Ceetar

the former Mets great told to current "prominent" Mets "to stop worrying about (media) criticism" and "get out on the field and perform." He does realize that it's logically impossible to follow that advice since he in fact is part of the media. I'm sure that's all it was for Bay and Reyes, they were just too worried about Mike Francesa and couldn't get a hit. yeah.

Gwreck wrote: Better choices than Vicky or Werthless too. We all hate the Phillies but that's no excuse to ignore facts. Werth is OPSing at 1.048, second only to Ethier in the NL. That depends if you even want to vote based on stats, which nothing about how it's set up suggests we have to. :-D Ethier, Braun, Holliday, Bay.

Gwreck wrote: Ceetar wrote: Mets fans should band together to vote for a 2B candidate to fight Utley. My vote's on Kelly Johnson right now. I want the NL to win the All-Star game. Utley is a good choice in that regard. Rollins and Polanco, not so much. Better choices than Vicky or Werthless too. You think they'd let us at least vote for 1 pitcher.

Frayed Knot wrote: metirish wrote: Mets have been pumping Barajas at the park recently. That's the other problem. Telling - or even hinting - that your fans should vote for the local guys was always done in some places but even the teams who did usually at least pretended to be subtle about it. Now you've essentially got all 30 teams openly and loudly campaigning for vote-stuffing at any and every opportunity. they've got ballots at places like Lowes now too. You think they could at least update the online ballot to reflect current rosters. Or at least rosters as they stand going into May, so that guys like Murphy and Beltran don't end up on it. I almost want to start a campaign for Beltran just to illustrate how absurd it is. Would love to see him get voted in.

and the negative Mets fan is unlikely to even bother voting for the all-stars. It's too early to figure out the main competitor at certain positions. Right now I'm voting Reyes still, but if I have to vote Hanley over Rollins, I will. I've been writing in Ike Davis. Mets fans should band together to vote for a 2B candidate to fight Utley. My vote's on Kelly Johnson right now. Matt Holliday and Ethier (and Bay) right now to try to overtake the two Phillies in the outfield. Same philosophy in the AL. Vote for the guys with the best shot to unseat a Yankee.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Was K-Rod steaming from the night before when he was asked to pitch the 8th inning? Is that what really ticked him off? Maybe. I hope not. But Frankie's obviously a hot head. not like this is the first time. Since it was the bullpen coach and not Manuel (taht we know of) I'd suspect it'd be more along the lines of how often he was getting ready rumors, although that's not really the bullpen coach's call either, and I don't blame him for being pissed about it.

Tatis hasn't done anything to deserve being cut, no, but sometimes you get cut because there are just better players than you too. Or that you hope you have better players, it would seem.

Nymr83 wrote: Seriously, what the hell does Val Pascucci have to do to sniff the majors? "Play well" would be an obvious place to start as he is batting .167 for Buffalo so far after hitting .248/.348/.445 in the hitter-friendly PCL last year. What ever chances he may have deserved in the past have nothing to do with now who would you suggest Pascucci replace on this roster? Certainly not Ike Davis. Chris Carter was out playing him by a wide margin this year, and did so last year in AAA as well (and in the tougher on hitters of the two AAA leagues). he cant replace GMJ (and if GMJ was to be replaced there are better candidates), and i don't think tatis would be a good idea as that leaves Cora the only backup at three infield positions (where tatis can at least play 3rd), besides tatis might not be great but he hasnt done anything to deserve to be cut right now. How many backups do you need at any position? even catcher you really only have 1 backup. Murphy for instance, certainly has as much ability to play 2B or 3B or 1B as Tatis does. I'd say better as he's younger and seems to have more range. and is a better hitter with at least as much power. Tatis hasn't done anything to deserve being cut, no, but sometimes you get cut because there are just better players than you too. Not that I'm advocating Pascucci, as there are other guys I'd given a shot to, even if they're probably crap. I'd still promote a guy like Jesus Feliciano while he's hot. Ride the hot hand..maybe he gives you a good week. I would've had Nick Evans or Jason Pridie up here pretty fast when I realized Gary Matthews was complete crap.

Well, let's see where they play Murphy in Buffalo. Looking at their roster, the Bisons have 5 OF, two on the DL, 2 LF and a CF. Val pascucci (listed as 1B) and Feliciano (who's the CF and the Mets have shown no inclination to promote) are the guys who played RF this weekend. Russ Adams, Alex Cintron, and Jon Malo listed as 2B. Oh, and Bump took the loss for Lehigh Valley yesterday. BUMP!

