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June 19, 2006
Upcoming Series: Cincinnati Reds Pitchers
Staring down the barrel of what would have been a fairly humiliating sweep, the Mets were able to take the final game from the Orioles and rush them out of the ballpark as quickly as possible. Now they can go back to what they do best — whooping on fringe competitive teams and knocking them out of contention. The Reds were having fun for awhile there, but after the Chicago White Sox rolled into town and brought the brooms with them, they’ve now lost three in a row and are four and a half games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets will hope that Shea Stadium can work to their advantage in this series, and that a now strong-looking backend of the rotation can help cool off what has been a powerful, albeit all-or-nothing, Reds lineup. In the first game of the series, “El Duque” Orlando Hernandez (4-5, 5.50) takes on the Reds’ ace “Brandon” Bronson Arroyo (8-3, 2.51). In the second game, Steve Trachsel (4-4, 4.81) looks to get over .500 when he goes to the mound against rookie starter Elizardo Ramirez (2-5, 3.44). In Wednesday night’s game Alay Soler (2-1, 3.00) will try and keep those strong starts coming against Joe Mays (0-4, 8.22). And, in the finale, the struggling Pedro Martinez (6-3, 3.01) will attempt to get back on track against Eric Milton (4-3, 4.14). Game 1: Bronson ArroyoWhat’s the Story? During the offseason Arroyo, against the advice of his agent, went about signing a way below market value three year deal with the Red Sox, in order to help the team out with other free agent acquisitions and to keep himself in Boston. Then he was promptly traded to the Reds for Wily Mo Pena. Since that time Pena has been an inconsistent fourth outfielder for the Red Sox, while Arroyo has been one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. However Arroyo’s been somewhat inconsistent himself the past couple of weeks, allowing four runs in three of his last six outings. Despite being somewhat of a flyball pitcher, Arroyo’s found slightly more success at home (4-1, 2.49) than on the road (4-2, 2.54), though he’s been excellent regardless of where he’s pitched. Arroyo has a high-80’s/low-90’s fastball, a nice, hard-breaking slider, a solid curveball and an average changeup. Last Year: The Mets did not face Arroyo last season. For his career against the Mets he’s 1-1 in two starts with an ERA of 7.71. What to Expect: Arroyo’s fastball is one of the weakest in the National League, but it’s the movement and location he gets on the pitch that makes him successful. Though he’s not exactly early 90’s Maddux, Arroyo’s command is very good and his ability to change speeds on his pitches is terrific. Couple that two solid breaking pitches, and you have a good big league pitcher. Arroyo will throw his fastball early and often, and is afraid to pound lefties inside with it. Though righthanders tend to hit his fastball, his equalizer is his slider — a nasty pitch that’ll break away from them. Obviously, righties will get a lot of sliders — especially with two strikes. Arroyo’s change is nothing special, so expect it early in the count and never in a big spot. Game 2: Elizardo RamirezWhat’s the Story? The player to be named later in the deal that sent Cory Lidle to the Phillies, Ramirez has been a very solid starter for the Reds — and a guy the Phils probably wouldn’t mind having back. Ramirez was called up to take the injured Eric Milton’s place in the rotation, and then became a mainstay when Dave Williams was traded to our very own New York Mets. Though he’s always been considered a fringe prospect because of a pedestrian fastball, his command has kept him competitive at the big league level, and has been solid thus far. Ramirez features a high-80’s fastball, a solid curve and a decent changeup. Last Year: The Mets did not face Ramirez last season. What to Expect: Ramirez is another soft-tossing Reds pitcher, and another one with nice command. Because his stuff is average he makes his money by placing his pitches, and he’s done well in doing just that so far. Ramirez is a weird pitcher to watch, as one day he’ll be a groundball machine, and then the next game will have a ton of flyball outs. He’s very unpredictable, as is the nature of pitchers with sub par stuff. In his last start, however, he struck out ten Brewers over eight shutout innings — despite the fact that he hadn’t an outing yet where he didn’t allow a run, and that before the game he was striking out 5.9 per nine innings. Hitters should expect a lot of fastballs and a lot of curves. Righties will get a heavy dose of breaking stuff, while Ramirez tosses mostly changeups to lefthanders. Expect the Mets to be beyond frustrated. Game 3: Joe MaysWhat’s the Story? With Brandon Claussen on the DL with shoulder tendonitis the Reds are forced to do what not even the Kansas City