For what it’s worth, a few survey responders asked for more weekend posts. That’s a good idea and something I hope to figure out. I try my best to avoid spending too much time in front of the computer on weekends for the sake of my back and, mostly, my sanity. But I’ll come up with something.
As for the Mets? Not good. I maintain that they’ll hit sooner than later, but man do they look terrible.
A few things:
Jerry Manuel took a lot of heat on Twitter and elsewhere for pulling R.A. Dickey out of Sunday’s game. In the heat of the moment, I wished he would have left Dickey in, but in retrospect I think Manuel made the right call there. Dickey has been great, pitchers need their legs, and no reason to risk losing him for any stretch of time. Obviously he maintained he was fine, but lots of players do that, and he didn’t look good on the plays in the infield. Yes, the Mets needed innings after using up their bullpen on Saturday, but there are better reasons to get on Manuel’s case.
Like, for example, allowing Pedro Feliciano to face so many right-handers in a 0-0 tie. Especially — especially — once one of them got on base. It’s amazing how frequently Manuel overlooks glaring platoon splits considering how often he makes decisions based on ones that don’t exist. With the team stumbling and the offense inept, you really can’t have Feliciano facing righties there.
There’s been some talk of a shakeup, either on the roster or in the coaching staff. Good. I don’t know if it will make a difference but as long as the Mets don’t do anything stupid, it probably can’t hurt. I’m not sure the sudden offensive implosion has anything to do with Howard Johnson — I’m skeptical of how much impact a hitting coach really has — but it’s certainly not good for his resume.
I’m not certain the extent of Rod Barajas’ injury, but if he’s going to be out for more than a few days, he should be put on the disabled list. The Mets’ roster is already handicapped by the presence of three catchers who can’t play other positions so it’s not like playing man-down will affect them too much, but giving Barajas a couple weeks to rest his oblique will give the club time to assess whether Josh Thole can take over the catching job on a more permanent basis. At the very least, having Thole in the lineup could help jumpstart the offense, plus having an extra bench player will give Jerry Manuel a little more flexibility.
Also — and I really am just talking out my ass here — the team should probably take a close look at whatever oblique stretches the players are doing. Maybe three separate oblique injuries in the course of a month is a coincidence, but, you know, can’t hurt to examine that.
Oh, and as for the Dan Haren trade? Unbelievable. I’ll say that the kids Patrick Corbin and Tyler Skaggs that the D-backs will get back are both very young and have good peripherals in A-ball, but Joe Saunders just isn’t very good. It’s easy to say, “the Mets should have been able to match this deal,” but most teams in the Majors should have been able to match this deal. I don’t really get it. Some have argued it has to do with the money remaining on Haren’s contract, but that’s ridiculous. A pitcher of his caliber is a steal at $29 mil over the next two seasons.
Should the Mets make a move now? I don’t know. My gut says no, but it’s awful hard to read the market after Cliff Lee went for a huge haul and Haren, a pitcher ultimately more valuable than Lee thanks to his reasonable contract, went for pennies on the dollar. If the Mets can pick up someone as a straight salary dump, then yeah, do it. If they’ve got to move prospects of even marginal value in the name of saving this particular season, I’d hold off.
Tedquarters 
So Master of Sarcasm in Print, you are saying our season is over and not to risk losing prospects over trades? Why not become sellers (KROD!!!!, Beltran, the corpse of Luis Castillo, Frenchy, Feliciano)?
Beltran has a full no-trade clause. The only other one of those players that any team would take on as more than a salary dump is Feliciano. And I just can’t imagine they’ll get much back for a lefty specialist set to be a free agent in the winter.
No one wants a mediocre closer with the most outrageous final year option in the history of professional sports? Ridiculous. Imagine Omar got another job as a GM elsewhere, we can trade him all of these players who are just heartless and miserable to look at. Also M.O.S.I.P. (Master of Sarcasm in Print), the Mets only have marginal prospects according to every other source besides the Mets so that would give us a green light to make trades, right?
By most reasonable accounts, the Mets’ system ranks around the middle of MLB teams. Keith Law put them at 15 of 30.
I seem to recall that everyone thought that Omar played the market perfectly at the time to get KRod at a modest price. Now, maybe the Angels knew something we didn’t. I thought everybody was pretty happy with that deal … at the time.
Fans always want the team to build a winning franchise, but when it comes down to it, most never look beyond the current year.
Its inevitable that now the fans will scream for the Mets to “make a move before its to late” but I kind of agree with you Ted, I’d be scared, petrified of the damage they could do by making a bunch of ill advised moves, trying to improve team on the fringes of contention at best. It would reek of 2004.
Nope, Ted, I totally disagree about weekend posts. You should have a weekend. You should not be thinking about workaday activities, even if they might be enjoyable ones. You need head space.
Maybe if something important happens, or if something occurs to you that you can’t possibly wait till Monday to share. But otherwise, take the weekend. It’s just a crucial element in the recipe for having a good life, and there’s no downside. It’s not a reasonable expectation for any one-person blog, so you’re not really disappointing anyone.
And too, leaving your audience wanting more is a good thing, not a bad thing.
I agree with Anit; as cool as we all think your job is, it’s still your job, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to attend to work duties (hee, “duties”) in your personal time.
Yes, Anit is correct in assuming that I need the weekend to clear my head, and without a clear head I’d burn out quickly and this site would suck. But I can write a couple of not-timely things during the week and set ’em up to post over the weekend just to keep the content flowing (albeit flowing slower).
Hahahah, duties.
Well, it’s hard to argue with the Master (of Sarcasm in Print) but when the average age of our Triple A team is 32, its probably not that great of a farm system. By the way, your favorite player Carlos was especially heartless and gutless this past trip, wasn’t sure you noticed.
Only problem is that the age of the triple A roster could be the most irrelevant statistic possible to judge a farm system.
Ahhh not sure how irrelevant it is with “prospects” drafted by the Expos.
Very few teams have real prospects in triple A. Most top prospects jump directly from AA to the majors now, or maybe spend a few months in triple A then go to the majors. Triple A is mostly for stashing replacement level type players/retreads for when you need an immediate short term back up.
Also our AAA team’s average age is 28, which isn’t even the oldest average age of the teams in the eastern league.
This is just plain trolling. Not cool.
Another bit of unsolicited advice: sometimes a good blog needs an active ban-hammer. (You could look at the example of Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic, who wields his freely, and consequently has one of the best communities on the interwebs. You can hold any philosophy, advocate any position, but if you’re not posting in good faith, you’re gone. Sneering is not of use to anyone.)
I expect the people who like to bother you have short attention spans and their efforts will wither in short order anyway, but they add nothing, and I can’t think of any good reason for you (and us) to suffer the idiocy.
I’m considering it. It’s all the same guy — or at least many people with the same email and IP address. Generally I’m a fan of letting everyone have their say, but, like you point out, when it’s not adding anything…
Ted, I will be at the game tomorrow and and probably around the field for Bo. My wife’s cousin likes to get autographs from the Mets player’s. The fan base could really use a trade like this one. Getting Gil lechery is an upgrade over all available pitchers up for trade and the Mets should pay the the team on the receiving end of deal. I truly hope Omar gets his head out of his fifth point of contact and gets this done. Ted, let me know about where you will be tomorrow and we could catch up.
I’m on my phone that is why it came out Bo instead of bp also meaning batting practice.
I presume that “lechery” instead of “Meche” is a similar, but much funnier, phone-related error.
Yes, I tried to correct that as well, but mytouch has a mind of it’s own and didn’t want to enter that information.
Its not my intention to get on your case, but it catches my attention how as closely as you follow the mets and as well as you manage the relationship between stats and the game, you don’t seam to question beltran effect on the team at all.
I understand the point about the offense and I agree that beltran is not responsable for the complete lack of offense but two points:
first, his defense. Obviously his knee is affecting his normally great defense. Probably with the games to come, he will get better, but in the last week he cost us at least two games (the ball over his head in arizona and yesterday’s drive to the gap). Both plays pagan makes (he catches the fly over his head and he gets to the gap faster and no runs score).
second, his offense. Again, the knee, mlb pitching, etc and again Probably with games to come he will start hitting, but if his offense isn’t affecting everyone else, then at least its not helping anyone. (I do think its affecting everyone though. just like ike davis lifted the team when he came in, beltran is drowning them).
Finally, same problem as with perez: why isn’t beltran working on his problems in triple A. The mets need him 100%, maybe even 80% but not 50%.
Beltran has not been great, and I definitely think the Mets would be better served shifting him to right and allowing Pagan to roam center field. But I still think Beltran, even limited as he is, represents an upgrade over Francoeur. Certainly he has not hit yet, but I will always believe he’s a better bet to start hitting than the Frenchman.
There is no way Beltran cost the Mets anything yesterday. You really think they were throwing Blake out on that play? I don’t.
Maybe Jerry, who has coached/managed Feliciano for five years now, could realize he can’t be trusted against good righties. Or he could just listen to Jerry from a month ago, when he said he would limit Feliciano to lefty specialist.
You’re a Jets fan aren’t you? Maybe some weekend football content while baseball isnt on?
Last in First out:
Yes I like the jets but nothing special. I really don’t understand the remark though. Sorry.
We’ll never know but at the very least, with Pagan in center we would have had a play at the plate. Like b.valentine said in a recent interview with m.cerrone, the importance of getting the ball in from the outfield is undervalued.
I agree that beltran will probably break out soon,and is a better bet to hit than francouer, although that doesn’t justify bringing him back in his current state and it doesn’t really make a difference since they only play him in center.
the beltran issue isn’t about francouer, its about the mets as a team. they were winning, with bascially fundamental baseball (above average pitching and good defense).
Maybe the whole effect is randomness as you would say, where it was our turn to lose.
I believe management could have made a difference. Lets hope that beltran’s work ethic gets him back and his presence gets the mets moving again soon.
Lol, the remark was aimed at Berg, not you Marathon!