Month: August 2008

Mets 2B Castillo Plays Rehab Game

Luis Castillo started playing rehab games in Port St. Lucie preparing to come back from the disabled list. He’s been on the DL since July 3rd with a strained left hip flexor. The word is that he could be ready to return to the Mets next week.

IMG_0114 This is going to be a particularly hot topic when he comes back because undoubtedly he’ll replace Argenis Reyes on the roster. A. Reyes has been playing really well in Castillo’s absence as has Damion Easley. Frankly, it seems like the Mets have improved at second base since Castillo went on the DL.

My sense is that Argenis has become somewhat of a fan favorite during his tenure on the roster. He’s been friends with Jose Reyes since they were kids and he seems to have a real knack for situational hitting.

Easley’s been nothing short of terrific as well. He’s making great plays in the field and hitting with power. Castillo may have a dog fight on his hands to get playing time at second base when he gets back. The thing is he’s making $6 million this year and the Mets want to get their moneys worth out of him.

Mets OF Marlon Anderson To DL- Dan Murphy Joining Team

Marlon Anderson is headed for the disabled list with a hamstring injury. He’s been struggling through that for a couple of months now. He hasn’t hit much this season at all to the tune of .222/ .259/ .294. Considering that he’s a liability in the outfield, his value to the team is very limited right now.

David Lennon of Newsday reports that Dan Murphy is on his way to Houston from New Orleans and the roster move will be made official when Murphy arrives.

On Deck- August 2- Mets at Astros [Game 2]

New York Mets (58-51 Road: 26-31) at Houston Astros (51-57 Home: 27-26) 7:05pm

Johan Santana (9-7 2.93) vs. Roy Oswalt (8-8 4.67)

TV: SNY Radio: WFAN

What to watch: Santana went nine innings giving up one run in his last start against St. Louis and looked terrific. Oswalt got a win in his last start against the Reds but gave up four runs over five innings. The Mets really need to take both games left in this series to beat a team that they should be better than. It’s key over the next two months to take series’ from losing teams. A loss today would extend the Mets losing streak to three games.

Don’t forget to visit the Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game by clicking “Live Game Chat” above or click here.

Stephen A. Smith- The Brothers Manuel

I’m not a big Stephen A. Smith fan but I thought that I’d link to this article that he wrote for ESPN The Mag. The subject is the relationship between Mets manager Jerry Manuel and Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Apparently, they’ve known each other for more than 20 years which isn’t a big surprise as the baseball circle is pretty small.

It sounds like the two have a lot of respect for each other and a good relationship:

“Charlie and I have known each other for more than 20 years. And every time he sees me, he says, ‘Jerry, you know the only thing good about you is your last name.’

I thinks it’s probably obvious that I can’t stand the Phillies but it seems like Charlie Manuel does a good job of maximizing the talent that he’s given. That’s all you can ask of a manager. He does a much better job of setting rules and expectations with his players than Willie Randolph did while he was with the Mets. That’s evidenced by his benching twice this season of reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins. Randolph was criticized for having two sets of rules: one for veterans and the other for younger players. Jerry Manuel’s seems to have done a good job of evening the playing field for the team and setting expectations.

It’s an interesting read as much as Stephen A. Smith could be.

Audio- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and SNY Analyst Ron Darling

Los Angeles Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talks to WFAN’s Joe & Evan about the deal that brought Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers.

WFAN Audio- Ned Colletti

Also SNY analyst Ron Darling talks to WFAN’s Joe & Evan about all things Mets. He does have some interesting things to say about the relationship between Willie Randolph and Carlos Delgado. They were talking about Delgado’s recent offensive success, and Darling says that there was a strained relationship between he and Randolph.

WFAN Audio- Ron Darling

Report: Mets Schedule Makes Them Trade Deadline Winners

The Mets chances to take a playoff spot this season actually improved at the trade deadline despite not making any deals according to Sporting News writer Gerry Fraley. He makes some great points about the competition that the Mets will face over the next two months.

The Mets have 14 more games against Atlanta and Pittsburgh, teams that surrendered and became big-time sellers at the deadline.

The Mets also have 12 more games against Washington and San Diego, a pair of last-place clubs. That adds up to 26 games against dead-in-the-water clubs.

Although the Mets schedule is favorable, they need to take advantage of that by winning the series’ that they’re supposed to. That starts with Houston this weekend and then San Diego coming to town on Tuesday.

The Phillies and Marlins failure to make any splashes, such as Manny Ramirez, certainly is a huge positive for the Mets. I’ve read that the Marlins were planning to flip Ramirez to the Yankees if they landed him anyway. So he may not have had an impact in the National League East as was rumored prior to the trade deadline.

Flickr photo courtesy of ewan and donabel

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Mets P John Maine Will Miss One Start

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 13: John Maine #33 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

John Maine was diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff strain and will miss his next scheduled start. The Mets are off Monday before playing 23 consecutive games. So they should be able to work the off day into the plan without needing to find another starter to take Maine’s place.

Maine was pulled from his last start on Monday in Miami during the fifth inning due to the shoulder pain he was experiencing. As I’ve written before, it was a good decision by Jerry Manuel to pull him early from the game. Maine is one of the most valuable players the Mets have due to his skill, age, and contract status.

Maine told reporters that he feels good after not throwing for three straight days. His plan going forward is for light throwing today and working off the mound in Houston tomorrow.

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