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Earlier, Jerry Manuel answered questions from reporters at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Manuel would not mention Francisco Rodriguez by name, only saying, ‘theortically,’ he could be the team’s closer, ‘according to the word on the street.’
That said, Manuel loves Rodriguez’s energy, adding that the pitcher raises the energy level of the entire team, much like Johan Santana.
When asked if Rodriguez’s level of excitement could be a problem, given recent statements from other players about his team’s behavior, Manuel said he doesn’t mind emotion and excitement, ‘as long as it’s done in a respectful way.’
Manuel said he is confident that Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis will be able to handle sharing the starting job in left field.
According to Manuel, “It’s critical for Luis Castillo to get off to a good start, more so than any one else.”
Manuel even said he would consider using Castillo in the lead-off spot, if it meant it would get him going.
Lastly, Manuel said he is confident Jon Niese can team’s fifth starter, “The experience he gained last year was valuable.”
How can you not love the guy? That being said, K-Rod is but one solution to many problems the Mets are currently saddled with…
Next up….
Curtain Calls after 3rd inning sacrifice flys….
Lets Go Mets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hitting luis leadoff? Good luck with that Jerry.
I hope trhat was a joke Really.
Actually, I hope Omar takes care of th eproblem and eliminates any chance of it by getting rid of Castillo!
jefjarrett, Im right there with you bring back the curtain calls.
Luis Castillo is up at bat… he is off to a below average start to season. Hitting around .200, he just isn’t cutting it, but who knows, its still early in the game, and he’s trying lead off.
Here is the pitch, it looks like a curve ball, and Castillo didn’t swing. He lifts his bat again waiting for the next pitch. And the windup and the pitch, Castillo fouls it off, his bat is a bit slow tonight. Here is the windup and the pitch, and its going back, past the third baseman, it’s it’s a HIT! Castillo is running towards first, the left fielder picks up the ball, but, but, what’s this, Castillo is slowing down is he hurt? The left fielder throws the ball to first, and he is out. Castillo is now on the ground obviously in pain. The trainers are coming out to take a look, he’s grimacing and pointing to his knee, oh no this isn’t good.
Commercial break…
I don’t want this to happen, but there is a good chance it will.
I like what I hear. To me that translates to:
1. I’m a gansta and K-Rod’s a gangsta. Everyone else, can get on the bus.
2. Tatis/Murphy better get used to riding the bench cuz the only way they’re starting is in AAA.
3. Louie, nice knowing you.
4. Niese, I’ll see you next September.
Hello, Juan Rivera, Felipe Lopez, and Randy Johnson. Now those are some gangstas.
I’ve supported the idea of Castillo at leadoff for a long time. I actually can’t stand Castillo and would love to see him replaced, but think that as long as he’s here, we might get the best use out of him in the leadoff spot. Castillo has zero power, but the one thing he’s good at it is getting on base because he walks a lot. Conversely, Reyes’s power (both HR and extra-base) is somewhat wasted in the leadoff spot; he’d be better used in the 2-hole where he would have more RBI opportunities over the course of the season.
Again – I’d love to bid Castillo goodbye, but if he’s going to stay here, hitting him leadoff is not a bad idea.
if 2nd base is between Luis Castillo and Felipe Lopez….i’m pretty sure i’d rather have nobody standing at 2nd.
I can’t get excited about this off-season until Luis Castilo is officially off of this team.
Bat Castillo 9th. Seriously. Schnieder’s only good thing he can do is clear the pitcher. Thus Schnieder gets to clear the pitcher. Then Castillo can get on for Reyes to drive him in. This is the best way to have Castillo in and get any production from him.
I’ve always liked him in front of Reyes too….plus having Reyes in front of Wright would give JRey alot of fat pitches to drive. Who is scared of pitching to Castillo or whoever else we had batting 2nd after Reyes. If we have to have him, bat him leadoff….if he gets on, Reyes most certainly will see better pitches as nobody wants him on and Castillo with Wright up to bat. My 2 pennies worth.
Last season I would’ve been all for batting Castillo 1 and Reyes 2, but now that Omar has the whole off-season to try and correct the 2nd base situation, that would be unacceptable.
Astros are pushing hard to trade Miguel Tejada. Maybe, he’s you’re solution at second base? Can Castillo be moved in such a deal?
ha, I thought you guys liked scrappyness.
He hit better than Hudson, Freddy Sanchez, Jeff Kent, Brendan Harris, Mark Ellis and a bunch of other guys.
He’ll be a steal. Or we can overpay for Hudson.
I’d rather go with guys like Lopez and Juan Rivera and then spend the big bucks on Tex.
Tejada is making 13 million this year and the Astros would be willing to take on some of his contract to move him.
Case, your first post above is great, especially number two, and I love Randy J instead of Pedro as 2009’s injury-prone ancient starter. Really. I can’t get past loving old Mariners I guess. Except for ARod.
And I did see your pro-Ibanez comment on the other thread…my respect for you continues to grow….
Does anybody like Eckstein? Talk about scrappy. That guys got as much heart as the entire Mets team last year. So he’s a little guy and getting a little older, but he’s not as old as the 40 yr old Castillo…..if you don’t think he’s 40 then I’ve got a piece of land I can sell you in the middle of Central Park.
stop being stupid babies..castillo gonna be our starting 2nd baseman wether u like it or not i like it idk bout ya..stop basing him on 1 year look at his years of playin he used 2 1 of the best 2nd baseman and his won 2 rings and alot of gold gloves give the man a 2nd chance he man’ed up and said hes gonna work hard in the off season and said his training right now who knows he’ll prove all ya dumb fans wrong…go k rod baby! 09 trade that whole bullpin bring in STREET for set up man dump every1 jus leave smith stokes up there…and pedro i love ya man but yo ur done man sorry 2 say ur washed up we got 2 much respect for u dont come in 09 and mess up and have every1 hating u jus retire solve things wit ur family and have a nice life ur a 1st ballet HOF anyways..LETS GO METS 2009 K ROD BABY!
great to hear from jerry, but this is still a .500 team.
As of now, simply replacing Wagner with KRod does little to dispel the notion that this team is still a bunch of underachieving losers. It’s harsh, but we’ve had our hearts ripped out for 2 straight years and ‘06 wasn’t easy either.
This team needs more winners. Castillo is not a winner. We need more new blood. We need players like O-Dog and Ibanez, character guys who back it up on the field.
thanks kingman, although I don’t know what “pro-Ibanez” comment you’re talking about. I’ve never.
BTW, Ibanez couldn’t meet me today, something about today was Bingo day and Jello for lunch at the home. Not sure what that was about.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo
the 2 hole issue is solved if Castillo is put out to pasture, and Murphy or Beltran hits 2nd.
ALthough I agree that if the Mets find another guy that really fits leadoff, Reyes would be great in the 2 hole.
Manual said exactly what he was supposed to say, to discuss the team as currently constituted and not speculate on what is boss may or may not be doing.
step 1 has happened, we have a legit closer. now a couple of fresh bullpen arms, a couple of starters and all will be well.
if we have decent 7th and 8th inning guys last year no one would be talking about chocking, lets fix the pen and worrry about 2nd base or lf later .. because without pitching it wont matter, ask the red sox of the 70’s, the rockies of the 90’s ect ect ect
Since Jerry is such a valuable manager, maybe we can package him with Castillo to wherever the hell he wants him to be the leadoff hitter.
Would you rather see Heilman in the 7/8th inning of a tied or close game…or Castillo batting 7th or 8th?
I think I would much rather have Castillo.
Trade Heilman (and maybe Feliciano) for Street…
Then if Feliciano is dealt sign Joe Beimel to fill that spot or move Schowenweis into that spot.
I think if we can unload Castillo then we should move him and sign Orlando Hudson.
If we cant then we should sign a power-hitting Left Fielder such as Manny or Dunn.
We could have Murphy play 2nd and have Castillo off the bench if Castillo just aint doing good.
Then finally, we can’t start with Niese in the rotation.
Sign 2 OF 3: Lowe, Oliver Perez, Sheets, Garland.
Chances are Maine or Pelfrey will go down with an injury because Maine is injury-prone and Pelfrey threw alot of innings last year. Rather than replace them with Figgy we could call up Niese in that case!
How does that sound?
And another possibility is signing Teixera to be a power bat in our lineup. But wait dont trade Delgado.
Texeira has some experience in the outfield. Why not play HIM in left field for the season then move him to first when Delgado’s option year is up and will likely retire or sign with an AL team. Hows that sound?
