Archive for Uncategorized

Almost as Strange as Batting Him 6th, but Not Quite

May 20, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

I didn’t notice this until his last turn at bat, but Ramon Martinez yesterday was wearing No. 6, and not the No. 26 he wore in his hasty ’09 debut on Monday.

6I remember thinking that the 26 jersey looked baggy on him, so that may be one reason, but interesting all the same since it’s yet another issuance of No. 6 — the most frequently dealt in Mets history now with 38 different players. I’m convinced No. 6 is one of those jerseys they carry around on the road for just this situation.

I immediately went to write this up on the site when I saw it — noting then that a few visitors had already pointed it out — when Martinez hit into a double play that ruined my mood and made me want to murder Jerry Manuel for having not pulled one of those sudden late-inning pinch-hit calls he’s becoming famous for screwing up.

Really, Jerry. And batting him sixth?

Anyhow, that now makes three numbers already for Martinez (22, 26 and 6). I can’t remember off-hand which was the last Met to switch numbers in his second game (and the database is a few jigowatts short of querying for that fact) but it’s happened before several times. Tom Hall in1975 in debuted in 42 and had 19 the next night.

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I’ll Be Sittin’ When the Evenin’ Comes

May 18, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

Watching the Met debut of Tim Redding, who tonight will become the 860th Met of all-time.

Redding will be suited up in No. 44 — which belonged to four different guys last year, none of whom I could have told you had I not just looked it up myself, I don’t think. If you’re interested in making a guess in the comments section, go ahead, I won’t say who they are.

Redding’s accompanying lineup is a little goofy — a continuation of the stuff we saw last night where Fernando Tatis played short and Jerry Manuel, once again, made a baffling pinch-hitting call that blew up his face with the game on the line. Yet, Angel Pagan starts tonight in left while Daniel Murphy and Ryan “Doghouse” Church once again sit.

The shortstop is Ramon Martinez, called up because of a thumb injury to Alex Cora who is going onto the DL today too and Jose Reyes is still unavailable (Mackey Shillstone?). You might remember Martinez as the only Met who could buy a hit in the last week of the season last yea. He was wearing No. 22 then but with that jersey since reassigned to JJ Putz, we’ll have to wait and see what he turns up in. (Updated: He’s wearing No. 26)

Seems like only a moment ago I was praising the flexibility of this roster but this is about as stretched out as I’d like to go right now. Carlos Delgado, you may have heard, is on his way to the operating room and I can’t imagine he reappears until August or so.

Redding’s recall, by the way, meant another demotion for Nelson Figueroa — who came and went without an appearance — and a continuing tour for Ken Takahashi.

Right you are, Ken.

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Angel’s in the Outfield

May 16, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

16This team already has that quality of looking terrific when it wins and ghastly when it loses, which I guess is a good sign because it indicates an expectation of victory accompanies us most nights, and so managing my own moods as they proceed through a long season is going to be challenging at times.

What I like about this team however has been on display this weekend in San Francisco, where a guy who replaced Marlon Anderson on the bench can sub in, legitimately, at cleanup, while the choice of which guy to back up at first base or at short in a pinch isn’t an automatic crippling. And where a rookie can go from capably filling in for Sean Green to capably replacing JJ Putz on consecutive nights. They’re still a little too sloppy for my liking but what’s not to like about beating up on Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson and Brian Wilson: No slouches there.

As you probably noticed they’ve done it without Carlos Delgado who’s going to be out for a long stretch, probably. They finally got around to disabling him today only to call the forgotten man, Angel Pagan, who last played for the Mets more than a year ago, and on Saturday was still wearing No. 16.

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Impinged

May 13, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

Nothing like making dumb play after dumb play and damn near getting swept at home by the Braves to take all the good feelings out of a seven-game win streak; then again there’s Carlos Delgado‘s hip, Jose Reyes‘ hopelessly casual attitude, the fact that JJ Putz can’t finish an inning in under 15 minutes, Jerry Manuel‘s continued baffling moves, and perhaps the season’s toughest road trip ahead of us, so don’t feel too bad yet.

