Dodging the bullet

Thank you to Omar for not upping the offer to Barry Zito to the astoundingly ridiculous levels of the San Francisco Giants.

There is no way BZ is worth $18 mil per. The highest paid pitcher in baseball history? You gotta be kidding me. And that psycho in San Fran rationalizes the deal by stating that it gives them a good change to win the NL West--a division where if you're sniffing the .500 mark you're probably 10 games up on the pack. Dope.

So, it looks like we're going with the Glavine, Hernandez, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey rotation (with the possible substitutions of Humber and Co. on the back end). Williams appears destined for the Oliver role. The rest of the pen is kind of a mish-mash which is promising because that's pretty much how I felt it was at the start of last season...

At this point are there any more moves to be made (that would be of any significance or help, that is) or is this the team we go to battle with? Only one man knows--MURRAY HILL!

Closer

Mets apparently interested in Texas closer Otsuka, but Rangers may be demanding too much.

I would love to dump Wagner, I have zero confidence in him in a big spot. That said, we shouldn't dump him at any cost - he's clearly more than good enough during the regular season where one blown save here or there won't kill you. It's not worth what Rangers want at this point.

D-Mat

I love how all the sports press is proclaiming the Sox the big winners in D-Mat negotiations. Sure, if by big win you mean they didn't end up paying $141 M total for one unknown pitcher for 6 years, then I guess they won. But in reality they are paying $103 M for one unknown player for 6 years, which is a little over $17 M per year. Sounds to me like the only winner in all this is the Seibu Lions in Japan, who pocket a cool $51 M for basically nothing.

Welcome to Deadwood--or goodbye, in this case

Finally, Omar does something that actually makes sense. The Schmetties have not offered a contract to Victor Zambrano, severing ties to the horrific reminder of what coulda been with Scottie Kazmir.

In addition, Dave Williams was given a one year, 1.25 mil deal to help fill the void of Darren Oliver's departure to the land of the Haloes (if it wasn't the X-Mas season there might've been a Lidle comment here). Things are starting to solidify as far as the 25-man roster goes but personally I'm still not satisfied at this point.

What will OM be dropping down our collective chimneys for Christmas? Any requests?

And a question--if the BoSox botch the negotiations with Matsuzaka, do we get the next shot at him since we put up the second best offer for the rights?

Pitching still on the board

Here's a rundown of FA pitchers still available, from Eric Simon at MetsGeek.com:

Cream of the crop

Roger Clemens: may follow buddy Pettitte back to the Bronx
Barry Zito: looking for six years, Mets only want to go five

Decent options

Mark Mulder: might not be ready for spring training, but eats innings and is a groundball machine
David Wells: old and fat, but still eats innings and doesn’t walk anybody, which has value
Miguel Batista: poet, can start or relieve, 35 in February is a concern for a multi-year deal
Jeff Suppan: Mets fans hate him. So do Sox fans. Far from terrible, far from great.

Could be worth a shot

Tony Armas: turns 29 in April; might have some potential with the right guiding hand.
Tomo Ohka: far from awful, might be a bargain on a one- or two-year deal
Jeff Weaver: pitched okay down the stretch and into the playoffs, but a definite gamble for more than one year.
Brad Radke: will probably return to Minnesota if he doesn’t retire, but could benefit from the NL; rarely walks batters.

Roster fodder for non-contenders

Steve Trachsel: was far from awful until 2006, when he was just plain awful.
Ryan Franklin: suspended for steroids two years ago, stunk for Philly one year ago.
John Thomson: former Met, former Brave, former mediocre pitcher, currently lousy.
Mark Redman: lefty, will eat some innings.
Chan Ho Park: hasn’t had an ERA under 4.80 since leaving L.A. in 2001.
Ramon Ortiz: could handle a long-relief role, but little else.
Aaron Sele: had some good seasons 50 years ago with the Red Sox.
Jason Johnson: never was good, never will be good.

Flores taken by Nats in Rule5 draft

Jesus Flores, who I'd mentioned back here as the Mets possible catcher of the future, has been snatched right out of A ball by the Nationals. As a rule 5 draftee, he'll either be on the Nats 25 man roster in '07 playing in the bigs, or else they'll have to offer him back to the Mets for $25K. With our luck, I'll bank on him going .250/20/70 in his rookie MLB campaign.

Omar--you're killing me!!!

What is going on here? Now we trade Brian Bannister, a young pitcher who has shown he can perform at the big league level in the top market, for Ambroix Burgos, a guy who s'ed the bed for Kansas City?

This is getting nuts...Burgos supposedly has "a great upside" and can throw 100. Didn't we just unload two pitchers (Owens and Lindstrom) who had similar arms for some other "great upside" guys from Florida who stank on ice?

I despise playing the race card but Omar is getting ridiculous. He is building a resume of trading white players who have shown glimpses of talent or ability for Hispanic players who have the "great upside" label (remember Jeff Keppinger/Ruben Gotay, anyone?)

Minaya is claiming that Burgos will step into Bradford's role next season. How? Bradford worked so well because of his change of pace and ability to strand inherited runners. Burgos tries to throw through the backstop and blew 12 saves last year--great. Why didn't we just shell out the cash to keep Bradford? Is it because his last name doesn't end with a "z?" I hope not but it's sure starting to look that way...

In other related insanity, Omar is now apparently going full-court press on--wait for it--Mark Mulder!

Wait--wha? Huh? To quote Billy Joe Armstrong, "wake me up when September comes..."

A fool and his money are soon parted by Scott Boras.

That is all.

[hattip: Eric Simon from Metsgeek.com]

Coat drive

This is a great opportunity: do something good and get tix in return.

Bradford

Wow, this is bad news. Loss of Bradford and Mota, with unknown Sanchez, plus Wagner sucking, does not bode well for bullpen next year. I don't know how they didn't go all out for Bradford. Unless they have some super confidence in their rookie pitchers or are planning some blockbuster trade, so far this offseason Minaya's marks are low..

Baked Zito

Andrew Hintz over at MetsGeek makes the case that goofy Barry Zito will not be the worth the contract he commands. And not b/c he's goofy.

Another trade

On yahoo.com:

The Mets did add a pair of young pitchers Monday, acquiring left-handers Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick from Florida for hard-throwing prospects Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom.

Vargas and Bostick are both 23. Owens and Lindstrom are both right-handers.

Here's some info on the incoming hurlers:

Vargas will be 24 at the start of the next season. He's started and come out of the bullpen for the Marlins. Here are his ugly numbers. But we have Peterson!

Bostick's still in the Southern League and has put up some mixed numbers in the farms.

Owens of course was the guy who destroyed double A this year until he came up to the Mets and started walking the park. Lindstrom throws 100 MPH but can't seem to separate himself at the AA level.

Mets sign Easley

According to Mets.com, 2b/IF Damon Easley has been inked to a one-year deal worth $850K. The good news? He's cheap. The bad news? He's old. The reason for signing him? Omar says he can "play all over the field."

The only pertinent piece of information? Easley sucks. He's always sucked. He's a coiled up steaming dung pile.

If the Mets want to continue to sign 30-somethings with no skills for 6-figure contracts, please contact this blogger.

Free agents

Shea Hey Kids
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the free agent market is very underwhelming yet the Mets needs are real so they must trade. Minaya seems to agree: "Minaya said the price for free agents in general and the lack of appealing options is going to force teams to look at trades to solve a few issues. With that being the case, Minaya is actively working trade possibilities to see about starting pitching."

As I also mentioned, the Mets need to move quickly because the Phillies new GM, Pat Gillick, has quite a winning track record also, and is rumored to be moving strongly on Soriano. Make no mistake, with Gillick at the helm the Phillies will be doing all they can to compete with Mets.

I still like the idea of going after Gagne (assuming he passes a medical exam). Then we have the flexibility to package some combination of Wagner, Heilman, Milledge, Valentin, and Green for either a starter, 2nd basemen, or outfielder.

It's also worth pointing out that except for Wright and Reyes (and hopefully Milledge), I doubt anyone's #s in the lineup are going to be as good or better than this year. Lo Duca had an unusually strong 2nd half compared to last 4 years. Beltran had a career year for HR, RBI, and OBP. Delgado might be able to sustain his #s for one more year, but I doubt he'll exceed them. So it would be nice to replace Floyd and get a solid hitter in 6 spot.

Mets make a trade

so sayeth Mets.com.

Johnson sounds like an interesting addition, a speedy outfielder who will be a good bench option for Willie, and could grow into something more.

Adkins has big-league experience and something Bell and Ring didn't have: a chance to be used in meaningful situations. Even in the middle innings, Bell and Ring weren't getting into any late September or October innings. Adkins has been around the block a few times, including a post-season with the '05 champion WhiteSox, and Willie likes those kind of guys.

In other bullpen roster news, the article states:

The Mets have had contact with the representatives for reliever Chad Bradford and remain optimistic an agreement will be reached, though the returns of free agents Roberto Hernandez, Guillermo Mota and Darren Oliver -- who teamed to pitch middle and late innings for the Mets in the second half last season -- appear less certain.

El Duque signed for 2 years

So says all of the internets. Orlando will be, what, 73 at the expiration of his contract?

Meanwhile, this news does not exactly quell my unease about the Glavine situation. Despite the fact that every logical argument ends with Glavine resigning with the Mets, the Duque signing gives me yet another reason to think the Mets are unsure what Tommy will decide to do.

2B filled for '07

Valentin will be back.

In other news, the Mets swung and missed on Matsoozakaka. And, as already discussed, Glavine is going FA (although discussions are certainly not done yet). Guess I might get that 5 young arms rotation yet.

Heilman/Pelfrey/Maine/Bannister/Perez anyone?

Glavine to be FA

As this article points out, Glavine has turned down his contract option for '07, and the Mets will not exercise the club option either. This will trigger a $3 Mil cash-out settlement for Glavine, who will then be a free agent and able to puruse a new contract.

