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Could Beltran return as right fielder?

Jun 1, 2010 By 1 Comment

Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork gives us an update on the Carlos Beltran saga saying that Carlos hopes to play in actual baseball games within a week.  Real life baseball games.  Wow.  I will remain guarded until he has played in a few and has had no setbacks.

But assuming he does come back, does he come back to his natural center field postion or does he slide over to right?

Manuel also broached what could be a sticky situation regarding Beltran: Could he return as a right fielder if his mobility is reduced by an arthritic right knee? The Mets do have a quality center fielder in Angel Pagan, who was hitting .302 with four homers, 23 RBIs and nine steals through 179 at-bats.

This is an excellent question. It would seem to best help the team, and Beltran, if he did come back as the right fielder. As much as I absolutely love Jeff Francouer he’s killing us at the plate. It makes absolutely no sense to remove Pagan from the lineup given that he’s been playing great ball for us. Frenchy would also provide decent pop off the bench as well as a defensive replacement if needed late in games.

This would all hinge on Beltran agreeing to this and that’s where it gets tricky. Carlos takes a great amount of pride in his prowess in CF and moving him to RF might not be something he’s too keen on. His agent might not like it either given that he is looking for a new contract after next season. I say, propose it to Carlos as a solution for the rest of this season, to help him ease back into game-shape and minimize the wear and tear on his legs, and look to next year for a return to CF. It seems like it could be a mutually beneficial move.

Source: @AdamRubinESPN

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging Tagged With: , , , , ,

It’s time for some changes

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Mets sit today at .500 with an 18-18 record.  Not a bad record all things considered.  But when you scratch beneath the surface you will see a lot more wrong with this team then right.  Take away a few homeruns by Rod Barajas and this season could be quickly barreling out of control.  Here are a few issues and what I think should be done to try to solidify this team.

1) The lineup stinks.  This one is obvious to say the least.  When your start of the season 3-4-5 batters are doing nothing but strikeout, there is a serious problem.  Then when you add in the move of Jose Reyes to the 3rd spot and his doing absolutely nothing, you now have, aside from rookie call-up Ike Davis, the “meat” of your order doing absolutely nothing.

You can’t blame Jerry for the lack of production from Wright and Bay.  These two have been having horrible at bat after horrible at bat and something has to be done.  Jerry has to take some heat for Jose as it was his idea since spring training to bat him 3rd and it’s safe to say it can now be officially called a failure.  It’s time to move Jose back to leadoff and let him be who he is.  He’s totally confused in the 3-spot especially with Jerry continually asking him to bunt from there.  Put Reyes back at leadoff and move Ike up to cleanup.  Bat Wright and Bay in either the 3 and 5 spots.  While I really like Barajas batting in the 8 spot it might not be a bad idea to move him up to like 6th for a little while as he’s on this streak he’s on.  He typically not an idea type of hitter to bat higher, but the truth is the guy is just getting so many clutch hits it’s hard to ignore in a lineup that is at historic lows with RISP.  I’d rather see Pagan bat 2nd and stick Castillo in the 8th spot.  I know this really limits what Castillo can do, but truth is I’d rather see Cora anyways.

2)  Coaching shakeup.

I am not one that likes to see people fired for the sake of shaking things up, but at this point I think Howard Johnson is going to have to go.  It’s not entirely an indictment on him, but at the same time nobody has gotten better under his watch and you can make a case that David Wright has been ruined since working with him.  It’s just time for a new voice.  It’s time to send a message that this offense is not acceptable and we are searching for answers.  The status quo is not acceptable.  It’s not the wholesale clean out that most of us fans want to see, but it’s a start and the truth is – it can’t be any worse then it is now.

3) Rotation changs

As I just wrote in my previous post it’s time for the Ollie P era in queens to be over.  If I never see this guy in a Mets uniform again I will be just fine with that.  I’d rent a car and put him, Garry Matthews Jr and Luis Castillo in it and get them a police escort out of town.  But that’s just me.  It’s time to give Takahashi a shot in the rotation.  The guy has been awesome and deserves the shot.  I understand this will considerably undermine the bullpen, but if we can consistent performance from the 5 spot that should lighten the load a great deal on the bullpen overall.  Ollie is just too much of a liability and too taxing on that bullpen as he consistently goes only 3-4 innings.  This would mean Jerry would have to entrust more to Jenry Mejia but I think he’s up for it.  He will have his hiccups but he’s performed well thus far.

