According to Joel Sherman of the Post, the Mets have signed recent free agent, Al Reyes.
Reyes was cut free by the Tampa Bay Rays just the other day.
More on this when I get home.
5:56 pm: OK, now I'm home and I've had time to digest this signing.
I think it's time for me to make a mental switch. A few days ago, I was confused why the Mets would add a guy with a over-5 ERA in the bullpen. Now, at least in the last few days, I see what they're trying to do.
They want to catch lightning in a bottle, and the best way to do that is have as many possible lightning emitters as possible. The idea is that they will have so many pitchers in the bullpen, one of them has to get hot and perform for them.
Reyes is expected to join the Mets after the September first 40-man roster expansion.
Sign away, Omar. Anyone and everyone. Bring them on, especially if they're named Reyes.
8/20/08
SportsBlogNet.com Beta goes live; The world is a better place
Special announcement time.
See that little box over on the right hand sidebar. Click it. It's for SportsBlogNet.com, a site which I've been a part of for a while now, but just went live today.
From the "press release:"
Also, check out Union. Union is something special. Every day, a new writer from SBN.com (as I like to abbreviate) is chosen and will write about all different sports news of the day. Currently, I'm scheduled for the next two Fridays. Right now, Andrew Kneeland from Twins Fix is at the helm.
Join us in the SportsBlogNet revolution!
See that little box over on the right hand sidebar. Click it. It's for SportsBlogNet.com, a site which I've been a part of for a while now, but just went live today.
From the "press release:"
SportsBlogNet.com is a site that feeds in over 50 great sports blogs and links back out to all of them. They drive traffic to our site and also sell ads for all the blogs in the network.Click it. You know you want to.At SportsBlogNet.com you can:
- Read all the quality blogs in the network
- Write for a blog in the network
- Discover new blogs
- Build a new free sports blog
- Join the network as an additional revenue and traffic source for your sports blog
Currently SportsBlogNet.com has approximately 56 blogs in the network with a reach of approximately 200,000 unique visitors per month which is growing daily. Check it out. They are interested in hearing your feedback.
Also, check out Union. Union is something special. Every day, a new writer from SBN.com (as I like to abbreviate) is chosen and will write about all different sports news of the day. Currently, I'm scheduled for the next two Fridays. Right now, Andrew Kneeland from Twins Fix is at the helm.
Join us in the SportsBlogNet revolution!
As if you haven't read enough about the Mets bullpen already
I give you two more articles from the mainstream media.
The first is from Senor Bill Madden of the Daily News. In it, he ponders who the Mets will use at closer with Billy Wagner on the shelf indefinitely. While he comes to absolutely no conclusion whatsoever, he does point out that both Huston Street and Brian Fuentes would be way too expensive to attempt to pick up.
Madden:
I'm glad the Mets didn't trade for him, but Street would have been perfect right about now. He's young and talented, so you know Beane would have wanted a boatload for him, but he's the kind of GM that would be willing to take a crop of players from A-ball and let them prosper in his own system.
Either way, the Mets are going to have to patch together the bullpen from here on out. Luis Ayala looked good in his first two-thirds of an inning, but he's got a long way to go before I trust him. (Side note: Read Mets Today's game recap from last night. He's not impressed either.)
Star-Ledger payroll participant, Dan Graziano, penned an article entitled "New York Mets bullpen not built for October."
Believe me, Dan, we know.
Graziano does give the Mets one thumbs up, claiming the team is good enough to win the NL East, but at the same time jinxes the team with the earliest known usage of that terrible term: magic number.
Graziano:
But he goes on to put this whole whining ordeal into perspective:
The first is from Senor Bill Madden of the Daily News. In it, he ponders who the Mets will use at closer with Billy Wagner on the shelf indefinitely. While he comes to absolutely no conclusion whatsoever, he does point out that both Huston Street and Brian Fuentes would be way too expensive to attempt to pick up.
