New York Mets 2010

[sonny10305]

Keith was a hoot last night,in the Pepsi Porch stands with those two female Met fans...the Mets unquestionably in Keith,Ron Darling and Gary Cohen have among the best chemistry and quality among broadcast teams in baseball.

Saucy, much as been written by me about those awesome guys, as you said they are the best in the business. There is of course the instructional value I get from Keith and Ron and the amazing play by play and stats that Gary delivers in every game. But there is also the friendship between those guys that comes thou, it’s like sitting around with a bunch of guys talking baseball. I always seem to learn something or be amused by something, especially from Keith who will often say innocent things that just come out sounding like something else like last night when talking about Josh Thole Keith said “Josh goes the other way naturally" I have written a few of his gems here before he is just so fun.
I just enjoy sponging up all the baseball knowledge that comes form all three of those guys. Of curse we can’t leave Kevin B out, his interviews are the best there is, no one does that better. It’s always such a sharp contrast to have to endure the ramblings and dullness of the guys on FOX or ESPN when a game is broadcast nationally, soooo boring.

So finally last night Duda got hot with two important doubles, how great to see that. That poor kid has been struggling so much since coming to the bigs. What you saw last night was more like the Duda we saw in Buffalo, I was thrilled by that.
Angel Pagan who some had suggested was getting tired these last few weeks has proven over the last few days that he most certainly is not, another great night from him at the plate and on the field. That catch he made followed by that 8-4-3 double play was one of the best we have seen from any player this year, outstanding.

Also nice to see Davis coming back to life the last week or so, he was looking a little tired, but the song he chose as he comes up to bat “Start Me Up” by the Stones has energized him I think. No chewing tobacco last night I sure hope he has gotten that out of his system and will stop chewing that crap.I have a cute story to share about Ike, his mother is Jewish and Ike lost family members in the Holocaust. Thing is, Ike was never really a practicing Jew, but the Mets wanted to know whether he wanted to sit out on Yom Kippur, which begins today. Ike, not sure what he should do he did what every boy should do in that case and ask his mom.
His mom while leaning toward Ike sitting out told Ike to do whatever he felt was right. Ike thought about it and decided he will play and not take the holiday off. Ike went back and forth with that decision for days and considered sitting out the games out of respect for his ancestors lost in the Holocaust but then made the decision to play Ike has called himself Culturally Jewish, Ike’s dad, Ron Davis, is not Jewish.


I mentioned the other day about Murphy and his going to the Dominican this winter but first he is going to be playing in the Florida instructional league. I love this new development it tells me the Mets want Daniel to have the best chance at preparing for 2011, he needs to learn second base and that is a great way to do that so he can prepare for a possible second base job or utility player. If he comes back and does not start at second we will need his lefty bat on the bench along with Nick Evans batting right, at least that is my hope.We don’t know yet when or which team Murphy will play in winter ball it was supposed to be set but now it is unclear, but he is pretty sure he will play there after the instructional league. Which he begins on Sunday.

The season may be over but the Mets are out to finish above .500 and ya gotta love em for that.

 

[Sausy]

Lotta great things as always sonny,will try to talk more at length in the next day or two.Some things to be optimistic about,others of course not...David Wright was a legitimate All Star and had a great appearance at the All Star game...unfirtunately that was his season high point.His peaks and valleys are much more valleys now.I think he had like 70RBI going into the break,now barely 20 since then.I dn't know if he's mechanically totally screwed up,or god forbid at only 27 his bat is slowing down.Want him to continue being a cornerstone of this club over the next decade,but I just don't know anymore.Even last year with his power shortage,he batted .307 and never got into prolonged slumps but this year he's regressing badly as the season is ending,now down to .283.This cannot continue next year....and I also am against bringing in Joe Torre to manage for a year or two even with Wally Backman as his potential successor/bench coach.Wally has NOTHING to prove,before his legal troubles a very successful minor league manager and had just been named Diamondbacks skipper before he was forced to quit.He's ready now...as great a guy as Joe Torre is,hometown hero as he is,the Mets need Wally now,a new kind of culture NOW.

