Ceetar

Will be Dickey's last start of the season

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Edgy DC wrote: Dang. Even in September, we're so dinged up and shorthanded, we face a Hamels with two lefthanded specialists coming off the bench. I'd figure they'd try to get Pascucci in there instead of Harris, but I'm thinking that Terry is pretty much over Valentino already. before he was even called up. his AB yesterday was pitiful though. however, it's Hamels against the Mets and the team is reeling. He'll obviously get destroyed.

I placed a wager that no one would win 20 games on that team before the season. I was right. small consolation. Also won on the Hamels UNDER 17. will win again if they don't win Cy Young.

G-Fafif wrote: I've been granted power of IGT attorney by the unavailable bmfc1, generator of yesterday's winning thread, to get this rainy party started, should it actually start. Which it might not, given the rain. But just in case, here's the lineup. Jose Reyes � SS Ruben Tejada � 2B David Wright � 3B Jason Bay � LF Angel Pagan � CF Nick Evans � 1B Willie Harris � RF Mike Nickeas � C R.A. Dickey � RHP Pridie for Pagan. late scratch due to hitting himself with bat.

Edgy DC wrote: So, while we're looking at a wanting staff, it's important to consider that we may not really looking at the worst Mets pitching staff ever at all, but perhaps at the worst Mets defense ever. Gooden as pitching coach? Maybe five years from now --- as a carrot. I prefer my coaches to be a few more years removed from Celebrity Rehab. Yeah that's why I'm not serious, although regular work might be a good thing for him. Still, if he enjoyed that coaching experience, and we've got young guys (and one that throws a curveball pretty well..) that could learn, a week in PSL might go a long way.

Edgy DC wrote: metsmarathon wrote: at only one defensive position were the mets above average. can you guess which? the answer might surprise you. I'll guess first base, based mostly on Murphy's contributions. So my offseason plan is to replace Oberkfell with a better infield coach and replace Pagan with somebody more like Angel Pagan, and try not to worry too much about the pitching --- getting whatever's left of Santana back and letting the younger guys grow. Is that it? I'm more interested in what Alderson's plan is, after Reyes Month anyway. seemingly a billion different ways he could go with it. Gooden tweeted he could get used to this coaching thing. I'm not really serious, but how about him for pitching coach? I hope they invite him to Spring Training at least to work with the pitchers. best zone rating.. CF? Worst..3B?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Capuano is the only starter with a K/9 at 8 or above. Hell, he's the only one above 6.5 besides Niese. Capuano seems to be a feast or famine type guy. Sometimes they can't hit him, and sometimes they smack it. 10% of the hits he gives up are for extra bases, which is 2.1% more than the MLB average. aided by an a 9.5 to 7.7% FB/HR rate so it's not just the defense. I could see with a year of health under his belt, Capuano being decent. But he's also the most expendable, the biggest injury risk, and probably due a sizable raise.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Tracky ran down the coaching situation in the Snooze today. Terry wants all 5 guys back but there's high speculation that Chip Hale will go with Bob Melvin in Cali. The A's just gave Melvin a 3-year deal. If Hale leaves, Backman could replace him. Warthen is the only coach in danger of not being re-hired by mgt. Mets will likely grant 2013 option year on Terry as reward for good season and to stave off speculation of firing as he manages 2012 year. Possibility too they would extend beyond that. I thought the extension for Collins was a false rumor? I'm not in favor of extending him yet. I like Hale, but I don't know what value he adds, besides a good play at the plate rate. I wonder if they didn't replace Warthen because of his familiarity with the staff on a team where the manager and GM weren't. Pelfrey as the 'veteran' of the team lobbied for him, and maybe that was enough?

Yanks going into the the playoffs with CC (who isn't his sharpest lately and supposedly admitted to being tired and was in favor of the 6 man rotation because of it), a rookie, and crossed fingers.

Edgy DC wrote: One thing to keep in mind for everybody on the staff is that the defense has been a turd (Reyes and Bay and Tejada being modest exceptions), and with a low-strikeout staff and a huge ballpark, the gloves come into play more than usual. A more solid defense and that makes a lot of pitchers look better, but it'd take a smarter man than me to figure out how to do that without bolluxing up the offense. I think replacing Angel Pagan with that centerfielder we had last year would be a good start. My first thought when I saw this thread is that ceetar is going to get his wish with regards to Dan Warthan. Carlos Beltran? Yeah, figuring out Pagan goes a long way, but I'm not sure his range has been affected this year. Seems like it's been more giving up extra bases and singles to doubles and that sorta stuff than turning outs into baserunners. Other than that.. Duda over Beltran/Duda is gonna be a downgrade no matter how well Duda improves. Ike provides a boost, and I think Wright 162 provides a boost, but Murphy is probably a downgrade over Tejada/Turner/etc. Santana's K rate should help. But maybe the Mets should look to trade for a a better K guy (please no Vazquez, I don't trust that guy) if they don't think they can get Gee's rate up?

86-Dreamer wrote: 4 guys at 4.5 might work at Yankee Stadium, but is abysmal at Citi Field. Yankee Stadium not factored into the 3.8 ERA league average. But with Gee and Pelfrey not being huge strikeout guys, more balls in play in a bigger outfield, = more ER. Also, team ERA is 4.2, but runs created per game is 4.8 Still not good, but seems like it should've gotten the job done a little better. I think the 4.15 Starter ERA is less the problem than the 4.36 Reliever ERA. And I wonder how much of those earned runs were due to the relievers. As for how to improve a mostly fair/average staff? Not that you can bank on this yet, but swapping even a reduced Santana for Capuano probably pushes the Mets to better than league average. I think you can hope for improvement for Niese, because it seems like he's actually pretty damn good, and I think he was pitching hurt near the end. I think Pelfrey improves somewhat over this year, but not appreciably and more due to luck of fielding and home runs. If Gee's still in the rotation, which seems likely, I just don't know. He's got a lot of pitches, even if none of them are top flight talent. I could see him taking a step forward, learning to mix and match and setup and eliminating some of the games where he just couldn't execute those pitches. I could also see him not improving and just getting shelled. overall though, I just don't think this team is the worst Mets pitching staff ever. nor is ERA+ the way to measure them against each other because it penalizes this Mets team for the Phillies staff against other Mets teams that maybe didn't have the same competition.

Edgy DC wrote: On the excellent-good-average-fair-poor continuum, there's a massive cluster around fair. I'm trying to think of what that cluster thing means regarding next year. Good news? Bad news? I don't know. Would you rather have two averages and three fairs, or two goods and three poors? Which is easier to build on? This is why it surprises me that this Mets rotation could be that bad. Because no one's bad. League Average ERA is 3.8. Dickey's good (3.35 ERA) for one. The other four guys are into the 'fair' ERA range, around 4.4-4.5 But that's only half a run off the league average. What's that, one standard deviation?

G-Fafif wrote: First pitch a little after Swoboda. Save me from Francesa on my way home. I'll live with it.

metirish wrote: bmfc1 wrote: Howie is talking about how Cardinals fans are "condescending" toward New York for allegedly ignoring St. Louis. Another reason to love Howie. Well, I guess things in St.Louis are going great if this is the kind of utter shite that worries them. Memo to St.Louis , we're NY and we don't give a shit about you. well, they've got a decent brewpub in downtown, and the pizza's better than Chicago, but that's about it.

metirish wrote: Terry Collins on the lineup: "It took me a while to figure it out." Terry's taking the piss right?.....I hope deciding to bat Capuano 8th or 9th..

Edgy DC wrote: The Thing wrote: He really tries hard to be Cal Ripken, doesn't he? More like Derek Jeter, I'm afraid. But really... �I think that when I got to Citi Field, and I don�t know if it was just the park or wanting to become a better all-around hitter, but I focused more on trying to become a better pull hitter.� You don't know why you consciously changed your approach after a pair of top-ten-MVP-voting season? Come on. Especially since he repeatedly made claims that he wasn't changing his approach throughout most of 2009 and 2010. Also, most of his home runs were to the pull field anyway.

Edgy DC wrote: Six Millans over one year for Pelf versus eight over two for Capuano? Is that about how we're framing the decision? Pelf might take the two for 8ish. It's an interesting thought. Pelfrey could easily pitch slightly better, and will command in abitration a slight raise again in 2013. You hope minor league options step up by then, but it seems foolish to bank on it. If he's making 4-5 in 2013, instead of looking at 7-8, he'd probably be pretty tradeable if the Mets have Meija/Cohoon/Harvey/etc types looking to push him out.

Edgy DC wrote: Meanwhile, Angel Pagan --- making hiss 2011 debut in the three-hole. is he a snake now?

bmfc1 wrote: Capuano is not under contract beyond next week so why not get something for nothing? Perhaps Sandy is planning on resigning Capuano and doesn't want him to possibly fall in love with Boston (which is doubtful since it's only for a week and they're on the road). That was my first thought. Then again, you're only going to get crap back for it, so why bother? Or maybe he asked Capuano, and he didn't want to go.

I wonder why Sandy wouldn't part with him?

Edgy DC wrote: Edgy DC wrote: David Wright is so busy trying to be the type of guy he thinks he's supposed to be, he doesn't know if he's coming or going. I blame it on Citi Field's' dimensions. And the stupid Dodgers' rotunda. Not necessarily in that order. I blame it on David Wright. I'll blame Adam Rubin, as long as we're blaming guys. Or should I go Phil Mushnick?

Edgy DC wrote: David Wright is so busy trying to be the type of guy he thinks he's supposed to be, he doesn't know if he's coming or going. apt description. We need to win him a title so he can be whoever he wants and the media can portray him as the guy he's supposed to be.

MFY fan in my office, to me this morning: "35 predictions on ESPN and not one picked the Yankees to win the AL East." I'm calling bullshit on that one - no way does ESPN employ 35 guys who pay enough attention to baseball to even make a prediction. it's correct. That doesn't make them underdogs. (or the ESPN guys experts) Nearly all of them picked the White Sox too. With only Six guys even picking the Tigers to make the playoffs. Most of them still had the Yankees in there. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview/2011/news/story?page=11expertpicks That doesn't make Rivera's ego any smaller.