AL Central Applesauce - Hernandez SNY contract dispute, Mets look hard at Backman, 7th overall pick

by Joe Budd on Oct 7, 2009 8:05 AM EDT in Applesauce

Nice moment for Carlos Gomez last night (scoring division title-winning run) and for the Twins. Not so much though for the Tigers who look like they've got a serious image problem on their hands with Miguel Cabrera. Imagine what would have happened in this town if during the 2007 Met collapse David Wright also had a DUI.

Meet the Mets

SNY has posted a few strong columns this week from both Ted Berg and Howard Megdal. Berg urges Omar to avoid selling his players at low points. Megdal writes about his visit to Citi on the last day of the season.

Keith Hernandez took to discussing his contract negotiations in the broadcast on Sunday. No news yet on whether Hernandez will be back in the booth next season.

The Mets are LIKELY to give Wally Backman a job in the minors.

New York will draft 7th and Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis will be Class-B free agents.

Well done. I can't really take issue with that.

Minaya is looking to bring Kevin Towers and JP Ricciardi into the Met fold. That is confidence.

Around the NL East

The Phillies gave their last roster spots to Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo, and Miguel Cairo. Cairo got the nod over Eric Bruntlett.

Just to make you feel a little bit more nauseous about the Phillies, their World Series trophy traveled 34,292 miles over the past year.

Phil Sheridan writes a fluff piece about Charlie Manuel.

The Marlins cleaned a little house in the coaching staff, reassigning pitching coach Mark Wiley and first base coach Andy Fox.

Fish Stripes takes issue with the Bobby Valentine courting.

Jair Jurrjens was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for September.

Around MLB

Congratulations to the AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins. Caught the game on the radio in the car. Definitely fun. Check out the win probability graph from last night. Brandon Inge is still upset that the umpire didn't rule that he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Miguel Cabrera story just gets stranger and stranger. Now he is accused of mocking a fat kid.

Another strange and sad story, a worker passed away in the Dodger Stadium press box. No word on cause of death yet.

More crime to report, Shawn Chacon was arrested for trying to pay $50,000 in gambling debts with bad checks.

And in baseball news, Rob Neyer talks about Bobby Abreu's impact on the Angels.

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Comments

Infuriating thing about last night's game

Aside from that fact that the annoying Thom Brennaman broadcast it, was to hear them go on and on about the Tigers’ heart and resiliency. Umm, this is a team that blew a 6 game lead with three weeks to play and a three game lead with four to play. I don’t recall too much being said about the Mets’ heart in the last couple of weeks of the 2007 season.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 8:46 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

The tigers don't have losers

like David Wright and Jose Reyes on their team. Oh, and if Keith isn’t back next year, I will be a very sad panda.

You don't cheer for the Mets. You drink for the Mets.

by Kevin H on Oct 7, 2009 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions

And Reyes

Wasn’t gettin a DUI the last week of the season either. I don’t think it really matters but the double standard is getting kinda old.

by MetsKnicksRutgers on Oct 7, 2009 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah that double standard shit is getting really old.

Then again, even if we win a championship to exorcise our demons, the uninformed douchenoids in the media will probably give us hell for not celebrating with class like the Yanks or Pills. So it’s never gonna end, sadly.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 7, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

f--- 'em.

I don’t care if the Mets celebrate winning a championship by urinating on the Phillie Phanatic and Paul O’Neill, I just want them to celebrate winning a championship.

"[The Giants] beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. ... It wasn't even close." - Raheem Morris, 9/27/09

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually I would love it if they celebrate like that.

by DC4Three on Oct 7, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions

yea

but the media wouldn’t

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Not that

Brennaman is much better, but your ridicule should be directed at Chip Caray, especially for initially calling the line out double play that ended the bottom of the Tenth

by Mount17 on Oct 7, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

That was Caray?