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Centerfield wrote: So, given the choice between Cora (bad offense, ok defense) and Murphy (ok offense, passable defense) I would go with Murphy. Replace "Alex Cora" and "Daniel Murphy" with "Brian Giles" and "Wally Backman" and you have the decision that Davey Johnson made in 1984. Davey always opted for offense over defense, and it generally worked out. I'd like to see Murphy play a lot of second base at Buffalo for a while, and see what we've got. Except presumably the need for 2B is now, not in a month.

Centerfield wrote: Everything I've read suggests that differences in defensive ability are far less significant than differences in offensive ability. So, given the choice between Cora (bad offense, ok defense) and Murphy (ok offense, passable defense) I would go with Murphy. If, however, the choice becomes Corah (bad offense, ok defense) and Murphy (ok offense, awful defense) then I guess I would reconsider. You have to factor in the idea that this could mean Cora's bad offense in 2011 as well. But Murphy as ok offense and passable defense (something I think will happen in the infield at least) is also probably better than bad-passable offense and good defense in what Tejada probably gives us. This all predicated on Castillo's foot not magically healing on it's own with him sitting with it up for 2 weeks.

Centerfield wrote: Really? You guys would wait until Beltran comes back? Last two wins notwithstanding, this team needs an offensive jolt. If I'm Jerry Manuel and I need to win now, Carter is my starting rightfielder. I also slot in Daniel Murphy as soon as he's back. 1. Reyes 2. Pagan 3. Wright 4. Davis 5. Bay 6. Murphy 7. Carter 8. Barajas Against a lefty, I slot in Tatis at second I think if Reyes and Bay are going to start hitting, Frenchy won't be such an eyesore, and if we know Beltran actively playing rehab games towards coming back, then we live with it, but only if Beltran is making that progress. The bigger a ? Beltran is, the more you look to replace Frenchy immediately. Preferably with lots of platooning of Carter and Murphy and what not. (Murphy will/can spark a completely different debate about whether he can play the outfield and blah blah blah. He's not great out there, but I think he'd be fine) Murphy at second? (probably need another thread for this) I think he'd be okay. Hits more than Cora, and probably much more than Tejada.

I figure he needs to sit and get some days off and work on discipline. let Carter start for a day or two. He's still overall done well as a Met, but clock is ticking. Hopefully we get some news on Beltran in the next week or so. Hopefully that news is positive, in which case you probably ride Francoeur out, if not, you look for a replacement sooner rather than later. see if they can throw in a SP while you're at it. Maybe swapping out the hitting couch will give Francoeur another boost of productivity? Carter probably can't play everyday and didn't F-Mart get hurt? again?

Edgy DC wrote: So, what are we working with now? Phillies: Dickey Tuesday Takahashi Wednesday Pelfrey Thursday Brewers: Santana Friday And who Saturday? I guess this isn't an issue until then, so they have a few days to chew on it. I imagine Perez is always an option too. and Valdes depending? It's curious that they went back to Dickey instead of Valdes as they originally decided. Is this because they saw Wakefield baffle the Phillies? And is this a good or bad thing, considering the Phillies will face knuckleballer for a second day, presumably having more of a chance to adjust, particularly to a presumably lesser version of it?

As long as we're sorta discussing it, I'll say I like interleague play. I'm not really old enough to remember 'rivalries' with Cubs or Cardinals or really remember the 2-division format that well, so maybe I'm biased, but most of the time if you're telling me I can see the Dodgers or Brewers or Astros another couple of times, or the Mariners or Tigers, I'd go with the AL matchup just about every time. I enjoy the variety. I'd be fully in support of a system where they mix it up throughout the season more like the NHL does where you occasionally play the other conference in every month except September. Keep September as mostly in-division. Let the schedule makers notice budding non-division rivalries. the Phillies may have a rivalry brewing with the Dodgers and Rockies from the playoffs, let them see each other an extra time maybe.

Edgy DC wrote: The pain of Maine would drive ceetar to feign. Are you suggesting his lying is somehow Manuel's fault? No. I guess I give kudos to Manuel and Warthen for guessing right. (i still have plenty of issue with how it was handled) I wish they'd had more reasoning than "my gut tells me" but they were right. How right, is yet to be determined, and how to fix Maine is the biggest issue, because he's had plenty of success when he's healthy, and the Mets need him. Actually, if Maine was feeling pain still post surgery last year when he pitched, that's probably when he should've spoken up. I can definitely believe he was pitching with pain all year. He did hit 92-93 once or twice on the gun, and also 87-88, with his fastball. The biggest problem he had was that his slider/change is 82-83, which is too close. If he could've slowed that down, he still would've had plenty of success. I really wonder if him switching his mechanics again made this problem worse, or if all the extra side-work he was doing to readjust said mechanics was too much for his shoulder. I even said in the offseason that I hope they find ways to get Maine an extra day when they can, because all his injuries always seemed fatigued/strain type injuries, and maybe rest and limiting his between-start work (something Warthen cited this offseason as well, although if they kept up with it, especially after he readjusted, I have no idea) was something that was needed to make him last the whole season, pain free.

