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Typically, I get lots of e-mail about Jon Miller and Joe Morgan following a Mets game on ESPN.
However, today, I’m getting twice the normal level of complaints, with Mets fans seemingly very, very irritated with ESPN’s Steve Phillips, who was GM of the Mets from 1997 to 2004.
…i try not to listen to closely when the game is on ESPN… i tend to DVR it, and buzz through all the nonsense, because there is just so much of it… there are times when i feel the broadcasters forget a game is even being played… the funny thing is, i don’t mind it so much when i’m watching, say, Cardinals-Phillies, but when the Mets are on it drives me crazy… so i find it best to just ignore them… last night, though, was tough… it started to feel like phillips planned his attack in advance, confirmed by all the pre-packed graphics and video segments that went along with his hits, especially when talking about Carlos Beltran, who he had a particular gripe with all night… sorry, i mean bel-TRON…
In a post to Amazin Avenue, Sam asks that ESPN fire Phillips.
Meanwhile, Ted Berg of SNY.TV writes the first of a two-part series inspired by things Steve Phillips said in ESPN’s broadcast.
Speaking of children, and broadcasting…
SNY is holding a contest for kids who can enter and win the chance to call half an inning with Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling in the SNY broadcast booth during an upcoming Mets game.
The online entry period ends this Wednesday, May 20.
To learn more, go here.
Steve Phillips is a retard.
It was for sure premeditated and last night was not the first time. I am sure most of us remeber Krunk laughing at his Johan idea and then all of us laughing the last time he brought up the idea of the “perfect” player. When you sound dumb to Joe Morgan then well you are dumb.
worst announcing ever!
Where have you gone Tsuyoshi Shinjo?
Really……all you have to know about last night is that Joe Morgan was trying to reason with Phiilips and defending Beltran.
Jeez.
old news, this was topic of the morning in the comments section.
Phillips has made it on to my WORSE SPORTS BROADCASTERS IN THE WORLD list:
1. FATSO
2. STEVE-O
Shinjo is with Victor Diaz.
Phillips is still bitter — I say to that, “get over it!” I’m sure he makes good money in that cushy broadcasting gig. Nice work if you can get it, especially for a no talent hack…
TRS now it makes sense! I thought Joe Morgan took some smart pills or something, I should’ve known it was simply the company he keeps.
Yeah Phillips is a joke. He clearly has issues.
J@ck@ss aside, I hate watching my team on ESPN broadcasts due to the fact the report on week old material and for the most part do a poor job doing so. I think thats the reason why you don’t mind the out of town games nearly as much since the news isn’t old yet.
Seriously, here we are the hottest team in the majors and he continued to talk like we were the dogs of the league. All of this junk about the perfect player, no leaders and trading Beltran. Ridiculous. Who the hell does he think he is.
And what about all this baseball anaylisis that he is doing. Like why a player can’t hit, field, pitch whatever. All he is, is a fired GM. What gives him the right to speak over guys like Morgan, Krunk, Winfield and the other washed up guys that actually had a clue?
fx +1
phillips is a idiot…when you get shut down by joe morgan…its time to go..
*from your perspective.
Speaking of FATSO……….
Already killing the Mets for losing last night.
Ridiculous… Would not surprise me if ESPN would LOVE if the Mets dealt Beltran to their beloved Yankees.
trs, +2
Steve Phillper? Is that like a cute nickname?
Ohyeah, why does Phoolips LOVE Wright and Reyes?
Oh yeah, because he drafted them…
Steve Phillips: “I’m not a GM but I play one on TV”
He’s killing Manuel for hitting Pagan, which I actually agree with……
Phiilips is more qualified at this point to analyze who among the ESPN secretaries is the hottest.
speaking of the incredibly lucky Yankees, what about Damon in LF?
I understand he’s been pretty bad defensively. However, his clutchiness might make up for it.
Interesting side note: Steve Phillips is a rock star of sorts. I attended the 2008 “ESPN The Weekend” thing they do at Disney World, and prior to a panel discussion that included multiple current and former MLB players, Phillips had the longest autograph line, and multiple attractive MILF types elbowed me and asked “who’s that? He’s cute!” and proceeded to pose arm-in-arm for pictures with him.
Wow, Francesa just refered to the Mets as “we”.
Aside from Phillips rant on the Mets it was funny how they mentioned that despite the fact they had won 11 of their last 13 the ESPN jerks said they had not been necessarily playing good ball. I somewhat agree that there was a lot of sloppy D and poor baserunning mixed in those games but it’s not like that’s exclusive to the Mets (i.e. the Giants ran themselves into a few outs during Saturday’s game).
Later on however I think Joe Morgan said that the Giants were winning or that they were a good team because they were taking advantage of the Mets mistakes (Pelf’s balks) even though the Giants were doing a whole lot to secure a win themselves. So the only way the Mets will get credit is if they play flawless ball and win?
At the very least guys like Buck and McCarver might tend to gush about certain teams, like the Phillies or Cardinals, and they tend to fawn on insignificant details but I don’t think they go out of their way to criticize teams.
janss: Reyes was an international free agent signing, which is led by a local scout. Phillips did no more than read a report and send a second set of eyes to watch the player.
And GMs get more credit for drafts than they deserve. Scouts and personnel directors have more influence on drafts than the GM does, especially after the first round.
@ grave
Steve is the most notorious skirt chaser around…which i dont got a problem with. Just as long as he keeps his mouth shut about sports…
Wanny…
Right… But still seems like he’s carrying his own GM resume torch a bit too far here…
Jans he does not like them either. He does not think either of them are leaders and that Reyes can not be. That the Mets have a team that is built wrong and we should listen to talk radio guys.
Kind of funny last night that I was cheering Joe Morgan on. “I never have been much on talk radio”
MFBS: Good points. I heard thems ay last night that the Mets haven’t been playing well, they’ve merely been capitalizing on other team’s mistakes.
I shut off the volume at that point.
Good point by Mike……….why couldn’t Reyes have pinch hit instead of Pagan.
Yeah, lets not give Phillips credit for drafting players. He did have Omar at his side most of the time and Phillips did try to trade Wright for Jose Cruz Jr..
FX — GREAT point.
Phillips did try to trade Wright for Jose Cruz Jr..
Is that true ?
You want Steve Phillips fired by getting so many Mets fans riled? Not too smart.
ESPN loves ratings.
Nothing better for ratings than controversy.
Be smart people. Ignore the blow hard.
And Matt … its Steve Phillips, not Steve Philliper.
For that matter, Livan Hernandez might have been a better choice.
I hate Francesa but he is making excellent points. I know we went through this earlier on this blog. Why was Murphy playing if he was struggling at the plate? Oh..because Jerry doesnt like Church. Murphy our golden boy, our hitter with great disipline, great against lefties. Had a pinch hit in the game before.Castro and Reyes on the bench. A career minor leaguer. Reyes has to hit in the spot according to Francesa. Manuel said before the game Reyes will be playing tonight so he has to hit. Making good points.
Good question unless they intend on DLing Reyes? Still have no clue why you pinch hit there anyway.
TRS — because Jerry is an ass.
Alright……..for once Mike is on our side !
Everybody loves Matt’s post now….
KIMA great point. I am sure that’s all it is. Otherwise even Morgan would punch him in the face.
Wanny, can we put a dumb in front of that?
Whatever Phillips is a moron but whatever he is still bitter or not about the Mets getting rid of his sorry a$$, he has the right to say what he wants. He is not the only so called analyst who said the Mets should have or if they don’t make it to the playoffs this year break up the “core”. Some people say Reyes should go others say Wright and others Say Beltran.
I mean we have to put up with hearing it from Mike the fat man everyday (if you actually still listen) I can put up with it from Phillips a few games a year.
It will be sweet to listen to him at the end of the year when the Mets are in the playoffs and Beltran is MVP or right in the running for it. Then we will see what he has to say.
Beltran has been very good for us.
Mike is correct again.
Beltran has more chance of being the MVP than Wright……..
@ real/wanny
i would suggest hole at the end of that ;p
He should be banned by the fans at citifeild. When ESPN cover the next Mets game at home. The fans should go out of there way to vebally abuse and harrass him into never entering Citifield again
It’s not just that SNLK, it’s the way he goes about it. Bringing down Beltran because of who he is. Saying the Mets do not have a perfect player like other teams. The things he says are just so plain stupid.
Francesa killing killing Phillips and Morgan!!
it wasnt as much steve phillips as it was joe morgan…saying that the only reason the mets have been winning games was because other teams were making mistakes, and they were getting lucky…then went on to say that the giants were a good team to have the lead because they took advantage of the mets mistakes..and that is when i muted my tv for the rest of the game
why not just leave murphy there since he has seen 95mph from cain and can catch up to that fb…all the stats can justify murph in that spot….reyes is “injuried” i wouldnt want him there imo given the way he looked his last PH.
Agreed, Dirty AND LGM’s.
Dirty, I hope that questions like that don’t lead to us losing one of the core players because if Manuel keeps doing that it’s going to be tough to win.
Never had a problem with Joe Morgon, as far as Im concerned he can say what he wants. He is a bonafide HOFer and was a better ball player than Sandberg, Ripkin, Rizzuto, Mazerowski,Jeter, Biggio, Kent will ever be. He put Phillips in his place and disagreed about Beltran. Phillips obviously has an agenda with the METS, Espn caters to joe college peanut brains so Im sure they are happy with Phillip’s putrid display of un professionalism.
Sometimes you wonder if all this talk about trading the ‘core’ isn’t a ploy by the Mets haters to make the Mets do something insanely drastic…
@fx
its true, its an old story from the Toronto Sun paper; you can google it
Mike must be on medication. He is making perfect sense.
reillys5: as if taking advantage of another team’s mistakes does not equate to playing well.
it was unbelievable.
Here’s my take:
http://playerpress.com/articles/steve-phillips-please-be-quiet
The best point that I heard Fatcessa make was why Reyes should have hit …..
prior to last night’s game they said Reyes would play for sure against the Dodgers on Monday.
How can you state that with certainty unless he is healthy. And if he is THAT healthy, then he should have been healthy enough to step in and PH.
He had to be a better alternative than Angel (man of 14 at bats at AAA and 1 at bat in the majors since spring training) Pagan.
I would have let Murph bat. His strength is his bat. But if not Murph, then why not Reyes?!!!
even Francessa is correctly on Manuel and the broadcast last night. Still overly hard on Reyes and pretty hypocritical asto he’s only watched a handful of Reyes highlights when he runs and hustles everywhere else.
but yeah, he’s absolutely killing Phillips and Morgan. and Manuel, who made an absolutely boneheaded move. did manuel just throw that game away? If he’s serious about winning, and Reyes is okay to play tonight, he should’ve come in at SS, not Tatis. never mind the obvious pinch hitting assignment. tell him he’s got a home run or a single, and then pinch run Pagan. easy.
@ real
i think adam rubin wrote that the mets are inning in spite of manuel..not because of him. Again just like the castro incident he does soemthing that is just not defendable…granted if pagan got the hit(HIGHLY UNLIKELY) he would ahve been a genious but no reason nto to go with the better odds there….it just seems sometimes real that he has “favorites”…and right now church/murphy/castillo/castro are not on it…
Here are Angel Pagan’s 2009 AAA stats:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Angel%20Pagan&pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=434636
Note, he played in THREE whole games and had 14 whole at bats!!!!!
Haha. 2 big pinch hitting spots this year. Manuel goes with Santos and Pagan. We all debated this but when you hear Francesa somene else who’s not even a Met fan yelling how ridiculous it is…. its so true. Pagan with little to no at bats with Reyes and Castro on the bench. Our golden boy who has great plate displine and who may be our future first basemen…ugh…you heard it all already…..Sorry guys just frustrating!!!
