2008 Mets!!! LETS GO METS!!!

we could sign over bookoo bucks for either sheets or sabathia and have questions about their health (esp. sheets). but, you also have to look at how we went after johan. he also pitched 230+ innings in 05 and 06, and a damn near 230 in 07 (219 innings) and that didnt stop us from going after him. granted, cc isnt johan, but he is a pretty darn good pitcher who will deservingly command a high dollar contract this off season.

i guess the point i am trying to make is that i would rather cough up the extra 5 mil a year for cc, than offer up high dollar for ollie. i hear you when you say he is coming around w/ his consistency, but i dont believe he is too far from his 6 bb games also.

 

am praying that ayala works out for us.

 

Good ole bullpen and lack of key hits killed us today. How many times can we get bases loaded and not knock in a run? It is killing me! That should have been a walk through today. Oh well, bring on the braves...

 

OMFG... bullpen again. and is duaner sanchez dead (meaning the pre car crash one)?

 

Looks like Al Reyes refused to go to Triple A so the Rays released him and he's now a free agent. I think the Mets should jump on him right away. He pitched fairly well last year in the AL East and has experience closing ball games which the Mets might need if Wagner is out for awhile.

 

We'll give you JC Romero for Beltran and Schneider.

 

throw in utley and victorino and we can talk

 

I was visiting the Met's forum and they were really saying some bad things about Duaner Sanchez and Heilman.

 

Yeah thats the norm. Our bullpen is loathed by every mets fan. The only ones I personally like are Smith and Sanchez but the Sanchez I like we haven't seen since the car crash that messed up his arm in late 2006.

Eddie Kunz offers a lot of upside but I think he may have been brought up prematurely.


In unrelated notes:
-Aubrey Huff cleared waivers if we feel like making a move.
-Ryan Church played 5 innings yesterday and went 0-2. If for whatever reason hes a no go, Huff could be a viable option though Im sure the O's would ask for our right cashew.
-Maine is still being talked about as a closer if Wagner cant make it back though thats unlikely. Trevor Hoffman has cleared waivers as well and would probably be a more likely candidate imo. Maine has never been a RP and his arm is still not a 100%. I cant imagine throwing every day would do wonders for that and he just has too much upside to mess around with. In 10+ innings since coming off the DL hes got a sub 1 whip and a 0.00 era. Dude is a stud. But he throws 98 pitches in 5 IP. Hes like Rich Hardens little brother who doesnt throw quite as hard lol.
- Only 2 of Pedros starts since 2006 have gotten in to the 7th inning. The struggles he is having + Maines inefficient pitch count were the primary reasons for the Ayala move.
- Olney makes a good point about the Mets pen: "Let's face it: The Mets' bullpen will be as good, in the next six weeks, as Aaron Heilman is." One thing we dont have is pen arms that miss bats. We have a bunch of ground ball pitchers and when those grounders find holes or arent played right thats when they struggle. I think this is one reason Stokes is still up and Kunz got a shot.
- Neyer FINALLY makes a good point, his first in years, about the MVP race this year....it might be Wright's to lose. Though he does have an addmitted mancrush on Wright which shows hes not completely inept since D Wright is the man. Lets go David!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=22022
- We finally catch a break. It looks like Chipper will miss this series at shea according to the NY Times. Still ATL scares every Met fan poopless.

 

I cant see Wright winning the MVP, especially when the guy 15 feet to his left is having a better year. Reyes and Wright will probably split up the Met's vote. I think Braun of the Brewers had the MVP locked up before he hurt himself. Lance Berkman is also putting up his usual numbers, and so is Pujols.
Here is how I see it right now:

1. Berkman .330 BA; 25 HR; 89 RBI; 96 Runs, .428 OBP, .598 SLG
2. Pujols .348 BA, 26 HR, 77 RBI; 77 Runs, 459 OBP, .617 SLG
3. Reyes .304 BA, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 88 Runs, .361 OBP, .490 SLG
4. Braun .300, 31 HR, 86 RBI, 69, Runs, .340 OBP, ..589 SLG
5. Wright .292 BA, 23 HR, 95 RBI, 85 Runs, .384, .513 SLG

Berkman's got the best numbers, but the team is just a little above .500. I think Wright would have to have a really good final month and a half. Also, Reyes is right near the top in SB's, and Triples. Braun probably has missed too many games to get it, like Chase did last with his hand injury. I still think it is up for grabs. Nobody on the first place Cubs is having a big year, and Matt Holliday would get some move votes but the Rockies have stunk this year.

 

Reyes is not the mets best player. Sorry. Love to watch him, probably the most exciting and hes important but not best. Berkman isnt winning cause hes on a crap team. Pujols doesnt even have the best stats on his own team in some areas like RBI and Runs (Ludwick), Braun is one dimensional and has a much lower OBp then Wright. IMO its between Wright, Utley and Pujols with a longshot chance for Sabathia and Hanley.

 

well, its looking as if wags will be done for the year - link

i know he hasnt been exactly money out of the pen this year, but i still like our chances with him than without him.

also, what do you think of an aubrey huff pick up?

 

Meh wags is a Heilman esque 27/34 in save opportunities this year. He can be replaced. I like our chances more like you because our pen already sucks but frankly whats the difference? Al Reyes is out there and can do the same job as wags. I think Street cleared waivers as well....

Regarding Huff, it may not be necessary. Church is progressing well. If on the off chance he regresses Id be ok with it since he has 1 year and 8m left beyond this year. The problem may be he needs time to get re-acclimated with the OF since he hasnt played much there this year. Manuel hinted in an interview that Tatis may be hitting the bench upon churchs return. Hes down to earth after a 1.2 ops last month hitting 232/728ops this month.

Further, Huff may not be necessary. Evans is 317ba .378obp .439slg .817ops vs lefties and murphy has better stats vs righties. a platoon may be in order. plus Tatis seems to do best the first time a P sees him which may be why hes had a nice share of go ahead/GW homers/hits.

 

The awesomeness of this comeback cannot be described. Evans gets on base, wright walks, beltran gets on via swinging bunt that Larry almost throws away. Delgado snaps us out of a 3/42 slump since July 4th with the bases loaded with a 2 run double and now the floodgates have opened. Easley and Castro followed with big rbi hits....7-3 entering the 9th

Its big cause Philly just won....and Blowenweis is set to try and close lol

 

I just threw up a little. If they throw in Ibanez and pay for it, I might consider letting him pitch for our AAA team.

 

What the foik, Boik?!

 

Why the gloom, Boom?

 

My sources tell me that the Mets might be going after reliever David Weathers. I think Minaya is realizing a team can't win a World Series without a closer.

 

Pelfreys first career CG is vs ATL. 106 pitches and a 6-3 W

 

5/5 for delgado
solo hr and 2 doubles for wright
and a 5-4 come from behind W vs ATL...who has now lost 27 1 run ball games on the road.

 

Boy, did the Braves play some bad defense this series.

About 5 plays in those last two games were scored as hits but were really errors, and all of those really cost Atlanta the last 2 games.

Delgado should've been 3-5 yesterday.

But Hey, I'll take it. It's about time luck is on our side against this damn team

 

Yeah it kinda makes up for all the bad luck Delgado had the first couple of months....
Oswalt vs Johan tonight..should be a gem of a pitching matchup

 

3-0 over houston, our 10th shutout of the year. Johan went a season high 121 pitches and to date has actually thrown more pitches then any other season at the same point.

Wright is about to leap Carlos Lee in RBI as hes 1 behind and Lee is done for the year.

Team is 14-4 since the sweep in Houston. Only 6 games behind the Cubs for homefield in the NL. And if we keep playing like this, we may get there yet....

 

Dammit, Crapstillo is back tomorrow....

Since acquiring Castillo, the Mets record when he starts -
52 - 58 , .472 win percentage

In that time, when anyone else starts at 2nd -
40 - 20, .667 win percentage


Castillo on the team:
huge collapse....check
horrible start to 2008 check

without castillo:
2007 going smoothly...check
2008 second half surge...check

Please, someone, take a bat to his knees if we start losing games.

 

Unfortunately I cant see who else it would be. I think Cancel was sent down today for Church. It wont be Evans or Murphy because frankly, theyre good. Evans kills RHP to an almost 900 OPS and Murphy does the same to LHP and hes hitting 300+. As long as theyre raking they deserve to stay too. That said 6 OF's is a lot. Its got to be Argenis Reyes or one of those two.

 

oh god... i almost forgot about him... and to think, didnt omar sign him for 3 more years, or around that?

i dont know if i should get excited by our play yet (even though were racking up Ws)... i havent completely forgotten about last year. i am also not a believer of the bullpen too. im not trying to be negative... im sure ill come around if we keep winning.

 

while i loathe our pen for blowing 19 games after the 7th inning so far, their workload has been reduced under Maunel/Warthen who have them working deeper in to games. I think a radio announcer said it best the other day...the mets recipe for winning this year is the 2005 White Sox. CG after CG. Get 7 from your starter and dont worry about the implications down the road. Just get the title. And I think our pen has been better because we're doing it this way.

By the way, Pelfrey is being skipped Aug 31st vs Florida so he can get extra rest. Good move by Jerry. Florida always rapes the kid and hes already logged more innings then any season in his pro career. We'll probably look to skip him another time in sept I would think even though hes been great.

 

hey, 2005 chi soxing it doesnt bother me as long as we have the same result... lets hope we can get hot at the end (or stay hot ).
im all for resting mike. this is uncharted grounds for him... ive been impressed by him.
you make it out to many games this year?

 

So far 6, hopefully get to 2-3 more in sept/playoffs.

 

Your starters are going to have spaghetti arms come playoff time, if they do get there. You can't keep going 7-8 innings game after game without someone breaking down. Looking forward to the Mets-Phillies two game series next week Boik. I think Moyer and Martinez face off on Tuesday. You might avoid Hamels again.

 

I think Hamels is avoiding US. Not the other way around buddy

And I dont believe in spaghetti arms. I believe you have to condition your arm to throw more. Pitchers now arent any less durable then they were 50 years ago. Theyre just conditioned to a different mentality which is nonsense. In high school I used to throw every day 50-70 pitches, ice my arm, rinse and repeat. I did get tendinitis, which is normal for a pitcher, but it was from throwing in the cold and not being loose enough.

 

My dad used to go watch double headers at Shibe Park in Philly and guys would pitch two complete games in one day. Games would often be over in less than two hours. Cole Hamels with a nice win against the Dodgers.....pressure is on. The Phillies' bats are waking up.

 

sweet. i never got to shea... i guess ill have to check out citi park.
i did get to see them for 3 games when they came here.
hopefully the new park is a gem.

bullpen again....

 

haha, good luck affording tickets to citi....