Look at this lineup-
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Tex
Delgado
Church
Murphy/Tatis/Castillo/Hudson (2nd base)
Schneider
Rotation:
Santana
Lowe/Sheets/Perez
Pelfrey
Maine
Sheets/Perez/Garland/Niese
Bullpen:
K-ROD
Smith
Stokes
Beimel/Feliciano/Schoweneis
Parnell
maybe Duaner Sanchez
Can’t wait for 2009
I read a piece on Santana in the NY Times the other day. He’s down in Venezuela doing some charity work. Apparently the country roots for the Mets because of Santana, and since Rodriguez is a fellow countryman, Santana said that the country would go crazy to have their two most well known players playing for the same team. Very cool to see it happen.
Step one is basically complete. Now on to step 2 – signing or trading for a set-up man.
The K-rod signing is important and also shows how soft the market truly is. Teams are cautious and their financial holdings have shrunk. Omar better be working hard because I think there could be a ton of good deals all over the league. It should be an interesting and very active rest of the off season.
I’m confident I’ll cry if we go into next season with Niese pencilled in as our 5th starter.
There’ll be bargains in the pitching market after all the big names are signed.
Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Mark Prior will be very inexpensive.
casestreet-
if you add up the amount of games those 3 pitchers threw last season the total would be less than lowe, perez, garland or sheets…
neither has had a full season in like 3 years!
i’m all for the mets getting bargains but those 3 guys are jokes
Jerry is a moron and typically – just as he did this time – talks a lot, but says absolutely nothing. I have no confidence in him. Maybe if the Tigers get off to a bad start, they’ll fire Leyland and we can hire him as a scout so he can be waiting in the wings.
The problem is we need better than bargain bins if we’re not going to upgrade the offense any. At the very least they should take a flyer on sheets and brad penny. And if they’re not going to spend big on offense then there’s no reason not to overpay for Lowe or someone, the mets bring in the revenue to afford it.
The Slider: What would you have said?
My only hope for the Mets to replace Castillo is that he blow’s out his knee running to cash one of his paychecks and it forces Omar to make a move. Nobody wants him and the Mets never eat contracts. The only use he served was painting a pretty picture for Santana last year so he’d be into the idea of coming to the Mets. Which brings me to Pedro, why not if he can be gotten on the cheap. Didn’t he used to have a relationship with some guy named Manny who’s a pretty fair hitter. If Petie can compete for the fifth spot great, if not maybe long relief, if he’sdone so be it but if he’s on board maybe it helps persuade Manny if Manny decides to go for a 2-3 year deal in the current economy. Just thinkin’ out loud here.
I saw that interview on SNY tonight and it was funny. Every time Jerry spoke about K-Rod he said with an exaggerated tone “according to word on the street” and then he burst out laughing as did the reporters.
I think the Mets have gone a long way toward mending the biggest problem they had last year and scrappiness was NOT one of them. It’s amazing how scrappy a team looks when they have a lights out closer!
As I said, I’ll be satisfied as long as Omar fixes the rest of the pen — the middle relievers — and finds an adequate replacement for Ollie should he not come back. Sure, like everyone else, I’d love Omar to fix every hole on the team but that is not a reasonable expectation.
The only thing better than the Mets landing their main target is having Fatcessa on the same day get out of whack over the Yankees’ failure to land theirs. LOL. Twice the fun.
Lightning in a bottle, my friend. Plus, what I suggest is to sign either with upside or your average innings eater and then let these old guys like Johnso and Pedro or young and injured like Garcia and Prior compete for the 5 spot. They’ll sign for cheap. And you can never have enough SP.
Gina thats exactly what I am saying.
They got K-Rod at somewhat of a discount.
If they claim they are going into next season with Castillo and Murphy/Tatis.
And they are rasing ticket prices drastically.
They better go all out on pitching. Maybe not Sabathia although that would be like WOW but Lowe, Sheets, Oliver Perez, and Garland are nice fillers for the rotation!
Please no NIESE! He had one good start out of 3. The two losses were disasters. Please no Niese!
mets
I see Casestreet…I thought you wanted two of them in the rotation next year.
I’m all for signing one and letting him compete with Niese but then we need to sign a Lowe, Sheets , Perez (or Sabathia!)
Gina – I’d love Sheets but he’d cost a pretty penny even with his injury history. And if they sign Penny the Met’s will lose 2-3 wins this year since they beat the cr*p out of him. I also heard today teams are looking at Sheets for a 4 year min because they suspect he may need surgery this coming year at some point and if he’s signed to a 2 year deal they’ll never recover their investment on a shorter deal thereby the longer deal thinking if he is hurt then years 3-4 will at least be worth it.
SadClownGoodMets says:
The Slider: What would you have said?
___________________________________________
I would have simply said “We’re looking forward to spring training. We’ll do our talking on the field.”
Done.
Thinking of having to hear that Dr. Hibbert laugh all season long …. ugh.
Cannot go into the year without signing either Lowe, Sheets, or Burnett- only then will I tolerate Niese as the 5th starter. One of the biggest problems the Mets had the past 2 years was the rag tag bunch of 5th starters that merry go rounded in and out- that hurt the team big time. You cannot do that again unless you sign a big starter in conjunction. Murphy and Tatis in left field? Not acceptable- there has to be an offensive upgrade somewhere, and I want Manny. Then I’d be fine playing Murphy at 2nd, and/or you could trade Delgado for help elsewhere if you get Manny. And I’d look at Furcal or Hudson to play 2nd. Signing K-Rod and simply “tweaking” the team is not nearly enough. This is the 2nd richest team in MLB.
how long until pitchers and catchers report?
The Diamondbacks and Braves have reportedly dicussed swapping Conor Jackson and Kelly Johnson, but there was no indication that either team seriously considered the trade.
The Braves need a left fielder, and the Diamondbacks have an opening at second base. However, both teams would prefer to those holes without surrendering such talented players.
WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR…BYRNES FOR CASTILLO! DO IT.
Hazmet, if they’re not going to spend on Lowe/Burnett and what not then who else are they going to spend on other than Sheets and/or Penny? There is no reason for us to go into next season with Jon Garland and Jon Niese as our 4th and 5th starters. And if we do then it’s not going to matter that they fixed the bullpen we’re going to have bigger problems.
Also the Straw the d-backs laughed at us when we offered castillo for byrnes. No one is going to give us a semi decent player for castillo. It’s going to be a strict salary dump.
February – first week.
Yes mistermet, we did have the 2nd highest payroll last year; 3rd at worst if Det was a few bucks ahead of us…appropriate for the 2nd richest team, no?
And Case, you are killing me! Raul has fallen and he can’t get up!!
You know how much Byrnes has left on his contract…the D-backs would be dumping salary and i dont think they even want bynes anymore.
Gina, Byrnes is a salary dump. The DBacks haven’t been able to keep him on the field.
Hey Gina:
Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said he plans to open 2009 with Chad Tracy at first base, Conor Jackson in left field and Eric Byrnes in a reserve role.
Byrnes will be far and away the team’s highest-paid position player at $11 million, but that doesn’t guarantee him anything besides a spot on the roster, according to Melvin.
Gina – you’re right we do have bigger problems that’s why I’m so curious to see how this is going to pan out. I also like your take on Byrnes. He makes everything look like a great catch because he gets bad jumps and has lost a step. I’d love Lowe but the price is pushing up and the Mets aren’t going to drop the coin on him. To me I’d gut the team down to trying to unload Delgado and go get Tex and Lowe and trade for Street but I’m not working to the same budget Omar has to. Which hurt’s to say considering their revenue stream.
I mean a strict salary dump is in a terrible player. The Castillo for Byrnes thing was a big rumor like a 1.5 months ago. Then it was reported that Arizona had never actually considered it and once they looked at Castillo’s numbers they said basically laughed at us and said no way.
Basically Byrnes is Castillo is never going to happen. Arizona wants nothing to do with Castillo.
jerry was all gangsta today he reminded me of cab calloway in the blues brothers – wanted to see him sing minnie da moocher lol
by the way welcome back tina where ya been?? sorry bout the hand
Rusty, there are no “gangstas” on a team that wussed out and collapsed – again – at the end of the year. And for Minnie the Moocher, it’s he second collapse in a row.
Do you mean me?
I’ve been busy failing out of school among other things. Mostly this comment format just annoys me so I don’t comment as much.
Right, Gina. This comment format stinks. What’s the reason behind it? Anybody know?
Rusty, Cab Calloway’s grandson comes to jazz conferences and is hilarious—-he struts around, dressed in bright red and blue suits with feathers in his hat, looks exactly like a 30-something-ish version of Cab, and is too much!
And how about KRod!! As Walter Sobchak said in Big Lebowski “Our troubles are over dude!”
Well, not totally, but what a great start!!
Slider, Matt said it is for this week of the meetings so pages load quicker with loads more hits…it is temporary, will be gone soon, and everyone indeed agrees it s*cks rocks!
Thanks King. Whew. Can’t wait to get back to the old format.
Matt didn’t do this last year, did he?