Oliver Perez is Pitching Tonight - So That Means...

BUCKLE UP! It may be a rough ride.

A good friend, D.G. is a long time Pirates fan and he always points out that Oliver Perez was a "throw in" when the Mets traded Xavier Nady for that broken down, much traveled Roberto Hernandez.

The Mets really need to fish or cut bait with Perez. If he continues to disappoint, the morale of the team will surely suffer.

I heard a caller on the radio today say that "if you give Perez enough time, he can give up 13 hits and walk 10 in 3 innings."

With that, I am going to watch the game and be patient.

Leave it to Schoenweis to Finally Emerge and Blow it.

I dunno...It felt like the aura of John Franco was in the stadium last night. Bad team. Bases loaded, tie game and Scott Schoenweis - who, in his defense, has been stellar lately, but mostly, since donning the colors of blue and orange has been, just, well, average.

So, what does he do? His throw merely was a Plink to the batter and the winning run scores. See Story

I had to overdose on Alka Seltzer and Brioschi to tame the nerves in the stomach.

NOTE: This Video of Schoenweis Killing It is not for the faint of heart. Keep the smelling salts nearby.

OH, in my humble opinion, he belongs on the previously cited New Orleans Safari.

Shopping List...Outfielders - Future Mets

Anyone who knows me know I am a big fan of Diamondbacks outfielder, Eric Byrnes. Partly because of his irreverent wit he displays on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and also for the way he hustles at bat, on the base paths, in the field. He reminds me of the Charlie Hustle and the Brett Butlers of the world.

He would bring a big lift to the club house. Take a look at what his manager said:

He beat me to the park today," manager Bob Melvin said. "He's running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to create as much of a stir as he can. He can't sit still. He's in the clubhouse. I'm sure he's on the concourse running around during a game."

There are some Mets who are on the current roster, plus a few on the farm that would be perfect to package and send.

Well, the game against the Padres just started, so I am going to retire from the blog scene tonight and root for the Metropolitans.

Shrinking the Giants

On a rare day where I worked from home, I had a chance to see the Mets-Giants game. (For my supervisors and folks that sign my W-2, it was on in the background and I glanced over every now and then. Sadly, this is true.

Maine pitched a good game and seemed to have control. Reyes 2008 is getting to be Reyes of 2007 -- getting on base consistently.

Matt Cain is a tough pitcher. How tough? For a rightie, something like 120+ innings passed before anyone stole a base. I wish Reyes did it against him, but he did it to his counterpart, K. Yabu.

Momentum seems to be picking up. There are approximately 100 games left in the season and all that hullabaloo (gees, hope that last word gets through spell check) about firing Willie Randolph seems to have faded away. And that's a good thing.

Thursday pits us against the Padres who have been woeful of late. A sweep is a must.

On another Mets related note, I went to a benefit for The Childrens Therapy Center tonight and the SWAG bags were donated by the Mets.

Could You Imagine This Pitching Line-Up?

As the last few blog posts have been not dainty on Oliver Perez, here's another thought to ponder.

Can you imagine if the Mets did indeed win the Barry Zito Lottery (I would think winning a lottery via email is a bit more credible - and, YIELDING -- SOMETHING!)

What would the fans be like with his current 1-8 record with over 5.00 ERA and 1.75 WHIP? Add Perez into that...

Taking a short look, the combined #'s would be as follows... (prior to game)

• Starts - 24
• Wins - 5
• Loses -12
• Hits - 126
• Runs - 85
• Earned Runs - 73
• Innings - 118.1
• ERA - 5.56
  WHIP - 1.69

Now the fun part..

• Walks - 74
• K's - 82

Doesn't this make you more eager to get up to go to work tomorrow? Perez is making $6.5 m and Zito, $14.5m - $21m when combined. Its like robbing a bank.

'Scuse me, this is my ledge that I am jumping off..go find your own.

NOTE: Take a look at the cartoon. Seems like it is perfect for GMs who sign bad ball players

Time for TWO New Nicknames...

Jo-San (Pronounced Yo-SAN) - for good ole' # 57

OliverPariah - For Ollie Perez

Sunday Night Baseball -- In PERSON!

I was a bit miffed when they moved the Sunday afternoon game to Sunday night. Usually at that time, I'm winding down and getting ready for work the next day, but last night, all the elements came together.

