Welcome back to Mets Chat Room.
Big game for the boys tonight. They can’t afford to let the Phillies back in, which is what they’ll do if Oliver Perez spits the bit.
There are other things to talk about, including Pedro and the bullpen.
I’ll talk with you throughout the game.
115 Comments
Why didn’t Anderson steal second? Would they really have thrown down there in that situation?
My friends, Pedro could come back in a few days and pitch lights out, throwing his fastball at 95 together with his best breaking stuff…. But if he’s not perfect, we’ll find a way too lose cuz the best we can do on offense is to squeeze out an occasional run or two. WT… ?
JK: I agree with you on Lo Duca. Catching is a tough position which wears on you and I think he’s in decline now. He’ll never be as good as he was, although getting that ninth inning hit tonight to start things off certainly wasn’t “lifeless” as well as blocking several of Perez’s pitches that were in the dirt. Alou has come up with some big hits this season when healthy. Mets fans noticed an immediate difference when he came off the D/L. Delgado, I’m not sure what to make of him, just a bad year? or in a serious decline? But he has managed to come up big in some spots when we really needed him. As far as the young guys, Reyes is streaky. When he’s hot, there’s nobody better. Milledge has potential, but isn’t exactly the second coming of Roberto Clemente, his flaws have been exposed at the MLB level, whether he makes the necessary adjustments remain to be seen. I think any winning team needs a mixture of both the young guys and the old guys and that’s exactly what we got.
Jimmy, see my post, several back, saying Anderson better be running with Green up. Go figure. A right-handed pitcher pitching and you’re right, they probably don’t through through to second.
I still for the life of me can’t figure put why it was Green in that spot and not Ruben Gotay.
This team is SO flawed.
Here are my Top 10 reasons why we’ll have trouble making the post-season…
1) We have no dependable middle relief
2) We have no quality fifth starter
3) Delgado is having the worst offensive year of his career
4) Jose Reyes is exhausted and slumping
5) Luis Castillo’s knee is hurting and he’s slumping
6) Billy Wagner is slumping
7) Paul LoDuca can’t throw out base stealers
8) Ramon Castro, who’s having a much better offensive year than LoDuca, is on the DL
9) David Wright, despite his offensive prowess, is a mediocre defender at one of the most important positions on the field
10) Young guns John Maine and Oli Perez are struggling at the worst possible time.
If anyone feels optimistic about tomorrow and then heading into Atlanta to face Hudson and Smoltz, I wanna know what you’re drinking and ask you to pour me a double. This has all the potential of being one of the most frustrating trips to Atlanta we’ver ever had.
Oh, wait a minute!
That’s EVERY trip we’ve ever made to Atlanta since ‘98, except for last year.
chucky: Is there another contending team in the majors whose starting lineup almost every day contains at least three regulars who are 35 or over? Sometimes 4 (when Green starts in RF)?
Yeah, Lo Duca got a big hit tonight, but of course it wasn’t when there were men on base. He just left them stranded. And it’s not about one game, it’s what a player does over the course of a season that counts. Which is why I’m not impressed with Alou’s brief hot spurt when he first came off the DL. Lo Duca, Alou and Delgado have been huge disappointments in my book. I’m not adverse to veterans. But do they have to be so old? The older they are, the more in decline they are. And it seems the more sedate they are.
I can watch Milledge and Gomez fail and be happier than if I have to watch players like Alou and Loduca fail. And it doesn’t even have to be Milledge and Gomez next year. I just don’t want to see older players (35+) at catcher and the corner outfield positions. Which means no I-Rod either.
2) We have no quality fifth starter
And some say there was no room for Bannister this year?
Gil: I’m optimistic about tomorrow…....and I’ll pour you a double vodka collins.( I’m only two sips into my first one..lol) El Duque who’s been our stopper is on the hill tomorrow and he thrives when the pressure is on. As far as your top ten: 1/We’ve had mediocre middle relief all season….......this is nothing new.2/ We haven’t had a quality fifth starter all season…......this also is nothing new, but hopefully we will soon…....he goes by the name of Martinez. 3/Agree…...but he still comes up big sometimes.4/ He’s a steaky player, if he catches fire, look out, nobody in the MLB is better. Hopefully they give him a day off against Cinncinati.5/ Luis Castillo’s knee has been hurting for along time, and he’s done well anyway. He’ll break out of the slump, he plays with heart. After the Chicago series, everyone was bemoaning him and then he went on a tear and everyone loved him.6/ Billy Wagner is in his late thirties, I’d really be surprised if he didn’t have a tired period sometime during the year. He’s been well rested lately and should be ready to go when we need him.7/ He never was known for his strong arm. 8/ Castro tends to get exposed when he plays too much. Prior to going on the D/L, he was in a slump.9/ DW is what he is, we knew from the get go that he would never be Brooks Robinson out there, but he has made some great plays. 10/ Maine isn’t struggling at the worst possible time, the worst possible time would be during the playoffs. Perez gave up 3 runs in 7 innings. I wouldn’t exactly call that Seaver like….....but he kept us in the game. He could improve, it was not his best performance, but he wasn’t horrible. I don’t think we can be this unlucky for ever.
