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Luis Castillo told the Mets he needs a few more days before bing activated from the disabled list today.
Interesting, in that the rule stipulates he must be activated now that his 20-day rehab allotment has expired, unless, of course, he states that he needs more time - in which case the Mets can keep him on the disabled list.
So, I wonder if, for the good of the team, knowing a player like Argenis Reyes would likely have been demoted to clear room, Castillo chose to stay on rehab.
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Adam Rubin used the word “volunteered” in describing Castillo’s desire to remain on rehab, so I’m going to say that yes this was a team-first move on Castillo’s part.
Interesting… this move only makes sense if Castillo stays on the DL until Sept 1st. Otherwise they just push back the clock on when A. Reyes can come back up.
Castillo did not seem to regain his batting stroke while on rehab, so going to St. Lucie and taking tons of BP and some simulated games would be a good thing.
My comments keep not showing up, not just delayed, so we’ll see if this one does (I didn’t realize I was writing such incendiary comments)!
I do not think the rule that a player who has been sent to the minors cannot be recalled for 10 days applies once the minor league season is over. The AAA Zephyrs’ season is done 9/1, so I think Argenis could be recalled then, even if it is less than 10 days after he was sent down.
Anybody know if the above is, in fact, the rule?
I’m pretty sure it still applies. In fact I can recall some cases in past years where players were sent down in late August in order to add someone else, and then couldnt come back until 10 days later.
But was the minor league season still going on at the time? I think that’s the key. I think, if the season is over, they are allowed to bring them back up, because it’s not like they could play at AAA anymore. Like I said, though, I am not certain about this at all.
If Castillo chose to do this for Argenis and because he sees the way the team is playing, I have A LOT more respect for him than I did when I woke up this morning.
I was just about to post the same thing.
Way to go, Luis. My opinion of you just improved exponentially!
And I’m sure he is relieved that my opinion of him has increased, too! :) (In case there is any doubt, that was sarcastic.)
Agreed, MetsGrrl: If in fact he took one for the team, all hats off to him. Didn’t know he had it in him.
wow
Castillo is a bum !
Geez! He just did an incredibly selfless thing–give him a break!
how do you know he did it and it wasnt omar ’suggesting with great authority’ that he read this publicly?
i still say include castillo in a move this offseason for uggla who that fish need to move a big contract. kee argenis to back up uggla.
Omar could “suggest with great authority” all he wants, but he has no leverage. Luis has the 4-year guaranteed contract that Omar signed him to, and Luis has the strongest union around to back him up, if Omar tried to pressure him to do something he doesn’t want to do.
Like I said in another comment, though I can’t know for certain, I am pretty sure that the Mets asked Luis to do this, but there is no way he could be forced to do this if he wasn’t willing.
Oh, and another thing…the Marlins would never take Luis back with that contract. I believe someone recently posted a comment about how the Fish were going to be dumping a bunch of their players in the offseason, and I believe Uggla was one of the players on that list, but if they trade him, it will be for young and cheap talent. So, even if the Mets eat most of Luis’ contract, he still doesn’t qualify as the young talent they would be seeking.
We don’t know if this was his idea and I doubt it was. Who’s to say he’s not doing this because he was told his playing time would be dramatically reduced and because his ego is so huge he decided to sit out a few more days.It’s all very interesting.
This is strange… last night he was interviewed on SNY and was saying he couldn’t wait to return to the lineup. Although he admitted he would be ‘ok’ with platooning at 2nd base.
That’s the best “play” Castillo made all year!
True! Even before today’s game, regardless of what the result will be, I think this should be the “Play of the Day”!
Well, after seeing the first 6 innings of this game, it looks like Luis is *definitely* getting the play of the day for the Mets.
terrific move.
Is it beyond the realm of possibility that the team asked him to do this, much like people “choose” to retire rather than getting fired?
yes, that is likely.
Players are generally not as clued into the roster ramifications and all that. Omar, Jerry, and the coaches probably discussed the potential moves and decided that asking Castillo to stay on the DL was the best thing for the team.
They can now DFA Stokes later (before Sept 1st) and then call up another AAA long man (Collazo, Lugo, etc) on Sept 1st.
Or they can wait until Sept 1st and they wouldnt have to send down A. Reyes for 10 days.
All of the Luis Castillo hatred is typical NY Mets fan ignorance.
It is not supported by his numbers, and it is not supported by his history.
The man was playing hurt folks.
He’s a fine second baseman who will show you why Omar signed him to begin with.
You’ll all be eating your words at some point regarding Luis Castillo.
Save your hateful comments for the opposition, and stop eating up your own players. You Mets fans who choose to single out individual players during their struggles (then pretend you supported them all along once they start hitting / pitching) are a cancer to the team and the community that supports them.
I hope I am proven wrong. But even if HIS numbers weren’t bad other’s were when he was playing. The Mets acquired him last season and then Jose Reyes stopped producing. This season, before Castillo got injured Jose had a slow start to the year. When Luis went down Jose started producing.
He has an impact on players other than himself.
thats total bull….don’t believe the hype……the ny media hype
This HAS to be purely coincidental. If him simply being on the team has this impact on Reyes, then why would the Mets even risk keeping him around anymore. I know the Castillo hater likes to paint him as this horrible influence who takes Jose out late at night and doing lines of coke off of hooker’s chests and such, but has any of this type of behavior been anything more than speculation? Prior to his coming here and Jose’s subsequent slump, I have heard nothing but positive things about Castillo…..
“hookers”? You really think the young moneyed gods of the diamond have to pay for their loves? Sure woulda hurt ol Nuke Laloosh if that was the case…
sorry, screwed up the italics. should end after “pay.”
And your evidence that Castillo’s presence/non-presence has absolutely anything to do with Reyes’ performance is what exactly?
Great comment—see the very first sentence of the post above yours for a description of your entire post.
MetsGrrl…I also think that, for some reason, the Mets didn’t play as well with Luis in the lineup (I have discussed in detail how I think it has to do with his inability to hit the ball more than 10 feet beyond the infield, so I will have mercy on you poor souls and not get into that again here), but I don’t see how he has impacted Jose’s play at all. At worst, I would say the absence of Jose Valentin (which resulted in the acquisition of Luis) affect Jose Reyes, but since he picked it up again, that seems unlikely, too. And Willie’s departure may have helped, too, since they seemed to have issues (though Jose should’ve sucked it up while Willie was here, if that was the case).
As for the comment in response by Jeff, about never hearing anything bad about Luis, when he first came over here, Gary Cohen mentioned some things along the lines of him being a “space cadet” and not that focused, which really surprised me. And, of course, there is all the unsubstantiated speculation about his partying too much. That’s all I have heard, though. I never heard that he was a bad influence in the clubhouse. In fact, as was recently pointed out on another thread, Johan was very upset when Luis was traded from the Twins, and happy to join him on the Mets.
Obviously that should say “affected Jose Reyes.”
No logic connects your suggestion, unless you know more than you seem to & are just not into justifying publicly your speculations.
Fact is, nobody know much of anything.
And I’m not even sure that’s right.
“Fact is, nobody know much of anything.
And I’m not even sure that’s right.”
Very profound, Rinkler. :)
I agree with MikeWelch and some of the others. Prior to coming to NY last year, I had heard nothing but positives about Castillo.
The fact the guy would bunt and run on bad wheels tells me he’s a gamer and team player.
Also…don’t forget who Johan was talking to last fall about where to go. Castillo was a GIGANTIC influence on Santana coming to the Mets.
Hopefully the negative posters and Castillo-haters can stop being so shallow long enough to realize they don’t understand this guy.
amen…..i posted this very thing yesterday….example delgado….
Once again, the fact that a player like Delgado has an unexpected resurgence does not make the previous criticism of him unjustified. Delgado, as an example, stunk it up for 1 1/2 years, was 36-years-old, and had been battling injuries almost constantly. There was every reason to believe he was done. I am happy that I was proven wrong in believing he was washed up, but my previous belief that he *was* washed up was justified at the time.
That being said, my current dissatisfaction with Luis is also justified. He is 32-years-old, which is around the age at which many second basemen drop off production-wise in dramatic fashion. An example is Roberto Alomar, who fell off dramatically at 34. I expected Carlos Baerga to be another example, but his drop-off came at the mere age of 27! Even Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg dropped off dramatically after 32–at 33, he was a little above average, with a 108 OPS+, but was below-average after that. There are other examples (a Braves fan showed them to the Mets newsgroup on Usenet when Alomar started to bomb), but I am totally blanking now.
Of course, there are clearly examples of second basemen who performed well way after 32, including Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio. Perhaps the distinction, though, is that Kent is bigger than many second basemen, so wouldn’t be as affected by hard take-out slides on attempted double plays, and the like, and Biggio also spent some time in the outfield. Luis is small, like the typical second baseman, and is already injury-prone. That being the case, it seems more likely that Luis will keep on declining in production than not.
If he doesn’t, wonderful! I will happily acknowledge that he has overcome the odds. But to suggest that I, and other Mets fans, are unjustified in our skepticism regarding Luis performing well is flat out wrong.
metsfan1976 on Delgado: “I am happy that I was proven wrong in believing he was washed up, but my previous belief that he *was* washed up was justified at the time.”
As a speculation, its been justified.
As a belief, it represents a hasty conclusion, and is thus not.
