The Motherland
Sooooooo....I'm off. Off to Africa. Off the motherland.
Of course it is going to be as close to hell as possible getting there with a twenty eight hour trip which includes a ten hour layover in Heathrow and a puddle jumper from Nairobi to the Kilimanjaro International Airport. Getting there should be rewarding though as I drink $1 Safaris (local beer) with the below view as I wait for the my friends to get back from their hike up Kilimanjaro.
There is also a chance someone could not do the five day summit and the altitude got the best of them and I could have company waiting there for me, but I think they will make it. For one, I think many are just too dumb to know when they are beat. Why didn't I climb? Glad you asked. I did not have enough vacation time due to weddings. Weddings in Mexico...weddings in Newport on work days. Fucking weddings.
It's all good though. I have the the lungs of a nine year old girl and probably would have met my match on the mountain and this gives me an easy out. The culmination of the trip though will be camping out on the Serengeti. That should be interesting to say the least and hopefully I can overcome my fear of getting into my sleeping bag with a black mamba nestled up next to me.
When I return, I will be looking for new employment to get me out of the job hell that I am in and hopefully the playoff picture will be settled a bit more and Mota will no longer be in the fold. Hopefully Willie will still not be trying to fit Rosie O'Donnell into Jessica Biel's dress and will be thinking out of the box.
SportsNation Keith Law: Reliever, starter, reliever.
I'm no scout, but they all have the stuff to start in the bigs. Now, the Mets simply might not have enough room and two will probably have to either hit the bullpen or be traded, but that is by no fault of their own.
Also, I finally watched Humber's last inning on my DVR and I have to say he looked good. He had a nice fastball and his curveball was better than any other time that I've seen it. I think he could potentially be devastating out of the bullpen, but I have also said that a plethora of times before and just might not be thinking clearly.
Yes, they could hold on to Santana next season, pay him $13.25 million, and take the draft picks when he signs with somebody else. These days, maybe that makes sense, because maybe there aren't any lopsided deals like this still to be made.
There is good reason to be optimistic about the Twins' pitching. Even in the absence of Joe Nathan -- who should also be traded before he gets too expensive -- the bullpen will feature Matt Guerrier and blogger extraordinaire Pat Neshek. Even in the absence of Santana, the rotation will/could feature Boof Bonser, Matt Garza, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano and Kevin Slowey.
They would be doing an injustice to not at least test the waters. That team can contend next year, but they still have some holes. Holes that can be filled via trades and they should be able to extract quite a bounty for those two. As hard as that might be to do, it might be the right thing to do in the long run.
That is unless they plan to 100% land him. But if they do, they should try and work that out prior to the season so they can extract maximum value. Getting two draft picks is not so great for a player of his ilk. Also, if a team with money picks him up after having an off year, they will not get a first rounder and a the team that might pick him up might only give them a late first rounder to add to their sandwich pick. There is a slight risk involved in keeping him rather than chasing more known quantities that teams will part with. Although, trading such a star and two fan favorites will not generate a lot of love letters from the Minnesota fanbase, but you have to worry about running your team first and public opinion second.
I love Gotay, but he can wait and work on becoming a super utility guy on the infield and he could be extremely valuable that way and he should get his share of at-bats. His bat off the bench is a great thing to have and I think it is a foregone conclusion he would see a substantial amount of time at second anyway.
Labels: africa
posted by michael o. at 12:00 AM
62 Comments:
Off to Africa, off to get a wife, Mike?
I dunno Mulvey might be a starter rather than reliever...
And as for Humber I saw him the other day, he was very average. Very "meh". He won't be an ace, whether in the bullpen or as a starter, I know that much. But whatever, that's just me.
The Mets can't lose to the DBacks, they just CANT! I don't care how well equiped they are, the Mets cannot lose to them.
I would resign Castillo. The bench players are good enough to fill in for him if and when he goes down. Gotay, Marlon Anderson, and Damion Easley are not bad replacements for a short period of time.
5:00 AM
If I'm lucky Benny. If I'm lucky.
Mulvey has four decent pitches. That is not to say he will be a star, but he certainly has enough pitches to be a starter.
I actually though Humber looked good with the exception of some control issues. His fastball was 89 to 92 but it looks like a hard fastball.
And I did think his curve was good. If he can get that over the plate, he will make it hard for hitters and he will have a true out pitch.
8:17 AM
Have a great time in Africa, you should try the same technique you used texting on your friend's phone last week to get a wife.
Remember that Humber may still be recovering from surgery.
2B is one of those positions that you can get away without a high priced talent, so if the price is right with Castillo, go for it. It's pretty obvious that Valentin will not be back.
8:34 AM
It's pretty obvious that Valentin will not be back.
Is anything a slam dunk with that guy? They love him for god's sake.
But yeah, I would not go over $6,000,000 for Castillo. He is slow, balkier knee, no power at all anymore...
He just is not worth all that much.
I expect Humber to have one plus pitch in his curve for his out pitch, a hard 91 to 94 mph fastball, a decent change, and a decent split. He smells like a big league starter to me.
8:42 AM
Yeah, but my theory is that Humber is grass; traded this winter. I can just feel it. Mets seems to be down on him. Now if he was part of a package to acquire Santana, all the better. The Mets have the quality prospects needed to acquire Johan, if they'll part with him that is. But, yeah, I think Humber and Mulvey both profile as starters.
If the Mets are willing to keep Moises on $8 million for part time work, they are perhaps willing to do the same. Not arguing that Castilla has not been a stabilizing force in the infield, but I could almost wish they went with Gotay. Almost. Better to sign Castilla for a reasonable price expecting he'll sit out a bit and use Gotay as a utility guy.
Flores was a bad decision on the Mets' part, a calculated risk that backfired. I think he'll start the season in Washington next year and then when he regresses as most sophs tend to, he'll get sent down. You have to think that had he stayed in the org, he'd be considered as a possible starting catcher next year. As it is, I see the Mets trading with the Pirates (Ronnie Paulino) or Texas (Gerald Laird). There's a chance that LoFuckhead comes back, but only as a last resort. Those Pudge dreams we hear about are pipe dreams (though admittedly from a sweet smelling pipe), take a toke if you want but Detroit has no incentive in house or on the FA market not to take up his option year.
Mets beat the Dbacks because they destroy at Chase Field. There are few places they seem to hit better, and that's even with Mike Jacobs in Florida! But let's face it, it's nice to be the Dbacks these days; they have a great young team and an extra major league ready outflieder/stud to go.
Humber, Gomez, Niese, Andy Hernandy and Carp for Santana. Tell me you wouldn't do it?
Have a great trip man!
9:34 AM
Alou is worth the $8,000,000 because of the production. Castillo brings defense more than anything and the ability to move runners over. Not worth $8,000,000 in my book and the Mets do not owe him anything.
I still cannot blame the Mets. A catcher in A-ball who has a excellent season that followed a bad one? That is not something you expect. A hard throwing left maybe, but not a catcher. I still cannot see that being their fault.
Of course I'm sure Ice was taking up a roster spot or something silly like that.
Pudge is nice, but what, 7 walks? I do not know if I could condone that. Mostly because Willie would bat him 2nd or at the very least in front of Milledge and/or Gomez.
DG...your trade does not get it done. Ever! One top 50 prospect? You need two and two more B+ ones.
Think Kershaw, LaRoche, Blake DeWitt, and another B prospect. I think people would line up to get him and give up a lot since Peter Greenberg is his agent and signing him prior to him hitting the market is very real. The Mets or Dodgers would jump at that.
Imagine him in the NL in a spacious park? I just shit myself.
9:44 AM
For the record, I think it would be more like Milledge/Humber/Heilman/Niese.
They have three guys who can play in the majors next year and another high ceiling guy. I think giving a very good big leaguer takes the place of a top prospect and I'm not even sure that is attractive to them. Although, they can fill center for cheap for a while with a very high ceiling guy which is really nice.
I also think they'd prefer Milledge over Gomez because I think Milledge is the safer bet while Gomez has the higher ceiling and Gold Glove capabilities.
One thing we can be certain of....Omar will try if the option is on the table.
9:46 AM
Jason Standridge was on the 40-man roster during the Rule V draft, if I am not mistaken. Flores was definitely an Omar mistakes, but I still love me some Omar.
I am surprised at the Humber hate. I have been tickled pink by his appearances. The curve is sick and he spots his fastball well once he got by the young pitcher nerves in both of his appearances. I like him a lot. He's nothing more than a #3 at his best probably, but I definitely think he has the potential to be a better than league average starter.
And he definitely could be really good out of the pen. This pen could use someone with a good curveball.
11:17 AM
Oh, and I don't see the Twins trading us Santana unless the Mets include John Maine, who is young, cheap and controllable.
11:18 AM
Mike, I'd take your trade for Santana, no prob, though I don't think mine is necessarily as far off as you say. But I would think that the Twinks would actually prefer Gomez over Lasto given the rather conservative environs. True they will need a center fielder next year and Lasto is more majors ready.
RE: Flores. You have to remember that he had a bad year after breaking his hand in ST. He had a breakout year the year before and obviously another good one after. And as Danny point out, there really was no reason for Stanbridge to be occupying a viable space.
Agree that Humber's getting a lot of hate. Personally, I remain intrigued.
Rather lose Heilman over Maine, personally. But Santana at Shea would be sick. Also expect that Omar will make a play again at Oswalt.
11:49 AM
And I wasn’t suggesting Castillo at $8 million, but don’t be surprised when he actually costs that much. Nice part is they’ll get two draft picks for him if they don’t sign him. That would translate to Martin & Butera for two first rounders!
11:52 AM
Standridge? Yikes. Fucking painful.
Danny! Thanks for the backing up of Humber. I feel less crazy, but I am not afraid to be the lone soldier. That is not always a bad thing, but it looks like I have company at the very least.
I agree on his fastball. I think he is holding back a bit as well because of his lack of command at times and it not opening it up. Also, he has not really had to use all of his pitches yet in relief that much so there is more in his repertoire.
DG…I just think if you trade Santanta, you need to get known quantities. I agree with Danny actually that a Maine would have to be folded in as well because he is established.
And yes, upon further review, our trades are not all that far off, but I was thinking they needed more known quantities in big leaguers which is why I included Heilman. The bounty would have to be HUGE.
PRAISE OSWALT! Trading him should be their first priority. But they won’t…..
PRAISE COMP PICKS! The Mets are truly in a great spot with him. If anyone else wants him, great. Two picks please.
If no one wants him, one year at worst at a modest raise and more likely two year deal.
12:02 PM
Santana changes everything for the Mets. Would be off the hook. Santana, Pedro, Perez, Duque, fill in the blank (Glavine, Maine/ Humber/Pelf - whomever doesn't get traded). Would be scary good rotation.
Houston won't let Oswalt go. Although, they did fire their GM. So maybe the new guy will want to shake some things up actually?
Have a great time in Africa Mike. Very envious. Good luck on the wife hunt.
Anthony
1:56 PM
I think Castillo will be back, Omar can pay him per good knee.
Oswalt? Santana?
I'd trade my grandma for them. Let's see Omar work some magic and add a stud to a 2007 World Champion in the off season.
I don't know if he'll hit, but losing Carlos Gomez would leave me more disappointed than when i realized last night that dane cook was somehow in the new jessica alba movie where i notice she pulls her pants down.
Have a great time in africa; i sure hope Kobe Bryant doesn't nestle up to you in your sleeping bag!
2:50 PM
Trading Oswalt will not be popular. In the end, I think there is not way they trade their hometown Texas product.
Alba's pants down? Swell. Swell indeed.
Hopefully Kobe stays out of my bag.
3:31 PM
We have entered a new age of terrorism.
"If I meet these whores I will have the honour to be the first one to cut their heads off if they will keep spreading their satanic culture against Islam," said Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesman and senior leader of the Popular Resistance Committees terror organization.
5:02 PM
Damn, I'm not soo sure how I feel about cutting off that dirty whore Madonna's head off but... I wouldn't mind Britney Spears gone.
Go ahead Muhamed, get that whore! Damage the United States by going after those satanic creatures!
Speaking of Britney, I'm sure all of you have seen this gem. If you havn't, then oh man, check it out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc
5:11 PM
seriously fuck weddings.
10:18 PM
yeah I agree fuck weddings.
12:58 AM
It’s a good thing the Phillies can’t beat anyone else but the Mets as the Mets lose another tough one to the Phillies. Fortunately, the cushion is large so the win is more important to the Phillies than the loss is to the Mets. I thought for the most part Willie managed a fine game except with Gomez on 3rd and an outstanding bunter in Castillo at the plate I would like to have seen a squeeze play.
The Mets continue to have trouble hitting the Phillies mediocre pitching staff. The garbage they throw up there seems to match up well with the type of hitters the Mets have.
PLD has got to learn to control his temper. As a catcher you want the umpire to give you those pitches off the plate. As a hitter PLD has to keep quiet about those same pitches being called a strike. Getting thrown out does not help the team and his absence in the top of the 10th contributed directly to the Phillies scoring.
The Yankees scored 6 runs before the 1st out is made in the 8th and beat the Bosox 8-7. The Yankees lineup is just plain scary. With the addition of some of those kid pitchers I would not want to play them in the post season.
Conine with another woeful offensive performance tonight. His stats with the Mets are beyond dreadful. He is not contributing at all. I’m sure he will land a spot on the post season roster because he is a veteran.
Mike, enjoy your trip to Africa and see if you can become one with Hemingway.
1:42 AM
LoFuckhead pretty much cost us the game. Maybe that's too severe. Failure to bring Gomez in from third in the eigth inning last night was not exactly our moment of shining, but PLD has got to learn to shut up with two outs no one on against the team he supposedly wants blood revenge from. Just atrocious and the reason why, I think, the Mets have no interest in bringing him back.
Why didn't the Mets attempt a suicide squeeze with Castillo batting and Gomez & Reyes on base? If ever a moment was ripe it was then - Howard playing the bag to hold Jose leaving a big enough gap for a team with two speedsters on base.
Watching the order go from Lasto to Gomez to Reyes was awesome, but Willie erred on that one big time. Castilla is one of the better bunters in the game; if Gomez scores the Mets win.
And I still have a hard time blaming Heilman for the run in the 10th though I suppose that's where final responsibility rests. PLD would have made the play on the foul bunt, which would have changed the complexion of the inning big time. Hard play for DF to make three or four pitches into his first inning of work.
Keith Hernandez was saying that Heilman's throw was a good one and should have been handled by Reyes. You could argue for and against on that one, but one more time, the Mets left their defensive guard down late in the game. The type of mental lapse the team seems capable of on too regular of a basis.
6:01 AM
Good thing Mike is on vacation because he would have blown his Willie gasket today. No logical reason to leave Feliciano in to face Rowand in the 8th. Kind of like the Wager two inning pipe dream in Philly. Despicable.
And the Mets seem to lose their manhood every time they play the Phils these days. Perez must be on point tomorrow.
7:03 PM
I hate Guillermo Mota. That's it, this experiment and fun is over. Just stop it with Mota, Willie.
Let him pitch shit innings, pass him up on October, and bring him in next spring for another chance, but right now, just stop. Now is not the time to be waiting for him to "find it" enough already.
And speaking of October, Joe Smith, NEEDS to be on there, that's it, i'm convinced. He needs to be on the roster. Fuck Guillermo Mota.
Smith has zip on his fastball and has balls. If Mota makes it over him, I would be convinced that Willie doesn't want to win, its that simple...
And Brian Lawrence starting tomorrow? Oh geeze...
6:01 PM
The Mets started this series with dogs in the stands and ended it with dogs on the field. Today’s game was a throwback to yesteryear as the 2007 Mets give homage to the 1962 Mets. I’m sure today’s performance brought tears to the eyes of all surviving 1962 Mets. The Mets pitchers surrendered 11 walks and hit a batter while the defense, obviously giving a lesson on how not to play baseball, committed 6 errors.
BTW Willie Collazo was brought into today’s game and walked 2 of the 3 batters he faced. It was the first time he has pitched since September 11. Since he is a control pitcher that needs regular work to be effective I was not surprised. But Willie has his proof that Collazo can’t pitch in the majors, and since he is not one of Willies guys we may not see him again on the mound in a Mets uniform.
Willie was true to his word and threw Mota back into the water. Once again Mota had to be pulled out on his 3rd time down.
For reason’s unknown to any rational baseball mind Brian Lawrence will start tomorrow nights game. A Phillies win against the Cardinals coupled with a Mets loss will make the last 2 weeks very interesting. It’s amazing that the Yankees are willing to send Ian Kennedy out to pitch while the Mets will send Brian Lawrence rather than start Humber.
10:31 PM
Willie Collazo just isn't very good. His stuff is just, yuk. It's not even the fact that he doesn't throw hard, its just not anything...
Whatever, Willie's a jerk. Imagine if the Mets had Braun? He wouldn't even come close to the production he's had for the Brewers because he wouldn't be playing.
2:47 AM
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRGGGGG!!!!!! No other way to say it.
As much as DWright is my boy, Jimmy Rollins is the MVP if the Phis make the playoffs and maybe if they don't.
Couldn't read the slightest word on the Mets today.
Psychic pain!!!!!! Psychic pain!!!!!!!
5:44 PM
John Delcos at his “The LoHud Mets Blog” writes:
We just finished with Willie Randolph and he said neither Mike Pelfrey nor Phil Humber are being considered to work out of the pen in the playoffs.
There’s not enough time left to experiment with Pelfrey and Humber has never done it.
As far as choosing Lawrence over Humber for tonight, Randolph said it is because the former is more on his rotation.
Have I somehow stumbled into the Twilight Zone and continuously forced to watch a Three Stooges movie?
6:33 PM
I must say, John Delcos has done a tremendous job this season on his blog. Second, NO SHIT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO EXPERIEMENT WITH THEM, YOU'VE USED UP ALL THAT TIME/INNINGS ON GUILLERMO FUCKING MOTA!
Oh well, I don't have a problem with that, to me, and it sucks I'm putting soo much stock on him, but as long as Joe Smith makes the roster that's all I care about, he can help the team and has proven that. I want Joe Smith in October.
7:05 PM
Insane world, total Twilight Zone, and that's even without baseball!
Then add this article in the Washington Post about what a great manager Willie is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601590.html
Plus, Nats announcer talking about what a great rep Willie has made for himself.
Aaahhhhhrrrrrrrggg!
7:13 PM
3-0 going into the bottom of the first...
Eight more runs and the Mets should be able to pull this one out.
7:20 PM
Sadly, 8 more runs would have been one run short.
9:29 AM
Two by Four you just got my blood boiling again reading your post. FUCK. I can't take this shit. Unreal. Willie sucks SO bad. This is a disaster. Someone needs to flip out on him. I can't take his post game bullshit anymore. Can this guy show the slightest sign of any emotion? This is a joke.
The only thing we can hope for is that they get this out of their system and go on a tear by next week which could happen. The White Sox did something very similar to this two years ago. Then they woke up in the final week of the season and just blew thru the playoffs. Unfortunately, I just don't think we have the bullpen to do that. Just seems like NONE of these guys can get it done.
What a HORRIBLE game last night. UGH!
Anthony
12:21 PM
The Mets lost their 5th in a row tonight as John Maine, with Willie apparently afraid to go to his bullpen, was allowed to give up 8 runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings. The Mets did play better but left the tying run on 3rd in the 9th. The incredible script continues as the Yankees have all but clinched the WC and are only 2 games behind the Bosox in the loss column. It is very possible the Yankees will win the division and the Mets will be on the golf course. Willie was right. This baseball season is a marathon with its ebbs and flows as things can dramatically take a turn over the course of the season. But now we have reached crunch time and it appears the Mets do not have the on field or off the field leadership to handle adversity. Its starting to look like the even keel, laid back approach has not prepared them for the time when things start to go bad and the season is coming to a close and the time to turn it around grows short thus putting pressure on the team that is not there in the middle of the season.
10:55 PM
GO St Louis!!!
Bottom of the 13th...tied 4-4.
------------------------------
12:34 AM
The Mets designated Brian Lawrence for assignment today. He was good enough to start in the last two weeks of the season in the middle of a division race after the Mets had lost 3 straight to the Phillies. But he is DFA’d the next day. What’s next picking a man off the street?
1:10 AM
Probably, 2X4; at this point the team's refusal to start Philip Humber just gets more and more bizarre. The Mets brought up Dave Williams to replace Lawrence and Williams will apparently make the bridge start next week. We've already seen enough of him. I don't get the Mets' reticence to start Humber. All I can say is that I would be shocked if he's not gone by next season, but why? Kids throws a great curve, low to mid nineties fastball versus two retreads who cannot even dial it up over 88 (84 in Lawrence's case). I've completely lost faith. What a fiasco!
In fact, I envy Mr. Oliver off somewhere presumably outside of internet reach.
4:59 AM
Slap me hard! I love it!:
...posted by Matthew Cerrone...
…hey, i just want to apologize if i’ve been a bit short and snippy in my e-mail responses of late…
…thanks to all of this losing and panic, my e-mail’s inbox and tip line have been flooded with four days and thousands of comments worth of non-stop, in-your-face negativity, anger and irrational comments, complete with insults and people mocking me, as well, which is hard not take personally at times…
…that’s a lot of negativity, over and over and over again, all day, all night, just constantly coming at me…and typically, as you know, i’m a fairly pragmatic, positive person…it’s no excuse, but i guess the negativity is starting to weigh me down…that’s my problem, though, not yours…so, please, keep sending your e-mails…i always appreciate them, and i love that people use me as a place to vent, which i not only get from fans, but from people at networks, with the team, in media, etc…some how i have become everyone’s sounding board, which is wonderful and weird all at the same time, and i wouldn’t trade it for the world…but, please understand if i do not respond to your comment, at least until i find time to smile again, as it’s probably safer that way…
…thanks for your patience, loyalty and understanding…
…and for god’s sake, please, lets go mets…
Read Again:
"typically, as you know, i’m a fairly pragmatic, positive person…it’s no excuse, but i guess the negativity is starting to weigh me down…that’s my problem, though, not yours…so, please, keep sending your e-mails"
I suppose that if you want to gripe, you can email him. He loves it!
10:42 AM
You are better off e-mailing Cerrone than posting at that web site. Even under more positive circumstances it is virtually impossible to have an analytic baseball discussion at that web site. Most of the posts at that blog either irrationally attack the Mets management and or players or attack other posters. Some of the attacks get downright nasty. But it is almost the same at Metsgeek where a couple of the core posters will ruthlessly attack an individual that posts negative comments. Some of their posts are disgusting. I now only go to these websites for information about the team.
I will gladly discuss topics pertaining to the Mets decision making, especially during stressful times such as these when such decisions take on added importance. I will also voice my opinion and stand corrected if I’m wrong. But I try not to get emotionally involved in things I cannot control. And yes, I envy Mike (unless of course he is presently being chased by some hungry beast).
5:00 PM
San Diego just lost. Lets hope we keep first and they can keep the lead in the WC. I don't feel like seeing Philly in the playoffs unless we trounce their asses.
Will
12:30 AM
god if you are there, i dont ask for much but please make the pain stop.
12:55 AM
BRING ME THE HEAD OF DIEGO GARCIA...hmm, I mean Willy Randolph.
-Will
11:13 PM
Have the Mets turned into the '64 Phillies? Am I losing my mind?
Why was Feliciano allowed only to face one batter last night? Has Willie lost his faith in him?
If there's one thing we can glean from the Y****ees surge, it's that you can't always depend on veterans. Let Humber pitch, for crying out loud. He can't be any worse than what we've been seeing the past few weeks.
9:16 AM
If there was rhyme or reason to how Willie uses his pen, you would have an idea as to why Feliciano was pulled. Perhaps it was because he gave up the home run to Rowand when he should of pulled him for Sosa? So of course, that immediately meant he should bring in Sosa. And why didn't he have someone else warming up in case Sosa had nothing? This kind of game, you've got to be ready to protect your lead and go home, even without your closer available.
