Daily Archives: September 10, 2009
The Marlins defeated the Mets by the score of 13-4 tonight at Citi Field, completing the three game sweep.
For a full recap and box score, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
Bobby Parnell reverted back to the form prior to his start against the Cubs, as he was completely ineffective but managed to go five innings.
Parnell allowed the first five batters of the game to reach base, and he walked two runners in.
Lance Broadway, Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano combined to allow seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Angel Pagan forgot how many outs there were in the bottom of the seventh inning, and was thrown out on a double play fly ball hit by Jeff Francoeur.
Pagan did go 3 for 4 at the plate, as did Francoeur.
Other Observations and Notes:
Tonight’s game served as a footprint for everything that is wrong with the Mets in 2009 – no pitching, mental and physical mistakes, and basically no offense.
The Angel Pagan incident in the seventh inning really frustrated me – I can’t figure out where his head is at times – the team was down five runs at the time and to me, things like that cannot happen in that situation, but as Matt has said over and over again, this is a chronic problem for Pagan.
Tobi Stoner made his Mets debut, and it looks like he is going to throw a lot harder than he does, but he did the best job of any reliever tonight.
Up Next:
The Mets head to Philadelphia for a four games series starting tomorrow night at 7:05 pm, with Nelson Figueroa facing Cole Hamels.
There are people who believe a brand is what people say about you or your product after you have left the room.
So, this morning on MetsBlog.com, and yesterday on Twitter and Facebook, I said, ‘The Mets are ____,” and asked people to fill in the blank with the first thing that popped in to their mind.
The responses were mostly negative, ranging from the Mets are in Need of an Overhaul to the Mets are Killing Me.
There were also a few positives, like the Mets are 2010 NL East Champs and the Mets are Fortunate to have Johan Santana.
There were the simple, like the Mets are Screwed, the Mets are Injured, and the Mets are Disappointing.
And there were the funny, like the Mets are the Buffalo Bisons, the Mets are Matt Cerrone’s Meal Ticket, and the Mets are My Favorite Team, Dammit.
Lastly, the one that was sent to me that said the most, I think, was the Mets are Suffering from an Identity Crisis, which, oddly enough, was why I put forth this exercise in the first place.
To read other responses, posted to Twitter, click here.
Tagged News |
This afternoon at Citi Field, John Maine pitched in a simulated game and is still on target for Sunday’s start in Philadelphia against Pedro Martinez.
Maine pitched to Wilson Valdez and Jeremy Reed.
…like we always say, it’s how he feels the day after which is most important in determining his status no matter how he feels right now…
…
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Mets might try to trade Luis Castillo this winter and take a look at Orlando Hudson.
However, Heyman asks, “When have we heard this before?”
…from what i recall, hudson wanted to be on the Mets or Yankees last season, and waited quite a while to see if one of the two teams would create a spot for him… instead, the Mets stuck with castillo, though they did consider ways to bring hudson in the fold…
…frankly, castillo’s defense is overrated i feel… it looks like he has concrete in his cleats at times… i admire him returning to hit over .300, but, the batting average, being healthy, and now earning just $12 million the next two years, is why this off season is the exact time to move him…
…the thing is, any team with a hole at second is more likely to spend less on hudson, who will be a free agent… so, the Mets would probably need to move for another team’s headache, such as a relief pitcher with a bloated contract… this is not the ideal situation, but it opens a spot and would bring in an arm who, for all we know, could be revitalized…
…in the end, hudson fits in better with what the Mets should be trying to do, in terms of his specific talent and leadership… we are going to hear his name in the rumor mill a lot this winter…
Tagged News |
The Mets look to avoid the sweep tonight against the Marlins at 7:10 pm at Citi Field.
Carlos Beltran will get the night off, and Nick Evans will be in left field.
Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Jeff Francoeur, Fernando Tatis, Evans, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.
Bobby Parnell (3-7, 5.25 ERA) will start for the Mets. Despite taking a no-decision last Friday, Parnell was brilliant, not allowing a run on five hits in seven innings. This will be his sixth appearance against the Marlins, but his first start.
Sean West (6-5, 4.61 ERA) will start for the Marlins. West has averaged under 5 1/3 innings pitched per start this season, although he defeated the Mets on August 25 in Miami, going six innings and allowing just one run.
Update, 6:20 pm:
According to the Bergen Record’s Steve Popper, in a post to Twitter, the Mets are in a closed-door meeting with Jerry Manuel.
In a post to FoxSports.com, Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot presents what every team’s roster would look like if given only the players it originally signed.
According to Pouliot, if the Mets retained every player they drafted currently in the major leagues, their 25–man roster would look as follows:
Rotation: A.J. Burnett, Scott Kazmir, Brian Bannister, Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese
Bullpen: Heath Bell, Octavio Dotel, Matt Lindstrom, Bobby Parnell, Aaron Heilman, Guillermo Mota and Joe Smith
Lineup: SS Jose Reyes, 3B David Wright, RF Nelson Cruz, 1B Mike Jacobs, C Jesus Flores, 2B Kaz Matsui, CF Carlos Gomez and LF Daniel Murphy
Bench: INF Ty Wigginton, OF Angel Pagan, OF Jay Payton, OF Lastings Milledge and C Raul Casanova
…first of all, wow, matt… outstanding and interesting work…
…second, hmmm, i have no idea what to make of this… i mean, judging by his results, i think the Phillies, here, or the Braves, here, would be the best team in the division, with the Nationals, here, running a close second, then the Mets…
Tagged News |
On September 23rd, I am hosting a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society from 6-10 p.m. at Lansdowne Road, located at 599 10th Avenue in NYC.
The event will coincide with the Mets vs. Braves game and admission is free.
There will be drink specials, and a raffle with great items from: Ommegang Brewery, Blue Smoke, MeiGray, Gary, Keith & Ron, Brooklyn Brewery, Top of the Rock, Chelsea Piers, Louisville Slugger, Trapeze School of NY, Random House, New York Shaving Co., Crunch Fitness, Antonio Prieto Salon, Off The Wagon, Croton Tavern and many more!
No donation required, but any amount is appreciated.
I will be selling tickets for the raffle at the event.
For more on my ongoing campaign, or to donate items to the raffle, click here.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |Speaking before yesterday’s game about whether he would like Carlos Delgado back in 2010, so to add power to the lineup, Jerry Manuel said:
“I think it depends a lot on the makeup of the rest of the team, if you have excess in another area – say, speed, then that
balances that out. If we gear in that direction, it has to be excess if we don’t have any power to balance the team out.”
This is going to be the big question of the off season: Speed or power?
I’d like to think the Mets could do both, i.e., get speed and defense, like Carl Crawford for left field, and also trade for a power bat at first base, like Prince Fielder… sorry, Daniel Murphy… but, a) that’s a lot of talent to trade, and b) that leaves zero money for upgrades at other positions, specifically the starting rotation.
The thing is, do the Mets need power?
I mean, this season, the lineup seemed weak… but, of course it seemed weak in the absence of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado, coupled with a power-outage from David Wright. However, if Reyes returns, and you bring in even a 25–home run season from Wright, 30 home runs from Beltran, and, say, 25 home runs from Jeff Francoeur, I am not so sure the Mets have to bring in a guy like Fielder, or Adrian Gonzalez – assuming they could even pull off such a trade. And so, putting Crawford and Reyes at the top of the lineup, with Murphy at first base, could be quite productive and more than efficient… also, an outfield of Crawford, Beltran and Francoeur would keep a ton of double plays in order by cutting down lots of extra base hits.
I have been told by people connected to both teams that the Mets had the horses to get Crawford at the trade deadline, but the Rays chose not to move him… and so, it would stand to reason the Mets could get him this off season in a trade as well. However, from what I can gather, it’s about 50–50 whether the Rays even pick up Crawford’s $10 million option, meaning he could very well be a free agent at the end of this season.
The thing is, like I have been saying, the answer to this question depends entirely on what type of team the Mets intend to build over the next few seasons… who are they… what do they want to be… everybody now, you know the drill, ‘What’s the plan, what are your goals, and how do you plan to get there?’
Tagged News |Last night, Pat Misch gave up six runs including two home runs, during six innings of work in a loss to the Marlins.
…it’s a shame, because, with one out and 
a runner on first, in the first inning, and no runs yet to score, he was clearly trying to get the inning-ending double play… he didn’t… Hanley Ramirez singled to shallow left, followed by another single to Jorge Cantu, then a fielder’s choice and the home run to Cody Ross… after that, though, he settled in and cruised through their lineup twice… all while looking a lot like the glavine-esque pitcher we saw in his previous two starts against the Cubs and Rockies…
“I really felt we could’ve escaped that inning with not much damage, had we executed the double play,” Jerry Manuel said about Misch, following the game. “After that, he settled in pretty nicely. He gave up a solo shot to Uggla, but he could’ve easily left that game 1–0.”
Tagged News |In case you missed it…
Last night, Jose Reyes told reporters he is working hard to get back on the 
field for the Mets before this season, while saying he doesn’t understand why people would question his will to return.
In a report for the Star-Ledger, in which he recaps the pre-game talk, Brian Costa writes, “Reyes wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t joking and he wasn’t laughing. He was defiant, perhaps more so than in any other public moment of his career.”
…costa is right, jose was very emotional when talking to reporters… you can read the quote here, or watch the video in the sidebar of this blog…
…as far as him returning, he is still idle, from what i can gather… he’s been resting in advance of giving it one more shot at running hard around the bases… if the tendon holds up, and he feels good, he’ll resume his rehab and hope to get back… if it still holds him back, he told reporters yesterday surgery could be an option…
…like i said last week, from what i have heard, the team, and some players on the team, think jose’s delay might be in his head, not his leg, in that he might be gun-shy to push it for fear of making things work… i’m not sure i believe that, but it’s an understandable conclusion…
…i bet seeing Carlos Beltran return, while being in house for Photo Day, being around his teammates, in uniform, seeing what could have been, etc., probably got to jose emotionally, and i can’t say i blame him… i’m sure he’s frustrated… who isn’t… everyone involved with this team, including you and i, are frustrated…
Earlier this week, in a report for SNY.TV, Ted Berg explained why trading Reyes is the worst idea ever.
Similarly, Jessep from Mets Merized Online says the Mets should keep Reyes, and let Reyes be Reyes.
…i am sure people can make an argument either way, to keep him or trade him, from a baseball point of view… all i know, from a fan-entertainment point of view, i miss watching him play… the Mets are more fun and interesting when he’s on the field, end of story… does he want to be back, should he be traded, should they keep him, how good will he be, etc., what’s his potential… at this point, i’m not sure it matters to me, i just want to watch him play, run and have fun again…
Tagged News | ← Older posts
