It's Go Time

Victor Zambrano pitches bad? We all win.
Victor Zambarno pitches good? We all win.

Zambrano pitching is a win-win situation for Mets fans right now. Every bad game he throws, he is one step closer to getting booted from the rotation. Every good game he throws, the Mets have a shot at winning and that is never a bad thing. However, this guy has gotten on my nerves so much, I do not think he will even endear himself to me by winning twenty games at this point. From last night's broadcast, Gary Cohen remarked that Victor Zambrano said he is not panicking yet. After Cohen had made that statement, Ron Darling had said that a teammate had suggested that maybe he should start.

Did I miss the point in Zambrano's career when he earned the benefit of doubt? If Tom Glavine or Pedro had an ERA hovering around ten four starts into the season, they would not be in jeopardy. Zambrano was never really that good, so why he believes he is immune to being ousted from the rotation after he was taken out of the rotation in favor of Steve Tracshel last year is a mystery to me. That being said, his line of six innings, five hits, one run, two walks, and four k's on eighty nine pitches is good for any pitcher, much less him.

While last night's performance was encouraging, he should still have some sense of urgency to perform. If John Maine can come out today and pitch a good game with Brian Bannister's return to the rotation further down the line, Zambrano should not only feel like he is on the hot seat, but he should be on the hot seat. The only good option to replace Victor in the rotation any time soon is John Maine. If he cannot hack it in the two starts he will have in place of Brian Bannister, it is a moot point until Mike Pelfrey logs more innings or Alay Soler is in more of a position to be considered a viable option, but it's go time for Zambrano.

Now is the time for him to show the Mets what he is made out of and if he is worth anything. I'm not willing to give him a pass because he is only the fifth starter. I'm not satisfied if I eat great dinners all week and then eat a steaming pile of dog shit on that last day every week because the first six meals were good. That is just silly talk. These are the Mets and not the Kansas City Royals. They should have the resources and the ability to put together a solid rotation one through five and if Victor wants to be a part of that, it is time he earns it.

"We're going to give him an opportunity," GM Omar Minaya said before the game, "but like anything else there comes a time when you have to perform."

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If it's written in the bible, it must be true, no?

The worst? Bernie Williams--and it's not even close--with a score of minus-78.

Nice...

Matt Meyes did a book review on The Fielding Bible and the article is interesting to read and the actual book may be of interest to some of you. I personally would rather just keep passing around recycled opinions when it comes to fielding because I do not care enough.

The new BA Prospect Hot Sheet is out and Mike doesn't like it one bit....well maybe a tiny bit, but no more than that. First, two pitching prospects made the list because of their utter domination of Met affiliate clubs in Cole Hamels and Humberto Sanchez. Second, two of the Yankees best and brightest in Jose Tabata and Phil Hughes crack into the honorable mention section with some impressive play. The only thing that saves it is Lastings Millege and his .500 OBP heading into yesterday's play and Mike Pelfrey's toying with AA hitters to get them an honorable mention as well.

I know what I'm naming my first born...girl or boy.

"They were dynamite. Sanchez is unreal, and Billy throwing the ball was dynamite," catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "And Pedro. It's been phenomenal. Sanchez, right now, he's our MVP."

First name....Duaner. Middle name...Sanchez. Duaner Sanchez Oliver...

The Astros are ready to negotiate for Roger Clemens' services.

The Astros took some criticism for not offering Clemens arbitration, but they ultimately didn't lose anything because May 1 hit without Clemens signing elsewhere.

Purpura and McLane are ready to come to the table with nothing less than what Clemens earned per day — $98,360.65 — in his historic deal last year.

A hundred grand a day. Let that sink in.

Freddy Garcia was toking up on some sweet shiba during the WBC.

IBAF policy states that a player who violates the anti-doping rule can be suspended up to two years from competition.

While Major League Baseball has no penalty for marijuana, Garcia was not pleased with the stigma that he feels he now will be attached with. What really bothered Garcia was the fact that if he did fail the test, why was he allowed to start two games for Venezuela in the WBC?

The Metropolitans wonders why anything but performance enhancing drugs are of interest to the IBAF.

Adrian Beltre should worry less about practical jokes and more about hitting the baseball. He is getting paid $12,900,000 for a .211/.299/.274 line with one homer and six RBIs. That is not so swell.

Tim Hudson's slow start is a distant memory.

Floyd is struggling, but like Cohen points out game after game, he is just stinging the ball.

"We've got a great team, and you know what? Production-wise, I haven't been good," he said, "but us winning has kept me sane."

Like Beltran's numbers were hurting early in the year while he was stinging the ball, Cliff's numbers are hurting while he is stinging the ball. He is going to come around and start punishing the ball and pickup up hits.

Minaya revealed yesterday that the team considered calling up top prospect Mike Pelfrey when Bannister got hurt. Pelfrey had just been promoted to Double-A last Tuesday.

Interesting...

BP's Hit List has the Mets sitting in the fourt spot.

Down
Beasts of the East: the Mets' six-game lead is the biggest end-of-April lead in NL East history, and larger than the other five division leads combined. They've got the NL East's only winning record and have already topped last year's total of wins in Atlanta thanks to a pair of gems from future Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine, two of the Mets' four pitchers among NL's top 15 in VORP.

The Mets are holding down the third spot on ESPN's Power Rankings.

Carlos Delgado (.337-9-19) has been everything -- and perhaps even more -- the Mets hoped he would be.