According to SNY, the Mets are shutting down right-hander Tim Redding due to “shoulder weakness.”
The team did not specify how long Redding will be shut down for, but said that he will not throw off a mound during this time.
Adam Rubin has lots more at his blog for the Daily News, adding that the Mets expect Redding to open the season on the disabled list. He writes:
The 31-year-old righthander is experiencing achiness and weakness in a particular spot in the back of his right shoulder off and on. He awoke Thursday morning with the sensation, and tried to pitch that night against the Marlins with no success.
Rubin continues to assess the fifth-starter race in Redding’s absence, including whether Redding’s injury affects the chances that the Mets will sign Pedro Martinez.
No brainer. Sign Pedro. Livan is great for depth but Pedro needs to get signed ASAP
Not surprised.
So far Pelfry looking good today against the Nats.
Damaged goods? So really, our only options are Livan and Garcia…..I think i would prefer Figueroa.
Sign Pedro? He was facing the Netherlands. They have only 2 major leaguers on their roster. Either Livan or Neice.
and for the millionth time, it has more to do with his velocity and movement than how he faced against some minor leaguers.
I totally agree. From what I saw on TV and based on the quotes I read about Pedro he seems to be throwing in the low 90’s with good movement and good command of all his pitches. This is approximately the way he was throwing when the Mets first signed him. However, at the risk of being verbally attacked by the Metsblog Gestapo I believe the Mets will be very careful on how they spend their money from hereon. Based on Fat Mike’s interview with Omar it sounded as if Omar is trying to keep some wiggle room in the budget for later in the season when the poor economy will force some teams that fall out of contention to make good players available. You can’t lose the prodigious amount of money the Wilpons and their business lost to Bernie Madoff without it having some impact on the Mets budget. Some of the accounts were under the Mets and Sterling Equities as well as the Wilpons and their relative’s names. So I doubt if the Mets will sign Pedro.
Hasn’t Parnell been clear and away the best pitcher out of this bunch? Why should he be discarded? Age??? I’d rather have him then Hernandez.
Probably control issues. He is better suited for middle relief at this point in time. I don’t know his K/BB ratio but I’m sure it ain’t pretty
I love how so many posters here say they don’t know something but then write as if they do. Makes sense. You know ignorance is bliss.
Last I remembered the Mets were not going to sign Pedro unless they had injuries to their candidates. As it is, Freddy Garcia and Redding are down. That leaves them Niese or Livan as the key options and from what I thought one of them was going to be the long man.
I gotta think Pedro really moves up on the radar about now. But I really think the Mets won’t play their hand too loudly on it.
They are not signing Pedro until his demands go down. There is no way after 3 injury plagued seasons they are giving him any guaranteed money. His velocity might be great now, but do you remember last spring when he said his arm felt as good as it felt since ’99? I love Pedro but the odds are pretty good he’s going to break down. Until his price goes way down there is no point, it won’t happen
Last year pedro relied on his curve and changeup for swing and misses. If he can keep his velocity up around 90-92 with the movement he had in the WBC, he will once again be able to paint the corners and use his changeup as an outpitch again. It’s a no brainer ,as I said.
“Mets have claimed right-hander Fernando Nieve off irrevocable waivers from the Astros.”
I think they HAVE to start negotiating with Petey. His current demands are too much…..but the conversation must begin.
Agreed
This 5th spot sure is turning into an utter disaster by the day. Lets not be fooled by Pedro’s performance during the WBC. If anyone thinks that Pedro is going to endure the season, they must not have been watching during the last few seasons.
This is not such a bad thing. With Redding on the DL, the Mets can keep Parnell in the bullpen and see what the kid has at the beginning of the season.
Also, I feel that Livan, Garcia, Redding, and Niese will all get starts this year. So, I think the Mets should make Livan the temporary 5th starter, let Redding and Garcia heal/workout their kinks in Port Lucie, and let Niese start in AAA.
So if Livan does stink it up after a few starts, hopefully one of Redding and Garicia will be ready.
If Livan, Redding, Garcial all prove to be ineffective or injured, bring up Niese at mid-season if he is doing well in the minors. Otherwise, the Mets might consider trading for unspectacular but solid pitcher at the trade deadline.
And I’m thinking this is exactly what their plan is right now for the 5th starter.
Livan pitched two innings today giving up no hits. Think he just gave up 2 walks.
I agree, this seems to be the plan. Also, my guess is that if Livan is ineffective in April and Redding and Garcia are still not ready, the first call-ups would be Figgy or Armas.
Having 4 starting pitchers in mid March is not a good way to keep nervous Mets fans at bay. I’m not a GM, I have no clue what the market is, but maybe its time to see if a trade is in line.
rodriguez coming in for a 4-out save… this Venuezelan manager really likes to use him, and i hate that…. please dont f up ur arm k-rod
I hope Omar is on the phone to tell them don’t do it anymore I really don’t like the WBC
i dont mind him closing but 4-out saves in Round 2 of the WBC in a non elimination game is pretty ridiculous.
I agree plus its way to early for someone like K-Rod to be pitching that hard
Hopefully he doesn’t have Wagners “I can sit down on the bench and come back in” syndrome.
Maybe he’s just extra juiced for this game, but his stuff is looking amazing.
Is there anyway they can cut there loss with Redding
I would think that he gets paid by insurance if he is injured.
The only Met whose body part needs to be examined is Omar Minaya, who should have his head examined for signing a career bum like Tim Redding.
I never root for anyone on any team to get hurt, but I’ll shed no tears over Redding’s injury.
No its cool, he also signed Frddy Garcia just in case Redding went down.
Somebody else is warming up in the VEN bullpen.. i doubt he comes in though… 3-1 going to the top 9th, i see a 1% chance K-rod doesnt pitch this inning..
hopefully that 1% is right!
Pedro, can you hear me? Come back, please. We need you, and I can surmise that you need us as well.
well hes still in booo
i hope he gets these last 2 outs quick… hes gonna at least throw 20 pitches
22 pitches total, good.
Heres a question to all of the metsblog commenters:
Which NL East team do you hate the most?:
Phillies
Nationals
Braves
or Marlins
or do hate another team even more(ie. Yankees/Redsox/Cardinals)????
Yankees, no hesitation whatsoever
Hate the Braves
cant really say i dislike any team… a team’s fanbase, thats another story.
I am a fairly new baseball fan, which means I am a fairly new Mets fan, so I would have to say I hate the Philiies the most.
I hate them all, and I hate Minaya too.
It’s a tie between Yankee fans and the Phillies.
The team I hate the most is certainly the Braves. However, the Phillies are approaching that stature. The Yankees is more like sibling rivalry. I root against them because of their fans. We getcrapped on and treated like second class citizens. However, I root harderfor the demise of the Braves and Chipper and GLAVINE, more than anyone else (except for the Islanders because Potvin Sucks, but that is for a different blog)
And I think I’ve seen enough of Brandon Knight this spring too. He’s not making the pen….
please no pedro. anything but more pedro. and there’s no chance they will sign him so i’m happy
Pedro is the new Manny!
Sign Pedro!!!!!
Great. Now Redding is down indefinitely, Garcia stinks and we are left with Livan and Niese (who clearly is headed for AAA). Anybody wanna bet if Livan winds up following in his brothers footsteps and starts to crumple (foot? shoulder? neck?). Then, exactly what will we do?
Sign Pedro (at least talk to him Omar!), put Livan in the pen and we’ll be back to ’06. The difference being we won’t rely on either to contribute significantly in the post-season.
Livan is not going to the pen. He said he will only except a starters role. He would ask for his release if he was told he was going to be the mop up long man.
Anyone know who giving up the 6 runs in the 9th inning because the mets were up 2 to 0 in the bottom of the 8?
Brandon Knight.
Maybe explore a trade? I have no clue for who but see if anybody is out there.
We can trade Livan for El Duque.
Brandon Knight, the great Brandon Knight gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in the ninth
I knew it lol
Sign Pedro.
Fire up the old MRI machine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why is nowadays when some pitches like crap, it’s always because they’re hurt? Or weak? Can’t it be that he just sucks??
I think Wilpon and son should invest in a mobile-MRI machine that can follow the Mets all season.
I can’t believe i’m seeing all of these people on this very blog seriously contemplating the Mets signing Pedro Martinez. I’d rather have a bag of balls than that pain in the you-know-what back in the clubhouse. He’s a washed up has been who was practically a non-existant waste of money over the past four years from us. This shouldn’t even be up for consideration. Do some of you people even WATCH the games or do you just parrot what sounds good around your friends?
First of all, dude, I will try to be gentle, because I have no idea how old you are, nor do I have any idea how smart you are. Pedro’s value to this team over the past 4 years goes far beyond his stats. He brought credibility to this team after years of none of it. We went after Mike Mussina. The Yankees got him, so we were forced to overpay for Kevin Appier. Disaster. We went heavy after Jason Giambi. The Yankees got him, so we then traded the Great Kevin Appier for Mo Vaughn. Even bigger disaster. We were not even a major league team in this town compared to the Yankees. So we finally got the guy. The HOF pitcher with the HOF attitude. He brought swagger. He brought intelligence. He brought a sense of humor. He brouht accountability. He brought energy. I used to go to games Doc pitched. That energy was gone from that stadium. Until Pedro came to town. And with Pedro, came Beltran. I would personally guarentee that if Pedro wasn’t on this team, then neither would Beltran. And probably not Delgado, either, because you don’t make that trade unless you feel you are close. Wagner, maybe, but unlikely. If Pedro comes back, and gets hurt again, or changes his path and becomes disruptive, I will personally apologize. However, he sems like the best option, with the greatest upside. No pitcher, not even the great Johan, has done what Pedro has done, and at least has some likelihood of doing again.
Ummm, isn’t it about time we revamp the NYM Medical Staff?
Niese is not ready. Time to rely on Hernandez or sign Pedro. Garcia is done.
Do any of you pay attention to what is written about what Mets officials say?
The Mets are not going to sign Pedro. They don’t want to spend the $$ and they don’t think, and for good reason, that he can be relied upon to make 25 or so starts.
Livan H is going to be the 5th starter, even before Redding went down. He is going to drive you crazy with all the baserunners but he has proven, even while having issues with his kness the last 2 yrs, to be able to give you 6 inn/start.
That is what the Mets need in a 5th starter. Not Pedro who might be able to be very good for 5 starts then be DL’d for 3 mos.
I’ll take 10 wins from Livan and 180 inn. There is no reason not to believe he can’t do that especially since he appears to be healthy. He has done it for the last 9 yrs.
Besides, if Pedro is considered to be so worthwhile, how come nobody is knocking down his door?
With this bullpen I want livan as the 5th stater because he could even give u more innings then ollie.So case closes.
Even last yr with his sore knees and playing in Col, Livan had 20 of 31 starts of 6inn +.
