Movement on the Mets All-Time Games Played By Position Lists

[stevejrogers]

Thanks to UMDB:

C: Not sure if this has more to do with the long lasting catchers we've had over the years or what, but 2006 saw three of its backstops crack the top 20, including a debuting Met in Paul Lo Duca!

Kelly Stinnett's 7 games just nudges him into the 20th spot and Paul Lo Duca's 123 puts him in at 19, another season like that and he'd crack the top 10. Ramon Castro moves up to 17 and could knock both Choo Choo Coleman and Jesse Gonder out of the top 15 next year, with Lo Duca's help of course.

1B: Carlos Delgado played 147 games at 1st this season, good to slide in nicely in the 15 slot All Time. Could easily surpass Willie Montanez next season.

2B: Jose Valentin's 94 games ties him with Jose Vizcaino for 25th all time. Kaz Matsui finishes with 104 games at 2nd, which is good for 22nd all time and Chris Woodward ties Chico Walker for 40th with an even 40 games.

3B: Look out Robin Ventura, David Wright is gunning for you in 2007, and should, which will make young David 5th all time in Games Played at the Hot Corner. About another year after will have Edgardo Alfonzo and Hubie Brooks in his sights.

SS: Despite an often injured first taste of the show and first full year, which included an ill-fated change to 2nd, Jose Reyes is #5 all time in games played at SS. Another year like this year and he will be past 1986ers Rafael Santana and Kevin Elster into 3rd all time, behind Buddy and the guy he replaced, Rey Ordonez.

LF: Despite yet another injury plagued year, Cliff Floyd played enough to land him 5 All Time. If he comes back, even if its a part time role, that should give him enough games to surpass Steve Henderson. Endy Chavez's 43 puts him just bubbling under the top 30 and in a tie with Tony Phillips and Shane Spencer for 33rd all time, and also Lastings Milledge's 26 puts him in a tie for 60th all time with Jon Nunnally and Richard Hidalgo.

CF: Carlos Beltran nudged out Brian McRae and with 286 games played is 6th all time and taking dead aim at Jay Payton in 2007. Endy Chavez's 39 games puts him 47th all time.

RF: RF and 2nd were the only positions that did not see movement in the top 20. In fact, the top 5 players, all with 3 or more games, were new Mets in 2007! Xavier Nady led with 71, which places him 34th All Time, Endy Chavez' 45 puts him 49th All Time, both displacing legendary CFers, Mookie Wilson and Richie Ashburn respectively. Shawn Green's 31 ties him with Howard Johnson for 55th All Time, and Lastings Milledge's 24 puts him in a tie for 64th All TIme with a pair of Toms, Grieve and Paciorek.

DH: Not that 10 games a year amounts to anything but a guy tabbed due to need of a rest for most of the game (catchers, Cliff Floyd) or just a soild professional on the bench, but Paul Lo Duca (catcher) and Julio Franco (soild professional on the bench) got into 3 games a piece as a DH, and are tied with Lenny Harris, Benny Agbayani and Bobby Bonilla for 6th all time in Met Regular Season DHs. David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran all took turns as well, earning themselves a share of 18th slot with 12 other guys.

SP: Steve Trachsel most likely has started his 160th and final Met start. That is good for 11th all time. Tom Glavine at 130 is now in the top 15. Pedro Martinez is in a tie now with Mark Clark and Pete Harnisch for 39th with 54 starts. Victor Zambrano also may have started his final Met game, he has 35 in total which is good for 53rd all time. Orlando Hernandez' 20 starts in 2006 vaulted him into a tie with Bill Pulsipher for 80th all time, and John Maine with 15 tied Frank Lary for 92nd all time.

[Elster88]

]Steve Trachsel most likely has started his 160th and final Met start

*sigh*

[stevejrogers]

What makes you so sure he's coming back?

Granted I doubt it will be because he'll be villived by fans (as if he wasn't hated enough all ready) but there is a sense that he is not in favor among the Met brass and could "easily" (as in, okay it will be a bit tough) be replaced

[metirish]

I never really thought the fans hated Trax...he is what he is....but hated, I don't really think so.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

He was pretty well hated by many in 2001, but I think we've grown to accept him, if not love him.

But I don't expect that Trachsel will be back in 2007.

How does a trivial thread like this one get started while an NLCS game is in progress? Sheesh!

[seawolf17]

There's a playoff game tonight? I knew I was missing something.

[stevejrogers]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: He was pretty well hated by many in 2001, but I think we've grown to accept him, if not love him. But I don't expect that Trachsel will be back in 2007. How does a trivial thread like this one get started while an NLCS game is in progress? Sheesh!

Kept my mind off of thinking about last night and I had a wonderment about where Wright and Reyes were on the list at this point.

[Guest cooby]

Trachsel may be hated and vilified by the small minded fan, but the rest of us realize that he just had an exceptionally bad day.

[stevejrogers]

cooby wrote: Trachsel may be hated and vilified by the small minded fan, but the rest of us realize that he just had an exceptionally bad day.

Well yeah, but its also whats been built up with the guy over his time here with the Mets. I mean he's been effective in spots, and has been a decent 3rd starter, but he's built up enough negative equity that it might be time to get someonelse in here.

[metirish]

I think this blog sums up trax....

http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2006/9/25/2360419.html

[Guest cooby]

Well, you're probably right about that Steve. But the Mets can't just toss him aside right now when pitching is kinda precious.

And I'm not suggesting, btw, that you are a small minded fan; you are obviously very committed to the Mets

[metsmarathon]

negative equity...?

the primary source of his negative equity was his signing in the wake of hampton's departure, and a briefly terribly start to his metly career that brought to life the notion of a norfolk magic cure.

since that start, he's at least brought himself to even during his tenure. he may not have positive equity, is all i'm saying, but its not like he should have negative equity...

[Guest cooby]

On the other hand, maybe you're right...

On Baseball
Trachsel�s Bad Day Leaves a Sour Taste the Day After


By MURRAY CHASS
Published: October 16, 2006
ST. LOUIS



Barton Silverman/The New York Times
Steve Trachsel left Saturday�s Game 3 in the second inning after allowing five hits and five runs. Trachsel asked to be taken out after a ground ball hit him in the thigh.


M.L.B.
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Schedule/Results Individual Stats | Team Roster | History Discuss the Mets

Discuss the American League and National League championship series with Times bloggers as they track the games live.

Go to Blog �Dave Stewart, the four-time 20-game winner and former pitching coach, has a weekly podcast called �Throwin� Heat� on NBX.com. He offers candid comments on baseball people and issues. In a recent program, he took a sarcastic swipe at the veteran Steve Trachsel, questioning his heart as a pitcher.

On Saturday night, in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Trachsel faced 12 batters and let 10 of them reach base. It wasn�t the worst postseason performance ever, but it was one of the worst and, revealingly, it left some midlevel, non-uniformed members of the Mets� organization angry enough to question Trachsel�s behavior, although not quite angry enough to let their names be attached to their quotations. They questioned his heart, too.

�He took himself out,� one person said.

�Contusion of the thigh?� another remarked, scoffing at the reason for Trachsel�s departure from the game.

Maybe the criticism was fair, and maybe it wasn�t, but it certainly made clear just how unhappy the organization is with Trachsel.

With their starting rotation decimated by injuries, the Mets needed a big game from him. They needed the game that the Cardinals got from Jeff Suppan, who held the Mets to three hits in eight innings. What the Mets got was dreadful pitching.

Five Cardinals got hits. Five walked. Only two made outs swinging their bats. One runner was picked off first base. Five of the runners scored, two in the first inning, three in the second. Because Trachsel got no outs in the second, he was credited with pitching only one inning.

It�s difficult to imagine a worse performance, but Trachsel was the seventh starter in the past seven postseasons to last an inning or less. Not all of those abbreviated starts were the result of poor pitching. Bartolo Col�n, the Angels� starter a year ago in the decisive fifth game of the division series against the Yankees, had to leave after an inning with inflammation in his right shoulder.

Trachsel said he had to leave Saturday night�s game because his right leg stiffened after a ball off Preston Wilson�s bat hit him in the thigh. His right leg is his pushoff leg, Trachsel pointed out, and that made it difficult for him to pitch.

Not that the Mets necessarily wanted him to stay in the game and keep giving up hits and walking batters, but it was only the second inning and they had a long way to go. Manager Willie Randolph had expected that he would have to use his bullpen, but not that early.

�On this stage,� the pitching coach Rick Peterson said, �any day you have a bad day it�s a bad day to have a bad day.�

Trachsel said his pitching problems stemmed from a lack of location. He said he was just missing the strike zone with his pitches, thus explaining the many walks. He did not miss Suppan�s bat in the second inning. With two strikes, Suppan hit his second home run against Trachsel in barely more than 13 months.

Trachsel then walked David Eckstein, got hit by Wilson, walked Albert Pujols and left the game.

The Mets won�t have the 35-year-old Trachsel to kick around much longer. His contract is up when the postseason is over, and the Mets are not expected to re-sign him. If they had any thoughts of a new contract � he did win 15 games this season, although with a high earned run average, and he did avoid injury in the regular season � it�s not likely that they would go ahead with it after his early exit.

A more immediate concern would be whether to start him in Game 7 if the series goes to a Game 7. Randolph was diplomatically evasive in talking about Trachsel before the game last night.

Asked about Trachsel�s status for the rest of the series, he said: �Today he�s icing down. He has a bruise on his lower thigh. We�ll wait and see how he feels tonight and tomorrow and go from there.�

Asked a minute later if Trachsel might be able to pitch in relief, Randolph said: �Have to wait and see. I don�t know. Depends on where he is, really. Everything�s open this time of year. All options are there and just do what you have to do that particular day.�

Still, barring an emergency, the Mets have most likely seen the last of Trachsel. It�s entirely possible that if there is a Game 7, the starter will be Darren Oliver, who saved the Mets� bullpen by pitching six innings � six shutout innings at that � after taking Trachsel�s place Saturday night. Oliver, in fact, pitched so well that he gave Mets hitters time to catch up to the Cardinals.

Scoring five runs should have been no problem for the Mets because they scored five runs or more in exactly half of their games, 81, this season.

Suppan, however, shut down the Mets, keeping them off balance with good location on his pitches. Suppan�s location was certainly better than Trachsel�s. Now the Mets apparently can�t wait for Trachsel to relocate himself

[metsmarathon]

]They questioned his heart, too. �He took himself out,� one person said. �Contusion of the thigh?� another remarked, scoffing at the reason for Trachsel�s departure from the game.

yes, better to wait another batter or two for it to be even more painfully obvious that the injury was making it difficult for him to pitch.

it didnt look to me like he was using it as a handy excuse to get the fuck out of the game, and it sure as hell looked like it hurt at the time, and had a chance of affecting his delivery.

but they're right. you can't have heart if you let a deep bruise on teh thigh of your pushoff leg affect your pitching.

sheesh.

[nymr83]

is a 35 year old pitcher with a 5 ERA and control issues someone you really want to bring back? you can get a guy who will give you the same ERA (and a chance at better) for near league minimum, Traschel will earn over 2 million on seniority alone

[Zvon]

Like i said--
if theres a game 7, let Trachsel start-
as long as he pitches a perfect game, leave him in.

A walk, a hit,..maybe even a ball or foul ball....PULL HIM.

And I aint jokin here.
Well, a little.

Trax is a starter on this NLCS roster.
Just like Cliffys a player.
Myabe this all comes back and bites us, but we gots what we gots.

Having said all that- seriously-
Oliver should probly start with Trax outta the pen.
How bout Heilman, if he isnt used to the point he cant start?

[Willets Point]

I think two issues are being discussed at cross purposes here:

1) Should Traschel pitch again as a Met ever, including the remainder of the NLCS and World Series?

Steve seems to indicate he wants no more of Trax, while most of us expect we have little option but to pitch him in Game 7 of the NLCS and keep him on the roster for the WS where he is certain to see action as a starter or reliever (I'd prefer the latter but our options are limited).

2) Whether Trax should return to the Mets next season and beyond?

I doubt even the most sentimental among us are in favor of this.

[Zvon]

we always knew what we were getting with Trax----
we knew that we didnt know what he was gonna bring us on any given outting.
Most times though, a work horse who gets innings in and usually can keep you in a game. Sometimes brilliant.

But,....something like that last outing in the NLCS---that....

even the nicest and most considerate fan can turn on a player after an outing like that-in that BIG spot.

And hey, thats baseball.

No, Trax will not be in a Met uniform in 2007.
No way.

[Zvon]

Zvon wrote: we always knew what we were getting with Trax---- we knew that we didnt know what he was gonna bring us on any given outting. Most times though, a work horse who gets innings in and usually can keep you in a game. But,....something like that last outing in the NLCS---that.... even the nicest and most considerate fan can turn on a player after an outing like that-in that BIG spot. And hey, thats baseball. No, Trax will not be in a Met uniform in 2007. No way.

Unless , of course, he pitches that perfect game in game 7.


lol

[Zvon]

that would change everything, and hey-thats baseball too.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Strange one-man conversation.

Two points:

1) No, I don't think booing is good or smart, even after that start.

2) We need six more wins. No way I'm punching Trax's ticket today.

[metsmarathon]

Nymr83 wrote: is a 35 year old pitcher with a 5 ERA and control issues someone you really want to bring back? you can get a guy who will give you the same ERA (and a chance at better) for near league minimum, Traschel will earn over 2 million on seniority alone

i can't tell if this was aimed at me, tho i think it might be, since i was the one saying the nicest things about trax.

no way in heck do i want him back next year. i don't think he has anything left to bring to the table, at least nothing that's not imminently replaceable.

i merely argue against the notion that he should be hated for his metly tenure. as of right now, its been bookended by suck, but in teh middle has been certainly acceptable, and perhaps better than we expected going in. he'd been mostly dependable for quite a while.

but he's the first guy to not be brought back next year.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Victor Zambrano would be so proud.

[metsmarathon]

we hafta bring zamby back! we can't be left with NOTHING from the kazmir trade!

so kidding.

shall i amend my statement to "of those starters who logged a meaningful number of innings (like 30)... "

[RealityChuck]

Willets Point wrote: 1) Should Traschel pitch again as a Met ever, including the remainder of the NLCS and World Series?

Sure -- he may be erratic, but he's an arm, and the team is short of starters.

]2) Whether Trax should return to the Mets next season and beyond?

No. His contract is up and there are options just as good or better coming up from the minors. Say "thanks" to him, but let him go elsewhere.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I don't see any reason to give him the Game 7 start. (Unless Oliver gets hurt, I suppose.)

As for the World Series roster, we can burn that bridge just before we cross it.

Since they've been so short on pitching, I'd probably lean towards including him. Bumping him for Orlando Hernandez would be tempting, but if Orlando is ready, I'd probably make room for both him and Trachsel and leave Anderson Hernandez behind.

[metirish]

El Duque threw 50 pitches in a side session yesterday, from the stretch though so he really didn't test the calf fully,still he reported no pain.

[MFS62]

metirish wrote: El Duque threw 50 pitches in a side session yesterday, from the stretch though so he really didn't test the calf fully,still he reported no pain.

Then they're easy to compare. Traschell threw a lot of pitches from the stretch, too.

Later

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I'd rather have Orlando Hernandez starting and pitching exclusively from the stretch, if necessary, than Steve Trachsel.

[Valadius]

Steve Trachsel needs to fly home and work out whatever's going on with Sarah Trachsel before I'd give him the ball again.