Centerfielder + Centerfielder = Bad Shit
Yesterday's collision was by far the worst I have ever witnessed since I have been watching baseball and there have been some bad ones. Nothing compares to watching a pitcher get smashed in the face with a line drive back to the mound a la Ishii when he was with the Dodgers, but this is pretty close. I'm guessing everyone has seen it by now and Cameron suffered a broken nose and two broken cheek bones. It looks like he went face first into the side of Carlos' head and that is why he suffered so much more damage than Beltran. He will most likely not be coming back this year and we can only hope he comes out of this without any apprehensions about playing his game and has no lasting mental effects.
"I knew those guys were so competitive," Floyd said. "You try to block that out when they run together, two center fielders. They're taught to chase the ball. They're taught to give it everything."
A regular rightfielder does not even get close to that ball, but the Mets have two speedy centerfielders who were going balls to wall for a ball and instinct took over for both of them and they went for ball. I had no inkling that this may be a pitfall and there was danger in having two spectacular outfielders. The loss is inconsequential as it resulted largely from that play and you are left almost happy because things could have ended up worse all around. Cammy is clearly in bad shape, but I'm sure it could have been worse and a lot worse for Beltran.
The Mets are going to miss his stellar glove and his hot bat and Victor Diaz, who was left out of yesterday's game, will replace his spot on the roster as he was DL'd just about immediately. I am not sure how much time, if any, Beltran will miss, but the Mets run at the Wild Card certainly just got a bit more complicated. Cameron has been hitting the ball well and has given the Mets some great defense, but I still think Victor Diaz's bat has some more upside and he proved to be capable right fielder earlier in the season. What the Mets need from him is some more consistency and I hope that Willie has there intelligence to not bury him in the 8th spot. Yes he had struggled before being sent down, but he was playing with far less frequency and has the ability to possibly be a run producer and that is just what the Mets need right now.
The Mets need to step it up and start winning some games for Cammy and get their emotions into this Wild Card race. There are just too many games when they look tired and listless. It is time for them to make something happen. With last night's loss they dropped to four out of the wildcard. Since Mike has come here, he has done nothing but be a model citizen and given the Mets 100%. Maybe Mike going down will give them the motivation they need to make a late season push.
- Lousiville beat Norfolk 2-1. Eric Valent went 2 for 4 and Anderson Hernandez went 1 for 3 with a walk. Will Cordero went 0 for 4 with three K's to bring his average down to .107. Neal Musser went seven innings and struck out ten while giving up eight hits, two earned runs, and one walk. Victor Diaz was not in the lineup as I can only assume he was on his way to LA.
- Binghamton beat New Hampshire 5-0. Lastings went 1 for 4 with a run scored, Brett Harper went 3 for 4 with a run scored, a double, and an RBI (good thing Will Cordero is taking all the AAA at-bats), and Aarom Baldiris went 1 for 4 with a run scored, a double, and an RBI.
- Palm Beach beat St. Lucie 6-5 in twelve innings. Grant Psomas went 2 for 5 with a run scored, two doubles, and one RBI, Andy Wilson went 2 for 5 with two runs scored, a double, a walk, a homer, and two RBI, and Dante Brinkley went 1 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs.
- Greensboro beat Hagerstown 9-7. Carlos Gomez went 1 for 3 with an RBI, a walk, and his 53rd stolen base. Ambiorix Concepcion went 1 for 4 with a run scored, a double and his 29th stolen base.
- Tri-City beat Brooklyn 5-1.
- Pulaski beat up on Kingsport 11-3. David Wabick went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
- The GCL Mets beat the GCL Nationals 10-3. Emmanuel Garcia went 2 for 4 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBIs, Jose Castro went 3 for 6 with a run scored, and Joshua Thole went 3 for 5 with an RBI.
"I was a little ticked off," Floyd said. "We already lost two of our guys, and instead of just putting four fingers up and walking me, he throws the ball right into my knee. You can't let teams disrespect you like that. Unfortunately, we don't play them anymore."
The Mets are expected to use Chris Woodward or Gerald Williams in center field tonight if Beltran is unable to play.
The Mets have agreed to a minor-league deal with released White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu.
Takatsu, a 36-year-old righty, will be in Norfolk today. Takatsu went 1-2 with a 5.97 ERA and eight saves in 31 games with the White Sox this year. Last season, though, he had a 2.31 ERA and 19 saves.
According to Takatsu's agent, Joe Urbon, "It's going to be a 21/2-week tryout," referring to the fact that playoff rosters have to be set by the end of August.
posted by michael o. at 11:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home