Yankees - beat KC Royals 4 to 3. Scored 2 in the 9th off Kyle Farnsworth. Walk off RBI by Juan Miranda whoever he is. The Yankees won their 102nd game.
Red Sox - lost to Blue Jays 8 to 7. Bucholz got beat up for 7 runs in 5 innings. Wagner had a scoreless inning.
For the Jays, Adam Lind hit 3 home runs and now has 35. Aaron Hill hit his 36th. (WOW!)
Tigers and Twins - split a double header. The Twins won game one 3 to 2 in ten innings which pulled them to within a game of the tigers for the division lead. Brandon Lyons yielded 2 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks and 2 wild pitches in the 10th. In game two, the Tigers held off the Twins 6 to 5. The Tigers had led 5 to 0 and had to hold on dearly. Justin Verlander earned his 18th win against 9 losses.
Braves - lost a critical game to the Marlins 5 to 4. Matt Diaz's 3 run HR which tied the game in the 6th was not enough as the Marlins scored the winning run off Kenshin Kawakami in the 7th inning. The Braves are now 2.5 games behind the Rockies. The Rockies lead the Brewers 5 to 2 in the 8th inning. If they hold on the lead will be up to 3 games for the wild card with just 4 games to play.
Phillies - beat the Astros 7 to 4. J.A. Happ won his 12th game of the season and Jason Werth hit his 35th home run. Brad Lidge did not give up a run, though he didn't pitch.
I almost forgot the METS. They lost another one - 4 to 3 to the Nationals. Tonight the Mets were truly amazing. In the first inning and the eighth inning, the Mets loaded the bases with no out and didn't score. The National scored the winning run on 2 separate errors on two very routine infield plays. Then in the 9th with 2 outs and Pagan on first base, David Wright slammed a line drive to right field that Elijah Dukes made a lunging, jumping catch at the wall. The Mets hit a lot of line drives tonight that went into fielders gloves.
The playoffs start next Tuesday.
Danny
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
citifield year in review: the good, the bad,and the ugly
the mets inaugural season at citifield is coming to an end. 3 more games remain, next weekend against the astros. i plan at being at all 3 games, just in case another miracle occurs. it has been quite a mixed bag at the new citifield. the stadium is one thing and the performance of the mets at their new home is a story of its own.
the mets home opener at their spanking new ballpark was on monday night april 13th. i sold my tickets to that game. i didn't want to deal with all the craziness of opening day traffic and ceremonies. i'm not big on the hype. i just want to watch baseball. in any event the mets lost to the padres 6-5. the mets highlight was a 3 run hr by david wright tying the game which the mets would eventually lose. nobody would have guessed that this home run would account for 10% of wright's total for the season. brandon and i were at the next 2 games against the pads, a win on wednesday and a loss on thursday. in thursday's game, carlos delgado hit a 3 run homer in the 1st inning on a 3-0 count. what seemed like a good omen didn't last long as the pads came back and won 6-5. who would have guessed that less than a month later, delgado would suffer a season ending hip injury. the baseball gods were turning against the mets.
at first i didn't like citifield. shea, especially in the last decade was never as bad of a ball park as people said and wrote. and my seats down the right field line were great. no long rows of people to walk through to get to your seat. a nice box that had some privacy (in a way). ok, so i did have to turn my head towards home plate to watch the game. so what that i have chronic neck pain, probably for the rest of my life.
citifield was lacking in several ways. the outfield walls and dimensions were too irregular and quirky for my tastes. left field had such a high wall that it seemed impossible to hit a home run over it. so many seats had club rights. basically, having entree into a club gave you the right to buy even more expensive food, but in a private setting away from the commoners. in most of the clubs you couldn't even see the field, but only could watch it on t.v. unlike shea, there were long rows of seats (like 24), so getting in and out was annoying.
as spring turned to summer (as neil diamond would sing), despite the mets weak play, citifield did grow on me. first, the parking system was great. i never got closed out of the parking lot so never had to park amidst the junk yards or by the worlds fair area a mile away. the park was beautiful and a fun place to be. walking in through the jackie robinson rotunda was a nice way to enter the ball park. you could walk around the field level from home plate all the way around back to home plate. and it would take very many innings to do so as it was fun to stop along the way and watch the game from different vantage points. the center field area was the place to congregate, get food and hang out while still watching the game. and you had a great view of the whole ball park and the game. it turned out i did like citifield.
the biggest problem as it turned out was the mets play on the field. their lack of home run power was astonishing. we all thought that citfield was too much of a pitchers park and it was impossible to hit home runs. but the statistics do not bear this out. at citifield the mets have hit 47 home runs and the road team has hit 81 home runs. on the road the mets have hit 42 home runs and the home team hit 72 home runs. not only did the mets hit more homers at citifield than on the road, but in total there were more citifield homers than in the road ballparks where the mets were playing. if the mets had done what their opponent had done and hit 81 at home and 72 on the road, the mets would have hit 153 homers which would put them at 15th out of 30 mlb teams. as it was the mets have hit only 89 which is last in all of basball. in contrast, the giants are next to last with 113 and the yankees lead in home runs with 232.
sounds like it's not the ball park but the players. it's not a hitters park like yankee stadium. it is a fair park with a slight advantage to the pitchers. imagine how many citifield home runs there would have been had the mets batted jeter, damon, texeira, arod, posada, matsui, cano, swisher and melky . each of these yankee starters had at least 12 home runs which would have led the mets. melky cabrera with 12, would lead the mets in home runs, with daniel murphy a close 2nd with 11.
in conclusion, this year had the good, the bad and the ugly. but in the long run there should be a lot of fun and exciting times at citifield. and at some point, hopefully soon, some winning times.
the mets home opener at their spanking new ballpark was on monday night april 13th. i sold my tickets to that game. i didn't want to deal with all the craziness of opening day traffic and ceremonies. i'm not big on the hype. i just want to watch baseball. in any event the mets lost to the padres 6-5. the mets highlight was a 3 run hr by david wright tying the game which the mets would eventually lose. nobody would have guessed that this home run would account for 10% of wright's total for the season. brandon and i were at the next 2 games against the pads, a win on wednesday and a loss on thursday. in thursday's game, carlos delgado hit a 3 run homer in the 1st inning on a 3-0 count. what seemed like a good omen didn't last long as the pads came back and won 6-5. who would have guessed that less than a month later, delgado would suffer a season ending hip injury. the baseball gods were turning against the mets.
