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August 20, 2009 Latest Mets News Joe Janish

Mets Release Livan Hernandez

According to MetsBlog, the Mets have released Livan Hernandez and activated Billy Wagner from the DL.

Though Livan has struggled mightily in his last three starts, I’m mildly surprised if only because I don’t know who is going to take his spot in the rotation. Nelson Figueroa? Tim Redding? After seeing two three-inning starts by Bobby Parnell, and getting lucky to get 5 innings out of Ollie Perez, you’d think the Mets would reserve those two for long duty.

Hopefully this clears the way for the Mets to promote Lance Broadway or Tobi Stoner to get a look-see. Today happens to be Broadway’s 26th birthday, and though he’s been awful in AAA, you’d have to think he has a better shot at making the 2010 roster than Tim Redding.

Looking forward to seeing Billy Wagner in action … if he can crank it up to 95 MPH, the Mets will have a nice trading piece — or setup man for next year.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. You Know Who August 20, 2009 at 4:34 pm
    Stop linking him.
  2. isuzudude August 20, 2009 at 6:36 pm
    Apparently it’s going to be Mr Phillie Killer Tim Redding to get Livan’s next start, not one of the kids. So the Redding love affair continues. Rosters just cannot expand fast enough to give the Mets enough long relievers to make up for the ragtag rotation Jerry is peicing together these days.

    A fond adieu to Livan, who started the year well and fizzled, much like he did last year with Minnesota. He’s likely to be a journeyman spot starter for the rest of his career.

    Meantime, what’s with all the drama suddenly surrounding Gary Sheffield? He’s played the role of good soldier for so long this year, why all of a sudden he’s getting cranky is perplexing. I guess he just couldn’t stay out of controversy for the whole season. The story goes he got claimed on waivers and pulled back by the Mets, so is he upset the Mets didn’t trade him or let him go to another team to play meaningful games? Is he lobbying to get released?

  3. joejanish August 20, 2009 at 8:20 pm
    ‘dude – I’m guessing that all the naysayers who were down on the Sheff signing back in April are coming out of the woodwork to rehash their ill will. I’m with you — I don’t get it.

    This is so similar to when Sheff was on the Yankees and people vilified him because he didn’t want to be traded away. I wish these people would stop and think what they’re saying: Sheffield is happy where he is, feels a loyalty to the organization for which he is playing, and doesn’t want to leave. And this is described as “selfishness” ? huh?

    From all reports, Sheffield wants to stay with the Mets this year and next year. Call me crazy but if you can find someone who WANTS to be in Flushing, I would be embracing him. Good luck trying to find anyone who wants to join this Mickey Mouse operation.

  4. Frank Quinn August 20, 2009 at 10:54 pm
    Casey Stengel once described Greg Goosen as ‘a 20 year old catcher who in 10 years has a chance to be 30.’ This came about when you mentioned Broadway turning 26. C’mn this guy is crap. The only reason they would bring him up is to justify the Castro trade. Stoner would be a much better choice. I say release Redding and Figueroa and bring up the AA guys. Holt and Mejia. So we lose 95 or 100 games instead of 90. What is the difference and you might get an idea for 2010.

    And I say good riddance with Sheffield. This is just one of the many teams he has gotten in trouble with. Mets are jusr afraid he would come back to haunt them this year. The guy is 40 not 25. And he does have Gooden blood in him

    I say hire a thorough baseball guy like a Buck Showalter and complete the lance of this abcess.

  5. Dumb and Dumber: Mets Edition « Matt Himelfarb August 20, 2009 at 11:50 pm
    […] lot of bloggers and analysts have rushed to Sheffield’s defense. As my good friendJoe Janish put it: if you can find someone who WANTS to be in Flushing, I would be embracing him. Good luck […]
  6. murph August 21, 2009 at 2:10 am
    I was one a “naysayer” when the Mets acquired Mr. Sheffield. I admit I was wrong: Sheffield has been one of the few bright spots of this season (along with another frequent target of naysayers, Mr. Castillo).

    There is nothing wrong with asking for a contract extension during the season. However, I don’t think I am “coming out of the woodwork” when I say that asking out of the lineup because you didn’t get your way is the kind of behavior some naysayers expected we would eventually see from Mr. Sheffield. Excusable behavior? maybe. Unprofessional behavior? definitely.

  7. joejanish August 21, 2009 at 8:51 am
    Murph, I’ll agree that you are not “coming out of the woodwork”.

    My point is that many people are completely forgetting what Sheff did for this team all year, more or less pretending it didn’t happen, and jubilantly celebrating themselves with the “I told you so!” crap. I mean really, what did those people tell us? They said he’d be a clubhouse cancer, he’d rip the team apart, he’d be a bad influence, he’d more or less ruin the season with his selfish antics. But in the end? Quite the opposite.

    At this point, if Sheff is going to pull something selfish, who really cares? The season was flushed down the toilet in June, when the entire organization gave up and focused on selling tickets. I don’t see him taking himself out of a game as doing anything at all to affect the Mets or their precious clubhouse this year.

  8. Mike August 21, 2009 at 10:16 am
    To Frank Quinn I just want to point out that both
    Mejia and Holt are no where close to ready and would be no better than Parnell (worse, in fact). Holt has good command and velocity on his fastball but has no advanced secondary or third pitch to speak of. Mejia has been hurt this year a bit and only recently came back. He is getting good reviews all over, but why would the Mets stunt his growth by exposing him now?

    Also why start the clock on these guys? The moment they step onto Citi Field the clock would start ticking on their arbitration eligibility and the Mets would have to protect them on their 40-man roster for fear of losing them to the Rule-5 draft. Josh Thole is going to have to be protected this year as I believe he has 5 years in the organization. If the Mets truly want to bring up someone from AA, Thole is the guy, regardless of his still developing defense at catcher. (He also recently was played at firstbase… does anyone think this is a coincidence??? I sure don’t.)

  9. isuzudude August 21, 2009 at 10:27 am
    Great points, Mike. With the Mets a lock to finish way out of playoff contention, a lot of fans are calling for the team to just call up every one of their prospects who may have a future as a big league player, but, as you point out, there are many more options to weigh when deciding who to call up besides just giving them major league experience. Just because they Mets season is lost doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to fill the roster with kids. Mejia and Tejada are still teenagers, while Holt is struggling at AA. So what makes people so sure that rushing them to the majors will be to their benefit and not detriment? None of those 3 are ready for major league action yet, and calling them up in September just to get their feet wet could definitely do them more damage than good.
  10. Mike August 21, 2009 at 10:48 am
    I should add that Thole playing first base is not akin to Murphy playing LF or something similar. Thole was a 1stbaseman before being converted to catch because the organization (perhaps wisely *shock*) thought his bat would not be enough for 1st (power-wise it is not) but would be above average (literally, since he can be a .300 hitter in the show) as a catcher. So theoretically if the Mets staff brought him up in September to get him a few at-bats and they don’t mind holding his hand with the catching duties (calling the pitches for him, yes that might be needed, though maybe I should give him slightly more credit there) then he very well could get more than a few at-bats. Moreover Thole could get a few reps at first since he is more than capable of playing there given his experience.

    Personally the September call-ups I want to and think I might see are Thole, Broadway, Evans, Adam Bostick (sp?), Kunz, Robinson Cancel and Tobi Stoner. Stoner I am unsure of because I do not think he is on the 40-man roster and he does not need to be protected just yet so perhaps not. That’s it. I think it is likely that more will be brought up, such as a few veterans, but other than that I don’t see much at all.