It sounded completely like Brennaman. Well, my apologies to him then.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions

To complete my comment

a base hit.

by Mount17 on Oct 7, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

fuck the media

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 7, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of last night's game...

Was Leyland intentionally trying to lose? He pulled Porcello way too early and 4 innings of Fernando Rodney? I can only presume that was Jerry Manuel

by Bieser's Balk on Oct 7, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Couldn't have been Manuel

Have his closer go more than one inning? Never.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Fair enough

I also heard this was Leyland’s best managing job ever on the telecast last night. I can see that — losing a 7-game lead on Sept. 7. That is leadership.

by Bieser's Balk on Oct 7, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

leadership to match Willie Randolph's

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on Oct 7, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions

I miss Willie Randolph's leadership at this point

the team never lost 90+ games on his watch

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the difference between 2009 Tigers and 2007 Mets.

Is that the Tigers did not actually play poorly down the stretch. The Mets went 5 – 12 in the last 17 games. The Tigers were 8 – 9. The Twins were just ridiculously hot. Plus the Mets lost to the last place and fourth place Nationals and Marlins down the stretch while the Tigers had to face the White Sox and Twins.

Also keep in mind that when the Tigers had to win to force a one game playoff, they won. The Mets failed to do that two years in a row. I think we take it too hard because we’re Met fans.

Bottom line. I feel that the Twins definitely earned the division this year more so than the Tigers gave it away. I can’t say the same about the Phillies earning the 2007 division so much as the Mets gave it to them.

by DC4Three on Oct 7, 2009 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

3 up with 4 to play, though.

That’s an epic choke job.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 8, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

so, more analagous to the 2007 Rockies/Padres

than the 2007 Mets/Phillies

by cjmulrain on Oct 8, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Granderson double up: bad break or mental error?

The guys on the radio were crushing him for the out, but it sounded like a pretty bang-bang play. And he could have been trying to take 2nd base.

Anyone with audio AND video have a take?

"If on-base percentage is so important, then why don't they put it on the scoreboard?"

by hotspur on Oct 7, 2009 9:25 AM EDT reply actions

Bad baserunning

He didn’t freeze to make sure the line drive got through, which it looks like would’ve saved him.

by metslaw on Oct 7, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions

thanks

by hotspur on Oct 7, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

Props to Neyer

For writing this:

Of course, Bobby Abreu would have been a great bargain this season even if nobody else had changed a single thing. The Angels are paying Abreu $6 million this season, and his performance alone makes him worth twice that.

Being the geek that I am, I immediately turned to Fangraphs, and sure enough Abreu was 2.6 WAR for a value of $11.9 million. It could be coincidence, but it’s nice to think there’s at least one relatively mainstream sports journalist using WAR and other advanced stats.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 9:47 AM EDT reply actions

Yea

ever since i read the Abstract in 2004 I have been a huge Neyer fan. I remember him getting some mentioning in there along with moneyball. What is interesting though is that I truly didn’t pay attention the advanced metrics until i discovered FJM during the middle of last season. Maybe I needed some humor to push me in the right direction

by MetsKnicksRutgers on Oct 7, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Same for me

It was probably a combo of FJM and my fantasy baseball partner that pushed me to start looking more closely at sabermetrics. Once I discovered sites like this and Fangraphs, my response was akin to Barney: “Where have you been all my life.”

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Def

This site saved me from blog purgatory. Started at metsblog then discovered metsgeek around june 2008 then found this site at the beginning of the season. Thank god for geek and AA

by MetsKnicksRutgers on Oct 7, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions

AA is like AA

for recovering metsbloggers.

by Pack Bringley on Oct 7, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

And I don't doubt that there's a long list of them.