Chill out and make a good play, JoseThe flight to san Francisco tonight — a long one, and they deserve it — won’t include Jon Niese, whose been optioned back to Buffalo after a subpar outing in his second turn as Oliver Perez‘s stand-in. His seat goes instead to Nelson Figueroa, who never made good on his threat to leave but may stick around for some time considering the sudden back-of-the-bullpen struggles of Ken Takahashi. Niese’s next start, it would seem, would go to Tim Redding as long as his Buffalo tune-ups continue progressing.

Delgado in the meantime appears headed to the disabled list, the Mets having compromised their bench for the requisite number of games without even a diagnosis of what’s actually bothering him. Speculation of a replacement is even harder to figure at this point, with Nick Evans batting 083 and the rest of the Buffalo lineup barely any better.

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Why Ask for More When He Knows What’s in Store?

May 7, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

Stop beating on Oliver Perez, everybody.

46He’s pitched terribly this year, for sure, but the next guy who smugly explains away his struggles to a “10-cent head” is gonna get it. For one thing, most jocks are thick, and being a little slow out there is a virtue sometimes, if you insist on a literal interpretation of the remark. But I think there’s more to it than that. A physical injury, particularly a non-deblilitating but bothersome one such as tendonitis, is a perfectly reasonable explanation (not to mention consistent with Dan Warthen‘s complaint that Perez showed up out of shape this year) if only Ollie were offered the same benefit of the doubt as, for example, a teammate who also appears to struggle with control and confidence and makes problems for the bullpen by failing to last too deep into games.

No, I’m not encoraging the cheap shots extend to John Maine, just pointing out that what Perez needs now is rest and the same support his teammates should expect. There is plenty more to worry about.

Like, for instance, his replacement in the rotation for now, Jonathon Niese, recalled upon Ollie’s assignment to the DL. Still wearing No. 49, Niese gave the Mets a few good outings, and a few not-so-good ones, late last season.It appears Niese will last only until the organization thinks Tim Redding is ready. In case you forgot, Redding was wearing No. 44 when a string of bad starts indicated a ten-cent head injury in St. Lucie this spring.

In other news, Casey Fossum refused a demotion to Buffalo and signed instead with the Yankees. Loser.

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Manuel Laboring

April 29, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

Being a positive guy who desperately wants to like the team he roots for I’m hoping there’s some hidden benefit at work amid the recent managerial misadventures of Jerry Manuel. But they cannot be worth the the price in bad baseball we’ve witnessed this week.

For the second time in as many series against the Marlins, Jerry overmanuevered the Mets into losing two of three winnable games. He pulled his starters too early, inserted relievers unnecessarily and/or curiously, and this afternoon, publically flipped off Ramon Castro and called it a pinch-hitting decision.

None of it worked, and the team, once again, seems to be taking on the passive and frightened style of its manager.

I admire Jerry and came into the year convinced he possessed a good understanding of what troubled this team and how to fix it but it seems he’s determined to demonstrate that the hard way. I can’t imagine Castro sees much more time with the Mets, and wonder what it might take to get Ken Takahashi to show that No. 36 he got the other day. Yeah, David Wright could make it all go away with a few well-timed hits but he’s struggled before too. Onto Philly.

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The 40-Year-Old Virgin

April 26, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

After Oliver Perez stunk up the joint again and his teammates responded with play every bit as lazy and uninspired, the Mets made reliever Casey Fossum pay. The lefty, whose work week included three mop-up jobs — two for Perez — was designated for assigment Sunday with Buffalo lefty Ken Takahashi recalled to take his place.

Takahashi makes an interesting choice. He’s a high-kicking, curve-throwing 40-year-old lefthander from Japan’s Hiroshima club who reportedly drew free agent interest from several teams this winter (including the Mets) but signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays, only to be released as spring training broke and scooped up by the Mets.Though trained as a starter, he’s been doing effective short and long relief for the Bisons, and so might come in handy if he’s not too worn out by the time Perez’ turn in the rotation comes around again.

