|
|
|
…to me, the Mets look a lot more motivated, focused and relaxed since being embarrassed by the Pirates last Wednesday…according to people around the team, the players have been more upbeat and looking confident since getting off the plane in Arizona…
…who knows why…could be from being humiliated by the Pirates…could be Billy Wagner’s public comments towards the end of last week…could be finally getting to use their best starting lineup for the first time all season…could be the nice, dry weather…could be getting away from you and me and the tense environment at Shea Stadium of late…it could be none of the above, yet it could also be all of these things…or, it could just be coincidence or luck or just playing well…
…all i know is that it’s nice to see them winning again…
…and i hope it continues…
I actually thought about this subject this morning. My theory about their confidence is that they feel like a “whole” again. They finally got Alou back, Schneider is back from the staph infection, and Sanchez is in the bullpen again. The team is finally back together and I bet that makes an impact on their confidence and may even bring that swagger they used to have back.
Well, by taking 2 games against the best team in the majors this year, they proved that they can win. Also, winning these 2 games should gie them a big boost in confidence.
*sorry, I meant it sould GIVE them a big boost in confidence…..they really need to put an edit comment thing in here…
I think it’s good for the team to get away from Shea.
Many people believe that a negative atmosphere can
generate negative results.
If you were on the team, wouldn’t you look forward to
playing on the road? I would.
i feel that theyve gotten up for some of these big weekend series–in philadelphia and here in arizona…if you saw david and jose in the dugout yesterday after the connor jackson error you could see what i mean…they were pumped like this was a huge win they were gonna get
totally, it looked like D said something like “I knew we’d get a big play!” or something, then they ran out to the step to dap beltran. great to see.
I’m going to ho ahead and say that it has nothing to do with Wagner opening his big, fat mouth.
And a lot more to do with Alou coming back, Church going back to the 2-spot, and the Mets playing in AZ.
Big fat mouth??? What wagner said was 100000000% appropriate and i’d bet some would be whining if this team hadn’t had anyone who stepped up and said something…ANYTHING
Agreed… I thought Wagner was spot on both in message and tone. Maybe Willie should be taking notes, rather than sniping at Ollie after his better performances in the press conference.
It’s never appropriate for a teammate to call anohther teammate out. That should be Willie’s job.
Even though he’s not doing it, it doesn’t mean that Wagner should do it in his place. He’s not the manager.
So then Ollie should call Billy out when he blows a game in spectacular fashion? That’s healthy.
Now hold on.
Ollie can’t call out anyone b/c he doesn’t have anywhere near Wagner’s resume. And Billy hasn’t blown a game in spectacular fashion this season, he’s been absolutely lights out. That’s the point. Billy was in a position to speak up b/c he earned it over his career. If OP ever earns himself that position through consistent and focused play, and notices his team underachieving, than he can speak up. But he is light years from that stature. And Billy didn’t call out OP b/c of his results, he called him out for his lack of focus and determination. When can you EVER say that about Billy Wagner? His comments were all about winning and playing to win. If OP were to call out Billy for blowing a rare save tonight, he would look like a selfish, spiteful, immature moron.
Players have been calling out teammates since the game began. It’s not just the manager’s job. The other day was one of those certain times where it was appropriate for the player to speak up. Especially b/c the manager wouldn’t do it.
Now, maybe he sholdn’t had said it in the media. But that also reassures the fanbase that certain individual’s in the clubhouse are not tolerant of the lackluster play. That’s a positive as well. We weren’t getting that through all the laid back Randolph cliches being thrown at us all year.
Overall, I agree 100% with what Billy did, and how he did it. THe only negative effect it can possibly have is it would further hurt OP’s game. Which honestly, can’t be any worse right now. And we will know more tonight.
The more I think about this, the more I appreciate this as a calculated, low-risk / high reward, and long overdue statement. Good for Billy.
It’s not like Wagner completely threw Ollie under the bus either. He kept the negative comments very focused on the performance, but also praised OP in general.
It was far more in line with the idea of constructive criticism than Willie’s sniping in press conferences about Ollie not going deep enough into games and not being consistent enough… after being unscored upon in either outing.
Other things Wagner’s said suggested that it’s not like he ran straight to the press, either.