 

[sonny10305]

Ok it’s official now The Mets were eliminated from contention in the National League East last night. In addition, any combination of three wins by the Braves or three losses by the Mets will eliminate them from the National League Wild Card as well. Gee, how do you suppose that happened?
Its ok thou cause changes are defiantly a comin in 2011. Look for Omar and Jerry to be gone. I dono what they will do with Omar prolly move him into another position someplace where he can’t do any more damage to the team bur Manual will be out completely we will never have to see that miserable excuse for a baseball manager in a Mets uniform again. But I don’t think it will stop there and I have some other thoughts that I will share with you guys later in the week. I am sure Saucy and Syam will have plenty to say on that subject as well
I will however write now about the manger situation something our boy Saucy touched on in his last post.
I want Backman but the other possibility of Bobby Valentine intrigues me as well and would not be a bad choice. But repeat I want Wally. The other name being passed around is Joe Torre with Backman serving as bench coach. Somehow I don’t see that working because Joe is a little tired and may not want to or even be up to the job of taking on a team as fucked up as the Mets are, Wally is. Wally and Joe are water and oil one is fiery the other is well….not. They would NOT make a good team. Plus I do not believe Wally wants to be a bench coach he wants to manage. There is a lot of work to do this off season .a lot, and it begins with the end of the Omar and Jerry show

I wrote a bit the other day about the rotation for the rest of the season with Santana and now Mejia out. Looks now at least for now The Mets have opted not to replace Mejia at all.
Instead, the Mets will skip Mejia's spot, using their two scheduled off-days next week to keep their rotation on turn. Mike Pelfrey, originally scheduled to start Wednesday against the Marlins, will instead start Tuesday. Jon Niese will slide up a day and pitch Wednesday. This will go until the Mets actually need a fifth starter on Sept. 28 against the Brewers. The thinking right now is that when that time comes the Mets will probably choose from Pat Misch, Raul Valdes and Oliver Perez, which is what I had originally thought they would do, there really isn’t much else they an do. The other thing to keep in mind here is that a four-man rotation will put added pressure on Niese and Gee, both of these guys may have already exceeded their innings totals from a year ago, so the Mets will have to be careful with both of them, although Manual has said that he will not seriously limit either one of them unless of course one of them begins to show signs of fatigue.

Saucy you mentioned DWright and I am as frustrated as you are with him. I have written about that way to many times already, his swing, his approach, it goes on and on, add to that David hasn’t had consistent protection hitting behind him this year.

What a heartwarming image yesterday watching Luis Hernandez hit that home run after fouling that ball off of his foot. He limped along the bases with a slow but determined home run trot; just a magnificent moment unfortunately he did end up breaking a bone in his foot and will sit out the rest of the year.

OK now I gotta vent, you know I love Kevin Burkhardt, but Friday he pissed me off when Duda got his first MLB home run. Kevin was babbling and falling all over Giants Brandon Jacobs and all but ignored the homer Lucas hit. He simply said something like he got a home run in between breaths taking to Jacobs. Kevin if you are going to take over the play by pay from Gary while you do those interviews you had better start paying attention to what is going on in the field, shame on you, Lucas deserved better than thast .
I had just recently sent Kevin an e-mail and a twett telling him what a great job he did interviewing Bobby Cox, it was awesome I especially liked Bobby talking about that game the Braves played against the Mets right after 9/11. I guess now I have to send him another one giving him grief over the Duda thing.

While I'm in a venting mood how about that punk umpire tossing Cox out of the game the other night. It was a day the Mets had planned on honoring Bobby for his many years as a manger (Bobby wille retire this year) and the Braves are deep in a pennant race fighting for their lives against the Phillies and did not need to be without their manager. So what if he argues balls and strikes, he is Bobby freakin Cox that’s what he always does. I thought the ejection was uncalled, unprofessional and an insult to one of the greatest managers this sport has seen. A simple calm warning to Bobby would have been enough, sometimes those umpires have a God complex and that really irritated me.
OK Off my soap box now

Then there was this...is John auditioning for Omars job?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVkalfhzvVA[/ame]

 

[sonny10305]

When I wrote about Daniel Murphy going to the Mets Instructional league I was asked what is the instructional league is. I got to thinking in case some of you are unaware I would explain. The league has been around for a long time but many teams have abanded the idea, the Mets however believe as I do that it can be an important tool in helping players develop. The guys work with and learn from the coaches and play games against other instructional league teams.The league only lasts about 6-8 weeks and originally it was intended primarily for prospects, to get them into one place, at one time, in front of all the minor league instructors. After that training season is over the best of the guys go on to winter ball in the Caribbean or the Arizona Fall League. The Mets use the Boston Red Sox spring training camp in Sarasota Florida and started Sunday and will run till Oct 15th
Daniel is very upbeat and excited about what the opportunity to bone up on his skills, they had workouts already on Sunday and yesterday he started working out of second base. Daniel said there are about 40 other Mets players in camp along with about a dozen coaches. He ran into Matt Harvey who is there but Matt told Murph he will only be there to work with the coaches and not play in any games. . After the league ends next month Murph will go to the Dominican and play winter ball with the Aquilas Cibaenes. On a personal note I am just so happy to hear that Murph is in a good place again, he had been so down after that dirty play put his career on hold. No problems with his knee at all by the way, he feels great.

Back at Citifield before the Mets left for Florida before the Marlins series a couple of ex Cyclones posed with a shout out to their old Cyclone team. Here are Duda, Pagan, Evans, and Davis.

 

[Sausy]

Glad for the update on Murph and the primer on the fall league,he's gonna be one guy you know will be pumped and primed for spring training getting the work now finally now fully recovered from that cheap shot slide.Hope Murph is going to be a real contributor in the Mets plans for next season...again his willingness and dedication to being versatile really helps his case,and we know already what a sweet swing he has.Also excited to see Matt Harvey around even if he's not going to really get going until next spring...he'll progress fast from everything I've read about him...mybe two years to CitiField if he can improve command of secondary pitches as his hard sinker is already a great weapon.

Been reading that hallelujah,Omar Minaya appears will be reassigned...maybe a chief scouting role(actually,something he is pretty good at)but that he will not be returning as the Mets GM.It is imperative though that Jeff Wilpon allows room for a completely independent GM who doesn't need to constantly get hisa approval to make moves.Jeff' reputation as a meddler unfortunately scares off plenty of very qualified GM candidates....being involved is one thing,but he has to let the GM have the authority to freely run the organization and have the respect of his peers around MLB that he has the authority to act and speak for the organization.Otherwise Jeff is in the way and could be a serious impediment to the Mets getting together a first rate organization.The Mets need credibility and respect again more than anything...we don't need a mini-Dolan situation like the Knicks.

Thanks sonny too for the ex-Cyclone CitiField portrait of Duda,Pagan,Evans and Davis....love the story btw about Ike Davis'Jewish cultural heritage on his mom's side and the razzing he gopt about whether he was gonna play on Yom Kippur.Had no idea he had a Jewish background,but knew he would be very thoughtful in taking his mom's counsel over whether to play.Such a cute,nice story.


BTW,sonny,syam.....Joe Torre or Wally Backman next year?Fuck it's a no brainer for me....Torre is great but the future is now...and that future is Backman,all the way.

