Mets Chat: A hurtin’ group. Who’s worried?
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- March
- 2
What the first few games have taught us is how vulnerable the Mets are physically. Any team, actually. Five of their projected starters are hurting, and injuries are always beyond control.
I was thinking Oliver Perez would come out sizzling after winning his arbitration case. Instead, he came out stinking. Yes, it’s early, so there’s no reason to be overly worried. Besides, if he is so-so this year would you really be surprised? These and anything else that’s on your mind, let’s hear it.
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on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm by John Delcos.
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Too early to worry but how does the average age of Mets starters/roster compare to other teams? Assuming there is a direct correlation between age and injuries (thankfully Reyes has gotten healthier as he got older).
You build a team around the idea that having been around time means that you’re “proven” this is what happens… you get a bunch of Delgadoes and Castillos and El Duques gimping around talking about how they don’t have to change their approaches or battle for their spots because they were good five tears ago.
You build a team around the idea that amiable clubhouse guys are more important than talented guys, you’ve got Church and Anderson both playing out of position… Church in right field instead of left and Anderson at first instead of ONLY ONLY ONLY pinchhitting… and they ram into each other.
You build a team around the idea that service time trumps talent and health and you get Gotay killing himself in spring training to prove himself worthy when he really shouldn’t have to… in comparison to Ol’ Luis-One-Leg… and he screws up his leg going 110% in an early spring training game.
Buncha banged-up old men and Expos… because they’re “proven” and they’re good at talking to the press… and this is the wheat you reap.
Is there any way we can get Milledge and Estrada back and nullify Castillo’s contract on grounds of mental instability caused by the pressures of the Yankeeloving NYC press?
Jesus.
I think all teams need health to win, but I think this Mets team will depend on its health more than most teams if it is to win. If this team is reasonably healthy I think they have enough to dominate their division. If they continue to have lots of injuries, which is possible, because they have a lot of older, injury prone type players, they will be an ordinary team. To be something special they must be healthy. I think this season rides completely on the health. The talent is there, but it must be playing to amount to anything.
Mets had lots of injuries last yr and almost pulled it off.
If the same happens this yr, the division will be close. If not, Mets ought to win by a few games.
That’s sports!
Come back from the ledge Mike C.
I totally agree with you regarding Gotay, he should be our starting 2B.
However, the season hasn’t even started yet. We’ll see how Delgado answers the bell when it’s go time. And while I did not like the Castillo signing, the dude played well down the stretch. 4 years may have been excessive, but I expect him to be good this year.
Duque, well, he’s our 5th starter and Pelfrey covers us there, so I’m not sweating that.
The Church/Anderson collision was a freak occurrence. Had nothing to do with Church playing out of position. He was just playing hard.
I’m not going down the Milledge/Church road again. You like Milledge and think Church sucks, fine. But Estrada? Estrada had ONE good year and is just as bad, if not worse, than all of the injury risks we already have on this team. I believe Estrada is coming off surgery himself.
Not worried. Get injured now. Get healthy before April 1.
Go fight win.
I understand the flaws of this team, we’ve got a few older guys who are injury risks. However Mike C., your rant is as if this team is expected to win 70 games, like the Mets franchise is in the garbage, worth nothing, has no chance, worst team ever built, no future in sight whatsoever. I see the faults, I just don’t see us as being in THAT bad of a situation. You want the perfect team, it’s not going to happen. You make Gotay out to be a superstar, he’s not. You’ve probably never even see him play defense. Also, what it Marlon to do? Only play in spring training games as a pinch hitter? If you play on at any time using him as a 1st basemen, doesn’t he need a look over there anyway? And Eastrada? Really? Is the grass ALWAYS that greener on the other side? Look, you’ll find a fault no matter what they do, there will always be something to fill the void, for you to complain about, no matter what. We have a 90+ win team, deal with it.
The point with Estrada isn’t that he’s great… the point is that he’s an unembarrassing option hitting sixth and Schneider doesn’t hit well enough to play in the American major leagues, even if he still WAS a great defensive catcher, which he isn’t anymore.
No, Estrada is not an all-star. He’ll hit .270-.280 with sporadic power… but for a National League catcher, that is just fine.
The Schnide can’t hit for a starting job in AAA, for God’s sake, if not for the fact that Minaya remembers him fondly from when they were Expos together and forgets that… he… can’t… hit.
Beat-up old guys who can’t stay healthy and… dudes who can play okay defense and be good in the clubhouse and can’t hit. It sucks.
And, yes, Anderson should never be allowed in the field.
He should absolutely never be allowed in the field, he is a butcher and an accident waiting to happen and letting him play the field… even in spring training… gives Willie’s gut instincts crazy ideas about him possibly fielding at some point.
It’s so backward. The dude’s a solid pinch-hitter, don’t get me wrong, but he is a hand grenade out there in the field… even though Willie would start him over Milledge because, Christ I dunno, Lastings used the wrong salad fork or something at dinner and the “rook” needed to “know his place”.
It’s just so backward.
Estrada last year got into a fight with his manager and pitching coach and basically refused to call a game the way they wanted him to. He was divisive in their clubhouse. He had an All-star year and the Braves let him go, I wonder why. No one wants this guy on their team, that is pretty clear. I wonder why? If you think Estrada could hit 6th you’re joking, and if you think him being on the team would make us better, you’re joking yourself and just looking for excuses to be upset.
And if the name of the game were “everyone get along great ball”... I would completely agree with you, ‘fan… but it is baseball, y’know.
And if you can’t get on base, you ain’t gonna win.
I have a few worries, but I’m not worried about Perez. El Duque may be done with all the health problems he’s having, but I think Pelfrey will fill in nicely in the event that El Duque can’t pitch. In a way, it’s probably a blessing in disguise, because like a lot of other Mets fans out there, I want to see what Pelfrey is capable of. If Pelfrey can’t do the job, I say give Jon Neise a shot.
It may sound ridiculous to some, but the guy I worry about most in the rotation is Santana. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really watched him pitch before. People say he’s the best pitcher in the game, but he’s going to have to make quite a few adjustments coming over to a new league. I just hope he’s healthy and that he doesn’t put undue pressure on himself. A lot of people are expecting him to take us over the top.
But by far my biggest worry right now with the Mets is Delgado. I was pleased to hear how’s he’s slimmed down. I thought maybe he could return to form if he was better conditioned physically, but things don’t look good with him right now. I hope the Mets are thinking of a full-time replacement in the event that Delgado goes down. Haven’t seen Abreu yet so I don’t know about him.
Some of you may laugh, but I wonder if Gotay could learn the position. I love the kid’s bat. I wonder who would be best suited to play first from among the group of Valentin, Easley, Anderson and Gotay.
,
“Beat-up old guys…”
Congrats Mike C., you’ve just described Estrada. After offseason elbow surgery, he might not be available for opening day.
“if you can’t get on base, you ain’t gonna win.”
Hey, we agree again! Estrada’s OBP in ‘07: .296. Schneider’s: .326. No one is saying Schneider can hit, but if you think Estrada is that much better offensively than Schneider, you would be wrong. Not to mention, despite no longer being the exceptional defensive catcher he once was, Schneider is still way better than Estrada behind the dish, or any catcher we’ve had since Hundley.
And under what circumstances would Estrada ever be hitting 6th? Even if Alou or Delgado did go down, Church would be moved up in the order before Estrada would.
We ain’t gettin’ Estrada, folks.
The injuries are certainly a concern. Of the starters our CF, 1B and C are hurt. Beltran has always had an injury in his time with the team. Perhaps that is just his way. Great athlete whose body is prone to breaking down. Although he played hurt last year and I give props for that. Delgado is a concern because of last year and Schneider has the hammy which will happen I guess. I don’t worry about Castillo because of Gotay, but he just banged his ankle. It does hurt the lineup tho because Gotay isn’t a #2.
