Jose Mother F-in Reyes

Damn, it's been a long time coming. Jose Reyes will finally be back in the lineup. Awesome news. He is probably going to be rusty, which is fine, but with Zeile slumping a bit, we won't really be hurt by it that much. Hopefully he provides that spark that we all know he can provide.

Friday night, which was Mike Piazza night, was definitely a great night. I thought the ceremony was good. Originally I thought it would be lackluster, but it was done well and tasteful. On the screen in the outfield, they showed a ton of Piazza's bombs which is always great to watch. The funniest part was the big boo Jeff Wilpon got. Absolutely classic. Glavine was on the hill last night and pitched a great game last night. He went seven innings and surrendered only two runs, but the run in the first innings only came due the inability to complete a double play. Since you cannot give errors on missed double plays, he got screwed. Tom also showed why he is such a complete pitcher. As if it is not enough to pitch lights out, he also got two RBIs, which tied the game up. He is just the complete package.

I was sweating a little bit. It was starting to look like we were going to lose on Mike Piazza night with the lack of offense supplied the Mets bats, but thanks to Cameron's ninth inning blast, everyone went home happy. Cameron went 2 for 4 with no strike outs. He is starting to heat up and looking much better at the plate.

I'm smelling sweep.

Kazmir goes tonight for the St. Lucie squad.

Erickson goes tonight for Norfolk, which should hopefully be his last game pitched in the Met organization.

Cause for Optimism?

Yes. There are many reasons I am optimistic on this fine Friday. It's not just because I managed to lose no money in poker last night, but because good things are happening.

The Marlins acquired Billy Koch Thursday night in a attempt not to be out done by the Mets big deal. These deals are similar in that both teams got under performing players that are hoped to return to their former glory with a change of scenery. Koch this year has a 5.40. He walks a lot of guys and surrendered more hits than innings pitched. Between hits and walks he has allowed 40 baserunners in 23.1 innings. This can only mean positive things for the Mets. The fish now have two pitchers who tend to melt down under pressure. While Koch has stuff, it is not what it used to be. He used to get the ball into the high 90's but now has a pedestrian 91-93 mph heater with little movement. In my opinion, the Marlins pen will be their achilles heel. Looper and Uggie were a better combo than Koch and Benitez will be. I hope the Marlins fans have more patience than Met fans because they will need it.

Some other reasons for optimism are that the Mets took two out of three games, and have a shot to sweep the Tigers. The Mets throw out Glavine, Leiter, and Trachsel. The average ERA for the Detroit starting pitchers this weekend is 4.98. The average ERA for the Mets starting pitching is 2.55. I do not know about you, but I like them odds.

Kaz is hitting the ball more regularly and striking out less. He is now batting .266 and I think he will make a run to about .280 and sit around there for the rest of the season, which is fine by me.

Mike Cameron is actually hitting the ball a lot better. He hit his first homerun sine May 10th and is making much better contact with the ball.

Jose Reyes actually looks like he is going to make an appearance this season. Although I believe he needs another series for two to get in to the swing of things, he will most likely be back this weekend. Either way, it will be a refreshing site to see him manning second base and in the dugout not as a visitor.

The lineup is actually going to be very concrete and Howe will be able to stop fiddling around.

Reyes 2b
Kaz SS
Piazza 1b
Floyd LF
Hidalgo RF
Wigginton 3b
Cameron CF
Phillips C

I personally like Reyes in the two hole, but Kaz will be coddled and protected since he puts better numbers up out of the two hole. However, Reyes hits MUCH better out of the two hole as dictated by his .362 average in that spot in '03 in 141 at-bats. On top of that, Reyes should be protected a bit more by having Piazza behind him for a while until he gets on track.

Jae Seo has looked sharp in his last nine games except for one game against the Royals and one game against the Cardinals. He is getting to be a dependable pitcher who is keeping the Mets in the game just about every time he takes the mound. Oh, and the best news of all, Seo just handed Erickson his walking papers with that last game. Despite Wilpon's secret desire to give Erickson the ball every 5th for the Mets, it is looking pretty good for Seo.

Howe will be forced to use Order Moreno in tight situations with the departure of David Weathers. That will be a large benefit to the Mets squad since he is more than capable of handling that role.

David Wright is at AAA and looking pretty good so far.

Prentice Redman is at AAA and looking pretty good so far.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played, and the NL East is wide open. The Mets team just started to take shape and still have some bullets in the holster. Wright can possibly help the team this year and be very effective and Strickland is due back and should have a sizeable impact. My suggestion to the Mets is get Wiggie some games in at first so when/if Wright does come up, there is an option to play him there when Piazza catches.

I will be in attendance for tonights game to celebrate Mike's crowning achievemnt. If anyone else will be there, I will be the guy drinking beer with a mets koozie on it while eating a hot dog.

The Anatomy of a Trade

A day later and I have given this trade some more thought. Although I am the minority here, I really still think it is a lateral move that serves little to no point other than spend $4,000,000 + that we could have saved for next year after the buyout is taken into consideration. With baseballs inflated salaries, 4 mill may not seem like a lot, but in reality is pays 80% of Steve Tracshel's paycheck for the year. It is also roughly the asking price for Jose Guillen for two entire seasons. If four million dollars is really no big deal like everyone suggests, the Mets would not be in a right field predicament at this point if the bargain basement option was not chosen. That money can be put to better good than this. The consensus is that the money is not a big deal, and it may not be. I do not know what the Mets budget is. To me, if we got him and had to pay nothing, I'd be fine with it. This move just does not warrant having to take on any money at all. For instance, I am a huge fan of Scott Williamson coming here. Fact is, he will be pricey and perhaps that 4 million over a three year contract may be the difference between getting a player and not getting a player. Every dollar will count as the Mets are going to be spending some serious dough in trying to get a big bat in right, another starter, shore up the bullpen, and solidify the bench. If Wilpon had bottomless pockets, it is one thing. However, he is paying a significant amount of money to Doubleday every year paying off the team. He will be paying that over the next few years.

