Category: Latest News

Peter Gammons Backs Omar Minaya

NEW YORK - APRIL 10: General Manager Omar Min...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The roller coaster season continues, but the noose has seemingly disappeared from Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel’s necks (for now). This weekend The Mets did what winning teams are supposed to do: beat bad teams. Philly fans can poo-poo the weekend as we’d expect, but the truth is that is how you stay in contention.

It is crucial for teams to beat up and pad stats on their lessers. This team must put some distance between themselves and the .500 mark in preparation for tougher series’ ahead. Now that we seem to do be doing so, Minaya is getting a much needed pat on the back from one of baseball’s senior voices. In an article for MLB.com, Peter Gammons praises Minaya for his ability to whether the storm in New York.

People up and down the Mets’ organization are fiercely loyal to Minaya, because he accepts the heat and deflects it from those who work for him.

Gammons also continues pointing the finger at the Mets’ leadership around Minaya for perpetrating a “blame game”. Gammons’ isn’t really shedding light on anything Mets fans don’t already know. We are impossible to deal with at times, and ownership needs to block out the sports talk radio hosts as well as the papers. Nowadays, everyone thinks they have the right to play GM, maybe because of the endless access to information/opinion from blogs (ahem). Continue reading “Peter Gammons Backs Omar Minaya”

Mets Links: Beltran, Maine, Santana

FLUSHING, NY - JUNE 23: Shortstop Edgardo Alfonzo #13 of the New York Mets watches the flight of the ball during the MLB game against the Kansas City Royals on June 23, 2002 at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. The Mets won, 5-4. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets are off today so I thought it was a good time for some links. It still seems like a dream that they could actually win a series on the road, much less sweep one, but sweep the Orioles they did. They’re on the way to Cleveland to start a series there on Tuesday. Here are the links

Carlos Beltran has been working in Port St. Lucie to return from knee surgery. He’s been playing some center field in squad games and plans to return “soon”. Despite Jerry Manuel’s comments about Beltran coming back to DH next weekend in the Bronx, the Mets says that’s not happening.

John Maine made a rehab start for the Binghamton Mets in Trenton yesterday. His fastball topped out at 88 mph and he’s expected to make another start on Friday for Buffalo. It’s going to be very interesting to see if Manuel believes that Maine should walk back into the rotation and supplant Hisanori Takahashi. Personally, I think Maine belongs in the bullpen.

In other injury news, Fernando Martinez is back with Buffalo and went 2 for 4 with a home run yesterday. Continue reading “Mets Links: Beltran, Maine, Santana”

Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez – Same Injury, Same Agent

Jun. 08, 2010 - Washington, DC, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - epa02192870 Sports agent Scott Boras chats on the phone prior to his client Washington Nationals' pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg making his Major League Baseball debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park, in Washington, DC, USA, 08 June 2010. Boras helped Strasburg sign a record 15 million US dollar contract as the Nationals' top draft choice a year ago, and Boras is also the agent for the Nationals' top choice this year, 17-year-old Bryce Harper.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsOne of the comments on my last post inspired me to write this one so keep the comments coming:

Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez share the same agent and have the same injuries. Here are some interesting facts:

Back in 2000, injuries limited Carlos to only 98 games while with the Kansas City Royals and he lost the starting centerfield job to Johnny Damon, another Scott Boras client. Yes, you guessed it! The injury was a “bruised knee”. In July of that year Carlos refused a rehab assignment in Florida on the advice of Scott Boras. Kansas City management then suspended Carlos for almost a month and when he came back he ended up rehabbing in the minors anyway.

I know this was 10 years ago and should be ancient history but is it?

Back then Carlos’ desire to play for the Royals was questioned by teammates and management alike. These same questions could now be asked again of Beltran and of Perez.

Fast forward to 2009 where Boras has advised Beltran to have surgery on the same knee without consulting the Mets and now another of his clients, Perez, is also out with a similar mysterious right knee injury. Continue reading “Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez – Same Injury, Same Agent”

John Maine Rehab Assignment To Begin

NEW YORK - JULY 10: John Maine #33 of the New...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Mets pitcher John Maine will begin a rehab assignment for the Binghamton Mets in Trenton on Sunday. He says that he’ll need one more start after that before re-joining the Mets. He’s been on the disabled list for right rotator cuff tendinitis.

Maine can rest and rehab all he wants, but if he doesn’t re-gain his velocity there’s no way that he’ll be an effective pitcher. He just doesn’t have the control or secondary pitches to throw a sub-90’s fastball successfully.

The big issue for Maine is that he’ll be a free agent after this season and likely pitching somewhere else in 2011. This is his third straight season with health problems and he’s become a guy that can’t stay healthy and hasn’t been effective when he is healthy.

Maine will return to the starting rotation when he comes back, likely next week. The only reason he’ll get a rotation spot is because Hisanori Takahashi has been equally awful in his last two starts.

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Lady Gaga At Citi Field

Lady Gaga puts up her middle finger while the New York Mets play San Diego Padres at Citi Field in New York City on June 10, 2010. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe paparazzi were out at Citi Field to see Lady Gaga watching the Mets game this afternoon against the Padres. Judging from this picture of her, she wasn’t happy about the Mets losing to the Padres 4-2.

She caught the afternoon game of the doubleheader with Johan Santana pitching. The Mets are going for the win in the rubber game tonight. I can only imagine her reaction if they end up losing the home series to the Padres. She might flip a double bird.

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Mets-Padres Rainout June 9, 2010

The Mets and Padres are rained out tonight and will play a day/night doubleheader tomorrow. The make-up game will be tomorrow night at 7:10pm and tickets for tonight’s game will be honored. The regular 1:10pm game tomorrow will go on and you need tickets to the afternoon game to get into that one.

Also, parking tickets and receipts from tonight will be honored tomorrow night.

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