Randon Tidbits 7-14-07

Yesterday's game was just ugly. John Maine did not even have bad first inning and he gave up four runs. Aside from the Phillips homer, he really didn't get beat. Wright was playing in which allowed the hit, the bunt was just one of those things that you cannot defend against and just tip your cap to the batter, and the Griffey Jr. walk was just a bad sequence. Then the Mets defense failed him and it just got a lot worse. Of course the Mets offense was horrid again so there is not much to really complain about. If you lost of few hours of your life on that game, I'm sorry to hear that.

Some random two-by-four thoughts from the comments last night.

Omar indicated that he was disappointed with the approach the hitters were taking to the plate as the reason for letting Down go. But I think he also sent a message to Willie that he is not as patient as Willie and wants to see Willie do more than just wait for slumps to end by themselves. When a dealer in Vegas gets in a slump and starts to lose they don’t wait for him to pull himself out of it. They replace him with someone else. They realize it’s all psychological and are proactive not inactive. With the Mets the hitters may work with the hitting coach but nothing else seems to be done to change the team’s psych. While in baseball you can’t change the player as Vegas does with the dealer the manager of a baseball team can take steps to change the player’s daily routine and batting order in an effort to get them out of their rut. But Willie has developed an approach based on his many years in baseball and believes in it. So no matter what message Omar sends, Willie will most probably not change his approach to his job.

LM does not have CG’s speed or arm or smoothness in the outfield. But when LM makes contact the ball jumps off his bat. The same cannot be said for CG’s offense.

Right now there are no easy teams for the Mets. To make matters worse they go on the road to SD and LA. The Braves stay home and play teams they should beat up on. If the Mets are still in 1st place after they finish with SD and LA they will run away with the division. If the Mets continue their present style of play they will fall out of 1st and the rest of the season could be a struggle.

Good take on the Willie situation because he is the type of guy who doesn't believe in shake-ups. As stated before, he gets something in his head and it is nearly impossible to change his mind. That is really, really, really something that I do not like because sometimes you have to be bit more proactive than he is at times to try and get things moving.

100% agree with your LM and CG statement. Also, CG seems to be swinging out of his shoes too much.

The Mets have no more breathing room and they need to be in first for mental reasons as much as anything. To give the Braves a lot of confidence could be a dangerous thing.

Itsmetsforme, of course you were missed...but your comments are too long to repost here so I just suggest everyone go read them. Most times I post negative things about Willie here it seems to illicit a very strong response from the populace in his favor. I could never understand why people took so much offense in regards to the matter, but I think people are losing some love for him.

I do think he is looking around and seeing Omar's footprint on this team. His only guy is gone. The entire staff was hand picked by the GM and that is certainly a rarity. I do not think Willie is entirely loved by the front office and Omar is firmly in control of this team.

In regards to Rickey, I think that 'Rickey loves Rickey' routine has taken on a life of its own. The Newark Bear players might not be pros, but their comments mean a lot since not many of us really know what he can offer.

Benny is not happy with Mike Pelfrey and I have not exactly been either. But I like him in the pen even though he had some problems. It was his first time coming out of the pen and this needs some time to play out. He is useless mowing down batters in AAA which he would invariably do if he was sent down and he cannot start in the bigs. Give him a shot in the pen to see if he can chip in and maybe find his niche as a reliever at this point.

I'm starting to like Gotay a lot and Willie might be forced into making him the guy at second base with this teams hitting lull. It would be tough to bench the only guy has consistently hit over the last two weeks.

I cannot see the Red Sox signing A-Rod, but few other teams have the cash. Considering they are paying Manny roughly $20 million a year and he is only signed through '08 and Schilling contract should be off the books for good after this season, you would have to think money would not be the issue. My big thing is that Lowell is producing just fine and would come a lot cheaper leaving them cash to go after someone else like Torii Hunter who might be a better fit in the grander scheme of things even with Ellsbury ready at AAA.

Posada a little bitter about the Bernie Williams situation? Perhaps, but why do players get their panties all bundled up about these things? Bernie was done and the Yankees already did him a favor the year before. Why must they be obliged to keep paying him and utilizing a roster spot until the thinks he is done? Really fucking ridiculous stuff. In the end, it is about leverage. Posada is going to try and squeeze as much out of his last big contract and I think that is truly what this is about. He simply won't have as much leverage now as he will in the off-season.

Anyone think Sabean is lucky to even have a job? He has got some good young pitching, but he has put this team in a pretty deep hole and pretty far from being relevant.

I want Big Z. and this is not want I want to be reading.

Now is the time to trade Willis? The optimal time was a long time ago but they can still get something decent now. If they fail to pull the trigger this time, the Marlins will truly outline how poorly run they are.

Deolis had a good game and Endy is making his way back. I hope when Endy returns it is at the expense of David Newhan and not Lastings Milledge.