Dom D's Mets Fan Blog

Could It Be the End of an Era On SNY?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:48:20 PDT

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News is reporting that there is some speculation going around that the SNY announce trio may not be back in full next season.

Raissman, who always does a stellar job covering the network, reveals that there are some rumblings going around that Keith Hernandez may not be back in the booth next season. This speculation is fueled by comments made by the former All-Star first baseman following Sunday's game win against the Houston Astros.

Following the game as Gary Cohen was addressing Mets fans one last time before the off-season, Hernandez stated that, "I've enjoyed the four years and, hopefully, I'm in the middle of negotiating my new contract, hopefully I'll be back. If not, it's been a great four years."

To me that sounds more like a final farewell then just a simple goodbye for a few months.

The news, according to Raissman, also seemed to take his broadcast colleagues by surprise, especially Ron Darling, who was dumbfounded that Keith would publicly discuss his contract situation on-air.

When approached by Raissman, SNY executives stated that they it is corporate policy "not to comment on contract status or negotiations". It seems to indicate to me that the door is being left open for the possibility that Hernandez will not be back in 2010.

He did, however uncover that Darling has multiple years remaining on his contract and that Gary Cohen "ain't going nowhere".

The often quirky, Hernandez is no stranger to notable on-air moments. In 2006, he drew the ire of then-San Diego Padres manager, Bruce Bochy, for stating that women do not belong in the dugout. It was later revealed that the woman he was referring to was actually one of the team's trainers.

Still though he comprises one third of arguably one of the best MLB broadcast teams in the game today. He brings a great sense of humor, but at the same time outstanding knowledge of the game, which cannot be said for many announcers in the game today.

This is certainly something to watch over the next few months or so. It would be hard to imagine SNY not making a great effort to retain Hernandez, who is quiet the most popular broadcaster not only in the booth, but on the network as a whole.

Raissman theorizes that the negotiations over the contract maybe over the number of games called for next season, but acknowledges that in the end it all comes down to money.

The network couldn't have been too thrilled that Keith took his grievances to the airwaves Sunday afternoon. In the end though, I doubt that will have an effect on whether or not the beloved, Keith Hernandez, will be back.

A Blast From The Mets Past Could Help The Team In 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:42:18 PDT

Flash back to August 21st, 2005. It was a hot late-summer afternoon at Shea Stadium where the Mets were hosting the Washington Nationals.

By the fifth inning, the Mets found themselves trailing 7-0. All appeared to be lost until a rookie came to the plate by the name of Mike Jacobs.

Jacobs, a highly ranked Mets prospect, made his major league debut and promptly hit a three-run home run on the first pitch he saw. The Mets went on to lose that game 7-4, but Jacobs continued his torrid hitting streak and homered in each of the next three games.

After only 100 at-bats in 2005, Jacobs finished with 11 home runs, which is a rather incredible feat. It appeared that the 24 year old would be anchoring the right side of the infield for many years to come.

However, that was not the case and in an effort to improve the team’s playoff chances for 2006, Jacobs was shipped to the Florida Marlins along with Yusmeiro Petit in exchange for Carlos Delgado.

Here we are nearly five years latter, and the Mets find themselves, again, searching for a first baseman to help them secure a playoff spot in 2010.

Now with the Kansas City Royals, Jacobs is coming off quite possibly his worst season in the big leagues. In 128 games last season, Jacobs hit only .228.

The bright side is he did hit 19 home runs and drove in 61 RBI’s. Nonetheless, numerous media outlets have reported that Jacobs is an almost guaranteed non-tender candidate given his lackluster performance combined with $3 million-plus salary for next season.

Assuming he hits the open market, the Mets would be crazy not to at least entertain the idea of bringing back the slugger. Keep in mind, this is not an unproven player. Jacobs is only one year removed from a season in which he hit 32 home runs to complement the 92 RBI’s.

I see a little bit of Jeff Francoeur in Jacobs, in the sense both are gritty, hard-nosed players.

These are exactly the kind of players the Mets want to fill the locker room with next year. Maybe their style of play will rub off on their teammates as well.

Jacobs has a passion for the game that rivals even the most dedicated players in the sport today. It is worth pointing out that despite what has only been a brief stay in Kansas City, the first baseman made quite the impression on Kansas City beat writer, Joe Posnanski.

Posnanski, citing Jacobs’s superb work ethic, went as far as calling Jacobs his favorite Royals player, even though he struggled greatly throughout the year.

This speaks volumes, especially when you consider that the probable AL Cy Young award winner, Zack Greinke, is also a member of the Royals.

Signing the slugger to a one year deal worth $4 million or so would be beneficial for both parties

For Jacobs it would be an opportunity to establish himself as a big time bat, and to help justify a club signing him for big bucks down the road.

For the Mets, Jacobs would be a good bat in the lineup, who could help them increase their home run totals and provide the trio of David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur with some added protection in the lineup.

His presence would also allow prospect, Ike Davis, to adequately develop in the minor leagues, instead of being rushed up to the major league level.

Obviously, Jacobs comes with his flaws. His defense needs improvement. Also, along with his powerful free-swing approach comes the tendency to strike out a bit.

Am I suggesting that Mike Jacobs is the solution to the Mets offensive woes? Of course not.

What I am suggesting is that signing Jacobs for a reasonable amount of money could allow the Mets to allocate more resources to pursue a slugger for the outfield or a number two pitcher. Both of which are areas where the Mets could use vast improvement.

The National League East: Final Weekend

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:09:56 PDT

The MLB regular season comes to a grinding halt this Sunday after 162 grueling games and some will say that in the NL East everything has gone according to plan.

The Phillies have clinched their third straight division crown. The Nats have put together two back to back 100 game season losses. The Marlins and the Braves fought for a wild card position into the last week of the season and the Mets lost over 90 games, the first time they did that since 2004.

They did what?

Yes the Mets, the preseason co favorite with the Phillies in the NL East, had what many dire Mets fans are saying was the most disappointing season in the history of the franchise.

Personally I wouldn't go that far. 1987 was the stinker of all time. Remember the 86 club won 108 games and bullied their way through the National league. Then they played what some people still feel was the greatest division series of all times against the Houston Astros. Then the miracle ending to game 6 against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The rest was history.

1987 was set up as the continuance to the Mets dynasty. What happened that year was that injuries took out the entire Mets starting rotation for a good part of the year ending any thoughts of a repeat performance.

