Rockies 6, Mets 5: Ar-Mejia-Geddon
by James Kannengieser on Apr 15, 2010 2:00 AM EDT
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The finish to tonight's game is the top story but there is plenty to say about the journey. Jenrry Mejia gave up a walk-off home run to Chris Iannetta in the bottom of the 10th inning to send Rockies fans home happy (paging Mets Walkoffs). The final pitch was a fat fastball up in the zone. That anyone can still think the Mejia bullpen experiment is a good idea is incomprehensible. At least he threw one changeup in his brief four pitch outing.
For the second night in a row, the Mets' starting pitcher struggled. Jon Niese threw five ineffective innings, giving up five runs on nine hits, including a three-run homer to Ryan Spilborghs. Swings-and-misses and groundballs were in short supply. The back-to-back short outings are particularly damaging because the Mets don't have an off day until April 29th. That's fourteen more games in a row without a break. Don't be surprised if Fernando Nieve's arm falls off by May.
Outside of home runs by Jeff Francoeur and David Wright, the Mets' bats had a quiet night. The Rockies tried their best to give this one away, committing three errors, but the Mets couldn't capitalize, going just 1-12 with runners in scoring position. Rockies reliever and Garden City's own Matt Daley struck out Wright in a big spot in the 7th, after Luis Castillo reached on an Ian Stewart error. This was disappointing, but if anyone has to strike out Wright let it be Daley, a good guy who has worked his butt off to get where he is.
I went to the gym tonight, planning to run a few miles on the treadmill. Absentmindedly, I put on my everyday walking shoes instead of running sneakers, but didn't realize it until arriving at the gym. Not a big deal, I drove home and made the shoe switch. Things like this sometimes happen--throwing dirty dishes in the garbage instead of the sink and forgetting to wear a belt to work are other examples of careless mistakes that I commit once in awhile. Jerry Manuel makes boo-boos like this quite often. At least, that's the only explanation I can come up with at this point for the things he does. The major difference is my mistakes are harmless while his mistakes hurt the multi-million dollar organization which employs him. Tonight in the top of the 10th, we were treated to vintage Jerry. With men on 1st and 2nd and one out, Jerry pinch ran Fernando Tatis for Mike Jacobs, who had doubled earlier in the inning. In a vacuum, this is fine for a variety of reasons. In this situation it was flat-out dumb. After Rod Barajas grounded out, the pitcher's spot came up. Jerry pinch-hit with Alex Cora, his last remaining non-catcher bench piece. You don't have to be a sabermetrician to understand that Tatis is a superior pinch-hitting option than Cora, no matter if it's against a lefty or righty. Predictably, Cora lined out softly and Iannetta ended the game about ten minutes later. Pinch-running with Cora and pinch-hitting with Tatis was the stronger move, except in the world of absent-minded Jerry Manuel.
It would have been preferable to see well-rested Francisco Rodriguez pitching the bottom of the 10th but it's not worth getting bent out of shape over. Regardless, Jerry continues to hurt the team's chances of winning with his in-game decisions. And it's worth documenting.
Mike Pelfrey faces Jorge de la Rosa tomorrow at 3:10 PM. Avoiding a sweep would be a nice boost heading into the weekend series with the Cardinals and their aces Chris Carpenter (pitching Friday) and Adam Wainwright (pitching Sunday). Be a stopper, Big Pelf.
Cheer up Mets fans. It could be worse. Could be Astros fans:
Poem by Howard Megdal
Clearly it would not be Niese
Who could make death spiral cease
Yes the Mets failed in the clutch
But with no one on, they don't hit much
In the tenth, they go to Mejia
And Iannetta quickly says "See ya!"
