Those Lucky Sons of Bitches...The Mets

Those gosh-darn New York Mets. They go up 8-0 then 10-1 and somehow only end up winning by a single run. The crazy thing is that the Mets are now above .500 and only 2.5 games out of first place in the pitiful division, commonly known as the National League East. The Phillies cannot seem to get a win, the Marlins have slowed down tremendously, the Braves are beset by injuries and the Nationals are just awful. This leaves the Mets as a viable option to come out of the division and make the playoffs. This New York Mets baseball team is just not very good, you know it, I know it, and everyone in baseball knows it. The offensive is terribly inconsistent, the starting pitching is not deep, and the bullpen is lacking ability. With all of these problems it is clear that if the Mets want to continue to make a playoff push they are going to have to make some midseason moves to acquire a solid 8th inning reliever and another hitter.

The Mets current bullpen setup looks something like this: Starter comes out of the game in the 6th inning. Joe Smith comes into the game and gives up a couple of hits then Pedro Feliciano comes in and closes the door on the threat that Smith has just created. Duaner Sanchez comes in for the 8th and gives up a run, and then Wagner comes in to blow the game or dominate depending on his mood the given evening.

The problem with this is that every game that the Mets are leading by only one or two runs becomes a dangerous, since Feliciano is the only consistent guy in the 'pen and he is only brought in after Smith, Heilman, or Schoenweis create a dangerous situation. Acquiring a pitcher like Brian Fuentes would solve this problem, giving the Mets a solid option in the 8th or 7th. A 7th, 8th, 9th combination of Feliciano to Fuentes to Wagner is a whole lot better than anything the Mets are currently putting out there. With the inclusion of a solid end game reliever the Mets can continue to win games like the one last night, only without the heart-attack inducing trauma that occured after Pedro Martinez left the game.

Jetting Jeter to the Outfield

Derek Jeter never had very good range at shortstop, but now it seems to be plummeting, and fast. Jeter, who always ranged well to his backhand and poorly to his glove-side, is now only average ranging to his backhand well below average ranging to his glove-side. 

For those of you who contest Jeter's poor defensive ability, look at the stats. According to baseball-reference.com, he has a 4.04 range factor in his career. Over his time in the league, the average shortstop has a 4.11 range factor. Jeter's range factor has decreased in every year since 2005 (4.56 in 2005, 3.97 in 2006, 3.80 in 2007 and 3.79 this year). Although Jeter still has soft hands in the field - he has a .980 fielding percentage this year - he is hurting the team too much at shortstop. Thus, I propose that it's time for Joe Girardi, Brian Cashman and the rest of the Yankees' organization to move Jeter to right field next year and start to find a replacement for him.

Bobby Abreu is a free agent at the end of the season. There will be a hole to fill in right field and Jeter would be the perfect player to fill it. He has always been great on pop-ups. The most impressive part of his game in the field is ranging back and towards the line for fly balls. He still has the arm to play right field, as exemplified by his almost-great backhanded jump-spin-and-throw play against Texas on Monday. 

You may ask, who would play shortstop if Jeter moves? If the Yanks are moving him for defensive reasons, they should be signing a defensively capable shortstop. Orlando Cabrera and Rafael Furcal are both free agents at the end of the season. Cabrera has great hands and a good arm in the field. Although he is not known for his hitting, he is competent at the plate. Furcal has good hands and a tremendous arm, not to mention that he was hitting .366 before he got hurt earlier this year.

If Derek Jeter is truly about the team, he will realize that his defense is only hurting the Yankees at this point. It would take an adjustment, but there is no reason Jeter can't be as good in right field as he was in the prime of his career at shortstop. Now, all the Yankees have to do is realize that Derek's not the player that he once was. The real question is: will they ever come to that realization?

- D. Spell

It's About Making a Point

Although this doesn't relate to New York sports, as a sports fan in general, one should be outraged by the way the Boston Red Sox have handled Manny Ramirez's past antics. Only a week after Shawn Chacon's scuffle with Astros' General Manager Ed Wade ultimately led to his release, Manny Ramirez has done essentially the same act. The difference: it looks like he won't even be disciplined. 

When the traveling secretary for the Red Sox told Ramirez that it may not be possible to obtain the 16 tickets that Manny had requested for an upcoming game, Manny reportedly yelled, "Just do your job" and shoved him to the ground. Why is this any worse than Chacon shoving Wade to the ground? Because a traveling secretary is playing the part of the General Manager and a future-hall-of-famer is playing the part of Shawn Chacon. 

Red Sox manager Terry Francona claims that the organization has already taken care of the situation and that he is happy with the way it was handled. Of course he is. He wasn't the one shoved to the floor and he still has his slugger and best hitter in the lineup. 

The Red Sox need to ignore the jobs that these two have within the organization and simply acknowledge them as two people. If you shoved a co-worker to the ground at work, you wouldn't get out without any scratches. The Red Sox should suspend Ramirez indefinitely without pay. They should allow him to return when he has proven that he has cleaned up his attitude; when he no longer is taking swings at Kevin Youkilis in the dugout, when he says he will always run a groundball out. It's not nearly as severe as a punishment as what happened to Chacon, who was released. Granted, as Jay Mariotti said, "The biggest mistake Shawn Chacon made was having a 5.15 ERA." It's about making a point.

- D. Spell

Girardi Needs to Learn How to Make a Lineup...Again

About a month and a half ago, I wrote about Joe Girardi's difficulties with making a lineup. His troubles once again stemmed into Sunday's game against the Mets. 

With Hideki Matsui on the DL, Girardi couldn't afford to sit three of his best hitters (Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu), but he did because they are all lefties. Facing left-handed starter Oliver Perez, Girardi completely reconfigured his lineup in order to avoid the lefty-lefty match-ups. In doing so, he decided to play Wilson Betemit instead of Robinson Cano, Jose Molina instead of Jason Giambi and Jason Christian instead of Bobby Abreu.

Girardi seems like he is reading the textbook, but not looking at the numbers or even looking into common sense. Why would he rather have a lifetime minor leaguer with twelve career at bats heading into a game (Christian) over a perennial All-Star (Abreu)? Christian shouldn't be starting unless he is filling in for someone during a day off or an injury.

Girardi clearly neglected to look at the numbers. If he had, he would've seen that Abreu is hitting .316 against lefties this year with an OPS 57 points higher than that against righties. Cano's batting average against lefties (.281) is twenty points higher than Betemit's (.261), as the utility infielder is notoriously known as an anemic hitter from the right side (even though he did hit a long homerun yesterday). Jason Giambi is hitting over .400 against lefties since May 17. 

If Girardi wanted to sit a lefty, it should've been the only one he decided to play. Johnny Damon's batting average against lefty pitchers (.292) is 36 points lower than his average against righties (.328). Consider the fact that he is also nursing a sore left arch and has witnessed his batting average drop since he returned to the lineup a few days ago, he should've gotten a day off. 

Why did Girardi decide to sit all the lefties against Oliver Perez, who had a 5.29 ERA entering the game, and decide to play all the lefties against Johan Santana, who had a 2.93 ERA entering Saturday's game and is known as one of the best pitchers in baseball? Wouldn't it make more sense to sit them on Saturday? There's a better pitcher on the mound - Sunday, there wasn't even a good pitcher on the mound - and you can rest players after a long double-header the previous day.

In the eighth inning, after Oliver Perez threw seven innings of three-hit-ball against a lineup in which Wilson Betemit was hitting fifth, Joe Girardi sent out Jason Giambi to pinch hit and face Pedro Feliciano, another lefty. However, the difference between Feliciano and Perez is that the former is an effective pitcher. Girardi knew that if the Mets had a lead, Feliciano would be in the game. He's their eighth inning guy. Thus, in pinch hitting Giambi, he was stating that he'd rather have his first baseman against a good lefty than a bad one - not exactly the right game strategy to have.

When Girardi sent out that lineup at the beginning of the game, Manuel knew it was because he didn't have confidence in his left-handed hitters. Thus, he pulled a great managerial move and called his bluff, only throwing lefties in the game (Perez, Feliciano and Billy Wagner). You know Scott Schoenweis would have been the next Mets' pitcher out of the bullpen. Girardi got out-managed on Sunday because of a lack of confidence in his players and too much of an allegiance to the baseball textbooks.

- D. Spell

Time To Change the Jeterian Ways

The day before his 34th birthday, Derek Jeter should be prepared to listen to some advice. Currently hitting .278 with a .717 OPS, Jeter needs to change his hitting style in order to return from the valleys of mediocrity and head back to the peak of stardom.

First, the type of hit which John Sterling has coined as the Jeterian single needs to cease. Jeter turns 34-years-old tomorrow and is noticeably getting older. Not only has his range in the field diminished, but his bat speed has also slowed down. No player is as strong at the age of 34 as he is at the age of 26 or 27. It takes a lot of strength to hit that "Jeterian single", an opposite field bloop over the second baseman's head on an inside fastball. That strength that he had in his prime allowed him to get enough lift on the ball to hit it in the air.

Now, Jeter is not as strong as he once was. Those balls that he was once hitting in the air are being hit on the ground. This year, when he tries to inside-out a pitch to rightfield, he will often hit a ground ball to second base or right back to the pitcher. This has led to his highest groundball:flyball ratio since 1997 (2.70:1). Because of this, he is grounding into more double plays than he ever has before.

Jeter needs to start pulling the ball and turning on the inside pitch because he is not longer strong enough to consistently hit the ball to right-center. The Yankees' shortstop this year has simply turned into a below-average hitter. His OPS+ is 93 (league average is 100); his secondary average is .183, 30 points worse than his previous worst season; his runs created/27 outs are 4.3, by far the lowest of his career. 

Jeter has not just deteriorated as a physical hitter, but he seems as if he has also regressed as an intelligent hitter. He has changed his approach this year and not for the better. Derek, who was always good for around 100 strikeouts, decided to cut down on his strikeout total, but in turn, has affected his walk total. He is swinging at pitches earlier in the count, so that he doesn't get into two-strike holes. Although Jeter has only struck out 34 times this year, he has only walked 20 times . He is seeing a mere 3.67 pitches/plate appearance, the lowest average of his career. One of Jeter's strengths throughout his time in the league has been that he is able to force pitchers to work. This year, he is voluntarily giving into them earlier in the at bat. 

So, maybe Sports Illustrated was right in their player poll that stated that Derek Jeter is the most overrated player in Major League Baseball. Before this year, I would disagree, but it's hard to argue against it when his 2008 numbers so clearly outline him as a mediocre shortstop. 

- D. Spell

Wait For the Other Half

Johan Santana is 7-6. I've heard too many questions about his talent compared to other National League pitchers. Is he as good as Tim Lincecum? Is he as good as Edinson Volquez? Is he as good as Felix Hernandez, who he faced off against on Monday night? The answer to every single one of those questions is yes. Mets' fans, who seem to have harbored the same traits in recent years as Yankees' fans, clearly have forgotten the virtue of patience. 

It's obvious that the Santana skeptics haven't taken a look at the lefty's second half prowess in his career. Santana, who is notoriously known as a stellar second half pitcher, is 45-11 after the All-Star break since the 2003 season. Keep in mind that he was 5-7 in the second half last year, which was clearly a fluke season. From 2003-2006, he was 40-4 in the second half. 

Santana seems to have already started a monster second half, as he has compiled a 1.87 ERA in June  to this point. However, he has managed to go only 1-3 as the Mets' offense has averaged a mere 1.8 runs in support of him during those starts. 

Last year's National League Cy Young winner, Jake Peavy, struck out 240 batters. 35 of those were pitchers. Santana has averaged 245.75 strikeouts per year over the past four years in an offensively superior league with a designated hitter. Two of the past five years. he's had a second-half ERA under 1.60 and four of the past five years,  he's had a second-half ERA under 3.20. 

So Mets' fans, calm down about Johan. He'll finish with the lowest ERA of his career. He'll finish with his highest strikeout total. The real question is: will that be good enough for the Mets to make the playoffs?

- D. Spell

Not On His Way Back

Unlike Alex Rodriguez, who expects to be back on Tuesday, Jorge Posada seems like he will not step on the field for the Yankees for a while longer. He can now throw up the 75 feet with as Girardi put it, "better velocity". However, he is progressing slowly and definitely will not return before June. The Yankees are hopeful that he will be able to play in some extended spring training games at the end of May or the beginning of June.

- D. Spell

On His Way Back

Alex Rodriguez is playing in three extended spring training games starting tomorrow against the Rays' minor leaguers. On Sunday, he will play in a simulated game and on Monday, he will be playing the Phillies' minor leaguers, hoping to return to the Yankees by Tuesday. 

Rodriguez for the first time yesterday ran the bases and said that he felt great. He will be guaranteed five at-bats in all three games over the weekend. He hasn't played since April 28th, when he re-injured his aching right quad. 

- D. Spell

We Remember - Luis Sojo

We will be running a segment called "We Remember" in an effort to honor old New York players, who may not have been the best, but were able to help their teams in different ways. Today, we remember Luis Sojo.

Game five. Top of the ninth. Two to two. Yankees have a three to one series lead. "Leiter has 141 pitches, this is gonna be number 142. The pitch...up the middle, base hit! They're gonna bring Posada to the plate. Payton's throw hits the runner. Brosius scores! Sojo goes to third. It's a two-run single by Luis Sojo and the Yankees take a 4-2 lead!" - Joe Buck

A better hitter than he was given credit for, Luis Sojo was described by Yankee announcer John Sterling as "The best .200 hitter ever". Sojo was a great utility player for the Yankees from 1996-2001. In one of the best moves of their dynasty, the Yankees claimed Sojo off waivers from the Mariners on August 22, 1996. Sojo, who was hitting only .211 in Seattle, hit .275 for the Yankees the rest of the season and .400 in the playoffs (.600 in the World Series). After only a few months as a Yankee, Sojo had already won a ring and established himself as a clutch and integral team player. The Yankees re-signed him before the 1997 season, a year Sojo did not disappoint hitting a career-high .307. 

Primarily a second baseman, Sojo was known most for his defense. He played every position in the infield along with left field. A versatile player, the Venezuelan native had soft hands, good range and a strong arm in the infield. But he could hit, too. Sojo is the proud owner of a walk-off hit against the Red Sox, a game-winning double down the right field line for a 7-6 victory in Yankee Stadium. In 2,571 career at-bats, he struck out only 198 times even though he used to hit in a lot of two-strike counts. With his short, compact swing, he was able to slap the ball through the infield often, making him a great hit-and-run guy.

The .261 career hitter would do anything for manager Joe Torre or his teammates. In fact, Sojo loved being a Yankee so much that when he was not re-signed after the 2000 season and was forced to sign with the Pirates, he would root for his former New York teammates every night, following the Yankee games daily. On August 7 of that year, the Yankees traded Chris Spurling to the Pirates for Sojo, who made a grand return to New York that night.  Sojo hit .288 the rest of the season in New York and contributed in the World Series, getting his famous series-winning hit at Shea Stadium off Al Leiter. 

Sojo will be remembered as a player who put everything on the line in order to win. As George Steinbrenner would put it, he was and always will be a true Yankee. He was one of the most relaxed and easy-going players I've ever seen, traits that are necessary in a guy who may not play everyday. They helped him become the best utility infielder of the 1990s.

Girardi Needs to Learn How to Make a Lineup

Before Sunday's Yankee game against the Tigers was rained out, Joe Girardi had penciled Derek Jeter into the cleanup spot in the lineup. Jeter hit is first homerun of the season the day before; it was his only long-ball in 133 at-bats this season. Girardi says that he made the decision because he wanted to give Matsui a day off. 

Clearly, Girardi is having trouble making the lineup this season. He has had inconsistencies throughout the year. Jeter's power seems to have diminished over the past few years. He seems to have gotten a bit weaker with age and with his hitting style - keeping his hands inside and hitting the ball the right field - he can't hit many homeruns since he doesn't get his arms extended.  Jeter has hit 27 homers in the past two years and 38 games, none of them traveling a long way.

Why does Girardi feel like he needs to give Matsui a day off? The Yankees were off the previous Monday, only six days prior. Why give your hottest hitter a day off and potentially ruin the best hot-streak the offensively challenged team has had by any individual all year. One of the first rules of managing - and something Joe Torre was so good at - is riding your hottest players. Torre seemed to stick to this theory without fail. Girardi, as a former player, should understand that if a player is hitting the ball well, only one day off can completely ruin his rythm. I also don't think he understands lineup construction.

In a game earlier this season, Girardi batted Morgan Ensberg fifth. I actually have no disagreement here. I think Ensberg has a very nice line-drive stroke and hits the ball back up the middle very well. He has been hitting much better than his numbers would show. Late in the game, Ensberg had a game-tying hit. Then, he came up in the ninth inning again with a runner in scoring position and a chance to win it. Here's the issue: Girardi pinch-hit. Now, why would you pinch-hit for your number five hitter? Why would you be hitting him fifth if you don't have the confidence to let him hit in that situation? Would he have pinch-hit for Cano? No. Would he have pinch-hit for Giambi? No. Then why didn't he bat them earlier in the lineup and move Ensberg to the seventh slot? I don't know.

He is a young manager but some of his lineup choices seem to nonsensical. Oh, this just in: Mike Mussina is leading off Monday in Tampa.

- D. Spell

David Ross Can't Count

What a strange occurrence. The last time I saw something like this, I was at a little league baseball game in Central Park. Yesterday against the Mets, Reds' catcher David Ross hit out of order in the lineup. Centerfielder Corey Patterson entered the game in a double switch, which had Ross hitting in the ninth hole and the pitcher moving to the sixth spot. However, Ross came to the plate where the eighth batter, Patterson, should hit, forcing the umpire to call Patterson automatically out for the first out in the inning.

How pissed must Patterson be? His average is down three points in an at bat which he never stepped into the batter's box. Ross eventually singled. Isn't Patterson thinking, "That could've been mine"? 

Manager Dusty Baker says that the lineup card in the dugout was correct and that Ross simply got confused. Shouldn't Dusty have been paying attention enough to pull Ross back into the dugout and send Patterson to the plate? He had the same dazed and confused look on his face as he did when he forget to keep Mark Prior's pitch count in every game of the 2003 season. Oh, The Dusty Baker Face. 

- D. Spell

No Longer Farns-Worthless

Kyle Farnsworth's appeal was worth it after all. After being penalized with a three game suspension for allegedly throwing at Manny Ramirez's head in a game between the Yankees and Red Sox on April 17th, Farnsworth's punishment was reduced to a one game suspension on Friday. 

When Farnsworth was initially suspended, my reaction was an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I wanted the Yankee set-up man out longer than three days. He had been horrible out of the bullpen for the past two years and was off to another poor start. 

However, since April 13th, Farnsworth has a 1.69 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and is averaging 9.3 K/9. He has helped lead the Yankee bullpen, which has been surprisingly good, to major success thus far this season. Now, he's actually worth something.

- D. Spell

Boomer's Back

May 17th will mark the ten year anniversary of David Wells' perfect game in Yankee Stadium, the second in Yankee history. Now, the past seems to be seeping into the present. Yesterday, David Wells said that he wanted to return to pinstripes. 

When asked what he thought of the 45-year-old lefty, who was 9-9 with a 5.43 ERA combined for the Dodgers and Padres last season, Hank Steinbrenner responded, "I've thought about it. You never know." Steinbrenner went on to say that he has not spoken about this idea with General Manager Brian Cashman, yet.

The Yankees rotation has been spotty at best. Aside from Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte, no one has been consistent. Mike Mussina has actually been decent of late, however, he has trouble going more than six, and sometimes five innings. Hughes is injured, Kennedy might as well be. The Yankees' four and five starters right now are Darrell Rasner and Kei Igawa. They are desperate to find more starting pitching, however, they should never be so rash to sign David Wells.

When Wells said that he would want to return to New York, that he thinks he could still have a positive impact on the Yankees' staff, he was asked what kind of shape he is in. My favorite part of this piece by the New York Post is that it quotes Wells as saying, 

"I'm in shape, I'd just have to fine-tune a couple of things. I'd need a little bit of time, but not much. Physically I feel fine, real good."

By a couple of things, I hope he is referring to his gargantuan belly, which files out his prominent 300-pound, cough, I mean 248-pound frame. (Did he actually say he was 248 pounds? Does he think he's fooling people?) He already has back problems from the wear and tear of a long career. His extra weight will be an issue more so than ever, now that he is a middle-aged man. 

He had a 5.43 ERA pitching in the National League last year. Let's not forget that. If Roger Clemens' ERA sky-rocketed two runs in his league-switch last season, think about how much the change would affect Wells, a pitcher of similar age, but not similar ability of physical shape.

Wells in a return to the Bronx would be a disaster. I will remember one thing about David Wells' legacy in New York. It's not the perfect game. It's not the 18-4 '98 season. It's not the 19 win season only a few years ago. It was when he screamed at a teammate for making an error behind him allowing for the only time I have ever seen Derek Jeter lose his temper on the baseball field. The Captain put Wells in his place. You don't slight another teammate on the field because of a physical error. 

To me, Wells' character will always be in question. He drinks nights before he pitches, he does not hold his teammates to a top priority. It's not worth it to bring a guy like that into your clubhouse, especially when he will contribute with an ERA of 5.50 at best.

- D. Spell

A Little Mets Article for All of You Pagan Lovers Out There

Since Darrell can't seem to get over his Yankees bias, I will say a little something on the Mets. I will admit it; the Mets look decent so far this year. To have an over-.500 record with injuries to your 2nd best starter, and your starting right fielder is impressive. Everything else is pretty much going great. Santana has been dominant, and with a little more run support he will have one of the best seasons of his career. John Maine and Olivier Perez have been more than serviceable as middle of the rotation starters and Nelson Figueroa (Figueroa as Bert) is still the front-runner in his local Bert and Ernie look-a-like pageant. The bullpen is pitching better than expected-Scot Schoeneweis, Pedro Feliciano, and Joe Smith are all canceling out the horrid performances of Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, and Jorge Sosa. These great performances have allowed the Mets to have the 6^th best ERA in the league and the 5^th best batting average against in the NL. And it is a good thing too, because the offense has been stuttering thus far.

The team batting average is .248, 13^th in the NL, and you know you are in trouble when Ryan Church is the leading hitter with a .312 average. It is easy to place the blame on two of the Mets bigger offensive starts-Carlos Beltran who is hitting a paltry .210 or Carlos Delgado who is only hitting .213. Beltran’s troubles can be explained by the fact that he is not hitting the ball in the air as often as he has been. Over 42 percent of his balls hit in play have been on the ground, which is his second highest percentage ever, narrowly behind the amount of groundballs he hit in his first year with Mets in 2005. However, I think this year Beltran will return to form because he continues to take pitches and draw walks, eventually the long fly balls will return and the line drives will find the gaps. For Delgado I think that this down turn is more than just a slight aberration. Delgado began the year injured and it seems to have taken some of the pop out of his swing. Delgado is no longer hit line drives; he has become an all or nothing type of hitter. When he swings its either going to be a homerun or a little dribbler to second base, and he has been swinging more and more often this season, than any other time in his career. Until his patience at the plate returns Delgado will continue his struggles. Incredibly Angel Pagan of all people has picked up the slack and has given the Mets a bit of the offensive spark that they have been missing. If Pagan’s production continues and the only David Wright picks up his pace the Mets offense will rise to at least the top half of the NL, if not beyond, and that would be a very very good thing for their playoff chances.

One more note on the Mets season thus far. Over one third of their games have been decided by 2 runs or less, and more than half have been decided by 3 runs or less. This has made Mets games a lot of fun to watch, even for a Yankees fan. I am sure that Mets fans would prefer a blow out every game, but I would say that it is a good thing that they are getting practice in tight games because at the end of the season you do not want a repeat of last year. Unless of course you have a masochistic streak (again not talking about Darell’s Mom), and in that case good for you.

-Mose