at first i didn't like citifield. shea, especially in the last decade was never as bad of a ball park as people said and wrote. and my seats down the right field line were great. no long rows of people to walk through to get to your seat. a nice box that had some privacy (in a way). ok, so i did have to turn my head towards home plate to watch the game. so what that i have chronic neck pain, probably for the rest of my life.
citifield was lacking in several ways. the outfield walls and dimensions were too irregular and quirky for my tastes. left field had such a high wall that it seemed impossible to hit a home run over it. so many seats had club rights. basically, having entree into a club gave you the right to buy even more expensive food, but in a private setting away from the commoners. in most of the clubs you couldn't even see the field, but only could watch it on t.v. unlike shea, there were long rows of seats (like 24), so getting in and out was annoying.
as spring turned to summer (as neil diamond would sing), despite the mets weak play, citifield did grow on me. first, the parking system was great. i never got closed out of the parking lot so never had to park amidst the junk yards or by the worlds fair area a mile away. the park was beautiful and a fun place to be. walking in through the jackie robinson rotunda was a nice way to enter the ball park. you could walk around the field level from home plate all the way around back to home plate. and it would take very many innings to do so as it was fun to stop along the way and watch the game from different vantage points. the center field area was the place to congregate, get food and hang out while still watching the game. and you had a great view of the whole ball park and the game. it turned out i did like citifield.
the biggest problem as it turned out was the mets play on the field. their lack of home run power was astonishing. we all thought that citfield was too much of a pitchers park and it was impossible to hit home runs. but the statistics do not bear this out. at citifield the mets have hit 47 home runs and the road team has hit 81 home runs. on the road the mets have hit 42 home runs and the home team hit 72 home runs. not only did the mets hit more homers at citifield than on the road, but in total there were more citifield homers than in the road ballparks where the mets were playing. if the mets had done what their opponent had done and hit 81 at home and 72 on the road, the mets would have hit 153 homers which would put them at 15th out of 30 mlb teams. as it was the mets have hit only 89 which is last in all of basball. in contrast, the giants are next to last with 113 and the yankees lead in home runs with 232.
sounds like it's not the ball park but the players. it's not a hitters park like yankee stadium. it is a fair park with a slight advantage to the pitchers. imagine how many citifield home runs there would have been had the mets batted jeter, damon, texeira, arod, posada, matsui, cano, swisher and melky . each of these yankee starters had at least 12 home runs which would have led the mets. melky cabrera with 12, would lead the mets in home runs, with daniel murphy a close 2nd with 11.
in conclusion, this year had the good, the bad and the ugly. but in the long run there should be a lot of fun and exciting times at citifield. and at some point, hopefully soon, some winning times.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
preview of red sox vs. yankees this weekend
the final 3 games of the season series between the reds sox and yankees will be played this weekend at the new yankee stadium. the yankees go into the weekend with a 5.5 game lead (5 in the lost column). the red sox must sweep all 3 games to stay in the divisional race. if not, however, the red sox are a lock for the wild card playoff berth.
the red sox currently lead the season series 9 games to 6. it has been a see saw series. early in the season, while the red sox were hot and the yankees cold, the red sox won the first 8 games. the sox built a 4 game lead. in august the yankees caught fire. they have beaten the red sox in 6 of the last 7 games and have been comfortably in 1st place ever since.
friday night's pitching match up is intriguing - jon lester vs. joba. lester has been pitching great and joba hasn't. it's hard to imagine joba going even 4 effective innings. the edge goes to boston. in game 2 on saturday, it's dice-k vs. sabbathia. it's a tough one to call. the edge the yankees have is that the games are at yankee stadium. sunday's match up is paul byrd vs. andy pettitte. andy has been so good for the yankees this year. my guess is that pettitte is getting tired of the long season and his effectiveness will diminish now and through the playoffs. still it's hard to imagine byrd shutting down yankees hitters.
prediction - yankees win 2 of 3. so we can look forward to the divisional series of yankees vs. tigers and angels vs. red sox. just one more month until another baseball season is over. and then i turn into the "winter me" (courtesy of jimmy fallon in "fever pitch")
the red sox currently lead the season series 9 games to 6. it has been a see saw series. early in the season, while the red sox were hot and the yankees cold, the red sox won the first 8 games. the sox built a 4 game lead. in august the yankees caught fire. they have beaten the red sox in 6 of the last 7 games and have been comfortably in 1st place ever since.
friday night's pitching match up is intriguing - jon lester vs. joba. lester has been pitching great and joba hasn't. it's hard to imagine joba going even 4 effective innings. the edge goes to boston. in game 2 on saturday, it's dice-k vs. sabbathia. it's a tough one to call. the edge the yankees have is that the games are at yankee stadium. sunday's match up is paul byrd vs. andy pettitte. andy has been so good for the yankees this year. my guess is that pettitte is getting tired of the long season and his effectiveness will diminish now and through the playoffs. still it's hard to imagine byrd shutting down yankees hitters.
prediction - yankees win 2 of 3. so we can look forward to the divisional series of yankees vs. tigers and angels vs. red sox. just one more month until another baseball season is over. and then i turn into the "winter me" (courtesy of jimmy fallon in "fever pitch")
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
the spoilers
someday you'll tell your grandchildren that the mets were reduced to playing "spoiler" after a terrible season. well it didn't happen in 2009 and hopefully it won't need to be an option for 2010. not only have the mets had a terribly disappointing season but they haven't even been able to play "spoiler" to the teams vying for the playoffs.
everyone remembers that fateful last day of the 2007 season, september 30th, when the mets faced the marlins at shea. i was there that day with my baseball mate brandon. it was the 1st place mets (tied with the phillies) vs. the last place marlins. the marlins had nothing at stake other than to spoil the mets playoffs hopes. but still the marlins came to play that day, pounding tom glavine for 7 runs in 1/3 innings of pitching. fast forward to a year later, the last day of the season, september 28th 2008. it was again the mets vs. the marlins for the final game at shea! if the mets could win, they would at least have a playoff game vs. the brewers to determine the wild card winner. this was a tight game but the marlins prevailed scoring 2 in the 8th inning to win 4-2.
this year, the mets even failed at playing "spoilers". in the month of september to date the mets record is pathetic vs. the contenders and their rivals.
