What Johan Santana did today for the New York Mets was nothing short of amazing, and this is a franchise that knows from amazing.
Much the same way he pitched a gem when the Mets needed a win at the end of the 2008 season, Santana came up huge a day after the Mets saw another eighth-inning lead disappear, only to have their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, arrested for assaulting his father-in-law near the clubhouse after the game.
Do we have a Flushing Zoo on our hands?
Thursday afternoon's game was an afterthought for many in the media, who took the K-Rod incident and the blown game Wednesday to sharpen their knives and call for the heads of Jerry Manuel, Jeff Wilpon, Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya, and just about everyone connected with this team short of Mr. Met and the Cowbell Man.
Meanwhile, Santana (who has his own personal issues to worry about) took the ball and went to work. Set-up man? Closer? He didn't need them. In a game where the Mets desperately needed a win, to win a series and to get back to .500 and keep alive whatever hopes they have of staying in the playoff hunt, Santana did it all. Nine innings, four hits, two walks, 10 strikeouts, 115 pitches. No runs.
It was the Mets' 17th shutout of the season. Again, as I said yesterday, that a team with 17 shutouts is only .500 tells you all you need to know about how bad the offense has been, especially lately.
But it wasn't just Johan. Coincidentally, Carlos Beltran went 3-for-3 and had an RBI sac fly. Jose Reyes had two hits and scored a run. And, wouldn't you know it, the Mets won. Think those factors had anything to do with it?
It was a tremendous win. Beltran showed signs of life. But the big story was K-Rod, who is on the restricted list for two days and could likely be suspended by the team as well.
If there wasn't blood in the water, it's crimson now. If people weren't burying the Mets before, they're piling on the dirt in spades.
I expect it from the media. Objectivity is a quaint relic these days. It's all about opinions, second-guessing, bluster and bombast, and who can yell louder than the next guy. It's about pushing people's buttons and polls and number of page views and blog comments.
What bugs me the most is how many Mets fans seem to revel in the bad news. It seems that if the Mets aren't good—and when I say "good," I mean unquestionably good—these kinds of fans would prefer the Mets to be horrible, so they can freely rage at the organization and its players. Quick to bury them, to dump them, to call for people's jobs and demand trades.
If the Mets are somewhere in between, like they are now (.500 is the definition of in between), these fans can't handle it. We can't revel in the team's superiority, but the team isn't awful, either, and with 48 games left, there's still a chance they can make a run...
Nah...let's just bury them. It's simpler that way.
To me, these people aren't fans. They're critics. They're cranks.
I follow the Mets and watch their games to enjoy them. If the team is bad, it's bad. If it's great, it's great. If it's somewhere in the middle, I watch and root for them to get in the race. I cheer for my team. I boo the opposition.
I can't see how fans who are so quick to bury and belittle and tear apart this team—their team—get any joy out of being a Mets fan. There's no belief. No hope against hope. Just miserable people wallowing in their misery. They should all hang out together with Joe Benigno with T-shirts emblazoned with their credo: "Oh, the pain!"
I'm a realist. I understand that it's a tall order for the Mets to rally back and make a playoff run. This team has holes that management refused to fill. It's far from perfect. They need a bunch of guys to collectively get their acts together, and soon.
But the Phillies and the Rockies and other teams in recent years have shown that you can make up games in a hurry. Seventeen shutouts gives me hope. Santana gives me hope. The possibility of Reyes, David Wright, Beltran, Angel Pagan, Ike Davis, Josh Thole and (hopefully) Jason Bay finding their groove at the plate together gives me hope.
Quick story: I was a freshman at Boston University when the Mets won it all in 1986. I remember watching Game Six in a friend's dorm room with a bunch of people, and when Boston took the lead late, the Sox fans—real and bandwagoneers—took off for Kenmore Square to celebrate.
I stayed and watched with my pal Tim, a Sox fan. He anticipated Boston's first World Series in 69 years. I had nothing but hope.
What a feeling it was to stand outside the elevator doors on our floor later in the evening, after the Mets rallied to win, waiting until those doors opened, to see everyone who ran out to celebrate slinking back. Oh, how good it felt to stick it to those who thought it was over.
That's kind of how I feel now. It may not happen, but how good will it feel if the Mets somehow do put it together and make the playoffs? To stick it to everyone who said they were done?
Santana isn't giving up anytime soon. Neither am I.
As for whether we have a Flushing Zoo, you'll recall there was a Bronx Zoo, where the manager hated the team's star player, where the star and the captain hated each other, where the owner made as many headlines as the team. That team won two World Series.
I've always liked the zoo.
Posts Tagged ‘Angel Pagan’
New York Mets, and Their Fans, Should All Be Like Johan Santana
August 13th, 2010New York Mets, and Their Fans, Should All Be Like Johan Santana
August 13th, 2010What Johan Santana did today for the New York Mets was nothing short of amazing, and this is a franchise that knows from amazing.
Much the same way he pitched a gem when the Mets needed a win at the end of the 2008 season, Santana came up huge a day after the Mets saw another eighth-inning lead disappear, only to have their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, arrested for assaulting his father-in-law near the clubhouse after the game.
Do we have a Flushing Zoo on our hands?
Thursday afternoon's game was an afterthought for many in the media, who took the K-Rod incident and the blown game Wednesday to sharpen their knives and call for the heads of Jerry Manuel, Jeff Wilpon, Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya, and just about everyone connected with this team short of Mr. Met and the Cowbell Man.
Meanwhile, Santana (who has his own personal issues to worry about) took the ball and went to work. Set-up man? Closer? He didn't need them. In a game where the Mets desperately needed a win, to win a series and to get back to .500 and keep alive whatever hopes they have of staying in the playoff hunt, Santana did it all. Nine innings, four hits, two walks, 10 strikeouts, 115 pitches. No runs.
It was the Mets' 17th shutout of the season. Again, as I said yesterday, that a team with 17 shutouts is only .500 tells you all you need to know about how bad the offense has been, especially lately.
But it wasn't just Johan. Coincidentally, Carlos Beltran went 3-for-3 and had an RBI sac fly. Jose Reyes had two hits and scored a run. And, wouldn't you know it, the Mets won. Think those factors had anything to do with it?
It was a tremendous win. Beltran showed signs of life. But the big story was K-Rod, who is on the restricted list for two days and could likely be suspended by the team as well.
If there wasn't blood in the water, it's crimson now. If people weren't burying the Mets before, they're piling on the dirt in spades.
I expect it from the media. Objectivity is a quaint relic these days. It's all about opinions, second-guessing, bluster and bombast, and who can yell louder than the next guy. It's about pushing people's buttons and polls and number of page views and blog comments.
What bugs me the most is how many Mets fans seem to revel in the bad news. It seems that if the Mets aren't good—and when I say "good," I mean unquestionably good—these kinds of fans would prefer the Mets to be horrible, so they can freely rage at the organization and its players. Quick to bury them, to dump them, to call for people's jobs and demand trades.
If the Mets are somewhere in between, like they are now (.500 is the definition of in between), these fans can't handle it. We can't revel in the team's superiority, but the team isn't awful, either, and with 48 games left, there's still a chance they can make a run...
Nah...let's just bury them. It's simpler that way.
To me, these people aren't fans. They're critics. They're cranks.
I follow the Mets and watch their games to enjoy them. If the team is bad, it's bad. If it's great, it's great. If it's somewhere in the middle, I watch and root for them to get in the race. I cheer for my team. I boo the opposition.
I can't see how fans who are so quick to bury and belittle and tear apart this team—their team—get any joy out of being a Mets fan. There's no belief. No hope against hope. Just miserable people wallowing in their misery. They should all hang out together with Joe Benigno with T-shirts emblazoned with their credo: "Oh, the pain!"
I'm a realist. I understand that it's a tall order for the Mets to rally back and make a playoff run. This team has holes that management refused to fill. It's far from perfect. They need a bunch of guys to collectively get their acts together, and soon.
But the Phillies and the Rockies and other teams in recent years have shown that you can make up games in a hurry. Seventeen shutouts gives me hope. Santana gives me hope. The possibility of Reyes, David Wright, Beltran, Angel Pagan, Ike Davis, Josh Thole and (hopefully) Jason Bay finding their groove at the plate together gives me hope.
Quick story: I was a freshman at Boston University when the Mets won it all in 1986. I remember watching Game Six in a friend's dorm room with a bunch of people, and when Boston took the lead late, the Sox fans—real and bandwagoneers—took off for Kenmore Square to celebrate.
I stayed and watched with my pal Tim, a Sox fan. He anticipated Boston's first World Series in 69 years. I had nothing but hope.
What a feeling it was to stand outside the elevator doors on our floor later in the evening, after the Mets rallied to win, waiting until those doors opened, to see everyone who ran out to celebrate slinking back. Oh, how good it felt to stick it to those who thought it was over.
That's kind of how I feel now. It may not happen, but how good will it feel if the Mets somehow do put it together and make the playoffs? To stick it to everyone who said they were done?
Santana isn't giving up anytime soon. Neither am I.
As for whether we have a Flushing Zoo, you'll recall there was a Bronx Zoo, where the manager hated the team's star player, where the star and the captain hated each other, where the owner made as many headlines as the team. That team won two World Series.
I've always liked the zoo.
Mike Pelfrey: The Puzzler
August 13th, 2010Please be sure to check out Mets Paradise and our forum for everything Mets!!!
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If I had to sum up the Mets' 2010 season so far in one word, it would be enigmatic. The season has been full of enigmas. How can the Mets play so well at home but so dreadful on the road? How can the Mets play so well in May and June, but so badly in July and August? How is it that Jason Bay a consistent 30-plus HR, 100 RBI player, can just be lost at the plate? Where did this Angel Pagan player come from? R.A. Dickey? These are all very puzzling events from the season, however, I think the one of the more intriguing enigmatic stories of 2010 is Mike Pelfrey.
Pelfrey started the season looking like the 1A the Mets needed and expected him to be when they drafted Pelfrey with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft out of Wichita State. Pelfrey started out the season 9-1 with a 2.39 ERA. Since Pelfrey won his 10th game (Note: All the following stats are excluding Pelfrey's most recent start), he clearly hasn't been the same. Since Pelfrey won that 10th game on June 25th, he is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA. In only one of those games, Pelfrey managed to get out of the fifth inning. After looking at some splits, I saw some eye opening stats. Pelfrey, in his first 14 appearances (13 starts and one save), had a BAA (Batting Average Against) of .246, a BAbip (Batting Average of balls in play) of .281, a Swinging Strike rate of 17 percent, and threw about 15 pitches per innings.
A Season to Forget: Which MLB Franchise Has Disappointed The Most?
August 11th, 2010
This season has not been a good season for many high-payroll MLB Franchises.
The Red Sox have endured countless injuries, putting their backs against the wall for the Wild Card chase.
The Tigers and Dodgers both see struggles to claw back into contention.
The Astros, despite a payroll of over $90 million in 2010, were never even considered in the running for the playoffs, especially after a poor off-season of questionable signings.
Three franchises, however, strike me as the most disappointing in 2010: The Cubs, Mariners, and Mets. Two teams were supremely bankrolled, while one was blessed with a strong 2009 turnaround and an innovative front office that tried to counter previous bad roster decisions with shrewd arbitrage opportunities on players. So what has gone wrong for these three clubs in 2010?
New York Mets:
2010 Payroll: $126,498,096
Record as of 8/10: 56-56
The Mets had a 2009 season to forget, but 2010 had promise. The team signed Jason Bay after a big 36 HR, 134 OPS+ season in 2009 for Boston. Ike Davis was poised to be called up. Jon Niese was ready to go. With a division that had consisted of the Phillies (who, while still very good, are aging), and a Braves team with, at the time, more potential than results, the Mets looked in decent shape to contend.
