Daily Archives: July 10, 2009
Mets OF Angel Pagan had two hits in four at bats and two walks and two RBI in a rehab game for Single-A St. Lucie yesterday.
According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, “Pagan should rejoin the Mets as soon as tonight’s series opener against the Reds.”
Pagan had been hitting .333 with three extra base hits in 14 games for the Mets this season, before going on the disabled list June 1 with a strained right groin.
This morning, during WFAN’s morning show, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said there is a lot of backlash from Blue Jays fans towards the team and the potential of losing RHP Roy Halladay in a trade.
As such, Heyman said, the Yankees are convinced Halladay will not be traded to them or the Red Sox, i.e., within the division.
Heyman said he believes there is a 60 percent chance Halladay is traded this season, and he lists the Phillies, Giants and Angels, today, as the teams most likely to acquire him.
Heyman said two executives told him there is no chance any team, including the Yankees, who will agree to take on Vernon Wells, who is due roughly $100 million through 2014, in a deal to get Halladay.
In the end, Heyman still believes there is no chance the Mets acquire Halladay, because they do not want to part with top prospects Brad Holt, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia or Ike Davis.
Heyman will be co-hosting WFAN’s mid-day show with Adam Gerstenhaber, which you can listen to live, online, at WFAN.com.
Tagged Roy Halladay |The Mets are 5.5 games out of first place, their lowest point of the season; and they are four games below .500, while trailing eight teams for the Wild Card, including the Marlins and Braves.
Jerry Manuel said last night, when asked about the standings:
“That doesn’t concern me as much as the way we’re playing concerns me. For example, if (the Phillies) lose tonight, that still doesn’t give me hope or optimism at this point. We’re just not playing good baseball. We’re not pitching. Even
though we didn’t make any errors (last night), we’re still not catching it like I would like for us to. We’re not turning double plays.”
I agree. Who cares, because if they do not start playing better, it doesn’t matter where the are in the standings, as it will only get worse.
Manuel later explained, ‘at this point,’ he needs to consider all options when filling out his lineup card and starting rotation.
“This is a place and a league where you’ve got to perform,” he said, “and when that’s not happening, then you have try to figure out a way to make it happen.”
Here’s a suggestion, Jerry: Play your best players, every day, every night, in the same place on the field and in the lineup.
Manuel said before yesterday’s game that he likes to be consistent with how and when he uses a player like Fernando Tatis, because it’s important for the player to wake up and now what to expect each day. The thing is, I don’t understand how Manuel’s recent lineups, which are seemingly pulled from a hat on a whim, accomplishes this.
He also downplayed the idea of momentum in baseball, saying momentum disappears the minute the next game begins.
That may be. However, it is equally important to give players a chance to get in to a rhythm, and develop individual momentum, especially young players like Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy. I’m not 
saying Murphy and Evans will each hit .300, and lead this team to a winning streak, but, who knows, maybe they will. The thing is, we’ll never find out unless they’re given the chance.
Yes, Fernando Tatis is a nice guy and a great story, but it isn’t 2008. He’s not going to again be Comeback Player of the Year.
“With the way we’re built at this time, it might be best if we went pitching, defense and then offense,” he later said. “If you can pitch and catch the ball, you have a chance. The other thought behind that is offense can come and go, but if the defense is a constant and the pitching is a constant, you have a better shot.”
In the end, I’d like to see Murphy at first base, Luis Castillo at second, Alex Cora at short, David Wright at third, Nick Evans and Ryan Church in the outfield, Omir Santos behind the plate for defense, and Jeremy Reed and Gary Sheffield teaming up in left field, because Sheffield’s body most certainly needs rest, and I do not think Reed is an every-day player.
In addition, I’d begin to ignore the disabled list, and operate as if Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes, are not coming back. Instead, I’d try to acquire a middle infielder, like Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates, or a Mark Ellis, Nomar Garciaparra or Adam Kennedy from the A’s, which can return Cora to the bench, where he is better suited. Also, I would not rely so heavily on Sheffield for much longer than the team has. Instead, I’d keep looking for ways acquire a player like Royals OF David DeJesus and Mark Teahen, who, while not difference makers, are under contract, factor in to the future and can stabilize the batting order.
Last night, Livan Hernandez allowed eight runs and 11 hits in just four innings in a loss to the Dodgers.
Hernandez allowed seven runs and 10 hits in his previous start, and three runs in the first inning against the Yankees in the start before that.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, Hernandez is the first pitcher in Mets history to allow three or more first-inning runs in three successive starts, which no major-league pitcher had done since Mike O’Connor for the Nationals in July 2006.
…exactly… he gets totally roughed up early, of late, and though he finds a groove and gets back on track, with this Mets offense, it’s too little too late…
In his last three starts, he has a 30.00 ERA.
Jerry Manuel, on the state of the rotation, said last night:
“I’ll say this, over the break, we’ll decide what the rotation is going to be… We’ll just have to take a good look at it and see which direction we’re going to go. I’m not saying somebody is in or somebody is out. I’m just saying that we’re going to take a look at it.”
…manuel keeps saying, as long as the team gets good pitching, they have a chance to win every night… livan is not even giving them that of late… the reality is, for whatever reason, the Mets are 2–8 in his 
last 10 starts… and so, again, given the lack of offense, the Mets need to do something to give themselves a better chance…
…i bet the Mets go with Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and Nelson Figueroa following the All-Star break, since it seems like the Fernando Nieve Show is coming to a close as well…
Niese has a 1.04 ERA in his last six starts for Triple-A Buffalo, where Figueroa has seven consecutive quality starts and a 2.50 ERA.
Tagged Nelson Figueroa | Newer posts →