Watching a 36-year-old who is almost always dealing with nagging injuries suck for 1 1/2 years and concluding that he is washed up is about as far from a hasty conclusion as one can get. I’m not sure that there are *any* examples of any players who, at the age of 36, and coming off 1 1/2 years of terrible play, have come back to be productive, but if there are, I don’t think you’d need to take off your shoes to count them. That being the case, anybody who *didn’t* believe Delgado was washed up, was clinging to false hope, and simply got lucky.
While I agree with some of your sentiments to a point I think you’re drinking a little too much of the Mets front office koolaid. This is NYC and this is the way the fans of this city treats its players. These guys get paid a lot of money and we expect results and production. When that doesn’t happen the fans will get down on you…when it does the fans will show you infinite support.
I also dont buy this stupid argument that Castillo negatively impacted Reyes. If Reyes is that temperamental then one can make the case that he’s not a good team player. Seriously…I think that is all more coincidence than anything
Agreed. Great post, mikewelch7.
“You Mets fans…”
“..typical NY Mets fan ignorance..”
Hey Mike - why don’t you try to ease off the generalizations a bit mmm?
and oh by the way..
eat me.
If his bad play was due to him playing hurt, then he shouldn’t have been playing.
The 4-year contract for an injury-prone 32-year-old second baseman who had already been on the decline was a bad move. Hopefully he picks it back up when he returns, but I am skeptical, and his recent history justifies my skepticism. If he does, in fact, have something of a resurgence, though, as was the case with Delgado, I will happily admit I was wrong. Nevertheless, it will not change the fact that I had reason to be skeptical, and those who were optimistic were basing that optimism on nothing but false hope.
That being said, I don’t know if many players would make this selfless move that Luis just made. If nothing else, I appreciate that, and will give him a big cheer when he ultimately returns.
Agreed 100% Mike. Great job!
A nice team first move my Luis. He can rehab and rest up a little bit more until the Mets aren’t forced to demote anyone (Sept 1). If/when he comes back healthy he will be a productive and important cog in helping this team make the postseason.
Agreed about Luis’ selflessness, Jeff. I just worry about whether he can *ever* come back healthy. If he can, he can be useful, but his health is always too much of a question mark.
At his NYPost blog, Bart Hubbach continued his trend towards headlines that stretch the truth by stating that Castillo “begged out.” I wont say anything more…
In any case, while I’d love to think that this was a selfless team first move that was initiated by Castillo, I also can’t rule out the idea that “backinbusiness” posted above that the team might have asked Castillo to “volunteer”
And he also could have declined and forced the team’s hand. So the team gets pissed and benches/releases him….he laughs all the way to the bank.
Why can’t it just be a selfless move on his part?
This Bart Hubbach is quite the hack. No wonder he writes for that rag known as the NY Post.
As for Luis, while I obviously cannot know this for certain, I am fairly certain that he did this because the Mets asked him to do so. But he didn’t have to agree to it. I bet a lot of players wouldn’t do so. Luis knows what people are saying about him, and he also knows what it must look like because the Mets improved once he went on the DL. He has to be eager to erase the notion that he is a hindrance to the team, and that his contract was a horrible move. Still, he agreed to push his return back when he didn’t have to do so. That’s the epitome of selflessness.
“A player like Argenis Reyes” kind of sucks.
Well, he’s no Rogers Hornsby, but all three of the Mets’ options at 2B have been below-average offensively, and Argenis is the best option defensively and on the basepaths. Casting him aside as garbage based on what Luis used to be able to do, when he was younger, in his prime, and occasionally healthy, is a bit hasty, IMO.
Iawtc.
I am no Castillo fan, but I’ll take him over Reyes any day. I think our second base situation just sucks in general.
OK….you have written two abbreviations that I do not understand today. What does “Iawtc” mean? And I believe the other was “lulz”?
Anyway, as for your actual post, yes, our second base situation does just suck. I think Luis, healthy, is the best option. At this point, though, I think a platoon of Easley/Reyes is.
And, of course, as I have said, I feel like the Mets just played worse with Luis in the lineup. I don’t even mean now, when he has been on the DL, because they have just been playing very well, lately. Even before their recent improvement, though, it seemed like, when Luis got a day off, the Mets did better. He seemed to suck the life out of them with his 100-foot “slappies.” I understand that many of you don’t care that, to me, a virtual stranger, it seems that way, and would just go by the OBPs and your own observations/feelings–I’m just saying that’s how it seems to me, and is one of the reasons I’d rather have the Easley/Reyes platoon playing now.
Of course, I have to admit, when Easley grounded into 4 DPs over the course of 2 games, I found myself reconsidering…
I think it was because they always batted him second. and iawtc means i agree with this comment. lulz isn’t an acronym it’s a variation of lol. I use it when the situation is funny in an awkward/unfunny/kind of pathetic way, like us advising El Duque to not have surgery cause it might cause him to miss the entire year.
Anyway in my opinion if he comes back he shouldn’t bat above 7th. Really I think he’s the perfect player to use LaRussa’s idea of batting a positional player 9th with because he gets obp and would give Reyes someone to drive in, but he kind of sucks at everything else. But bringing him back and batting him second would be a horrible idea, and I think him being in the 2 hole is one of the reasons we were worse with him, he hits into double plays at a very high rate. Which is generally what happens when a player can’t get the ball out of the infield.
Ah, now I get it with the unknown terms!
I never thought about how his hitting second factored into my frustration with Luis–and I hated that he was batting 2nd, so it’s funny that I didn’t make the connection. it’s a good point. With Jose leading off, and Wright, Delgado and Beltran behind him, the #2 hitter should be someone who can not only advance the leadoff hitter, but get on base himself. It seemed Luis was always either sac bunting and giving up an out–thereby greatly decreasing the chance of a big inning–way too early in the game, or hitting into rally-killing DPs, or making an unproductive out. On those rare occasions he got hits, they wouldn’t be deep enough to move Jose more than 1 base. He doesn’t allow them to get big rallies going.
As for having Luis hit 9th, that’s an interesting idea. That low in the order, ir’s not likely to matter if Luis or the pitcher is batting first. And, like you said, we could take advantage of his one remaining skill–OBP. Ir’s not like you expect power out of that spot in the lineup, anyway.
Unfortunately, I think he goes right back to #2 when he comes back because he fits what the people with the power believe to be the prototype of the #2 hitter (I guess because he’s a slap hitter with speed, who also bunts well).
it SEEMED like he was always giving up an out, but with his OBP, he clearly wasn’t. this is why you need to look at a player’s numbers, people. anecdotal evidence is a terrible way to evaluate performance.
excellent
Whose ever idea this was, whether Castillo or the front office, Castillo did it. That alone warrants the respect he deserves for this.
Whether he knows he’s not 100% yet and might hinder the team trying to stay in first, or he ‘took one for the team’ - either way, I tip my cap to him.
Well said. I agree 100%.
I might be wrong, but…isn’t the rule that you have to be on the roster on August 31st in order to be on a postseason roster?
That is….UNLESS you have someone on the 60-day DL, in which case someone from the same position can fill in (and in the Mets case, they only have outfielders and pitchers on the 60-day DL, so Castillo still wouldn’t qualify)
Once again, I might be wrong about that…and if so, hopefully Castillo will stay DL’ed until September 1st.
I think he would be able to be on the playoff roster because, at some point this season prior to 9/1 (most of the season, in fact) he was on the active roster. I don’t know every aspect of the rule for certain, but I am pretty certain that Luis can still be on the playoff roster, should the Mets get there, even if he is not activated until 9/1 or later.
players on the 25 man roster and the DL on the last day of August are eligable.
additional players who are on the 40 man roster on the last day of August can be used on the postseason roster to replace a player who is on the 60 day DL.
For example, Kunz or Muniz could be added to the postseason bullpen to replace El Duque who wouldnt be considered for the postseason roster anyway…
A player like Al Reyes (not on the 40 man roster) or Figueroa, would have to be called up before Sept 1st or he wont be eligable.
…all of the above subject to review of the MLB rulebook. :P
Heh-heh. I will skip the review of the rulebook for now. :)
That does seem right, now that you wrote it. I presume Reyes will be called up before 9/1, then, in case the Mets make the playoffs and Wagner isn’t able to return (hurts to even think about).
Thinking about this, though, does Reyes have to be activated in time for the game on 8/31, or just on that date? What I am thinking is that Stokes seems to be the most logical person to be sent down, to make room for Reyes. That being said, Stokes has been named as a spot starter on 8/31. So, if Reyes is to replace him, it would have to be after the 8/31 game.
Crap…’Stros got on the board first! :(
Why not? He can be ‘healthy’ next week when the rosters expand and no one will get demoted. Good move Slappy!
where’s the pregame thread?
Now that El Puke aay is officially done, can he be taken off the 40 man to make room Castillo?
nevermind!! I seen my own mistake… Let’s just replace Damion “hit into double-play” Easily with Castillo.. I was at the Pirates series and he killed any rallies that were starting…
Yeah,,,where is the Mike Nichols fella with the pre-game blog?
5-0 Astros–look at all the bad luck the lack of a pre-game blog resulted in. For shame, Mike!
(Obviously I am kidding–Mike, like all the others, does a great job.)
Does anyone know the lineup?
reyes
reyes
wright
delgado
tran
murph
church
snheids
mainne
Everytime A. Reyes hits anywhere above 7th a puppy dies.
But seriously why is Murphy down there instead of Reyes. It makes no sense.
I like what A. Reyes bring in the two hole, and he has been hitting and talking walks lately. As long as he is hot I dont mind him in the two spot.
last night’s first inning for example, do you want Murphy bunting Jose to 3rd?