Madden:
For his part, Minaya has to hope Wagner's loss can be filled from within because, as he said, "there are few other options" on the outside. Although no closers were dealt at the trading deadline, only Oakland's Huston Street is believed to have cleared waivers. And even though Street is having a subpar season, A's GM Billy Beane is going to want premium prospects back for him. Same thing for Colorado's Brian Fuentes, a free agent after the season who may also have cleared, but is probably not going to be moved.The Rox wanted Aaron Heilman for Fuentes, something that made little to no sense to me. If they had asked for a guy like, say, Endy Chavez, that would have been something the Mets should have thought about. Swapping a relief pitcher for a relief pitcher is dicey territory, especially for a rental like Fuentes.
I'm glad the Mets didn't trade for him, but Street would have been perfect right about now. He's young and talented, so you know Beane would have wanted a boatload for him, but he's the kind of GM that would be willing to take a crop of players from A-ball and let them prosper in his own system.
Either way, the Mets are going to have to patch together the bullpen from here on out. Luis Ayala looked good in his first two-thirds of an inning, but he's got a long way to go before I trust him. (Side note: Read Mets Today's game recap from last night. He's not impressed either.)
Star-Ledger payroll participant, Dan Graziano, penned an article entitled "New York Mets bullpen not built for October."
Believe me, Dan, we know.
Graziano does give the Mets one thumbs up, claiming the team is good enough to win the NL East, but at the same time jinxes the team with the earliest known usage of that terrible term: magic number.
Graziano:
The Mets' bullpen may well be good enough, even without Billy Wagner, to win the NL East. Their starting pitching is excellent. Their lineup is very good. Their schedule is cream cheese. (Seriously - eight more against the Braves, six more against the Nationals. CAKE.) The Phillies don't seem to have that...whatever it is they had last year. The Mets' magic number is 36, and they're in a groove.It's true. The schedule sets up nicely for the Mets, but it could also set up for 2007 redux. We all figured that games against the Nationals and Marlins would be easy as pie (pie and cake references accounted for) in the last few weeks. And again, we all know what happened there.
But he goes on to put this whole whining ordeal into perspective:
If one or two of these guys get hot for the next three weeks, and then one or two other guys get hot for the three weeks after that, and Manuel does a good job of identifying who's hot at what time, then they're home. And if that does happen, they may well get to October with a couple of guys on a roll. Wagner's absence could have the effect of instilling some confidence in a couple of these relief pitchers, if they're able to have success between now and then.I've never heard fans of a team in first place bellyache so much, but the bullpen is an issue. All it takes is one or two pitchers to rattle off a nice scoreless streak and we'll all shut up. And the world will be a better place.
8/19/08
Game Recap: Mets 7 -- Braves 3
Wait...the Mets bullpen...didn't give it up??
Pitching Performance
Oliver Perez was on the bump tonight, as he worked his way through six 1-3 innings. Perez scattered seven hits and five walks, and somehow managed to only give up three runs. Perez also struck out three. All three runs against Perez came in the top of the third inning, as the Braves strung together a walk, three singles and a couple of productive outs.
Perez was wildly effective. He let the runners reach, but almost always worked out without damage. It may have just been me trying to watch the game on the TV screen in the diner with my family, but it seemed like his rocking motion was more pronounced tonight, as opposed to recently. Maybe it was just me.
Luis Ayala made his Mets debut, coming in with men on first and third and only one out. Ayala induced two pop-ups to work out of the jam.
I was skeptical, but this was a good first appearance. Getting off on the right foot.
Aaron Heilman worked one inning, giving up one hit and walking one. The Mets offense finally woke up and made him a winner, bumping his record up to 3-7. Scott Schoeneweis came in with a four run lead, a non-save situation, allowed only one hit as the ended it for the Mets.
Solid. Very solid. The bullpen came out and did exactly what they're paid to do.
Offensive Output
The Mets got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Another productive out from David Wright, as he drove in Jose Reyes with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis drove in Nick Evans with a ground rule double to right field.
Three hits and a walk, but only two runs. Thankfully, after seven innings of silence, the Mets bats picked up the slack in the 8th inning.
Carlos Delgado came through in the clutch, with the Mets down by a run. Delgado ripped a two-run double to deep left field, putting the Mets up by one. Damion Easley added a two-run single, followed by a Ramon Castro RBI double.
Delgado and Easley had been pretty ice cold lately, but both came through when the team needed them. Good stuff.
The Rest of the Story
Chipper Jones: 2-3, 2 walks, run, RBI. He's having a beast of a season, and of course it continues at Shea.
