Tag: Luis Castillo

Audio: Heyman On Hot Stove November 21, 2009

Roy Halladay

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Here’s the audio from WFAN’s Saturday morning show with Evan Roberts. SI’s Jon Heyman calls in to talk about:

 Jon Heyman audio on WFAN

As far as I’m concerned, Halladay shouldn’t even be on the Mets radar until they resolve some of the problems with their position players. As Heyman says, it’s unlikely that the Mets want two starting pitchers making #1 starter money. It’s not the right allocation of resources unless Halladay falls into their lap.

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New York Mets 2009 Offseason: All About The Bats

Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies hits aga...

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After the 2008 season ended, the Mets went looking for pitching. More specifically, they were looking for bullpen help coming off 29 blown saves. Mets GM Omar Minaya made no secret about the fact that he was looking at pitching, pitching, and more pitching. He came away with a solidly revamped bullpen led by Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, and Sean Green.

Unfortunately, we ended up with Daniel Murphy manning left field and no depth among the position players. Minaya let the rest of the team go for the sake of solidifying the bullpen and re-signing Oliver Perez. It showed when the Mets suffered an abnormally long injury list and there were no replacements waiting in the wings, minor leagues or otherwise.

Although there are some serious question marks on the pitching staff, this offseason needs to be all about generating some offense. The 2009 Mets finished 25th in the majors with 671 runs. Teams like Kansas City and Washington scored more runs than the Mets. They were dead last in the big’s with only 95 team home runs. Sure, the new stadium played a part in that. But there’s no excuse for the team with the highest payroll in the National League to finish in dead last in all of MLB.

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D-Backs 7 – Mets 4 Aug. 10, 2009

PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...
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Mike Pelfrey came back to the Mets with a thud, giving up 5 runs in 6 innings. He didn’t get any help from Angel Pagan in center field. Pagan had a throwing error and made a terrible diving attempt at a line drive by Doug Davis that went for a double. Elmer Dessens threw some gas on the fire too, giving up 2 runs in the seventh inning, including a solo home run.

The Mets offense wasn’t terrible. They actually managed to get two extra base hits of their nine total hits. That’s an explosion for this weak team. Anderson Hernandez and Luis Castillo had two hits apiece.

The Mets did score two in the ninth but it wasn’t even close to enough for a comeback.

The Mets are back to their losing ways after a brief respite yesterday.

Box score

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Padres 3 – Mets 1 Aug. 8, 2009

Bobby Parnell
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

The big news in this game was that Bobby Parnell was making his first big league start. It turned out to be a pretty rotten one. He only went 2.1 innings 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. It took him 68 pitches to get into the third inning. He’ll get stretched out in future starts but this first one wasn’t pretty.

The Mets non-existent offense only managed 1 run on a solo homer by Alex Cora in the first inning. They only put together 5 hits and 3 walks as a team. Unbelievably bad.

Luis Castillo did make a pinch hitting appearance but Gary Sheffield didn’t play again.

The Mets drop their third straight game to a pitiful Padres team and try to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Box score

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Mets DFA Berroa; Add Hernandez

Angel Berroa
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

As expected, the Mets designated Angel Berroa for assignment as Anderson Hernandez made his way to San Diego. At this point Berroa just isn’t a Major League player. I know that he was the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year. But something must have happened to him along the way because I just don’t see the talent there.

In 14 games with the Mets he hitting .148 with 1 double, 2 RBI’s, and 3 BB’s. He also had 2 errors in 8 games that he played at shortstop.

This move makes room on the roster for Hernandez. Expect him to take over second base until Luis Castillo‘s ankle is healed from his fall down the dugout steps. We may even see him play some shortstop when Castillo gets back.

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Mets Trade For Anderson Hernandez

Anderson Hernandez
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

The Mets did another deal with the struggling Washington Nationals today re-acquiring light-hitting infielder Anderson Hernandez. You probably recall that the Mets sent Hernandez to the Nationals about one year ago to complete the deal for Luis Ayala.

This season with the Nats he’s hitting .251| .310| .320 with 9 doubles, 1 homer and 23 RBI’s in 77 games.

The Mets sent Single-A second baseman Greg Veloz to the Nationals in return.

Clearly, this is a move intended as insurance for Luis Castillo‘s injury. This doesn’t bolster the team for a playoff run. Far from it. Hernandez is a live body that can play second base and that’s all.

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Cardinals 12 – Mets 7 August 4, 2009

PITTSBURGH - APRIL 09: Manager Tony La Russa ...
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The Mets continue to sink to new lows not seen since the Art Howe/Steve Phillips administration. It’s the same old story when Johan Santana pitches. He goes 8 strong innings, getting a big 2 RBI double along the way, making two great plays in the field. He’s trying to drag the Mets kicking and screaming to a win but they’ll have none of that.

The Mets even got some big offense tonight off Joel Pineiro. They got 15 hits and 4 walks in the game, usually enough to win a game that Santana is pitching. But not tonight.

Albert Pujols dropped two bombs on the Mets including a grand slam in the tenth inning to torch the Mets for good. The bullpen was atrocious with Francisco Rodriguez blowing a rare save opportunity. Pedro Feliciano and Sean Green were out there throwing batting practice when Green wasn’t hitting Yadier Molina to bring the leading run home.

To add insult to another injury, Luis Castillo appears to have badly sprained his ankle falling down the dugout steps in the eighth inning. Of course, one of the only players performing admirably on the active roster goes down. Of course.

The ugly Mets continue to get uglier right before our eyes.

Box score

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