Official 2011 New York Mets Thread

['7']

I can't look at these clowns anymore. David Wright can you catch a lob from Niese for the force at 3rd? Is it that hard really?

now it's 3-0 and Niese is hurt

also nice to see that Jason Bay is on pace for 4 home runs this season

Edited May 16, 2010 by '7'

[nmigliore]

From what I've heard he's a real liability in the field. I've seen us throw enough guys out in the outfield who had no business being there (Evans, Murphy, Marlon Anderson, etc) the last few years so I'd rather stick with the sure defense of Francoeur - especially in Citi - until something better comes along instead of hoping Carter hits enough to make it worth having him out there.

I think the liability thing is overstated. These were his defensive ratings (Total Zone) in the minors in the outfield the past few years:

2007: -2

2008: +6

2009: -1

Not to mention, Francoeur's defense (his range has been below average in RF the past 2 years actually, but of course his arm is beastly) doesn't nearly make up for his putrid bat.

Niese getting hurts really sucks. I hope its nothing serious, and he just misses a start or 2. I would guess Takahashi gets stretched out today and starts when Niese's next turn in the rotation comes up, and someone gets called up (R.A. Dickey? Tobi Stoner? Dillon Gee?) to make Wednesday's start (Perez's spot).

edit:

Good news!:

"According to David Lennon of Newsday, Omar Minaya will make an unscheduled trip with the team to Atlanta for their three game series with the Braves, although the decision was not made during today’s game."

Edited May 16, 2010 by nmigliore

[nmigliore]

Fernando Nieve's poor peripherals are finally catching up to him. I predicted this would happen a few days ago: http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/5/14/1471950/fernando-nieve-is-just-not-good

Quick excerpt:

So then the casual fan probably wonders, well why is Nieve's ERA only 3.54 if his peripherals are so bad? Well, this is the part where Nieve has been very lucky -- his BABIP is only .202. The hits are just not falling in against him right now, so hes getting away with walking a ton of batters; but that surely won't continue, not with his O-Swing% right around average and the failure to miss bats. Fernando Rodney is a good example of a pitcher going through the same thing -- his strikeout and walk rates are terrible, though at least Rodney has gotten groundballs at a higher rate (nearly 60%), but his ERA is only 2.70 thanks to a BABIP under .200.

When Ryota Igarashi returns, the Mets will rightfully send Manny Acosta packing back to Buffalo, but if Fernando Nieve keeps walking hitters at such a high rate while not missing many bats or getting a ton of groundballs, the Mets are going to have to give strong thought to designating him for assignment, or at the very least, taking him out of so many high leverage situations. The 3.54 ERA will only last for so long.

[overtime98]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100517&content_id=10112736&notebook_id=10114472&vkey=notebook_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym

The meeting, according to Manuel and Wilpon, was strictly a baseball discussion.

"I didn't come here to fire anybody," Wilpon said.

Nonetheless, the similarities were striking to the situation in Anaheim two years earlier, when Minaya took an unscheduled flight to meet the team and dismissed then-manager Willie Randolph shortly thereafter. Though Manuel does not appear to be in such imminent danger, the presence of Wilpon and Minaya indicates that he has stepped onto shaky ground.

"I wouldn't be here if I felt good about everything going on," Wilpon said.

ATLANTA -- Jon Niese was diagnosed with a "mild" strain of his right hamstring and will miss his scheduled start Friday against the Yankees. Hisanori Takahashi will start in Niese's place.

Niese, who aggravated the injury on a bunt play in Sunday's game, flew to New York on Monday for an examination at the Hospital for Special Surgery. There he will remain for a reevaluation later this week.

As for the other vacancy in manager Jerry Manuel's rotation, the Mets will make a roster move to recall Wednesday's starter from Triple-A Buffalo. Though they have not yet made an official announcement, all signs point to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who already had a nameplate installed in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field.

The Mets are waiting to see if Niese's injury will require a stay on the disabled list. If so, they will be able to activate Dickey without cutting anyone from their roster.

Dickey, 35, was 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA at Buffalo, pitching a complete game one-hitter on April 29. He has not started a big league game since last August.

Takahashi, 35, will be making his first career start in the United States after spending most of his career as a starter in Japan. In 15 games out of the bullpen for the Mets, Takahashi was 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA.

[nmigliore]

Some possibly GREAT news:

Top prospect Jenrry Mejia, whose dazzling Grapefruit League performance prompted the Mets to place him on the Opening Day roster as a reliever, is expected to head to the minors to resume being used as a starting pitcher. That could be timed with R.A. Dickey’s activation before Wednesday’s start, a team source told ESPNNewYork.com.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yorkmets/post/_/id/2915/source-mejia-to-start-again-in-minors

He should have been there from the start, but oh well, at least this decision came sooner rather than later.

[Devils Dose]

We went from last to first and back to last (until yesterday), didn't we?

I understand that this is all before the quarter-post of the season, but damn! Why the torment?

[nmigliore]

And then some bad news, per Metsblog:

The Mets top draft pick from last summer, Steven Matz, will have season-ending Tommy John surgery today, according to David Lennon of Newsday.

That really sucks for Matz, I hope he comes back okay. He hasn't even gotten a chance to pitch in the minors yet due to signing right at the deadline last year and the Mets' reluctance to start him in full-season ball, but he would have likely pitched for the GCL team or Kingsport (rookie ball) to start the season.

Speaking of the draft, I'm pretty excited that its coming up really soon since the Mets own the #7 overall pick. This is my draft board right now:

C Bryce Harper

RHP Jameson Taillon (HS)

RHP Karsten Whitson (HS)

SS Manny Machado

C Yasmani Grandal

LHP Drew Pomeranz

OF Michael Choice

OF Josh Sale (HS)

LHP Chris Sale

RHP Dylan Covey (HS)

SS Christian Colon

OF Bryce Brentz

OF Austin Wilson (HS)

RHP Deck McGuire

RHP A.J. Cole (HS)

Some notes on some of them:

- Harper is the consensus top bat in the draft, Nationals will surely take him.

- Tallion is the consensus top pitcher in the draft; mid/upper-90's plus fastball, plus curve, plus slider, solid feel for a change-up. He could fall due to signability issues, though I doubt he falls past the Orioles at #3.

- Whitson already has 3 above-average to plus pitches and great command for a HS kid. Taillon probably isn't falling to the Mets at #7, but there is a chance Whitson does.

- Grandal has really grown on me. Scouts like his defense and hes having a HUGE year for Miami with the bat.

- Pomeranz has been shaky lately IIRC, but hes still easily shaping up to be the top collegiate pitcher in the draft.

- Speaking of top collegiate pitchers, Anthony Ranaudo (not listed on my board), coming into the season, was expected to possibly go as high as #2 in the draft.... well, hes not only been terrible for LSU this year but he missed part of the season with elbow issues. No thanks.

- Chris Sale is another player that has grown on me. Mechanics are a little funky, but hes deceptive and throw strikes. Keith Law seems to really like him.

- Dylan Covey interests me -- high school righty with a plus fastball and a plus-plus curve.

- Austin Wilson is one of those toolsy outfielders but he doesn't really intrigue me at #7.

- Christian Colon seems to have a wide-range of opinions on him, but his makeup is a plus (which makes me believe the Mets will be drawn to him), no to mention he could move to the bigs rather quickly. I really wouldn't be shocked to see the Mets take this kid and move him to 2B.

- Deck McGuire will go a lot higher than I have him ranked, but hes the definition of a SAFE college arm; durable, good command, solid 4-pitch mix, should get to the bigs quickly, but his ceiling is not much more than a #3 starter. Meh. This is exactly the kind of player I expect the Mets to take, should he be on the board, but we'll see.