The night was beautiful. Sitting in the upper deck, the wind was nice the air was clean and the Mets played some stellar baseball under Johan Santana. Box Score

It was also his 100th career Win! See AP Story

The magic was there and the team rallied with 5 runs in one inning. After Ryan Church his is dinger, the place went mad chanting "RYAN CHURCH!!! RYAN CHURCH!!!!"

Tonight, Monday, is well, not going well.

After traveling cross coasts, the Mets are under Oliver Perez who just gave up a ton of runs in 1/3 of an inning.

What is interesting, as I check it now, his ownership in the ESPN leagues is around 63% -- and its up 10% today as typical of a daily starter. But what I want to see tomorrow is what it will drop to. If any of these ESPN players are smart (full disclosure, I dumped him a LONG time ago). My prediction - a bold one - is he will dip below 40%. People have wised up.

I don't understand why Willie would leave him in after 4 runs scored, especially with 1/3 inning completed.

Here's some scary #'s for Perez Outing:

IP - 0.1
H - 5
ER - 6
BB - 2
K - 0
W - 0
SV - 0
ERA - 162.00
WHIP - 21.00

Numbers don't lie, but in this case, I wish we could get Pinocchio to tell a fib. Box Score

Addendum to Yesterday's Post

Add Oliver Perez to the New Orleans Tour

If I Could Be a Travel Agent, Some Folks Would Get Free Trips to New Orleans....

So, here I am thinking, on a beautiful sunny Sunday before I leave for the Mets - Dodgers Game (8pm) if I were a travel agent, what would I do that would most benefit the .... METS.

Well, I just did a check and the flights from LaGuardia to New Orleans start at $323 and go to $583.

The departure date is June 2, and the return is November 1.

Here is the flight list:

Aaron Heilman
Carlos Delgado
Mike Pelfrey
and, Maybe, Carlos Beltran (who needs to hustle more and show a good attitude.

This would be a carry your own luggage and make your own agenda when you hit the Big Easy.

OK, now that's out of the way, Let's Go Mets! Santana, I am looking forward to a dazzling performance. (And, I don't have to hear Joe Morgan tonight!)

Palpitations -- But The Mets Won!

Watching Mike Pelfrey just does odd things to me. You never know what the kid is going to do. He has a great delivery, but gets flustered so easily.

The image of the left was a stress test that reflects my reaction to each of his pitches.

Glad the Mets came out of the game well today. They were able to hold off potential base runners and kept the speedy Juan Pierre off the base stealing efforts.

Tomorrow night, Sunday, I am heading to the ESPN game. First time I get to see Santana pitch. I never have luck seeing the top Mets pitchers hurl. In the early 90s, I always wound up with a Wally Whitehurst or Sid Fernandez. As of late, it has either been Pelfrey, Perez or Figueroa.

Here's the box score for posterity (translation, so Pelfrey's mom can read it). Interesting note I forgot to mention a few days ago...Duaner Sanchez, who won the other day, had a rare opportunity to bat. It amazed me how much hustle he had as he ran to first base

Quick Lesson in Translation...

Ok, so, how do you say "put in a crappy pitcher that gives up 4 hits, 4 runs, loses the game, loses the lead and doesn't even get a batter out."

Alas, it can be summed up in two words: Aaron Heilman.

I have 9 credits in philosophy, 3 in psychology and combining both, I cannot figure out why Willie Randolph keeps using him, and when he does, why does he leave him in so long?

Let's put it in barbecue terms, he should be taken out when rare, not well done and burnt.

For those of you who have the fortitude and won't get squeamish, here is the Box score from the Dodgers win over the Mets.

In another Ironic move, Chan Ho Park, who appeared in one game as a Met in 2007 (of course, that was the game I went to where he had a spot start and tanked) is back with his former club (L.A.) and beat the Mets.

So, how will I sleep tonight? Maybe better, Maybe worse. If I am asleep, I will be doing an imitation of Carlos Delgado at the plate and at first.

Footnote: It WAS nice to see the Mets come back from a 3 run opening deficit. This kid on the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw, looks like he has a bright future.

'Till tomorrow.

Three In A Row...

Short post tonight.

A good feeling to see the Mets win 3 straight. Being Italian, we have a semi-superstition that things come in 3s. Concrete proof: Moe, Larry and Curly.