The majority believes the deal is a low risk high reward type deal. I guess it is, if you think he will produce. I am not so optimistic about it which is why if we add $1 it is too much. To me it is a marginal upgrade, if any upgrade at all. If I was confident he is going to perform, then fine. It is a small price to pay for some production. I do not mind losing Weathers or Griffiths, Weathers was wearing thin on my patience anyway and Griffiths does not fit into our plans at all. Hidalgo has hit 44 home runs in 2000 and this April hit .319 with four homeruns, so it is not like the ability is not there. But having the ability and using it is another thing. He has been sort of an enigma over the years. Do I expect Hidalgo to have an epiphany and just turn it on? No, which is why this trade is pointless.

Hidalgo did play in a hitter's park, which helped his #'s somewhat, but not as much as I thought. When I looked up his three year splits from 2001 to 2003 this is what I found:

Home - .287 average / 44 doubles / 28 homeruns / 117 RBIs
Road - .267 average / 45 doubles / 34 homeruns / 99 RBIs

Hidalgo has only topped 20 homeruns twice and is not going to do that this season unless something miraculous happens. I do agree there is some upside, but how much really? Is it really better than the dynamic duo that warrants opening the checkbook at all?

Through 58 games, Hidalgo has posted a .256 average, 21 runs scored, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homeruns, and 30 RBIs.

Astonishingly, his numbers are more scary than you would think. Hidalgo hit is first homerun on opening day. He then hit another three by April 13th. He has not hit one since then. That is an astounding 48 game homerless streak. That is not good for the kids keeping score at home. He has not had a ball leave the park since the third series of the season! In addition to that, 19 of his 30 RBIs came between opening day and April 17th. He basically had a sizzling 12 games to start off the year and has done zip since then. Isn't he supposed to be a power hitter in a hitter's park? The Mets picked up someone colder than ice, colder than their present options, which is why I do not think he presents much of an upgrade of what we currently have. On top of it, we are picking up salary? Am I completely alone here?

Karim Garcia has had 17 less at-bats than Hidalgo and has managed to hit three more homeruns and has a .236 average, 21 runs scored, 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 23 RBIs.

Look, I do not think Karim is as bad as his .236 average. Also, the power hitter we got to replace him has less homeruns than him.

Shane Spencer has 139 at-bats, a .309 average 15 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 triples, 2 homeruns, 13 RBIs.

As for Shane, it is too bad he has had some health issues, I'd like to see him get more at-bats to see what he can do on a more consistent basis and I wouldn't have minded seeing him get in more games even when right handed pitchers are on the mound. So far he has hit righties better than lefties, and I think he may be the most productive option we have to stick in right.

Yes, Hidalgo may seem to be better run producer, but much better? Not in my opinion. Houston has a much better offense overall and there were actually people on base when he was up which skews Spencer's and Garcia's total playing for one of the more offensively challenged teams. If Hidalgo's 2000 and 2003 seasons were the rule rather the exception, I would just feel that maybe he is slumping currently. However, those two years really feel the exception and this year is more in line with what he typically does. Outside of two seasons, he has been absolutely average and overpriced.

Now, I will take some positives out of this trade. Although this is not my most favorite of deals, I do see some light here as a result of this move.

1) The Big O will get more experience and be relied on more heavily in tight situations. For any ladies out there, not this Big O, this Big O.

2)There is a bullpen spot cleared for Strickland when he comes back. Wheeler or Moreno would have been cast off to AAA once he returns, and since Wheeler is the long, man it might have been my boy Orber.

3)Yates remains on the ML squad once Orber returns. Orber takes a more prominent role with the team and Yates can get some experience in the lesser roles so the Mets can figure out what they have in him. Yates is 26 and not getting any younger. He needs to be in the majors now, if not next year for good.

4)The Bench just got a lot better. With Spencer and Garcia, although one of them is likely to get spun into another deal, coming off the bench and Zeile soon to be a reserve, the Mets bench is looking better than it has all year. The veteran presence off the pine is staggering and must be very comforting to Wilpon.

5)The number five hole in the lineup is more intimidating if only by a small margin and if only in the pitcher's mind. Fact is Richard Hidalgo is a more imposing figure in the batters box than Spencer or Garcia.

6)Hidalgo has an absolute cannon in right field.

7)A trade was made and no real prospects being lost in the process.

8)Less Gerald Williams. I do not care that he has a decent average or threw somebody out at the plate. With Prentice Redman's promotion and subsequent success so far in his second go around in AAA, Gerald seemingly has no where to go but home. The Mets sure won't bench Victor Diaz or Jeff Duncan for this spare to return to action.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope people are coming back to this board calling me a dumb shit, which I may be. I hope he tears it up, but I am not holding my breath. To me it is a kind of non-move and from reading the various websites and message boards, most Met fans are ecstatic about this move. Hell, even Steve Summers thinks this move is great, which really made me doubt myself. Some people believe that he just needs a change of scenery. I even heard on the radio that Mets see something he was doing wrong and believe they can correct it (as if the Houston coaches are very incapable?). The cheese stands alone. I am a bit more cautious in regards to this deal and think any dollar spent on him and is wasted. It is not like I think it terribly negative, but I can sum it up with one word, BLAH. Who cares? A guy got picked up that is producing less than I current options. Pardon me if I think $1 is too much pick up. I think Rob Neyer summarizes this move in Met management's eyes the most:

Three and a half million bucks for three and a half months of Richard Hidalgo? It's a gamble, but it's not a bad gamble. As awful as Hidalgo's been this season, Mets right fielder Karim Garcia has probably been more awful. More to the point, looking forward, Hidalgo's got a better chance than Garcia of not being awful.

I just do not see the reason why everyone is happy about this deal. It was a swap of underperforming players. Choose your own poison. The Mets took a flyer on a guy that may or may not better than what we have. Don't we have enough questions marks? On top of that, Wilpon does not like to waste money. With Hidalgo's $2,000,000 buyout coming, I can see Wilpon renegotiating his contract as long as he does average. It is not like Wilpon to throw away money willy nilly, so if you ask me, it scares me. We need Maggs and we could end up with Hidalgo so the buyout does not go down the drain.

Now everyone is free to yell at me and tell me how wrong I am, because I know it is coming.

Very good news out of Norfolk. No, Wright did not have any hits, but Bobby Keppel pitched 7 innings surrendering one earned run. Also worth some note, Victor Diaz has finally gotten over the .300 hump with a 3 for 4 night. He is now at .302 and expect him to starting climbing towards .320. This guy can hit.

