Will Jerry Manuel ever explain his man crush for Fernando Tatis?

Not sure if Luis Castillo is hurt or Jerry just refuses to sit Fernando Tatis. Tatis gets a start at 2nd base tonight. Thankfully no Mr A Reyes in the lineup.

Alex Cora
Fernando Tatis
David Wright
Gary Sheffield
Ryan Church
Nick Evans
Fernando Martinez
Omir Santos
Johan Santana

Mets exhale No surgery for Carlos Beltran.

The NY Daily News is reporting the Mets gold glove centerfielder will not need surgery. He will need rest through the All Star break.

The specialist agreed with the Mets crack medical staff but thinks he should remain inactive through the all star break.

Mets fans can breath easier and now can go back to beating up on the Mets brass.

Awaiting News on Carlos Beltran : The Kiss of Death

As Mets fans call for someone head on a platter on the local airwaves this morning the Mets and there fans wait on news on Carlos Beltran and his second opinion in Colorado.

Of course with reading the possibilities that some of the media has written, we hope for once that the Mets crack medical staff has it correct. Just a bone bruise.

If the Mets lose Beltran for any length of time we can tell Mr Met we will see him in 2010. This microfracture surgery that Carlos might need will render him to the DL for the remainder of this year and beyond. It is also possible that he might not be the same player he was if he needs surgery on his knee.

Of course at this point Carlos probably already knows what the diagnosis is. Maybe the Mets do as well. Will there be Omar in front of a podium today? I really hope not. I am not ready to kiss 2009 goodbye!

The More I See Reyes, The More I Miss Reyes

Last night Reyes started at SS and batted leadoff! Fantastic! Oh, it was Argenis...

Reyes, batting leadoff, was a stellar 0-5, dropping his league leading avg. to .083. Possibly a league worst leading...

For all those Jose Reyes detractors - you know the one who wears #7 and bats lead-off, usually leads the league in triples and stolen bases - , one of which I am not, how badly do you miss him now?

Argenis Reyes might be a nice complementary second baseman to Jose Reyes, while the Mets are healthy, but when they are such a M*A*S*H unit, Reyes doesn't deserve to be on the pro level.

I have been a Jose Reyes supporter since the day he first stepped on the field, and I haven't changed my opinion. Yes, he has mental lapses and needs to mature, but there isn't a player in the game who can electrify a game and a team the way he can. He can single handedly change the outcome of a game with his sheer speed and hustle. How badly does this team need him?

I won't "knock" Argenis, he is doing the best he can. That is what is so terrifying. If his best is a .083 Avg., then this team hasn't begun to see the complete belly flop that is about to begin. A bigger question is why is he batting leadoff? I would have put Sheffield at leadoff before Argenis. I know Jerry doesn't have much to work with, and half of his players should be playing twice a week, not six or seven times per week, but he has to MANAGE the situation better.

On a brighter note, Fernando Martinez, after going 2-5, raised his batting avg. to .183.

Below .500 oh joy

Now we can spend the day saying , oh if we win we are back to .500. Does it matter. I mean we have Argenis Reyes batting lead off. We have Fernando Tatis playing second in a double switch. Brian Stokes giving up a grand slam to the guy who just gave us life the inning before. Then of course David Wright getting another meaning less hit in the 9th inning to drive in a run. Now for the last week everyone is like the Mets need to make a trade. Of course though with every loss the price goes up.

Now we hear rumblings about Beltrans second opinion. If its serious will he have to go to season ending surgery. The Mets are now 3 games out and in 3rd place.

What to do? If the Mets make a trade it needs to be big because 1 player is not going to cut it . Especially if we do not see Beltran coming back for weeks at a time. Adam Rubin jokingly makes a comment today that the Mets should sell. Hmmm is it a joke?

Carlos Beltran still holds a outfield spot for All Star Game even with being on DL

Carlos Beltran has 169,000 vote lead going into the final few days of voting for the upcoming All Star Game being held in St Louis on July 14th. He is in 3rd place ahead of Alfonso Soriano. Will he be able to play is the question if he is voted in as a starter.

David Wright looks like a lock at this point at 3rd . They votes below.

THIRD BASEMEN David Wright, Mets, 2,049,487 Chipper Jones, Braves, 1,351,455 Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals, 1,301,577

OUTFIELDERS Raul Ibañez, Phillies, 2,970,139 Ryan Braun, Brewers, 2,654,061 Carlos Beltran, Mets, 2,085,028 Alfonso Soriano, Cubs, 1,916,598 Shane Victorino, Phillies, 1,642,248

Hey David Wright time to change your Philosophy again!

4 home runs. The man who has hit 30 over the last couple of years has 4. 3 of those homers are at Citi Field and 1 on the road. If you have watched Wright you can tell that he is more in tune to spraying the ball.
Of course there was speculation that it was done due to the dimensions of pitcher friendly to the extreme ballpark the Mets play in now.

Well of course Wright came out this weekend when he spoke on the airwaves that he changed his Philosophy to be a gap to gap hitter. Well David time to change it again. How about hitting the ball over the left field wall. Did you see Nick Swisher do it? If not did you see Jorge Posada do it? Did you see the ball Jeter hit off the wall? Yes I know your more of an opposite field hitter and balls go to die by the bullpen some 400+_ft away. Why can’t you just hit the ball down the left field line? Lift the ball and hit it to left field. It is called pulling the ball. If you need me to I will send you a video. Why do we need these bubble heads to change to a Philosophy that does not work? He has been stuck on 39 rbi’s it seems since May. Yes I know there are 3 guys out of the lineup. Why though just give up hitting a 4 bagger?

Yes David you can hit homers here Do you want to be a number 2 hitter now? Time to change and pull the ball. If Ho Jo can’t help then he needs to go because I am sorry your choice right now stinks.

The Wasted Summer of 2009.

Wow that was fun. There is nothing like watching your team over a weekend series and when you look for the positives you just have to let out a laugh like Jerry Manuel did in his post game interview. He was mentioning that he needs to find offense with who he has and one of the reporters commented “where?” Jerry let a huge laugh. Which if you listen on the radio waves this morning people were upset from that. I am like the guy is under a lot of stress and just let out a laugh because the comment was funny. Let it go.

Jerry has said that .500 is a benchmark and you can now here comments in the clubhouse regarding the need for the Mets to add a hitter which you can read about at the NY Daily News .

Well the season started out bright but with all these injuries what happens day in and day out can be tough. We have David Wright who has giving up hitting anything in the air/long balls and is only spraying the ball for singles and doubles. We have Daniel Murphy having mental lapses trying to make a bang bang play and then dropping a throw on a double play. The game was over right in that first inning.

Of course the icing on the cake is the walk to Rivera. We finally had some decent weather here in NY for a change this weekend. Of course now we head to Milwaukee so we can see Gump smiling at the teams misfortunes.

The line that we have just hold the line until the big guys come back is just not cutting it. Hey Omar either do something or sell. 4-6 more weeks of this and this will be just the longest season the Mets have had in a long time. Don’t waste our summer Omar.

Oliver Perez pitches well in Brooklyn: No Ryan Church Tonight.

Oliver Perez only walked 1 batter in his start today for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He pitched 5 innings , struck out 6 and gave up only 2 hits. It is only rookie ball but I am looking at the fact he only walked one batter. No word on his next start as of yet.

Ryan Church was scratched from tonight's lineup. Probably due to the illness that was going on around the Yankee Clubhouse.

The Mets will have Daniel Murphy leading off tonight. Followed by Cora, Wright, Sheffield, Tatis , F Mart, Schneider, Castillo and good ole Livan Hernandez.

Maybe we can get 1 win this weekend and double the 4 hit attack we have had over the last 2 games. Anybody?

Mets lose out on Mark DeRosa

Well if the Mets were looking to add versatility to there infield they missed out. The Cardinals traded for Mark De Rosa yesterday for pitcher Chris Perez and the infamous player to named later goes to the Cleveland Indians.

There are about 5 weeks left before the end of July trading deadline. There are still many teams still involved in there divisions races so there are way too many teams buying.

No Way Jose

Jose Reyes, although showing improvement, is still a long way off from joining the Mets lineup.

Reyes took grounders before yesterday’s 5-0 Met loss to the Yankees.

Reyes when speaking of his return said, “I don’t want to get on the field and have a setback again because that’s not going to be good for me. I have to make sure I’m all ready to go. They know what type of game I play. I’m the guy who relies so much on explosiveness, and if I don’t have that, that’s not going to be me.”

The Mets, for once using common sense, are not looking to rush Reyes back, “If I get him back soon, it’s like a bonus for us,” said Manuel, also adding, “You’re talking about an explosive individual trying to be that at 85 percent. That’s a little difficult. It’s probably easier for a guy that’s not that explosive to handle 85 percent than it is Jose Reyes.”

Reyes’ workouts have been increasing, and he spent two hours in the weight room working on his lower body after practicing yesterday. The true sign will be how much discomfort he has this morning after his lengthy workout. Reyes is hoping the Mets will listen to him when he says he’s ready to return. He believes he is at about 85%, which he estimates that he would be able to score from first on a double. At this time, the Mets will hold him back, not letting him return until he is at full strength.

Although there is no date for when he will return, it is expected that he will be out until after the All Star break, which is two weeks from Monday.

Another concern Manuel has is that once he starts getting his big boys back, Beltran, Reyes, and possibly DelGado, that they will try to do too much, thinking it is up to them to turn this team around. He doesn’t want them coming back to all that pressure, and feel they have to do it all.

Source: Ben Shpigel - NY Times

To Error Is The Mets, A Loss Is The Outcome

In the second inning of the Mets 9-1 blowout at the hands of the Yankees, they committed three errors. Wright, Cora, and Evans all participated in an inning that reminded me eerily of The Bad News Bears.

Wright made an error the way he usually does, throwing the ball away while trying to field a slow roller up the third base line.

Cora, usually sure handed, made an errant throw to Luis Castillo covering
second.

Evans, not to be outdone, mishandled a routine grounder by Mark Teixiera. The ball was bobbled in his glove, rolled out, fumbled it with his hand in foul territory, and then was unable to beat Tex to the bag. After such a display of ineptitude, the Mets found themselves down 4-0.

* The last time the Mets had three errors in one inning was back on July 20, 2004 in the ninth when Mike Piazza (1B), Kaz Matsui (SS), and Todd Zeile (3B) were the culprits in the Mets 11-4 loss to the Cardinals.

* Stat Received From CBS Sportsline

Subway Series looking for the unexpected.

I am sure that the Luis Castillo play will be shown at least 50 times this weekend. Nice little reminder on how he blew a win for the Mets 2 weeks ago. Something that no could have predicted. Well that’s what I want this weekend. Something different to go on in Shea Nu with the Yankees playing in flushing . We have the following matchups.

Pelfrey 5-2 vs Sabathia 6-4

Redding 1-2 vs Burnett 5-4

Hernandez vs Wang 0-6

I mean do we have to go 1-2 or 2-1? Come on wouldn’t it be more fun just to sweep the Yankees? NO one would expect the Mets in this state to accomplish that. Wouldn’t that be so much fun on Monday around the water cololer talking how the flushing feeble waxed the big bats of the Yankees. Does anyone really talk around the water cooler?

Oh come on you know that the entertainment value on the local airwaves will be priceless. People will be calling for heads. Francessa will have to sit there and let the Met fans have there day while the Yankees fans will be looking for Girardi’s head

Going 1-2 or 2-1 and it will be a ho hum series . There will be excuses made for the Mets since there all on the DL. Rather just go for the sweep. Now that would be unexpected.

Mets and Omar Minaya inquire about the Indians Cliff Lee.

Ok maybe it’s a little dated but I find it interesting to know that Omar Minaya has inquired about the Indians Cliff Lee.

In an article from Monday by Murray Cass there is a little blurb about how Omar Minaya had inquired about the Indians Cliff Lee in the not so distant past.

Why would the Mets look for another starter unless they plan to trade one in return. The timing of it is odd since the Mets have the need for a couple of bats but with Ollie possibly floundering in the minors on rehab is it that far fetched for the Mets to look for another starter?

The price for Lee is pretty steep and I doubt the Mets could pull it off. With the Mets fill in starters Tim Redding doing ok and Fernando Nieve being lights out and battle horse Livan Hernandez giving 7 innings a start as the Mets number 5 starter I really think the Mets would not be wise to give up talent for a pitcher.

Is Darling #1?

Ron Darling has grown to be one of the best baseball analysts on television. He, along with Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez make the best tandem on the tube. The three work off one another real well.

You have Cohen, the ever-loving Met fan, Darling the cerebral analyst, and Hernandez the true fire-in-the-belly Captain, who is prone to being distracted when the game is less than interesting. I loved it the other night when Gary asked Keith a question, and Keith replied, “I’m sorry Gar, I wasn’t paying attention, I was looking at my shoe…”

All three are tops at their craft, but Darling is emerging as not only a tremendous SNY announcer, but a national baseball announcer without compare.

In a Michael McCarthy - USA Today article, Darling is compared to former Met and former Yankee announcer Tim McCarver. McCarver could never hold a candle to Darling. Darling is well prepared, knows the game, knows the teams he is covering, and can offer better insight than McCarver ever could. Darling isn’t a gamer, and tells it like it is. He is quick to offer criticism of Mets and their opponents alike. McCarver on the other hand, has issues with the Mets years after his dismissal from their broadcasting team, much the way Steve Phillips still has animosity towards the team that employed him as GM. These emotions are truly evident when McCarver and Phillips are called to cover Met games.

According to Darling’s boss over at TBS, Jeff Behnke, when comparing Darling to McCarver and Joe Morgan, "We feel Ron is right there with those guys. Ron is not afraid to criticize players. He's not afraid to talk about umpires or managers in the course of a broadcast."

Joe Morgan might be the worst analyst on television, and McCarver is 15 years past his prime. Granted, I never liked McCarver, even when he was announcing for the Mets. He has an arrogant pompousness that is impossible to stomach. Darling on the other hand, who might be the most intelligent broadcaster out there, offers cerebral insight, while not coming across as condescending.

I am not just in Ron’s corner due to our friendship (Ron Darling & Metsfan73), but based solely on the fact that he has become the best.

Curt Gowdy, Jr. when hiring Darling to be on SNY with Cohen and Hernandez in SNY’s inaugural season in 2006 said, "We talked about keeping it simple — and zeroing in on his focus, which is pitching.” Great job by Gowdy and SNY; Ron Darling is the perfect compliment to Cohen’s fandom and sense of Met history, and Hernandez’ fire and un- acceptance of mediocrity.

SNY will show a Mets loss

Can wonder ever cease? Fernando Tatis can get a hit with runners on first and 3rd. The Mets can win a series. Now we learn SNY will show a Mets loss. According to Mets classics I did not realize the Mets were capable of losing.

According to Newsday.com SNY will show the first game of the 1969 World Series ono July 18th which will be the first time on that SNY will replay a Mets loss. SNY showed a couple of years ago the '69 World Series games 2-5 and I was like hello its ok to show a loss. It kind of builds the drama especially for game 2. I mean Kooz has to pitch after Seaver lost game 1. Talk about pressure.

Well it is nice to see that in this day and age that reality can set it for a short while. Just make sure that SNY doesn't go overboard with showing all these losses. If there was 1 other loss I would like to see is the Mets first game played that was televised way back in 1962.

Lunch time with Johan Santana.

The Mets have an afternoon game today with Johan Santana 8-5 going against revitalized Chris Carpenter. The Mets look to take 3 out of 4 from the first place Cardinals. The Mets lineup today is.

Cora,Castillo,Wright,Church,Tatis,Martinez,Evans,Santos and the ole mighty Johan

I am surprised that Alex Cora did not get the game off. Also F Mart needs to get his stick going. He needs to find away to get on base . The Mets can’t afford to let there rookie flounder and lose what little confidence he has.

Rubin On The FAN

This morning Adam Rubin was a guest of morning host Craig Carton on WFAN.

Rubin's interview reviewed much of what he had in his latest: Adam Rubin - Surfing The Mets.

On John Maine: Rubin said he will probably be activated by Thursday next week. Redding will probably be the odd man out, and possibly be reassigned to the bullpen.

Carlos Beltran: Is looking to get a second opinion from his own doctor. Rubin said the Mets weren't yet informed of this, and Carton asked how this could be made public, but the Mets not informed. Rubin explained he got his information from Beltran's agent, Scott Boras's, people. He went on to say he believes that Beltran will be out a bit longer than the 15 days required with this stint on the DL.

Jose Reyes: Is still having problems and may very well be out many more weeks.

Oliver Perez: When he returns will most likely be put in the bullpen due to how well Fernando Nieve has pitched.

Gary Sheffield: Is not playing today, but expect to play this weekend against the Yankees. He was willing to play in this series against the Cardinals, but it is customary to wait 48 hours after receiving a cortisone shot for his ailing knee.

To listen to Adam Rubin click on link: Adam Rubin On WFAN - June 25, 2009

Tacos In The Booth?

Long Island Met Fan’s Taco Eating Buddy (24 Hours...4-30-09), Kevin Burkhardt, will be doing play-by-play for the Mets this afternoon in the series finale against the Cardinals. Burkhardt is filling in for Gary Cohen, who will be attending the high school graduation of his twins.

Source: Adam Rubin - Surfing The Mets

Mets finally have laugher and win!

They scored the most runs they have all season. Fernando Tatis only grounded into 1 double play. Bobby Parnell got 3 outs and allowed no runs. Argenis Reyes got a single. Is it x-mas?

In a game marred by incredibly sloppy play by the Cardinals the Mets beat them 11-0. Fernando mania is griping flushing. Mr Nieve pitched 6 innings of a shut out ball on a anight he clearly did not have the command he had the other 2 starts. His ERA is under 2.00. Sorry Jerry I do not care if Ollie is back in a week. He goes to the bullpen. Nieve has the mojo now!

David Wright had 4 hits and no rbi's . Ryan Church had 3 hits including a double halfway up the left field fence. Mets slugger Brian Schnieder missed a shot of his 3rd 3run homer when he hit the ball off the wall in right field plating 2. Tatis even had 2 hits and 3 rbi's on a night he hit into his team leading 10th double play. Nick Evans got into the action with a tank of a swing that netted him a 2 run homer. Never seen the boy swing so hard.

Mets had 16 hits on a night the Cardinals sleep walked in the field making many mental mistakes. I would hate to be in that clubhouse after that game.

Hopefully the Mets did not use up all there hits when they hit against Chris Carpenter this afternoon.

Mets line up 1 for the ages. Mets DFA Jon Switzer

The Mets have a lineup tonight that is destined for futility….

Cora,Castillo,Wright,Church, Double play artist Fernando Tatis batting 5th , F-Mart, Nick Evans gets a start at first , Schneider and Nieve.

The Daily News is reporting that the Mets designated left Jon Switzer for assignment and Argenis Reyes is the likely replacement.

The Latest on Jon Niese. Down on the farm

In his latest report about the Mets farm system Adam Rubin discusses Mets prospect Sam Honeck who is playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He was just picked and singed earlier this month by the Mets as the 344 pick in the draft. Other items to note.

Jon Niese seems to have his act together. He back to back scoreless efforts and is working on a 18/13 innings streak of not allowing a run.

Adam Bostick was moved up to Buffalo where he had 6 appearances without allowing a hit. He was part of the Matt Lindstrom trade.

Ike Davis, the Mets first pick in the 08 draft went 2 for 2 with 2 walks upon his first appearance for the Binghamton squad who has lost 7 on a row.

Mets are not hitting homers in the Major nor in the minors. Who leads the Mets minors in home runs. F Mart with 8 , who has spend most of June with the big club . Pathetic.

Gary Sheffield hurting Fernando Tatis leads team in what?

With the Mets coming off a 3-0 lost to the Cardinals last night the team is missing the little punch that Sheffield has provided. He has 8 home runs so far but as not played in this series. Sheff might not even play today. His leg must be hurting something fierce that we need to have Fernando Tatis batting 4th.

What does Fernando Tatis lead the team in? He has hit into 9 double plays so far this year. 3 over the last 2 games with Wright on at first.

With the bullpen having some time off the Mets might bring up Argenis Reyes. The Mets have no real back up at short and second . With the Mets playing a game on Thursday we might see the week hitting infielder in the lineup very shortly.

Breakfast with Jerry Manuel. The latest on Jose Reyes.

The Mets manager Tuesday morning spent some time with fans at the Hard Rock café in NY city along with afternoon drive time host Mike Francessa.

The topics that were discussed were plenty and the boys over at Eddy Kranepool society were lucky enough to be there.

Jose Reyes was brought up and to here Jerry try to explain Jose injury was quite entertaining. It seems that Mr Manuel does not understand what is wrong with his shortstop other then he his hurt. It seems that this injury will take a long time to heal and even if they talk that he could be back before or at the All Star break might be wishful thinking?

It was nice to see them do this for the Met fans but why do they never do something like this on long island? It is like we are the red headed step child.

Omar On WFAN...Same Old Same Old

This afternoon Omar Minaya was a guest of Mike Francesa on WFAN.

Some topics Omar discussed:

Jose Reyes - Omar believes is more than a week away. He seems OK during practice, but when it comes to games, that's when the leg gives him problems.

Carlos Beltran - is on the 15 day DL, but Omar believes it will be longer, possibly after the All Star Break. He is now on crutches, and will use orthotics when he returns to action.

When discussing the injury situation, Omar says he wants to stay competitive and concluded by saying, "Hopefully we'll win some series here and there..." If that doesn't exude confidence...

On trade possibilities: There isn't much out there and more teams are in the race that were expected to be in the selling mode, i.e. the Rockies. He also admitted that the asking price for some players is prohibitive.

Fernando Martinez - Omar thinks F-Mart is ready, and can hit the fastball, but has to prove he can handle off speed pitches. He also declared he believes that Martinez will do better this time with the club. Omar, he was only down three days.

Daniel Murphy - Omar is not disappointed with Murphy thus far. He advised that Murphy is going to learn how to adjust better at the plate, and hit to the opposite field.

The lack of power this team has: He doesn't blame Gil Hodges Memorial Park. He said that the guys are not performing.

David Wright - discussing his lack of power this year, Omar said, "When all is said and done, David Wright will get his homeruns..." Time is running out Omar.

On Jerry Manuel: "Jerry has done a very good job." Hey Omar, I like Jerry, but there is no way you can say he has done a very good job. He has done poorly in managing his bullpen, he hasn't used Ryan Church fairly nor well, and his lack of using Brian Stokes is inexcusable.

On the Minor Leaguers: Omar mentioned that the Minor League system is doing well in terms of talent. He specifically mentioned Brad Holt and Humberto Mejia as good young prospects.

For the full interview with Omar:

Omar On WFAN - June 23, 2009

Fernando Martinez starts in Center tonight. Gary Sheffield sits.

In game 2 of the Mets vs Cards, the Mets will have basically the same line up tonight as last nights power house line up except Reed will sit and F mart will play center.

The Mets will sit Gary Sheffield another day and hot hitting Fernando Tatis back off his 2 double play outing of last night gets to bat 4th again. I know there is so much talk about his long swing from the boys in the booth do you think it gets down to him since I don’t see much of an adjustment from him. This year’s Marlon Anderson really needs to right his ship.

Cora,Murphy,Wright,Tatis,Church,Santos,Martinez,Castillo,Hernandez

17 home runs in this lineup and Murph has more then Wright!!!!

How many bats do the Mets need?

Now with Carlos Beltran down for 2 weeks the airwaves are filled with fans that say the Mets are done. Are they? Did they show it last night? No..They did pretty good with guys like Daniel Murphy, Luis I don’t use 2 hands Castillo and Omir Santos who had 4 hits. Can they keep it up? Wouldn’t it be fun if they did?

Ok when you place Fernando Tatis batting 4th with his whopping 13 rbi’s and 2 homeruns to go with his 1 for 18 batting avg with 2 outs and runners in scoring position you know your in trouble. Of course he hit into a couple of plays which of course was all the rage especially when Kevin Burkhardt interviewed Felix Millan of the 73-77 Mets during the broadcast. He looked ready to play! Of course the 4 double play game came up and Felix mentioned that Joe Torre blamed him since Felix was too slow to at least leg out 1 double! Good stuff.

Oh yeah how many bats do the Mets need ? Too many….but hey they didn’t need any extra big guns last night!

Mets new relievers Elmer Dessens and Pat Misch.

The Mets brought up 2 new relievers yesterday Elmer Dessens and Pat Misch to help the tired bullpen. Dessens has been used as a closer down in Buffalo. That job for the time being might belong to Eddie Kunz. The 38 year old Dessens, who has a careeer 48-62 record and a 4.56 ERA has played for 8 major league teams, had 11 saves with a 2.31 ERA with the Bisons. He has struck out 28 in 35 innings and has walked 9. I look forward to seeing him pitch in flushing hopefully sometime this week.

Pat Misch, who was released from the Giants Earlier this year after posting a 10.80 ERA was brought up to assist left Pedro Feliciano . The 27 year old lefty was not too effective for Buffalo posting a 6.14 ERA over 7 innings. He struck out 6 and walked 2.

Perez Pummeled As Pitching Problems Persist

"Maine likely, Oliver not likely." Words uttered by Mets GM Omar Minaya when asked about the possibility of John Maine and Oliver Perez returning this week.

Maine pitched well yesterday, throwing four innings surrendering one run on two hits with three walks and a strikeout. He threw 60 pitches and got the win for St. Lucie.

O.P. on the other hand, had his head handed to him. Perez allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings. Although only two of the runs were earned, the Mets need more out of Perez, who started the second game of the doubleheader at St. Lucie. It's not like he's facing Albert Pujols.

I was all for re-signing Perez, but after seeing him deteriorate since 2007, I might have been a bit delusional. There are still two more years remaining on Perez's contract after this year, so hopefully he will be able to get himself in shape, and provide meaningful contributions to this team.

Source: Tim Britton - MLB.com

Carlos Beltran heading to DL

As per Adam Rubin looks like the Mets will lose Carlos Beltran to the DL with his bad knee. The Mets are calling up That would allow the Mets to return Fernando Martinez to the majors despite spending less than 10 days with Buffalo.

As per Adam Rubin " The Daily News has learned that lefthanded reliever Pat Misch and outfielder Fernando Martinez are headed to the Mets, replacing Ken Takahashi and, seemingly, Carlos Beltran"

Elmmer Dessens is also being called up and Wilson Valdez has been designated for assignment. Which makes me believe the Mets might be working on a trade because they have no backups for Cora or Castillo as of right now. Or is it to help the bullpen?

Say it isnt so.....Say goodbye to 2009!

What to do with Oliver Perez.

With the Mets lefty’s knee knee feeling better the Mets over the course of the next week or 2 have to make a decision with what to do with Oliver Perez. John Maine is most likely going to supplant Tim Redding at this point and might be slotted in to pitch against the Yankees if all goes well with his rehab start today.

Well then the Mets have to decide what to do with head case Oliver Perez. Fernando Nieve has been giving the Mets consistent innings and giving the Mets the chance to win. The Mets won when he pitched on Friday. The Mets do need help in the bullpen since the only lefty in the pen that has been consistent is Pedro Feliciano. Feliciano is on pace for 90 appearances .

Will Jerry slot Ollie in the bullpen to help Pedro? Or will we see a 6 man rotation since the Mets do not have any days off Until July 6th?

What you think the Mets will do with there 36M dollar head case? Check out our latest poll.

Beltran's Knee - Will The Mets Do The Right Thing?

Just an addition to Long Island Met Fan's last post...With Beltran saying his knee is really sore, and he is concerned (read Tim Britton - MLB.com), will the Mets do the right thing?

When it comes to injured players, the Mets have the propensity for complicating a free lunch. Whether it's Carlos DelGado, Ryan Church, Jose Reyes, etc. they either have a terrible medical team, or even worse administration. Now with Beltran clearly hobbling on the bad knee, regardless of what today's MRI concludes, will the Mets do the right thing. We all know they are the walking wounded, but running a star player out there isn't the answer. Beltran is the most underrated player in the league. He hits well, is arguably the best CF in the game, hits with power, has a strong arm, and runs well. Yet, he is always the one people complain about. He runs out to CF everyday without complaint while hurt. If you need further proof, just look at the video in the above link.

I believe Beltran needs to be put on the DL. I'm just waiting for the MRI to reveal something, and Beltran will continue to play, and have surgery in the off season. That is this team's M.O. Remember JJ Putz?

Beltran has two years remaining on his contract after this year. Let's not risk destroying those years by running him out there everyday when he is clearly injured. Right now this team is a measly one game over .500. The only reason they are still alive is that the Phillies have lost seven straight.

It's time for Fred, Jeff, Omar, and Jerry to do the right thing. I can honestly see this team having Beltran on the bench, not disable him, and play for a couple of weeks with a 24 man roster. It has been done many times before. If you don't learn from history, you are bound to repeat it.

Bobby Parnell master of the 4 hit inning.

Location location location. Jerry Manuel takes some of the blame for running Parnell out there too much. He has over 30 appearances already. Parnell says that Jerry does not need to take the heat for him . Bobby says that he owes Jerry a couple of outs. That would be nice since the last 2 starts he has given up 6 runs. Hey Jerry you have a pitcher named Brian Stokes. Is he on your Church list? Just checking. B J Upton says no please have Parnell be my personal pitcher after giving up a moon shot into the 2 second deck at Citi Field. Why are the 2 longest home runs in Citi Field giving up to opposing players?

This team is hurting.. Beltran now says he has a sharp pain in the knee. Will he be heading to the DL? At that point forget about playing .500. The Mets lost another series yesterday. In there last 12 there 4-8 and the only reason there hanging around is because the Phillies are 1-8 in there current home stand.

There is talk that Oliver Perez and John Maine could be ready to help this team soon. Not sure it’s going to help

Fatigue Setting In?

As reported in Matt Gelb - The Star-Ledger article, Jerry Manuel is having concerns that his team is getting fatigued. He remains positive, but his greatest concerns of the injuries his team has suffered this season, is the effect it is having on David Wright and Carlos Beltran, the only remaining members of the Mets 'core'.

Wright, who was on a torrid 11 game hitting streak recently, has not only come back to earth, but has come crashing down from the stratosphere. Wright has been abysmal lately, striking out at an alarming rate, and once again leaving runners on base in scoring position. In yesterday's game, which we here at 24 Hours... were at, Wright struck out as the tying run in the Mets 3-1 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Beltran on the other hand has been steadily cooling off. It is believed that his decreased production might be due to a balky knee that is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday.

The Mets are in a difficult part of their schedule now, in the midst of a 20 consecutive game stretch, with no days off.

Manuel, at least on the outside, says he isn't as concerned about missing Reyes and DelGado as he is with the strain their absence puts on Wright and Beltran, stating, "The thing that kind of jumps out at me, as difficult as it is without [Reyes and Delgado], it becomes even more difficult when the responsibility, more or less is placed on Carlos and David. Then you have to take in the factor of fatigue and you have to manage that. That's where it becomes trying."

Wright, forever the Sterling Enterprise corporate droid responds by saying, "I'm used to going out and playing everyday, so I'm not putting any more pressure on myself and I don't think Carlos is either. We just have to go out there and get better results. Everybody plays banged up, a little sore on a daily basis. You're not going to find too many guys who say they are 100 percent fresh every day."

Then David, explain this to me: why do you have 69 strikeouts in 63 games? Why do you only have 4 HR's? Why have you been caught stealing more times this season already than you have ever had in any complete season (8)? If it isn't fatigue, do you just plain suck now? You got in Plefrey's face the other night when he started to get lost on the mound. Has anyone gotten in your face for your lack of clutch hitting the last two seasons?

This team has done an adequate job staying with the Phils, but when you look at all the missed chances they have had, by pulling defeat from the jaws of victory, you can be quite bothered. This, along with the lack of offensive production, and the uncertainty of DelGado and Reyes, might make for a long season.

Omar really needs to start working the phones for a power bat, preferably a right handed power bat. I'm not a big fan of Adam Dunn, but he has proven he can jerk one out of Gil Hodges Memorial Park. Sheffield can't continue to play at this pace, and his production has decreased significantly. Changes are necessary, and Fernando Martinez proved he isn't yet ready for Prime Time, and Nick Evans is just filling a numbers role, because I believe he will see little action.

What will happen if Beltran's MRI comes back with bad news, and Carlos has to be DL'd? This has been a difficult season thus far, but looking at the glass half full (of carcasses on the DL?), they are still remaining competitive. They are real lucky that the Phillies are mired in a losing stretch, but the Braves aren't far behind. Hopefully they can tread water until Reyes comes back. No offense to Alex Cora, who has done a great job filling in, but he is no Jose.

Wishing the Best to Endy Chavez out for the year in bad collision

We always loved what Endy brought to the game when he was with the Mets. He gave is all and made the greatest playoff catch ever in game 7 in 2006.

We lost him in the J J Putz deal and now Seattle has lost him for the year in an severe injury he suffered in Fridays' game.

Here is the video Season ending injury to Endy Chavez

As per MLB.com An MRI exam revealed that Chavez, who had to be carted off the field following a collision with shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt during Friday's game against Arizona, has a significant ACL tear in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season.

The flip he took was crazy .

Everybody loved Endy and we wish him the best.

Carlos Beltran to have MRI on monday

Because the Mets do not have enough injuries, Carlos Beltran will have his knee checked out on Monday. Beltran's right knee has probably been bothering the last couple of games since he cooled down a litte in his last couple of games.

In his last 7 games Beltran is hitting .240

Mers Top Rays

There was something in the air that night

The stars

were bright, fernando

They were shining there for you and me

For liberty, fernando

Though I never thought that we could lose...

~ ABBA ~

Last night Fernando Nieve pitched his second consecutive strong game, in leading the Mets to a 5-3 victory over the defending AL Champions, Tampa Bay Rays.

Nieve pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out four.

Francisco 'Pelotas' Rodriguez closed out the Rays in the ninth. Bobby Parnell was once again less than ordinary, surrendering 2 runs in .2 innings pitched.

Brian Schneider hit a three run HR, his first of the season, and Daniel Murphy had another three hits, raising his avg. to .256.

Today the Mets, weather permitting, will continue their series against the Rays. Johan 'All Business' Santana will face James Shields. Metsfan73, Long Island Met Fan, and Jobu will be attending the game, starting off tailgating around 1:30. Come by and say hi.

Mets promote Nick Evans. Option Fernando Martinez to Buffalo

The Mets brought back up Nick Evans from Binghamton and option F Mart to Buffalo. Nick has turned it around as of late with hitting .276 with 3 homers since a very bad start at Buffalo this year.

F Mart was hitting under .200 in 62 at bats. As per Adam Rubins blog

Rays come to Flushing for the First time Since 2000

The American league champions Tampa Bay Rays come to Citi Field this weekend to start a 3 game set against the Mets. I have always looked at this weekend on the schedule as an important set for our Mets. This team plays a different brand of baseball and is a fundamentally sound group of players under Joe Maddon. The Rays come off losing 2 out of 3 to the hot Colorado Rockies. They are 2 games over .500 and 6 games out of the division lead.

The Mets need to pay attention to a couple of the Rays stars who are coming into NY hot.

B J Upton is hitting .346 over the last week on 9 for 26 with 7 stolen bases. The Mets catchers might be getting a good work out this weekend.

Evan Longoria, who is a pretty talented player is hitting a little over .300 in the last week.

Ben Zobrist has 6 homers in the month of June

Of course Carl Crawford is hitting a solid .280 over the last month with 5 homers

Offense does its job. Bullpen shows cracks.

Ok so it would have been nice to score more then 4 runs in each of the last 2 games. The Mets have been resilient in there playing in Baltimore with scoring runs even when there behind. Last night they had a lead and for the second time in 2 nights the bullpen gave it up. The night before it was El Pedro and last night it was K –Rod.

Not a good time to lose a game when the Rivals Phillies lost 3 straight to the Blue Jays at home. Do we need now start worrying about the bullpen? The Mets now come home for a 10 game home stand against the Rays and do not have a day off until July 6th. That is 17 more games in a row.

The bullpen better buckle down and get back on track. There reliability is why the Mets have been surviving so far this year with all there injuries. With out the bullpen picking the offense up this season will be over before Jose Reyes gets another at bat.

The Inexplicable Power Of Metsfan73

Many out there understand the power of Metsfan73. I myself never understood this inexplicable gift until last night.

I am a perfect 2-2 in nicknames this year. On May 6th this year (All Business) I appropriately (at the time) nicknamed Fernando Tatis as Señor Clutch. Since May 6th, Tatis has been putrid.

I struck again as recently as June 17th. After K-Rod had a Gutsy Performance, I dubbed him Pelotas, the Spanish word for Balls. I described how ballsy he has been in challenging hitters. Well, since then, K-Rod has blown two save opportunities - games which the Mets lost.

Many might see this as a gift, and I can understand why. Personally, when one has such a gift, it can at times be more of a curse than a gift.

For those interested, I will be giving out Mega Millions numbers this weekend.

Oliver Perez pitches 3 innings in rehab. Mets line up tonight

Oliver Perez pitches 3 innnings down in StLucie today 48 pitches and he did not walk the ball park. He gave up 3 hits, 1 walk and had 5 k's . He will pitch again next tuesday.

The line up for the rubber game.

Cora, Murphy, Beltran, Wright, Sheffield, Church, Santos, Martinez, Castillo

Livan Hernandez takes the mound tonight.

Phillies Ibanez Lands On 15 Day DL

Phillies LF Raul Ibanez, 37, has been placed on the 15 day DL with a strained left groin.
Ibanez, who is having a fantastic first season with the Phillies heads to the DL batting 312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs.

It is being reported that Ibanez has been having difficulties with his groin since April, but recently it has been ‘debilitating’ recently. It had been noticed that he was having difficulties in the field and on the base paths of late.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. said, "Oh, it's affected his play. When he got back on the field yesterday and played, it got to the point where the discomfort was enough for us to shut him down."

The Phillies have re-called 25-year-old OF John Mayberry, Jr. to replace Ibanez on the roster.

Source: David Gurian-Peck - MLB.com

Mike Pelfrey gets a pitching lesson from HOF Jim Palmer.

This is something you don’t see that often. Or maybe it goes on and its not reported. How great is it though that HOF Jim Palmer went looking for Mike Pelfrey to discuss his pitch selection in Tuesdays start against the Orioles. In a column over at Mets.com there some interesting tidbits about a pitch Mike Pelfrey threw against Orioles hitter Nick Markakis.

To have a HOF give a pitcher some insight is great. Honestly though how often do you see that from a member of the opposite teams broadcast booth where HOF Palmer works these days.
Of course Pelfrey was in shock but listened intently.

Of course Pelfrey recollection of Palmer is only from the commercials he had done which I just find hysterical. These players seem to have no appreciation for baseballs past. That’s for another day.

Pedro Is Prognosticating Again

Former Met Pedro Martinez is once again saying he expects to sign a Major League contract soon.

Pedro has told the Associated Press in his native Dominican Republic that he has had conversations with both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs.

Speaking with the AP, Pedro said, "There's a good chance I'll be signing soon, but there still isn't anything firm."

"Chicago and Tampa Bay are the two teams that have shown the most interest and we are negotiating with them, although I've told my agent not to call me until it's a done deal."

It is not known how much money Pedro will be looking for, but up until now it is believed he has been seeking $5M annually. Teams have balked as frequently as Mike Pelfrey at such a high salary. Pedro has spent the majority of the last three seasons either injured or ineffective.

Although Pedro is still a character, and the type of personality that is adored by fans and teammates, he no longer has the movement on his pitches to be considered anything more than either a stopgap or occasional starter.

Source: Doug Miller - MLB.com

Flushing Feeble take 2

The Mets face the Orioles in game 2 of there series with Tim Redding getting the call. He limited experiences when it comes to facing the hitters for the Orioles.

Hope for Wiggy to be in the lineup since he is 0 for 12 against Redding. Same lineup as last night.

Cora, Martinez, Beltran, Wright, Church, Sheffield, Murphy, Schneider, Castillo

Notes from around the Mets blog world: Johan Santana knee Injury? The dreaded DH!

When you have some time check out the latest from Steve Popper who on his blog discusses the 1 year anniversary of the 3 Am massacre . Do you know over that time the Mets and the Phillies have almost exactly the same record?

Have you seen the latest from Metstradamus who discusses the phantom knee injury that Rick Peterson seems to feel that Johan has. Good stuff as usual.

Don’t forget faith and fear where Greg discusses his hatred for the DH when the Mets play games against the American league teams.

The Latest on John Maine, Oliver Perez and some player named Billy Wagner?

When the Mets had off on Monday, pitching coach Dan Warthen flew down to Florida to check on the crew of injured pitchers. Looks like John Maine and Oliver Perez will face each other in a game later this week. If all goes well Maine will be activated when his stint on the DL ends this coming Monday. Oliver has about 2-3 weeks before he might see a return to action.

Billy Wagner wants to contribute to the Mets this year. Warthen had mentioned that he thinks that Wags could be back with the Mets by mid August as per the latest on Surfing The Mets - NY Daily News.

Not sure if Wags will be able to help since most pitchers fight for having to find there control once they come back from this surgery.

K-Rod's Gutsy Performance

The more I see this guy pitch, the more I feel he is as gutsy a reliever as this team has ever had. Last night K-Rod came in to rescue Bobby Parnell, who got into a jam.

K-Rod walked the first batter faced, and then he bared down. A run scored on a fielder's choice, but did you really think he was going to let this one slip away? Honestly, I wasn't worried. He is, along with Johan, the gutsiest player on this team.

I loved the way he continues to not only challenge, but fool batters on a nightly basis. He will throw any pitch at any time in the count. I loved how he challenged the Baltimore hitters with fastballs. Ty Wigginton, a dead fastball hitter, was challenged before walking (on a controversial ball four). The final batter Rodriguez faced was Adam Jones, and K-Rod challenged and beat the kid. Started him off with fastballs, with no fear nor concern. He has the attitude, 'here's my best. Now try and beat me.'

From this point on, I will refer to Rodriguez as 'Pelotas'...'Balls'. He is just that, ballsy, and I love it!

The Flushing Feeble Hold on and Beat Orioles 6-4

The Flushing Feeble nickled and dimed there way to victory tonight. They had the help of some costly errors by the Orioles which led to some key runs in tonight's victory.

Mike Pelfrey was solid until the 5 inning where he seem to lose the ability to pitch to spots and starting getting hit and giving up walks.

David Wright had some words for Pelfrey on the mound and in the dugout tonight. It seems that Wright is comfortable talking to Pelf and tryed to boost up his confidence . Was refreshing to see Wright take that role.

The Mets scored 4 runs in the 4th inning with key hits from Wright and Schneider and even Ryan Church got in on the action.

Sean Green faced 5 batters and recorded 5outs. Green in his last 12 apperances has not given up a run. Pedro Feliciano was able to get 2 outs.

K Rod had to save it for Bobby Parnell. Parnell gave up 2 hits and then K Rod gave up a walk but was able to limit the damage by challenging the Orioles rookie Luke Scott with the tying run on second base by striking him out to end the game.

Will the Mets get game in? F-Mart another start in Left.

We hope the Mets get the game in tonight in Baltimore since there weather right now is not as nice as NY which is a shocker with the weather we have been having.
Jerry still is playing F Mart even though he has been having a rough time of it lately. The Mets lineup against Baltimore is below. With Mike Pelfrey on the mound.

Cora SS
Martinez LF
Beltran CF
Wright 3B
Church RF
Sheffield DH
Murphy 1B
Schneider C
Castillo 2B

Mets plan to hurry up and wait in regards to making moves.

With the trade deadline only 45 days away the Mets have adopted the mentality of its not that bad we can wait it out. Marty Noble in his latest column which you can read here senses that the Mets will just chill for now. Reason being is that what will be offered out there will come at a high price.

Jerry Manuel mentions that he would like to keep the team above .500 until the all star break when we might see Reyes return. No offense to Reyes but I think the bigger key is Carlos Delgado’s bat. The Mets have 1 home run from the first base slot since Delgado went on the DL. That is what the Mets need to concern themselves with some offensive power.

“In a week the Mets have gone from leading the Wild Card chase by a game to a third-place standing, 1 1/2 games behind the Giants and one game behind the Cardinals.”

By the time the All-Star break comes this team could be in a lot worse shape then just 1.5 games out.

Mets head to Baltimore. Aubrey Huff not hitting and why does everyone have decent numbers against Livan Hernandez?

As the Mets get ready to play 3 games in Camden Yards. We see that Mr Rubin over at the NY Daily News has another fine preview .

2 things that I pick out of it. The fact that Met fans have been wanting to see a trade for Aubrey Huff. Huff must realize this since he has not hit a home run in 15 games. He is getting his act together for Cit Field I take it.

Also that everyone seems to have a field day at the plate when Mr Livan pitches. Here are some numbers that the Orioles have against him.

Aubrey Huff .625, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Brian Roberts .500, 1 RBI, 8 AB
Luke Scott .333, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 AB
Melvin Mora .308, 13 AB
Ty Wigginton .278, 1 RBI, 18 AB

So I guess Mr Huff will find his stroke against Livan when he pitches. If you have not seen a game In Camden Yards and don’t feel like working this week, I suggest a road trip to Baltimore. Have some of Boog Powel’s ribs or pulled pork. It is worth the ride!

40 years 1969-2009 Mets celebrate the 69' Champs Cleon Jones

With the Mets off today we take time to celebrate the 1969 World Champion Mets. Cleon Jones was a favorite of many a Met fan back in the late 60’s early 1970’s. He seems to be one of those players that can play the game with his pure talent. With the Mets he was there first true home grown hitter. He had a knack for hitting and was considered a bit lazy in the field but when it came to Mets fans he was one of there favorites.

Cleon was born in 1942 in Plateau Alabama. The Mets signed him as a free agent in July 1962. By 1963 Cleon was playing for low class A auburn. He played in his first game for the Mets in September 1963 against the Colt 45’s.

He then spent time in the minors until 1966 and then stayed with the team for good. He had a knack for driving the ball and was an accomplished hitter for a team that did not score many runs.

In the miracle year of 1969 he hit .340 and was selected into to his only All Star game where he went 2-4. Mets manager Gil Hodges not satisfied with his hustle in one game in July of that year walked out and took him out of a game.

He is ever in grained in Mets fan lore with catching the last out off of future Mets manager Davey Johnson to win the 1969 World Series against the powerful Orioles.

He still had some good years for the Mets hitting .319 in 1971 and .280 for a lousy Met team in 1974.

1975 was a tough year for Cleon. He was caught messing around in a van in Florida and the Mets made him make a public apology to his wife. The owners of the Mets, the Payson family kind of black balled the Mets star at that point. Then his manager of the time Yogi Berra asked him to play left field and he flat out refused. At that point the Mets had enough with Cleon and released him at the end of July of 1975. He played a couple of games with the White Sox in 1976 but then called it a career.

He was the Mets leader in best average with that .340 he had in 1969 until 1999 when John Olerud hit .354

The Mets did not welcome him back into the fold until the Mets sold the team. In 1981 he was a roving batting instructor for the Mets.

He now makes appearances at Met ceremonies including last years last game where when he stepped on home plate he recreated the catch of the last out of the 1969 World Series.

He I am sure will be part of the Mets ceremony of the 1969 team later this season.



Evening Independent

Ultimate Mets database

Honeymoon Over For Manuel?

In an article by Ken Rosenthal - Fox Sports, Rosenthal surmises that Jerry Manuel, in complete contradiction to Joe Torre, ‘throws his player’s under the bus.’

Rosenthal documents his assertion by some of the following:

• Making the absurd statement that Jose Reyes might be the #3 hitter on the team, and Luis Castillo will bat leadoff. Apparently this idea was made public to the media before it was made to Jose Reyes.

• In late March Daniel Murphy is declared the starting LF because he is a ‘better hitter’ than Ryan Church. Murphy is now playing 1B part time along with Fernando Tatis due to his poor defense in LF.On his decision, Manuel said, "I don't want him to get strictly into a platoon situation. I think he's a little better player than that."

• In April Manuel removes Ramon Castro for pinch hitter Omir Santos, who had to come in from the bullpen, and delayed the game. Santos wound up popping out to 2B. Castro had two hits in the game, but Manuel wanted to go with Santos due to ‘his shorter swing.’

• Manuel not mentioning Ryan Church by name after the Mets RF missed third base, and was promptly called out on the appeal play. Manuel said, "A guy missed third base. That's unbelievable. I can't explain, why, how or anything."
  Rosenthal leaves out what preceded this. Manuel didn’t neglect to use Churches name, he was speaking on a mistake as such, not this particular instance.

The list goes on, and if interested check out the above link.

Personally, I haven’t been as happy with Jerry this year as I was last year. I do believe he has his players’ backs, unless your name is Church. He verbally doesn’t tolerate poor play, but that being said, his team play’s terrible fundamental baseball. This team needs the Jerry Manuel circa June 17, 2008 where, in his first game as Mets manager, he ordered Jose Reyes off the field in the first inning when Reyes pulled up lame on an IF hit. Manuel showed the world he was in charge. The Mets need that now. Manuel started out loving, but tough. He instituted some great ‘team rules’ such as the pitcher must wait at the mound until the new pitcher (reliever) arrives, and the pitcher being relieved hands the ball to his teammate. Another: the team took batting practice and IF practice as a team.

Although these rules might seem simple, they paid of greatly in the beginning of Manuel’s tenure. Unfortunately he abandoned them. No more do we see the pitcher being relieved wait at the mound until his teammate arrives to replace him. There isn’t a gutsy leader on this team other than Johan and Francisco, but they are pitchers, not everyday players. This organization doesn’t just need their players to step up; they need the Jerry from June 17, 2008 to step up.