Since the Mets didn't exercise their option, they must be planning on offering him a contract of less than $11 Mil for '07. Any more than that and they'd end up paying more than they would have by exercising their $14 Mil club option.

So if the Mets are planning on offering him 8 to 10 mil for next year, they may actually be indifferent about losing him to the Braves.

That's my take, anyway.

Free Agency Rumblings

From the Newark Star Ledger, the Mets are apparently opening negoitations with Mark Mulder.

And from the Post, two articles of note:

The Mets are planning to bid on Daisuke Matsuzaka, who they grade out as a major-league "ace" caliber starter. The same article says that an unnamed source outside the organization said the Mets are pursuing Zito; an unnamed source inside the organization said they grade Zito out as either a #2 or a #3 guy.

Pedro also is mentioning retirement as a possibility.

If the Mets were to bring in Zito, Mulder, Matsuzaka, and re-up Glavine, they'd be...spending lots of money. That said, I don't think you can be more confident in that group than you could with Glavine, Heilman, Pelfrey and Maine. Mulder was terrible all year and hurt. Matsuzaka is a "?" until he actually pitches in the US. And Zito eats innings, but if he doesn't come up big in the post season, as he didn't yet again in '06, what's the point? A cheap rookie can eat innings and be a playoff question mark just as easily.

Mota

Are you kidding me? This is a serious blow, what the hell was Mota thinking???

Now we've got no Pedro through at least first half of season, no Mota for 50 games, unclear Sanchez, and Heilman who wants to start (if not with Mets then he wants trade). Mets MUST re-sign Bradford and Feliciano now.

Let the games begin..

Free agency market looks to be interesting, see here.

How about going after Gagne and then being able to offer Wagner as trade bait? You could get a lot for Wagner + Milledge. How about picking up Sean Casey as additional trade bait? Or adding Jeff Weaver as a 4th or 5th starter, who we can trade mid-season next year if all of our rookies pan out.

Mets moves...

NY Post article talking about Adam Kennedy, and Heilman still insists on being a starter.

'07 Mets

Interesting Q&A here on mets.com, worth reading through. Touches on many of the points we've discussed in this blog.

Looks like it was in the Cards...

Well, part of me is glad to see Cards win. I'm sick of hearing about NL being so inferior to AL. Also, for the minimal amount it's worth, at least we lost to WS champ.

On the other hand, it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth that the WS champ only won 83 games, just TWO games over .500. Lowest winning percentage in WS history.

Acquisitions...

According to Post, Mets not interested in pursuing Zito, Soriano, or Manny at this point.

Roster Notes

From the NY Daily News:

-Carlos Delgado, traded to the Mets in the middle of a multi-year deal, has the right to demand a trade. He again declined to rule that out yesterday, though he may just be angling to get the Mets to guarantee a 2009 option. Delgado is owed $30.5 million over the next two seasons, though the Marlins will pay the Mets $6 million of that sum...

Asked about the importance of the Mets picking up the option, he said: "Would you like your boss to give you another year?

-Tom Glavine has until Nov. 10 to declare his intention as far as a $7.5 million player option, while the team has until Nov. 20 to exercise its $14 million option. Glavine gets a $3 million payment if both are declined, and is still free to re-sign

This article had info on how Soriano will be pursued by the Mets. It also had the following tidbits:

-Starters:

Randolph and Minaya both want Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez back -- badly. Glavine is a family decision while El Duque is a financial one. With Pedro Martinez sidelined at least the first half of the season, the Mets need these two to stabilize the rotation.

With age at the top of the rotation, the Mets can afford to take a flyer on potential at the back end, and there are plenty of options here. While the past three drafts have been topped by starting pitching -- Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Mulvey -- the Mets have plenty of stop gaps to fill space until they are certain the highly touted arms are ready.

Oliver Perez and John Maine moved faster than expected, a point driven home by Maine taking the ball for 51/3 shutout innings of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series and Perez pitching six innings of one-run ball in Game 7. Those two figure to be the frontrunners for a rotation spot, along with Dave Williams, who pitched well after his call-up, and injury-plagued Brian Bannister, who is starting over again.

Figure this deep crop to create a much more soothing option when the Mets have to dip down to the minors...

The market for a top-of-the-rotation starter is weak this season, but the Mets will be involved.

Barry Zito makes sense with pitching coach Rick Peterson already a huge supporter from their days in Oakland, but he's going to cost a lot -- maybe too much for what he's accomplished. Jason Schmidt is another possibility, but he also would not gain so much interest in a deeper pool of talent.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA in Japan, sounds like a potential ace and who wouldn't want a purveyor of the gyroball, but the Japanese import will cost even more -- requiring a huge bid just to gain negotiating rights.

-Relievers

While closer Billy Wagner is signed on for three more seasons, the free agent list includes Guillermo Mota, Chad Bradford, Darren Oliver, Pedro Feliciano and Roberto Hernandez.

Barring a trade, Aaron Heilman will be back -- and almost certainly be back in the bullpen. Duaner Sanchez is expected to be healthy again by spring training. Heath Bell and Royce Ring got experience the past few years and are still under the organization's control.

But the Mets want to keep the free agents -- particularly Mota, who found himself again after joining the Mets, and Bradford, who was a consistent force as a set-up man. Oliver said he definitely will pitch again this coming season after finding success in New York and the Mets would like him back, too.

'07

Some early (and minimal) insight into Minaya's thinking for offseason can be found here. Nothing surprising, but clearly his approach is that they've got the nucleus players, and having numbers of pitchers available for different options is what he considers most important.

If I had to guess, we will not pursue a big-name vet pitcher at this point, he will likely look to pick up several lesser known guys and hopefully improve their #s, just like what happened with maine, mota, sanchez, etc. Then maybe he'll look to replace valentin at 2nd with a veteran hitter, so soriano fits the bill. The main thing I don't like about soriano is that we sacrifice defense, and I think having a solid infield is key in the playoffs. But the other 2B options (kennedy, belliard) don't have much offense, and it's not like sori is a disaster at 2nd base.

The Outfield

SHK writes:

Bottom line, if Wright and Green hit like we expect them to, we don't need Valentin to do much on offense. But it would be key to get someone to replace Floyd in 6 spot, to back up wright.

The organization has held on to Milledge despite having numerous opportunities to trade him for bankable players. I have to assume that means Omar's planning on giving him a shot to compete for a starting job next year.

Where does that leave us in the corner outfield positions next year?

If we're keeping Green, as SHK indicates above, here's option #1: Milledge/Chavez in LF, Beltran in CF and Green in RF. In this case, we're rolling the dice on Green returning to form and being 6 hitter who provides some protection to Wright.

Option #2: moving Green and get a get another guy--Soriano, Burrell, or someone else--to hit 6th, and putting Milledge/Chavez in RF.

Option #3: trading Milledge, making Chavez the 4th outfielder, acquiring a 6 hitter somewhere else, and letting Green stay in right and hit 7th for one more year till his contract is up.

Signings

Mets to lock up Glavine and Delgado?

A few early hot stove items

1. San Diego apparently covets Oliver Perez (according to ESPN.com). Josh Barfield anyone? I wonder what else we'd have to throw in, if anything.

2. The Phils want to move Pat Burrell and his fat contract (also according to espen). While he might not seems like a Soriano level guy, his OPS has been .880 the last couple of years, and he's been a 30 HR & 90-100 RBI guy. That's nothing to sneeze at, and a huge improvement over what we got from LF this year. I'm not saying we need to go get the guy now. Let the winter play out, see what else develops. But it's one possibility to keep warm on the back burner. Thanks to his contract, the Mets could probably get him for a bag of balls if Fred's willing to eat his salary.

3. What do we do with Glavine? When I think forward to '07, I'm guessing we're going to go with something similar to what the Tigers had this year: one vet and a bunch of live arms. Is Glavine the vet? Or do we shell out for Zito? Or go with Schmidt? Or trade for some other front line starter? But there's really only one spot for a vet. After that, you have Maine, Heilman, Pelfrey, Humber, Oliver Perez, Bannister and Mulvey competing for four slots in April. When Pedro comes back mid-season, one of the young guys would get bumped to the pen. The Mets would only need one of the young pitchers to turn into a legitimate #3 and the playoff rotation would be solid.

And if Maine, Pelfrey and Humber got a full season under their belt, would you really be shocked if the three of them were pitching on an equal--or even higher--level than Pedro and Zito/Schmidt/Glavine come October? I wouldn't. Sure they wouldn't be as crafty as the vets, but as they say in hoops, "you can't teach youth." Or is it, "you can't teach velocity?" I can't remember.

Some more constructive notes

from the excellent blog over at Metsgeek.com:

Thanks Omar, Willie and the Mets for a great season. As much as this hurts right now, when I look back at what my expectations were back in April I would have to say the season was a success overall. If you knew the following facts BEFORE the season started, how would you have predicted the outcome:

1) Pedro will miss 1/3 of the season and be useless in September.
2) Jose Lima, Jeremi Gonzalez, Alay Soler, Dave Williams and Oliver Perez would all find their way into the rotation.
3) Jose Valentin will start the majority of games at 2B.
4) Cliff Floyd will revert to his old self and Endy Chavez will play a lot of RF.

If Miss Cleo had come to me with this in April, I might have cancelled my Extra Innings subscription ;-)

POS

What a waste. How the F does the team which DOMINATED the NL all season lose to the team with the WORST RECORD in the playoffs? A team we were 4-2 against this season, that we were FOURTEEN games better than? A team that you SHUT DOWN the only offensive threat - Pujols - to .248 and 1 RBI??? Your offense and bullpen blow and are overrated, that's how.

Ironically starting pitching was good enough, great in spots, to win this series. It was our supposedly HUGE offense and bullpen that were going to carry us. Well, they carried us all right, straight into the shitter.

Wagner, as I've maintained all season, is overrated and sucks. I don't trust him with the game on the line, EVER.

Heilman and Mota can't pitch more than one inning each.

