Dave's Mostly Mets Blog

Mets Win 6-1

The Mets beat the Dodgers last night marking several milestones. Firstly they scored 6 runs. That's a big deal for this team and hopefully is a sign that they are coming out of their collective hitting slump. Secondly, they scored their first series win since the first week of the season. If they can parlay the last couple of games into momentum builders then they'll be okay for at least a little while.

Jae Seo pitched well allowing 6 hits and 1 run in 6 1/3 innings. Karim Garcia hit a two run homer in the third inning. Mike Cameron added a solo homer.

Danny Garcia got his first start at second base in place of Joe McEwing who hurt his ankle on Wednesday when he stepped on a ball during infield practice. Ordinarily I'd say that's a real boneheaded way to get injured but my brother once did the same thing while playing tennis and tore ligaments in his ankle so I know how these things can happen. Danny Garcia went 1 for 3 with an RBI. McEwing's status is day to day.

Mike Stanton pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and helped the offensive cause by hitting an RBI single.

Mike Piazza bounced a throw to second base in the fifth inning and somehow still managed to get César Izturis out. That's Piazza's first caught stealing in ten tries this season.

Posted by: Dave / 4/30/2004 09:58:00 AM
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Bad News on the Injury Front

Jose Reyes took himself out of yesterday's rehab game with St. Lucie. He tweaked his hammy trying to run out an infield single. Not much else is known.

Cliff Floyd is not yet ready for a rehab game and is now not expected back until Tuesday in San Francisco at the earliest.

Posted by: Dave / 4/30/2004 09:34:00 AM
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Another Day, Another Loss

In losing to the Dodgers 3-2 last night at least the Mets made a game of it. Kaz Matsui led the game off with a homer and got a hit in the 9th against Eric Gagne to keep the game alive (even though his team mates weren't able to score against the closer who hasn't blown a save since September 2002). Steve Trachsel pitched pretty well despite giving up 2 homers including one to Dave Roberts in an epic 12 pitch at bat. (Roberts just kept fouling them back until he got one he could handle.) Milton Bradley made a few good catches in center field including a leaping grab to bring a Mike Cameron homer back in from over the wall.

Other notes:

Jose Reyes played all 9 innings of a rehab game with St. Lucie. He could return to the team during this weekend's series in San Diego.

Cliff Floyd is doing well and will probably play at least one rehab game. He too could return in San Diego.

Scott Erickson aggravated his injury yesterday. That will set him back an unknown period of time and means that Jae Seo will stay in the rotation a little longer.

Posted by: Dave / 4/29/2004 09:26:00 AM
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Mets Beat Dodgers

The Mets won in LA last night, 9-5 as Mike Piazza finally belted his 351st home run to tie Carlton Fisk for most career home runs by a catcher. Shane Spencer and Todd Zeille hit homers too as the Mets scored more runs than in their last 6 games.

Other notes:

What am I looking forward to tonight? I hope to see Piazza hit a home run to pass Fisk for sole possession of the top spot on the all time list of home runs by catcher. Making it even sweeter would be if he could do it against his Dodger nemesis Guillermo Mota.

Good news on Jose Reyes. He went 3 for 5 with 2 stolen bases in an extended spring training game on Monday. He was scheduled to play a rehab game with St. Lucie yesterday but didn't play because of rain. If the weather cooperates then he will play today and could return this weekend in San Diego this weekend.

It's still not clear if Cliff Floyd will play any rehab games but all signs appear to point to a return in San Diego.

Scott Erickson will pitch 5 innings for St. Lucie today as part of his rehab. No news on when he will return to the Mets.

Posted by: Dave / 4/28/2004 11:02:00 AM
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Ted Robinson's Head

I like watching the openings to Mets games on Fox Sports Net/MSG just to see Ted Robinson introduce the game. Not that I love his voice or intro but his facial expressions while he talks are incredible. I keep waiting for his eyes to pop out or his head to explode. Am I the only one?

Posted by: Dave / 4/27/2004 10:01:00 PM
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The Shea Hot Corner's Scary Stat of the Day

The Shea Hot Corner posted an Scary Stat of the Day that's both alarming and humorous at the same time.

Posted by: Dave / 4/27/2004 02:51:00 PM
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Today's Newsday

Newsday's David Lennon has an interesting article in today's edition about how 2004 is beginning to look a lot like 2003 for the Mets. He places a lot of blame on everyone's favorite scapegoat Art Howe citing some of the same issues I wrote about yesterday.

Posted by: Dave / 4/27/2004 11:31:00 AM
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Excellent Article About Rick Peterson

Today's Star-Ledger has an excellent piece by David Waldstein discussing Rick Peterson's approach to the game.

Posted by: Dave / 4/27/2004 11:17:00 AM
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Leiter Injured?

It's been reported locally that Al Leiter is pitching with a sore shoulder. He refuses to get it looked at because at this point in his career he wouldn't have surgery anyway. I respect his decision of not wanting surgery but if this is going to cost him innings and/or effectiveness then he owes it to his teammates to get it checked out and see what the issue is and learn how to deal with it. That's part of being a team player and a team leader. I can't say this for sure but maybe that's another ingredient missing from this club.

Posted by: Dave / 4/26/2004 11:20:00 PM
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How(e)'s That?

I've seen some negative things written about Art Howe lately in the media as well as other blogs. I tend to be a bit on the patient side before jumping on the bandwagon especially early in the season. But it seems like now may be as good a time as any to saddle up. Why now? Because I think he may be losing the clubhouse.

Last week Jason Phillips questioned Howe's faith in him when Phillips was benched in favor of Todd Zeille. Mark Hale presents a few things in his articles in today's New York Post that supports my theory that Howe is losing his grip on the clubhouse. (At Least They Weren't No Hit & Met's Notes). Hale reports the following:

"The situation got so embarrassing yesterday that with Al Leiter having thrown 79 pitches through five innings and throwing pretty well, Howe pinch-hit for him with one out and nobody on in the sixth. The manager said he was looking for offense, but Leiter seemed surprised at the move. "It's his decision," Leiter said, adding, "I've got a job to do. He's got a job to do."" A player of Leiter's experience knows not to question his manager to the media. But when he says something like that one can easily imagine what's going through his head.

"(Mike) Cameron was not exactly thrilled with sitting out (it was his first game off this year) and while he didn't want to make waves, he did note that in Seattle, Lou Piniella would tell his players the day before if he were going to give them a day off. Asked if he would have preferred Howe do the same, Cameron replied, "I think it would have been better, but I've got no control over that. I guess I don't have a problem with it." It's not a good sign when a player publicly compares his manager unfavorably to one of his former manager.

"Duquette declined to address the status of the coaches". This generally means that there is something in the works behind the scenes. This isn't evidence that Howe is losing his grip or that his coaches are in trouble but it indicates that management may be thinking about replacements.

Does this mean that Howe has lost the clubhouse? No but it indicates that if he hasn't yet then he may soon. Look out, Mets fans. It's going to be an interesting next few weeks as this unfolds.

Posted by: Dave / 4/26/2004 01:55:00 PM
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Groundhog Day

Another weekend, another three game sweep (on the losing end). I'm beginning to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Same story different day. Good starting pitching, a bullpen that seems to be holding it's own, decent (but occasionally balky) defense & lousy hitting. If not for the DL there'd be nothing new to talk about. Oh, that's right. There's really nothing new to report there either.

Posted by: Dave / 4/25/2004 08:08:00 PM
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Wigginton Has Ulcer

The AP is reporting that Ty Wigginton has been diagnosed with an ulcer. He'll be released from the hospital this weekend and will play in some rehab games while on the DL.

Posted by: Dave / 4/23/2004 03:37:00 PM
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NY Post's Andrew Marchand Getting Feisty

NY Post reporter Andrew Marchand is getting a bit feisty in his Mets reports. In today's recap article of yesterday's game he said the following of Steve Trachsel's game:
"Trachsel was aided by an Expos lineup that features such hitting luminaries as Matt Cepicky, Ron Calloway and Terrmel Sledge. Montreal has scored a grand total of 26 runs in 16 games. " Gotta love the use of the term "hitting luminaries".

And in his Mets Notes he says the following of Danny Garcia:
"Garcia, a former Brooklyn Cyclone, should fit on the big club since he was hitting .222 at Norfolk." More of an indictment of the Mets than Garcia.

Posted by: Dave / 4/23/2004 11:49:00 AM
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Met's Almost Blow Split In Series With Expos

The Mets almost blew yesterday's game with 2 errors in the 9th but Braden Looper managed to hold it together and save the game. Steve Trachsel had a good outing allowing 8 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run in 8 innings. Mike Piazza hit 2 doubles and knocked in 2 runs and Mike Cameron redeemed himself with an RBI double with 2 outs in the 7th after making the third out with the bases loaded in the 1st and 5th innings.

Other notes:

Tonight's pitching matchup against the Cubs at Wrigley: Jae Seo vs. Greg Maddux. Good luck, Jae.

Ty Wigginton was placed on the DL after a fainting episode and dizzy spells. Danny Garcia was recalled from Norfolk to take his place on the roster. Ricky Gutierrez started at third yesterday and committed 1 of the Mets 2 errors in the 9th inning. Shane Spencer committed the other.

I'm not going to comment on the status of Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd today. For Reyes, every day is something else. One day the new is good, the next it's bad and the day after that it's good again. As for Floyd, I've read varying reports in the media in the last two days. Some say he'll be back for LA next week, others say it will be later than that and still others say it is a complete unknown when he'll return. I'll hold off on more comments on him until I see something more reliable on both of these players.

Posted by: Dave / 4/23/2004 09:19:00 AM
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Mets Win!

Not only did they win but they scored 3 runs too. That's not a lot of runs but with an offense as bad as the Mets offense has been lately it's still cause for celebration. With 2 errors in the 9th inning it looked as though they would blow it but when it was all over the Mets had a 3-2 victory. I'll have more on this when I've had a chance to process today's events.

Posted by: Dave / 4/22/2004 04:39:00 PM
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Mets Finally Hit With Runner In Scoring Position

It's as if they read my last post.

Shane Spencer was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Mike Piazza hit a double to move Spencer to third. Jason Phillips hit a single to score Spencer. It's just one run but they did a couple of things right to score it. Firstly, they took advantage of the opponents slip up (hitting the batter). Secondly, they string together a couple of hits to move the runner over and push him home. Now if only they could do that a little more.

Posted by: Dave / 4/22/2004 02:26:00 PM
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Mets Can't Score in 1st

The Mets were gift wrapped a first inning scoring situation today and messed it up big time.

Kaz Matsui reached first on a throwing error by Expos third baseman Tony Batista.
Karim Garcia walked, moving Matsui to second. Then Shane Spencer was hit by a John Patterson pitch to load up the bases with no outs. The stage is set for a big inning, right?

Wrong. Just as quickly as it started, it ended. Mike Piazza struck out, Jason Phillips flied out and Mike Cameron struck out, of course.

Not that I was expecting much anyway. I mean, these are the Mets after all. They didn't even earn their way on to base to begin with. If these guys want to be taken seriously they're going to need to capitalize on situations like this where the opposition gift wraps runs for you.

Posted by: Dave / 4/22/2004 01:38:00 PM
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Ty Wigginton Taken To Hospital

Ty Wigginton has been taken to the hospital after fainting at home. He's probably headed for the DL. Time to put baseball aside for a second and wish Ty a speedy recovery.

Posted by: Dave / 4/22/2004 12:37:00 PM
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More Bad Offense

The Mets lost to the Expos 2-1 last night. Where have I heard that before? You can take what I said yesterday about the importance of not wasting good performances and substitute Tom Glavine instead of Al Leiter. A Mike Cameron error lead to the winning (unearned) run. So much for defense up the middle.

The Mets anemic offense actually managed 8 hits but were only able to push 1 run across the plate. Two Mets runners were thrown out at the plate. This is the big second guess of the night. Third base coach Matt Galante sent home Mike Piazza in the 2nd and Karim Garcia in the 8th. Some people have criticized Galante for sending the runners. Personally, I think it was a good move. When the offense is struggling like the Mets offense has (this was the third 2-1 loss in 5 days and the fourth game in 5 days in which they've scored just one run) you need to take some chances in the hopes that it'll spark something.

Posted by: Dave / 4/22/2004 11:02:00 AM
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Stanton Keeping Batista On Base

Why was Mike Stanton being so careful about keeping Tony Batista so close to first in the 8th inning? Especially with 2 outs? The guy has never had more than 7 stolen bases in a season (his career high of 7 came in his rookie year of 1996). He has stolen only 33 bases in a 9 year career (to date). That's a 3.7 per year average. The guy is hardly a stolen base threat. And with 2 outs shouldn't Stanton be concentrating on getting the batter out?

Posted by: Dave / 4/21/2004 09:25:00 PM
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Another One Bites The Dust

The Mets blew another one last night losing 2-1 to the Expos. From what I've read so far this morning people are really coming down on the Mets for losing this one. While it's true that the Expos are a team the Mets should beat the fact is that the Mets can't win every game against them. Add in the fact that the Expos were bound to break their losing streak on this trip (8 consecutive losses going into last nights game) and I'd say it could be worse. If the Mets can win the next 2 games and finish this series winning 3 out of 4 I'd be satisfied. But for that to happen the hitting is going to have to come around.

The Mets spoiled an excellent outing by Al Leiter in which the lefty pitched 7 innings allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run. The earned run ended a personal best 29 1/3 consecutive scoreless inning streak for Leiter. When Leiter left the game for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh the game was tied at one. It's easy to blame David Weathers for the loss after he gave up a solo homer to Jose Vidro (hardly a power hitter) but that wouldn't exactly be fair. The blame should go to the Mets hitters who are just not getting the job done. They managed just 4 hits off Expos starter Zach Day (2 in the first inning) and failed to get any hits off of relievers Luis Ayala and Rocky Biddle. In fact, Biddle threw only 6 pitches to retire the Mets in the 9th and earn his third save of the year.

It's easy to say that it's too early in the season to panic but you can't be too patient even this early in the season. If you allow yourself to get into too deep of a hole in April then you're only making you're job tougher for later in the season. When you get pitching that is as good as last night's pitching then the job is made relatively easy. You simply can't waste good pitching performances like the Mets did last night. Whatever is wrong with the hitting must be fixed if the Mets are going to stay afloat in the early going this year.

Other notes:

The New York Post reported that Jason Phillips is upset that he has been benched in favor of Todd Zeille. I don't blame him for being upset but there are 3 factors working against him. Firstly, he's hitting just .175> Secondly, Zeille is hitting .320. Thirdly, the Mets as a team are not hitting very well right now. When you're team isn't hitting very well you have to expect the manager to go with the hot hand in an effort to spark the rest of the offense. If the rest of the team were hitting then there's a chance that manager Art Howe would let Phillips work his way out of the slump. But right now Howe simply can't afford that.

Jose Reyes took 5 at bats in an extended spring training game. He's not yet running at full speed but is still looking toward a return next week.

Cliff Floyd took live batting practice yesterday for the first time since going on the DL. The timetable for his return is still uncertain.

Posted by: Dave / 4/21/2004 10:11:00 AM
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Things To Look For Tonight

Things to watch for in tonight's game against the Expos:

Mike Piazza is stuck on 350 career home runs. One more will tie him with Carlton Fisk for number one on the all time list of home runs by a catcher. Piazza had been slumping but went 2 for 3 last night and hit a ball to the warning track. Maybe facing a last place team was exactly what he needed to get his swing and confidence back.

Al Leiter takes his 0.00 season ERA to the mound tonight. Leiter hasn't allowed a run in 24 1/3 innings (going back to last September). One more scoreless inning will tie his career high for consecutive shutout innings.

Posted by: Dave / 4/20/2004 02:34:00 PM
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Update on the Waffles Google Bomb

The Google bomb worked!! As I wrote yesterday, the blog Esoteric * Diatribe is leading a Google bombing to get the #1 search result for the term waffles on Google to be Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's homepage. They have succeeded. To see the results click here. Even more interesting is that it now appears that Kerry's campaign is sponsoring the results for the search terms "waffles" and "waffle". Nice move to try to capitalize on one of their candidates biggest problems.

Posted by: Dave / 4/20/2004 10:55:00 AM
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My Take on A-Rod's Slump

Everyone in the press is all over the Alex Rodriguez slump and trying to figure out what's wrong with him. The answer? Nothing. He's a player who is adjusting to a new team and a new position. Like any other player in that situation he is bound to have cold spells while making the adjustment. But history has shown that his slumps don't last long so look for him to break out very soon. My guess is that by this time next week we'll all have forgotten he ever had a slump.

Posted by: Dave / 4/20/2004 10:33:00 AM
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Mondays Action

As mentioned in a previous post the Mets beat the Expos 4-1 last night to break their 3 game skid. It's always nice to have a last place team come in when you're on a slide like that.

Some random notes:

Tyler Yates pitched a decent game. He's getting a lot of praise in the press today and deserves it. But what's being lost is the fact that he walked 3 guys in 5 2/3 innings (in addition to the 5 hits allowed). Certainly this stat is not something to get alarmed about yet (especially since they won the game) but it's something worth keeping an eye on.

Mike Piazza went 2 for 3 with a double. Granted the competition was not the toughest the league has to offer but it's a good confidence builder.

Still no word on when Jose Reyes, Cliff Floyd or Scott Erickson will be ready to return. Reyes played in an extended spring training game in St. Lucie yesterday and is scheduled to do the same today. According to published reports he'll be back against the Dodgers a week from today. Floyd, who took live batting practice yesterday for the first time since going on the DL, is eligible to come off the DL that same day but it's still unknown when he'll be ready. Erickson will throw some inning in a bullpen simulated game but it's not known when that will happen. If Jae Seo pitches Friday like he pitched on Sunday then let's hope Erickson gets well soon.

Posted by: Dave / 4/20/2004 10:05:00 AM
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Bad Audio on Fox Sports Net

While I was watching the Mets-Expos game on Fox Sports Net tonight I couldn't help but notice the horrible audio. The fan noise in the overpowered the commentators to the point where it was not easy to hear what was being said. Also the audio levels seemed to be in flux through the whole game. One second the audio was loud, the next second it was low. I'm no audio technician but certainly broadcast technology has progressed to the point where we can get a good, even broadcast where the audio levels are constant and the commentators can be heard clearly over the crowed noise. (Not that I love Ted Robinson and Fran Healy but it would be nice to hear what they had to say.)

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 10:11:00 PM
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Mets Win

The Mets won 4-1 against the Expos tonight. Granted, the Expos are a last place team so it's not much to get excited about. But as a last place team the Mets are expected to beat the Expos if they are going to contend this year. So beating the Expos is a good sign. Let's see if they can take the next one tomorrow night.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 10:08:00 PM
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Mets Winning in 4th Inning

I just turned on the game and the Mets are winning 4-0 in the 4th inning. As the Mets were victimized by a couple of big innings over the weekend I'm not going to get my hopes up yet. But this is certainly a promising development.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 08:26:00 PM
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New Look

I spent some time working on the template today and came up with this new look. It's meant to mimic the Mets uniform colors. I don't know how good it looks or how long I'll keep this look around but it was fun to do. Let me know what you think either by leaving a comment or emailing me.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 03:34:00 PM
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Mets, Expos Open 4 Game Set Tonight

The Mets, coming off a lost weekend to the Pirates, open a 4 game series against the Expos tonight. It's not a bad thing to play against the team with the leagues worst record after blowing 3 games and looking like fools over the weekend. Tyler Yates takes the mound tonight. Let's hope he can regain the form that dominated the Expos in his first start after having been beaten soundly in his second start. Also, look for Mike Piazza to finally tie (and maybe even pass) Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher. Piazza remains 1 homer short of catching up with Fisk.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 02:04:00 PM
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New Template Needed

I'm looking for a new template for this blog. I'm looking for something simple but elegant and with some blue in it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 11:43:00 AM
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John Kerry, Waffles & Google Bombing

The blog Esoteric * Diatribe is trying to start a Google bombing to get the #1 search result for the term waffles on Google to be Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's homepage. They have already succeeded in manipulating the site to #1 on Yahoo (click here). They have not yet succeeded in cracking the top 100 on Google. To see how this is going click here to see the current results for waffles on Google. This is, of course, inspired by last falls successful Google bombing that got President George W. Bush's biography from the White House website to be the #1 result for the term miserable failure. To see the results of the Bush Google bombing click here. This isn't really a political blog but this is interesting stuff to us technology people.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 11:35:00 AM
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The Mets Lost Weekend (and other stories)

The Mets suffered a 3 game sweep at the hands of the Pirates this week and there really weren't many positives to walk away with. A bright spot was Tom Glavine pitching 7 innings of 1 hit ball on Friday night but then he was removed with tightness in his shoulder. Steve Trachsel also had a good start on Saturday. Both games were blown by the bullpen. Jae Seo suffered a horrible start on Sunday as the Mets were blown away.

The Mets signed Ricky Bottalico to a minor league deal. I think this means he's going to replace someone on the major league roster very soon. I'm thinking it'll be Dan Wheeler but Orber Moreno and Grant Roberts may also be candidates.

Today's New York Post reports that Jose Reyes may not return for another week. The funny thing is that while team officials have said they're looking for him to return against the Dodgers on April 27 they have also said they are not sure about his condition and how long it'll take for him to come back. He'll play in an extended spring training game this week and if all goes well he'll play a game or two for Single A St. Lucie. Ideally they'd like him to play a couple of games for Triple A Norfolk before returning to the big leagues. As frustrating as this is I think it's best to take this as slow as possible to be sure that he's 100% before returning. If he comes back and is not completely healed then we'll be hearing about this injury again in August.

The Post also reported that it is not known when Cliff Floyd or Scott Erickson will be able to return. If all these injuries had to happen then it's better that they happen now. Let's get all these issues done with early so we can concentrate on baseball the rest of the season.

Posted by: Dave / 4/19/2004 09:30:00 AM
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Mets and Yanks Tied

By the way, I'm amused at how the Mets and Yankees have identical records 9 games into the season. That's bound to change (in the Yankees favor) but it's still nice to see.

Posted by: Dave / 4/16/2004 03:36:00 PM
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Today's Mets Rant

Not much going on in Mets land today. The Mets beat Atlanta last night on strong pitching from Al Leiter and a trio of relievers. Leiter also starred at the plate hitting a double down the alley in right center field. Shane Spencer knocked in 2 runs and is off to a nice start. I still think the Mets need at least one more solid outfielder but it's good to see that Spencer and Karim Garcia are hitting early in the season. Especially with Cliff Floyd on the DL with a strained quad and Mike Cameron nursing a tight hamstring.

Speaking of Floyd, I know it's still early in the season but when will it be safe to call this signing a bust? He had a pretty good year last year but only played 108 games due to injury. Now he's injured after only 20 at bats this year. I'm really rooting for him to get healthy and prove his worth but right now I'm a bit cynical and looking at a half empty glass (as opposed to a half full one).

Posted by: Dave / 4/16/2004 03:12:00 PM
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Hello Out There!

Is anyone reading this blog? If so then please let me know.

Posted by: Dave / 4/16/2004 03:10:00 PM
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Yankees' Lieber Resumes Pitching

It's nice to have money to spend on a project like Jon Lieber. Once a promising pitcher for the Cubs, Lieber is now rehabbing in the Yankees minor league camp. Say what you will about the Boss but there's no doubt about his commitment to winning. That's the only explanation for the Yankees signing him last year even though it was not known if he would ever pitch again.

Posted by: Dave / 4/16/2004 03:03:00 PM
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TCPalm: Real fans want to know if Bonds cheated

Interesting how this article came out on the same day I commented about Barry Bonds.

Posted by: Dave / 4/15/2004 03:55:00 PM
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Tyler Yates

Tyler Yates got his butt kicked by the Braves last night. Welcome to the majors, kid. I don't know what to think of this guy yet. It's hard to tell by just two starts. Let him get a few more starts under his belt before calling for his demotion.

Posted by: Dave / 4/15/2004 11:10:00 AM
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My Take on Barry Bonds

I'd like to congratulate Barry Bonds on passing Willie Mays on the all time home run list. There is, of course, a cloud hanging over this feat as Bonds has been accused of taking steroids. In America a man is considered innocent until proven guilty and Bonds has not yet been proven guilty so I'd like to think he has accomplished this milestone without illegal substances. We'll never know for sure because even if he passes a test we'll never know if he was truly steroid free throughout his career or if he just cleaned himself up because of the scandal. It may be time to start thinking about putting an asterisk next to his name on the home run list.

Posted by: Dave / 4/15/2004 10:50:00 AM
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Back From Vacation

I'm back from a 10 day vacation. I've sorted through my email and deleted all spam and viruses. Even so there is still so much there that it's going to take me at least a week to get through it all. That's what I get for being so dependent on technology.

Posted by: Dave / 4/15/2004 10:47:00 AM
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Roger Cedeno Traded

The Mets finally got a taker on Roger Cedeno and completed a trade with St. Louis. Cedeno was a sensation when he first came up for the Mets but his second term with the club just didn't pan out. The separation is best for the Mets and Cedeno. I wish him luck.

Posted by: Dave / 4/04/2004 10:39:00 AM
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Latest On Reyes

Jose Reyes will start the season on the DL. It'll be retroactive so that he will only miss a few games. I don't think anyone is surprised.

Posted by: Dave / 4/04/2004 10:13:00 AM
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Ricoh Ads On Yankees Uniforms/Helmets

Am I the only one who finds the Ricoh ads on the Yankees uniforms and helmets to be a distraction? They're also an eyesore. If teams need to resort to this kind of measure to raise money then they're obviously not spending wisely. (I originally had the word thriftly at the end of that sentence but since I'm singling out the Yankees I replaced it. Steinbrenner is hardly thrifty.)

Posted by: Dave / 4/02/2004 02:05:00 PM
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Mets Talk About Acquiring Milton Bradley

The Mets are supposedly interested in acquiring OF Milton Bradley who was banned from Cleveland Indians camp the other day. He was banned because he left camp. Why did he leave camp? He was upset that he had been pulled from a game for not running out a fly ball. Why was he upset? Who knows? Anyone who doesn't run out a fly ball at the Major League level (even in spring training) doesn't deserve to play at that level. It's one of the first things they teach you in little league and he can't do it?

Anyway, I'm digressing from the point that I really wanted to get to with this post. Bradley is considered by most to be a clubhouse disturbance. Hardly a player of character. Doesn't this go against one of owner Fred Wilpon's criteria for acquiring players? Wilpon keeps saying he doesn't want players who will cause controversy. This is a criteria I agree with. Do you break with that criteria to acquire Bradley? I don't think so. The character issue plus the fact that you have to change his position (moving him from CF to RF since you already have Mike Cameron in center) is a distraction this team doesn't need. If the season was in the stretch drive and the Mets needed one more player to put them over the top then Bradley may be worth the gamble. But not now.

Posted by: Dave / 4/02/2004 01:50:00 PM
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Reports Say Reyes Improves

I've been reading reports that say Jose Reyes condition is improving. I'll believe is when I see it. Every day the story changes. Hamstrings are unpredictable that way. The thing that really scares me is that they say the hamstring injury is probably an indication of something else that is wrong (likely a hip problem). Regardless of that I'm not afraid to go into the season with him on the DL. Let him take the time he needs to get 100% at the start of season so he can be available once the games begin to get more meaningful. It's worth it to keep him out a week or two or even three now in the hope that he'll get better, correct whatever physical issues he has and be healthy & available once the season hit it's stride.

Posted by: Dave / 4/02/2004 01:29:00 PM
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Blind Swipe Talks About Reyes

There was a very good post on the Blind Swipe weblog about the Jose Reyes situation.

Posted by: Dave / 4/02/2004 01:14:00 PM
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New SharpReader Keyboard Shortcuts

Luke Hutteman published some previously undocumented keyboard shortcuts for his excellent SharpReader RSS aggregator in his blog.

Posted by: Dave / 4/01/2004 02:03:00 PM
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Reyes Hurts Hammy Again

Jose Reyes cut short a batting practice session yesterday after tweaking his already injured hamstring. There's talk that he may start the season on the disabled list. Looks like it's going to be a long, heartbreaking season again this year.

Posted by: Dave / 4/01/2004 09:19:00 AM
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