Let the Vets Play for a While

Like you, I love the Mets--live and die with them.

I own every yearbook they'e ever had, including the 1962. I don't sleep well when they lose, and it frustrates me to no end when they play poorly.

There's the manager--the guy that likes to throw away outs with bunts. The Mets are second in baseball in sacrifice bunts.

I have no idea where they stand in unsuccessful sacrifices, but after watching Argenis Reyes fail to move the runner over last night, I have a pretty good idea that they're at or near the bottom.

It was especially frustrating watching Jerry give up an out by pulling Livan to have Argenis bunt. Jorge Posada has thrown out 17% of baserunners on the year, and Phil Hughes, who was on the mound, is slow to home plate.

Steal a base there and have Argenis bunt him to third...play that agressively, not passively.

The sac bunt there was passive baseball, and Jerry is a passive manager.

And while we're on the subject, why does Argenis Reyes come up and suddenly become an integral part of the team's offense?

I'm also a bit tired about hearing about all the injuries. You can expect a CC Sabathia to shut a team down, and I've written previously that AJ Burnett is a tough matchup for the Mets based on how the roster has done against him previously.

But Wang too?

Aren't these guys supposed to be major league hitters? Do they all have to slump at the same time? 9 hits in three games, at home, with 3 runs scored?

Can Fernando Tatis hit any worse? Does David Wright need to vacillate between hottest hitter in baseball and strikout king and back? Does Daniel Murpy belong on a big league club?

Murphy used to display a great eye at the plate--used to--he hasn't drawn a walk in his last 13 games. He is hitting .239 in June with an abysmal .291 OBP and .310 Slg %.

The thing is that Murphy hit .176 in May--a full two months of suck, so he's overdue for a trip to the Bing or Buffalo to straighten himself out.

I've previously written that the club can weather this storm with the vets, and that still holds true.

Play the vet lineup every day and they will gut out a .500 record.

Castillo-2B
Cora-SS
DW-3B
Sheff-LF (with spot rest)
Church-RF
Tatis-1B
Reed-CF
Schneider/Santos-C (depending on the starter)
Pitcher

Save the season with this lineup--don't tell me "the kids need to play"...right now we need to push to the All-Star break with veteran leadership. The kids can spot start/pinch hit/late inning replacement, when things happen--like Ryan Church with the flu, or for defense (Sheff), or if there's a double switch.

It's time to save the season, and Argenis Reyes won't be the guy to do it.

Argenis Reyes is Batting Second?

Bad Jerry Manuel Decision #78

Two words: Argenis Reyes.

Argenis is batting .225 against lefties in AAA this year.

In 24 big league at-bats against lefties, Argenis has a .167 BA and a .167 OBP to go along with that...yup, no walks and 6 Ks.

Jerry used him to pinch-hit, against lefthanded CC Sabathia with two men on base in the Mets lone rally of the night.

He struck out.

Dare I mention that Jeremy Reed is 4 for 4 against lefties this year?

Do I even mention the fact that Daniel Murphy is hitting .276 against lefties this year--8 for 29 with a HR?

Nah, I'll just shut the hell up and pretend I'm speechless.

Besides, the outstanding blogger Joe Janish of Mets Today does a heck of a lot better explaining Jerry's "positive spin" on the loss than I ever could.

Argenis Reyes....wow.

Time for Mark DeRosa and Argenis Reyes

The Mets are already 4 days late in making two moves that would solidify the bench for the rest of the season.

The first is a no-brainer. Demote Ramon Martinez and promote Argenis Reyes from Buffalo.

At AAA:

Ramon Martinez 11 | 2B Buffalo Bisons Triple-A International League

Stats AVG: .290 HR: 0 RBI: 1 SB: 0

Full Name: Ramon E. Martinez Born: 10/10/1972 Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA College: Vernon Regional JC, TX Height: 6' 0" Weight: 190 Bats: R Throws: R

2009 Season
Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
BUF	INT	.290	9	31	5	9	1	0	0	1	10	4	5	0	1	.371	.323	.694

Argenis Reyes 4 | 2B Buffalo Bisons Triple-A International League

Stats AVG: .271 HR: 1 RBI: 5 SB: 5

Full Name: Argenis N. Reyes Born: 09/25/1982 Birthplace: Santiago, Dominican Republic Height: 5' 10" Weight: 165 Bats: S Throws: R

2009 Season
Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
BUF	INT	.271	31	96	12	26	4	1	1	5	35	17	15	5	0	.381	.365	.745

Reyes has a higher OBP, Slg and Ops, and he runs a heck of a lot better than Martinez (5 SB vs zero). Moreover, Argenis can actually play shortstop pretty well.