How do the Mets not score in the bottom of the inning after Chavez makes the greatest catch ever? How do you not draw on that momentum and score? Green, Valentin, and Chavez are too much of an easy out in a pressure situation. But really that's not their job - where's the 1-5 in the lineup? For Reyes to not reach base ONCE last night is a massive regression - he showed no patience at the plate. Lo Duca has to find a way to get on base even when no one is on ahead of him. I'll save some special words for Beltran below. Wright sucked all series. ALL series, every game he sucked.

This team cannot hit a breaking ball to save their lives. Sure, they're as deadly as anyone when being served a steady diet of fastballs, or when a pitcher makes a mistake and leaves it over the fat part of the plate. But the minute they face breaking stuff, they wilt. LEARN HOW TO HIT SINGLES. Not every at bat has to be going for the long ball. Live by the HR, die by the HR. And that's exactly what they did this series.

And for Beltran to end the whole season LOOKING at strike 3. What a dandy.

Aaron Heilman is a Mean Man

That is all

The Duke of Flushing

This is why the guy is the team leader. From espn.com:

In the first, Maine bounced his seventh pitch, allowed singles to Scott Spiezio and Albert Pujols, then walked Juan Encarnacion. As grumbles emanated, Maine thought back to what his catcher, Paul Lo Duca, had said in a visit to the mound.

"He gave me a little speech," Maine said. "It was what I needed. It's secret, so no one is going to know except us two."

That much invective, huh?

"Not R-rated," Maine said.

"The old college ‘Go get ‘em,' " Lo Duca said.

Get 'em Maine did. He cruised through the second inning, worked out of two walks in the third by striking out Encarnacion, shook off another walk in the fourth, finished the fifth by striking out Pujols on a slider and left with one on and one out in the sixth, his straggler retired on a Rolen double-play ball, his final line.

"Johnny, to me, is not scared," Lo Duca said. "He wants to be out there, and I just wanted to let him know that [we], as a team, want him out there. We feel, and I told him, 'Just do your job, and we're going to win this ballgame for you.' I think we saw the maturation of a kid that's going to be a good pitcher, and you'll see him for a long time. He grew a lot tonight, and this is a step forward for his career."

It's all down to this...

Looks like Fredo's call of Mets in 7 might be right. I was a bit optimistic in calling for Mets in 5, although if they had held on to win game 2, who knows...

I like the call to start perez (out of the available options, that is!) Reason is that IF he pitches well, and we win, it saves darren oliver for WS game 1 if needed (and who knows what we get out of el duque). Worst case if perez is off, pull him ASAP and go right to darren who you were planning to burn anyway.

Wow!

What can you say about the effort by Maine, Reyes, and Lo Duca with the whole season on the line? Amazin! Reyes 3-4 with 2 R and 1 RBI. 1 HUGE RBI, a leadoff HR to settle down Maine and the whole team. Then Maine settling into an unhittable rhythm. And finally Lo Duca with a HUGE hit following another big Reyes hit.

Well, not exactly finally. Finally is reserved for Billy "My Man" wagner who has now taken that title away from Otis "my man" smith. Wagner has pitched in 6 games this postseason. In 3 of those 6 he was good. But in the other 3 atrocious does not even begin to describe it. 2 inexcusable runs last night. 3 the other night. This guy seems to have poor pitch selection and just plain poor pitches right now. He needs to figure this out, because Mets can't always bank on giving him a 4 run cushion. He has really been poor so far.

Trax out

According to Newsday, Trax won't start again this series.

That leaves Darren Oliver and Oliver Perez (3 days rest) as possibles for game 7. Oliver Twist is unavailable.

Metties

Calling Glavine "the goat" (ESPN and NYPost) is exactly what I disagree with - you can't blame him for yesterday's game, as discussed (or should I say "disgust"??) in my earlier post.

Wow, Glavine's not perfect. Shocking. Especially when ump is calling tight (and later in the game totally F'in arbitrary) strike zone. Glavine needs a wide strike zone to dominate. But 3 runs is not much, especially when we are facing Jeff "8-14 5.76 ERA" Weaver. Mets built this team around offense, not pitching. We knew that in regular season and postseason. This team lives and dies by the HR.

I'd like to see them play smarter, with different game plans depending on who the pitching matchup is. For example, with Glavine on the mound last night the Mets could reasonably expect to win with 4-5 runs. So maybe go for small ball, instead of trying to always have the big inning. Maybe have Lo Duca bunt in first inning with Reyes on. Or if not, at least in later innings in a close, low-scoring game, let's switch our approach at the plate. Try to manufacture runs, rather than relying on HRs.

Problems with this series, in no particular order:
1. Wagner 3-run 9th.
2. Trachsel.
3. Wright constantly hitting out of an 0-2 or 1-2 count. Every one of his appearances is: strike 1 looking outside corner, strike 2 swinging inside corner, ball 1, foul, fly ball out. He really needs to move closer to plate and adjust his mental approach.
4. Reyes regressing back towards last season, and not having patience to draw walks.
5. Trachsel.
6. Not counting pile-on runs in game 4, limited production from 5-9 slots.
7. Trachsel.

Mets are choking up for same reason as Yankees - not even considering possibility of small ball, but instead always looking for big inning. This is fine if we have a lead or a big inning type of situation (runners on 2nd and 3rd, 0 or 1 outs, etc.) But so far in this series, our highly vaunted offense has put up: 2, 6, 0, 12, and 2 runs. In 3 out of 5 games we've scored a whopping total of 4 runs.

Glavine

While I hope that Glavine has a solid game tonight, and expect no worse than 3 runs over 5 innings, I also hope that Mets aren't mentally expecting or banking on another Glavine shutout gem. Hopefully in their minds he'll be good but not great, so that if he isn't perfect, they don't get unnerved by it. Rather, they calmly play through the way they usually do and score more runs.

El Duque Game 1?

Update on Duque's good progress here.

And, just for good measure, A-knob to Cubbies?

Take a pitch

Welcome back DC!

Well, it looks like the Mets accept the declaration at the top of this blog page that all advice we offer should be followed to the letter.. I posted the other day my gripe that Mets were not taking pitches and driving up count. Here's the latest from the Post:

"After watching Jeff Suppan dominate them over eight innings in Game 3, the Mets decided to wait out rookie righty Anthony Reyes in Game 4. The approach Beltran talked about worked, as Reyes was spent after four innings and 86 pitches.

"What we did do was put [Game 3] behind us, and we went out there with, you know, a clean slate, with a good approach, different from [Saturday] night," Delgado said Sunday. "We took a lot of pitches. We made their guy work.

"He probably had 75 pitches by the third inning. We saw a lot of pitches and made him throw a lot of pitches and we got some guys on that came up with some big hits in key situations."

Where have you gone...

Dark Comenteer?

We miss your darkness.

Armchair Manager Time

OK, what do you do in these situations:

1) Glavine wins today, Maine loses Wed. Do you pitch (a) Trashel as scheduled, (b) Perez on short rest, (c) Darren Oliver? I'd say it has to be (c). Perez was good enough yesterday, but as Fredo mentioned in post comment his effort was not "great" and is being overblown by papers (although Post did call him out in spots). Ironically, even by his own lousy standards (6.5 ERA), Perez's game was not good (7.94 ERA). And he got lucky with some induced DPs in a few spots. But, to his credit, he kept Cards to 3 runs until we finally found our offense. His start was better than Trash's and even Maine's last start.

2) Game is rained out today, so we have Tue-Wed-Thu. Cards move Carpenter up in the rotation instead of Weaver. Do you still pitch Glavine?

3) El Duque is available for WS(see here). Do you pitch him in game 1 and glavine game 2, or vice versa? Presumably if we get rained out today and Glavine pitches tomorrow, you definitely start El Duque in game 1 in that case to avoid Glavine going on 3 days rest again.

Willie sick of the Trash?

From the Post:

TRACH STOCK DROPS
STEVE PULLED SELF FROM GAME 3
By JOEL SHERMAN and MARK HALE
October 16, 2006 -- ST. LOUIS - Steve Trachsel missed time at the end of the regular season due to personal reasons, so the Mets were already down on him. Now his stock with the team has dropped further.

In his horrible Game 3 start against the Cardinals on Saturday, Trachsel pulled himself out of the game with his right thigh contusion, Willie Randolph confirmed yesterday.

When asked what he thought of that, Randolph chuckled and said while walking away, "I'm not going to answer that."

Le Duc

Figured I wouldn't break the trend with post titles. Spanish, then English, so I threw in some French for good measure.

Anyway, a couple of interesting points from an ESPN.com article on the game by Stark:

Bet you didn't know Delgado already has mashed as many postseason homers as a Met as Darryl Strawberry.

Bet you didn't know he needs just one more RBI to say he has driven in as many postseason runs as a Met as Keith Hernandez or Mike Piazza.

Bet you didn't know he now owns the highest career postseason average of any Met who has ever accumulated 20 October at-bats or more.

I believe that's called a "triple crown". If the Mets win a series this year (to match Gary/Kieth/Darryl), he becomes our all-time great post-season position player. That didn't take long.

A funny line:

Like the Iron Chef, this is an offense that can carve you up 1,000 different ways. With flashing feet and top-to-bottom power. With patience and with brains. With the brightest faces of the 21st Century (Jose Reyes and David Wright) and the ageless face of the Dead-Ball Era (Julio Franco).

Remember when Franco managed to take the Big Train deep for his 26th home run? I really thought he was going to get #27 and tie the Major League home run record. I was never a Chicago White Stockings fan, but I always thought it a shame that Ned Williamson got the dropsy.

Duke

I'd say the biggest hit in the 6-run explosion was Lo Duca's, to advance Reyes to 3rd. Sure, Valentin's hit was huge, both because it really drove a stake into that game and because it was important for Valentin personally to pick up a hit in a clutch situation.

But Lo Duca's hit was the biggest because it was the toughest. If Lo Duca doesn't get that hit, most likely the inning fizzles like so many others in this series, or maybe we pick up a run or two at best. But by getting that hit, it all but guarantees a big inning. Beltran's job is far easier with Reyes on 3rd and 0 outs - even a fly ball picks up a run, which drops the pressure. Also, a DP doesn't end the inning, and even any ground ball probably scores Reyes. And as each successive batter reaches base, it becomes that much easier for the next guy to hit since the pressure rises dramatically on the pitcher as the wheels start coming off. With bases loaded and 0 outs, you might as well leave the ball on a tee for Delgado - it probably wouldn't go as far. And even Wright and Green with their problems at the plate are too good at hitting to miss an opportunity like that.

So, once again, the deadly combination of Reyes and Lo Duca comes through. I can't imagine anyone on the Mets (or even in baseball) being as clutch as the Duke when Reyes reaches base. It really is astounding how often he makes contact and advances Reyes, and that is the key to setting the table for 3-4-5.

El Duque

If true, this would be great news: "Hernandez said he can pitch if the Mets reach the World Series.." (NYPost)

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up

"...Steve Trachsel allowed 10 of the 12 batters he faced on Saturday to reach base..."

Pitch count

I've never seen a team as ineffective as Mets at driving up pitch count of opposing pitcher. They clearly do not make this a priority in their approach at the plate at all. This is a problem because (a) it allows opposing starter to stay in game long and (b) results in quick innings that force our starter back out quickly.

Fouling off pitches to drive up count is the least you could do if you're not hitting. Beltran, Wright, Green, Valentin, and Chavez are killing us in this series.

And now the fun begins.

Having watched Mets pitching blow two leads in game 2, and the vaunted pen collapse, the future is starting to look a bit cloudy.

Mota, Heilman, and Wagner all threw a lot of pitches tonight, and Mota and Wagner were doing it for the second straight night. If Trax does not pitch deep into the game tomorrow, and/or the Mets stake the staff to a sizeable lead of 4 runs or more, it's going to get very tricky. And Trax, of course, is well known for nibbling and running up his pitch count and relying on the pen early.

Will Wagner bounce back mentally from 3 ER's in 2/3 of an IP? A closer makes his money just as much for the ability to forget the bad outing and come back strong tomorrow, as he does for his raw ability.

Looking further down the line, we have Perez in game 4 and a short-rested Glavine in game 5. Perez has consistently been lifted early in games. After his CG on 9/6, here's how he's fared:

9/12 5.0 IP, 101 pitches, 4 runs
9/20 5.1 IP, 109 pitches, 3 runs
9/26 5.1 IP, 73 pitches, 6 runs
10/1 4.0 IP, 77 pithces, 1 run

All those outings were against non-playoff teams. He hasn't pitched six innings in over a month, and, by the time of his start, won't have pitched at all in a game situation in 2 weeks. Not great for a pitcher whose primary issue is command. A depleted pen will be tested again in game 4.

Even on short rest, I have confidence in Glavine to give our team a chance to win in game 5.

Maine vs. Carpenter in game 6 will still be an unfavorable matchup, even at Shea, and especially because a Cy Young pitcher like Carpenter will be spitting bullets. No way does he want to throw two stinkers in a row and become the A-Rod of the Archway.

If it goes 7, I like our chances at home with every arm on deck and another Trax-Suppan matchup.

My assessment? I'm sticking with the Mets in 7, but someone's going to have to pull a rabbit out of their hat in the next couple of nights. Either Trax or Perez is going to have to go 7 or 8 innings and stake the team to a lead. I don't like the odds, but faith has me holding out hope.

Here's my prediction for the rest of the series:

Game 3 Win (against the odds)
Game 4 Loss
Game 5 Win
Game 6 Loss
Game 7 Win

Nip and tuck, baby!

D-bag quote of the day

And it goes to...Pujols about Glavine: “He wasn’t good. He wasn’t good at all,” Pujols said. “I think we hit the ball hard. We didn’t get some breaks.”

Hey Pujols, yeah Glavine was that good. He made your lineup look silly. Give credit where it's due: the reason you didn't hit the ball well is not because you forgot how to, it's because Glavine is a master at pitch location.

O-ffense

Well, so much for my prediction (and Vegas over/under of 9) that offense would roll, they looked more like a car engine in Buffalo this morning. At least the pitching and defense were spectacular, and Beltran continues to be Card killer. Not to mention, we pitched Pujols with bases empty almost every time, I don't even think any of his contact left the infield? Gem from Mets.com: "Pujols now is hitless with four strikeouts in his last 10 postseason at-bats. But who's counting? He isn't a Yankees third baseman."

Somehow though the team has got to find a way to get hits when Reyes is having an off night. I understand why the guys behind him become that much better when he's on base, but I'm surprised that they don't seem to hit when he doesn't.

Also, as pointed out by both Fredo and myself, why in the world did the Mets start Floyd last night? There are very few decisions that Randolph and Minaya have made this season that left me scratching my head, but that's one of them. IF they thought he was healthy enough to be a threat at the plate I can understand adding him to the roster, and hopefully getting some starts or pinch hits from him later in this series. But why risk him in game 1 - a game you have to be able to win even without him in the lineup? Not to mention it was (literally) painfully evident that he wasn't even remotely healthy in the top of the 1st when he gingerly jogged down his first fly ball in left.

Stat of the Day...

...and all you can say is, "Wow!"

Delgado vs. Weaver: 19-for-38, four HR, 14 RBI, 1.594 OPS.

NLCS predictions

Time to go on the record again.

In round 1, SHK and Fredo both thought Mets in 4, and it went Mets in 3.

In the LCS, I'm going with Mets in 7. The upside of that will be Glavine on normal rest for Game 1 of the WS against the Bengals. But remember, we don't look ahead, we just take it one game at a time.

Rainout a big blow

What a boon for the Cards-- now they can start Carpenter in games 2 & 6 instead of 3 7. Plus, the Mets rotation is totally screwed up now. Glavine will either have to pitch on short rest in game 5 or extra rest in game 6. If the Mets don't want to pitch Glavine on 3 days rest, who starts game 5? Darren Oliver?

Hat tip: Mets.com

Weird stuff

I don't really know what to say about the Corey Lidle plane crash. Of course, my sympathy goes out to his family and friends, as well as any other victims of this tragedy.

It was just two days ago I was listening to Francesa and Russo slapping Lidle around on 660, with Mike saying stuff like, "Who's criticizing Torre? Corey Lidle? Who?", "Just get out", and "don't let the door hit you on the way out" or words to that effect. Then there's all the bad blood he had with his Phillies teammates, Rhodes in particular, on his way out of Philly.

I don't know what the point of all this is. It's just so, so, odd.

NLCS roster set

From Mets.com:

PITCHERS (11): Chad Bradford, Pedro Feliciano, Tom Glavine, Aaron Heilman, Roberto Hernandez, John Maine, Guillermo Mota, Darren Oliver, Oliver Perez, Steve Trachsel, Billy Wagner.

CATCHERS (2): Paul Lo Duca, Ramon Castro.

INFIELDERS (7): Carlos Delgado, Julio Franco, Anderson Hernandez, Jose Reyes, Jose Valentin, Chris Woodward, David Wright.

OUTFIELDERS (5): Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez, Cliff Floyd, Shawn Green, Michael Tucker.

So we dropped Ring, and went back to 11 pitchers. I wish we would have put Williams and not Perez on the roster as the 4th starter. Anderson Hernandez was added in Ring's place, freeing Woody from the IF and allowing him to be a right-handed hitting outfielder.

Floyd being on the roster tells me that Willie & Omar view Milledge as a net negative right now. They must be so worried about Lasting's presence being a distraction that they're willing to put Cliff on the roster, who will be lucky to get 3 AB's in this series. And hopefully we won't see him in the OF at all. For his sake as well as ours. It was just this type of situation, streching a badly injured guy who wanted to fight through it, that turned Buckner into Buckner.

Beltran

Beltran has clearly proved his value and worth this year and hopefully we get more of the same next year. But one area that concerns me is his apparent injury-prone body. It seems like he is always battling something, especially his quads. Here's the latest from Post: Carlos Beltran had an ailing abdomen on Saturday, but played that night in Game 3 of the NLDS. Minaya said "right now it's a minor thing."

Send Jeter packing?

While I hate to delve into Stankee news on a blog as pure as the driven snow, this article is too juicy to pass up, earning at least two Mad Dog "Oh Baby"'s.

To sum up, Caple thinks Jeter, not K-Rod, needs to be traded because K-Rod is: better, younger, and cheaper (thanks to the Rangers picking up a bunch of his salary). He also thinks you'll get more for Jeter b/c of K-Rod's perceived "baggage" and because of Jeter's perceived "leadership" (which he questions b/c Jeter let K-Rod twist in the wind all year instead of backing him up).

Glavine to start game 1

of the NLCS, according to mets.com

A couple of links to savor

Balance of Power Shifts to Flushing

New York a 1-team Town

You have to particularly enjoy the end of Wallace Matthews story in Newsday:

This year, Shea Stadium was what Yankee Stadium used to be, before too much success brought a sense of arrogance and entitlement to increasingly jaded fans. Mets games were festive and fun, and the stories coming out of Shea were mostly uplifting - the emergence of Reyes and Wright, the return to New York of El Duque, the huge contributions made by "little guys" such as Endy Chavez and Jose Valentin.

The Mets have been as bracing as a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone.

Said a decidedly gleeful Valentin: "Who's the better team in New York now?"

New Stat of the Day

And this one's pretty nice too..

The Mets were 5-2 and 4-2 against the Padres and Cardinals respectively during the regular season.

Stat of the Day

And it's a beauty, you have to love this one: Greg Maddux was 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA against the Mets in '06. (ESPN.com)

Maine game 4?

Interesting possibility for game 4 according to Post. I'm not sure if I like this idea. You'd be asking a lot of Maine to pitch on 3 days. On the one hand, perez is almost certainly a loss. But, if Maine loses game 4 on short rest, what's your option for game 5? Glavine on short rest? Not good. However, a rested Maine for game 5 is as good a shot as we've got.

