Octavio Dotel Signs with Pirates
They’re dropping like flies …
Setup man extraordinaire and former Met Octavio Dotel has signed a one-year deal with the Pirates, presumably to be their closer.
This really isn’t news to Mets fans because the Mets have PLENTY of bullpen depth, particularly in the setup role, having signed someone who has thrown 92 pitches since 2007 and the Jorge Julio of Japan.
Mets NOT Interested in Catcher
Remarkably, there is a catcher on the market that does not draw the interest of the New York Mets.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are shopping catcher Ryan Doumit, and fielding offers from several teams, most notably the Blue Jays.
To Kovacevic’s knowledge, however, the Mets are NOT one of those teams.
Doumit battled wrist and back injuries in 2009, appearing in only 75 games. He is a switch-hitting, offensive-minded catcher with some pop and a hard-nosed approach to the game but below-average skills behind the plate. He can play 1B and the outfield, but at those positions his offensive prowess is not as impressive — in that way he reminds me a bit of Robert Fick: not enough bat to play a corner, not enough glove to be a regular backstop. Still, he’s a nice guy to have on the bench and mix in at all three positions — but the Mets are already set with a backup catcher, and that’s where he adds the most value.
In related news, Troy Renck believes the Mets may be pursuing Yorvit Torrealba, who reportedly has moved beyond the grievance filed against the team in 2007.
Can Craig Hansen Get the Monkey Off His Back?
Craig Hansen was chosen with the 26th overall pick of the June 2005 draft by Boston Red Sox, and made his MLB debut less than three months later, smack in the middle of a heated pennant race. Hansen was not the best prospect in the draft, but was considered by many to be among the most polished — so it was not a surprise that he was in the Fenway Park bullpen so quickly. The 6′6″ St. John’s closer touched 98 MPH on the radar gun, had the best slider coming out of the draft, and was judged as having the appropriate temperament for short relief work. He zipped through 12 innings split between the Gulf Coast League and AA before laying an egg in Boston. Though he was a disappointment in his first four games as a big leaguer, most predicted future success as an MLB closer. Read more
A Whirlwind of Deals
While the Mets remained status quo over the past 48 hours, a number of trades were made among postseason-contending teams. Let’s break them down.
Phillies obtain Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson
Wow. The Phillies get a Cy Young winner and a very capable (and relatively young) fourth outfielder in return for three minor leaguers. Granted, those prospects are top-notch, but they are still prospects — not proven MLBers. Further, the Phils did not give up any of Kyle Drabek, JA Happ, Dominic Brown, nor Michael Taylor, their four most coveted youngsters.
Lee steps right in to give the Phillies the best one-two lefty starting combo in MLB. Francisco is a talented offensive force who runs the bases well and has gap / doubles power that could evolve into homerun power at Citizens Bank Park. He is, however, a notorious streak hitter who runs scalding hot and ice cold — not unlike current Phillie Pedro Feliz. This trade more or less locks up the NL East for the Phillies.
Mariners trade Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock to the Pirates for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson.
Finally, the Bucs find a taker for Jack Wilson, a hard-nosed, good-fielding, light-hitting, overpaid shortstop. Snell was an eternal enigma who requested a demotion to AAA to get his head straight. Both will do well in Seattle, and the Pirates will be happy with the players they received. Cedeno steps right in to Wilson’s position at shortstop, and Clement is essentially a lefthanded-hitting version of Ryan Doumit — an offensive-minded catcher with some holes behind the plate, and who may eventually find a home at 1B.
White Sox trade Brian Anderson to Red Sox for Mark Kotsay
The Red Sox had DFA’d Kotsay to make room on the roster for Adam LaRoche, so the fact they received anything for him in return is gravy. They get Anderson, who is essentially a hyped-up version of Jeremy Reed, and can stock him in AAA. The White Sox get a veteran bat who will be used immediately in return for a player who was unlikely to ever meet previous expectations. Good move for both clubs.
Giants acquire Ryan Garko from Indians for minor leaguer Scott Barnes.
