Random Thoughts

Ginter is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. When he goes out and pitches, it does not look like his stuff is very special, but he just has been getting people out. In his shortened outing, the Phillies did not even manage a hit. It could be people still getting adjusted to him, but when Heilmann came up, no one had any problems adjusting to him.

It is very disturbing that the Mets gave up another two unearned runs. It just so happens that Cameron decided to contribute to the team and added two RBIs late in the game which made the unearned runs moot. The amount of costly errors and mistakes this past week is getting scary. The Mets do not have the best team in the world and do not have the luxury to afford giving up runs that are not earned.

Phillips continues to tear it up and Moreno continues to be solid and lowers his ERA a bit more. I would like to see him get into more pressure situations instead of running Franco and Stanton out when the game is on the line.

There was a Kazmir sighting. He pitched 2.2 innings for St. Lucie, gave up three runs and K’d five. The line looks worse than it is, but it was his first start back and needs to get back into the swing of things. More importantly, he needs to get his ERA under 6.

Here are some of my thoughts on the Mets new stadium. I really do not know how far in the process they are (if they have made any progress at all) of securing the financing for their new facility. I’ve read different things, but the biggest obstacle would seem to be the proposed stadium on the West side of New York City for the New York Jets. I am not sure if the fans realize this, but there will be NO tailgating anymore. Part of going to football games, in my opinion, is taking the grill and going to Giants Stadium parking lot for some good times. That part of going to the football game will be eradicated. You will be in full corporate white collar game mode. On top of that, the Jets sell out every single football game. The Jets will not see any added revenue unless the prices get raised per ticket which may definitely be an option. I can see how the city wants to get a team on it’s own soil, but I do not see how it is viable. Out of all the New York teams, the Mets need a new facility the most. The Yankees continually draw way over three million people and play at a ‘legendary’ stadium that is an icon of the sporting world. Would it be prudent to tear it down? In my opinion yes, but I'm sure people that actually like the Yankees may think differently.

Gammons had some interesting thoughts in his column from yesterday. One of which was the road BA/OPS for Alfonso Soriano and Kevin Mench who were both being offered up this summer according to trade rumors that involved Reyes and Kazmir. Soriano is batting .232 with a .814 ops on the road (.337 avg / .856 ops home) and Mench is batting .203 with a .536 ops on the road (.353 avg / 1.016 at home). To all the Jon Heyman's of the world, do you still wish the trade went down?

Gammons also stated that the Padres may be looking at drafting Stephen Drew as Kahil Greene's eventual double play partner. I find that interesting because their #1 prospect just happens to be a second baseman. Josh Barfield, who is the son of former major leaguer Jesse Barfield, was the #1 ranked prospect in the Padres system coming into this year as well as the minor league player of the year in 2003 for their organization. He is currently a second baseman, so this talk about drafting Drew to play along side Kahil Greene is certainly a curious statement. Barfield is starting to show power as he hit .337, with 46 doubles, 16 home runs, and an amazing 128 RBIs last year. Not bad for a guy who does not turn 22 until December. In AA this year, he is off to a slow start with, but still has five home runs with 28 RBIs in 48 games. There have been statements about Drew and/or Barfield possibly moving to the outfield, but it just does not seem as the most logical pick for the Padres. However, if they feel that Barfield is ultimately suited for the outfield, they may just pull the trigger as they have some quality major league talent that is rather young as well as some minor league talent in the pitching arena.

Oh, in case you are wondering, he was chosen in the 4th round of the 2001 draft which the Mets took Alhaji Turay and Corey Ragsdale before him. Hindsight is 20/20 of course but still interesting to look at.

Update: Looks like the Padres are eyeing Drew. This draft is so unpredictable. It looked like Weaver was a lock for the #1 pick, and now the Padres are shaking things up.