This is really a no-brainer, and it's pretty obvious Ramon Martinez is done at this point in his career.

Argenis is a nice fill-in until Cora comes back healthy.

Now to the question of Mark DeRosa. More specifically, what would it cost to get him from Cleveland?

DeRosa, just one season removed from a 118 OPS+ year, is 34 years old. He is also extremely versatile and can play 3B, 2B, SS, 1B and corner OF.

Cleveland is desperate for pitching, so the conversation starts there.

Would they take Jon Niese alone? Probably not.

I would offer Niese, Kunz, and Santos for DeRosa and Kelly Shoppach.

Three low cost players to a Cleveland team that wants to shed payroll.

And before anyone gets too upset, take a realistic look at those three players.

Kunz has upside but he is still very much a project and a longshot to be a major league reliever (he has 12 walks and 13 Ks in AAA this year, and his WHIP is 1.75). Niese has a ceiling of a 4th or 5th starter. Santos is a nice little player that has never hit anywhere. He has a career OBP of .333 in the minors, with a .650 OPS, and he's 28 years old.

It's time to pull the trigger on some major league ready talent that can help now.

Mark DeRosa Stats

Career: Batting
SEASON	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1998	Atl	5	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.333	.333	.333	.666
1999	Atl	7	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
2000	Atl	22	13	9	4	1	0	0	3	2	1	0	0	.308	.400	.385	.785
2001	Atl	66	164	27	47	8	0	3	20	12	19	2	1	.287	.350	.390	.740
2002	Atl	72	212	24	63	9	2	5	23	12	24	2	3	.297	.339	.429	.768
2003	Atl	103	266	40	70	14	0	6	22	16	49	1	0	.263	.316	.383	.699
2004	Atl	118	309	33	74	16	0	3	31	23	53	1	3	.239	.293	.320	.613
2005	Tex	66	148	26	36	5	0	8	20	16	35	1	0	.243	.325	.439	.764
2006	Tex	136	520	78	154	40	2	13	74	44	102	4	4	.296	.357	.456	.813
2007	ChC	149	502	64	147	28	3	10	72	58	93	1	2	.293	.371	.420	.791
2008	ChC	149	505	103	144	30	3	21	87	69	106	6	0	.285	.376	.481	.857
2009	Cle	38	157	25	40	9	0	6	26	14	36	0	1	.255	.322	.427	.749
Total	--	931	2807	431	780	160	10	75	378	266	521	18	14	.278	.346	.422	.768

Kelly Shoppach Stats

Career: Batting
SEASON	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	Bos	9	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	.000	.063	.000	.063
2006	Cle	41	110	7	27	6	0	3	16	8	45	0	0	.245	.297	.382	.679
2007	Cle	59	161	26	42	13	0	7	30	11	56	0	0	.261	.310	.472	.782
2008	Cle	112	352	67	92	27	0	21	55	36	133	0	0	.261	.348	.517	.865
2009	Cle	24	71	11	16	2	0	3	9	7	29	0	0	.225	.360	.380	.740
Total	--	245	709	112	177	48	0	34	110	62	270	0	0	.250	.327	.461	.788

Flushing, We Have a Problem

I sat on the fence yesterday after the Gary Sheffield signing was announced--just thinking.

Sheffield was once a very good ballplayer, maybe even a great one. Normally news of signing a player of his stature would be welcome.

But Sheffield is, and always has been, a difficult player to have on your team. The Mets are his 8th team overall, and his 3rd in the last 4 years.

Gary Sheffield also has race issues. Remember when he accused Joe Torre of being a racist?

On his time with the Yankees and black players under Torre:

"They weren't treated like everybody else. I got called out in a couple of meetings that I thought were unfair," Sheffield told Kremer.

Sheffield later added: "He had a message to get across to the whole team, so he used me to get the message across." Sheffield said Torre didn't use the same method with white players.

"No ... I'd see a lot of white players get called in the office and treated like a man. That's the difference."

But if that wasn't enough, Sheffield also has problems with Latin-American and Hispanic players:

"I called it years ago. What I called is that you're going to see more black faces, but there ain't no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do — being able to control them.

Where I'm from, you can't control us. These are the things my race demands. So, if you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys."

Now these issues are real, at least in Sheffield's pea-brained mind, and they will have an impact on the Mets.

Remember when George Foster was tossed out on his ass in 1986 for his comments and whining about racism?