The Mets were outhit, 8-9.
Daniel Murphy's batting average has sunk to a paltry .419.
Game Ball: Carlos Delgado
Pitching Performance
Oliver Perez was on the bump tonight, as he worked his way through six 1-3 innings. Perez scattered seven hits and five walks, and somehow managed to only give up three runs. Perez also struck out three. All three runs against Perez came in the top of the third inning, as the Braves strung together a walk, three singles and a couple of productive outs.
Perez was wildly effective. He let the runners reach, but almost always worked out without damage. It may have just been me trying to watch the game on the TV screen in the diner with my family, but it seemed like his rocking motion was more pronounced tonight, as opposed to recently. Maybe it was just me.
Luis Ayala made his Mets debut, coming in with men on first and third and only one out. Ayala induced two pop-ups to work out of the jam.
I was skeptical, but this was a good first appearance. Getting off on the right foot.
Aaron Heilman worked one inning, giving up one hit and walking one. The Mets offense finally woke up and made him a winner, bumping his record up to 3-7. Scott Schoeneweis came in with a four run lead, a non-save situation, allowed only one hit as the ended it for the Mets.
Solid. Very solid. The bullpen came out and did exactly what they're paid to do.
Offensive Output
The Mets got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Another productive out from David Wright, as he drove in Jose Reyes with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis drove in Nick Evans with a ground rule double to right field.
Three hits and a walk, but only two runs. Thankfully, after seven innings of silence, the Mets bats picked up the slack in the 8th inning.
Carlos Delgado came through in the clutch, with the Mets down by a run. Delgado ripped a two-run double to deep left field, putting the Mets up by one. Damion Easley added a two-run single, followed by a Ramon Castro RBI double.
Delgado and Easley had been pretty ice cold lately, but both came through when the team needed them. Good stuff.
The Rest of the Story
Chipper Jones: 2-3, 2 walks, run, RBI. He's having a beast of a season, and of course it continues at Shea.
The Mets were outhit, 8-9.
Daniel Murphy's batting average has sunk to a paltry .419.
Game Ball: Carlos Delgado
Brandon Knight posts solid outing to get Team USA into medal contention
Team USA has moved onto the semis, after Mets farmhand and spot-starter Brandon Knight bounced back from a tough first game and limited the Taiwanese offense to only two runs.
Knight threw 6 1-3 innings, scattering five hits. He allowed one solo home run, walked two and struck out five.
Knight was quoted by the AP as saying, "We always seem to make it a little too interesting." Sounds like the Mets.
"There's a little sense of relief (to be in the medal round)," Knight said, "I'm not going to lie and say we didn't expect that. It was a goal."
Manager Davey Johnson said of Knight, ""We were lucky to get him back."
The US team will take on Japan on Wednesday night in their next game.
Knight threw 6 1-3 innings, scattering five hits. He allowed one solo home run, walked two and struck out five.
Knight was quoted by the AP as saying, "We always seem to make it a little too interesting." Sounds like the Mets.
"There's a little sense of relief (to be in the medal round)," Knight said, "I'm not going to lie and say we didn't expect that. It was a goal."
Manager Davey Johnson said of Knight, ""We were lucky to get him back."
The US team will take on Japan on Wednesday night in their next game.
Billy Wagner is a slow healer
Mets statement:
Will Carroll claimed yesterday that this might be an season ending injury:
The longer he's out, the more unstable the bullpen becomes.
Billy Wagner was re-evaluated today at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. He continues to have swelling and pain in his elbow. He will need additional rest before he can resume throwing.Awesome. Great news. Couldn't be happier.
Will Carroll claimed yesterday that this might be an season ending injury:
It was a big setback for Wagner, and one that could end his season. Instead of forearm stiffness, he has an elbow issue, and is headed for more tests on Tuesday.Obviously, Tuesday is today, and the latter was written before the results (top) came in, but the fact still remains. Either way, it's not good news.
The longer he's out, the more unstable the bullpen becomes.
Podcast: Bullpen Edition
Here's the latest edition of The 'Ropolitans Podcast. It's 15 minutes about the New York Mets bullpen.
With guest Will Sommer from MetsFansForever.com.
With guest Will Sommer from MetsFansForever.com.
Gotta love the fire in Jerry Manuel
Jerry Manuel was tossed again yesterday, and I couldn't be happier. Most times a manager is tossed, the team responds with some action. Unfortunately, that did not happen for the Mets.
I do like the fire in Manuel. He seems to be very engrossed in the game, and very willing to stand up for his players. He's already been ejected four times as the manager of the Mets, and once more as bench coach when Willie Randolph was still around.
I absolutely love Manuel as a manager. If it were up to me, I'd have him signing on the dotted line for a few more years of Manuel as a Met.
He's candid with his players. If he has something to say to someone, he'll tell them. He won't dance around it for fear he will make them unhappy. He knows they are professionals and should be treated as such.
He can manage the team. Only on a few occasions have I been confused or mad about moves Manuel has made during the course of a game. There were a few bullpen decisions I wish he did differently, but I can't put all of the blame on him for some poor outings.
And most importantly, he knows how to handle the media. He doesn't fear the journalists like a certain previous manager seemed to. He's entirely candid and up front about things and won't pull punches. He knows what's up and he's willing to entertain the writers, radio, and TV guys with a few jokes while he's telling the straight truth.
So far, so good with Jerry Manuel. It sure does help to have a winning record and sit in first place, too.
I do like the fire in Manuel. He seems to be very engrossed in the game, and very willing to stand up for his players. He's already been ejected four times as the manager of the Mets, and once more as bench coach when Willie Randolph was still around.
I absolutely love Manuel as a manager. If it were up to me, I'd have him signing on the dotted line for a few more years of Manuel as a Met.
He's candid with his players. If he has something to say to someone, he'll tell them. He won't dance around it for fear he will make them unhappy. He knows they are professionals and should be treated as such.
He can manage the team. Only on a few occasions have I been confused or mad about moves Manuel has made during the course of a game. There were a few bullpen decisions I wish he did differently, but I can't put all of the blame on him for some poor outings.
And most importantly, he knows how to handle the media. He doesn't fear the journalists like a certain previous manager seemed to. He's entirely candid and up front about things and won't pull punches. He knows what's up and he's willing to entertain the writers, radio, and TV guys with a few jokes while he's telling the straight truth.
So far, so good with Jerry Manuel. It sure does help to have a winning record and sit in first place, too.
8/18/08
Mets chances of making the playoffs: 60.2%
According to Jeff Passan at the bottom of his Playoff Pulse column, the Mets are third in the National League in playoff chances percentages.
Passan cites AccuScore, who ran a simulation of the rest of the '08 season 10,000 times, and came up with these numbers for the NL:
Anyway, I hate looking at these things, because all they do is get my hopes up.
Passan cites AccuScore, who ran a simulation of the rest of the '08 season 10,000 times, and came up with these numbers for the NL:
Chicago Cubs: 98.3Hmm...this stinks of "jinx." Five bucks says the Cubbies and Mets falter?
Milwaukee Brewers: 69.5
New York Mets: 60.2
Arizona Diamondbacks: 51.5
Los Angeles Dodgers: 49.3
St. Louis Cardinals: 24.6
Philadelphia Phillies: 24.2
Florida Marlins: 20.4
Anyway, I hate looking at these things, because all they do is get my hopes up.
Game Recap: Pirates 5 -- Mets 2
Put away your brooms...
Pitching Performance
The man with the quick pitch count, John Maine, labored through five innings today, as he threw 96 pitches but only allowed two hits. Maine walked four and struck out three, but can't seem to keep his PC below 75 through four innings. Maine didn't factor in the decision, as the Mets offense sputtered and the bullpen played the part of "sieve" and watched the sweep disappear from their grasps.
Maine has been pitching OK lately, but this pitch count issue is something that needs to be addressed. I've never seen a pitcher throw so many pitches in only a handful of innings. He's getting too deep in counts and allowing too many foul balls to work deep into games.
The bullpen from Hell reared it's ugly head again today. Brian Stokes was tagged for a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, erasing any work Maine did on the bump. Scott Schoeneweis finished out the seventh inning for Stokes.