I can understand not using Reyes there. But I have NO idea why you bring in Pagan for Murphy.
Ok guys, mentioned it on the other thread. Would you trade Murphy and Neise for Huff?
No reason to keep complaining about Jerry, the Mets had to practically get their teeth pulled to get rid of Willie
What makes me the most upset is that manuel does not get any crap for it but rather the team gets hit with edge/grit/clutch/heart BS….when is this clown going to be called to the carpet…
Im all for a manager going with his “gut” but that should be limited to when you have a decision that can go either way(i.e. two players with same success, two players with no success as last options) but there was NO reason to remove murphy in that spot for anybody….his stats justify him being in that spot ESPECIALLY SINCE THE PITCHER HAS TO THROW STRIKES!! Idk but i would MUCH rather the media to focus on how many games manuel has lost instead of the mets “heart/grit/clutch/edge”
Agreed Dirty. Perhaps he will learn. But that’s realistically 4-5 games he has cost us this year.
i’m all for steve phillips making an a$$ of himself by calling BelTRON and the rest of the team out for being soft – it kills 2 birds with one stone: 1) if anything it seems to fire the team up when controversy swirls around this point, and 2) makes Steve P look like a fool.
trs, as much as I like to watch Murphy, I would do it. The only issue I have would be that Huff is FA after this season. So, we’re giving up both for rental.
True koos. I don’t understand his problem with Beltran. The material he showed made it look like Beltran was some bafoon. How about showing that he most likely is the NL MVP so far?
Mike is hinting to us that there is something more to the Jose Reyes situation than we are being told.. Could Reyes have gotten benched for the series by Manuel for a situation we are not being told about?
I agree, bel-Tron drives me Crazy but I have to say that the Mets guys (Howie mostly along with Gary) changed the usual Jose to Ho-sss-Ay and Oliver Perez is now Per-ess.
It Irritates the heck out of me to no end.
Let’s not forget how Fran Healy always called Pedro Martinez…Martine-iss. I wanted to mash my tv everytime he pronounced it like that.
True DND but we don’t have a 1B for next year and I guess you could resign him to a modest contract considering he is the best FA 1B.
Darth, problem with that is that he WAS used 1 time this series.
The realsince…How dont you have an issue with not using Reyes if Reyes is going to be in the lineup tonight? If he could play tonight he could definitely pinch hit over Pagan!! No?
PROMISE AND PLEA TO METS
Here is my promose and plea to the Mets.
Please fire Jerry and Omar.
Please hire Bobby Valentine for both positions.
If you do this, I will commit and PAY TODAY 10 years worth of full season package.
I wonder what the Fat One says about the baserunning blunder by Gardner yesterday in the bottom of the 9th?
My guess is that he’ll probably cover it up by saying that Mauer is a great catcher and had the smarts to pump fake to draw Gardner to the plate. Not that it was a kid who probably got caught up in the moment after he had hit an inside the park HR a couple of days earlier and probably felt he could score.
Joe, Reyes is not a great PH candidate anyway. If he is injured or they want to give him another full day off so be it. But why the hell pinch hit to start with is my beef.
Jerry is a walking sound bite, has a great sense of humor and makes the overkill post-game interview almost tolerable – BUT – his hunches have been abysmal and his handling of Murphy has been schizophrenic. Earlier in the year he let the kid pinch hit against a lefty – and was rewarded with a hit. Now, Murphy is seemingly destined for the bench.
KIMA please don’t start this again. PLEASE. The last thing this team needs is a circus clown in the dugout.
@ DND
true but i mean i dont think we are giving much up outside of murphy…Niese is a back of the rotation starter at most and murph cannot field well. He can fit in good in the AL as a bench guy or DL. Huff has power and can play 1b/OF. IF they can snag him for murph and niese i would do it in a heart beat..
don’t fall for FATSO’s trap
If Reyes plays today, that means that last night he was at least able to run and would likely not have hit into a DP.
Dirty I could not imagine that it would take much more than that. The O’s would be getting 2 young guys undercontract for a long time that can step in and play for THEM tomorrow.
Thereal…You are right!! That is the bottom line now isnt it. lol
Wanny it’s not like Pagan is slow. This just dodges the question of why the hell do you pinch hit to start with?
What about bob melvin…would he accept a bench role (over sandy alomar)?
Jerry has made some questionable moves so far. But I’m not going to ask for his head now. Mets are in first place. With Jerry, Mets are something like 20 games over .500 (maybe exaggerating). Omar has made the team a lot more competitive than before.
No reason to get rid of both those guys.
Plus, if Mets get rid of a manager while at first place, what kind of message does that send to rest of the league? That would not look good AT ALL for ANY possible future candidates.
I hear ya but what is the trap he is setting? Please inform me because I dont want to walk into it!
I would be very careful trading away a 22 LH pitcher with a devastating curve and that fastball. He’s not untouchable, but just make sure you get a good return is what I’m saying.
I watched that broadcast last night. Phillips is the Forrest Gump of baseball. His ability to perpetually have a job in baseball is inexplicable to me. The only things he has going for himself is luck and timing. He blathered on and on about Beltran’s shortcomings. Thankfully, Morgan had his number. What a talentless moron and a phony!
DND I don’t think you are exagerating at all. It may be better than that.
That is why we can complain all we want but Jerry is going no where unless we fall completely out of the race.
Real:
A clown is better than two idiots.
And this person you call clown is the last manager to lead us to the world series and he did so with lesser talented teams.
I am a huge BV fan and always will be. I followed him in Texas and elsewhere. They guy does not make idiotic moves like we have seen this year. He would grab this team by the balls and make them play hard.
@ Dirty
I said that I would do the deal too, but I’m just looking at what we are getting.
BUT you know what? Opening for the Mets to go all the way is closing real fast. If they don’t get into the playoffs this season, they may never get there. So, I would give up little more than I have to for a chance to WS ring.
