Daily Archives: June 9, 2008
Three weeks later, the Mets have finally placed Ryan Church on the 15–day disabled list.
…i haven’t heard yet, but i assume the corresponding move will be to activate Moises Alou…or call up a fourth catcher, because, you know, you can never have too many catchers…
…what a mess this situation with church was…the thing is, i’m not even sure who is to blame for all of this…it’s probably equal parts medical, Omar Minaya and church, who were probably at odds with needing him to play and rest at the same time…
…i just hope he gets better…not from a baseball sense, but for his own well being…
…Update…8:01 pm…
The transaction is retroactive to last Friday, meaning he will be eligible to return to action around June 20.
However, according to the team, Church will not be activated until he is ‘symptom free.’
…once bitten twice shy, baby…
Tagged Ryan Church |
At the Huffington Post, Dave Hollander examines how immeasurable the arrival of Cliff Floyd is to a team.
According to Hollander, wherever Floyd goes, his teams are impacted ‘as if before Floyd got there not only weren’t they winning but his teams appeared to have little idea how to win.’
Hollander breaks down the following examples of the Floyd Factor:
Marlins: In 1996, the team was 80-82, finishing 3rd in the NL East. Floyd joins the team in 1997. They go 92-70 and win the World Series.
Mets: In 2001, the team was 75-86, finishing 5th in the NL East. Floyd joins the club in 2003. Three seasons later the Mets are one strike away from going to the World Series.
Cubs: In 2006, the team was 66-96, finishing last in the NL Central. Floyd joins the team in 2007 and they go 85-77, winning the NL Central.
Rays: Since their inception in 1998, this franchise has only finished above last place in their division once. They have never won more than 70 games in a season, and reached that meager total but once. Floyd joins the team this season and they are leading AL East through the first third of the season. Their record has been at times the best in baseball.
Floyd typically doesn’t carry teams, nor is he the best player, however there is something about his presence which Hollander sums up the best by stating:
“You can’t measure a conversation that instructs or motivates or takes pressure off. You can’t quantify a well timed joke that eases tension in the clubhouse. Or a look that reassures. Or a skillful deflection of the media away from a player who can’t handle it. Or a million other little things that go into the relationships that are bonded over the course of season together. These are the human qualities that elude objective statistical analysis. But they’re crucial to creating a winning team. In order to win, especially to win a championship, it’s not simply about being the best player but about making other teammates play better.”
…this is a great read…uncle cliffy was one of my favorite Mets…i never realized he had such an impact for the teams he played on…i guess that is why, if i remember correctly, many of the players, including David Wright, wanted him back in 2007.
…by the way…is there evidence of him being able to resuscitate a team twice…
The first-place Phillies are currently playing .600 baseball, and are on pace to win 97 games.
However, if they play just slightly-better than .500 baseball the rest of the season, they’ll still win around 90 games.
This means, at 30–32 today, the Mets may need to go roughly 60–40 over the next 100 games to catch Philadelphia.
The problem, as I suggested in an earlier post, is that the current roster has been unable to play better than .500 baseball over the last 162 games.
Therefore, as I mention in the following video with SNY’s Ted Berg, it may make sense for the Mets to simply make a change for the sake of making a change, which could include side-step moves such as Kenny Lofton or Scott Hatteberg.
The point is, as is, it’s hard to understand how the direction of this team changes with the current group of players.
To watch Ted and I discuss this is more detail, click play:
Tagged SNY |
In a post to Mets Minor League Blog, Toby Hyde recaps yesterday’s Mets minor-league action.
Among other comments, Hyde writes of strong performances by Jesus Feliciano, who was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI in a win for New Orleans.
The 29–year-old Feliciano is batting .322 with no home runs, 12 doubles and 28 RBI in 61 games, during which he has struck out 22 times and walked just 11 times.
Tagged Minors |
I was watching the last game of the 1991 season, David Cone’s 19 strikeouts, on SNY’s UltiMets Classics the other day and got to thinking. Did I enjoy baseball more when I had lesser expectations for the team to succeed such as in ’91 when they finished with a 77-84 record?
It’s always more fun to win, but when there are lofty expectations for a team and they lose, especially when they get swept, I get reminded of the lean years in Mets history when winning was a bonus and going to Shea was stress-free.
Now, with one of the highest payrolls in the majors and a team that on paper
was predicted to go to the World Series hovering around .500, the fun has just not been there because the expectation to win is so high.
