Results tagged ‘ Fernando Martinez ’
I’m Pumped
A couple of days ago there were the rumors of Roy Halladay. There still are. But there was one rumor in particular that caught my attention. The Blue Jays supposedly made an offer to the Mets about Roy Halladay. This caught me off guard, as I didn’t think the Jays were making offers, just listening to them. But the Mets would get Roy Halladay, and they would give up top prospect Fernando Martinez, lefty pitcher Jon Niese, righty reliever Bobby Parnell (who is currently on the big league roster and has been there all season), and Double-A 17 year old shortstop Ruben Tejada. There were reports saying that this was not at all true. For all we know the Bluue Jays made it up to make the Phillies hurry and possibly give up more, or maybe the Mets made it up and rejected it to give their prospects extra confidence. Whatever it was, if it was really a true offer, I would have accepted it in a heartbeat and if Omar Minaya really rejected it then I would fire him. Here is why:
- No question, Roy Halladay is one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball. Him along with Johan Santana would definitely be the best 1-2 punch in the majors, and possibly in history. I am convinced that whoever acquires Roy Hallladay will make the playoffs, and that is no exception to the Mets. According to MLBTradeRumors.com Halladay could demand to be traded after this season if he is traded this season. That is a little scary because you think you are getting him for 1210 since he is under contract, but if that was the case he would probably just veto the deal in the first place because of his no trade clause. If the Mets acquired Halladay it would signal to all the fans and even the players that the season is not yet over and we are still in this.
- Fernando Martinez is a bust. Sure he is still young but so far he stinks, he hasn’t helped this team at all. He is hurt and even if he comes back it will be too late to help the Mets. If they are convinced Jeff Francoeur will be great for the future, and that Nick Evans will be good in the future, and Carlos Beltran is still under contract for two more years, we don’t need F-Mart. Besides, Halladay will surely be a Type A free agent so we will get draft picks, or we could trade him again and get another top prospect.
- I do think Jon Niese will be a good pitcher, and he could come up this season, maybe even this month to help the Mets. But Roy Halladay will obviously be better. You will never get someone for free. Jon Niese will not be an ace ever, maybe just a two or three starter at best. So he is a small price to pay.
- Bobby Parnell has a great fastball, but that is it. No secondary pitches, and his control is limited. I don’t know why the organization is so high on him. Especially since we have other pitching prospects like Eddie Kunz and Dillon Gee on the fringe of coming up.
- Ruben Tejada is 17, so we don’t know if he ever do anything important. He is a shortstop, and we have Jose Reyes, so we don’t need him. From what I’ve heard he is a good, not great, fielder and a terrible hitter. That isn’t that hard to find. We have other good shortstop prospects like Reese Havens and Wilmer Flores. Flores is according to some people and even better prospect than Fernando Martinez. Others say he is the organizations’s number two prospect. Whatever, he is supposedly really good. He is also 17, but he is supposed to be a great hitter. I heard that they plan to move him to a different position, but if something happens to Reyes and we need him there I don’t see why he can’t go back.
- We would get to keep our top pitching prospects in Brad Holt and Jennry Mejia.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but it was probably never really offered to the Mets in the first place. Anyway, just this rumor has gotten me excited and I know that someone important must have started it. Look, it was not some MLBlogger with nothing better to do making a story up. It was an important person, someone high in the MLB ranks who has the power to get this rumor circulating. So there has to be at least some validity to it, something that maybe means the Blue Jays like the Mets prospects, or the Mets want Roy Halladay. Whatever it is, it has gotten me pumped that something could be on the horizon.
Phony Berna-Tard
In other Mets news, the Director of Player Development was with the Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Mets, when he took his his shirt off and challenged the players to fight him. I heard that he was drunk and some of the players, including underage ones, were also drunk. I bet this guy wouldn’t actually dare to fight any of the players. I bet you could pick out any one of the players and they could beat this guy up. After all, who are the ones that lift weights and train and play a professional sport? I would love to see this guy actually fight anyone. How about the owners of the Mets? How about the general manager? This guy is the Director of Player Development, and I’ve heard he has better relationships with the owners than Omar Minaya does. That’s crazy. This whole thing is stupid. It is macking a mockery of the Mets. They spent the majority of the Michael Kay show on ESPN Radio yesterday talking about this, and that show is like 3 hours. This whole thing is retarded. And the worse part? They haven’t even fired Bernazard yet. And I’ve heard they don’t plan to either. In a press conference yesterday, GM Omar Minaya said that the Mets would investigate the matter. Thats all he said. He said the word “investigate” at least 10 times. This is obviously not under control. But this also pumps me up. It makes me think, “Hey, maybe they will fire him. Maybe they will fire Omar, maybe they will fire the manager. Maybe they will fire the coaches, or the medical staff. Maybe they will decide they have to win just to get this off the back page, maybe they will make a trade.” Now I am not endorsing firing anybody (except the medical staff, it is ridiculous how many injuries we’ve had), its just that this is not working and there needs to be change.
But whatever happens in the next week or two, I am excited about the rest of the season.
This is What Makes Jerry Manuel Successful
We were all holding our breaths last night, just waiting to see Joe Smith or Pedro Feliciano blow the save. When Eddie Kunz didn’t come in during the ninth inning I thought Jerry Manuel was off his rocker. But it worked. Just like all of the wierd moves he makes for no apparent reason, it worked. And that is what makes Manuel a success as a manager. He makes all the right moves, and he has a great presence in the clubhouse. All of the players respect him, and they all have a great relationship with him, but he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty when need be. Jerry Manuel takes a situation where you have one everyday outfielder, no second baseman, a backstop that is constantly taking turns getting hurt, and a pitching staff that is never has a full 5-man rotation, and he scraps together a playoff-calibur team with a bunch of no-names. Incredible.
2 trades were made in the past days. Adam Dunn was shipped to the D-Backs for 2 players to be named later. There are rumors that Micah Owings might be one of them. And Paul Byrd was traded to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. I say neither trade will have an impact, because I predict the Dodgers winning the NL West, the Rays winning the AL East, and the Twins winning the AL Wild Card.
Gary Sheffield was placed on waivers after complaining he doesn’t like his DH platoon role in Detroit. Should the Mets place a claim? I don’t think so. Sheffield has an option for 2009 in his contract, and with Fernando Martinez around the corner, and the emergence of Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans, the Mets just need a rental. Sheffield also has a history of ruining the team chemistry, which throughout the bullpen woes and hitting slumps, remains the Mets high point. I say stick to what you have now. Let the prospects show what they can do in a pennant race, it will have to happen sooner or later. Ryan Church should be back soon so there really is nothing to do. When Wagner comes back the bullpen should be solid again, so I say no worries.
One last note, John Maine was taken off the DL and the Mets optioned down to AAA Carlos Muniz. Maine will start tonight and there is a possibility that he will then move to the bullpen, although I say the Mets rotation will stay intact.
Trade Deadline Part II
Well, the only other trade that happened today was the biggest. Manny Ramirez is now a Dodger. Jason Bay is now a Red Sox. And the Pirates got 4 prospects, including Andy LaRoach from LA and Brandon Moss from Boston. This was a horrible deal for the Sox, giving up arguably their best hitter (David Ortiz) on the team. The Dodgers got a total STEAL, they get Manny Ramirez for just Andy LaRoach and Bryan Morris. Unbelievable. And the Sox get Jason Bay for Moss and Craig Hansen. Both are just middle value prospects, and the Mets had to give up F-Mart or Niese. Maybe I like these three-way trades
The Mets did absolutely nothing when it came down to it, and I really have mixed emotions about this. I still am not really sure what I would have done, but if I could have gotten Bay for Fernando Martinez and Robert Parnell, which I think the Pirates would have done in a heartbeat, I would have done it. Omar Minaya is convinced, however, that he will be able to get a player off of waivers during August, but if he doesn’t, he is confident with the current club.