Jk: Going into the playoffs…..I’d rather have the vets but I’d love to see Milledge and Gomez out there next year. Gomez is still really green, but I was impressed with his potential earlier this summer before he got hurt. And I’m all for signing a younger catcher next year. I’d love to pry back up catcher Miguel Montero away from Arizona if possible or perhaps Shoppach (sp?) from the Indians. But for now…...the old guys have value….....they know how to win even if they aren’t as young and skilled as they used to be because of their know how.
Ivan Rodriguez is a juicer and that should disqualify him from wearing the orange-and-blue (but it won’t). But he does have a pretty good history in developing young pitchers at Detroit and Florida. Even yhe early 1990s teams at Texas had guys who ended up winning a whole bunch of games: Kevin Brown, Kenny Rogers, Jamie Moyer. Not the best reputations in the business and some foolish behavior. But lots of wins. I might be tempted to try him to work with Pelrey, Humber and Maine. Unless there is a bright young prospect in the minors ready to take over as catcher (I’m not a regular Baseball America reader but I don’t think there is). But in 2008 get rid of Green. Maybe Alou in a reserve capacity. You might have to think about Carlos Delgado.
JK wrotte:2) We have no quality fifth starter
And some say there was no room for Bannister this year? There is no such thing as enough starting pitching. Even if it looks like it at the beginning of the year, It’s a long season. Bad move by Omar.
Dan: it’s funny but when I-Rod was in Texas he had a bad rep for working with the pitchers. There were tales that he wouldn’t attend pre-game pitchers meetings. That he would call for too many fastballs so he could throw out more runners. I think as he got older he got better at working with pitchers but I still think he may be overrated there. I think Verlander was already fairly polished by the time he made his ML debut … The Mets did have a bright young prospect in the minors but they left him unprotected last winter. He’s Jesus Flores. ... I cannot see Alou even on the bench next year. He seems like someone who needs regular work in order to stay sharp or he goes completely cold. I want to see them bring back Marlon and maybe Easley next year.
Chucky: I completely agree. You can never have too much starting pitching.
I know JK, I heard those stories too. I always wonder if they were true or was it a case of blaming your best player for everything when the team didn’t win. Was Minaya responsible for the Rangers acquiring Rodriguez?
I don’t want to blame the Mets for this but Heath Bell had a 1-2-3 save for the Padres as they tie the D-Backs in the NL West.
What I do want to blame the Wilpons for is Tom Verducci’s SI Q&A on how come the Yankees or (more neglectfully according to Verducci) the Dodgers in not signing Vlad Guerrero. How about that “let’s make a contract with his back” Fred and Jeff put out as an excuse. I know he missed the first half of 2004 but he hit like gangbusters the second half. But whether the team would have made the moves to sign Beltran and Martinez plus trade for LoDuca and Delgado can be questioned. How much of Shawn Green’s contract are the Mets picking up? His acquisition would be totally unneeded.
Bring back Chad Bradford!!
Wow. That one was a toughie. After the game though, I found myself feeling strangely calm. Myers really did blow the save last night and the Mets came back even though the boxscore doesn’t say it. El Duque is pitching today as well and he is as good of a big game pitcher as there is. The lead will go back to 4 today and of course the way this season has been going, since the Mets this time played lousy at Citizens Bank Park where they usually do well, it figures that the Mets will have the series of their lives at Turner Field where they have been doing lousy. Of course all this happening while the Phills feeling a tremendous let down from the Met series, go to Florida and lose two of three to the Marlins. That’s just the way the season has been going.
i want a bf toinght thats hot and sweet
I really liked your blog with the Justin Verlander item. I think Verlander may be a future hall-of-famer.
I try to follow as much baseball news as I can from Sao Paulo, Brazil.