Lineup for game 78

The tarp is down (as of 10:13 a.m.), so all of this falls under “Weather Permitting.”

1. Luis Castillo - 2B
2. Alex Cora - SS
3. David Wright - 3B
4. Gary Sheffield - RF
5. Fernando Tatis - LF
6. Ryan Church - CF
7. Nick Evans - 1B
8. Omir Santos - C
9. Tim Redding - RHP

BP: Mets sign Juan Urbina

Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus (via MLBTR) is reporting that the Mets have signed Juan Urbina, a lefty pitcher out of Venezuela.

Urbina is the son of former MLB player Ugeth Urbina.  The signing bonus is supposedly worth over $1 million.

This marks the first signing during the international signing period, so brace yourselves for a lot of names you’ve never heard before signing for big money.

Update – 10:23 a.m.: Urbina was listed at the No. 8 international prospect by Baseball America in this SI article.

And here’s a quote from an interview Ben Badler of Baseball America did with River Ave. Blues:

For me, the two that stand out are Venezuelan lefthander Juan Urbina and Dominican righthander Johendi Jiminian. Yes, Urbina is Ugueth’s son, and it shows in his advanced mechanics and feel for pitching. He’ll probably sign with the Mets.

He called it.

Manuel’s Musing for July 1

“Losing is troubling to me, and I understand, I've been in it long enough to know some of the things that go with that.”

-Jerry Manuel on losing

John Franco rips Mets

John Franco, who I believe gets a paycheck from the Mets for his work with the team in spring training, doesn’t seem adverse to burning bridges he’s still standing on.  He appeared on SIRIUS XM and had this to say…

Host, Jeff Joyce: “Have you ever seen a team decimated by so many injuries?”

John Franco: “No, you know, it’s one after another with them.  But, you know, there’s still something missing there.  I don’t know what it is the last couple of years.  Watching them almost every day, there’s no leadership there.  Nobody wants to step forward and be a leader.  Something is missing and it’s hard to put your finger on it.  They got some great, talented players – [Jose] Reyes and [David] Wright and [Carlos] Beltran, now [Johan] Santana’s there – but I just can’t put my finger on it.  It seems like, to me, they’re not having fun, even when they were winning.  Playing in New York, the pressure cooker here, so I’m sure there’s a lot of pressure on them, but they need to relax a little bit and look like they’re having fun.  It kind of looks like they’re not having fun and everybody’s on their own page.”

Host, Kevin Kennedy: “They make mistakes, I mean mental mistakes, even like the game the other day: the errors and giving up early runs to the Yankees in a one-run game or two-run game it turned out to be on Sunday.  I mean, you can’t do that if you want to win this division.”

Franco: “Absolutely.  You know, you can’t give away outs.  When you have to get four or five outs an inning, that’s cause for trouble.  I was down in Spring Training and [manager] Jerry [Manuel] had them guys working on fundamentals every day and doing the things that you need to do to win ballgames – taking the extra base, heads up, knowing situations.  Every day you go in the meeting room and that’s what they talk about.  They go out on the field and do it.  But once the game starts, I think they have maybe too much individuality, where guys are worried about their own stats instead of worrying about getting the guy over, not stealing third base with two outs which is really meaningless.  These are the kind of things that they’re dealing with, but as far as management and the coaches, they have those guys prepared.  And as you know, Kevin, you’re only as good as your players, and if they can’t go out there and do the job, it’s making the manager look bad.”

Joyce: “What kind of player does it take to really step up and push the guys and be a leader?  It’s gotta be an everyday guy, doesn’t it?  You were a closer out there, but I’m sure you probably didn’t feel comfortable doing that because you weren’t one of the guys out there playing nine innings every day.”

Franco: “Well, I was appointed captain of the Mets as a closer, so it was kind of weird that nobody wanted to do it.  And I was a guy, even though I was a closer, if I thought there was a team meeting or something needed to be said, I had no problem getting in somebody’s face or kicking them in the rear.  And everybody knew where I was coming from because on some of the teams I played with, some of them were very bad and some of them were good, and sometimes some guys maybe weren’t respecting the game enough or some guys weren’t playing the game the right way or some guys weren’t doing things that they should’ve done.  And I would call a team meeting and call them out on it.  And I didn’t care if they liked me or not.  I wanted to win just as bad as the next guy, but I think I got my point across.  With the Mets, a guy like David Wright is a guy that I’m hoping – you know, I tried talking to him and tell him to come forward and be that guy, but I think David feels that being that he’s such a young player and you have the [Carlos] Delgados and [Gary] Sheffields and veteran guys like that, he’s afraid that they’ll look at him like, ‘Be quiet and sit down.’  Gary’s here and Gary’s been great.  Gary Sheffield’s been great, so I don’t have a bad thing to say about Gary, but I think you need a guy who the organization is building around and is going to be here for the next five, six years.  David’s been here for five years already, and he’ll probably be here for another five years, him and Jose [Reyes], so that’s the core of the team.  One of those guys has to step forward and take charge.”

Kennedy: “I agree with you.  It’s gotta be a guy from within that’s gotten the contract like David and the upside is there, but you’re right.  I’m glad you’re talking to him, Johnny, because that’s what I see when I watch that team, too.  I just see a bunch of different individuals, and if they win, it’s almost like, ‘OK, well we won that day.’  It’s not a group yet.”

Franco: “And if they don’t win, guys pack their bags and they go home for winter and they say, ‘OK, I get my paycheck and that’s it.’  So something’s not right there and hopefully they’ll get it right soon because otherwise it’s going to be a long summer.  Thank God the Phillies aren’t playing as well, otherwise they would be a lot further back than they are right now.”

To which David Wright responded, relayed by Bart Hubbuch…

With all due respect to Johnny, he doesn't know what's going on in this clubhouse.  I don't feel the need to have to defend myself as a leader. If these guys in here respect me and think of me as a leader, then that's what I need.

Not a smart move, Franco.

Game Recap: Mets 1 – Brewers 0

A gem from Mike Pelfrey.

The New York Mets (38-39) beat the Milwaukee Brewers (42-36) by a score of 1-0.

Pelfrey was as good as could be.  Seven and 2-3 on the mound, surrendering six hits, two walks while striking out six.  It seemed like anytime he was in a jam, he induced a double play.

Just what the doctor ordered.  With this anemic offense, the Mets needed a strong start just to stay close.  They got exactly that.

Pelfrey cam out with runners on first and second and two outs in the 8th in favor of Sean Green.  Green got a ground ball to third base to end the inning and the threat.

A huge out.  Well done.

Francisco Rodriguez entered for the 9th inning and let up a leadoff single to Ryan Braun.  Unphased, K-Rod set the next three batters down on a line drive and two groundballs to preserve the victory and the win.

And his control was much, much better this time around.

For the game’s only run, credit is due to Luis Castillo and Ryan Church. 

Leading off the sixth inning, Castillo dropped a hit just inside the line in left field for what ended up being a ground-rule double.  After David Wright struck out for the third time that game, Church came to the plate and snuck a single under the glove of Craig Counsell and into centerfield, plating Castillo.

And that was all the Mets needed.  Thank you, Pelfrey.

Game Ball: Mike Pelfrey

Game Chat: NYM @ MIL [Game 3]

Mike Pelfrey vs. Yovani Gallardo

Join in for some barstool banter with your fellow fans!

(Chat closed, as usual.)

Lineup for game three against MIL

Even though Jerry Manuel said David Wright would get a day off, he’s in the lineup. Anyone surprised?

But look, all three young players (Murphy, Evans, Martinez) are in the lineup today. Kinda cool.

1. Alex Cora – SS
2. Luis Castillo – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ryan Church – RF
5. Nick Evans – LF
6. Daniel Murphy – 1B
7. Fernando Martinez – CF
8. Brian Schneider – C
9. Mike Pelfrey - RHP

Wondering about the lineup today

Update: Naturally, after writing this, David Wright is in the lineup today.

Before yesterday’s game, Jerry Manuel said he would rest both David Wright and Gary Sheffield today. 

Strange, considering the Mets will be facing Yovani Gallardo, the Brewer’s ace and they’re already struggling for offense.  Benching the two of the best hitters might not be the greatest idea.  Yes, they need days off, but both on the same day doesn’t seem too smart.

But what does intrigue me about this is the young guys getting a shot.  They haven’t been all too good lately, but today might be the day Nick Evans, Daniel Murphy and Fernando Martinez all start on the same major league team.

It’s apparent that F-Mart needs some more time in the minors, and the same could be said for both Evans and Murphy.  If Manuel chooses, today, we could see a few of the (hopeful) cornerstones of the future Mets team all playing together in 2009.

The lineups aren’t out yet, but if Wright and Sheffield are taking a seat, this might be the best thing to hope for.

Update: Here is what I assume the lineup will look like.  Or I hope.  I’m not sure.

1. Cora – SS
2. Murphy – 1B
3. Evans – LF
4. Church – RF
5. Tatis – 3B
6. Martinez - CF
7. Schneider – C
8. Castillo – 2B
9. Pelfrey - RHP

Again, this is not the official lineup.  But it could look something like it.

Manuel’s Musing for June 30

“We just had a little family talk - a little private family discussion.”

-Jerry Manuel on the team’s closed-door meeting

Team meeting a.k.a. ‘family talk’

The Mets kept the clubhouse doors closed for 28 minutes as they had a bit of a team meeting.  Jerry Manuel later described it as “family talk.”

But what struck me most was Brian Costa’s tweet, which read, “Jerry said he addressed team after game. message: we have enough here to win.”

Really?

Because just 24 hours earlier, Mr. Manuel told reporters, “We're a below average team. Period.”

6/29: “We’re a below average team.”

6/30: “We have enough here to win.”

Hmm…Sounds like someone got a phone call from someone higher up.