Jingo Talks Baseball:
A passionate, well-infomed fan, Jingo Sounds off about All
things Mets-related:
5/31/06
Who will be the number 3 pitcher in crunch time....anyone, anyone, Bueller....
5/22/06
Kazmir for Zambrano....Looking better every Day
I stopped rooting for mets for years after they traded tug mcgraw. He was by far my favorite athlete. I felt that the team's mgmt had stolen him from me. I was rooting hard for the phillies to win the WS back in 1980 (they won) and again in 1983 (they lost). I am less emotionally tied to the Mets now and i had never seen kazmir pitch until he came to the majors. so its not the same, but the lesson has been forever etched in my psyche.
The trade bothers me because it was so colossally stupid on every level, not the least of which was pure business considerations: because he pitched and was so successful in brooklyn (single A ball), mets' fans anticipation was super high. he would have sold out the stadium every time he pitched even if the mets weren't contending (you don't need to know baseball to see this coming). and now if they had him they would be the odds-on favorite to go to the WS. He would have been the cornerstone of a dynasty-type team (Reyes, Wright, Kazmir, Pelfry, Heilman, Bannister - all home grown and young). but now they will struggle or pay dearly to replace him and not get a guy nearly as good - because guys like him NEVER GET TRADED.
Example: he is better than Zito or Willis and those guys will get traded for a bunch of top prospects AND get huge long term contracts. Kaz is under the club's control for four years (due to the collective bargaining agreement).
Its gonna go down as the worst trade in the history of baseball, save for the Ruth trade and maybe one or two others. nice.
btw, pelfry got pounded last nite.
5/20/06
Randolph f-ed up, and heres how:
Will's take on the Randolph's decision to pitch Wagner in the 9th with a 4 run lead against the Yankees, which resulted in his complete breakdown and the Mets wrestling defeat from the jaws of victory:
I realize you're gonna hate me for this. but ...here are the reasons willie Randolph was foolish for using Wagner in that spot:
1. he put a guy in a spot that is not in his comfort zone (we talked about this last nite re heilman and shifting up the whole BP).
2. Wagner is notoriously bad on consecutive days. its the number one reason the Phils claimed to not want him back.
3. Randolph could always have put Wagner in the game if it became a save situation (i think two men on base would have done it), which IS his comfort zone.
4. it would have been a perfect spot to give Julio a chance to shut the door, with the entire bullpen ready to back him up (if neccessary). as opposed to the ass backward situation they have found themselves in ---> Wagner having to be bailed out by the likes of feliciano, Bradford and (gulp) Julio.
Will continued:
Even if he only threw 12 pitches, he still had to warm up, etc. and you can add to my list the fact that he is unavailable for tomorrow's game. willie is an OK mgr, but he comes across as slow in interviews and i don't think he has a magical feel for the game.
And finished with:
Seeing Wagner in that spot smells a little panicky. Would he have done the same had this been a game against, say, Washington or Houston? i don't think so. he should have shown more leadership and managed it as if it was just another game, which it was.
March 30, 2006
Staff of the Future
Here's how my buddy Will, longtime met fan sees the Met staff shaping up this time next year....
Glavine and Trachsel are in the final years of their contracts. barring a trade (I still hold out hope for Zito), the 2007 rotation looks like this:Martinez - Clearly on the downside. but shear savvy maintains his status as staff ace.
Zambrano - Gaining confidence, throwing strikes, nasty off-speed repertoire makes him dependable starter with upside. will never make us forget that we traded the wrong Kaz.
Pelphry - The next big thing. plus fastball and plus curve make him a top of the rotation prospect.
Bannister - Excellent control and crafty use of curve and change make him a nice compliment to Pelphry. lack of big time velocity keeps him at the middle to bottom of the rotation.
Heilmann - its put-up or shut up time for this former number one pick and perennial trade-bait guy who has developed consistency and a nasty change up.
Plug in Humber for Martinez in 2008.
Nice work Will! A Staff of Pelphrey, Bannister and Heilmann makes you think back to what might have been with Wilson, Isringhausen and Pulsipher. Somewhere from the great beyond, Bob Murphy will be hopefully be reciting the subject line, "Those FINE young Met Arms" in 2007.
Soler has good stuff, even without the 'plus' fastball, but he may need seasoning - not unlike Heath Bell and many others. unless he becomes a reliable starter very soon it would make sense for the Mets to send him back to the minors so that he can relax again and work on the things that will make him a good major league starter. i can see where, say, five major league starts and then a return to the minors would be very beneficial to a guy like Soler.
El Duque looked very shaky this past weekend against the Marlins. he still has really good stuff, but he struggled with his command. His durability will be a major factor in determining whether he can help this team as an every fifth day starter. if he continues to struggle with his control and thus has to throw a million pitches to get outs then he will hurt the team more than help (even if reasonably successful) because he will kill the bullpen. His best role may be long man out of the pen and good will ambassador.
So, in conclusion, i think - barring a trade or a promotion of Heilman to the rotation or a John Maine resurrection - we might still see Pelfry sometime in July or August. and for the Mets to truly contend for a pennant they will need him to pitch to the level of a third starter. I dont see anyone else they have in the organization right that has his potential to fill that critical slot - and he may not be ready until next season.