Category: General

Minaya Talking To Claudio Vargas

David Lennon of Newsday reports that Omar Minaya has been talking about a possible contract offer to former Brewers pitcher Claudio Vargas. Lennon reports that Vargas’ agent Brian Stringfellow had this to say:

“Omar, to his credit, has been very upfront with me and I appreciate the Mets’ candor,” Stringfellow said. “What I’m hearing from that situation, it just doesn’t jibe. I’m trying to get Claudio in the right situation, not a quick situation.”

Stringfellow sounds like he’s looking for the best scenario for Vargas to get a spot in the rotation. Vargas would probably only be a temporary solution for the Mets.

Apparently, Minaya is also looking at the Robinson Tejada who was recently designated for assignment by the Rangers. The scary thing about him is that the Rangers are giving up on his potential and they haven’t had decent pitching this decade.

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Upcoming Atlanta Braves Series

Atlanta BravesImage from WikipediaThe Mets road series with the Atlanta Braves gets started tomorrow night with John Maine going against Tim Hudson. The schedule for the series is:

  • 4/4- 7:30pm SNY
  • 4/5- 3:55pm Fox
  • 4/6- 1:30pm SNY

I’ve been surprised to see how many baseball analysts have been picking the Braves to have a strong season. I don’t agree. Despite their $102 million payroll, I believe they’re going to about a .500 team maybe a little below. The departures of Andruw Jones via free agency to the Dodgers and Edgar Renteria via trade to the Tigers will have a negative impact on the team. They’ve still got some good players there but not enough to challenge the Phillies and Mets this season.

Houston, We Have A Problem!

Pedro Martinez waves goodbye after signing some autographsImage from WikipediaPedro Martinez left the game after 3.1 uninspiring innings with a left hamstring injury tonight. The game is still in progress right now, tied 4-4 in the top of the seventh inning. Read the full story at MLB.com.

If this is anything more than a minor injury it’ll be a two-pronged problem:

  1. The Mets are counting on him for a season over .500 with approximately 25 starts
  2. Martinez needs to have a decent season if he’s going to get a multi-year contract next season when he’ll be 37 years old

On Deck: April 1, 2008

Mets at Marlins 7:10pm TV: SNY Pedro Martinez vs. Rick VandenHurk

It’s early but the Mets have to keep pace with the Nationals already. It’ll be interesting to see what Pedro has left in the tank this year. He’ll be pivotal to the Mets season this year. They need him to be well over .500 to have a successful season.

Roster Moves: Down to 25 Players

New York Mets pitcher Michael Pelfrey before a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.Image from Wikipedia

Updated: March 31, 2008

Here’s a breakdown of the moves that the Mets made today to get down to 25:

  1. Raul Casanova made the major league team
  2. Brady Clark made the major league team- he also changed his number to 44
  3. Ramon Castro was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 21
  4. Duaner Sanchez was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27
  5. Orlando Hernandez was placed on the 15 day disabled list retroactive to March 29
  6. Brian Stokes was designated for assignment
  7. Fernando Tatis was sent to minor league camp for reassignment
  8. Ricardo Rincon was sent to minor league camp for reassignment
  9. Nelson Figueroa was sent to minor league camp for reassignment

Mike Pelfrey gets the fifth starter spot but they won’t need him until April 12th. I would guess that he’ll get some long work in the bullpen until then to see if he can establish some consistency before they need a fifth starter. El Duque could even be back to make that start if Pelfrey continues his shaky performances from the spring.

I’m glad that Fernando Tatis didn’t make the team. I just don’t see that he adds value especially after losing Ruben Gotay. I really liked Gotay and thought he could make a contribution. He’s going to come back to bite the Mets with a big hit at some point this season.

The Mets Report: Live From South Florida

I apologize for lagging on my posts today. I’m in south Florida for opening day 2008. It’s a thrill to be here for Day 1 of the run for the World Series. I’m catching up now on the news of the day including the roster moves. More on that later.

If you’re here in Miami for the game stop by the field level behind the Mets bullpen. I’ll be the one with the Mets standard hat (black with blue bill) and the black Johan Santana shirt. Oh wait, Dolphins Stadium should be filled with Mets fans! I’ll be one of many with Santana shirts.