Meanwhile, there appear to be potentially two candidates for Game 4, if necessary. Oliver Perez is one, but Randolph also admitted that "possibly" John Maine could come back on three days' rest.

Maine only threw 80 pitches in Game 1.

Game Won

What a show by Delgado, great way to make your playoff debut!

Overall Mets looked a little rough in patches (stranded too many runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs, pitching not the sharpest from bullpen, fielding not sharp) but at the end of the day the key is to win game 1 in a 5 game series, however you do it. Totally exciting to see October baseball back at Shea!

Speaking of Delgado, this quote from Wright is funny because I thought the exact same thing when they showed the home run on replay: Delgado nearly broke Wright's arm with his high five! "He definitely did not control his emotions," countered Wright, whose seventh-inning double knocked in what turned out to be the winning run. "He almost took my arm off, hitting my hand on the home run."

Yankees fans

So A-rod surely took a lot of crap during the season. How'd he finish? .290, 35 HR, 121 RBI, 113 R. #1 in RBI, #2 in HR, #3 in R (only 5 back of #1) on his team, and more RBIs than anyone on Mets.

I understand the complaints that he didn't always step up in clutch situations, but at the same time 121 RBIs and 113 R is 121 RBIs and 113 R. There is no such thing as a "quiet" 121 RBI and 113 R season. That's too many runs to not matter. Yankees fans should stop their whining, or we'd be glad to take A-rod off their hands and make him a Met the way he was supposed to be a few years ago.

It's Maine in Game 1

According to Mets.com. No word yet on the round 1 roster.

At first blush, I like the decision. Don't push Duque. Give him a few days to heal up, throw him in game 3 or 4. Don't make Glavine pitch out of turn.

I also like Maine's chances to throw a solid game. He doesn't seem to rattle. His only problem has been maintaining focus mid-game, which should be less of a problem in this setting. Unfortunately, he is a fly-ball pitcher and the wind's going to be blowing out fairly briskly this afternoon, around 14 mph to dead center field.

Update:

Espn.com is now reporting that Duque is off the round 1 roster altogether. Oliver Perez takes his place as the 4th starter. Ave Maria, gratia plena, dominus tecum...

Update 2:

The post-season roster is now available on the espen link above. Royce Ring was added as the 12th pitcher, presumably because Willie now realizes he's going to have to go to the pen in the 4th inning every game. This cost us putting a 3rd catcher-- likely DeFelice--on the roster which would have allowed Willie to use Castro as a right-handed pinch-hitter. Not a huge loss there, IMO.

El Duque doubtful for Game 1

After a calf injury during outfield warmups this afternoon. Apparently awaiting results on an MRI to decide definitively whether he's available. Also, while ther's no word on the replacement starter yet, they're reporting of WFAN that Glavine can go on 3 days rest. That's a bad idea, IMHO. Maine on normal rest is a better idea. Trax, thanks to his missed start, would be pitching on 9 days rest tomorrow or 12 days rest in game 3. For a guy who's a slave to routine, that doesn't bode well for him. I'm guessing Maine in game 1 and Glavine in game 2. Then, so long as we're not down 0-2, we'll have Trax in game 3 and Duque in 4 if he's ready.

One other point: are post-season rosters set yet, or can we still adjust our round 1 roster since we haven't played yet? If we can, they could leave Duque off the round 1 roster if the MRI shows he won't be able to pitch. Then we could add Oliver Perez to the rotation to be a game 4 pitcher. Wow, this just isn't sounding like a World Series team right now.

Dodgers

So it's the Dodgers.

I find this article to be filled with some strange analysis. First, I wouldn't call the Dodgers "The matchup the Mets didn't want..." I'd say the Phillies and Astros are the only teams from NL that could have given us a good run. If we can't beat Dodgers, we shouldn't go to WS.

Next, of Paul Lo Duca he says: "Get Paul Lo Duca out...he's the one weak point in the top five spots in the Mets' lineup..." What??? Lo Duca has the best BA of any Mets starter. This guy is the toughest out. Weak in the power department, yes, but that's got nothing to do with getting him out.

Then, "The Dodgers bring the NL's other great offense to town..." The Dodgers have a good offense, but other "great" offense? How about the Phillies and Marlins, who have both scored more runs than Dodgers? When your offense is only 4th best in the weaker league and 10th overall, I'd be careful about throwing around words like "great".

Milledge: Jeffries, part deux?

No, not the unfulfilled potential. That remains to be seen. But the ability to generate discord in the clubhouse? That's starting already. As reported by David Lennon in Newsday here:

KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK!

The hand-scrawled message hung above Lastings Milledge's locker after Friday's 4-3 victory over the Nationals. At the bottom of the two sheets of paper was written, "Your Teammates."

At a time when the Mets should be focusing on the playoffs, it was a disturbing sign.

Milledge, as usual, ate dinner alone seated at his locker, facing inward, as the rest of the Mets crowded the clubhouse cafeteria. Someone had hidden Milledge's street clothes, and one player thought they had been replaced by a dress.

The reason? According to one person familiar with the situation, Milledge - whose reputation is deteriorating quickly - mouthed off to a veteran teammate in Atlanta. Friday's rebuke followed. Apparently, his teammates are becoming more and more annoyed by Milledge's attitude.

"How much does it take to finally wake up?" the person said. "How long before you realize the way you're acting is the opposite of how you should be acting? Fine. Stay asleep, then."

Pedro done for the year

with a torn tendon in his calf.

Guess that settles the question of whether he's starting game 1.

So now the rotation is:

Duque
Glavine
Trax
Maine

Relievers:

Oliver
Hernandez
Feliciano
Bradford
Mota
Heilman
Wagner

That's what I'm guessing, anway.

This too shall pass

Our Sept swoon may not be fatal. From Elias Sports Bureau:

The Mets have lost seven of their last eight games and are 11-15 in September. But don't fret, Mets fans, several teams have struggled in September/October but still won the World Series that year. Here are some examples during the wild card era:

2005 White Sox: 4-10 during one stretch in September, turning a 9½-game lead to 1½
2002 Angels: 5-8 over last 13 games of the season
2001 Diamondbacks: 14-13 in September/October
2000 Yankees: 13-18 in September/October, 2-13 in last 15 games, lost last seven
1997 Marlins: 12-15 in September, 2-7 in last nine games

Warm round of applause

for our new class A affiliate, the

Savannah Sand Gnats

Plan B?

According to Adam Rubin and the NY Daily News, Pedro's injuries and performance may not only force him out of Game 1, but the entire first round. Here's what they say the rotation could look like if Pedro's left out:

Plan B

Not only is Pedro Martinez likely out for Game 1 of the NLDS, it's possible he could miss the entire series. If that's the case, here's how the rotation shapes up:


GAME 1: Orlando Hernandez


The last time the Mets won a postseason game at Shea Stadium, El Duque was the losing pitcher. This time around, Mets will be relying on Duque's reputation as a big-game pitcher.


GAME 2: Tom Glavine


In his only postseason start at Shea, Glavine pitched seven shutout innings for the Braves in the 1999 NLCS. This is the game he was brought here to win 4 years ago.


GAME 3: Steve Trachsel


The man who drives Met fans crazy could be on the hill with season hanging in the balance. As strange as it sounds, he has been their most consistent pitcher all season.


GAME 4: John Maine


If the rookie comes up big here, Met fans can thank Anna Benson and her big mouth since Maine came over in the big Kris Benson-for-Jorge Julio deal.


GAME 5: Orlando Hernandez


If anyone told you in April he would be on the mound for the Mets' most crucial game of the year, you would've laughed. Now, you wouldn't want anyone else on the Mets in this spot.

3 out of 5 starts will be coming from the Benson trade. That one worked out nicely. Of course, I'm assuming they're 3 quality starts.

More Pedro stats..

Interesting info from Elias via ESPN.com:

The Mets are 28-26 (.519) in the 54 games Pedro Martinez has started in his two years with the club (17-14 in 2005, 11-12 in 2006), compared to 148-118 (.556) over the same span with any other starting pitcher.

Martinez is 0-4 with a 15.43 ERA in his last four starts. It's the second time in his career that Pedro has lost four straight starts. Martinez lost the final four regular-season starts he made for the Red Sox (Sept. 14-29, 2004).

Endy Chavez is so fast...

Hat tip to Zephyrs' Fan over at Mets Geek:

Endy Chavez can play all three outfield positions. At the same time.

Endy Chavez has to use a foam bat.

Endy Chavez is so fast, he can steal first base.

One time I saw Endy Chavez hop over the centerfield fence, get in a car, and drive 3 blocks to rob a home run from Andruw Jones.

Endy Chavez can hit a five run homer.

Endy Chavez was released by the Phillies ’cause he makes a better cheese steak than Pat.

I saw Endy Chavez hit an inside the park home run. Running backwards.

Endy Chavez taught Pedro his changeup.

Endy Chavez can pitch with both hands.

Endy Chavez doesn’t cry.

Albert Pujols keeps an Endy Chavez Topps rookie card in his locker for good luck.

The new stadium for the Mets in 2009 will be called Endy Chavez Field.

When the Expos moved to Washington, Endy Chavez carried the team on his back. The entire team. And the bat boy.

Between innings, Endy Chavez dresses up as Mr. Met to entertain the fans.

Endy Chavez is Willie’s favorite player!

Roger Clemens has a clause in his contract that he never has to face Endy Chavez.

Pedro

Well, this should lock up Glavine as #1 starter. Pedro couldn't pick a worse time to fall apart. This underlines my comment to Crawford post below, that I don't want to trade any of our young pitchers at this point. We desperately need as much starting pitching as possible heading into next year.

Furthermore, when are we finally going to not end a season getting our asses kicked up and down the field by the Braves? This is the same type of season-ending meltdown that has cost us a playoff spot in previous seasons, and will be a problem in future years when the Phils or Marlins are a lot closer to us down the stretch. While Mets clearly have a solid GM in Minaya, Phillies' Gillick has quite a track record as well, so I don't expect Phillies to go anywhere but up next year.

