2008 Mets!!! LETS GO METS!!!

Forgot about Davis and hes a decent 3 but he allows a lot of runners. Scherzer is a beast. I grabbed him in ever fantasy league I had first waiver priority. I anticipate him being as good as Lincecum. 38k's in 23IP in AA says something. At the very least hes goin to k some hitters.

But Juan Cruz pretty much blew with the cubs and I would trust him about as much as I trust Heilman or Sosa in a big spot for NYM. regardless of what the stats say you know the implosion factor is always there.

 

Well, I've got no argument about Castillo. I didn't like the 4 year deal at the time, and I like it even less now. And I further agree that poor hitters should be moved down in the order, to minimize their at bats. However, the evidence that Player X hitting behind Player Y will affect Player Y's stats isn't strong. It's yet another case of Conventional Baseball Wisdom vs. Sabermetrics.

Exhibit A: the short version is "a dramatically screwed up batting order will hurt you, but short of that, the difference isn't huge."

Exhibit B: pretty much the same thing.

Exhibit C: The Bill James Baseball Abstract. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time finding the article online, but James completely debunked the whole issue of "protection" in lineups.

Intrinsically, it doesn't really make sense with Reyes. For instance, the whole logic of the situation usually revolves around the idea that by having a better hitter behind Player Y, Player Y will see more strikes, and therefore more hittable pitches. If Manny Ramirez isn't hitting behind David Ortiz, Ortiz is more likely to see lousy pitches that are outside the strike zone; pitchers will "pitch around" Ortiz. Well, pitchers are already going to throw strikes to Reyes; the LAST thing they want to do is put him on first base with a walk. The idea of "pitching around" Reyes is flatly ridiculous.

 

agreed NJ, it doesnt always need to be pretty. Sometimes you just take the win and run.

Johan Santana is scarily resembling Pedro's first year though where he pitches great game after great game and cant get w's

 

Ryan Church is awesome by the way...just watching the replay of the game today as I had to record it because of work....Even on a day he goes 0-4. 2 good defensive plays, one ridiculously great throw. My God I love having someone in right field who isn't a geriatric (green).

By the way, we may have found a manager dumber then Willie: Bob Melvin intentionally walking Castillo makes him at least AS dumb.

Here's an interesting stat I came across, which is really telling about Schneider's abilities:

In 2 games caught by Schneider, Pelfrey has a record of 2 wins, 0 losses, 12 IP, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR, .227 BA, .579 OPS, 1.50 ERA

In 2 games caught by Casanova, Pelfrey has a record of 0 wins, 1 loss, 10.1 IP, 9 ER, 6 BB, 3 SO, 3 HR, .432 BA, 1.172 OPS, 7.84 ERA

 

I'm still not buying the Milledge trade, but I like it a whole lot more now than I did a few months ago. Church has been raking and playing fine defense, while there appears to be something to the thought that Schneider calls a great game. And he's actually contributing with his bat, too.

Nice to take 2 of 3 from the team with the best record in the NL...in their park no less.

 

One thing I will bring up about the Milledge trade that has not been mentioned is that in washington they never really gave him the opportunity to play every day until last year. But this is the second time Minaya has brought in the once highly regarded prospect and felt the same way.

Personally, i think the Milledge trade is fine for the short term. My beef was always 10 years from now but if it solidifies the lineup (which through no fault of church or schneiders it hasnt) and we win a title because of what they bring to the table (which could happen), then its legitimized.

 

Will Perez get out of the 1st inning tonight?

 

and if he is trouble now, imagine when he gets comfortable. He is " a problem " waiting to happen and The Mets saw it coming. Church and Schneider for Milledge....trade of the YEAR!
I truely believe that Wright will get his hits, Reyes will come around and Church hitting in front of Wright will be great because he see's more pitches as pitchers do not want to pitch around him giving Wright an RBI opportunity the majority of the time. Castillo when he is healthy is also a great #2 hitter because he puts so many balls in play. Its classic baseball which Wille plays old school being around Torre for so long.
I really worry about Beltran and Delgado. Beltran is a lifetime 275-280 hitter and made his name in one playoff year with homers, so we need at the least 275 out of him. We cant afford a down year from him, especially the way Delgado is diminishing before our eyes.
I am the eternal pessimist as a Mets fan, with good reason, but If it was the playoffs and Santana goes against Webb, I doubt we win ....we need RUNS. Game two would be Maine vs. Haren and getting 2 runs off Haren....Maine better be on or series over. The Mets arent hitting well, 15th in the league and after Sanatna, we just dont have a solid number 2 starter. We need the bats to go crazy or Maine to turn his game on big time. In a seven game series, our pitching isn't anywhere near strong enough.

Lets go kick some LA butts!!!

 

Eh i think we have 2 legit 2's in Maine and Pedro when Pedro is healthy, obviously healthy being the key. I still have no questions about Pedro in a big spot.