Mets played with enthusiasm and their heads in the game. Chavez throws the speedy Pierre out at the dish. Let's hope this is the turnaround.

Stock markets go through corrections and rebound. It's the Amazin's turn now.

Note to Joe Torre...Mets got a little better since you managed em!

Some Nice Hustle

Prior to the 8th inning tonight, I really didn't have a topic in mind. It was a bit tough to come up with a solid point, but I have to say, after that, there was, as Keith Hernandez just said, "competitive fire"

After seeing a stat that said the Mets were 1-19 after being behind in the 6th inning, I felt a low esteem and thinking another L would come, but the Amazin's turned it around. Heilman got 6 straight outs - including striking out the side. Endy hit a game tying HR on an 0-2 count, and Fernando Tatis is finding his groove with a game winning hit.

Ahhhhh....let's get the ball rolling again

Hold The Lead - Don't Bleed

Mets played some sensible ball tonight. Something that has been last seen when an Italian helmed the Vatican (or so it seems).

Reyes kept the streak alive - something like 12 games with a hit, and the team held on to a lead and didn't squander it.

A friend of mine said that Beltran lacks the hustle and this seems to be cascading to the other players.

Let's ponder a thought here...Church comes back (no Vatican jokes, I already made a lame attempt at one and didn't hear you chuckle) to right field. Keep Beltran in center **SIGH** and platoon Tatis and Evans in left. We really don't feel Alou will have much of an impact.

For what its worth, has anyone notices with the over 4 decade crowd (or close), Hernandez, Alou, Pedro - when they were healthy last year, the team played well. This year, they are on the DL and the team is tanking. Life DOES begin at 40.

I am hoping this game is a turning point. Deep down, I know it is.

Losing 7 of 8 - Willie Keeps His Job...A Few Observations (and Groans)

The drumbeat for Willie Randolph must have been at an unexpected cadence for him as he met with the brass behind doors tighter than Fort Knox on this Memorial Day. I personally like Willie and think he's a good manager. But he needs to get the players fired up. Had he lost his job today, it would have been a bit of irony as we would have remembered the fallen.

Today's game was a washout (I probably used that line before in a post), but the good news is that Reyes' bat came alive, 2 solo HRs. One thing that has been missing from Jose this year is the coveted triple. Though he has 5, and ESPN projects 17, they seem to be few and far between.

• Just a side note, it seems to me, save for the bonehead play where he got picked off, Hanley Ramirez 2008 is Jose Reyes 2007. On the board, making great plays, offensively and defensively. Jose needs to step it up a notch to recapture that else he will be the next Rey Ordonez. (So many Mets shortstops were billed as the next greatest. I am still awaiting Rafael Santana to walk on water).
• One thing that surprised the hell (yes, I can say Hell, its my blog) Aaron Heilman pitched and didn't allow any runs and just 1 hit in 2 innings.
• Sad News - Geremi Gonzalez, a Met who pitched in three games died in his native country of Venezuela after he was struck by lightning. R.I.P. Geremi, you are one of us Mets for eternity. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_obit_geremi_gonzalez
• Perhaps with all the turmoil going on, former Mets manager of the mid to late 1960s, Wes Westrum once said, "Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand."
• One interesting stat, no Met ever hit three home runs in a game at Shea.
• This Sunday, June 1, I will be doing a "double header" - riding 45 miles in the am for a bike rally, then showering (of course!) and getting to Shea to see Johan Santana pitch.

Change in Regime Coming?

I didn't see much of the game today, but heard a little on the radio. What I did see was enough to convince me that the root, cog, hub, whatever word you want to use, is Carlos Delgado. He just does not hustle to the base and he just is plain bad at first base. There is just no OOMPH in him, and as a perceived team leader, this seems to permeate throughout the team.

So, because of this, Willie Randolph is on the hot seat. I don't know if he will be fired. I think he should stay and the bad apples should go. Players like Church, Schnieder and newly minted Nick Evans seem to be fresh, enthusiastic blood for the team and if we get a first baseman that can play baseball (and also stand when we play God Bless America -- Interjection here - when Delgado said in the beginning he would not stand for this song, I knew there was a bit of a 'tude.