Capital City won big, but Lastings did not contribute. The star was the guy who has been doing the heavy lifting for the team all season. Ian Bladergroen was 3 for 6 with 2 runs score, 1 homerun, and 2 RBIs and is batting .336 with a nutty 68 RBIs. Him and Pettit need to be moved up St. Lucie sooner rather than later.

In Binghamton news, Matt Peterson's control problems are persisting. He went 5.2 innings and surrendered only 3 hits, but walked 5 en route giving up only 1 earned run. Justin Huber continues to impress with the bat. He went 3 for 5 with two doubles and is now batting .281. He is on fire after an early season slump and has been picking up multiple hits nightly.

Remember this guy?

Weathers Traded!

Hidalgo was acquired by the New York Mets. The Mets will also receive $4 million in cash from Houston. This is very costly for the Mets. It will cost them $2,000,000 for the buyout and will cost the Mets about $6,000,000 total for the rest of the year rental. Weathers salary will off set that a bit, but it is still a high price to pay. I'm not too sold on this one. I hope there was no minor leaguer throw in. Hidalgo is not the answer to our problems, but I guess for the bargain basement price of dumping Weathers without sacrificing any of the future it was a win, win situation for the Mets management. It only costs them money.

On a good note, we will be seeing less Gerald Williams.

Parity Running Amuck

Prior to the games on Wednesday, out of the sixteen NL teams, only four of them are considered out of the race for the division lead or the wildcard. Montreal was 14 games out, Pittsburgh was 11 games out (prior to their nine game losing streak, they were considered in the race), Arizona was 8.5 out, and Colorado was 12 out. Every other team was within at least 4.5 games out of first and 2.5 games out of the wildcard. Only one team, the Cardinals, was 10 games over .500. Even that just happened with Tuesday's victory. At this point no team in the NL projects to win 100 games and the NL West could be won with 85 wins and the NL EAST is not too far off that mark. Even more bizarre is the fact that out of the four teams out of the race, only two are expected to have a fire sale. Pittsburgh will get rid of what it can and Colorado will just about let everyone go. Arizona is only really dangling Steve Finley and the Expos are only dangling Tony Armas Jr. To add to the mysteriousness of the season, the Reds are expected to put some of their players on the block at some point, and they are currently tied for 2nd place (although falling fast). The teams that are currently still jockeying for playoff positions really will not have a large talent pool from the NL or the AL in which they can bolster their rosters. Many teams will end up looking toward injured players to recoup and make a return to the lineup or get back to form. All twelve teams that are in contention now will most likely not keep hanging around, but nine or ten of them sure can. The NL should be interesting right up until the last few weeks of the season.
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I knew that Mets game was going to be tough yesterday. Sabathia was an absolute monster hitting 95-97 on the gun at the stadium regularly. He is a tough lefty to hit. I do not mind losing this game, but the way we lost it was ugly. Once again the Mets managed to look like a junior varsity team. My girlfriend and I had gone to the game and she was telling me how she actually thinks less of Piazza after watching him at first. In her mind, Piazza is this hall of fame catcher that looks like a bumbling fool at first with grace of Rhinoceros trying to ice skate. I do not exactly disagree, but I do not completely agree. For me it is not easy watching Mr. New York struggle in any aspect of his game because he is a fall of famer and one of the only players that have given the Mets legitimacy over the last few years. I have eased off Piazza of late and chalked it up to a learning process. We need to get him as much practice as possible so he can look a bit better out there and have people not cringe when a ball is hit or thrown his way. This is very much against my previous thoughts, and tomorrow I will probably think differently.

Mike Dimuro is officially on my shit list. He may start getting death threats from me soon. He was the ump that called two balks against Trachsel and made horrible calls at first which added to Ginter's rough outing. Ginter should have had a much better game, but due to Mike Dimuro's inability to do his job in any capacity really hurt him. The calls did not lose the game, but it sure made it uglier. This guy looks like he has something against the Mets. Also, good job Art when you let him have it. I hope you said some nasty things about his mother.

It is a good thing Yates got some work in. He got shelled, but he needs to get in the swing of things. I believe he can be effective coming out of the pen.
* * *

David Wright went 2 for 4 with his first AAA home run, and double. Someone forgot to tell him AAA is supposed to be HARDER than AA. Although, if you take a look at our AAA staff it may be very easy to disagree. Pat Strange did his best Aaron Heilman/Scott Erickson impression by giving up 9 runs, 5 of which were earned. Too bad because he was doing well in his return to the rotation. Hopefully he can pick up the pieces and rebound. Getting shelled builds character anyway, right?
* * *

Binghamton does not seem to be missing Wright or Redman too much. They continued their offensive onslaught to beat Akron 10 to 5. Justin Huber was the star at the plate with a 2 for 2 night, a double, his 6th homerun, and three RBIs. Matthew Peterson takes the hill tonight and I'm expecting a big game from him.
* * *

I was reading a Peter Gammons Column where he pointed out Barry Bonds' K/BB ratio. I am mostly familiar with the Mets stats, so I was unaware of just how astounding his K/BB ratio was. Yeah, we all know he is barreling down on 700 homeruns, but he is on pace to strike out a measly 30 times against 227 base on balls. His K/BB ratio is 7.5, and the next guy in line is Rafael Palmeiro with 2.50. On top of that craziness, he is on pace to ONLY have 130 hits this season due to the fact that he is on pace for 344 official at-bats. Out of those 130 hits, a whopping 35% of them project to be homeruns. Can Barry hit 100 homeruns if someone pitched to him like a normal slugger? I took Frank Thomas as an example. He is tied for 2nd in the majors with 55 BBs. He projects to have 516 official at-bats. At Barry’s current average of .377, that works out to be roughly 195 hits for Barry. At his current rate of hitting homeruns, that would be about 68 homeruns. It would not get him to 100, but it would sure put Hank Aaron in trouble in 2005.

Obviously Barry is the main reason a lot of people are trying think of ways to make the intentional pass more inconsequential. Whether it be by limiting the number of free passes or having a base runner move up a base if there is one on at the time of the IBB, there have been many suggestions. You really get into a dicey area with any possibility suggested. However, when the guy that gets affected by the IBB the most speaks out on it, it speaks volumes.

