Matthew Cerrone

Recap: Schneider on WFAN
By Matthew Cerrone - Apr 23, 2008 3:48 pm

During his weekly appearance on WFAN, Brian Schneider acknowledged that his team’s bullpen has been inconsistent, adding, “We’ve got to be patient, it’s a long year and Jorge Sosa and Aaron Heilman have been out there a lot.”

Schneider also spoke quite positively and enthusiastically about Nelson Figueroa, stating, “This is not a fluke.”

Schneider also talked about Duaner Sanchez, who has been “great,” his impressive stats against the Phillies, the team’s late arrival in to Chicago, and fights he and his teammates noticed taking place in the stands in Philadelphia while watching from the dugout.

To listen to Schneider’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.

70 Responses to “Recap: Schneider on WFAN”

  1. backinbusiness says:

    I love it: “Are you in there tonight, because Evan and I have had enough of Raul Casanova.”

    Me too, guys.

    • MacD81 says:

      At work and can’t listen. Is he in the lineup tonight?

    • DerangedHermit says:

      Hey, it’s better Raul Casanova than having Mike DiFelice in past years. You might as well stick a bat into the ground.

      Please come back soon, Ramon!

      • backinbusiness says:

        Is Ramon Castro alive?

        Meanwhile, 26 year old Gustavo Molina is looking fairly decent in AAA. .288, 4 extra base hits, he strikes out too much.

        Casanova and Delgado were born in the same year. Yuck.

        Granted that Casanova has looked sharp with Figgy and shown a decent arm, I still will always go with the kid (I guess that’s obvious by this point).

      • backinbusiness says:

        hilariously, but dangerously for omar, mike difelice was just DFA’ed.

    • NYMBosco says:

      Where did they get Raul Casonova from? Is this the best Omar can do for a back-up catcher? Pathetic….

      • metsftw says:

        it’s a frickin’ back-up catcher. how many all-star back up catchers are out there?

      • ravi3 says:

        hes a back-up - back-up catcher

      • Frank Taveras says:

        Omar got the best back-up catcher in baseball. Are you saying he should have anticipated needing another? Seeing as the 3rd catcher would spend the season in the minors, I don’t think good back-ups were lining up for the job.

  2. bigchart333 says:

    We should take what he says a bit more because of his close relationships with the pitchers. If he’s indirectly naming Heilman and Sosa, we should definitely listen.

    The problem with the pen is that it’s essentially the same as last year.
    I think that if we can trade heilman for that kid at firstbase Morales from Anaheim, or something else, let go of Sosa, move Nelson to the pen when Pedro comes back, as well as add Matt Wise when he’s ready, and perhaps give some of the kids that are doing well in AA and AAA a chance, like Muniz or even Kunz, it changes the whole dynamic of the pen. We still need show, like it or not. But with a stronger supporting cast of Figueroa, Wise, Muniz, Sanchez, etc, we can limit Show to strictly one or 2 lefty batters, thereby utilizing his strengths

    None of this will happen though because Willie knows nothing.

    • Ceetar says:

      and apparently, neither do you.

      Who knows how figeroa would pitcher out of the pen? We’ve got a better Joe Smith, and Sanchez instead of Mota. that’s plenty. You’d rather pitch with question marks from triple A, and who knows what would happen then.

      • bigchart333 says:

        yes i would u tool. As SOON as you see Sosa or Heilman coming out that pen, there’s groans, worries, complaints and most people (i am NOT one of them) are just ITCHING to boo..if we at LEAST EXORCISE the problems, we can try to build something new. You talk about ME not knowing anything, you “ceetard” do not know anything. In life, if you have a problem, do u just wait for it to go away or do you deal with it? I would hope you try to DEAL with it, for your own sake

  3. lonman1129 says:

    it’s funny he said that about Figueroa since he hasn’t caught any of Nelson’s three starts. Figs-Nova: “Battery of the Future from the Past”-Figs

  4. IronMan says:

    call me crazy but i think nelson would be an awsome closer down the line or set up man

    • mackey_sassers_arm says:

      what do you mean, down the line? he’s as old as wagner.

      • IronMan says:

        but he is as energized as reyes ……. well maybe not that energized but damn you know what i mean

    • anditsouttahere says:

      i dont know if he has the mustard to be a closer, but a setup man for sure, he could finesse them into the ninth where i anticipate seeing either duaner or joe smith in the future. wagner was dead wrong when he said heilman is the closer of the future.

  5. Im so happy for Figgy…I think he will be our # 5 next season ,and so far Im completely ok with that..I mean it seems he is perfect every game til like the 4th or 5th inning..if only we could get him some big early leads and let him settle in and complete a game or 2…Lets go Mets!

  6. mex84 says:

    Wow, Dan Johnson got dfa’d again, this time by Tampa. Get on that Omar. He would be a perfect fit right now i think. Another lefty bat, but a young first baseman.

    • I agree ..cost nothing….worth a shot..when Delgado is up to bat ..I change the channel…I love the Mets but he pisses me off so much….he singles when no one is on..then Ks with men on..wtf?! the guy cant hit an 88mph fast ball…its sad….but he truly must go ..or the season will be a loss without another power/rbi guy in the middle.

      • mackey_sassers_arm says:

        delgado was what, 1-30 or something recently? but that one hit was huge, you have to give him credit for that. don’t get me wrong, he’s garbage, but at least his one hit was important.

    • mackey_sassers_arm says:

      if he was dfa’d by oakland and tampa already, how much do you think he has left? Those are normally the first two transactions of a three transaction cycle… the third is either retirement or japan.

      • mex84 says:

        Well he’s like 28, i think they were “need” moves. Both teams were either crowded in his position or cost cutting. He had a decent year last year. Good walk rate.

        • the clap says:

          Delgado is shot. I don’t know if he needs LASIX or he’s just way over the hill or both, but the man can’t play anymore. I had the false hope as many that he’d magically rebound in his walk year, but he only looks another year older, slower and weaker. He’s a blackhole in the lineup and in the field (though he’s saved David Wright of 5 extra errors with nice scoops). I’d have no problem pushing the panic button at 1B right now. Delgado doesn’t deserve any more “it’s still early” talk after last season.

          Give the horrible Fernando Tatis a shot at first (he has 50 errorless innings there). At least he’s slugging .635 for New Orleans and has some lateral movement in the field. Release Michel Abreu. He’s just another Jorge Toca who tops out as a AAAA player at best. Give Carp the fulltime AAA 1B job for the Zephyrs now (thereby giving Nick Evans the fulltime AA 1B job) and let’s push these kids to really show what they’re made of before we make a mistake by givingTeixeira on a 7 year/$200M deal this winter.

      • Sinestro says:

        It should be noted that Tampa only designated Dan Johnson for assignment because they had nowhere to put him. They were ready to use him at first base in Carlos Pena’s absence, but Pena’s injury isn’t as bad as they’d originally thought.

        I’d like to see Omar add him. I can’t say I know who gets sent down, though.

  7. backinbusiness says:

    Eddie Kunz could be our Joba. Who knows. It would certainly be nice to give him a try instead of Sosa, the most predictable pitcher (for hitters AND fans) in baseball.

    • Gasface77 says:

      Nah. Leave him in the minors. Willie would use him every single night. The guy woudl probably pitch great until his arm fell off (hello Joe Smith). Then Willie would publicly bash him on the radio and in the papers.

      • gomets6091 says:

        we could come up with the Kunz Rules perhaps?

        anyway, I’m off to the game. LETS GO METS

    • hyperion4 says:

      You wouldn’t say that if you saw his pitching line last night.

  8. nyjfanjmk says:

    As much as I hated the Schneider/Church trade when it happened, I’m really happy to have Brian on our team. He’s a great guy to have in the clubhouse and it’s great to see him giving some good insight on the radio.

    • Frank Taveras says:

      I still don’t like the trade, only because I think (and baseball people seem to agree) that he could have gotten more for Milledge. I do like Schneider and Church but wonder if it could have cost less.

  9. metties1 says:

    Casanova made a couple of good defensive plays at least…

    Side note: We got out stopper on the hill tonight. Could you imagine if we had Kyle Lohse going out there tonight instead of Johan? (I know lohse has been decent out of the gate but you get the point)

  10. kowalski69 says:

    anyone catch michael kaye poo-pooing SNY for a goof half hour just now on 1050AM?

  11. dontstopbelieving says:

    If what Schneider means is that Jorge Sosa has been out there and sucked a lot, I agree.

  12. HoJoWright says:

    did anyone catch “the mad dog” on Letterman last night? did have anything positive to say about our boys….probably not

  13. stickguy says:

    At least Heilmann has a track record of periods of success (if not dominance). That, and he traditionally is a slow starter.

    Sosa, on the other hand, has normally sucked, with 1 year (2005?) where he wasn’t too bad. But other than a quick start last year, he has not been good.

    If Heilmann could bring back a real position player (like Morales), then I consider him espendable. You are, of course, rolling the dice that Sanchez holds up and/or someone out of th eminors (Kunz, Muniz, etc.) can step up to do a good job.

    ANd if Pedro makes it back and pushes Figgy to the pen as a long/swing man, it makes the team even better.

    I think I posted this on an earlier thread, but I could live with (since it should be effective) a pen later in the year of:

    Wags
    Sanchez
    Wise
    Feliciano (hoping he straighten out)
    Smith
    Schoe
    Muniz/Kunz

    That is 8 guys, so there is even a back up.

    That group, plus whatever players Hielmann and Sosa (mostly Heilmann, but some team will be desperate enough to try Sosa as a SP) turn into, is good enough.

    And if you get a solid young player (like Morales) out of the deal, a win win.

    Relievers are so fungible year to year, that plugging holes isn’t really a big deal.

  14. zen says:

    Reyes
    Castillo
    Wright
    Beltran
    Church
    Delgado
    Paga
    Schneider
    Santana

    santana was brought here for tonight’s start. no excuses.

  15. SenatorSteve says:

    Anybody else wondering if Figueroa will replace Sosa as the long man when Pedro gets back?

  16. johnolerud says:

    is anyone listening to this randolph? he is so blind.

  17. upstatemetfan says:

    Willie is on the FAN right now… I wanna throw my laptop at the TV

  18. upstatemetfan says:

    HE NEEDS TO GO! BOTTOM LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  19. upstatemetfan says:

    HAHAHAHAHA ” let’s not fool ourselves here?? ” he’s gonna hit? What is Willie talking about??????????? OMG! I love it when he says ” i trust my guys” “he needs to get going a lil bit” blah blah blah FIRE WILLIE!!!!!!!!!!

    • zen says:

      yes. willie should throw his players under the bus on wfan. that’s brilliant. BRILLIANT!!!!

    • NYMBosco says:

      Please, please fire him omar…you gotta trust me omar, i’m your guy!!!

    • hyperion4 says:

      Maybe Willie’s actual managerial moves are bad, but I don’t understand this business of trashing him for not trashing his players publicly. What exactly is it that you want him to say? I don’t think any of the managerial heroes like Cox, Leyland, Bobby Valentine, Francona, are going to do any different.

      Remember when Francona stuck by Mark Bellhorn in 2004?

  20. Jay says:

    Are you guys listening to Willie’s interview on WFAN? Some points:

    1. He hasn’t even considered an outfielder (pagan, alou) playing at 1B
    2. He’s going to stick with Delgado, but he will consider giving him days off.
    3. He only put castillo in the 8th spot to rest his legs, but overall he’s going to stay in the 2 hole. Then he backed off and said he reserves the right to “move things around, ” and “reserves the right to “move things around.”

  21. casey s. says:

    willie just said, “sometimes, i pat them on the butt.”

  22. upstatemetfan says:

    We are screwed

  23. upstatemetfan says:

    I really thought Mike and Chris were going to kill Willie on Delgado and they gave him a pass

  24. johnolerud says:

    willie randolph’s interview was flat out scary. He never acknowledged church’s production in the 2 hole. He said, “he had a few nice hits.” A FEW NICE HITS!!!! What game is he watching? He was like, “nnoooooooooo, delgado needs protection.” Um, hey, message to willow, DELGADO CAN BARELY GET A BAT ON THE BALL! DELGADO IS DONE, WASHED UP, FINISHED, whatever phrase you would like to use. His luck is not going to change. Sadly, our manager is the last person to realize it.

  25. thingshappen says:

    Willie is too Sillie to be a manager of a good baseball team.

    Hmm, was he a good third base coach?

    If so then why make a trade for him and get a good manager.

    Of course we will have to continue to pay his salary in order for a team to trade with us.

  26. upstatemetfan says:

    If it wasn’t for Santana and Shea’s last year I would sell my friggin tickets on eBay

  27. edwin nieves says:

    So Delgado has been moved to #6 in the order, huh. Can’t wait for Delagado to get to 7. Like the #7 out of town!

  28. stickguy says:

    well, this might mean that when ALou comes back, he goe sin at 6, pushing Delgado to 7?

    Or do you put Alou 5, CHurch 6, Delgado 7?

    Just don’t hit delgado ahead of church.

  29. playmaker3128 says:

    Ok i would much rather prefer church in the 2 hole. However as pointed out on this site, castillo is hitting 9 for his last 30 or something like that.

    I like the move with church in front of delgado, beltran is struggling but he is drawing walks. Gives church an opportunity to drive in some runs. At least willie is acknowledging that delgado is a problem right now. 1-5 i think were pretty strong.