What he said was right, but — and I’m of course not a pro athlete — I think it was appropriate for Willie to tell him to keep his complaints within the locker room.
The accuracy of his statements is irrelevant IMO. It’s the appropriateness of his statements that I have a problem with.
Agreed, but it may have had a positive effect, even if it wasn’t advisible at the time.
I disagree that it had any effect. He called out Oliver Perez who hasn’t even touched the ball since he made his comments.
Do you really think that Wagner calling out Ollie made Reyes or Wright or Church play harder?
And if Ollie goes 7 strong tonight, are you going to chalk it up as irrelavnt to Wagner’s comments as well?
I don’t think Wagner’s words are as golden as you do. I think he just pops off at the mouth. He’s not that smart.
If Ollie goes 7 strong it’s because he’s really talented (and enigmatic) and has the ability to do so.
We all know OP has the talent and ability. That is not the issue. It’s whether or not he has the focus and the nads. That was Billy’s point.
I guess I just wish it was the manager that shook up the team.
Willie’s inadequacy might make it necessary for Billy to pop off every once in a while, I will allow that.
You understand where I am coming from, I hope?
I agree. I wish Willie would do these things. It’s just not his style. If it was, than Billy likely woudn’t have done it. I recognize that Billy does pop off on occassion, but I honestly found his recent comments to be quite interesting, calculated, and not just based on emotion. I think he had enough of the underachieving, and realized he had to do something about it in an otherwise complacent clubhouse.
Willie should have. WIllie didn’t. So Billy did.
As long as you allow it.
I think you are way off base… As danny’86 said, players have been calling each other out for a long time and whether it’s the star closer or the manager, it needed to be said…and it was said by both. Should it have been public? I dont know….hindsight and all….but it remains to be seen how OP reacts.
You’re a very opinionated guy, but i just think your bias against billy wagner is showing here and you’re not doing yourself any favors by calling him dumb (which he is not at all).
Are you one of the people who call him a redneck hick from time to time???
I love Billy. But facts are facts….he is a red neck.
Ok….fine, i admit it…he is. Then again, anyone without a NY accent is :-)
I dont think he’s stupid at all though
I never called Wagner dumb. I said he’s not that smart. With the context being that he doesn’t have a filter and pops off and says things all the time. I don’t feel like his comments are measured, but rather emotional.
Danny1986 thinks this was a thoughtful diatribe with a very intentional meaning. I respect that opinion and think it’s a reasonable one.
I still think Wags wags his tongue a little too much.
How is his “redneck” status a “fact”?
“Not that smart”…”dumb”…SEMANTICS
I can’t recall Wagner being a consistently controversial quote source while on the team.
Agreed that Wags is not the sharpest knife in the drawer (or spoon for that matter), but I also believe this was calculated. As a pitcher, he can’t call out position players and he didn’t for the most part although he recognized that as a team they are playing poorly.
And the way I took it initially is that he had less of an issue with ollie’s crappy performance than he did with him not gutting it out and taking one on the chin for the bullpen. I have suspected that when ollie struggles he looks for willie to bail him out, more and more I think this is the case. Wags may feel he is the elder statesman in a bullpen that gets alot of criticism primarily because they are exposed by performances like last wednesday. If ollie goes 5 innings but gets roughed up for 5 or 6 runs I don’t think wags says anything. But he was looking for help after 1+ in a day game following an extra inning game. gutless.
How is his redneck status a fact?
Maybe b/c he has a beat up couch parked in front of his locker?
I don’t know man…it was a joke!!! Roach2….you’re right, Semantics is the focus today for some reason.
Not that smart and dumb are two completely different depictions.
Of course they are more comfortable… they can finally play in the friendly confines of visiting ballparks.
Feels like the 2007 Gmen – more comfortable on the road. Fans at home were either testy or they were an uncaring corporate crowd.
Which is why they’re 9-4 at home, right?
Exactly. In fact, they had a stadium full of 10 year olds chanting LGM all day despite playing like the Bad News Bears in Breaking Training.
I’m so tired of this blaming the fans crap. Just play baseball the right way, and you won’t have issues.
Which makes the incessant booing even more puzzling. A convincingly positive home record and still people are not satisfied….
I’ve heard all the “reasons” why people do it so much (some are deserved), but results are results…
Sure, there are fans who are passionate and boo anything negative because, like children, they have little self-control. Fine. Good. There is also, however, a contingent of talk radio-created fans who prefer insults and disparagement to cheers and support. To them, being a sports fan is all about deriding players as “worthless,” insulting other fans’, or the front office’s intelligence, laughing about players’ off-field mishaps, etc. These people go to games to boo and find excuses to boo. They’re jealous of the players and want to insinuate themselves into the game.
To me, it just creates an unwelcome atmosphere at the game, and makes what should be an enjoyable outing into sad comment on public decorum.
That said, does it really have much of an effect on what goes on on the field? Not really. Players are resigned to dealing with talk radio fans, I think. Sadly, I’m guessing they think that’s all of us.
Very nicely put, TMU
agreed on all points
I think Church moving to 2 hole is over done. I prefer to see Castillo there, but for now leaving Church there is fine. I think the Mets just play well in Arizona, are more relaxed away from Shea right now and our best two starters pitched well.
Castillo is slugging .261 this year.
haha…im beginning to think we should flop beltran and chucrh…put beltran in the 2 hole bc thats what hes looking like right now…hes up there trying to walk every ab and despite his awful 210 avg his obp is up around 360..maybe hitting in front of wright will get him going
i like that idea.
beltran would probably love to be in 2 hole — he could bunt ‘eveytime up and nobody would get on him. hit the other way, play small ball…
church cleanup. or 3rd with david cleanup.
i like it alot.
Beltran will get more pitches to hit if Delgado picks it up. Honestly, why pitch to Beltran if you can pitch to Delgado?
There are signs that Delgado could be coming around, but every time he shows signs of coming out of the slump he’s been in since last season, he reverts to form and plays like crap again. I’m trying to stay positive, but it’s difficult with Delgado because he’s been so bad in most big spots.
here’s a crazy idea that will never happen: bat Castillo leadoff (OBP being about his only strong suit). Reyes behind him with power and speed, then Wright, etc. I know it’ll never, ever happen…but why not? Takes a ton of pitches and gets on base in front of our best hitters…
Wow I actually think that your idea is definitely worth a shot.
Reyes Beltran Church Wright Delgado Alou Schneider Castillo
I think this is a good way to get Beltran and Delgado going….as long as Wright is not affected….
Wright’s a classic 3 hitter, very balanced. It still remains to be seen how long Church can keep up this kind of pace, but I’m loving every minute of it so far :)
Castillo batting lead is pretty crazy. His knees would nullify Reyes’ speed any time they both got on base.
I like yesterday’s lineup. If Delgado can continue his recent uptick, and Alou gets hitting, expect to see Beltran getting a lot more hittable pitches.
I don’t think so (knees nullifying reyes). he still has decent speed. he’s at least as fast as whatever catcher is hitting eigth/pinch hitter (aside from endy). He can take two bases on a single behind him. in fact, the more I think about it, the less crazy it is.
Is it really? That is remarkably awful.
The best 2-spot batter for the Mets is a productive Luis Castillo.
Of course we haven’t had one so far this year.
Reyes numbers with Church batting 2nd are outrageous.
Don’t move Church.
If it ain’t broke . . . .
This is a general problem with Beltran’s extreme streakiness. For months at a time he’s just dead weight, and then all of a sudden it’s as if the other hitters need not even bother to take the bat off their shoulders. Hit him eighth. When he’s hot, it won’t matter.
Beltran is going to be just fine. We all know he is going to give us .265/35/110 this season. Just waiting for him to get hot is the frustrating thing. But the fact that his OBP is high and he’s drawing walks means that he is not slumping IMO. When you are in a slump, you are typically clueless and have very low plate discipline (Delgado).
Beltran isn’t dead weight, because of his OBP. He’s just not being pitched to.
would you pitch to him with a 5 pitch max strikeout/pop-out/grounder out to second waiting on deck?
The exact reason why Alou is going to make a world difference.
so now we’re using “comfortable” as a good term with the Mets? Please make up your mind.
Taking two of three here was fantastic. Now willie v. joe should be entertaining.
btw, one of my favorite things: McCain alking about what a great “rivalry” this was, then going on about how smart bob melvin is…and melvin proceeding to out-willie willie. high comedy.
This has everything to do with playing like the team they’re supposed to be – picking other guys up when they fail and taking advantage of the other team’s mistakes. These are things that good teams do. Let us hope that the Mets have turned a corner and can keep this up for a while.
Amen to that.
Castillo usually sees 6 to 7 pitches per ab. That’s important. He also can’t sac or hit and run out of 8 hole. Bottom of the order is putrid with him @ no.8. Anyway, Church seems to be hitting well out of any spot in the order. I’d leave him in the 2 hole for now, but in the long run, I think the line-up is better with Castillo doing his thing at No. 2. People seems to be obsessed with getting power out of the 2 spot. Wally Backman anyone – ??
Studies in lineup construction actually conclude that slugging is actually more important in the 2-spot than on-base percentage. It seems counter-intuitive, but the math backs it up. And Church gets on base plenty to be effective up there. Also, with lineup construction, the most important thing to do is to stack up your best hitters, and Castillo is not one of the Mets best hitters.
Church pitches seen per plate appearance – 3.87
Castillo pitches seen per plate appearance – 4.16
It’s just not a big enough difference for me to declare that Castillo’s patience is an enormous benefit up there.
really? what studies?
The best study on lineup construction is in The Book by Tom Tango and a couple of others.
interesting, I’ll check it out. Everything I’ve ever read says OBP, so I’m curious to see what they have to say.
…and of course no b&n in the city has it, and neither does amazon. boo, I hate waiting.
I think the real problem is being overlooked with Castillo. The question shouldn’t be 2 or 8, but how can we get him out of the line up entirely!
Sorry, but I didn’t like hi last year (but was OK with bringing him in, given the cirsumstances), and really hated bringing him back this year, and totally detested the 4 year contract. This team would be much, much better if they had a solid all-around 2B (one that could actually play solid D and do something with the bat).
Watching Castillo calcify before our eyes for the next couple of years is going to be painful to watch.
The contract is horrible, no doubt. But I actually find myself enjoying Castillo’s style a lot more at the bottom of the order. He’s an annoying, tough out with a high OBP, so he can clear the pitcher’s spot consistently. If we need to bunt him over, he has enough speed so that the pitchers don’t have to try and perfect with their bunts. He makes so much sense at the bottom of the order, at least for a couple of seasons before he breaks down for good.
I understand your fustration but frankly the question was who……Omar if you recall was trying to get eckstein(spl) to play 2b and that didnt work and would you feel confortable with Anderson Hernandez as your 2b(now thats an ez out). So the question is who would have played 2b for us this year. I agree the length of the contract is way to long but frankly do you think omars hands were tied there?
Once I heard the market on Castillo was going for 3-4 years, I cringed. At that point I was fine with Gotay, Easley, and with knowing AHern’s glove was down in NO. Plus he had the Valentin factor on the back burner. Point is, I don’t think Omar’s hands were tied. He had options with the resources he already had at his disposal.
And all those options made sense for 1-2 years when considering the opportunity costs you take on with a long term Castillo contract. Over that time guys like OHudson, Uggla, Freddie Sanchez, and Brian Roberts hit the market.
I’ll guarantee that if Omar foresaw Castillo ever batting 8th in this lineup, especially 1 month into the season, he would not had signed him.
It was just a horrible decision.
I truely believe that the main reason (although we had a need for a defensive 2nd baseman) was to get Johan to sign. So, if you view those two as a package, it’s a pretty good deal.
I wasnt thrilled with the length of Luis; contract either. But here is the thing, I think the 4 years was just Omar’s way of making sure he got his man, and figured he would worry about years 3 and 4 later. I dont think anybody would criticize this if it were a 2 year deal. If a guy comes available in 2 years and Castillo is finished, dont think for a second that Omar wouldnt make a move to upgrade and eat Castillo’s contract.At 6mm a year, it shouldnt be that hard to find somebody to take Castillo for 2years/4mil and just east 8 million. If a Brandon Phillips or somebody like that hit FA 2 years from now I think Omar would look into it, for Freddy Sanchez, I doubt it. I think Omar was confortable in having Castillo for the next 2 years, and knew that if it came down to it in year 3 he could always eat the majority of that contract and ship him off, so he gave the extra 2 years to make sure he got his man. I am not a huge Castillo fan, but I can say that he is infinitely better then having David Eckstein out there everyday. Atleast Castillo can draw a walk and play defense.