Crawford coming to Flushing?

I dreamed about it here.

Now Joel Sherman writes that it might actually be a possibility. Could a young all star and a true 5 tool player be coming to the Mets? Would it be worth trading a front line pitching prospect (Humber or Pelfrey) for him? Probably. If we could get him for Milledge and Heilman its a definite go.

If we trade for Crawford and sign Soriano to play second, that would be sick:

SS Reyes (S)
LF Crawford (L)
3B Wright (R)
CF Beltran (S)
2B Soriano (R)
1B Delgado (L)
C LoDuca (R)
RF Green (L)

Continuing to dream...

Mets No-mentum

Well, the losing continues. While I have no doubt the Mets will play better and more focused once playoffs start, I do think this losing streak matters despite what Randolph says. We can't hit and we can't pitch. I can understand a few down days after clinching, but it should be a priority to play well heading into playoffs.

"Last night, the Mets fell for the sixth time in seven games and for the ninth time in 12, getting blasted by the Braves, 12-0, at Turner Field in the Mets' eighth shutout loss this season." (From NYPost.com)

Who's #1?

Hmmm, so Pedro might not be #1 starter.

Also interesting to watch is whether Beltran truly is feeling comfortable or still injured. We are going to need him to be near 100%, he claims to be ~80% right now.

Some notes

1) Philip Humber had a successful MLB debut last night.

2) Milledge might make the post-season roster, according to Willie.

3) Wallace Matthews, following SHK's lead, would like to see Glavine be the game 1 (& 5) starter.

4) Rey Sanchez of Newsday has an article about the possibility of Soriano coming to the Mets next year, and it sounds highly possible. Soriano obviously is close to Willie, and also states about 10 times "I don't need to go to New York." If he said it once I would've taken it at face value. By the 8th time, I just wanted to tell the guy, "OK, we get it, you don't want to scare off other clubs from bidding on you because they think you're going to sign in New York and they don't have a chance. Point taken."

Pick 4

I tried to post this earlier but blogspot screwed me. In any case...

If you were Willie, who would be your post-season starting four? I'd pick Glavine, Pedro, El Duque, and Trax.

I like Glavine #1, rather than Pedro, since Pedro is too emotional and doesn't pitch well on short rest. If we have to play a critical game 5, I'd rather have Glavine pitching.

Trax or Maine is a toss-up for me. I think Maine was my clear favorite but has given back the lead with last two starts. Also not sure what we'll get out of a rookie in playoffs. I think the Mets should've dumped Trax earlier this season, but at this point he's what we've got.

The only thing I don't like about the above 4 is the age: those are all old guys who probably won't pitch well on short rest if all of our series go long. That's one reason having Maine instead of Trax might be good.

There's no crying in baseball!

The recent 3-4 run innings that Pedro and Glavine keep giving up in the middle part of the game are not encouraging heading into playoffs. Hopefully they both have another gear they're just keeping in reserve that they'll dig into for playoffs.

The New Orleans Zephyrs

are our new AAA affiliate. The news is now official.

Meanwhile, we've apparently lost the Hagerstown Suns, our A ball affiliate, to the Nationals. Back in the market for another team, I guess.

Minor League Machinations

Looks like the Mets have been out-maneuvered on this one. They're losing Norfolk to the Orioles. Columbus is affiliating with the Nationals. The Yanks are taking Scranton. And the Mets are going to be stuck with New Orleans. Terrible travel schedule for the N.O. team, which has to make West Coast swings, and much harder to move guys up and down between Binghamton and New York.

Why not make Brooklyn the AAA team and drop New Orleans to A ball?

Dumped!

According the WSJ, Norfolk has dumped the Mets in the hopes of establishing a relationship with a team that is located nearer to them, like the Nationals or the Orioles.

The Mets are apparently considering adding the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (PA) Red Barons as an affiliate, but will potentially be competing with the Yankees for that relationship. The Red Barons were dumped by the Phillies. The Yankees dumped the Columbus Clippers. And now both NY teams may want to affiliate with the northeast Pennsylvania Red Barons.

I don't know if it helps of hurts that the Red Barons are right down the road from Binghamton, and that the Mets' AA and AAA teams would be a 50 minute drive from each other.

A-rod

I know this is a Mets blog, but I couldn't pass up this story about dissension in Janks clubhouse. This is definitely not the kind of thing Torre wants hanging over the club headed into postseason, could be a major distraction. Meanwhile, our M-E-T-S mets mets mets dugout couldn't be more relaxed and happy.

Boom! Goes the lumber

I would have loved to seen last night's Dodgers-Padres game. The teams are separated by one game coming down the home stretch, and going head-to-head for the division title. Add to that that the loser is by no means guaranteed a wild card slot, with the Phils right on their heels.

So what happens? Down four runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers go back-to-back-to-back-to-back to tie the game. Then they go down a run in the top of the 10th, and win it on a 2 run HR from Nomar in the bottom of the 10th. That's going to make for some sick momentum and mojo for the Dodgers.

Oh, and an intersting side note, the Dodgers' closer Saito got lit up in the top of the 9th to turn a one run deficit into a 4-run deficit. And then, with the season on the line, Trevor Hoffman gave up back-to-back home runs on two pitches to cough up the lead in the bottom of the 9th, when all the chips were down. These were two guys whose numbers were better than Wagner's a month ago. Meanwhile, Billy Billy Billy has converted like 17 straight save opportunities?

NL East Champs!

Savor it. Enjoy it. This team put its boot on the neck of the competition and never released the pressure. Congrats to the boys.

Southpaw blues

The Mets are now 5-12 in their last 17 games when the opponent starts a lefty.

Beltran

Nice summary of Beltran's year, if a little glowing for one tremendous season.

Willie

Gotta love Randolph:

Asked after last night's game about whether he had things to do in Pittsburgh, Willie Randolph replied, "Yeah. Maybe sip a little champagne. Be nice. Smoke my cigar and keep going. Keep going, man." (From NYPost.com)

Willie's musings on the playoff rotation

Sounds like Trax has the inside route over Maine right now...

Willie Randolph said he may use John Maine in the bullpen the final week of the season, giving him some comfort level there in case the Mets need him in that role in October.

"Right now he's starting Sunday. After that we'll see where we are," the manager said. "There might come a point in time the last three or four or five days or whatever - his last start - I might put him in the bullpen. It's a possibility."

In other news, espen ran a nice memorial page on the end of the Braves' run in the NL Beast. While I'm shedding no tears, that organization deserves real credit for taking a franchise that was moribund in the '80s and putting together the longest streak of its kind in the history of MLB.

Step up

It's time for players who want to make the postseason roster to step up and earn it. Unfortunately seems like the offense, starting pitching, and relief pitching have all mailed it in for the last week. It will be interesting to see who on the pitching staff really steps up and stands out down the stretch.

NL BEast

The NL East is almost certainly going to be the division to beat in NL over the next few years, if Florida decides to pony up some cash and keep their young stars. Between Mets, Phillies, and Marlins it should be competitive down the stretch, reminiscent of some of the old Mets-Cards-'Spos battles.

Stats

Check out Mets stats since all-star break. Their BA throughout lineup is tremendous, almost everyone batting between .290 and .310, top to bottom. Even scarier are Reyes' #s, great total production. He's also batting .410 for the year (#1 on mets) with RISP and 2 outs..

Playoff rotation?

I hate to say if for Johnny Maine, but I'm thinking our four-man playoff rotation will leave him on the outside looking in:

Pedro
Glavine
Duque
Trashel

Trax is useless in the bullpen, as he's already proven. He can't get loose quickly and can't adapt to having his "routine" broken. Will Willie upset the apple cart by leaving a long time veteran home, denying him a late-career playoff run, for a rookie? Doubt it, especially since Maine has been better but not decisively so. And Willie loves veterans.

So who is in the bullpen if the Mets hold 12 pitchers?

Long guys: Oliver, Maine

6-7 innings: Bradford, Feliciano, Mota, R. Hernandez

8th inning: Heilman

9th: Wagner

Very interesting question: do the mets carry 12 pitchers? With lots of travel off-days in the playoffs, I doubt it. Which means one these pitchers is getting left off the post-season roster.

Who will it be? Maine? Mota? R. Hernandez? Or does Maine get in the rotation and Trashel gets left home?

Astounding

Reyes' ITP HR last night was like a magic act. When he crossed home plate I thought he'd been running from second, not the batters box. I don't think I've ever seen an ITP HR where an outfielder didn't fall down. And Reyes could've scored standing up, easily, if he wasn't such a dirt hog.

Wow.

Williams

Williams continues to look very strong, certainly making a solid case to be on the postseason roster. Could be Pedro, Glavine, Maine, Williams, El Duque. I like our chances with that plus our deep bullpen, best in majors.

Closing stretch

Well, it's that time of year where teams are fighting to grab the wild card, and when the Mets usually puke it up against Los Bravos. Fortunately we have mounted such a massive lead this year that we are in no danger of losing first place.

However, it would be nice to see the Mets finish strong, much as they've played over the last 3-4 weeks. I think having momentum headed into playoffs is key, especially to make sure we don't have mental lapses or anything short of top focus and effort, required to guarantee victory in short five-game series.

Houston, we have a problem...

Almost all sports articles have mentioned this by now, but it's worth repeating that Houston is the one NL team I do NOT want to see in a best-of-five (or any) playoff series. With Clemens, oswalt, and pettite, that would completely shut down our offense and we do not have pitching to match. Fortunately they are still 3.5 back in wild card with about 6-7 teams ahead of them, but you never know...

Just a little economics tidbit...

Omar and Willie combined are making 1.43 million this year. Meanwhile, the Mets are still paying Art Howe, who alone is making 2.34 mil this year. Guess the labor market is a lot less efficient than I thought.

It's "State the Obvious" Time

I can't possibly do Carlos Beltran justice by describing how great a catch he made to save tonight's game against the Astros. Oh, those Beltran-hating Houston fans must've been sick.

Now lets see how bad he hurt himself.

Silly but fun hypothetical

Wilpon will likely not want to spend the money, but could you imagine if the Mets signed Alfonso Soriano in the off-season? Imagine this lineup (w/2006 stats and another month to play):

S(R) Reyes (.300/16/70, 55 SB)
L Chavez (.314/3/33)
R Wright (.299/23/101)
S(L) Beltran (.286/39/112)
R Soriano (.292/43/84)
L Delgado (.268/34/96)
R LoDuca (.319/4/41)
L Green (.279/11/56)

While we're at it, and with no disrepect to the great job Endy's done, let's talk about the "perfect fit" in LF and in the lineup: Carl Crawford. Great contact bat, decent pop, gold glove fielder, great base stealer, only 25 years old. Why would the D-Rays trade him? Who knows. But maybe an offer of Lastings Milledge and a young pitching prospect (not named Pelfrey or Maine) would get their attention. Humber and Milledge, for example, would save Tampa 3 and a quarter Mil in '07, 4 and a half mil in '08, and 7 and a half mil '09 before either of the young players they were getting back would get a real salary bump. If they graded Milledge & Humber as possible standouts, maybe they'd go for it. They'd be getting two potential stars and $15.25 Mil for one established star. Of course with Crawford the Mets wouldn't need Milledge, and they have a lot of quality young arms. I could part with one of them for an All-Star who is only 25. Let's take a look at Crawford's current contract:

Signing bonus: $500K
2005: $500K
2006: $2.5M
2007: $4.0M
2008: $5.25M
2009: $8.25M team option vs. $2.5M buyout
2010: $10M team option vs. $1.25M buyout

The Mets would have Crawford locked up through 2010 but the team can opt out of the big back-end payments ('09 & '10) or renegotiate. Of course, he may well be worth $10 Mil in 2010. What would the Mets '07 lineup look like with Soriano & Crawford?

S(R) Reyes (.300/16/70, 55 SB) Age 24
L Crawford (.309/16/67, 45 SB) 26
R Wright (.299/23/101) 24
S(L) Beltran (.286/39/112) 30
R Soriano (.292/43/84) 31
L Delgado (.268/34/96) 35
R LoDuca (.319/4/41) 35
L Green (.279/11/56) 34

That's just silly.

And BTW, the farm would still look good. We'd still have potential young starters in abundance: Maine, Pelfrey, Bannister, and possibly Mulvey, O. Perez, Soler and Heilman. Carlos Gomez would hopefully be ready to slot into the outfield in '08 or '09 for Green. Jesus Flores looks like a possible catcher of the future around '09. And Mike Carp bears some watching as a 1B down the line.

The "Wright" stuff

Looks like wright may be clawing his way out of slump. Last two games have looked pretty solid.

In response to an earlier comment by fredo, i can always revert to my usual modest screen name of "good2Bme". Now go get your shinebox!

Another start for Perez, more time off for Pedro, Floyd back soon

From Mets.com:

Rotation set: Randolph determined his rotation for the next five days and confirmed that both Dave Williams and Oliver Perez would get starts again. Randolph also said that Tom Glavine will most likely make the start in Friday's game against the Astros in Houston.

Williams, who will make his third start with the Mets on Wednesday, won in the Mets' 6-2 victory against the Cardinals on Thursday. The 27-year-old lefty allowed seven hits and two earned runs with one walk and four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

Perez, who will pitch on Thursday in Colorado, gets his second start since being recalled last week from the Minors. The 6-foot-3 left-hander had a no-decision in the Mets' 11-5 comeback win over the Phillies on Saturday. Perez had a no-hitter for 4 1/3 innings before allowing two hits and five runs -- four of which came on a grand slam by Ryan Howard.

If the announced schedule holds, Orlando Hernandez won't start again until Saturday at the earliest. Hernandez hasn't pitched since his 2-0 win against the Rockies at home on Aug. 20 in which he threw six scoreless innings of five-hit ball.

El Duque threw long toss on Sunday and did so again on Monday for about 30 minutes. He'll throw more long toss and some bullpen sessions in Colorado and Houston before Randolph makes a decision when to start the 36-year-old righty.

"We just want him to get as much rest as he needs," said Randolph, who reiterated Hernandez has no serious physical problems. "We'll see how he is over the next few days and let him get acclimated to pitching again. We'd be rushing him if we did it any sooner."

The return of Floyd: After saying he planned make a rehab appearance for Class A St. Luice on Monday, Cliff Floyd decided to make his return Tuesday. He is still expected to fly out to Colorado or Houston sometime later this week. The Mets announced that Floyd's left Achilles' tendon is well enough for him to return to the club, and he is expected to be back when the rosters expand on Sept. 1.

Also, Pedro is apparently just being rested at this point. He's going to Florida for some "rehab" and will come back for 3 to 4 big-league starts as prep for the playoffs.

My Maine Man

Another day, another solid outing for Maine. Guy looks to be legit.

It's been a long time since I've seen the Mets (or any team) have this many players batting this well. Between Reyes, Lo Duca, Beltran, Delgado, Chavez, and now possibly Green, that's a lot of tough outs in the lineup. Once Wright shakes out it will be scary. Let's hope it carries into post-season and doesn't dry up.

Friday's notes

Delgado's officially on a tear. He has 6 HR's in his last 7 games.

Dave Williams chipped in solid innings for his second straight start. He's not part of the future, and probably won't be on the post-season roster, but he's evidence of how Omar's little moves at the margins, the kind that go unnoticed by the papers, bear fruit over the course of a long season. When we acquired him early in the season he was viewed as just spare parts. But now, with Duque, Pedro, and Glavine all missing starts, AAA starters have to fill the void and save the bullpen from getting taxed. Williams has filled in admirably. Unlike Lima-time, which costs you the game and puts your pen behind the 8-ball for a week, this guy has pitched well enough to stake the Mets to leads. If not for his leg cramps, hewould have pitched deep into both starts.

Brian Bannister starts tonight. It's the final step in the long road back from his April injury. I loved the kid's guts and his success when he was up here early in the year. After the injury, he had to rehab his leg in Florida in virtual solitude, and watch the spot in the rotation he'd waited for his whole life for go to someone else. There was the setback of his aborted AAA rehab start when it became clear the injury was serious, and the thoughts of "will I ever be the same" must have been creeping in. The nerve in his leg apparently still kicks off pain, but he fought through it, had a bunch of minor league rehab starts over the past 3-4 weeks, and has shown consistent improvement. Now he's getting his shot with the big club again.

Bannister always refers to this season as his "rookie year" in the papers, which is hard to agree with since he'll probably qualify as a rookie again next year, given his limited number of '06 appearances. But still, he's had his (would be) rookie season robbed from him and showed tremendous resiliency. I hope Mets fans give him a warm welcome tonight.

I'd love to see this guy coach T.O.

I know it's a different sport, but still, you've got to love this quote:

"I don't want to blame anyone except myself. I was the one who trusted some players but they didn't execute well and didn't play well."

Lithuanian Coach Antanas Sirieka, after Turkey's 76-74 victory over Lithuania

Hat tip: Duke Basketball Report

A Great Day

Talk about a day that the Mets can remember if things go well in October:

1) Glavine will be back, and only miss one start.

2) Shawn Green's coming to Flushing, and they only had to give up one prospect to get him (Evan MacLane). I've heard MacLane's name before, but never in the "blue-chip prospect" category, so this looks like a no-brainer for a team that's got a chance to win now.

[just checked the AAA #"s for MacLane this year: 9-8, 3.86, 1.41 WHIP, .285 BAA, 67 K, 35 BB, 121.1 IP. His bio: 23 year old lefty]

3) Delgado goes yard 2x for his 400th career HR, and he looks to be back.

4) Mets give the suppossed "other" best team in the NL a crushing loss with a Beltran walk-off homer, and get in their heads a bit before we face them in the post-season.

Up and coming

Read about exciting Mets prospect Jeremy Barfield here.

Billy billy billy

So I happened to check the league leaders in Saves in the NL, and it turns out Wagner's tied w/ Hoffman for the league lead with 31. Of those with 10 or more saves (15 pitchers), he's also 3rd in ERA (trailing only Hoffman and Saito).

Glavine done for the year?

A real possibility.

Pedro/Duque/Trachsel/Maine as your playoff starters? Ouch. The AL must be breathing a sigh of relief today. Guess Bannister's getting his spot back.

Maine-iac on the floor

Gotta love this kid.

The middle of the order busted out today too. Delgado had 11 total bases in 4 ABs and Beltran went 4 for 5 with a HR and a double.

Wright's the only one who seems truly mired. He took another collar, going 0-for-4 with 3 K's. Even the radio announcers picked up the cue from the TV guys last night: David looks tired. The kid needs a couple of games off here or there to refresh him for the post-season.

It also makes you wonder if the home-run derby is unhealthy for these guys. Abreu's power never returned after his outburst in '05. This year Wright went off in the first round, but you have to wonder if he just beat his obliques into submission swinging for the fences 50 times in a row. It's a bit like asking a pitcher to throw his fastest pitch 200 times in a row just for the sake of wowing the crowd.

Broom

If the Mets get 4-game-swept by the phillies, that's inexcusable. Regardless of the fact that it makes no impact in the standings and has no impact on their near-guaranteed playoff spot, it is still a poor reflection on their focus, effort, and energy level.

Kho-say, kho-say, kho-say

Another night of no offense. How lucky are the few Mets fans who, in blissful ignorance, view these games as mere box scores. Those who don't have to watch each and every bad swing, taken strike, and zero-intensity response to failure.

Luckily, it looked like the Mets might string together a late game rally in the 8th, with one on, two-outs, and the top of the order coming up. A hit or a walk would bring the tying run to the plate with the heart of the order waiting in the wings. Instead, leadoff hitter, all-star, and nominal OBP expert Jose Reyes grounded out meekly. This capped his 0-for-4 effort and sunk the last real opportunity to get something going. In a close game where each AB could have changed the scope of the game, it made for an interesting counterpoint to the previous night, where after his first AB they were all essentially meaningless, so he padded his stats like Xavier Nady.

