Tag Archives: Major League

Jun 07

Takahashi needs shorter leash

Posted on by

Hisanori Takahashi will get another chance partly because he deserves it, but also because the Mets don’t have much choice.

TAKAHASHI: Raked again.

Takahashi has started four games; two sparkling and two stinkers. What the Mets have learned is when the unraveling starts it comes quickly, and trouble usually comes around the fifth and sixth innings.

He began to tire at this time against the Yankees and Phillies, and yesterday. However, he lost it early against the Padres, when he never had command.

The memory of the Yankees and Phillies starts, plus how strong he was until the Cody Ross homer yesterday, is what will keep him in the rotation for now.

Continue reading →

Jun 06

Mets Chat Room: Going for the sweep.

Posted on by

Game #57 vs. Marlins

The Mets will be going for their eighth straight victory at Citi Field this afternoon and extend their Major League Best 21-9 home record.

Jerry Manuel, in explaining the Mets’ road woes, said they don’t take the same offense approach. There’s more trying for the long ball instead of going the opposite way and working the count. They let getting away from Citi Field’s long dimensions get to them.

“If you see us play at home, I expect us to win the division,” said Jeff Francoeur, who takes a nine-game hitting streak into today’s game.

Continue reading →

May 31

Time to get rid of Perez.

Posted on by

PEREZ: Time to cut ties.

The fear is there, but is it any worse than the embarrassment?

The fear is the Mets will cut loose Oliver Perez and he’ll find out what ails him under another pitching coach – maybe worse, it might be somebody in the NL East or The Jacket.

But, is that any worse than the embarrassment of watching Perez make a mockery of the concept of teamwork and force the Mets to play with what is a 24-man roster because of his refusal to accept repeated requests to go to the minor leagues to attempt to iron out his problems?

I would love to see the Mets attempt to suspend Perez for his selfishness for his unwillingness to make himself better, and label it conduct detrimental to the team. If an athlete doesn’t condition himself, doesn’t work out, then the team has some recourse. How is this not the same? How is refusing to go where you’ll get work different?

Continue reading →

May 19

May 19.10: Chat Room, Game #41 at Nationals: Knuckleballer Dickey gets the ball.

Posted on by

Let the patchwork begin.

With Oliver Perez exiled to the bullpen, R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball is being brought up from Triple-A Buffalo to face the Washington Nationals.

Dickey has been Buffalo’s most effective starter and his date to pitch coincided with Perez’s so this should be seamless.

Dickey has major league experience, but it would be wrong to say he’s an accomplished major league pitcher. He was 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in 35 games last year for Minnesota, all but one of them in relief. He is 0-1 with a 17.18 ERA in one start and one relief appearance against Washington.

The Mets have made no commitment to Dickey beyond today, but it is a safe assumption that a strong start should warrant the ball again.

May 17

May 17.10: Does the Mejia yo-yo begin?

Posted on by

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the Mets are toying with the idea of fixing their damaged rotation with Jenrry Mejia. There is now talk of sending Mejia to the minors to stretch him out in preparation of making him a starter.

The rotation is where the Mets wanted Mejia all along, but instead of starting him in the minors they opted to use him in a variety of roles out of the bullpen on the major league level. It only shows they didn’t have a real plan.

I don’t like the idea of bouncing Mejia around and wonder what impact it could have on his development. He seems to be handling things well in his present role and believe they would be better off just keeping him here and getting him ready for the rotation next spring.

We all saw how they rushed Bobby Parnell. Maybe Parnell wasn’t going to make it all along, but there’s no telling how the change of roles hindered his development. I know, I know, you’re going to say Parnell is terrible, but would he be so bad if they had a plan and stuck with it?

We really don’t know, and I’d hate to see the same mistakes made with Mejia.