We traded for Johan, so Castillo really didnt have anything to do with Johan, other then perhaps making him feel more comfortable when he arrived. I find it almost impossible to believe Johan would have turned down 145 mil from the Mets if Castillo wasnt here.
I don’t know that he would have been a lot better than Eckstein, but it ended up entirely moot, because Eckstein wanted to stay at short.
I don’t buy the Johan correlation either. Even so, I think it disregards the strong Latino contingent already on the team. Throw in the contract, playing in NYC, the NL, etc…..Johan was coming with or w/o Castillo.
But implying that eating 5-10M in 2010 and beyond was part of Omar’s strategy doesn’t compute. You don’t sign a guy for 4 years $25M when you only expect 2 years out of him. Never is it guaranteed that another team will jump at a chance to take your cast-offs. Didn’t work with Matsui. So any GM who assumes that when signing a guy to a long-term deal before he goes under the knife to repair BOTH knees should be fired on the spot.
I love Castillo batting 8th. He’s the “quintessential” 8-hitter in the national league, if you will. With 2 outs, he can get on base, clearing the pitcher. . WIth 0 or 1 out, if he gets on, the pitcher can bunt him over, and score on a reyes slapper, or a Church 3-run home run (which from this moment forward, I will be referring to as a Crusade).
Now if the issue is will he keep it up in 2011. Of course he wont. Thats why Im glad his contract isn’t expensive, just long. The buyout wont murder the franchise.
Exactly, you nailed it. Its too long, but the money is small enough that if Castillo has any value whatsoever left, they can eat 2/3 of the last 2 years and dump him somewhere. If he doesnt have value, you part ways and pay him his 10 mil or whatever. Not back breaking, either way.
Line of the day, Joe D. Dripping with sarcasm, but actually very, very true. They appear more relaxed on the road. Sad, but true.
And that’s why they are 9-4 at Shea? Puh-lease. Enough with the kvetching about the home crowds. Didn’t you see Matt’s interview with Darryl about the booing where Darryl basically laughed it off as a ridiculous notion that this is anything new or anything important?
Yes, the Mets are comfortable. The pitching staff is far more comfortable with Brian Schneider behind the plate . . . Ollie will bear this out tonight, when he beats the Dodgers. Ollie was 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA against them last year in 14 2/3 IP.
This trip sort of reminds of the one in 2006 where the Mets stomped all over the NL West and went off on a role. When they got back to Shea they were giving a huge ovation. If the Mets go out and take the series or sweep the dodgers and play crisp baseball they should get a good ovation coming back and hopefully become more comfortable.
We need to stop the unnecessary booing of guys schow who have performed this year. Try and be supportive maybe something comes of it.
and when they came back from that trip, after the ovation, melvin mora hit a killer HR off heilman, who was then booed off the field.
some things never change.
This would the series where they came back from a 9-1 West Coast trip and proceeded to be swept on a weekend series by the Orioles?
My bad. They actually won the last game of that series. I looked it up.
The big question is how comfortable Perez will look tonight…
this is actually a huge monstrosity of a question.
Matt…I thnk there is merit to getting on the road and playing in a new environment. It’s a refresh button. It’s obvious that the Mets have a new feel on this road trip.
But they aren’t just getting away from you and me. More importantly, they are getting away from the media. Willie goes from a post game packed press room at Shea to holding court with Burkhart, Noble, adn few few other beat reporters.
I have a feeling Wallace Matthews is just as annoying and impactful than a few hundred comments on MetsBlog or a few boos at Shea.
Anyone think Willie should get some credit for walking the 8th hitter in the 6th so Melvin was forced to take Haren out?
I do, but this will be overlooked by the majority
I do too, but I think melvin playing to it and lifting haren was retarded.
ABSOLUTELY.
