Tag: Joel Sherman

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”

End For Delgado Looks Near

Carlos Delgado has been demoted in the batting order. Now he’s been benched, at least for one night. It’s become a situation that will happen with greater frequency in the near future. New York’s high-paid former star first baseman sitting on the bench. He’s become the deserving target of boo’s from New York Mets fans both at home and on the road. The Mets fans have been traveling well this season so Carlos gets to hear boo’s wherever he goes.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote a good column today talking about how we know this is going to end soon. It’s likely that the Mets will have to release Delgado before his sub-par play ruins the 2008 season for the rest of the team.

Sherman also introduces an interesting concept, that of Delgado’s contract providing protection for him. The Mets owe him so much money that they have to tolerate more than a year of putrid on-field performance.

I’d like to introduce a concept of my own. The concept that Delgado has made $118, 299,000 in his career before to the 2008 season began. He’s already made more money than he and his family and many future generations of his family will ever need. He’s just not motivated or “hungry” to get back to a high level of play before he made the money. That’s what it comes down to in my mind. If he hadn’t made all that money he’d still be motivated to get his game together to earn a big contract.

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