This was the deal the Mets needed to make — obtain a slugging, under-30, inexpensive first baseman / outfielder who can fill in at 1B and the outfield corners and be a candidate for regular duty in 2010. Unfortunately, the Mets don’t have ANY minor league pitching prospects at the AA level who are coveted by other teams, so such a deal can’t happen — at least, not without the Mets overpaying (as usual). After being drafted out of St. John’s last year, Barnes rocketed through the Giants’ system, and despite being in the minors, could be ahead of where Jon Niese is right now. But since the Giants have tons of young pitching at the MLB level and throughout their system, he was expendable. This is what is defined as “depth”.
Giants acquire Freddy Sanchez for minor league pitcher Tim Alderson
In a matter of 24 hours, the Giants replaced one-half of their infield, adding much-needed offense to their feeble-hitting lineup. In Sanchez they get a solid singles hitter who will step right in to play second base, which has been something of a black hole for San Francisco this year. They did, however, give up a solid pitching prospect in Alderson — a 20-year-old who was ranked the #4 prospect in the Giants’ organization, and the 26th-best prospect in all of baseball. But again, the Giants are loaded with young arms, so it’s not a big deal for them. Maybe they overpaid, but, you have to give up something to get something — especially at the trade deadline. The Bucs, who are going nowhere, did well with this deal.
Final Thoughts
The Phillies deal, obviously, is the one that on the surface most affects the Mets. But the Giants also made moves that should significantly improve their club, and since they’re unlikely to oust the Dodgers in the NL West, they are a major obstacle in terms of the Wild Card.
The Mets likely won’t make a deal — partially because they don’t have the parts to spare, and mainly because they look at players returning from the DL as their “acquisitions”. The problem with that thinking is, you don’t know when those players will return, nor if they’ll return at 100% right away. For example, Jose Reyes might be back by mid-August — but will he be able to run at full speed? Similarly, when / if Carlos Delgado returns, how long will it take him to get his timing back? And will his hip allow him to swing with the same force he had before? Will either Billy Wagner and J.J. Putz be able to crack 90 MPH when they come off the DL? Lots of hopes and wishes — which has been the Mets’ strategy for three years running.
Window Shopping: Pirates
A team that is sitting in last place, nine games below .500 and in a division headed by the Cardinals, Cubs, and Brewers, would presumably be sellers. Indeed, the fire sale began a few weeks ago for the Pirates, who dealt away Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan, Sean Burnett, and Eric Hinske over the past few weeks. But there isn’t much left in the cupboard, so the store in Pittsburgh will be closing shortly. Read more
Why the Pirates are Better than the Mets
Carlos Beltran, after missing the first two games of the series against the Pirates, hit a double and a homerun in third contest, and afterward had these inspiring words:
The reality is, coming here to Pittsburgh and getting swept, for me, I feel embarrassed… We need to find a way to play better and to focus more on what we need to accomplish… I mean, we have to take this personally. It can’t happen… I know the Pirates are a big-league team, but we’re better than them. We’re better than them, and we know we’re better than them. But, we have to do something about it. McLouth wasn’t here and they still came out and scored 11 runs. 11 runs? We have to play better.
Hmm … is Beltran throwing the team under the bus for the first two games? Not exactly inspiring words. Reminds me of Kelly Leak, and I’m not sure why. Anyway, I digress. We move on to the crux of the matter.
The truth is, the depleted Mets squad that took the field in the first two games of this series most certainly is NOT better than the Pirates. Without Carlos Delgado, this team cannot be considered a postseason club. Take away Jose Reyes — and replace him with a AAA shortstop with zero offense — and suddenly the Mets are probably a .500 club. Remove Beltran from the equation, as well as Ryan Church, and the Mets become a sub-.500 team that struggles because it’s either overmatched offensively or beating itself via poor fundamentals.
In other words, a team that will have a tough time beating the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates are short on All-Stars, and their offense doesn’t remind anyone of the old “Pittsburgh Lumber Co.”. But, most of their pitchers do a decent job of putting the ball over the plate, their fielding is above average, they hustle, they put the ball in play, and they have a few athletes who can change a ballgame with their speed. All that adds up to a team that shouldn’t embarrass itself, and should win close to 50% of their games.
