Daily Archives: June 26, 2008
According to BMets.com, outfielder Fernando Martinez has been selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game on July 13th at Yankee Stadium. Martinez will play for the World Team under Tino Martinez.
As noted previously on Metsblog, the U.S. team will be coached by former Mets manager Davey Johnson.
Martinez is currently playing for the Gulf Coast Mets as he rehabs his right hamstring.
Tagged Minors, Regis Courtemanche |
In his midweek report for Newsday, baseball insider, Ken Davidoff says Mets CEO Fred Wilpon is misinformed about the team’s minor league prospects after Wilpon praised them earlier this week.
Davidoff takes a look at a few of higher-level prspects, including the underwhelimg Fernando Martinez, and speaks with Baseball America’s Jim Callis, who says the Mets minor league system is ‘thin’ with little to offer.
…i understand the criticism of the current state of the Mets farm system and Omar Minaya and company deserve to be admonished for it, but let’s be serious for a moment, even before the Johan Santana trade, the Mets system wasn’t in the greatest of shape…
…and, i know some fans are clamoring for Mike Carp to be called up to replace Carlos Delgado, but very few scouts think carp can be anything more than a power bat off the bench, as he has struggled in every defensive position he has been put in the season…meaning he’s got DH written all over him…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Minors |
Lou Pinella will replace Willie Randolph on Clint Hurdle’s coaching staff during this year’s All Star Game at Yankee Stadium, writes Brian Costello in a report for the New York Post.
According to Costello, ‘MLB is working with Randolph to see if he still wants to be involved in the game in some capacity.’
…note to MLB: if you invite willie, i suggest you call him before 11 pm PDT, or before 2 am EDT…again, just a suggestion…
Tagged Willie Randolph |
Sam Borden, who is a sports columnist for the Journal News, will walk the 10–mile trek from Yankee Stadium to Shea Stadium on Friday, June 27, during the time between each game, in an effort to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
To learn more, join the walk, or to make a donation, click here.
Earlier today, I linked to a blog post by Justin Rodriguez for the Times Herald-Record, in which he claims that Mets Single-A OF Ike Davis disrespected a female reporter, Mira Wassef, while calling her ‘sweetheart,’ and refusing an interview request.
According to Rodriguez, Wassef was “clearly shaken by the behavior of Davis and some of his teammates.”
…the thing is, in wassef’s actual story for the Herald-Record, which is actually a nice, flattering piece about davis, there is no mention of the situation rodriguez describes, and she provides quotes from davis, meaning he did grant her an interview…also, if davis did grant the interview, how come rodriguez does not mention this in his blog post…and, if this is such a big story to him, why did he put this on his blog, and not in an actual story for his newspaper…i’m so confused…
…also, from what i can gather, neither 
rodriguez, wasseff or the newspaper have made any attempt to contact the Mets about this situation…
…additionally, i talked with Mark Healey from Gotham Baseball Magazine, who spends a lot of time covering the Brooklyn Cyclones, and i also talked with other people i know who frequent the locker room from time to time, and, from what i can tell, the team’s manager, Edgar Alfonzo, would never tolerate this sort of behavior from his players…
…i’m not saying rodriguez is off base…i’m just saying, i’m confused and don’t i quite understand how all of these pieces fit together to match his use of words like, ‘pathetic’ and ‘disgrace,’ while calling davis a ‘punk,’ and demanding an apology…
Carlos Beltran and Jerry Manuel were fined for their interaction Tuesday night with umpire Brian Runge.
Runge, however, was not fined, but was suspended for one game.
Mark Hale of the New York Post reports Umpire Brian Runge apologized to Jerry Manuel for his actions during Tuesday’s game prior to yesterday’s game.
On Tuesday, Manuel, who was ejected from the game arguing balls and strikes, was chest bumped by Runge moments before his ejection.
According to Hale, Major League Baseball does review all incidents involving ejections, including umpire behavior, which could result in Runge being fined or suspended.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
During his weekly spot on WFAN yesterday, Jerry Manuel had the following to say, when asked if his clubhouse is more loose since he took over:
“Well, for me it’s all about relationships and it was a difficult thing with the cloud that was hanging over the club. It had nothing to do with how the clubhouse was being run. For me it’s about relationships more than rules. Rules without relationships lead to rebellion…Yes, the clubhouse was tight. Not because of anything Willie was doing, but because of his status. A lot of attention was payed to that and I would say it was difficult for some of the young players to handle.”
Regarding whether Howard Johnson is responsible for the team’s lack of production at the plate, Manuel said:
“I think it’s a group effort, HoJo and myself. We have to try to find a better plan for how we can win games with the offensive machinery we do have. That part has been somewhat challenging for us to understand what type of team we are versus what type of team we were…
“Everyone has lost players, don’t get me wrong, but without Church and Alou that’s a lot of offense that we are missing. Plus, Delgado has been somewhat of an enigma, he’s been sporadic here and there. So, when you have that combination, and when you replace offensive players with strictly defensive players, you have to create a different way of scoring runs and winning ball games.”
…from what i can gather, manuel and the team’s management like HoJo, who i do not think will be fired…frankly, i expect to see lineup changes and people cut or traded before HoJo is sent packing, which is how it should be…HoJo works hard, and he is respected, and he deserves the opportunity to work with manuel on a new plan…
To listen to Manuel’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.
The Mets announced the signing of No.1 pick Ike Davis prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners.
The two sides agreed to a 1.65 million signing bonus, as Jon Heyman first reported at SI.com earlier in the day.
Davis reported to Class-A Brooklyn yesterday, and wasted no time making a negative impression on a reporter from the Times Herald-Record, who writes:
“Earlier today, one of my colleagues, staff writer Mira Wassef, a hard-working and conscientious reporter, went to Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill to interview Davis. According to Mira, and I totally believe her, once she walked into the Brooklyn clubhouse, several players began whistling at her and making cat calls. She was unnerved to say the very least… The performance by the Cyclones was pathetic. A disgrace…
“Mira asked if Davis had a few minutes to talk for an interview. His reply? ‘I’m not playing tonight, sweetheart. We don’t have anything to talk about.’…
“I spoke to Mira shortly after she left Brooklyn’s clubhouse and she was clearly shaken by the behavior of Davis and some of his teammates. She did say Reese Havens is a gentleman.
“Good job, Reese, but that still doesn’t make up for Davis’s disgraceful act. So here’s what you need to do, Ike: Be a man, not a punk. Ike Davis, the Brooklyn Cyclones and Mets owe Mira Wassef a public apology.”
…that is probably true, assuming this report is accurate…also true, though, is that davis, like most guys his age, have a lot of learning and growing up yet to do…yes, ike’s behavior is inexcusable…then again, a lot of boys his age act in a way that is not excusable…the goal here should be for him to apologize, hopefully learn his lesson and grow from it…
To watch video of Davis taking batting practice at Shea Stadium prior to last Tuesday’s game, click play below:
According to Adam Rubin at the Daily News, Tony Armas Jr. could be called up from triple-A New Orleans in order to spot start on Tuesday in St. Louis. After which, Armas could fill-in as a long reliever out of the bullpen.
Rubin also notes that Armas will most likely take Carlos Muniz’s new found spot on the roster.
Armas Jr. is 5-6 with a 2.50 ERA for the Zephyrs, and leads the team in strikeouts with 88.
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