Daily Archives: August 3, 2009
The Mets (50–55) lost to the D-Backs (47–59) by the score of 6 to 5 in Citi Field tonight.
For a full recap and boxscore, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
- Nelson Figueroa faced 15 batters, got just five outs, allowed six runs and 10 hits, including two home runs to Mark Reynolds.
- The Mets rallied to score five runs, and pull to within one run, but got just one hit in their final 13 at bats.
Misc., Etc., and other Observations:
- Figueroa? What the hell, man? The D-Backs were taking huge cuts, and just killing the ball, yet he continued to throw strike after strike, making no adjustments, nothing but get-me-over strikes. Brutal. The weird thing is, usually, he makes adjustments on the fly, yet tonight he had nothing. So much for being a role at Triple-A. Yikes.
- Well, clearly Citi Field cannot contain Reynolds. Jeeez. It may be a pitcher’s park, but not when he’s in the box. Reynolds was 5 for 12 with four HR and five RBI during the four-game series.
- Jeff Francoeur loves to swing.
- Nice work from the Mets bullpen, specifically Tim Redding, who has been fighting for his job for a while now.
- Alex Cora and Luis Castillo each lectured Angel Pagan for making a base running mistake in the fifth inning, not advancing from second to third on a ball thrown from home through the infield to home. He could have been on third, with Castillo on second, both of whom might have scored on David Wright’s proceeding single. The Mets lost by one run.
- I respect the fight the Mets showed tonight, and I appreciate the drama, but, with so few games, and such a tall mountain in front of them, losing three of four and a moral victory is not going to be good enough.
The Mets begin a two-game series with the Cardinals tomorrow night in Citi Field, with Johan Santana facing Joel Pineiro.
Jerry Manuel spoke with reporters before tonight’s game.
On Nelson Figueroa, Manuel said that the key for him is to be in the strike zone and pitch to contact. The reason he’s starting is because he’s pitching very well, and he can throw around 110 pitches which shows the potential to go deep into the game. He seems to be very confident, works quick, and can hold runners on.
When asked about Figueroa’s role, Manuel said it is dependent on his performance. If he performs well, they will make adjustments.
If he struggles tonight, what Jerry does depends on the flow of the game. If the teams are exchanging runs, he’ll have to take him out. If not he could have to bite the bullet and save the ‘pen.
If Delgado returns, Manuel admits it will be challenging. They won’t throw him out there every day and he envisions giving Delgado days off with Daniel Murphy being a late inning defensive replacement.
About having a lefty in the bullpen, Jerry admits that they have been looking at the rotation and although nothing is definite, maybe Oliver Perez could be used if there is a long time between his starts.
He doesn’t feel it is wise to use Sheffield the day after a night game. The plan is to keep him rested and healthy.
Manuel thinks they can still make a run, but admits that the loss of the core position players was big blow for them. There was a point they lacked backups like Angel Pagan and Alex Cora which greatly hurt their depth.
On winning the Wild Card, Manuel felt it is very challenging, but the key is somehow getting healthy. If they do that, they will also have to play at a really high level, a level that the other teams in the race aren’t playing at and hope they can knock each other off as well.
Because so many core players are out, Manuel also felt that it’s hard to tell whether Citi Field has provided a decent home field advantage for them so far. It is a place where if you play good defense, you give yourself a chance in the game. He thinks that pitchers coming in feel confident, and with Haren being a very good pitcher, it’s gonna be tough tonight.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |The Mets (50-54) conclude their series against the Diamondbacks (46-59) tonight at 7:10 p.m. with Nelson Figueroa facing off against Dan Haren.
Angel Pagan will hit leadoff tonight, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Gary Sheffield returns at left, Daniel Murphy at first, Jeff Francoeur in right, Alex Cora at shortstop and Omir Santos behind the plate.
Figueroa is 0-1 this season with the Mets, but sports a 2.25 ERA in 112 innings pitched for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Dan Haren has not faced the Mets this year. He is 10-6 and his 2.19 ERA is fourth best in the National League.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |In a post to his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman speculates on how the Mets may look to upgrade their rotation in the off-season.
…it’s probably too early to even think about it… that said, i bet Omar Minaya chooses to trade for a pitcher, long before he looks to sign a free agent, if for no other reason than that is typically how he operates, and the open market will just not be that good…
That said, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe believes the Red Sox will listen to offers for RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka this off season.
Matsuzaka will earn $28 million over the next three season, after which he can be a free agent following 2012.
He was 33–15 with a 3.72 ERA in 61 starts during his first two seasons with Boston, but has missed the majority of this season with fatigue in his right shoulder.
The Red Sox won the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka in 2006 with a winning bid of $51.1 million.
However, according to ESPN.com, “The Mets finished second with a bid between $39 million and $40 million.”
Billy Wagner pitched a perfect inning 
during his minor-league rehab appearance for the GCL Mets this afternoon.
…as i wrote this morning, the way i understand it, wagner will keep up this pace, then eventually move to pitching back-to-back days… he’ll do that for a bit, after which talk of him joining the Mets will begin… i’m still thinking mid-month…
To following the GCL Mets game, check out MiLB.com.
Update, 1:25 pm:
In a report for SI.com, Jon Heyman lists 15 players likely to clear waivers, such as Adam Dunn and Bronson Arroyo; nine players who could clear, like Alex Rios and Gil Meche; and 13 players who are unlikely to clear, like Adrian Gonzalez.
