Month: May 2008

Braves Sweep Mets Again With 4-2 Win

The Mets fell below .500 after being swept in a four game series by the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are now 6-0 against the Mets in Atlanta.

Johan Santana takes the loss after going seven innings and giving up four runs (three earned) on 12 hits. That’s more hits than Santana has ever given up in a start during his career.

Things were looking good for the Mets when Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado hit back to back homers in the second inning. But that was all of the offense that the Mets could muster. Tim Hudson was able to shut down the Mets after that going eight strong innings.

Damion Easley wasn’t with the team tonight. He was in Arizona attending his son’s high school graduation. The Mets travel to Colorado tonight to begin a three game series against the Rockies this weekend.

Box score

Video Highlights

Link: First Basemen Trade Market

MLB Rumors discusses the available first basemen on the trade market. Notably, the comment is that Carlos Delgado has little to no value on the market and is more likely to be designated for assignment than traded.

I agree that Delgado has no value in the trade market. He’s making $12 million (plus the Marlins are paying him $4 million) and he’s an automatic out. He’s turned into a black hole in the lineup.

Without a clear successor for Delgado at first base, there’s no way that he’ll be designated. Scott Hatteberg might be a decent option for the Mets. Even if he doesn’t hit, he can put his glove on the ball in the field. That’s one advantage over Delgado.

Alou Likely To Disabled List

Source: Flickr – D. Fletcher

Bart Hubbach of the NY Post is reporting that Moises Alou is likely to go on the disabled list with the left calf strain that took him out of yesterday’s game.

Raul Casanova is on his way to Atlanta to join the team to replace Alou on the roster. Willie Randolph noted that Casanova can also play first base.

Tonight’s corner outfielders will be Marlon Anderson in left and Endy Chavez in right. Ryan Church is still recovering from the mild concussion that he suffered when he collided with Yunel Escobar at second base.

Having Casanova on the roster will be nice to free up the Mets to pinch hit Ramon Castro or use him in double switch situations.

Mets Have Problems, I Have Solutions

The first two months of the season have proven that the New York Mets have an average record with above average talent. That’s on the manager. Beyond managerial problems, the Mets have several issues on their roster. Not every problem can be solved easily but there are some quick, inexpensive solutions.

Problems:

  1. Manager– Willie Randolph briefly lost his mind while speaking to Ian O’Connor of the Bergen Record on Sunday. If Randolph can’t keep it together better than that he shouldn’t be leading this team. It’s as simple as that.
  2. First base– Carlos Delgado has turned into an automatic out. But even during losing streaks and blowout loses he continues to smile and yuk it up at first base with the opposing team.
  3. Left field– Moises Alou is a natural-born hitting machine. He’s also chronically on the disabled list.
  4. Second base– Luis Castillo was just signed to a four year contract prior to this season, as hard as that is to believe. His legs look like they could give out at any moment. His game depends on speed and range in the field and now he doesn’t have either.
  5. Bullpen– Aaron Heilman can’t figure out how to get hitters out this season. He swings back and forth between walking batters and giving up home runs. That’s a bad combination.
  6. Starting pitching– Pedro Martinez and El Duque on the disabled list since the beginning of the season has hurt the Mets badly. The gaping holes in the rotation have exposed Mike Pelfrey, Nelson Figueroa, and Claudio Vargas.

Wow, that’s a big list of problems! Although the list appears to be insurmountable, it’s not. Continue reading “Mets Have Problems, I Have Solutions”

Mets News Today: Wilpon, Alou, and Martinez

ESPN reports that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon didn’t return Willie Randolph’s voicemail before he made his public apology for the SNY and race comments. Jay Horowitz said that Omar Minaya returned the call on behalf of Mets ownership. I think that says it all. Randolph is done, put that in the books!

Moises Alou left yesterday’s game against the Braves in the middle of the third inning because of tightness in his left calf. He’s back in New York today for an MRI. Early reports are that it’s a muscle strain and he may miss some time.

Pedro Martinez is now saying that he isn’t thinking about retiring that he wants to play for two or three more season.

Reader Poll: Last Day To Vote

Today is the last day of voting for the current reader poll. The question is: What is the Mets biggest problem this season?

It’s clear that the Mets have many problems right now, but I want to know what you think is their biggest. There’s been a big surge in readers voting for “Manager” over the last couple of days. That’s not a surprise.

Get your vote in now on the right side of the page.