Mets Sign Josh Fogg
According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Mets have signed veteran starter Josh Fogg to a minor-league deal.
Considering the Mets’ multiple question marks throughout the pitching staff, I see this as a smart, shrewd signing. In essence, Fogg is a healthier version of Tim Redding, but who also has better potential than Redding as a relief pitcher.
Ironically, Redding has signed with Fogg’s 2009 club — the Colorado Rockies.
By no means is Fogg the answer to the Mets’ problems in the starting rotation. At his best, he’s a .500 pitcher on a strong offensive club, and someone who rarely pitches far past the fifth inning. He’s very hittable and walks too many batters for someone who is so hittable (though, by Mets’ standards, he’s a “control pitcher”). However, he posted an excellent 1.13 WHIP in 2009 — the best of his career — pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen. Though the Mets might see him as depth / insurance at the back end of the rotation, I would pencil him in, right now, as their top setup man — mainly because he less of a health risk than Kelvim Escobar, and has shown more MLB success than Bobby Parnell and Ryota Igarashi.
Wow. So that’s how low the Mets have fallen — to the point where Josh Fogg could be their best setup man.
Garrett Atkins Non-Tendered
The Colorado Rockies have announced they will not be offering a contract to Garrett Atkins, making him a free agent.
Atkins had an absolutely awful 2009 campaign, hitting only .226 with 9 HR and a .650 OPS in 399 plate appearances. His salary was $7.05M and would have been well over $5M at minimum if he was offered arbitration, so the Rockies cut him loose.
Should the Mets be interested? Read more
Jason Marquis Wants To Be a Met (?)
According to Tracy Ringolsby, Jason Marquis has told his Colorado Rockies teammates that his goal is to sign with the New York Mets this winter. (Hat tip to Ed at MetsFever)
Intriguing report by Ringolsby, and if true, it is no doubt a goal based on economics.
Though Marquis is from Staten Island, we’re told he grew up a Yankees fan, so becoming a Met is not his childhood dream. There’s a possibility that Ringolsby is as confused as Jeff Francoeur. Just as likely, Marquis is smart enough to see that the Mets are in dire need of a solid innings-eater, will likely cheap lose out on the bidding for John Lackey, and in turn look to overpay for a pitcher on the rung below Lackey. Perhaps, someone who is coming off a career year, and therefore appears to be worth the overpayment.
Someone like Jason Marquis.
After all, the Mets overpaid to sign Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Scott Schoeneweis, and Francisco Rodriguez when those men were on the open market. They overpaid for Alex Cora, Tim Redding, Fernando Tatis, Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner, and Carlos Beltran. Even when they did and then didn’t sign Yorvit Torrealba, it was for a higher rate than anyone else would give him. In fact, looking at their history since Omar Minaya took over as GM, they’ve overpaid for just about every free agent they signed — no matter what their talent level.
Knowing that, if I were a free agent, I’d also have the goal of getting signed by the Mets — it’s a near guarantee that I’d get more money and/or years than anyone else would offer.
Mets Game 134: Win Over Rockies
Mets 8 Rockies 3
A successful day for the Mets, and a day of firsts for Josh Thole and Pat Misch.
Behind Misch, the Mets extended their streak of winning at least one game in a series to sixteen straight! That’s right, they haven’t been swept since the Phillies took three in a row way back in the first week of July, just prior to the All-Star break. Unfortunately, the Mets have taken more than one game in a series only once in the past month (thank goodness for four-game series!).
Misch was spectacular through seven, allowing only two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out three, en route to his first Major League victory.
Speaking of firsts, rookie Josh Thole made good in his debut, singling in his first MLB at-bat, stealing his first base, and stroking his first extra-base hit — a double in the top of the ninth. He also committed his first passed ball, but we’ll excuse him of that.
The Mets offense chased starter and loser Jason Marquis from the game after the fifth, and launched a 16-hit attack all told against seven Colorado hurlers.
Pedro Feliciano gave up a run in the final two innings in a non-save situation.
Notes
All three Rockies runs came on solo homers.
David Wright — sans his Great Gazoo headgear — went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. Angel Pagan also had three hits from the leadoff spot and scored twice.
Dan Murphy provided the power from the cleanup spot with two extra-base hits — his eighth homer of the year and his 29th double.
Jeremy Reed collected another pinch-hit, a single up the middle against Matt Herges in the 8th. He now has 13 pinch-hits on the season, batting .310 in that role.
Jeff Francoeur led all Mets by seeing 25 pitches in his five plate appearances.
Next Mets Game
The Mets fly home to begin a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs. Game one is at 7:10 PM on Friday night, with Bobby Parnell facing Carlos Zambrano.
Mets Game 133: Loss to Rockies
Rockies 5 Mets 2
Tim Redding gave the Mets a stellar 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on seven scattered hits and one walk. However, he was up against a buzzsaw in Ubaldo Jimenez, who handcuffed the Mets through eight innings and also allowed only 2 runs, on five hits.
The tie was broken in the bottom of the eighth, when Brian Stokes opened the inning by loading the bases, then gave up back-to-back RBI singles to pinch-hitter Jason Giambi and former almost-Met Yorvit Torrealba. By the time K-Rod came on to rescue him, Stokes had allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in one-third of an inning.
Jimenez won his 13th game, and Franklin Morales pitched the ninth en route to his first career save.
Notes
Interesting that Redding is pitching well now — now that he’s pitching for a contract. Smart to perform well at the end of the season. It is similar to a restaurant’s strategy of serving a great dessert or a tasty sweet beverage — because people will remember you fondly if they leave with a good taste in their mouth.
One of the Mets’ five hits was Jeff Francoeur’s 12th homer of the year, a solo shot. Francoeur nearly threw out Jimenez at first base on a line-drive single to right field. That was about all the excitement of the game from the Mets’ POV.
Ubaldo Jimenez was hitting 99 MPH on the gun in the seventh inning, as he approached 100 pitches.
Next Mets Game
The final game of the series begins at 3:10 PM EST on Thursday afternoon. Pat Misch faces Jason Marquis. Josh Thole is scheduled to squat behind the plate for the Mets.
On Matt Murton
You know your team’s organization is in big trouble when the DFA of a 27-year-old career minor leaguer sparks a flurry of posts throughout the blogosphere.
In case you hadn’t heard, the Colorado Rockies have DFA’d Matt Murton to make room on the roster for Read more
Mets Game 101: Loss to Rockies
Rockies 4 0Mets 2
You can’t win ‘em all.
Poised for a sweep, instead the Mets finally fell to the Rockies, fulfilling their manager’s prophecy that there is no such thing as momentum in baseball.
Although he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 6 1/3 innings, Jonathan Niese had nothing to be ashamed about. He battled all night and came up with big pitches in tight situations, before running out of gas and giving up a two-run homer to Clint Barmes.
Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa limited the Mets to two runs on three hits and three walks through 6 1/3 to claim his ninth victory.
Notes
Though he was laboring all evening — and on an oppressively hot and humid evening at that — I can sort of understand why Jerry Manuel pushed Niese out there for the seventh. With the score tied, Niese was looking at a no-decision had he left the game, and the opposing pitcher was leading off the inning. Manuel was likely hoping Niese could gut his way through three more outs and give the offense another chance to give him a shot at a win. But once De La Rosa led off with a double (even if it was misjudged by Angel Pagan), all bets were off, and Niese should have been removed on the spot — regardless of his pitch count (he was a still below 100 at that point).
In the postgame, Bob Ojeda kept harping on the fact that Niese was “pitching without his best stuff”. I’m not sure I agree, mainly because I don’t know what Niese’s “best stuff” looks like just yet. Obviously it wasn’t his “best stuff” as in “the best he’s ever pitched in his life”, but he did have a nasty, sharp-breaking 12-6 curve, and that’s his calling card. Niese struggled with the command of his fastball, and for all we know this issue might be par for the course at this point in his young MLB career. In other words, let’s see this kid pitch at this level for 15-20 games before we form expectations and decide what his “best” is. Otherwise, we may talk ourselves into thinking he’s better than he is, and measure him against unrealistic expectations — similar to what many did when Dan Murphy’s promotion coincided with a once-in-a-lifetime hot streak.
The Mets literally stole the first run of the game. David Wright attempted to steal third and was thrown out by a good five feet — but the umpire inexplicably called him safe. Moments later Jeff Francoeur lifted a long fly ball to the right field wall to score him easily. I think everyone will agree that the breaks have been going the Mets way recently — and it’s a long time coming.
Angel Pagan was caught trying to steal home in the first inning, on the front end of a first-and-third double steal. Very questionable move, but I think the Mets need to continue being aggressive — both to score runs and to keep the games interesting for us fans.
David Wright was 7-for-13 in the series. In contrast, Clint Barmes had only two hits — but both were dingers.
Next Mets Game
The Mets begin another four-game series against an NL West club when the Arizona Diamondbacks come to Flushing on Friday night. First game begins at 7:10 PM, with Livan Hernandez facing Doug Davis.
Mets Game 100: Win Over Rockies
Mets 7 Rockies 0
Break up the Mets!
The steamrolling juggernaut known as the New York Mets flattened the Rockies for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Mets’ offense singled Jason Hammel to death in the second inning, giving ace Johan Santana an early five-nothing lead. They tacked on another two, but Santana needed only one, as he shut out Colorado through seven strong innings. Bobby Parnell and Tim Redding hurled scoreless frames to complete the victory.
Meanwhile, it was Cory Sullivan day at Citi Field. Sullivan played spectacular defense in left field and went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run, and one driven in — the first of the ballgame.
Notes
Every Met other than Santana collected at least one hit, and the team totaled 11 — 5 of them for extra bases.
Santana allowed only 4 hits and one walk in his 7 scoreless innings.
The Rockies had one chance to get back in the game, in the top of the fourth. With the score still 5-zip, they loaded the bases against Santana with two outs and slugger Ian Stewart at the plate. Santana got ahead 0-2, but Stewart tied into a changeup and drove it deep down the rightfield line, just foul. After a several more fouls and a few balls, Stewart finally went down swinging to end the threat and the inning.
What happened to Jason Hammel? Truth is, his location wasn’t all that bad — most of the hits against him came on pitches low and possibly out of the strike zone. But the Mets came out swinging aggressively and “hitting them where they ain’t”. It was borderline bizarre to see so many hits in such a short amount of time — a nightmare for the young righthander.
Jerry Manuel continues to play down the idea of “momentum” — he dismissed the idea during the postgame interview. I don’t get it, especially since he is a self-proclaimed old-school, “feel” guy who eschews modern stats and sabermetrics. Every other experienced, old-school baseball man will tell you that momentum is a major factor, both in a ballgame and over the course of a season. I would argue, in fact, that his negativity from a month ago sparked inverse momentum to depress the club. It’s very simple: winning breeds confidence and confidence leads to better performance, which leads to more wins — and that cycle is defined as momentum. And as Yogi Berra said, “90% of baseball is half-mental”.
Strangely enough, Manuel will talk about “going on a roll” or a “hot streak” when the “cavalry” returns. Don’t those terms relate to “momentum”?
Next Mets Game
The second game of the doubleheader and the final game of the series occurs tonight at 7:10 PM. Jonathan Niese faces Jorge De La Rosa. If Niese continues to pitch like Jerry Koosman, this game is in the bag. If not, I blame Jerry Manuel for poo-poohing the concept of momentum.
Mets Game 99: Win Over Rockies
Mets 4 Rockies 0
Mike Pelfrey allowed 7 baserunners in his first four frames, but was saved by two double play balls and four strikeouts. He continued to battle, working out of jams, and kept the Rockies scoreless through six and a third.
Meanwhile, the Mets scratched out three runs — one each in the second, third, and fourth innings — and the bullpen combination of Pedro Feliciano and Sean Green held it up to give the Mets their fourth consecutive victory and seventh shutout of the season.
Notes
According to the SNY announcers, Dan Murphy received defensive pointers from Carlos Delgado prior to the game and used Delgado’s glove during the game. In spite of this, Murphy nonetheless performed well at his position.
Speaking of Murphy, he had two more hits, an RBI, and two runs scored from the cleanup spot — a position in which he’s become entrenched. I don’t see how Jerry Manuel can move him out of there.
Is it terrible that I spend most of these games waiting for the Mets to show me how they’re going to lose? And how bad is it that I’m still doubting the final score a good 15-20 minutes after that last out? My guard is up from inning one through nine, making it difficult to enjoy the game even when the Mets are on the winning end.
I want to know who Josh Fogg was pitching against in his previous 14 outings — the ones against whom he posted a 0.89 ERA? Did the Rockies have an “outer-league” part of the schedule where they faced American Legion teams?
Four straight wins, and now the Nepopolitans are only 5 1/2 games behind in the Wild Card standings. Never mind the other six teams between them and the Rox — ya gotta believe!
Prior to the game, Jeff Wilpon held a press conference to apologize for yesterday’s press conference — though I’m not sure whether he was referring to the first press conference, or the the second. He mentioned something about Adam Rubin, blah blah blah, and he might’ve stated something of import, but I was too focused on his hair, wondering if he uses Vitalis For Men, or possibly Dippity-Doo (do they still make that? just a dab’ll do ya!).
Next Mets Game
The Mets and Rockies do it again at 7:10 PM on Wednesday night. Johan Santana pitches against Jason Hammel.
Mets Game 98: Win Over Rockies
Mets 7 Rockies 3
And for a followup routine, the Mets played a baseball game …
The excitement in Flushing began with the firing of Tony Bernazard, an event that closed with a squabble between Omar Minaya and Adam Rubin. For an encore, the Mets held another press conference to speak about the first (but unfortunately, did not announce a steel cage match between Minaya and Rubin). But the crowd at Citi Field clamored for more, so nine men were dressed up and sent out on the field to engage the Colorado Rockies in a battle royale.
The encore for the evening began as a much more benign affair compared to the day’s earlier activities, but finished with a bang. With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Rockies reliever Juan Rincon couldn’t find the plate and walked the first two batters he faced, and after a Dan Murphy sac bunt, Jeff Francoeur was intentionally walked to load the bases. With LH hitter Cory Sullivan coming to the plate, Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy called for LOOGY Franklin Morales, and Jerry Manuel countered with Fernando Tatis. Tatis fell behind 0-2, then laced a low changeup into the seats to give the Mets their first lead of the ballgame.
Pedro Feliciano was credited with the victory and K-Rod pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation.
Notes
Oliver Perez allowed three runs on four walks and five hits in five innings of work. Remarkably, most people associated with the Mets will look at it as a “positive step”. The rest of us will refer to it for what it is: garbage.
Not to be lost in the excitement was Brian Stokes’ two perfect innings in relief of Ollie to keep the Mets in the ballgame.
Nice to see Tatis tie into one and deliver such a dramatic victory. We know he’s not the guy who hit like Roy Hobbs last July, and his DPs have been maddening, but his approach to the game makes him someone who is easy to root for. After making contact on the grand slam swing, Tatis was sprinting out of the box, taking nothing for granted. Nice to see.
Dan Murphy hit fourth again and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a sacrifice bunt. How many MLB cleanup hitters are called on to bunt?
Luis Castillo and David Wright combined to go 4-for-4 with 2 walks and 4 runs scored. The red-hot Castillo is now hitting .305.
Jeff Francoeur blasted his third homerun as a Met, a solo shot in the fourth. In seven games, Francoeur has three homeruns; the rest of the Mets combined have seven taters in the entire month (three of them by Tatis).
This win marks the Mets’ third in a row — their longest winning streak since 1986.
Next Mets Game
The rising Mets take on the Rockies again at 7:10 PM on Tuesday night. Mike Pelfrey goes to the mound against Tottenville HS graduate Jason Marquis.
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