I have a few points I want to make about the pen, but before getting there, I'd like to review Feliciano's most recent 5 performances:
9/20: @ Florida. Feliciano comes into to start the bottom of the 9th. Metties have just scored 3 in the top to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 advantage. Sosa's warm in the pen, and everyone's clear that Feliciano is in to pitch to one batter, left-handed Jeremy Hermida. Sosa will be coming in next to face Cabrera. Feliciano starts off wild, missing badly with two balls. Gets a strike to bring the count to 2-1, and then gives up a single up the middle. The Fish have a rally brewing, and go on to score 3 to tie the game, later winning in extras.
9/21: @ Florida. The line pretty much speaks for itself: 2/3 IP, 2 BB, 1 H, 2 ER's. Comes in for the bottom of the 8th. Strikeout. Walk. Walk. Strikeout. Gives up a 2 run double. Pulled for Joe Smith.
9/23: @ Florida. Relieves Maine in the bottom of the 6th, 2 on, nobody out. Game tied 2-2. Gets a K, gives up a single letting an inherited runner score, lifted for Sosa. Leaves game with Mets trailing 3-2.
9/24: vs. Nats. Starts the 7th and pitches an effective inning in a fairly low-pressure spot, with the Mets already down 7-4. Stays in to start the 8th, and commits the cardinal sin for a reliever: issuing a leadoff walk. He's then lifted, and the leadoff walk turns out to be the start of a 3 run rally.
9/26: vs. Nats. Comes into the bottom of the 5th with no outs, and the Mets clinging to a 6-5 lead with two men on. Gives up the GWRBI hit, a double to Willie Mo Pena, scoring both inherited runners and giving the Nats a 7-6 lead which would grow to become a 9-6 win.
That's 5 straight outings from one of our supposed "better" relievers in which he has been ineffective. Right when the Mets are tailspinning and need him most.
4 of the 5 games were losses. In 3 of the 5 appearances, he is involved in the game turning rally (for the other team).
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Where are they now?
In assessing the Mets horrific and potentially historic meltdown, look no further than the following four players: Bradford, Oliver, Bannister, and Kazmir.
Let's begin our painful review of recent mind-bogglingly bad deals by the Mets by first looking at the stats each has posted this year:
Bradford (Bal): 3.41 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 18 holds, only 1 HR in 63.1 IP
Oliver (LAA): 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 8 holds, 3-1 record
Bannister (KC): 3.87 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 12-9 record
Kazmir (TB): 3.54 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 13-9 record, 229 Ks
Now, let's review why those players are no longer on the Mets. Bradford: for some reason a one-year deal for $3 M was too rich for Omar. Oliver: don't know. Bannister: we got Burgos. Kazmir: we got Zambrano (the wrong one).
Bottom line: if we had kept these young and/or proven talents, we would NOT be in a downward death spiral at this point. I'd guess we'd have 90-92 wins and a comfortable 5-6+ game lead. Instead of retaining these players, the Mets went the much riskier route of sticking with injured and/or old and injury-prone players, including Sanchez, Duque, Glav, Pedro, and I'll throw Mota in the mix b/c I was confident he would stink this season after coming off the juice. Pitching is essential, especially in the playoffs, and we got rid of ours.
To make things worse, we got rid of these players for nothing. Literally we either let them walk and got nothing in return, or got garbage in return. I just don't understand the logic in any of these four cases. And that's not 20/20 hindsight: I didn't understand any of these moves at the time, especially oliver, bradford, and bannister.
Let's begin our painful review of recent mind-bogglingly bad deals by the Mets by first looking at the stats each has posted this year:
Bradford (Bal): 3.41 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 18 holds, only 1 HR in 63.1 IP
Oliver (LAA): 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 8 holds, 3-1 record
Bannister (KC): 3.87 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 12-9 record
Kazmir (TB): 3.54 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 13-9 record, 229 Ks
Now, let's review why those players are no longer on the Mets. Bradford: for some reason a one-year deal for $3 M was too rich for Omar. Oliver: don't know. Bannister: we got Burgos. Kazmir: we got Zambrano (the wrong one).
Bottom line: if we had kept these young and/or proven talents, we would NOT be in a downward death spiral at this point. I'd guess we'd have 90-92 wins and a comfortable 5-6+ game lead. Instead of retaining these players, the Mets went the much riskier route of sticking with injured and/or old and injury-prone players, including Sanchez, Duque, Glav, Pedro, and I'll throw Mota in the mix b/c I was confident he would stink this season after coming off the juice. Pitching is essential, especially in the playoffs, and we got rid of ours.
To make things worse, we got rid of these players for nothing. Literally we either let them walk and got nothing in return, or got garbage in return. I just don't understand the logic in any of these four cases. And that's not 20/20 hindsight: I didn't understand any of these moves at the time, especially oliver, bradford, and bannister.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Accountability
There is no way to excuse not holding onto leads of 5-0 in multiple games in the last week, and especially blowing leads to Nats. No way. This team is a mockery of a playoff contender.
Bottom line is Omar needs to reject his absurd position a year ago that the Mets already had all the core players they needed, and they were only looking to add some peripheral role players. He must now admit that this team needs legitimate, established pitching in the worst possible way. If he starts next season with Pedro, Glav, and Duque as "the core", he is making a huge mistake in my opinion. We need young, non-injury-prone proven starting talent, and from what I've seen this year of Pelf and Humber (in AAA), I doubt they will be anything better than #4 guys all next season. I also can't place a lot of faith in Maine and Perez since both have yet to put together a consistent season. Without a top 5 pitcher I don't see this team doing much in the future.
Also, I'm sorry, I don't care what Willie's management style is: he needs to be visibly tearing some ass on this team right now. Even Glav said so the other day, that sometimes a team needs a real chewing to light a fire under them and get going. He needs to call out every pitcher on this team, and force them to prove that they belong in the majors. Even if it doesn't work it's better than sitting around and issuing stupid post-game comments like "We'll get 'em next time", or "This is championship baseball... The champagne will taste that much sweeter." Guess we'll have to ask the Phils if that's true.
Bottom line is Omar needs to reject his absurd position a year ago that the Mets already had all the core players they needed, and they were only looking to add some peripheral role players. He must now admit that this team needs legitimate, established pitching in the worst possible way. If he starts next season with Pedro, Glav, and Duque as "the core", he is making a huge mistake in my opinion. We need young, non-injury-prone proven starting talent, and from what I've seen this year of Pelf and Humber (in AAA), I doubt they will be anything better than #4 guys all next season. I also can't place a lot of faith in Maine and Perez since both have yet to put together a consistent season. Without a top 5 pitcher I don't see this team doing much in the future.
Also, I'm sorry, I don't care what Willie's management style is: he needs to be visibly tearing some ass on this team right now. Even Glav said so the other day, that sometimes a team needs a real chewing to light a fire under them and get going. He needs to call out every pitcher on this team, and force them to prove that they belong in the majors. Even if it doesn't work it's better than sitting around and issuing stupid post-game comments like "We'll get 'em next time", or "This is championship baseball... The champagne will taste that much sweeter." Guess we'll have to ask the Phils if that's true.
Why MLB is also a steaming pile of dung
Earlier this year I happened to notice that MLB has granted TBS exclusive rights to cover a portion of the playoffs for the next 10 years or so. In particular, this year they will cover all LDS games and NLCS, while Fox covers everything else. I didn't really give this much thought, until I just realized the ridiculousness of this situation: MLB is going to let a station that is already affiliated directly with a team, the Braves, cover national playoffs. Worse yet, TBS is using its same crew to call the games! It's bad enough I have to listen to those morons call Mets-Braves games during the regular season as an out-of-market viewer. But to now have to suffer through listening to them in the playoffs is intolerable. If the Braves are in we'll have to hear biased coverage about how great they are, and if they're out we'll have to hear about how they're so much better than whoever is in, and it should've been the Braves.
At least MLB should have insisted that a national, non-affiliated crew call the games.
At least MLB should have insisted that a national, non-affiliated crew call the games.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tonight's Pile of Dung
Absent some ole fashioned Mets Magic, this game ain't lookin' good. Plenty of goat horns to go around:
1) Glav - With a rookie making his 1st ML start tomorrow, we really needed Glav to go deep into today's game and save the pen (plus keep us in the game). Instead it was batting practice for the NL's worst offense, yet again. 4 HR's and another 4 deep fly balls that mercifully went foul.
2) Reyes - Where to start? Leads of the game with a solo HR with us already down 4, a nice start but obviously not a pressure situation. With a chance to tie the game in his 2nd AB with 2 RISP and 2 outs, gets to a 2-0 count. The opposing pitcher has already walked one hitter on 4 pitches, and seems crazy wild. Jose proceeds to swing at two straight balls, limply hitting a lazy fly to LF. In his 3rd AB, he has a runner on 2nd base with 0 outs. A base hit tacks on a run. Even a productive out gets the runner to 3rd with 1 out. Instead, more wild swings and another lazy pop to CF, no runner advance. The kicker is his mental error fielding in the 7th which would have ended the inning, instead leading to two runs and turning a 3 run deficit to a seemingly insurmountable 5 run deficit.
3) Willie - As Gary Cohen laid out ad nauseum, curious move to bring out Muniz for a second inning. More curious to wait until he's walked to batters to start warming a right-hander. And more curious yet to not bring on the lefty, who was long-since warmed up, to face the lone lefty in Nats lineup.
1) Glav - With a rookie making his 1st ML start tomorrow, we really needed Glav to go deep into today's game and save the pen (plus keep us in the game). Instead it was batting practice for the NL's worst offense, yet again. 4 HR's and another 4 deep fly balls that mercifully went foul.
2) Reyes - Where to start? Leads of the game with a solo HR with us already down 4, a nice start but obviously not a pressure situation. With a chance to tie the game in his 2nd AB with 2 RISP and 2 outs, gets to a 2-0 count. The opposing pitcher has already walked one hitter on 4 pitches, and seems crazy wild. Jose proceeds to swing at two straight balls, limply hitting a lazy fly to LF. In his 3rd AB, he has a runner on 2nd base with 0 outs. A base hit tacks on a run. Even a productive out gets the runner to 3rd with 1 out. Instead, more wild swings and another lazy pop to CF, no runner advance. The kicker is his mental error fielding in the 7th which would have ended the inning, instead leading to two runs and turning a 3 run deficit to a seemingly insurmountable 5 run deficit.
3) Willie - As Gary Cohen laid out ad nauseum, curious move to bring out Muniz for a second inning. More curious to wait until he's walked to batters to start warming a right-hander. And more curious yet to not bring on the lefty, who was long-since warmed up, to face the lone lefty in Nats lineup.
Two things
These two things must happen for us to have even a remote chance of winning in the playoffs:
1. El Duque must be back and near 100%
2. We must stop giving up massive 2-out rallies. Once you have the 2nd out, man up on the mound, and SHUT IT DOWN.
Without El Duque we have no chance, b/c our starters stink and our bullpen is done. At this point the bullpen collapse has gone on long enough that it's not a "fluke" bad game or week; it's here permanently and going to carry through the rest of the season including playoffs. If we don't get 8 solid innings from our starters giving up no more than 3-4 R, we're done.
Furthermore, if this month-long meltdown isn't proof positive to Omar & Co that they need to acquire legitimate pitching talent in the offseason to shore up starting rotation and pen, I'm not sure what is.
1. El Duque must be back and near 100%
2. We must stop giving up massive 2-out rallies. Once you have the 2nd out, man up on the mound, and SHUT IT DOWN.
Without El Duque we have no chance, b/c our starters stink and our bullpen is done. At this point the bullpen collapse has gone on long enough that it's not a "fluke" bad game or week; it's here permanently and going to carry through the rest of the season including playoffs. If we don't get 8 solid innings from our starters giving up no more than 3-4 R, we're done.
Furthermore, if this month-long meltdown isn't proof positive to Omar & Co that they need to acquire legitimate pitching talent in the offseason to shore up starting rotation and pen, I'm not sure what is.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Ups and downs
Mets got the wins this weekend, which is the #1 most important thing down the stretch. That was essential, and they were rewarded by picking up a game on the Phils, cutting magic # to 5. Nice job boys. Also on the positive side: Oliver perez's brilliant gem at an absolute must-have time; Delgado still showing some pop; return of Reyes; and D-Wright.