If there is any kind of upside to this third straight loss, it's the fact that Glavine had downright nasty stuff through 7 IP. For his second straight start, he's been very effective but has not gotten a W.

Pedro to the 15 day Dee-El

Haven't heard details about the injury. It was characterized on SNY's pregame as a "mild calf strain". Hardly seems the type of injury to put a playoff team's ace on the shelf. Guess the Mets are being ultra-cautious. Or Pedro just wanted another two-week vacation. We'll se how it plays out.

Ron Darling was saying he thinks the two possibilities to replace him in the rotation for a start or two are Brian Bannister and Oliver Perez. Bannister has made 5 rehab starts and two at AAA. The first was a mess, in the last he pitched 8 scoreless.

Jose Jose Jose

Nice to see the Mets decided giving it up like candy last night wasn't enough, needed a repeat performance tonight. At least jose remembered the mets are allowed to score runs too.

Ho Duca

Maybe Bill Clinton should start hanging out with Lo Duca, get some pointers.

Ewww. Gross.

Wow that sucked. Guess they had to get it all out of their system in one night. Here's what I remember of the first inning:

Woodward tossing Rollins leadoff grounder over Delgado's head,
Milledge taking circuitous routes on every ball hit to right,
Beltran misplaying a liner right by him (turning a single into a triple),
Pedro balking with the bases loaded,
Pedro with 2 HBP's (one forcing in a run),
Delgado letting a ball one step to his right fly under his glove.

There's probably more, but I forget.

Then, moving ahead to later in the game, Willie let Oliver hang out to dry long after his tank was empty. Darren had pitched two of the last three nights and Willie tries to get 4 innings out of him to save the rest of the pen. I felt so bad for him in the 5th when guys were hitting his 80 MPH fastball out like batting practice.

Nobody hit worth a darn.

Hopefully the Phils enjoyed today, anyway.

Today's updates

1) GambleGate (tm)

So Jim Rich at the Daily News wasn't able to dig up anything new. Instead, he reprints the old allegation about a bookie confronting LoDuca from the stands at Shea. Rather than obtaining actual evidence supporting this alleged incident, he just repeats it. Then he tells the long tale of some random dude with a gambling problem that got his pinky broken by his bookie. The moral of the story: since someone has a problem with gambling, LoDuca probably does too. And it's easier than to smear someone with guilt by (very, very loose) association than it is to actually prove the charge. What a scumbag.

Mike Lupica, aka "D-bag", also writes a full column saying "I know LoDuca's guilty but can't tell about my 'multiple sources', so you'll just have to trust me. While you wait, I'll wax on about all the trouble LoDuca should be in..."

2) Long term plans

Joel Sherman wrote this (scroll down) intriguing bit about Omar's future plans:

DOWN THE LINE

Omar Minaya's vision is to assemble five highly skilled, prime-aged, everyday players to build around. He believes that will all but assure long-term success for the Mets and make it easier to be judicious and non-pressured to make decisions on the trade and free-agent markets. Minaya said he thinks three pieces already are in place with Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright, all of whom are now signed through, at least, 2010.

Minaya believes the next two pieces very well could be Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez to flank Beltran and give the Mets the majors' most athletic outfield. Gomez has gone from overmatched before July 1 at Double-A (.221 BA) to hitting .370 since despite being just 20 years old and jumping from low Single-A ball. Minaya said Gomez "is faster than Reyes."

3) More on Carlos Gomez

Kevin Kernan on the budding phenom.

4) John Maine
Continues to show excellent stuff. Had the guts to challenge Soriano and paid the price last night, but that'll happen against one of the league's best. As long as he's willing to get back on the horse. And, as always, the kid displays the right attitude. From Mark Hale at the Post:

Maine, who tossed 25 scoreless as a starter and one scoreless before that as a reliever, has the record for Mets rookie starters - topping Dwight Gooden's mark of 23 in 1984, according to Elias.

The latter didn't impress Maine.

"I don't really care about it too much," he said. "I just want to be here to help the team win."

5) ...And speaking of Soriano:

Dave Lennon has some more idle speculation about the Mets chasing him. Randolph blows some smoke about Soriano's defense to butter him up for Omar's offer, I guess.

6) The Mets magic number is 34

Trade rumors are back!

OK, so there's only one, but it would be pretty meaningful for the Mets. Here's the word from David Lennon at Newday:

The Mets have asked about Arizona's Shawn Green, a baseball official confirmed Friday night, but any deal could be held up by the fact that the outfielder has a no-trade clause that includes New York.

...Green has cleared waivers, thereby making him eligible to be traded to any team.

A person familiar with the situation said Friday that the Mets would want Arizona to pay half of Green's $9.5-million salary for next season and also pick up his $2-million buyout for 2008. The Mets might need another outfielder for the remainder of this season because of Cliff Floyd's health issues. He's currently on the DL with a sore Achilles.

Here's a link to Green's stats. He was in his prime from 1998-2002, and his production is nowhere near that level. But he's basically leveled off over the past 4 years as a .280 BA/.350 OBP type hitter. His power numbers are down this year, with only 10 HR's. He had been a 20+ HR guy the past few seasons.

Green is a veteran and a tough out. He'd certainly look good in the 6 spot in the lineup giving Wright some protection. Since he's being compensated for his peak production (.297/42/125 in 2002), he's being overpayed right now, which is the D-backs incentive to move him. If all we have to do is chew up $4.75 Mil next year and trade some C-level talent, I'd be happy to help the D-Backs dump some salary. Maybe we could give them Trashel too.

More young pitching on the rise

From Newsday:

The Mets announced the signing of their top pick, Kevin Mulvey, before Wednesday's game, and it looks like he already could be on the fast track.

The plan is for Mulvey, 22, to join Mike Pelfrey at Double-A Binghamton after a short conditioning session in Port St. Lucie, and like Pelfrey, his college experience may significantly shorten his time in the minors.

Mulvey didn't have the eye-popping numbers of Pelfrey, who was the ninth overall pick in 2005. In three seasons at Villanova, Mulvey was 14-16 with a 4.43 ERA in 41 starts, and he went 3-8 with a 3.61 ERA this year as a junior, with 88 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings, before the Mets selected him in the second round (62nd overall).

Looming threats

The Mets, by all rights, are headed to the World Series. That said, there are threats out there that could prevent the seemingly inevitable from happening. Luckily for the Mets, the NL is so weak that the threats are not named the Dodgers, Giants, D-Backs, Rockies, Reds, or Cards. So what could go wrong for the Mets in the final third of the season? Lets explore:

1) Beltran's knee gets worse.

The tendonitis in his knee that has been bothering him for a month now may account for some of his cooling off. Then again, he simply couldn't keep up the pace he set right after the break. But the question is this: should the Mets 15-day DL him now, and give the inflammation a chance to go down? Does having him play on the sore knee risk something worse happening?

2) Floyd's injuries are season ending.

If Cliff can't come back, Wright loses a lot of protection. Even though Floyd's numbers this year have been terrible, opposing managers still give him more respect than Valentin. You saw this yesterday with Delgado being walked to get to Valentin. The same will be happening to Wright if Valentin's hitting 6th. Endy Chavez has also been doing a great job filling in, but since Milledge doesn't appear major-league ready, he's going to be spending a lot of time in RF, especially once the post-season hits.

3) LoDuca GambleGate heats up.

First he was betting on ponies. Then he was playing high stakes poker on team trips. Then he made some casino trips. Today we're reading about how he had bookies seeking payments for his debts, first calling the Marlins front office (!), then showing up at Shea during batting practice to confront Paul from the stands. If it turns out that MLB digs up evidence that LoDuca's been betting illegally (which seems certain), or worse, that he has bet on baseball, we will most probably lose him for the season and longer. He can't be replaced in our lineup.

4) Wagner's recent struggles continue

Recent struggles you say? He had 4 blown saves in the first half, but only one in the second half, going 8 for 9. He's been at his best recently, right? Well forget about save %. Completely unimportant right now. What I'm concerned with is the batting average against. Opponents were hitting .190 against Billy before the break. They're hitting him at a .250 clip since. And so far in August, the BAA is .368. He's getting saves by hook or by crook, but his stuff is too good for that. He should be blowing batters away, as he was in the first half.

Pitchers, like hitters, go through hot streaks and cold streaks, so the past 3 weeks could just be a lull for Billy. But if we go into late September and his second half BAA is over .300, that doesn't bode well.


I guess the noteworthy positive is that the starting rotation doesn't make the "worry list." Pedro looks healthy and strong. Glavine's not been at his best, but he's a professional, and I trust he'll get to where he needs to be for the post season. Duque and Trashel are doing what they do when they're going well, and Duque in particular looks like he'll be ready to throw some good innings in October.

And speaking of Duque, that Benson trade's looking pretty great right now, huh? We turned him into Duque (via Jorge Julio) and John Maine. Duque's arguably as good as Benson now, and has more post-season experience, which this team needs. And Maine looks like he could be a solid long term addition.

News from the Dee El

From Mark Hale and the NY Post:

Brian Bannister (strained right hamstring) was set to pitch last night in Triple-A in his fourth rehab outing...

Mike Pelfry, the Mets' top pitching prospect, is on the seven-day DL with a right lat muscle strain. Pelfry is currently at at Triple-A Norfolk.

And following the Lo Duca story of the other day, and my comment about "echoes of '86," comes this from Bob Raissman and the NY Daily News:

Still, anyone who has spent time following the Mets, from the Polo Grounds to Shea, knows the current spate of Lo Duca stories seems like tofu on white bread compared to the flat-out Mets debauchery of the 1980's and early '90s.

Stories of sex (including bullpen masturbating), drugs, bar fights (sometimes among teammates) and other assorted deviant behavior all appeared in front of the newspaper and led TV/radio newscasts. Back then, covering the exploits of Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry was a full-time job.