Daily Archives: June 11, 2008
According to Adam Rubin at his blog for the Daily News, Triple-A OF Chris Aguila is on his way from New Orleans to Shea Stadium.
For more on Aguila, be sure to read Rubin’s post.
Aguila was hitting .318 with 17 HR and 40 RBI in 218 at bats.
He is batting .353 against left-handed pitching, with a .413 OBP.
In a recent report for ESPN.com, fantasy baseball guru Erik Karabell wrote:
“The Mets might want to take a look at Aguila in the outfield…Yes, this is the same singles hitter who did very little in the Marlins outfield…but he’s playing well and hitting for power now.”
Aguila hit .234 with 18 extra base hits and nine walks in 141 games played for the Marlins between 2004 and 2006.
In a recent report for the Star-Ledger, citing officials with 
three major-league teams, Dan Graziano wrote, ‘Mets GM Omar Minaya has been calling around this week to gauge the availability of players he thinks could help the Mets improve,’ such as O’s 1B Kevin Millar, and Pirates OF Jason Bay and Xavier Nady.”
However, during an appearance on WFAN’s Mike and the Maddog, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said of Millar:
“He’s a feisty guy, I’d like to see him come in to that clubhouse, and be a guy who can shake things up. But, you know what, there’s some detractors in that front office on Millar. So, I’m not gonna give that a better than 50–50 shot…If you recall, Tony Bernazard came from the Player’s Union…and, I have talked with Tony about Millar, and I don’t sense that he’s a fan. I’ve heard from others that, because Millar crossed the picket line (in 1994) and he was a replacement player, but I didn’t get that from Bernazard. You can make a case against him with out that. But, I’ve heard this, and I wouldn’t be shocked if that was an issue.”
In 233 at bats for the O’s this season, the 36–year-old Millar is hitting .249 with 11 HR and 33 RBI.
To listen to Heyman’s entire interview, click here.
In a report for the Bergen Record, Bob 
Klapisch talks with SNY’s Ron Darling, who talked with him about Mets GM Omar Minaya.
According to Darling, Minaya may need to change his style, noting that the industry is changing away from older, higher-priced players, particularly free agents towards younger, less expensive talent.
Yesterday, Adam Rubin wrote about this same topic in the Daily News, as did I last week on MetsBlog.com.
[Poll=115]
Tagged Omar Minaya |
In an emotional, and must-read report for SNY.tv, Ted Berg writes:
“I’ve written all along that, rather than playing without hustle or heart or desire or the killer instinct, the Mets are merely playing without that much talent, a predicament far more tangible and fixable than the ones so many of my colleagues have lamented…Now, I don’t know what to think. Maybe everything I thought I knew is wrong. Maybe these Mets are too accustomed to losing, after all. Maybe they’re underachievers. Here I thought they weren’t winning games because they can’t hit. Maybe they simply can’t win games…I should love this job…But every day, with every agonizing Mets loss, it becomes harder. I can only imagine how the players feel.”
…i sense that fans are giving up, emotionally speaking…it’s not that fans will stop watching or stop attending a game here and there, at least not yet, it’s just the passion that so many of us had in the middle of last season is long gone…
…and, apparently we are not alone…
…i have talked with a few agents who keep in touch with players, who knows players, i have talked with people connected to the team, people connected to its players, etc., and the sense i get is that there are several people on this team – key players – who are sick of the pressure, sick of the booing, sick of the media, sick of New York, and, if the team is winning it is tolerable, but, if the team is losing, they just can’t take it…
…i know Willie Randolph wants us to ‘turn the page,’ he wants us to focus on the future, and the long season that still 
remains…the thing is, like it or not, The Collapse is always looming…it hangs over all of our heads like a black cloud…the fans are still being affected by it, and players are still being affected by it…
…and so, i am starting to believe that this organization may need new players who have not been impacted by Game 7 and The Collapse…they may also need a new voice to lead them…the fans need new people to cheer, and to provide hope and something different…something other than the same slogans, the same results, the same players, the same cloud that is putting pressure on the players and depressing the fans…at this point, it’s not just about making the playoffs and winning baseball games, it’s about keeping us interested, passionate and hopeful…
…i want to believe this current group can get beyond all of this, and in some cases i do, but ownership may have too much riding on all of this to simply rely on faith at this point…
[Poll=114]
Last week, a crane feel from a roof top on the upper east side of Manhattan killing two construction workers.
According to the Daily News, the fiancee of one of the men rejected a financial donation from Ryan Church, “because her future hubby was a Yankee fan.”
“Don was a die-hard Yankee fan,” the woman said. “It would not respect his memory if he accepted this.”
…thanks to my cousin Chris for the link…i think…
Speaking of Church, check out John Delcos’s latest post to his blog for the Journal News, where he a details a conversation before yesterday’s game, 
during which he confronted Omar Minaya about the ‘shameful’ way he handled Church, writing:
“I asked Omar Minaya, sarcastically, I admit, where Church got his medical degree so he could make such a decision. The Mets weren’t happy with the question and told me so…I even got a nasty e-mail from someone, asking who I was to question Minaya. Whoa. I am supposed to question authority in my business and not drink the Kool-Aid. Of course, I haven’t gotten an apology email from that gutless wonder…Just dumb and arrogant from top to bottom. They should be ashamed, but I doubt they have that capability.”
…nice, john…power to the people, man…
Tagged Ryan Church |According to Roger Rubin in the Daily News, “Before facing the Diamondbacks, the Mets players emerged from a brief players-
only, closed-door meeting, each carrying a piece of paper…The sheet also had several phrases and motivational messages. One said ‘We B4 I.’ Another read “team above self.” A third message was ‘we have time.’”
…nice work by rubin…by the way, for more details from the ‘paper,’ as well as player reaction to the meeting, check out his report…good stuff…
Of course, the Mets then lost 9 to 5 to the D’Backs, making it five straight losses on their way to being three games below .500.
…which just goes to show how meaningless team meetings, and rah-rah pre-game antics can be…
Nevertheless, following the game, Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson, Guy Conti and Tony Bernazard met in Randolph’s office for roughly five to 10 minutes.
Minaya told reporters after the meeting that nothing has changed since the team’s press conference on May 26, i.e., Randolph and his coaches are safe.
…from what i understand, the locker room was like a morgue after the game…so, sure, while nothing has changed physically, i bet a lot has changed mentally…
Tagged MetsBlog |
Moises Alou, as quoted by the New York Post, after being asked if he believes the Mets are capable of making the playoffs:
“Definitely….For some reason, I feel optimistic about it.”
…this is probably because when you are on the roster, mo, the team wins – and when you’re not, they don’t…
…the problem is that you are rarely on the roster…
Tagged Moises Alou |The Mets announced after the game that infielder Abraham Nunez has been designated for assignment.
Nunez was 0 for 2 during his six days with the team.
The team will announce a follow-up roster move prior to tomorrow’s game.
…hmmm, very, very interesting…could they finally be promoting a player like Chris Aguila, or Val Pascucci…from what i can gather, though, it’ll likely be an infielder, and so i’m thinking Jose Valentin…we’ll soon find out…
To watch SNY.tv’s exclusive Post Game Extra, hosted by Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, including highlights and quotes from yesterday’s loss to the D’Backs, click here:
