Category: Latest News

Mets To Start Niese; Perez To DL

jon-nieseThe Mets finally found a way to get Oliver Perez off the 25-man roster. He had an MRI yesterday and was diagnosed with tendinitis in his right knee. Tendinitis can be varying in its severtity, so I wonder how bad it really is. But the Mets got their wish, Perez can go to the disabled list and then make some rehab starts in Florida to figure out his pitching problems.

Jonathan Niese is being called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start Friday night against the Pirates. Niese hasn’t been very good at Buffalo this season going 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA in 5 starts. I haven’t seen the big league potential in Niese that others have but I hope he can have more success against the resurgent Pirates than he’s had in the minors this season.

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Mets Move Oliver Perez To Bullpen

New York Mets BullpenThe only logical conclusion occured from Oliver Perez‘ early season struggles, he’s going to the bullpen to get “right”. Many of you were in favor of shipping him off to Triple-A Buffalo but that wasn’t likely to happen. Perez was afforded a veto of an option to the minors due to his major league service of more than five years.

As I wrote yesterday, Perez should be in the bullpen. Ken Takahashi will take over Perez’ start on Friday against the not-so-lowly Pirates.

In case you were wondering, Perez’ last and only career relief appearance was on September 2, 2002 for the Padres against the Rockies. He gave up one hit, no runs, and had 3 strikeouts.

It’s interesting to note that Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon made the trip all the way to Atlanta today for this decision. There was some talk that Perez may have a slight knee problem that could put him on the disabled list, then in the minors. But I’d have to think that Perez and Scott Boras would object to that plan since the knee problem seemed to be very minor.

If you think about this from Perez’ perspective there’s very little to gain from accepting a demotion to Buffalo. Then he’s stuck with no leverage about when he comes back. Certainly, the Mets wouldn’t want to pay $12 million/year for a minor league pitcher. But look at what’s happened to Dontrelle Willis. He’s been stuck in the minors since last season.

If I were Perez, there’s no way that I would accept the option to Buffalo either. I’d tell the Mets if they don’t want me on the major league roster to release me and pay out the rest of my $36 million. I have a feeling that conversation happened in not-so-many words.

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Mets Executives In Atlanta To Discuss Oliver Perez

Omar MinayaSeveral of the Mets beat reporters are writing today that Mets GM Omar Minaya and COO Jeff Wilpon are on their way to Atlanta today. The purpose is to discuss the ongoing Oliver Perez saga. Presumably, they’re going to try to convince him, and his agent Scott Boras, that it’s in everyone’s best interest for him to accept a demotion to Triple-A Buffalo.

I get nervous whenever Jeff Wilpon sticks his nose into something. Remember, Jeff is the one responsible for Kaz Matsui and the much-maligned Citi Field. The Wilpons are the ones that forgot that the Mets play at Citi Field, not the Dodgers, and that fans would actually like to see the whole field from their seats.

Perez has the right to refuse an assignment to the minors. That’s his right under the Collective Bargaining Agreement as a player with more than five years of MLB experience. Jeff Wilpon’s involvement certainly doesn’t inspire confidence that this situation will be resolved properly.

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Troubled Oliver Perez Should Stay With Mets

Oliver PerezThere’s no disputing the fact that something, and maybe everything, is going horribly wrong for Oliver Perez this season. He’s made five starts now and is pitching to a 1-2 record with a 9.97 ERA. Obviously, he’s hurting the team and shouldn’t continue in the starting rotation. The only debate right now is whether he should be sent to Triple-A Buffalo or stay with the Mets in the bullpen in an attempt to right the ship.

I believe that Perez should stay with the Mets in the bullpen. He doesn’t even need to pitch out of the bullpen, but he should stay with the Mets not be banished to Buffalo.

The Mets should bring up Nelson Figueroa to take Perez’ spot in the rotation for one start. This will give Perez a chance to continue his work with pitching coach Dan Warthen and Johan Santana. Figueroa could take Ken Takahashi’s spot on the roster. Perez will have the pressure off him for 10 games and have a chance to just work on finding himself.

Perez is going to be a part of the Mets for the next three seasons. His 3-year/$36 million contract that he just signed assures him of that. So the Mets need to go forward with Perez on the major league roster and show some confidence in him. I think he needs that right now. The going is tough for him but it’ll get better. You can see it on his face that he’s disappointed in himself.

There are examples of established major league pitchers that have gone to the minors and come back better for it. Steve Trachsel did it for the Mets. But you can also look at Barry Zito with the Giants from last season. On April 29, 2008 Zito was off to an 0-6 start with a 7.53 ERA and was moved to the bullpen. He skipped a start and came back much better. He finished the season at 10-11 record after the bullpen move, and that’s with a bad team that finished the season 72-90. Take a look at Zito’s 2008 game log here. I could see the same type of season for Perez this year.

The Mets made a prett sizable investment in Perez this offseason. They shouldn’t give up on him after one bad month. He should stay with the team and work with the best pitching coaches in the organization. That means he stays with the major league team and works through his problems.

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Jerry Manuel Plays Favorites, Hurts Mets

Jerry ManuelLast season I was completely on the bandwagon to fire Willie Randolph and I still think it was the right move. At the time I thought the Mets should have hired someone from outside of the organization to manage the team. They didn’t, and I really liked the way Jerry Manuel led the team for the remainder of the 2008 season. But I have to admit that he’s starting to wear on me already this season. Now I can see how he lost the team in Chicago in 2003. He plays favorites with the players to the detriment of the team.

I’m definitely not saying that Manuel should be fired. He won’t be this season no matter what. Omar Minaya just signed him to a 2-year deal before the season started and the team won’t eat the money. Besides, they’re still paying Randolph and there’s no way that they’ll have three managers on the payroll for this season.

What I am saying is that I’m paying much closer attention to his moves now than I have in the past. I’m looking at him with a much more critical eye than I did last season. The honeymoon period is over. Manuel always impressed me with his talk, and actions, about how if players produce they’ll play. That’s the way it should be. But this season he’s not showing it.

Manuel’s Doghouse

Luis Castillo – He was awful last season and deserved the backlash that he received. That being said, he appears to be healthier and in better shape this season. He’s hitting .370 with a .878 OPS. What more does he have to do to get out of the bottom of the order? Alex Cora is hitting at the top of the order when he plays for Castillo. That doesn’t make sense.

Ryan Church – Manuel chided him all spring, then the Mets brought in Gary Sheffield and Manuel said he’ll see time in right field. Church is hitting .313 with a .845 OPS and playing a very good right field. Why is he the outfielder to lose playing time and be chided all spring? Daniel Murphy can’t play the field and has a lower OPS than Church. He should be losing plenty of playing time to Sheffield.

Ramon Castro – The guy is a solid #2 catcher. Sure, he’s not a star player but how does he get pinch hit for by Omir Santos? Castro has 2 hits against the Marlins on Wednesday and gets pinch hit for with two outs in the ninth and the bases loaded. It makes no sense. Castro can hit, let him do his thing.

I’m starting get tired of Manuel’s stubborn attitude. That’s one of the things that I disliked about Randolph. Omir Santos, Daniel Murphy, and Alex Cora are getting favored treatment over players that deserve better. This is a classic recipe to lose the team. Manuel needs to wake up before it’s too late.

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Mets Beltran Won’t Slide And I Don’t Care

Flickr photo courtesy of P Pogo
Flickr photo courtesy of P Pogo

Within a five day span we’ve seen two examples of Carlos Beltran not sliding on plays that he clearly should have. You know what? I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all. The simple fact is that when you’re the best position player on the team with the highest payroll in the league you can make judgment calls.

On April 21st Beltran didn’t slide against the St. Louis Cardinals on a play at home. He stepped on Yadier Molina‘s foot and was tagged out. It was a bizarre play that Cards third baseman Joe Thurston made a great hustle play and throw on.

Yesterday Beltran didn’t slide on a steal attempt at second base because he thought that he heard David Wright hit the ball. He slowed up and was tagged out on the throw. Of course, the crowd boo’d him. He admitted after the game that he should have slid.

I’ve heard some people talking about how this is a bad influence on the younger players on the Mets. If any of the younger players on the Mets think that they’re the best position player on the team they should feel free to make judgement calls that are afforded to veterans like Beltran.

Of course, I’d like to see Beltran show the fire and go all out that everyone else wants from him. That’s not the way he is and I’ve accepted that along with his .406 batting average, outstanding defense, and 1.067 OPS. He’s kind of a soft player, not the kind that we like in New York. But he’s also an excellent player, maybe not one of the great ones, but very good.

Frankly, if he can avoid taking a few hits along the way this season he may be able to stay healthy enough to play 161 games like he did last season. That’s no small feat by the way. I’d rather see Beltran playing nearly every game this season than worry about one play and whether he slid or not.

In case you haven’t noticed, Carlos Beltran isn’t the problem with this Mets team. If you feel compelled to boo the home team, make note of every starting pitcher not named Johan Santana. Make sure that you notice Daniel Murphy stumbling around left field like a little leaguer and David Wright‘s .371 slugging percentage. Those are the problems with this team not Carlos Beltran.

Mets Starting Pitching May Force Roster, Coaching Changes

Oliver PerezAfter the Mets humiliating defeat in St. Louis yesterday, manager Jerry Manuel spoke to the media about some possible changes to the roster in the near future. Manuel said that they’ll go one more time, as is, through the pitching rotation. If the starting pitchers, other than Johan Santana, can’t overcome their problems the Mets will make changes.

Manuel said that he would like to immediately add a 13th pitcher to the Mets roster. The logic being that the starters are pitching so few innings right now that it would keep the existing pitchers in the bullpen from getting burned out early in the season. Manuel admitted that he’s concerned about how many innings the bullpen is logging already.

Another issue is to figure out which position player will pay the price by losing a roster spot to add another pitcher. I suspect that Jeremy Reed is the most likely candidate. If it was up to me, I would option Daniel Murphy for reasons written before on this site that I won’t go into again.

Adam Rubin of the Daily News reports that the Mets are already considering making changes to the coaching staff. Rubin also notes that the Mets are considering optioning Mike Pelfrey or Oliver Perez to the minors. That would be quite a shake-up, moving the #2 or #3 starter to the minors!

Although some of these ideas sound desperate, I’m glad that they’re not just going with the status quo because it’s April. The Mets have a lot of seats left to sell and this team isn’t inspiring me to go out and buy more seats. That doesn’t even mention the fact that the last two seasons have been lost to one or two games, so they can’t just give games away even if it is only April.

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