Royals dared not — start Joe Mays. For those of you who follow only National League baseball, Mays is far, far, far removed from his days of a seventeen game winning Minnesota Twin. Since 2002 his ERA is a tidy 5.77, he’s allowed 475 hits in 381 innings, and he’s walked 105 while striking out 147. And, to kick off May, he was released by those aforementioned Royals. The 18-49 Royals. Really. Mays throws a high-80’s fastball that will occasionally hit 90, an decent changeup, an average slider and an okay curveball. Last Year: The Mets, unfortunately, did not face Mays last season. What’s the Story? Mays is yet another command pitcher, only his stuff isn’t good, and regardless of where he spots the ball it’s getting hit. He likes to pound the bottom of the strike zone, but in recent seasons he’s struggled with leaving his pitches up over the plate. Even his once terrific command has apparently left him this season — with fourteen walks in thirty innings so far this season. He throws a lot of fastballs, and, like Arroyo, will throw his slider to righties and changeups to lefties. Mays has been rocked in every start this year, so if the Mets don’t hit this guy it would be an anomaly. Game 4: Eric MiltonWhat’s the Story? Despite an absolutely atrocious, and completely foreseeable, season last year, Eric Milton is actually kinda pitching well again. He’s only made nine starts so far due to a knee injury, but since returning he’s lowered his ERA from 7.04 to 4.14, and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since the 20th of May. Since he’s a flyball pitcher, he’s been predictably far better on the road (3-0, 3.08) than at home (1-3, 5.01). Milton throws a fastball in the 92-94 MPH area, an above-average slider, a decent changeup and a solid, big breaking curveball. Last Season: Milton made two starts against the Mets and, though his record was 1-1 against them, he was good in neither. Over eleven innings he allowed nine runs off of sixteen hits, including three homeruns (two from Carlos Beltran, one from David Wright). He also walked two and struck out four. What to Expect: Milton’s gameplan has always been to attack hitters, and while he’s watered that gameplan down some when he pitches at home, he’ll still go after guys on the road. Because of this hitters can expect a healthy dose of fastballs and changeups. Milton likes to work in the bottom half of the strike zone, and predominantly away, though he will come inside against righties. He doesn’t go to his breaking stuff as often as he used to, though, as a lefthander, he will throw his fair share of sliders and curves to lefties. Righties can expect a lot of fastballs, and this team’s righthanders should be waiting in sweet anticipation for ‘em. Overall:The Reds are throwing some solid pitchers, as well as Joe Mays, in this series. The Reds rotation has been fairly strong this year, with the exception of Brandon Claussen, who now finds himself on the DL. The Mets have a strength in this series, however, as the Reds lineup is relatively young and quite strikeout prone. The Reds rotation is a bunch of soft tossing, control artists — and the Mets have actually handled these kinds of pitchers well this year. This all comes down to matchups, however, and I’m not sure I see either team as having a distinct advantage. I love Duque, but I see Arroyo taking that game, as well as Ramirez taking his start. Then, hopefully, the Mets turn it on again and go back on a roll. 2-2 series split. Predicted Record: 39-29 Andrew is a contributor for MetsGeek.com as well as his blog, <a href="http://chucknduck.blogspot.com/">Chuck 'n' Duck</a>. If his opinions are wildly inappropriate and out of line, feel free to tell him so here: <a href="mailto:andrew@metsgeek.com">andrew@metsgeek.com</a> 70 Responses to “Upcoming Series: Cincinnati Reds Pitchers”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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LMAO. How far ajoe Mays has fallen. Maybe the reds will find lighting like we did with Lima
This is just an FYI for those who aren’t aware that Pedro has indeed been pitching hurt (not just from the infamous toe). On May 26 in Florida, Pedro was asked to remove a long-sleeved warmup jersey in favor of a short-sleeved one. While doing this in between innings, he slipped and fell. Stories vary, but apparently his right hip has been hurting since then. (This is the same hip in which he had to receive a cortisone shot last season to relieve inflammation.) As we have seen, he has pitched through the discomfort, with mixed results. Pedro has acknowledged that the hip soreness has affected his command and caused him to struggle, but Pedro being Pedro, he has sounded determined to work through it. Knowing that this has been going on, I thought he gave a gutsy performance on Saturday. His control may be wavering, but not his fierce competitiveness and desire to win.
