I hate that term. "The [INSERT TEAM NAME] are showing interest in [INSERT PLAYER NAME] and might be willing to give up [INSERT MINOR LEAGUER]."
How many times have you read that sentence, or something like it, in the past few days?
Rumors everywhere, who is going to get traded there and for what, what each team is willing to give up, what players can be traded where.
Zzzzzzzz...
Boring! Give me some meat! Some real news, fact, stories!
Ugh, I'm sick of the trade deadline already.
7/23/08
Maybe this will quiet the "Trade Billy Wagner" crowd
Last night, we saw a rag-tag team of bullpen pitchers attempt to close out a game. They failed.
Billy Wager is a closer for a reason. Being a closer is more than just throwing pitches. You have to be mentally tough, mentally prepared to have it all on your shoulder. The team could win or lose simply by the way you pitch to (hopefully) the next three batters.
Closing, in my opinion, is one of the hardest jobs to do in all of baseball. We all know how nervous we (the fans) get when Wagner is on the mound with the lead, can you imagine how he feels??
That is not a job I would want to have. But hopefully last night's loss does show some fans a new light: Wagner is a closer, a good one at that, for a reason. He's tougher than nails and can go out and do his thing on a day to day basis.
Pitchers will falter, they can't be perfect all the time, and injuries will happen. Hopefully fans realize how valuable Wagner is to the bullpen and this team.
Billy Wager is a closer for a reason. Being a closer is more than just throwing pitches. You have to be mentally tough, mentally prepared to have it all on your shoulder. The team could win or lose simply by the way you pitch to (hopefully) the next three batters.
Closing, in my opinion, is one of the hardest jobs to do in all of baseball. We all know how nervous we (the fans) get when Wagner is on the mound with the lead, can you imagine how he feels??
That is not a job I would want to have. But hopefully last night's loss does show some fans a new light: Wagner is a closer, a good one at that, for a reason. He's tougher than nails and can go out and do his thing on a day to day basis.
Pitchers will falter, they can't be perfect all the time, and injuries will happen. Hopefully fans realize how valuable Wagner is to the bullpen and this team.
Help Wanted: Competent third base coach
Position: A third base coach who realizes when a ball is going to beat the runner by, say, 15 feet, you don't send him.
Must:
Have full sight.
Be able to swing arm in windmill motion.
Willing to wear plastic helmet.
Common sense.
Should:
Speak Spanish.
Have hands.
Not necessary:
Hold prior coaching job...ever. As long as you understand baseball more than Luis Aguayo.
Burn this image into your memory
Hey, Mets...I have some motivation for you.
Just study everything about this picture. Jimmy Rollins celebration, his posture, his fingers to the sky. Look at Damion Easley's slumped shoulders, dejected look, and "I'm going to stare at the ground and hope this is all a dream" stare.This, right here, is your motivation. Remember this image tomorrow night. Remember this image Thursday afternoon. Remember this image for the rest of the games you play the rest of the year.
Here is your fodder, your spark. Here is something you need to overcome. Last nights loss was miserable, but if you can overcome that, shake everything about it from your minds except for this very picture, this moment in time, and use this to do what you need to do, then last night will live as a moral victory.
Remember this photograph...
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Early Morning Madness: Jerry pulled a Willie edition
There are two sides to every coin. On one hand, I leave Johan Santana out there for the 9th inning to work his magic. That's why he's getting the big bucks. On the flip-side, I can see why you don't want to run your "ace" out there and run up his pitch count, especially with Pedro Martinez ailing.
But, your closer is unavailable, and no one has really shone through as a viable replacement. Why not give Santana a shot? Maybe you keep him on a very short least, if he gives up a hit or two, you yank him. Easy as that. Just have the bullpen ready to go as soon as possible.
And again, on the other side of the coin, you should trust your bullpen enough to hold a three run lead with only three outs to get.
Jerry Manuel did his best Willie Randolph impression, and it only took one inning. When Manuel didn't send out Santana for the 9th, he made his first mistake. When Duaner Sanchez came in and gave up not one, not two, but three straight hits, he made his second. Again, without your closer, these players should be on a short leash in their attempt to fill his role. The first single should have been a huge warning sign, and the second one should have been enough to get him out of the game.
