Twins 7, Mets 3: Jenrry Mejia Is Human
by James Kannengieser on Mar 19, 2010 9:15 PM EDT
35 comments
Today's game was generally uninspiring, though not nearly as soul-crushing as the defeat of a certain #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament last night. I missed Mets-Twins on teevee, so if you're inclined to ask "do you even watch the games?", the answer is no. Luckily the MLB.com boxscore is quite detailed, providing all kinds of exciting info about this afternoon's matchup.
Johan Santana was knocked around a bit in 3.1 innings of work, allowing five runs on nine hits, including two home runs to players with zero major league experience. On the plus side, he struck out three, walked one and had an uncharacteristic 6:1 GB:FB ratio.
Jenrry "The Ace" (way too early for that) "The 8th" (let's hope not) Mejia pitched one inning, surrendering a run while failing to strike anyone out. He also walked one and threw a wild pitch, to the dismay of Kevin Kernan, Craig Carton and the rest of the New York media fatcats clamoring for the 20 year-old to travel north come April. Bobby Parnell and Pat Misch threw two scoreless innings apiece, with the latter even striking out a couple batters. Misch has performed admirably this spring but is basically the definition of replacement level. He'll probably account for some innings this season but likely won't, and shouldn't, be on the Opening Day roster.
The offense was led by Omir Santos and Ruben Tejada. Future minor leaguer Omir will not go quietly into the night, as he blasted his 2nd homer of the preseason while raising his average to .353. Tejada ripped two doubles, and is now batting .378. Perhaps he was motivated by the news that Alex Cora will likely start on Opening Day, should our man Jose Reyes be unavailable. Jason Bay kept raking, going 2-2 with a walk.
Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis and Jeff Francoeur continued to struggle, combining to go 0-9 while lowering their respective OPS's to .410, .200 and .544.
***Nick Evans Alert***
Nick Evans pinch-hit for Misch, drawing a walk.
The Mets face the Cardinals at 1:05 tomorrow.
In lieu of WPA graph, here is an edited-for-spelling text message I received from a friend today:
Just heard a Mets beat writer [ESPN Radio's Rich Coutinho] say that Jacobs will win the job over Murphy because he hangs out with Francoeur and Wright, and Murphy is not "warm and fuzzy".
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Warm and fuzzy is the antithesis of gritty
What is going on??
Trying to believe is my full-time occupation.
Tough call on the tourney tonight.
My alma mater plays my current employer…
Who cares how bad the Bay deal will look in 2013, the world is going to end in 2012 anyway
"Jacobs will win the job over Murphy because he hangs out with Francoeur and Wright, and Murphy is not 'warm and fuzzy'."
slaps head
"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez
by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 19, 2010 9:54 PM EDT reply actions
Jacobs over Murphy? Heaven help us!
The 2010 New York Mets: Maybe it's the Phillies' turn to have 95% of its roster on the DL
The 2009 New England Patriots: At least we got our division title back
The 2009-10 New Jersey Devils: Allergic to second periods
Exactly we're all holding out hope he can't even beat out carter for the last bench spot
and they’re apparently slotting him in to start.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
Murphy's gone from porterhouse steak to dog meat in Manuel's eyes in 1 year.
It’s amazing how last spring they were touting him as the next Don Mattingly. Now he can’t even beat out Mike Jacobs (though I will say that when the Mets signed Jacobs I did predict that he would have the starting job by June … who knows, maybe it’ll now be Murphy taking the job in June).
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
Exactly, if Jacobs is the starter opening day, then no way he makes it until June.
"Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring; besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. It's more democratic."
- CRASH DAVIS
We should trade him for Lance Broadway.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Mar 21, 2010 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
This years tournament is irrelevant
St. John’s fired Norm Roberts, which means for the first time in years I can see hope that future NCAA Tournaments will have real meaning again. I imagine this is a little like how I’ll feel when Jerry and Omar get canned.
Of course, I have the dread that SJU is gonna hire someone just as bad as Norm (or Jarvis), just like I have faith that the Mets will hire people even worse. I hate sports.
2009 Did Not Happen
at leasts (usually) there's way more accountability in college sports
you know if the AD fires another dud eventually he’ll be replaced too…there’s no escaping the wilpons and their series of duds.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
not at St. John's
where the school president is a priest who’s way more concerned about having a clean program than a winner. Not that I entirely blame him, after the whole stripper scandal a few years back. But based on everything I’ve heard, it sounds like he’s letting the athletics department run things this time around and actually go for a good coach.
2009 Did Not Happen
Why would he leave Florida?
He wouldn’t even leave them for the Magic job.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
The logic I've heard
is that Donovan’s a NY guy, his family wants to move back to the area, etc. Truthfully, if he were crazy enough to leave FLA, why go to SJU?