Senor Dirty Sanchez – Niese throws consistently in the low 90s and has a heckuva curve. And he’s lefty. He had two starts and the results should have resulted in a third, no? Huff is not worth these young players. He’s worth Ben Johnson, Ambriox Burgos and Scott Shoeneweis… P.s… We reserve the right to change our minds at any given point and will do so.
KIMA, we can debate on the circuss clown all we want. Thankfully for my side there is not a chance in hell of it ever happening. You should know that as well.
Manuel has gift wrapped 4 games this year. The best man for the job is not Randolph, Manuel, or Manny Acta(#3 on deck). The best man for the job is in Japan but he would cost more money than the others and Omar would have a manager that he would have to work with, not a lackey who is indebted to Minaya for a chance. Not having the best man for the job is an insult by the ownership to the fanbase, that is why MET fans pray every night that the Wilpons sell the team.
Jerry Manuel w/ the Mets: 76-54
I don’t know about you guys, but Niese doesn’t really impress me. He seems to be AT BEST a #3 starter. What do you guys think?
DND, I am confused by the window comment just like I was when Matt posted it.
Are Beltran, Wright, Reyes, Johan, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, Krod all expected to be worse next year? How abou the following year?
To me this team is setup for the long run and just needs a few pieces. Not on the back side of a run.
Niese is Phillip Hughes without the over hype. Both will make the show……
Turned the game off and went to the radio right after his “the Mets don’t have a perfect player” reasoning. Oh yeah and the perfect player the Mets lack, who was his first example…freaking Albert Pujols. The best player in baseball. Total doosh.
trs, back to V-Mart, as I’ve been very intrigued.
the Tribe has a slew of replacements so that’s not a concern.
What other teams would be interested aside from the Red Sox?
(BTW, if the Red Sox are interested, you’d be wise to be intereste too)
Matt, I’m pretty much with you, but Miller has it right!
I’m not aware of any other broadcaster who will ask players how to properly pronounce their name. Carlos’ name is pronounced Bell-TRON (rhymes with Voltron, hence the Onion article last September). I don’t know of any other broadcaster who consistently pronounces it right besides Morgan.
Niese is not a bad pitcher but Huff at 1B on this team without Delgado does more than he can. You have to give to get.
Now obviously if we could get him for Gee and Evans, LOL.
Only a #3 starter? They cost about 12-15 million a year on the FA market, would you not wnat to have your own?
Case only every competing team in baseball.
Think the Yankee’s would not want him for catcher and DH? Angels for 1B and DH? He will be very expensive because of that cheap option and .400+ BA.
Hemmerling for Mitchell?!?!? Go back to Cincinnati!!!
Chuck I think he means tops out at a #3 starter but he has shown no signs of that yet. I think for us he is trade bait.
“Niese is not a bad pitcher but Huff at 1B on this team without Delgado does more than he can. You have to give to get.”
Except you’re getting 2-3 months of Huff as opposed to 6 years of Niese.
Wow, how did we get 6 more years of Niese?
Obviously Huff would be a fine addition w/Delgado out for any length of time. All I’m saying is, we’ve also been discussing the C position for the Mets today, and if the Mets are going to trade valuable chips to fill a position going forward, I think they would be wise to do so to fill the C position more so than 1B which has many more options.
therealsince86: Do you sign Beltran when his current deal expires? Do you think Perez will be better next year? He better… $36,000,000.00 for three years.
this trade deadline will be very exciting, w/ the economy affecting so many teams. It’s gonna be like Black Friday!
The only reason I see the Mets could get VicMart is that AL teams would be wary of trading too much to the Indians just to have it bite them in the rear a couple of years down the road.
Otherwise I’d sign up for the rest of the year with Huff if Delgado esta terminado or Jermaine Dye and going with a revolving door of 1B.
That would probably push Reed or Church into redundancy but I’m starting to wonder if they caught lightning in a bottle with pre-concussion Church last year.
Grave, Vmart is not much of a catcher even now so you are not really filling that position. My point is that Vmart cost you Fmart plus. Huff cost you MAYBE Neise.
Listening to WFAN now….Francessa is ripping apart ESPN broadcast crew…especially Steve Phillips. He’s also ripping aprt Jerry Manuals managerial decisions. For the First time I agree with everything he is saying….
SHOOT ME…..
anyone want to touch my Damon question earlier? any interest there? He’s got clutchiness.
Meetthematts, as long as Beltran’s contract is reasonable, sure.
MFBS, who knows what to think with Church. He put up a lot of EXBH in Washington in 2007 so I don’t think he is a fluke. We either need to trade him , play him or send him to the minors. You can’t get out of a slump batting an occasional 8th.
Is the Fat One really ripping on them for carrying on a conversation that he primarily spouted?
lol LGM
I agreed with joe morgan…..
SHOOT ME!! lol
Case, I don’t care about the clutchiness and would love to have him but why would they trade him? Sure if we could get him for Castro or something.
squadron makes a good point, though I’d see it as the Indians not wantin to trade to the AL.
So how many NL teams would be interested? Meaning need a 1Bman.
BTW, wouldn’t it be nice if Catlos comes back b4 the season is over?
MFBS, LOL. Very true.
I really see Niese as no better than #3 starter. Do you see Niese as better than Maine or Ollie (the good Ollie)? I don’t know about that. Do you see Niese as better than Pelf? No. I realize he is young, but he’s not dominating in AAA. The fact that he’s 22 and LHP with a good curve makes him a prospect. He’s a good trade bait.
Plus his nose bothers me…..j/k
TRS that’s perfectly reasonable. I never mentioned any specific C however, I’m speaking generally to the idea that if the Mets are going to send a 22 LH with a great curve and a good FB away for something, I feel that the C position is harder to fill than 1B.
trs, I mean for next year when Damon is a FA.
btw, this comment section blows
Case, I don’t see why they would care if the RSox got him. It’s not like they are competing next year anyway. They are missing too much. They are going to trade him to the team that gives the most.
