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Hang on to Those Towels

Have You Thrown in the Towel?

dont-throw-towel

It’s not far fetched, and I don’t blame him. It’s hard not to be frustrated and disgusted with the Mets the way they’re playing. There is blame on the field, in the dugout, within management and even with in the front office, all the way up. I’m not sure I’m even willing to excuse the ushers or ticket takers from the poor play of the Mets.

But it’s not over. If only it was. We all know how much 2003 sucked, but right now I think 2009 has sucked more. There was some hope in 2003. Shea Stadium shook in 2003, if only because Mo Vaughn was trying to make it to first base. You had Alomar who had been a great player; surely after a year of getting accustomed to New York, he’d return to form. You still had Piazza.

It became evident pretty fast that these guys weren’t going to get it done. It was a season probably very similar to how the Pirates fans think, of “Well, if this guy gets hot, gets good, figures it out.. then..maybe..” By mid-April, most fans realized that there was no point in getting invested in the season.

One of the bright spots of 2003 was getting to see our star prospect, Jose Reyes. A lot of 2009 hinges on the same idea. Right now it feels like they’re being overly cautious, not even testing the injury. On one hand this could mean he’s still not healthy, on the other it could mean he’s 100% healed and almost ready to go. He’s been swinging down in Florida so I hope this is the Mets way of getting his swing in shape while still resting the injury. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go, and soon.

The biggest reason I would say not to throw in the towel has to do with not being overly critical of our existing players. Despite the injuries, the Mets are in the top of the league in batting average, on base percentage. They’re getting guys on, they’re getting chances. The problem is what they do with those chances. Part of it is that they have Fernando Tatis, and lead the league in grounding into double plays. Part of it’s lineup management. If you have a lot of guys getting on, but not getting in, the lineup needs to be shaken up. Things like batting Luis Castillo and his high OBP 8th, where he’s more likely to be stranded due to the pitcher’s spot, inflate these numbers. Part of it may be the lack of power, and not being able to get as many runs out of one hit. Part of it may be the bunting, which gives away an out and a chance to have a big inning.

Another culprit has been the fundamentals. This has been a problem for most of the year, and why Jerry Manuel is not working harder at stressing it is beyond me. Especially when many of the errors seem to be of the mental kind, suggesting that the players aren’t in the right frame of mind in the field. It’s the manager’s job to get his players ready for the game. This doesn’t excuse them from making these mistakes, but it is a fault of the manager as well. When players are pressing, even in the first inning, something needs to be done. These guys need to relax. Especially David Wright who’s carrying the weight of all our expectations on his shoulders. Daniel Murphy is another who works so hard, that maybe it’s too hard.

This leads me to another thought, which is Jose Reyes in the clubhouse. Reyes, despite being a hard worker, is a very happy go lucky guy. Love it or hate it, he’s pretty much defined the atmosphere of the Mets clubhouse for years. I think the Mets miss that. His energy is something that’s missing with this team and hopefully when he comes back that energy is something he can rev people up with, get them confident and relaxed, and win some ballgames and maybe stop some of these mental errors.

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Battle for First

Could first place be around the corner?

mrmetphanatic

These current batch of Mets have been berated in the media and the blogs all week. “We can’t win like this” “These players aren’t very good.” Even the manager got into the act by asking for more offense and saying that it’d be tough to win with the current guys.

Despite all that, the Mets have now won two in a row, one with pitching and one with hitting. They will go into Philadelphia with a chance to take first place, sitting just one game behind the Phillies. (and the Marlins)

The Phillies aren’t playing great baseball either. In fact, the pitcher the Mets faced in Pittsburgh, Paul Maholm, has a better ERA than the Phillies ace Cole Hamels, and the two pitchers in the rotation the Mets are facing this weekend. The other pitcher, Rodrigo Lopez, is a journeyman pitcher who hasn’t pitched in the majors in two years. Lopez, coming off Tommy John surgery, signed with the Braves last year, pitching five innings in the minors, and was released at the end of the season. He’s nearly given up a home run a start in his career, which will go over well in that ballpark, and his best year came in Baltimore in 2002. He was 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA in the minors this year.

So the pitching landscape the Mets will face this weekend is not great. The lineup isn’t what it would be with Reyes, Delgado and Beltran in it, but most of these guys are still major leaguers, or prospects, and should be able to score some runs in a ballpark that lends itself to scoring runs.

The worry may be on the pitching side. Livan Hernandez has been pitching pretty well and hopefully he can keep the Phillies in the park. Fernando Nieve is basically an unknown, having had three excellent starts and one bad one. Has he been properly scouted now? Have the Phillies read the scouting reports? Or was last time just a blip, and he’ll bounce back with a good performance? Sunday is almost a must-win, with Santana on the mound. He’s a competitive guy, and nothing is more competitive than a competition for first place, against rivals, after a bad performance in his last outing. Expect good things from Santana on Sunday, which is also the halfway point in the season. Santana typically pitches well in the second half. A lot hinges on Livan tonight. The Phillies bats have been sleeping, and it would do us good not to wake them up.

Bad games, horrible losses, injuries, and bad managing in the first half can all be put aside this weekend. If the Mets play competitive baseball for these three days, the first half ends and the second half begins without any handicap or ground to make up. Beltran and Reyes may both be back before we know it, and it’d be an excellent situation to be in if they come back not to help the Mets play catchup, but to help the Mets put distance between them and whoever is in second come that point.

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I Do Not Prefer Rooting for Underdogs

Underdogs? This is really what you want?

underdog_cartoon

There was some talk around Mets fandom after Beltran went down that now the team is more likable, because they’re fighting underdogs. Sure the St. Louis series was fun, but since then we’ve gotten swept by the Yankees, and lost the first game to the Brewers. Is this really your idea of a good team to root for?

No, it’s not. I’ve long been discouraged by the idea that most Mets fans identify with the “lovable losers” idea. Ask Keith Hernandez what he thinks about lovable losers. No one can seriously tell me you like rooting for this team this way, given what we could have. This is not a “Let’s be competitive” year, this is a win it all year. Injuries are no excuse.

The same way some fans get on Wright or start talking about “Trading the core”, some tout the lovable losers line. The reasoning is usually the same: It’s a way to steel themselves for the disappointment they think is coming, again, at the end of the year. It’s one thing rooting for underrated players like those on the ’69 Mets that show up and suddenly lead the team to a championship, and it’s another to root for talented stars, like in ’86, that take no prisoners and play exciting baseball. Right now, this team is neither.

The Mets do need to find a way to win games the way they are currently setup. Whether that’s firing the underachieving manager for someone who will field the best people on the roster in the best order, (This means your high OBP guys, like Castillo, don’t bat 8th. Especially when in Castillo’s case he’s not a huge RBI guy. This means not having Argenis Reyes playing at all, especially at the top of a lineup where he’ll get the most AB of anyone. This means giving up on Tatis who occasionally hits the ball hard, but mostly grounds into out(s). This means playing Murphy regularly, playing Fernando Martinez regularly, playing Evans regularly. Maybe these guys are all busts, but the upside is so much better than Argenis or Tatis and has the added benefit of maybe giving Omar some focus on what position to look for a bat. If Murphy starts/continues hitting well when he’s playing, Omar can ignore first base and focus on the outfield. Or vice versa if Evans appears to be solid, or Fernando crosses the prospect->talent line.), making a big trade for a bat from outside the organization, or getting the current batch of unsuccessful players to work harder, take extra batting practice, watch more video, read more scouting reports and practice more fundamentals to get what we can from them.

And one last thing: Lovable Losers is more a Cubs thing than Sweet Caroline is a Red Sox thing. So is throwing home run balls back, which seems to have taken wind across baseball. As Keith says, “Don’t do it.”

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Subway Series at the Better of the Two New New York Ballparks

Yankees get their first taste of the better stadium in New York.

subwayseries2009

The Subway Series part two, at Citi Field, takes place this weekend. The Yankees won’t be able to get many cheap pop-fly home runs here. Most of them will have to be earned, and while the Mets don’t have the best pitchers going, I suspect the Yankees will be kept in the park anyway.

The Yankees come into this series having won a series, but having struggled since the last Subway Series match-up. Andy Pettitte was removed from Thursdays game early, and the Yankees needed to use their bullpen, including Mariano Rivera, for 4.1 innings. This needs to be the focus of attack for the Mets. C.C. Sabathia has been exploitable when he goes deep into games, but if they can get him out semi-early, they can get into an already taxed bullpen that’s not very good to begin with.

In fact, the Yankees bullpen in 2009 seems awfully like the Mets bullpen of 2008, and we all know how that ended. The Yankees of 2009 also struggled to beat the Marlins and the Nationals, something that was part of both Mets collapses. So was poor play against a rival in 2007, much as the Yankees have yet to beat the Red Sox this year.

The Mets lineup is depleted, while the Yankees are mostly healthy. It’s not a full strength match-up, but it’s still one the Mets can win. The Yankees pitching can be exploited, their home runs will be down playing in a fair park, and the Mets have actually been hitting the ball lately.

A lot of this depends on the lineups. The Yankees have to juggle outfielders, worry about having no DH, and worry who to play where. The Mets need to keep Fernando Tatis on the bench, start Evans in left, Murphy at first, and probably Jeremy Reed over Fernando Martinez, who has looked mostly over matched at the Major League level so far. I have a feeling he’ll have a good series, if he plays, but right now I think Reed can provide some defense and maybe a hit here or there, and maybe Sheffield will be healthy enough to play a game or two, or at least get some key pinch hits off the bench late.

There is also scoreboard watching fun going on this weekend. The Phillies, who are a half game ahead of the Mets, play the Blue Jays, who are one game behind the Yankees. Additionally the Rays, who are two games behind the Yankees, play the Marlins, who are a half game behind the Mets. The Yankees could be anywhere from second to fourth following this series, and the Mets could be anywhere from first to third. It’s a volatile series, and it should be fun to watch.

The inevitable new park comparisons will come into play, especially Sunday Night on ESPN. I don’t think there is much to discuss. Citi Field wins hands down. Besides having better, readily available food and cheaper, higher quality beer, it’s just a prettier ballpark. Yankee Stadium has it’s perks, but most of them are away from the field of play. The Mets have some work to do with getting some more history into the place. I loved the MVP wall that featured images of all the MVP winners for the Yankees, and I love seeing all the scenes from different years of play above the concessions and around the concourse. However, that’s only about 2-4% of the trip to the ballpark, and once you get to your seat, you might as well be sitting in the same Yankee Stadium from 1923, 1953, or 1983. I’m sure some Yankee fans will be making their first trip to Citi Field this weekend, and I hope they’re not too disappointed when they see the Mets have a better stadium, a better team, and a better fan base.

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Underdogs? No way!

Underdogs? No way!

Beltran wants us to be in first place when he gets back, and I agree.

From 062209_Cardinals

I went out and supported the team last night, at Citi Field, in section 520 of the Promenade. I haven’t been in a couple of weeks, and it felt like returning home. This is after a trip to Yankee Stadium, which I’ll write about later, but I’m confident now to say that this is the best stadium in New York. And that’s without a Seaver statue. I’ve heard a cool idea about naming the area just in front of the bridge and above the bullpen The Piazza, which I think is a cool idea. Although, I think it might be a better name for the food court area on the Promenade behind home plate. After all, wouldn’t you look for Piazza behind home plate, not out in the bullpen?

It was a great bounce back win yesterday, after a flurry of roster moves including Carlos Beltran to the DL. This means that Wright and Castillo are the only two regulars who have not spent time on the disabled list. Daniel Murphy as well, but he hasn’t seen regular time through May, so it’s hard to count him. However, that’s the key. If Daniel Murphy is a regular player, and he’s starting to show that maybe he is, things may not be as grim as they seem. Ryan Church has been doing well since returning. Brian Schneider hasn’t been his pre-injury disasterous April self, and while he’s not Piazza and Manuel still likes Santos over him, it’s a good thing to see him getting big hits. Santos is avoiding the inevitable drop off you’d expect from a career minor league.

The only blight right now might be Tatis. He’s getting way too much playing time for playing so badly. He’s grounding into double plays at an alarming rate, and he had no place batting cleanup last night, or pinch hitting for Murphy Sunday night. Keith Hernandez has been pointing out how messed up his swing is from last year for weeks. Give him a rest, and lets get Evans some outfield starts. He was starting to hit in the minors, and he has some power. I know he’s as right-handed as Sheffield, but he could be a good solution to who to play when you rest Sheffield, who needs a lot of rest to contribute much to this team.

So, are the Mets underdogs? I say no. The Phillies are having injury problems as well, and they weren’t as good a team to begin with. So instead of trying to tread water, not lose ground, and hope everyone comes back healthy, I say go out there and ride the guys that are hot, and take back this division. Maybe Santos will drop off, maybe Murphy won’t hit .300, but they’re hitting now, and there is no reason we can’t win now. Especially if Nieve is serious about being good. Redding drops some decent games on us, Livan seems to be acceptable. Santana is Santana, and hopefully Pelfrey is just having a blip in his early career. There is hope for Perez and Maine coming back, and there is always Niese in the wings. The bullpen is still excellent, as long as Manuel recognizes the need for rest, and Parnell can make the proper adjustments. It seems like he can, Parnell really does look like a serious player. He probably could use some days off, as could Feliciano, but I have confidence in those guys if they don’t get burnt out.