He will save the BP. That has been the problem the last 2 yrs-too many outings by the SPs where they went less than 6inn, especially the 5th, non-existent starter.
Livan’s era+ last year was 69 and his WHIP was 1.667. Enough said!
“Livan’s era+ last year was 69 and his WHIP was 1.667. Enough said!”
What exactly are you trying to say?
C’mon Pedro hasn’t pitched a anywhere close to a full season since 2006. He’s done. I’m tired of looking to the oft-injured aged El Duque’s, Pedro’s of the world.
I’m with you. If you could sign Pedro for 5 starts in Sept and you were fairly certain he was heathly, he could help. But not for a 6 mo season.
On the brightside…
Pelfrey and Livan Hernandez both pitched well today, K-Rod got a 4-out, 22 pitch save in Venezuela’s win over the Netherlands.
Puerto Rico takes on the US at 8, chance to see David Wright and JJ Putz take on the Carlos’ brothers. Oh and Figgy, our 5th starter!
If livan makes the team ill say he’ll go 11-7 wit a 4 something era what ya think?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say he wins 13-14 with a mid 4 era. 06′ Trachsel-like, if I may.
I know I’m repeating this but this is a better spot for this comment.
Livan’s era+ last year was 69 and his WHIP was 1.667. Enough said!
I checked Livan’s stats for 2008. His park adjusted ERA, era+, was 69 where 100 is considered average and his WHIP was 1.667.
I’m sorry for the repetition but the Metsblog filter said the post didn’t go through.
Right now, Livan is the best available option. No doubt. If only for the fact that he eats innings. If Pedro could stay healthy, I’d be wanting him back in a heartbeat. Let’s remember what happened in his first start last year–he went 3 and 1/3 innings, then got injured. That’s happened too many times over the last three years to be considered reliable.
Speaking of “trade-deadline acquisitions,” here’s one for you . . . maybe Duaner was cut to provide some money to possibly sign Ben Sheets . . . !?! He’d be ready to come back right about then. How do you think he would be as the #5? ‘Course, he woudn’t be the #5 . . . Maine would be the #5, Ollie would stay at #4 and Big Pelf would go back to #3.
I hope to all getout that this is Omar’s thinking.
We’re dead.
Livan not only eats innings but apparently eats everything else in sight. :)
I’m sorry……did I say we’re dead……I meant we’re toast……look at the latest acquisition by our fearless GM……..
Nieve, 26, produced an 0-1 record and a 8.44 ERA in 11 relief appearances (10 2/3 innings) with the Astros last season. He pitched in 40 games — 11 starts — with Houston in 2006 and missed all of the ’07 season after undergoing right elbow surgery.
Come on, all this is, is a little depth to go to the minors in case of injuries. He’d be like the #9 starter. Can’t have enough pitching.
If I remember correctly, we used something like 11 or 12 starters all told in 2006 because of injuries and what not. If you’ve got a starter that has to skip a turn, or a double header that requires an extra starter, you gotta have someone for that spot start. He would be behind the likes of Niese, Figgy, Garcia if healthy, Redding, etc. etc…
I take that back. He’s definitely not starter material.
I’m on the phone with Minaya right now……he wants to sign me too…….I fit the bill……I am 52 years old and out of shape…….wait……..what’s that ?……..no MRI ?…….yeah OK…no problem.
Sign Manny!!!
Whoops!
I mean, Sign Pedro!!!
why is there no updates today, if u want to take a day off thats fine..where is everyone else…hell ill update the site for free as long as it keeps the info going…no notices on how we picked a guy off waivers or the lineup for todays game..nothing..whats the deal?
I think the whole metsblog crew is at Jordan’s Bar Mitzvah.
Looks like some of them have defined roles. Mike Nichols usually does the pre game posts. I guess if he’s not available on the weekends, we don’t get one?
Matt’s at home depot with his wife
http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3076:total-end-of-year-payrolls-1999-2008&catid=26:editorials&Itemid=39
Jeeze, Rollins giving great material to beat writers at the WBC. Check out today’s NY Post:
‘Mets and Yankees on Jimmy’s Hit List’
‘Rollins’ ultimate baseball dream is to beat both New York teams in the same season.’
“That’s something for the history books, Philadelphia knocking off two New York teams. I might retire. I mean, what else can I do after that?”
“We have an edge, we enjoy hating the other teams,” he said. “We really do. We want to take you by your head, put it under the sand, and then step on your neck, for real.”
“We’re going to stomp on you, we’re going to take your pride, everything about you, we are going to take from you. That’s been our ambition the last couple of years.”
“We love to despise them,” Rollins said.
Uh, yeah O.K., Jimmy….
Let him say whatever he wants..he wishes he could play in NY instead he plays in the cess pool which is Philly.
yeah it hopefully give our teAm enough incentives to crush the division
btw any know if brandon knight was designated for a$$ignment?
Peavy’s getting rocked by Puerto Rico. Beltran and Delgado are doing damage while Wright watches.
Peavy’s getting rocked by Puerto Rico, huh?
OK, I am heading over to Padresblog, where I am sure every post will be calling for Peavy to be traded, mocking the GM for relying on him, and calling for the return of Randy Jones and Gaylord Perry. Peavy obviously is hiding an injury, and needs an MRI quickly followed by Tommy John surgery.
How can the Padres rely on someone like Peavy, who cannot get the Puerto Rican team out in an exhibition? How?? Don’t they want to win? They are acting like the Bad News Bears with reduced budget!!
Quick, we better sign Pedro before the Padres offer him 10 million to take Peavy’s place?
How can an “ace” not get everyone out the 2nd week of March in an exhibition?!?!
hey kong !!! how was rhode island?
Very cool! Providence is a nice city…..Had a good time, did some good biz, made some cool connects, found an amazing Japanese restuarant, and even got a half-price last minute internet deal on a suite at the Westin, so all was quite good…
The other convention in the convention center was a dog and cat show, so all I could think about was the movie Best in Show! Ever see it? Very funny…..
Am out for the night…sorry for the excessive sarcasm in the above post, but I cannot believe the negativity I read the last couple of days….I mean, it is more than 3 weeks till opening day! Redding is apparently hurt, which does s*ck. But still, I think Livan and Niese can get the job done.
Sorry if I am on the other side here buddy, but I am very anti-Pedro at this point….
well kong we are mets fans negativity is in our blood lol btw im goin to the metblog get together on apr 6 – if matt does it at 1 pm hope u come – like to meet ya
Kingman should have stayed there. :)
Kingman what did they do to you in Providence? Force you to listen to ABBA repeatedly. :)
Actually almost no one cares in SD whether Peavy pitches well or not. Stop the average person on the street over there and ask them about Peavy and they would probably ask you who the hell is he. You might want to think about posting over at a SD blog since with you over there that would make a total of two.
It was meant as sarcastic satire at the negativity and silliness on here the last few days….and at the idea that a couple of good innings in an exhibition somehow should make us forget the last 3 nightmare years of being unable to count on Pedro.
I just wanna kill jimmy rollins anyone wanna join me? Lol
i got the lime to bury him with lol
As Tommy said……”What… it’s not like I never dug a hole before. Hmmm… Where are the shovels?”
you know if u bury him feet first and but a pail over his head – if someone digs in that area they will just think they dug into a old construction site and move along lol
any predictions on if petey is resigned ?
ok time for a short “this day in mets infamy with rusty”
nothing of note happened on this date …… except at this exact time in 2002 mo vaugn went on a diet – that lasted for 10 minutes when he began eating robbie alomars arroz con pollo lol
ok off to bed i go
and guys – it aint the end of the world that redding is being shut down – just gives neise, figgy and livan (on a prayer – damn i hate bon jovi) a chance to be the 5th starter
I agree!!
And I am very glad you did not include Pedro in the post right below…
Have a good one Rusty!
you too my friend – and its good to see the moleman in mid season form – hopefully wright and the putz will be back in camp by tomorrow lol
oh and btw guys these are the best remaining f.a starting pitchers on the market as per mlbtr
Mark Mulder (31)
Odalis Perez (32)
Sidney Ponson (32)
i would give ponson a start if desperate
Figgy pitched good against Usa tonight. Beltran just hit a hr.
Usa just lost to mercy rule in 7th inning 11-1
Well, that was just an ugly game for team USA. Ended in the 7th w/ the Mercy rule.
So they win tomorrow or they go home, right?
You are correct sir!
pudge looked good
i hope keeping brian schneider or ramon castro over him does not bight us in the behind.
How bout mulder guys? We got freddy freaking garica why not try mulder?
How bout the shot Beltran hit!
ok quick poll. would you sign pedro for 5 mil per year?
Ummm. Hell no.
How about .5 million on a minor league contract with incentives that if he could actually pitch well for 180 innings he could make 5 million?
2 million + incentives
Why does he deserve a guarnateed spot?
He doesn’t.
LOL!
Quick poll—did you watch Pedro pitch even once last year? Did you check his time on the DL the last 3 years??
yes
Why? I just don’t get it. Because it’s MidMarch and we could have had decent pitchers If we had wanted to pay 5 million and now we want to panic and sign Pedro?
ive wanted them to bring back pedro all along… i just think he can still pitch and is better than what we got
At 5 million when the guy has not been healthy since 2005? Well that would make you the ONLY GM that would be willing to do that.
Thank you for your usual good sense, and thank you for being more mature than me on this nutty subject.
5 mil guaranteed for Pedro??
LOL is the only response that fits….
To TRS…..
You know what, why not 10 million per year?
Then, the exact same people who are making this comical desperate pitch for Pedro in mid-March can have an even better reason to whine and complain at how bad Omar is when Pedro is 3–5 with a 5.60 ERA and on the DL by June 1.
SIGN PEDRO FOR 10 MILLION!!!
Only if Bernie Madoff pays his salary. :)
I think we all saw this coming with Redding, but he hasn’t been a favorite for the 5 spot in a while. Honestly, with the way he’s pitching, he’s probably not who we’d want being our long reliever. Certainly now at the cost of having to lose Brian Stokes (out of options) or Darren O’Day (Rule 5). I say we go with Stokes and O’Day, let Cherry go back to the O’s and if one of Stokes or O’Day isn’t pitching well, call up Parnell.
or just sign pedro…
To be long reliever? Not to mention who would take his 2nd start after he gets injured in the 2nd inning of his first start?
i say take the chance at the possible injury considering that he is clearly a better pitcher than anyone competing for the 5 spot…
He is cleary better based on what? HE HAS NOT BEEN RELIABLE SINCE 2005.
No, he is not clearly better than any of them. Even in the unlikely event he can stay healthy.
But yes, a few innings in exhibitions prove everything…..
As bad as Pedro pitched last year his era+ was slightly higher than Livan’s and his WHIP was slightly lower than Livan’s. Does that mean I want Pedro? No it means I don’t either of them.