2009 for the Mets also got bit by the injury bug. no, let me ref raze that. The Mets got swallowed by the injury monster in 2009. Every member of the so-called Mets core missed a good portion of the 2009 Mets season.

Carlos Delgado coming off a brilliant second half of the 2008 season started off the year like he never had a winter break. By May he was gone for the year. Jose Reyes, who I had to remind another Mets reporter this morning, who said they should cut ties with him, that in his history with this club when Reyes gets on base, the Mets winning percentage is close to .700. By June, he was gone for the year. Carlos Beltran was only having the best year of his stellar career in 2009 went down with a leg injury in June and finished the year appearing in only half the games played this year.

Even at the all star break, this team still had positioned themselves within striking distance of the Phil's because at that time the Phillies just couldn't seem to win at home and their starting pitching was in disarray.

However the Mets problems continued to grow. Their starting rotation consisted of an unsteady Johan Santana, later we would learn why, and four to ten other guys who couldn't find home plate with a infra ray night scope. By the way, the Mets pitching this year lead the entire MLB in walks by about a trillion.

So the "B" Mets stumbled the rest of the year at a less than .400 pace. Johan Santana went down with chips or something like that floating in his elbow and the final blow to the Mets core happened when David Wright's head came into direct contact with a Matt Cain 93 mph fastball.

One concussion later, a 15 day trip to the DL and a .220 average upon his return certainly was the topping to this not so brilliant season for the Metropolitans.

In future articles about the NL East, we will follow the Phillies quest to repeat as World Series Champions, something a National League team has not done since the Big Red Machine of the 70's. I actually like their chances but more about that Sunday when we review the first round Division Series that starts next week.

After the season we will look back at all the teams in the NL East. We will evaluate their year and look into my famous crystal ball and see what moves if any are going to have to be made by each team to make a run at the Phillies once again in 2010.

Being a life long Mets fan I can really be very objective about this division simply because with the Mets, I love the team but despise the organization. This way no one may accuse me as being a homer.

My congratulations to the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies. They have fought through a lot of problems and obstacles this year, the least of which has been the complete meltdown of Brad Lidge, more on him this Sunday as well, but they have prevailed and deserve all the accolades they are getting.

With that said, however, I don't think they are getting as much respect as I hear that the Cardinals will be the solid favorites in the NL to go to the World Series.

Slow down folks, not so fast, they don't call them the Fightin' Phil's for nothing.

At An Organizational Crossroad, How Do The Mets Improve For 2010?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:03:58 PDT

As we approach the final four games of the 2009 regular season, any hope of spinning a positive ending to an otherwise dreadful season is pretty much lost.

Despite the writing being on the wall since mid-Summer that the Mets would not be involved in post season play for the third straight year, Mets fans clung to the hope that they would at least get a glimpse of the team’s future.

However, like the stars they were replacing the young guns, themselves began to drop off of the radar due to injuries.

By the end of September, the only two bright spots on the team were getting a sneak peek at the potential future catcher, Josh Thole, and the privilege of watching Jeff Francoeur make strides at becoming the star player he once was in Atlanta.

Before the Mets begin wheeling and dealing this off-season, a meeting must take place between the Wilpons, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel.

On paper the team will have three glaring holes at catcher, first base and left field. Those needs alone will be hard to fill, especially if the estimate that the team will only have between $15 to $25 million to spend on free agents.

On top of the three vacant positions already mentioned it is safe to assume that the team will also be in the market for another starting pitcher and an arm or two for the bullpen.

From there, a determination must be made on whether this team can be competitive next year given the limited financial resources or is it time to rebuild. Personally, now is the worst time to attempt to deal any members of the core, especially David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran.

For starters, all three are coming off down years in terms of production. Also, each spent at least 15 days on the disabled list. Trading them now would be selling very low.

Assuming the team chooses to go for it in 2010 they will need to be creative in filling all of their voids.

The key for Omar this off-season will be to not get caught up in buying high on players. This applies directly to the free agent catcher’s market where every available catcher is at least over the age of 32.

This is a position that the Mets should not commit more than a year or two to, especially with Thole and Santos waiting in the wings.

Moving on to the first basemen and outfielder’s market, outside of the superstars (Matt Holliday and Jason Bay) there is nobody to build a team around. Thus, the Mets must take a similar approach and only offer players one year incentive-laden deals and possibly include some sort of option for 2011 that vests when the player reaches certain milestones.

Unfortunately, guys like Bobby Abreu and Russell Branyan, who accepted one year deals last year, will be commanding more years and a bigger chunk of change after the solid years they put up in 2009.

Another intriguing position that the Mets will have to make a decision on is second base. If they are comfortable that this year was not an aberration then they should be set, otherwise they’ll have to look for a replacement. For more information on the market check out my colleague Dave Landon’s superb article, in which he looks at who the Mets should and shouldn’t pursue at second base.

Lastly, the Mets have to entertain the idea of bringing in a starting pitcher, preferably a number two starter, as their entire projected 2010 staff has a question mark over it. This is an area where the Mets really need to come up big in my opinion.

They already have numerous league average pitcher. They need a stud in the rotation, who can take some of the pressure off of Johan Santana. They need a pitcher like John Lackey or Brandon Webb to help anchor the rotation.

The dilemma is that signing a pitcher of this caliber would almost surely deplete most, if not all of the financial resources for 2010, if the monetary estimates are indeed correct.

Would adding solely a number two starter be enough to cure the Mets woes? The answer is probably not, but it certainly would make them more of a threat in the National League.

Beyond additions to the team there are a few potential contract extensions that could take place over the next three months. One of them involves Jeff Francoeur, who is rumored to have been offered a three-year deal.

This is a tough call. On one hand Francoeur has done an admirable job during his short time with the Mets and really has a passion for the game. Yet, this is the same player, who hit .239 in 2008 and .250 in the first half of 2009.

It would best suit the Mets to give him another year in the Big Apple to ensure that he doesn’t regress. If he performs well next season then it would make sense to approach him with a two to three year deal.

Another player rumored to be getting a contract extension is Pedro Feliciano. Feliciano has been a rock in the Mets bullpen ever since he returned to the team in 2006. 2010 will be Feliciano’s final arbitration year, after which he will hit the free agent market.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable for the Mets to offer Pedro a two year deal to cover his last arbitration year, as well as one year of free agency. Keep in mind that if such a deal were made, Pedro would be 35 years of age by the contract’s end. This is around the time that some player’s arms begin to wear down. This is definitely a concern, especially for a guy who has appeared in 86 games in back-to-back seasons.

Thus, if Feliciano were willing to go with a two year deal then it would behoove of the Mets to lock up one of the game’s best middle relievers.

With the Mets’ off-season beginning in only five days, it should be interesting to see how they construct their team for 2010.

Chris Carter To The Mets... Not So Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:35:30 PDT

The word around baseball is that Chris Carter, whom the Mets were allegedly going to receive as the player-to-be-named-later in the Billy Wagner trade has been designated for assignment. This is significant because if you can recall, Carter was previously placed on waivers over the summer with the intent of shipping him to the Mets.

However, the Yankees claimed him in an effort to cause roster management issues for the division-rival Red Sox. Being that this is the second time, the Red Sox only have two options.

They can either release him, which would make him a free agent or they can put him on waivers.

If the Red Sox took the first route then the Mets would have just as good of a chance of acquiring him as the other 28 MLB teams, potentially vying for his services.

If Sox were to take the latter route, which involves placing Carter on waivers. The Mets would have to wait for every team in the American League, as well as National League teams with a worse record then theirs to pass on a waiver claim.

Either way there is no guarantee that the Mets will be able to get him.

This seems to indicate one of two things to me. Either Carter was never actually involved in this trade or Omar Minaya made yet another roster management blunder. More details regarding the situation should be made available within the coming days.

To be honest, while I do not endorse making poor trades, the truth of the matter is that this trade was done solely to shed Wagner’s remaining salary.

No offense intended to Carter, but the career minor leaguer is not all that great of a player and probably wouldn’t have fit into the Mets’ 2010 plans anyways. However, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt such a depleted organization to have some depth at the Triple-A level.

How The Internet Has Changed The Game Of Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:49:33 PDT

Over the past two decades or so, the Internet has revolutionized the way people live their lives. People are able to reconnect with those old high school buddies from thirty years ago, while browsing their favorite stores all from the palm of their hand simultaneously.

More specifically, the Internet has changed the fan’s experience with the world of baseball.

In the past, fans had to rely on sporadic television and radio coverage about their team in order to follow their favorite team. However, now due to services such as Twitter, fans are relayed this information almost immediately as it happens.

Gone are the days of waiting for the morning newspaper to arrive to check if your team traded for your favorite player. As a matter of fact, now, fans are able to get a feel for who is likely being dealt and who is staying put.

Surprisingly, there are some cases in which fans know the fate of certain players before the players, themselves do.

Still though, there still are some surprise deals that seem to catch everyone by surprise, including the Jake Peavy deal earlier this year.

The aspect of the game that has changed most is how baseball fans view prospects. In the past nobody really talked about prospects. Sure there were one or two ‘can’t miss’ players, but the public’s attention was generally centered on the Major Leaguers. Nowadays, prospects play a huge role in a baseball fan’s life.

This is so because baseball fans are able to not only track the minor league affiliates of their favorite baseball teams, but they can watch the games if they so desire.

In this season, alone, the spotlight has been on players like Matt Wieters and Tommy Hanson. As if it weren’t difficult enough to make the transition into the big leagues, Wieters and Hanson came up with the expectation that they would perform from day one.

These expectations stem from the constant buzz on the net. Whether it be fans having a casual discussion or sports analysts, the pressure is still there. Both have handled this burden quite well and are having particularly good rookie seasons.

In Wieters’s case, the Baltimore catcher started out slowly but has been red hot this past month or so. To the contrary, Hanson has been stellar all season and has currently has double digits and the win column and a sub-three earned run average.

The Mets, themselves have a player that found himself in a similar predicament as Wieters and Hanson. That player is Fernando Martinez. Fernando’s name has been a mainstay in Mets forums ever since the team signed him as an international free agent back in 2005.

However to say that the promising outfielder lived up to the internet-induced hype this season would be inaccurate. Martinez hit a mere .176 with little power before injuring and later receiving season-ending surgery on his right knee.

Granted, Fernando still has a ton of potential and he should see more success in the majors as he matures. However, it must be discouraging for a player to know that they did not perform in the manner the fans expected to after reading all the internet propaganda. Is it possible that this could hinder a player’s development?

I don’t necessarily think so, but this added pressure most likely contributes to those blunders we tend to see from time to time out of the young guns in the game.

The players that I really pity are Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Neither player has appeared in either a major or minor league game, yet both still are considered the future of the MLB. Fans have good reason to be exciting to be excited about these players as they certainly are special talents.

But are they jumping the gun a bit? It concerns me that the general consensus among many baseball fans is that Stephen Strasburg will miraculously turn the Washington Nationals into a winning ball club. This type of thinking is poked fun at by the Washington Post’s John Kelly.

My stance on Strasburg is to give the kid a chance. Don’t rush and hinder his development in an attempt to garner ticket sales. Let him pitch at the big league level for a full season before making any determinations on whether or not he is the next Cy Young. Although unlikely, it may end up that those 23 strike out performances in college don’t translate into big league success.

Even more ludicrous is the buildup that has been all over cyberspace surrounding 16 year old, Bryce Harper. Harper, who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated earlier this year, can seemingly do it all on the baseball diamond. Many speculate that Harper will be the crown jewel of the 2010 draft if he chooses to enter it.

As NJ.com’s Michael Fensom reported back in June, Harper has obtained his G.E.D., which would seemingly indicate that he will pursue the majors next year. Was this the best move for Harper? Personally, I don’t believe it was. Firstly, Harper is sacrificing his education in order to get a head start in the big leagues, which could prove to be a career blunder down the road.

Also, is a 16 year old teenage mature enough to handle the pressure that comes with being a professional athlete? I don’t believe he is. No teenager, in my opinion, has the mental toughness to deal with the spotlight being on them 24/7.

Unfortunately, with the Internet expanding these kinds of things won’t go away anytime soon.

In all fairness, the web has done plenty of good for baseball. Through its website, Major League Baseball is able to stream every single one of its games every year for people all over the world. This has contributed to a very large and diverse fan base.

Also, the world-wide web has created a much more educated baseball fan. Fans get a sense of how their players are doing off the field. It can make them go easy on a struggling player if they know he is injured.

It also makes you appreciate guys like Jeff Francoeur, who is playing out the remaining eleven insignificant games of the season with a broken thumb. Even more impressive is that he is hitting over .300 with the Mets, while essentially swinging one-handed.

