|
MetsGeek.com, a fellow Mets blog 
with a statistical bend, has changed it’s name to RaysGeek, in honor of the Devil Rays, because, as they put it, “The Mets suck.”
Meanwhile, in a post to Hot Foot, Anthony De Rosa wants to ‘blow the whole thing up,’ such as cutting ties with Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, Carlos Delgado, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Martinez and El Duque, while writing, “I’ve had it with this team.’
According to Ken Davidoff at his blog for Newsday, “A good week against the right teams, and the Mets can bring themselves right back into the race.” However, he concludes, “I don’t see that good week occurring on Randolph’s watch.”
Lastly, at his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains how, by doing nothing yesterday, Fred and Jeff Wilpon have sent the absolute wrong message to their team’s clubhouse.
I agree with Sherman. Keeping Randolph is one thing, but it should have been combined with some other move. When the discussion turned to “how can we improve the team”, what exactly did they talk about?
I would release delgado and anyone else who is not popular with Randolph, let the players know that since the manager is clearly not accountable, they are.
Can we find a new GM? He is the root of the issue. These are the players that Willie has to deal with. Come on, what other GM would give Luis Castillo a 4 year deal other then say…Steve Phillips if he was still in the biz??
FIRE OMAR…
At this point I’m just interested in what draft picks we could get with these old folks departures. Here is my big question: Would you rather a team with Castillo and Delgado on 1b and 2b, or Willie and Hojo as manager and hitting coach? I’d take the latter…..
I want all four gone.
hojo and delgado need to pack it up…
Ok lets look at HoJo’s impact: D Wright has an MVP caliber second half last year, Ryan Church gets his swing corrected and is the Mets lone All Star this year…..Delgado continues to slide into the abyss, Castillo never had any fundamentals of a good swing, Jose Reyes crashed and burned……
consistent offense is the biggest problem on this team…
Bullpen is an issue too. Matt Wise should be designated for assignment. His 83MPH fastball is batting practice. Even for, say – Luis Castillo – for argument’s sake.
Everyone should boycott a game at shea, then watch what happens. But as long as the fans are in the stands spending money there will be no change.
A boycott isn’t even necessary. Just wait for the call from Ticket Sales regarding your 09 season ticket plan at CitiField.
Don’t sign up for 09 tickets, they will hear you loud and clear.
On the other hand, this could have a silver lining. I bet there are weekend packages available next year after this disaster.
They should keep Vargas up here and send Pelfrey down when Pedro comes back. Let him work out his problems while the big league club is under a lot of pressure. This is the worst time for the big pelf to go through growing pains. He shouldn’t have been rushed to the big leagues anyways.
All true, but in Pelf’s defense he was supposed to be a No 5. The problem is they have a 1 and a 2, and three 5s.
“Number 5″ is not supposed to mean “absolute disaster.”
A good number 5 eats innings and keeps you in ballgames. Pelfrey does neither.
Fortunately, I think Vargas can accomplish both. Now we just need a #2 and a #4.
On an unrelated note, why does any Met fan even call Fatso & Fruitloop?
I listen to them everyday…I am in STL.
A good week against the right teams? The Mets are one of the worst teams, what right team is their to play if we lose 3 out of 4 to the Nationals?
If they can hold out until August they can try and win the Little league World series. Nah, Japan is too tough.
And Taiwain has a 12 year old lefty that Delgado can’t hit at all.
The schedule is unfair. Every other NL East team gets to play us like 18 times. We NEVER get to play us!!
good question. i enjoyed the wine pic on BMF
this team is going through a mild depression. they need to skip batting practice or get together on their day off and go to the movies to see a comedy followed by a huge dinner together at one of the players’ homes or at a restaurant with some type of latino cuisine.
willie get it done and pick up the tab. it’s time.
flush it out of their system with cheap booze and expensive hookers. or expensive booze and cheap hookers.
Maybe they give the govenor a call.
Maybe Mets fans should also have a night out…or maybe we just need to take a week off from watching the team…if they find out nobody is watching, their delicate egos won’t be stressed and they can start playing
I gave myself a weekend moratorium from the team this past weekend because they are affecting my mood. So instead, I filled myself with charred meats and liquid depressants. And, lo and behold, it didn’t do them any good at all – or me, for that matter.
I’ve already taken over a week off….I haven’t watched a game since they lost 1-0 to the Nats.
And you know what? I couldn’t be happier. My GTA4 instead of the Mets plan is wonderful.