SB Nation Coverage
* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Purple Row Gamethread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Gary Matthews Jr. +25.2%, Ryota Igarashi +15.5%
Big losers: Jenrry Mejia -34.5%, Jon Niese -27.3%
Teh aw3s0mest play: David Wright two run homer +17.5%
Teh sux0rest play: Chris Iannetta walk-off homer
Total pitcher WPA: -35.7%
Total batter WPA: -14.3%
GWRBI! Iannetta
Game Thread Roll Call
Nice job by bm01bath; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.
| Num | Name | # of Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bm01bath | 120 |
| 2 | blueandorange4life | 96 |
| 3 | sj10689 | 87 |
| 4 | Syler | 67 |
| 5 | Gina | 64 |
| 6 | Mike Clemente | 55 |
| 7 | Mets Fan | 55 |
| 8 | EricAColucci | 53 |
| 9 | deadspy3 | 45 |
| 10 | fxcarden | 44 |
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Comments
I wonder if this will convince Jerry that Mejia isn't ready
Wait, who am I kidding? Jerry doesn’t even know the meaning of the word logic
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2010 Mets- Hey, we may suck, but what did you expect?
Want to become a Mets fan....
Want to find new and intereseting ways to lose games….
Want to know what the real definition of “collapse” means.
Want to see Mike Jacobs bat 5th(honestly no one does, not even the man himself)
Want your brain trust to be Omar and Jerry
Want a 20 year old phenom pitching on the big club…
Want an uninspired team….
Its all yours and more.
Omar and Jerry, dumbest tandem in baseball.
by TKFJ on Apr 15, 2010 12:30 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
To use a Tyson-ism
I want to kick Yankee fans in the testicles so they can know how it feels being a Mets fan.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
That was not the inning or circumstance to put Mejia in
Why didn’t he just Igarishi pitch another inning?
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
It's hard to fault him for that
He pinch hit for Igarashi with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the previous half inning.
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Because Jerry is against pitching relievers more than one inning
I wanna know where K-Rod was
I support Jenrry Mejia as a starter. Screw you Jerry Manuel for thinking he's a set-up man.
Would you have had Igarashi batting in that spot instead of a pinch hitter?
by James Kannengieser on Apr 15, 2010 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I didn't watch the game ... I thought Manual made a double switch with
GMjr for Pagan when Feliciano came in the game.
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
He did
The pitcher was in the 8 spot—Igarashi would’ve been the batter. There’s still no way Cora should’ve been up over Tatis.
by James Kannengieser on Apr 15, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
If that wasn't the spot for Mejia,
when the fuck is the spot?
Aren’t you one of the ones who wanted Mejia in the pen? If not, I apologize, but either way, if he is going to be brought up to the majors prematurely to pitch out of the bullpen, at least let him pitch in some high leverage situations, if he can only pitch up mop up duty, then what is the reasoning behind bringing him out of camp with the team?
"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
I meant Jerry's reasoning.
We all know there is no sound reasoning to do that with Mejia, but if Manuel felt Mejia was only ready for mop up duty, why, even in his demented thought process, did he decide Mejia should break camp with the team?
"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
New to the blog?
Aren’t you one of the ones who wanted Mejia in the pen?
No, the opinion on this blog was universally against it.
no glider wasnt
there were several people who weren’t.
And to top off their greatest season yet the new jersey nets scored 86 points...in double overtime. yes a professional basketball team only mustered 86 points in 58 minutes of basketball.
He never leaves guys in for more than 1 inning. He has no clue how to manage a pen
6 pitchers, it makes no sense
by Rickfansince76 on Apr 15, 2010 7:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Post games with Lame Hagin are so difficult to listen to
I wish they’d replace this guy with Eddie C.
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
Well it seems as if we suck
If that’s the case I’m happy for 4 things.
1) our do-nothing offseason
which means that
2) we won’t long smart from it
and which might lead to
3) lots of firings
which might mean
4) hope
No hope as long as the Idiotpons are running the show.
I’ll have hope when I see somebody like MArk Cuban in the owner’s box.
Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the street: wheredotheygo?!?!?
The move in the middle of the at bat had to be one of the worst I have ever seen.
And we have all seen plenty recently. You have to have the foresight to see what is coming and I think we all knew what was coming.
How does a “veteran” manager not? Maybe the outcome would have been the same, but maybe not. His one job is to put this team in position to win and he has failed.
Sometimes I think he’s a double agent sent by his adopted brother Charlie.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
it makes more sense than a game that's had two manager jobs being this dumb
doesn’t it?
in billionaire russian playboys we trust.
Jerry pitch ran for Jacobs 4 pitches in to an at bat with a pinch hitter needed. There was a righty in the game so he sent Tatis in to run for him in the middle of the at bat leaving Cora to hit.
Obviously, the Rockies countered with a lefty so we had Cora against a lefty in the biggest spot of the game with 2 men on. He typically failed and we lost on a walkoff HR.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
I think in that situation you also have to consider
that in the expansive outfield of Coors, Jacobs can score on most hits, especially when it gets to two outs. And if you really want to pinch run, bring in a pitcher to run for god’s sake. Or pinch run Cora and let Tatis pinch hit. So many other choices were better.
by Mackey Sasser on Apr 15, 2010 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the bottom line is: it doesn't matter who is on 2nd if you don't get a hit
and you need to think about putting yourself in the best position to do that.
He should have let Jacobs run and sent out Cora to hit against the righty. They still may have made the change and then you counter with Tatis, getting your optimum matchup of Tatis versus a LHP.
Worst case would be Cora versus a righty and at that point if you were so inclined, you could send Tatis out to run for Jacobs.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
Cora is better against lefties than he is against righties
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
But you don't want Cora up in that situation (at least I don't)
You have to play the matchup game. Jerry had the advantage there and he blew it.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
No, but citing the lefty/righty matchup as the reason why it's a bad idea is incorrect in Cora's case
as he has a reverse split
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions
It's all matching up with the opponent
The sole reason it’s a bad idea is that Cora sucks and Jerry blew his best pinch hitter is a pinch running situation that didn’t need to take place.
I know his splits, but apparantly the Rockies don’t because they went to a lefty when he was announced, which was a perfect opportunity to bring in Tatis.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
Cora sucks in all cases
so the word “better” is used loosely there.
Prediction: Jerry will be fired by the end of this road trip
It would make perfect symmetry….Jerry entered the job on a road trip which involved Colorado…. why not end his job on a road trip which involves Colorado?
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2010 Mets- Hey, we may suck, but what did you expect?
i mean thats not exactly perfect symmetry
but i’ll take it
"I only wanted a few things out of life -- a wife, children, to play baseball and to hunt deer." - Turk Wendell
I think this is going to be the case
and it’s going to be after the game vs. STL that’s NOT on national TV (Friday?)
Goodbye Sir Dr. Sen. Brain SOCKS! D.D.S.R.S.V.P
Sunday
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Apr 15, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
I predict around game 40
right before Beltran comes back. But if he goes, and Omar doesn’t, it’s a pyrrhic victory.
by Mackey Sasser on Apr 15, 2010 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions
In Omars defense,
at least he didn’t do anything crippling this off season in terms of our prospects, knowing his job may be on the line. It’s not much, but, well, you know, I’ll take what I can get.
But if Omar gets fired I will at least be grateful for laying a decent foundation for a better GM to come in and fix things up. That’s what so fucked up about the Mets, things aren’t so awful in that they don’t have a chance to get good, a few tweaks here and there and this team is a competitor next year, it’s just that at this point there is literally almost no hope at all that current management will make those few, small, correct moves to change things. The difference between a Jacobs and a Carter, a GMJ or a Pagan, a Frenchie or a Church, a Cora or whoever else, they just seem to mess up almost everything, big or small.
So, basically we are left watching a team with a reasonably talented core of players in Santana, Pelfrey, Niese, Wright, Bay, Reyes, Beltran. Thats a number 1 pitcher, a number 3 pitcher, a number 4 pitcher, and 4 very productive position players to slot in your lineup. That’s not a bad starting point. But when the other 2 starting pitchers probably don’t belong in the major leagues, and you surround that solid core of position players with incompetence in RF, CF, 2B, and 1B, this is what happens. And to be fair, Frenchie has been good so far, so I won’t even involve him, but if they can’t realize GMJ stinks, Jacobs stinks, etc, what can they realize? It is like torture, knowing that an average group of front office guys could make this team a perennial playoff team.
"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
Nobody is saying Omar is forgiven
Just that he’s minimized any damage of his suck this offseason
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Exactly.
It would have been easy, and very Omar like, for him to go out and trade Mejia or Martinez or somebody for an overpaid bandaid that would have made the fan base and the media excited, but fucked us even more then we already are. I am at least thankful that if Omar were to leave right now, he actually has (maybe by accident) laid a decent foundation for a smarter guy to come in and turn things around. The biggest pieces are in place, and the farm system is getting better every year, it’s the small roster spots that end up killing us. The playing Jake at 1B when we could have Carter and Evans give us so much more production.
"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
So why did we curb Mejia's development again?
"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"
but I want to win now
not in 3 games
"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 Apr 15, 2010 6:58 AM EDT up reply actions
1 for 12, BB, SF 1 RBI with RISP
the only hit an 8th inning single by Barajas. That is 2 games in a row that it took until the 8th to get a hit with RISP
Remember 2006
when we didn’t lose three games in a row until late June in Boston? Now we’ve already lost four in a row in mid-April.
to be fair general practice is to save the closer in extras until you have a lead
should that situation ever arise. The real mistake was having Mejia as the best remaining option at that point in the game. We burned far too many relievers and were left with Mejia and Tak2. Personally, in an extra inning situation I’m pretty sure Tak-2 would have been the smarter choice, but the lefty on righty matchup didn’t look to Jerry good so we went Mejia instead.
by KeithsMoustache on Apr 15, 2010 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions
This stupid stat has to die
Why do teams allow themselves to lose games just so that one pitcher could feel better about a useless stat.
I hope the day comes soon where the Save is done with. Until then perhaps we should start a petition for sites like FanGraphs to completely do away with it and hopefully start some momentum.
in this case its not about saves (which I do agree are stupid)
They save the closer because he’s (supposedly) the best at getting 3 outs without giving up runs. Basically once you’ve used up your closer, you want the game to be over, because everything else from there is downhill. If you use bb-rod early, and don’t score, then you’ve wasted him and have a worse pitcher come in when your team does take the lead. While I don’t like the focus on saves, in this case it makes more sense to save the closer for the final outs.
by KeithsMoustache on Apr 15, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Poor K-Rod.
Two years ago, he thought he could break Trevor Hoffman’s record. At this rate? No, not so much…
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Apr 15, 2010 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
that doesn't make much sense to me
And I think it’s still motivated by the save stat. In extra innings on the road, every bottom-half is equal — and every batter has a chance to end the game in a loss. Even if you take the lead in the top of the 12th, you still have to get through the 10th and 11th to get there. In fact (and I don’t know what Leverage Index thinks about this) you could make a case that the bottom of the inning in which the visiting team takes the lead is less important than the preceding ones, because at least you’ve got a run of wiggle room rather than any run immediately ending the game.
I could go either way on this one
It wasn’t exactly the top of the order coming to bat, it was 5-6-7. If you want to bring your ace reliever into a tight non-save situation, that isn’t exactly the best case. Had it been the middle of the order, I think then it would have been the right move to bring in Rodriguez.
agreed
its not like we got beat by the best part of their lineup. We caught the back end of it, and gave up a fat pitch. Had it been 3-4-5 then i wouldn’t be as upset to see bb-rod in, but in a situation like that I say save him for either the lead or the heart of the lineup.
by KeithsMoustache on Apr 15, 2010 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
This is so awesome
Jerry once again shows how dumb he is, this one being in outright hilarious fashion. Another loss to continue to make jerry and omar look really really bad, and Krod doesn’t finish a game. I really don’t understand what everybody is complaining about. Well, I do understand but I am not evenly cautiously optimistic with this team. I know this team is awful.
by MetsKnicksRutgers on Apr 15, 2010 9:06 AM EDT reply actions
Mejia
While I don’t believe he should be in the majors, if he is going to be here Manuel at least should use him in a way that is both beneficial to the club and won’t curb his development too much.
IMO, the best way to do this is to make Mejia the first guy out of the pen and use him for multiple innings at a time. Let’s face it, our pitching staff sucks and there are going to be many games like these last two where Maine, Niese, Ollie, and, to a lesser extent, Pelfrey will have difficulty getting through 5 innings. In these situations Mejia should be going 2ip at a minimum and preferably 3ip. This way, he isn’t just throwing one inning at a time and he will have to learn to pace himself somewhat.
Obviously, this would preclude Jerry from using Jenrry on back to back days, but I actually think this would be a good thing since it would prevent him from Scott Proctor-ing him. Also, it would have a positive net effect on the bullpen since these guys wouldn’t be throwing an inning a day.
However, it ultimately doesn’t make any sense to have Mejia in this bullpen right now and the reasons are two-fold. 1) As mentioned above, our starting rotation sucks. It is doubtful that Maine lasts the entire season in the rotation and you know the score on the other 3. Mejia should be in the minors working towards a call-up as a starter. 2) It’s not like the organization doesn’t have a slew of bullpen arms. As Adam Rubin noted in his Farm Report on ESPNNY:
Buffalo’s bullpen is stocked with experienced major-league arms, including Elmer Dessens, Manny Acosta and even Bobby Parnell, who set a franchise rookie record with 68 appearances for the Mets last season.
Not to mention that fact that they cut Figgy as well. It really is mind-boggling how Manuel and Minaya have handled putting together this pitching staff.
"Seriously, Lana, call Kenny Loggins ‘cause you’re in the danger zone."
Addendum:
Left out of that Rubin quote is Kiko Calero, who also obviously qualifies as an MLB experienced arm.
"Seriously, Lana, call Kenny Loggins ‘cause you’re in the danger zone."
Things woudl get a lot better
if and when Escobar and Calero are inserted into the bullpen.
by Coolpapabell on Apr 15, 2010 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Would "less worse" really be the same thing as "alot better"?
If so, I concur
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Did any catch
the Mejia discussion last night. I think it was KB that reported that the Jerry and the “front Office” had a pretty lengthy discussion regarding Mejia. Where Jerry insisted that Mejia was a bullpen arm, while other “front office people” strongly disagreed.
I would love to know who these “front office people” are. Do you think its Omar, Jeff, or Ricco?
Strawberry?
He’s the one who’s been yapping that Mejia is Mo, Jr.
Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the street: wheredotheygo?!?!?
Jerry really should be involved in all of those conversations
Wilpon should carefully listen to al of his opinions and then do exactly the opposite of what he suggests.
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Jerry Quote
You Mean there are people in the Bullpen I thought they where Robots
Last night
Several things blew my mind from yesterday.
1. Can someone explain why he double-switched Pagan out for GMJ, only to remove Raul Valdes an inning later. It’s a terrible move regardless, removing one of your better players for one of baseball’s worst, but isn’t the whole point of double-switching to avoid the pitcher’s spot in the batting order, so he can go multiple innings? Maybe I’m missing something.
2. As others have said, the idea that Jerry is involved in discussions regarding premium prospects, let alone “winning” them is beyond the pale. Who knows if that’s true, I would put it past that clown to make shit up to make himself look big time. But if it’s true, really everyone should be fired — Wilpons, Minaya, Ricco, Manuel, the groundscrew, perhaps even Charlie Samuels. GKR and the people behind Taste of the Citi get a pass.
3. There will be a parade through Long Island tomorrow celebrating Smithtown’s Own hitting the ball out of the infield. David Lennon is grand marshall.
4. Dear Kevin Burkhardt: No one gives a shit about the facial hair of Rockies middle relievers. Stick to what you do best: making wrong assumptions about John Maine and making unintentionally hilarious and wrongheaded tweets about Mejia.
If Cat hit that to the warning track
it means Carter would have hit that into bullpen. He went 4 for 4 last night btw.
Carter failed to hit for the cycle. He hit a double in his last AB instead of a HR. He clearly sucks.
On the other hand, he doesn’t kill rallies, so it’s all good.
In lobby campaign for Chris Carter.
Nats fans beg to differ on the who is in the most pain category
Did you see our game last night? Losing 14-7? With our nominal no. 3 starter? Who was given a 3-0 lead, gave that back immediately to lose 4-3? Was given then given a 6-4 lead and lost that one to go 1.1 and be down 7-6? Then watch our bullpen crap all over itself.