The trouble came in the 8th, when Pedro Feliciano only recorded one out, but allowed one hit before he was removed for Duaner Sanchez. Feliciano and the Mets could only watch as Sanchez faced four batters, intentionally walking one and giving up three hits, including a two-run double for the Pirates final runs. Joe Smith came in and recorded two outs to stop the bleeding.
Sanchez looked like he got his act together recently, struggled with his velocity again. He's just not the pitcher the Mets thought he would be through the entirety of the season. He doesn't have the stamina to get through a whole season like this. Maybe Steven Register could have helped this team through the season...
Offensive Output
Wasted chances. That was the theme today for the Mets. The team was only able to scratch out two runs, both on productive outs.
Outside of the sac-fly in the first from Carlos Beltran, scoring Argenis Reyes and an RBI groundout in the fourth off the bat of Carlos Delgado, plating David Wright, the Mets left runners on base in a handful of innings and it came back to bite them in the end.
The Mets had runners on second and third with nobody out twice, both times resulting in one run. The Mets got a leadoff double from Nick Evans in the 6th, and with one out he stood on third while the Carloses struck out, stranding him.
In the 8th, the Mets got a two-out single from Evans, then consecutive walks from Wright and Beltran, bringing Delgado to the plate with the bases drunk, but the Pirates were able to induce a pop up and get out of the jam scott free.
They had a ton of chances to open up this game and put distance between themselves and the Buccos, but they failed to convert. When the bullpen let the lead slip away, the missed chances were enhanced, as always.
The Rest of the Story
Overall, a great road trip, as they went 6-1 and beat up on teams they should have. A sweep would have been great, but 3-4 against Pittsburgh is good. Guess the Mets should never play the Pirates on a Monday in the summer.
Game Ball: John Maine, I guess.
Pitching Performance
The man with the quick pitch count, John Maine, labored through five innings today, as he threw 96 pitches but only allowed two hits. Maine walked four and struck out three, but can't seem to keep his PC below 75 through four innings. Maine didn't factor in the decision, as the Mets offense sputtered and the bullpen played the part of "sieve" and watched the sweep disappear from their grasps.
Maine has been pitching OK lately, but this pitch count issue is something that needs to be addressed. I've never seen a pitcher throw so many pitches in only a handful of innings. He's getting too deep in counts and allowing too many foul balls to work deep into games.
The bullpen from Hell reared it's ugly head again today. Brian Stokes was tagged for a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, erasing any work Maine did on the bump. Scott Schoeneweis finished out the seventh inning for Stokes.
The trouble came in the 8th, when Pedro Feliciano only recorded one out, but allowed one hit before he was removed for Duaner Sanchez. Feliciano and the Mets could only watch as Sanchez faced four batters, intentionally walking one and giving up three hits, including a two-run double for the Pirates final runs. Joe Smith came in and recorded two outs to stop the bleeding.
Sanchez looked like he got his act together recently, struggled with his velocity again. He's just not the pitcher the Mets thought he would be through the entirety of the season. He doesn't have the stamina to get through a whole season like this. Maybe Steven Register could have helped this team through the season...
Offensive Output
Wasted chances. That was the theme today for the Mets. The team was only able to scratch out two runs, both on productive outs.
Outside of the sac-fly in the first from Carlos Beltran, scoring Argenis Reyes and an RBI groundout in the fourth off the bat of Carlos Delgado, plating David Wright, the Mets left runners on base in a handful of innings and it came back to bite them in the end.
The Mets had runners on second and third with nobody out twice, both times resulting in one run. The Mets got a leadoff double from Nick Evans in the 6th, and with one out he stood on third while the Carloses struck out, stranding him.
In the 8th, the Mets got a two-out single from Evans, then consecutive walks from Wright and Beltran, bringing Delgado to the plate with the bases drunk, but the Pirates were able to induce a pop up and get out of the jam scott free.
They had a ton of chances to open up this game and put distance between themselves and the Buccos, but they failed to convert. When the bullpen let the lead slip away, the missed chances were enhanced, as always.
The Rest of the Story
Overall, a great road trip, as they went 6-1 and beat up on teams they should have. A sweep would have been great, but 3-4 against Pittsburgh is good. Guess the Mets should never play the Pirates on a Monday in the summer.
Game Ball: John Maine, I guess.
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