Think they can get 3-4 really good young pitchers by trading Lee and Vmart.
@ grave
I think for the mets anyway that 1b is harder to fill than C….
Case, oh for next year? No way in hell. He will want a few years and we need a lot more power than him.
Exactly, Dirty. We have Thole and Pena (LOL) for the future at C. We have uhhhhhh no body for 1B.
You don’t make trades to cover a 15-Day DL stint in May! Not unless you’re working for George Steinbrenner… Exhale. First Place is First Place. You can’t get higher than First Place in May. All teams have problems. Omar’s biggest concerns should be Ollie Perez’s pea-brain and the roster’s collective cojones…
I am ready to see Holt moved up to AA. Forget rushing him. Lets see what this kid can do and see how tradeable these other guys are.
A couple of weeks ago when the Mets were on ESPN with Santana on the mound, Philips said that the reason why Santana got little run support from his teammates was because of the “feel” or “pace” of the game that Santana was establishing. He insisted that he saw it before with a pitcher whose name I now forgot. Hershiser quickly jumped in and pushed Philips to explain more. Of course Philips couldn’t. Hershiser then said, “What is Santana doing wrong?” Philips couldn’t answer that either.
Sometimes he sounds very smart and sometimes he sounds very, very stupid.
@ MeetTheMatts.com
delgados hip injury is going to be a season long problem…if we are able to get something for this year and beyond…we should try and do it now since gado is going to be on teh DL and gone after this year..
MeettheMatts. All well and good and normally I would agree with this. However, you get the sense that this is not a 2 week DL stint. Especially with Jerry’s comments to the fact that he expected it to be a long time.
Does anyone know what the roster move is that allows Redding to be activated for tonight?
Clearly no one hear listens to the Michael Kay Show on ESPN 1050 (I wasn’t a fan either for the longest time, but I’m a recent convert – He irritates me plenty, but not nearly as much as Fatty Francesa).
Anyway, Kay had the day off on Friday and Steve Phillips filled in. I believe it was the day after Reyes sat out the first game of the SF series and people were wondering if he’d been benched for lack of hustle. There was an article in the paper that morning, by Jon Harper I believe, basically stating that if the Mets falter again this season, they should trade Jose Reyes.
Phillips responded to the chatter that morning by saying that the Mets would be crazy to trade Jose Reyes. He said that regardless of what happens this season, even if the Mets miss the postseason by 10 games, David Wright and Jose Reyes are the core of the franchise, along with Johan Santana. He stated that, again, IF the Mets should fall short this year, then the guy he’d look to trade would be Carlos Beltran and NOT Wright or Reyes.
So I ask: Is any of this unreasonable? Wouldn’t the majority of Met fans rather see Beltran shipped out than Wright or Reyes? Weren’t we all asking these same questions following 2008 – our SECOND straight collapse. Wasn’t there a debate as to whether or not it was time to break-up the core?
And as this relates specifically to Beltran, isn’t Phillips citing man of the same things that we Met fans have been complaining about since he got here. Haven’t we accused the guy of being soft? Don’t we still suffer nightmares involving Adam Wainwright curveballs? Weren’t we stunned and perplexed when he failed to slide into 2nd and home a couple weeks back? And haven’t we complained that he plays too deep in center and that a premier center fielder should trust his athleticism enough to play more shallow?
Personally, I think the outrage here and elsewhere is ridiculous. It says more about the personality complex of Mets fans than it does about Steve Phillips. And you know what? If this team tanks again in ‘09, then they SHOULD break up the core, and yes, I’d rather see Beltran go than Wright or Reyes. That’s all that Phillips was stating. Perhaps he stated himself more eloquently on the radio than he did on television Sunday night, but regardless, in my opinion, his critiques are fair, or at the very least, they are not so absurd that people should be personally offended.
Get over your Steve Phillips hatred. The guy did a lot of good here before the wheels fell off.
The METS biggest needs are Bobby Valentine and a #2 starter. Is it true that Billy Wagner is touching 90MPH on the gun already and might be ready Aug 1st? Wagner/Putz to K-rod……YUMMY!!!
re: 1B of the future… As a college player, Ike Davis is probably just as far along, or at least not that far behind, as Thole (who is hitting very well in AA but reportedly is not sound defensively).
Other 1B who may still have some hope in the Mets system are Eric Campbell, Lucas Duda (probably not) and Zach Lutz (big hitter can never stay healhy and I don’t think he plays 1B but may profile as one).
Also, at some point Jefry Marte or Wilmer Flores may be moved to corner OF or 1B.
Ravi3, I agree that it’s pronouned Beltron but that’s not the problem. Miller insists on putting that slight yet incredibly annoying pause inbetween the Bel and the tron. It’s that TRON emphasis that is bizzare and makes you want to scream at Miller.
Dirty, I respectfully disagree. I see the Mets as having many more reasonable options, both internal and external, for 1B than they do for C both for this season and the next few, at least depending on what it is one wants out of those positions.
Internally, for 1B the Mets have Tatis, Murphy, Reed and Cora already on the roster and Michel Abreu and Wily Mo Pena at AAA. Stellar? Of course not. But if these options prove untenable the other 29 teams both in the majors and AAA have reasonably available commodities.
Internally, for C the Mets have Santos and Castro (w/Schneider on the DL), and Robinson Cancel, Rene Rivera or Javier Valentin at AAA. If those options prove untenable, I don’t see lots of obvious upgrades that are reasonably available from the other 29 teams.
In my opinion, I think the Mets have many more opportunities to ‘throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks’ with 1B without giving up too much than they do with C. So if they have to ‘give to get’ I would prefer they do it for the C.
All of the above assumes they are not in the position to ‘give to get’ for both 1B and C. If they are, then I take it all back.
hello everybody, finally decided to register so i can comment.
After listening to Steve Phillips last night, I was furious–to say the least–so i decided to send in a complaint to ESPN.
“Last night, I viewed the New York Mets game against the San Fransisco Giants, and I was very angered because of Steve Phillips comments. As a former part of the Mets organization, Steve Phillips seems to hold a grudge against them, and goes out of his way to slander the Mets. Phillips had many graphics and video segments to back his attacks on the Mets, particularly Carlos Beltran, and it made them look more like the Nationals than the first place team that they are.
-A concerned Mets fan”
I think everybody should go on ESPN.com and do the same so we don’t have to listen to his attacks every time we have to endure the ESPN crew.
Speaking of prospects, Eddie Kunz has walked 13 and struck out 12 in 16 AAA innings. He’s just not any good. I still don’t understand why the Mets draft relievers so high.
“Endure the ESPN crew…”
We said, Price.
well… not we… afterall, it was you who said.
@ 144-
In his name, the emphasis does in fact lie on the “TRON”
It sounds a little Christopher Walken esque, but Miller says it properly.
That Ted Berg article proves one thing to me. He is the Albert Pujols of sports journalism. One word for his article… PERFECT.
Was it Halloween? Why was Miller wearing a mask? Anyway, for at least two full innings the broadcasting triumvirate of Miller, Morgan and Phillips blabbed about leadership, edge, and whatnot without defining parameters. First of all, everyone has a different definition of leadership and they blatantly disregarded the game playing before them to make ambiguous and trite comments about the Mets organization citing nothing in particular. Miller twice thought Murphy was Sheffield (cause they look so similar). He had to even pull out binoculars that look like they were made by the ACME company. This “team” of broadcasters needs to come under greater scrutiny from fans all around the country, not just NY. They make watching a baseball a chore.
I wrote to Matt earlier today. I had a very tough time last night watching the Mets game through the first five innings. I look at the Mets schedule on my desk at work and notice a 12 and 4 record in the month of May. We are in first place in the division, but Steve Phillips decides that now is an appropriate time to talk about who should go out of Reyes, Wright and Beltran. The fact of the matter is that all three of those players are top three in the league at their respective positions if not the best. I can understand if you talk about it for 1 inning but for 5 innings in a 0-0 ball game when the mets have won the first three games of a four game series is obsurd. They had a camera permanently on Beltran the whole time. I respect criticism and opinions, but this was clearly over the line. Sunday night baseball was a lot better without Steve Phillips. I truly appreciate the jobs that Ron, Keith and Gary do because they know when to criticize players, but they do it professionally and state good points. They also don’t drag it on for 5 innings because they know what makes good sports television. Like any show or sporting event, ESPN needs to go back and review what occured last night because it was a terrible job of covering a game. I am not saying this as just a Mets fan either. I have plenty of friends who are yankees fans texting me last night saying how annoying he sounded and how he was ruining the game. No television channel compares to ESPN camera work and angles, but I will take Ron, Keith and Gary over and ESPN covered game any day.
Ron, Keith and Gary are the best things TV has to offer outside Curb Your Enthusiasm and Survivor Man. (MeetTheMatts.com not withstanding, of course). As for Delgado’s injury: Just a short time ago all of NYC was aflitter (is that a word?) with the notion that Santana and A-Rod might miss large parts of the season… Remember that, Cody Ransom??? Let’s give Delgado the 2 weeks and suck it up in the meantime. If he’s done, Omar will do better than Huff. He has to go deep into the playoffs this year or he’ll sipping coladas and collecting paychecks with Art Howe.
Seriously, could Steve Phillips have been any more bitter? Wah, the team fired me from a GM position that I was underqualified for…waaaahh. No offense Steve, but nowadays you can’t really be the GM of a midsize company, let alone a major league ballclub if all you’re holding is a psych degree. You need an MBA for that.
uh, Gozer, why does there has to be a choice between any of the three on who is traded?
- where are you getting this ‘we’ stuff from? Majority of the Met fans wouldn’t break up the core, nor advocate trading Beltran.
- Beltran has a no trade clause.
- you don’t ‘break up the core’. You get better supporting players around the core.
- Steve Phillips planned that, orchestrated that, all for his own self indulgence, much like MF does for his ratings.
You’re entitled to your opinion. It just happens to me in the extreme minority.
You’re telling me that if the Mets miss the postseason in 2009, only a small minority of fans are gonna want to break up the core? I find that hard to believe.
gozer
thank you for your rash generalization of the mets fans on here.
please refrain from lumping everyone else into your need for “hard” and “gritty” players.
I’ll take Beltran, Wright, and Reyes for the next 6 or 7 years at Citifield.
Anyone remember that ridiculous post-season baseball tonight segment where Steve Phillips pretended to be a GM giving a press conference, and Buster Olney, etc., sitting among a crowd of extras paid to look like journalists (or, more likely, ESPN staffers) asked him questions as “Omar Minaya” or “Brian Cashman”?? Someone has to find that clip somewhere. I’ve never seen anything quite that pathetic on television, where a grown man is asked (I’m hoping he didn’t ask to do it himself!!) to portray people in the job he was unceremoniously fired from.
For core haters:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/5/15/876896/playoff-probability-added
This was referred to in the AmazinAvenue article above.
MeetTheMatts.com @ 156.
and Bobby Bonilla too – lol.
Gozer, I also agree that another collapse (which would be the THIRD in a row, mind you) would warrant a trade of a “core” player, both to mix up the clubhouse and to actually get back something valuable (which you don’t get by unloading, say, Ramon Castro.) But, that said, there’s no way it would be Beltran. Maybe last year, in Shea, but at Citi the guy can hit .210 and still be a huge asset because of the ground he covers. The guy I’d deal would be Reyes, hands down . . . but I really, really hope it doesn’t come to that.
Now, I agree, however, that Beltran can’t be a team leader because he just isn’t cut out to be. But I don’t think he would resist a different strong personality. It’s not like he’s a troublemaker or sulker, as far as we know (and, of course, we don’t.)
blains2000: You should change that to brains2000 – you have us blushing.
MTM – If you are referring to the playoff probability article I really only understood the tables at the end – ha ha.
No! We were complimenting you.
DeBergkamp, I’m going to have to disagree about leadership discussions, generally. Asking them to “defin[e] parameters” is kind of idiotic. There’s no such thing as “leadership” if you can’t clearly delimit precisely what you mean in some quantitative manner? That’s really, really silly. Also, even if they did try to be more precise, that kind of discussion probably doesn’t work in a play-by-play context. We all know what leadership is, and we should know that it’s important to a professional sports team. They shouldn’t have the burden to prove it exists before discussing it.
Alright, well that’s where I would side with Phillips. I’d like to see Wright and Reyes in Citi for the rest of their careers. If one has to go, I’d pick Beltran. Hypothetically now: You can move Daniel Murphy to first base, acquire an Aaron Rowand-type to man center field, and you can put a big bat in left, whether it’s Holliday, Carlos Lee, Jason Bay, or a similarly intimidating bat. That is all contingent, of course, on the doomsday scenario in which the Mets collapse for a third straight season. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that as well.
Well what if the Mets don’t collapse but they just don’t win the WS? The Braves have won one WS. The Yankees haven’t won since 2000.
Did either of these teams break up their core in their primes? No, they kept their best players and tried to add better players. Why does that seem like a crazy idea?
I don’t think the “core” needs to be replaced (although most people considered Delgado a piece of that core, and it looks more than likely that he will be gone after this year), it’s the players around them. We need scrappy, “never say never” players. I think that we have a few bench players who are like that– you have to like Cora and Tatis in that respect, and while you might question if a guy like Tatis can play every day, you will likely see more of him at 1B as we go. (Remember, too, that he separated his shoulder 2 weeks before the end of last season; not saying he would have made the difference, but he had some big hits down the stretch and it’s not out of the realm that he might have been a difference-maker in one game– which is all we needed…)
Anyway, I was disgusted with the anti-Beltron talk last night. This guy has carried us on his back the last few weeks, and there was no mention of how good a season he is having. He is actually an UNDERRATED player around the league, because he is not flashy and is not a big talker. I would not trade him, unless you are getting an Ace back (in which case anything is on the table.) Look, even if we win it all, there will be changes just because contracts will expire, et. al. Let’s ride it out.
Phillips, like a lot of people, read a lot into Beltran’s AB against Wainwright. He (1) ended a playoff series staring at a pitch and (2) before that, had a look on his face that to me (and others apparently) said “I don’t want to be here.” Baseball people notice these things.
But, that said, not to seem like too much of a stat-slave, but it’s a sample of ONE, and a lot of it has to do with reading body language, etc. in ONE AB. Was it a crucial, crucial, AB? Duh. But we have to fight the tendency to write the guy off, especially given his past playoff performance. I think he got beat, plain and simple. But give him another chance, and I think he’s fine. I think Beltran is impervious to pressure, personally. He’s not going to “elevate” his game, nor is he going to choke. He is who he is — mechanical and professional.
blains – well, if the mets don’t miss the playoffs but simply fall shy of a world series, then clearly you don’t break up the core. Steve Phillips, when he first made his comments on ESPN 1050 on Friday afternoon, was responding to an article that stated the Mets should trade Reyes if the Mets miss the postseason in ‘09, marking their third straight “collapse.” Phillips was not arguing that he would make a deal right now – Only that he would consider one if the team missed the postseason again, and that he would trade Beltran, not Reyes.
If jz is correctly summarizing Phillips (I muted him,) I think Phillips is being perfectly reasonable. I would keep Beltran over Reyes, however, simply because of the enormo Citi outfield.
I think the thing with Francessa (or however you spell his name) is that he does sometimes make good points, he does like the yankees, and he does like baseball. He will call the yankees out too
i am in no means defending him though, he has such a yankee bias it makes him bash the mets just because he is not a mets fan i would think. He clearly does not like Wright, he clearly isn’t that into Murphy either, he hasn’t had anything good to say about Santos (not that Santos is like the best player ever but he does have some sac flys, and he can get some hits, he plays his heart out) He prefers the yankees to the mets and therefore he makes it seem like the mets are idiots and the yankees are brilliant beyond brillant. He defends them to no end because they are his team, he just doesn’t like the mets so he can’t be objective in his analysis of what went wrong. Here yes, he is correct on some points but his bias will still take over and he will make the mets seem awful and the yankees seem amazing, thats just who he is
jz – Ok but what if they don’t “collapse”? To me last year wasn’t a collapse they just lost. And if it is then everyteam that hasn’t made the playoffs has “collapsed”. Obviously ‘07 was.
But what if Delgado is out for the year and they can’t find a replacement? Is that a collapse?
tmu – What I don’t get is why do any of them have to be traded? Because Phillips, Francessa, Kruck say so? Who trades their best players? Who does it and gets better?
ESPN should fire Steve Phillips
blains – I think it’s unlikely that the Mets won’t go out and get another bat if Delgado indeed misses major time. Unfortunately, we might sacrifice the future to get that bat, but I don’t think the Mets are prepared to ride out the next five months with a Reed/Tatis/Murphy platoon at first, unless, say, Fernando Martinez comes up and plays out of his head in left field, or Gary Sheffield morphs into the Sheff of 10 years ago.
In any event, I think collapse or no collapse, heads will roll if we miss the postseason again – probably Omar’s. In terms of where we would go moving forward, I guess it would depend on how the final months of the season played out. If Beltran, Wright, and Reyes look phenomenal, then you’d probably keep the core in tact. But if the team looks lethargic and lacks leadership down the stretch, I think you do consider breaking up the core, and to me, Wright and Reyes are the keepers.
I agree that you can’t replace Beltran’s offense and defense in center, but you could replace his offense in left field and his defense in center. Let’s face it, if we miss the postseason again, with this star talent and this pay roll, everything should be on the table.
But before anyone goes nuts, this is all a hypothetical conversation. And it was started by Jon Harper on Friday, who opined that the Mets should trade Jose Reyes. Personally, I remain optimistic on our prospects in ‘09. Lets Go Mets.
Why in the world would we want to trade Beltran Wright or Reyes. Instead of breaking up the core we should bulid around it.
steve phillips is a douche
Logically, when your bullpen is incapable of holding it together night after night in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings you blame the guys who do the heavy lifting from April thru Sept and say to Wright, Reyes and Beltran, if you only did steriod and HGH like ARod, Giambi etal you could overcome bullpen collapses and just wait to choke in the playoffs.
Phillips last night on ESPN was a complete fiasco. Just about everyone is in agreement with that. What appears very clear is that he was exercising the national TV pulpit to get back at the Mets for firing him.
You know, he was handpicked by Frank Cashen, but not even Cashen would defend him when his indiscretions and stupidity caught up with him.
Someone should tell ESPN that he doesn’t bring anything to the table during those broadcasts, and to dump his ass!
You complain when Reyes makes a base running play yet you want him to be agressive, you complain about a called 3rd strike against the Cards in ‘06, you nit pick at Wright when he is struggling, sounds like Phillips has a grudge and want to gm again. What a painful dialogue last nite between Phillips and Morgan even though Joe at least tried to defend and take down some of the anti-Met arguments by Phillips. What does he have against the Mets. The core will be here for a long time inspite of the complaining on the blogs and wfan all the time. You cannot replace players of that caliber. And by the way what is considered a collapse this yr? Do they have to be in 1st place a certain date, like today, and that is a collapse, or do we wait until a better team just beats us and this is still a collapse. That word not entails everything the Mets will do if they don’t make the playoffs. Come’on people just enjoy the recent hot streak and cheer on your team.
Amen Patrick. So cause the bp collapsed the whole team needs to be traded. Who knew that Wagner was going to get hurt?
Steve Phillips is another in a long line of failed GMs, managers & coaches who are deemed “experts” by the media when they work for them on TV or radio. The same media sometimes, who thought they were not competent enough to keep their jobs. This usually occurs after they have been fired and aren’t rehired in their normal profession. I wouldn’t put much stock or get too excited over what self-proclaimed “experts” like Steve Phillips think about anything.
As for the issue of “leadership” that was being discussed, it seems a sports team is only attacked for not having leadership when they don’t win. When they win championships, the last thing anyone talks about is leadership. What kind of leadership qualities did the Oakland A’s teams that won 3 straight titles in the 1970s have? I, and anyone else who is old enough to remember that team would say none. There are countless other examples of this throughout sports history. Leadership, or lack thereof, is one of the most over talked about and overrated aspects of sports.
just b/c Phillips made some bonehead moves doesnt mean he’s wrong on this.
Beltran and Reyes are not smart baseball players and they prove it all the time.
2 of the most talented players at their position but they dont have the “baseball IQ”
Now i would never trade them but I would look to bring someone else to go along with our core.
I’m pretty happy with Joe Morgan’s responses to Phillips re: beltran. Phillips is an idiot, and my respect for any of his analysis is officially zero. can’t beleive he brings this up while he’s hitting .370. Thats just screaming out duncecap.
What Phillips did last night was such a joke.
1) He had no regard for any of the Met fans watching, as he said EVENTUALLY, LIKE IN 5 YEARS, DAVID WRIGHT WILL BECOME A LEADER, TILL THEN, NO WORLD SERIESES, sorry. Shut the fuck up, steve.
2) I like how he didn’t bring in any ‘leaders’ as GM.
3) He didn’t even mention Johan, who is an undeniable leader at this point.
This doesn’t just go to Steve Phillips. Joe Morgan sucked too.
I miss Gary, Keith and Ron. As Mets fans, they’re honest, and they dont drive you crazy.
Beltran does not play with intensity or emotion. couple that with his baserunning habits and there is the reason why he is not considered a star player.
as talented as he is he will never be a superstar player and never be a team leader.
Just let him be is quiet, graceful self and enjoy the .270-.290 25-35 HR 100+ RBI 20+ SB high OBP and gold glove defense and stop expecting him to be a leader.
I also think that Jon Miller should not do Giants TV games. He’s clearly biased. It would like allowing Howie to be on ESPN for a Phillie-Met game.
I actually think miller is pretty good at radio.
He’s is biased, covering the giants… But I find he is generally pretty favorable to the mets on the radio out here in the bay area and even on sunday night games…
I’m surprised he didn’t jump on phillips… he usually has great things to say about Beltran…
great point on Johan below… jeez, phillips stationed in CT and doesn’t even pick up on that. What a loser. I’d like to see espn trade phillips for Melvin Mora.
What exactly did Phillips say during the broadcast?
Thank you Ted Berg. You have expressed my thoughts exactly. I too shut off the sound during Phillips’ diatribe. What a cipher. Phillips was taking a shot at Omar as well, as Beltran was the first major signing of Omar’s tenure… a move Phillips evidently would not have made, much to his discredit. These idiots still harp on this BS about a lack of leadsership on the Mets these past two years—they had a lack of arms in the bullpen. Anyone who watched the games saw the regular players took leads and made comebacks only to get buried by the bull pen. That’s not happening this year and if arms hold up, I think these broadcasting idiots are going to have to find a new theme. I’m sure they’ll invent some nonsense…
wow reading all these responses about trading Beltran and how he has no baseball IQ, I’m so glad guys like gozer and oleosmurf arent running the mets, because we already filled our idiot quota with Steve Phillips…
Niese is a decent bet to be a solid #3 starter and Huff is the definition of “meh”. Looking at his career stats, he’s not a lock to do much more than Murphy.
If Manuel keeps benching Murphy, that might trigger Minaya’s hook. Minaya wants this kid to develop.
Steve Phillips is an idiot. He was an abysmal GM who was lucky enough to fall into the 2000 World Series and almost systematically turned the team into utter crap after that. He’s so blatantly anti-Mets that I agree ESPN should fire him or just not allow him to talk about the team on-air. He’s a buffoon.