What went wrong?
For starters, Jason Bay's season (.259/.347/.405, 102 OPS+, 6 HR) was not exactly what Omar Minaya had in mind. Outside of David Wright and Angel Pagan, the Mets have had mostly mediocre lineup performances, and running Jeff Francoeur's sub-.300 OBP out to the field every day has not helped matters. Reyes and Beltran have not been the same players in 2010 as they have been in the past, as well. Francisco Rodriguez is having a terrific season (10.73 K/9, 3.14 K/BB, 2.67 FIP), but the rest of the bullpen, collectively, has been mediocre.
Chicago Cubs:
2010 Payroll: $144,359,000
Record as of 8/10: 47-65
Proving that you cannot simply sign championships, the Cubs are reminding fans in a big way of how painful it has been to root for the team since Frank Chance moved on to the Yankees. The Cubs did have reason to believe that a better work environment without Milton Bradley, and a healthier Alfonso Soriano, would help the team immensely, as well as possibly slipping into the postseason via a weak NL Central.
What went wrong?
More like what went right? Aramis Ramirez has gone from a star to a fringe major leaguer, posting a 78 OPS+ and defense that belongs in the AL's Designated Hitter spot. Derrek Lee, after a brilliant 2009, has begun to show his age as well, posting an 85 OPS+. While Soriano has been solid, he has not played near what you would expect a $19 mil a year player to produce, and likewise for Fukudome at $14 million. Geovany Soto has been the best player in the Cubs lineup, but Piniella gave Koyie Hill 124 PA to produce a 24 OPS+ anyway. Despite Zambrano's publicized struggles, the Cubs starting pitching has actually been pretty good, but they have been unable to fill in their bullpen spots outside of Marmol (my Nolan Ryan award winner for 2010, hands down) and Marshall.
Seattle Mariners:
2010 Payroll: $91,143,333
Record as of 8/10: 43-70
It was a move that had many baseball minds buzzing: The Mariners, in a very live ball era, looked to turn their focus squarely to defense. While many a Monday morning Quarterback now question the moves, at the time, things seemed intelligent. They signed Chone Figgins to what looked to be a good deal. They traded Carlos Silva for the 2008 AL OPS champion in Milton Bradley. They traded 30 year old Bill Hall for 27 year old Casey Kotchman. And of course, they traded a rather uninspiring crop of prospects for Cliff Lee. Things looked positive for a team coming off an 83 win campaign.
What went wrong?
More like what did not go wrong for these Mariners? While most people expected the offense to be poor, not many could have expected just 3.25 runs per game. Rob Johnson (60 OPS+), Casey Kotchman (72 OPS+), Chone Figgins (81 OPS+), Jose Lopez (65 OPS+), Franklin Gutierrez (89 OPS+), Ichiro (108 OPS+), and Milton Bradley (76 OPS+) have all performed well below where most people would have expected offensively. David Aardsma has crashed back down to earth as well, with just a 4.29 FIP after last season's 3.01 (but interestingly, the exact same xFIP of 4.12). Cliff Lee was excellent in his time for the Mariners, and King Felix and Jason Vargas have had excellent seasons; however, the rest of the pitching staff failed to deliver as they should have. Gutierrez (2.4 WAR, according to baseball-reference.com) and Ichiro (2.1) are the only members of the lineup with over two WAR currently, and the Wilsons (Josh and Jack, respectively) are the only others with one WAR or more. Their WAR ratings? 1.1 and 1.0.
Who is the most disappointing?
This is a tough decision. While the Mets have underachieved, I do not think it is them. I predicted the Braves to win that division, and the Phillies to win the Wild Card, the Mets are almost where I expected them to fall.