4) Figure out K-Rod

Truth is K-Rod has been horrible this year.  He has very quietly been bad out of the bullpen this year.  He largely got a pass for the end of last season, where he was very bad, as people said it was due to the team being out of contention.  I am starting to think that might have had nothing to do with it and we just got another lemon.  It wouldn’t be the first time the Mets got a bad return on an investment in a closer.  K-Rod is a pro, and I am going to have confidence that he will get it straightened out, but I am very worried about him.  Worried that we might actually be able to solidify the rotation with Ollie gone, and get consistent performance from a bullpen who is then asked to pitch fewer innings, only to have our closer implode and be a disaster.

5) Pray, pray, pray, that Beltran gets back, and is the Beltran of old

I can’t express how much of a lift it would be to actually get Carlos Beltran back and have him perform to what we are used to seeing.  If we are able to hang around the .500 mark and say in the Wild Card pack, no other team would be able to make an acquisition to their club like the Mets would be basically doing by adding Beltran to the mix.  This would be a great lift to the clubhouse, and a great advantage for the team going forward.

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6) Aggressively pursue top end pitcher

There are two obvious candidates out there in Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.  I would personally rather see our target being Lee but Oswalt could be worth a roll of the dice of the price isn’t too high.  Adding an arm like Cliff Lee to pitch with Santana and Pelfrey would make the top end of our staff very competitive.  You’d then only need to fill two more slots behind them, hopefully with John Niese and John Maine.  Adding that one player drastically improves our rotation, solidifies the bullpen.  The cost will probably be high, but as long as it’s neither of the “prospects” that are with the big club now then I am ok with it (ie Ike and Mejia).

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Who Will Be Back First???

Mar 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

We know that all Met fans cannot wait until Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can come back from the DL, who do you think will return first???

[polldaddy poll=2934893]

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Polls Tagged With: , ,

#15 Days ‘Til Opening Day

Mar 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 I think most Met fans will acknowledge that our most talented player is Carlos Beltran. As we always here, he is a five tool player. Lets be honest he is not known to be just a home run hitter but he owns the Mets single season record for homers. Beltran is a very underappreciated player on this team but this team can only go as far as the core goes and I think Met fans were able to see the true value of Beltran last season when he was absent and the team went right off the deep end.

Beltran was also a big time volleyball player in his native of Puerto Rico but was convinced to quit playing by his father to concentrate on baseball. Carlos ended up becoming a second round pick of the Royals out of high school. Beltran came up in 1998 and became the clubs #3 hitter in his 1999 Rookie of the Year campaign in which he hit .293 with 22 HR’s, 108 RBI and 27 SB’s.

Beltran struggled with injuries and was replaced by Johnny Damon in 2000, however after Damon was dealt to Oakland, Beltran regained his spot and has a stellar 2001 season, Beltran also put up consistant seasons in ’02 and ’03. As free agency loomed, Beltran was dealt to the Astros for the pennant race in 2004. Beltran followed with one of the best postseasons ever as he mashed 8 HR’s to tie Barry Bonds for the All-time record. Beltran hit his stride just in time for a free agent windfall.

The Mets were coming off 4 losing seasons and the Wilpon’s finally opened up the piggybank for new GM Omar Minaya. Minaya signed Pedro Martinez to pair up with youngsters David Wright and Jose Reyes. Beltran finally came on board after the Yankees declined to give him as much money. Beltran finally signed for 7-years and 119 million. Beltran had a poor 2005 season as compared to his salary and Met fans let him know about it.

Early in ’06 when Beltran hit a home run to take the lead, he had to be pryed out of the dugout by Julio Franco to take a curtain call. He was affected by the crowd’s distaste for him in ’05. Beltran did play hurt in ’05 and came back early from a concussion when Mike Cameron never came back. I think some of the negatives come with making $20 mill and had to say I was disappointed that Beltran showed his distain to the fans.

Beltran moved past this incident and has a great 2006 season, he had 41 bombs and many clutch moments but most Met fans still blame him for game 7′s called strike three. I don’t, I blame the manager, if he played small ball Beltran would not have been in that position. Going to Floyd to hit a homer, basically left Beltran having to do the same thing. With the way Wainwright was pitching, having to hit a homer was a mighty tall order.

Beltran continued to have great seasons in ’07 and ’08 and was one the guys who did not completely fade down the stretch. Beltran’s homer to tie the last game art Shea, once again showed how Carlos was clutch and always could handle the big moment. Beltran’s knees caught up to him in 2009 and the Mets completely faded without him, once again proving what a valuable member he is to the team. This season we are all counting the days until Carlos can come back and help this team because Met fans have learned without him we don’t have much of a shot but with him anything could be possible for old numer #15! I think Beltran has some things in his past that might make you not like him, big salary, wanted to sign with Yanks, called strike 3, injures but face it Met fans his is a Met and we need him big time if we are ever going to make it back to the promised land, so cheer him and lets go ‘Los!!!!

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging, Mets History Tagged With: , ,

Sit down Mets fans, we need to have a talk

Mar 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

Please have a seat.  It’s time we talked man to man about our beloved Mets.  It’s spring training, for the other 29 teams it’s a great time of year.  As a fan your allowed to dream big, you can imagine your team playing important baseball in September, maybe it’s a playoff run your looking to, maybe it’s even getting all the way to the World Series.  It’s all possible in spring training, and that’s why it’s such a cool time of year.

Unless your a Mets fan.

It’s time we took a look at our beloved Mets.  We need to realistically start to come to terms that this season is much more likely to be a train-wreck then it is to end in any semblance of pride.  The news about Beltran first and now Jose Reyes is like going to a five year old on Christmas eve and telling him Santa doesn’t exist.  I feel robbed of my spring dreaming.  I knew it was a long shot trust me, but I allowed myself to have hope.  To imagine everything actually going right like Omar and the Wilpons have cooked up.  It’s time to burst that bubble.

When a guy knows his best-friend’s girlfriend is cheating on him, he doesn’t just sit there and listen to him croon about how in love he is, he sits him down and tells him.  It’s to protect him from great pain in the future.  Consider this your warning folks.  Put down the blue and orange Kool-Aid and listen to me.

Lower your expectations.  A lot.  We haven’t even had one meaningful pitch yet this season and we have lost arguably our 2 most important players for a long period of time.  The Mets are saying Reyes is out for 2-8 weeks.  This is a bit misleading  from my point of view.  The way I read it is he is restricted from physical activities for 2-8 weeks.  What are they going to do just toss him back onto Citi Field the day he is cleared?  No, he’s going to need at the least a mini-spring training to get into shape.  Remember this is a guy coming off leg issues that sidelined him for most of last year, so you absolutely can not rush him.  If Reyes is back before June 1st I think we should consider ourselves lucky.

Run through a scenario with me.  Lets say Reyes is cleared and good to go by opening day, that’s less then 3 weeks away.  He’s now ready to do an extended spring training down in Port St. Lucie to work back into game shape.  Jose is the type of guy that wants to get back as soon as possible and want to prove people wrong.  Not to mention he’s playing for a contract mind you.  Tell me you can’t see the reports now of Jose suffered a setback to his hamstrings because he was working too hard too fast?  Remember that Omar and Jerry don’t have the liberty of patience.  They absolutely need to be off to a good start, anything less and they could be, should be, gone.  There are no excuses this year.

Call me a pessimist but this season is quickly unraveling before our eyes.  We are supposed to believe that things can go completely right and we can compete and make the playoffs.  Unfortuantely wheels are already flying off!  Things are already NOT going right.  Now we are expected to compete with Pagan and Cora playing long stints?   How long till Cora’s thumbs fall off again?  It’s gonna be like domino’s.  And that’s not even considering any setbacks by Beltran.

It’s time for us to open our eyes and take a good raw look at this team, even if the management wont.  Let them continue to count their billion dollar business on “hopes” and “maybes.”  I am starting to feel like we used up all our baseball karma in that Game 6 so many years ago and we have been repaying a deal with the devil ever since.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

CF: Carlos, get well soon!