 

[Sausy]

Thanks btw sonny for your perspective on the Bobby Cox thing...it is as shame that the umpire couldn't use better discretion especially this being the last time Bobby Cox will be managing the Braves in front of the New York home crowd.The Mets/Atlanta rivalry was always fun,whether we were getting on Chipper(who definitely got us a fair number of times as we too well know)or getting agita watching that infantile tomahawk chop in Atlanta.Great fun,great battles...great years.And Bobby Cox' classy recollections of the 9-11 game in which Mike Piazza hit that incredible homer and helped get New York going again bringing life back to an awfully down,somber city that had lost so much..he said as competitive a guy he was,he was happy for the city and the Mets really,New York really deserved that win.

Sonny,syam,myself....we're Mets fans but above all baseball fans who respect the impact people have on the history of the game.Bobby Cox leaves a great quarter century legacy and we join Atlanta fans in giving him well earned props,ultimately to be rewarded in enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

[syam24]

Well, our Mets are officially eliminated from the post season, no big surprise, but it really has been a dismal second half, after a rather invigoration first half with several surpise performances. One of the good news items pitched well again last nite, Mike Pelfrey, who, despite a few weeks of "what happened" in the middle had a pretty good year. Listened on the radio as Dessens came in and gave up 3 quick runs on new Met killer Gaby Sanchez's 3 run bomb. That made a moot point of the HR's by Duda and Wright. Glad to see Duda has relaxed and hit, allowing a peek at what might be in our future. I see Parnell is being given the rest of the year off with a sore elbow, hopefully this is nothing serious for the future. As for Bobby Cox, saw him get tossed the other nite by an overeager ump. Have to wonder if they have a "past" in other arguments. Always hate to see longtime baseball people leave the game, just another sign of time marching on. Cox, Piniella, Torre leaving the scene and rumors that LaRussa may join them on the sidelines. Baseball gurus on tv seem to thing there will be LOTS of manager openings this offseason. One name rumored to be ready to manage in the majors is Tim Wallach, longtime Expo third baseman, who managed at AAA for the Dodgers. Will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the coming weeks.

 

[sonny10305]

Yesterday Joe Torre said he is “closing the door on managing the Mets, and probably everybody else.” He also apologized to Jerry Manuel for saying publically that he was interested in the job. Joe realizes it was an inappropriate comment to make about a job that is currently belongs to Manual who was uncharacteristically critical of Torre for his comment about the Mets manager position. Manual said “I don’t know Joe Torre on a personal basis. But when things like that come out or are said, you question integrity. That’s what comes to my mind…I don’t know him on a personal level to say whether he’s that or that, and I did not see, or I have not read, exactly what has been said. All I know is what I hear, and I don’t go to look for it.” Manual was quick yesterday to accept Torres apology
First of all the Mets would never pay Joe the money he was asking, he also wanted a two year deal which never would have happened. More importantly Torre would have been all wrong for the Mets; he is 70 years old and is not up to the task of bringing the Mets back to life. He is leaving the Dodgers because admittedly could not handle the younger players, so how could he possibly manage the Mets with all the young talent coming up now. Answer…he could not.
The clear choice is a manager with fire and the ability to turn that team around someone who works well with the players, motivates them and has the passion and drive to take the team to a championship and that man is Wally Backman.

Speaking of Manual I don’t think the Mets should “fire him” he is to good a man and deserves to much respect to be down and out fired. I think should let him go with dignity something he deserves. I am not a Manual fan I thought he made some ridicules game play and lineup decisions, and has no clue on how to turn the Mets around and make them winners again. But I respect him as a man he was always the gentlemen always respectful of his players and all around good guy. He just isn’t a good baseball manager and needs to be replaced. But the Mets need to do it with class. Let him just ride off into the sunset so to speak.

Saucy I think you have the right idea about Omar he will stay around in some other capacity. I knew toy would enjoy that picture if the ex Cyclone payers who are now Mets. Right now there are 7 guys currently playing for the Mets who came up from the Cyclones, Jenrry Mejia, Lucas Duda, Angel Pagan, Nick Evans, Ike Davis, Dillon Gee, and Bobby Parnell.