I think Niese will be fine by season’s end and the manager must go. Get rid of Jerry and things will improve enough to be tolerable.
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
Close call
The Nats and Mets will probably be fighting it out for 4th this year, but an argument can be made that at least you have a brighter future considering the young talent in the farm system. Now I also happen to know that local DC media have incredibly rose-colored glasses when it comes to their team’s prospects, and they may be overvaluing some of these guys, but it’s a little less painful to be a Nats fan all things considered. But that was a brutal game, and the worst part if you have to endure Carpenter and Dibble through it all.
On second thought, yeah, it is more painful for you.
After you get past Strasburg and Storen it doesn't look but so good
There’s this large inventory of 4th and 5th starter in Syracuse and Harrisburg. There’s Danny Espinosa who may top out to around where Desmond is. But there are no big power hitting 1B prospects like Ike Davis.
The Nats get better because they are so bad they get draft picks that are no brainers who have to help them.
Fix the FO and the Mets get better quick with good resources. The Nats FO is fixed and we still are only getting better one step at a time.
I do think that the Mets should have signed Marquis, though. I didn’t get that one bit. He wanted to play in NY and he’s precisely the kind of not too good but affordable depth option who could keep the fan base pacified in the event that a guy like Maine starts off as badly as he has.
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Marquis would likely have been a mistake on a multi year deal
He’s got name value, but he really isn’t a very good pitcher (at least not good enough that he was worth 2 years). Jason Marquis wasn’t going to really change the outlook of this team, and I’d much rather have 7.5 million less commited to payroll next year than have such a marginal upgrade. At least Maine has sme decent upside on a year to year basis…if he sucks all year we just non-tender him at the end of the season and take a shot in what looks to be a far better free agent pitching market.
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah I wasn't a big fan of Marquis
And it’s funny how he’s being used to market the Nats – “Come see 2009 NL All-Star Jason Marquis.” Really? That’s supposed to get me to the park?
The jury’s still out on the Nats’ front office. There was nowhere to go but up after Bowden, and I really can’t judge the current group as they haven’t made any big splashes one way or the other. I do think that the organization has one disadvantage, and it is that in this market with the number of transient folks who grew up elsewhere (like me) it’s tough to build up a big following until they are successful. And of course it’s tough to be successful without a decent following and a consistent revenue stream.
I actually think Marquis was an excellent fit for the Nats.
They don’t really have to worry about contending or payroll in the next year or two, and guys like Marquis and Livan can keep trotting out there and allow the Nats to handle their prospects correctly. If nothing else, they have some roster filler that may net them something at the deadline next year when they need to make room for some guys.
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
That's kind of why I liked him for the Mets too, though
Marquis is supposed to eat innings to take some pressure off of fuys like Niese. What happens if Niese continues to struggle to get outs?
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Niese and Marquis should really be expected to produce about the same results at this point.
Really you can’t judge too much from one bad start in Colorado, getting a look at Niese in the majors in a year where we’re unlikely to contend is something that will be very useful next offseason. With the payroll the Mets alrady have commited next year, Marquis at 7.5 million would likely handicap them from doing some far more useful moves.
Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...
by Stephen Schmidt on Apr 15, 2010 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah the problem with Marquis, Garland and Davis
is that Niese and Figgy made them useless…of course then we let Figgy go and that plan kind of fell apart
And to top off their greatest season yet the new jersey nets scored 86 points...in double overtime. yes a professional basketball team only mustered 86 points in 58 minutes of basketball.
It didn't have to be Marquis
…but it had to be somebody. What they are trotting out there now is an exercise in FO delusion. The Mets had the money but refused to pull the trigger on someone or have lost that much free agent cred.
I don’t think the transient issue is that bad. It also means there are a lot of people who are used to jumping on bandwagons once they get out of the station. The Caps are big news here.
You hope there’s a plan to amplify the free agent signings once Strasburg comes and more people witness his starts. That they say, “Hey if we had more offensive talent behind Zimmerman and Dunn and they scored a lot when they see a hyped Strasburg start people will come for the other 4 days as well.”
The most depressing thing about the Nats though is the utter and complete lack of offensive talent in the low minors. The draft after Zimmerman was flat out awful and has yielded us not one player of value.
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't think they'll have a major problem
look at the Caps. Strasburg can be their Ovechkin, and once they start winning, they’ll start selling out. Same as every other team
2009 Did Not Happen
yeah they've already got a massive tv viewership from what i understand
people are watching they’re just not doing it from the stadium yet, but if they’re watching on television eventually they’ll get to the stadium.
And to top off their greatest season yet the new jersey nets scored 86 points...in double overtime. yes a professional basketball team only mustered 86 points in 58 minutes of basketball.
Actually, their ratings are horrible
They have the lowest tv audience in baseball. Last I heard approximately 10,000 people per game were watching, which is about 1/3 of what the Royals are doing. That said, I agree – once they start winning, they will draw the fans, both on tv and in the park.
Don't forget about Jordan Zimmerman.
I know coming back from TJ surgery is no guarantee, but he was very impressive before getting hurt.
"Seriously, Lana, call Kenny Loggins ‘cause you’re in the danger zone."
J Zimmerman(n)
Isn’t supposed to be back until August to relieve at best. Yes, that’s the latest pipe dream to sell us JZimm and Wang and Strasburg for next year.
JZim is very a much a wait and see proposition.
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
I saw that score on the ticker
“Philadelphia 14, Washington 7”
Wondered why nobody told me football season had started.
I though we got McNabb to improve the offense?
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
We?
You play for the Redskins?
If you don’t listen to the Sports Reporters on 980, then you probably won’t get that joke.
I do Andy Pollin
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
by souldrummer on Apr 15, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm gonna guess that whoever hosts that show
gets angry when fans use we to describe their team’s actions?
Sorry, reply fail
It’s a running joke on the show – the aforementioned Andy Pollin doesn’t like it when fans say “we” – only players and former players should do it. It’s mostly tongue-in-cheek though he tends to get a bit anal about it – as he does most things.
Andy Pollin annoys me
it’s been a while since I’ve been driving every day (I Metro into the city for work now), but I like the guys who are on mid-day, before John Thompson. I get a kick out of Thompson sometimes, and the Sports Reporters annoy me.
2009 Did Not Happen
Funny, because the Sports Reporters are the only ones I like
They’re a bit over-formatted, but I enjoy the banter, and for some reason really get a kick out of the Czabe. Sheehan and Loverro are okay, but the rest of 980 is just a black hole. The new FM sports talker – 106.7 – isn’t a whole lot better, but at least they have an alternative to listening to Mike and Mike in the morning.
I just find them overly pompous
mostly b/c they totally dismissed the Giants back in ’07, and then after they won the Super Bowl just dismissed them again in the ’08 preseason.
There have been a few other times when they just get on my nerves.
2009 Did Not Happen
Thompson kind of coasts and works his I’m oldtime Anacostia stuff. That’s okay if he has someone to help provide actual information. With Doc Walker now he doesn’t and it becomes style over substance with everything but the Redskins and college basketball.
erskine has scored...now i can die in peace
You don't like Doc Walker?
What, you don’t like a guy whose entire schtick is to repeat "ballin’ over and over and over again? Unfortunately I think all the guys who used to help Thompson sound okay are over on JFK.
I like Thompson
when he talks to his former players, or when he’s talking about college basketball. Other than that I don’t like that show.
2009 Did Not Happen
Right, so I went to sleep in like the 7th inning.
My mom excitedly woke me in the 9th when they tied the game. By the game I was fully done getting up again and downstairs to the TV, it was the transition to the bottom of the tenth. I sit down, get some pretzels, get comfortable. I see Mejia pitching. “WTF?”, I say to myself. “That’s alright”. Next thing I know, Ianetta is launching one over the wall, and the game is over. The only silver lining to this story is that Ianetta is my fantasy back-up catcher. And, that doesn’t make me feel much better about it.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Apr 15, 2010 12:59 PM EDT reply actions
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