And he didn’t take out Alou for Chavez in the 7th after he had made an out in the top of the inning. If he did, we all know he would have bunted Chavez to move Beltran in the 9th with Delgado due up next. I would not had agreed with that. INstead, with ALou up….swing away. THough it was almost a DP, it worked out well. Game of inches.
guys … your falling into yankee fan mentality ….. A non productive castillo is the only real hole in our offense … cant have a very good player at every position
yea good move willie…
HOWEVER .. i said it then .. bad move by arizone imo ….
u had to figure johan wasnt going past the 6th with his pitch count, and the met bullpen has been spotty…
leave Haren in whowas pitching very well, and take your chances in the 6th vs. a tired johan, or in the 7th and 8th vs. a spotty pen..
however … the mets didnt hit in the 7th or 8th so it didnt matter
yeah, I totally agree…this has been one of the best offenses so far (AZ, I mean), our pen has been leaky, and haren was cruising.
seems to me like the mets play at the opponents level. they play well against good teams, and poorly against bad teams (minus the philly series last year). i think that’s what makes this team so infuriating. they have the talent and the skill, see this weekend, but they don’t always seem to use it, see the pirates and the nats/marlins last year.
I hate to throw cold water on all these warm fuzzies, but except for Friday’s game, the rest of the weekend was more of the same from the Mets. On Saturday, we had sloppy fielding, ineffective relief, bad starting pitching and not enough timely hitting. Yesterday, the offense was non-existant (except for DW), good starting pitching, sloppy fielding and ineffective relief (Smith). We were lucky to win yesterday. Besides Connor Jackson’s error, there was Feliciano’s error that was saved by Church’s great play. If the Arizona hitter would have stopped at second they would have set themselves up for a big inning.
I realize that having the line-up whole again and being away from Shea helped. I just hope they play some good solid baseball for once.
We faced Owings, Webb and Haren and took 2 out of 3 and you are not encouraged?
Just to back this up, the combined record of those three coming into the series was 14-1.
And we won 2 of 3.
Let me tell ya something guy, if you keep harping on mistakes that happen within every game, it’s going to be a long season for you.
You tell me any team in baseball plays perfectly for most of the season (even in their wins) and i’ll call you a liar.
Warning: positive statement.
I noticed something cool looking at the standings this morning. There are only 3 teams in the entire league with fewer losses than we have, for what it’s worth. It seems odd how even everyone is at this point, but I’ll take it.
Please stop clouding the issue with facts. You’ll confuse all the nattering nabobs of negativity who post here.
we have missed too many games for me to put any stock in the loss column. it’s an artificially rosy way of looking at the standings.
we’re in OK shape but those games could very well work against us later, especially with the way the bullpen could look during the dog days after a spring with captain hook at the helm. that one-off vs. STL the last week of the season was the dagger through the heart last september.
Yay! We’ve had lots of rainouts and off days! We MUST be WS bound!
Nice, um, …..logic.
I get it…. you are doing your theealsince86 imitation.
that’s pretty good. You’re spot on. ;)
Tee hee.
I did warn you. What else do you want? Next time I’ll hold your hand while I read you my post and then buy you ice cream afterward.
The standings on this web site should be listed by winning percentage, not the loss column. Using the cliche “if the season ended today” the Mets would not be in first place.
but if the season ended today, we’d still have three games to play to equal the same # of chances the phils have had to win, right?
but we aren’t in first place…period
using the LB metric is fine and dandy, except when it blatantly lies to you about the standings
we’re tied for second going into today’s play
We’re a half game out of first with the fifth best record in the league, and we’ve had our starting 8 on the field together for ONE game so far. Jeez, you guys aren’t “glass half empty” guys, you’re “the glass will shatter and slice my mouth, and the liquid is probably poison anyway, and who put the glass near me and why?” kind of guys. Amazing.
not taking an issue with your post generally, but calling alou “our starting 8″ is like half disingenuous and half dumb. we can’t blame the injury fairy for alou’s condition, nor can we for pedro or duque. everyone knew these guys were more likely to be hurt than not.
Your comment makes no sense (nor does your insult). Alou is indeed part of the starting 8, irrespective of whether he plays 162 games. And he wasn’t “hurt” in an athletic sense–he had a hernia, a non-sports related injury. Will he go the rest of the season without injury? Impossible to say. He’s obviously more prone to injury than a younger player. If he’s rested occasionally, I think it’s quite possible he’ll make it.
Classic! I totally agree….have some faith people!