- A.J. Cole's stock has dropped in my eyes. He can dial up the fastball in the mid/upper-90's with a good feel for a curve that has plus potential, good mechanics, but hes just not a kid that I like at #7. I MUCH prefer the more polished Karsten Whitson, should he be there.

Edited May 18, 2010 by nmigliore

[Devils731]

So in 2 year Matz will be throwing 2 or 3 MPH harder than now.

It's odd, but the way teams evaluate pitchers by innings pitched you could argue Tommy John surgery actually increases a young players long term value. It delays their development by 2 years but you should get the same number of productive years out of him, and they should be more productive due to increased velocity now.

['7']

David Wright should not be allowed to bat in a big spot...ever

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

David Wright should not be allowed to bat in a big spot...ever

They do both gets hits on occasion, but it's reached the point where it feels like you can pencil in both Reyes and Wright for 0-fers on a daily basis. Both are almost impossible to watch right now. I know they both have good-to-very good track records, but I can't really believe in either one of them, and despite what the sabermetrics say, I really am starting to feel like the time is coming when this team is gong to need a serious identity makeover. As frustrating as Wright's been, and as crazy as the strikeouts continue to be, at least some of his numbers are pretty good...Reyes is doing almost nothing.

[nmigliore]

Rough game to lose; Bernadina gets a silly check-swing double off of Valdes and then Nieve implodes (heh, what surprise!). At least the Pagan inside-the-park-HR and the triple play was pretty cool. Dickey was alright but it could have been really ugly if not for some great defensive plays by Pagan.

No matter what happens tomorrow night, this team is not going to be in a good position to face the juggernauts known as the Yankees and Phillies. I hate to say it, but the Mets' season might as well be decided within the next week.

And before ANYONE praises Livan Hernandez, please understand (coming into tonight) his BABIP was under .200 and his left-on-base percentage was over 98%; I don't even know if people understand how lucky that is. I mean really, that's just ridiculous and incredibly unsustainable, and his 5+ xFIP shows that. So, in other words, he still really stinks, and its only a matter of time before he comes crashing back down to Earth, like Nieve.

Edited May 20, 2010 by nmigliore

[NJDevs4978]

It's almost comical at this point how badly Jerry runs through a roster, pinch-hitting for the pitcher only to have the pinch-hitter bunt anyway! Jerry runs through his pen and his bench at about the rate a kid eats ice cream.

And coming home last night I turned on that game just in the nick of time for the start of Wright's AB...and I knew a K was coming

And before ANYONE praises Livan Hernandez, please understand (coming into tonight) his BABIP was under .200 and his left-on-base percentage was over 98%; I don't even know if people understand how lucky that is.

At least two runs in 6.1 innings is a vast improvement over the seven shutout innings he threw against us last time...that's progress! If this is the kind of effort they give Friday I'm booing them out of the stadium, the whole sorry lot.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Hasan4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Rough game to lose; Bernadina gets a silly check-swing double off of Valdes and then Nieve implodes (heh, what surprise!). At least the Pagan inside-the-park-HR and the triple play was pretty cool. Dickey was alright but it could have been really ugly if not for some great defensive plays by Pagan.

No matter what happens tomorrow night, this team is not going to be in a good position to face the juggernauts known as the Yankees and Phillies. I hate to say it, but the Mets' season might as well be decided within the next week.

And before ANYONE praises Livan Hernandez, please understand (coming into tonight) his BABIP was under .200 and his left-on-base percentage was over 98%; I don't even know if people understand how lucky that is. I mean really, that's just ridiculous and incredibly unsustainable, and his 5+ xFIP shows that. So, in other words, he still really stinks, and its only a matter of time before he comes crashing back down to Earth, like Nieve.

First off, nmig, that is the best avatar you've ever put up. I love it. And it couldn't be more true...

Agree on Livan, it won't last. The Mets can make anyone look good. His ERA will be up in the 4.00s come August, if it's even that low.