Jerry Manuel will suck as Met manager, but I’d imagine having him given the year to see if he can right the ship is the best we can hope for.
Can we get a new lineup please? luis castillo gets too many ABs. If you’ve only got three decent hitters, no point in a cleanup hitter.
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
1,2,3
I am agnostic about Willie at this point. But his stubbornness about lineups drives me crazy. secondbase always bats second is a stupid rule,,,,
Reyes 2 out hits, rare as they’ve been, are useless with Luis #2.
And with reyes on base there is no one to take advantage of fastballs… luis castillo just hits fastballs into doubleplays. It actually works to our disadvantage.
How about a PH walking? Reyes bunting him over, maybe even getting on in the process, and then Carlos? Castillo is not a #2… this idea of a classic bunting, single hitting, #2 is WAY overrated. You need your best hitters at the top of the lineup (1-4). not your fastest.
I live in the Bay Area &, although they are not a very good team, Bruce Botchy has not used the same lineup twice yet. HE rarely did last year too.
standardized lineups are over rated… 86 mets notwithstanding.
FINALLY…
carlos delgado, can you take one for the team? He has been almost hit about twenty times this year. But he puts great effort into getting out of the way. TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM. Chase Utley does it. IT DOESN”T HURT YOUR BA and helps your OB%.
u want to put one of our best rbi guys behind someone who gets on base as frequently(sarcasm) as reyes. Id rather leave beltran where he is or at the very least put him in 3rd. Unfortunatly i dont think luis fits in anywhere but 2nd at this point, we have seen how he produces in the 8th hole with RISP. Id rather use his ability to not hit a ball out the infield in a situation to move reyes over.
castillo doesn’t produce anything against lefties… OPS .585. He needs to be out of the lineup… or #8… in those situations…
I don’t like putting our rbi guy #2, but carlos could also be a run-scorer… I would like to see those three grouped together. like I said, If the pitcher or #8 lead off an inning there is no hope for castillo to drive in reyes. (As I say that I read that his OPS is .960 with RiSP/2outs)… so maybe its all an illusion…
Having castillo #2 forces you to always play small ball. mets need to be more agressive than that. In some situations it is essential… but not always.
Lets go mEts. win one (please)
With the way the “power” of the mets have been in display this season…i would welcome small ball anyday
I don’t think Willie deserves to be fired purely on the basis of his on-field performance. But round the clock criticism of his every move–plus his own misguided comments– have destroyed his credibility with this group. Even if the change is purely cosmetic, he should be let go just to let the team, “turn the page” as Keith would say. Whatever happens, I wish Willie well. I think he is a solid manager and a good guy. But putting him through this extended torture only to fire him later isn’t right. Let him go already. Maybe it will be better for everyone at this point.
Am I the only one who thinks maybe everyone is overreacting just a little bit? I know it’s hard to watch this team because we can’t forget the end of last season, and at times I’ve been extremely fed up with the way the Mets are playing.
But it is still May. I’m dying for these guys to start winning some games, but I don’t think blowing up the team, so to speak, is really necessary at this point.
Maybe I’ll be wrong, but I still believe.
You’ll be dead by the time this team starts winning games lol
i do believe, and always will, but at what point is enough, enough?
alou, pedro and el duque just aren’t contributing…you can’t bank on them, as soon as they come back, they get hurt, you need to change that
there needs to be some kind of change to change the mentality, nothing else has worked, one move can just change it enough to make the team wake up
cut delgado, let evans and carp platoon at first and LF…
We have reached that point. The only reason why we’re not in last is because the Nationals keep losing too. Wait till we play them again and then we’ll slip into last place.
I enjoy your optimism, and share it to a point.
But they have been borderline unwatchable for most of the season. It hasn’t been up and down, its been almost all down.
you are completely and totally ou of your mind…
is that convincing enough..
it is june, not may.. there are 3 good teams ahead of us in the division, not to mention stl, hou, chicago, etc. etc. etc.
If you think we are going to make the playoffs this year, it is just not going to happen..
Agree. No shot. Way too many better teams.
I commend your optimism. I love this team but right now there is a difference between optimism and reality.
The reality is we are in 4th place and 6 1/2 out of first
Yes there is alot of baseball to be played and they have time to turn it around. What i think all the despiration around here is that it doesnt look like this team is capable of doing so. We do not do anything consistantly and that has plagued our season so far. We need something to jumpstart this team and go off on a good run but this team cannot put together at the very least a 4 game winning streak or a sweep. This team is in trouble and thats the reality…something has got to change before its too late to come back..
Leaving everything alone, watching the calendar, and counting on things just working themselves out sounds like a rational idea, but it’s irresponsible and will only lead to a waste of what should and still can be a great season.
Sorry, that was meant to be a reply to the original post.
Trust me, guys, it’s tough to be an optimist at this point in time.
I agree that something needs to be changed on the team, but some of the suggestions lately have been borderline insane.
I guess at a time when Peter Gammons is saying the Mets should trade Beltran and people are suggesting boycotting games or not buying as many tickets, I’m not really ready to be that extreme. Did 2006 spoil us to the point that we completely jump ship on this team when they’re down and out?
I still don’t understand the whole 2006 spoiled everyone thing. They won the division. Someone has to win the division. I remember during Spring Training of 2006 when Pedro was interviewed in the dugout on ESPN. They asked him how he felt about being the favorites to win the division. He said, “The division means nothing.”
Meanwhile, the team continues to roll along, bored with themselves for being so good, but what have they won?
Don’t get me wrong. If they never make the playoffs again I will still support them, just as I always have. But I see a lot of finger pointing at the fans (not from you) when in reality the players are really the ones who have a crappy attitude. I never root for them to lose, but honestly, these guys need a good ass-kicking from the kind of teams who have been giving it to them lately. How they respond to that is what will really show us who they are, not so much their record right now.
I agree with you that some of these suggestions have been rediculous at best. I dont think there has been one suggestion that is rational or realistic. I can admit i have no idea how to fix this team because frankly, there are so many holes and its just the chemistry is not there. And yes for some people 06 spoiled them into jumping ship, however most met fans are just fustrated and want something to change. They still love their team but are not very happy with the stubborness and lack luster play this team has showed so far. Winning cures everything but the problem is this team just doesnt seem to put it together long enough to make a difference
WE HAVE A WORSE RECORD THAN THE PIRATES!!!!!!!!!
Not surprising. Just give it some time and we’ll be in the same boat as the Nationals, Reds, Giants and Padres.
thats because they have Nady
Fat Mike and the Rat are at it again going after the Mets. Has anyone spoken about the Yankees! They are worse for wear and older.
Sad state when someone changes their blog to the Rays? Sad! Who would’ve thought? That guy who changed the sites name better not show up when the Mets start winning.
Met fans need to start believing cause this isn’t helping. Ya gotta believe……let’s get some good positive stuff on this site. Let’s talk about how we can turn this around besides firing Willie. LETS GO METS, LETS GO METS, LETS GO METS. I think we will see a bench clearing brawl today. Santana doesn’t take any crap unlike any of the other soft Mets. Enough with the Marlins digging in at the plate. High and inside and make sure they know who owns the plate. The hitters need to step up big tonight. Understand that Willie isn’t going anywhere. You gotta go with what you have. This is a statement game for the Mets and what they are made of.
If we get rid of Willie, who’s next? Hernandez/Backman?
Not anymore, now they are only 6 back, better record than us..
The yankees should be the talk o the town, but the mets SUK so bad, we take all the headlines…
All the headlines for all of the wrong reasons …..losing and chaos…..
“Met fans need to start believing cause this isn’t helping.”
Silly.
it was sarcasm……
Sherman is spot-on. The no-message “message” is the worst thing the Wilpon’s could have done. Either can Willie (please?!) or say he has the year and start making some roster changes.
yo….how ya been man….
I’m back….miss anything good?
Are you gonna blow it up without replacing Willie? That would be insane. If the next manager can’t turn it around, then blow it up.
We need to bring up or trade for a first baseman.. then we can sit delcrap against all lefties.
We can also trade heilman and pelfrey for a USEABLE of/if backup..
Chavez/Anderson/Easley, they are showing why they sit on the bench.. they suck bigtime.
We also need to get a pitching coach who can tell wille what to do.. get leo mazone.
Randolph does not know who to bring in when, and obviously pedersen is not helping..
WHERE IS THE FIRE PEDERSEN CHANTS???? He sucks…
Hey Boo, what kind of fan are that you can’t even spell the pitching coach’s name right?
I will say this again, Lets be true fans and support this team while they’re struggling. Its our responsibility as fans to lift this team up and root them on.
You keep tellin’ yourself that.
They’ve been struggling for over a year now. Isn’t it their responsibility, as multi million dollar athletes, to give us something to root for??