Now Pedro was throwing in the low 90’s and had good movement on his pitches with good command. You have to admit that’s more than Livan has. But I didn’t like the fact that Pedro’s arm slot was still the same as last year and not back to where it was when the Mets first signed him. And of course there is the problem of the inevitable trip to the DL.
BTW Kingman, Pedro loves you. :)
Clem, I was the happiest Met fan when we signed Pedro, and he was excellent in 2005. But then he broke down, as the Sox predicted, and we out of action for the 2006 postseason, and missed almost all of 2007. Then, the Marlins bombed him in his first start last year, then he got hurt and was AWFUL.
And now he has a couple of good innings in early March and folks forget all of the history.
And I do not love Pedro as much after his recent comments. He was paid about $40 million for 17 wins and complete unreliability the last 3 years. That’s Mike Hampton territory.
Pedro could have volunteered to come back for a mil and incentives, and made himself a hero to Met fans. In my opinion, his attitude is pretty disappointing.
Kingman I agree that Pedro should not be signed to a guaranteed contract and his demands are both unreasonable and delusional. Thankfully Omar will not sign him to such a contract.
What piqued my interest was that he threw better in the WBC than at any time in the last two years. The velocity and movement of the fastball were similar to the way they were when the Mets signed him. Given the severity of his surgery it is not unreasonable to expect even a younger man to come back strong in less than two years and in Pedro’s case you have an old (by baseball years but young otherwise) pitcher. And even in a young pitcher there is no guarantee that he comes back to his former self (e.g. Dirty). What turned me off was the arm angle of his delivery. In the WBC he threw from the same slot as last year which is considerably lower than when the Mets signed him. It’s possible he is adjusting to his new delivery but it’s not worth the risk of a guaranteed contract.
Or look at his record of being injured most of the last 3 years, and his absolutely horrid stats last year, then realize what a terrible idea it is, THEN send Omar a thank-you note for not signing Pedro.
Livan and Niese and a healthy Redding will almost all surely be better than the diminished and injured Pedro.
ok everyone lets realize that i wouldnt do give him 5 mil i was just asking who would because that is what he is looking for. if you ask me i would give 2-3 mil with incentives but thats all
My question is why does a guy that has not been healthy for a full season since 2005 deserve a guaranteed contract?
because right now he is throwing in the 90′s so start him at the 5 spot for now until he gets hurt and use livian or hopefully garcia will be healthier and pitcing better. then he will only be making the couple mil because of incentives
So because a gun on espn in the wbc clocked him at 90 we should GIVE him a spot that he has not earned? Pedro’s like a slot machine, if you want to put another coin in after wasting the last 3 years go ahead.
if you dont trust a clock on espn what other clock are you gonna trust and he was also clocked at 92. why not pedro cause we GAVE redding a spot for about 2.5 mil and hes doin well right now. try somethig else cause i’d rather have pedro healthy now throwing 92 than a hurt redding throwing what like 87
Redding got 2.25 million (incentives to get that much) Because he did pitch 180 innings last year.
Pedro does not deserve a guarnteed contract. Pedro was hitting 90 some last year as well when he was producing a 5.50 ERA.
Again, if he wants to be humble and take a minor league contract that he deserves, like Garcia and Livan took then so be it.
Do you think ESPN would have a purpose in upping PEDRO’s speed? Especially considering that almost all of these guys are showing more than their normal speeds. I guess they are ALL just pumped.
We just gave Redding 2+ million and he’s been Shalacked and Shutdown. Did i also mention the guy STINKS.
Fernando Nieve could be in the mix too, who the Mets claim off waivers from the Astros today, if he pitches good in the next three weeks.
Isn’t he a reliever? I think he is just AAA fodder.
Pedro isn’t who you want as your long reliever. The Netherlands and the Phillies are two different kinds of competition. Pedro wants 5-8 million per year. He can probably get the Dodgers to offer at least 2-3 million. Or even the Pirates. Is he worth that much as a long reliever? I’m perfectly comfortable going into the season with Brian Stokes as our long reliever. The 5 spot in the rotation is more questionable, but I think we’ll be alright with Livan to start the year, and hopefully, if he’s not cutting it, Niese will succeed him by the summer.
Agreed.
With Livan it may be 3-4 runs given up over 6 innings but I know he’s going to be able to pitch that night and the next time in the rotation and the next time. With Pedro it’s a hope a prayer with every pitch.
Livan has been horrible the last 2 years and he didn’t even average 6 innings a start last year. I think he still has a few weeks to get the number 5 spot but why not sign pedro to a 1 year 2.5 million dollar deal plus incentives. Considering the injuries and the death of his father pedro still managed to pitch under a 4 era for 2 straight months(july&august). That way livan can get some starts in triple a and become insurance if pedro gets hurt. I’m sorry but I’d have a hard time watching a pitcher put 10 guys on base a start. Livan put 300 runners on base in 180 innings last year.
Why does Pedro deserve anything guaranteed when he has not been healthy in 3 years?
And with Livan, even IF he was as bad as last year that’s still 3-4 runs per game and 6 innings.
If Pedro wants to drop the ego and come in and earn a spot with a minor league contract, sure.
I’m not saying to sign him today. I’m only saying to sign him if livan doesn’t look a little better this spring. I think deserves guaranteed money for the same reason penny and Smoltz got guarateed money. He doesn’t deserve the 5 guaranteed they received. But just on what pedro might still be able to do I think be deserves it. I would take the risk.