I gotta tell ya, Nate…I dont want *anybody* sac bunting in the first inning (unless the team is fortunate enough to get the pitcher up in the first ining, with less than 2 outs). Giving up an out that early in the game, and greatly diminishing the possibility of a big inning, is a bad move, in my opinion. In fact, yesterday I made a significant amount of comments bashing Luis for always bunting, and saying I was happy to have Argenis in the lineup because he *didn’t* always bunt. Now it seems like Argenis is starting to automatically sac bunt, too, and I don’t like it.
Jose Reyes is more than capable of stealing a base. Let him do so, and then try to hit the ball to the right side–hopefully you get a hit to drive in Jose but, at the very least, move Jose to 3B with only 1 out. Same as a sacrifice, but now he is on *third base* rather than second base. Plus, if he *does* get a hit, you have at least one runner on, 0 outs, and the heart of the lineup coming up. Much better option than guaranteeing 1 out, with Jose only moved up to 2B (where he could have easily gotten himself, with a steal).
By the way, I hated when Jim Leyland always sacrificed with Jay Bell in the first inning, too. :)
You like what Reyes brings in the two hole?
You LIKE a .253 batting average and .284 OBP and an OPS+ of 53 (where 100 indicates the league average, and even Luis Castillo is a below-average-but-not-as-bad 88) in the two hole?
WHY?!
This is total speculation, with out looking at nymbers, but I dont think it’s a knock on Murph, I think it’s more that A.Reyes is more of a traditional #2, probably a better bunter than Murph. A.Reyes definetly sees more fastballs batting in front of Wright, and maybe A.Reyes would struggler horribly lower in the order, so this gives the lineup more balance.
He IS struggling horribly. Have you seen his numbers?
Because they hope A Reyes can do some little thing to move Jose over, like bunt, hit a slow grounder, take pitches so Jose can steal, etc, while Murphy can hopefully drive in runs with extra base hit power in the 6 hole.
In his last 6 games, 30 at bats, A. Reyes has 7 at bats, for a .233 avg and 0 walks, for a .233 obp also. He’s the definition of a black hole in the line-up. He’s horrible no matter where you hit him and he’s really not a traditional # two hitter. Traditional #2 hitters are usually high obp guys, like Castillo who IMO shouldn’t be not the top of the line-up either, not guys who make an out over 70% of the time they come up to the plate.
Who cares if he can bunt, Murphy can actually hit. Why do we need someone who takes pitches so Reyes can steal when we could put someone there who can move him over with a hit, or maybe even actually drive him in? A. Reyes doesn’t belong anywhere above 7th in any line-up.
Also that wasn’t a reply just to you but to all the comments above you.
Now *that* I agree with. Like I said, with Luis gimpy, I’d prefer that the Mets go with a platoon of Easley/Reyes at 2B over Luis. But Argenis getting all those at-bats at the #2 spot is absurd. Beltran, Murphy, and Churchy are all better options than Aregnis there–pretty much anybody but Schneider and the pitcher are!
How long has Metsblog had a commercial on SNY?
Not as long as Guiseppe.
I’ve only noticed it for the past couple of weeks. Not sure if it was around before, and I just never noticed it. Of course, as gipper suggests, it’s hard to notice any ad other than our buddy, Giuseppe Franco’s! :)
A. Reyes has been a nice fill-in guy that was able to spell Easley, who is not an everyday player. And, this lineup can carry a weak bat like A. Reyes, so I was not concerned with him not hitting for power…he’s not killing us. When Castillo was playing earlier this year, Delgado was putrid, Beltran and Jose weren’t hitting, and Church was carrying the team. On top of that , Castillo was limping all over the place and his weak bat became more of an issue.
I am NOT trying to defend Castillo here, but I think this team has found IT and they can more than survive a McSlappy in the 2-hole when he comes back. And, he BETTER be open to a platoon situation, as I think he knows better than to disrupt the way this team is playing. And, with Easley’s bat off the bench, we’re that much of a deeper team!
murph in the 2, a. reyes in the 8 hole
Can they put Maine back on the DL? He’s clearly not near good enough.
This is VERY bad news.
Philly is salivating
During the post-game show, Manuel said that Maine isn’t doing much of a bullpen session between starts–just light throwing. I find this very alarming. If he can’t do his usual routine and bullpen session between starts, I don’t think he should be starting. Not that I necessarily like our alternatives, but I don’t want him hurting himself worse because he is not physically prepared enough. And I also can’t see how he can be expected to perform well if he can’t prepare properly in between starts. It just seems like a very bad idea.
Agree Gina 100%, I’m one that also prefers an “Actual” hitter in the # 2 hole instead of an OBP or “Punch & Judy” guy. You mentioned that A. Reyes is a “black hole” in the line-up, that’s funny because those were the same exact statements made about Castillo. I also agree with you that both A. Reyes and Castillo belong no where near the # 2-hole. 8th place hitters at best. You can use Castillo’s OBP to clear the pitcher’s spot if it make you happy.
