Tag: Jenry Mejia

Rockies 6 – Mets 5 April 14, 2010

New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathan Niese throws against the Colorado Rockies in their MLB baseball game in Denver

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets lost their fourth straight game tonight in 10 innings to the Rockies. They have to try to salvage one game in Colorado tomorrow afternoon. The story of the game was that the Mets got another bad start from Jon Niese, battled back to tie it up in the ninth, then lost it on a homer in the tenth.

Niese was pretty bad giving up 5 runs in 5 IP on 99 pitches and hitting two batters. It was just ugly. And it’s even worse following up some rotten starts over the last few days.

The worst part of the game was that the Mets got two men on in the tenth with one out and couldn’t bring a run home. The Mets just can’t seem to hit with runners in scoring position. As a team, the Mets are hitting .180 with runners in scoring position.

Jenry Mejia started the tenth inning and promptly gave up the game losing home run to Chris Iannetta, the first batter he faced. I know that can happen to anyone, but maybe Mejia isn’t ready for this kind of pressure.

It’s another tough loss and they’ll play one more in Colorado tomorrow.

Box score

Jenry Mejia Should Make Mets Team

Dwight Gooden at Candlestick Park in San Franc...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s a young man’s game now and Jenry Mejia is a young man with a good arm. Sure, he’s only pitched 7 innings so far this spring to a 1.23 ERA. But he’s looked good doing it. I’m not buying into the hype about Mejia. It’s a simple equation. The Mets are built to win now and Mejia can help them do that. It’s that simple.

You may think that the Mets would take Mejia north next month because Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya are trying to save their jobs. They’re not looking out for the kid. They don’t care about his future. There may be something to that, I don’t know. But if you read Ken Rosenthal’s column today on Fox Sports, it sure seems that way according to Rosenthal.

To get back to where I started this post, baseball isn’t a game for 35+ year-old players anymore. The worm turned with the MLB 2003 steroid report and testing for steroids and amphetamines. It’s back to being a young man’s game again and we have to face that fact and this new reality. Dwight Gooden made the team and won 17 games as a rookie when he was 19 years-old. Mejia is 20 years-old and he’s not Dwight Gooden, but if he wins a spot on the roster this spring we need to accept this new reality. The funny thing is that the new reality is the old reality.

Continue reading “Jenry Mejia Should Make Mets Team”

Mets Links: Jose Reyes Thyroid Dominates News

Mets Spring Training - José Reyes

There are few stories coming from Port St. Lucie this week other than Jose Reyes and his thyroid condition. The fact that he’ll join Carlos Beltran on the disabled list come opening day has led to thoughts of another lost season and Mets’ minor leaguers getting a shot at the big leagues. Some of the biggest names in sports journalism have gotten into the act including William C. Rhoden and Joe Posnanski.

Here are the links:

  • NY Times – William C. Rhoden writes that Reyes’ thyroid problem should lead the Mets to look at rebuilding the team. “The Core” just isn’t getting it done.
  • Joe Posnanski – Joe writes that Reyes is one of the most exciting players in baseball and the Mets are due for something good to happen.
  • Daily News – John Harper writes that the conflicting messages about Reyes’ thyroid condition have to do with the players not trusting management on injury issues anymore
  • NY Post – Mike Puma writes that Reyes was blindsided by the Mets statement about his thyroid condition that made it sound worse than it is.
  • Daily News – Adam Rubin reprints a good piece about Ruben Tejada, who may get the opening day start at shortstop
  • Baseball Nerd – Keith Olbermann writes about the ridiculous story that Reyes’ thyroid problem was caused by eating too much shellfish
  • Fangraphs – R.J. Anderson writes that the Mets’ decision to work Jenry Mejia out of the bullpen is a short-term fix designed to save Omar Minaya’s and Jerry Manuel’s jobs more than for the good of Mejia and the franchise
  • Fanhouse – Josh Alper writes that the Mets signed Jason Bay instead of John Lackey because they were more concerned about Lackey’s ability to stay healthy
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Video: Mets 2010 Prospects Preview

This is another video in the series of installments previewing the 2010 season that I did with Kerel Cooper of On The Black and Joe Janish of Mets Today. In this episode we look at the Mets prospects to could have an impact on the Mets big league club this season.

http://blip.tv/play/guougczUFQI%2Em4v

Poll: Mets 2010 Fifth Starter

As usual, one of the biggest position battles in Mets spring training is for the fifth starter. Although the fifth starter can be a conglomeration of garbage, I really like the options that the Mets have for this season. Last year, the battle was between Livan Hernandez and Freddy Garcia. What a mess that was! By the way, have you seen the video of drunk Freddy Garcia at this year’s SoxFest getting fans excited for the season? A sloppy, drunken, expletive-filled, aging fifth starter is sure to get the Chicago fans pumped about the season.

Continue reading “Poll: Mets 2010 Fifth Starter”

Mets Links: Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, Jerry Manuel, More

New York Mets Jerry Manuel walks with his head down to the dugout against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in New York

I’m trying to be positive on the day that Mets single game tickets go on sale. It’s tough to do that after the team drove straight into a brick wall in 2009, but this is a new season. I’m ready for the Mets to start winning some games next month when the real games start. And I’m hoping that they can get some payback on some teams, especially in the division, that beat them down pretty badly last year.

The links below are pretty negative about the team, in general. I think that’s partially due to the news about the team but it’s also because it’s so much easier to write a negative story than a positive one. Negative stories seem to attract more attention than stories about how everything in great in Mets nation, if there is such a thing. I don’t think the Mets situation is ideal right now but I’m not completely down on them either.

How can you be completely down on the team with the highest payroll in the National League? The highest payroll certainly doesn’t guarantee wins as we saw last year. But it sure gives the Mets a chance to be in it to the end. This isn’t a Pirates situation going on here. There’s no rebuilding or looking forward to two or three years down the road. The Mets roster has a legitimate shot to be in the race late in the 2010 season.

Continue reading “Mets Links: Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, Jerry Manuel, More”

Mets Prospects to Watch in 2010

Flickr photo courtesy of Eric Kilby

I’m working on a post of five prospects that could make an impact at the Major League level in 2010. These players are the prospects that you should be paying attention to this year as the Mets of the future. Enjoy:

1. Reese Havens, SS/2B (age 23)

Reese Havens, in my opinion, is really one of the more underrated prospects in the Mets system. While there may be questions of where he will wind up (SS or 2B), he has a strong skill set for a middle infielder: power and plate discipline. Havens is coming off of a solid campaign in the Florida State League in which he put up a batting line of .247/.361/.422 while smacking 14 HR and driving in 52 runs. He has had a bit of an issue with staying healthy so that is going to be quite important for him in 2010, but he is easily one of the top candidates to have a real breakout year next season.

Projected starting level: AA Continue reading “Mets Prospects to Watch in 2010”