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Simple Changes Omar Minaya Needs to Make to the Mets

The Mets are a good team.  They’ve got a lot of good players, lots of character, and have a real chance at going far this season.  However, they could be better. There are some very simple things Omar Minaya can do that will make the Mets a better team.

Fixing Oliver Perez is one of the most popular discussions these days.  This one obviously isn’t as black and white.  Where has his velocity gone for instance?  Oliver Perez, unlike most pitchers, is a guy that need some guidance and oversight.  Manuel and Warthen seem to be two of the worst guys to provide this, choosing instead to give up on him rather then try to help.  Maybe they don’t know what to do, which would actually be worse.  Regardless, Oliver Perez has the talent to be a good pitcher.  Someone needs to grow a brain and figure out how to proceed in this regard.   There have been signs, even this year, that he can be very solid..

Replace Frank Catalanotto on the roster.  Even though his failure is over a very small sample size, his upside isn’t exactly that of a superb pinch hitter.  Failure is still failure, and there are dozens of decent replacements to his position on the roster.  Right now he almost never plays the field anyway, so you don’t even need an awesome defender to replace him.  Nick Evans, Chris Carter, Mike Hessman all seem like suitable replacements.

Gary Matthews Junior.  He’s had more at bats than Frank, and has gotten more than a fair chances worth of starts to prove that he can be worthwhile.  He’s failed at just about every opportunity.  It’s a shame Manuel ever chose to start him over Pagan, who’s hit right around .300 for his Mets career.  The major reason cited for keeping him is that he can play center field.  (Besides the somewhat undefinable ‘experience’ factor that Manuel always throws out there)  Pagan is just fine, so do we really need to have a legitimate center fielder to  back him up?  If so, you’ve got guys like Jason Pridie and Jesus Feliciano in the minors.  If not, then just go with Pagan full time and on the rare day he gets a day off, both Frenchy and Bay know what to do in center field for one game, even if it’s not ideal defensively.  This opens up the possibility to any corner outfielder as a backup.

Jenrry Mejia.  I’ve been semi-supportive of the idea to keep him up in the majors if he can help the team win.  However, he’s struggled at times and it only seems to  be hurting his development of his other pitches.  The bullpen has been pretty good, and since starting pitchers are so much more valuable, it’s time to send Mejia back down to the minors to work on being that starting pitcher.

Fernando Tatis is another player that doesn’t seem to have much value.   His best value is his ability to play multiple positions adequately, but the Mets aren’t in any great need in that regard.  Bay and Francoeur play basically all the time, as does David Wright.  Cora’s got 2B.  Ike Davis could probably do with a day or two off occasionally if he hits an extended rough patch, but the Mets have plenty of adequate 1B guys that can fill Tatis’ role better than him.  When Daniel Murphy is fully healed I think he’d be a much better guy to play the role.  He’s younger, has much power, and is a better defender.  He’s got no real spot to play on this team, and right now doesn’t have a ton of value.  If he could be a super-utility guy on this team, the Mets could probably get something of value for him in the off season.  No one else even wanted Tatis last off season, so he basically has zero value on or off this team.

Fire Jerry Manuel, Dan Warthen, and Howard Johnson.  It’s hard for fans, especially on the outside, to evaluate what role these types of guys have.  It’s pretty obvious Manuel does not know how to handle a  baseball team, from wearing out bullpens, to giving up outs while down runs late in games, to playing guys out of position.  He seems to undermine his players to the media, and always seems to show no faith or confidence in his players that need it, excepting washed up veterans who he plays way too much for some reason.  It’s not an easy situation replacing a manager and finding a suitable replacement.  They screwed it up last time they went through this, and they’re still paying for it, but it’s something that could definitely help this team.

Dan Warthen and Howard Johnson may be easier.  They each seem to have had some marginal success with some players, but for the most part the bullpen and starters have underperformed under Warthen, and excepting Pagan and Francoeur, no player has really hit their career numbers or better with Johnson.  It may be time for a fresh perspective on all this, and there is no time like the present.

Not all of these need to be done.  There are different solutions to the problems I’ve presented, and some of the problems might not be as dire as they seem to me.  However, all good teams make adjustments to the roster, and the Mets have reached the point where it’s time to cull some dead weight, and give some new guys a chance.  Hopefully Omar is already discussing which moves he should make for the upcoming games.

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Wise Moves at Shea

It’s not 2007.