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Subway Series greets the new Yankee Stadium

Welcome to the first Subway Series at the House That Ruth Cursed. The Mets get their first shot at the crosstown new Yankee Stadium, but sadly it’s without Delgado.carlosdelgado_homerun_005

The leftfield situation with the place has been very favorable to lefty pull hitters, like Delgado. Given the stadium, I can’t see any reason the Mets lefties shouldn’t start in all three games. Church and Murphy especially. I think Schneider should get at least two of the starts, and you probably want to give Fernando Martinez a shot at his first major league home run.

On the flip side, you want to be careful how you pitch to batters here. Certain batters are getting home runs on check swings so caution is tantamount. I have more faith in the Mets’ pitchers than the Yankees’ so hopefully all will go well even if Fernando (that’s Fernando number three if you were counting) Nieve will be pitching in the series.

Imagine how Babe Ruth’s ghost feels watching the Yankees knock down his house, and then building a place where he could probably hit a home run while sitting down. There is only one major league stadium still standing where Ruth played a major league game, so it’s no surprise the Red Sox have been having success lately. I’ve been wondering if the Mets will have more wins at Fenway Park this year than the Yankees. It seems likely.

The Yankees have been better lately, Red Sox series aside. Are they a better team? I don’t think so. Their pitching is suspect. Pettitte has been having poor second halves as he wears down, Burnett is doing is Pavano imitation, Wang has still not returned from the injury to what he was, and Joba has been merely average. They’ve reinforced their bullpen with starting prospects, but it still reminds me a bit of the 2008 Mets bullpen, and we all know how that turned out. Hopefully they can play a solid series and get out of their with at least two out of three.

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Start Daniel Murphy

The Murphy/Tatis platoon perplexes me. It’s not just because Murphy already looks to be a better defensive first baseman, although that does help. It seems Tatis hasn’t been solid defensively anywhere he’s played this year. He’s not a liability, but he’s not good either. Sometimes you have to look at the upside.daniel_murphy

The best case scenario for Tatis is that he’s a solid guy off the bench, and can spot start at first or in the outfield a couple of times and contribute offensively. The best case for Murphy is that he develops into a solid major leaguer and is your everyday first baseman for the future. Depending on how good that best case is, that future could easily be 15 years.

For a team that could use some more offense, shouldn’t we find out what Murphy’s got as an everyday player? He platooned most of the time last year as well. Maybe it’s time for him to be put out there for 10 games and see what he looks like everyday. Some lineup consistency couldn’t hurt.

In my fire Manuel rants I’ve suggested that Manuel sets up his players to fail. Here’s another test: Manuel says Murphy will start one of these two games against the Phillies. Tonight is the lefty Cole Hamels who is a pretty good pitcher. Thursday is the lefty Jamie Moyer who hasn’t had a good year and lefties are able to hit. I would start Murphy both games, but if Manuel’s going to choose one the obvious choice is Moyer. Tatis had a good game last night, and it wouldn’t hurt to try to ride out that success by starting him again today. Murphy would be better suited to hit Moyer than Hamels. The only downside is that Murphy is a better defender for the ground balls of Pelfrey tonight, versus Redding tomorrow. Let’s see what Manuel does, but starting Murphy against Hamels and then claiming he can’t hit lefties if he doesn’t hit one of the better ones is not fair.

Sidebar: I didn’t see a lot of Phillies fans on television. No surprise there, they’ve never traveled here as well as we’ve traveled there. The ones that do only come to cause trouble. I noticed this at the last series, and I’ve heard stuff from last night as well. The Phillies fans come in bearing 2008 flags that they like to wave around and be obnoxious with. Luckily there is always a drunk Mets fan somewhere that will run in and grab it. I saw this happen in the Pepsi Porch in May, and I saw reports of it last night as well.

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5-1 against the Phillies and Yankees

Three games against the Phillies start tonight. It’s actually a big New York baseball week, as the Yankees are playing the Red Sox this week as well, and then they meet in the Bronx for the first Subway Series at the new Yankee Stadium. It’s actually a shame Delgado’s going to miss it. He had nine RBI at the place last year, and this year with the rate balls fly out of right field, I figured he’d be able to double his home run total for the year this weekend.