Funny thing is that these games are more pressure packed than playoff games as they have fear now - fear of completely collapsing, fear of historic failure. They are caving under the pressure of saying there is no pressure.
Humber looked more than capable in his few relief appearances. I remain mystified. If Willie managed the Yanks, could you see him using all those late season callups? I don't care if Humber is not used to relieving; I am sure he'd like to pitch. I mean the guy graded out as the ninth best PCL starter according to Baseball Prospectus.
I envy Mike, who at least gets retrospect over living through this!
10:52 AM
And why use Heilman, the secondary closer, so early in a one run game?
12:38 PM
Miraculously the Mets find themselves with a 3 game lead in the loss column with 7 to play. Today’s game proved, without a doubt, that the man on the street could manage a baseball team to victory. Willie Randolph has the patience of Job. Had I been manager and saw Heilman go to the mound with a 3 run lead and proceed to nibble at the corners afraid of challenging the hitters and walking the 1st 2 that he faced I would be tempted to go to the mound and punch him in the face.
8:40 PM
Had I been the manager, I would have taken AH out after he gave up the first run (and was saved from another by Alou's throw to the plate). It was pretty clear that Heilman was struggling by that point, no? And why not, he'd pitched something like five of the last six games, including the ninth inning of Ollie Perez's 7-2 gem on Saturday (which I'm sorry made absolutely no sense - he didn't need to be in there!). But anyway, I'll forgive the tactical error only because they won. I was happy with how Willie handled the 11th, smartly relieving for Sele with a lefty coming up to hit. Those were Sele's most valuable outs this season and probably justified his salary!
4:08 AM
I hadn’t been following the games that closely for the past couple of days and I was unaware of Heilman’s usage. A poster at Metsgeek made the following post:
In the last 7 games, these are the number of appearances for Mets relievers:
Wags 2
Heilman 5 (with high pitch counts sat & sun)
PedroF 4
Mota 4
Sho 5
Sosa 4
Sele 2
Collazzo 1
Smith 4
Williams 0
Muniz 0
That explains Heilman’s location problems as location is the first thing to go when pitchers get tired.
4:37 AM
Even if they win only 3 of the last 7, it's going to be hard to fall completely out of the playoff picture. Still, I want Philly out of the pic altogether, so go west coast teams!
And GO BRAVES!! There I said it for the first time ever.
6:05 AM
It was pretty clear that Heilman was in trouble when he threw nothing but fastballs and sliders, mostly fastballs. He has enough heat that he can be somewhat effective with his fastball, but everytime he threw his change, you could see his arm angle seemed different. At some point the manager and pitching coach have to accept that the guy just doesn't have the stuff to pitch effectively at that moment and put someone else in to try to contain the inning. For me, that gets back to why Heilman was called to pitch on Saturday with a commanding lead. Just seems to me that they could have started with someone else then called on him to close if things started to get out of hand.
10:47 AM
Guys - our bullpen stinks right now and it really puts Willie in a spot where he just can't win. Who isn't blowing leads right now? If he pulled Heilman last night for Show, are you telling me people would have said "good move"?? If he did that and Show blew the lead, this site would have (rightfully) killed him.
The bullpen is what it is, and Willie is bringing guys in (more or less) in the order they should, and trying to make sure they get rest when needed. I bet Heilman gets tonight off anything short of an extra inning game. The bottom line is Omar put this bullpen together, and everyone is pitching about as well as you can expect. Take a look at ERA's and tell me who is much worse than their 3 year average? No one, this is what Omar put together, and this is what Willie has to deal with.
As for Humber or Pefrey in the pen, I think that was an *organizational* deicision and that ship has passed. And I was a guy begging for Humber to be moved to the pen last month. But, if that was the plan, Humber should have been moved to the pen in AAA on Aug 1 (after the trading deadline) to limit his innings and get used to relief work. Once he wasn't, realisitically that option was gone. I just don't think you can expect a guy who has less than 10 major league innings and never has been a reliever, learn how to relieve in the majors, during the penant race and playoffs, with a dead arm. Truthfully, I'm not even crazy about him starting on Wed, but there are just no other good options...
-ube
1:23 PM
Ube, as I said to my wife as Heilman's outing got worse and worse, it was time to pull him. I know the options were not great; but bottom line you've got to react when a pitcher's cooked (and before you get burned - Willie tends to react too late in these cases). So yes maybe I'm not everyone - and all of us can be happy about that - but I would have lived with that decision even if it backfired.
4:52 PM
dg
Personally I agree, and I fully believe you when you say in your case this wasn't hindsight. Trust me, Heilman was scaring me too. I am also 100% convinced, though, that someone else would have absolutely crucified Willie if he pulled Heilman for Show or Sele, and so Willie can't win no matter what.
You know, if Willie makes 10 important decisions per game, and we all like 9 of them, but we all *dislike* a different one and complain about it, there ends up being a ton of Willie bashing for a guy who is making mostly the right moves. I think that happens on this site (and elsewhere) a lot.
I know that might be a bit oversimplified, but I think it's important to remember there is no manager we're going to agree with all the time. In fact, every game I watch Pinella - who I think is a very good manager - I find at least on thing he does that makes me shake my head...
I tried this once, and it totally changed my opinion of the manager at the time. Watch a game, and keep a scorecard of non-routine deicisions you agree with and disagree with. Think about everything - when to steal, bunt, hit&run, double switch, change a pitcher, pinch-hit, pinch run, defensive replacements, etc. I was amazed - it really made me focus on how much I liked what this particular manager did, versus the one or two times he had me shaking my head. That manager was Davey Johnson...
In the end, I'm a focus-on-the-positive guy, and so: Let's Go Mets. 5 more wins and we win back to back divisions for the first time. And everyone - Omar, Willie, and certainly the players - deserve credit if that happens.
-ube
7:25 PM
Ube, Davey Johnson is intelligent and actually used stats and a computer (although rudimentary by today’s standards) to make his game matchups and decisions. He would always answer questions by Howie Rose about the moves in the previous game and Johnson in many cases would be thinking of the potential impact a decision would have an inning or two ahead. Perhaps if Willie explained his decisions instead of using the catchall phrase of using his gut we might be more sympathetic to him.
9:15 PM
Let's hope the Braves still play hungry. Make Philly work for it. In the end, we are going to be there.
Will
10:59 AM
Hahahahaha...Yanks just blew their 5-0 lead. Velandia just hit a grand slam. First career home run I think.
Now we need some magic on our side.
-Will
9:40 PM
Granted they already had the lead but that's the first #$##@* Chipper Jones homerun I liked.
GO BRAVES!
-Will
10:01 PM
As I type this the Nationals are once again crushing the Mets. Short of a miracle this will be 4th loss to the Nationals in 5 games. Normally a weak hitting team the Nationals are treating the Mets staff as though it was batting practice. It’s almost like they know what pitch is coming. The Mets, otoh, are just not alert out there. There seems to be no on field (or for that matter off the field) leadership. They lack intensity and focus. Even if they do make the playoffs Omar will have some serious issues to deal with this off-season.
The Mets should remove the apple behind the center field fence. Right now it looks as if the Mets are choking on it. :)
10:12 PM
Well the Mets scored 6 runs in the 9th to lose 10-9 and if this was horseshoes we would be celebrating. :)
11:05 PM
Records since
TEAM Aug 19th Sept 1st
METS 18-17 13-10
Phillies: 20-15 13-10
D'Backs 17-17 13-8
Padres 20-14 11-11
Rockies 21-13 15-7*
*including 8 in a row
Cubs 20-14 15-9
Brewers 18-16, 14-9
-Will
11:13 PM
Padres losing at the moment. If that holds up and the Rox win, there will be three wild card leaders. Imagine if Atlanta plays into the picture.
How do they resolve a 3 or 4 way tie for the wild card? By record against the other teams or by playoff?
-Will
11:24 PM
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6:37 AM
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