Stop the presses! Scott Hairston is returning to the Mets!
It’s true — we Mets fans will enjoy another year of Scott Hairston. This news certainly takes the sting out of losing Jose Reyes, and rounds out what is looking like a fabulous outfield.
Fingers are still crossed hoping that there’s enough money left to bring back Willie Harris as well.
Please do not contain your excitement — pour it all out in the comments.
It’s official: the Mets will finish the 2011 season with a losing record. Great job, guys. Don’t worry about the won-loss record, all that matters is you battled. Yeah.
According to a source referenced to by ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, D.J. Carrasco, Willie Harris and Angel Pagan of the Mets have all been placed on and have cleared waivers (and as you already know, Chris Capuano cleared waivers as well). This does not mean that any of the the aforementioned players will be traded, but it leaves the door open for the Mets to move them to a contending team if the right offer is presented.
Since July 31st’s non-waiver trade deadline has already passed, the only way for any trades to be completed is if the players involved are first offered to each MLB club by being placed on waivers. If no team makes a claim for any of the players, the team trading the players can then offer each player to any of the other 29 MLB teams.
This is a smart move for the Mets because as of right now, no other players on the team are immovable other than the team cornerstones, David Wright and Jose Reyes. If GM Sandy Alderson is presented with the right offer for any of the players that cleared waivers, we could see a trade within the next two weeks.
What do you think? Will any Mets be moved this month?
Would you ever have thought that Willie Harris and Mike Pelfrey would emerge as leaders in the Mets clubhouse?
This afternoon the Mets face Justin Verlander, who will have 8 fielders from the Detroit Tigers standing around him and a DH from that same team hitting for him. The Mets will send this lineup to face the King and His Court:
Jose Reyes – SS
Jason Pridie – RF
Carlos Beltran – DH
Daniel Murphy – 3B
Angel Pagan – CF
Jason Bay – LF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Josh Thole – C
Ruben Tejada – 2B
If you are wondering why Pridie is starting in RF and batting second, it is because Justin Verlander has NEVER retired Pridie (though, he’s never faced him, either). Additionally, Willie Harris has returned to NY to tend to his wife, who is 5 months pregnant and going into labor. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Willie, his wife, and the baby.
What do you think — is Lucas Duda going to go ape on Verlander? If so, the confidence boost could transform Duda into a legitimate monster going forward.
In many ways, this 2011 season is reminding me of 2005 — though, in reverse.
Ike Davis has been placed on the 15-day DL with an ankle sprain, the result of colliding with David Wright on an infield popup the other day. How that collision even happened is a mystery, since the Mets have been focusing on sound fundamentals since Terry Collins took over the team. Surely, Wright properly called for the ball and/or the catcher or pitcher at the time assisted in the process.
To take his place on the roster, Fernando Martinez has been summoned from AAA Buffalo. He’s been hitting .292 with a .838 OPS when not injured himself.
Somewhat strange to see F-Mart get the callup, since he’s an outfielder and the Mets already have 5 of those. One would think they would have promoted a corner infielder — such as a first baseman with some pop — to take Ike’s spot. But both Nick Evans and Lucas Duda are struggling and Zach Lutz has very limited experience at the position.
** UPDATE: it is now our understanding that Duda and Lutz are nursing injuries. Further, Val Pascucci is much too tall and not on the 40-man roster. **
No worries, though. Ike’s injury provides more potential opportunities for Willie Harris and Scott Hairston to get into the lineup. Yippee!
Here is today’s lineup:
Jose Reyes-SS,
Willie Harris-LF
David Wright-3B
Ike Davis-1B
Angel Pagan-CF
Lucas Duda-RF
Brad Emaus-2B
Josh Thole-C
Chris Young-P
No great surprises here. Carlos Beltran gets a day off as per his recommended dosage of one day of rest per every three days of baseball activities. Shame, since he’s swinging such a hot bat, but he’ll hardly be missed with Willie Harris and Lucas Duda in the lineup.
In all seriousness, Duda needs to get that bat going. Jason Bay is taking live BP in Port St. Lucie but there’s still no timetable for his return. When Willie Harris made the club it was a nice story and it’s great to have his energy and enthusiasm around, but if he’s going to make 3-4 starts a week the Mets are in trouble; he’s 3 for his last 14, by the way, so his hot start to the season is cooling quickly.