1 win - 3 losses vs. phillies
0 wins - 3 losses vs. marlins
0 wins - 5 losses vs. braves
instead of playing spoiler the mets rolled over and played dead against these and virtually all teams. often times the mets were out of the game by the 3rd inning. and citifield with an announced crowd of 38,000 fans was in actuality looking like a morgue.
yes, there are excuses, lots of them. but that doesn't stop me from feeling embarrassed about this team that is going to lose 95 games this year. all of my mets shirts have stayed in my closet most of the season. i just haven't wanted to go outside wearing them.
coming soon - "2009: what went wrong/what went right"
danny
everyone remembers that fateful last day of the 2007 season, september 30th, when the mets faced the marlins at shea. i was there that day with my baseball mate brandon. it was the 1st place mets (tied with the phillies) vs. the last place marlins. the marlins had nothing at stake other than to spoil the mets playoffs hopes. but still the marlins came to play that day, pounding tom glavine for 7 runs in 1/3 innings of pitching. fast forward to a year later, the last day of the season, september 28th 2008. it was again the mets vs. the marlins for the final game at shea! if the mets could win, they would at least have a playoff game vs. the brewers to determine the wild card winner. this was a tight game but the marlins prevailed scoring 2 in the 8th inning to win 4-2.
this year, the mets even failed at playing "spoilers". in the month of september to date the mets record is pathetic vs. the contenders and their rivals.
1 win - 3 losses vs. phillies
0 wins - 3 losses vs. marlins
0 wins - 5 losses vs. braves
instead of playing spoiler the mets rolled over and played dead against these and virtually all teams. often times the mets were out of the game by the 3rd inning. and citifield with an announced crowd of 38,000 fans was in actuality looking like a morgue.
yes, there are excuses, lots of them. but that doesn't stop me from feeling embarrassed about this team that is going to lose 95 games this year. all of my mets shirts have stayed in my closet most of the season. i just haven't wanted to go outside wearing them.
coming soon - "2009: what went wrong/what went right"
danny
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
the cubs - 101 years and counting
2009 was a totally disappointing year for the cubs. what went wrong? oh by the way, what went wrong the last 101 years. it's been that long since the cubs have won the world series. the cubs have won 2 world series in their history - in 1907 and 1908. they also played and lost in 1906, 1910,1918,1929,1932, 1935,1938, and 1945.
their most recent disappointments have been in 2008, 2003, 1984 and not so recently (of course) 1969.
of course 1969 was the year of the "impossible dream" of tom seaver, jerry koosman, al weiss and ron swoboda. the mets steamrolled the cubs in the final month of the season as the mets won 100 games. in 1984, in a 3 out of 5 series, the cubs led 2-0 and lost the final 3 games. they could taste making it to the world series but to no avail. 2003 was a very bitter defeat. the cubs had won the divisional series and were playing the marlins for the nlcs. they led the marlins 3 games to 2 and had the final 2 games at the friendly confines of wrigley field. remember moises alou trying to catch that foul ball down the left field line? when he was interfered with while reaching into the stands to make a the catch? the batter followed with the go ahead hit as the marlins went on to win game 6. then in game 7, kerry wood could not hold a 5-3 lead late in the game. 2008 was disappointing primarily because it marked year 100 in their streak, plus the cubs did have the best record in the n.l..
in 2009 again, expectations and spirits were high in chi-town. last year's team was back but it just wasn't to be. starting pitching was erratic at best as carlos zambrano has won only 8 games. relief pitching has been downright bad with carlos marmol, kevin gregg, and aaron heilman (former met great) the main perpetrators. and at the bat, other than derrek lee, the cubs big boppers failed (alfonso soriano was the most glaring).
so met fans, cheer up. we might be 22 games under .500 with the 2nd highest payroll in baseball. but if we compare the mets to the cubs instead of the yankees we're pretty good. we can boast 2 world series wins in our 48 year history. and remember there's always next year.
danny
their most recent disappointments have been in 2008, 2003, 1984 and not so recently (of course) 1969.
of course 1969 was the year of the "impossible dream" of tom seaver, jerry koosman, al weiss and ron swoboda. the mets steamrolled the cubs in the final month of the season as the mets won 100 games. in 1984, in a 3 out of 5 series, the cubs led 2-0 and lost the final 3 games. they could taste making it to the world series but to no avail. 2003 was a very bitter defeat. the cubs had won the divisional series and were playing the marlins for the nlcs. they led the marlins 3 games to 2 and had the final 2 games at the friendly confines of wrigley field. remember moises alou trying to catch that foul ball down the left field line? when he was interfered with while reaching into the stands to make a the catch? the batter followed with the go ahead hit as the marlins went on to win game 6. then in game 7, kerry wood could not hold a 5-3 lead late in the game. 2008 was disappointing primarily because it marked year 100 in their streak, plus the cubs did have the best record in the n.l..
in 2009 again, expectations and spirits were high in chi-town. last year's team was back but it just wasn't to be. starting pitching was erratic at best as carlos zambrano has won only 8 games. relief pitching has been downright bad with carlos marmol, kevin gregg, and aaron heilman (former met great) the main perpetrators. and at the bat, other than derrek lee, the cubs big boppers failed (alfonso soriano was the most glaring).
so met fans, cheer up. we might be 22 games under .500 with the 2nd highest payroll in baseball. but if we compare the mets to the cubs instead of the yankees we're pretty good. we can boast 2 world series wins in our 48 year history. and remember there's always next year.
danny
there is a problem with blogger and new followers can't sign up
just wanted you all to know that there is indeed a problem with blogspot.com. new followers cannot sign up and anyone who goes to dannybaseball cannot see the followers. apparently blogspot is working on this problem. i will continue posting, there are so many topics to cover.
keep trying to sign up and i want your comments.
danny
keep trying to sign up and i want your comments.
danny
Monday, September 21, 2009
house or the mets
most of you wouldn't even think of watching the mets game tonight. there's gotta be something better to do. monday night football would eventually be on and the yankee game wouldn't start till 10 pm. so i started on the mets game. in the braves first, mcclouth blooped a single, prado grounded a double, there was an rbi grounder, a walk, and a fielders choice for another run. so 2 outs, and one on and pat misch gave up a first pitch 2 run hr to garrett anderson. 4-0 after one. the braves scored 4 more runs in the 2nd and 3 more runs in the 3rd, then didn't have another hit the whole game. final braves 11 mets 3.
i watched the 1st inning, then made a very difficult decision. i changed the channel and watched the season premiere of 'house'. it was the right decision. it was a 2 hour year opening show and it was really a great show. when the show ended last season, house had voluntarily entered a mental institution to cure his drug and other mental and social disorders. the cast of characters in the mental ward were fantastic. and house made his presence known. he was hot and on fire, affecting so many peoples lives in a positive way. you all should really watch this show. i don't have confidence in the rest of the "house" season to keep my interest so going forward it will probably be back to baseball.
i watched the 1st inning, then made a very difficult decision. i changed the channel and watched the season premiere of 'house'. it was the right decision. it was a 2 hour year opening show and it was really a great show. when the show ended last season, house had voluntarily entered a mental institution to cure his drug and other mental and social disorders. the cast of characters in the mental ward were fantastic. and house made his presence known. he was hot and on fire, affecting so many peoples lives in a positive way. you all should really watch this show. i don't have confidence in the rest of the "house" season to keep my interest so going forward it will probably be back to baseball.
american league week in review - 9/14 thru 9/20
there are now only 2 weeks left in the 2009 mlb regular season. the playoff scenario is starting to take shape, but there could still be surprises.
the yankees have cooled off going 5-5 in their last 10 games. at the same time the red sox were 9-1. the result of this is that the yankees divisional lead has been cut to 5 games (4 in the loss column). the red sox are now officially hot. their starting pitching seemed weak just a few weeks ago. now bucholz is pitching well, dice-k is back from injury and pitching effectively. the yankees on the other hand probably would have liked the playoffs to have started 2 weeks ago. now their bats have cooled off somewhat and their pitching has been inconsistent. joba got hit hard again on sunday, and on friday mariano blew his 1st save after 36 straight. the yankee offense scored 2 runs, 10 runs, and 1 run in their last 3 games and lost the 2 games where their offense failed. looking forward, the yankees play 3 against their nemesis the angels and then 3 against the red sox. the red sox play 4 against the last place royals and then the 3 against the yankees. a scenario where the red sox gain three more games against the yankees this week is not unrealistic. that would cut the yankees lead for the division to just 2 games, with about 7 more to play. of course, they must play the games on the field, not on paper so it wouldn't shock me to see the yankees gain on the red sox. my prediction - the red sox gain 2.5 games on the yankees but the yankees hold on and win the division (i'm not really going out on a limb.)
the tigers and twins continue to fight it out in the a.l. central as the white sox have fallen out of contention. on sunday, the twins went for the home series sweep against the tigers which would have cut the tigers lead to just 1 game. but the tigers prevailed increasing their lead back to 3 games. still the tigers lost 2 out of 3 to the twins and 2 out of 3 to the last place royals. in that space of time the twins won 6 out of 7 games. the white sox losers of 5 out of 7 have now fallen out of the race. by the way, the cleveland indians are in a free fall having lost 8 in a row and now are tied for last place with the kc royals. finally did you know that the royals employ arguably the best pitcher in baseball in zach greinke. for a last place team he is 14-8 with 6 complete games, 3 shutouts, leads the league in strikeouts with 224 and era with 2.14. zach is the most likely cy young award winner in the a.l.
the angels have finally put away the texas rangers and will win the n.l. west as texas lost 6 of 7 including 2 of 3 to the angels. the brightest spot all season for the rangers has been pitcher scott feldman who at age 26 has had a breakout season and is currently 17 - 5. wow - i'm sure you've never heard of him. otherwise the seattle mariners continue to play good ball. remember they lost 101 games last year and this year are currently 78-72. ichiro has been great as usual and on friday hit a walk off homer against mariano rivera. seattle's star pitcher felix hernandez, only 23 years old is 16-5 with a 2.45 era. and in last place are the much improved oakland athletics who have recently won 12 out of 14 games and are now only 7 games under .500. at their worst they were 22 games under .500 and without a legitimate star have played great ball during the 2nd half of the season.
coming soon - n.l. week in review, yankees/red sox weekend series preview, and more. send in your comments.
the yankees have cooled off going 5-5 in their last 10 games. at the same time the red sox were 9-1. the result of this is that the yankees divisional lead has been cut to 5 games (4 in the loss column). the red sox are now officially hot. their starting pitching seemed weak just a few weeks ago. now bucholz is pitching well, dice-k is back from injury and pitching effectively. the yankees on the other hand probably would have liked the playoffs to have started 2 weeks ago. now their bats have cooled off somewhat and their pitching has been inconsistent. joba got hit hard again on sunday, and on friday mariano blew his 1st save after 36 straight. the yankee offense scored 2 runs, 10 runs, and 1 run in their last 3 games and lost the 2 games where their offense failed. looking forward, the yankees play 3 against their nemesis the angels and then 3 against the red sox. the red sox play 4 against the last place royals and then the 3 against the yankees. a scenario where the red sox gain three more games against the yankees this week is not unrealistic. that would cut the yankees lead for the division to just 2 games, with about 7 more to play. of course, they must play the games on the field, not on paper so it wouldn't shock me to see the yankees gain on the red sox. my prediction - the red sox gain 2.5 games on the yankees but the yankees hold on and win the division (i'm not really going out on a limb.)
the tigers and twins continue to fight it out in the a.l. central as the white sox have fallen out of contention. on sunday, the twins went for the home series sweep against the tigers which would have cut the tigers lead to just 1 game. but the tigers prevailed increasing their lead back to 3 games. still the tigers lost 2 out of 3 to the twins and 2 out of 3 to the last place royals. in that space of time the twins won 6 out of 7 games. the white sox losers of 5 out of 7 have now fallen out of the race. by the way, the cleveland indians are in a free fall having lost 8 in a row and now are tied for last place with the kc royals. finally did you know that the royals employ arguably the best pitcher in baseball in zach greinke. for a last place team he is 14-8 with 6 complete games, 3 shutouts, leads the league in strikeouts with 224 and era with 2.14. zach is the most likely cy young award winner in the a.l.
the angels have finally put away the texas rangers and will win the n.l. west as texas lost 6 of 7 including 2 of 3 to the angels. the brightest spot all season for the rangers has been pitcher scott feldman who at age 26 has had a breakout season and is currently 17 - 5. wow - i'm sure you've never heard of him. otherwise the seattle mariners continue to play good ball. remember they lost 101 games last year and this year are currently 78-72. ichiro has been great as usual and on friday hit a walk off homer against mariano rivera. seattle's star pitcher felix hernandez, only 23 years old is 16-5 with a 2.45 era. and in last place are the much improved oakland athletics who have recently won 12 out of 14 games and are now only 7 games under .500. at their worst they were 22 games under .500 and without a legitimate star have played great ball during the 2nd half of the season.
coming soon - n.l. week in review, yankees/red sox weekend series preview, and more. send in your comments.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Did Brad Lidge Sell His Soul?
BY DANNY KRIEGER
DANNYBASEBALL.BLOGSPOT.COM
Can The Phillies Repeat? Or Did Brad Lidge Sell His Soul To The Devil?
Last year the Phillies hit on all cylinders, just at the right time – playoff time. The Mets were mostly responsible for the Phillies winning the division. But as the playoffs started, the Phillies clicked, easily taking the NLDS from the Brewers and the NLCS from the Dodgers. Next victim, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Brad Lidge was perfect during 2008 and certainly the Phillies MVP. His won-lost record was 2 and 0 while converting 41 out of 41 save opportunities. What’s more he was a flawless 7 for 7 during the playoffs. Lidge led the Phillies to a five game World Series victory, their first world championship since 1980. 2009 brings a new challenge for the world champs – repeating. Repeating is a rare feat, last accomplished by the 1999 and 2000 New York Yankees. Can the Phillies be next?
This year the Phillies have both hit and pitched well. They boast four players with 30 or more home runs – Ryan Howard (43), Jason Werth (35), Raul Ibanez (34), and Chase Utley (31). In addition, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Pedro Feliz add incredible depth to make a formidable lineup. Starting pitching has been excellent and with the recent signings of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, the Phillies can win games even without their bats.
Last year’s strength has been ’09’s big question mark – the bullpen. And Brad Lidge has faltered the most. His pitching line isn’t pretty: 0 wins – 8 losses, 11 blown saves and an ERA of over 7. Without Lidge dominating the end of games, it is difficult to envision the Phillies beating the best teams in the NL. His replacement, Ryan Madson, while successful as the eighth inning set up guy, has also failed at closing games, saving only 10 of 16 opportunities.
I really thought that Lidge would eventually blow a game last year – and maybe even game seven of the World Series. He saved game five and the series went no further.
Remember Joe Boyd from the “Damn Yankees”? Boyd, a regular “Joe”, made a deal with the devil to become Joe Hardy, a great hitter that would lead the Senators past the Yankees to win the pennant. Joe had until 9:00 PM on the last day of the season to renege on his pact with the devil and at one minute to 9 o’clock, Joe backs out to the dismay of the devil.
What does this tell us about Brad Lidge? He didn’t renege during his game 5 series clinching save. What does his 2009 regular season performance indicate? Did he indeed sell his soul for the perfect season and World Series victory?
The 2009 playoffs start next week so we shall soon know whether Brad Lidge will fail and rot in hell for the rest of his life.
DANNYBASEBALL.BLOGSPOT.COM
Can The Phillies Repeat? Or Did Brad Lidge Sell His Soul To The Devil?
Last year the Phillies hit on all cylinders, just at the right time – playoff time. The Mets were mostly responsible for the Phillies winning the division. But as the playoffs started, the Phillies clicked, easily taking the NLDS from the Brewers and the NLCS from the Dodgers. Next victim, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Brad Lidge was perfect during 2008 and certainly the Phillies MVP. His won-lost record was 2 and 0 while converting 41 out of 41 save opportunities. What’s more he was a flawless 7 for 7 during the playoffs. Lidge led the Phillies to a five game World Series victory, their first world championship since 1980. 2009 brings a new challenge for the world champs – repeating. Repeating is a rare feat, last accomplished by the 1999 and 2000 New York Yankees. Can the Phillies be next?
This year the Phillies have both hit and pitched well. They boast four players with 30 or more home runs – Ryan Howard (43), Jason Werth (35), Raul Ibanez (34), and Chase Utley (31). In addition, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Pedro Feliz add incredible depth to make a formidable lineup. Starting pitching has been excellent and with the recent signings of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, the Phillies can win games even without their bats.
Last year’s strength has been ’09’s big question mark – the bullpen. And Brad Lidge has faltered the most. His pitching line isn’t pretty: 0 wins – 8 losses, 11 blown saves and an ERA of over 7. Without Lidge dominating the end of games, it is difficult to envision the Phillies beating the best teams in the NL. His replacement, Ryan Madson, while successful as the eighth inning set up guy, has also failed at closing games, saving only 10 of 16 opportunities.
I really thought that Lidge would eventually blow a game last year – and maybe even game seven of the World Series. He saved game five and the series went no further.
Remember Joe Boyd from the “Damn Yankees”? Boyd, a regular “Joe”, made a deal with the devil to become Joe Hardy, a great hitter that would lead the Senators past the Yankees to win the pennant. Joe had until 9:00 PM on the last day of the season to renege on his pact with the devil and at one minute to 9 o’clock, Joe backs out to the dismay of the devil.
What does this tell us about Brad Lidge? He didn’t renege during his game 5 series clinching save. What does his 2009 regular season performance indicate? Did he indeed sell his soul for the perfect season and World Series victory?
The 2009 playoffs start next week so we shall soon know whether Brad Lidge will fail and rot in hell for the rest of his life.
Friday, September 18, 2009
mets vie for top draft pick next year
if the mets lose their last 15 games they will end up with 99 losses.
i thought you'd be interested in this post. click on the link for howard megdal, and check out matt cerrone at metsblog.
Draft Pennant Race Heating Up For Mets
By Howard Megdal ~ September 16th, 2009. Filed under: Howard Megdal.
As Matt Cerrone pointed out on Metsblog today, the Mets would have the sixth overall pick if the season ended prior to Wednesday’s games.
Unfortunately, that’s why they play the games, Matt. You simply can’t celebrate the pick just yet- the Mets have 17 games left to play, and we all know how much damage the Mets can do to their future in 17 games. This is a worse jinx than those commercials saying “Your playoff season has come.” For shame, Matt, for shame.
I kid, but the pennant race to the bottom the Mets find themselves in is no joke. Let’s take a look at the remaining schedules for those involved.
Thanks to Esmerling Vazquez and old Mets farmhand Yusmeiro Petit, the Diamondbacks jumped back ahead of the Mets for that sixth pick earlier today with a come-from-ahead 6-5 loss to the Padres.
Arizona has a favorable remaining schedule: Colorado at home and the Giants at home, both with something to play for. Unfortunately, losing to San Diego three more times, not to mention at Wrigley Field to end the season (where many of the Cubs are already bringing golf clubs to the plate) may make a truly horrific finish difficult.
(Incidentally, the win pushes San Diego even further behind the Mets. The play of Adrian Gonzalez in September makes it seems as if he doesn’t even want any help in the draft.)
The Indians are playing like seasoned draft experts, putting up a 3-12 record so far in September. They have four at Oakland, a homestand against Detroit, Baltimore and the White Sox, before finishing with four in Fenway against a Boston team that probably will have little motivation. Still, with Adrubal Cabrera injured, Grady Sizemore done for the season, and the rest of the team playing particularly poorly, you get the feeling the Indians could lose to anybody right now.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are taking the classic Baltimore approach of short-term thinking, winning a series from the Yankees this past weekend. They have six left against Tampa, three home, three away, and six against Toronto distributed the same way. With another three at Cleveland and three hosting Boston- the latter coming up this weekend, with the Red Sox still holding out slim hopes of catching the Yankees and in need of finishing off the Rangers- the schedule seems to favor the Orioles, but they may have just enough September call-up talent for the Mets to catch and pass them.
Obviously, the injuries to Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese, two talents who might have made losing far more difficult for the Mets, is immensely helpful in pursuit of the highest possible draft pick. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be scoreboard watching, with each run the Mets give up allowing me to dream of Bud Selig colorlessly walking toward a podium. Truly, this is the best part of the season.
"Speaking of prospects, in a post to NY Baseball Digest, Mike Silva looks at the Mets quest for the best draft-pick possible.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
national league playoff picture
n.l. east - the phillies currently lead the marlins by 7 games and the braves by 7.5 games. it seems like the phillies will win their 3rd consecutive n.l. east title. but it was just 2 short years ago in '07 that the mets blew a 7 game lead with 17 games to play. give the marlins and braves credit. they played great baseball all season. and next year it will not be easy for the mets to be a contender in the n.l. east. see more on the marlins and braves in the wild card analysis below.
n.l. central - the cardinals have the division locked up as they lead the underachieving cubs by 9 games. this is despite the cardinals having lost 5 of their last 6 games. albert pujols will easily win another mvp award. their starting pitching is very deep with carpenter, wainwright and piniero. with great starting pitching, a successful playoff run might indeed might be in the cards. the cubs have floundered for most of the year. alfonso soriano hit an anemic .241 with 55 rbi before he went down with a knee injury last week. carlos zambrano and most of the relief staff were mediocre at best. the brewers have also been a major disappointment this year. in '08 they won the wild card and made their 1st playoff appearance in 27 years. prince fielder and ryan braun have had great seasons but their pitching has faltered leaving them under .500.
n.l west - the l.a. dodgers have led the division all season and hadn't been challenged until recently. as the rockies and giants caught fire, the dodgers lead shrunk, at one point to 2 games ahead of the rockies. right now they again lead by 5 games. the dodger offense has been led by andre ethier (30 hr's and 98 rbi) and matt kemp (24 hr's and 94 rbi). relief pitching has been great led by jonathan broxton's 35 saves and the set up work of ramon trancoso and ronald bellasario. it looks like the rockies and giants are going to fight it out for the wild card with the rockies currently holding a 3.5 game lead.
wild card - the rockies currently lead the giants by 3.5 games, the marlins by 4.5 games and the braves by 5 games. the giants pitching has carried them thus far. the marlins have been just amazing. they have the lowest payroll (36m at start of season) but still seem to compete every year. they have hanley ramirez leading the league in batting average and one of the best players in the game today. they have great young starting pitchers of josh johnson, ricky nolasco, and sean west. finally the braves, after 3 down years seem to have turned it around. they could have the best starting pitching in baseball - jurrjens, hanson, vazquez, lowe, kawakami, and hudson. neither the marlins or the braves should be counted out for the wild card.
look for a playoff preview right after the end of the season - sunday october 4th.
n.l. central - the cardinals have the division locked up as they lead the underachieving cubs by 9 games. this is despite the cardinals having lost 5 of their last 6 games. albert pujols will easily win another mvp award. their starting pitching is very deep with carpenter, wainwright and piniero. with great starting pitching, a successful playoff run might indeed might be in the cards. the cubs have floundered for most of the year. alfonso soriano hit an anemic .241 with 55 rbi before he went down with a knee injury last week. carlos zambrano and most of the relief staff were mediocre at best. the brewers have also been a major disappointment this year. in '08 they won the wild card and made their 1st playoff appearance in 27 years. prince fielder and ryan braun have had great seasons but their pitching has faltered leaving them under .500.
n.l west - the l.a. dodgers have led the division all season and hadn't been challenged until recently. as the rockies and giants caught fire, the dodgers lead shrunk, at one point to 2 games ahead of the rockies. right now they again lead by 5 games. the dodger offense has been led by andre ethier (30 hr's and 98 rbi) and matt kemp (24 hr's and 94 rbi). relief pitching has been great led by jonathan broxton's 35 saves and the set up work of ramon trancoso and ronald bellasario. it looks like the rockies and giants are going to fight it out for the wild card with the rockies currently holding a 3.5 game lead.
wild card - the rockies currently lead the giants by 3.5 games, the marlins by 4.5 games and the braves by 5 games. the giants pitching has carried them thus far. the marlins have been just amazing. they have the lowest payroll (36m at start of season) but still seem to compete every year. they have hanley ramirez leading the league in batting average and one of the best players in the game today. they have great young starting pitchers of josh johnson, ricky nolasco, and sean west. finally the braves, after 3 down years seem to have turned it around. they could have the best starting pitching in baseball - jurrjens, hanson, vazquez, lowe, kawakami, and hudson. neither the marlins or the braves should be counted out for the wild card.
look for a playoff preview right after the end of the season - sunday october 4th.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
the playoff picture
bad news - the mets have now fallen 22 games in the dreaded loss column behind the phillies. with only 17 games remaining it doesn't look too promising. we're only 18 games out in the loss column for the wild card. not too promising of a scenario. but there's alway 2010 - only 7 months away.
let's start with the a.l. east. the red sox have cut the yankees lead from 9 games to 6.5 games. the red sox have won 6 in a row while the yankees have lost 3 out of their last 5 games. the rays recently lost 11 straight games to end their playoff hopes.
the yankees should cruise to the division title and win over 100 games. there are always questions entering the playoffs but the yankees are the strongest and most well rounded team in baseball.
there are question marks. which a.j. burnett will show up? can andy pettitte continue his 2009 resurgence? what role will joba play as a starter or reliever and can he be consistent and effective. the yankees at the bat have been unstoppable this year. 7 players have already hit 20 or more h'runs and derrick jeter should make 8 before seasons end. question - will good playoff pitching slow down yankee bats?
the a.l. central. there is not much competition for the tigers as the season enters it's final 2 weeks but the tigers just cannot breakaway from the pack. the twins are just 2 games over .500 but just trail the tigers by 4 games. the white sox, a game under .500 only trail by 5.5 games. a twins or sox hot streak can turn this division upside down. in any event the a.l. central winner will most likely play the yankees in the a.l.d.s. so an early playoff exit would be likely.
the a.l. west. the angels are finally pulling away from the stubborn texas rangers. the angels now lead by 6 games. it appears that texas has finally hit the wall after overachieving all season. the mariners have had a nice season, still playing better than .500 ball. considering they lost 101 games last year there was very little reason for optimism for 2009. the mets should keep that in mind - next year? you never know.
next post will analyze the national league playoff picture.
future topics will include - post season award predictions, red sox/yankees analysis, mets minor league prospects, opinions on citi field.
give me your suggestions and comments. i look forward to the rest of the season, the playoffs, and especially hot stove baseball.
danny
let's start with the a.l. east. the red sox have cut the yankees lead from 9 games to 6.5 games. the red sox have won 6 in a row while the yankees have lost 3 out of their last 5 games. the rays recently lost 11 straight games to end their playoff hopes.
the yankees should cruise to the division title and win over 100 games. there are always questions entering the playoffs but the yankees are the strongest and most well rounded team in baseball.
there are question marks. which a.j. burnett will show up? can andy pettitte continue his 2009 resurgence? what role will joba play as a starter or reliever and can he be consistent and effective. the yankees at the bat have been unstoppable this year. 7 players have already hit 20 or more h'runs and derrick jeter should make 8 before seasons end. question - will good playoff pitching slow down yankee bats?
the a.l. central. there is not much competition for the tigers as the season enters it's final 2 weeks but the tigers just cannot breakaway from the pack. the twins are just 2 games over .500 but just trail the tigers by 4 games. the white sox, a game under .500 only trail by 5.5 games. a twins or sox hot streak can turn this division upside down. in any event the a.l. central winner will most likely play the yankees in the a.l.d.s. so an early playoff exit would be likely.
the a.l. west. the angels are finally pulling away from the stubborn texas rangers. the angels now lead by 6 games. it appears that texas has finally hit the wall after overachieving all season. the mariners have had a nice season, still playing better than .500 ball. considering they lost 101 games last year there was very little reason for optimism for 2009. the mets should keep that in mind - next year? you never know.
next post will analyze the national league playoff picture.
future topics will include - post season award predictions, red sox/yankees analysis, mets minor league prospects, opinions on citi field.
give me your suggestions and comments. i look forward to the rest of the season, the playoffs, and especially hot stove baseball.
danny
where will they be next year
jose reyes - mets
luis castillo - mets
david wright - mets
carlos beltran - mets
carlos delgado - free agent will sign elsewhere
daniel murphy - mets (starting at 1B)
jeff francoeur - questionable but probably mets
angel pagan - mets
omir santos - likely still a met as platoon/backup catcher
brian schneider - not a met. he will at best sign a minor league deal somewhere
fernando tatis - likely a met. he is still valuable as a bench/role player
jeremy reed - somewhere else on minor league deal
corey sullivan - somewhere else on minor league deal (but it does depend on francoeur and
any other free agent outfielders)
josh thole - likely on mets opening day roster but if so omir santos will likely not be a met
alex cora - hopefully a met (as a role player)
anderson hernandez - only a met if no cora or other infield role player
fernando martinez - aaa buffalo
johan santana - healthy as a met and an ace
mike pelfrey - predict he will at some point be in aaa buffalo
john maine - met starter
ollie perez - predict he will not last in met rotation (he's not going to figure it out)
jon niese - in met starting rotation
bobby parnell - aaa buffalo (as a starter)
lance broadway - forget him
pat misch - gone
nelson figueroa - worth keeping (starter , long man, set up - who knows)
tim redding - might resign for rotation (he has redeemed himself)
k-rod - mets
pedro feliciano - mets
sean green - gone
jj putz - might try to keep as set up guy if he can prove healthy
tobi stoner - aaa buffalo
elmer dessens - gone
ken takahasi - gone
brian stokes - mets ( but can he be consistent)
wilson valdez - gone
nick evans - aaa buffalo
gary sheffield - gone (can you believe how quickly he wore out his welcome here)
i'd really like your comments.
