Official 2011 New York Mets Thread

[nmigliore]

Nice article by Mark Simon of ESPN-NY pointing just how valuable Angel Pagan has been this year..

One of my colleagues in our research department, Ryan McCrystal, and I have had an ongoing conversation the last six months over the statistic Wins Above Replacement, known in most statistical circles as WAR.

Ryan sent me a note, referencing who the leaders in the NL All-Star race would be, if WAR was the determining factor.

He was disturbed to see that the NL's starting outfielders included Angel Pagan.

Yes, that's the same guy patrolling center field for the Mets.

Full article: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/3544/the-war-over-angel-pagan

I didn't even realize hes been this good; tied for the 3rd best fWAR (Fangraphs WAR) among NL outfielders* and 2nd best among NL centerfielders**. His fielding has been incredible -- UZR has him at +7 while TotalZone already has him at +11 -- and that's all in CF no less. I mean that's just damn impressive.

* - NL outfielders:

** - NL centerfielders:

There is absolutely NO reason to take this guy out of the lineup if/when Beltran returns; in fact, I'd say the best idea is to move Beltran to RF and keep Pagan in CF.

Edited May 28, 2010 by nmigliore

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Nice article by Mark Simon of ESPN-NY pointing just how valuable Angel Pagan has been this year..

There is absolutely NO reason to take this guy out of the lineup if/when Beltran returns; in fact, I'd say the best idea is to move Beltran to RF and keep Pagan in CF.

The big question with a guy like Pagan is can he keep this up? But he's been terrific this season, no question. Francesca brought up the whole Pagan in CF and Beltran in RF idea...if Pagan keeps performing like this, I think Francoeur would have to hit a lot from here on out to keep the Mets from exploring that option, but that would mean that Francoeur would suddenly have to become a far better hitter than he's shown for most of his career...probably won't happen.

[nmigliore]

The big question with a guy like Pagan is can he keep this up? But he's been terrific this season, no question. Francesca brought up the whole Pagan in CF and Beltran in RF idea...if Pagan keeps performing like this, I think Francoeur would have to hit a lot from here on out to keep the Mets from exploring that option, but that would mean that Francoeur would suddenly have to become a far better hitter than he's shown for most of his career...probably won't happen.

Pagan performed to a similar level last year over nearly 400 plate appearances; hes almost up to 200 this year and his numbers are still strong like last season, so....

Not to mention, his defensive value alone has been pretty huge, so even if he did regress to his career wOBA (.338), he'd still be a fine starting-caliber CF'er.

Edited May 28, 2010 by nmigliore

['7']

Terrific outing by Santana. Shame we couldn't score a run for him.

[nmigliore]

Gallardo is just really, really, really good.

I think its gonna end here....

Edited May 29, 2010 by nmigliore

[Devils731]

I didn't think that was a strike on Pagan either.

[nmigliore]

I didn't think that was a strike on Pagan either.

Definitely looked low, but too close to take.

[nmigliore]

Well, that stinks. I won't be surprised if they get swept with the pitching matchups.... Nieve vs Parra - pahaha, good luck with that one; I'm not even gonna bother commenting that idiotic decision to let him start. Dickey vs Wolf doesn't exactly give me much confidence either even with how poorly Wolf has pitched so far this year.

Edited May 29, 2010 by nmigliore

[robdeselich88]

atlas, met fans will be brought back to reality in the next few games. Yes johan quieted their bats, but the mets face a team that is actually hitting over .200 as a team and they get beat.

[thelastonealive]

I'm never wearing my sunglasses at night again. Damn you Corey Hart, you're not allowed to be good at baseball and cheesy 80s synthpop.

[Devils731]

atlas, met fans will be brought back to reality in the next few games. Yes johan quieted their bats, but the mets face a team that is actually hitting over .200 as a team and they get beat.

You're right, the Yankees and Phillies can't hit go troll somewhere else.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

atlas, met fans will be brought back to reality in the next few games. Yes johan quieted their bats, but the mets face a team that is actually hitting over .200 as a team and they get beat.

Nice post moron...I know I shouldn't even bother with this one, as it couldn't have been more poorly thought out, but what the hell...

Met fans hardly need to be brought back to reality. Most of us know what this team is: a .500-or-so entity that will have surges where they look like potential contenders and slumps where we can barely tolerate what we're seeing. What the Mets did against the Yanks and Phils is nice, and both teams are loaded with offensive talent that can bust out in any game, so I don't minimize what they did against those teams, but at the same time, if the Mets spit the bit on yet another road trip, then it's going to be a while before I can think of the Mets as anything more than also-rans.

['7']

Please, next time put it in Corey Harts eye socket, I want to see brains oozing out of ears

Nieve sucks

[nmigliore]

lol. That's all I have to say. Fernando Nieve can't even pitch 1 inning, yet this CLUELESS organization decides he can start against one of the better lineups in the league.

lol, whatever.

Edited May 29, 2010 by nmigliore

[nmigliore]

Nieve is being left in to bat, with runners on 1st/3rd and 1 out... and looking to bunt.

What the fvck is Jerry doing? This is awful.

Edited May 30, 2010 by nmigliore

['7']

Idiotic move by Jerry not pinch hitting for Nieve.

[nmigliore]

Gary Matthews Jr. is PH'ing with the bases loaded and 2 out.

