Daily Archives: April 29, 2008
In a Q&A for New York Magazine, Bilge Ebiri talks with Bobby Valentine about The Zen of Bobby V, an independent film directed by three students from NYU who followed Valentin through a season of baseball in Japan.
…he is absolutely fascinating…i have a screener of this film on my desk that i have yet to watch…when i do, i will be sure to give a review…
As noted earlier today on MetsBlog, C Brian Schneider, who has not played since April 23, remains in the hospital with an infection in his left thumb.
In the 15 games Schneider has started this season, the Mets are 9-6. More importantly, the Mets team ERA in those games is 3.36.
The Mets are 4-5 with a 4.28 team ERA in games started by catchers other than Schneider.
…wow, i knew there would be a difference in the era, but not almost a full run difference…
…just as many say Jose Reyes is the key to the Mets offense, schneider, in my opinion, is the key to the Mets pitching staff…
…many, myself included, were puzzled when Omar Minaya and company decided to acquire the older, light-hitting schneider rather than a younger catcher with more upside…however, the importance of a good defensive catcher with the ability to call an aggressive game can not be overlooked…and schneider’s effect on the team has made him a welcome and important addition this season…
…as cerrone stated earlier, schneider’s stability behind the plate is comforting…each pitcher seems to have high confidence in schneider to call for the the right pitch for every situation during an at-bat, which is something that i think the Mets lacked with Paul Lo Duca behind the plate…there were too many instances over the past two seasons where it seemed as if the pitchers and lo duca could not agree on pitch selection…that issue has been non-existent with schneider behind the plate…
…his aggressive game calling has had a significant impact on the pitching staff, especially Mike Pelfrey, who is 2-0 with a 1.50 era with schneider behind the plate, as opposed to 0-1 with a 7.86 era without schneider…
…and again, as cerrone said, this is not a knock on Raul Casanova, it’s the stability, confidence and game plan schneider provides each pitcher with that has allowed for a higher rate of success…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Stats |
According to El Nuevo Dia, Jose Valentin recently said he will soon travel to New York to be examined by team 
doctors.
…from what i recall, valentin chose not to have surgery on his neck, instead seeking rehab in hopes of returning to the game this season…surgery would likely have forced him to retire…
Valentin will remain with the Mets and not opt out of his contract to become a free agent.
According to Valentin, if his exam in New York goes well, his next stop will be St. Lucie or extended spring training.
During Sunday’s broadcast of the Mets game on SNY, Ron Darling theorized that Mets fans may boo their own team because the players do not reflect the same emotion experienced by the fans.
In other words, according to Darling, fans may be inclined to cut the team some slack if the players showed more emotion.
[Poll=80]
Tagged Poll |According to Shaun Payne from Dugout Central, the best players in baseball are in the NL East, writing…
“The National League East is loaded. And it could be that way for a long time. Aside from maybe first base and right field, it’s very possible that the starting NL All-Star team could come from the NL East. It’s not just that the players are good, but they’re also quite young.”
…this all goes back to my counter point to the simple statement that goes, “The American League is stronger, the National League is weak.”…to me, the National League is more balanced, hence all the .500 records, while the American League is top heavy, though that is starting to even out finally…
…at any rate, the NL East is quite good…he’s right…i think we forget this…even at their best, the Mets were never going to waltz to a division title…i still fear the Braves more than the Phillies…frankly, though i do not believe the Marlins will continue to play as they have, they’re still a unpredictable team with good young pitching…here’s a perfect example, there was no consensus on who would win this division…if you recall from the many pre-season prediction columns, people picked the Mets, they picked the Phillies, they picked the Braves, some picked the Mets to not even make the playoffs, some picked the Phillies to not make the playoffs, some picked the Mets to get to a world series and to win it all, some picked the Braves to win it all…and so on, and so on…
…it’s going to be a fight…so, toughen up…every one…fans, management, players, reporters, etc…
…this was never going to be easy…
[Poll=79]
Tagged Poll |
Brian Schneider remains in the hospital with an infection in his left thumb.
Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters over the weekend that Schneider would likely be released from the hospital either yesterday or today, and could return to the lineup during the team’s series against the Pirates, which ends on Wednesday.
Schneider talked to the New York Post from his hospital room, essentially saying he is frustrated and hopes to return soon.
According to the Post, Schneider is being treated with intravenous antibiotics, “but has not been able to kick the infection.”
…well, that’s not good…i mean, any one who has ever been hospitalized and on any sort of intravenous knows it makes you fairly weak…it takes at least a few days to get your full strength back…at this point, the Mets should probably just let him chill, in hopes that he’ll be ready for the trip to arizona – assuming he is healed by then…
…the thing is, i miss schneider…i feel like i see a difference in the pitching staff when he is in the there…he seems to command the game quite well, and he provides a sense of stability behind the plate that is comforting…nothing against Raul Casanova, who has actually done better than i expected…it’s just, schneider is the starting catcher for a reason…
According to the Daily News, Nelson Figueroa will be skipped in the rotation on Sunday, in favor of Johan Santana.
Due to yesterday’s rainout, the following will likely be the team’s rotation over the next few days:
Tuesday: Johan Santana vs. Pirates
Wednesday: Oliver Perez vs. Pirates
Friday: John Maine at Arizona
Saturday: Mike Pelfrey at Arizona
Sunday: Johan Santana at Arizona
…that’s a shame, but i understand…it’s odd, because i find myself very confident in figueoroa, almost as much as any other pitcher on this team not named santana…
[Poll=78]
Tagged Nelson Figueroa, Poll |Prior to last night’s rain out, Carlos Delgado talked with reporters about irrelevant curtain call issue.
To read a transcript of the Q&A session, go to Adam Rubin’s 
blog for the Daily News, where Delgado is quoted as saying of his decision…
“I don’t know why you call it a decision. It’s not a decision. Yesterday we talked about the situation and I thought that there are moments, and then there are moments. I don’t think that was the moment (for a curtain call). I also said (Sunday) that we appreciate the fans, and the support of the fans, but we’re here to play a game. And we’re usually playing a team on the other side of the dugout. And that’s what we are trying to pay attention to. At the end of the day, the big story is that we took two out of three to Atlanta and that’s about it.”
…unreal…seriously…i know it was raining, and these guys need something to write about, but, 27 questions about a curtain call and fan reaction…27…it’s almost hard to believe…
…i woke up last night around 2 am…i couldn’t sleep…i turned on talk radio, and could not believe that people were still talking about delgado and the curtain call…you would think he took the curtain call, but also gave everyone the finger while doing it, the way talk show hosts have been carrying on…the funny thing is, most of the callers seem to be saying, though they would like to see delgado accept the curtain call, in the end, it doesn’t really matter…yet, the host and reporters keep pushing it – as though goading fans to talk about it…
…i guarantee you that most fans are far more concerned with what delgado is doing in the batter’s box, than with what he is or isn’t doing on the top step of the dugout…
Nevertheless, for more on Delgado and the fans and the curtain call, read the New York Post, Newsday, again the New York Post, the Daily News, the Journal News, the Bergen Record and the Star-Journal.
The Giants have demoted Barry Zito to the bullpen, as was 
first reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney yesterday afternoon.
Zito signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Giants following the 2006 season.
He is 0–6 with a 7.53 ERA in six starts for the Giants this season.
…wow, was i wrong on this guy…i was really in favor of the Mets signing zito back when he was a free agent, mostly because i never anticipated the Mets ever having a chance to acquire a pitcher like Carlos Zambrano or Roy Oswalt or Johan Santana via trade…thankfully, i was wrong on all accounts…more important, thankfully omar was right…he clearly chose wisely…
Zito started his career 47–17, but is just 66–65 since 2003.
For more, check out the ‘Wow, I just got rocked’ faces of Zito, post at Yahoo!’s Big League Stew, by ‘Duk.
…on a separate note, i always wonder if a guy like Billy Wagner, or a guy like Jeff Nelson, men who have had quite prolific careers as relief pitchers, do they find it insulting when we say it is a ‘demotion’ because a guy is ‘sent to’ the bullpen…
Tagged Omar Minaya | Newer posts →
