Category: Latest News

Major League Scouting: An Inside Look

I wrote on May 13th that San Diego Padres special assistant Paul DePodesta had started a blog. Today he wrote an interesting post on the scouting organization that the Padres use to prepare for the Rule IV draft that’s occurring next Thursday and Friday.

The draft covers all players in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. With so much area to cover the teams have to be well organized to prepare for the draft. DePodesta says that they’ll have over 1000 players on their draft board.

It’s a really interesting read. Check it out here.

Delgado Doesn’t Want To Be Here

When Carlos Delgado signed his four year contract with the Florida Marlins prior to the 2005 season, he spurned the Mets because he didn’t like Tony Bernazard’s pitch. Even Carlos Beltran talking to Delgado about what a great opportunity they could have with the Mets couldn’t get Delgado to sign here as a free agent.

Prior to the 2006 the Mets traded Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit for Delgado even though Omar Minaya knew that Delgado didn’t want to be here. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Mike Jacobs back? Hindsight is 20/20. In this case, foresight should’ve been too. That was a bad deal by Minaya. Continue reading “Delgado Doesn’t Want To Be Here”

Mets In the News Today: Delgado, Church, And More

Here’s a summary of what’s happening for the Mets in the news today. Joe Torre and the Dodgers come to town for a four game series that has a few interesting story lines.

  • Carlos Delgado– He’s been on the bench for two straight games. I would guess that he’ll start tonight against righty Brad Penny. The way I see it is that the Wilpons told Willie Randolph to start playing his best lineup no matter what. Randolph realized that if he kept up his blind respect for Delgado’s career numbers, he might lose his job. Willie’s always the last one to figure these things out. It’s amazing to me that he can’t see what’s going on with this team. He just pays way too much homage to veterans. As Jim Leyland said “I’ll take talent over experience anytime.” I don’t necessarily like Fox Sports Dayn Perry but read this column about players not earning their pay this season.
  • Ryan Church– He hasn’t been at Shea Stadium for two games in a row because of the concussion that he sustained in Atlanta. There have been plenty of newspaper columns about the Mets handling the situation poorly by flying him to Colorado, pinch hitting him, and then flying back to New York. I come down on the side of the team on this one. I’m sure they went on how Church said that he felt at the time. Read the NY Times article here.
  • Pedro Martinez– He threw well in Port St. Lucie last night. But the question becomes: what roster move do they make next week to get him off the disabled list? There’s plenty of speculation like sending Mike Pelfrey down to get himself together. There’s also speculation that the Mets may keep both Claudio Vargas and Mike Pelfrey on the roster and make one of them a long man. I suspect that would leave Joe Smith as the odd man out in the bullpen with a one way ticket to New Orleans.
  • Marlon Anderson– His leg injury has the Mets considering making a play for Scott Hatteberg to be a lefty off the bench who can play first base. Read Marty Noble’s column for MLB.com. It’s a bad idea in my opinion. Hatteberg complained about coming off the bench and didn’t hit well in that role. I would consider Hatteberg if the Mets were looking to get Delgado off the roster whether via trade or release.
  • Moises Alou– His calf injury is progressing well and it looks like he’ll be off the disabled list on schedule next week. That’ll send Nick Evans back to Binghamton most likely, possibly New Orleans.

Lupica On Mets Racial Divide

Last night the Daily News website published a new column from Mike Lupica on the Mets so-called racial divide. If you listen to WFAN or other sports talk radio shows, this column doesn’t contain any new information that you haven’t already heard. Omar Minaya gave Lupica some quotes denying that there’s a rift in the clubhouse. No surprise there.

Personally, I don’t believe that there is this rift that we’ve heard about. Paul LoDuca was one of the people that publicly raised the issue last season. Nobody ever accused him of being particularly perceptive or bright though. I wouldn’t use LoDuca as my barometer for anything. He exercised very poor judgment on several occasions while with the Mets and there was evidence on Facebook to prove it.

Billy Wagner’s comments about Carlos Delgado disappearing from the clubhouse after a Mets loss were also tied to the so-called rift. But I don’t understand that. It was one person talking about another person. That’s all.

Delgado Benched Tonight, Maybe More

New York Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado before a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Image via Wikipedia

Willie Randolph said prior to tonight’s game that he’s giving Carlos Delgado some time to clear his head. He may sit out tomorrow night as well. Delgado has been killing the Mets for most of this season and last year. He just appears to be “done”. He can’t get around on inside fastballs anymore and frequently can’t get to high pitches.

I have to think that his decision came out of the meeting between Randolph, Omar Minaya, and the Wilpons yesterday. Hopefully, they’re working on a plan for a permanent solution to Delgado’s two year long lack of productivity. Scott Hatteberg, designated for assignment by the Reds today, might be a good start.

Fox Columnists On Randolph And Minaya

Logo used until 1999

Image via Wikipedia

The Fox Sports columnists are firing out columns about the Mets, both Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya. Ken Rosenthal and Mark Kriegel talk about the Mets problems from the players to the manager and the GM.

Ken Rosenthal talks about the Tigers, Mariners, and Mets chemistry problems and lack of players with passion. All three have $100+ million payrolls filled with too many overpaid underachieving players.

Mark Kriegel talks about Willie Randolph’s comments about racial discrimination. He says that the Mets problems aren’t racial.

Hatteberg May Be Designated Today

Cincinnati Reds

Image via Wikipedia

Cincinnati Reds monster prospect Jay Bruce is being called up today. To make room on the roster the Reds have a couple of options. One is to designate struggling outfielder Cory Patterson. The other option is to designate Scott Hatteberg.

If Hatteberg is designated today the Mets need to make a move for him, even if it requires trading a low level prospect. Hatteberg shouldn’t command too much in the trade market. He’s 38 years old and hasn’t had a good season as a pinch hitter this year.

Hatteberg is a below average fielder at first base which is no change from what we have now with Carlos Delgado. Last season the lefty hitting Hatteberg got 361 at-bats for the Reds and hit .310/.394/.474 with 10 homers and 47 RBI’s. It would be nice to see a .300+ hitter at first base every day.

If the Mets aren’t going to make a change at manager immediately, it’s time to make a change at first bast. Hatteberg and Nick Evans might make a nice lefty-righty platoon at first base.

Read the full story from John Fay at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Thanks to MLBTR for the story.