This team isn’t as doomed as you think it is.

Putting aside the fans, the FAN and the media’s ultimatum about a 5-2 homestand aside, and actually look at how they’ve been playing. The offense is rolling. They’ve gotten more than 10 hits in five of the last six games. They’ve scored 12, 12, 1, 8, 4 and 6 runs in the last six games, which is very respectable. The bullpen has actually pitched pretty well (Sosa isn’t part of the bullpen btw), and the starters have been very good too (Figueroa isn’t a starter). If you could look at this season, or this stretch of games, or even this last game, without also looking at 2007, you’d realize things aren’t as dire as they seem.

The Mets have to beat up on bad teams was one of the teams today. Well let’s look at the bad teams, specifically the ones in the division, because that’s who they play the most. They are 5-2 against the Washington Nationals. Looks good. They are 2-1 against the Marlins. Limited sample, but the Marlins are playing well too. They are 2-3 against the Braves, which is the only team they’re under .500 against in the division, and it’s only one game, with only about 25% of the series. They are 4-2 against the Phillies, which is probably right where you’d want them to be. Overall that’s 13-8 against the division, where the games matter the most.

The Mets made Wise moves today (I know, bad pun) in keeping Smith with the team and not bowing down to options or guaranteed money. Sosa, who was pitching like Mota, was designated for assignment, as was Figueroa who at least has a shot at coming back if he goes to New Orleans. Likely Sosa, baring a Mota type steroid shot to the arm, will continue to suck in the minors or get claimed and suck for someone else. Claudio Vargas will pitch for the Mets tomorrow, and I’ll be in attendance. He did win 11 games last year, so hopefully he can find those wins here with the Mets this year. It’s tough, but you’d still like to see the Mets go 4-1 against these mediocre teams. If they don’t, winning three of four from the Braves afterwards would certainly make up for it.

Nothing is set in stone yet. You certainly don’t think the Rays will still be in first place with the best record in the American League (And the best record in the majors if the Diamondbacks lose tonight) at the end of the year do you?

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The Three Cs

Surely if you’re reading this you’re only doing so to see how I’m possibly going to be optimistic at a time like this. There is a lot to be down on lately with the Mets and I am, and surely you are too, sick of hearing about it.

No baseball today, unless you count finding out if the Yankees are going to welcome in the Mets at .500, or on a nine game winning streak. Either way, I’m predicting they are going to be no better than .500 on Monday.

The Mets are obviously not as bad as they’ve been playing. You can complain about individual pieces and problems, but every team always has something that’s not going right. The problem is that they all were happening at once. It doesn’t matter where Lo Duca hits in the lineup, as no one’s driving in runs from anywhere.

Obviously the Mets aren’t going to lose nine of ten for the rest of the season. The important thing is that they’re still in first place. They’ve lost maybe two games in the standings during this streak. Atlanta has struggled too, they couldn’t even catch a cold. Obviously Philadelphia wasn’t going to be eliminated after a bad first two weeks, but they haven’t caught us either, despite the sweep. I don’t think they’re anything to be worried about either. The Mets will visit them at the end of the month, playing better baseball and thirsty for revenge after last week.

There is no reason to panic, or declare the season over. Although declaring the season over right now would put us in the playoffs. The Mets are going to play good baseball again. If they started doing that on Friday, they’d again be padding the lead, not trying to play catch up.

The Mets didn’t have a streak like this last year, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for these guys. Last year they cruised, and they lost in the playoffs. The Mets are now feeling the pains of losing, they’re learning that despite being the team to beat in the NL East, they can’t take it for granted. They need to take that message to heart, and go out there with fire and passion to win in each game. They don’t look happy right now, and that’s good. They’re not enjoying the losing streak, and they know the media frenzy that’s going to take place this weekend. Maybe being back to being treated as second-class citizens, and the second best team will spark the fire that they need.

Sometimes losing can teach a team a lot, and when they learn their lesson, they will be able to win that much more effectively. I see good things for this weekend, remember the three Cs. Clobber Clemens and Clippard.

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Subway Momentum

332-332. The all-time series against the Cubs is now officially tied. It wasn’t looking like that heading into the bottom of the 9th, the Mets down 5-1 and the Cubs closer Ryan Dempster on the mound. And as anyone reading this certainly knows already, a couple of hits some walks and another couple of hits gets the Mets the walk-off 6-5 win on a Carlos Delgado single past the second baseman.