I think people do root for them and try to lift them up but at the end of the day..they got a job to do and they are not getting it done consistantly enough. I still believe this team has better than .500 talent, we just need to find the missing link that will put it together
It’s my “responsibility”???
No it isn’t.
Not unless Wilpon wants to pay me for my services.
Any love I had for this current crop of players died with the final game of 2007. I’m strictly a “for the uniform” fan until the last of these chokers is gone
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL!!! PEDRO COMES BACK
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL!!! ALOU COMES BACK
I had to laugh yesterday when willie was anxious to end the press conference because he “had a team to manager.” Did anyone think for a minute that he would not use the same lineup he has used for the last 3 games? What “managing” is he doing? What was the rush willie?
EL DUQUE COMES BACK!! LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL!!!
We need Randolph to grow some balls and make a speach like Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) from Any Given Sunday…
I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives. All comes down to today, and either, we heal as a team, or we’re gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play. Until we’re finished. We’re in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And, we can stay here, get the sh*t kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell… one inch at a time. Now I can’t do it for ya, I’m too old. I look around, I see these young faces and I think, I mean, I’ve made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I’ve pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know, when you get old, in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that’s… that’s… that’s a part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losin’ stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game – life or football – the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that’s gonna make the $%&king difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I’ll tell you this, in any fight it’s the guy whose willing to die whose gonna win that inch. And I know, if I’m gonna have any life anymore it’s because I’m still willing to fight and die for that inch, because that’s what living is, the six inches in front of your face. Now I can’t make you do it. You’ve got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think ya going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. Your gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it your gonna do the same for him. That’s a team, gentlemen, and either, we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals. That’s football guys, that’s all it is. Now, what are you gonna do?
” Now I can’t do it for ya, I’m too old. I look around, I see these young faces and I think, I mean, I’ve made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make.”
I think guys like Reyes and Wright would get confused when both Willie and Alou/El Duque start saying this at the same time.
I completely agree with this part of Sherman’s piece:
For the New York Mets as an organization, this needed to be a day in which a nice man named Fred Wilpon, the patriarch still of this organization, went into the clubhouse, gathered the players and told them how disappointed he was by the last calendar year of baseball. And he needed to tell the players that he had authorized the manager to do whatever was necessary to jolt the lethargy, including bench the highest-paid stars if they were underperforming and/or publicly through the media take to task any loafers.
I agree, plus the Wilpons have to make a move, the Mets were 20 games over .500 on Sept 12, what has happened since? the problem is randolph can’t deal with adversity, because he doesn’t have that much experience, he refused to go to the minors and learn how to manage, how about Ken Oberkfell, the guy has paid his dues, won 2005 manager of the year?
Hi I’m actor Troy McClure. You might remember me from such self-help videos as “Smoke Yourself Thin” and “Get Some Confidence, Stupid!” You know, I was one of the first to speak out against horseplay, that’s the problem with these Mets.
LOLOLOL
You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society.
anybody going to tonight’s game? I’m thinking about bringing signs… or is that a waste of ink and paper?
I have 3 little letters that seem to give this Mets team it’s rightful place… WTF?
I have an idea since gary, ron and keith already aired from the upper deck, how bout they air and manage from the dugout and let willie and his staff take the night off.
I think Omar should have to sit in the Upper deck and talk with the fans until this team turns the corner.
@metsfaninvegas
I will keep telling myself that. Because when it comes down to it, Its just a game, When reyes makes an error it doesn’t offend me personally like all you fans who just boo and start ridiculous chants like its a knicks game.
Wow. What a good kid.
I really don’t care for this team right now and am quickly heading towards the road of apathy.
I have mixed feelings on Willie, because he does seem like a nice guy.
But the mix on this team right now.. I am finding it hard to root for these guys.. I see hustle on some plays and am all pumped up.. and then I see lack of hustel on others and am back to not caring much.
It comes down to this, if these players don’t care about winning and hustling.. why should I?
A franchise at the crossroads right now
WE CAN BELIEVE IN CHANGE!!!
Ok….here’s the solution. The last thing we want ist o have Citi Field open without it’s parking lot being ready. So, let’s just demolish Shea to get a jump on finishing the parking lot. But do the demolition with the team, manager, and front office inside of it. Surviviors (if any) of the wrecking balls, falling concrete, etc. get to remain with the franchise.
Gipper, how do you make your name a link…
Magic.
Seriously, when you sign up (or access your account page) you can add a website to your account. Then it automatically makes your username a link to that page.