He's run his course at FLA
Back-to-back titles — what more does he need to accomplish there? I’d bet anything he regrets turning down that Magic job and like Brian says he’s a local guy. If SJU doesn’t hire a big name coach then firing Roberts was for naught.
by James Kannengieser on Mar 20, 2010 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Eh I think the run his course thing is overrated
College AD’s can be so fickle I wouldn’t leave a cushy job if I had one for unknown territories. Plus he can rule the SEC easily and have just enough competition with Kentucky and Tenn to keep it interesting, in the Big East there’s like 400 legit teams, not to mention recruiting is 10x more crowded.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
I'd also imagine St. Johns
has much higher academic standards than Florida which can make recruiting a lot harder.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
SJU's standards are definitely higher
But keep in mind Ron Artest, Omar Cook and Erick Barkley went there. Not exactly the Bill Bradley Rhodes Scholar All-Americans.
That said, I doubt Donovan ends up at SJU, much less even leaves. But I would put the chances that he leaves higher than zero.
by James Kannengieser on Mar 20, 2010 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I think Ron Artest might actually be fairly intelligent
I think his crazy just overrides it.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
$$$$$ talks
SJU will offer Donovan a ton of moolah to jump.
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
Plus there's also resources
does St. Johns pour the same amount of money into athletics as UF?
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
I doubt that very highly.
But to counter your point above, Donovan’s national success would probably resonate with HS kids and might entice them to follow him. Although SJU’s academic standards would probably make it very difficult for certain players to get admitted.
NY just doesn't produce THAT much D1 talent anymore
occasional uber-overhyped point guard aside, it’s not even in the same league as Chicago or LA… probably not even Dallas or Seattle.
The point is that SJU isn’t a very good job. Why would a name coach take it, even over Seton Hall, or for that matter Auburn (who is at least awash in cash from football)?
"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin
by dcrockett17 on Mar 20, 2010 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
come on man you didn't have to kick telfair while he's hella down.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
I'm not sure
what Jamie Dixon’s status is at Pitt because if I’m not mistaken his contract is up at the end of the tourney? If he’s available, St. John’s should throw everything they have at him.
what Jamie Dixon’s status is at Pitt because if I’m not mistaken his contract is up at the end of the tourney? If he’s available, St. John’s should throw everything they have at him.
Nah, I don’t think you will see any Big East coach jump ship to another Big East team like that, especially a classy guy like Dixon.
"Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring; besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. It's more democratic."
- CRASH DAVIS
Re: Norm Roberts.
I actually feel a little bit for the guy. He inherited a complete disaster, they had lost scholarships after the Ingram and Co. fiasco that night in Pitt, by the time he would have been able to start recruiting normally, teams like WVU, Pitt, and other Big East teams outside NY were taking all of the NYC Catholic League talent out of NY. These HS coaches are almost like agents, they have so much input in where these guys go to school. But Norm came in, did it the hard way, built the academic side of the program back up, had everybody graduating, kids weren’t getting in trouble, and in the last month or so, he had this team looking good, with a shit load of seniors coming back next year. I probably would have given him one more year with his seniors, the last month changed my mind, before that I was all for firing him.
Re: Donovan, I think the idea is that he has run his course in Florida. They aren’t winning, and they really aren’t a basketball school. When they are winning national titles, sure, but they are football first and foremost, and supposedly Donovan may just be tired of that scenario. He has NY roots, and supposedly St Johns is actually willing to throw some greenbacks at somebody to coach this team. A guy I like a lot if not Donovan, is Seth Greenberg, another guy with roots here, and he just seems like great man first and a great basketball coach second, the kind of guy St Johns wants to have succeed here, which is why Norm was hired to begin with.
People say that Florida has more resources, so they will match St Johns offer, but I don’t know. I don’t think basketball is important enough to them to pay a huge amount of money to their coach to make him stay. Coming off a couple titles, okay, you pay the guy, but 3 years later, when the hype’s died down, the sport is secondary, and we may be talking top 20 coaches salary in the NCAA? I don’t know. If St Johns is willing to spend money like they say they are, they will land somebody.
"Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring; besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. It's more democratic."
- CRASH DAVIS
the thing with Norm
yea, if they kept him they might have managed a 20-win season next year, with a roster that’s loaded with more seniors than any Big East team has seen in probably 15 years. But when those guys graduate, you’re back to square 1. He’s not a good recruiter, and he’s not a particularly good coach. For a team full of juniors, they weren’t any better than they were last year. I guarantee if you gave Coach K this years SJU roster, they win 20-25 games. Norm’s a nice guy and his players play hard for him, but they aren’t improving as basketball players and he’s got nobody in the pipelines to replace them.
This is a critical year, b/c if you hire a good coach, maybe he can really teach these seniors how to play basketball, cash in on their success, and bring in a talented freshman class the next year. I mean, the new coach has the opportunity to bring in an entirely new roster in his first offseason – he could build a Florida ‘06-’07 type team if he plays his cards right.
2009 Did Not Happen
A post with 100% more Nick Evans:
Here’s hoping that Rich Coutinho is making shit up, because, if not, it’s going to be a longer year…
And, it’s good to see that I wasn’t dreaming when I saw Nick Evans up at the plate. I knew I saw him!
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Mar 19, 2010 11:07 PM EDT reply actions
i feel like with almost any other team you'd just assume the beat writer
was joking or making things up…with Jerry it sounds like perfectly sound reasoning.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
To be fair to Jerry this ST
Evans was hurt and was just medically cleared to play. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have gotten more playing time last year.
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