Trade Deadline Looms
I worry about John Maine, but I think he’ll be okay in the end. A little shoulder stiffness is really all it is, and apparently they knew about it before hand, which means that he was able to pitch with it without hurting it further. Maybe they skip him in the rotation due to the off day, but I’m hopeful it’ll be alright in the end.
More importantly, Johan Santana stepped up after an exhausting game on Saturday where the Mets used the bullpen so roughly that Oliver Perez was warming up in the 14th inning. Santana pitched a complete game, waylaid his critics a bit, and gave the bullpen a much needed rest. They have an off day on Thursday too, so if Pelfrey can give them a lot tonight, they’ll get a nice recharge.
Another thing I’ve been thinking about as the trade deadline looms is what the Mets are to do. I am not a fan of Adam Dunn, or the “Gets on base so strike outs don’t matter” group. While I think our bullpen is excellent, I know bullpen suckiness and exhaustion were the main culprits last year. Maybe another solid arm in there is the best solution the Mets can find. There is a lot of talk of a corner outfielder, and even yesterday I thought this should’ve been the priority. I think Carlos Delgado changes that, Delgado has been playing pretty amazingly for a while now, and I don’t think it’s something he’s going to lose midseason. This Delgado is more true to form than the ones fans grew to hate in 2007 and earlier this year. If Delgado is hitting, then the offense is not as big a problem as it was, and couple that with the possibility that Church will be back soon, and the success Tatis and Endy have had filling in, we might be okay.
So my (un)professional opinion is to get a bullpen arm, and keep an eye out for a cheap outfielder too, even if it’s just someone that can get hot for a week or two, or just needs a change of scenery. Even if the bullpen arm doesn’t end up being great, it’ll distribute the work load and hopefully keep the best guys healthy and fresh for the stretch run.
Tags: 2008 mets, ace, bullpen, bullpen exhaustion, bullpen suckiness, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, John Maine, Trade Deadline, trading deadline
Who’s Feisty Now?
The Mets despite the turmoil they’ve faced so far, are right where they want to be; in sole possession of first place. The Phillies are on the outside looking in. If this season, and last, has taught us anything it’s that this isn’t over. There will be plenty more ups and downs after this series, maybe starting as soon as tomorrow. We don’t even know who is starting on Saturday, a game I’m looking forward to being at.
Speaking of Delgado, his hit had so many layers. The slide into third, the racing for third on the throw to begin with, looking frustrated at being thrown out despite delivering one of the biggest hits this season. That he took it the other way.
It’s far from over, but it feels good. How about the Phillies continuing to roll over? To win the first game of every series and not get another one is just pathetic. They’ve only scored one run off of Perez all season, that’s maddeningly awesome. That Rollins can’t even be bothered to show up on time? “Traffic” come on! (Does it matter? I think Bruntlett is doing better against the Mets than Rollins). I wonder if Rollins’ traffic looked something like this.
Ouch
(The included picture came up when I did a google image search for ‘baseball ouch’ How depressing is that?)
I’m so sick of Manuel. Not that his poor handling of the bullpen is any excuse for the poor performance of the bullpen, but you know what they say, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The last game before the Mets 10 game winning streak was a game in which Santana dominated the Phillies for eight innings and 95 pitches and was lifted by Manuel in the 9th only to have the lead, and the game, be blown. Last night he did the same thing, with a couple more pitches thrown, and a couple more runs as a cushion. However, he knew Wagner wasn’t available, and he instead went to a closer by committee, changing his mind three times in the inning. 
Hopefully Manuel hasn’t transported this team to the way it was before the winning streak; sandwiching it between (at least) two poorly managed games and shipping it off to 2006. If anything, this team has shown remarkable resilience for taking a devastating loss and coming back from it. The Phillies have also shown the remarkable ability to take any advantage they’re given and squander it, so we’ll see where the chips fall tonight.