Here’s a recent excerpt from Newsday:
So, this sounds like a work-in-progress, sort of like when Pedro was adjusting to pitching with the special shoe and sore toe.
Right now, Pedro says he’s fine to go out there and pitch. I hope so. I’m sure this and El Duque’s need for extra rest is all whirling around in Omar’s head. We’ll see what happens.
I do feel confident about this series with the Reds. Can’t wait. Go Mets!
For those in particular that felt that Reyes was not a leadoff hitter, we should all be happy to know that Reyes presently leads the league in runs scored. There were also many on this list that felt that he should be hitting down on the ball to take advantage of his speed to leg out hits. Upper cutting would certainly be wrong for him but trying to hit in the gaps certainly does make sense. The guy has an awful lot of extra base hits and I think this is a significant reason he leads the leagues in runs. Of course, his stolen bases haven’t hurt.
Red pitching has been fine away from the Great American Bandbox, or whatever they call that place. Excellent peripherals, including an outstanding staff K/BB ratio.
And they’ll be at Shea.
I don’t think the Mets can count on bashing, as’ll happen next month when they square off in Cincy. Plus, the Mets get their own back end of thr rotation, and Beltran looks like he’s coming back to earth for a few days at least.
Young “Derek Who?” Wright, of course, has heard of this “back to earth” concept but opts to ignore it.
I’m thinking 2-2 here.
* * *
And, in a little meme I’m starting . . . well, right now, here’s my Adam Dunn Predictor for the 4 games: 14 ABs, 2 H, 2HR, 4 BB, 9 K.
While runs are important factors in considering Jose Reyes’ success as a leadoff man, there is yet a greater indicator of success in that position–OBP. Normally one wants a contact hitter who will get on base often and K less. A .336 OBP is a decent OBP and I would have been more than happy with that number at the beginning of the season if you said that he would’ve produced anywhere between a .330 and a .360 OBP. He has raised that number significantly over the past weeks due to the fact that several players, including Carlos Delgado, have spoken to him about his approach before the road trip when he entered one of his homer happy stints.
I personally hope that Reyes levels his swing and continues to look for his pitch to make contact on. Because Reyes can turn a single into a double when he’s on base, it is imperative the get on early and often through hit, walk, or induced error….his slugging percentage, while important, will not justify a low OBP at the leadoff position.
Off topic, but….I’ve heard Howie Rose take some ripping for the job he did filling in for Gary Cohen. IMHO, I think Howie did a great job! True, his biggest flaw is that he tends to beat a point to death, repeating it over and over. But I think his whole bit about Cohen doing “rehab announcing” was hilarious and showed some genuine affection towards his pal Gary. I think both Rose and Cohen call an exciting game because they sound like any of us true Met fans would if we were calling it. I’m also starting to dig Ron Darling more and more - he seems to be getting more comfortable and settling in nicely. And I especially love when Mex and Darling are both doing color, makes for a nice balance.
Darling’s been a nice surprise. He’s quite confident really, and not afraid to speak honestly. Plus, his analysis of what pitchers are doing is excellent.
Cohen Keith & Darling together’s been fun, fun, fun. Keith’s already verging on self-parody, and he’s juts starting his booth career, really. Plus, Darling’s more fun when Keith’s with him. Cohen, unlike Rose, knows ehen to shut up and let those two riff. In general, Cohen gives more leash to Keith than Howie does.