Syam it will be a new landscape with managers and GMs this year which an only be a good thing for baseball. As for the Mets, this year was not as bad as the last three were. ’07 and ’08 were just drop dead awful and last year was a heartbreaker but a little easier to take. This year began great but right after that trip to Puerto Rico we fell apart, no connection I should think but that’s when thigs began to go downhill. We have written many times about the causes to this years mess but if nothing else it will lead to big and important changes for 2011. The Mets can’t give seats to Citi away right now and that if nothing else will generate the change we need. Beginning with Omar and Jerry followed by decisions about what to do with all those dead contracts (like Perez) we have in order to free up some money to go out and get some help beginning with a starter.

Is it to soon to say Lets Go Mets '11??

 

[sonny10305]

 

[Sausy]

It could be worse.At least we ain't the Cubs!

 

[sonny10305]

Daniel Murphy reports from Instructional league that it is going well and he is settling nicely at second base. It had not gone so well for him in the Arizona fall league but Daniel said this time arouind his coaches are working hard with him and perhaps his stint at first base has prepared him for the transition to second. Should not necessally be that way but the things he learned and continue to learn having him falling back a bit on his first base training. Murph said that turning the double play is a priority now cause that is what needs the most work on... I know I can hit. We know that, after all remember Murph was the home run leader for the Met in ’09.
He sounds great full of enthusiasm and is very much looking forward to playing winter ball for Aquilas in the Dominican Republic soon..

I wanted to share with you guys the picture I sent him this morning.
He got a big kick out of it

 

[syam24]

Glad to hear that Murph is progressing. He should be able to make the team in some capacity next spring, second base and a couple of bench spots should be open. We'll have to see how things pan out for all involved.

 

[sonny10305]

Glad to hear that Murph is progressing. He should be able to make the team in some capacity next spring, second base and a couple of bench spots should be open. We'll have to see how things pan out for all involved.

As to Murphy of course my hope is that he will nail second base and platoon with Tejada or at the very least serve as a utility player and ne an important piece of our bench.
The picture I posted of Murph and sent to him is not only on his phone but Vaughn tells me that Murph has a copy posted on his locker, I love that!


Now that the Mets have pretty much hit rock bottom I am sure there are going to be many changes in management certainly with Omar and Jerry. New ideas and a new direction is certainly all we can hope for in 2011. However with a 130 Million dollar payroll the Mets are unlikely to pursue high-priced free agents such as left-hander Cliff Lee or outfielders Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth this offseason. They are just not going to want to spend more cash to sign a premier player. My biggest concern will be starting pitching, There is a real possibility that Johan Santana could miss at least the start of next season, there are no guarantees how long before he is fully healed from that surgery so I worry we will need another ace. It would not surprise me to see either Mike Pelfrey or Jon Niese on the mound opening day. Ollie Perez has asked the Mets to allow him to play winter ball this year, so far the Mets have not agreed but very well might allow him to play. They have a big decision to make as to what to do with him in ‘11
A loss by the Braves tonight coupled with a Phillies win will give the Philadelphia the NLEast and that’s all I am gong to say about that.

 

[Thad1527]

A loss by the Braves tonight coupled with a Phillies win will give the Philadelphia the NLEast and that’s all I am gong to say about that.

Some of us love that.

But you know there are Mets players that I love, too...I'm not pure evil, hey, I hate the Yankees! I'm happy to read about Murph...I'm joining the Ike bandwagon...and although it wasn't David Wright's classic year, I know he's not going anywhere.

Thanks for keeping me up with the Mets' highs and lows this season. And the Cyclones'.

 

[sonny10305]

Some of us love that.

But you know there are Mets players that I love, too...I'm not pure evil, hey, I hate the Yankees! I'm happy to read about Murph...I'm joining the Ike bandwagon...and although it wasn't David Wright's classic year, I know he's not going anywhere.

Thanks for keeping me up with the Mets' highs and lows this season. And the Cyclones'.

First of all you are more than welcome for keeping you up on the Mets and Cyclones it has been my pleasure and I so glad you like it.

Hang in there with Dwright, He will get his act together, count on him. He is expected to be the Mets all time RBI leader in 2011, Darryl Strawberry is the all-time Mets RBI leader with 733 Wright now has 655 now.

As to Murphy you can count on him working as hard as he possibly can to return, he has the most outstanding positive attitude you could ever hope for along with his determination to come back stronger than ever.
He has just got to be on the Mets 25 man roster next year…he’s just gotta.
You have to hear him talk about his future, there are no maybe only can do. What happened in AAA last year is in is words “All in the past now, no one said life would be easy, I look at this as another challenge for me. In a way, what happened is a blessing". As to Ike Davis, Murph has been a supporter of Ike’s from the get go. He said at the start of the year that Ike was “the best man for the job” and just recently Murph said that Ike has established himself as the first baseman that is going to be here a long time. Hopefully I can make the transition to second base and give us another bat in the lineup. I still haven’t lost sight of my goal to help us win a world championship.”
Murph is an awesome guy, a great athlete and teammate, strong and determined but with a sometimes kid like personality that just wins you over.

Last night was fun, had to love playing the spoiler and messin with the Phillies Gee is proving himself to be a force to be reckoned with, he completed the fourth start of his career last night pitching seven innings giving up only five hits and two runs for the win.Gee has thrown four quality starts, giving up only six runs in 27 innings of work that works put to a 2.00 ERA. What is important here is that two of his wins were against the Braves and Phillies, no easy accomplishment for a rookie.
He gives me hope for our 2011starting rotation, too soon to say of course with just the four starts but I watched him in the minors and what you saw since he came up to the bigs is what he all about. Just like in the minors Dillon has been throwing strikes and you have to notice for a rookie how economical he has been in his approach getting ahead of hitters, very few walks and a very comfortable pitch count. Gee and Duda along with great pinch hitting form Carter and Evans have been one of the bright spots over the last few weeks. Of course I have to mention Ike Davis who during the month of September has hit .384 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 73 at bats, and is now hitting .268 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI in 493 at bats this season.
The Ike man is the real deal.

Lastly just let me say bravo to Carlos Beltran and the way he and the Mets handled the Utley slide form Friday night. Obviously something had to be said or done and I thought it was handled well. Carlos dove hard into second base and made Chase Utley and Wilson Valdez jump out of the way, it did not go exactly the way Carlos planned it I think he wanted to have hit one or both of them.
But it sent the message Don’t fuck with us again punks.

 

[syam24]

Well, although I didn't see any of the weekend games, was great to see the Mets take 2 of 3 from the soon to be NL East champ Phils, and not let them celebrate at home or in front of our Mets. D Gee had another solid start, Duda a clutch bases loaded pinch hit double, and Carlos Beltran two dingers on Sunday. Pretty good pitching all weekend too. Only one more week to this disappointing season, but we have seen some glimmer of hope in several of our young players. It can only get better. I would think the Mets will let Ollie pitch in Mexico, what's to lose? Sometimes I wonder if some of these guys who "lose it" suddenly might have been doing some PED's in their past. I know Ollie's control has always been an issue, but his velocity was usually pretty good. Now he has nada.

 

[sonny10305]

Syam You missed a good weekend of baseball, the Mets kept the Phillies from clinching the division and we saw the youth movement showing us what they are made of. Duda has finally gotten hot with a couple of doubles one of em was a three run pinch hit. But yesteray it was my boy Nick Evans who provided a lot of the power and fun showing he deserves to make the team in ’11. Nick made an awesome sliding catch in the outfield, and also went 3-for-5. including a double. He drove in two and also scored.
Another bright spot was Beltran who has been playing really well an is finally hitting his stride. Carlos was outstanding on both sides; for sure the best he has played all year. He hit two homers but the important thing about that is that hit em one from each side, drove in 3 runs, scored twice, and made a spectacular diving grab in centerfield. If he can loose the brace and his knee works well without it we can say he will be back next year in great form.

Pitching wise, Dillon Gee was outstanding, allowing only 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in seven strong innings. Pat Misch had a rough start, allowing 8 base runners and 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings. But then the pen came in and shut the Phillies down.

Another positive note was the offense that beat up on Cole Hamels, who has been spectacular up to then. Hamels left the ballgame after allowing 5 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in four innings. I mean think about it, the Mets beat Hamels and after the way we have played this year you just have to love that.

The Mets over the last week have made it fun to watch them again, which will just make it all the harder to see the season end next weekend.
It is going just as I had hoped when we knew we were done foe the season, I wanted a positive ending to the year with the Mets going out over .500 and on a positive note leaving us with hope and enthusiasm for next year and so far that is exactly what is happing.

Power to the youth movement.

Let’s go Mets 2011

 

[syam24]

A great finish to the game last nite, with Tejada doubling home two runs in the bottom of the ninth! Pelfrey pitched fine, and got support from DWright who hit a two run homer. Not good to see Beltran have to leave with pain in the knee, sked for an MRI today. Must hope it's not serious. With the weather closing in today, will be interesting to see if they can get both games in. Well the Reds clinched their division, now only the NL West is left. Rockies out, Padres slowly slipping, but still time left to catch the up and down Giants. Lets go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Oh my yes syam I loved the walk off win last night

I spent some time on the phone this weekend speaking to some of the boys down in Florida attending the Mets Instructional league. Some of the conversations can be posted here and I wanted all of you Mets fans to know things are looking really positive. I am told that the training from the coaches has been personal one on one and very valuable to the boys. I never really knew all that much about that league till now and let me tell you that what the guys learn there is going to be very helpful in their development. A couple of the guys said they appreciated the patience and knowledge of the trainers and coaches, and just about everyone I spoke with said basically they are having the time of their lives learning a lot and are finding the experience to be much more than they had expected. So guess what, the Mets are doing something right.
Some of the name you will recognize that are in attendance are pitchers Brad Holt, Brandon Moore, Greg Peavey. Matt Harvey and Yohan Almonte. Training in the infield are Daniel Murphy, Wilner Flores, Zach Lutz, Robbie Shields and Josh Satin. And in the outfield are Cory Vaughn, Daniel Ceciliani (both Cyclone heroes) along with Julio Concepcion and Rafael Fernandez. Catchers include Albert (don’t call me Al) Cordero Blake Forsythe and Jeff Glenn. There are many more but I just mentioned just a few I thought you would know and be interested in .If you have a favorite you want to know more about let me know.

2010 was a disappointment and is all but over but knowing what the future holds for us I can not help but get excited trust me better days are comin. Many of theses guys will be heading to Arizona and the Dominican to name two and I will of course keep you guys up to date all winter long about how they are doing.

There are several guys I have gotten to know personally and I will be keeping in touch with them all winter and reporting on how they are doing. They are Daniel Murphy, Cory Vaughn, Daniel Ceiliani, Brad Holt, and Brandon Moore. You can expect regular updates on these guys all through the year right here at JUB. In addition I will be keeping in touch with current Mets players like Nick Evans, Ike Davis, Dillon Gee and Pat Misch, and keeping my eyes and ears open for info on how Chris Carter and Lucas Duda are doing.


Angel Pagan was not in the lineup last night; his 2-year-old daughter will undergo eye surgery today.She suffers from the inability to simultaneously focus both eyes, something Angel and his wife had been noticing and now she has began experiencing vision problems. Hopefully the corrective surgery will be successful and the kid can live a normal life. I am sure we wish angel and his family success in fixing that problem.

Soooooooooo as syam mentioned Carlos Betran left the game last night complaining about discomfort in his knee. Carlos believes it is nothing to worry about and he should be fine. But I Don’t know what he basis that on since he has not had any exam yet to determine what the problem is. He will have an MRI today to learn more. He basically felt a twinge in his knee and it was decide he should come out of the game. This may be nothing but it does beg the question can Carlos return next year and play center field. We do not want any players in 2011 that are going to be subject to injuries as often as Carlos and Jose have. It will be enough to see what shape Bay is in I want no players that are questionable to play next season.

The youth movement is preparing to turn our team around next year and it may be time to say bye bye to guys like Beltran. He was a tremendous talent but it may be time to move on as we did with Delgado. That along with the end of Omar and Jerry ball gets me all pumped up for 2011.

Nick Evans and how you do it in the outfield. He can cover left center and right field.

 

[sonny10305]

Nick Evans experienced something strange last night when he swung the bat, he felt a kinda yank in his shoulder when he swung the bat, at first he actually thought he dislocated it but the trainer thought maybe he strained a ligament or something. He tried moving his arm around trying to maybe pull it back but it just gut worse. When he first noticed it during a swing he felt a little weird. It just didn't feel like a normal swing to him and then when he followed through, it felt like something had yanked on him.
This morning he said it still bothers him a little when lifts his arm and rotate it, he could not take a swing with the bat. So he is off to the Hospital for Special Surgery in the city to get an MRI. Damn!
Nick is hoping to play in winter ball this year I sure hope what ever the fuck is going on with him won’t prevent that. Nick needs to keep going he is out of options after this season, what that means is if he does not make the 2011 team, he would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. He is hoping for a job t least as righty hitter off the bench, the kid can play first base, third base and all positions in the outfield primarily left. Fingers toes and legs crossed I will let you guys know how he does maybe later today or tomorrow. Right now color me bummed.

Another one of my boys had a rough night last night; Chris Carter played left field and pretty much stunk it up out there. Lemme tell you no one works harder and is more dedicated to playing ball than Chris; I hated to see him struggle like that. The kid can hit but is slow on the bases and he just doesn’t have a great arm out there and yesterday he threw some pretty weak throws not even paying any mind to a cut off man. He needs work and knows it but he has the drive to make it big and will continue to work out his weaknesses this winter. Chris has primarily been a first baseman but actually prefers the outfield now that he has had a chance to play out there. I know he is going to work hard at it. Right now the other important thing on his mind is his up and coming marriage to the girl in met at Stanford University, where he majored in human biology and was Pre-Med, graduating in just three years. So the dude is a kind of a brainiac. Very smart and intense about everything he does. Josh Thole is also getting married next year he just bought a house in Arizona where he plans on playing this winter

Some of the guys are still undecided or have not been invited to play winter ball, But Carter and Murphy to name a couple are defiantly going to Venezuela on Oct 12th. I actually considered going down to Venezuela to see some of the guys but it takes like 12 hours and cost almost a grand and the worse part is the crime is very very bad especially against tourists. It is an unsettled country in fact Josh Thole who went last year said some places are not even safe to travel in pretty much lawless places Josh also said he would never go there again. So that ain’t happin for me, prolly go to Puerto Rico I dono, waitin to see who goes where first.
Daniel Murphy is hell bent on making it at second base he is planning an entre season of winter ball. Which will take him up to just about spring training.

Beltrans knee is apparently ok the MRI showed no additional damage. But the Mets have decided to shut him down for what is left of the season. That’s a good move no sense taking any chances with him plus it will give like Evans, Carter and Duda more playing time the next few days. I just thought about the fact that the last Mets game will be this weekend and got a lump in my throat, it’s always hard for m when the season ends, It takes me a while to adjust to a life not filled with baseball every day which is why I want to do some traveling this winter to watch winter ball. I will have to see how that fits in with the boss (my dad) it’s slow at work during the winter I know I can get some time off to travel around a little and see the boys. Right dad??