The Mariners should be one or two on everyone's list. While not built to be an offensive juggernaut, even a 4.25 run per game team (or about 689 a season) could be right in the thick of things. Thanks to numerous sub-optimal performances, however, the team looks like the laughing stock it was in 2008, despite a much better leadership in the front office.
In the end, though, any team that manages to slip behind the Astros while sporting a $140+ million dollar payroll has to take the cake. The Cubs have been all sorts of problems in 2010, from the ownership, to a manager whose flaws have come out in full force now that he lacks a star studded roster, to the players on the field, the situation in Chicago has been a mess in 2010. The Cubs are constantly able to allot $40 to $50 million more per season in free agent signings than their NL Central counterparts, and have little to no excuse to perform this bad. While the Cubs have hope for the future, given the strong seasons from AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa, the emergence of Starlin Castro, and the good move to pick up Blake DeWitt, this incarnation of the roster has been nothing short of a disaster.
Mets Lineup vs. Roy Halladay a Step in the Right Direction for Organization
August 10th, 2010Yesterday the Mets faced Phillies ace Roy Halladay one day removed from news that veteran Alex Cora would be cut.
Also leaving the team was journeyman Jesus Feliciano, youngsters Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez were recalled to fill the roster spots.
The Mets lineup versus Halladay was unique, in that it consisted of seven home grown players—Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Tejada, and Martinez. It was the most home grown players to start a Mets game since 1990!
While the Mets ended up losing the game, there were a lot of positives to come out of it.
First, the Mets proved to be resilient. It takes a lot of heart and desire to win comming back from a 6-2 deficit and score 5 runs off of a great pitcher like Halladay. It's especially impressive upon knowing that in Halladay's previous four starts before yesterday's game Halladay was 4-0 with a 0.43 ERA.
Second, and most importantly in my mind, it shows that the organization is starting to get the picture. In this league, developing prospects is the easiest and sometimes best way to win.
The Mets are not the Yankees, and they cannot buy championships like them. Instead, they need to start developing these players and cementing a core to build a team around.
They already have Wright, Reyes, and Pagan, but players like Davis, Thole, and Tejada can get meaningful playing time during the stretch, when the Mets will more likely than not be playing meaningless games as far as 2010 goes.
The Yankees not withstanding, each other great team in the MLB is generally lead by home grown players. The Mets need to learn from other teams and continue to build through youth.
Not surprisingly, it was also the two players that were not homegrown players who had arguably the worst games last night. I love RA Dickey to death, but he did not have a good performance and gave up six runs, four earned, in only three innings. Also, Carlos Beltran looked awful both in the field and at the plate.
While the Mets are stuck with some pretty bad contracts—namely Beltran's, Luis Castillo's, and Oliver Perez's, they need to take these contracts and learn from them. Not signing overrated veterans to ridiculous contracts forces the team to ride or die through the home grown talent. It also means the Mets organization needs to draft better and develop players better than they have been in recent years.
Although yesterday's lineup was an anomaly, I hope to see similar lineups in the future for the Mets. Not only will it save the team money, but it will make the fans happier, and it may even win some games. It's the right thing to do going forward.
Carlos Beltran: The Right Move
August 10th, 2010Please be sure to check out Mets Paradise and our forum for everything Mets!!
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First off, I'd like to welcome myself back from my weekend vacation without Internet or cable. I was unable to watch any of the games or do any sort of reporting, but it's OK—I'm back now. From looking at the final score of these games, it seemed like the Mets were in all these games. This seems to be a reoccurring theme for this season: The Mets are just one hit or pitch away for getting a victory, but they fail to get it.
This team's "collapse" seemed to start about the time Carlos Beltran made his return. I don't think it's because of Beltran—it would be crazy to think that. However, Beltran isn't the same player he use to be, you can just see it. Right now, he is not the best center fielder on this team—that title belongs to Angel Pagan.
With the Mets trying new things, like bringing up Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada and letting go Alex Cora, they should try moving Beltran to right field. At this point, it would be the best thing for him and the team.