Leash + Keith = Gooooooooood.
True. But…
Keith-Leash =Better!
2 HR, 2 RBI
Here in SW Ohio the criticism on Dunn is that he doesn’t hit with runners on base. His HR to RBI ration is atrocious.
Off topic, but interesting. Unsure if anyone picjed up on this Friday night on TV.
I was watching the opening of the game on Friday noghjt on SNY, they were doing the little video into, showing clips of various guys as the voiceover went on. While saying “Don’t be late, you might miss some runs”, guess who the video was showing:
Lastings Milledge.
Ouch, that hurts guys.
Like Andrew, I can definitely see the Mets having problems with Elizardo Ramirez. But I think the Mets hit Arroyo relatively hard. He’s not this good, and good offensive teams like the Mets will help Arroyo regress to his mean.
I like the Mets 3 of 4 here. I think they lose the Ramirez start, as I don’t think he will get hit hard, and I no longer have any faith in Steve Trachsel (I personally think his back is bothering him, there has to be some excuse why everything is up in the zone). But I think the Mets should win every other game. I am presupposing that Arroyo gets hit hard and El Duque gives a good start. Unless Soler implodes on the mound (which he may one day do, like actually physically implode), the Mets should really knock Joe Mays around. And I look for a Pedro bounce-back start against Milton.
I also predict that Jose Reyes, RBI Machine, will have more RBIs than Adam Dunn in the series.
In other news…
The Atlanta Braves lose ground while the Mets are losing 2 out of 3 and are
currently 14 games out of first, mired in last place in the NL East.
Not that anyone would take any pleasure in such things.
so, we rooting for the yankees this week?
just wondering.
Never root for the Yankees unless there out of it. Instead make a pact with the Devil, Damn Yankees style, maybe they can both lose somehow.
Mike - What’s a meme?
I don’t know, really. It’s just one of those “blog” words that seems to mean anything & nothing-at-all simultaneously. I started using it ironically on my blog, and now I guess I’m falling into the bad habits I usually make fun of.
Seriously, I think it’s somethinmg like a thread or a theme in e-formats. Who knows really?
Wikipedia on Meme:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
Just looked at their schedule. Wow, hadn’t thought about this, with the Mets palying the AL East, the Yanks have a similar schedule against the NL East this week. Guess I’ll do what I did when the Yanks and Braves played each other in the WS (couldn’t bring myself to root for eaither of then - which sucked). Just look away and hope for it to end quickly.
Wow - a lot there.
Snakes on a Plane!
I think that is starting to get into meme territory.
That what they call the Yankee’s Chartered Flight?
LOL
Remember, we need them this week, so I hope Sam Jackson doesn’t get on the plane with them.
I “need” the Yanks like I “need” Uruguayan Refs in World Cup Games, or like I “need” Kaz Iishi & Lima Time back in the rotation.
I’m thinking lately that the Phils & Braves can take care of themsleves juuuuuuust fine.
Now, as to the Nats & Marlins, though . . .
Yanks v Phils. Let’s just hope for lots of injuries.
Personally, I prefer Ron much more to Keith. Ron is less obtrusive, tells better stories and his insights on pitching are more interesting to me (and I think usually more useful to a fan) than Keith’s often repetitive and not very instructive comments on hitting (we’ve all heard about stepping in the bucket…enough already). Often I think Keith is full of hot air, like when he goes on an on about Reyes’ shoulders “flying open.” With Keith, I think it’s all event driven. If Jose hits a line drive, then the shoulders stayed closed, but if he pounds the ball into the dirt or pops up, he flew open. I wish somebody would just call him out on this by administering a test to Keith consisting of photos of Reyes’ upper torso and arms right at the moment of contact and ask him to say whether or not the shoulders have “flown open.” I have 100% confidence that there would be zero correlation between when Keith said Reyes’ shoulders were flying open and when Reyes hit the ball hard.
Screw that- I hope the Yanks get swept. At this point, I believe by the end of this month, the Phils will not have gained any ground on us, if not lost a couple of more games. And Im MORE than sure the Mets can get by without help from other teams.
But now the Yankees getting swept by all NL East teams? Priceless.
Yeah, I can see how Keith can turn alot of people off. I like Darling alot too. I just like to hear Hernandez commentate on the game because you never know what he is going to say. Today commentators are such yesmen who like to tout the company line. They are so worried about saying anything controversial that they end up repeating the same lines over and over again–thus saying nothing interesting. Keith tells you what he thinks about the game. People may not agree with it, but he isn’t going to allow this to stop him from expressing his opinion. This is very rare in today’s PC media culture where people justify censorship through the pretense of civility and mistake any deviation from the usual script as synonymous with impropriety.
I don’t feel as if Keith is trying ot put down Reyes when he criticizes his batting stance on the basis of the results produced at the time. He simply feels as old school baseball man that a major flaw in Reyes’ apporach is his the way he generally flies out his shoulders when swinging for pitches low and away. He’s just opinionated and not afraid to voice it.
I think the Mets split 2-2 with cincy but im predicting they take the middle two games. Arroyo takes game 1 easy unless elduque can produce a miracle. Game 2 Cy Trachsel is back, he always makes it a close game, mets bats will prevail. Game 3 the Mets abuse Joe Mays scoring 10 runs. The last game will be close but pedro being hurt tips the scale for me( I could be wrong here. So I say 2-2 in the 4 game set.
P.S. trachsel could lose and Pedro could win also making it 2-2
Like I said a couple weeks ago the team to beat in the NL east is the Nats. They are the team we had the closest series with in the east. Im not worried at all about Fla theya re just too young to sustain this streak. The braves look pitiful and i dont see any comeback from them. The Mets need to keep the pressure on the Nats so thjey decide they can catch us and have that fire sale they were thinking about before the tade deadline.
I don’t disagree with Keith’s view on Reyes’ approach — Reyes does open his shoulders often — and I do like that he expresses his views candidly. I just think he can belabor his views to the point of distracting the viewer from the game. I don’t think he’s terrible; he’s ok. I just think Ron’s better.
I agree. The major flaw Keith’s commenting it is tendency to beat the dead horse with a stick. This was especially seen in the whole “women don’t belong in the clubhouse” debacle in San Diego when he belabored his sexist point over and over and over again. However, Darling can also be a bit annoying in his own sunshiney way. His consistent “Wow”-ing of major league talent and his “glass is always half full” assessments can be a bit too rosey as I sometimes feel he tries to downplay the negative about the Mets and overplay the positives. I like Keith because he will not hesitate to point out when something is not being executed properly and will not get overtly excited when things are going really well for the team.
Not looking to great for tonights game
http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/sports/hourbyhour/38720:20?from=36hr_fcstHourLink_sports
I like both Keith and Ron. Keith has a more working class approach saying exactly as he sees it. Ron does get a bit rosy in his broadcasting, I agree, but not as bad as Fran Healy was. If either one was removed from the booth it wouldnt be as good. If we had to choose i would have to go with Keith even though hes cruder and doesnt pay attention all the time. I would rather get the truth then be snowballed about how great the mets are.
It will be fine. A line of thunderstorms will move through before, during or after the game. Nothing to cancel it. It’s your typical summer thunderstorm. Storm line is currently over the central sections of NY & Pennsylvania
I agree. Hope for a one game under .500 from the Yankees so it’s basically neutral.
If they dominate, it opens the door to Yankee fans saying the Yanks would annihilate the NL East and the Mets are chumps. That is too predictable.
It the NL east romps, the Mets may lose some of their cushy lead.
Although, the Mets DO have a huge lead. A freakishly large lead for this time of year. How about this. The Mets kick ass…then the NL East takes down the Yankees hard. No ground gained, but no ground lost and a bruised set of Yankee fans.
It’s a good thing when the hot topic for the day is who is the best announcer as opposed to say, oh, I don’t know, who should be starting, Lima or Gonzalez?