On the brutally negative side and likely to result in elimination from playoffs in round 1 if it continues:
1. Continued bullpen implosions. There simply is no way to describe the hideousness of blowing a 3 run lead in the 8th twice in 4 games. None. Their month-long meltdown is the worst I have ever witnessed and makes me think the most likely outcome for this team is exit from first round of playoffs.
2. Starting pitching. While we got the Ws this weekend, the starting pitching (minus Perez) was not sharp. Specifically, only getting 5 or 6 innings out of our starters while they give up 3 Rs is not good enough. Especially not in light of point (1).
3. Beltran's re-aggravated tendinitis in both knees. Hopefully he can fight through it for another 5 weeks.
As of right now it looks like we'll draw the Pads in round 1 unfortunately, regardless of whether we or Arizona end up with best record in NL..
On the brutally negative side and likely to result in elimination from playoffs in round 1 if it continues:
1. Continued bullpen implosions. There simply is no way to describe the hideousness of blowing a 3 run lead in the 8th twice in 4 games. None. Their month-long meltdown is the worst I have ever witnessed and makes me think the most likely outcome for this team is exit from first round of playoffs.
2. Starting pitching. While we got the Ws this weekend, the starting pitching (minus Perez) was not sharp. Specifically, only getting 5 or 6 innings out of our starters while they give up 3 Rs is not good enough. Especially not in light of point (1).
3. Beltran's re-aggravated tendinitis in both knees. Hopefully he can fight through it for another 5 weeks.
As of right now it looks like we'll draw the Pads in round 1 unfortunately, regardless of whether we or Arizona end up with best record in NL..
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Tonight
Tonight's lineup:
NYM: Martinez (2-0, 1.69 ERA)
FLA: Olsen (9-14, 6.06 ERA)
The Mets lineup will now face Florida's Scott Olsen (9-14, 6.06 ERA), who is 0-5 with a 9.43 ERA in his last six starts. The left-hander gave up six runs and eight hits in two innings of a 13-0 loss to Colorado on Sunday.
If we don't win this matchup, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs. Period.
NYM: Martinez (2-0, 1.69 ERA)
FLA: Olsen (9-14, 6.06 ERA)
The Mets lineup will now face Florida's Scott Olsen (9-14, 6.06 ERA), who is 0-5 with a 9.43 ERA in his last six starts. The left-hander gave up six runs and eight hits in two innings of a 13-0 loss to Colorado on Sunday.
If we don't win this matchup, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs. Period.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
drink 'em if you got 'em
classic post summary over at the geek:
Eric is busy holding a closed-door meeting with a bottle of whiskey.
Fire willie now. clearly maine is injured, i can think of no other reason to give up 8 runs to nats. So, he should have been benched to get his finger healed instead of making it worse AND screwing our team in the process. Certainly after nats started closing in on our 7 run score willie should have pulled maine.
Eric is busy holding a closed-door meeting with a bottle of whiskey.
Fire willie now. clearly maine is injured, i can think of no other reason to give up 8 runs to nats. So, he should have been benched to get his finger healed instead of making it worse AND screwing our team in the process. Certainly after nats started closing in on our 7 run score willie should have pulled maine.
The Maine Event
Normally I'd bet the house on Mets winning tonight, with Maine shutting Nats down. I'd say that's the most likely outcome, but this from espn.com is a bit troubling:
The blister problem could be the root of a second-half fade by Maine, who is tied with Oliver Perez for the team lead in wins. Maine was 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 17 first-half starts, with the Mets going 12-5. After the All-Star break, though, he's 4-5 with a 5.46 ERA and New York has split his 12 starts.
Apparently maine has developed a blister on his finger at some point. This is the same issue that has shut down Beckett for weeks or more at a time in the past..
The blister problem could be the root of a second-half fade by Maine, who is tied with Oliver Perez for the team lead in wins. Maine was 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 17 first-half starts, with the Mets going 12-5. After the All-Star break, though, he's 4-5 with a 5.46 ERA and New York has split his 12 starts.
Apparently maine has developed a blister on his finger at some point. This is the same issue that has shut down Beckett for weeks or more at a time in the past..
Willie
From NYPOst: ...said manager Willie Randolph, who insisted he wasn't angry and wasn't questioning anyone's effort.
Of course he's not, willie's never upset with anyone's effort. Too lazy to run down a fly ball? Too lazy to run out an infield hit? Too stupid at the plate to realize that with an 0-2 count and RISP and 2 outs now is not the time to be taking a big cut, but rather time to choke up and make contact? No problem, that's just player's "learning" on the job.
Here's a nugget: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, if the Mets blow what was a seven-game lead with 17 games to go, it would be unprecedented - no team has ever been up seven with 17 to play and not captured the division or league.
The Mets are a disgust right now and a mockery of the 3rd highest payroll in baseball, 1st in NL. They are somewhere between 4th and 7th in the NL in nearly every major batting and pitching category of significance. I strongly suggest they look to pick up some free agents or major trades with AL teams in the offseason to actually get some real talent (particularly pitching) on this team. I would also lay down the law on their hitting and batting approach and say either it changes (and say how), or else they will be riding the bench. Their inability to score runs against garbage, mediocre, over-the-hill or rookie NL pitching is an absolute joke. Except only the Phillies are laughing.
Of course he's not, willie's never upset with anyone's effort. Too lazy to run down a fly ball? Too lazy to run out an infield hit? Too stupid at the plate to realize that with an 0-2 count and RISP and 2 outs now is not the time to be taking a big cut, but rather time to choke up and make contact? No problem, that's just player's "learning" on the job.
Here's a nugget: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, if the Mets blow what was a seven-game lead with 17 games to go, it would be unprecedented - no team has ever been up seven with 17 to play and not captured the division or league.
The Mets are a disgust right now and a mockery of the 3rd highest payroll in baseball, 1st in NL. They are somewhere between 4th and 7th in the NL in nearly every major batting and pitching category of significance. I strongly suggest they look to pick up some free agents or major trades with AL teams in the offseason to actually get some real talent (particularly pitching) on this team. I would also lay down the law on their hitting and batting approach and say either it changes (and say how), or else they will be riding the bench. Their inability to score runs against garbage, mediocre, over-the-hill or rookie NL pitching is an absolute joke. Except only the Phillies are laughing.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Rollins and other musings
Looks like Jimmy Rollins was close but off a little with his pre-season prediction. He should have said, "I think we are the team for the Mets to beat in the NL East..." Apparently other teams do not share the same problem the Mets have against the Phillies, and particularly against 44-year-old Moyer and his bloated 5+ ERA.
Remember how everyone was celebrating the brilliance of Braves GM Schuerholz? Looks like it hasn't done much for them. In fact, they parted with an impressive top prospect (Saltalamacchia), and next year they'll likely have to part with Andruw Jones to re-sign Teixeira. The mistake they made was in thinking they were only one player away from winning the division. Only their arrogance could truly have believed that - the current Braves are a shell of the team they used to be.
Finally, the red sox continue to bring up dominant rookie after dominant rookie - they must have the best farm system right now hands down. Latest is jacoby ellsbury, their blue-chip top OF prospect. He has been nothing short of spectacular at MLB level: in 20 games he has a .394 avg, .621 slg %, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, and 5 SBs. That includes 2-2 w/3 RBIs in yesterday's mauling of Yanks. I notice that unlike many Mets, he uses a level swing that (gasp!) actually makes contact, rather than a fugly uppercut going for the fences. Maybe there's something to that after all...
Remember how everyone was celebrating the brilliance of Braves GM Schuerholz? Looks like it hasn't done much for them. In fact, they parted with an impressive top prospect (Saltalamacchia), and next year they'll likely have to part with Andruw Jones to re-sign Teixeira. The mistake they made was in thinking they were only one player away from winning the division. Only their arrogance could truly have believed that - the current Braves are a shell of the team they used to be.
Finally, the red sox continue to bring up dominant rookie after dominant rookie - they must have the best farm system right now hands down. Latest is jacoby ellsbury, their blue-chip top OF prospect. He has been nothing short of spectacular at MLB level: in 20 games he has a .394 avg, .621 slg %, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, and 5 SBs. That includes 2-2 w/3 RBIs in yesterday's mauling of Yanks. I notice that unlike many Mets, he uses a level swing that (gasp!) actually makes contact, rather than a fugly uppercut going for the fences. Maybe there's something to that after all...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Post-season pitching roster
I would say emphatically that three players who should not be on the post-season roster are Scho, Sele, and Mota. I'm on the fence with Heilman b/c his numbers are so jekyll and hyde, but in the hopes that the good aaron shows up (and since we don't have a lot of other options), I'd say include him. But if this team has any hope of winning a close, low-scoring game against top notch starting pitchers of SD, LA, or in WS Angels, Indians, or Red Sox, they cannot afford any of the garbage time that those three guys bring. I'm sick of watching close lead after close lead blown by the Three Stooges.
I'd say here is the rotation:
Starting pitchers: Glavine - Duque - Pedro - Maine.
Pen: Perez - Feliciano - Pelfrey - Heilman - Sosa - Wagner - ??.
I assume Lawrence, Collazo and Humber will not make the roster. I also wonder whether duque is more valuable coming out of pen or starting? On most teams I'd say clearly the answer is starting, since he is a rock in playoffs. But given our shaky bullpen, and the fact that most of our starters only go 6 innings thus really increasing the importance of the pen, I think you could make an argument that he could win us more games by coming in as a reliever to shut things down.
I'd say here is the rotation:
Starting pitchers: Glavine - Duque - Pedro - Maine.
Pen: Perez - Feliciano - Pelfrey - Heilman - Sosa - Wagner - ??.
I assume Lawrence, Collazo and Humber will not make the roster. I also wonder whether duque is more valuable coming out of pen or starting? On most teams I'd say clearly the answer is starting, since he is a rock in playoffs. But given our shaky bullpen, and the fact that most of our starters only go 6 innings thus really increasing the importance of the pen, I think you could make an argument that he could win us more games by coming in as a reliever to shut things down.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Big (and surprising) news
Apparently, Glavine wants to play in '08.
Now Omar has to figure out if he has one more good year in that left arm.
Now Omar has to figure out if he has one more good year in that left arm.
Kazmir
It would be great if Kazmir filed for arbitration after this season and were let go by D-rays. D-rays whole payroll is only $24 M and top player is Crawford at $4.1 M. Kazmir only gets $424 K now, and clearly in arbitration he would be awarded more than D-rays probably want to pay.
I would love to see Mets re-sign him; he would give them the youth and options they need on their pitching staff. Of course, the Yankees or Red Sox would probably outbid us, so I doubt we'd get him. The main benefit of Kazmir - besides his awesome talent - is that he owns the Red Sox. This is obviously a huge upside for the Yankees and would be worth whatever they can pay, especially given their suspect rotation. But who knows, perhaps we could put together a package that would be more attractive for one reason or another.
I would love to see Mets re-sign him; he would give them the youth and options they need on their pitching staff. Of course, the Yankees or Red Sox would probably outbid us, so I doubt we'd get him. The main benefit of Kazmir - besides his awesome talent - is that he owns the Red Sox. This is obviously a huge upside for the Yankees and would be worth whatever they can pay, especially given their suspect rotation. But who knows, perhaps we could put together a package that would be more attractive for one reason or another.
Monday, September 10, 2007
J-E-T-S.......Oooofff
Well, I'll take some liberties on this Mets blog to post about the Jetties. I'll keep it brief since thinking about yesterday's debacle for more than a minute will cause temporary insanity and blindness. Looking not just at yesterday's game but at last few seasons as well, I'd say:
1. Not re-signing Pete Kendall was an even more colossal blunder than it appeared in pre-season. This was a "cut off your nose to spite your face" move of epic proportions by Jets ownership. To not simply give him an extra $1M/yr, that he clearly deserved, is coming back to haunt them. The O line sans Kendall simply could do nothing useful yesterday - no pass protection, no run-blocking holes, ...
2. Jets rush D is still atrocious. They couldn't be more porous, and the inability of their LBs to come up and hit the gaps HARD is appalling. I think partly this might be due to the fact that Jets front 7 can't commit to crowding the box or blitzing b/c they are (rightfully) worried that their secondary will get burned, so see point (3).
3. Barrett and Miller must go. They are simply too slow to be of any use, and I'm sick of Barrett always playing the interception only to mistime it and get burned deep. Hopefully Revis pans out and Dyson's injury isn't too serious.
4. Living near Boston with the Sox and Pats is really starting to ride this Mets/Jets fan! Can ONE NY team step up? It's a friggin' embarassment that NY has TWO football and TWO baseball teams, and still can't take down the ONE team for each in New England. In particular the Jets recent 0-7 record against Pats IN THE MEADOWLANDS is absurd. Take some pride and defend your home - at least make it more of a game. Not to mention, nearly all the players the Pats picked up in offseason were free agents - they were available to Jets as well.
1. Not re-signing Pete Kendall was an even more colossal blunder than it appeared in pre-season. This was a "cut off your nose to spite your face" move of epic proportions by Jets ownership. To not simply give him an extra $1M/yr, that he clearly deserved, is coming back to haunt them. The O line sans Kendall simply could do nothing useful yesterday - no pass protection, no run-blocking holes, ...
2. Jets rush D is still atrocious. They couldn't be more porous, and the inability of their LBs to come up and hit the gaps HARD is appalling. I think partly this might be due to the fact that Jets front 7 can't commit to crowding the box or blitzing b/c they are (rightfully) worried that their secondary will get burned, so see point (3).
3. Barrett and Miller must go. They are simply too slow to be of any use, and I'm sick of Barrett always playing the interception only to mistime it and get burned deep. Hopefully Revis pans out and Dyson's injury isn't too serious.
4. Living near Boston with the Sox and Pats is really starting to ride this Mets/Jets fan! Can ONE NY team step up? It's a friggin' embarassment that NY has TWO football and TWO baseball teams, and still can't take down the ONE team for each in New England. In particular the Jets recent 0-7 record against Pats IN THE MEADOWLANDS is absurd. Take some pride and defend your home - at least make it more of a game. Not to mention, nearly all the players the Pats picked up in offseason were free agents - they were available to Jets as well.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Article on mets
Article on mets in SI here. Basically questions whether they really are best team in NL; touches on most of the issues mentioned on this blog.
I think three changes would improve mets.
1. Bullpen. First, I will continue to state that I think we are paying the price for not re-signing Bradford and Oliver, two guys we could critically use this year since their replacements have come up flat. Beyond that, I think Willie has caused some issues by not being totally consistent in who he uses for what role. Given that the Mets are in the mode of starters should only last 6 innings, they need to put some serious focus on beefing up their bullpen in offseason.
2. Stability in lineup, and stop placing so much blind faith on veterans. Willie's constant shuffling of lineup causes reduced production from the players, in my opinion, although I don't have any stats to back this up. They are doing too much (random) platooning at too many positions, and as a result I don't think it allows those players to get into a comfortable batting rhythm.
3. Hitting approach. Discussed this ad nauseum before so I won't beat it to death here, but I think they need to have certain players focus more on being contact hitters and less on power. They have too many rally-killers due to poor plate approach.
I think three changes would improve mets.
1. Bullpen. First, I will continue to state that I think we are paying the price for not re-signing Bradford and Oliver, two guys we could critically use this year since their replacements have come up flat. Beyond that, I think Willie has caused some issues by not being totally consistent in who he uses for what role. Given that the Mets are in the mode of starters should only last 6 innings, they need to put some serious focus on beefing up their bullpen in offseason.
2. Stability in lineup, and stop placing so much blind faith on veterans. Willie's constant shuffling of lineup causes reduced production from the players, in my opinion, although I don't have any stats to back this up. They are doing too much (random) platooning at too many positions, and as a result I don't think it allows those players to get into a comfortable batting rhythm.
3. Hitting approach. Discussed this ad nauseum before so I won't beat it to death here, but I think they need to have certain players focus more on being contact hitters and less on power. They have too many rally-killers due to poor plate approach.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Willie
Well, as far as i'm concerned willie's stock continues to plummet. I've taken serious issue with his use of the bullpen this year, as well as continuous shuffling of the line-up. Now, his inability to see that Jose needs a rest is just flat outrageous. Keep playing him Willie, so that he'll continue to go get no hits, no walks, and picked off or caught stealing in the rare instance he does get on base. Already played out tonight..
By the numbers
Wright's numbers by month are ridiculous, check this out:
Month / HR / RBI / AVG / OBP
April / 0 / 6 / .244 / .370
May / 8 / 22 / .294 / .355
June / 6 / 16 / .323 / .411
July / 4 / 22 / .333 / .402
August / 6 / 21 / .394 / .516
His numbers in August are just plain silly. I don't think I've seen a turnaround like that on Mets before.
Month / HR / RBI / AVG / OBP
April / 0 / 6 / .244 / .370
May / 8 / 22 / .294 / .355
June / 6 / 16 / .323 / .411
July / 4 / 22 / .333 / .402
August / 6 / 21 / .394 / .516
His numbers in August are just plain silly. I don't think I've seen a turnaround like that on Mets before.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Reyes
Please, please, PLEASE rest Reyes at least a game or two. Why doesn't willie see that reyes is clearly drained and has nothing to give. His average is down, and he's now been picked off THREE times in as many games. Give the guy time off NOW.
Maine
Maine deserves enormous credit for summoning the type of performance that was absolutely necessary yesterday. To lose a 6th game in a row, to lose again to the Braves, and to allow the phillies to move within one game probably would have sunk the Mets. So anything less than the performance Maine turned in would have been insufficient.
The same can be said for Perez's performance the other night against the phillies. The Mets offense unfortunately decided to take the week off and thus spoiled his (and Glavine's) gems. I must say that both Perez and Maine were impressive under pressure in playoffs last year; they show a lot of poise for their age and minimal experience (especially true for Maine). If they could improve their consistency (not sure whether this is a mechanical or mental thing), they would be legit #2 and #3 guys..
The same can be said for Perez's performance the other night against the phillies. The Mets offense unfortunately decided to take the week off and thus spoiled his (and Glavine's) gems. I must say that both Perez and Maine were impressive under pressure in playoffs last year; they show a lot of poise for their age and minimal experience (especially true for Maine). If they could improve their consistency (not sure whether this is a mechanical or mental thing), they would be legit #2 and #3 guys..
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Give it a rest
By "it" I mean Reyes.. I can only assume that he's getting tired down the stretch, otherwise it's hard to see how he got picked off twice last night and suddenly couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his bat. His #s over last 4 games (including 0-3 so far today in 4th inning) are 1-15 (.067), and over his last 11 games including today he's 10-48 (.208) with only 3 BBs. Either he's mired in one hideous slump, or he's tired. I'm guessing the latter, I'd say give him a rest after the Braves series (he's played well against them this year). Give him at least one or two nights off, and start giving him and Wright some breaks heading into October. We simply can't have a .200 avg and less than .250 OBP leading off every game.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Put up or shut up
It's that time of the season again when the Mets are going right into the lion's den of the NL east. Bottom line, if they really are a team that is a legitimate competitor to make some noise in the playoffs, they need to win at least 4 of 7, preferably by taking at least 2 of 3 from Braves.
I'm sorry, but the Braves are not a good team. I don't care about whether they are "supposed" to be good on paper, the fact is in actuality they are only as good as their record, and it's not good. They are 67-64, only 3 games above .500. If we subtract the mets carnage, they are only 59-60, one game below .500. So basically the Mets have been whipped all season by a sub-.500 team. What about the addition of Teixeira, surely that's turned things around? Wrong, the Braves are no different with Teixeira, they are still a sub-.500 team, having played to an 11-13 record since his first game on Aug. 1. So, the Mets need to get over this "but it's the braves, and i suddenly can't remember how to pitch, hit, or field" issue and get on with burying this team for good.
As for playoffs, in a short 5-game series, SD definitely scares me with their pitching. But that's another matter for another day.
I'm sorry, but the Braves are not a good team. I don't care about whether they are "supposed" to be good on paper, the fact is in actuality they are only as good as their record, and it's not good. They are 67-64, only 3 games above .500. If we subtract the mets carnage, they are only 59-60, one game below .500. So basically the Mets have been whipped all season by a sub-.500 team. What about the addition of Teixeira, surely that's turned things around? Wrong, the Braves are no different with Teixeira, they are still a sub-.500 team, having played to an 11-13 record since his first game on Aug. 1. So, the Mets need to get over this "but it's the braves, and i suddenly can't remember how to pitch, hit, or field" issue and get on with burying this team for good.
As for playoffs, in a short 5-game series, SD definitely scares me with their pitching. But that's another matter for another day.
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