Mets Daily Thoughts

NYFAN - That was a good & funny story.  It reminded me of when I was young, dumb, and full of x%#.  LOL

FOREPLUS - Nice Summary & welcome aboard!  Yes, Young looked like he ran out of gas out there but I think that Terry Collins will pay special attention to his pitch count as concerns about his shoulder will always be looming about. 

Yogi - Great observation on David Wright.  He is obviously taking a more aggressive approach to his at-bats this season and it won't be long before some opposing pitcher decides to back him off with some good old-fashioned chin music. 

I love the fact that the Mets ran for stolen bases early.  The highlight of the game for me last night was the 3rd inning.  Besides Chris Young getting outs with his new splitter, I couldn't believe that he actually collected 2 hits in the same inning.   Young singled, Jose Reyes singled, & Hamels walked Angel Pagan.  Up came Wright = 2 rbi's.  Ike Davis & Emaus cleaned up the rest.  It's an excellent start to the Series and I won't get ahead of myself here.... I will be happy in taking 2 out of 3 vs. the Phillies. 

Thanks glad I found this board.
My early concern is catching. Not so much what Thole is doing but what Collins is doing with him.

It really is great winning the first game in the series, so your focus can switch from "winning at least 1" to "taking 2 out of 3" right away.  I was out a business happy hour and had to do a lot of mixing with the crowd so I couldn't just stare at the TV (although I found myself doing it more often than not).  Amazins brings up a big point here:  the team is really aggressive on the basepaths which puts a lot of extra pressure on opposing pitchers.  That's just made a huge difference so far.

Can't wait for tonight's game.  Maybe I'll see some of you on the commentary board during, since I plan to at least show up here and there between stints on the couch.  It's good times at the moment for sure, and Chris Young has had a lot to do with it.

Thomasam - you are spot on regarding the aggressiveness on the basepaths. 

I'm watching the game right now and we're down 3-0.  Some of my observations regarding our Mets tonight are:  Mike Pelfrey has not only been ineffective with his pitching, but his fielding has been ineffective as well.   David Wright has seen 6 pitches from Joe Blanton and has struck out twice.  Leading off the inning, Ryan Howard just Homered on the 1st pitch he saw, we're now down 4-0. 

Is Mike Pelfrey putting too much pressure on himself to be the "substitute" Ace while Johan Santana is recovering? 

I'm watching the game too.  The Mets just climbed out of a 7-0 hole in a Visitor Ballpark.  Win or Lose, this feat alone didn't occur much last year so this is a good sign..... especially when hitting gets contagious.   

Angel Pagan's 2-run HR chipped away at the lead and we just sent 11 batters to the plate in the 5th inning and scored 5 runs.  They just kept getting on base to keep the rally alive. 

Nice job by Taylor Bucholz to restore some order in this game.   The beneficiary of course is Mike Pelfrey who gets off the hook.  Can you believe that his current ERA is 17.05?  How long will it take him to lower that line?  

Pelfrey is just inconsistent and unpredictable. Mentally, he has a difficult time focusing on the game most of the time.  This guy is gonna get traded, he doesn't fit in with Alderson's liking for mentally tough players. I'd say that if he doesn't get traded by this year's deadline then he'll be gone by next year's deadline at the latest.  
As far as his performance goes now though, I'm sure he'll pull it together by the end of the spring and even out his record/lower his ERA a bit, but he is what he is, what he has been all along... an inconsistent pitcher that's better fitted pitching in a place like Kansas City rather than New York.. And it's not that I don't like the guy when I say that, it's just I don't think he has what it takes to get it done enough in relation to what the high expectations are in NY. Basically he's a 4 or 5 guy at best because of his inconsistency, forced in an ace spot now that's not working out. When you think about it, the best thing about him is that he's physically healthy and young. He can throw hard, but the problem is he keeps serving up the bowling balls, that's just the way he pitches. Mentally the guy only shows up strong maybe 2 outta every 5 times he pitches. He can never maintain any stability or confidence for long.  Enough's enough, he is what he is, he does have some value on the market, not a ton but whatever it is the Mets need to explore and take advantage of that because Pelfrey isn't gonna be more than a C- pitcher overall going forward. He'll be an A pitcher for 2 games, and then an F pitcher for the next 2, and that's obviously not gonna get the Mets where they need to go. 

Last nights trivia question was 'who was the last pitcher to score and drive in 100 runs'?  I missed the answer although I was leaning toward Warren Spahn, Lou Burdett or Don Drysdale.  Often the answer is associated with the team the Mets are playing and I don't think it was Robin Roberts or Steve Carlton.  Anyone get the answer?

ATW - Yes, Mike Pelfrey hasn't been doing us any favors lately, but let's view him as what he truly is: a number 3 or most likely a number 4 starter on the MLB level.  He is not fairing too well in matching up against opposing team's true Aces so maybe Collins will shuffle up the rotation a bit when there is a break or opportunity in the schedule to do so.  Until Johan Santana arrives back in Queens with the Calvary bugle horns blowing in the background, R.A. Dickey is currently the true Ace of the Mets staff.   