Now Mike, “Lima Time” has been doing real well at AAA, showing that maybe Omar gave up too quickly ;)
Perhaps “need” was a wrong choice of words. What I need from the Yanks is to just go away, losing loudly and frequently. I would not mind them taking the Braves and Phillies down a little further first.
I am not overly concerned about Fish or National’s. Fish tend to rot when left out in the sun too log, especilly when young. These Marlins are young, though they will be good in another year or so.
The Nat’s just plain are not that good overall. Livan has a bum knee, Soriano could be dealt. If the lead is still over 6 by the trade dealine, Soriano is going to be dealt more than likely, as odds are he is not going to stay as a FA in DC.
That would be fun!
The Mets already abused the yankees and the Al east just is not that good. The Yankees and Boston arent anywhere near as good as they used to be, both teams have serious pitching problems.Mets and phillies will Trash the yankees and boston. Toronto cant even catch them. Nats are even with Toronto Orioles and TB simply cant compete,(freak accident that Balt took 2of 3 from the Mets) The nationals are better then both those teams. The Braves and Fla are very similar to Baltimore and TB respectively.
Mets > Yanks
Phillies > Boston
Nats = Toronto
Braves = Orioles
Fla =TB
Nope, I just wanted him to take more pitches and walk a bit more-
and he is walking quite a bit more this year
forgive me for being new to this, but i dont know how to put someone else’s words in a nice little box like you guys can.
so someone said this:
Keith tells you what he thinks about the game. People may not agree with it, but he isn’t going to allow this to stop him from expressing his opinion.
to which i’d like to reply:
i love that about keith (even though the female trainer in the dugout overreaction made me want to reach through the tv and kick him in the shins), but isnt that what got tim mccaver his ticket out of the booth in ny? i would much rather listen to a broadcaster tell me what is actually going on than one that toes the company line. i watch alot of phillies games, and they go too easy on bobby abreu. he often shies away from the wall, thus misplaying what should be catches into extra base hits (remember reyes’ “triple”?). you could tell they were trying to figure out what to say about that play, and ended up saying things like, “well, he probably should have had that”.
anyway, i love listening to keith. i think i just have complete and total adoration for all ‘86 mets regardless of what they do or say. darling is growing on me, too. what do you guys think of kiner? he’s like a loveable old grandpa, and he has some interesting stories, but it is just getting more and more painful to listen to him speak every year.
I just want Reyes to level his swing and stop taking these Griffey-like uppercuts with the intention of hitting for power when a single will do. Now, I think that Reyes will probably hit lower in the order later on in his career because he does have some pop and seems to have a knack for hitting with runners on. But I am happy that the OBP has improved and I hope that his patience continues to improve. I think the next step for himis to try to work two strike counts a little better, but overall, the kid should be a superstar for a long time to come.
From Buster Olney’s blog @ espn.com
Metschick when you want to post a quote someone else said, click the Blockquote button before and after the quote,
ex: Blockquote “I love listening to Keith” Blockquote
without the quotation marks of course. I love Kiner too but His voice is like that because of the stroke he had. For a stroke victim he speaks pretty well. It just pisses me off that hes only allowed to sit in the booth for 1 inning on friday night. I think it pisses him off too. I would love to see Kiners corner back even if we have to listen to his limited speach, hes an institution in itself and i love hearing his stories
Metschick, I agree with you 100% about Keith and yes I did feel that McCarver was unfairly treated due to his opinionated approach. Unfortunately for Tim, he was a commentator during the Booby Valentine era and dared to challenge the great and all-knowing managerial moves of the Conceited One. The rest is history and sadly he was replaced with Tom “Muppet” Seaver.
At the same time, I can see how guys like Keith wouldn’t make popular commentators among coroporate execs and Mets Fandom. One has to be careful about who one offends these days when making a point in public or else the civility police come and read you the courtesy rights.
What I would like to see Reyes improve mostly is his bunting ability. With his speed he should try to bunt at least 1 time a game or at least fake one. Endy at least fakes a bunt every game and it brings the 1st and 3rd baseman in a little which probably helps with base hits through the holes. Reyes needs to do that more.