I look at teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays who have never been good but are now playing their hearts out because they believe they can win, and are having fun doing it. Then I look at the Mets who seem bipolar; one week they look like the team I know can still win the division, and the next week they will appear lazy.
Would I rather have that ’91 team than this one? No. I would still rather have a team that I believe can succeed than one I expect to fail, but I just can’t remember a time when I felt as confused as this team makes me feel.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
This past weekend, the Mets signed 30–year-old free-agent OF John Rodriguez to a minor-league contract.
Rodriguez, who was 1 for 3 in his first game for Triple-A New Orleans yesterday, hit .298 in 158 career games for the Cardinals in 2005 and 2006.
He spent all of 2007 with Triple-A Memphis.
Meanwhile, the Mets bench is hitting .165, which is good for last place in the National League.
…and yet, this has not stopped them from carrying two back-up catchers, as well as Abraham Nunez and Ryan Church, who will see a neurologist today because he has been unable to play regularly for the last two weeks…
On Sunday, Willie Randolph told reporters that Marlon Anderson could rejoin the team on its current home stand.
Anderson is batting .167 and was hitless in his previous 18 at-bats before going on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
The Mets entered this season assuming their bench would be Damion Easley, Endy Chavez, Ramon Castro, Angel Pagan and Anderson.
However, Pagan is still recovering from a banged up shoulder, while Chavez is batting .218 and Easley is batting .238, although they have both been hitting in the last week or so.
For what it’s worth, for Triple-A New Orleans, OF Jesus Feliciano is hitting .322, OF-1B Val Pascucci is batting .301 and OF Chris Aguila is hitting .296.
Of course, Robinson Cancel is batting 375.
Tagged Ramon Castro, Ryan Church, Valentino Pascucci |
Following yesterday’s game, Moises Alou told reporters that he will return from the disabled list tomorrow.
According to Alou, he can no longer sit on the sidelines while his team is struggling.
However, Willie Randolph followed by saying Alou will again test his calf muscle before tomorrow’s game, at which point the team will decide if he is ready to return to action.
In the 14 games that Alou has played this season, the Mets are 7–7, during which he is hitting .340.
Tagged Moises Alou |Ramon Castro was scheduled to start yesterday, in place of Brian Schneider with a day game after a night game.
However, Castro did not arrive to the stadium until 45 minutes 
before the game started – and so Raul Casanova got the start instead.
Castro told reporters that he goofed up the times on his team-issued pocket schedule, forgetting to adjust for the time zone change.
…unreal…this is up there with Pascual Perez doing loops on the highway outside Atlanta…either castro is lying or he’s losing his mind…you choose…
…by the way, from what i understand, Petco Park is located less than one mile from the team’s hotel…
Willie Randolph told reporters that Castro’s excuse was ‘unacceptable,’ adding, “and he’ll be fined for it.”
…i don’t want to get too high-horsed about this, because who the hell really knows what’s what in this situation, but it seems to me that a united team, which is focused on winning, will not allow this to happen…i mean, even the 1986 Mets got to the ball park on time, even after spending a night in prison…
…come on, guys, get it together…
Tagged Ramon Castro |…well, this should be interesting…have fun…
Please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, new stadium and network, etc:
[Poll=112]
Tagged Poll |On May 26, 2008, the Mets held a press conference at Shea Stadium, following a 
meeting between Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya, during which nothing was announced.
At that time, the Mets were three games below .500 and six losses back of the Marlins for first place in the division.
Today, two weeks after the meeting, the Mets are two games below .500 and still six losses back of first place, though this time they trail the Phillies, who have won four in a row and eight of their last 10 games.
Of course, the Mets have only played 62 games this season, meaning they have 100 games left to play.
On this date last year, had the season been only 62 games long, the Phillies, Rockies, D’Backs and Cubs would not have made the playoffs. Obviously, all four teams did eventual climb the ladder to make it to the post season. And so, historically speaking, the Mets could certainly do the same.
The thing is, in the last year, spanning 164 games, the Mets are exactly 82–82, which is why it is hard for most fans to believe Willie Randolph, Pedro Martinez, and others, when they say, ‘It’s a long season,’ and, ‘There is plenty of time,’ and, ‘We’re gonna turn it around.’
From what I can tell, most fans feel that, ‘The proof is in the pudding,’ as they say.
Fact is, the Mets have been an average team, i.e., .500, for the last year of our lives, and so it’s hard to see how this team, in this current form, can be better than that going forward.
I still have hope, but the facts are hard to deny.
← Older posts
