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More Pressure For a Quick Start

ike davisIt’s not just Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya that have to worry about fast starts to the season or their jobs being in jeopardy.  The same case could be made for Jeff Francoeur,perez Daniel Murphy, and Rod Barajas.  The way Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, and Josh Thole have been playing in a way this spring that makes you suspect they’ll be knocking at the door to Citi Field sooner rather than later.

With Reyes possibly being out some, or all, of April the pressure on the starting pitching has just doubled.  The most recent report on April suggests that he may be back closer to mid April, but that’s still a rough estimate.

We’ve known for a while that the season was going to hinge on the starting pitching.  The offense was projected to be one of the top in the league, and surely would’ve won some games on it’s own even when the pitching struggled.  With Reyes and Beltran out, they may not have that cushion for a while, but this doesn’t mean the Mets are doomed to a 9-13 type record to start the season.

The fast start is more important than ever, and if Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey can have a good month of April the Mets will still win games.  We all know they’re each capable of pitching good games.  It was expected before the season that they could definitely pitch competitively and keep us in games, but now they may be pressured to actually win the games.  Instead of quality start performances and limiting the opponents to three runs over six innings, stepping up and going seven innings and occasionally limiting the other teams to merely one or two runs becomes important to the Mets early success.

This isn’t to say the Mets lineup is useless, and that they won’t occasionally put up a crooked number, but Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are two of the most irreplaceable players in the game today.  The season is never won and lost in April, but if the pitching can step up and win more games than they lose, not only will it minimize the damage caused by losing Reyes and Beltran, it will set them up nicely once they return.

This post, and vibrant discussion about it, also featured on The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

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Aftershocks of the 2009 Mets Season

aftershockThe 2009 season for the Mets was a disaster.  After careful review, it appears that the specific type of disaster was earthquake.  Even after the disastrous season ended we’ve been hit with aftershocks.  Aftershocks are known as smaller earthquakes that follow after the original quake, not to be confused with the alcohol beverage that was needed for us fans to get through the season.  They can still be dangerous, but generally get smaller and farther apart as time goes on.

Carlos Beltran’s scoped knee surgery was the first aftershock of the 2009 disaster.  While final damage totals are not yet in for this one, it’s expected he’ll miss up to a month of real time.  The last report I heard suggested that he’d be cleared to resume baseball activities right around the time the Mets head north for Opening Day.

The Jose Reyes Thyroid aftershock hit last week, when blood work revealed that Reyes has an overactive thyroid.  The results and treatment for this are still being determined, but many opinions suggest that it shouldn’t be a big deal and he can get back to playing soon.  This smaller aftershock was still upsetting, but it seems like it won’t be one that did much damage.

Other smaller aftershocks have occurred throughout Spring Training for the Mets.  Francisco Rodriguez came down with pink eye, pinkeyebut didn’t become a zombie.  Fernando Tatis is batting some knee issues, and Nick Evans strained his forearm.  Neither is considered serious and Frankie is back and pitching again.

The big thing to remember here is it’s not 2009 anymore.  You can check the calendar if you don’t believe me.  Every tweak or setback or injury is not indicative of disaster, and the bad luck that plagued the Mets in 2009 was just that; bad luck.  The way Reyes did not adequately recover from his hamstring injuries has nothing to do with what his thyroid may or may not be doing right now, and the bone bruise that Beltran had does not relate to his recovery from having his knee scoped in the off season.  Right now we’re still in limbo waiting on how Reyes will be treated by doctors and when he’ll get back down to Florida to continue Spring Training, but once he does everything will be alright.  Soon it will be time for baseball to count, and we can start obsessing over wins and losses and pitching performances and home run totals instead of thyroid levels and pink eye symptoms.

Visit The Real Dirty Mets Blog for lively discussion on this, and other, Mets topics.

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The Anti-Mets

Many Mets fans would fall into a more doom and gloom mindset than a positive one.  Whether that’s because of persistent disappointment, a “younger-brother” mentality associated with the Yankees, the attitude of talk radio hosts, or something else, Mets fans tend to approach the team waiting for the other shoe to drop and the team to fail.

