Paul Lo Duca Speaks Tweet This Post
Listening to Paul Lo Duca in his week radio interview with Joe and Evan on WFAN gave me a lot of confidence. First off he said there can be no excuses, about injuries or whatever, they’re just not playing well. He mentioned an attitude adjustment, about how maybe they were coasting a little and they’re realizing it’s not going to be as easy as last year. He also brought up how Willie had been talking to them about and it and stressing some stuff trying to get them going. A lot of his statements make me feel like this slump is coming to an end. On a related Paul Lo Duca note, somehow the Mets fans have been lazy, and the Dodger fans have been pushing for their catcher, who I’m not going to deem with a name. You can vote 25 times per email address, so get out there and continue to vote for Paul, who’s fallen out of the lead in the All Star voting.
They asked him if he thought he should be batting second, and about how Reyes needs protection and all that. He basically said it doesn’t really matter, it’s not the order that’s the problem, it’s that they need to start getting hits at the right times. Which is true, were they driving in these guys with two outs and when they’ve got guys on, no one would be debating the line-up that much.
He also addressed Cole Hamels a little bit, who basically was upset over how Lo Duca acted after his home run the other day. This was the third of three consecutive home runs off him, to put the Mets up 3-2. He said he “could give a rats-you know what” about Hamels or his statements. That if he upset him, he’s sorry, but he could care less. It was a big home run while they were struggling, and he got excited. That it’s different than when he got upset at A-Rod for watching his home run when the Yankees were up by a lot and it was mostly meaningless. He knows that he’ll see Hamels again, and if he gets thrown at, he’ll happily take first base.
I’ve been saying it all week, but obviously the Mets are going to get out of this. I think the Yankees will probably falter a bit again by this weekend. I think we can play them tough and do well, especially considering their bullpen sucks and we’re facing Clemens and Clippard. So all you pessimistic ‘woe is me’ Mets fans out there, chill out. Sure this isn’t last year, but don’t forget that we lost last year. This is also not 2003. This is 2007, look forward, not back. Look up, not down.
Tags: Cole Hamels, no excuses, Paul Lo Duca, Slump, Yankees
It’s coming, can you feel it? Tweet This Post
It’s Coming, Can You Feel It?
Okay, there is a lot of bad to talk about lately. I acknowledge that, but you all know the bad stuff, and this is an optimist blog, so we’re going to gloss over it.
It sure was nice seeing the Mets score all those runs in the aviary this weekend. Delgado and Beltran have been having some problems, but David Wright is looking fine. Shawn Green will be back tonight, and I think that will plug up the lineup enough to make a difference for a bit. It looks like Carlos Gomez is going to stick around for a while, and he might blossom and start learning to hit.
With the draft ofter, and the season ticking away towards the midway point, the trade market will start heating up. I expect Omar’s out there looking to help this team. Think of where we’d be without the mid-season acquisitions last year of Orlando Hernandez and Oliver Perez. This year I think Minaya will be bring in some bullpen help. There are a lot of teams in the market for this very thing, but maybe the Mets have what they need to get someone here.
Mostly thought the Mets need to play better as a team. Guys have played well for stretches here and there, but not all together. No crazy streaks of first inning runs, or nine of ten victories marauding across the country. Part of that could be the struggles with injuries the lineup has had over the last couple of weeks. As I type this now, the Mets already have two runs in the first inning in LA. Both hits, by Shawn Green and David Wright, were hits with runners in scoring position. It’s too early in the game to see if they’re going to start breaking out of their doldrums yet, but it’s a start. I’m not opposed to Shawn Green hitting second, I, and probably Reyes, have missed having someone solid hitting there. I also like that Delgado and Wright were flip-flopped in the line-up. With Moises Alou the only regular now out, the Mets offense can again be declared ‘healthy’.
The Mets have almost looked flat in many of their games recently, and they certainly don’t look flat tonight. They’ve come out swinging in Dodger Stadium; another one of those places, like Arizona and Miami, where they’re putting together good numbers.
The Mets are full of danger, and they’re still waiting for the spark to set them ablaze. When that finally happens, and I have no doubt that it will happen, it’s going to be fun.
Triple Play Means Its Time to Get Going Tweet This Post
I was half paying attention to the game last night as I did other things, among them voting for Placido Polanco for the All-Star team, since he’s only 8k votes behind Robinson Cano and I really don’t want him to win. I also wrote in votes for Boston’s Kevin Youkilis, because with the year he’s having, it’s a shame he’s not even on the ballot at the position he plays. It’s a lost cause, but I’ve been voting for Endy Chavez too.
And It’s even more of a lost cause now, as he grounded out into a triple play yesterday, Reyes out at second, Chavez out at first, and Chavez’s hamstring out running down the line. Without thinking about it, it seems like losing your fourth outfielder shouldn’t be that big a deal, but we all know it is. The Mets have their star outfielder playing at about 85%, and lost their second and third outfielders to injuries, and now their fourth. Endy means so much more than that, which is almost impossible to put into words. Luckily it’s not major, and he will be back for the bulk of the end of the season to contribute the way he contributes.
I don’t even know what to say about Alou, but Green and Valentin will be back soon. Maybe between Easley, who’s also injured with tendinitis for the past two weeks, and Newhan and Johnson and Gomez the Mets can piece together that third spot for whatever time Alou needs to get healthy, as long as what he needs isn’t a time machine. It sucks for Lastings Milledge, who if he wasn’t injured would be getting a lot of chances to play. Even if the Mets don’t want to keep him, him playing here would be a great bargaining chip. I really think we need to keep Ruben Gotay around, who I liked in spring training and really have kept liking since he’s been up. Jose Valentin has played some left field before, most notably six times for the Mets last year, maybe he could fill in there too.
After their first three game losing streak, I expect the Mets to wake up from this lackluster daydream they’ve been having. I know they’ve lost practically no ground in the division race, which says loads about the Braves, but losing three games the way they’ve been playing is a disgrace. Losing Endy Chavez and the prospect of being swept at home will jolt the Mets into action.
I’ve been talking about, and waiting for this moment all year. When the Mets put together one of those swagger-filled, “You can’t touch us” streaks of great baseball. It’s coming now. The Phillies aren’t a threat, and the Mets don’t view them as part of this tough stretch of schedule. They are going to rise to the occasion to play with the best teams of 2006. I fully expect that by the time July 1st roles around, we’ll barely be able to see the next team in the rear view mirror, having put together a 17-6 stretch of games.
It’s hard to say they’ve been cruising, but they pretty much have been. Now with some serious concerns, it’ll wake them up and they’ll begin to show why they’re a championship caliber team. Who knows, maybe we can have Lo Duca start some games in left field and get Castro some at-bats.
Projections Tweet This Post
With just over one third of the season done, and after playing a couple of games with stunted offense, lets take a look at the projected stats of some of the Mets.
The Spark of the Mets offense, Jose Reyes.
.316BA, .398OBP, 213Hits, 126 Runs, 24 Triples, 78 RBI, 90SB and maybe the most telling of all, 90 walks.
Those are some nice numbers. You especially like to see Jose Reyes taking those walks, and he’s still steadily improving. This should at least put him in the discussion for MVP.
David Wright.
.272BA, 96Runs, 24HR, 84RBI, 39Doubles, 33SB, 955 pitches seen
These numbers are not quite up to his usual stats. He struggled for much of April, and hasn’t put together a really good stretch yet. The numbers aren’t horrible, and he’s got more stolen bases then you’d expect. It’s probably just a matter of time with him, maybe once Moises Alou gets back to batting behind him he’ll find some more pitches to get and get into a groove.
Carlos Beltran
.297BA, 24HR, 105RBI, 21SB, 99Runs
Nothing to special here. His numbers are solid, but nowhere near what he was doing last year. He said he was going to steal more bases this year, and 21 is not bad. The Mets have a lot of speed, and as long as Beltran is taking smart bases here and there, it will help without him swiping 40.
Paul Lo Duca’s numbers don’t quite tell the story. He’s been having a good year, getting hits when needed, and doing what needs to be done at the plate. He doesn’t strike out much, and he’s gotten 3 sacrifice flies and 2 sacrifice hits. Add in what he adds behind the plate with the pitchers, and how he’s drastically improved his throwing to second base, and he has a huge impact.
We all know Carlos Delgado has been struggling this year, but he still will have 24HR and 99RBI if he stays on pace, and if he really starts hitting well again, look out. David Wrights numbers might suffer just because Delgado isn’t leaving anyone on for him to drive in.
Power Depletion Tweet This Post
The Mets offense was shut down for the third time this week, this time it wasn’t against a Cy Young award winner, but Doug Davis. We can lose Jose Valentin for a while, no big deal. Moises Alou goes down? Well we expected that, and we’ve got a bunch of outfield prospects we want to play with, and it’s always nice to get Endy Chavez some regular time. Shawn Green’s going on the DL? Well maybe one of these prospects actually gets hot for a while, or David Newhan prospers with some regular starts like Jose Valentin did last year. Carlos Beltran bruised his knee? Well now it’s starting to look a little darker. Our offense was very depleted this weekend, but we never made it easy. Oliver Perez and John Maine both pitched well to start, but ultimately fell off the pace before the opposing pitcher did. The Mets failed to work counts to try to get into the bullpen to find somebody hittable, and they weren’t able to capitalize on most of the few situations that presented themselves. Still, 35-20 is a great record.
The weekend can basically be summed up by the 8th inning on Sunday. The Mets had four regulars playing; Reyes walked, Wright singles, and Lo Duca walked. This shows how the Mets regular offense can manage to get on base, while the rest of the fill-ins couldn’t get them home.
Now lets get to the optimism. The Mets pitched very well. John Maine and Oliver Perez kept them in games, which is what we’ve wanted out of them. Maine’s been showing that ability all season, while Perez has a couple of meltdowns that were problematic. Him being able to stay in the game, even after some struggles is important And then there is Jorge Sosa. What a great year he’s having after not making the team. He had one poor start, which is probably the only thing that’ll keep him from winning pitcher of the month for May. The real question, while way too premature, is what happens when Pedro returns? I know the Mets signed Aaron Sele to a minor league contract, but I have no idea if that means he’s able to be optioned down to New Orleans if they wanted to switch Sosa into that role when Pedro returned. Fortunately, it’s a good problem to have, and it’s Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph’s problem to deal with. Another consideration is to shop Sosa around, but I don’t know that the Mets have any glaring holes that are desperate for filling. Getting some minor league depth in pitching or second base is always nice, but it’s not a priority or urgency in any way.
Beltran will be back Tuesday, hopefully Alou will be too. Valentin will also be back before long. It seems clear that Carlos Gomez is going down, and at least Newhan or Ben Johnson. It would also appear that Ruben Gotay will go down when Valentin returns, as you can only have so many back-up infielder bench guys, and we all know that Franco’s not going anywhere. Once the lineup starts coming back together, I expect the Mets to put together a real win streak, where they go out and dominate the competition.
I probably won’t be at Shea for the Philly series, despite being at over a third of the Met home games this season, which means my 13th Met game probably won’t be until June 23rd as part of my Saturday pack. Going three weeks without being at a game almost feels weird with the rate I’ve been in attendance over the past two years.
Tags: Aaron Sele, injuries, John Maine, Jorge Sosa, Line-up, New York Mets, Oliver Perez, Pitching Depth, Regulars, Trade Deadline, win streak
How I Got Kicked Out of Shea Stadium Tweet This Post
How I Got Kicked Out Of Shea Stadium
I didn’t cause trouble, start a fight, have any alcohol, berate Barry Bonds, a Yankee fan, or anybody at all. I didn’t interrupt the game, distract anyone or make a nuisance, yet when me and my friend moved our seats in the 8th inning of Thursday night’s Met game we were kicked out, and not just of the seats, or the level, but of the whole stadium. Now I’m not saying that I belonged there, or I had any right to be where I was, but the idea that me and my friend sitting down in a seat was in any way a security concern that necessitating escorting us out of the building.
Only ticketed fans are allowed in the field level seats, but everyone is allowed in for batting practice. Since the majority of ticket holders in the field level are often corporate boxes and owned by businesses rather than fans, there are always a ton of extra seats, more so then any other sold out section. We’re not alone in doing this, I routinely hear and see other people who have stayed in the level from batting practice and fill one of these empty seats. Sure it’s a little unfair that we paid $9 for the seat and the people legitimately buying those seats paid $60+, but we’re not taking away anything from them. I’m not exactly rolling in money at the moment, but the Mets are one of those luxury’s that I’m willing to spend money on. Between me and friend we probably spend $2000 last year on the Mets, which is a lot of money for us, even if it’s nothing to the Mets. We’re mini-season plan holders this year, we support the team, good and bad. We’re not trying to put one over on the Mets, we’re just trying to enjoy the game.
We sat out in the outfield where we were hanging out for batting practice, hoping to catch a foul ball that sliced into the seats, or a ball tossed from the Mets in right field. Later on we moved to some seats near middle of the level, behind the Mets dugout. In the 8th inning, a lot of people got up to leave, so we walked down to one of these sections, 6 rows from the field, figuring it’s not often you can even buy these seats if you wanted to, it’s a nice view. We sat down and a security guard came over and sat across from me, and asked for my ticket. I responded that we’d just leave. I was thinking “Busted, oh well, no big deal, I’ll wander away and watch the game from somewhere else.” He continued to ignore everything I said and kept asking for my ticket, so I finally caved and gave it to him, thinking maybe he just wanted to make sure I didn’t sneak into the stadium or something. Eventually he asks us to get up and come with him, so we get up and go with him, escorted by 10 other security guys at the end of the aisle and they keep pointed and telling us to walk that way, instead of leading us anywhere. They’re rude and nasty the whole time as my friend tries to ask them what the big deal is and what they want from us. They walk us to Gate D, and push us out, telling the guy posted there not to let us back in, keeping my ticket in the process.
What bothers me most is that we obviously weren’t causing trouble, and once the game was over we’d have been allowed there anyway to try to get autographs behind the dugout. Although I have noticed a security guard standing on the dugout after a game be really nasty to a bunch of 12 year old kids hoping to find a Met walking out of the dugout after the game for an autograph. Then there was the clincher last year, when me and my friend waited in the crowd to try to buy a shirt after the game. It was slow, and the place was mobbed. As it ebbed, the security guards repeatedly tried to get people to leave get out. It’s understandable that they just wanted people out so they could finish up and go home, but at the time they were doing this was when the Mets were coming back on the field to celebrate with the fans that were on the field level and had stuck around. So a couple of fans up on the mezzanine weren’t what was keeping them from locking up the stadium.
Obviously this isn’t going to change anything for me, they don’t know who I am and I doubt they’ll really recognize me when I walk back into the stadium Saturday. It’s just a souring experience for the first time I’ve ever left a Met game before it was over, and what I take away from the experience is sad. I’ll remember next time not to respect the security guys, I’ll just walk away from him immediately and head back to my seat, or watch the game from a different location. This situation will be moot in 2009 anyway, when standing room only seats and the layout of the stadium won’t have a designated area where we’re not allowed.
Tags: Barry Bonds, batting practice, business, fans, field level, kicked out, nasty security, security, Shea Security, ticket holders, unfair