Benjamin Grimm

Fman99 wrote: Castro is making 2.5 mil this year so does that make it less likely that he is cut outright? I doubt he'd be cut. I'm sure a trade could be made for him. Even if the Mets have to kick in $1.5 million, it's still better than eating the full $2.5.

I want to see the 27-man roster and the abolition of the DH. Those two extra players would return us to the number of position players that were on rosters before pitching staffs increased in size from ten to twelve. Among other things, teams would be able to carry a third catcher.

I'm talking about both, actually.

I know. And it's frustrating. I hope I live long enough to see the next innovative manager who'll dare to undo what LaRussa did. And I'm kinda disappointed that Bobby Valentine wasn't that guy.

It's a Johan day. Let's give him eight or nine runs!

I'm with you. I've had the same perspective for years now. Every time you bring a new pitcher into the game, he's an unknown quantity. It's better to do this as infrequently as possible. If Putz slams the door decisively in the eighth, let him start the ninth. If he ends up with a two-inning save and he's less available tomorrow, you make up for it with a more-rested Frankie Rodriguez.

Voting for Monday night's win at Citi Field over the Marlins will close some time on Thursday. Schaefer POTG 4/27/09 - Mets 7, Marlins 1 If you haven't voted yet, and plan to, please try to do so today. Also, look for this year's first players-of-the-month announcement on Tuesday of next week.

They should also bring back the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for April 26, 2009 (14 votes) Washington Nationals 8, New York Mets 1 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceCarlos Delgado14.031.001-4, 3B, RBI, 2 SO.Brian Stokes10.700.761.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Casey Fossum9.600.692.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO.Pedro Feliciano9.240.661.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Jos� Reyes5.780.411-3, BB, SB.Ryan Church5.150.371-3.Omir Santos1.300.091-4, SO.Carlos Beltran0.950.071-4, R, SO.Alex Cora0.760.050-1, BB.Oliver Perez0.150.01(L) 4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for April 25, 2009 (17 votes) New York Mets 8, Washington Nationals 2 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceRyan Church44.232.602-4, 3 RBI.Mike Pelfrey44.092.59(W) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO.Carlos Beltran31.541.863-5, 2 R, RBI, SB.Brian Stokes15.450.912.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.Bobby Parnell7.660.451.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Sean Green6.690.390.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.David Wright5.960.350-3, 2 R, BB, SO, SB.Daniel Murphy5.350.311-4, R.Luis Castillo5.100.301-3, R, BB.Carlos Delgado1.690.100-3, R, 2 BB, SO.Jos� Reyes1.180.071-4, BB, SO.Omir Santos1.050.061-4, R, SO.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for April 24, 2009 (14 votes) New York Mets 4, Washington Nationals 3 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJohan Santana63.074.50(W) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO.Carlos Beltran16.221.161-3, 3B, RBI, 2 BB.Luis Castillo14.391.032-5, R, RBI.Fernando Tatis14.091.012-3, 2 R, 2B, 3B, BB.J. J. Putz11.470.821.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Bobby Parnell6.720.480.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Daniel Murphy5.290.381-1, RBI.Pedro Feliciano4.090.290.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Carlos Delgado2.950.210-3, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO.Ramon Castro0.500.041-3, R, BB.Francisco Rodriguez0.440.03(Sv) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.David Wright0.250.021-5, 2B, 2 SO.Gary Sheffield0.250.021-3, BB.Ryan Church0.160.011-1.

I agree with that.

He also has a different bullpen this year. Maybe he was pushing his starters out of a feeling of necessity that he doesn't feel this year.

Hernandez 2 Parnell 1 Stokes 1 Cora 2 Sheffield 2 Wright 1 Santos 0.5 Beltran 0.5

Sean Green's ERA is now 8.49. I think he'd be a better fit in the starting rotation.

Swan Swan H wrote: Another hit for Santos. I don't suppose he'll play the day game tomorrow, so I'll get to see a disgruntled Castro. I suspect Castro would be more disgruntled if he had to actually play every day.

You know, even though I've lived in the Philadelphia area for more than twenty years, I have no idea what Donovan McNabb looks like.

I think if the guy had looked like Kenny Rogers (the singer, not the pitcher) and whatshisname had said, "Hey, look! Isn't that Kenny Rogers?" the reaction would have been the same. In other words, I don't see the racial aspect in this either.