I actually forgot that ralph had a stroke, which is definitely a testament to how much he has overcome that!
Bringing back Kiners Korner would be a good program for SNY. I cant stand listening to those idiots from the daily news. Talk about Boring!
And I love intelligent women who can discuss baseball, and who get fiesty enough to want to kick somebody (preferrably not me, of course.)
Welcome to the board. You are officially my new favorite participant here.
Reyes doesn’t have to fake a bunt to bring in the defense… they’re already in. It wasn’t sooner than yesterday that he hit a bullet off of Mora’s knee because he was playing up in the grass. He has a few bunts for base hits within the last couple of weeks. He’s fine with that.
Reyes does take a fairly level swing. I don’t get this argument. Everyone pops the ball up from time to time. Major league pitchers are not easy to hit. This also ties in to the misconception that Reyes immediately goes into a slump once he hits a HR. It’s just not true. I want someone to present evidence that this is indeed the case. You can’t.
Reyes is leading the Major Leagues in runs scored with 57. When will people just let him be? I don’t get the constant criticism of him. I really don’t.
Bobby V, conceited? Surely you jest ;)
Bobby V invented the game of baseball, taught Tony Larussa everything he knows, and Lastings Milledge was cloned from a single strand of Bobby’s hair.
OK, back to reality. I liked Bobby, but he was the type that burns bright and quickly flames out. Like Mike Keenan in hockey, Bill Parcells in football. They push, gets some results, but end up alienating most of the team, so they have to move on.
Willie has annoyed a couple of guys I am sure, but for the most part, they like him. Hey, results count, and Willie has gotten them.
any chance of getting dontrelle willis in a mets uniform this season?!?!
is millege getting himself in the doghouse with upper management, or is it just rookie ignorance/arrogance?
I don’t see the Marlins trading Dontrelle, and even if they do, there are a lot of teams out there who have better prospects to offer than the Mets.
If I had to guess, I would say the Mets will get Livan Hernandez and Julio Lugo before the deadline. Livan will cost 3 prospects - Gomez, AHern and Niese? Lugo may be cheaper because there are more 2B available - Bannister and Diaz maybe?
Unfortunately I do not see us getting dontrelle. Boy oh boy do I wish we could. Unless we can package pelfrey and milledge and maybe even huber. I dont think they trade dontrelle to another N.l East team. I think fla may be done trading with us altogether anyway. They pretty much got the chips they needed from us. They are gonna ask alot for him anyway.
I dont think milledge is in the doghouse just chalk it up to willie having to teach a very confident young man the ropes. Everything as come easy for the great milledge, and I dont think anyone has taken the time to teach him the the MLB way of life. Hes a smart kid and he will learn. He has done everything we have asked of him thus far.
I just wondering if the NL all star update is coming out today. Does anybody knows anything about it?
We might trade nady + A hern. for prior
Where did this come from, Gammons? Please, no chance of trading for another sore armed pitcher. Not on Omar’s watch.
For Nady and Ahern you have to do that deal and hope and pray Prior can stay healthy he can be the best pitcher in baseball when healthy. Ahern is a bit part and Nady is not worth Prior. That would be very different tha Kazmir for Zambrano.
Where did this rumor come from by the way?
Ah, you may have unleashed a lion with this one metschick. Lots of varied opinions.
Personally, I think he is a kid who needs to be hand-held for now. Based on recent events, someone needs to sit down with him and explain what is expected of a rookie, even one as talented as Lastings. Comments like “I don’t need a lot of prep time” are not going to win him a lot of friends in the clubhouse (or across the league for that matter). Not running all out on a 2 out batted ball is something you learn in little league.
Now who is the right person is the question. Is it Willie or a coach? Is it a veteran like Floyd, or Delgado? I would lean toward a veteran, they might be able to relate to him a little better. Heck, even Reyes could talk to him about what it is like to be a young player with a lot of talent that is being watched like a hawk.
