New York Mets 2008

[sonny10305]

Ok baseball fans, the time has come to start to discuss the 2008 Mets

I am full of optimism for this 08 team, they are looking good and they have a sense of confidence that I am really happy to see. I hope they have learned a big lesson from last year. They know they need to focus more; they were a little to confident in ’07 after the way 06 went.
I want that confidence this year and I want them to not forget what happened last year. Inter squad and exhibition games are underway and I can almost taste the ’08 season

Beginning with pitching, there is no doubt we are in great shape this year. With 7 relievers along with the 5 starters.
With the one two punch of Santana and Martinez followed by and Perez and Maine it gives us a tremendous 1-4 As for the fifth starter, Hernandez concerns me a bit, dono if he is gonna make it.
I think he will be left back for a few weeks and maybe put Pelfey in that spot. I really want Pelfrey to come up to NY with the team at the end of March. He is our insurance policy.
Sanchez is looking really good we all know about his changeup, which is his bread and butter pitch, Gotta be the best in the business. Watching that pitch drop off the table especially into lefties is awesome. Sanchez and Heilman will be our bridge to get to Billy Wagner. I felt Sanchez was missed last year.
Watch out for this kid Jonathan Niese, once he learns not to overthrow he is going to be a hell-of-a pitcher. Reminds a bit of Joe Smith.

The spring training opener will be on Friday against the Cardinals with Santana on the mound.

The bench is looking good as well
Marlon Anderson who can really pinch hit, Chevez, Eaisley, and Castro, (the best back up catcher in the game) I am hoping for Gotay to be on board, (gotta have that switch hitter) he gave us a lot of hits last year.

Beltron needs to bounce back, he keeps on improving, but his knees are still bothering him a bit, but he feels a lot better and is optimistic. He won’t let a little pain hold him down he will force himself cause he wants to play.
I am not concerned about Reyes, I have no doubt he learned a lot last year and will surpass himself in ‘08. I am starting to get a better feeling for Church, I will miss Green in that position but not Milledge, I never cared for that kid.
Lo Duca will also be missed, especially his bat, but Schneider is a good fit and in some ways better than Paulie.
David Wright will of course continue to grow to become one of the best in the game. He needs to, and has been, working on his throwing. Another 30/30 year? No question he will top that.

So are the Mets the team to beat in the NL East. You beat your ass they are

 

[sonny10305]

Well the Mets had their first televised spring training game at Tradition field,
vs St Louis. It was great seeing most of the guys, all looking fit and happy to be back playing ball. While I do not plan on commenting on every spring training game, I thought yesterdays was worth writing about.

I guess we have to start with Santana.
He got rocked for 3 runs, and got taken deep by Juan Gonzalez, a 2 run homer, maybe he should not have thrown him that fastball on the first pitch. But, if you look back, Gonzalez has had a lot of success against Santana including two homers and a couple of doubles, so no surprise there. Way to make the roster dude.
However, this is spring TRAINING, there are no record books for spring training, it means nothing except Wille to help him fill those final spots, coaches to do some tweaking and the guys getting their work and pitchers hitting their spots. so I was not bothered by the homers at all, it’s just batting practice as far as I am concerned. It’s all meaningless. I love what David Wright said, “It was like a bullpen session”
What I was impressed by was his 30 pitches of which 22 were strikes; he only struck out one batter.
His changeup is a work of art, absolutely nasty, It’s a changeup disguised as a fastball. I think the batters think they see fastball, but they are fooled.
He has this long stride and he uses his legs to give him power.
His fastball, which cost him the 2 run homer, while pretty good could use some work, I dono, velocity seemed ok but needs a little work, location as well, needs to hit his spots. I also think, at least yesterday, he rushed his delivery. I was surprised he threw so many fastballs.
You also gotta remember he has often gotten off to some slow starts, of course he is going to have slow starts but he will be up more than down. So calm down Mets fans. Just seeing him in that Mets uniform was awesome. He said later that he felt good about the outing and was glad to get that first day out of the way so he could get going. He clearly knows he represents the new Mets season, and wears that well.

The Cards were very aggressive, many times swinging at the first pitch,
He had to have been under a lot of pressure to perform yesterday, when he threw that first pitch (a strike), every player in both dugouts were standing up and watching, Oh, no pressure there.
They used the DH, so we did not get to see Santana hit, I am looking forward to seeing that.
Pedro did not pitch, but what fun it was to see him smiling and having fun in the dugout.He also served as coach to guys like Figueroa, you could see him calling pitches from the dugout, That was awesome!
Watch out for Figueroa, I think he could have an amazing year; the kid has 6 different pitches. I hope he make middle reliever or even a spot starter.
Sanchez,another pitcher I have big hopes for, pitched only one inning, needs to maybe build up his arm strength and throw more fastballs. He missed his spots too often.
Wagner was ok, but I have said t before the guy scares me, too many blown saves last year, needs to rework that curve ball. At least he did not threaten anyone like he did to the college kid last week.
Reyes did well with a two out RBI (gotta love those) nice to see him keeping the ball on the ground.
And who that kid Martinez playing left field made an awesome snag, we know he is a power hitter but yesterday we saw what his defense was like.
David Wright showed off that Golden Glove with a coupe of nice plays.
The Mets have a new patch that they are wearing on their right sleeve commemorating the last year at Shea.

Today (Saturday) we play the Dodgers should be weird seeing Torre in that uniform.

 

[Sausy]

It is essentiaslly extended practice at this point,the spring games.I only saw parts of the game,so thanks sonny on those observations.Figueroa is an interesting young pitcher,hope to continue seeing good things from him.
Santana just needs to get the rust out and get comfortable,but he'll be fine.

 

[Absolut]

What I was impressed by was his 30 pitches of which 22 were strikes.

Now that is impressive, and something I didn't know as I did not get to watch the game yesterday.

Today (Saturday) we play the Dodgers should be weird seeing Torre in that uniform.

Agreed.

 

[sonny10305]

Mets injuries are mounting up

Carlos Delgado is feeling discomfort in his right hip and returned to New York for an MRI.
Beltron still having knee discomfort.
In todays game against the Dodgers, Ryan Church made a late call to Marlon Anderson and the two collided. Church has a concussion and Anderson a contusion to the chest. Both were taken to the hospital and later it was decided they both need Cat scan's

Jezz, and it's only March 1st.

 

[Absolut]

^ Ouch sonny. That sucks some major ass right there (and not in a good way of course.)

Honestly, I hate seeing players get injured in freakin' Spring Training, as I think we've all agreed to the fact that yes, it doesn't count, but can be a good measure of how one thinks a team will perform throughout the season.

Not good - hopefully they will recover soon!

 

[Sausy]

^ Ouch sonny. That sucks some major ass right there (and not in a good way of course.)

Honestly, I hate seeing players get injured in freakin' Spring Training, as I think we've all agreed to the fact that yes, it doesn't count, but can be a good measure of how one thinks a team will perform throughout the season.

Not good - hopefully they will recover soon!

Yep,the last thing anyone wants to see this early is a flurry of injuries and maladies.Hopefully all aren't serious,especially the Delgado hip problem.one reason I see the Mets going after Mark Teixeira as a free agent next winter should Atlanta fail to re-sign him(though Scott Boras represents him...though Mark will get big money,don't think they will get too ridiculous in demands..say six or seven years,$124-140 million or so the Mets could swallow with the new ballpark)Damn,I'm dreaming already!

 

[sonny10305]

Ok so some better news

Church and Anderson, who crashed into each other while chasing a pop up during in Saturday’s game, appear to be going to be ok.
Church won't play again until he is free of concussion symptoms.
Anderson has a bruised sternum and is day to day.
Both players had CT scans that came back negative.
Delgado’s MRI was negative. It showed an impingement, which is a restriction of normal motion in the hip. He will sit out a few days with the injury.
The Mets still have questions about Beltran, Easley, Castillo and Johnson; none of em has played in a Grapefruit League game yet due to aches and pains.

Yesterday’s game against the Dodgers was an important game from a pitchers stand point, all 7 pitchers used had excellent outings. I got to see that kid Niese I wrote about in another post, he tossed two shutout innings with three strikeouts.

 

[sonny10305]

A look at Citi field

 

[sonny10305]

Ok, Santana pitched again today and he was much better.
He threw a lot of fast balls, which was smart since that's the pitch he needs to work on.
I loved watching him throw fast balls up and in the strike zone, setting up his killer change up down and away.
His location was much better and he found his spot more often.
Good outing! In fact, over the last week most of the Mets pitchers have been impressive.

Santana just needed to get that first game out of the way,
he was under to much pressure.

 

[Sausy]

Well,now Moises Alou had a hernia and is out til sometime in May.Love him as a hitter,but this is a AL DH now.Just too damed injury prone.Hope he recovers as soon as possible....he can still have a major impact on the lineup even in a 400 at bat season.Still has the quick hands,but if he can't stay healthy,his offense will have to come somehow from Ryan Church or Endy Chavez.God I hope Fernando Martinez is ready next season!

 

[sonny10305]

Well,now Moises Alou had a hernia and is out til sometime in May.Love him as a hitter,but this is a AL DH now.Just too damed injury prone.Hope he recovers as soon as possible....he can still have a major impact on the lineup even in a 400 at bat season.Still has the quick hands,but if he can't stay healthy,his offense will have to come somehow from Ryan Church or Endy Chavez.God I hope Fernando Martinez is ready next season!

I have stayed away from commenting about Mets injuries because I am NOT one of those Chicken Little, the sky is falling, kinda guy. Opening day is still a little over 3 weeks away and many of the injured guys are set to come back before then, although I hate the fact that theses guys will not get the benefit of spring training.

The only real concerns for me right now are Alou and Hernandez.
Alou may or not be back in 4 to 6 weeks; I think it will be longer, although hopefully not as long as the quadriceps strain that sidelined him for almost three months last season. I gotta tell you I worry he may be done after this season if not sooner. What’s that you say, his career is over? Well maybe yes, at least with the Mets it may very well be.

So where does that leave us, well, I like Pagan he is a switch hitter, and I like what I see from him. Of course Chavez can fill in, not so much at the plate, but with offense. Clark is another possibility but I would prefer Pagan or Chavez. Easley, Valentin, and Anderson could all be used, but infielders in the outfield always scare me. I kinda close one eye and hold my breath when a ball is hit out to them. Martinez has a hot bat but he has been very sloppy in the outfield, but hey, he's a 19 year kid, he will get there, but not yet.

If Alou does not look like he’s gonna make it I would love to see us go after Nady. I hated losing him, I think without Alou, Nady would be perfect. He’s right handed, can play first as well as the outfield. It’s not likely to happen, cause I dono if the Pirates would give him up, or what we have left, after the Santana deal, to offer. But it’s a nice idea and a good solution to the problem.

Next concern is Hernandez, he can not seem to heal his foot, and it is difficult for him to put pressure there. So he is working on a new windup, without the high leg kick. The new motion helps El Duque keep his back foot flat on the rubber during his delivery, which eases stress on the toe had had the his surgery on. He says It seems to be working but that’s a major adjustment that has me very concerned. We could end up with Pelfrey as the fifth starter, and that just might be the best thing I am holding off judgment till I see El Duque pitch with that new windup.

So calm down Mets fans, The Mets are STILL the team to beat in the NL East.
Ya just gotta believe

 

[Sausy]

Oh sonny, I'm not panicking!Obviously most of the injuries are relatively minor and though it would be nice to have full spring training,the walking wounded will be back in form fairly soon.But Alou's injury is frustrating.I don't think his career is over,the guy can still really hit with power and consistency,and as long as he does that,he'll have a job and if healthy get the at bats.But I think after this year,since they did pick up his option for 2008,he should go to the American league and DH.He's too unreliably injury prone now to ask to play the outfield,and isn't really that great defensively anymore at almost 42.

I think the Mets have with Pelfrey a pretty solid backup no.5 pitcher to El Duque.I do hope that Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo with their knee clean ups can run free and easy and maintain their defensive range.I'm frustrated by the injuries,but not panicking yet at all.Best get the flood of injuries out of the way early on then in the later stages of the season and playoff positioning time.

 

[sonny10305]

Oh sonny, I'm not panicking!Obviously most of the injuries are relatively minor and though it would be nice to have full spring training,the walking wounded will be back in form fairly soon.But Alou's injury is frustrating.I don't think his career is over,the guy can still really hit with power and consistency,and as long as he does that,he'll have a job and if healthy get the at bats.But I think after this year,since they did pick up his option for 2008,he should go to the American league and DH.He's too unreliably injury prone now to ask to play the outfield,and isn't really that great defensively anymore at almost 42.

I think the Mets have with Pelfrey a pretty solid backup no.5 pitcher to El Duque.I do hope that Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo with their knee clean ups can run free and easy and maintain their defensive range.I'm frustrated by the injuries,but not panicking yet at all.Best get the flood of injuries out of the way early on then in the later stages of the season and playoff positioning time.

Great to hear you are with me on this injury thing. I knew I could count on you
Too many of my Yankee fan friends are tearin me up over the Mets injuries, and havin waaay to much fun. I just tell them, the Yankees may be, for the most part, healthy but they have the Tigers and Indians to contend with this year. The best the yankees can do is finish third, maybe fourth after the White Sox.

As for Alou, you are right about his power at the bat but his body can't keep up with him. Hey, I love the guy, but sadly,I just don't think his body will hold out this season.
Beltron should be back next week, let's just hope he has found a way to hit a fast ball again.
Did you see that game yesterday against the Indians? Although Perez sucked, the rest if the team rocked. Most of the regulars were not there, well ok, so most of em are recovering, but no Wright or Reyes just a bunch of new hopefuls playin their heart out.
It was awesome!.
They played that Cleveland team like a bunch of pros, you could see just how much fun they were having, I would have loved to have been there.
Willie was all smiles in the dugout watching these guys scrappin, running and stealing bases, and scoring 8 home runs. The Indians musta been thinking,
WHO THE F#@K ARE THESES GUYS?.
oh, and the Mets won the game. It was the best

 

[gambit2212]

Hey Sonny. Huge Mets fan here. It really does look like our pitching staff is coming along well. Not only Santana pitching as expected but taking a leadership, mentoring role as well. I heard he's been working with Pelfrey on some breaking stuff that is really helping the kids game.

I'm not as worried about Alou's injury because Pagan has been playing well, we have the best 4th outfielder in baseball in Endy Chavez and Fernando Martinez is hitting .300 and he's only 19yo. We can get by until Alou comes back and we can survive without him if he doesn't.

What truly worries me in terms of our players is Carlos Delgado. First base is an offensive position and we really have no true backup for him. I know the Mets have been trying to get Jose Valentin worked out there because they like his leadership abilities (Jose Reyes' decline in terms of defense and "being in the game" seemed to begin when Valentin went on the DL) and he hit well when healthy but we lose an awful lot of "pop" in our lineup without a true offensive threat. And Delgado seems to break down very easily now.

So before Christmas we went from a team that would hit well and had a solid lineup with no pitching in the starting rotation and bullpen to a solid pitching club with holes in the lineup.

Interestingly enough, this all ties back to Omar Minaya in moving away from his philosophy of youth and athleticism and growing players within the organization (all things he said when he became our GM). Our problems exist because of older players recruited specifically to win now. While I wholeheartedly agreed with the Santana trade, we've got to stop relying on aging veterans past their prime and focus on youth.

Just my two cents.

 

[sonny10305]

Hey gambit, thanks for your two cents, it's always great to hear from another Mets fan.
I hear what you are saying about Alou and, like a lot of people, I would love to see him return strong,
I just have doubts about that happening. Plus even if he does, how long before he is out hurt again, Ya know what I mean.
Alou himself insists he will be back strong, in fact he has said he is miffed by all the people who have counted him out. That’s’ a good thing, cause if he is determined to do it, that will help him a lot, being mentally strong is a major part of this. I want him back, I hope he makes it. But as you said we can manage well without him.
You also mentioned Martinez and I love that kid as well, great hitter, he just needs work on his defense, a lot actually. But he is young, just needs time. Another thing going for him is his intelligence, for a 19 year old kid he shows me a lot in that area. I especially like his patience at the plate.
Pelfrey seems to be off to a good start and could very well earn the fifth spot, depending of course on Hernandez. Perez is making me nervous, he is so damn inconsistent. Some days you look at him and he looks like he is about to implode. I have a really good feeling about Pedro; he could come back strong as ever. That one two punch with Santana could be a killer. Maine is looking good as well; he may be more consistent than Perez this season.

You made an excellent point about Omar and his philosophy of youth and athleticism and growing players within the organization. Only a Santana deal could have caused him to make that trade. I was surprised to see him do it, cause it really goes against what he believes in, but it just shows how much he wanted Santana. The only player I regret losing is Gomez, I really liked that kid. He is gonna big one of the best players we ever let get away.

If you saw that game against Cleveland on Friday you would worry less about losing some of the aging veterans, there is a lot of big talent out there chomping at the bit to play and make the team. Be sure to catch as many spring season games as you can and see some of the talent that is available to us. Plus those games, watching those guys compete is one hell-of-a lot of fun to watch.

 

[gambit2212]

I'm so upset today because a friend of mine needs me to drive her around as she's without a car and I'll miss watching the game live (but that's what DVR's are for). I too think Oliver Perez will be the weak link in the rotation. Even though he has more stuff and more upside than Maine, he is too inconsistent and that's why I like Maine better. I think the Mets will let Perez go after the season (his agent is Scott Boras so he WILL go the free agent route) but maybe Neise or one of the others will step up to fill that spot. I do think Pelfrey will benefit from Santana and Pedro teaching him new pitches and will be our number 3 or 4 next year so it'll be ok to throw someone young into the number 5. I think we do have some decent pitching talent in the minors. I'm not nearly as confident in the position players to come up over the next couple of years. Hopefully Fernando Martinez steps up and is a part of the club towards the end of the season and then the Mets can focus on first base and right field.

 

[gambit2212]

Oh, I think the player I'll miss the most in the trade is Humber. I think he was getting close to ready and had the right mental makeup to pitch in the bigs.

 

[sonny10305]

Not a good day for Pelfrey on Saturday.

If you like Pelfey, yesterday’s game was not the one to watch, he got rocked.
7 runs, 7 hits, he walked four including one player he hit with the ball, all in three and a third innings. He had trouble getting a feel for the ball.
Credit to Willie in allowing Pelfrey to pitch the third inning, I imagine to see how he would handle the adverse first two, but it turned out to be a bad idea cause three more runs were charged to him after he left the mound with the bases loaded. It was very much like last season for Pelfrey, getting behind in the count and having to come in with the fast ball with men on base. If he is to earn a spot he will need to work on his fast ball. He has a good slider but needs to learn to pitch inside if his sinker is to be effective.
I had thought maybe Pelfrey might get the fifth starter position but Hernandez has said he will not go to the bull pen, he will only accept the fifth starter position, so if that new windup with the lower leg kick works for him that is prolly what will happen. Pelfrey can always go to AAA to home his skills and fill in when needed. Let’s face it, even if Hernandez is there for the start of the season I don’t see him making for the whole year.
Even Perez is having a bad start I thought he would shine this year but so far I don’t see it.
But hey, it’s only spring training and ya can’t judge pitchers just on that.
It was the first time we got to see Schneider call a game with the Mets and he is very aggressive, which I like.
He can be a big help to guys like Pelfrey. I like his hockey mask as well.

Now the good news, yesterday we saw the return of four of the injured players.
Schneider, Church, Chavez, and Easley all played yesterday and all four had good outings.
Both Schneider and Easley hit home runs, Chavez, a single and a run, Church, went 2-2.

Today (Sunday) Maine takes the mound.

 

[sonny10305]

Darryl Strawberry is a Met again.

The Mets have announced that Strawberry will return to the team this season, after nearly 20 years away, serving in a variety of positions, including outfielder instructor for this spring.

Darryl, of course, has had a lot of problems, A LOT!

I support his return as long as he remains clean, he has paid his debt and hopefully has learned a hard lesson. He was one of the best and can offer a lot to the team. He remains the Mets’ career leader in homers, RBIs and walks. I gotta wonder, if not for his troubles, how good he could have been.
Good luck Straw.