Results tagged ‘ Pedro Martinez ’
Almost There
Well as I write this I am thinking to myself, “‘Spring Training starts in less than 3 days, and look at all the free agents that are still available.”
We still have Ivan Rodriguez, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Garret Anderson, Kevin Millar, and Jim Edmonds. Most of the pitchers seem to be in place, though, Pedro Martinez still hasn’t found a job. There are minor league deals flying around all over the place, like storks and other exotic birds that many teams will be seeing in Florida.
Pedro Martinez is probably going to be playing for the Domincan Republic during this year’s World Baseball Classic. He said if he couldn’t get a contract by then, it would be his job interview.
I think that the Mets are pretty much set for the 2009 season. Things have quieted down with Manny Ramirez, and now he probably going to sign the next offer from the Dodgers, or from the Giants if they offer a multi year deal. The Mets could easily get him if they wanted to, but they really want to stick to a budget I guess. That and the fact that he was practically free at the Trading Deadline.
But if Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu are smart, they will drop their prices now. Just to get a major league deal. I heard Abreu might even be falling into the $2-3 million range. Wouldn’t it be crazy to be having Bobby Abreu and Alex Cora making the same money? How about having Adam Dunn in the minor leagues? The Mets can still go after them, but don’t forget that they still have to pay Billy Wagner.
And Manny, how does that Worcester Tornadoes offer look now?
What I Would Do In The Offseason
Free Agents to let go: Alou, Pedro, Tatis, Easley
Resign: Oliver Perez, Rincon, Ayala, Matt Wise (Remember him? He was on the opening day roster but got hurt and came back and played one game and got hurt again and we never heard of him again. But he has GOTTA be better than Heilman at this point, right?), Delgado
Free Agents to Sign: Orlando Hudson, Tim Wakefield, Jon Garland, Teixiera, Manny Ramirez
Trade: Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Castillo, Delgado
Trade For: Huston Street/Bobby Jenks/J.J. Putz, ANY relief pitcher, prospects, middle infielders for bench, cash
I figure outfield would be fixed with Manny and Evans/Murphy would play left if we can’t sign him or if someone gets hurt. You need to resign Oliver Perez, he could fill a huge hole, Rincon and Ayala did nice jobs for he most part. If we sign Teixiera and Delgado we can trade Delgado for someone good like a bench infielder to replace Easley. Street, Jenks, or Putz could obvisiously fill the closer role (forget K-Rod, he will be too expensive, especially with Manny and Tex, and he will blow out his arm), while Hudson could play second and be a clubhouse leader and Garland can join the rotation. I already blogged about Wakefield and Heilman sucks beyond repair, at least he sucks in New York. Sanchez will never be the same, and everybody knows that Castillo needs to go and trade is the only way because of that stupid extension. Unless we release him, but then we won’t get anything back (addition by subtraction?).
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Or how about we just sign Manny, CC Sabathia, K-Rod, Teixiera, and every other big free agent, and then pay for their contracts by winning the World Series! That sounds perfect!
Pedro’s Replacement
It was announced yesterday afternoon that Brandon Knight will be Pedro Martinez’s relpacement for tomorrow night’s game. Knight is 32, and had a short career with the Yankees as a reliever. He was recently named to America’s Olympic team, so after this start he will have to go to China. Knight was 5-1 in AA Binghamton this season, and that was why he was chosen over Brian Stokes or Jon Niese. Claudio Vargas or Nelson Figueroa was going to be called up, but they both just pitched, so they wouldn’t have enough rest.
By the way, I can’t help but notice how well Ramon Castro is always hitting. I really think that if he had full playing time, he would be like Jorge Posada or Mike Piazza. This guy is an absolute beast at the plate, but he really doesn’t get enough time to prove how great a hitter he is. Seriously could have been the next Piazza.
Pedro Martinez
Pedro Martinez was scheduled to make his first start of the second half on Friday, but it will have to be postponed again, due to the fact that his 78 year-old father died during last night’s game from brain cancer. It is still to be determined when Pedro will pitch again, and who will take his place on the roster while he is on the bereavement list, but Mike Pelfrey will start in his place on Friday. The death of Pedro’s father may mean a longer playing career, as Pedro might have retired after this year to be with him.
Various Entries from Abroad
I was going to make an entry a couple days ago, but my Internet wasn’t working very well. Sorry.
I was going to post about the All-Star Game, but since that news is old already, I’ll just say this. The NL team lost for reasons out of its control. Let me first say that both managers managed an extremely good game. But it all comes down to 1) Corey Hart not deserving to be an All-Star, he should have gotten Morneau out at the plate, I actually think he was out but there should have been a better throw and 2) the NL was down a pitcher. While the AL had the required 12, the NL’s Tim Lincecum had a flu and couldn’t play. Brad Lidge did not need to pitch 2 innings. He is not that kind of pitcher.
Omar Minaya, you need to make a deal RIGHT NOW! The Phillies just traded 3 minor league prospects for Oakland’s Joe Blanton. Blanton is only 5-11 this year, but his contract has his locked up through 2010. Time is running out, and so are the starters on the market. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez got hurt again in his rehab start, so don’t expect him. Pedro Martinez will miss his scheduled start on Sunday, but he should pitch Tuesday. Outfield should be fine, as Ryan Church should be back around the series against the Cardinals. Angel Pagan, though, may need season-ending surgery. Tatis and Chavez continue to play great ball, so even if Church and Pagan can’t come back, I’m not too concerned. And with the way Argenis Reyes and Damion Easley are playing, Luis Castillo will stay on the DL.
Another trade was made Thursday, although it won’t affect the Mets as much. Tony Clark was sent to the D-Backs to Minor League pitcher Evan Scribner. Big deal.
The Yankees signed Richie Sexson to a deal for the rest of the year. He is getting payed only 150K, so why not go for it?
The current 10 game winning streak is the Mets’ first since 1991. Now they try and get only the fifth 11 game winning streak in club history. John Maine takes the rubber against Bronson Arroyo and the Reds. This should be a good test for Maine, as lefty sluggers Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn can hit the long ball. Maine has given up 10 homers this year, only less than Johan Santana and Oliver Perez on the Mets.
Last Day Before All-Star Break
Well, its the last day before the All-Star break and the Mets look to continue their winning streak to 9 games. The last time the Mets won 8 in a row was that fantastic road trip to the west in 2006. The Mets haven’t won 9 straight since 2000. I wouldn’t count on this streak to go much longer, seeing as the players will undoubtedly cool down with 3 days off.
Pedro Martinez was taken out of yesterday’s game after just 4 innings with muscle soreness. He says he is okay though. Carlos Muniz worked 2 innings in relief, and then Schoenweis, Heilman, Sanchez and Wagner all came on as well. Had Claudio Vargas been up in the majors this wouldn’t be necessary. Now Johan Santana might be used in relief of Mike Pelfrey today. Pelfrey just came off a 114 pitch outing, so he should get pulled early, and Johan Santana last pitched just 5 innigns because of a rain delay. If Santana doesn’t pitch long relief, he could close out the game. Billy Wagner has been used in multiple straight games, and he will be in the All-Star game, so Jerry Manuel might be looking to give him a day off now. Pedro’s injury leads me to believe that maybe the reason for John Maine’s inadequacy in his last start was because of his elbow hurting. He said his elbow was killing him a couple days prior to that game, and I haven’t heard any news of it lately so it should be fine, but just throwing out a possibility.
Bobby Murcer died on Saturday from brain cancer. A tumor was discovered in 2006 and he had surgery to remove it, but the cancer hung around. Murcer, a long time Yankee player and announcer, was 62.
Pitching
I am not too excited about the Mets’ pitching situation. I am glad that they are not in a spot like ’06 where they had about 15 different starters because of injuries, but there have been some questionable moves.
For example, I do not understand at all why the Mets would send down Claudio Vargas to call up Carlos Muniz. Vargas is a veteran and was the one guy in that bullpen who could go 4 innings in relief if need be, and Muniz is just a nice prospect who needs more experience in the minors. Now Tony Armas Jr. has been called up to make a start, (he was pitching very nicely in Triple-A but couldn’t even compete for a roster spot in Spring Training because of a problem with his visa) and I have to admit, he did pretty well in last night’s 7-4 win over St. Louis. All the Mets really needed from him was a spot start because Oliver Perez will pitch in relief either tonight or tomorrow, and will start Sunday’s game at Philliadelphia to move his place in the rotation behind John Maine so they didn’t have two leftys back-to-back (the other being Johan Santana), but for now Armas will stay with the club as a long man. I don’t really think that is a good idea, as Andy Phillips was sent down to make room for him on the 25 man roster and now the Mets only have 4 position players on the bench.
Another questionable pitching move the Mets made was having Pedro Martinez start tonight on 4 days rest. Both he and Mike Pelfrey pitched during Friday’s double-header, and it would make so much more sense to have the younger guy go tonight. I just hope Pedro doesn’t get hurt, as another serious injury could mean the end of his career, which would be so sad at this point. Pedro is my favorite player.
One more thing. Have you noticed the Mets’ scoring patterns? The amount of runs they score usually depends on the pitchers. When Oliver Perez starts and gives up 8 runs in the first inning and the bullpen is also horrendous and there is no way the Mets can win that game, that is when they decide to score 6 or 7 runs. But when Johan Santana pitches and gives up 2 earned in 7 brilliant innings, the Mets score 1 and play sloppy defense, allowing at least a run on an error. I feel sorry for Johan, because at 7-7, he isn’t getting all that much good attention. But I feel he is having an All-Star season, and if he got better run support (which he truly isn’t asking for a lot of) he might be 12-4. He has also been the Mets’ most consistent pitcher this year, and he has certainly done the things the Mets asked him to do when they signed him to the biggest pitching contract in history, but he isn’t getting the credit he deserves.
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