Take a look at today’s lineup as reported by Ben Shipgel of the Times. Even Duaner Sanchez is scheduled to pitch today against the Marlins.
Jose Reyes SS
Brady Clark LF
David Wright 3B
Ryan Church RF
Olmedo Saenz 1B
Endy Chavez CF
Damion Easley DH
Brian Schneider C
Argenis Reyes 2B
Mike Pelfrey P
Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal isn’t ignoring the Mets this week. In fact, he addressed the Moises Alou situation in this column. In addition to the Tigers/Marcus Thames scenario, Rosenthal discusses the possiblity of Xavier Nady or Jay Payton coming back. He also mentions Kevin Millar and Paul Konerko in the column. Omar Minaya would be insane to trade for Konerko unless he could unload Schoenweiss and Jorge Sosa on the White Sox. Konerko hasn’t played one game in the outfield since he was with Cincinnati in 1998. So that doesn’t really help with the Moises Alou situation.
How could Dayn Perry of Fox Sports write a column yesterday about teams that are affected by spring training injuries and not even mention the Mets? Of course, Fox is baseball’s national television partner. This type of thing makes me very wary of national media outlets and their motivation. I realize that the Mets as one of baseball’s big market teams get a lot of attention but completely ignoring them for an article about injuries is ridiculous. Perry is one of Fox’s premier baseball columnists, along with Ken Rosenthal, and I like his work. But this week’s column really got under my skin.
Minaya insists that the Mets can replace Alou from within until early-mid May when he gets back from hernia surgery. I’ve been arguing here for some time about signing Barry Bonds. A right handed bat, with power, would be a better fit for this team though. The Mets could really use a right handed hitter that can play the outfield and first base.
I don’t believe that Minaya is looking within the organization exclusively to replace Alou. I believe that he doesn’t want to appear desperate publicly. Sammy Sosa would be a fit if he could play first base, which I don’t see happening. Sosa wouldn’t be happy for long periods of time on the bench and occasional pinch hitting duty though.
There are rumors that Minaya is trying to work a deal with the Tigers for Marcus Thames. Last year he played in 86 games for the Tigers: .242 18 homers 54 RBI. He played 33 games at first base, 33 in LF, 9 in RF, and 6 at DH. The Tigers could use some help in the bullpen too. That’s where the Mets are trying to move some players. This could be a good fit for both teams.
Perez pitched against the Indians yesterday and had his second bad start of the spring. He’s one pitcher that really needs to find a “groove” in the spring. The other pitchers are just there to get their work in and build up to pitching 6+ innings per game. Perez can get so far away from the mechanics that are successful for him that he really needs to pull it together earlier than most pitchers.
Pedro’s first start of the spring was rained out on Thursday night. So he pitched a simulated game on Friday against Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, and two minor leaguers. His fastball was around 90 mph, change was good, but the curveball wasn’t there. Don’t read into this too much. He still has three weeks to get ready for his April 1st start in Florida.
Boston Red Sox scout Jesse Levis was arrested Sunday at a PSL hotel for lewd and lascivious behavior. He was in a room overlooking the hotel pool and the police were notified by two teenage girls of his behavior. So much for being busy scouting the Mets.
The Mets Report 