If Willie does get fired, I say we clone The Ole Perfesser. "Can't anybody here play this game?" Casey was a prognosticator and must have been looking ahead at 2008.

Can We Clone Nick Evans?

What a day! Nick Evans, just called up from the farm, looking like a boyish Jerry Seinfeld, swung a mean stick. Collecting three doubles and two RBI. Let's just say he led by example, showed up the team and got them fired up.

You know, with the DL summoning many a Met these days (Marlon "Pinch Hit a Specialty" Anderson, Moises "Again" Alou, Pedro, El Duque etc...) the new blood - Fernando Tatis included has given the Mets an extra spice that helped them win.

I like Evans. He's a surprise. Looks very confident, shows good patience and judgement at the plate and is very hungry. The night before, he's in Double A Binghamton and then skips a level and literally steps up to the plate. This is the approach the Mets of Yore took -2005, 2006, 1986, 1988 and that especially scrappy 1973 team. The latter foundered most of the year before coming back to roar to the World Series. This is still a goal and it still can be done.

The story on the Mets web site,"Evans makes his mark right away" http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080524&content_id=2762234&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym is a good recap.

Willie Randolph summed it up:

"He hit a bomb in Spring Training off the center-field wall," Randolph recalled on Saturday. "I like his approach -- nice inside-out kind of swing. Usually with young kids, you notice that right away, the way they approach the at-bats. I just saw two or three at-bats at the most and watched him take a little BP.

"He's having a nice little year. We need some help. Guys are getting banged up again. Hopefully, we can get a little feel for what he can help us do, not just now but maybe in the future. He's one of our young prospects. I like young kids, and I like to see what they do."

I see a bright future for him. Go # 6~

Here's A Thought....

Maybe the Mets can go on Oprah and she can do one of her "makeover shows"

At first base, we used to have Carlos Delgado. now we have....

On the mound, we just got rid of all, but kept Maine and Santana...

Now, in the outfield and the bullpen, we did a nip here, a tuck there and sent a few of our subjects to AAA New Orleans...

A Priest, A Rabbi a Minister and a Shaman....

Walk into the ballpark. What's the joke? The 9 Men wearing the Mets uniform.

(I'm here all week, don't forget to tip the hostess and wait staff...).

So the Mets were ahead 2-1 in the seventh and the floodgates broke open. Beltran couldn't get to a ball that was hit to his left and that spurred a rally. Santana pitched well, but only 1 K.

4 losses and swept by the Braves, 3 losses to the Nats. Where does the logic start and the insanity end?

Today we hear the Moises Alou is going back on the DL with a strained calf. OK, I like Alou, he's a good hitter and it would have been nice to have him on the Metropolitans when he was younger. Is he going to be our version of Mike Hampton? Someone to keep way past their prime - what will be the value when healed? Is it worth the time? Alou is a proven player, but at this stage of the game, as a pensioner, he should be a DH somewhere.

The obvious question is who/what do you do to replace Alou? Is the outfield ready for Endy Chavez, Beltran and Church? I think someone stronger needs to be out there.

Here are a few I propose that we get via trade. Naturally, Pelfrey, Delgado, Heilmann and Castillo would be on the trading block:

• David Murphy - Rangers http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/fantasy?playerId=28582
• Josh Hamilton - Rangers http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/fantasy?statsId=6679&leagueId=3603
• Eric Byrnes - Diamondbacks http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4498

I'd be interested in hearing others who would be an asset...

The Gashouse Gorllias vs. The Teetotalers -- OR, Braves vs. Mets

I'm watching the "contest" against the Braves and the bottom of the seventh just ended. Seven batters came to the plate and the score is now 11-2. Not going to tell you who is ahead, but I hope the Mets get an 8th and 9th inning rally going.

After Church gets hit in the temple last night, the pews in Atlanta have been roaring and after being on the ground last night, I am glad he has risen.

But, the mystery remains on why the Mets can't put it together.

Take a look at this 7 minute Bugs Bunny cartoon, Baseball Bugs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkz3_LD5MVs&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZHY_enUS243US243&q=%22bASEBALL%20B It is what the Mets are feeling now.

I'd just love for one of the Mets starters to say "watch me pace this pathetic palooka with a powerful paralyzing pachedermic percussion pitch...."

Ahhhh...see ya tomorrow. Time to hit the showers.