Mets Today - The Hot Stove Edition

New York Mets news, game recaps, opinion, and analysis

Archives for the ‘Mets Hitting’ Category

Reassessing the Offense

By joe • Sep 17th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

Although Fernando Tatis hit only .244 in August, he picked things up these past few weeks, going 10 for his last 31 with a .910 OPS. That kind of offensive production is sorely needed on a team with a precarious bullpen situation — as I’ve been saying all along, the best defense against late-inning relief [...]



Where’s the Beef?

By joe • Aug 4th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

I’d like to share the stats of a “random” selection of batters …
Manny Ramirez went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI in his most recent game, hitting .615 since joining the Dodgers.
Casey Blake was 2-for-4 in the same game, hitting .364 with LA.
Xavier Nady set a career high by driving in 6 runs yesterday, going [...]



Say No To Ibanez

By joe • Jul 30th, 2008 • Category: Hot Stove, Mets Hitting, News Notes Rumors, Shea What?

The rumors of Raul Ibanez coming to Queens continue to abound.
Let’s get one thing crystal clear:
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For those who are more literary than visionary, Raul Ibanez is Shawn Green. In other words, a guy who once was a strong all-around player with a slugging lefthanded bat, who has declined drastically in all phases of [...]



Your Turn, Omar

By joe • Jul 18th, 2008 • Category: Hot Stove, Mets Hitting

So the Phillies have accomplished the impossible, addressing their most glaring need by picking up Joe Blanton from the Athletics for a package of prospects / suspects.
The Phillies gave up no one from their 25-man roster, with all three players among their “top 20 prospects” according to Baseball America. However, that’s not saying much — [...]



Alou Out - Now What?

By joe • Jul 16th, 2008 • Category: Hot Stove, Mets Hitting, Mets Injuries

So the news before the All-Star Break was that Moises Alou was finished for the year, having torn his hamstring in a rehab game the night before.
There had been suggestions that Alou did not need to rush back, that the Mets would be fine with Alou returning some time after the All-Star break, but apparently [...]



Pre-game to Mets Game #70

By joe • Jun 17th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

Where is Trot Nixon?
Or as my wife quipped, “why are they not trotting out Trot?”
Another observation: why in the world is Luis Aguayo on the coaching staff? Further, why is he — and not Ken Oberkfell — the third base coach?
And as MetsToday loyal reader Julie asked, “how did Sandy Alomar get a free pass?”
A [...]



Listen to HoJo

By joe • May 27th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

Last week, in a John Delcos article on Ryan Church, the Mets’ MVP credited hitting coach Howard Johnson with his early season success.
From the article:
Church credits his hot start to working daily with hitting instructor Howard Johnson.
“Howard and I are always talking,” Church said. “He’s a great sounding board.”
Johnson has Church hitting from a more [...]



Walking to Wins

By joe • May 27th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

The Mets are fourth in the NL in walks with 187 — though, there are several teams within four or five free passes, so you could say they’re middle of the pack.
Those 187 walks translate to an average of close to 4 bases on balls per game (3.8, to be exact).
In May, however, [...]



Where Is Pascucci?

By joe • May 23rd, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting, Mets Injuries

So … Moises Alou is placed on the 15-day DL after a stiff wind strained his calf. And the man to replace him on the 25-man roster is … Raul Casanova?
Huh?
I suppose this means Willie Randolph will consider using Ramon Castro as a pinch-hitter, but otherwise this is a real head-scratcher. Why in the world [...]



Life Without Moises

By joe • Apr 28th, 2008 • Category: Mets Hitting

While few of us expected Moises Alou to play in more than 100 games this season, we did hope to see him at some point beyond the cameo appearances in spring training. After suffering a hernia, the latest news is that Alou may or may not have a fractured bone in his ankle.
This does [...]