If Sheffield doesn't get playing time, will it be because of the white guys manning the corner OF positions?

Will the semi-reserved professionals, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, be tough enough to speak up and keep peace and harmony in the clubhouse should Sheffield start mouthing off?

Now it would be one thing is Sheffield brought a big-time bat with him or some other intangible the Mets were missing, but at this point in his career, he is all but finished.

He is at the bottom of the pack in terms of fielding ability, he can't throw, and his batting stats and bat speed are in a freefall.

Dare I even mention steroids here? What an amazing coincidence that Sheffield's numbers fell off the table as the steroid chatter heated up to the danger point. That's probably just coincidence though? (wink)

Everyone says, "Sheffield over Marlon Anderson", but that really isn't the case.

It's Sheffield taking at-bats from Ryan Church, possibly Carlos Delgado, and the young guys--Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans, who won't inject his youthful presence in Citi Field.

Looking back to last season and the playoff teams you saw a consistent theme--blend of youth and vets, with the young guys providing the energy and spark over the long grind that is the major league baseball season.

Tampa Bay, The Phils, Red Sox, Dodgers. Those teams played and felt younger than the Mets for most of the season. It was only after the Mets "got younger" with the callups of Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, and even Argenis Reyes, that the team played their best ball.

But we didn't learn. Instead the Mets again are adding players past their prime at the expense of the youth movement that has been proven over and over to be the path to success.

So yes Mets fans, we have a problem.

Adding Gary Sheffield was absolutely the wrong thing to do here.

Mets Sign Alex Cora

In one of those depth moves that gets little notice, the Mets added utility infielder Alex Cora to help strengthen their bench.

Cora, a capable fielder, can play both second base and shortstop with equal ability.

Although not a great hitter by any stretch, he did have a much improved OBP in 2008 compared with his career numbers.

I know Mets fans will be clamoring for Argenis Reyes, but it appears the Mets think the veteran Cora can help them more. In my opinion there will not be room for both on the team, so Reyes may not be brought back.

Alex Cora #13 SS

2008 STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.270	0	9	.371	.349

Full Name Jose Alexander Cora Birth Date October 18, 1975 Birth Place Caguas, Puerto Rico Weight 200 lbs.

Height 6-0 Bats Left Throws Right Experience 10 years

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Oh those old Mets!

25-year old Jose Reyes hit his major league leading 13th triple.

23-year old Daniel Murphy went 2 for 4 and drove in a run.

22-year old Nick Evans went 1 for 3, drove in 2 runs, and made a great stretch--possibly a game saving stretch--on a double play that was started by 25-year old Argenis Reyes, who flipped to 25-year old Jose Reyes, who fired to Nervous Nick.

Of course, 24-year old Joe Smith induced the double play ball.

And the Player of the Game? The Man of the Hour? The Toast of the Town?

25-year old David Wright, who went 3 for 5 and hit the walkoff homerun with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.

This was a big game for a lot of reasons.

The Mets started the day 3 games back of the Phillies...maybe it's just me, but 3 games back seems like "in the hunt" territory, while 4 games back seems like "desperate measures" land.

Johan Santana took the mound and did what Johan does--he pitched a solid game--7 innings, 7 Ks, 2 earned runs allowed.

Those are ace numbers; stopper numbers; numbers you need when you are in a must-win game.

Starting the 8th, Santana allowed back to back singles, and Jerry Manuel gave him what appeared to be a quick hook. Not to arm chair QB this thing, but a lot of folks wanted Johan to have a chance to escape the jam.

It was a tough call--Santana was at 104 pitches and the bullpen matchups certainly looked favorable for the Mets, unfortunately Duaner Sanchez plunked the first batter he saw, and Jerry went immediately to Pedro Feliciano, who induced a grounder that Argenis charged for a force at the plate. Feliciano then gave up a single to leftfield that plated a run, and Jerry went to Joe Smith.

Joe Smith got Kevin Kouzminoff to hit a sharp grounder up the middle, and "the play" began. Argenis smothered it to his right, flipped up to Reyes who, with the runner barreling into second, jumped and fired a one hopper to first wide of the bag. Nick Evans stretched his 6 foot 3 inch frame as far as he could and snared the ball with his toe barely on the bag to complete the double play.

Shea stadium and the Mets dugout erupted! Truly an incredible play!

Scott Schoeneweis was called in to close the game, lefty on lefty matchup, but Met killer Jody Gerut somehow cranked a mammouth homerun over the bullpen to tie the game. A deflating moment. Santana's chance at victory gone. The Mets on the ropes. Thoughts of another winnable game down the drain.