Yeah, he’s a reliever. That’s where he’d be in the mix for. He’s made starts before though. I’m suprised they still aren’t considering Parnell for the 5 slot. It’s probably because they don’t see him there long term, but he’s a good option. Maybe they’ll look to try to get Niemann or Humber cheap, if they don’t make their Opening Day squads. I’m suprised they haven’t considered offering Mark Mulder a minor league deal too. If he’s healthy, he can be a weapon. They wouldn’t have much to lose there.
Mulder’s not a terrible idea but I dont’ see it happening.
I looked at some of the TB guys the other night, still not sure they are better than Niese or Parnell. Can’t forget that Connor Robertson is a starter as well.
Connor Robertson has never started a game in his pro career.
Pedro may appear to be better than these guy’s going for the 5 spot, but he’s not reliable. Sadly, he’s probably less reliable than Freddy Garcia. The only guy he’d more reliable than is El Duque lol Pedro took about as sharp a decline as a dominant pitcher has ever taken to barely being good enough for a rotation in a while. Even if Pedro had an advantage on the rest of these guys, is he still worth millions more than Redding or Livan? Personally, if the Mets did waste 4-5 million on Pedro, it’d really piss me off, knowing we could have used that money on Bobby Abreu.
i also think they should sign alou…
LOL! Thanks for the comedy….I am looking very forward to your next post, calling for El Duque.
We have left behind Pedro, Alou, and El Duque, as they are the remnants of the bad parts of the last few years.
Note that Omar signed KRod and JJ this offseason—HEALTHY, young, frontline players.
And it is March 14…don’t give up on Redding yet…but hey, maybe Kris Benson is available!!!
oh yea jj putz was real healthy last year
He was healthy by the end of last year, and would have been–even with his injury-diminished year–the best thing in the Mets pen last year.
And he is healthy and hitting 95 this spring, and we are 3 weeks from the beginning of the season.
Stay tuned and see how JJ, KRod, and Pedro all do this year, health AND performance-wise.
hes the perfect right handed bat. when healthy he hits like .340
Are you Omar’s old personality that thankfully he lost? I was wondering where it was.
By the way, both Livan and Garcia have been league average for a full season since Pedro has even been reliable. Yet some how Pedro wants a guaranteed contract and Garcia and Livan take minor league contracts. BOTH could have gotten more than what they got and took less to come to the Mets. If Pedro WANTS to be here he can do the same.
ok lets here it. what could garcia could’ve had besides another minor league deal?
1 milliion dollar guaranteed contract with no incentives from a LOT of teams.
who are these “a lot” of teams you are talking about?? he was only looked at in the end by 3 teams being the mets yanks and white sox. and they were all offering a minor league deal cause he’s done 10 times less than pedro the last couple years
Actually while Pedro was injured in 2006 Garcia was pitching 216 innings.
The reason that Garcia was not picked up by the smaller teams is two fold. He wanted to go to a team with a chance of winning and a LOT of incentives money. A LOT of incentives money. There was no way that teams like Pittsburg were going to take the chance of paying him 9 million.
i dont care what pedros price is… just bring him in for 5 or less (kinda contradicted myself there but you know what i mean…)
WHY?
Nevermind, talk to me when your heart is out of your head.
Yeah. I like Niemann’s stuff. I don’t know if Humber will really ever turn out being much. Robertson is a starter, as you mentioned, but I haven’t heard his name mentioned. There’s two other guys, who are viable options, but have had histories of being trouble makers. One being another guy auditioning in the WBC, Sidney Ponson, hasn’t been signed yet either. The other being Odalis Perez. Not as good, but Jon Lieber and Chuck James are still out there too.
Alou would be ideal, if they threw out his baseball glove, and only used him as the right handed bat on the bench and as a DH in interleague play. The problem is though that the Mets have Tatis signed to 1.7 million, and that’s the role he’s slated for. Marlon Anderson’s also guaranteed 1.15 million, but without him, the Mets don’t have a lefty bat on the bench, unless you count Reed or Sullivan.
They also have Nick Evans, who’s hitting really well and Jose Valetnin who isn’t doing bad himself Alou will probably just retire though. I don’t blame him if he does.
Kingman you are on your own. The last few days on here people have started actually make me not like Pedro. I loved the old Pedro, now he is just the old Pedro. He does not deserve a guaranteed spot yet is for some reason holding out for 5 million. His ego is the old Pedro when he pitches like an old Pedro.
It’s almost to the point that I am hoping we sign him and then as usual he gets hurt after 1 start just so some on here would learn. But if we sign him I will be cheering like always, that and praying with each pitch his arm does not reach the catcher before the ball.
Well, I sure agree with you 100% on every Pedro point.
I’m really suprised why people don’t see the bigger picture in why we wouldn’t bring back Pedro Martinez. The way I see it, I kind of connect it to the releasing of Duaner Sanchez. Omar has been ”siphoning” out the ’07-08′ taste little by little. Outside of Castillo (although I hope not) and maybe Ramon Castro, we are not relying on old over-the-hill injury prone players anymore.
No more Alou, Wagner, Pedro, Easley and Sanchez. We’ve drained the ”must-goes” in Heilman, Schoenweis and Ayala too. The only two players who’ve Omar’s traded away that I kind of miss are Endy and Joe Smith (but I think Sean Green can be better).
Pedro has a larger ego than Billy Wagner, was as injury prone as Duaner Sanchez and had a higher ERA than Aaron Heilman last season. Could you think of a worst combination? Is this what people want the Mets wasting 5 million on? To think that could have gotten us a 100 RBI machine? Abreu probably would have come for less knowing he wouldn’t had to move too.
Great points!
Omar has rid us of the injury-prone and the unreliable.
He’s got one more to go but something tells me we’re stuck with him for 3 more years…
Exactly, get rid of guaranteed money for players you have to pray with each pitch that you did not waste your money by paying another player to be injured.
ok again i dont want to pay 5 mil for him. if he gets 5 mil from us it should mean he earned it because of his incentives. and being a 5th starter means we wouldnt have to rely on him just look for 6 innnings with a couple of runs left up
We have not been able to rely on him since 2005. He has not been able to give us a consistant 6 innings since 2005.
Why should he get anything more than a minor league contract. Just answer that question.
because right now he aint taking a minor league deal. so sign him cheap and when he gets hurt you hope garcia is healthy for the 2nd half
That’s the point, why should he be so cocky that he is holding out?
Minor league contract or nothing for Pedro, I would not lose another player just to MOST LIKELY waste 2 million on Pedro. And do you think if he stinks that it is that easy to cut Pedro without a media nightmare?
Also, don’t forget that Livan and Garcia will most likely leave when Pedro is signed. Don’t give me the crap that they have to be here because they have minor league contracts. You wait and see. They either have gentleman’s agreements to be released or will just not show up.
Then after Pedro gets injured in his first start we will have just Niese.
first of all i love neise but he has had like 3 career starts and the yanks proved to me last year with hughes and kennedy you cant count on the young ones. i want him in AAA for a while. and if livian and garcia just “dont show up” like you propose what are they going to do? I guess they will just have to retire cause they cant sign with any other team while under contract
Sure they can, you don’t understand. When we option them back to the minors they will not show up and we will release them.
o i guess omar told you we were just going to release them right?
Did you hear Garcia’s quote? He said if he could not start here he would go somewhere else. Livan has mentioned the same thing.
Do you think Omar would pay them NOT to show up?
Besides I am sure there is a gentleman’s agreement like there is in ALL signings like this.
first of all omar wouldnt pay them as if they didnt show up they wouldnt get paid. garcia said that but there has been talk that since he isnt completely healthy that he might willingly start the season at AAA. third you are just making that up about livian
Right and then they would be released. Did you see what happen with Odalis Perez?
If Pedro is signed he will look else where.
Eric, don’t hold your breath with JJ Putz. He was on the DL mostly because of a finger nail issue. Not the type of injuries Pedro’s dealt with the last three seasons. Putz will be fine.
Nope, but isn’t it possible Pedro would get injured cutting his own finger nails?
Pedro won’t get hurt sitting in the shade of his mango tree while every team is laughing at his demands after his performance and injuries the last 3 years…..
a fingernail problem………and a elbow problem………and a rib cage problem
5.69 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and injured for the 3rd straight season.
last year he was still coming back from a major surgery and i know he got hurt again but hes doin fine right now. besides who else you want for the #5 spot
I KNOW HE GOT HURT AGAIN, LOL.
Listen to yourself.
i’m not saying he wont get hurt but i think they can use him as a good option for a while and then maybe garcia will be healthy and throwing more than 84 mph so we can use him in the 2nd half
You just don’t understand. What if Pedro comes back and pitches like last year? You can’t just cut Pedro, it would be a nightmare. What if he gets injured in his first start and you just lose 2-3 million that could have been used else where?
What if he gets injured AND Church does not do well, yet you have no money to go get a RF because you blew it on Pedro.
What if Livan and Garcia leave as they have already hinted they would, then Pedro gets injured and we have Niese and Parnell as our ONLY starters to take his place.
To risky.
Bring him in on a minor league contract like he deserves or just walk away.
And did you look at how much better he got as he got healthy later in the season? A very good August, and in Sept, 8 G, 8 GF, 5 SV, and in 8 IP, 7 baserunners and 13 K…..
well if people wanna talk about how pedro is getting discussed based on a small sample 8 IP aint big either
eric buddy, no offense, but this is a ridiculous comment….8 games appeared in for a reliever over a month span is a pretty significant sample, especially in the last month of a year when he was hurt…and especially for a closer on a rotten team with few games to save…..combining August and Sept clearly show that JJ was healthy by the end of the year, and regaining all of the strength the earlier injuries had taken.
And JJ was throwing 89 in his first ST appearance, then 95–96 in the WBC, and will most likely be hitting 97 by opening day.
And Pedro’s sample last year was very consistent—-he got shelled in his first start, got hurt right away, and got shelled consistently when he came back.
come on k-rod had 70 something appearences last year. 8 appearences aint even close.
eric, I was talking about Sept ONLY….JJ had 8 appearances in Sept, KRod had 12…..
You are right, Pedro is reliable and Putz is injury prone.
I am sure that if they were both FA that Pedro would be signed to a guaranteed contract first. Oh wait a minute NO GM has given Pedro a guarnteed spot yet.
yea but you were only talking about sept cause his stats in the other months sucked. and TheReal yea im saying putz is injury prone and pedro is reliable. do me a favor and get off your knees and quote me from where i said that
yea but you were only talking about sept cause his stats in the other months were terrible. and TheReal yea im saying putz is injury prone and pedro is reliable. do me a favor and get off your knees and quote me from where i said that
If you could take the Pedro bobblehead out of your other hand perhaps you could type a reason as to why Pedro deserves a MLB contract.
i will once you su.c k. my ba//s and tell me where i said putz was injury prone and pedro was reliable
JJ’s stats were terrible in April and June when he pitched a total of 6 innings…his stats were fair in July in 8 innings….in his 26 innings in May and August, he walked too many guys, but had overall good stats….and his Sept was excellent.