The web has certainly added a new level of depth to the game of baseball and it should be interesting to see how the game changes as technology continues to advance.

Omar: History is a Great Teacher: Resign Dalgado

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:25:20 PDT

Does the name Pedro Martinez ring a bell Omar? It should. You were smart enough to bring him to New York and it was a brilliant move because it started a whirlwind movement by Latin players who wanted to come to New York to be in his presence. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, all expressed publicly that coming to the Mets to play with Pedro was paramount in their decision to want to play in New York.

The fact that Omar had the chance to resign him this year at a much lower cost to the organization was a wasted effort on Omar's part.

Well Met fans, I screamed about this for 9 months only to see Pedro wind up in Philadelphia, of all places, and come back magnificently and literally kick our butts all over the northeast part of the US. I felt the beatings here in Vegas and the only saving grace for me was I put y money where my mouth is and collected on every game he has started for the Phillies.

I may be richer for it but I'm miserable as hell.

Now Omar is about to make the exact same mistake all over again. The chances of resigning Carlos Delgado are slim to none. Fast forward to next September and I sure hope he's in the American League because without a crystal ball I can give you his numbers going into Sept 1st. Write them down so you can choke on the paper next year.

450 plate appearances, 155 hits, 28 doubles, 3 triples, 29 home runs, 91 rbi's, .282 batting average, .372 OBP, .585 Slugging percentage .957 OPS.

Crazy, you think? I think it's as real as it can get. His had hip surgery. The same surgery as Chase Utley and Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell. This injury, when fixed is fixed, period.

If the Mets resign him and he plays only 120-130 games, so what. Daniel Murphy and perhaps Ike Davis are the heir apparents for the Mets at that position. I would have Murphy playing winter ball at second base and use him as the super-sub in 2010.

Delgado is a core player for a reason. He is a leader both on the field and off. He takes the pressure off David and provides motivation for Beltran Reyes, Pagan and every player on that team.

Omar now has the reputation of being a fixer of problems. That's not his job. He needs to develop the farm system through the draft and through the international market. His results as a fixer are terrible. One could even argue that K-Rod and I love him a New York Mets uniform was not the fix the Mets needed when Houston Street, Brian Fuentes, and a few others were out there last year to be had a a much lower cost and you really don't want to bring up JJ Putz do you?

I'm going to take a lot of flack on this the same way I did on taking the side of Pedro Martinez. Believe me it's not a matter of being right or even saying I told you so. I'm way too old for that. I just want to see this organization be pro-active instead of being re-active all the time.

To be pro-active would be to resign Carlos Delgado and move on from there. In Part II, I will give my opinion of what it's going to take to get back into contention for 2010. You'll be surprised, it really doesn't have to take too much.

Daniel in the Lions Den

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:46:52 PDT

With this season finally drawing to a close, I have spent most of the past six to eight weeks listening to Mets fans and those who cover the Mets in the media trash over and over and over again the Mets first baseman, Daniel Murphy.

To me it's just unbelievable what extremes these fans take when it comes to blame and evaluation of a players year.

To a man, after last years great September when Daniel Murphy literally skipped AAA to come directly to the Mets and have a wonderful month, he was anointed the final piece of the package which would be added to the already supreme core of Mets players that would have them contend for a championship for the next 10 years.

His numbers were in fact pretty darn good for a 23 year old rookie. He hit .313 had an OBP of .397 and a SLG of .473. He had great bat control, had power to all fields and worked at his hitting like the second coming of Keith Hernandez.

The question was where to play him. A third baseman by trade, he also had some minor leagues games at first but the only place the Mets could see him in was left field, a position where he never played before and looked very uncomfortable in his limited outings there last September.

In winter ball he was going to work out at second base in case Luis Castillo couldn't come back after his disastrous 2008.

Well we all saw what happened in the spring. Murphy was clearly out of his element in left field at the start of the season and his play in the field carried over to his plate appearances.

It also didn't help that his manager, my favorite moron, who has cost this team so many games I have lost count, didn't do any favors with his now 24 year old batter. He moved him in and out of the lineup so many times and had him in every batting slot in the lineup it had to play with the youngsters mind.

He slumped miserably until two things finally happened to change things around. One, Daniel became the regular first baseman and second Jerry finally started to hit Murphy in front of Wright and Francoeur to give him some protection in the line up.

So what has Daniel done since August. All he's done is hit. His average for the last 7 weeks is over .300. His OBP is over .350 and his slugging percentage is just under.500.

Now everybody wants to see him gone. Why? The Mets don't need a guy at first to hit.260 with 35 hr's and 100 rbi's to play first base and have the team win. They need that guy in left field. Matt Holliday is who they need there.

The Mets have had three pretty darn good players at first base and won championships without sluggers. They were Dave Magadan, Keith Hernandez and Jon Olerud. Magadan was 27 in 1990 when he .328 with an OBP of .417 and a SLG .457.

Keith Hernandez was 25 in 1975 when he hit .344, OBP .417 and SLG .513 for the Cardinals in 1979

Neither Hernandez, Olerud or Magadan had as good numbers as Murphy did when they were 23.

This is a guy you build your future around. A guy who never stops to try and make himself better, who works on his game everyday and dives around the bag at first like Ferris Fane.

But the problem here is that Met fans are never satisfied. They don't want to even entertain the thought that this year made us take a good look at Pagan, Sullivan Francoeur, Murphy, and Cora. These guys are winners and if you build your core around Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Santana, Niese, K-Rod, Thole, and F-Mart and have Holt, Davies, Marte, and others waiting in the wings, we can, with the right GM and Manager, get right back into contention in 2010.

I should only be so lucky.

Vegas Rich.

The Case To Bring Back Carlos Delgado

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:51:38 PDT

At the start of the season it appeared that 2009 would most definitely be Carlos Delgado’s last season in the Big Apple. Well as we wrap of the final month of the season, Delgado appears to be as good as gone, especially after missing a majority of the season after undergoing hip surgery.

However, the idea of bringing back Delgado to the Mets organization has to at least be considered.

When looking at the upcoming free agent class, names like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and Vladimir Guerrero stand out. Unfortunately, beyond those names and a few others, this class of free agents is relatively weak.

The Mets have been dropping hints all season long that they probably will not make a major splash in the Free Agent pool due to their tough financial constraints. This would most likely indicate that they do not intend to pursue the likes of Bay, Holliday and such.