Like me for instance.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 7, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Me too

Still ahve it on my Google Reader, but probably read about 1/20 of what’s posted.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 7, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Came to believe

that a power greater than ourselves (AA community) could restore us to sanity (not frequenting metsblog).

by MetsKnicksRutgers on Oct 7, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Ted Berg is right once again

Selling low on core players would just be a tremendously stupid thing to do.

by JoshNY on Oct 7, 2009 12:45 PM EDT reply actions

Ted Berg is generally spot on

and I continue to be impressed that an SNY column can rightly point out that Omar cannot judge markets.

by deadspy3 on Oct 7, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Ted Berg should be our GM

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Ted Berg needs a more prominent role at SNY

I don’t know what his responsibilities are on a day-to-day basis but I feel like he only writes an article a couple of times a week at most.

by TheBigStapler on Oct 7, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Does anyone else find it ironic

that Cerrone has been complaining all week about the Mets saying this season was “unacceptable” and then keeping the same coaches/GM’s because of the grammatical “misuse” of the term unacceptable? He’s made this observation in virtually every piece he’s written.

I realize that saying its unacceptable and then not changing anything is a little hypocritical, but what are the Wilpon’s going so say: “its OK we lost 90 games because there were injuries”. As long at the team makes an effort to improve that does show it wasn’t acceptable. I could see if we made no changes and expected different results, but they don’t have to fire everyone involved with the team in order to maintain the 2009 results were unacceptable (though wouldn’t mind a Omar, Jerry, Warthen ousting personally).

by Balagast on Oct 7, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

Dear Keith:

please don’t go. You were the only good thing about a 92 loss season

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

maybe

if they threw in a pair of ribeye steaks.

by Pack Bringley on Oct 7, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions

And allow him to host his own Civil War show.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 7, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Dude needs his own reality show

I would watch anything about Keith. Fighting with people at the store, lounging around with Kai and the dog, etc

by Bieser's Balk on Oct 7, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

or an educational show

called “all you kids out there”

by Pack Bringley on Oct 7, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

A Big Hang With Him

A lucky fan gets to spend the day with Keith

by Bieser's Balk on Oct 7, 2009 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Right Down Broadway

keith surveys the cuisine, accommodations, and attractions of the big apple.

by Pack Bringley on Oct 7, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

Should be deemed mandatory viewing for every kid in America.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 7, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions

We cannot lose Keith

Let’s move some of Ollie’s contract over to Keith’s contract. Ollie won’t even notice. We’ll tell Boras that Sandy Koufax once did the same thing for Vin Scully.

by David G on Oct 7, 2009 2:25 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Off topic

but the Rockies suck

by cjmulrain on Oct 7, 2009 4:19 PM EDT reply actions

Site issues

Not sure why, but every time I load this comment thread, all the comments come up as unread (except for the one I posted earlier). Same goes for Sam’s post about the Irish Hammer. Anyone else having issues with the site today?

by JoshNY on Oct 7, 2009 5:23 PM EDT reply actions

Briefly, but it sorted itself out about 40 mins ago

by deadspy3 on Oct 7, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions

I did, have issues also, but it's working now.

by fxcarden on Oct 7, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I can't access the site at work anymore (or any other sbnation site since yesterday)

The home page won’t even load for me.

by Michkin on Oct 7, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Cliff Lee

the trade that Minaya didn’t make.

Gah

by fxcarden on Oct 7, 2009 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

I cant blame him for that.

He would have been a 2010 rental that would have been at 2009 and 2010 price. If we were realistically in the hunt I could see it, but saving the chips for 2010 may have been his best move this season.

"We're just as bad as the old Mets, but this time nobody's laughing"
-Dallas Green

by Stephen Schmidt on Oct 7, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Lee has a club option for 2010 and, as you know,

nobody walks away from Omar as a FA. They all come to him.

/sarcasm

seriously, though…..for a stud like Lee, I would have traded some of those chips. AT least you know that with him and Johan, you can hit the ground running in 2010, as opposed to having to settle for Lackey or worse this offseason.

You do agree that Lee > Lackey………no ?.

by fxcarden on Oct 7, 2009 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions