Tag Archives: Dan Haren

Jul 19

Perez coming and other notes.

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* Oliver Perez is en route to Arizona but might not be activated immediately. Jerry Manuel said when Perez returns it would be as a situational lefty with Hisanori Takahashi remaining in the rotation.

The Mets would like to unload Perez’s contract in a trade for a pitcher.  With the asking price for Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren too high for GM Omar Minaya’s liking, the Mets are concentrating on a middle-tier arm such as Ted Lilly, Brett Myers, Ben Sheets or Jake Westbrook.

For some reason, they won’t give Pat Misch a chance. Misch pitched well for them last year and represented Triple-A Buffalo in that league’s All-Star game.

* We are expected to see Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes in the lineup tonight at Arizona. It will be the first time in over a year they’ve been on the field together.

* It is anticipated Luis Castillo will be activated for tonight’s game. Ruben Tejada, who played well in the field, but had his problems at the plate, is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Buffalo where he’ll get regular at-bats.

Jul 15

Second-half opens with questions.

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The Mets open the second half of what has been a surprising season tonight in San Francisco a team with confidence and resiliency – just four games behind Atlanta despite several questions.

Many of those questions were only partially addressed and remain to the point where they are issues.

Here’s the top five questions for the Mets entering the second half:

BELTRAN: Back tonight, but at what percent?

1. QUESTION: How healthy is this team?

ASSESSMENT: The Mets will get Carlos Beltran back tonight, but don’t know how he’ll respond to a heavy workload. For now the plan is to juggle playing time between Beltran, Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur, with the latter’s time reduced the most. Beltran returns to center and the clean-up, but don’t expect him to immediately be in All-Star form.

Another pressing issue, or at least it’s turning out that way, is Jose Reyes, who strained his right oblique muscle, June 30. Reyes sat out a handful of games before the Mets foolishly let him return only to bat right-handed, even against righty pitchers. Had Reyes been placed on the disabled list originally, or continued to sit until he was 100 percent, he might be fine today.

Instead, Reyes is still ailing and considered day-to-day. The Mets are still toying with him batting right-handed exclusively and not waiting until he’s 100 percent. Reyes aggravated the injury and the Mets are pushing their luck.

Also, Mike Pelfrey, after a string of non-descript to poor starts, says he might have a dead arm, although not an injury it is physical related.

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Jul 08

Mets’ pitching options: Perez first.

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PEREZ: In a happier time.

If you’ve been following the Mets it’s not hard to read the tealeaves as far as which direction they’ll go in adding a starter to their rotation.

I know a lot of you aren’t going to like this, but my guess is their first option will be Oliver Perez.

Perez’s rehab so far has gone well, and with around $20 million still remaining on his contract, I see them spending that money first because finances are a big issue with the team. They aren’t going to eat the contract and Perez’s contract, injury history and erratic performance make him impossible to deal.  Therefore, his real value to the Mets isn’t as a trade commodity but in the hope he’ll find it.

From what I’ve heard, the asking price in terms of prospects is high for Cliff Lee, and regardless of their supposed interest in him over Roy Oswalt, I believe the Mets find it distasteful to offer all that for a rental, and that’s what it will be because they won’t pay what he’ll be asking.

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Aug 03

METS CHAT ROOM: Game #105; Figgy gets start.

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CHAT ROOM

CHAT ROOM

The Mets conclude their four-game series tonight against Arizona with the pitching disadvantage of Nelson Figueroa against Dan Haren. I remember at one winter meetings, I believe it was Orlando, when I tracked down rumor after rumor of Haren coming to the Mets.

Of course, he never did.

Figueroa has had some decent moments with the Mets, but the truth is not nearly enough to warrant what all the fuss is about. He’s had plenty of chances to go elsewhere, but nobody was knocking at his door.

After winning five straight, the Mets are on the verge of losing four of their next five games if they lose tonight.

Here’s the line-up for the 50-54 Mets:

Angel Pagan, CF
Luis Castillo, 2B
David Wright, 3B
Gary Sheffield, LF
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Alex Cora, SS
Omir Santos, C
Nelson Figueroa, RP