Thanks
By bunting in the cleanup spot.
i like it alot..
We should chain down the bumbs to make sure they dont make it out…
thats a lot of chains though
?
wait, am I the first or did I miss a post, but Bring on Scott Hatteburg as our new 1B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all 37 problems solved
Fix delgado and you fix the team. He has been a rally killer. Perhaps his hip is still bothering him? Maybe he is washed up? Either way do something about that and this team is fixed.
Everyone is confused about the purpose of yesterday’s meeting. One possibility I have not heard mentioned – from a legal perspective the Wilpons may be worried about firing Willie days after he brought up the racism comments, leading to accusations of retaliatory or wrongful termination. Instead, they had a meeting to go over his issues and concerns (i.e., take the allegations seriously and investigate), but also to put him on notice that his job is in jeopardy for perfomance reasons (not because they are angry at him for saying he is a victim of racism). If he continues to falter, the Mets will be on more solid legal ground to fire him. Conservative approach, but plausible, especially if the Wilpons have conservative lawyers…
They don’t need a legal reason to fire him.
Actually nick has a bit of a point re: retaliation. But, that would generally require Willie having done something more along the lines of complaining to the EEOC than to the press…and he never intimated racism within organization. I don’t think any lawyer would be too concerned. Plus, if Willie ever wants another baseball job, he won’t want to sue anybody.
–Gipper82475, Esq.
such drama queens
Tonight and tomorrow we see just how willing Willie is to keep his job. With a pair of lefties on the mound, Delgado should be on the bench, with Evans at 1B, and Tatis in LF.
It’s also time to let go of Marlon and Easley, and bring up Anderson Hernandez, so that we have a true backup SS/2B.
But if he can get Carlos in a groove against the lefties, then he will really be in a rhythm against righties.
Carlos is so out of sync, he cant even find the on button.
Well your wish is partially granted since Marlon strained his hammy.
Small favors….
I will be shocked if Delgado is on the bench!
So would I, but its still the right move. Which means he’ll be playing first base, hitting 5th.
He is on the bench though, right after he pops up a bases loaded 2-0 pitch and grins his way back to his still-warm spot on the pine.
My wife and I have a game where we try to predict groundout, pop out, or strikeout for Delgado. I was 2 for 3 last night.
God bless your wife’s patience to sit through a game. My fiancee left the room yesterday after I was yelling at Reyes grinning when he left the field after the top of 1st. She even came back and saw him hit his 1HR and wondered why I wasn’t more excited and I told her that it was because it should be 1-0 Mets, not 2-1 Marlins because of his bobble in the field.
absolutely, Delgado should be sitting against lefties, but Randolph is intimadated by certain players on his team, actually its not his team, they have no respect for him
I don’t think that everyone is confused about the meeting. They wanted to clear the air about Willie’s comments. They wanted to find out how willing he is to do things differently. They wanted to be able to say that they gave him a chance before they eventually fire him. I really don’t think it is anything more than that. If they were going to fire him, the meeting would never have been scheduled. Also, I think they have plenty of grounds to fire him without worrying about Willie’s paranoid accusations.
In my opnion this team can turn it around, This team has always had a backs against the wall resilience. A nice little 8 out of 10 streak could give them back their confidence
They are 1-19 when trailing after 6 innings this year. I don’t care if they were always resilient when their backs were against the wall, the word “resilient” belongs nowhere near the 2008 Mets.
don’t get baited by trolls my friend
Sometimes being an optimist and being a realist are mutually exclusive. I think our Mets are one of those times.
Also, someone posted a quote from Tim Redding a couple of days ago, and Redding said that the Nationals were completely comfortable playing the Mets.
Tim freaking Redding?!?! I mean, when I read that, I was infuriated that such a nobody piece of garbage bum of a pitcher can actually say that about this team. The Mets should beat Washington at least 12 times a year, because other then Zimmerman, Milledge, and maybe Dukes, their line-up is talentless.
Oh, and God forbid our fearless leader would ever tell one of our guys to throw at someone from an inferior team for mouthing off like that. Then again, I probably got more outraged after reading that quote than the usual suspects.
Don’t sweat the Reading thing, I live in DC and I’m all over him, I’ll track him down for you and sort him out.
I say bring on the youngsters and guys who deserve a chance. Whether it is Carp, FMart, Feleciano, Pascucci, Stewart, Mendez, A Reyes or anyone else at this point. Anyone who has the gonads to get in there and hustle has got to be better than the current cast of characters. Could it be any worse? We are in the cellar now with the likes of Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Washington.