Are the Pirates better than the Mets? Right now, maybe. Without Beltran in the lineup, probably. Are the Pirates better than a 100% healthy Mets roster? No way. But the Mets have to play the current hand they’re dealt, and manager Jerry Manuel is holding few face cards — with an ace that only appears once every five days.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Mets should expect to lose, or to lay down for cellar-dwellers such as the Nationals. But one needs to look around and see reality, rather than admonishing the lucky few who have been able to stay on the field. Right now, it’s a Mets team in shambles, but one that should be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Mets Game 52: Loss to Pirates
Pirates 11 Mets 6
Ouch. Not sure where to begin.
On the bright side, the Mets’ supposedly feeble offense scored six times, which is usually enough to win a big league game. Indeed, they knocked Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf out of the game by the fifth frame. Unfortunately, Mets starter Mike Pelfrey allowed 9 Pirates to cross the plate in the first four, and the Mets never had a chance to catch up.
It didn’t help that J.J. Putz, in his debut as mop-up man, allowed another two runs to put the game completely out of reach in the seventh.
Among the big men on offense for the McLouthless Buccos were Jason Jaramillo (2 hits, 4 RBI), Ramon Vazquez (4-for-4), and McLouth’s replacement, rookie Andrew McCutchen, who went 2-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs scored, and an RBI from the leadoff spot.
Notes
The Pirates hit zero home runs in this contest.
In the second inning, Danny Murphy was thrown out three times within three minutes, but not called out until the third time. He was picked off first by Ross Ohlendorf (but called safe), thrown out attempting to go first to third on a Fernando Martinez single (again called safe), and finally put out attempting to score on a grounder by Omir Santos. Gotta love the kid’s exuberance, and if he was just a little luckier, the Mets would’ve had another run.
A few minutes later, Ohlendorf picked off Luis Castillo at first base (he didn’t slide), but again the ump called him safe. If I were Ohlendorf, I’d be hating on the umps, as he would’ve been out of that difficult second inning with no runs scored.
Though, Castillo beat out a grounder in the first frame, and was called out instead of safe. So the umps were bad all around. Not that it mattered.
Sean Green proved he can be an outstanding pitcher, so long as he has been given at least one full day of rest and is brought into a pressure-free situation. Green threw two stellar, shutout innings before yielding to the Putz.
Can you define this as a sweep? I’m going to say no, and wait to see what happens when these two clubs meet again for the makeup game on July 3.
Next Game
The Mets can’t get out of Pittsburgh fast enough, and head into Washington, DC to face the always-tough Nationals on Friday night. Tim Redding tries to pitch into the fifth inning against rookie Shairon Martis, who is gunning for his sixth win against one loss. Game time is 7:05 PM.
Pirates Trade Nate McLouth to Braves
Now we know why the Braves dumped Tom Glavine — to clear payroll.
In the second surprising move of the day involving Atlanta, the Braves acquired centerfielder Nate McLouth from the Pirates in exchange for Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jeff Locke.
Morton and Locke were among the Braves’ better pitching prospects, and Hernandez a top outfield prospect. Hernandez compares in skills to former Met Carlos Gomez.
Though McLouth has been mired in a season-long slump, he was showing signs of breaking out recently, and he no doubt will benefit from being surrounded in the lineup by the Braves’ legit MLB hitters. With the Pirates, opposing pitchers had the option to pitch around McLouth and instead deal with the LaRoche brothers — who are nice hitters but hardly middle-of-the-order talents right now.
Have to say I’m stunned by this move, from the Pirates’ perspective. You would think a 27-year-old centerfielder with McLouth’s skillset, and about to enter his prime, is the type of player you use as a building block. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff would seem to be a year or two away from maturing, so why cut bait on McLouth now? Basically what the Bucs are saying is, “we don’t plan to compete this year, next year, nor the year after”. Wow, and I thought it was tough to be a Mets fan!
What makes this deal more mind-boggling is that the Pirates bought out McLouth’s arbitration years only a few months ago, signing him to a 3-year, $15.75M extension in February — which is pretty cheap for an All-Star centerfielder. Apparently the Pirates a) believe last year was a fluke for McLouth and trading him while he still as value; b) are broke; and/or c) are focused on always being a AAA team in the midst of “rebuilding”, and not really interested in fielding an MLB-caliber ballclub.
The Braves, on the other hand, get a solid centerfielder entering his prime and under control for the next four years to replace Jordan Schaefer, who has shown a great glove but has been overmatched at the plate. They dealt from surplus, and likely won’t miss any of the three youngsters they’ve sent to Pittsburgh.
Mets Game 51: Loss to Pirates
Pirates 3 Mets 1
For the second time in three days, the Mets engaged in a pitchers’ duel, but unlike Sunday’s win over the Marlins, were on the short end of the sword.
Johan Santana pitched poorly for Santana, but good for a mere mortal, and unfortunately not good enough for a win. He scattered seven hits through six innings, allowing three runs. I believe that qualifies as a “quality start”. Quality starts, though, don’t guarantee wins.
Pittsburgh pitcher Zach Duke was just a little better, holding the Mets to one run on eight hits and a walk. The only run allowed came on a sacrifice fly by Luis Castillo that scored Ramon Martinez.
Buccos catcher Jason Jaramillo blasted his first MLB homerun off Santana in the fifth, a “no doubter” deep into the left field stands. The Pirates’ went ahead in the sixth inning, when Freddy Sanchez led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Nate McLouth double. Moments later Adam LaRoche hit another double to score McLouth with the insurance run.
The Mets staged a two-out rally in the top of the seventh but Duke extinguished it without damage.
Notes
Martinez dislocated his pinky while scoring the Mets’ only run. He beat the throw easily but seemed to be caught between sliding and staying up. For those who have never played baseball before, he should have received direction from the on-deck hitter (Fernando Martinez) as to whether he needed to slide or run in standing up.This is a basic fundamental which is taught to American and Japanese children during little league. It is absolutely implausible and embarrassing that the Mets, an organization competing at the highest level of the game in the world, did not instill such a basic fundamental during F-Mart’s 3+ years in their system. I learned it as a 10-year-old in a league that played a 15-game season. *** EDITED — see isuzudude’s correction in comments *** Shame on the Mets, who by the day become exposed as a Mickey Mouse operation. (I won’t edit the final comment, because the Mets do belong in Disneyworld, for a hundred other reasons.)
While we’re on the subject of plays at the plate, Jeremy Reed was thrown out by several feet in the third inning after a Castillo single. Watching the replay, third-base coach Razor Shines was giving Reed the green light by circling his left arm as Reed approached third base. However, as Reed was rounding third (with his head down, something you do as a runner to make sure you touch the bag), Shines put up a stop sign with that same left arm, which Reed ran right through. Keith Hernandez commented that Reed “had plenty of time to stop”. I disagree.
A third base coach has to decide whether or not to send the runner BEFORE the runner hits the 3B bag. If he’s going to wait longer, then the coach has to position himself further down the third-base line, toward home plate, at an angle where both he can see the ball being handled by the outfielder and the runner can see him clearly as he rounds the bag. If Shines were in the proper position, then he can put up the stop sign “late”. But, Shines was at the edge of the 3B coaching box, and not in a good position to put up a late stop sign. What compounded the issue was that he used his same left hand to give the “stop” sign, which could have been construed as a continuance of the “go” sign. When as a coach you want the runner to put the brakes on, you put BOTH hands up, high over your head, using forceful, obvious body language. Again, fundamentals.
Brandon Moss reminds me of Ryan Klesko. Zach Duke reminds me of Tom Glavine. But the Pirates do not remind me of the Braves of the 1990s.
Losing to the Pirates twice in a row doesn’t concern me, since half the team is on the disabled list or in the infirmary with flu symptoms. The shame is that the Mets aren’t able to take advantage of playing a poor team by beating up on them.
Danny Murphy had a pinch-hit single in the seventh off Duke, a lefthander. Murphy is now hitting .423 in his career as a pinch-hitter, and I truly believe he may be able to carve a career serving in such a role — particularly since he is unfazed by the lefty-lefty matchup. Kind of like Gates Brown, Manny Mota, or Lenny Harris. Obviously there’s something about his approach that makes him so effective as a pinch-hitter, and a man can make a long and financially fruitful career exploiting such a talent.
Keith Hernandez suggested that Santana might be tipping pitches, as evidenced by the Bucs looking very comfortable swinging the bat in that fateful sixth frame. There may be something to that theory.
Santana was removed after 85 pitches. Probably a good thing, since he threw 120 in his last start (and 118 in the start before) and the Mets offense wasn’t doing anything anyway.
Why was Ramon Martinez starting at shortstop after Wilson Valdez hit like Barry Larkin on Sunday afternoon? The explanation was that Jerry Manuel wanted to get a look at Martinez before making a personnel decision. Are you kidding me? Believe me, I’m not on the bandwagon for Valdez, but it’s plain as day that he is head and shoulders above Martinez in every aspect of the game (which isn’t necessarily saying much). He has a stronger arm, better range, better speed, and a slightly stronger bat. He had me at hello. To give a guy a start as a tryout is unacceptable at this point in the season — the games are too important, and the lineup is already devoid of legit MLB talent.
Next Mets Game
The Mets attempt to avert a series loss on Wednesday evening by sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound against former Yankee Ross Ohlendorf. Game time is 7:05 PM.
Mets Game 50: Loss to Pirates
Pirates 8 Mets 5
Early on, it looked like it was going to be a laugher, as the Mets put up five quick runs in the first three innings off starter Ian Snell, who was getting no relief from the Pittsburgh bullpen at that point of the ballgame. But, in the end, it was the Pirates laughing last.
Snell settled down to pitch three scoreless innings, and the Bucs scored three times in the fourth to begin their crawl back, then plated another five in the eighth against Pedro Feliciano and J.J. Putz to take the lead.
Four members of the Bucco bullpen shut out the Mets over the final three innings.
Livan Hernandez pitched five and two-thirds innings before running out of gas, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out five.
Offensively, the bottom of the lineup did the bulk of the damage for the Mets, led by Jeremy Reed and Wilson Valdez in the #6 and #7 spots, who combined for four extra-base hits, three runs, and three RBI.
Notes
The Pirates sent 10 batters to the plate in that fateful eighth. Feliciano was charged with one, Putz the other four. Putz did not retire a batter in his 12-pitch performance.
Putz had a special bullpen session around 3pm prior to the game, supposedly to work on a glitch in his delivery that caused him to tip his pitches.
Prior to the game, Angel Pagan was put on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin. No word on who would replace him, though Alex Cora is scheduled to come off the DL on Tuesday.
Carlos Beltran was a late scratch due to a stomach virus.
Gary Sheffield is definitely suffering from some kind of leg injury, because he’s running about one-quarter speed on the bases.
I realize the Mets are shorthanded and playing a makeshift lineup, but it’s hard to use that as an excuse in this contest. The Mets were cruising early, and the 100% healthy bullpen blew the game.
Bobby Parnell came in during the bottom of the sixth and struck out slugger Ramon Vazquez with the bases loaded to end the inning and preserve the Mets’ two-run lead. At the time it was a huge out. Oh well.
Two of the Pirates’ hits were deflected off the gloves of Mets pitchers.
I noticed that Wilson Valdez wears a Wilson glove. Coincidence?
Valdez failed to run on a chopper off the plate in the 8th, presumably because he thought the ball was foul. As it was, the ball was fair, and he was thrown out by 88 feet. But hey, he didn’t know where it was, and that’s a fine enough excuse for Omar Minaya’s dog pound known as the New York Mets. (Note to youngsters: run immediately, and keep running until the umpire makes a call.)
Nate McLouth, who is arguably the best young centerfielder in the National League, looked terrible, striking out three times.
PNC Park was looking empty; I would guess there were less than 10,000 people at the game — it was reminiscent of a 21st-century Montreal Expos game. And it should be noted that ticket prices are the same regardless of what team the Pirates are hosting (what a novel concept!).
Next Mets Game
The Mets and Pirates play again on Tuesday evening at 7:05 PM in Pittsburgh. Johan Santana faces Zach Duke.
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