Its Milledge Time

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bat him second or sixth or seventh?

I'm thinking they won't want to move Lo Duca while he's hitting well, and they'd like to debut him in a low-pressure kid-glovesy manner, but second has his name all over it.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Centerfield wrote: I don't see how you guys can be happy when we just lost our 3rd leading HR hitter for an indefinite period of time.

I'm not happy; I hope Nady returns soon. I'm intrigued to see what Milledge does, though. And I hope the Mets have four healthy productive big league outfielders by this time next month.

[Elster88]

I dunno. Why not bat him eighth? He hasn't been hitting all THAT well in AAA.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Uniform number?

Is 6 available? I'd like to see him in a single digit.

[Elster88]

I'm not sure about coaches, but other than 4, 5, and 7, I think all the single digits are available.

[Guest sharpie]

Anderson Hernandez has No. 1
Sandy Alomar, Jr. is No. 2


6 does sound right.

[seawolf17]

Manny Acta wears 3, I believe. 6'd be good. No 1 (too Mookie), no 9 (too Jefferies).

[Elster88]

No one really has one then, no?

[soupcan]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Uniform number? Is 6 available? I'd like to see him in a single digit.

I'm with Yancy on this.

Wright - 5
Milledge - 6
Reyes - 7

That would be cool.

[Elster88]

seawolf17 wrote: No 1 (too Mookie), no 9 (too Jefferies).

LOL....good points.

[Elster88]

soupcan wrote: Wright - 5 Milledge - 6 Reyes - 7 That would be cool.

Another good point! The CPFers get the numbers done.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: Bat him second or sixth or seventh? I'm thinking they won't want to move Lo Duca while he's hitting well, and they'd like to debut him in a low-pressure kid-glovesy manner, but second has his name all over it.

I'd be shocked if they put him anywhere but Nady's regular spot - or maybe even a slot lower.

And it's not that I look at this whole deal as a good thing, but it is good that Lastings can come up at a time where he's:
a) not expected to be any kind of "savior" or sole focus of attention
can easily be sent back if/when he struggles as soon as Nady is ready to go

And if he's not struggling ... well we'll deal with that when we come to it.

[Guest Hillbilly]

="Frayed Knot"] I'd be shocked if they put him anywhere but Nady's slot. And it's not that I look at this whole deal as a good thing, but it is good that Lastings can come up and hit in a slot where he's: a) not expected to be any kind of "savior" or sole focus of attention can easily be sent back if/when he struggles as soon as Nady is ready to go.

I agree exactly.

="Frayed Knot"] And if he's not struggling ... well we'll deal with that when we come to it.

In other words, if he's ready for the show, out of this misfortune an improvement to the team may result.

[Farmer Ted]

Is Endy Chavez not playing well??

PLAY ENDY NOW!!

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Six would be cool. You of course know that 6 has long been the most frequently worn jersey in Met history, issued 31 times often for no good reason.

This would provide an excellent opportunity for advancement from 34 and 17, which are tied for 2nd place with 29 issues apiece and recently made available again.

In fact, I see 17 as a possibility for Milledge., but I like the suggestion of 6.

[seawolf17]

Dammit man! 17 is Keith Frigging Hernandez! I'm tired of seeing LIMA 17 and MAYNE 17 and all that crap.

[MFS62]

="Elster88"]I dunno. Why not bat him eighth? He hasn't been hitting all THAT well in AAA.

That BA is deceiving. After a hot start he fell down to the .270's, but since that time he has been en fuego. He has recently had several two-hit games and a three-hit game to bring his average up to near .300. And he has been leading off at Norfolk, with a very good OBP(.425).

Later

[Guest old original jb]

I'm wondering if it's really an appendectomy. Most people with acute appendicitis would not be able to play in a baseball game a few hours before discovering that they need surgery. If it is truly an "emergency appendectomy" you are doubled over in pain prior to the surgery.

He was hit by a pitch last night--I think on the left side.

This makes me wonder if he didn't lacerate his spleen.

Still, strange things can happen.

In any case, he will be out for 6-8 weeks unless he is a candidate for laparoscopic surgery--more likely if the issue really is the appendix.

[Guest Hillbilly]

It was unrelated to the pitch. After he was hit the trainers were checking him out and Nady goes BTW I've been having some pain here..

[Frayed Knot]

Supposedly while they were checking him out after last night's HBP Nady fessed up to being bothered by some abdominal pain for a few days now.
Maybe "emergency" is being used a bit too liberally in this case.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Holy crap.

I like the move. Frankly, this is a pretty good time to call him up. We're in first place; our rotation, which had been a problem, has a semblance of normalcy about it now; Floyd's out of his slump (knock on wood). Furthermore, Milledge appears to have just knocked himself out of his first mini-slump of 2006 and is swinging the bat pretty well. He's 5 for his last 11 AB, with 3 2B.

In other words, I don't think there's an undue amount of pressure on Milledge here. He just needs to go out there and do his thing--we don't need a saviour.

All that being said, the cynical side of me wonders if this means we're shopping him. If he gets off to a hot start, we'll be innundated with offers.

[Guest old original jb]

Hillbilly wrote: It was unrelated to the pitch. After he was hit the trainers were checking him out and Nady goes BTW I've been having some pain here..

Wow. That's actually very good news. If it is "BTW" type pain, chances are it was not an "emergency" appendectomy and that they caught things pretty early, meaning no rupture, minimal chance of peritonitis, few complications, and that the procedure would be laparoscopic with a shorter recovery time.

[RealityChuck]

SNY just had the announcement; it took a bit of time to get the details on the web page. That's why the links there didn't show much. The article is up now.

[Centerfield]

]Xavier should be able to resume baseball activities in 7-10 days.

That is encouraging. Good luck to Nady and Milledge.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Rotblatt wrote: All that being said, the cynical side of me wonders if this means we're shopping him. If he gets off to a hot start, we'll be innundated with offers.

I doubt it. If they wanted to trade Milledge, I think there's already enough demand for him. Bringing him up you risk him hitting .120 and reducing his trade value.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Six is so Darryl Boston. So Roy White. It says utility outfielder to me.

If Milledge gets it, he's responsible for re-writing the meaning in my head,

Naddiest and craziest thing Charlie Samuels could do would be to un-unofficially retire 24.

[Guest sharpie]

Six says Stan Musial to me.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Not much on this page yet. Let's hope he fills it up with a lot of great numbers:

Lastings Milledge

Still need a middle name. (What middle name would you give to someone whose first name is Lastings? My head is spinning!)

[Guest sharpie]

I now see that Jeff Keppinger currently has 6.

9 is gaining traction. We can erase the Jefferies vibe and get with the Ted Williams mojo.

[MFS62]

So, who goes from the 40 man roster?
I don't think putting somebody on the 15 day DL opens up a space like putting someone on the 60 day does.

Later