Daily Archives: June 12, 2009
John Franco has been working with the Mets this season, reporting to Dan Warthen and management on how pitchers are performing 
in the minor leagues and on rehab assignments in St. Lucie.
This morning on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton, Franco said Billy Wagner is pitching from a mound and throwing over 90 mph.
…i am sure he’s not ready, because, if he was, we’d all know about it by now… however, i can’t help but wonder if even a 50 percent wagner, throwing 90 mph, would be a better option in the current bullpen than, say, Ken Takahashi, especially since the Mets need at least one other person to be capable of retiring left-handed hitters…
Tomorrow, I will be speaking at Blogs With Balls, ‘The world’s largest sports blogger and new media gathering.’
When is Blogs with Balls:
- June 13, 2009
- Registration opens at 9:30am.
- Event runs from 11am until 6pm.
- Happy Hour at 6:30pm.
The event’s website reads, “Sports fans, writers, sites, teams, athletes and companies, don’t miss your chance to talk with industry leaders about the future of sports media.”
To buy tickets and learn more about the event, go here.
Tagged News |
This morning, at Mets Minor League Blog, Toby Hyde recaps all of yesterday’s Mets minor-league action, including a strong performance from 18-year old SS
Wilmer Flores, who went 2-4 his second straight night in a win for Single-A Savannah.
Flores has hit safely in five of his last six and has seen his average rise 15 points to .259.
In Single-A St Lucie, the Subway Series got off to a good start as the Mets beat the Tampa Yankees 9-4. 3b Zach Lutz was 2-4 with a double and two runs in the win.
For more, check out Toby’s Mets Minor League Blog.
Tagged News |In a post to Mets Police, Vegas Rich explains why Jerry Manuel is eliminating the Mets from contention.
Matthew Artus writes a prayer for the Mets on Always Amazin.
According to a poll on NBCNewYork.com, fans prefer Citi Field to the new Yankee Stadium.
In a post to his blog for 1050 ESPN Radio, Rich Coutinho looks back at the 10 best games from the Subway Series.
For more on last night’s loss, check out post-game writes ups from MetsMerized Online, Amazin Avenue, Real Dirty, and Mets Today.
…despite the result, the last few days was exciting… there was a consistent, strong energy in the stands of Citi Field, which had not been there at any other point this season… i like this rivalry with the Phillies and Mets, so much more than what we had with the Braves in the 1990s, because both sets of fans are in to it, and the players seem to get wrapped up in it as well…
In the Bergen Record, Jeff Roberts takes a closer 
look at this rivalry, talking specifically with Phillies OF Shane Victorino, who said:
“In a way it’s good because it brings that electricity. Fans come into the stadium, they bring electricity. As athletes, when you walk out onto the field, you hear that. You sense the energy, the feel… That’s what these two teams have. When you walk out on the field, it’s like, ‘Let’s get it on.’ It’s not that you want to fight, but you want to play the game hard.”
According to Roberts, “Victorino said Mets infielder Alex Cora told him the rivalry surpasses the Yankees-Red Sox feud.”
Victorino, however, later told reporters that the feud between the Mets and Phillies is more a product fans and reporters.
…i don’t know, shane, you look pretty cocky in these games, clapping your hands, taunting the Mets, and i swear i heard you and your teammates laughing, not celebrating, but laughing, on camera last night when Raul Ibanez drove in the go-ahead runs…
…by the way, now that Greg Maddux is out of baseball, i think victorino is my least favorite player in the league… seeing his face physically makes me mad…
Last off season, when asked if the Phillies believe the Mets are ‘choke artists,’ Cole Hamels told WFAN, “That’s kind of what we believe and what we’re gonna always believe until they prove us wrong.”
On Wednesday, when asked to respond, Carlos Beltran said, “I have better things to worry about in my life than to worry about Cole Hamels.”
Nevertheless, in post to Brooklyn Met Fan, Adam Salazar writes, “I hate to say it, but the Phillies are a better team than us right now. We could give them a solid run for their money with Delgado and Reyes but without them it’s just not a fair fight.”
…i feel the same way, i think, and i like that… i like being the underdog, i like that the Mets are the team doing the chasing, because, honestly, playing from ahead the last two seasons didn’t work out so well…
By the way, to vote for this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
Tagged Phillies |Jerry Manuel has developed an addiction to bunting, it seems.
Last night, when asked about why he is bunting so much when the team is struggling to score runs, specifically with Alex Cora last night and Fernando Tatis the night before, Manuel said:
“Well, that’s kind of Cora’s game. He’s a second hitter, his job is to advance runners as best that he can. In those situations, left on left, he’s kind of given the option to not necessarily sacrifice but bunt for a hit, that sort of thing. Obviously it didn’t work point, but we were able to put a point on the board and get ahead. The Tatis situation, the night before, well, again, if Fernando was swinging in the manner he had been last season you’d probably take a gamble and let him hit, but until you get that feeling you have try to advance runners as best you can and hope at some point you can add a point late.”
Manuel makes a good point, though I’m not sure I agree with him, in that he must force ways to create offense, since Gary Sheffield, Omir Santos, Cora, Tatis, Daniel Murphy and Jeremy Reed all batting a collective .230 in the team’s last nine games.
In fact, Sheffield has just three hits in his last 30 plate appearances.
Basically, the entire offense is resting on Carlos Beltran and David Wright, who are batting a combined .403 in the team’s last nine games, during which they have been involved in 36 percent of the team’s runs.
By the way, to vote for this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
Last night, in the 11th inning, and Pedro Feliciano already out of the game, Jerry Manuel called upon Ken Takahashi to pitch for Robert Parnell against the left-handed Chase Utley with a runner on base.
Takahashi walked Utley, let up a double to Shave Victorino, struck out Ryan Howard, but then surrendered a three-run home run to Rual Ibanez, which was the difference in the game.
Left-handed hitters entered the 
game batting .440 against Takahashi, while lefties are hitting .342 against Parnell, who struggled against Utley and Victorino the night before.
Manuel talked to reporters after the game, and had the following exchange:
Question: You talked earlier in the week about Pedro Feliciano and Ken Takahashi, and how you’d have a tough time bringing Takahashi in against a a power lefty… what changed your mind in this instance?
Jerry Manuel: “I didn’t really have any other choices at that point, it was late, Robert Parnell was out… We half way escaped but the last guy was able to put a good swing on it.
Question: Were there any other options… since Takahashi has been so ineffective against lefties?
Jerry Manuel: Not from the way that we’re built, not from the way that we’re built. He had some success against them in Philadelphia. We were just trying to get by at that particular point.
Question: Do you need another left-handed relief pitcher?
Jerry Manuel: Do I need another left-handed relief pitcher… I mean you’d like to have good pitching, don’t get me wrong, but that type of depth I don’t think is the issue. I think our issue is more offense, than pitching.
…well, i think they need another guy out there who can get out lefties with regular success… if not for now, then certainly for the stretch run against the Phillies…
For what it’s worth, left-handed hitters are batting .344 against Brian Stokes this season, they hit .316 against him last season.
In fact, Feliciano is the only guy in the bullpen, besides Rodriguez, who has had regular success retiring left-handed hitters during his career.
Later, Manuel told reporters he was never going to use Francisco Rodriguez in a tie game, saying, “I didn’t think it would be the right thing to do after pitching two innings, it needed to be a winning situation in order for him to pitch.”
…by the way, i don’t know who is featured in the player picture on parnell’s profile page on Yahoo!, but it isn’t parnell…
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Tagged Poll |
Here is SNY.TV’s Post Game Extra, from last night’s loss to the Phillies, featuring clips from the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel and Tim Redding; and analysis from Ron, Keith and Gary:
