Chats, chats, and more chats 6/5/08

First up...Steve Phillips.



(yes that was done with MS Paint...I have Photoshop but I have no idea what I'm doing)

Steve Phillips: (1:40 PM ET ) I lived through similar circumstances with Bobby Valentine. Ozzie, like Bobby, lacks that filter between his brain and his mouth that the rest of us seem to have. That being said, the passion and emotion that makes Ozzie good as a manager is the same thing that gets him in trouble every few weeks. With the team in first place and seeming to still respond to Ozzie, I think it would be wrong to make a move and let him go. Sometimes with managers like Ozzie, you can't focus on the content of what is said, you just have to focus on the emotion and where it is coming from.

Steve Phillips: (1:41 PM ET ) Plus, they just signed him to an extension, and it's highly unlikely that anybody would make a change with that much time left. Is till think he is effective as a manager.

There are two things that no one is allowed to do.
1) Put baby in the corner.
2) Say such mean and hurtful things about Bobby V. Sure, he was not my favorite, but even mentioning him in the same breath while speaking about what Ozzie did is preposturous and especially so coming from Steve Phillips.

Chuck (Massachusetts): Who do you think the Pirates will take with the #2 pick and what is your assessment on how the new management is doing?

Steve Phillips: (1:52 PM ET ) From what I've heard, it sounds like they'll take Pedro Alvarez, third baseman from Vandy, even though he is represented by Scott Boras. The new management is doing what they can, and it's difficult to judge over such a short period of time. They have an interesting decision to make on Xavier Nady in that they have to decide whether he's figured something out, or whether he's at his peak value now. I think they should trade him.

Trade Nady and trade Bay. It sounds harsh, but they can draft Alvarez and give him whatever he wants since they will save cash by not having the Bay and Nady around and they can get a nice haul for both. Of course both should be deal if they can get a princely return, but they should at least try. This is a long term project and they should mimic the Marlins method of rebuilding for sure because they are far away.

All in all Phillips answered twelve or thirteen questions and none of any substance. Congrats.

Next up...Keith Law.

Dennis (New Canaan, CT): Keith your draft coverage has been incredible, and I am excited for the draft tomorrow. I have 2 questions, first are you going to be on during the coverage tomorrow? Secondly, what directions do you think the Mets will go tomorrow?

Keith Law: (2:26 PM ET ) I will be on, analyzing picks with Jim Callis of BA. I hear the Mets are leaning towards bats at both 18 and 22, and maybe a reliever at 33 to come to the big leagues this year.

Music to my ears! It seems they are hot on Weeks though, but I am on the fence with him. I want a masher. Masher!!! Although, Ike Davis and Jamile Weeks would not be the worst thing. Wright, Reyes, Davis, and Weeks in the infield with Martinez and Beltran in the outfield? Could be good stuff all around. Maybe Castro at 18, Davis at 22, and Weeks at 33 if he falls a bit. If not Havens should do at 33 in place of Weeks as I am just not seeing a big enough difference to overdraft Weeks.

The Mets need to just buy their way out of trouble. If they take two hitters early, they can take the best available arm unless they can get a steal at 33 with a bat that dropped and they can go pitching later. Take some high ceiling guys like when they nabbed Efferson in 2007, but actually sign them this time, and shell out tremendous piles of cash for Micheal Inoa. Their best prospect was an international signee and if there is a once in a lifetime arm out there, they need to be pursued by the Mets.

Inoa, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound righty, creates easy velocity through relatively sound mechanics. At the workout, Inoa consistently sat at 91-92 mph with his fastball, topping out at 94. He also throws a softer breaking ball which was inconsistent at times, and will also show a splitter. Inoa turns 17 in September.

Of course the tricky part is getting past the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, etc. who will be chasing the lanky Domincican, but the Mets are in dire need here and big time draft with bats coupled with some high ceiling pitchers in the 2nd and 3rd round and Inoa would be a tremendous one year improvement. I feel the need to repeat it. It would be tremendous one year improvement.

Two more names mentioned in the article are Johenser Cevallos and Carlos Perez. Let us see if Omar can pull off some magic and put the money the Mets are getting from the 20% ticket hike, $5 dollar hot dogs, $8 beers, and $15 parking to good use.

Ken (Tarzana, Ca): Tell me the Padres are not going to draft a college pitcher who needs Tommy John surgery?

Keith Law: (2:27 PM ET ) I don't think they've done that on purpose in the past.

Awesome.

Jonathan (Tampa, FL): What is your take on UC Davis Irvine catcher Jake Jeffries?

Keith Law: (2:48 PM ET ) Late first day draft. Good catch and throw guy, makes a lot of contact, probably 20 or 30 power.

Seems like another option if Castro is not their guy at 18 or 22.

John Manual...

Rob (Cranford, NJ): Hey Jim. The Mets seem to be linked with Ike Davis and Jason Castro as first round picks. What can you tell me about them? Thanks.

John Manuel: I did our West draft stuff so I'll be answering a lot of West questions. The Mets have been linked hard to those players, and I am particularly a fan of Ike Davis. He got better this year, incorporated his lower half into his swing more and improved his power considerably. Long track record, big league dad (Ron Davis), I think Davis can be a big league corner OF. Jason Castro, Stanford's catcher, hit well on the Cape last summer and carried it over to the spring, he's got a lot of AJ Pierzynski in him as a player, without all the drama.

I would not be unhappy about that duo for the Mets.

Fred (Davidson, NC): Wouldn't the Mets be better off drafting Tim Melville and Garrit Cole with their two first round picks than Davis and Castro if available?

John Manuel: Maybe, but I happen to like those two college bats.

Neither would Manual...Besides, taking two young arms like that is dicey to say the least. How many of those work out verus college bats? I am not turning into some guy who hates to draft upside and wants to go conservative, it is just that these bats are extremely good and Lawrie would be a great pick as a high school bat if he falls.

* * *

tc added a nice bit to the conversation the other day that should not go unnoticed.

Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Tim McCarver, and Joe Buck need to be put out of their misery for the sake of all humanity.

What is just crazy is that no one gets it. I mean, there is no way they get it. How can these TV execs and TV producers think this is ok? I do not HATE Morgan and Miller like I hate McCarver and Buck, but I can appreciate anyone's disdain for them. It is not like I do not get it, but is there that much of a dearth of talent out there?

Even the Yankees, who are the classiest sports team in the galaxy, have two horrible teams on the TV and the radio. I mean worse than the FOX and ESPN teams bad. I mean Rock Star bad (I have not seen it, but my brother had bought it in some bargain bin because he wanted to see it anyway and it cost as much to buy as a rental but took the DVD out midway and actually broke it in half).

I, too, am a fan of binge drinking copious amounts of alcohol on the weekends. It makes me forget about things like my job, my girlfriend, and my asshole boss (if you are reading this, you are truly a dick, ... and I did nothing in work today but watch YouTube videos of draft prospects).

We salute you! I'm typing my blog during work so fuck you to my boss too! However, I actually like mine so I am issuing a public apology because I already feel bad. Sorry.

Josh Hamilton is good.

       2007 2008
Games   90   49
ABs    298  243
Runs    52   43
Hits    87   80
2Bs     17   16
HRs     19   17
RBIs    47   67
BA    .292 .329
OPB   .368 .375
SLG   .554 .630
OPS+   131  171

So basically he has equaled his output from last season, which was already very impressive, in 59 games this season.

K-Rod can barely feed his family.

So far he has earned $11.9 million and is earning $10 million this season. By my accounts, that $21.9 million should be able 'take care of them' and give them things he 'never had'. I have no problem if people want to chase their highest payday, but I have an issue with them doing so under some ridiculous premise that he is trying to feed his family. He will get $50 million at least no matter where he goes giving him a total of $71.9+ million in guaranteed and pocketed money.

Jose Reyes is on fire. Fire! His OPS is right there with Hanley Ramirez and his OPS+ is about 10 off. The Mets took down Matt Cain and went on to win their seventh out of nine games. Smells like a hot streak to me.

John Smoltz pulls a shocking move and gets shoulder surgery. I completely thought he would be done after this year rather than get surgery, but this is a shocker. Let's see if he can make it back at 42 years of age after yet another surgery.

The only pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves already has returned from four operations on his elbow, but it's highly improbable for someone his age to come back from a major procedure. No wonder the news conference took on the tenor of a retirement announcement.

If you are wondering if he is a Hall of Famer, he is.

Pedro feels fine and dandy.

Swellicious

The Jim Callis chat yesterday was pretty fucking bad until this...

Jack Bauer (behind you): Will I ever die?

SportsNation Jim Callis: No.

That was hands down the question of the off-season. Back to the chat though, how many Phil Hughes questions can I possibly read before wanting to stick something in my eye? Three Hughes questions were coupled with six hundred Dellin Betances questions. These fans are so insecure that they continually need to be stroked and told their prospects are better than everyone else's. Not only is that annoying, but you see the same questions chat after chat. The lighting round is fun, but how about everyone tries to think of some good questions? Ones that might actually require more than a second of thought.

Questions I did like aside from the always entertaining Jack Bauer question:

Mike (nyc): where will matt bush finish the season?

SportsNation Jim Callis: High Class A. I'm guessing he'll move to the mound sometime in 2008.

You think the Padres regret this one?

Cole Hamels (Philadelphia, Pa): Two years ago I asked you who would turn out to be the better pitcher, me or Scott Kazmir, and you said Kazmir. Care to apologize yet?

SportsNation Jim Callis: No, I still like Kazmir. You finally figured out to stay healthy and avoid bar fights. And I tout you plenty.

This was another one of those insecure validation type questions, but since it was a Philly fan that was wrong, I enjoyed it.

brad (MD): More homers this year: Tejada or Markakis

SportsNation Jim Callis: Markakis.

Bold statement by Mr. Callis.

Patrick (atl): Alba and Martha Stewart or Jessica Beil and Scarlett???

SportsNation Jim Callis: Damn. I'll have to go with Beil and Scarlett on that one. Sorry, Jessica Alba, though it's not her fault her teammate drags her down here.

Patrick laid out a mean and torturous question and went after Jim's weak spot.

* * *

Duaner has learned his lesson.

For some reason I was rehashing bad memories today and thinking back to the Mets playoff performance when it seemed they were one shut down reliever away. Would the Mets have made it further if they had Duaner?

Positive reports on the new beefcake Pedro Martinez.

There have been many peculiar situations this off-season, but this is up there with the best of them.

"Everybody has the same shot," he said Wednesday. "The Yankees will not have an advantage."

Why he is making so much noise right now is beyond me.

Ken Rosenthal weights in on some of baseball's hottest issues:

Mets starting rotation: The skepticism among rival executives might prove unjustified, if lefty Oliver Perez and righty John Maine build on their strong post-seasons, if the upgraded bullpen is good enough to reduce games to six innings, if prospects such as Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber and veterans such as Chan Ho Park and Aaron Sele contribute.

None of that is inconceivable, starting with Perez, who — in the opinion of one Mets' official — might return to where he was with the Pirates in 2004, when he appeared on the verge of becoming a No. 1 starter.

It stands to reason, though, that the Mets will continue trying to add a young starter such as the Marlins' Dontrelle Willis or A's Dan Haren, even if they must wait until the July 31 non-waiver deadline to get it done.

Perez bouncing back to '04 levels? Sweet Jesus. If it is going to happen, it will be in Queens with Professor Rick helping him.

He also lists some prospects he cannot wait to see.

Name: Chris Gomez and Fernando Martinez
Team: Mets
Position: OF
The deal: Why shouldn't the Mets trade Lastings Milledge, 21? Gomez, 21, and Martinez, 18, might turn out to be better.

Chris...Carlos...what's the difference. We are picking up what you are laying down. However, Milledge is worth more for the Mets to keep since he is not exactly at the peak of his value right now.