Wally is Back, Man … Sort Of

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Joe Janish

You may have noticed a new ad for “Playing for Peanuts” over on the right side of the blog. As some of you may remember, “Playing for Peanuts” was a reality/documentary show about minor league baseball that aired on SNY. The show followed the South Georgia Peanuts and their manager – former Mets 2B and current Brooklyn Cyclones skipper, Wally Backman.

“Peanuts” producer John Fitzgerald is offering Mets bloggers a $5 commission for every 3-DVD set sold on the web. Not a bad deal for us bloggers, but it also gives you the chance to help support some of your favorite Mets blogs, including this one, OntheBlack, and BrooklynMetFan.

Click here for ordering information.

Since Wally Backman is back in the Mets organization and he has been mentioned as a potential Mets manager in the future, John Fitzgerald will be sending me some of the bonus footage that he has released online, along with some commentary.

Playing for Peanuts – Web Extra Clip #1

John Fitzgerald: This is Wally’s first game as a manager since 2004 and it was clear from the start that he was more than the volatile/fiery manager than we expected. First off, he was always thinking two steps ahead of the other manager – in this clip, he calls for a drag bunt from his pitcher, Damien Dantibo, and then he discusses basestealing strategy with catcher Tug Gillingham. In retrospect, this clip also shows the diversity of the team Backman put together – Dantibo was a former MMA fighter who Wally compared to Randy Myers, in terms of his personality traits and eccentricities. Gillingham, on the other hand, was the son of a high school teacher/baseball coach – he was also a high school coach before signing with the Peanuts. It’s a small thing, but it is interesting to see how Wally is able to effectively communicate strategy to both players in the span of a few minutes.

Buy the 3-DVD Set (10 episodes + Bonus Content)

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John Maine’s Chronic Mechanical Problem

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Joe Janish

Absolutely nothing has changed with John Maine since I wrote this post in late July 2008: I Can Fix Maine in 10 Minutes. Mind you, this was before Maine’s shoulder problems arose (though if you read the post the injury was predicted).

I had hopes that the issue was understood and being addressed last spring, but Maine has since regressed. Maybe it’s a mental block for Maine, or maybe it’s a failure on the part of Dan Warthen. Or maybe fixing the issue hasn’t been made a focus, for whatever reason. It would be unrealistic to expect a complete overhaul of his mechanics at this point in his life, but not unreasonable to believe minor adjustments could be made to lessen his problems (and for those who didn’t get it, my “10 minutes” title was a joke — a dig on Rick Peterson). The bottom line is, Maine still severely over-rotates, carries the ball behind his back, and as a result opens up his front shoulder too early and puts his release point at a position that severely limits the possible places the ball can go AND puts his shoulder muscles in danger. The only difference between now and 2008 is a significant loss in velocity, which is probably a combination of the poor mechanics and the accelerated wear and tear on his arm (that were caused by the poor mechanics).

When Maine was slinging the ball at 95+ MPH, it didn’t matter that the only spot he could hit consistently was up and in to RH hitters / up and away to LH hitters — the velocity combined with that location made him tough to hit. If by some miracle Maine can get his giddyup back in that range, he has a chance to be an effective pitcher 50-60% of the time. If not, he’s going to have a hard time adjusting to what is average MLB velocity, because his mechanics as they are now do not allow him to have average control — much less the pinpoint control necessary to win consistently at the big league level.

The situation isn’t completely hopeless, but it’s not going to get better on its own. Maine needs proper direction and intensive concentration on correcting his mechanics at least enough to minimize the physical danger and improve command. Again, an overhaul is likely unrealistic, but tweaks are possible. Either way, a minor league stint is probably the best course of action for both Maine and the Mets over the long haul.

Oh, for those who think I have no business talking about pitching mechanics, please read this before spitting your venom below. You’re welcomed to engage in intelligent debate, but please try to refrain from questioning my credentials — it’s old, it’s boring, and it doesn’t add to the conversation.

Posted in Pitching Mechanics | 12 Comments

Mets Game 7: Loss to Rockies

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Joe Janish

Rockies 11 Mets 3

Different time, different place, same story. And not a good evening for John Maine.

The excuse tonight was? Hmm … stomach ache? Lightheaded from the thin air? Too much rest? Slick ball? Dry ball? Near-beers? Lack of preparation? Or simply poor execution and lack of mental toughness?

If you thought things couldn’t get any uglier, or more bleak, after Sunday’s debacle, then this game surely sent you to the edge. Or is it the ledge?

Game Notes

John Maine allowed 8 runs (7 earned) on 7 hits and 3 walks. He did strike out 4, though, so there’s that. At no point in the contest did he look comfortable or in command (of pitches or focus). His velocity was poor, and the best pitch he threw was a change-up that occasionally resembled a dying quail off the left side of the plate. But with his horrid mechanics that’s the only spot he can safely hit with that pitch.

Rockies starter Greg Smith pitched 7 full innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 8. It was his first MLB win since 2008. I guess he, like Livan Hernandez on Sunday, “pitched a gem”.

Bob Ojeda, in the postgame, specified Maine’s inability “to repeat his delivery” as the crux of his problems. I disagree, strongly. In fact, the fact he repeats the same BAD delivery is his problem. By over-rotating from the beginning, he will never be able to hit any spot consistently other than up and away to LH hitters / up and in to RH hitters.

