Mets Trading Prospects Not Depth For Cliff Lee

May 11, 2010: Cliff Lee for the Seattle Mariners pitches during a game against the hometown Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Mariners beat the Orioles 5 - 1.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsTrade month is almost upon us, and the Mets definitely look to be buyers this season. With that said, any talk of trading Angel Pagan (selling high) needs to be thrown out immediately. I’m not saying the 29 year old will be a major cog in the next couple of years. Who knows? But it is simply a matter of depth.

Carlos Beltran’s knees are never again going to be a sure bet. Pagan is also not a player who has been kn0wn to avoid the disabled list. It doesn’t hurt having four more than capable outfielders sharing time. Just yesterday, Angel was pulling himself out of a game because of a strained muscle. Depth in the outfield, and in general, is essential and in our case could be a strength.

We all remember what happened in past seasons when we lost key players late. Losing Fernando Tatis in 2008 helped to make our offense as inept as any in baseball at that time. The year before, we lost an aging Alou and Valentin who were key offensive pieces. Depth will allow the hot bats to find the lineup and give a manager the ability to get more creative. Continue reading “Mets Trading Prospects Not Depth For Cliff Lee”

Mets Option Jenrry Mejia To Binghamton

April 22 2010: Mets' relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia (32) delivers a pitch in the 9th inning during MLB action between the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Mets defeated the Cubs 5-2.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets have finally given up on the idea of Jenrry Mejia relieving at the big league level this season. According to multiple media reports he’s been optioned to Double-A Binghamton to stretch out and start again.

Bobby Parnell will replace Mejia in the bullpen. He’s been pitching fairly well at Triple-A Buffalo where he’s 1-1 with a 4.14 ERA in 41.1 IP. He pitched in 68 games including 8 starts for the awful 2009 Mets to a 5.30 ERA.

I’m still not sure that I see Mejia as a starter. He’s clearly still a “thrower” not a pitcher. But the velocity that he generates and the lack of secondary pitches seems to me would be more of a fit in the bullpen than the rotation. Either way, he’s not developed enough to succeed in the majors in either capacity right now.

The 2010 Homegrown New York Mets

Apr. 27, 2010 - Flushing, NY, USA - April 25, 2010: New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, left, has a laugh with rookie teammate Ike Davis before a rain-filled Major League Baseball game vs. visiting Atlanta Braves at Citi Field in Flushing, NY.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsSince the 2010 season started, Mets fans have had a soft spot for many of the players on the New York Mets. I have always wondered why the fans have embraced this team so much. Right now the Mets are three games behind the Atlanta Braves for the National League East.

With those numbers many of the fans wouldn’t embrace the team as much as they do. Yet, this team fights. This team cares. Finally it seems like the Mets players care about their fans.

I wondered why, so I did some research and found out that this team is one of the most homegrown teams the Mets have had in a long time.

Take Saturday afternoon for example. The New York Mets starting four in the infield were all homegrown. Ike Davis at first, Rueben Tejada at second, Jose Reyes at shortstop and David Wright at third are all homegrown. All drafted and played through the minors with the Mets. Even pitcher John Niese was homegrown.

That might not seem like that big of a deal. Yet, the last time that had happened was on September 20,1996 when the Mets had Butch Huskey at first, Tim Bogar at second, Rey Ordonez at short and Edgardo Alfonzo at third. The infamous Paul Wilson pitched that day as well. He was homegrown too. Continue reading “The 2010 Homegrown New York Mets”

Mets 6 – Marlins 1 June 5, 2010

New York Mets Ike Davis hits a single at Citi Field in New York

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsMets starter Jon Niese was outstanding today in his return from two weeks on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. He went 7 innings only giving up 1 run in the seventh. He was in complete control throughout the game dropping his curveball in for strikes at will. Jenrry Mejia and Fernando Nieve finished off the final two innings without a serious threat by the Marlins.

The Mets offense was solid with 10 hits and 2 walks against the Marlins. Ike Davis was right on the ball today going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored. David Wright was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s including his 10th home run of the season which equals his total from last season.

Box score

Mets Must Pursue Roy Oswalt

MLB: Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsHouston Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt recently told management he wanted to be traded.

The Mets have lost three starting pitchers in the last two weeks, two to injury and one to… well, awfulness.

I’m not the only one who sees a fit here, right?

Oswalt’s W-L isn’t the best this season at 2-6, but that’s heavily influenced due to a terrible Houston team behind him. His ERA is 2.66 (career 3.21) and he has 60 strikeouts on the year, putting him on pace for 221.

Oswalt would be under the Mets’ control for the remainder of this season and next season, with a club option for 2012, so this move would be more than just a four-month rental. It would set our top three starting pitchers as Johan Santana, Oswalt, and Mike Pelfrey. Not sure there’s a better 1-2-3 in the majors. Continue reading “Mets Must Pursue Roy Oswalt”

Mets’ Igarashi Returns From DL

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 02:   Relief pitche...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Mets will activate Ryota Igarashi from the disabled list today. Manny Acosta is the one that will lose his roster spot. He’ll be optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. The surprise is that Jenrry Mejia isn’t the one being optioned. There have been rumors all week that he was going to Buffalo to stretch out in an effort to come back at some point as a starter.

Not so surprising is that Oliver Perez won’t go to the minors. He’s dead weight on the roster right now. The word is that he told the Mets that he’s not interested in going to the minors to work out his problems.

Acosta has pitched pretty well for the Mets in 12 games this season. He hasn’t given up a run in his last seven appearances. But he has allowed 50% of his inherited runners to score.

Mets Starting Pitching Options – Niese and Perez

MLB: Mets vs Rockies APR 14

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets lost two of their starting pitchers in Florida, Jon Niese due to a hamstring injury, and Oliver Perez due to being dreadful.

Hisanori Takahashi will start in Jon Niese’s place on Friday night, while R.A. Dickey will start in Perez’s place tonight against the Washington Nationals.

Takahashi has seemed to relish in the long man spot, a la Darren Oliver in 2006 for the Mets, and he should be kept there as he’s been extremely valuable in that spot. R.A. Dickey, who started 14 games in 2008 for the Seattle Mariners, went 5-8 with a 5.21 ERA. Continue reading “Mets Starting Pitching Options – Niese and Perez”