Jerry Manuel

If the Mets head into next season with Bobby Parnell in their plans for the starting rotation, I'm becoming either a Phillies or Yankees fan. I can't take it anymore...I just can't. Parnell is garbage!

Continue reading "Bobby Parnell is NOT a starting pitcher."

When the 2009 MLB season comes to a close, the Chicago Cubs have announced that they will shop starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano in hopes of swinging a trade and dumping much of his monstrous contract. The question is, should the Mets be interested in the massive right-hander?

Continue reading "Cubs Say They Will Shop Zambrano"

As if the 2009 season couldn't get any worse for the Metropolitans, Pedro Martinez had to go and embarrass them on national television last night. While Tim Redding (who I can't stand) pitched his ass off for the Mets, their anemic offense couldn't help him out. The Phillies' famously potent lineup was held to just one run...

Continue reading "Pedro sticks it to his old mates"

tend to go on for too long in this particular post, but I'm just wondering, why did Jeff Wilpon say Jerry Manuel is "his guy," and why is Manuel's managerial job so secure? I understand that injuries have decimated the Mets' roster in 2009, but does that mean it should be impossible for the team to perform well? Does that mean Manuel automatically gets a pass for his personal performance?

Continue reading "What has Jerry Manuel done to keep his job?"

This isn't the way Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya drew things up in the offseason.

The Mets put yet another star on the disabled list, this time center fielder Carlos Beltran. He joins Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes on the DL, and that's just in the lineup.

Continue reading "The 2009 New York Mets are Finally the Underdogs"

(Note: I posted this a couple of days ago on my other blog at FanNation.)

When it comes to the Mets' starting rotation, I think all of their replacement-level options are better than Tim Redding. Redding's stuff is disgraceful, and his general approach to the craft of pitching is laughable. He's been embarrassed in his last two starts -- recently against the Marlins, and the Red Sox before that -- and there is little-to-no indication of potential improvement. I don't think there is any doubt at this point...

Continue reading "I've Had Enough of Tim Redding."

Pagan was the subject of much malign just a day earlier, when manager Jerry Manuel pinch hit with him in a critical bases loaded situation, and Angel proceeded to ground into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. 

Continue reading "The New York Mets: A Quarter Season in Review"

no out there to give up crushing hits in the late innings?

 Which brings me to number 5, Mr. Jerry Manuel - Why does everyone find Jerry so charming? Sure he seems intelligent and eloque

Continue reading "Team Inconsistency"

Though if they end up re-signing Perez, Jerry Manuel will probably elect to go lefty-righty-lefty with Santana, Pelfrey, and Perez in that order.

The Mets have issues elsewhere, but I have to

Continue reading "The New York Mets: Plenty of Question Marks Remain"

           The Jerry Manuel era didn’t start out too swimmingly, as he immediately engaged in a first inning argument with Jose Reyes, who pled his case to stay in the game after a minor injury, a bit too vigorously.  The Mets dropped that game to the Angels 6-1 in uninspiring fashion, and it looked like the disappointing ’08 season would continue on.

Continue reading "In the Aftermath Of The Collapse ..."

Saturday was a different story, just like the middle portion of the Mets’ season.  Once Jerry Manuel took over as manager (or more accurately, once Carlos Delgado remembered how to hit and Fernando Tatis forgot it wasn’t 1999), the Mets began playing much looser, and started overcoming adversity to win games despite a terrible bullpen and sub-par performance in the clutch—rather than losing because of those things.  Saturday the 27th was no different:  the offense still only pushed two runs across, and as far as the bullpen woes went, Johan Santana took matters into his own hands.  Carlos Delgado hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, and that’s all they would need on that day.  They tacked on another run in the fourth, but it didn’t matter—Johan Santana was on a mission.  All the questions, doubts, misgivings, and uncertainties that surrounded Santana’s exorbitant contract were sent by the wayside after that start, a complete game three-hitter in the biggest game of the season, and the biggest game of Santana’s Mets career.  This game conjured memories of John Maine’s performance in the second-to-last game of 2007, when he allowed just one hit and struck out 14 Marlins through 7.2 innings of a 13-0 Mets win in the same exact must-win scenario.  But as Tony Paige had said, we’d seen this movie before.  We just hoped this time it would end differently.

Continue reading "In The Aftermath Of The Collapse"

our one job on a given night is to run the bases properly, you had better not mess up.  Credit Jerry Manuel with a great call, because Robinson Cancel executed a picture perfect hit-and-run, stroking a ground single through the hole on the right side of the infield.  Martinez, who had been running on the play, inexplicably hesitated and then stopped at second.  Had he made it to third with one out, the Mets would have had a chance to score the tying run with Jose Reyes up next.  Reyes bounced back to the pitcher, who threw high to second, and Cancel would have been safe had he slid, but instead he tip-toed into the bag and was forced out.  Those two baserunning errors severely limited the Mets' chances to tie the game in that inning.

Continue reading "Mets In First Place...For The Wild Card?"

As a unit they have underperformed and have not pitched as consistently as they should have.  Jerry Manuel has done a fine job since taking over as manager, and he has played the matchup game with this bullpen as well as he could have.  The bottom line is that the pitchers he has to choose from in his bullpen frankly just aren't any good.  Regardless of whether the Mets make the playoffs this season, Omar Minaya's first off-season priority will be to upgrade the bullpen--something he failed to do after last year's September collapse.

Continue reading "Ayala Joins The Blown Save Party"

me.

    This was the latest of several wins the day after a brutal defeat for this Jerry Manuel-led Mets team.  If certain players were simply not playing hard for Willie Randolph, then that's a shame, and it's inexcusable on the part of those players.  But since the managerial change the Mets have shown a newfound resiliency, and an ability to get up off the mat after being hit hard.  Tuesday's extra-inning loss was devastating, but the Mets stayed in last night's game from a mental perspective and bounced back.

Continue reading "Delgado's Two Bombs Save The Day"

rters not going deep enough into games:  Lately this has not been as much of a problem because Jerry Manuel has been pushing his starters farther, and the rotation has simply been pitching well enough to warrant that kind of confidence.  But Pedro Martinez's horrendous five innings last night were unacceptable.  Pedro is a very important part of this team, especially now that John Maine is hurt again.  He tends to give up runs early, and then settle down, but when he loses steam, he loses it very quickly.  After working out of a jam in the first inning last night it seemed as if Pedro had found his groove, but he ran up his pitch count early and by the fifth inning was throwing batting practice.  If Pedro is healthy (and he says he is), he will need to give the Mets more quality innings going forward.  Five-inning starts expose a bullpen as unreliable as the Mets'.

Continue reading "Seven Runs: Too Little, Too Early"

ighty platoon.  And while Ryan Church was unable to play right field, Fernando Tatis impressed Jerry Manuel so much that he has been moved into a platoon now that Church has returned; Tatis got the start on Sunday against the lefty Randy Wolf.

Continue reading "Feliciano Blows Up In 10th"

    The mystery of how Jerry Manuel will manage the bullpen was put on hold for a day, as Mike Pelfrey pitched his first career complete game Wednesday.  Pelfrey didn't even seem to have his best stuff, but he worked economically throughout the game and kept his pitch count down.  He only struck out three batters, mainly relying on aggressive Braves hitters putting the ball in play early in the count.  The only blemish was the sixth inning, which still could have been much worse.  Atlanta loaded the bases on a bunt single and two walks, but Pelfrey induced a double play grounder from Brian McCann, and he had a chance to escape with only one run allowed.  But he bounced a wild pitch to the next batter and Yunel Escobar scored from third, before Mark Kotsay lined out to left to end the inning.  Pelfrey settled down thereafter and cruised through the next three innings, retiring all nine batters on just 25 pitches.

Continue reading "Pelfrey Goes The Distance"

ets will need to move on without Wagner for the remainder of the season.  If that is the case, Jerry Manuel will need to continue to play the matchups, and use his bullpen in committee form, but if possible, acquiring a difference maker in the pen would be a viable alternative.  Trevor Hoffman's name has been floated around, but he can veto any trade, and San Diego most likely would not want to part with their potential Hall-of-Fame closer.  An interesting possibility might be Mike MacDougal of the White Sox.  He has experience closing in Kansas City, and has had success at the major league level, yet he has been toiling in Triple-A since April.  He is not necessarily a distinct upgrade over anyone currently in the Mets' bullpen, but it could be useful to see what he's got when the rosters expand on September 1, and it probably would not take much to pry him away from Chicago.

Continue reading "Delgado, Easley Spark Comeback Against Braves"

t out in the eighth but ran into some trouble after walking Lastings Milledge and Austin Kearns, so Jerry Manuel called upon Duaner Sanchez.  Sanchez got out of the inning unscathed and the Mets had a 5-3 lead after eight.  The suspense mounted.

Continue reading "Mets Finish Off Sweep in D.C."

his four ninth inning chances.  In order to put an end to the bullpen's pattern of implosion, Jerry Manuel offered two other options after yesterday's game:  Eddie Kunz and John Maine.

Continue reading "Mets' Season May Depend on Kunz"

and got four outs to bridge the Mets to the ninth, leading 6-2.  With Billy Wagner on the DL, Jerry Manuel turned to Aaron Heilman, and then the floodgates opened.  Heilman walked the first batter and the second reached on a misplayed pop-up that fell in between Argenis Reyes and Carlos Beltran.  He recorded an out on a fielder's choice, but then Jody Gerut hit a three-run bomb over the right field fence, and suddenly it was 6-5.  Joe Smith and Scott Schoenweis entered to retire a batter each and save the game, but the victory left a bad taste in any fan's mouth because of the continued struggles of the bullpen, namely Aaron Heilman, in Wagner's stead.

Continue reading "Heilman Nearly Wastes Efforts of Pelfrey and Tatis"

ternal moves, the Mets have turned to their farm system for help.  Although for the time being Jerry Manuel says he will use a bullpen by committee in the ninth inning, Eddie Kunz, the heir apparent to Billy Wagner, is on the major league squad and may get some looks in the closer role over the next two weeks while Wagner is out.  Daniel Murphy, who was a third baseman in the minors but requested some work at second base and the outfield--a smart move, considering David Wright isn't going anywhere anytime soon--is getting the start in left field tonight agains the Padres.  The Mets really love the way he hits, so he could be a fixture at the major league level for the remainder of the season and perhaps into the future.  And rumor has it that the Mets are considering calling up Jon Niese to make a few starts in Maine's stead.

Continue reading "Mets Look to Bounce Back at Home"

    Sure enough, just after I wrote about how I’d like to see Jerry Manuel try to stretch Aaron Heilman for some more two-inning relief appearances, Heilman blew a tie game in his second inning of work on Friday night.  After getting through the seventh inning cleanly, Heilman loaded the bases in the eighth and gave up a game-winning grand slam to pinch hitter Mark Loretta.  To add insult to injury (literally, considering the ailing arms of John Maine and Billy Wagner), Heilman was tagged with the loss again on Saturday in another collapse of sorts from the Mets’ bullpen.  This one was a group effort though, with Scott Schoenweis and Billy Wagner contributing to the blown 4-1 lead.  After yet another solid, but insufficiently long, outing from Johan Santana, Schoenweis allowed a solo home run to Kaz Matsui, who has killed the Mets, hitting .438 against his former team over the last three years.  Wagner then gave up a bizzare two-run single to Geoff Blum with the bases loaded in the ninth to blow the save, as both runners crashed into one another and Ramon Castro all at once at the plate.  Then, in the tenth, Heilman put the first two runners on base before handing the ball over to Pedro Feliciano.  Feliciano actually did not pitch poorly, striking out the first batter he faced and then allowing the game-ending sacrifice fly on a weakly hit liner by Darin Erstad.  Fernando Tatis made an excellent catch on Erstad’s sinking flare, but was unable to throw Lance Berkman out at the plate.

Continue reading "Shaky Pen Gets Mets Swept By 'Stros"

ll.  But Heilman's two innings yesterday, coming off his three innings on Saturday, might give Jerry Manuel the assurance that he can pitch the sixth and seventh, or seventh and eighth, in a tight game in front of Wagner.  Now of couse, knowing Heilman, he could pitch terribly his next time out and struggle to get through even one inning.  But if the starters can continue to go a little deeper into games, like they have been more frequently of late, and Manuel uses Heilman expediently, he could pick up his share of two-inning holds and be effective in that type of role.

Continue reading "Heilman Holds Perez's Lead, Delgado Puts it Away"

ble to come back and play everyday, so a corner outfielder is certainly a priority.  On Monday Jerry Manuel named Fernando Tatis the everyday left fielder, but his red-hot month may not, and probably will not, last.  Even if Tatis remains decent as a starter, the uncertainty surrounding Church's health calls for a stronger bench.  Endy Chavez is an excellent defensive replacement outfielder, but when he plays everyday he eventually gets exposed offensively, so he is really more suited to a role as a fourth outfielder.  Casey Blake would have been a good fit because he can play both corner outfield positions as well as first base, but he has already been traded to the Dodgers.

Continue reading "Trade Market: Will The Mets Be Involved?"

looked just fine to the naked eye.  But after Maine missed with a 1-0 fastball to John Baker, Jerry Manuel, Dan Warthen and Ray Ramirez, the trainer, jogged out to the mound to consult with Maine.  He appeared to say he was fine, and stayed in the game for the time being.  But after his next pitch to Baker left the yard for a solo home run, and his 1-2 pitch to Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco chased Endy Chavez to the warning track to make the catch, Manuel and Warthen decided they had seen enough, and pulled Maine in favor of Carlos Muniz.  Maine is listed as day-to-day with shoulder stiffness, and Warthen said he was most concerned that Maine might develop further injuries if he tried to compensate in his delivery to protect his shoulder.  In all likelihood Maine will miss a start in order to rest his shoulder, and hopefully pitch again next week.  After the game Manuel was adamant that Maine will not pitch through any pain.

Continue reading "Mets Fried By Fish, Maine Leaves Early"

meltdown Tuesday night should have been avoided via Johan Santana pitching the ninth inning.  Jerry Manuel said that had Santana been adamant about wanting to stay in the game, he would have left him in.  I don't think it was a bad move to pull Santana after only 105 pitches because he did look like he was losing steam in the eighth, and his spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the eighth.  However, it would have been nice to see Santana fight for the opportunity to finish the game.  Ultimately, Santana still pitched a phenomenal game and Manuel made a sound decision in turning the game over to Duaner Sanchez.  The bottom line is that a quartet of major league pitchers (Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman) absolutely need to be capable of recording three outs without allowing three runs, let alone six runs.  I don't know what it is about the ninth inning, but some pitchers are just not cut out to pitch in those situations.

Continue reading "Billy Wagner Never Looked So Good"

into oblivion, where El Duque apparently resides (remember him?).

      Jerry Manuel made a questionable move last night when he chose to have Aaron Heilman intentionally walk Joey Votto after Edwin Encarnacion's two-out double in the seventh.  Putting the potential go-ahead run on base intentionally is clearly a move that goes against the book, and it is often difficult for a reliever to find his rhythm again after issuing an intentional pass.  Case in point:  Heilman walked the next batter on five pitches to load the bases.  Then, also questionable was Manuel's decision to pull Heilman in favor of Schoenweis.  I rarely think it's a good idea to bring a pitcher in with the bases loaded, but it made sense because Javier Valentin, the would-be pinch hitter, is not as productive from the right side of the plate.  The moves ended up not working out, as Valentin delivered the three-run double, but they didn't get much scrutiny because the Mets won the game.  These are the types of situations that get managers fired; if this type of move didn't work out for Willie Randolph and the team ended up losing the game, he would have been one step closer to the unemployment line, whereas if it worked out for

Continue reading "David Wright Bails Out Poor Pitching, ..."

ck shutouts of the Giants on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    The Mets are now 14-9 with Jerry Manuel at the helm, after going 34-35 under Willie Randolph.  Over the last six games the Mets have shown a newfound confidence and swagger that they had been lacking since early last season.  But before we start comparing Manuel to Leo Durocher, let's remember that just six games ago the team was 8-9 under the new manager, Jose Reyes was slamming his glove down in frustration after a throwing error, hitters were not coming through in the clutch, the bullpen was blowing games left and right, and the starting pitching was inconsistent.  Sure, there is a lot to be happy about over the last six games, but it is best to remain cautiously optimistic because everything always looks a lot better during a six-game winning streak.

Continue reading "Mets Go For Seven Straight Tonight at Shea"

It's been a long time since I've posted and so much has happened that it's almost impossible to summarize my reaction in a single entry. The Willie era is over, some would say mercifully, and the Jerry "Gangsta" Manuel era has begun. So far this season I've already been burned too many times by the "maybe this is the turning point theory". Just look at my post after the Yankees series. But while I'm still wrestling with my feelings toward Randolph's tenure--the feel good story aspect of it at the beginning and the tragic fall from grace at the end--I must admit that I'm just a little excited about the team's new direction.

Continue reading "Death and Rebirth"

ically start firing at the top.

One of the issues, of course, is whether interim manager Jerry Manuel is up to the task. A very successful manager with the Chicago White Sox, Manuel was replaced by the outspoken Ozzie Guillen, in a change of personality that seems deliberate. Under Manuel, however, the White Sox seemed lackluster, perennial second-placers that only once managed to break through the glass ceiling atop the division, in 2000, only to be swept by the Mariners. If the Mets need to have a fire lit under them, Manuel seems like an unlikely source.

Continue reading "Two Brief Bits"