David Wright blasted his second homerun of the season in the sixth to bring the Mets within a touchdown. Unfortunately, it had no impact on the game nor the Mets’ psyche. Wright also walked two more times and went 2-for-2 on the evening.

Jason Bay drove in his first RBI of the year. Yippee! He also saw more pitches (21) than any other Mets hitter.

In addition to Maine’s incompetence on the mound, the Mets defense was disappointing. Jose Reyes flubbed another one, Angel Pagan did not take charge on a ball to left-center that dropped for a double, and at first base, Fernando Tatis looked like he was wearing concrete skates on his feet and an iron glove on his hand. Maine didn’t help himself, either, throwing away a comebacker that led to an unearned run. Doesn’t seem right, does it, that a pitcher’s error can result in an unearned run?

Luis Castillo was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double with the Mets losing 8-0. Not a joke.

Mets pitchers struck out 11, but walked 9, and allowed 10 hits.

Next Mets Game

Unfortunately, the Mets are required to play the Rockies again on Wednesday night at 8:40 PM EST. Jon Niese goes to the mound against Aaron Cook.

Posted in Mets 2010 Games | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Goal is Mediocrity

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Joe Janish

Last June, I jumped all over Jerry Manuel for his goal of winning 50% of the Mets ballgames.

Now I feel kind of bad, because that rather modest winning percentage is, in fact, the organizational goal. Jerry was only pushing his team toward the expectations set by his bosses. Sorry, Jerry — my misunderstanding.

See these quotes by Omar Minaya, from the Daily News (hat tip to loyal MetsToday reader “gary s”):

“The home stand, we had an opportunity to be 4-2,” Minaya added. “I think we showed some fight, that we’ll battle and come from behind. We need to get more clutch hits. I thought the pen did a good job and the starters held their own.

“It’s early in the year. One week you have one concern, the next week you have another. You always like to be around .500 and we have a tough road trip. But we got Jose Reyes back. … If we had won (Sunday), we would’ve ended the home stand at .500.

“I feel good that we’re going to win some games.”

Apparently, “some games” equals about 80 or so by season’s end. Hmm … I’m not sure that’ll be enough to put the Mets into the postseason. Though, it might fool some Mets fans into thinking that their team is “playing meaningful games in September”.

My guess is that Omar and Co. are looking at the past NL Championships in Mets’ history, in particular the NL crown won in 1973, when the team went 82-80. Perhaps they point to that season as evidence that a .500 team can go to the playoffs.

And perhaps, their next move is to coax Rusty Staub, Don Hahn, George Stone, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, et al, out of retirement.

Posted in News Notes Rumors | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Yet More Thoughts On Mike Jacobs

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Joe Janish

Hard to believe that before the team has played 7 games, we have discussed Mike Jacobs three or four times already.

But I have to again harp on the Mike Jacobs decision, as Ed from MetsFever was able to convey succinctly in a few sentences what took me an entire post: Continue reading →

Posted in Mets 2010 Games | 3 Comments

Meet Dwight Gooden Today

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Joe Janish

If you want to meet Dwight Gooden, you can do so today at Stan’s on 850 River Ave., Bronx, New York (1/2 block from Yankee Stadium).

Dwight will be there signing baseballs and other memorabilia from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM.

Former Met Jim Leyritz will also be at Stan’s, but on Wednesday, April 14th, from 2:30 to 4:00 PM.

Oh, you forgot Leyritz was, technically, a Met? Kind of the same way Glenn Davis, Freddy Garcia, and Bret Boone were also “Mets”.

In addition, former Yankee and hair salon magnate Joe Pepitone will be at Stan’s this Saturday from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM. Pepitone was never a Met but he has lived one of the most interesting lives of any MLBer in modern history, and remains a wonderful, generous guy with great stories to tell (though not all are “family friendly”).

You can see all the signings coming up at Stan’s by visiting the MintPros site. Yeah, it’s a Yankee-heavy schedule, but they are all very congenial, fun, former players who come across as regular guys and yet have incredibly fascinating tales to tell.

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K-Rod Is A Punk

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Joe Janish

There has been quite a bit of excitement over Francisco Rodriguez’s response to Willie Harris after Harris was hit by a pitch on Sunday afternoon.

If you’ve been trolling the various Mets blogs and forums, you may have noticed a very positive sentiment regarding K-Rod’s “fire”, and celebration by Mets fans who loved that K-Rod threw multiple F-bombs at Harris, nearly inciting a brawl.

I don’t disagree that Harris should’ve done a better job of getting out of the way of the ball — but, I feel that way about nearly EVERY MLB hitter. And, I don’t disagree that this Mets club has lacked fire and intensity for some time. I do disagree that K-Rod’s outburst was acceptable and inspiring. If anything, it was slightly embarrassing, inappropriate, unprofessional, and immature. In short, K-Rod overreacted to the situation, and in my mind, made himself look bad to anyone other than a biased Mets fan.
Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion and Analysis | 10 Comments

Roster Moves Review

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Joe Janish

There were several transactions involving the Mets over the past week. So, in case you missed it …
Continue reading →

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