The Jose Reyes goof at second base on a ground ball induced from Joe Smith, can't be pinned on Manuel. That blame falls solely on Reyes.
When Manuel left Pedro Feliciano in after he gave up the tying hit, he was pulling a classic Willie. Not trusting your pitcher at all at times, and trusting others way too much. It seems like Randolph would always leave a pitcher in just a little too long, even though the common sense thing would be to pull him. It's as if he didn't want to hurt their feelings. Sometimes the pitchers just don't have it on a certain day, and unfortunately for the Mets, no one seemed to have it in the bullpen last night.
This was Manuel's first big mistake as the Mets manager. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it came against the Phillies, in a battle for first place, with the teams ace in line for a win (a dominant one at that), but things just did not go as planned.
"After seeing that, you can't help but . . . You hate not being out there," said Billy Wagner. I couldn't agree more.
But, your closer is unavailable, and no one has really shone through as a viable replacement. Why not give Santana a shot? Maybe you keep him on a very short least, if he gives up a hit or two, you yank him. Easy as that. Just have the bullpen ready to go as soon as possible.
And again, on the other side of the coin, you should trust your bullpen enough to hold a three run lead with only three outs to get.
Jerry Manuel did his best Willie Randolph impression, and it only took one inning. When Manuel didn't send out Santana for the 9th, he made his first mistake. When Duaner Sanchez came in and gave up not one, not two, but three straight hits, he made his second. Again, without your closer, these players should be on a short leash in their attempt to fill his role. The first single should have been a huge warning sign, and the second one should have been enough to get him out of the game.
The Jose Reyes goof at second base on a ground ball induced from Joe Smith, can't be pinned on Manuel. That blame falls solely on Reyes.
When Manuel left Pedro Feliciano in after he gave up the tying hit, he was pulling a classic Willie. Not trusting your pitcher at all at times, and trusting others way too much. It seems like Randolph would always leave a pitcher in just a little too long, even though the common sense thing would be to pull him. It's as if he didn't want to hurt their feelings. Sometimes the pitchers just don't have it on a certain day, and unfortunately for the Mets, no one seemed to have it in the bullpen last night.
This was Manuel's first big mistake as the Mets manager. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it came against the Phillies, in a battle for first place, with the teams ace in line for a win (a dominant one at that), but things just did not go as planned.
"After seeing that, you can't help but . . . You hate not being out there," said Billy Wagner. I couldn't agree more.
7/22/08
TSTDIA: Phillies 8 -- Mets 6
Honestly, that was the most painful inning of baseball I've ever seen.
Truly awful.
Truly awful.
They deserve to lose
Simple as that. Miscues all around.
They deserve to lose this game. Johan Santana rues the day he signed with the Mets.
They deserve to lose this game. Johan Santana rues the day he signed with the Mets.
So long, Jon Rauch
The wookie, Jon Rauch, has been traded from the Washington Nationals to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Oh, thank goodness. As long as he's out of the division, I don't care. Wonderful.
Oh, thank goodness. As long as he's out of the division, I don't care. Wonderful.
Five reasons the Mets WILL make the playoffs
Yesterday, I brought you five of the reasons the Mets wouldn't make the postseason in 2008. Here, now, are the five reasons I think the Mets will make it to the playoffs and contend for the World Series in '08.
- Johan Santana and Aaron Heilman are second half pitchers. The numbers show it, and over their career, these two pitchers have truly rallied in the second half and pitched some of their best baseball. As the ace of the staff and an important anchor in the bullpen, solid second halves from these two will propel the Mets.
- Carlos Delgado is smoking hot. The last two months, this guy has been on an absolute tear. Everything seems to be going right for him, he even set the franchise record for RBI's in a game. He keeps raking, the Mets will keep winning.
- The Phillies pitching is pretty bad. When adding a 5-12 Joe Blanton to the rotation is seen as an upgrade, what more needs to be said.
- Ryan Church will come back healthy and rested. He's missed half the year, so his legs and body will be fresh and ready to go for as long as needed in the second half.
- Karma. The Mets got served up a heaping plate of crappy karma last season, so life has to repay the team and the fans somehow, right?
Did I miss anything?? Let me know in the brand new commenting system!
Live from SNY (part 7)
The guys autographs. Ron Darling, Kevin Burkhardt, Keith Hernandez, and Lee Mazilli from top left to bottom right.
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