, they will likely get plenty of opportunties to thrive. In my mind, Duque is a non-factor this season and if Pedro can’t get back on the field and stay on the field, he is also a non-factor.
Guys this is such a good problem to have. I would imagine, spot starts to keep Pedro fresh and some bullpen usage.
Matt, I LOVE the name links to the player bios. That’s going to be a great improvement.
Lets go Mets, Beat Philly!
Class act Billy, Nice job!
Agreed in spades. The more you read about the stuff Billy Wagner does in the clubhouse (and does not share with the public) the more you realize what a stand-up guy he is.
And the story about how he taught himself to throw left-handed is awesome as well.
To be fair….He probably does not have anyone use his box too frequently. The private box goes empty since his family in VA. I am sure they come up every so often so they use it then but on balance, Wagner is here on loan and his box is empty
26 man roster when Alou, Pedro, Castro come back:
C – Schneider, Castro
1B – Delgado
2B – Castillo
3B – Wright
SS – Reyes
OF – Church, Beltran, Alou, Pagan, Endy
Util – Anderson, Easley
SP – Johan, Perez, Maine, Pedro, Big Pelf, Brooklyn Kid
RP – Wagner, Sanzhez, Hielman, Feliciano, Smith, Sosa, Scho
Who do we send down/cut?
Clark, Casanova, and Sosa?
Clark really suxs so far… I vote to keep sosa try to dump over-rated heilman on another team for some prospects.
Dont forget about Matt Wise either, clearly Joe Smith can not go anywhere. If Pelfrey and Fig keep pitching well, the mets have an awesome problem on there hands. I think Sosa needs to be traded before Wise comes back, and unfortunately I think when Pedro comes back Fig will be the odd man out. There is no other choice, you cant send Pelfrey down if hes pitching well.
On this 26 man list, you need to eat the cash and trade/cut Schoenweis
I’ve seen way too many seasons to wonder what to do when Pedro & ElDuque are healthy. Both are at least six weeks away. Someone is most likely going to be tired, or stinking up the joint, and then you would DL/demote the guy who is under performing.
If we need to fill a hole in the lineup in July, and we have this glut at starting pitcher (unlikely), would you trade Ollie and get something for him before he hits the market?
He could be 10-4, but just as easily be 7-7. Would you move him for a couple prospects? Maybe someone who can play 1B in 2009?
Ollie thinks he is going to get big money somewhere else, but the joke is going to be on the team that signs him! Peterson brought his game back to life.
How can you trade one of your best starters when you’re a team built to go deep in the playoffs? Horrible suggestion.
it is only a suggestion if ollie struggles during the season…
Then where would you trade him? Teams that pick up contract-ending players are usually looking for a fix to their current problem. So if Ollie struggles and is of little value to the Mets, then you must assume that he would be little value to everyone else and they wouldn’t give up too much for him, let alone a [power hitting] first baseman who can be mlb-ready next year.
It’s an empty argument.
But the point is if OP is OK, to good. But the rest of the staff is also good, Then you can make a deal that is worth while, becaus we would still have five good starters on the staff, plus some one with a good potential at another position.
Agee that makes sense to deal OP, if the rest of the pitchers are doing good.
The team would have 5 strong starters with out him, yet he should bring back someone really worth while.
But if no deal is done then I do feel that Fig should become the long man instead of Sosa.
And that way he will be one of the five for next year, because as of now they can only be sure of Sanatana, Maine, Pefrey. And of course if Pedro becomes Pedro again then they will have five.
good debate. And a nice problem to have (too many good arms).
Entirely possible by the time Pedro comes back one of the PelFig duo comes down to earth and pitches themselvew out of a job.
If not, then either someone goes to the pen, goes to AAA, gets cut, to the DL or gets traded.
You can only send down someone with options. Doesn’t seem to be anyone to cut. DL will play itself out. Pen is full unless something changes.
So, either one of them goes to the minors, or someone gets traded. Sosa might be the only guy in that scenerio, with Figgy taking the spot.
IMO, Duque doesn’t come back. And if he did, they should try to trade him for anything 9Du
anyway, maybe Figgy is for real, and could be in the mix for 2009? WOuldn’t that be a shock if the Mets actually filled out the rotation with guys they already have?