Saturday Applesauce

by Eric Simon on Jul 26, 2008 11:11 AM EDT in Applesauce

I mentioned it yesterday, but Brandon Knight is making his first big league start tonight against the Cardinals in place of Pedro Martinez, who is on the bereavement list after the death of his father. Knight was out of baseball last season before his wife convinced him to take a spot pitching in the Independent League. The Mets signed him to a minor league deal in May and he has been dominant in five starts (eleven appearances overall), striking out 49 and walking just ten in 39.1 innings, notching a 1.60 ERA. Now, Triple-A isn't quite Quadruple-A (read: Tampa Bay pre-2008), which isn't quite the major leagues, but it's a good story and we all love good stories, right?

Ryan Church has begun light conditioning, but could still be a week or two away from returning. Jerry Manuel says Church will need upwards of seven rehab starts once he's ready to go, though Church is taking "the under" on that one. With the trade market thin and pricey, a Church return would be a huge addition to the Mets' offense. Names like Raul Ibanez and Casey Blake are out there and they'd definitely be upgrades over Chavez and Tatis, but would like cost at least a B-level prospect and the Mets don't have too many of those lying around. Larry Brooks at The Post has more on this.

Mark Hale on Mike Pelfrey's awesomeness.

Newsday's Jim Baumbach caught up with Dwight Gooden after an autograph show yesterday and god an update on where Doc is at right now. Something you may not have known: Gooden has six kids between the ages of 3 and 21.

Steve Popper at The Record takes a look at the Mets' Double-A team in Binghamton, where the Mets have started to stockpile a decent set of players. An interesting tidbit in the middle of the article: "GM Omar Minaya said Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro told him that he had the pieces to get C.C. Sabathia."

In case you missed it last night, the Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for four "prospects": Jose Tabata, George Kontos, ~~Russ~~ Ross Ohlendorf and Phil Coke. More coverage at Bucs Dugout and Pinstripe Alley.

As with any link dump, I encourage you to add your own links in the comments.

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Comments

yanks traded tabata?

and some yankee fans i know were trying to say that he was better than f-mart. if they traded him for nady and marte, couldn’t have been that hot of a prospect i guess.

by gogomets on Jul 26, 2008 12:05 PM EDT reply actions

.248/.320./.310 in 08, .291/.362/.382 career

An Endy Chavez track record in the minors.

Talkin' Sports

by BlackOps on Jul 26, 2008 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Ohlendorf

should be pissed that nobody seems to know his name is Ross, not Russ. On the other hand, given how he’s pitched in the majors, the media could be forgiven for forgetting his name.

by anonymous on Jul 26, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

Hah

I kept hearing ‘Russ’ so that’s what I went with.

by Eric Simon on Jul 26, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Curse you Eric

For tempting me to read a Larry Brooks article!
Headline:

METS CAN’T AFFORD TO FORCE OF TRADE

– What does even mean? Was it supposed to read Mets can’t afford to force A trade or Mets can’t afford the price of a trade?

Sometimes less is more, except when it comes to pitching. Sometimes chemistry trumps talent. Sometimes the best team doesn’t have to have all the best players at all of the positions. Quick. The shortstop for the 1986 Mets was . . . ?

A. Rafael Santana with some Kevin Elster and HoJo thrown in
B. Are you really trying to justify Chavez/Tatis/Anderson by citing the 86 Mets? Really? A team that ranked #1 in the NL in BA/OBP/SLG? A team where 7 of 8 regular position players (all except Santana) had an OPS+ over 110? Really? A team that also led the NL in ERA? This is your justification for why it’s O.K. to have two duds in your corner outfield? (Not to mention a catcher who can’t hit and first basemen who has hit for four weeks) Really?

by Reg Dunlop on Jul 26, 2008 12:22 PM EDT reply actions

Yea

The headline is a head-scratcher, though I think the ‘OF’ is meant to be read ‘outfield’.

by Eric Simon on Jul 26, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions

That might explain it

It still doesn’t excuse the insane use of the 86 Mets to justify the current OF

by Reg Dunlop on Jul 26, 2008 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh

And chemistry. Because that’s what these guys

were known for. Chemistry!

Although I guess they did destroy that plane as a TEAM!

by Reg Dunlop on Jul 26, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah

How come all these dunderhead sportswriters who (presumably) followed baseball in the 1970s aren’t aware of the fact that Reggie Jackson won 5 world series in that decade playing on teams where everyone hated each others guts? If the 1972-74 A’s and 1977-78 Yankees aren’t living, breathing arguments against needing “chemistry” to win, I don’t know what is.

Vote change: DePodesta/Acta in 2009!!!

by Greenpoint Ian on Jul 26, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

what a steal for the Skanks

Who wouldn’t take Nady and Marte on the Mets for a fucking bag of balls. Wake up, Omar! You’re asleep at the wheel.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Jul 26, 2008 1:44 PM EDT reply actions

Marte/Nady

While Tabata isn’t exactly a bucket of baseballs, it turns out the deal was reported incorrectly. The Yankees actually gave up Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutchen in lieu of Coke and Kontos. So it’s now Nady and Marte for Tabata, McCutchen, Karstens, and Ohlendorf. Not a terrible haul, considering McCutchen was one of the Yankees’ best pitching prospects.

by Alex Nelson on Jul 26, 2008 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow, that’s not a bad deal for the Pirates. Yankees traded pretty much all of their top prospects for Nady & Marte. Not so smart. Frankly, I was a little surprised they made the deal.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jul 26, 2008 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Funny

Cos Buck and McCarver just called it a “steal” for the Yankkkees on the Fox broadcast, and then went on to talk about how the Mets have been trying to get Nady back since the day they traded for him.

I mean, I don’t care what Buck and McCarver have to say about much of anything, but still it is funny to hear that take on it. And, of course, they neglected to mention why the Mets traded Nady in the first place.

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Jul 26, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions