Daily Archives: September 28, 2009
The Mets lost to the Nationals by the score of 2-1 tonight in Washington, the team’s 90th loss of the year.
For a full recap and box score, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
Nelson Figueroa pitched well once again but took the loss, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings, and is 0-5 in September.
The Mets had runners in scoring position in six of the first seven innings, and managed just one run against Ross Detwiller, who earned his first Major League Victory.
Other Observations and Notes:
I’m not clear on why Luis Castillo swung at the first pitch with two outs and nobody on in the ninth inning.
The Mets lost for the 50th time on the road tonight, and it’s the first time that has happened since 1993 when the team lost 103 games.
I was so happy to find out that Gary Cohen actually had long hair when he was young.
Up Next:
The Mets will try and even their series against the Nationals tomorrow night when they send Mike Pelfrey to face J.D. Martin.
The Mets open their last road series of the season tonight against the Nationals, at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.
Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur, Fernando Tatis at first base, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.
Nelson Figueroa (2-7, 4.88 ERA) will start for the Mets. Figueroa pitched a dandy of a game his last time out on September 22 against Atlanta, going seven innings while allowing two runs on just two hits. This will be Figueroa’s first start against the Nationals this year.
Ross Detweiler (0-6, 5.71 ERA) will start for the Nationals. Detweiler will be making his 13th start of the season tonight, still in search for his first career victory. He has allowed just four runs in his last three starts over 12 2/3 innings, but is 0-1 with two no decisions to show for it.
Seth Fleischauer, ‘The Face of Mets Failure,’ has written a post for Deadspin about his infamous photo from the end of 2007.
…embrace it, seth… sadly, it seems like that photo is now a part of the team’s history…
Tagged News |
In a blog post for the New York Times, Jim Luttrell explains why the Mets can live with Daniel Murphy, and his lack of power, at first base.
… this may or may not be true… i have no idea, and do not care… what i do know is the Mets need someone to hit a home run once in a while, because, when down 2–0, they cannot keep hoping for seven consecutive singles… i mean, at some point, someone needs to clear the bases…
The Mets are second in the National League in team batting average and triples; first in stolen bases; middle of the pack in doubles and OBP; and second with batting average in runners in scoring position; yet, they’re dead last in home runs and sixth-to-last in runs scored.
… in other words, sure, they can go 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position, but they’ll still lose the game 3 to 2, because nobody hit the ball over an outfielder’s head… what’s more, because there is no threat of a ball to the wall, outfielders are playing shallow and keeping runners from advancing from first to third…
…i know a full season of Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes will change all of that, and i am confident David Wright will return to form in 2009, but, Carlos Delgado’s power will still need to be replaced, and it will not come in the form of murphy…
By the way, Buster Olney of ESPN.com continues to say the Padres are unlikely to trade 1B Adrian Gonzalez, especially since San Diego is 32–21 during their last 53 games.
The 27-year-old Gonzalez will earn just $4.75 million in 2010, with a $5.5 million team option for 2011, after which he can be a free agent.
Tagged News |Update, 11:15 am:
The Brewers are considering whether to hire Rick Peterson to be their pitching coach, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.
Original Post:
This weekend, Jerry Manuel told reporters he expects to meet with GM Omar Minaya and ownership the day after the season ends to discuss his coaching staff.
According to MLB.com, “There have been indications that batting coach Howard Johnson and pitching coach Dan Warthen will be retained. There have been no such indications involving third-base coach Razor Shines.”
…actually, i still do not believe it is 100 percent certain that manuel will be back… from what i recall, the team’s coaching staff will be up for new contracts at the end of this season… i bet Howard Johnson is back next season, since the team is among the best in baseball in batting average, OBP, batting average with runners in scoring position, doubles and triples – not to mention i hear players enjoy working with him, especially Jeff Francoeur… the jury is still out on pitching coach Dan Warthen… however, i bet Razor Shines will be replaced, as will others…
…the thing is, manuel should not be a guarantee to return… i hope minaya and his staff take a long-hard look at the quality of play, not only by the last man on the roster, but by the team’s veterans… i mean, it was a sloppy season, to say the least… there were countless dropped pop ups, poor throws, miscues on the base paths, some lacked hustle, and there was a constant issue with poor focus…
In case you missed it, on Saturday, David Wright apologized to his teammates for making two baserunning mistakes that cost his team a run, first he forgot their were two outs and did not run on contact during a double by Francoeur; then, a few moments later, jogged from third across home plate, but not before Francoeur was tagged out at second to end the inning before Wright scored.
As such, in a post to NY Baseball Digest, Mike Silva explains why now is the time to fire Manuel, writing:
“(Wright’s mistake) was a perfect example of what is wrong with this team… Maybe it’s unfair to fire Jerry after the injuries this season. Before the DL engulfed the team he had them on a 97–win pace. Last year they played about .600 ball after he took over… Someone needs to take the fall for this teams
embarrassing play. Firing Jerry Manuel almost becomes a necessity.”
…i am far less concerned about who is to blame, who will take the fall, etc., and more concerned with who is the best person to lead this team next season… if the Mets intend to play a more fundamental-style of baseball, less-power and more speed, taking the extra base, etc., they need a smart, Xs-and-Os manager who can look ahead, think on his feet, and make adjustments…
…if Jerry Manuel is that man, great, keep him… if he isn’t, then the Mets need to find someone who is…
Tagged News |
In a post to Mets Police, Shannon Shark dishes out letter grades for the 2009 season, including grades for me, who got an A; Adam Rubin, who also got an A; and the Pepsi Prize Patrol; who got an F.
Mr. Baby of the Real Dirty continues his look at Things That Make Me go Hmmm about Citi Field.
John, from Metstradamus, explains why, “Timing Is Everything, And Pat Misch Doesn’t Wear A Watch.”
In a post to the Eddie Kranepool Society, Steve Keane says David Wright owes Mets fans an apology.
Michael Ganci of the Daily Stache is saying goodbye to Fernando Tatis.
Tagged News |In a recent video for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal lists the Mets among several teams who called the Cubs about Milton Bradley.
Rosenthal believes the Cubs will be able to deal Bradley without having to pay a large portion of his two-year, 
$21 million contract.
The Cubs have suspended Bradley for the remainder of this season, “for conduct detrimental to the organization,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
The 31–year-old Bradley hit .321 last season for the Rangers, but is batting .257 for the Cubs in 2009 with just 12 home runs compared to 22 home runs in 2008 – he has played with eight teams during his 10–year career.
Rosenthal also talks about whether Albert Pujols will sign a contract extension with the Cardinals; and if the Rays will trade BJ Upton.
Tagged News |The veteran players on the Mets did the traditional rookie hazing routine yesterday on 
route to the airport from Miami to DC.
For instance, Daniel Murphy was forced to dress as a Dirty Martini, Omir Santos dressed as Robin, Josh Thole portrayed a Playboy bunny, as did 40–year-old rookie Ken Takahashi and his interpreter, Shingo Kan, while Bobby Parnell signed autographs dressed as a French maid.
For pictures, check out Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.
Tagged News |In a report for the New York Post, Joel Sherman suggests a few ‘realistic ways to re-tool the Mets.’
Sherman believes the Mets should move quick to sign free-agent C Rob Barajas, 1B Nick Johnson and OF Mark DeRosa, then spend the remainder of the off season working to find a legitimate number-two starting pitcher.
…from what i can gather, the Mets have every intention of making a trade or two, in an effort to switch-up the roster and get younger… this may be why they did not overreact at this season’s trade deadline… so, to only suggest free-agent signing, while easy, is like only using half the toolbox… the 
problem is, while everyone, including myself, want to start writing about how to ‘fix the Mets,’ it is difficult to do because we do not yet know who is available in trade…
Sherman’s most-important suggestion, however, has less to do with players, and more to do with ideology, which he believes ‘flows from the top.’
Sherman does a terrific job explaining why, “The Mets have a Polyanna problem,” in that they are overly “susceptible to seeing the glass as half full.”
…i agree… also, a few weeks ago, here, i wrote:
“It feels like the Mets are always looking in the rear-view mirror, reacting to yesterday’s criticism, yesterday’s news, and yesterday’s problem… Minaya’s biggest talent may also be his biggest weakness, in that he’s a terrific Patchwork GM. In other words, though he will always do whatever is necessary to fix the big problem of today, and do it well, I am not sure he recognizes what might need to be fixed tomorrow… and so it feels like, to me, that he and the roster are always unprepared.”
… sherman’s theory may be why this is the case, because if the Mets are always hoping for the best and never preparing for the worse it would make sense that they are always being forced to hastily react to every sudden bump in the road…
…i suspect this is why several people had been writing the Mets should look to hire a strong, experienced Team President, like a John Hart, to work with minaya… but, i mean, how many GMs can one team have…
Tagged News |