Good to see another met fan

 

Ollie strikes again. But at least he got out of the first inning tonight. Dammit, hes got to go....

 

True enough. If the Mets win a title, with Church and Schneider pitching in, then Milledge can go to Cooperstown and it would be legitimized. However, I just didn't think it would be that much of a short term boost; I thought Schneider was a dime-a-dozen catcher, and Church was not likely to be as good as Milledge this year, let alone the next five. But, it's definitely been good so far.

 

Church has a very good chance of being a excellent player. He hasn't been a RF before and is better suited for it. He was a diamond in the rough. The Perez experiment continues. Whats up with him and the long ball?

I look at the Phillies and the top of their order is hitting and carrying great batting avg's with power. I really have been frustrated with the Mets so far this year and winning the next two in LA would go a long way towards a light at the end of the tunnel. We aren't playing like a division Champ, so until we get better in every aspect, we are destined for 2nd place in our division. I can't see us trading mid year either as our farm system is drained of talent. OF Martinez is two years away from contributing we don't have the talent pool to pull of a big HR hitter via trade.
Mike Jacobs, i knew we should never of let him go....avg fielder, but major HR potential and he's young!
Still my biggest concern is pitching......but where are the bats!

I found this on the Mets Blog! :

No Mets pitcher has gone more than seven innings this season.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the only other major league team that has not had a pitcher throw more than seven innings this season is the Cubs.

Pedro isnt the Pedro of old either, it seems he is just an inning chewer at this point in his career IMO. We need Maine to step up in a big way to have a CHANCE at the division. COME ON METS! LETS GET HOT ALREADY!!!!

 

- Ollie has actually done a good job keeping the ball in the park. Heading in to last night he had allowed 1 hr in 29 innings before allowing 3 in 6 innings last night. Thats one thing i cant complain about him doing. Part of that I attribute to his wildness. Many players find it difficult to get comfortable against pitchers who have no control because they dont know where the ball is going. That, coupled with the fact Ollie slingshots the ball from a side angle and does a good job hiding the pitch (usually) makes it difficult to pick up.

- Fernando will be ready by next season. Expect him to play 1B of LF. I expect Adam Dunn to fill the other role as he will pick up much of where Delgado was supposed to.

- As far as other minor leaguers close to contributing: Jon Niese is a lefty who looked strong during Spring Training and was a pretty high pick a few years back. He needs to build up his stamina but he has 3 good pitches. Niese should be a 5th for a year or two who should eventually evolve into a good 3.
Bobby Parnell is another young sp to keep an eye on.
Eddie Kunz was the first pick of the Minaya era and will replace Wagner very soon. hes a power pitcher who is being groomed for the closer role and could be setting up next year. I expect big things from him.
Though Nathan Vineyard has huge upside and we stole him from the Braves backyard. He was a HS kid we drafted very high and is slowly progressing.

Most importantly we have 5 high picks (all in the top 75 I believe) this year so the farm will get replenished very soon.

- Mike Jacobs still cant hit lefties. He started hot last year too then ended up at 265. he'll be a decent player who has to be platooned. And at 28, hes already in his prime.

- Part of that is because of the way Peterson monitors pitch counts. The other part is that Ollie and Maine think pitch count is something only ****ies use. They long for the days of the CG 9 hitter/5BB.

At least Maine can still be fixed. Ollie Im not so sure of.

- I completely disagree on Pedro. His era/whip last year showed he can be effective. He shut down a solid Philly offense down the stretch and his whip was bloated by 1 bad outing. Most importantly he sported 0 hrs in 28IP last year and a 2.57 era and had 32k's in 28 innings showing he will still be a top of the rotation pitcher for at least a little while longer. I think we miss his swagger as much as anything.

 

I think willie is part of the problem. I think the body language of other players is another. Ollie, Castillo and Reyes just dont always seem like theyre in the game. Perez is way too emotional and loses focus too easily. Castillo is very apathetic and imo useless.

Reyes concerns me the most as he seems surpressed emotionally by Randolph which I hope hasnt scared the kid. Yet hes still undisciplined at times which kind of defeats the point of willie asking him to pipe down. I like him better when hes jumping around acting like a 6 year old. Some players need to be able to display emotion because thats what gets their competitive juices going....Willie needs to grasp that.

 

Am I the only one who just saw Moises Alou steal home?

Russell Martin threw to second on Pagan's steal attempt, alou took home. Both guys were safe.

Reyes with a chance to bust it open here with the bases juiced 2 out in the 4th

 

boo mets.





that is all.

 

Yay Mets when they play the Dodgers

 

RISP 2 out: 0-6, 6 K.

They all looked like the kid hitting ninth with his finger up his nose in Little League when anybody got to second base.

 

Finally, an 8 inning performance! Nice ***-whooping of the Dodgers to salvage a game from the series. All in all, hard to complain too much about a 3-3 road trip to Arizona and LA.

 

Looks like Beltran is on one of his tears where he hits like 567 over the next 7 games. 8 Rbi the last 2 days and raised the BA about 40 points.....

Good to see he and Wright waking up.

Even got good outings from Pelfrey last night and Perez today

 

Every time I see Perez pitch, I become a bigger believer in your "sell high" theory on him, Boik. Even when he's good, he does stupid **** like dropping his arm angle. I half expect him to throw it underhanded some day, just because he feels like it.

 

Watching the Marlins..I can't figure them out. They got a very good bullpen..and they have a pretty good lineup with what might be the best player in the NL.

Their pitching is horrid and they are due to fall apart from it.

Just stay close..their collapse will come. Their schedule gets tougher starting next week.

The Phillies look like poo. It will still be us at the end.

 

Rick Petersons back will feel instant relief from carrying him the last two years. Once El Duque and Pedro get back to solidify two more spots, I would absolutely trade Perez for an upgraded bat somewhere...maybe package him with Delgado for an upgrade at 1B...Maybe Dunn specifically since you know hes a FA who wont be resigning with his current club and we need a 1B for next year or with Castillo for an upgrade at 2B?

Just throwing that out there. Thats how I would handle it though.

 

Perez is worth a helluva lot more than a bat rental.

We should try to buy low and put out a feeler for Hunter Pence.

Astro fans (stupid) are just about ready to jump off the bandwagon after one month (he has been dreadful in some big spots, even in his great year last year).

The Astros might take Perez + prospects for him. I WOULD DO THAT deal...that deal makes us good in the long term and makes us younger.

 

If its not us at the end there will be heads a rolling I think.

I still think we need another middle of the order bat to get where we want to go though. The sharp contrast in productivity is summarized by two comparisons:
Carlos Delgado 06 = we scored a ton of runs and had one of the best offenses
Carlos Delgado 07 = we struggled to score runs at times and only did so in spurts

Comparison #2 and much more overlooked imo:
Jose Valentin 06 = Depth throughout the lineup and more consistent run production from the back end of the order
Without Valentin for much of 07 we struggled in the back end of the batting order as well.

 

Oh i recommended Dunn with the intention of resigning him since Teixeria is likely to stay in ATL and there are few other good 1B options available. Again that was just a suggestion.

Pence wouldnt be bad at all but frankly where do you put him when Beltran is already in CF and Church in RF. Plus right now Alou is our 2nd best hitter when hes healthy so theres no where to really put a guy like Pence if a deal like that came up....

 

Quite possibly, but you have to keep in mind that Hendrickson is having a very good year, Scott Olsen is on fire, and Andrew Miller finally looked like a professional pitcher last night.

So our collapse may come from the pitching department (or our bats will go cold) but don't expect it any time soon. If the Marlins collapse, it'll be due to defense.

There's your freebie from your divisional rival.

 

Hey, you made it to the Trade For Adam Dunn Bandwagon! Welcome aboard! Grab a seat and buckle in. There's a cooler of beer over there, and the waitress will be around shortly if you need a mixed drink.

 

Delgado was dreadful in April, but in May he's got a .915 OPS. Hopefully he can keep that up.

And yes, a healthy, productive Jose Valentin was more important to the Mets' success than was appreciated at the time. Not only were his numbers good, but he came cheap, and if he could have continued doing that, we could have avoided wasting big money on a rapidly declining Luis Castillo, and used that money elsewhere.

 

Sometimes I hate being right:

In his last five starts, Figueroa has a 6.08 ERA and a 2.15 WHIP.

 

Eh it was more due to a lack of options then the flattering man love you profess for him. We definitely need option at 1B for next year and Dunn essentially is Delgado with a much lower batting average. Plus Dunn fits wonderfully on this team with that lifetime 222 BA with RISP. With Tex likely staying in ATL, Dunn is about the only option left. My fear is that Dunn = Giambi (minus the roids). That is 250 all or nothing type hitter with lots of 2 run homers when we have 6-1 leads. From the Carlos Beltran school of productivity....

By the way, and this is just matter of factly, a ticket sales rep from NYM came up to my dad's business today. So my old man was talking to the dude and its definitely on willie to win this year. He doesnt expect Willie to make it through the AS break either if we keep playing crappy 500 baseball.

 

I think Heilman would have been the guy id have dumped somewhere....man is he useless so far this year.

 

some talk last night that Aaron Harang will be available around the trade deadline.

if that is so..we would be ******ed to not jump on him.

 

We don't have the goods, unless the team wants to part with Fernando Martinez, which they don't (and with good reason). The Santana trade, worthwhile as it may have been (and good God, where would we be right now without him?!?), strip-mined the farm system.