From Baseball

As the self-proclaimed Optimistic Mets Fan, I tend not to take this approach anyway, but I’ve found that this rule is not true across the board.  Oddly enough, there are two Mets players that never fail to bring out smiles and optimism; Johan Santana and Jose Reyes.

From Baseball

These two Anti-Mets, more than any other player, bring out positive vibes from Mets fans.  Carlos Beltran, despite being very clutch, has the cloud of his strike out against the Cardinals in the 2006 playoffs.  David Wright has been considered almost un-clutch by many fans.

Even if it’s not true, when David Wright comes up with a runner on third, many are expecting a strkeout.  When Oliver Perez lets up a leadoff double, most fans expect him to walk two following that.  Jason Bay hasn’t even played a game yet and you just know many fans are already expecting every opposing runner to score from second on a single to left field.

Reyes is different.  When Reyes gets on to lead off an inning, Mets fans give him second base like it’s a foregone conclusion.  They expect him to score on any ball hit to the outfield.  They expect opposing pitchers to get nervous and possibly balk in runs.

It’s similar for Johan Santana.  If it’s an Oliver Perez start, fans are betting the over/under on how many walks he gives up.  Or how many foul balls John Maine has.  If it’s a close game in the 6th or 7th inning and Pelfrey is pitching and lets up a leadoff single, Mets fans think “Here we go again.”  If Santana lets up that same leadoff single even many of the pessimistic fans are just thinking about double plays and are recalculating how many pitches it’ll now take to get the next three guys out to see if Santana can pitch another inning afterwards.

This is the true meaning of the phrase, “As Reyes goes, so do the Mets.”  Mets fans expect winning results from Reyes and when they get it they feel the Mets will win.  Johan is such a fierce competitor that as fans we’re surprised when the opponents’ bats don’t literally explode under his gaze.  It doesn’t matter that the Mets have never pitched a no-hitter; when Johan strikes out the leadoff batter, the first thing we think of is “26 to go.”

This post is also visible at The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

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What I Expect From The Mets This Offseason

I listened to most of the interview with Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon yesterday on WFAN. I wish it had been with someone other than Mike Francesa who is very biased, and very amateurish, when it comes to the Mets. However Francesa is the guy that gets the ‘big’ guests due to reputation and seniority, so we have to deal with it. Here is a list of things I expect from the Mets going forward. Also a list of things Francesa should’ve asked. (He may have asked them at one point and I missed it, but not in the first hour.)

From 100409_Astros

I expect the Mets to be big players in the quest for a big power bat. Probably in left field, unless a doable trade comes along for a guy like Adrian Gonzalez, which seems unlikely. Matt Holliday seems to be the best choice, hopefully he doesn’t stay with the Cardinals.

They’re committed to spending on what they feel will improve the team to make it competitive next year. This is the most important piece of news. They made no mention of a budget, a cap on spending, or any number. This doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but it also suggests they are flexible to get the job done.

They’ve already been discussing and planning, but obviously until teams and players exercise options after the World Series, you can’t know what’s going to be available for sure.

“You’re lowering ticket prices for season ticket holders. Will those ticket prices come down for game day sales? Will there be less gold level games as was reported?” The Mets have not offered season ticket holders a percent discount for buying all 81 games in the past. To me, this suggests that Ceaser Club Bronze, and Metropolitan/Baseline Box seats will be cheaper. These are the two areas they mentioned, and are probably the most overprice in terms of the cost to quality ratio.

They intend to add more Mets stuff to Citi Field. More memorabilia, a Hall of Fame, and naming stuff after prominent Mets.

Medically they’ve adjusted how they’re going to get information, and how they’re going to release it. Their excuses were a little bit weak, but as long as they’re aware that that was the problem. It was true that they listened to the Dodgers (or was it the Giants?) doctor when Reyes hurt himself on the road trip. I remembered commenting on it, wondering why the Mets were letting the opposing team decide whether their shortstop was ready to play. The problem was in the decision making in that they were soft on the severity of the injury, figuring that Reyes would be okay to play soon, and that taking him out of the lineup for a cross country flight to New York wasn’t needed.

Another question Francesa didn’t ask, or didn’t ask for clarification on: “I just heard Reyes is having the surgery. Will he be ready for Opening Day, 100%? Will he be full strength, full speed?” Instead, Francesa praised the doctors and the hospital, and went on to ask about other things.