I swear this is starting to look like Jerry is trying to lose.....

edit: And what do you know, GMJ takes 2 fat fastballs and then halfway swings at a breaking ball.

Jerry is amazing.

Edited May 30, 2010 by nmigliore

[NJDevs4978]

It'd be nice to see what this team can do with a real manager, too bad the Plan B is Bob Melvin so it really ain't getting that much better from Jerry when the inevitable finally happens.

But egad, tonight was a clinic in How Dummies Manage. You want your best PH'er hitting with the bases loaded and a lefty pitching...and instead we're 'saving' him just because it's only the third inning. How much better of a situation do you want?! Runs in the third inning are just as important as the ninth!!!

And it was idiotic on everyone's part that Nieve was given a start over Pat Misch, heck they would have been better off with Valdes starting. Nice that we saved him till it was too late too.

[nmigliore]

I missed most of this game, I was at a BBQ. Looks like Dickey had a solid game after a rough a beginnings (2 runs in first 2 innings) and Weeks homering off of him twice. Bottom of the order, and Jeff Francoeur in particular, finally getting hits to fall in.

Edited May 30, 2010 by nmigliore

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Ouch...Mets finally suffer a big-time blowout. They really haven't suffered many of those.

Hasan, we both know what the company line thinking is, re: Manuel...the team is .500, they're only 3.5 games out of first, etc...that probably has the Wilpons thinking that Manuel's doing a decent job. The Mets will have to tank for him to lose his job, so it's classic Catch-22...the Mets might manage to hang around, and Manuel will continue to make boneheaded decisions.

And, for once, just for ONCE, can the Mets actually take control of a situation and not let it become daily fodder for embarrassment? Something has to be done about Perez...this completely selfish, clueless piece of sh!t is taking up a roster spot, and clearly has no interest in trying to do what's best for the team or himself. Try one last time to talk some sense into this a$$hole, and if that doesn't work, cut his sorry ass. Somehow this team is finding itself relevant far longer than any of us could have expected...Ollie doesn't deserve to be a part of it.

[NJDevs4978]

Hasan, we both know what the company line thinking is, re: Manuel...the team is .500, they're only 3.5 games out of first, etc...that probably has the Wilpons thinking that Manuel's doing a decent job. The Mets will have to tank for him to lose his job, so it's classic Catch-22...the Mets might manage to hang around, and Manuel will continue to make boneheaded decisions.

Well that and the fact the Wilpons don't want to eat Jerry's contract anymore than they want to eat the $2 million or so left on Gary Matthews' deal.

Never mind ever eating Ollie's contract, the problem with him is he still has 'leverage' on the Mets based on his contract and the fact him sucking up a roster spot is much less advantageous to the Mets than to him. Plus his agent is obviously telling him a little about the Jason Giambi situation - another Bora$ client that the Yankees wanted to send down but he refused and had a big second half of the season.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Well that and the fact the Wilpons don't want to eat Jerry's contract anymore than they want to eat the $2 million or so left on Gary Matthews' deal.

Never mind ever eating Ollie's contract, the problem with him is he still has 'leverage' on the Mets based on his contract and the fact him sucking up a roster spot is much less advantageous to the Mets than to him. Plus his agent is obviously telling him a little about the Jason Giambi situation - another Bora$ client that the Yankees wanted to send down but he refused and had a big second half of the season.

As far as Jerry goes, I don't his salary will come into play that much if the Mets fall out of it...but who knows, maybe the Wilpons will say "Screw it" at that point and just bite the bullet and fire Manuel the second the season ends...especially if they decide that the new manager will come from outside the organization.

This is what pisses me off about Ollie...forget about leverage and just DO THE RIGHT fvckING THING! I don't expect Ollie to ever really be "right" as far as performance goes from here on out, but at least put yourself in a position where there's the slightest chance that could happen, especially since the idiot GM took it upon himself to bestow millions of undeserved dollars unto you. And steroids or no steroids, Giambi was far more accomplished as a hitter than Ollie's ever been as a pitcher...Ollie's had exactly two seasons in his career that could really be considered "good".

EDIT: take out Ollie's initial call-up year, '04, '07 and '08 and he's basically been a disaster:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=5192

Edited June 1, 2010 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[nmigliore]

Don't look now, but Mike Pelfrey is 8-1 with a 2.39 ERA. He is pitching over his head a little bit; his xFIP coming into tonight was 4.05, but still, the big man has been awesome.

I said this earlier in the year, and I'll just repeat it again - hes so much different from a year ago. He works really quick, incorporates his off-speed pitches a lot more, and hasn't show any signs of getting rattled on the mound a la last year. The splitter has been a HUGE addition to his repertoire.

[nmigliore]

Great, now Jerry is totally abusing K-Rod. Hes at like 40+ pitches after throwing 30+ last night. This guy needs to be fired.

[NJDevs4978]

God, just when I think Jerry can't get any more bat**** insane. I couldn't believe K-Rod went out for the tenth and was almost as surprised he got out of it unscathed cause he looked done in the ninth.

This is why having managers on a day-to-day leash in June just doesn't work. What does Jerry care if K-Rod's destroyed by the All-Star break? But we're heading that way between the way K-Rod went up and down in the St. Louis game and this atrocity.

And now Valdes comes into finish it off, great. According to Howie and Wayne the Mets haven't won as many as two straight games on the road since LAST JULY!