"That's the problem with baseball nowadays—everybody wants to change it...Don't change the game. It is what it is."
--Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, on the possibility of altering the current intentional walk rule (FoxSports.com)

I could not agree with Barry more. Besides, if you want to eradicate teams intentionally walking him, get players to play behind him. Sexson is on the market next year and pick up a Jacque Jones type outfielder. You think if it is Bonds #3, Sexson #4, and Jones #5 people would be giving him a free pass? I'm not too sure about that. I blame the team more than I blame the system for walking Bonds so much.

Just as a tidbit, in 2001 when Barry hit 73 home runs, a ridiculous 47% of his total hits were home runs.
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If you want a good laugh, click here. Bill James and Rob Neyer had made a formula in the book The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers that could provide a idea who is basically leading the Cy Young race as this point time. Check who is first in the National League.
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Out of the 176 people that have enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title, the two with the lowest averages are Mike Cameron @ .204 and Jason Phillips @ .211. The 174th person on the list is batting .219, which is one 3 for 4 game away from Jason to overtake him. Good luck guys.
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How good has Matt Ginter been? In his seven starts, he has only allowed more then 3 earned runs two times. Two of his games he held opponents to 1 run, and shut the opponent in two others (albeit one was a rain shortened 3 inning outing). I just cannot figure it out though. I've seen him twice in person and every start but one on TV. He just does not have overpowering stuff that looks like it would get the job done, but he throws strikes and gets results. He throws a fastball and slider primarily and I keep waiting for him to blow up and he never does.
* * *

No-mah is piiiiiiiiisssssed.

``Everyone assumes I'm someone different, or I'm trying to do something different, but people have been assuming what I'm like for so long now,'' he said, ``so apparently what I've done over the past eight years obviously means nothing. What counts is the end of last year or the off season. Apparently eight years don't count, but I think they count - they count somewhere.''

The idea that he prolonged his recovery amazes him.

``It's never been in my nature, it's never been. Why would I do that now?'' Garciaparra said. ``You're here for a week, and that's all I hear. I'm playing and I'm still hearing that I'm doing something wrong. And jeez, I haven't even played for a few months.

``I can't win - 21 ABs (for Pawtucket) but no, `You're faking it' and `Cmon, what are you waiting for?' Then I come back, they are still going to say `See - he sucks. He's not good. You were bad last year, you're bad this year.' It's a no-win situation. They should just be glad I'm back.''

I think it is safe to say he will test the free agent market.

Walling Takes One for the Team

Denny Walling fired? I guess the Mets thought he was the problem. I just do not buy it. Someone had to take the fall right? Not hitting with men in scoring position and just not hitting in general? Fire the hitting coach. After all, that is their job right? To make sure the team hits? Now, I never thought the hitting coaches had the same impact on hitters as the pitching coaches have on pitchers. Maybe they do, I will not pretend to know. Maybe if someone has a slight hitch or doing something hair off and the hitting coach does not pick it up, it can exacerbate the problem. However, these deficiencies seem to be more of the product that management put on the field coupled with some bad injuries. He was the goat. It is unfortunate, but that is what happens. Bobby V. was the got fired when it should have been Phillips much earlier than he did, but someone has to take the fall in management’s eyes. It is someone else's fault but never their own. It cannot possibly be shitty performances by hitters, an injury plagued year, or the team THEY put together. If Reyes was healthy, Floyd did not miss almost 30 games, Cameron's pinky was never injured, and if Phillips was not slumping badly (Walling was the hitting coach last year and there did not seem to be a problem with Phillips), Walling has job. How can he be faulted for bad luck and Cameron striking out habitually with the bases juiced. I guess only time will tell if this works.

"Sure, I'm disappointed it didn't work out," he said, "but that's part of the game. The thing that's the most disappointing to me is that I know the team is not that far from turning it around. I'm just sorry I'm not going to be a part of it"

Denny, I hope this team turns the hitting around too. It could get late very early if it does not.

With all that being said, I can really see Don Baylor's expertise paying off already! The Mets were ripping the ball and having no problems scoring runs at will. The game started off weird enough with Steve Trachsel getting called for a balk in two consecutives innings. When the hell is the last time that that happened? He recovered nicely to go 6 2/3 innings, surrendering eights hits, while giving up two runs. Hopefully he can get back on track now.

Everyone got into the action tonight, Piazza raised his average to .308 with a 3 for 4 performance, Floyd raised his average to .280 after a 2 for 3 performance, Wiggie picked up three hits himself and drove in two, Karim got off his homer skid by taking one deep to right field off of Davis for two-run shot, and Cameron even got in on it with a two run double in the 1st.

It was an all-around good game, however, Vance Wilson came up limp trying to score from second which is the only bad thing about the game. I'll be at the Matt Ginter vs. CC Sabathia match up tomorrow, so I hope the hot hitting can carry over. They will have a tougher time than they did last night. Sabathia is slight better than Davis.

My two favorite Capital City players were at it again. Lastings Milledge went 3 for 4, with three runs scored, two doubles, and an RBI. He is now batting .333. Capital City went off and scored 16 runs in total, but they really did not need much. My other favorite Bomber, Yusmeiro Pettit was just devastating last night. He had an incredible 14 K's in six innings, while only walking one, and surrendering two hits and no runs. He is 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA. It is safe to say he has low A-ball figured out.

Trying not to be out done by Capital City, Norfolk put on an offensive display of their own en route to a 15 to 8 victory over Syracuse. Although Heilman tried his hardest to lose the game, the offense would have nothing of it. Chris Basak who was in AAA in '03 and was inexplicably banished along with prentice Redman back to AA this season lead the way with 2 homeruns and six RBIs. The prodigal son returns for his second big game. David Wright goes 2 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI. Prentice Redman kept up his torrid pace with a 3 for 4 night with two doubes, two runs score, one RBI, and drew one walk. All of a sudden this Norfolk team has a formidable lineup.

David Wright moved up to #3 on Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet after his debut in Norfolk. I'm guessing he is going to be fixture here until he actually gets promoted to the majors. Lastings Milledge made his second in row, but dropped out of the top 20 and is only 'in the team photo'.

A movie star was on the mound last night. Kazuhito Tadano who stared in, ummm, an amature movie in his college days, pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

Indians minor league pitcher Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake -- his appearance in a gay porn video in which he engaged in a homosexual act.

Through an interpreter, Tadano added: "I'm not gay. I'd like to clear that fact up right now."

....Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The Detroit Pistons completely owned the Lakers on their way to the NBA title. I usually do not care about basketball, but I do not particularly like the Lakers, nor am I fond of Shaq. Ben Wallace just wrecked them and it should have been Detroit in four. Congrats to MoTown, after what the Tigers and Lions did to them the last few years, they deserved a championship almost as much as Met fans do.

Kobe just played his last game in a Laker uniform. He is going to leave the Lakers and maybe join the Nuggets, but it is pretty apparent he will not be in LA. That was too much dedicated to basketball.

David Freakin Wright

David Wright apparently does not care where he is. He just hits. He went 3 for 4 with a double, one walk and no K's. At this point he is batting a meaty .750. Sure it is one game, but who cares.

John Sickels was showing David Wright some love.

From Baseball Prospectus:

Rolen Along: Oops, did we just say that? The comparison is premature, but we're just telling you what we hear. David Wright leads the Eastern League with a .370 EqA (Equivalent Average), which translates to a very strong .287 major league EqA. (Ty Wigginton's is .275.) Depending on how Wright and the Mets are doing in September, there's a chance we'll see him at Shea before the year is out.
You'd have to think that even the Carlos Beltran Sweepstakes couldn't pry Wright away from the Mets. If the Mets go after Beltran--and GM Jim Duquette has spoken to Royals GM Allard Baird more than once--they may look to include Scott Kazmir or even Jose Reyes. Giving away either of those blue-chippers for a few months of Beltran seemed unthinkable on Opening Day, but the NL East has turned out to be wide open, and the Mets may feel they have a chance.

Could the Mets get Beltran without giving up any of their top-shelf talent? If they are still within striking distance next month, and Beltran is still up for grabs, we'll take a closer look at what they might have to offer. For now, rumors are just rumors.

Am I still the only one who thinks Reyes is untouchable? Am I such an eternal optimist that I cannot see he is damaged goods? Look, guys that run the way he does sometimes have hamstring problems. Vince Coleman did, but he was eventually cured. The kid is 21 and has superstar written all over him.
* * *

Good to see Duquette has his head on straight.

"It's hard," Duquette said. "When you stay in the race like this, your first instinct is to make a trade and improve the team no matter what the cost is. You have to catch yourself and remind yourself you want to do it the right way and stay in this thing for the long haul."
* * *

The Pistons will try to end the NBA Finals by beating the Lakers. With Shaq and Kobe fighting like a married couple, Malone playing on one leg, and Payton pouting like a little girl, is anyone actually hoping the win?

On a side note, I have a friend that like the Lakers as his favorite basketball team and the Yankees as his favorite baseball team. How terrible is that? I'm suprised people like to hang around with him.
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Jim Thome hit his 400th homerun on Monday. Is he a hall of famer? He has certainly put up some monster years and will finish his career with well over 500 homeruns. However, I just do not put him in a Piazza or Mays category. 500 homeruns just does not mean what it used to be, it is no longer an automatic ticket to Cooperstown. I just do not associate Jim Thome with being a legend.
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I usually do not like John Kruk, but I like this rant on the draft.
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Mike Sweeney on the block? Apparently once thought untouchable, that may not be the case. He has a limited no trade clause which allows him to pick eight teams he can be dealt to each year. The teams are Seattle (will not be dealing for him), Arizona (will not be dealing for him), San Francisco, San Diego, Anaheim, Oakland, and Los Angeles. I guess he has at thing for the West. Does he know the BBQ out there is not as good as Kansas City? I mean, no one really likes tofu BBQ, do they? Being that he has a few years left, he may actually bring back more than Beltran if he happens to be dealt.

If I Were GM....

Yes, with all the hoopla going around the league as the trading deadline gets near, teams that have false hopes of the Promised Land try to bolster their current meager lineups to get themselves over that hump. This includes our very own New York Mets. We all like to think that we are each respectively more intelligent than the manager and the GMs at times, if not all the time. Irrational? Maybe, but with the last few years, the Mets have not exactly looked good in either department. I do think that Jim Duquette has a better idea and more of plan than Steve Phillips did, but the jury is still out for me. No one can turn a team around in one year. To me, opening day 2005 will be the true testament. What key trades will he have made on his watch, what big free agent signings he has made will have been done by that time, and how has he executed his plan to get younger, faster, more athletic, and better defensively. Since the Mets are pretty much the oldest team now, he has his work cut out for him.

Since Monday was an off-day coupled with the fact that I did not really feel like working, I had plenty of time to plot out a plan that will take the Mets to 2005 opening day with a quality product on the field that can play for the ever elusive meaningful games that the Mets management has referred to on occasion. Not that I think this years version of the Mets is not quality, due to injuries they have not been as good as they could have been, they should be a bit better.

#1 - Hold off on pulling the trigger for a player at the trade deadline. I just think a major move to get Beltran or Ordonez is unwarranted unless you can guarantee a signed extension from it. It is important to not just go nuts and do something rash. I know I sound like a broken record, but once the Mets are 100% healthy, barring anymore setbacks, their offense will be vastly approved.

There are less sexy moves like Jacque Jones which could be done if the Twins can help their team out in other areas as a result of the deal. With Lew Ford, Torri Hunter, and Shannon Stewart (when he returns), Jones may become expendable. He could be a relative bargain. Outside of a deal similar to that, I would not do any blockbuster type deals.

#2 – Sign Phillip Humber. This BS about the market not setting itself is crap. Year after year, guys have a rough idea of what type of money you get at what area of the draft. Humber should be in the $3,000,000 neighborhood. Matt Bush, who was the #1 overall pick, got $3,150,000. Work off that number. I want Humber to get signed, not so he can work in games right away, but because he can start working with Peterson. He can go to Birmingham, AL and get his mechanics examined and meet Rick for a few bullpen sessions. Humber pitched over 115 college innings, and only one major leaguer went over 100 so far. That guy was resident workhorse Livan Hernandez. Ideally Humber gets four to six games total for the remainder of the year after maybe a month off. That would leave him with about 150 innings. That may seem like a lot, but after a month off, it should not be too taxing on his arm.