="metirish":1s824l00]I don't know that he would learn anything down there that he couldn't learn up here...[/quote:1s824l00] True, but the difference is he'd be learning in Buffalo, not in the major leagues. I wouldn't be opposed to it, but I prefer Edgy's idea of playing him all over the place and keeping him in the big leagues. Sending Murphy down would probably mean more Gary Sheffield, and I don't see a whole lot of upside in that. Sure, more power potential, but not a whole lot of improvement (if any) in the defense. G-Fafif Apr 28 2009 12:57 PM Was saying "Buffalo" last night while at the game when Murphy and LF came up. This is no place to learn his craft. I could deal with some combination of Sheffield (who's stinging the ball) and Reed in left while Daniel gets the hang of fly balls that don't count in the NL standings. Edgy DC Apr 28 2009 01:22 PM Re: Should the Mets send Murphy to Buffalo? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 28 2009 01:39 PM ="bmfc1":3b5mu6pi]It's not like he's a home run threat every time he comes up. He's a doubles guy. It's not like they're getting the offense to overcome it."[/quote:3b5mu6pi] You know, .313 / .366 / .422 // .788 isn't bad in my book. It's better than they're getting out of Reyes or Wright right now. As far as it getting around that he's vulnerable to hard stuff in on his hands, he tripled on an inside slider in his only at-bat last night. It's hard to get through this, but any degree of perspective suggests he's not going to commit a catastrophic error every night. He certainly didn't last year. I certainly think there might be something to the idea that fungoes don't imitate game hits well enough to school him, but I don't see Buffalo as the solution to that. themetfairy Apr 28 2009 01:26 PM I'm in favor of sending the kid down to learn how to properly field his new position. TransMonk Apr 28 2009 01:44 PM I personally think he is what he is and 2 weeks at AAA is not going to further his development any further. He played 50-some games last year in the outfield without making a huge ass of himself. Additionally, is he really going to be the long-term solution in left field for us? IMO, either he will vie with Evans for first base next season or he will be traded and his defense (3B, OF, elsewhere) will be someone else's problem. OlerudOwned Apr 28 2009 03:21 PM Can we hire this scout while we're at it? John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 28 2009 03:26 PM I'm in favor of giving him 150 at-bats and if he's hitting respectably, let him learn here. He's about the O so you gotta see what you can expect offensively first. smg58 Apr 28 2009 05:09 PM You have to consider it, I think, but I'd give him some more time up here first before I'd decide it's necessary. Ashie62 Apr 28 2009 05:32 PM Yeah..more for the idea of learning 2B if possible...Sheff in left & Murphy at 2B for the rest of his life Frayed Knot Apr 28 2009 08:45 PM The odds of Murphy "learning" 2nd base are very slim.

I blame Tom Nieto. Or Jeff Wilpon. Or Oprah Winfrey.

For some reason, I had had the impression that Freddy was breathing down Livan's neck. (Or Oliver's!) Guess not! So who's the best threat to dislodge someone from the rotation? Redding or Niese I suppose.

="metirish":flsco341]I can't remember who it was in the Daily news but he also said Santos saved Sanchez from an embarrassing moment , would people really care if it sailed over Santos?[/quote:flsco341] Everybody seems to care about everything these days. One proof of that would be the scrutiny given to the writings of fools like Wally Matthews. Maybe Santos saved Sanchez from an embarrassing moment. (Maybe.) He certainly didn't save a franchise. Fman99 Apr 28 2009 08:44 AM Won't read it. To Wally I say, Boo. RealityChuck Apr 28 2009 09:10 AM Actually, for Wallace Matthews, this is one of his better columns. Faint praise, I know, but if this was the worst he could do, it would be a vast improvement. Edgy DC Apr 28 2009 09:33 AM I think this is probably north of the median for him also, at least based on recent reads. I just enjoyed and found remarkable how many of the commenters seem to have already thrown in the towel on the guy. GYC Apr 28 2009 12:27 PM I'd really like to kick this guy's ass.

Tomorrow will be "Wacky Wednesday," with all three of this past weekend's games against Washington at Citi Field closing: Schaefer POTG 4/24/09 - Mets 4, Nationals 3Schaefer POTG 4/25/09 - Mets 8, Nationals 2Schaefer POTG 4/26/09 - Mets 1, Nationals 8Please try to get your votes in today if you haven't voted yet.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for April 23, 2009 (15 votes) St. Louis Cardinals 12, New York Mets 8 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceCarlos Beltran31.622.113-5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI.Ryan Church29.891.992-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB.Alex Cora28.361.892-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, SO.David Wright14.310.952-5, R, RBI, SO.Jos� Reyes6.470.431-5, R, RBI.Brian Stokes4.860.320.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Fernando Tatis3.830.261-2, R, SO, SB.Bobby Parnell3.180.211.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Carlos Delgado1.470.101-4, BB.