Yogi - for some reason last night I was thinking of besides Babe Ruth, maybe it was Wes Ferrell (spelling?)?, but I couldn't remember what years Ferrell played last.  I was way off.  The Answer was Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies, and I just did a run on Baseball Reference.com.  Here is the List below of the Top 10.    

1. Steve Carlton (1965-1988)    123 Runs & 140 RBI
2. Jim Kaat (1959-1983)           117 Runs & 106 RBI
3. Bob Gibson (1959-1975)       132 Runs & 144 RBI
4. Robin Roberts (1948-1966)   107 Runs & 103 RBI
5. Warren Spahn (1942-1965)   141 Runs & 189 RBI
6. Early Wynn (1939-1963)        136 Runs & 173 RBI
7. Bob Lemon (1941-1958)       148 Runs & 147 RBI
8. Dizzy Trout (1939-1957)         99 Runs & 110 RBI
9. Bob Feller (1936-1956)           99 Runs & 99 RBI
10. Bucky Walters (1931-1950)   227 Runs & 234 RBI

Here's the thing with Pelfrey:  He's not a #1, but he's a very good #4 which is what he should be.  By the end of the year if Niese keeps improving and Young can stay healthy, he might just end up there.  If Santana comes back he'll almost definitely be there.

Trading Pelfrey gets you very little.  He's not a great pitcher, but he's not as bad as he looked last night.  Still though you're not getting much if you move him so why do it?  He's not able to handle being a top-of-the-rotation starter, but he's a guy who can be solid enough at the back of the rotation to be valuable.  Hey, maybe if another pitcher develops they move him...but until then there's no good reason.

I didn't know the Carlton answer, but it makes sense now.  I was guessing all over the place last night but somehow didn't see the obvious answer seeing as how it was a game in philly.  Makes sense as he pitched a whole lot of innings and had lots of chances to drive in runs or be driven in.

Amazins I see Bob Feller on the list, may he rest in peace.  Ironic that he had 99 runs & 99 rbi, just short of the century mark.  One of baseball's best, I had the chance to meet him at an autograph show back in 2007.  He was a true gentlemen and his stories that he told to some in attendance were truly nostalgic. 

In today's game, the bottom part of the Phillies line-up did the most damage against Jon Niese.  It was a scoreless game until the 2nd inning.  The Phils did damage with a lot of singles today.  Granted, Roy Halladay is a Diamond King and I was hoping that we could have stolen this game and taken the series.   The Mets confidence heading back to Citi certainly would've gotten a boost if they were able to knock him around, but the Doc would have none of that.   It's up to R.A. Dickey to get us back on track vs. the Nationals. 

And the Phillies field goal attemp is Good, to make the score 10-0.

And the Phillies field goal attemp is Good, to make the score 10-0.

Been following online - ugh
On the bright side, at least now I have a night free to catch up on my normal weekly programming...

I think the Mets are better with Pagan batting in the 2 hole.

I didnt get to see the game today, but came home from work hoping I would see some good news, instead I saw an a$@ whooping put on by the Phils....didnt see that coming...

Oh well, now up the Nationals......

Tartans, I agree they are better with Pagan in the #2 hole. He is our #2 hitter except for when Harris gets a start. I don't like the switching around like that. I wonder if it bothers Pagan.
I also don't like Ike batting 6th when he does.

I don't mind Davis in the 6th spot, w/ Bay, Davis will be batting 6th anyway. I just don't like Harris batting 2nd.
Leave Reyes and Pagan alone batting 1-2. Davis should be batting 5th until the return of Bay.

Reyes-Pagan = 2W 1L
Reyes-Harris = 1W 2L

Overall, with the exception of yesterday's debacle, I saw a lot of positives from the 6-game road trip. While 3-3 is nothing to jump for joy about, Miami has been a house of horrors for the Mets, and Philly is the current NL gold standard, so a .500 record after facing the likes of Josh Johnson, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels is somewhat ok to live with.

When Bay returns, I really like our lineup, even though I would like to see Murphy get more playing time at second base. I love having Thole at the bottom of the lineup, such a huge dynamic to have a hitter who can put the ball in play consistantly, thus providing more bunting opportunities for our pitcher. No one really talks about this simple point, but it really can change a game.

I have some concerns about Beltran, but I will give him a pass -- I know he needs time to adjust after the injury woes.

I don't think we have the arms to make a real run at the division, but I think our offense will keep us in a lot of games. IF -- and this is a big if -- Chris Young stays healthy and Jonathan Niese takes the next step as a reliable MLB starter -- I think this team is capable of winning 80-85 games and make a run at the wild card. But Pelfrey looking like a complete headcase has tempered my forecast a bit.

I have some concerns about Beltran, but I will give him a pass -- I know he needs time to adjust after the injury woes.-PeteSlappy




That's fair,  Carlos Beltran has looked slow at the plate.  But with time I think he will pick it up.  Much like Jose Reyes when he returned last year after missing ST, Beltran is in the same boat.  Difference is that Carlos's boat is 7 years older.