"I've thrown that pitch 10,000 times in my career and that's maybe happened twice," Schoeneweis said of the sinker to Gerut. "I've thrown that pitch to Bonds, Giambi, Ortiz, and that doesn't happen."

Schoeneweis also defended the bullpen, which has come under increasing scrutiny of late.

"I don't know how many teams if their closer went down wouldn't struggle," Schoeneweis said. "If you think this bullpen is bad, go follow some other teams and see what they come up with."

After Endy Chavez led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, he appeared stuck at first after Reyes y Reyes failed in their turns at bat.

Wright strode to the plate and began the battle. Guessing slider, Heath Bell threw a low and away pitch that had enough plate for a strike, but Wright had other ideas. He reached out and turned on it, sending the ball over the leftfield wall for his first walkoff homerun of his incredible career.

Shea went crazy--the Mets players stormed from the dugout to greet their young slugger at the plate, absolutely pummeling him with joy as he leaped onto homeplate....a joyful, exuberant moment in time.

"I'm always celebrating everyone else's [game-enders]," Wright said after the Mets beat the Padres 5-3 at Shea Stadium. "I don't know if it was a release of emotion or it just was everybody's chance to get some free shots in on me. I think guys were taking advantage of giving me some rib shots and some jabs," Wright said. "To get to be the one that jumps into the pile is pretty fun."

So in the end it was 2 of 3 from San Diego, the Mets are 2 games out, not 4, and the Marlins come into town for what will surely be a knock down, drag out three game series.

This is what baseball is all about my friends. This is why we watch the games!

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego (44-71)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	6	0
N.Y. Mets (60-54) «	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	2	5	12	0

Player of the Game

New York

D. Wright	AB	5
	R	1
	H	3
	HR	1
	RBI	2

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	5	0	1	0	0	0	4	.304
Argenis Reyes, 2B	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	.255
David Wright, 3B	5	1	3	2	0	0	1	.288
Carlos Beltran, CF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.270
Fernando Tatis, RF-LF	3	1	0	0	1	2	4	.310
Daniel Murphy, LF	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	.467
Scott Schoeneweis, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Aaron Heilman, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Ramon Castro, C	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	.267
Robinson Cancel, C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.238
Nick Evans, 1B	3	0	1	2	0	1	0	.245
Johan Santana, P	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.160
Duaner Sanchez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Pedro Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Joe Smith, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Endy Chavez, RF	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.269
Totals	37	5	12	5	1	6
Batting
2B - David Wright (29, Banks), Carlos Beltran (26, Banks)
3B - Jose Reyes (13, Banks)
HR - David Wright (21, Bell)
SF - Nick Evans (2)
RBI - David Wright 2 (87), Daniel Murphy (3), Nick Evans 2 (5)
2-OUT RBI - David Wright 2 (39)
SB - Carlos Beltran (17, 2nd base off Meredith/Hundley)
Team LOB - 8
Fielding
DP - A. Reyes-Evans, A. Reyes-Reyes-Evans

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johan Santana	7	4	2	2	3	7	1	2.85
Duaner Sanchez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.83
Pedro Feliciano (H,13)	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.67
Joe Smith (H,11)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.74
Scott Schoeneweis (BS,3)	0.1	1	1	1	0	0	1	3.22
Aaron Heilman (W,2-6)	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	5.61
HBP - Hairston (by Duaner Sanchez)
Pitches-Strikes - Johan Santana 104-68, Duaner Sanchez 1-0, Pedro Feliciano 1-5, Scott Schoeneweis 4-3, Aaron Heilman 6-5
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Johan Santana 5-8, Pedro Feliciano 1-0, Joe Smith 1-0, Aaron Heilman 1-0
Batters Faced - Johan Santana 27, Duaner Sanchez 1, Pedro Feliciano 2, Joe Smith 1, Scott Schoeneweis 2, Aaron Heilman 2

Good Morning Mets Fans! 5 in a Row!

Johan Santana threw strikes, teased the Giants lineup, and put up zero after zero on the scoreboard. This is something we've gotten used to with our Ace.

A few numbers on Santana:

Since June 1st he has given up 12 Earned Runs in 8 starts.
He is 4th in the NL in Innings
He is 4th in the NL in ERA
He is 6th in the NL in Strikeouts
He is 7th in the NL in WHIP
He is tied for 15th in Wins

How many more wins could this guy have? I am going to say that he could conservatively have 12 wins right now. He is absolutely our ace and is having a fantastic opening season at Shea, marred only by lack of run support. For example, Carlos Zambrano is 10-3 and has the same ERA as Santana, and his WHIP and BAA are slightly worse.

How cool was it to see the umps actually let Santana finish the 5th yesterday in the rain? He also happens to be the ultimate team player, and very much a leader.

"In the past I was doing my job, I was working and trying to help as much as I can," Santana said. "Tonight it was about the whole team."

He also added, "The consistency that I've had for my whole career is being shown right now, physically, I'm good, I'm there. I feel strong."

"We've all been waiting for this," interim manager Jerry Manuel said. "It was good to see him get a 'W' tonight, and I think he'll run off a big streak for us."

Santana entered last night's play tied for fifth in the National League with a 2.96 ERA and saw that number drop to 2.84.

"Sometimes when Johan pitches we don't hit," Castro said. "Today we hit."

Yes they did! The Mets offense stayed hot...Ramon Castro had the big hit, a 3-run HR, to cap off a two-out rally started by Carlos Delgado.

Delgado, who went 3 for 4 on the day with two doubles and two runs scored, is really making his presence felt. After his double Fernando Tatis worked a great walk to keep things going, and then Castro went deep with his signature low ball swing. As soon as he hit it I knew it was gone.

The Mets tacked on two more runs, with an RBI hit from each of our Reyes' guys. It was funny on the broadcast last night--apparently Argenis Reyes has become something of a shadow to Jose Reyes, following him around and copying his pre-game and clubhouse habits. You could see them having a good time in the Mets ultra-loose dugout during the game, chatting it up and having a blast after Argenis recorded his first big league RBI.

The bullpen was once again masterful--4 innings on no-hit, no-run, no-walk baseball: Heilman, Goggles and Joe Smith combined with Santana on the shutout, the Mets second in a row.

"That was very big for us," interim manager Jerry Manuel said. "It was very big for us . . . to get two innings like that out of Aaron Heilman was huge for us, and the other guys pitched very well. Joe Smith lately has been very, very good."

The bullpen did not want to let Santana down.

"He has thrown really well, and he's been the bearer of a lot of bad luck," Heilman said. "Unfortunately it seems like some days we score a lot of runs and the next day it's tough. It just happens that it came on his day. You're always kind of aware of that. It's nice for him to get a win and reap the rewards of pitching like he has."

So today it's John Maine on the hill as the Mets go for 6 in a row.

Who's feeling optimistic?

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco (39-52)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2
N.Y. Mets (47-44) «	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	x	5	9	0

Players of the Game

New York J. Santana IP 5.0 H 3 ER 0 BB 3 K 5

New York R. Castro AB 4 R 1 H 2 HR 1 RBI 3

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	3	0	1	1	2	1	1	.301
Endy Chavez, RF	3	0	1	0	1	0	2	.269
David Wright, 3B	4	0	0	0	1	1	7	.285
Carlos Beltran, CF	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.266
Damion Easley, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.287
Duaner Sanchez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Joe Smith, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Carlos Delgado, 1B	4	2	3	0	0	1	0	.249
Fernando Tatis, LF	3	1	0	0	1	1	2	.288
Ramon Castro, C	4	1	2	3	0	1	2	.274
Johan Santana, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.132
Aaron Heilman, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a- Argenis Reyes, PH-2B	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	.375
Totals	31	5	9	5	6	8
a-singled for Heilman in the 7th
Batting
2B - Carlos Delgado 2 (18, Sanchez, Yabu)
HR - Ramon Castro (3, Sanchez)
SH - Endy Chavez (7), Johan Santana (2)
RBI - Jose Reyes (39), Ramon Castro 3 (14), Argenis Reyes (1)
2-OUT RBI - Jose Reyes (20), Ramon Castro 3 (10), Argenis Reyes (1)
SB - David Wright (10, 2nd base off Sanchez/Molina)
Team LOB - 10

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johan Santana (W,8-7)	5	3	0	0	3	5	0	2.84
Aaron Heilman (H,10)	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.69
Duaner Sanchez (H,15)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.72
Joe Smith	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.05
Pitches-Strikes - Johan Santana 78-51, Aaron Heilman 23-17, Duaner Sanchez 12-9, Joe Smith 8-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Johan Santana 4-6, Aaron Heilman 1-3, Duaner Sanchez 1-2, Joe Smith 2-0
Batters Faced - Johan Santana 21, Aaron Heilman 6, Duaner Sanchez 3, Joe Smith 3