We’ll have to settle for Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy knocking a couple out. Fernando Martinez, if he doesn’t connect with one off the crappy Phillies pitching, will have a good shot there. But before the Mets get to the Bronx, they host the Phillies, who they are 3-1 against so far. Metsblog ran a poll, and the pessimists got their voice heard with 2-4 being the expected outcome over the next six, with 4-2 the runner up. Personally, I’m thinking 5-1. I know this is overly optimistic given the injuries, but I really think the Mets match up well against these two teams.

All four times they’ve faced the Phillies the Mets have looked liked the better team. Everyone knows that the Phillies strength is offense. Good pitching generally beats good hitting, and I’m confident in Santana, and in Pelfrey having a bounce back start. Pelfrey is also more of a ground ball pitcher, which should help against the power numbers of Philadelphia, as will Citi Field. The big question mark is Redding, who has had some good starts, and some bad ones. Supposedly he pitches pretty well against the Phillies, but I don’t know how much stock to take in that. Maybe pitching in Citi Field will help him. On the other hand, the Phillies aren’t good at pitching. The Mets have hit Happ well, have hit Hamels, and everyone seems to have hit Moyer this year. Their bullpen has been better, but it’s still not great and Lidge has looked awful.

It’s hard to predict a sweep, because anything can happen in baseball. I’d be shocked if the Phillies were to win this series. Then they’ve got a tough opponent in the Red Sox, who I don’t expect them to beat either.

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What’s Up (Mets) Doc?

Questions for the Mets medical staff
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I find new reasons to want to Fire Manuel every day, but I’m starting to think there may be issues with the medical staff. Putz concerns me; Did the Mariners let him go because they were worried about his health? This isn’t as grievous a mistake as Mo Vaughn, but if there were/is issues with J.J. Putz’s health, this probably should’ve sent up a red flag. If anything, we probably could’ve given up less. Another weird decision to look at is way back when they decided to alter Jose Reyes’ running stride. Just a horrible decision all around, and luckily there is some leadership somewhere that corrects these mistakes.

Another place to look would be the outfield. Whether bad luck, or bad scouting, the Mets have had a ton of outfield injuries the last few years. In reverse order.

Angel Pagan
Ryan Church
Angel Pagan
Marlon Anderson
Ryan Church
Trot Nixon
Moises Alou
Ryan Church
Marlon Anderson
Moises Alou
Angel Pagan
Moises Alou
Carlos Beltran
Carlos Gomez
Endy Chavez
Shawn Green
Moises Alou

There are a lot of repeat names. Some are excusable. This isn’t including the minor league injuries that caused the Mets to call up not their 4th or 5th OF, but their 6th or 7th. Lastings Milledge was hurt, Ben Johnson was hurt. Fernando Martinez. None made it to the major league disabled list because they were injured in the minors.

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The Next Two Weeks

These are two big weeks coming up. I would like to see the Mets with a couple of games lead in the division by the time it’s over, even with the injuries. While the Mets play seven games against Pittsburgh and the Nationals, the Phillies play the Padres who have been good again, and then four against the Dodgers. The Braves also have a tough stretch, against the Cubs and the Brewers.

The following week the Phillies return to Citi Field where they haven’t won a game. The Mets face the Phillies and Yankees that week, two teams that have some offense, but struggle in the pitching department. These are teams that a good pitching team like the Mets should beat. The Phillies get three against the Red Sox while the Mets do the Subway Series thing.

So these next two weeks are a great time for the Mets to start putting distance between themselves and the rest of the division. Let the Phillies start looking over their shoulder at the Braves instead.

Oliver Perez already had a setback in his recovery to replace the struggling Redding, but if Jose Reyes gets back on target on Friday, and this stomach bug moves along, this team should be ready to go.

Angel Pagan getting injured yesterday wasn’t great news. Yet another outfielder hurt, which has been a theme the past three years. However Pagan doesn’t make or break this team. Given all the injuries, if his MRI today doesn’t say he’ll be back tomorrow, you have to DL him and replace him on the roster. My vote would be for Nick Evans. I know he’s been struggling in the minors, but he played well last year, and in Spring Training. Maybe the boost of being on a major league team is what he needs. While still facing a team like the Pirates that’s basically AAA anyway. Corey Sullivan or Bobby Kielty are both acceptable guys in my eyes too.