Tags: bullpen mismanagement, closers, jerry manuel, Johan Santana, Mets, ouch
They’re Just Not That Good
Fear! Panic! Dismay! These are the feeling in Philadelphia today as the Phillies get read to play the Mets at Shea. Likely these feelings are mimicked in the visitors clubhouse.
The Phillies signed a new starting pitcher, and the Mets may lose one in Pedro Martinez. The Phillies are bringing back Brett Myers from his Trachselesque exile to AAA, and the Mets may have an injured closer. Yet the momentum and the good feels are all on the New York side of Jersey.
After a half-season where it seemed like everything that could go wrong for the Mets, did. The Phillies consequentially played well, fighting with the Marlins for the division lead while the Mets wallowed around .500 with the perennial rival Braves. Even a weekend that saw the Mets lose two out of three giving the Phillies a chance to enter this series with a lead has now gone the Mets favor; the Phillies also lost two out of three so the teams remain tied.
While the Phillies fans start remembering how much they disliked their team before the Mets handed them the division, the Mets fans are starting to remember how much they like this team. The second Reyes has replaced most thoughts of Ruben Gotay has step-in second baseman, Delgado is playing like it’s 2006 and Endy and Tatis have stepped up to man the outfield in the absence of Ryan Church and whoever the Mets theoretically sign to take over the left field role.
Since the Mets took the division by storm in 2006, the East has been theirs. They took it for granted, let it slip through their fingers, and watched a rival get Rockied in the 2007 playoffs. Now it’s time to step up, knock the crown from the Phillies undeserving heads, and run with it. This week is the week the Mets take the last dregs of Philly confidence, turn the Phillies away with their tails between their legs and down the Turnpike back to Philadelphia and 20000 losses.
Tags: 10000 losses, big series, fear, Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pitching
Runaway Train
10 in a row, and this was certainly a game you could’ve thought the Mets would lose when Santana proved to not be up to the task today and the bullpen was iffy. But the Mets kept battling, even in the top of the 9th, and came out on top. Good to see, good to win a game like that, but lets not make a habit of it. David Wright comes through with a clutch hit, a home run that if this was two weeks ago you would’ve been sure was going to be caught. This is probably a good question for metswalkoffs, but how it seems like David Wright has a crazy amount of walk-off or game-tying hits off of opposing closers. I guess it’s logical that these kinds of hits come off of closers, but I may start calling David Wright the Anti-Save anyway.
10! in a row and tied for first place. The Phillies get Joe Blanton and even if that made them feel better, that feeling barely lasted three hours. The Mets go for history Friday night, trying to tie the franchise record for wins in a row at 11. This team has made a complete 180 since about two weeks ago, and I cannot see a catalyst for it. Players just started playing well, pitchers started pitching, and instead of finding ways to lose, they’re finding ways to win. Maybe they just flat out ran out of ways to lose games?
Tags: 2008 mets, anti-save, David Wright, First Place, mets walkoffs, records, runaway train, winning streaks
No Baseball? Try This.
Tags: baseball sim, fantasy baseball, killer bunnies, sim, sim yard, simyard
All-Star Guide
I wrote a sort of guide to the All-Star game, of what to expect, which i’m pasting below. I also created a drinking game, if anyone is interested in that.
Tuesday is the Major League Baseball All-Star game. It’s being played this year in Yankee Stadium, in it’s final season before being knocked down. This is, quite understandably, going to create a feeling of nostalgia around the broadcasts and events involved in this game. From clips of past All-Star games at Yankee Stadium and other memorable moments to discussions about Yankees from Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, there is going to be a lot of talk about the Yankees and Yankee Stadium during these festivities.
Things to expect on Tuesday for the All-Star game
Players:
-I expect plenty of coverage of Goose Gossage, a Yankee who played in the 1977 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium and is being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
-Thurman Munson also played in that game, and is a much beloved Yankee that will get plenty of discussion.
