Daily Archives: July 23, 2009
The Phillies have placed relievers J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin on the disabled list.
Romero has a strained left forearm and Durbin strained a muscle in his back.
Romero recently returned from a 50-game suspension and had been pitching well since his return, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 20 appearances.
…i wonder if these injuries might shift their focus from halladay to arms for the bullpen…
Tagged News |
J.P. Morosi of FoxSports.com believes the Twins have talked to the A’s about acquiring SS Orlando Cabrera.
Earlier this week, also on FOXSports.com, Ken Rosenthal listed the Mets among teams interested in acquiring Cabrera.
The 34–year-old Cabrera is batting .274 with a .313 OBP, 25 extra base hits and eight stolen bases in 93 games for the A’s.
He has played with five different teams in the last six years, and will be a free agent, again, at the end of this season.
…look, cabrera was barely good when he was considered good… at 34, and about to be a free agent, he makes zero sense for the Mets… zero… unless, of course, he can be had for nothing, and Omar Minaya is simply looking for regular, every-day players to stuff in his lineup…
Morosi also reports on rumors involving other available middle infielders; as well as the market for Matt Holliday.
ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark told ESPN Radio that he still believes the Phillies have the best chance of acquiring Roy Halladay from the Jays, who are seeking young, major-league ready pitching and other top prospects in a deal.
…ummm, so, like, i don’t know, say, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese, Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada, perhaps…
…nevertheless, like i said the other day, from what i can tell, if he is traded, halladay will likely end up on the Phillies, because they match up best… at which point, if a deal is not worked out with the Phillies, the Jays will sooner keep him, sell a few more tickets, ride out the season, and then wrangle in more interested buyers during the off season when the club will be working to improve for 2010 anyway, making the whole overhaul easier to sell to their fans…
Tagged Roy Halladay |
Comedian and well-known Mets fan Jim Breuer had the following to say about being a Mets fan this morning, while appearing as a guest on WMMR in Philadelphia:
“They suck. It’s like being in love with an alcoholic. It’s like, you constantly defend her, and people are like, ‘Dude, your alcoholic friend is a mess,’ and you’re like, ‘Nah, you don’t know her like I do.’”
To listen to Breuer’s comments, go to Hugging Harold Reynolds.
In a report by Buster Olney from ESPN, the Cardinals and Athletics are discussing a trade for Matt Holliday.
Olney says that the Cardinals would send top prospect Brett Wallace to Oakland for Holliday, and the odds of a deal transpiring are 50-50.
For more on this, check out ESPN.
In a post to his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin writes:
“Privately, nearly everyone in the Mets clubhouse has come to the realization that they don’t have the horses to compete.”
…publicly, this is how most fans seem to feel, as well…
The Mets are 10–36 once trailing 1–0.
They are 4–35 when trailing at the end of the sixth inning.
…on one hand, i know the Mets are just seven losses back of the Wild Card, which is not at all 
insurmountable… it can and probably has been done, especially with 68 games left to be played, all with a handful of players likely to return from the disabled list…
…on the other hand, the clock is ticking, and, to win the Wild Card, the Mets would need to outplay seven other teams, and will probably need to go roughly 46–22… the thing is, nothing about the way this team is playing makes me think they can got on that sort of hot streak…
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, an unknown team proposed trading a major-league player, plus a prospect, to the Pirates for 1B Adam LaRoche, who was eventually traded to the Red Sox.
…i do not believe it was the Mets… from what i can gather, laroche didn’t have many fans in Citi Field, though i am not totally sure why… i’m guessing his back-n-forth with Carlos Beltran in the newspapers didn’t help, but it probably has more to do with up-and-down nature, soon-to-be free agent status, and a passive style of play…
That said, for his career, though he is hitting .252 before the All-Star break, LaRoche is batting .296 during the second-half of the season.
Yesterday, on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York, former Mets GM Steve Phillips had the following to say about Mets management:
“Tony Bernazard is very close to Jeff Wilpon, and that, in some ways, can be difficult for the GM, when there’s that sort of relationship between an underling and the GM’s boss… The Mets don’t necessarily believe in the chain of command. They believe, in one of their core values, in what they call a Collegial Organization. What that means is: people down the ladder can go to people up on the ladder, and people up on the ladder can go down the ladder to any level and have conversations, share thoughts, ideas… It sounds nice, but it’s not functional. Because, what ends up happening is, it tears apart the fabric of the organization and its structure…
When I was there, I actually said, ‘This can’t work.’ The people below me need to know that I’m their boss… I was perceived to be a control freak about it. It’s something I think is a nice concept, but it’s not functional or practical in a real business environment. And, that’s what ends up happening, there is too much free flowing information and access without the chain of command and it’s not a functional system… Every organization is complicated. I mean, for the longest time the Yankees had dysfunction with the way they were run… There is no perfect company or organization… Fred Wilpon understands the people and understands the structure and system that’s involved there, but I don’t know how much he is really involved anymore with what’s going.”
…this coming from the man who is notorious for posing for cameras in the clubhouse any chance he could get, all while driving Bobby Valentine crazy with his constant presence… that said, it doesn’t make him wrong, and it doesn’t mean he isn’t qualified to weigh in on Mets management…
To listen to Phillips entire 10 minute interview, click play here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
.
Ken Rosenthal of the FoxSports.com says the Red Sox discussed acquiring 1B Hank Blalock from the Rangers before obtaining 1B Adam LaRoche.
The 28–year-old Blalock is hitting .259 with 19 HR and 46 RBI in 74 games with the Rangers. He will be a free agent after this season.
Rosenthal also says the Indians continue to speak with clubs that are interested in both C Victor Martinez and LHP Cliff Lee.
…now, look, i’m not saying the Mets will trade for martinez, but, if Omar Minaya is to make a splash, if he ends up making a big-time trade, and i have no reason to think he will, but if he does, martinez is the kind of guy i bet he gets… he’s 30 years old, he’s a catcher, he’s well respected as a leader, he plays hard, he’s under contract through next season, when he’ll earn $7 million, he has power, draws walks, and, most important, omar has a good working relationship with Indians GM Mark Shapiro, who will want the moon in return for his catcher…
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes that, while talks between the Red Sox and Indians have cooled, regarding Martinez, “they aren’t believed to be totally dead.”
Martinez is hitting .289 with a .376 OBP, 14 HR and 61 RBI in 92 games for the Indians this season, while drawing more walks than strikeouts.
Rosenthal also reports on rumors involving the Angels and Phillies search for a starting pitcher; the market for relief pitchers; and whether the Pirates will move Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson.
Last night, Cory Sullivan was hitless in four at bats, making his first start for the Mets in left field.
The Mets have used 10 different outfielders this 
season, not named Carlos Beltran or Gary Sheffield, all of whom have combined to hit .253 with six HR and 63 RBI.
For what it’s worth, Bobby Abreu, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal, is hitting .305 with seven HR and 63 RBI for the Angels.
Similarly, Adam Dunn, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal, is hitting .267 with 24 HR and 65 RBI for the Nationals.
…i had no interest in abreu last off season… i still don’t… but, it’s hard to deny that he would have provided some experience and consistency in the Mets lineup this season… abreu has been the constant for the Angels outfield this season, as well, which like the Mets, has lost Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero to injuries…
← Older posts