I see Ollie being like last year. He is wild. That is who he is. The coaches need to fix his mechanics and he needs to stay on top of it.
With this rotation I have no problems if Pelf is #5 because El Duque is hurt. That situation will sort itself out. If El Duque is healthy he is #5 and Pelf goes to AAA. If he is hurt, he is DL’d and Pelf stays. I think Pelf got hammered last year and got a useful but painful lesson on what he needs to do in the majors. If he stays he will be a 500 pitcher. He still needs to work on his secondary pitches and learn how to pitch, but he will be ok if he is our #5.
With temps still in the single digits and the ground snow-covered here in Central CT this morning, it’s not safe to go out on the ledge, but I’ve thought about it.
Somehow, even with no current Mets in the Mitchell Report, their start has been less than stellar. What did these guys do over the winter – obsess over the plight of Clemens? Campaign against Hillary?
Santana seemed surprised that guys were getting hits off of him, Delgado and Alou are taking longer and longer to get into ‘shape’, and Beltran is another slow starter. Apparently only David Wright and Jose Reyes used the off season judiciously.
Are Omar and Willie scanning the free agent list? Maybe they should.
If your going to get this emotional on 3/3, how do any of you make thru the season?
As for Church/Anderson collision. Anderson was the one out of position. That was Church’s ball.
They wereboth out of position scoop. It was Church’s ball but he is a left fielder, not a right fielder which is what I believe Mike C was referring to.
The warning signs about this Spring:
1. Delgado, Now he says he had pain during the Winter. Did he tell the team. If not, he did a major disservice to the team. If he did, our medical staff needs an upgrade.
2. Castillo/Beltran/Chavez: They are falling further and further behind the getting ready curve. I understand not rushing them but when do they get in baseball shape, and did they work hard over the Winter or didn’t they?
3. ElDuque: If he’s done so be it. But why is Sosa being used in a releif role when the Mets should be developing some competition for this job? If Pelfrey is designated and Sosa throwsonen inning who is next starter when Pedro needs rest or something else happens? Seems like same bad planning as last year.
4. There seems to be the same who cares attitude we saw last year. This goes for Minaya and Randolph.
5. Yup, its only March, but warning flags are rising all over this team. Your in real trouble when your healthiest player is Alou, the oldest regular in the league and the most fragile guy historically.
I think saying Church was out of position is a little much. There isn’t much of a difference between LF and RF. Usually what is the deciding factor regarding whether or not you play LF or RF is your arm strength.
For all this talk about Church being out of position, baseball-reference says he has 156 games in left, 114 in center and 41 in right. No idea about minors, little league, etc. He should know how to play them all.
I just can’t get worked up about the injuries on March 3rd. If it’s March 30th, then OK, but it’s too early.
Having said that, Delagado will be a concern all season, not only because of his health but also because of his diminishing skills due to age. So they just need to plan on having someone like Abreu get a really really long look in camp this spring. And Wright, Beltran and the others just need to step it up all year.
I think the Mets rotation is good enough to withstand the weaknesses in the lineup.
Don’t let your distaste of the Church trade cloud you judgement Slop. That was Church’s ball all the way. Anderson should not have been near the ball.
The trade is done. Move on and hope he and Scheinder help the team. W/Delgado ailing, the offense will need their help.
Get the injuries out of the way early I always say. As long as they aren’t season ending, now’s the team for the bumps and bruises to heal.
Keith, great post up there, but remember, Mike C doesn’t rely on stats or anything for that matter, he just takes whatever random thought pops out of his mind and turns it into fact. Fact is Scheieder did on get base better then Estrada, yet he comes on here, busts on Schneider, and says we would be better off with Estrada. Do you have any dignity Mike C? You’ve just proven yourself to be a no nothing punk. Stop hating, because its getting harder and harder to believe you’re a Mets fan. Estrada? You are smoking some good, can I get some?