No word yet on Takahashi’s uniform with the Mets. He’s been wearing 33 with Buffalo which belongs here to John Maine and wore 22 with Hiroshima (currently JJ Putz‘ number). If like me you sense a pattern here, 11 is out (Ramon Castro); 44 is theoretically waiting for Tim Redding, and 55 is on the back of coach Randy Niemann (thanks for the updates below). 66? Doubtful. Maybe he’ll turn up in 30 or 36.

Buffalo by the way eventually re-signed Nelson Figueroa, no doubt humbled by the waters he tested.

Takahashi, should he appear, would be the 859th Met of all-time (thanks to MBTN reader Gordon for the below update):

We left off 2008 with 848 – Bobby Parnell
849 would have been Al Reyes but he did not play
2009: 849 – Sean Green 4/6
850 – JJ Putz 4/6
851 – Jeremy Reed 4/6
852 – Francisco Rodriguez 4/6
853 – Alex Cora 4/9
854 – Darren O’Day 4/9
855 – Garry Sheffield 4/9
856 – Livan Hernandez 4/11
857 – Omir Santos 4/17
858 – Casey Fossum 4/21

 

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All My Exes

April 23, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

The good news is that Mike Pelfrey feels his bout with tendonitis is behind him. The bad news is that it cost the Mets two pitchers to cover his one missed start.

Yesterday word came that sidearming Rule 5 draftee Darren O’Day was claimed by the Texas Rangers, wholike the Mets are now required to keep him on their roster all year or — like the Mets — risk losing him on a waiver claim. O’Day was designated when the Mets recalled Nelson Figueroa take Pelfrey’s start Sunday.

Figgy was subsequently designated following his start in favor of Casey Fossum — and with the gruesome twosome of Perez and Maine following him in the rotation, avialable long relief was handy. Figueroa like O’Day was subject to waivers but went unclaimed. Nevertheless he refused a return engagement with Buffalo and declared free agency, today’s Daily News reported.

All this — Maine and Perez’s awful starts in St. Louis this week included — may eventually hasten the arrival of Freddy Garcia, who started his first game this week in Buffalo.

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The Mighty Casey

April 19, 2009 Uncategorized One comment

47So, nice effort by Nelson Figueroa today but it didn’t amount to much as bad luck and bad timing doomed the Mets offense. And don’t let any nimrod tell you a failure to bunt Fernando Tatis had much of anything to do with it (I can’t believe those complaining watched even a minute of Met ball this year). I want Tatis smashing balls off the fence, that’s what he’s there for.

Anyhow, Figueroa is headed back to the minors and in his place will be Casey Fossum, a lefthander off to a good start in Buffalo, who will provide bullpen depth until Mike Pelfrey‘s next turn or we learn the fate of Darren O’Day.

Fossom, should he maintain his digits from spring trianing will be the first Met to wear No. 47 sinceTom Glavine walked off the mound having kicked the final grains dirt onto the 2007 Mets’ grave. How not devastating.

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Call it O’Day

April 19, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

With Mike Pelfrey skipping a start with forearm tendonitis, this afternoon’s series finale against the Brewers will be started by Nelson Figueroa, recalled from Class AAA Buffalo.

Figueroa’s arrival — along with his entire family in a luxury box, you figure — required the Mets make a corresponding roster move which could cost them sidearming reliever Darren O’Day for the long term. Rule 5 of the draft — or the mechanism with which the Mets acquired O’Day last winter — stipulates that O’Day must first be offered back to the Angels for cash. The Angels could also ask the Mets to trade soemthing for O’Day. If neither of those options are selected, O’Day will be exposed to waivers for any team to select. And if not selected there, he’d become a free agent, a la, Rocky Cherry, and sign on with anyone he chooses.

Obviously you hope it doesn’t come to that although it’s hard to argue O’Day over his first few appearances merits the sacrifice of any of his teammates either.

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