I'm sure Beltran won't be happy about it, but he needs to do whatever this team needs him to do. If he doesn't want to, he'll be wearing a different uniform.
New York Mets Fight Hard, Fall One Short Against Philadelphia Phillies in Loss
August 9th, 2010PHILADELPHIA-- The Mets have completed another losing road trip. This one coming against the two teams in front of them in their own division.
The Mets had to face Phillies ace Roy Halladay today, but they thought they had a chance to match him with R.A. Dickey on the mound.
It didn't happen. In fact, what was supposed to be a pitchers' duel turned out to be a hard-fought slugfest.
The Mets got off to a promising start. They hit Roy Halladay hard in the first inning, producing a run two batters in. Jose Reyes doubled and was driven in by Angel Pagan, giving the Mets a quick 1-0 lead. Pagan would then steal both second and third base and scored on an Ike Davis infield single off the glove of Halladay.
The Mets seemed in pretty good shape with Dickey pitching, having thrown six quality starts in his last seven.
Although the Phillies didn't score in the first inning, signs were not pointing in the right direction. The three hitters all hit the ball hard against him, as Dickey's knuckleball wasn't sharp.
It would only take until the second inning. Jayson Werth hit what appeared to be a pop fly, but the ball carried over the center field fence to cut the deficit to 2-1. Carlos Beltran kept going back on the ball, and bumped his head against the fence, not knowing where the wall was.
After a shaky first inning, Halladay settled down to retire 10 batters in a row, while the Phillies kept hitting Dickey.
They knocked him around in the third, and Dickey suffered his worst inning as a Met. The Phillies sent 11 men to the plate, scoring five runs on seven hits to take a 6-2 lead.
After a Jimmy Rollins double, Jose Reyes made a fielding error. Lately, he has been making some errors, and most of them have opened the door to big innings. It did once again.
Two batters later, Raul Ibanez hit a three-run home run, giving the Phillies a 5-2 lead. Later in the inning, former Met Brian Schneider would add a run on a single.
Dickey would be done after three innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits, and one walk.
The Mets started to rally back from the four run deficit against Halladay in the sixth. Just like in the opening inning, Jose Reyes doubled and Pagan singled him in, making it 6-3.
The Mets bullpen did a great job keeping the team in the game, not allowing a run after Dickey's departure.
The Mets continued to fight back in the seventh. Fernando Martinez led off with his first Major League hit of the season. Josh Thole followed with a double, moving the runner to third.
Ruben Tejada grounded into a run-scoring play. That was followed by a Chris Carter pinch-double, cutting the Phillies lead to 6-5.
With two on and one out, down a run, Pagan flew out and Beltran struck out for a third time to end the inning.
In the ninth, facing Brad Lidge, the Mets got a leadoff single from Thole; his third hit of the game. After two straight groundouts moving Thole to third, Reyes flew out to center, as the Mets fell 90 feet short of completing the comeback.
The shame of it is, the Mets did a good job against Halladay, and their young players contributed in the comeback effort. Unfortunately, Dickey just didn't have it, and therefore the Mets finish off a losing road trip.
They were not helped out by their middle of the order, especially Beltran and Wright, who each struck out three times.
Beltran hasn't looked good at the plate since his return, and he looked awful today in the field. So much so, that he was pulled in a double-switch in the seventh inning.
The Mets are now 0-7 in road rubber games this season, and have gone 40 straight games without winning consecutive games. That run of futility is the longest streak of such games without back-to-back wins in the Majors this season.
The most important note of all, is that with today's Braves win, the Mets fall nine games out of first place.
They'll try to turn things around at home, starting Tuesday night against the Rockies. It'll be a tough challenge for the Mets, as they'll face Ubaldo Jimenez.
NL East standings (top 3 teams)
Atlanta 64-47
Philadelphia 62-49 (2)
NY Mets 55-56 (9)
NL Wild Card (Leader and Mets)
San Francisco 63-49
---------------------------
NY Mets 55-56 (7 1/2)
Next series probable pitchers:
August 10
New York: Mike Pelfrey (2010: 10-6, 4.16 ERA) vs. Colorado: UIbaldo Jimenez (2010: 17-2, 2.61 ERA)
August 11
New York: Jon Niese (2010: 7-5, 3.63 ERA) vs. Colorado: Jeff Francis (2010: 4-4, 4.67 ERA)
August 12
New York: Johan Santana (2010: 9-6, 3.06 ERA) vs. Colorado: Jason Hammel (2010: 8-6, 4.38 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
August 10-12 vs. Colorado Rockies
August 13-15 vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Colorado Rockies:
August 10-12 @ New York Mets
August 13-15 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
By Calling Up Youngsters, Mets Are Planning For 2011
August 8th, 2010As much as the Mets don't want to admit it, by calling up two of their top minor league prospects, they are planning for 2011.
Perhaps their thinking is that the young players is what energized them early in the season, but it's too late for that now.
There are so many negatives that outweigh every potential positive. By bringing up Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez, a couple of veteran players are upset. Of course, Mets fans don't care about feelings and they shouldn't.
The problem is, one of those players means a lot to the Mets clubhouse. The Mets have said that Martinez will platoon in right field with Jeff Francoeur.
If Francoeur wasn't already upset when he lost playing time to Angel Pagan, now he has every reason to be.
Although he was upset when Pagan took his job, he shouldn't have been as Pagan earned it. This move though is a little strange.
Martinez hadn't had a Major League at-bat all season, and has really been a bust so far. He was supposed to be an up-and-coming star young player that has never hit on the big league level. He has always been injury prone, having had knee surgery last season.
Francoeur has proven way more in his career between the Braves and Mets. He can occasionally get into a hot streak, which Martinez hasn't shown, and he has a superior glove to Martinez, who isn't an established right fielder.
Regarding the Tejada-for-Castillo situation, it's a smart move on the Mets part, but it doesn't mean it won't get Castillo fired up.
It's extremely shocking that the Mets went in this direction. Tejada was sent down for more seasoning at the plate, and Castillo was to play when he returned from the disabled list because of his contract status.
The positives did show in Saturday night's Mets win, with Tejada making some stellar defensive plays at second, which Castillo wouldn't have had the range to make. Defense is probably why Tejada is here.
But the thought of having both Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur on the bench for the majority of the games doesn't make much sense. Castillo is virtually useless off the bench other than a need for a sacrifice bunt, and Francoeur as we've seen, can't stay fresh as a pinch-hitter.
According to reports, Francoeur once again has asked Omar Minaya to be traded. For that to happen, he'd obviously have to be claimed off waivers by August 31.
The Mets have been desperately trying to deal Castillo but no one wants his bad contract.
Looking that the roster as a whole, the Mets now have three useless backups in Francoeur, Castillo, and Oliver Perez.
The reason why the Mets made these moves is because they're holding open auditions for 2011. Fernando Martinez wouldn't have a role, unless Carlos Beltran is dealt in the offseason. Jason Bay and Angel Pagan are locks to be back and starting next season.
Tejada, though, could replace Castillo assuming the Mets can rid of his contract. The Mets won last night's game, and it had nothing to do with the moves that they made.
It had to do with their ace stepping up, and odd-man out Jeff Francoeur hitting a long ball. There wasn't any renewed energy in a 1-0 win. The team was rather flat.
But the Mets, hovering around .500, have decided to start thinking next season. Now how disappointing is that considering where the Mets were in June?
New York Mets: Can Angel Pagan Replace Carlos Beltran?
August 4th, 2010Most of the time when we read about Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez it is about some sort of new record or history in the making.
Last Monday, Rodriguez, 38, wrote another page to his illustrious career as he became the fifth catcher to reach 300 home runs in Major League history with a homer against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Rodriguez, who has hit .268 as the Washington Nationals' primary catcher this season, is already the career leader in games, runs, hits, doubles, and extra-base hits by a catcher in the majors history.
No doubt the Puerto Rican native will someday be in the Hall of Fame, however, this season among Islanders, it is looking that Rodriguez is not the only one with good news to their fans.
Angel Pagan, 29, is a long way in comparison with Rodriguez or even fellow teammate Carlos Beltran, however, in this so far lowly Mets season he is doing an MVP job.
Pagan had played as a Gold Glover and offensively his bat had been hot all season long.
As of Tuesday, Pagan is the Mets' leader and seventh in the National League in hitting with a .311 batting average.
He is also hitting 21 doubles, nine home runs with 58 runs scored, and 47 RBI.
Not bad for the five-year career major leaguer who was supposed to be a utility outfielder on a Jerry Manuel bench.
He became like a godsend for the Mets in center field with Carlos Beltran out.
Pagan is playing so well that some national columnists have suggested that Pagan could become one of the new faces of the future of the team.
Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated even suggested in his latest column that Beltran could be traded before the August 31 waiver deadline.
In his column, Heyman wrote about Beltran as a great talent who is just back from his knee injury and has not yet showed his old form. He has a full no-trade clause but might be amenable to a deal after his winter disagreement with the team over the knee surgery that kept him out half the year. One more year left in the $119 million, seven-year deal he signed before the 2005 season.
During the San Juan (Puerto Rico) series between the Mets and the Florida Marlins where everybody was waiting to hear about Beltran, it was Manuel who had to shift the attention to his young outfielder, calling Pagan as one of the best stories of the 2010 season.
The Mets called the Commonwealth Island the “Bori-Mets” due to its number of Puerto Ricans in the lineup. Among them, Pagan, Beltran, Alex Cora, Jesus Feliciano, and Pedro Feliciano are all not doing so well as a whole.
Besides Pagan, the only other Puerto Rican offensive player doing well in the majors these days is Alexis Rios.
The White Sox center fielder is hitting .303 with 21 doubles, 17 homers, 63 runs scored, and 62 RBI.
If Pagan could become a perennial All-Star and a possible replacement of Beltran, time will tell if he has really been a shining Met.
It Aint Over Till It’s Over; Why The Mets Season Is Not Dead
August 3rd, 2010It has been a pretty ugly couple of weeks if you are a Mets fan. Since the All-Star break, the Flushing Faithful have had to sit back as their team dropped nine out of 11 on the road. They've been shut-out four times, lose to the last-place Diamondbacks five out of six times, including a 14-1 loss, and not get a big-name player at the trade deadline.
They have seen good pitching performances thrown out the window, their team go at least seven innings without a hit, twice. They have lost three times in games at least 13 innings, and watch Oliver Perez pitch three times.
It has just been plain ugly.
But in all of that, they have only lost 2.5 games on the first-place Braves. Today they sit just 6.5 games out. Somewhat strangely, they should feel quite content.
In the next seven days, they will play six games against the Braves and Phillies. They know that no matter what happened the past two weeks, if they can produce and go 5-1, or even 4-2, that they will be right back in it.
They have a good team. They have two everyday guys hitting over .300 in Angel Pagan and David Wright.
They have a consistent power source in Ike Davis, and they have a resurgent force in Carlos Beltran.
They have a gun out in right field with Jeff Francoeur. They have two ace-like pitchers this season in Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey. Both will be pitching against Atlanta.
They have a good bullpen which features Bobby Parnell, who can hit 100 on the radar gun, and a closer who is arguably one of the best in baseball in Francisco Rodriguez.
They have been known to be a bit streaky. They have two nine-game winning streaks this season. If they can put together six or seven in a row, especially against the Braves and Phillies, then they will be right back at the top.
One road trip cannot decide a season. No Mets fan should believe that this one west coast nightmare will decide their fate.
They have a lot left to play for, but it all starts this week against the Braves and the Phillies.