Again, as he was getting healthy by August, he was very good, and by the time he was healthy in Sept, he was back to the excellent pitcher he had become in 2006 and 2007.
Don’t you think the bobblehead would get in the way?
“Don’t you think the bobblehead would get in the way?”
ok thats all you can come up with?
as for jj im not saying hes injury prone im just saying he hasnt been completly healthy as you said
Seriously, Eric? Do you think immature comments like that are going to offend me? Make me not ask you questions on your opinions? You are welcome to think Pedro is a good idea. Just be willing to answer questions on it.
eric, I said he was very good when healthy, which he has been for his entire career except for some of last year.
And AGAIN, JJ was really good in August, and excellent in Sept as he regained his health…and he is throwing harder and harder as this spring progresses.
Eric I am not here to talk dirty, make sexual references or play any other 14 year old games.
I am here to have an intelligent discussion on Mets baseball.
OMG therealsince86 i would like to take this time to apologize for my immature comments as i have acted childish and disrespectful. i promise never to induce in such a displaceful manner again. i shouldve held my opinion to myself and not let my emotions get the best of me
Sincerely,
Eric23
iunderstand jj was getting healthy just you cant only talk about his stats for two months of a season
Thanks Eric, I accept your appology.
And eric—in Pedro’s last seven starts last year he gave up 4, 5, 2, 6, 4, 4, and 5 earned runs…..so, as hs got healthier, he got even worse last year. And only went 7 innings once….
ok goodnight everyone
Goodnight eric, and may your dreams include 7 shutout innings from Pedro, and 1 perfect inning of relief each from JJ and KRod, the best 1-2 bullpen punch in the bigs.
LOL, you think he would wake up with a stiff neck?
Latter everyone.
haha the real your so funny your d.o.u ch e. im still awake seeing what you would say about me
What we should want is Omar to use the money on a quality lefty reliever like Will Ohman. Signing him wouldn’t just give us an extra weapon, but it’d prevent him from ending up a Phillie.
Agreed, that is the player we should all be discussing instead of wasting more time on Pedro.
thats fine by me cause i think we need a lefty in the pen but omar only talks about filling that position in house
You are right, so I don’t think we should even discuss it.
Of course the Mets said they were not interested in Manny, yet that took over the blog.
Then of course Omar has said they are not interested in Pedro and that is taking over the blog.
I don’t see the Mets spending anymore money before the season.
I remember during one month Pedro missed like 4 or 5 consecutive starts, and each one was for a different reason. Each time was a new thing. The only excuse that was legit, but came at the worst time, was his father’s passing. It’s possible that could have effected his pitching. One thing I can see about Pedro though is that signing him is like having an annoying high maintence girflriend, too much drama lol One million spent on Livan giving us 30 starts, a 12-12 record, 180 IP and a 5.10 ERA is money better spent than Pedro’s 18 starts, 5.50 ERA and whining.
How is 5.10 ERA something to boast about?
Has Tony Armas reported to Spring Training yet?
I’m suprised we haven’t heard of Stokes in mentionings as a 5 starter option either… He was decent as a reliever down the stretch, but he might be able to give us what Jorge Sosa was in ’07. Using him as the 5 starter, with Livan waiting behind, gives the Mets the option of possibly holding onto O’Day and Cherry too, not having to give up either one for the Rule 5…
I don’t think anyone is rulled out but I am sure they would rather have Livan as the #5 and Stokes in the pen than Stokes as the #5 and an unnamed reliever in the Pen. I don’t see Livan taking a longrelief role.
Plus, if Redding is out for a while, Stokes would surely be the leader for longman out of the pen….
I like the idea of holding onto O’Day. I could see him being our Joe Smith replacement. As for the fifth spot, unfortunately with the early season games so spread out they probably won’t need a fifth starter till 3-4 weeks into the season. Soooo, ugh, we’ll be talking about this for a while. These extra weeks early in the season will let them see if Garcia gets anything back on his fastball at AAA. If he accepts the assignment. As like many here I think he’s done. As much as I’d like Niese to win it, I think it will go to Livan based on his being an inning eater. I’ve not been big on LH either although he hasn’t showed terribly in ST. Well that’s my 2 cents. Lastly, sign Ohman already. Jeesh, one lefty out of the pen.
Forget Livan… Let’s get Niese in the #5 spot. Livan might give you innings, but that will be tought to watch. Niese has mutch higher upside than Livan… Niese maybe be able to become a solid pitcher this year…. He should get the job.
I want Niese to get the job too, but it’s not like he’s peforming great either right now… When you’re picking a guy for the 5 spot simply out of default in pitching the ”least crappy”, you rarely go with the youngest guy… Niese still needs work down in the minor leagues. He may have not been ready to make starts down the stretch. If we push him, it’s going to take him longer to progress… I think the Mets, barring injuries, won’t need to rely on anyone outside of these two for the 5 pot. Garcia will probably be cut and Redding’s not ready, but could be later on.
I don’t understand why Will Ohman is not a Met yet. It doesn’t even seem like they show any interest either. They should have signed Juan Cruz while he was just waiting for a phone call from somebody but that just slips through Omar’s fingers.
I wouldn’t have any issues with the rotation as is if we had a super bullpen….as of now, the pen seems to be missing something. I thought Cruz would have been that guy.
I don’t get the love for Livan. It is going to be hysterical when he eats innings while coughing 5 runs at the same time.
Heck, Jose Lima had a good spring in 2006… how that turn out?