I have no problem with a “punch and Judy” type at #2, but I’d like him to be able to get on base, too. The top 2 hitters are supposed to get on base for the heart of the lineup to drive in. Having an almost automatic out–a definite automatic out when he is asked to sac bunt–in one of the top 2 spots defeats that purpose entirely
Agree. Not much more to add to that.
I guess I was a little too harsh because, as I said in another comment, OBP is one of the few things Luis can still do. Still, when Jose gets on, Luis tries to sac bunt. And when he does hit the ball, it doesn’t go far enough to do much damage. So, he may get on base, but he doesn’t seem to use those skills when Jose gets on–and that’s a problem!
Of course, it’s also a problem that Manuel, as the manager, should address–if he isn’t the one calling for the sac bunts to begin with!
Release Maine!!!!!
(yes sarcasm, but figured I’d at least try to be like the most of the commentators on here with overreaction)
Good one Koko, at least by being the first to post that you may have shied away the other posters who were actually going to post a similar comment WITHOUT the sarcasm! Good job.
And coincidently, you only see comments from these ‘overreacting’ commentators when the Mets are losing….
Maine had no fastball last came and got through 5 w/o giving up a run. Tonight, he’s trying the fasball, got it up to about 94 but they’re hitting it……
*game
Well, I just ignore most of the “Overeactors” because I just attribute it to a lack of maturity. Not to generalize. but most posters like that are very young and don’t have the perspective to make a logical, experienced- based reaction to anything negative that happens with this team. Do you honestly think a long time Mets fan (By long time I mean at least 20 years, not since 2006) that has been through all the ups and down would over react like that?
Well, sometimes I do…but I eventually calm down and start thinking rationally again. :)
(You should see me when Marlon is starting in LF!)
Good one. :)
I do hope Maine is OK, though. Obviously all pitchers have bad outings on occasion, so maybe this is just that. But, given Maine’s recent stint on the DL, I can’t help but worry.
That is the thing. Considering his starts since the DL - he has been okay ER wise, but you can obviously tell it’s not the same John Maine as we might be use to. It has been like that for a few months.
He’s a solid pitcher, not a #2, but a very good #3 for his career. He’s probably performing like a bad #3 okay #4 all year. He’s probably better than that. No movement, no zip, etc.
On a related not, I’m not sure if Manuel/Warthen/Maine are playing it to smart by making him stick it out. Yes saving innings is for the pen is good, but there could be a cost.
Unless it’s just dead arm. :D Then everything is okay.
As I said, I don’t like the decision to keep starting Maine despite the fact that he isn’t doing his normal work between starts. At the very least, it would seem likely that he would not pitch well without doing his normal work between starts. And the worst case scenario, I would think it would increase his risk of injury to pitch without doing the usual work between starts.
maines the rotations weakest link
In reality maybe it’s time to shut down Maine for rest of the year. He’s still young so no need to blow him out now. And it’s not like he is pitching at a level that cannot be matched by a Stokes or Vargas or even Niese/Parnell.
You like Maine’s bulldog attitude, but it only takes you so far.
Save him for next year. Get him surgery if he needs it. Whatever.
Agreed. I don’t know if he needs surgery, or not, but he and Manuel acknowledged that he is not doing his usual work between starts, If he is not healthy enough to do that, how can he be considered healthy enough to pitch in actual games?
It’d be nice for us to hit a guy who has given up 11 ER in 2 of his last 3 starts.
Apparently he gave up 11 runs, then 1, then 11 runs, then 3 to the Mets tonight. So, at least we outdid that team in game 2 of this 4-game stretch! :)
Maine is made of the suck?
Not but seriously, this is why we can’t afford to let Perez walk and we really need to spend some money on a upper-mid level pitcher next year like Garland.
Very true. I dont know what will happen with Ollie–with Boras as his agent, and his great performance of late, he is bound to get several big time contract offers (and to make even bigger demands), so the Mets could make a great effort to re-sign him, and still lose him. But they definitely need to make that effort. And, as you said, sign someone like Garland, who can be more reliable (health-wise) than Pedro, or even Maine.
Well…it’s obvious Ronnie doesn’t agree with Pelfry missing a start to conserve innings. He’s of the opinion, they’re in a pennant race, it’s all hands on deck.
Ronnie is right. IP counts are stupid. If he’s not throwing a lot of pitches (110+) per game, what difference does the IP make?
Ronnie should ask the Twins/Francisco Liriano, how that worked out for them.
Although the increase in ip/pitches Pelfrey has from last year to this year isn’t anywhere near as drastic as the increase Liriano had.
Liriano had horrible mechanics and a history of injuries in the minors. Pelfrey doesn’t.
that’s 30 in a row
And remember last year, getting into Sept., Willie started resting his regulars so they would be fresh for the post season. That didn’t work out too well…..
Heard an interview with Ronnie on WFAN in Sep where he abosolutely didn’t agree with resting any of those regulars.
You know, considering what happened last September, I am wary of doing things to give guys extra rest, as if we have the division locked up. Obviously, the team cannot take anything for granted. After all, Pelfrey will get plenty of rest if the Mets miss the playoffs again.
That being said, I also don’t want the Mets to make decisions just because they are afraid of repeating last year’s collapse. And, for that matter, I don’t want them screwing up the rest of Pelfrey’s career to guard against another collapse this year.
It’s a delicate balance and will be difficult to determine what the right decision is.
see the Phils have won, way to just pack it in tonight boys
Yes that is what they are doing on purpose. . .
You noticed that, too, Koko?! I thought I was the only one! :)
Gold Glover at third there…..
Nice play.
You know, as happy as I was for Wright when he was awarded the Gold Glove last season, he did not deserve it. That being said, he has stepped it up this season and is playing like a deserving Gold Glover.
And He’s BACK !!
First a home run, and now that really nice DP turned by Newhan? Someone test him for PEDs!
nice to see Metsblog nation isnt jumping off the bridge tonight.
why the hell was endy batting there??? The guy cant hit lefties and the left on the mound cant be hit? sounds like a pinch hitter spot. Then….we compund it by letting A reyes bat (whether he gets a hit or not). Sometimes Manual makes me scratch my head.
Most of the time Manuel makes me scratch my head.
Really? I agree that letting Endy hit in that spot was odd, and Argenis, too (although, I can’t remember if both Evans and Easley had been spent already–that would explain it) but, for the most part, aside from not always liking his lineups, I have been happy with the job Manuel has done. Of course, given his predecessor, it could only get better, so maybe I had just lowered my standards a lot.
he came in for defense, u want to take him out after he came in for defense?
jeez. look outside the box people.
Are you talking about putting Chavez in for defense in a game where the Mets trailed by 5 runs?
First off, he should not have been in the game. Plus, you play to win. That is a spot he should not have been in the game.
Oh one more thing…..Manual has done this before. It is a clueless decision to bat endy against a lefty. In this game, it probably didnt mean anything but still…
In fairness, although Endy has not done well against lefties this year, for his career, he has done slightly better against lefties than righties.
Still, this pitcher tonight has been *way* too tough on lefties to keep Endy in there. As someone already pointed out, with the Mets trailing by a lot, there was no real need for us to bring in our defensive replacement.
The only concern I take out of tonight’s game is another terrible performance by Sanchez. If he has options left he should be sent down and they should try and work out his problems. That Taxi ride my have destroyed what could have been a stellar career.
I think he will ultimately be fine, but he may no longer have the rubber arm he used to have. He had been doing great, but seems to have hit a wall. And, apparently, he has gained weight. Maybe that’s the problem. If so, he needs to stay disciplined and stay in shape for the whole season.
Well thank goodness Castillo didnt play and mess up this chemistry! HaHa, someone had to say it…
I agree with ya leftcoastmetsfan. This whole Easily/reyes is a better option is over blown. If Castillo can hit hist normal .300, .400 OBP we are a better team. Easily is a good player but no longer everyday. Reyes is not very good offensively. (though i like him more than anderson hernandez!!!)
If Castillo could hit .300 with a .400 OBP, it would be 2000.
Seriously, he hasn’t hit those numbers in a few years.
If Castillo can hit .260 with a .360 OBP, he will destroy any contribution made by Argenis REyes.
I agree, but I don’t think it would be that hard to find an offensive player better than A. Reyes.
Regardless neither of them should be in the 2 hole.
Two terrible offensive nights in a row. Granted one was vs Oswalt but the offense cannot go cold now
Come on, guy. Runs don’t matter — it’s all about having a winning attitude. Play hard and smile while you are doing it — that’s what really matters.
with wolf pitching tommorow look for another down day in offence this guy owns the mets
anyone who believes castillo volunteered to stay on rehab is naive. more like the team told him to volunteer
Of course they did. But he didn’t have to agree. He has the strongest union around to help back him in such situations.
Am I the only one who likes Castillo? He still plays pretty good D, albeit not gold glove calibur like before and not as much range, but still very well. His OBP is always around .400, and he takes a ton of pitches for Reyes. Don’t hate him because he got a 4 year contract, he never asked for it. He’ll be a fine addition when he does return, but he’ll have to produce at a similar rate to the current platoon.
You’re not the only one who likes Luis (though I am not a fan of his).
I do not hate him because of his contract, but of course he asked for it. I don’t blame him for signing it, though–why would he turn down all that money and stability.
That being said, he is no longer a .400 OBP guy. .350 or .360–which is good–but not .400.