Feb 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As spring training fast approaches I want to go around-the-horn on the projected Mets opening day lineup position by position. I will talk about my thoughts on how that position matches up and how it should be handled. Hope you enjoy.

When the news spread like wildfire that Carlos Beltran was gonna need to be shut down for the first 40 games or so to have surgery on his knee, the sky quickly began to fall in Mets land.  The reason for this is quite simple: Carlos Beltran is the best player on the team.  Losing him for any length of time could prove fatal to the Mets hopes.  This is why I think it was a good thing to have the surgery.  Yes it did unfortunately bridge last years injury woes right into this year and that’s not good for morale, but I would much rather lose Beltran for the first 40 games then the last 40.

Luckily for the Mets CF is arguably their deepest position with Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr. acting as backup.  Turning to either of these guys for a little while is ok, but if either of them see prolonged action then the Mets are in trouble.  It’s imperative to get Beltran healthy and to not rush him back.  We need to know that when he gets back he is back for good.  If he comes back and then two weeks later goes down again the ramifications on team morale will be bad, and the sky will really be crashing down for Mets fans as we relive an all too familiar scenario from last year.

When healthy Beltran is one of the best centerfielders in the league.  He is also one of the under-appreciated players in the game.  If you take a minute and actually look at his stats they are really impressive.  He isn’t the guy that’s gonna win a batting title, or get chicks with the long ball.  But he will consistently hit from .280-.310, hit 20-30 dingers, and drive in 100+ runs a year.  All while playing a Gold Glove CF.  He’s really the backbone of the Mets and it’d really be a shame if he weren’t a Met beyond 2011 because of bad blood built through this injury/surgery fiasco.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why batting Reyes third might work, for now.

Feb 23, 2010 By 1 Comment

I am a bit of a contrarian by nature.  So ever since Jerry Manuel first talked about moving Jose Reyes to the third hole I have been basically calling him crazy.  After about a week listening to everyone go on and on about how bad an idea it is, I wanted to see if I could come up with a way it works.  Here is my best shot.

The main problem for us is that we are operating on things we know.  Unfortunately there is a lot we don’t know.  With that in mind I think Jerry’s idea to move Jose into the 3-hole has a lot to do with his legs holding up.  By taking him out of the lead off spot I think they are hoping it will slow him down a bit.  He wont feel like he has to steal a base every time he is on  base.  I think had Beltran not gone down with an injury this would never have been a consideration, but for 4o games or so I think they are trying to use it as a way to ease Reyes back into the season.  Let him get into baseball shape and literally get his legs under him.

The second consideration I had was when you look at a Beltran-less lineup the truth is our 5-6-7-8 hitters don’t scare anyone:

1) Reyes  2)Castillo 3) Wright 4) Bay 5) Francoeur 6) Murphy 7) Pagan  8) Barajas

You can see what I mean.  Even as much as I like Frenchie he truly isn’t a 5 hitter.  And as much as I hope to see Murphy step up, we can’t bank on that.  So I think what Jerry is trying to do is to just push back our main players a bit and spread the linup out.  Here is how it might break down with Reyes at 3:

1) Pagan 2) Castillo 3) Reyes 4) Bay 5) Wright 6) Francoeur 7) Murphy 8 Barajas

You have to admit the second lineup (based on last years performance anyway) looks much better.  So I can almost understand what Manuel is thinking here even if my first reaction is thinking he’s crazy.

In the end I think I still stand against it.  I think we are just creating more variables by moving people around.  Any way you cut it the loss of Beltran for 40 games will hurt our lineup, but by shuffling people and asking Reyes to bat in a new spot might hurt him long after Beltran has returned.

One thing it did do though is help me appreciate our lineup when Beltran gets back, I think it looks pretty darn good:

1) Reyes 2) Castillo 3) Beltran 4) Bay 5) Wright 6) Francoeur 7) Murphy 8 Barajas

Jerry seems pretty stubborn about moving Reyes to third so I think we might actually see this happen.  If it does I suppose it wont hurt to try it, but regardless of everything else, the second that Beltran is back he is our 3 hitter and Reyes needs to be immediately moved back to the lead off spot.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging Tagged With: , , , ,