Edgy DC wrote: I certainly don't hope Perez is a pariah in the clubhouse, even if he's one here. Nor do I think he's almost worthless. He's certainly not worthless, although I do agree that he's pretty much taking up a roster spot. I wonder what the plan is with him, but then, I wonder what the plan is with Mejia. I wasn't particularly enamored with Dessens or Acosta anyway, just glad Iggy's back and hopefully successful again. I wonder if Mejia's recent failures has convinced the Mets it's not like he could help them as a starter this year anyway (probably true), so no reason to get him stretched out just yet

Rockin' Doc wrote: In a video I had seen following his 5 pitch start in Washington, Maine acknowledged pitching with pain in his right shoulder, but he downplayed it by saying he had pitched with pain for the past two years. Apparently the surgery to remove the bone spurs in his shoulder did not alleviate the pain and discomfort. well, I'd certainly lie about pain if I knew not only would I not get to pitch anymore, but the docs wouldn't know how to fix it. This doesn't bode well.

Edgy DC wrote: Ceetar wrote: The issue I'm having is with the lack of communication and the public disagreements between the two. You were taking issue with that exact quote --- and continuing to argue the issue --- and now you're just obscuring it. The quote just represents the issue. Either way, Maine's admitted to pain now, though still says he doesn't think it was a DL thing, so I guess Manuel and Warthen are validated in some respect. Still doesn't explain why they didn't send him to the doc yesterday and possibly avoid the DL. I know I'm never going to hear it, but I want to know if he felt this pain before he switched up his mechanics. Peterson was a guy that was always harping on bad pitching mechanics, and this pain was something cropped up well after Rick left. Warthen altered Maine's mechanics this spring, but it wasn't actually working for Maine, so he switched back, and now he feels the pain again.

"John Maine is a very, very, very competitive young man, very competitive," Manuel said. "We have to make decisions not only on him, but what's best for the team." That's four verys. That sort of quote took about five seconds to find. Manual has made several others in reponse to honoring Maine's desire to pitch. Do you really think he hasn't suffiently honored that? The issue I'm having is with the lack of communication and the public disagreements between the two. Manuel and Warthen think Maine is hiding an injury (so they made one up and DL'd him) and that his competitiveness is so great that he's not telling them about it. (Maine said he was upset by Warthen's habitual liar comment, btw) Maine says he's fine, says he only bent over because he knew he was on a short leash (this suggests he shouldn't have been totally 'surprised' at being pulled, but I still think Manuel should've done more than just snap "you're out" on the mound and walk away. It also seems to support my point of Manuel putting so much pressure on each start and batter of Maine (and Perez) and you can't approach baseball for 35 starts like each one is do or die) The biggest thing is the lack of a real plan. They sent Maine out there with Valdes warming up, but really with a "well, let's see what happens" attitude. Then they pulled him. They didn't decide to send him to a doctor, despite talking about it, until so late Friday that his replacement couldn't even make it to the game on time. I understand it's three against one (Warthen, Manuel, and Barajas said he didn't think he looked right either) about whether or not Maine is actually injured, but comments like this do not seem to be a good managing style: "My gut tells me there's something there physically," Manuel said, "but I could be wrong." I understand not wanting to play short, so DL him, I do, but why not actually send him for tests sooner rather than later? Why not on Friday like they originally said? why wait until next week? What if Maine is telling the truth and is completely cleared? (Do the Mets get in trouble for making up an injury to put a guy on the DL if that happens? I could see the player association having an issue with that.) Also, on the "habitual liar" angle, Maine says he looked at tape and his mechanics were normal and he claims he got up to 89mph on his last two pitches. (gameday off mlb.com claims 85 on his three fastballs)

Maine still was bothered by getting pulled so early when he showed up in the clubhouse Friday afternoon, but he forced himself to look forward, saying he would prepare himself for his next start - whenever and wherever that is. "I want to pitch," he said. "Even if I have to go out there and throw lefthanded, that's what I want to do. I want to go out there and pitch." "I want to pitch" is the crux of his point. He's using the lefthanded thing as emphasis. It's like if I said I was so hungry I could eat a horse..and you said you were a vegetarian.