#3 – Give Scott Kazmir another month to get it going. If he continues to struggle, think about moving him to closer. I hate to beat a dead horse, but the concerns about his size and being a power pitcher are certainly warranted. The Mets have some serious starting pitching depth and this could be a surefire way to alleviate concerns about his elbow and fast track him to the majors. A guy with his stuff would be devastating as a closer and would be able to even possibly make a 2005 appearance. Believe me, I love the idea of a power lefty as a starter, but I like the idea of him being healthy and dominant for 15 years in Met uniform better.

#4 – Fast track Lastings Milledge. I’m a believer you should not rush prospects, but some are just special players (i.e. Jose Reyes) that they have the skills to get there sooner. Yes, it is still early for him, he’s only played about 25 games, but he’s got five tools and is showing them all. I say play him out for another month in Capital City, and give him a taste of St. Lucie for the remainder of the year, provided he continues to excel. Then see how he responds to high A ball and Spring Training of 2005 before you decide where he goes that season. Ideally you try and get him major league ready by 2006. He seems special so far, so I do not see why that would be a problem.

#5 – Give David Wright until the All-Star break to see how he handles AAA. If he rolls into the All-Star break looking like a future All-Star himself, give Wigginton his walking papers and see if he can be spun off into a deal. Let Wright ride out the rest of the year playing the hot-corner for in Shea Stadium.

#6 – Cross my fingers and hope that Prentice Redman has figured it out. What he does for the remainder of the year will be a vital piece of the puzzle. Prentice has tools. He can hit for some power, he can field, and he can run pretty well. If he can pick up in AAA where he left off in AA, he becomes an interesting piece to my puzzle. Hopefully he does well in AAA and gets some at-bats in his September call-up.

#7 – Make sure Matthew Peterson gets a shot at AAA at some point this season. He has been struggling of late, but not exactly getting killed. Like he got a taste of AA the end of last year, the same should be repeated with AAA this year.

I am not going to even try and guess how the Mets are going to finish this season. I think they will be vastly improved team with better management of the lineup and a 100% healthy team with all key cogs healthy. A second half run, with the present personnel and help from within the organization is not out of the question. In fact, I think it is very possible. Jose Reyes is such a catalyst. He makes things happen in a big way. The biggest problem the Mets have is no one on for Piazza and no protection behind him. A lineup with Reyes in front of Piazza and Floyd behind him has some serious upside.

#8 – Let Al Leiter walk. As tough as it may be, it will make sense as you read down further in my master plan.

#9 – Make a run at Magglio Ordonez. Make sure you throw what is necessary to land him at him. Give him five or six years and the dollar amount he is looking for. He will fit nicely into the payroll and on the Mets team. The corner outfield spot has just been solved.

#10 – Make a bid for Scott Williamson. This guy is nasty. .121 BAA, 1.59 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and he has not surrendered a home run. He should take Weather’s spot in the bullpen nicely.

#11 – Let Franco and Weathers walk, their contracts are up. Give Johnny a golden watch and BMW, say thanks for the memories and take your tomato plants.

#12 – Get Matt Clement in Shea wearing the blue and orange. He has #1 stuff, and will only cost #2 money. He is posting a .213 BAA, 1.12 WHIP, and 3.15 ERA so far this year. With Rick Peterson as the pitching coach, and Shea a pitchers park, there should not be much arm twisting to convince pitchers to come here if you can show him the bats will be here to make a run.

#13 – According to Metsblog.com, Billy Beane is rumored to possibly look at his options this off season and will perhaps shop Barry Zito around. The A’s asking price will be high, but I think the Mets can have a combination that will make him listen. The Mets payroll will be low next year. Low in relative terms to what they can actually afford to spend so they can eat some contract money to make packages more attractive to Beane. What do the A’s need? A few things. They need a stronger bullpen, a real closer (Rhodes sucks), catcher (Miller’s contract is up and will be presumably too expensive) and an outfield position player to supplant Dye's impending free agency. Here is my pitch. Billy Beane was in love with Mike Cameron this off season. Gauge his interest and see if Cameron is still high on his wish list (we'll miss his glove, but we'll deal). If it is, see if he will make one of these two swaps. Offer #1, The Mets pay for 3 million per year for the remaining two years of Cameron’s contract, give the A’s Jason Phillips to catch at a very cheap price of the league minimum, give them Bob Keppel for a close to major league ready starter, and give them Victor Diaz as a potential OF/2b/DH masher that can assist them in ’05 or Craig Brazel for 1b/DH/LF (their choice). Offer #2, The Mets give them Looper in his last year of his contract while paying half of the remaining dollar value (approx $1,700,000) to close their games out and save Rich Harden from moving to the closer role, Vance Wilson as catcher, Prentice Redman, and Scott Kazmir. Obviously many teams will be vying for his services and I would like to be able to accommodate the A’s needs, which is partially why choosing to pass on an ’04 trading deadline move may prove very beneficial. I know you will all think I’m nuts, but these offers are just base offers, than can be modified whether you think I'm giving too much or not enough. You get the picture. I see no reason why a deal cannot be made and since he is on contract for two more years, it will be pricy.

#14 - Trade Steve Traschel. This hinges on getting Zito. Obviously he remains if Zito stays in Oak-town or goes somewhere else. He is affordable and will be signed for two years if whatever team has him picks up his option. Both years will only cost you $5,000,000 per year for a solid pitcher that gives you solid outings every five days. Who knows, maybe even spin him as part of a package for Zito so he can replace his rotation spot, move Harden to close games and bring up Blanton as the fifth starter for the A's. It does not hurt to ask

#15 – Move Reyes back to short.

#16 - Sign Rick Peterson to a lifetime deal.

So what will my new look 2005 New York Mets Look like?

Rotation:
Tom Glavine
Matt Clement
Barry Zito
Matt Ginter
Jae Seo

With Phillip Humber , Matt Peterson , or Bobby Keppel (if he is still here) with an outside shot at a 4 or 5 spot.

Bullpen:
Braden Looper (Dan Wheeler if Looper is traded)
Orber Moreno (Potential closer if Looper is traded)
Mike Stanton (I'd much rather dump him too and plug in Wheeler for good, but he is un-dumpable)
Royce Ring
Scott Strickland
Tyler Yates (can work in long roles if Wheeler is not part of the bullpen)
Scott Williamson

With no true long man, it may be necessary to use a seven man bullpen.

Starting Lineup:
Jose Reyes SS
Kazuo Matsui 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Mike Piazza 1B
Cliff Floyd LF
David Wright 3b
Mike Cameron CF (or Prentice Redman if Cameron gets dealt or a 1 year stop-gap)
Jason Phillips C (If Phillips is gone, then Vance Wilson, Mike Jacobs, or a make a run at Jason Varitek???)

Bench:
Joe McEwing (for better or for worse, he will be here)
Shane Spencer (if he will come back, bring him back, I like him)
Eric Valent
Danny Garcia (I think he will be good off the bench, Wilson Delgado would suffice too)
Vance or Jacobs (depends on who catches at the ML level, also a FA can be signed for backup catcher)

Also, If Wigginton does not bring much value on the market, he can be Zeile type guy off the bench. He should be able to play three of the four infield spots.

Crazy or not, those are my long winded plans.

Has any noticed how long every single damn post is?

The Rumor Mill Heats Up

Well, not really heats up. I guess you can say it is lukewarm.

Before I actually get to the rumors, the Mets continue to excel vs. better pitchers than guys with astronomical ERAs. Zack Grienke, while he gave up five runs, showed why everyone is so high on this 20 year old. Some stuff is just nasty and he does not overpower people. He consistently keeps changing speeds to make sure the hitter is off balance and pounds the strike zone. It's hard for a hitter to sit fastball when it comes in at every notch between 83 and 93. Zack was the only reason I watched the game yesterday. I could not bear to watch another bad game, so I was resigned to waiting until the Mets won before I watched them again.

However, I'm glad I did watch it. Glavine pitched a gem and may have gone the distance if it was not for shoddy defense..AGAIN! Kaz made two more errors. He is starting to run away with error lead for shortstops. Incidentally, shortstops are supposed to be the best glove on the diamond. Matsui should have only been charged with one, but he still made the bad plays. Nothing is routine for him, and most of his errors are on easy plays. I just do not get it. I do not want to bash him, but it is really perplexing as to what this guy's problem is. Fielding was the thing I expected to come easiest for him in the States. I figured his bat would take a while to come around, but that has just not been the case.

Anyway, back to Glavine. When the Mets first signed him, I was psyched. I laid out $250 to get a Glavine jersey for the '03 season. This guy does it all. He hits, fields, pitches, he does everything that a pitcher is supposed to do to win. When he really had an off year last year, it was huge disappointment for me since I was a big fan of the type of pitcher he was. Most people do not have the luxury of watching a future hall of famer on a consistant basis (yes, I know the Mets have two). He sure did not look like one last year most of the time. I buried the jersey in my closet as there was no way I was going to wear it. Sure enough, the '04 season came around. I wore it as many times as I could in the beginning of the year so I could get some mileage out of it in case he repeated the performance of last year so I did not feel like I completely wasted my money. He has not looked back since his first game in Atlanta. Astoundingly he has given up two or less earned runs in 10 of his 14 starts, while not giving up over four runs, earned or unearned, at any point this year. On top of that, he has gone seven or more innings nine times, while going at least six in every single game. If that were not enough, he is leading the entire league in ERA. Glavine has been the stopper for the Mets start after start. Five of his seven wins have come after Mets losses. He could easily have 11 wins at this point if the Mets were providing better run support. He has to be considered an early candidate for the Cy Young award and deservedly so. It has been simply amazing watching him so far this year and a treat for Mets fans.

Glavine must have been relieved to finally get some runs to work with. He Had a 3-0 lead in the fifth which is a luxury that he has not had much this year. The first two runs came courtesy of Mike Piazza's bat. Piazza took Grienke deep for a two run shot, which ended up being rather bizarre as Beltran awkwardly ran into the wall. He eventually left the game, but it was weird how he hit it. It was like he had no clue there was a big blue wall behind him. He actually jumped into it. Strangely enough the Mets scored five runs on five hits today, but only scored five runs on seventeen hits two days ago. Baseball can certainly be a funny game. Howe FINALLY flipped Floyd and Piazza around. I hope this is permanent, but with Howe you never know what he is going to do.

The Mets have six games coming up against the Tigers and the Indians. At this point, just taking four of six will not cut it. The Mets have twelve games in row in which they battle the Yankees, who have the best record in the AL, and the Reds, who are only two wins off the NL lead in wins. The Mets need to enter that stretch at .500. They have backed themselves up into a corner and need to respond. They need to feast on these teams while they can, before they put themselves into obscurity with a pounding against tougher opponents. Oh, did I forget to mention they have nine consecutive series against the NL East after that tough stretch? It is put up or shut up for the Mets. We will see what they are made of.

Now back to the rumors.

Nasty Rumor #1: Mets interested in Soriano? Can it get worse? If the Mets pull the trigger on this deal, I give up. Kazmir would almost certainly have to be a part of this deal. To me, wasting such a valuable chip on Soriano is a mistake. The Rangers are not interested in dealing with Soriano's arbitration and neither should the Mets. With Ordonez's contract talks being broken off, the Mets should key in on him. Getting Soriano to play right (I presume that is what they would be looking at him for) would only block them from getting the better player. A closer look at Soriano's road #'s tell a big story. Away from Arlington, he is batting .240. More disturbing, he is only on pace for 22 homeruns while playing half his games in a hitters park. Is this the same guy who hits close to 40 homeruns yearly? Yup, but without the Yankee lineup behind him he is a different hitter. While the Texas lineup is still solid, they are just not the same. Furthermore, in parks that are typically considered pitching parks, or neutral parks, he does not hit so well.

Edison Field - .167
U.S. Cellular - .154
Comerica - .231
Network Coliseum - .200 (most closely resembles Shea)
Safeco - .273

In fact, the only places he has respectable BAs is in Arlington, Yankee Stadium, and Kauffman Stadium (mostly due to very bad pitching I presume). Out of the 11 parks he has hit in so far, he has below a .232 average in 7 of them. Not good. Keep this guy off my team. Wasting such a valuable chip on Soriano in Kazmir is not intelligent. Shea would not be kind to him. I would expect a .275 average at best from him. This is the exact kind of mistake Phillips would have made. Please do not make a move to just make a move.

