smg58

You never want to get too harsh on a rookie after one bad outing or too excited after a good one, but the upside is quite obviously there to a degree that I don't think Bannister (and certainly not the others) has. I'd still like a few more starts to see what he can do consistently, but like everybody else I'm more optimistic now than I was a few days ago.

Well there goes my appetite...

No he wouldn't, but I still love the quote.

I remember thinking that his bad K/BB ratio in Japan was a huge red flag, as it would be for any minor league prospect, and that his dropping SB numbers indicated he had slowed down which probably also affected his range. The thing that angers me about the scouting reports is his throwing arm. Unless there was an arm injury we don't know about, I just don't see how a scout could have missed that he didn't have the arm of a major league shortstop, and that moving the kid with a great arm to second base to accommodate him was idiotic. As for the power, keep in mind that Hideki only had 16 HR's the first year. But the huge, huge difference in plate discipline between the two suggested that Hideki would have the better time adjusting.

I can't imagine why Kaz wouldn't waive his no trade clause, unless at this point he just wants to go back to Japan. Milledge is admittedly making the decision harder. I think the Mets wold love to have Milledge, Nady, and Floyd all active during the stretch of games at AL parks. That would also give the Mets more time to evaluate where Milledge really is at this stage of his development, and if he already presents an upgrade over one of the corner outfield spots. The fact that all three regular outfielders have missed some games this year makes me very reluctant to trade Floyd or Nady. Somebody would have to make an offer that clearly upgrades second base or the rotation to get me to bite, and deals like that rarely get made in July.

Maybe the Pirates would deal Castillo or Freddy Sanchez. They're stupid, and I see no problem trying to exploit that fact. Speaking of stupid teams, I could see the Royals parting with Grudzalainek at some point, as he's not helping them much. Adam Kennedy's been in a lot of rumors, but surprisingly none here that I'm aware of. The Reds always seem to have too many second basemen, so it couldn't hurt to ask about Freel or Rich Aurillia. All that being said, I'm not in any hurry to pull the trigger on anything as long as Valentin is doing well, but there's no reason not to work the phones.

They'd throw me out for spit, but this works even better.

It's already been vetoed. So no harm done. Willets, don't give up on the season just yet. We're only a third of the way in, and a lot can still happen.

For the record, the only person I know personally here is patchyfogg. I don't know Willets or anybody else, and do not have any reason to be more or less friendly with any of you.

The other day, Willet's Points offered me A-Rod for Youkilis and Kenny Ray. After letting it sit two days and consulting with the commissioner, I decided the best course of action was to accept the deal and leave it in the hands of the other owners as to whether this is acceptable. I will not protest a negative result.

So is Valentin the guy at second base right now, or are they platooning him with Woodward? And do they keep Kaz around, or is it only a matter of time before he gets DFA'd?

I'm not sure people were asking that the past two summers -- the deal happened at the end of July two years ago, and last year at this time Zambrano was doing pretty well. This year, given the Mets' contending position and shaky back of the rotation, it's unfortunately a very fair question to ask.

Classic. AJ just has that effect on people, evidently.

It can't hurt, so I guess I'm for it. I'm making no promises on it turning out particularly well, though.

The next time Bret goes on and on about how LoDuca's defense makes him so much more valuable than Piazza, could somebody please hit him?

Rotblatt wrote: At any rate, Seo's cumulative line now resembles that of a solid #4/#5 hitter: Wow, if Delgado or Wright could pitch that well, we might need to put them in the rotation... :-) I had a feeling Seo would get back at least to respectable. This trade still has worked to the Mets favor to date, but it's an open question as to whether the void in the pen without Sanchez would be bigger than the void in our rotation currently is.

Edgy DC wrote: You make changes when (a) the previous guy is pitching ineffectively, ( the previous guy has grown weary, (c) the previous guy is clearly overmatched. Add (d) the previous guy was pinch-hit for, which didn't apply on Saturday either. I didn't see any need to take Sanchez out either, but nobody would be dwelling on it had Wagner done anything close to his usual work. ="seawolf17"]Poor Pedro Feliciano comes into a practically unsaveable save situation and is tagged with a "BS" even though that's BS and you know it. And Wagner gets credited with a "hold." Of course it's a joke, and it's one of the things I've never understood about relief pitchers' stats. You can actually get credited with a hold and a loss at the same time! Feliciano comes within inches of being carried off on the Shea crowd's shoulders, and he's the guy who blew the save. Bizarre.

KC wrote: The money he makes? C'mon. My point was that while you can certainly debate whether Wagner needed to be brought in (I'd have stuck with Sanchez in case we needed Wagner today), there was no reason in advance to even entertain the possibility of the kind of implosion that he had. He pitched one easy inning on Friday, after sitting out the Cardinals series. If you need to be concerned about whether that constitutes overwork, he was a rather bad investment. As far as leaving Wagner in too long, which manager doesn't leave their closer in too long in those situations? (Answer: only the ones already harboring doubts about which of their pitchers belongs in that role.) The fact that Willie took him out when the Mets still had the lead actually puts him ahead of a lot of managers in that situation. If Rivera comes in with a four run cushion and gets in that kind of trouble, would Torre pull him before Randolph pulled Wagner? Valentine didn't pull Benitez in the first Braves game until it was tied, and it wasn't any less obvious he needed to come out. The bottom line is, Wagner failed the team spectacularly yesterday. It's one game, but it was against the Yankees, and everyone will remember it for as long as Wagner's a Met. Benitez dealt with more flak than he deserved, and I don't see how Wagner avoids the same fate.

You could have second-guessed Valentine in both Benitez games too -- the first followed two straight games where Benitez entered the game in the eighth, and the second was a four run lead where Leiter was moving right along. But nobody dwells on that. And for the money Wagner makes, you ought to be able to count on him to at least find the strike zone the second day.

On one hand -- it's too early for that. On the other hand -- he's screwed like Armando. Benitez didn't just blow two big leads in successive weekends, he blew them against the Braves. And Wagner didn't simply blow a four-run lead by refusing to throw strikes, he did it against the Yankees. He could spend the next four years being every bit the pitcher we paid for, but he won't be forgiven for this.

The NL West is really that good? I can believe the East being that bad (the Marlins and the Nats are doormats). I guess the West doesn't have anybody doing badly right now.

It's amazing how some things from that time period (high school, most of the music that came out then) seem like a different lifetime ago, but that Mets team is still fresh in my memory. Inning 10 of game 6 seems like last night.

Five starters with an ERA under 4 will get it done, especially in the AL. Two guys who can close won't hurt you either, especially if you wind up with a lot of save ops. Lots of young talent gelling at the same time too, plus the Tigers invested in quality vets, unlike other teams who've struggled in recent years (KC and Pitt come to mind). Having a proven winner managing is the icing on the cake. I say they're for real.

Elster88 wrote: Confirmed: Shawn Chacon will not start Sunday due to injury. Aaron Small will replace him. He got hurt in the Red Sox game and couldn't get through the fifth inning. Torre said he'd be OK for his next start, so I figured he was OK to start in my fantasy line-up. Two innings and eight runs later... I was kind of hoping Torre would start him again this weekend. I'd know better than to play him, and the Mets would have open season. Still, you have to like the Glavine vs. Small matchup. Let's cross our fingers and hope Jeremi gives us enough tonight.

Valentin's C+ is fair. I don't know if he can keep this up, but a .279 BA and .753 OPS in limited playing time have to be worth more than a D. Sure he was an easy F a week ago, but he's due at least some credit.