Tag: Luis Castillo

2010 Mets Lack Accountability

July 23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Mets Luis Castillo in action during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets defeated the Dodgers, 6-1..Josh Thompson/CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsSaturday night’s game had about as much intrigue as watching coffee brew. However, I continued to watch because of an ensuing conversation between Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen. The story started with an anecdote about Gregg Jefferies and the ’88 club. The newcomer to the big leagues had an impressive short stint in the majors in ’87. Apparently, he was already acting like a perennial All-Star, much to the dismay of the actual All-Stars. Jefferies did not want his bats grouped together with the rest of the team’s bats. Instead of scoffing at this request by the young player, the Mets happily indulged him. Jefferies gave a veteran request from a rookie mouth and was obliged. Keith told of the “team justice” which occurred after a loss. A teammate noticed the equipment manager packing the separated bats and he took the bag and hurled the bats onto the floor. Hernandez laughed but then continued on about his old Cardinal club. The team he broke in with had arguably the most intense and intimidating pitcher in history: Bob Gibson. He insisted the consequences of Gregg Jefferies’ diva request would have been swift or that Jefferies would not have had the nerve to request that in St. Louis at all. This lack of accountability is a recurring theme for the Mets. Let’s look at some of the 2010 examples. Continue reading “2010 Mets Lack Accountability”

Braves 9 – Mets 2 August 31, 2010

New York Mets second baseman Luis Castillo (L) loses the ball but Atlanta Braves runner Jason Heyward is called out on a fielders choice in the first inning during MLB baseball action in Atlanta, Georgia August 2, 2010. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets season slipped away and it looked like they were just going through the motions tonight. Jon Niese wasn’t sharp at all allowing 8 runs (3 earned) in 4.2 innings. He gave up 10 hits and there are no excuses for that. But Luis Castillo let a double play ball go under his glove for an error with no outs in the fifth inning that could have made a big difference in the how the Braves 7 run inning turned out. David Ross hit a grand slam in the inning to cap the loss.

The Mets weak offense only mustered 7 hits and 3 walks in the game without Angel Pagan playing because of a sore wrist. They scored both runs in the fifth on a hit and three walks plus two sac flies. That was it for the night. The only good news was that Ruben Tejada went 2 for 4. He wasn’t the automatic out that he has been for most of the season in the bigs.

The Mets have two more games in Atlanta before heading to Chicago as they play out the string.

Box score

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Astros 4 – Mets 1 August 28, 2010

New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana throws a pitch to the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning of their MLB National League baseball game in New York, August 12, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsJohan Santana took another loss tonight, his third straight. Although this time he didn’t pitch a complete game. He went 7 innings and allowed all 4 runs. Houston put up 2 against him in the first and then two more in the fifth on a 2-run homer by Carlos Lee.

As always, the Mets had no offense. They had 9 hits and 1 walk in the game but only put up 1 run. The Mets didn’t even score the run until the bottom of the eighth when David Wright singled in Luis Castillo. That was the offense…

The Mets and Astros will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow afternoon.

Box score

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Mets 6 – Marlins 5 August 24, 2010

July 30, 2010 - Flushing, New York, United States of America - 30 July 2010: New York Mets outfielder Angel Pagan.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets got a big win in the bottom of the ninth on a hit by Luis Castillo, of all people. R.A. Dickey pitched well until the top of the seventh when he gave up a 3-run homer to Gaby Sanchez that gave the Marlins a 5-4 lead. Dickey’s line looks bad but he pitched pretty well until he seemed to lose it in the seventh.

The Mets had some big offense getting 12 hits and 5 walks in the game. Angel Pagan was huge, as he has been all season, going 4 for 5 with 3 runs and a stolen base. This is the kind of offense I’ve been waiting to see all year. The Mets scored one in the eighth to tie on a Carlos Beltran single that scored Pagan. Then they put some hits together in the ninth capped by the Castillo single that scored Ike Davis.

It’s too bad that it took until the end of August for this kind of offense to show up. Too little too late. But it was good to see.

Box score

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Mets Youth Movement Misplayed

Ruben Tejada
Image via Wikipedia

It’s not that I mind the Mets going young by bringing up Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada. I’m cautiously optimistic that both players have some kind of future in the Major Leagues, whether it’s with the Mets or another team. Since the 2010 season has tanked, there’s no reason for the Mets not to go young for a couple of months to see what they have. Maybe they can even showcase some young players to prepare for offseason trades.

It also makes a lot of sense to bench Luis Castillo for Tejada. The Mets already know exactly what they have in Castillo, and it isn’t good. The guy has always been a slap hitter with limited range in the field since he came to the Mets. Hitting .245 this season in 61 games doesn’t exactly make him irreplaceable.

Although Tejada is only hitting .196 and is pretty much an automatic out, he’s only 20 years old and has some serious skills in the field. If he can gain some experience this year, in a meaningless season, it could pay dividends in the future. Continue reading “Mets Youth Movement Misplayed”

Mets Release Alex Cora, Demote Jesus Feliciano

Alex Cora
Image via Wikipedia

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN, the Mets have released Alex Cora and demoted Jesus Feliciano to Triple-A Buffalo. In corresponding moves, Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada are being called up and will be with the team tonight in Philadelphia.

Cora is in his second season with the Mets but hitting only .207 this year in 62 games. The problem with Cora is that his $2 million option for 2011 would vest when he played 80 games in 2010 which he would certainly reach. Management decided to nip that in the bud and release him.

Cora is a popular figure in the Mets clubhouse and a leader on the team. It’ll be interesting to see how the players respond to this adversity. Clearly, the message is that nobody is immune from being shipped out if they don’t perform.

Martinez and Tejada wouldn’t be joining the Mets if they weren’t going to get significant playing time. They’re both young, rising stars in the Mets organization. There’s no point in planting them on the bench. So you would expect other moves to be made to clear out more playing time for them. Specifically, Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur will probably be the next Mets players to go.

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Omar Minaya Fails Chemistry 101

New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya watches batting practice prior to the game against the Washington Nationals on September 18, 2008 at Nationals Park in Washington. (UPI Photo/Mark Goldman) Photo via Newscom Photo via Newscom

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I’ve been silent for almost two weeks because what I have been watching has left me speechless.

I could definitely say I told you so when, before the season started, I predicting this team was not much better than a 4th place team. I also continue to believe that the GM, Omar Minaya,  is the root cause of this teams problems.The Mets inspired play of May and June left me hoping that things were finally going to change. Wrong on that count. Omar’s high priced players are back and with it came the downfall of a lovable team that played above it’s talent level for at least 6 weeks.

 

Why is Omar the root cause of this teams problem?

Any business student could tell you the reason why and they wouldn’t even need to now anything about baseball. Anyone in the military could tell you the same thing. Anytime you have a breakdown in the chain of command your team will know it and respond accordingly. It always gets ugly!The only explanation for a team-wide collapse is that someone just above the manager (cough, cough, ahem… the GM) is cutting the managers feet out from under him by making some decisions that only the manager should be making. A GM should not be making out the lineup card and deciding who plays.

 

When this happens the whole team team chemistry gets screwed up. Players who earned playing time are no longer playing. Players who were leaders are now asked to sit the bench. Playing your butt off no longer earns you playing time, the size of your contract now determines your playing time. There is no incentive to perform.

This bad chemistry keeps breeding and growing turning player against player until even the good players, who play their hearts out, start to screw up. Continue reading “Omar Minaya Fails Chemistry 101”