Heyman also recaps the Winners and Losers from this past week’s Trade Deadline, while discussing other items from around MLB.
Original Post:
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle believes infielder Nomar Garciaparra, among other A’s, could draw interest through waivers.
…the way i understand it, teams can still make trades, but it must be done through waivers… basically, teams will put most all of their players on waivers at some point, even if they have no interest in trading him… once on waivers, another team has 48 hours to put in a claim… if nobody puts in a claim on a player, that player can be traded at will, just like before July 31… if, however, a player is claimed, his team can either pull him back off of waivers, work out a trade with the team who claimed him, or do nothing and let the claiming team receive the player for free… the free option could happen in the case of a huge contract… the thing is, once a player is pulled back from waivers, he is unable to be traded for 30 days… and so, this is how teams often step in and block a player from getting moved, but they also risk getting stuck with the player in the question…
…lastly, the team with the worst record in the same league gets first dibs… if there is no claim, the same rule applies to team’s in the other league…
For more, check out Wikipedia and MLB.com.
In an online report for Newsday, Jim Baumbach explains why Mike Pelfrey has taken a step back in 2009, while writing:
“It’s time to stop playing the ‘what if’ game with the Mets and start dealing in reality. Face it: The chances of this injury-ravaged team turning its season around are about as good as Jon & Kate getting back together.”
According to Cool Standings, a team will likely need 90 wins to take the National League Wild Card this season.
The Mets must go 40–18 in their next 58 games to win 90 games.
Cool Standings determines there is less than a one-percent chance the Mets win the Wild Card, based on pace, schedule, etc…
In the Wild Card Era, the 2004 Astros are the only team to come back from a less-than one-percent chance in August to make the playoffs.
…i will always believe anything is possible in baseball…
…the thing is, even when fully healthy, the Mets did not play nearly .700 baseball… what’s more, those guys aren’t really due back until mid-to-late August… so, let’s say they play around .500 and pick up a game or two over the next few weeks, then let’s say they’re all back, everyone, on September 1, giving the Mets a healthy, fully-stocked roster for the final 30 games of the season… even under that scenario, they’d still need to go something like 25–5 in September… 25… and 5…
…in other words, guys, if you’re gonna get hot, get hot soon…
[poll id="287"]
Tagged Poll |In a post to NY Baseball Digest, Mike 
Silva explains why Wally Backman should be hired to replace Tony Bernazard, and run the team’s player development department.
Meanwhile, Bill Price of the Daily News asks, “Can we all now stop kidding ourselves that the Mets have a shot at the wild card?”
In a post to Brooklyn Met Fan, Adam explains why tonight’s a Must Win, adding, “I realize it’s borderline absurd to say tonight’s game is a must win but if we’re gonna have any hope of landing the WC we simply cannot lose 3 of 4 to the D-Backs.”
Mike Pelfrey has found at ‘out pitch,’ according to Amazin Avenue.
That said, Matthew Falkenbury of the Daily Stache wonders when Pelfrey will put it all together, as he’s 26–27 in 72 career starts.
In post to Mets Police, Shannon Shark investigates Jeff Wilpon’s professional baseball career.
Lastly, in case you’re interested, you can find me and MetsBlog on Facebook, here, and on Twitter, here.
Tagged Wally Backman |In case you missed it…
Billy Wagner pitched a perfect inning 
Friday for Single-A St. Lucie, where he will throw again tonight.
…the way i understand it, wagner will keep up this pace, then eventually move to pitching back-to-back days… he’ll do that for a bit, after which talk of him joining the Mets will begin… i’m still thinking mid-month…
Yesterday, J.J. Putz tossed 25 pitches in a bullpen session in Citi Field, where he will throw again Wednesday.
He told reporters he hopes to be back in three weeks, though he’ll know more following his session on Wednesday.
…i suspect putz will have the same schedule as wagner, basically… so, wherever billy is, j.j. will be a week or so behind…
Carlos Beltran took live batting practice on the field Saturday, and hit from both sides of the plate in a 20-minute session.
…from what i can gather, Jose Reyes will do light running today in St. Lucie, but he is taking it slow… as is John Maine, who is still idle, resting, and waiting out discomfort in his shoulder…
Yesterday, in a loss to the D-Backs, Mike Pelfrey used 107 pitches through just five innings - he allowed five hits and three runs while walking three and striking out six.
…it wasn’t an awful start, by any means, but it wasn’t a good start either… i like that he was able to keep it together, for the most part… there were a few occasions during which he was on the brink, and got out of the jam… he was able to, ‘keep his team in the game,’ as they say… and that’s fine… it’s just, against the D-Backs, in this Wild Card race, the Mets needed better…
Pelfrey said, following yesterday’s game:
“My pitch count was pretty high, pretty early… Later in the game, I made some mistakes and I paid for it… I felt like I had good stuff, I trust my stuff, I just made some mistakes… I’ve got to pound that sinker early in the count and get them to roll over.”
…he is getting a case of the John Maines, it seems, unable to pitch beyond the fifth inning, while throwing more than 100 pitches…
He has pitched beyond the fifth innings just six times in his last 12 starts, during which he has a 4.50 ERA while the Mets are 4–8.
Speaking of pitchers…
Johan Santana is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Cardinals, while Jon Niese will start Wednesday.
Tagged Mike Pelfrey |