Prediction: Mets to Remain Silent at Deadline
The Braves just traded Mark Teixiera to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and a minor league pitcher. Glad he’s out of the division.
I do not think the Mets will make a move this trade deadline. With Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese both untouchable. If they do make a move it seems Scott Schoenweis will be the most likely to go. Minaya said he would not include Aaron Heilman in a deal for Brian Fuentas, which I think is a horrible idea. Get Heilman out of here, especially when someone will take him. Fuentas would be a perfect fit fot the Mets, with the troubles Feliciano and Schoenweis have had. He could close out games when Wagner needs rest, and he could pitch the eighth inning because Duaner Sanchez is too inconsistent.
I know the Mets won’t trade Fernando Martinez, and I hope they won’t, but I also hope they don’t stay silent. He could turn out to be a bomb, and with the surprise production of Nick Evans, why not explore the market? I say try and go for Martinez, and Schoenweis for Raul Ibanez and Arthur Rhodes. Of course, you can try Schoenweis and Martinez and possibly someone else for Fuentas and Holliday, but that won’t happen. Maybe Jason Bay?
I don’t think Fuentas or Holliday will be traded. Nor will Manny Ramirez, but Jason Bay could be on the move. I can’t wait to see what happens on Thursday.
Final Vote All-Stars and Moises Alou
Good news and bad news on David Wright’s All-Star campaign. The bad news is that Corey Hart won the Final Vote in the NL (the AL’s last representee was Evan Longoria, the first third baseman to win the Final Vote). The good news is that David Wright can still become an All-Star. Alfonso Soriano was selected to the roster, but because of his injury somebody else will have to take it. Matt Holliday will start in right field instead of Soriano, and since Corey Hart won the Final Vote, Clint Hurdle is unlikely to pick another outfielder. Most people would think he would pick another pitcher, but maybe he will realize how much Wright was snubbed and put him on the roster for the 3rd straigt year.
Now something serious. Remember I said Moises Alou reinjured his hamstring? Well now he is probably going to miss the rest of the season. Just great. Now maybe Minaya will FINALLY do something about the outfield. Fernando Martinez, pack your bags, because you are coming up reaaaaaaaaaaal soon, I can smell it.
One last thing. I’m going to the Mets-Rockies game tonight, so I’ll get a chance to Jerry Manuel manage live for the first time.
Injuries
Tony Armas continues the team trend of getting hurt. He was placed on the 15 day DL with a strained abdominal muscle. Carlos Muniz was called up. I still think Muniz needs more experience in Triple-A and I think they should have called up Claudio Vargas. Now who will be the long man?
Moises Alou was inserted into the starting lineup in a Double-A game and he was supposed to play the whole game. Alou left the game, however, with a cramped hamstring. This will hopefully prompt the Mets to acquire another outfielder before the July 31 trade deadline. Who knows, Mark Shapiro, the General Manager of the Indians, said the Mets had the propsects wanted to acquire Sabathia, so why can’t they get Matt Holliday? Colorado is 6.5 games out of first place. Let’s see if they decide to shop him. With the injuries of Alou and Church, I am glad that Tatis and Chavez are performing so well. If they can’t keep it up, big deal. Fernando Martinez is off the DL, so he should be ready to make his big league debut some time soon. Look for that to happen.
Mark Mulder, who made his first start since September, 2007 last night, got injured and had to leave the game after just 16 pitches. Perhaps this will prompt the Cardinals to trade for a starter? I wouldn’t count on it, but maybe Jonathan Niese or Oliver Perez could go for maybe Chris Duncan. The Cardinals usually have him in Triple-A, and he can play outfield and first base with some power. He would be a nice fit for the Mets.
And Johan Santana actually got some offense for him last night! How cool is that?
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