Look at it this way…Other than Wright (who is just playing okay). Who from last year’s team is doing well? I’ll tell you…NO ONE!
Santana, Church and Schnieder (the newbies) have been the enjoyable ones to watch, and now with Church out, the offense is lame at best. I’m trying to stay positive but it’s certainly not easy. It is a constant struggle for me to watch them and to feel like they have a chance.
With Alou and Church not playing last night’s line-up did not have one player over .281, unless you consider the new kid Evans. It had five starters with batting averages below .261. WOW that does suck! The Marlins on the other hand had everyone above that except for Jones and Jacobs. Every team the Mets play right now has more offense. Shoot my 13 year son’s travel team has more offense than the Mets.
It is very hard to stay positive when you have this kind of play from guys making millions…
Delgado – I’ve supported you as much as I possibly can. I’m just sick and tired of the strikeouts and pop ups. Meaningless solo shots, with a bad batting average. Not much at 1B either.
Castillo – Another one I’ve stuck up for, and should now apologize for. When do you not run out a ground ball on a potential double play? I’ve seen this 3 or 4 times in the last week or so. Slap hitting is okay when you do all of the other things well and bat close to .300. Otherwise it doesn’t mean much.
Beltran – Seems to be just going through the motions. No spark, not a care in the world. To not even get a secondary lead off of first and then not run on a ground ball is pathetic. Too many long, lazy fly outs. Never comes through in the clutch. Just what you want out of your cleanup hitter.
Reyes – (Who I now refer to as Chicken Little because he reminds me of a chicken with his head cut off), is boneheaded on the bases, and scary on defense. Considering his complete lack of plate discipline he really should not be a leadoff hitter. “Most exciting player in baseball” Sure if you want to consider never knowing what kind of stupid move he is going to make. There are four or five better shortstops in the NL alone. By the way he should have been charged with another error last night.
Pitching: The Mets theme for pitching seems to be to walk the first man of each inning, or at least walk one an inning. I don’t even want to talk about pitching. That will send me off on another tangent.
I know it’s early, but I really don’t want to here that crap. The Mets do suck right now, and something got to give. They are 6.5 back and getting spanked by everyone else in the NL East. Including the Nats. The Mets are not in the top ten in any offensive category other than stolen bases. They are ranked 22nd, 23rd, 24th or worse in almost all categories, and that was with a healthy Church, Alou, and Pagan. Do you want anymore proof of mediocrity?
If they are not going to get rid of Willie then I SAY BRING ON SOME NEW LIFE. Once again, can it be any worse?
They’re not called the Devil Rays anymore. They’re the Rays.
Considering that they’re the best team in baseball right now, you’d thing they’d get a little more respect. Rays Pride.
did you miss the memo that they’re now called the Rays, not the Devil Rays? Anyway, I have a more legitimate reason than most to jump ship from the Mets to Tampa Bay: my last name is Ray. I’m definitely more interested in my namesake team now but let the Mets be out of it totally before I devote my rooting resources to TB.
In reading Sherman’s sopt-on blog post about the “no-message” mistake that the Wilpon’s made, i came across the following that Sherman wrote about Wally the other day. Hard to argue with the logic:
“……Just to let the readers of this blog know, I do not know Wally Backman so I am not trumping a name out of friendship. And I certainly do not like the idea of championing a person who had legal, financial and alcohol-related issues in his past, a brew that led to Backman being hired as Arizona’s manager on Nov. 1, 2004 and fired four days later when a bunch of this information surfaced.
“But here is a bunch of stuff I do believe:
“1) Backman had the reputation as an excellent minor league manager. A scout I respect said, “His teams played hard. You could tell his players respected him. And he had a feel for running a game.”
“2) He is desperate to manage. One item that has kept the Mets attached to Randolph is a desire not to pay him through next year not to manage. I think that is a horrible reason to stay with a guy if you don’t want him to manage. But here is the thing about Backman: I think he is so desperate to manage that he would accept a deal to just finish out this season for a pittance to prove that he is not the guy with that backlog of problems and can handle himself in this job. In other words, it would not cost the Mets much to replace Randolph.
“3) At a time when Met fans hate the current team, Backman is remembered fondly as an energizer of the Mets’ last champions in 1986. It probably does not hurt that he walks in with a solid relationship with the two main analysts on SNY, former teammates Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez.
“4) He is fire. And this team badly needs some.”