Mediocrity Never Tasted So Good

We have seen the new Mets already and now this may be the new new Mets.

Lineup
J. Reyes
D. Wright
C. Beltran
C. Floyd
M. Piazza
B. Daubach
V. Diaz
R. Castro
K. Matsui

I have to say that I like this lineup more than any other lineup thrown there this season. Of course, when Cammy comes back, Reyes is going to probably be dropped down to the #2 hole with Cammy in leadoff spot and Wright batting who knows where. I'll reserved judgment until I see how it all plays out. Willie seems to reserve the sixth spot for spares, so Daubach will get a look there by Randolph's logic.

"I don't take credit for more than the fact the team played well today. I will move the lineup around every once in a while. Tomorrow it might be back a totally different way, so don't read anything into it. I don't call it a shakeup. Just try to do things that you're capable of doing in the circumstances."

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Gammo Speaks....from his latest chat wrap:

Ray (Bronx, NY): Hello Peter, the Mets are killing me.. they frustrate me to no end. Their offense has been nonexistent and I just don’t get it. If Carlos Beltran who has been underwhelming so far is hurt then why not DL him for 2 weeks and let him come back 100%??? The pitching has been fine and the bullpen has been ok but something must be done to the lineup! Would you take Reyes off the leadoff spot?? Bring up Wright in the lineup and lower Piazza?? DL Beltran to get him healthy again?? Team doesn’t look good at all and those Nationals are so far ahead of them now ..THE NATIONALS!! I like the Nats anyways but still..c'mon!!

Peter Gammons: If I could be assured that the two weeks would get Beltran healthy, I would rest him. As for Reyes, I would move him either to the second position or the 6-hole. I would move Wright up near the top of the order and yes, I would move Piazza down -- maybe to 7th. I also think that the Mets HAVE to go out and get another catcher to play two or three days a week.

The sobering reality of the entire new ballpark situation has sunk in and this article did it. The Mets are probably not getting a top of the line stadium that can be a jewel like Camden Yards. If they build it so it can be retrofitted for the Olympic games that are not coming, it will affect their plans. It will alter them and not allow them to build the best park they can, which is really disappointing. Wilpon is doing it with his $600 million and he should be able to build the best park he can. The Spankees do not have to build a stadium with such provisions and will again overshadow the Mets with some ridiculously nice field while the Mets build a head scratcher. There is no doubt it will be nice, but I have my reservations if it will be an experience, or as enjoyable as Coors Field, Camden Yards, or PNC Park.

What?

Frank Thomas, DH, White Sox: The Big Hurt homered again on Wednesday, and Chicago adding Thomas to the roster last week is the equivalent of trading for a 35-home run slugger. He needs to stay healthy, and he's trying by lifting leg weights after games instead of before and ... drinking less coffee, which in the past has caused him to dehydrate.

How much coffee was the Big Hurt drinking? He must have been laying a big hurt on the toilet, that's for sure. Sounds like the guy was drinking it by the gallons.

From the same article:

Danny Graves, RP, Mets: Graves starts anew in Queens, and no team in baseball needs him more than the Mets, whose bullpen is the reason why they're a sub-.500 team.

Good you think you pay attention to baseball Mr. Chen. For one, the Mets bullpen has not been the problem and secondly, Graves is not going to make or break anyteam.

Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Scranton 11-9. Chris Basak went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, one homer, and two RBIs. Prentice Redman went 2 for 4 with a run scored, one double, one homer, and three RBIs.
  
• Binghamton lost to New Hampshire 14-6. Kevin Deaton went 2 innings, gave up seven runs, nine runs, two walks, and three homers. Aarom Baldiris went 1 for 5 with a run scored, a double, and three RBIs.
  
• West Virginia pounded Hagerstown 10-3. Carlos Gomez went 2 for 5 with one run scored and two triples.
  
• St. Lucie's doubleheader was rained out yesterday.

It's not like I'm looking for him to go out and get five hits or anything like that. Doug probably, might be in the lineup [tonight]."

Probably, might be? That rivals A-Rod's I'm probably pretty sure things will work out comment when he was still with the Rangers.

David Wright is feeling a be inadequate.

"I feel like I'm not very comfortable, like I don't have faith in myself," Wright said. "I think I'm just playing over there not to make mistakes rather than going out there and being aggressive.

"I know what I'm capable of doing defensively. Now it's just in my head that I've made some costly mistakes and it sits in the back of my mind right now. I'm playing tense, and it shows because I'm not playing as well as I'm capable of."

Kaz Matsui's knee on knee collision yesterday looked painful. But don't worry Kaz fans, he'll be in the lineup tonight.

This is getting comical.

The Mets signed catcher Benito Santiago, 40, to a minor-league contract. He will work out in Port St. Lucie before reporting to Triple-A Norfolk. Santiago batted .261 (6-for-23) in six games for the Pirates this season before being released May 9

From Jayson Stark's Useless Info Dept:

We were also wondering in our last edition about the goofy play in which Mets reliever Dae-Sung Koo scored from second base against Randy Johnson, on what looked like just your typical sacrifice bunt.

Dave Smith also looked into that one, and found – if you toss out errors and situations involving multiple baserunners – there have been only 11 other plays like that in the last 45 years. And amazingly, the last one also occurred in a Yankees-Mets game, on June 15, 2002.

Just as Randy Johnson didn't cover the plate on Koo's play, this time it was Roger Clemens who didn't cover home as Rey Ordonez was scoring from second on a bunt by Shawn Estes.

That was the epitome of useless, like my page. Koo-Koo-ka-choo....

Huh?

Willie Randolph had a feeling yesterday -- twice.

First, he decided to tinker with his lineup after watching his team score just two runs in the first two games of this series and look comatose doing it. Later, just before the start of the fifth inning, Randolph told first-base coach Jerry Manuel he thought the Mets were about to score a lot of runs.

"I'm a vibe person," the Mets manager said. "You might think I'm crazy, but when I get a feeling about something it usually works."

Randolph moved David Wright into the second spot in the batting order for the first time all season and the third baseman responded with an RBI single. He also put the newly arrived Brian Daubach in at first base in place of the struggling Doug Mientkiewicz and Daubach, who was tearing up the International League before his promotion, had three walks, reached base four times and scored two runs.

Is he serious? People have been asking for Wright to be moved up for over 60 games. What Randolph calls a vibe, I call common sense.

Gary Thorne tries to rain on the new stadium parade, but I think the this deal is fair enough. However, he makes a great point.

As new groups vie to buy the team from MLB, the cost of that team as jumped multiple times because of the stadium vote. That money will not return to the District. It will be pocketed by the owners of the other 29 teams.

They bought the Expos for some $130 million and will probably sell it for 3 or 4 times that amount. Why shouldn't a piece of that pie have come back to D.C. for stadium costs?

The owners would never do that in a million years, but since there were cities willing to pay for a stadium like Portland and Las Vegas, there was no chance the owners put up the money for this stadium. If all the cities said no way to public funding, they may have, but who in their right mind would offer up $450 million for a stadium when other cities would cover the cost?