Tag: Moises Alou

Mets Bullpen May Be Their Undoing

It’s become almost impossible for me to watch the Mets now. And this should be the most exciting time of the season. We’re right in the playoff hunt and there’s only one week left in the regular season. The Phillies and Brewers have had their own problems at various times this season. The Mets are better than both of them, or they should be.

At the All-Star break I would’ve told you that if the Mets don’t make the playoffs in 2008 it’s because Carlos Delgado can’t hit anymore or Moises Alou is injured again. But Delgado can, and has, hit and the left field combination of Daniel Murphy, Endy Chavez, Fernando Tatis, and Nick Evans has worked.

Now it’s readily apparent to every Mets fan that if the Mets don’t make the playoffs it’s the bullpen’s fault. Johan Santana should have 20+ wins right now. He’s been victimized more than anyone save the fans. And the bullpen may cost Jerry Manuel a well-deserved shot at managing this team for the next three or four years.

Take a look at the Mets statistics in releif appearances this season. But don’t look at it right after eating. You might lose your lunch. If you go to MLB.com, click Stats, then select the Mets, pitching stats, in relief appearances you’ll see all of the Mets relief appearance stats and it isn’t a pretty sight.

I won’t even single anyone in the bullpen out because they’ve all been so bad. It’s time to move Bobby Parnell to the top of the heap. Could he be worse than what we’ve already seen? I don’t think so.

Time To Second Guess Mets Trade Deadline Inactivity?

The Mets had a rough road trip and the two main weaknesses of the team were exposed, the corner outfielders and the bullpen. The two positional weaknesses should be looked at independently.

Sure, the losses of Moises Alou and Angel Pagan for the season and Ryan Church for an unknown period of time have hurt the team. There’s no denying that. Church is being evaluated by doctors in New York this week and may begin rehab games within the next week. The Mets have to count on him coming back in their plan for the rest of the season.

IMG_0081 When Church gets back they can mix and match in left field between Fernando Tatis, Nick Evans, and Daniel Murphy. If things don’t work out as planned they may be apt to give Fernando Martinez a shot at the job too.

The bullpen is another story. Although Billy Wagner has gone through bad patches, the Mets are married to him as their closer. As long as he’s healthy he’ll be closing games. Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman haven’t been living up to expectations though. I really think Heilman could use a change of scenery. He’d be great waiver deadline trade bait during August. Sanchez may need some time on the disabled list to refresh his arm. He won’t be successful throwing a fastball in the mid-80’s as he has been over the last week and a half.

The Mets may need to explore a trade for a relief pitcher like Brian Fuentes if the Rockies fall out of contention this month. Heilman for Fuentes would be a fair deal for both teams in my mind. The Mets may need to throw in another mid level prospect but not any of their top prospects. If Eddie Kunz looks good over the next couple of weeks it may not even come to that.

I’m not ready to hit the panic button because of this bad road trip. And I’m not second guessing the Mets lack of activity at the trade deadline. But if they don’t take five out of seven games on this home stand against San Diego, Florida, and Pittsburgh then I will think there’s a problem with this team… again.

Mets Take 9 Game Win Streak Into Second Half

PHOENIX, AZ - May 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Mets go into the traditional second half of the season tonight with a nine game winning streak, confidence, and swagger. The last two weeks have seen Mike Pelfrey dominate all competition like the next coming of Roy Halladay. His recent performances have symbolized the Mets turnaround from the most lifeless team that money could buy to a team of united players that are achieving, if not exceeding, their potential.

As the Mets series in Cincinnati begins tonight, there will still be questions about Ryan Church’s foggy head, Carlos Delgado’s resurgent bat, Pedro Martinez’ ability to stabilize his spot in the rotation, and Billy Wagner’s ability to close “the big game”, and the crater in left field that Moises Alou left behind.

But there won’t be questions about the Mets desire to win and intestinal fortitude. There were plenty of those questions during the first two months of this season. That has miraculously changed under the direction of manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen.

It’s difficult to quantify how much the managerial and coaching changes have changed the Mets. I haven’t seen Dan Warthen throwing seven shutout innings but I have seen that from Oliver Perez and Pelfrey. I haven’t seen Jerry Manuel have a 9 RBI game but I did see that from Delgado. But something clearly changed on this team when the manager/coaching purge occurred. The Met took a little time to stabilize… Then caught fire!!!

The biggest change for me, as a fan, is that I like watching this team over the last month. I didn’t for the first two months of the season. It wasn’t fun or enjoyable. I understand that the Mets winning streak won’t carry into September, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I like about this team is their resiliency, their ability to mount a comeback, and the appearance that they want to win as badly as I want them to. That’s the kind of team that I’ll pay to watch.

Zemanta Pixie

Ryan Church- Good News On Head Injury

Mets outfielder Ryan Church got some good news after visiting the Cleveland Clinic this week for examinations. He’s on the disabled list again after suffering headaches and dizziness. There’s been some question as to whether the symptoms are due to post concussion syndrome or migraines.

The doctors at the Cleveland Clinic determined that migraines are the cause of his symptoms and have put him on a program of exercise and stretching for his neck to relieve the pain he’s experiencing.

That’s great news for Church and the Mets. The Mets need him now more than ever with Moises Alou gone for the season with a hamstring tear.

Mets Outfield Options- Matt Holliday, Barry Bonds And More

Before yesterday afternoon, I thought that the Mets would hold tight until after the All-Star break to see if Moises Alou could make it back onto the active roster. Well, we got the news today that Alou is likely gone for the season with a torn hamstring.

Ryan Church is on the disabled list for the second time with post concussion symptoms. It’s the fourth time this season that he’s been on the DL due to two concussions since March. We really don’t know what his long term situation is. Mike Matheny and Corey Koskie both retired within the last two seasons due to concussion related problems. It’s a dicey scenario for Church.

Now I’ve come to the conclusion that the Mets need to put together a short list of outfielders to go after. I love the way Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis have performed this season. Don’t get me wrong. But I think that both of them are best seen in small doses.

I’m not in favor of rushing a prospect to the majors either. Everyone wants to see what Fernando Martinez can do, including me. But rushing guys to the bigs can be a recipe for failure. The Mets are built to win now, stocked with veterans that aren’t here to play for the future.

So I’ve worked on my list of outfielders that the Mets need to start looking into prior to the July 31st non-waiver trading deadline. Here’s the list:

Continue reading “Mets Outfield Options- Matt Holliday, Barry Bonds And More”

Moises Alou Likely Finished For Season

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: Moises Alou (L) holds...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Omar Minaya announced after the completion of the Giants game that Moises Alou has a torn hamstring suffered in a Double-A rehab game last night. He’s likely finished for the 2008 season. He injured the hamstring while diving for a ball in left field.

The Mets will absolutely have to look at available players in the trade market and free agents. The early names to surface will, of course, be Xavier Nady and Barry Bonds.

Nady would cost plenty of prospects while Bonds could be signed as a free agent.

Zemanta Pixie

Mets In The News: Beltran, Reyes, El Duque, And More

This image is a candidate for speedy deletion....Image via Wikipedia

As the Mets prepare to face the Phillies today at 1:35pm, there are several stories circulating the newswire:

  • Mets manager Jerry Manuel told the press that he’s thinking of moving Carlos Beltran to second in the batting order so he sees more fastballs. I’m in complete agreement. Even moving him to third would be better.
  • El Duque is going to start his rehab work in Port St. Lucie this week.
  • Moises Alou is working out in NYC now. He’s expected to play a few rehab games with Brooklyn or Binghamton before returning to the Mets from his calf strain injury.
  • John Maine feels fine after experiencing cramping in his left forearm last night. He’ll be doing his regular workouts between starts.
  • A fan has filed notice to the City of New York that he intends to sue for $5.5 million after being hit in the face last August by a piece of Luis Castillo’s bat that shattered.
  • David Wright will not participate in the All-Star game home run derby.
  • Mike Lupica writes at the Daily News that Jose Reyes is the best shortstop in New York this season and gets picked on too much for the things he does on the field.
Zemanta Pixie