Good post. I agree. He is out best option, BY FAR. Argenis is simply Keppinger, Gotay, Endy, everybody thinks these type of guys are all stars after they breakin with 3 good games. Its so funny how every year it happens and people dont learn. Argenis Reyes is not Chase Utley, he is a nice defender with some speed to be a bench player. Castillo produced much more then Easley did, yet everybody seems to thimk Easley is some hero or something. It will be nice to get Castillo back, it will strengthen our lineup a lot.
I like him, I just don’t want him near the top of the line-up. I really don’t understand the he takes pitches logic, if someone else can get a hit in that spot and not only still move Reyes over but possibly drive him in why wouldn’t you rather have that there? I know I would.
And the current platoon isn’t much of anything other than outs.
wow - I feel like I watch a different team, after reading these comments. first, to me, the problem w/Castillo was that he had slowed down so much on defense, and had no range. A Reyes was a big improvement on defense, and it is possible that because he is friend of J Reyes from back home, that somehow his presence helped improve the team chemistry or J Reyes’ attitude - of course this is all speculation. Castillo is still a much better offensive player than A Reyes. A Reyes was helped by Jerry Manual actually using the hit and run, which both he and Castillo are very suited for. I love the hit and run, and hate the sac bunt w/Jose on first, and Willie never seemed to realize how effective it could be with Castillo. Some of the many dp’s that he grounded into would have instead have been first and thirds. Next, even fat and out of shape, Castillo still can steal a base. He is a good baserunner, and excellent bunter, and a much better hitter from the right side. To me, the best solution is to send A Reyes down (bring him back if Castillo can’t physically play) and try to platoon Daniel Murphy at second with Castillo, occaisionally. This way Endy gets some at bats in left field, and against tough righties, we could put out a lineup of all lefties except for DWright. Easily, who could also benefit from having them use the hit and run when he is at bat, could be our main right handed option off of the bench, and spot start to stay fresh.
You’re nuts.
Why would you platoon someone with a switch hitter?
To top it off, you seem to think that Murphy is the other side of Castillo?
Murphy right now is a better player and I wouldn’t sacrifice any of his playing time to Castillo. I think the platoon situation with Murphy and Evans works great. Why take that away?
Castillo hits for more power but less average righthanded.
no, you are nuts, because Castillo is a much better hitter right handed. He has no power left handed and can’t even drive the ball for a sac fly left handed. Murphy has played nicely in the platoon with Evans, and if either of them get red hot, you stay with the hot hand. I was only suggesting Murphy, to argue against any ideas to platoon Castillo and Easily, or Castillo and Reyes. If Castillo is going to play, a good way to ease him back into the lineup (like the way Church is coming back) is to partially platoon him. If you like Murphy so much, you will realize that he will not lose at bats this way, and we might even get Endy some at bats as well. To me, Endy against a right handed pitcher is better than Castillo.
Either way, Castillo is a better offensive player than A Reyes, but it is his defense and team chemistry that I would worry about. I have trust in Jerry that he will stand up for these things. at least more than Willie did.
Man, you guys are nuts. We have no real number 2 hitter, and no second baseman. I can’t wait to get Luis back in the lineup if he is healthy. Damion Easley is hitting a weak .260/.310/.350 and Argenis is hitting an even worse .260/.300/.300. Argenis is all glove right now, a nice backup. Castillo is a career .290/.370 guy. He wasn’t even playing that badly for us, it was just that the team was awful and for some reason people blamed him, rather then blaming a completely ineffective Wright, an underperforming Santana, a wild Ollie, a 5 inning guy in John Maine, and a terrible Delgado. Everybody stunk early in the year, if Luis had the same line and the team was playing like they should have been nobody complains about him. Now the team is playing better, and I cant wait to get Luis back in the starting lineup. Argenis still play 2-3 games a week, and Damion never starts unless he has to, becoming our primary RH bat off the bench.
agreed, but the problem is that someone has to be sent down for a week, and it most probably will be A Reyes.
and don’t forget that Beltran has been a shadow of himself this year - other than his defense, all parts of his game have declined. he is playing like Kevin McReynolds, without the near MVP season
The only thing that’s way off his career numbers is his slugging, and his slugging percentage has fluctuated so much the last 5 years it’s really hard to say what you should expect from him in that category. Really if he gets 23-26 home runs this year, and with the way he goes on hot streaks it’s possible. He’ll be right at his career numbers across the board.
I see Castillo as soft, not taking one for the team.
Either that or Castillo was a favorite of Willie and vice-versa. I kind of think he may not want to be around Jerry and that he may not want to be relegated to secondary status on the Mets.
There is no way a major leaguer with the drive to play and win wants to not play. He is not a gamer. This kind of guy does not belong on a team trying to win a championship, and the truth is, it is becoming apparent he is poisonous to the team as they have a losing record with him on the team and a winning record without him on the team.