Nasty Rumor #2 - This silly talk of Contreras for Freddy Garcia is persisting. Is that the best the Mariners can do? The Mets can send them Seo, Ginter, or Keppel plus some throw ins. Is that really worse than Contreras as the centerpiece? What is so attractive about a guy who has 6.75 ERA? Not only that, he is listed at 32. LISTED at 32, means he's few years older. He is not a spring chicken. Has anyone taken a close look at him? His skin looks like shoe leather. The guy is pushing 50. If this trade happens, it will defy logic.

Nasty Rumor #3 - The White Sox trading Magglio? They are in first place as of today, and they really do not have many current outfield options unless they bring up Reed or Borchard. If they make the playoffs, they will surely need him.

"Unless there's a big change of heart, and a change of heart on both sides, then Magglio will walk in the off season," the source said. "Once he becomes a free agent, there's almost no chance that the Sox will get him back. They know that and they are preparing for that."

While I think this is good news for the Metropolitans for this year’s off-season. I just cannot see them trading their franchise player and expect to win. The article alludes to the idea that if they Sox do well in his absence, then they might be willing to ship him off for reinforcements in the rotation. I can safely say, without Ordonez, they are sunk. They are holding their own without him, but are merely playing .500 ball. That will not get them to the promised land. Do not get me wrong, if the Mets can pull off a trade and sign him long term in the transaction, I say do it. However, that just seems nonsensical to make the deal. Who gets rid of their best player during a season in which you are holding first place by the skin of your teeth?

Rumor #4 - Beltran is officially for sale. Allard Baird has said it's on. The Marlins, according to the Sun-Sentential, are going to try and get into the mix for his services. My only confusion comes from where he will play. They have three outfielders. Lowell is at third, so Cabrera cannot move there. The only move that they can make is Connine or Lowell to first, which means Hee Seop Choi is the odd man out, and move Cabrera back to his natural position at third if it is vacated by Lowell. Maybe they can try and spin Choi for Beltran involving a third team, but this move makes little sense. The article also goes on to mention what little the Marlins have to offer. They do not have what the Royals are looking for, unless the want to part with Cabrera, which will not happen.

It will be interesting to see what materializes over the next week or two. The article echoes the sentiments going around that the Royals are just not going to get the type of deal they believe they should get for him. There is interest out there, but most of the teams interested do not have the goods to make a big time offer. The teams that do have the pieces to make a good offer are going to be cautious not to overpay since there may not be a bidding war. On top of that, Beltran is not helping himself by keeping his average under .270. When the Expos went out and got Colon a two years back, the Indians got Milton Bradley, Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. That is the type of deal a team would present when they are desperate. A truly amazing job by the Indians. They got three top prospects and another talented major leaguer. In most other years, Beltran might have garnered a similar transaction. This year appears to be different, you do not get that desperate feeling from the teams (except the Mets). Not only that, Colon was on contract for the following year, and Beltran is most certainly going to leave and test free agency.

On the Beltran note, I'm glad Howe spoke out.

"Why would you ask that when it's not a possibility," Howe said, then added, "Even if we get Beltran, Cameron's our center fielder, point blank."

Reporters are trying to start trouble, and making problems when there were not any. Instead of Cameron defending himself answering stupid questions, Howe should be the one talking. I am not saying that Cameron is not responsible for his stupid remarks, but he should have not been put in that position by the media looking to start trouble.

Rumor #5 - Uggie Urbina may yet again be used as a trading chip. If teams have learned one thing, if you want to get some prospects at the deadline, sign Urbina. The Rangers got Adrian Gonzalez from the swap last season, and now Gonzalez is their top prospect. At some point Uggie needs to sign with a good team so they may actually want to keep him for his entire contract. However, due to his ego and decision to price himself out of the market, he does it to himself. He would still be on permanent vacation had the Tigers not decided to reunite him with his boyfriend Pudge.


I used to think the rumor mill was good. Sometimes it has some juicy stuff, but most of it is trash they pick up from local area newspapers that seemingly have very vivid imaginations.

Capital City remains on a tear as a team. They are sitting in first place and my favorite Bomber keeps the hits coming. Milledge is batting .315 after picking up two more hits in four at bats, while knocking in an RBI.

The David Wright-less B Mets won today. Neal Musser continues to impress with an eight inning effort and giving up only 1 run, while walking no one, and K'ing six. He is now 3.42 with a 6 - 2 record.

Norfolk won today as well with a few people starring in today's game. Victor Diaz continues to rake as he went 3 for 5 with a double and RBI, which brings his average up to .299. Prentice Redman said hello to AAA pitching by going 2 for 4 and knocked in a run. Jeremy Griffiths continues his resurgence after his six inning one run effort. He is now 5-2 with a 3.47 ERA.

Silver Lining

Vinny from the Spankees, Mets & the Rest reported some news that made my frickin' day. David Wright heading home to play for AAA Norfolk. In lesser, but also good news, Prentice Redman was called up! Hopefully we will see Wright at Shea sooner rather than later if he continues to tear pitchers up. Not because he will be our savior, but because we may want to think about getting him some major league playing time, so he will be ready for 2005 with a few months of major league experience under his belt. On top of that, the hot Wigginton will become trade bait which will then allow the Mets to strengthen the team in other areas. I think David is ready right now. Afterall, he did have few at-bats in the major league camp and batted .353. It was a small sample size, but he performed nonetheless while making some spectacular plays in the field.

Vinny also has some good insight and comments on Cameron, check them out.

Let's hope Tommy can salvage the week and try and prevent two consecutive sweeps. One of which would be handed to us by one of the worst teams in baseball. We will have quite a challenge in Zack Grienke today. If we could not hit bad pitchers, I can only imagine how we will handle a good one. Scary to think.

No Comment

There is not much to say. If you are a reading this, chances are that you are a Met fan. Sorry to hear that. Words cannot express my dissapointment for these MUST win games that the Mets have managed to lose.

In my attempt to make all our lives a bit happier in these dark days, I give you this:



and this



and finally, this



I hope that helps to ease the pain of these last five games.