As for Dickey, he was EXTREMELY lucky last night. Notice how the Nats started raking him the second time through the lineup. What the hell though, might as well give him another start, though I'll be surprised if he turns in another outing close to this one.

And yeah, after the Phillies series, Mets could easily be 5-6 games under .500. Hopefully that gets Omar and Jerry the ax.

['7']

I read on metsblog that the Mets will be honoring their 2000 nl championship team friday against the yankees.

so let me get this straight. theyre having this tribute against the franchise that humiliated them in that world series in a stadium that will be 40% yankee fans...and mike hampton will be there and get booed out of the stadium

do they ever learn?

[nmigliore]

I read on metsblog that the Mets will be honoring their 2000 nl championship team friday against the yankees.

so let me get this straight. theyre having this tribute against the franchise that humiliated them in that world series in a stadium that will be 40% yankee fans...and mike hampton will be there and get booed out of the stadium

do they ever learn?

Mike Hampton is going to be on the pregame show too, supposedly. I hope we hear a discussion about the Colorado school systems!

Edited May 20, 2010 by nmigliore

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

do they ever learn?

The short answer: NO

[NJDevs4978]

I read on metsblog that the Mets will be honoring their 2000 nl championship team friday against the yankees.

so let me get this straight. theyre having this tribute against the franchise that humiliated them in that world series in a stadium that will be 40% yankee fans...and mike hampton will be there and get booed out of the stadium

do they ever learn?

Believe me, the masochistic part of me actually is rooting for something like this, it would serve the Mets right for this level of utter stupidity.

To think years ago we were complaining the Mets didn't honor their history enough, talk about going too far the other way!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Believe me, the masochistic part of me actually is rooting for something like this, it would serve the Mets right for this level of utter stupidity.

To think years ago we were complaining the Mets didn't honor their history enough, talk about going too far the other way!

Truly. Now suddenly Mike fvcking HAMPTON is this awesome figure in Met history?!

I guess since the Mets have re-celebrated '86 enough, now we're going to celebrate the teams that got to the World Series but failed...I guess the '73 team will be getting their due as well. Does this franchise stay up at night thinking of way to embarrass their fanbase?

[nmigliore]

John Maine leaves the game after 1 batter.

Good job John, way to help your team out. I bet the report after the game will be he had a tummy ache, or his non-throwing arm was hurting, or something silly like that.

[NJDevs4978]

Watch this game go to extra innings too

Well maybe this will finally be the end of John Maine as a Met considering how ticked Jerry was and how he left the team shorthanded by trying to play hero.

['7']

If they lose this game I'm going to kill somebody

[nmigliore]

Mejia has such nasty stuff, but he should be in the minors; this move just can't happen soon enough.

Still have 1 more inning to go and you know BB-Rod never makes things easy.

[NJDevs4978]

Haha BB-Rod is a good one, I just call him F-Rod now cause he ain't no K-Rod anymore

Figured there'd be nothing worth watching once it got to 10-1...and I was right. Unfortunately it was for the wrong reason

[nmigliore]

Well at least they got it done.

John Maine should be put on the DL tomorrow; call up a reliever (Parnell?) to help out the bullpen, and then when you need a starter, you send a reliever down (Acosta?) and call up whomever to make the start.

Mejia should be sent to AA and be stretched out to work as a starter, activate Igarashi.

There is also some rumor out there that the Mets are shopping Castillo again and the Rockies might be interested since Clint Barmes has hit the sh!tter for them this year. Ruben Tejada would be an ideal replacement, though the article mentions Murphy being a possibility at 2B; lol yeah, right. At this point when it comes to Castillo rumors, I've taken the "I'll believe it when I see it" approach.

Edited May 21, 2010 by nmigliore

['7']

Love Keith for calling out Jeter

"You've got to pitch Jeter inside...how many times have we seen him stick his fanny out and get that call his entire career"

I agree, he jumps out of the way like he's about to be hit on pitches right down the middle!

Edited May 21, 2010 by '7'