A blog dedicated to the New York Mets with some other baseball thrown in.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Pop! Goes the Hamstring

How about this tidbit?

Santana is followed tonight by New York's former No. 1, Pedro Martinez, who is coming off of an abbreviated season in which he threw just 28 innings after coming back from shoulder surgery. The Marlins will therefore be facing, in back-to-back starts, arguably the best left-handed changeup and best right-handed changeups around. Martinez has used his change to strike out 10.2 per nine for his career, the third-highest rate of all pitchers in history (minimum 1000 IP), while Santana has relied on his for 9.5 K/9, the fifth-best rate all time.

That is my impressive my friends. Mighty impressive. Of course, things are not all that great right now as Pedro is all gimped up. While that is not good, let us not go too crazy about his injury and one rough start. Yes, it would have been really nice if he came out and smoked people, but he had a bad game and it just so happens it was his first start which was compounded by an injury.

The inevitable legions of negative nellies will get in line to suggest the sky is falling, but it is not. Things will be copacetic folks and you need to keep your heads up. This team is good enough to survive without him, but methinks he will give us what we expected this year and I think he will be very effective. Even if he goes on the DL, he can come back healthy and still give us what we all expected. 150 to 180 innings of solid well above average pitching. While he is gone, things should work out.

The Mets could revert to a four-man rotation for now, not needing a fifth starter until April 12 – two days before Orlando Hernandez is eligible to return from the disabled list. And if Hernandez isn't ready then the options become the likes of converted relievers, Nelson Figueroa or Brian Stokes, or starter Tony Armas Jr, a late arrival in camp due to visa issues.

Losing Pedro is always a big problem, but this is not going to have a major impact this on team just yet.

* * *

  • Mr. Billy Wags likes Heilman. I do too. He would be a welcome as the future closer of my favorite team.

  • Churchy may hate Jewish people, but he is no platoon player. Why must I keep repeating myself?

  • It looks like Rocco Baldelli will be a free agent after this season.

  • The Duque news...

    Orlando Hernandez, who will miss at least two starts while on the disabled list, expects to start high-A St. Lucie's Florida State League opener Thursday against Vero Beach. El Duque (bunion) has been working out with the Mets at Dolphin Stadium. He ran in the outfield the past two days, and threw in the bullpen Monday.
    "Every time it's better," Hernandez said.


  • Also from the above link...

    Randolph said he could foresee Aaron Heilman as the Mets' closer some day, but not in the rotation. "Not with us," the manager said. ". . . He's going to be a free agent some day. Who knows?" Heilman is under the Mets' control through 2010.

    Why so dismissive?

  • Perez vs. Miller should be fun pitching match-up to watch.
  • Labels:

    19 Comments:

    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    all is good. i got dw and beltran and just missed pedro in my fantasy draft. i'm gonna rule. i know you guys don't care and i do now regret not signing up for your league, but i got dw so i'm stoked.

    pedro. he better come back and entertain me.

    does anyone else use mlb.tv? i've been having a lot of hiccups and missed johan... is it because of high opening day traffic? does anybody know anything? it worked fine for me the last few years.

    jake

    11:42 AM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Rather Pedro get hurt now than later in the season, that is if he HAD to get hurt. I suspect that they are going to have to bring in another pitcher however because the depth is quite suddenly perilously thin.

    I'm less convinced about Church though not pessimistic by any means; I've officially separated my feelings for Church & Schneider from my feelings for Milledge. Schneider is a great acquisition and a significant upgrade based on two games of watching him behind the plate!

    Further:

    1. You've got to like what this kid, Pagan, brings to the team. He essentially replaces Gotay's bat with ease and provides excellent defensive and running skills.

    2. Matt Wise looks like an enormous dud. You watch him throw and you know his pitches will suck. I'm quickly convinced that the team would be better off carrying Joe Smith over him once Dirty gets back.

    Well, good to know it's our Mets, right? Wouldn't want to get too high!....

    11:48 AM

     
    Blogger I.M. Forme said...

    that is the kind of willie comment that drives me batty. aimed at a normal player, they're just oddly demotivating. Aimed at a softy like Heilman who can't even find parking in spring training, they could be devastating.

    jake, mlbtv sucks thats all there is to it.

    12:36 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Marchand on 1050 today said he sat with Pedro on the plane home for the MRI. Said he wasn't limping and that it may not be as bad as feared and Pedro didn't know if he'd go to the DL or not. Makes sense to do a 15-day stint to be safe in my opinion. It's very, very early, and there's a long, long way to go.

    MLB.tv does indeed blow. Had some issues opening day, and the customer service was so backlogged they had to get back to me the day after. Worked for me with no issues last night though. The new
    Gameday is much quicker, however, and seems to be matched up in unison with the MLB.tv, so there's no lag and you don't get to see an animation of a Sugary home run before you see it on television.

    That won't piss Heilman off at all. He already hates his role. Nice, Willie, that is why you are on the hot seat.

    If Baldelli and Harden had a child, it'd never come home from the hospital. Those two are constantly injured.

    Church is capable. Not studly, but capable. And for now, that works.

    Matt Wise is giving me flashbacks to Mota. Please come back soon Duaner.

    "El Duque (bunion) has been working out with the Mets at Dolphin Stadium." -- El Bunion.

    12:46 PM

     
    Blogger michael o. said...

    Jake...here that sound? That is the sound of no one caring about your crappy league. There can be only one.

    DG...I agree on Pedro.

    Willie is an ass. Period. Who needs more proof?

    tc...agreed. DL him. You can't mess around with these and we can deal without him for sure for a bit...Did I just say 'we'? I hate that and try not too, but there, I said it.

    El Bunion!!!

    1:26 PM

     
    Blogger Sidd Finch said...

    I believe that Churchy had a Jewish girlfriend, and asked the team chaplain if Jews were 'doomed' because they didn't love Jesus, and the chaplain nodded yes.

    The sky is not falling! The sky is not falling!

    2:13 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Jake, I've been using MLB.TV for years and had no hitch opening day. The streaming options are so much better than before that the picture is crisp.

    BUT, the first season I used it, I did have some problems getting it to work properly. And customer service sucks! I wish they had farmed it out to India where people actually know what they are talking about.

    What browser do you use? I find that Firefox is the most stable recipient of game streams. If you are using Internet Explosion, you may want to consider downloading Firefox. As a mac man, I've tried Int Ex then Safardic then Firefuck. Firefuck works best.

    3:04 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    [Scoffs]

    The collapse has made me bulletproof. I've been tempered in raw sewage, as Mr. Carlin would say.

    Give me your worst, God, because this won't bring me down. You overplayed your hand.

    Emad

    3:09 PM

     
    Blogger michael o. said...

    DG...a little angry?

    Give me your worst, God, because this won't bring me down. You overplayed your hand.

    Nice.

    4:04 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Have to admit that when Nelson Figueroa was in the Mets' org, I had one of those prospect crushes us baseball fans seem to get and that of course go nowhere. Well, not true, there was always Mike Jacobs!

    Anyway, I digress. Per Adam Rubin:

    April 2, 2008

    Pedro's injury opens door for Figueroa

    Nelson Figueroa is expected to replace Pedro Martinez on the roster. It will be the Brooklyn-born Figueroa’s first major-league appearance since October 2004 labrum surgery after making 10 appearances with the Pirates that season.

    After getting cut from Mariners minor-league camp at the end of spring training last year, Figueroa spent mid-April through July 2007 with Chihuahua, and earned the win in the Mexican League’s All-Star Game. He then joined the Uni-President Lions, and was named MVP of the Taiwan Series after becoming the first pitcher ever to win three games. After picking up a victory in the Asia Cup against China, he spent five days in the United States, then returned to Mexico to pitch in the winter league for Hermosillo. When that team fell a game shy of the postseason, he joined Aguilas in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 3, and set a round-robin tournament record in his debut with a 13-strikeout performance against Estrellas.

    He caught Mets special assistant Ramon Pena’s eye while being named the Dominican Series MVP.

    Figueroa, however, wasn’t done. He pitched against Licey in the Caribbean Series, for Mexico. He tossed 9 1/3 innings and allowed just one run and got a no-decision in that start, but Figueroa won in relief in their second meeting. He was the fans’ choice as Caribbean Series MVP.

    Said Figueroa: “It’s pretty funny – all around the world but the United States I’m a pretty hot commodity and I’m a big-game pitcher. You get back to the States and you read the blogs and ‘he’s just a mediocre guy.’ It’s all about opportunity. … The dream was always to play baseball. I had my shoulder surgery. I was in the big leagues when I had it, and I got released. I was a forgotten person. One year removed from the game, I’d call around and people would have to ask again who I was. They didn’t know anything about me. I felt like I was a guy who could compete and help a team out in a lot of different ways. And when I had the opportunity such as with Philadelphia as a starter, I put up good numbers. I always felt like I wasn’t going to go out that way if I could pitch anywhere in the world.

    “Mike Morgan told me when I was younger, ‘Have arm, will travel.’ And I took that to heart, wherever I had the opportunity to prove I was healthy again. There were always going to be questions about my health. There were always going to be questions about me being a 30th-round draft pick and about my size. There have always been questions about what I can and can’t do. The only thing I can do is what you allow me to do. If you give me the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues, I’m a big-league pitcher. If you keep me stuck in Triple-A, I have no control over that, but my numbers speak for themselves in my minor-league career.”

    Not angry at all, Mike, not at all.

    5:53 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Tigers are already 0-2, uh oh.
    I'm not too scared about Pedro. Atleast it was "only" his hamstring and how his arm or shoulder. That's a positive.

    Rocco Baldelli will make alot of money next year to sit out and be injured. He's the fan favorite version of JD Drew.

    I been having a TON of problems with MLB.TV and thier Mosaic feature, I'm sure it'll work out. By the way, NOTHING is better than having 8 games on at the same time on your computer PLUS one more on the TV with the Mets game. That is... heaven.

    Nelson don't give blogs a bad name! We love ya man!

    6:40 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Mlb is working fine for me. I assume you have downloaded autobahn, etc. Make sure that's running. I have to manually load autobahn or else mlb doesn't play. I get the missing plugin message.

    As for Mosaic, so far I am not happy. Barely works and no help from mlb in 2 days since I messaged them.

    -Will

    9:39 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Of course, once you get it working, you have the luxury of hearing the marlins announcers.

    According to them, LaRouche is not playing and is hurt. Hmm...must be another LaRouche in the Pirate-Brave game today.

    And...I love when they just ramble on unaware of the game or even that the fucking inning is over.

    -Will

    9:42 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Pete's done 4-6 weeks. Get well soon amigo.

    Mets just beat the piss out of the Marlins pitching tonight.

    2) Castillo, 3) Wright, 4) Beltran: 8-13, 4 doubles, homer, 4 rbi. Wright's home run was a BOMB. 433 feet, but it looked like it was 550 the way it jumped off his bat.

    Ollie had 8 k's, scattered some hits, and gave up no runs. When he's on, he's untouchable.

    Sugary MVP chants in game #3. Splendid.

    9:42 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I already like Figueroa more than wise

    9:45 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Schneider's holding his own as well. Good stuff

    9:52 PM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    It was a nice and enjoyable blowout tonight. OP pitched well and he, Maine and Johan will have to carry the load for at least 2 months. Hammys are a difficult injury for pitchers since it prevents them from pushing off with the needed force. Just look at Hughes last year and he is just a baby and a quick healer. Jon Heyman claims that a scout characterizes Figgy as a solid 4 A pitcher.

    It’s too early for me to get excited over a quick (or slow) start from any player; although you have to be pleased with the overall play of Pagan, Church and Schneider. However, I believe players, like water, will seek their own true level over a season.

    I see where the twin clubhouse cancers, LM and PLD, are dragging the Nats to the depth of despair. Oh wait…….

    BTW Joba jumps up and down, screaming and pumping his fist after striking some hitters out and most of the media is cool with it. LM would have been burned alive for the same actions.

    1:36 AM

     
    Blogger metsfanincincy said...

    "Give me your worst, God, because this won't bring me down. You overplayed your hand."

    Yeah! Preach on brother Emad! Those are words to live by.

    7:05 AM

     
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    It's really irresponsible of you to say that about Church -- that's not at all what went down. You can write decent prose without resorting to libel, can't you?

    6:59 PM

     

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