A terrific way to steal one, as Delgado put it later, and some great momentum leading into a crazy Yankee series and then the opportunity to beat up on the Braves. The Yankees on the other hand seem to be coming in under the train instead of driving it. Anyone that’s been watching these games would have to be silly to think the Yankees are going to win this weekend. Now anything can happen, and this is probably the first time the Yankees are coming to Shea where they’re actually underdogs. They could lose two of three and really all people could say is they lost to a better team. The Yankees don’t even know who’s going to pitch for them on Sunday. Actually I just heard they’re pitching Tyler Clippard, 22, who is 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA for AAA Scranton.

It was a great game to be present for, and a great start to four consecutive visits to Shea, as I’ll be in attendance for all three subway series games. I’m 3-4 at Shea this year so far, 4-4 for home teams including my visit to Dolphin Stadium. This was one of the best of the season. I was at Opening Day which was great too, but the come from behind walk-offs are something special. The Mets basically conceded the game before it started, Jason Vargas making his first start, and the Mets rested everyone but Delgado and Green. It didn’t matter, Vargas didn’t pitch that badly except for one inning and I think he should get another start, and Gotay came through in a big spot twice, as well as some other players getting some key hits for a big win. It’s wins like this that are the difference between a good 92-94 win team and a great 97-100+ win team.

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Cone Heads! (well not quite)

So as I’m sure you’re all aware, the Mets all shaved their heads last night.
Well not all, and what’s your excuse Aaron Heilman?

Then they came out and battered Matt Cain quickly, in what seemed like five minutes they scored three runs, and then a fourth. Sure you’d like them to have added some more, but they secured the win, a 3-run handicap was plenty for Glavine who himself secured career win number 294, and I’ve actively started considering being there for 300. Runs in the first inning, a vintage 2006 win. Sometime soon we’re going to see the Reyes single followed by a quick Wright home-run. 2-0 with the other team thinking, “Wait, we started the game already?”

I love that these Mets love to play together, and can get behind some team bonding activities. It’s a friendly activity that keeps everyone friendly and happy. Being part of the team is important, it helps you shake off tough losses, struggle through slumps, and just plain learn from the experiences of the other 24 guys. It’s one of those invaluable traits of the 2007 Mets that few people take into account when making predictions and projections.

The Mets are still looking to “click on all cylinders” and I think this was one of their ways of trying to get in sync. Still, the Mets have a 20-12 record, and are tied for first place. Atlanta’s just barely hanging on, despite beating the Mets four of six. What will happen when the Mets do click? I expect one day we’re going to wake up to find the Mets comfortably in first, and the Brave fans quietly calculating Wild Card standings.

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Minimizing the damage while slumping

Apr 30, 2007 11:19 AM

Teams slump. This is a known fact; the season is 162 games long and no one stays hot for that entire time. Some immortals come close, but as a team it’s hard to always string together hits, always pitch well and always play well. They’re only human after all.

Good teams still win. The Mets are a good team, and despite the lackluster hitting this weekend they won two out of three. Obviously the Washington Nationals aren’t the cream of the crop, but they’re still professionals. They’re still going to win at least 50 times this year. Saturday night, even down 2-1 in the ninth against a closer that has previous been great against them, they managed to scratch out a run to tie it. Even after Moises Alou erased David Wright by grounding into a double play; a rally killer if I ever saw one, and with Cordero only needing one out to seal the deal, the Mets get that run across. Once they pushed it to extra innings, even being on the road you just had the feeling that the Mets weren’t letting this game get away. They didn’t, they put up the best offense of the whole series in that 12th inning to win 6-2, with Billy Wagner closing it out, probably silently wishing they could’ve scored one less so he could have a save.

The Mets helped him out the next day, or more precisely, John Maine helped him out by keeping the Nationals from scoring. A brilliant performance by Maine highlights what just may be the most reassuring part of the Mets this season. Everyone that thinks, or thought the Mets weren’t going as far this year as last cited the starting pitching as the reason. John Maine is putting them to shame with the way he is pitching, and putting Baltimore to shame too, for letting him get away.

The baseball season is a grind, and what makes champions is being able to minimize the damage when you’re down, and capitalize when you’re up. So far this year the Mets seem to be doing that. Despite the minuses from this weekend, namely Jose Valentin, Aaron Heilman and Orlando Hernandez, the Mets showed me plenty to be optimistic about.