If healthy, Carlos Delgado could bring a great deal of power back to the Mets lineup.

He’s the type of player that makes everyone around him better because he has such strong leadership skills.

Also, Delgado being in the lineup means that David Wright and Carlos Beltran should see more hittable pitches.

Keep in mind that Delgado is only one year removed from a season in which he hit 38 home runs and drove in 115 runs. Also of note is that Delgado’s career home run total currently sits at 473.

It would not be out of the question for Delgado to reach the 500 home run plateau next year, as he only needs 27 more home runs to do it. For a team that is currently hurting in home attendance, having a milestone like that may help get people back into the ballpark.

Delgado has had mixed results since joining the Mets in 2006. In the three full seasons that he has spent with the Mets, two have been very good and one has been dreadful. In 2006 and 2008, Delgado hit 30+home runs and 110+ RBI’s. In 2007, which was his down year, he hit only 24 home runs and drove in only 87 runs.

Let me be clear, the Mets should only pursue Carlos Delgado in the off-season if he can be had for a reasonable 1 year deal with incentives.

I am getting the sense he can be had for the right price. Take Bobby Abreu, who signed with the Angels this past off-season for only five million dollars. Prior to signing this deal Abreu was coming off a year in which he hit 20 home runs and 100 RBI’s.

Now I understand the economy has improved somewhat since last off-season but if a player of Abreu’s caliber could be had at five million then I’m guessing the Mets could get one more year of Delgado at a similar price.

Yesterday afternoon I asked Bart Hubbuch about the chances of Delgado returning to the Mets in 2010 during his weekly chat. Hubbuch replied saying that a return is “highly doubtful” and that there are “just too many health questions”.

I, too, agree that it isn’t very likely that Delgado will wear a Mets uniform next season. However, I do not agree that his health is an issue because the Mets can setup a platoon where both Carlos and Daniel Murphy can share time playing first. In essence, this would allot Murphy more time to familiarize himself with the position, and allow Delgado the adequate amount of rest he needs to remain healthy.

So I ask management this, if you do not have the funds to acquire the top names on the free agent market, give Carlos Delgado a chance to restore some faith back into Flushing.

Should The “Fab Three” Stay Or Should They Go?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:11:54 PDT

This season the Mets have seen many new additions to their big league roster in order to compensate for their injured stars. Some of these roles have been occupied by career minor leaguers, while others have been filled by seasoned veterans, who have shuttled between teams throughout their career.

In particular the starting pitching staff has been decimated by injuries. Three of the team’s top pitchers (Santana, Maine and Perez) are all currently on the disabled list, and only one of them (Maine) has any chance of coming back by the season’s end.

The replacements for this trio are the tandem of Nelson Figueroa, Tim Redding and Pat Misch or as Ron Darling has coined them “The Fab Three”.

Let’s take a look at these players and examine whether or not they are worthy of a role with the team in 2010.

Nelson Figueroa -

In the words of SNY personality Adam Schein, Nelson Figueroa is “my guy”.

Despite riding the Heath Bell express throughout his two years in the big apple, Figueroa has generally been reliable to make a spot start or a long relief appearance.

He maybe 35 years of age, which makes him no youngster, but Figgy has shown this year he can still pitch effectively at the major league level.

As a matter of fact in his one of his recent starts against the Chicago Cubs, Figueroa pitched one of the best games in his career when he struck out ten batters and held the opposition to only one run.

In 38 innings pitched this year, Figueroa has maintained a 4.74 ERA, which is just a hair above his career average (4.62).

One thing to keep in mind with Nelson is that he is not a lights out pitcher, and he generally does not pitch very deep into games.

What makes Figueroa so attractive is the bevy of international experience this player has. He has pitched all over the globe and has found success pretty much everywhere he has been.

Verdict:I like what Figueroa has done for the depleted ball club this year, however I would not give him a guaranteed major league deal, which he has been seeking the past few seasons. What I would offer him, though, is another minor league deal that way he could possibly help the club later on next season if injuries strike. The rest of the decision would be left in his hands.

Tim Redding -

It’s been a rough year for The Honeymooners star, Joyce Randolph’s grand-nephrew, Tim Redding. Sidelined by a foot injury in Spring Training that resulted in arm trouble later on, Redding has had a tough season to say the least. To add insult to injury had it not been for the rash of injuries, Redding would have been released a couple of months ago.

Luckily, for him he has strung together three strong outings in his past three starts, including holding the potent Philadelphia Phillies lineup to just one run over five innings. Redding brings to the table veteran experience and has had some success at the major league level with both Houston and Washington.

This year with the Mets, Redding has appeared in 25 games and started 12 of them. Over that period of time he has pitched to a 5.70 ERA with a 60:37 K:BB Ratio.

Looking solely at the stats it would appear that Redding is an easy candidate to be let go at the year’s end, but he does make a case to stay.

Despite, being ridiculed by both the fans and the media, and even being shunned by his own teammates Redding has still kept his head up and remained professional.

Also, as field reporter, Kevin Burkhardt, pointed out, Redding is still arbitration eligible, which could improve the chances of him being brought back.

Verdict: Even with a strong showing down the stretch I don’t see Redding pitching in a Mets uniform. It’s a shame because he seems like a good guy overall and a good teammate, but it is what it is. I think he will find work at as back-of-the-rotation starter on another NL team.

Pat Misch -

Pat Misch has been quite a bargain for the Mets, since they claimed him off of waivers from the Giants earlier in the year. Before joining the Mets, Misch had spent two seasons as both a starter and reliever in San Francisco. At that time it appeared Misch did not have big league stuff.

However, Pat has put all that behind him and cherished the change of scenery from one coast to the other. In his brief Mets tenure Misch has been rather impressive.

In 17 games this year with New York, Misch has posted a 2.48 ERA. This includes two appearances as a starter, both of which lasted seven innings.

Misch is not a hard thrower and doesn’t strike out many batters. As a matter of fact his K:BB ratio with the Mets is practically 1:1 (18:14). Instead of trying to baffle hitters he pitches to contact and induces many fly outs.

His pitching style fits Citi Field rather well because the ballpark does not yield many home runs due to it’s deep dimensions.

Although Misch is pitching very well as a starter right now, I do not see that being his role with the team for the long term.

As Ed Ryan at Mets Fever points out, Misch’s career numbers as a reliever (2.85 ERA) are far better than those in the twelve games he has started (6.32).

Thus, I see him as a long reliever, who can also take some of the burden off of Pedro Feliciano when it comes to getting left-handed hitters out.

Verdict: Misch should absolutely be brought back next season. He’s cheap, young and has good stuff. The Mets cannot count on him to be a starter, but I think he would be very successful out of the bullpen. In the event of an injury Misch would be available to slide in and provide the team with a player, who has the ability to pitch quality outings.

Video: Mets Fan loses fight to Phillies Fan in stands....

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:07:39 PDT

We can't even win in the stands...

Down The Stretch They Come

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:42:02 PDT

If anyone on April 1st would have said to me that on September 1st that the Phillies would be leading the NL East by 7 or more games, I would have said, "Wow, I knew they were going to be good but ahead by 7, No way".

If on April 1st someone said to me the Braves and Marlins would be battling it out for second in the east and fighting for a wild card spot, I would have said, "Wow, both their pitching staffs must have held up pretty well."

Finally if someone told me that the Mets would be about 15 games below .500, in 4th place and completely out of the race I would have said, "What the frack, did everyone get injured?"

That brings us to September 1st and for the first time in a few years there is little uncertainty about the National League East.

The Phillies have been nothing short of brilliant. Despite early season struggles at home and much inconsistency on the part of their staring rotation, they have met each challenge and have come through like the champions they are. ( Boy, did that hurt)

The acquisitions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez in August have been an outstanding moves. All they've done is win 6 out of 7 games and with a month to go they should probably win an additional 6.

They have to be the favorites going into the post season despite the Cardinals surge and the late heroics by the Giants and the Roxcies.

Their biggest concern will be who shall star game 3 of the NLDS, Joe Blanton or J.A. Haap.

To me it looks like another parade on Broad Street and me sending pictures of Vegas Rich draped in Phillies gear sending those photos to every Phillies writer on the BR. Oye.

The Atlanta Braves have surprised me more than any other team in the division. I knew their pitching would be good but I didn't expect the consistency that they have shown. I was not a huge Derek Lowe fan and I'm still not sure he deserved a 4 year deal, but this year he has been vintage Lowe.

Their bats have kept them from getting any closer to the Phillies than their ever going to be. They need a boomer and I was surprised that they didn't try to get one before the trade deadline.

If they plan to be in the 2010 race they certainly will need to address that concern. I can certainly see them making a huge run at Matt Holiday. That in of itself should tighten the race in 2010.

The Marlins are always an intriguing team. They are like the David Copperfield of the MLB. They are always in the race with a payroll somewhat less than daily take from the Las Vegas casinos.

I don't see the usual fire sale at the end of this year simply because with a new stadium on the way, there will be more money available to keep their budding stars. Their young staff is impressive and it certainly doesn't hurt to have the number 2 player in all of baseball roaming the infield for the fish.

Watch out for the Washington Nationals. Not this year for sure and probably not for the next 2 years either but expect an increase of wins over the next 3 years. This is a franchise that has found it's leadership and is definitely headed in the right direction. Expect a playoff run from them by 2012.

Finally my beloved Mets. I have spent the entire season trying to look beyond the injuries because they are a part of the game. But, what those injuries have done is expose this teams vital organs and they are failing at an alarming rate. Real quick, drastic change needs to take place at the end of this season.

Omar and his sidekick Jerry need to go. They Mets need to bring back Bobby Valentine and give him complete control over player selection. I could go on for hours on this but I've done it already often enough this year and now all we can do is wait for next year.

Mets inside the numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:09:32 PDT

Oliver Perez is the latest Mets pitcher to go down. Jason McCallum of ESPN Research compiled numbers bearing out the crazy injury situation the Mets have had this year: They've lost 18 All-Star appearances to the DL, in addition to 1,066 HR, 4,091 RBIs and a combined 2009 salary of $94.8 million, which is greater than the Opening Day payroll of 18 teams.

Wright will be back sooner than later

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:33:00 PDT

New York Mets star 3B David Wright is recovering nicely and should return from the disabled list as soon as he's eligible, reports the Newark Star-Ledger.

Wright was hit in the head with a Matt Cain fastball last weekend and has not played since. The all-star is hitting .324 with a .414 on-base percentage and 24 stolen bases in 115 games this season, and he's eligible to return on September 1.

Fernando Tatis has started in Wright's place and has hits in each of his last five games, but is just 6-for-23 in Wright's absence, driving in the same numbers of runs Wright has since the injury occurred.

Josh Thole heads the list of minor leaguers to get called up...

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:30:14 PDT

Prospect catcher Josh Thole, reliever Eddie Kunz and first baseman/outfielder Nick Evans are expected to highlight the call-ups when rosters expand in September, the Daily News has learned.

Thole, 22, upped his average to .332 with a three-hit game for Double-A Binghamton on Friday, although he had only one homer through 361 at-bats and is generally content choking up on his bat and hitting singles. A 13th-round pick in 2005 from Breese, Ill., who learned to hit in a barn, Thole (right) caught in high school, but only started regularly playing the position as a professional last season. A scout who recently watched the lefty-hitting Thole (pronounced toll-E) compared him to former major-league catchers Darrin Fletcher and Scott Bradley.
“My throwing is still coming along,” Thole said. “There’s no question about it. But it feels a lot better.”

ESPN : Minaya, Manuel safe with Mets

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:21:41 PDT

New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya won't lose his job as a result of the team's lackluster season, owner Fred Wilpon told the New York Post.

Agreeing to answer one question from the newspaper, Wilpon addressed Minaya's future with the team.

"Am I going to bring Omar back next year? Absolutely. That's a fact," Wilpon told the newspaper.

If Minaya returns, then manager Jerry Manuel's job appears safe, too.

When told of Wilpon's comments, Minaya told the Post: "Jerry is my guy. We work well together."

Minaya received a three-year contract extension following the 2008 season. Manuel is under contract for next season.

The Mets have endured a miserable 2009 season, mired in fourth place in the NL East. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran have all missed large portions of the season with injuries.

Source: ESPN

In addition, Minaya had to apologize to a beat reporter earlier this season for questioning his motives and credibility during a bizarre news conference to announce the firing of team executive Tony Bernazard. The writer accepted, saying the GM's "remorse was sincere."

Mets and BoSox Trade in works???

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:43:07 PDT

New York Mets reliever Billy Wagner has been claimed by the Boston Red Sox, SI.com has learned.
The Mets now have until Tuesday afternoon to work out a deal with the Red Sox, who apparently are willing to assume the $2.7 million remaining on Wagner's contract this season.

Wagner, who spent the last 11 months recovering from Tommy John surgery, returned to the mound on Thursday night for the first time since Aug. 2, 2008. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two of the three hitters and unleashing a fastball that touched 96 mph.

"I thought he was very good, outstanding life, even in that short appearance," Mets manager Jerry Manuel told The Associated Press after the game.

The former Mets closer has a no-trade clause attached to his four-year, $43 million deal, but he has expressed that he would not block a trade to a contender.

The six-time All-Star has piled up 385 saves throughout his career to go along with a sparkling 2.40 ERA.
Wagner was taken by the Astros with the 12th overall pick in the 1993 First-Year Player Draft and spent his first eight seasons in Houston, establishing himself as one of the game's premier closers. Prior to the 2004 campaign, Wagner was traded to the Phillies in a cost-cutting move that netted Houston Brandon Duckworth, Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio. Wagner signed his current four-year deal with the Mets before the 2006 season.

The Mets Continue Down the Road of Stupidity

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:10:28 PDT

I don't believe for one second that those fans on the BR who read my work would argue with anyone about how passionate I am about this team. It's no secret that I'm not a youngster like my three favorite proteges Mike Kent, Nick Adamo, and Nick Carlo but each one of them will tell you that the Mets are my first love and have been so since 1962.

This is not a plug for my "Anatomy of a Franchise series either.

I'm just frustrated as we all are about the current status of the Mets 2009 season. We can talk about all the injuries until we are blue in the face and we know that we can't change what has happened in the past but you would think this organization could at least learn from it. Do they? No.

The case of Gary Sheffield has me most disturbed today as I see that after all he has accomplished this year the Mets have decided more likely than not to cut the strings and let this guy, who virtually held this team together for 4 months, and send him on his way.

I have been a Sheffield fan for his entire career. Sure, there are a lot of negative comments out there about his past but no one can doubt his competitive nature and isn't that what every team needs to have on and off the field?

To this day in his 40th year he is still intimidating at the plate waving his bat and showing the bat speed of a 30 year old in his prime.

When I wrote this article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/183888-so-gary-sheffield-to-the-mets-is-ridiculous-right-wrong on May 20th I was so pleased that Gary was living up to his billing and my thought even then was if we would get back our injured players he would surely look good surrounded by Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Delgado.

However we all know that didn't happen so what did Gary do. He played well, he played hurt, he mentored just about every position player the Mets have. He provided the well needed leadership that was lacking on this team for so long.

David Wright was instrumental in bringing Gary to the Mets. He recognized long before our faithful fans that Gary was a perfect fit for this team regardless of whether he played 3 games a week or 6.

So now what do the Mets do? They put him on waivers. He was claimed by the Giants so they pulled him back. Now they have an opportunity to lock him up and finish his stellar career in a New York Mets uniform, his dream team since his uncle Dwight Gooden played for us in the 80's, and go out of here directly into the Hall of Fame.

The Mets pulled him back from waivers and now more likely than not they will release him. He will go to a contender and help them into the playoffs and what do the Mets get out of it? Nothing.

This is a continuous problem that the Mets organization have had throughout their history. The make stupid impulsive decisions without weighing the potential consequences. I have said this since they fired Willie Randolph, for all he did was win games as the Mets manager, and they continue to make these ridiculous moves as other teams help themselves we go backwards under the less than stellar leadership of the Wilpons, Omar and Jerry.

Mark my words everyone, I know this team as well or if not better than any of us out there and I can tell you for sure that unless there are major changes made in this off season in the Mets organization we will be watching World Series parades down Broad Street for the next 10 years and that's no exaggeration.

Please will someone in this organization please listen to the voice of reason and intelligence if I don't say so myself. Even my 3 amigos, I expect are going to be on my side with this, maybe. I just have to get Nick Adamo in a good mood. I'll probably have to trade him my QB or something like that.

News and Notes: Livan Out, Wagner In

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:27:59 PDT

As many of you have already heard, the Mets have outright released Livan Hernandez and have activated reliever Billy Wagner off the DL.

In a season of so much doom and gloom, it would be nice to see Billy have a couple quality outings, as he clearly has worked very hard to get back on the mound much sooner than expected.

As for Livan Hernandez, he pretty much exceeded everyone's expectations at least early on in the year.

In the months of May and June, Livan pitched very well and had an ERA of 3.25. However, things rapidly went downhill for the 34 year old journeyman and he was never really able to regain his form.

No word yet on who will replace him in the starting rotation, but all signs would point to Nelson Figueroa.

Sheffield might be on another team soon?

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:53:48 PDT

New York Mets slugger Gary Sheffield (notes) apparently thinks he's a goner (and soon) from the Mets roster, according to the New York Post. Sheffield apparently is thinking the Mets are going to just put him on waivers and let him go before season's end.

The team actually had him on waivers and took him off when he was claimed by an unidentified team last week. So if the Mets put him on again, it couldn't get anything in return for him.
Still, Sheffield tells the Post he expects to either be wearing another uniform before September ends or not be wearing a uniform at all. The soon-to-be 41-year-old is ready to just pack his things up and go home for the off-season if a team that he doesn't like picks him up.

The Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers are both supposedly looking for somebody like Sheffield, but he says he won't go anywhere that doesn't already have a strong lineup. He doesn't want to end up being a scapegoat. "The light always seems to be on me. I've had that light on me for [my whole career]. I don't need that now," he told the paper.

Billy Wagner going on waivers??

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:50:10 PDT

The New York Mets would apparently love to unload closer Billy Wagner (notes), according to ESPN. The team has reportedly put him on waivers just before he is set to return from a long stay on the disabled list. And he is apparently ready to waive his no-trade clause.

Anybody who takes Wagner will have to shell our about $2.7 million for the rest of this season in addition to a $1 million buyout for next year. Unless for some crazy reason Wagner's new team wants to pick up his $8 million option for next season. So it is much more likely that nobody will claim him off of waivers and the Metropolitans will try and work out a trade in which the team will pay a chunk of what's owed to Wagner.

He's coming off Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched in the bigs since last September so his trade value is low. Still, Wagner doesn't want to finish his career this way and apparently would like to get up to the 420-save mark or thereabouts. He's at 385 now.

Injuries continue as David Wright gets hit in head, has concussion!

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:02:22 PDT

All Star pitchers Matt Cain (SF) and Johan Santana (NY) were locked in a pitcher's duel at Citi Field until the fourth inning, when things turned ugly. Matt Cain nailed Met's 3B David Wright in the head with a 94 mph fastball. Cain, obviously unsettled by the event, crouched between home and the mound while trainers worked on Wright.

David Wright was taken to the Hospital for Special Surgery by ambulance about an hour after being hit in the head. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said a CT scan was negative and that Wright had a concussion. He was
expected to remain in the hospital overnight for observation.

Despite the fact that there was little, if any, reason for Matt Cain to hit David Wright in the head, Santana hit the Giants Bengie Molina in retaliation. Matt Cain left to resounding boos in the 8th inning leading 4-2 and two on, but Jeremy Affeldt gave up an RBI single to Fernando Tatis and Giants closer Brian Wilson gave up Gary Sheffield's tying sacrifice fly.

Omar Minaya: I Told You So

rsmcloser@cox.net (Vegas Rich) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:52:56 PDT

Of course, one game does not make a season but one must wonder why after the struggles the Mets pitching staff have had this year why Omar Minaya, supposedly a close personal friend of Pedro Martinez, didn't sign the oft injured pitcher both before or even after the season started.

I started this bandwagon all the way back in October. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/82617-pedro-martinez-one-of-many-reasons. At that point looked upon all the intangibles that Pedro brings to a team including among others, a compulsion to win, a teacher, a motivator, a leader on and off the field, a loose fun guy that players want to have around, and a living legend who your own stars like Santana, Reyes, Delgado and Beltran look up to and respect.

Not to mention if Pedro was on the roster how hard do you think Manny would have pushed Boras to sign with the Mets and if you don't believe that you are foolish?

As the season got closer and it looked like there was going to be a competition for the number 5 spot on the rotation I brought it up again. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/132073-omar-for-the-last-time-please-re-sign-pedro.

Here I talked about the fact I didn't think Pedro was done at all and explained that the type of injury he had required about 18 months to fully heal but more important was the fact that I tried to point out that Pedro was not the type of man that would "quit" on a bad note and his legacy to finish as a star was motivation enough to put out credible performances game after game after game.

I pointed out in this next article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/124549-fighting-for-the-five-spot. that the Mets had three pitchers coming off surgeries that although appeared to be OK anything could happen. Well it did. John Maine is off the shelf for the year. Pelfrey has taken a step backwards from last year, although if you remember he wasn't the same pitcher down the stretch last year as he was in mid-season, and Ollie is just Ollie.

The 5 spot in our rotation has given us far less than Pedro could have done. In fact the second through 5 spot has given us some of the worst numbers in baseball this year. Let me share.

Excluding Johan Santana (thank goodness for him) here's some ugly numbers for you. Those who have started games for the Mets this year only Jon Niese and Nelson Figueroa have a better than 2-1 strike out to walk ratio. The rest, well check out this mess, 343 strike outs to 254 walks and that includes Jon and Nelson. That's the worst in the league. They have won 31 games and lost 32. They have a combined ERA of 5.37.

Pedro's numbers last night in his first appearance. He had 5 strike outs and 1 walk. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings and was in complete control. He struck out both Derrick Lee and Soriano with vintage Pedro change ups and hit 90+ on the gun when he had to. Two of the hits he gave up were bloops and looked just as fresh when he finished as when he started.

Now maybe he won't go 5-1 the rest of the way but his infusion into the already solid Phillies rotation looks like a sure bet that the Phillies are primed for a long playoff run come October while Omar's band of retreads will have us fight to stay ahead of Washington's surge for 4th place in the NL East.

Yes, Omar, I told you so and told all those critics of Pedro that this mans career was far from over and I already know what their response will be. They will say two things. First, will be but he's only pitched one game and the second, will be of course, he will win because the Phillies average about a trillion runs per game.

What I would like to hear is Omar come out and make a statement like "I made a mistake, and should have signed Pedro when I had the chance". If he did something like that I would back him 100% and fight to see him return. Will he do that and finally take responsibility for any of his poor decisions? Of course he won't and that's why he will be gone no more than 5 days after the season ends.

I wonder if the next guy is smart enough to sign Pedro to a two year contract. I doubt it. Too bad, I guess some people will never learn.

The Time To Trade Wagner Is Now

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Hoops) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:53:59 PDT

Every day that goes by that the Mets hang onto Billy Wagner, is a decline in the return on what they could get for him via a trade.

Let’s face it the Mets are out of it and the club is primarily looking forward to next season to try to right the wrongs they have written in the past few seasons.

Even before their financial woes, the Mets have made it pretty clear that Wagner’s tenure with the club would be over by the end of the 2009 season.

So why are they holding onto him?

I understand that the 38 year old reliever needs to rehabilitate, but he’s shown he is ready for a taste of the big leagues, as he has pitched in five scoreless outings and has topped out in the mid 90s.

If he were to be traded now, the Mets could possibly net one or two decent prospects from a team in need of bullpen help. The Rays would be a perfect fit as it appears Troy Percival, their former closer, is calling it quits after numerous battles with injuries.

Tampa has a slew of young talent, whom the Mets could really use if nothing more than to provide depth and to fill their minor league lineups, whom have been rather dreadful this year.

Only time will tell whether or not Omar will swing a deal. However if he allows Wagner to walk at the end of the year and get nothing in return, than Minaya too deserves to be on his way out as well.

Billy on the Block?

noreply@blogger.com (Dom DiFucci) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:51:40 PDT

Closer Billy Wagner hasn't been a huge help to the New York Mets in the last year as he has been recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now it's looking like he could be a help to the team's future if GM Omar Minaya can find a way to trade him before the Aug. 31 deadline to have postseason rosters in place, according to the New York Daily News.

Wagner is supposedly almost ready to return to the majors. Even if he doesn't get traded, Wagner is very unlikely to return to the Mets next season since the team could buy him out for $1 million or exercise a club-option $8 million contract for next year.

Wagner used to say that 2009 would be his last year pitching but the word on the street is that he doesn't want to finish out his career this way and will likely try to find a team next year. If he gets traded to a contender, that would be a great place to showcase himself so you gotta think Wagner is into the idea of being moved since it seems clear that the Mets aren't going anywhere this year.