Daily Archives: July 25, 2009
Last week, in a report for the Daily News, Adam Rubin said Tony Bernazard was recently seen in the stands going into a profanity-laced tirade directed at the team’s manager of baseball operations, “which left witnesses in the section behind home plate aghast.”
However, today, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, on Twitter, writes, “Know that story about Tony Bernazard screaming at a scout? The scout denies it, completely.”
…as The Dude points out in the comment section, “Story was never that Tony B screamed at a scout. Story was that Tony B screamed at his assistant in front of scouts. That scout confirmed the story in the News earlier this week.”…
Tagged Tony Bernazard |
The Mets (44–51) will play the Astros (50–46) tonight in the second game of a three-game series in Houston, starting at 7:05 pm, with Jon Niese (0-0, 5.91 ERA) pitching against Russ Ortiz (3-4, 4.33 ERA).
Update, 5:35 pm:
The Mets announced Gary Sheffield has been put on the 15–day disabled list with a strained hamstring, to make room for Niese.
…initially, word from houston was sheffield would not be put on the disabled list… this is the right move, since it can be retroactive to July 17…
Update, 5:59 pm:
Angel Pagan will bat leadoff tonight, and be followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Daniel Murphy at first base, Jeff Francoeur in right, Cory Sullivan in left field, Omir Santos and Alex Cora, back at shortstop after missing the last few days with a thumb injury.
According to WFAN, on Twitter, Murphy has now hit in every spot in the lineup this season, except eighth and ninth.
Update, 6:18 pm:
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says Sheffield does not appear happy about being put on the disabled list, adding, “He and Manuel are in left field right now, and Sheff’s arms have been waving.”
To follow the story, check out Hubbuch on Twitter, here.
Prior to yesterday’s game, Sheffield told SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt he was able to be in the starting lineup.
Yesterday, Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse said the Rays may look to trade Scott Kazmir, which, according to other reports, could free up money to help them acquire a pitcher like Cliff Lee.
Buster Olney of ESPN.com later said the Angels are interested in acquiring Kazmir.
However, today, Mark Saxon of the OC Register says the Angels have not discussed Kazmir with the Rays, 
and instead of are focused on acquiring a front-line starting pitcher like Roy Halladay or Lee.
Kazmir had been 25–17 with a 3.49 ERA in 358 innings, during which he struck out 405 batters.
However, this season, in which he has spent time on the disabled list, he is just 4–6 with a 6.69 ERA, and just 58 strike outs.
The 25–year-old Kazmir will earn $20 million through 2011, after which he could become a free agent.
Tagged Scott Kazmir |Update, 1:49 pm:
Jordan Bastian of MLB.com believes the Phillies rejected Toronto’s most recent proposal to acquire RHP Roy Halladay, as they are unwilling to part with either prospect Kyle Drabeck or AJ Happ.
Meanwhile, according to FoxSports.com, the Angels 
have intensified their own efforts to trade for Blue Jays RHP Roy Halladay.
Original Post:
In a post to Twitter this morning, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said he still believes Halladay will eventually be traded to the Phillies.
Heyman does not know of a timetable, but says, ‘no way he stays.’
Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger quotes Jerry Manuel as saying of the Phillies potentially getting Halladay, “It would be a huge move.”
…there has been a lot of ink spilled and a lot of talk radio chatter a lot of blog posts about rumors of the Mets rejecting a deal from the Blue Jays to get halladay…
…i have talked with people who know of both teams, people in the game, i have read every report, listened to experts on air, had 
columnists call me directly, as well as team media people, an agent, and others, and here is what i truly believe went down:
My bet is Omar Minaya and Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi never talked one on one. Instead, their underlings likely reached out to one another, which is quite often what happens with most teams this time of year, simply to check in on who is available, who isn’t, etc. The Jays said Halladay can be had, as well as Alex Rios I am sure, and others, they asked if the Mets will trade Fernando Martinez, who they like a lot. The Mets said, ‘No, but others are available.’ The two sides reported back to their respective GMs, and nothing materialized from there because the Jays deduced that, without Martinez in a deal, the Mets were not a legit option.
…that’s my educated guess, from essentially reading the tea leaves… i could be totally wrong… it could have been a direct offer, like some have suggested… or not… we’ll never really know… but, if i had to bet on a chain of events, that would be it…
…in the end, i think it’s a moot point…. because, the Phillies match-up so well with what the Blue Jays need, and clearly have enough young talent to top any Mets package… so, while it’s interesting to discuss, i sense it never really mattered, not just for the Mets but for most teams…
Tagged Roy Halladay |
The Mets (44–51) lost to the Astros (50–46) by the score of 5–4 in Houston last night.
For a full recap and boxscore, click here.
The Least you Should Know:
- Johan Santana allowed 12 hits, a career high, in 6.2 innings, losing for the third time in five starts.
- “I was just not able to come through tonight,” Santana said, who allowed a home run to Mike Hampton.
- Omir Santos hit a solo home run.
- The Mets had 13 hits, but left 10 runners on base.
- The Mets have scored fewer than five runs 15 times in the last 20 games.
Misc., Etc., and Other Observations:
- Mets had plenty of chanced to score tonight, but no shot of an extra base hit with this lineup… and certainly no chance of a home run. So, it’s seemingly impossible t o claw back in to a game like this. I mean, if they had 27 innings to work with, maybe, but with just 27 outs, single after single – and so few walks – is not enough.
- In the seventh, Francoeur rounded third, coming from second, on a ground ball through the infield to right-fielder Hunter Pence, who has a very good arm. a) I have no idea why Razor Shines sent him, short of what I said above and figuring, ‘We need to take a shot,’ but b) Francoeur needed to do a better job of taking out the catcher at the play at the plate. He could have dropped his shoulder, and just barreled over the catcher standing square up the line. Instead, he sort of ran in to him, despite what Jerry Manuel said after the game, and did a kind-of push and shuffle while running wide. Weak. Take him out, man. I hate this trend in baseball these days, especially on the Mets.
- Santana looked to be lunging again. The thing that concerns me most about him is a) the variance between his fastball and change-up is not what it used to be, and b) the variance between change-up to change-up is not what it used to be, and so he’s basically just throwing batting practice, and the Astros were aggressive and just hitting him all night. This is what he was doing in June, as well. It was gone for a while, but now it’s back.
The Mets play game two of three against the Astros tonight at 7:05 pm, with Jon Niese (0-0, 5.91 ERA) pitching against Russ Ortiz (3-4, 4.33 ERA).