It gives me faith that at least Omar knows what needs to be done. I just hope he’s aware of the little things that need to be done and not overlooked. I like Cora, but am not necessarily sold on him being the answer. I think it might make more sense to have power off the bench. The Mets don’t need to build a 300 home run team, I think they just need the threat of power to help scare pitchers a little bit.

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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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What’s Up (Mets) Doc?

Questions for the Mets medical staff
stethoscope
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.

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Fire Jerry Manuel

I’ve suspected Manuel was the wrong guy for the job since the day he was hired. I kept hoping I was wrong, but he keeps proving me right.

You can’t excuse the mistakes the players make, but it’s on the manager to teach his team and form a winning combination. Jerry Manuel often does the opposite.

Manuel said earlier when this insane streak of bad plays and errors started, that he’d give the team more infield practice/fundamental drills when they got back home after this road trip. As if these 10 games or so weren’t really a big deal, whatever, we’ll worry about it later. That’s the wrong attitude to take. He’s also said that he doesn’t really care about the standings in May, and while it’s true you don’t need to scoreboard watch, you still have to try to win every game.

Manuel sets up guys to fail. One example is bringing in Pagan with almost no AB this year off the bench to pinch hit for Daniel Murphy, who was supposed to be the ‘starting leftfielder’ and actually hits left handed pitching well. Or keeping Feliciano in to face Brian Mccann because you’re scared if you bring in Stokes, he’ll have to face Garret Anderson.

Manuel manages scared, which is fine if you’re playing with a crappy team, but this is arguably one of the best teams in the game. You don’t need to sacrifice bunt with Castillo, who was hitting over .300 most of the year, in the first inning. Or in the 8th for that matter, as you don’t play to tie on the road by the book. Castillo messed up the bunt, but they got the run in anyway to tie it. What if Castillo swings the bat and manages to get a hit? Maybe you win the game right there. Also, Manuel intentionally walks guys way too much. I’m okay with it in situations. I don’t care that much about walking the 8th place hitter with Redding to get the pitcher, even if Redding was throwing well. I’m not okay doing it with Santana, one of the best in the game. Against the Marlins a couple of weeks ago, Manuel called for Santana to intentionally walk Alfredo Amezega hitting eighth, twice in the same game. Santana can get anyone out, and allowing him to start with the pitcher the next inning would just make him even more successful. Amezega had never faced Santana to that point.

Manuel gets too match-up happy. Pulling Murphy to put in Pagan (cold) because he can bat righty. He pinch hits for other regulars in this manner too, late in games. Usually Sheffield for Reed or Murphy if he starts. Trust guys to get hits against all types of pitching, as Murphy tends to do when you actually play him.

Last night Church came into the game cold. This doesn’t excuse him, but Church is a starter, he’s a guy that’s used to getting ready to play, and then playing. He’s not used to coming off the bench, which is something people say is hard to prepare for. Church didn’t look prepared. Running the bases, fielding the ball, or running the bases. Manuel isn’t utilizing Church in the way that gets the most out of him. Jeremy Reed is more used to coming off the bench, but to play outfield. He basically said after the game that “He hasn’t practiced that play.”, not as an excuse, but just as a fact. He hasn’t played 1B, and all of a sudden he’s thrust there late in the game out of nowhere, when his baseball instincts are all OF related. Watch that play again. (if you can bare it) Doesn’t he look like he’s an OF getting ready to make a long throw to the plate to catch a runner? He’s used to being about 200 feet further away. This goes back to Manuel setting up guys to fail. 1B has become an issue, one that we knew about at least a couple of days ago when Delgado went on the DL, and something Manuel should’ve been preparing for as a worst case scenario. We don’t have a guy that can play first base on this team, so the best thing to do is pick a guy that’s going to play there, and let him get the playing time so he can learn and get comfortable. Whether that’s Tatis or Murphy or Reed is a personal choice, but be consistent, and let them learn the position.

These games are important. If you’re serious about winning, it’s time to put Reyes on the field even if he’s not 100%. Maybe you tell him not to steal bases while he’s aching. He’s still better than Ramon Martinez, and we still need his bat in the lineup. Stop listening to the Dodger doctors. If I’m Reyes, I come to the park today claiming to feel fine. If I have to put ice on it to hide swelling before hand, then I do that. Obviously don’t do something that’s going to hurt it more, but we need him.

I’d also start Murphy and Church in the outfield. I feel like they need to play everyday, and they give us the best chance to win. Given how Wright and Beltran are playing, that’s more than enough ‘presence’ for whatever that is worth. It feels like Jerry Manuel has another agenda than winning, at least with certain players.

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Jose’s Last Laugh

From 040909_Pirates


Jose Reyes got the last laugh last night. It’s presumed by many that he was benched for admiring his long double on Wednesday afternoon, but he managed to get his hand, or feet, into the game anyway. He passed off his base stealing abilities to David and the team, so they could combine for seven stolen bases; four of them by his buddy on the left side of the infield. It did appear that he forgot to give his defense to Alex Cora, but it worked out in the end.

This time it was Beltran hitting a double in the final inning, and he promptly stole third. Reyes’ base stealing ability was obviously pointing out how it would’ve made more sense Wednesday to let Reyes have the opportunity to swipe third, rather than have Castillo bunt him over. Castillo had a key sac-fly on Tuesday, so why not another?

Reyes’ base stealing ability even got Gary Sheffield to steal a base last night. It didn’t matter what Molina did behind the plate, Reyes’ ability made everyone faster than Molina could throw, and may have even slowed down the third base ump’s eyes.

Kidding aside, it wasn’t Reyes’ base stealing ability that won last night’s game; It was Wright’s leadership. Wright recognizes what this team needs to do to win. Granted, he’s not always able to succeed, but baseball is more failure than success, and that doesn’t make him a bad leader. He realized with Reyes out, the way to win the game wasn’t to change the team dynamic with Sheffield and trying to become a power team and hit home runs, but to fill in for Reyes and become the fast, aggressive team that they are when he’s on. He’s done it before. In 2006 when Beltran and Delgado were blasting everything out of the park, Wright contributed by driving them in whenever possible to a career high and team leading 116. In 2007 when Delgado was struggling, Wright switched gears and stole a lot of bases to help Reyes and others set a franchise record for the season and scored nearly 20 more runs. David Wright may occasionally not come through, may press too hard at times, may try to appease too many people, but when it comes down to it David Wright is a winning ballplayer, and a leader on this team.

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Have to Listen to the Leaders

Reyes: Fly Like the Wind

Here’s my take on the Reyes thing, I support him fully in this. I think it was a mistake to keep Manuel while firing Willie. If a change was going to work, it needed to be a clean slate, not someone leading that’s been through the same problems. So when Manuel starts his tenure by pissing off Wright and Reyes, it doesn’t look good.

Wright and Reyes, by example or otherwise, are going to be or already are the leaders of this team. The team revolves around them, and Manuel needs to work with them and allow them the ability to do that.

At least give Reyes the chance to walk it off, jog in the outfield, really see if he’s hurt. Manuel, admittedly, said that it was his first day played into his decision. This isn’t about Manuel though, it’s about Reyes and winning the game, which we had less of a chance to do with Easley. Reyes wanted to play, and the only message this sends besides “I know best” is that he doesn’t have to play hard when he’s not feeling 100%. Reyes is who he is, and we don’t need him molded into some media-darling cookie cutter player. So what if he throws a tantrum? Haven’t so many of you been saying how you want to see fire and fight with this team? Well Reyes has got it, he is who he is and trying to make him something else is detrimental to the team, as we saw early in the season when Beltran reminding him to stop worrying about how he’s perceived and play the game the way he knows how.

This whole firing situation reeks to me of setting up the team to fail. It sounds like “You can’t fire me, I quit!” by Mets management. They’ve decided the team isn’t going to win, set up a fall guy, and laid the groundwork for next year. What they forget is it’s early June. I still think the Mets can and will break out of it, but it also feels like the media and management are fighting against it. The team needs to be able to relax, and it doesn’t look like this is going to afford them that. Only time will really tell; will this team be counted out on August 1st and pull a Colorado Rockies to make the playoffs after the pressure is off? It’s still too early for that too.