Gameday Open Thread: June 4 vs. Florida
The Mets (27-27) look to right themselves as they take on the visiting Marlins (27-27) at Citi Field. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (2-0, 2.84) gets the ball for the Mets and Anibal Sanchez (5-2, 2.89) gets the nod for the Marlins.
First pitch at 7:10pm Eastern…
Discuss…
I had forgotten about this. Ventura really was a big-time player in college and MLB. Makes you wonder how much better he would've been without the injury.
they are on their second straight african american manager, and have a black 1st base coach
If something happens to Pagan, both Bay and Francoeur can hold their own over a few innings, and the Mets can bring someone else up. Not a big deal.
As for the demotion when Niese returns, it won't be Dessens because Elmer is suddenly Jerry's "guy" for the 8th inning (yikes!). My bet is on Valdes, considering that Jerry likes the idea of having Mejia's electric stuff on the roster.
And when Santos does go back to the minors (because I doubt the Mets feel they need three catchers), who else from AAA aside from Feliciano do you see the Mets recalling? You can make an argument for Mike Hessman, but, to me, he'd be redundant to Fernando Tatis. At least Feliciano is giving you added OF depth, which is what it seems the Mets need right now. Unless you want to go with 13 pitchers?
GMJ, DL for Castillo, Perez to DL all signify the second big changes this year for the Mets. The first was the Ike Davis call up and that turned out well. Right now with Niese being called back, Santos up while Blanco is hurting (and not Thole because he was recently hit in the head with a bat while catching… well Josh had to know catching wasn't going to be easy…) and Tejada starting while Castillo is out the roster is still temporary.
In the end we have to assume when the dust settles a bit we will have Tejada at second, Feliciano as the 4th OFer, Niese in the rotation, NIeve back in the bullpen, Perez and Maine in a constant rehab stint, Dickey and Takahashi in the rotation, and a "who ever is the hot hand" 8th inning guy.
I'm pleased with the moves of the past few days and the likely moves to follow. I want to argue that one more roster move be made. Can we DFA Tatis and bring up Mike Hessman? I know he is a bit of an unknown, but Tatis is not playing and Hessman potentially could be a more capable replacement for Wright. I think Wright could use more days off and Tatis is just no more than below average at third. Hessman could at least hit for more power and play adequate defense.
Also I wish they would trade Mische for Mejia, but that is wishful thinking.
Seriously though, Bay and Francoeur are both fine enough athletes to handle CF for 9 innings if need be. Again, there aren't any special skills needed to catch a fly ball in CF that can't be transferred from the corners for a few innings or a game here or there.
It's not unlike having Alex Cora backup as the SS backup. For a few innings or a single game, he won't embarrass himself. But if Reyes were to go down for an extended time, you'd call someone up. Same with Pagan — yeah, call up Feliciano if Pagan is down for more than a day.
I don't know why the Mets need added OF depth. GMJ was DFA'd partly because he stunk but also because they didn't have any playing time for him. If you notice, outfielder Chris Carter also hasn't seen much time at all, and neither has occasional outfielder Tatis.
If my memory serves me correctly, their was a decent amount of criticism directed towards Willie during the collapse year of 2007 when he didn't rest his "core" regulars, and severely underutilized his bench. This led to a slowdown in offensive production that was one of the main culprits for that season's infamous outcome.
So now, in 2010, I'm not understanding why we're just accepting how this season's bench players are picking splinters out of their behinds while the "core" regulars are, once again, playing day in and day out without getting a rest. Why advocate having a dearth of depth on the bench when we've seen how this same problem has cost this team in the long-run in season's past?
When Santos returns to the minors, the bench will consist of Blanco, Cora, Tatis and Carter. The 4 of them have the experience and the talent composition to handle every spot in the field EXCEPT CF. Moreover, it is VERY unlikely either Bay or Francoeur get inserted into a starting lineup in which they are to handle CF duties from the 1st inning onward. That having been said, and seeing how Feliciano is arguably the most deserving position player to receive a promotion from Buffalo, why are you so reluctant to bring him to NY? I don't argue that Pagan could play everyday until Beltran returns, nor do I argue that either Bay or Francoeur could play CF in a pinch. But why back the roster into a corner like that? Why not call up Feliciano as insurance behind Pagan? Why not see if his .370+ AAA average this season could translate into success at the major league level? Who else from Buffalo (assuming the Mets don't make a trade or delve into the free agency pool for bench help) do you see as a better fit for the bench once Santos gets demoted?
I could see your point in not forcing Feliciano onto the roster just because of his experience playing CF if he were hitting .230 for the Bisons, or if FMart or Pridie were healthy. But, to me, Feliciano is the academic replacement for GMJ for the bench. He's hitting well, he fills a need the Mets have, and he deserves the opportunity. There's just no good reason to leave the team short-handed on the bench like you suggest – especially when someone like Feliciano is sitting in our back pocket.
Again, this isn't MY opinion on things, it's simply the way I feel the Mets think about things after watching this Minaya administration over the past 5 years. They simply have their idea about a player, and almost nothing can happen on the field to change that idea.
That said, I agree with you wholeheartedly on all your points.
Further, Jerry Manuel is not managing for a 162-game season — he is managing every single game as if it is his last, because he's on the hot seat. So although you and I agree that pushing the pedal to the metal is going to cause a problem down the road, the reality is that Manuel can't and won't look that far ahead.
How about we move this conversation to the current Game Day Open Thread so we can chat in real time? http://www.metstoday.com/4581/gameday-open-thread…