The bottom line is the media is going to look for every little thing this guy does. Some fans are going to as well. He needs to do all he can to minimize the stuff they can catch him on.
sorry forgot to add these
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060619/SPORTS01/606190354/1108
http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20060619-022840-5520r.htm
That quote sounds suspiciously like Bowden stirring stuff up in hopes that he can pressure Minaya to at least enter the bidding for the guys Bowden hopes to trade. Wonder how many Nats scouts have been out to see Pelfrey, Owens, and even Fernandez. More than one, I’d guess.
As for Nady/A-Hern for Prior, if there’s anything to that rumor, I think the Mets would have to do it. Average - even slightly above average - corner outfielders and weak-hitting middle infielders can be replaced. And in Prior, there’s a pretty decent chance of catching lightning in a bottle. Yes, you run a bit of a risk by going into October with either Chavez or Milledge counted on every day, but I don’t think that Chavez for Nady is a terrible tradeoff for the season. And Milledge could be better than either before the end of the season.
Plus, I hear that the Mets medical staff says they can get Prior healthy in like ten minutes. (-:
An update is due out today, but I haven’t seen one yet. While we’re on the topic - don’t forget to go to MLB.com and vote (up to 25 times). Wright, Reyes, Loduca and Beltran all have legit shots to be voted in as starters. I would also encourage everyone to vote for Ichiro and Loretta. They are trailing Damon and Cano by slim margins.
Actually it sounds suspiciously like a pasage in Moneball-
Billy Beane was trying to nose into a trade between Boston and Montreal- Boston wanted Cliff Floyd- Beane told Omar to ask for a player as a throw-in (and to flip said player to Oakland of course) the throw in was a young unheralded guy (now Boston;’s starting 1B…)
Beane told Omar, Boston’s close, there’s no way they let a young guy stand between them and Cliff Floyd, between them and one last piece to get to the WS…
Everybody’s gotta lay off Keith. Remember, if you will, the following:
1. He still the Met’s captain. In fact, just as Kim Il Sung is Eternal President of North Korea, so is Keith Eternal Captain.
2. If not for Keith, we’d be calling Jose Valentin “bare lip” and not ‘Stache. Keith did break the facial hair line in MLB. Those 19th century guys? The ’70’s A’s? Photoshop, all photoshop.
3. If not for Keith, Young David “Derek Who?” Wright would “pull off the ball, open his shoulders, and fail to use a level swing” on every at-bat. He’d only be hitting.329, not the .336 he’s actually got.
4. He’s Keith Hernandez.
5. Every pitch except a fastball “tumbles.”
I hope Keith’s in the booth tonight, I hope there’s no rain, and I hope I can write a whole post tomorrow morn about his silliness (+ a Met win!).
And, finally, in case you’ve forgotten, keep your shoulder in, and don’t pull off the ball.
I read on metsblog.com the mets might be looking to trade for Meche from seattle sending Diaz and a minor league arm. I like him better then Livan Hernandez. Meche is 7-4 with a 4.11 era this yr on 14 starts. Its good to see that Omar is still looking for that #3 starter that the Mets will need for the playoffs
Roger Cedeno at his best LOL
http://www2.jsonline.com/sports/brew/image/2001/june/cedeno0608.jpg
Good to see Roger practicing his breakdancing skills. I think he’s got a future.
Ok with Puljos finished who wins MVP? I say David Wright. I dont even see anyone close. Maybe Scott Rolen. Carlos Beltran is on the same team and if you watch this team you know whos more valuable, so Beltran second. Rolen #3. As far as Cy Young I have it almost dead even between Webb and Glavine. Need to see more. I know Glavine has 10 and Webb 8, but that could all change. Webb has a lower era and if they both get 20 say (glavine 22, and webb 20) it would definately go to Webb. Buts its darn close right now. Interested in other Geeks opinions.
After her husband Chris Benson beat the Mets she offered all the Mets players some KY jelly if they though they needed it LMFAO!!!!!
I would have shot back yeah i’ll use it on you
On the Mets site they have chavez listed as the starting left fielder over Milledge and they have Glavine listed at the #1 pitcher over Pedro. Both suprised me.