-The other Yankees to play in the 1977 All-Star game; Reggie Jackson, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles and Willie Randolph will get some mention.
-It’ll be mentioned that Randolph managed the Mets and got fired, but other than that I’m sure it’ll be all Yankee references.
-Probably at least some discussion of the other Yankees to play in All-Star games at Yankee Stadium over the years.
-Especially on ESPN, Joe Morgan will talk about, or be talked about, since he was at the game in 1977. If we don’t see a clip of the home run he hit in the game, I’ll be shocked.
-I don’t expect a lot of talk about the Yankees citymates, the New York Mets. David Wright and Billy Wagner will get mentioned since they’re on the team, but even though this isn’t the only stadium closing in the city, not much will be made of the 1964 All-Star game at Shea Stadium. John Sterns was the only Met representative at the 1977 All-Star game, but Tom Seaver was also on the roster for the Reds before being traded back to the Mets, as was former Met Nolan Ryan.
Stadium:
-An overabundance of Yankee Stadium goodbyes. All sorts of people will be asked about their first and last moments in Yankee Stadium and what it means to them.
-Plenty of talk about when Yankee Stadium was built, about Babe Ruth’s career helping to make it what it is today.
-Repeated shots of Monument Park and all the plaques and statues enclosed within. Also discussions about how it’s going to be moved to the new stadium.
-Plenty of overhead shots of the new Yankee Stadium being build, and the comparisons and similarities between the two stadiums.
-I’d be shocked if they showed Shea Stadium at all. Despite there being another stadium in New York that housed plenty of baseball’s history as well as an All-Star game, it won’t get more than a passing mention. At best I’d expect a quick aerial shot of it and Citi Field, the Mets home from 2009 and beyond.
As for the game itself, I suspect it’ll be a fairly decent game this year. There are a great amount of young players on the rosters that are fun to watch, as well as some terrific pitchers. I think the National League will finally prevail this year, after failing in a close comeback last year and Trevor Hoffman blowing the save in 2006. This means Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will not get to close out the final All-Star game in Yankee Stadium for the American League, but he can still pitch the ninth inning if Terry Francona was inclined to do so.
Tags: All Star Game, All-Star break, drinking game, guide, Mets, yankee Stadium
This Team Is Good
Take a break and think about it for three days; The Mets are good. Mike Pelfrey is good.
They can now take three days really feeling this, knowing that destiny is in their own hands again, knowing they are better than the Phillies and just having to lose less games than them to win the division this year. They know that despite a collapse and a poor first half, they’re right where they need to be for the second half, having played as well as their competition despite struggling. They get that confidence back, and can take off in the second half without all the nagging questions and doubts.
It’s freaking unbelievable the way this team has been playing, it’s like they suddenly turned a switch and started working. I don’t know what happened, maybe it was just they finally stopped west coast trips, or maybe it’s the excitement of having a player like Pelfrey step up and the bench players, while not playing great, are playing well enough when they need to to cover the injuries and holes on this team at the moment.
Got some All-Star posts coming tomorrow.
Tags: all-star, All-Star break, destiny, Mets, playing great, rest, west coast trip
On Top of the World
A huge confidence booster to end the unofficial first half on this kind of note. Win or lose tomorrow, when they resume play on Thursday it’ll be with the knowledge that they can and will beat everyone.
The Mets now control their own destiny. They are zero losses behind for the lead, so if they win, they win. It’s a good place to be, and even if they were to fall back to one out, they can go into the break relaxed and confident.
For the first time probably all year, their was optimism and confidence in the stands at Shea while I was there. And the place was virtually packed too.
Tags: Confidence, destiny, Mets, optimism, relaxing, winning streaks
Prices for next year?
So I’m posting it here. While there is some disappointment involving rising prices of tickets, and really everything in life, most of Muschnick’s points don’t really translate well. (What do you expect? He’s writing for the New York Post) Here’s his article, and my response. Real brilliant ‘Citi Slickers’ headline too..