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Water Cooler Talk About the Mets...
By Jonathan ElfenbeinHere are some of the things I've thought, heard, discussed or have had emailed to me regarding this Mets' team right now...water-cooler talk, for lack of a better term.
1)Willies apology was to everyone except to the fans. He kind of put them into it, almost as if it was shoe-horned in, but the apology was to the Mets, the team, SNY & the media. None of those, last I looked, was the fan-base that Willie knocked. I'd like to think this was an oversight...
2)This team is looking like the Al Harazin- Jeff Torborg 1992 Team - The wrong players in the wrong position, not a lot of leadership on the field, a manager who is over-matched, and a roster full of players who are either under-performing or are overpaid, depending upon your point of view. Can Carlos Delgado be compared to, dare I say it, Mo Vaughan? Or Castillo to Alomar? At least we've gotten some good production out of Delgado...
3)For the millionth time -why not give Heilman a start? What is there to lose? He hasn't been even mediocre out of the bullpen, and he's always expressed his preference to start. Yes, we might hurt his value in a trade if he starts and doesn't do well, but at the same time, what else can we do with him right now? The perception has always been that he's only focused on starting- so why not give him a shot?
4) Send Pelfrey to New Orleans so he can get the experience he never got. On last night's ESPN broadcast, Rick Sutcliffe, returning from his battle with cancer (and it was GREAT to see and hear him back!!!) kept stating that the Mets' had done a great disservice to Pelfrey by only allowing him 15 games in the minors over single A and double A before bringing him up to the majors. He also harped on the fact that he's unable to spot any of his breaking stuff, making it easy for the Braves, and other teams, to wait on his fastball until they get a pitch they want to hit. He recognized that Pelfrey is a high number one pick, but feels that the Mets owe him ample time to work things out in the minors before relying upon him in the majors- and after last night, I am quite inclined to agree with his expert analysis.
5)Give Tatis some starts in left. Having zero HRs out of the LF position is not accecptable, and with Alou hurt, we need another veteran bat in the line-up. There's really no one else on the roster or in AAA who has any power to speak of, and Tatis might just give us the pop we need while waiting for Moises to heal...again...
6)Why not put Beltran in leadoff spot? His OBP is always good and better than Reyes. Oh yeah because Willie doesn’t make changes - he HOPES things will get better. The line-up needs a shake-up, the hitters need a shake-up, and maybe for a few weeks, at least, moving Beltran might jumpstart his bat and others as well.
7)How come nobody ever mentions the firing of Rick Down as one of the reasons Jose Reyes has been mediocre for the past year? Downs was not just an ally of Willie's - he was/is an excellent, proven hitting coach who was the first to actually reach Reyes; Rickey obviously wasn't the answer, and HoJo is stepping into a landmine situation with Reyes at this point. I'm not advocating bringing Downs back, as I am sure HoJo is doing a good job based on what he's done with Ryan Church, but maybe, just maybe, firing Downs when they did wasn't the right way to go.
2)This team is looking like the Al Harazin- Jeff Torborg 1992 Team - The wrong players in the wrong position, not a lot of leadership on the field, a manager who is over-matched, and a roster full of players who are either under-performing or are overpaid, depending upon your point of view. Can Carlos Delgado be compared to, dare I say it, Mo Vaughan? Or Castillo to Alomar? At least we've gotten some good production out of Delgado...3)For the millionth time -why not give Heilman a start? What is there to lose? He hasn't been even mediocre out of the bullpen, and he's always expressed his preference to start. Yes, we might hurt his value in a trade if he starts and doesn't do well, but at the same time, what else can we do with him right now? The perception has always been that he's only focused on starting- so why not give him a shot?
4) Send Pelfrey to New Orleans so he can get the experience he never got. On last night's ESPN broadcast, Rick Sutcliffe, returning from his battle with cancer (and it was GREAT to see and hear him back!!!) kept stating that the Mets' had done a great disservice to Pelfrey by only allowing him 15 games in the minors over single A and double A before bringing him up to the majors. He also harped on the fact that he's unable to spot any of his breaking stuff, making it easy for the Braves, and other teams, to wait on his fastball until they get a pitch they want to hit. He recognized that Pelfrey is a high number one pick, but feels that the Mets owe him ample time to work things out in the minors before relying upon him in the majors- and after last night, I am quite inclined to agree with his expert analysis.5)Give Tatis some starts in left. Having zero HRs out of the LF position is not accecptable, and with Alou hurt, we need another veteran bat in the line-up. There's really no one else on the roster or in AAA who has any power to speak of, and Tatis might just give us the pop we need while waiting for Moises to heal...again...
6)Why not put Beltran in leadoff spot? His OBP is always good and better than Reyes. Oh yeah because Willie doesn’t make changes - he HOPES things will get better. The line-up needs a shake-up, the hitters need a shake-up, and maybe for a few weeks, at least, moving Beltran might jumpstart his bat and others as well.
7)How come nobody ever mentions the firing of Rick Down as one of the reasons Jose Reyes has been mediocre for the past year? Downs was not just an ally of Willie's - he was/is an excellent, proven hitting coach who was the first to actually reach Reyes; Rickey obviously wasn't the answer, and HoJo is stepping into a landmine situation with Reyes at this point. I'm not advocating bringing Downs back, as I am sure HoJo is doing a good job based on what he's done with Ryan Church, but maybe, just maybe, firing Downs when they did wasn't the right way to go.
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