danny
luis castillo - mets
david wright - mets
carlos beltran - mets
carlos delgado - free agent will sign elsewhere
daniel murphy - mets (starting at 1B)
jeff francoeur - questionable but probably mets
angel pagan - mets
omir santos - likely still a met as platoon/backup catcher
brian schneider - not a met. he will at best sign a minor league deal somewhere
fernando tatis - likely a met. he is still valuable as a bench/role player
jeremy reed - somewhere else on minor league deal
corey sullivan - somewhere else on minor league deal (but it does depend on francoeur and
any other free agent outfielders)
josh thole - likely on mets opening day roster but if so omir santos will likely not be a met
alex cora - hopefully a met (as a role player)
anderson hernandez - only a met if no cora or other infield role player
fernando martinez - aaa buffalo
johan santana - healthy as a met and an ace
mike pelfrey - predict he will at some point be in aaa buffalo
john maine - met starter
ollie perez - predict he will not last in met rotation (he's not going to figure it out)
jon niese - in met starting rotation
bobby parnell - aaa buffalo (as a starter)
lance broadway - forget him
pat misch - gone
nelson figueroa - worth keeping (starter , long man, set up - who knows)
tim redding - might resign for rotation (he has redeemed himself)
k-rod - mets
pedro feliciano - mets
sean green - gone
jj putz - might try to keep as set up guy if he can prove healthy
tobi stoner - aaa buffalo
elmer dessens - gone
ken takahasi - gone
brian stokes - mets ( but can he be consistent)
wilson valdez - gone
nick evans - aaa buffalo
gary sheffield - gone (can you believe how quickly he wore out his welcome here)
i'd really like your comments.
danny
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
day one of "danny baseball"
the mets are lying down and playing dead tonight. their lineup is pathetic including wright, beltran and francoeur. we won't know what's with wright until next year. francoeur can contribute but he has to hit with power. he's hitting over .300 but he's become another singles hitter with a low obp. he had 7 early hr's and lots of rbi for the mets but now he's just hitting singles and not hitting in the clutch.
don't blame anything on castillo. bring him back next year. the mets shouldn't waste their time on finding another 2nd basemen and trying to trade castillo. and daniel murphy is showing something. he had 2 hits against tommy hanson. murphy is going to be a .300 hitter in this league for many years. he must, however, improve defensively and become more versatile. he must be able to move around the infield from 1st to 2nd and to 3rd. that's what he should be doing this winter. my prediction - if the mets give him a shot, in 2 years he will be hitting .300 with 15 hr's and 80 rbi. he can do it for the mets or somebody else. let's keep him.
next year? omar - don't try to fix everything. you don't have to start from scratch but you need a 2-3 year plan that will improve the team each year. we don't need a huge 1st baseman next year. ike davis will hopefully be there in '11 so let murphy play their in '10. like i said above castillo should be our 2nd baseman next year. then reyes and wright in the infield.
the outfield and the pitching is where omar has to improve the team. trading beltran should be explored only if you get a great return for him. but penciling him into cf is a good move. francoeur will continue to be an enigma his whole career. as much as i like him (he seems like such a good guy and a team leader), i don't see him being more disciplined at the plate and if he doesn't hit 20+ hr's he is not the answer. pagan isn't a long term answer but next year he might be an outfield option. what other choices are there? i can't see matt holliday coming here. who else is there? what about trading for carlos lee? we only commit to 2 years at $18m each year. would the astros dump his salary? maybe and if so i'd take him.
nobody knows who the hidden surprises will be next year. that's a crapshoot so good luck in guessing. carlos lee, carlos beltran and ??? in the outfield. maybe that would work.
the more i think about it, carlos lee makes sense!
what about pitching. i don't have the answer or a good idea right now. we start with johan, pelfrey, maine, perez and niese. that doesn't sound too good. the mets won't go into the season with 4 question mark starters. it's not impossible that pelfrey ends up back in the minors and perez cannot make the rotation. especially on a non-championship caliber team, niese should be in the rotation.
so that would leave room for 1 or 2 new starters. can we get one stud? is lackey worth derek lowe money? trade for zambrano ($54m for 3 years)or oswalt ($30m for 2 years)? sign marquis, washburn, bedard, davis, harden, looper, brett myers, brandon webb?
from this list above i'd like to see the mets explore oswalt, bedard, harden myers and webb. you have to find the cheap guys who might work out. trading for oswalt - maybe - at that money the cost in prospects should be minimal. the others are free agents.
the mets have to cut payroll, however. you can't go into next season with a $150m payroll with no flexibility to increase it as the season progresses. with certain arbitration commitments assume the mets start with a $105 m payroll. if you add lee, oswalt and another pitcher you're at $138m. they can't do much more than that. that's why murphy, castillo, pagan and some others must be a part of the 2-3 year plan to improve each year.
there will be more coming on the mets and baseball in general.
don't blame anything on castillo. bring him back next year. the mets shouldn't waste their time on finding another 2nd basemen and trying to trade castillo. and daniel murphy is showing something. he had 2 hits against tommy hanson. murphy is going to be a .300 hitter in this league for many years. he must, however, improve defensively and become more versatile. he must be able to move around the infield from 1st to 2nd and to 3rd. that's what he should be doing this winter. my prediction - if the mets give him a shot, in 2 years he will be hitting .300 with 15 hr's and 80 rbi. he can do it for the mets or somebody else. let's keep him.
next year? omar - don't try to fix everything. you don't have to start from scratch but you need a 2-3 year plan that will improve the team each year. we don't need a huge 1st baseman next year. ike davis will hopefully be there in '11 so let murphy play their in '10. like i said above castillo should be our 2nd baseman next year. then reyes and wright in the infield.
the outfield and the pitching is where omar has to improve the team. trading beltran should be explored only if you get a great return for him. but penciling him into cf is a good move. francoeur will continue to be an enigma his whole career. as much as i like him (he seems like such a good guy and a team leader), i don't see him being more disciplined at the plate and if he doesn't hit 20+ hr's he is not the answer. pagan isn't a long term answer but next year he might be an outfield option. what other choices are there? i can't see matt holliday coming here. who else is there? what about trading for carlos lee? we only commit to 2 years at $18m each year. would the astros dump his salary? maybe and if so i'd take him.
nobody knows who the hidden surprises will be next year. that's a crapshoot so good luck in guessing. carlos lee, carlos beltran and ??? in the outfield. maybe that would work.
the more i think about it, carlos lee makes sense!
what about pitching. i don't have the answer or a good idea right now. we start with johan, pelfrey, maine, perez and niese. that doesn't sound too good. the mets won't go into the season with 4 question mark starters. it's not impossible that pelfrey ends up back in the minors and perez cannot make the rotation. especially on a non-championship caliber team, niese should be in the rotation.
so that would leave room for 1 or 2 new starters. can we get one stud? is lackey worth derek lowe money? trade for zambrano ($54m for 3 years)or oswalt ($30m for 2 years)? sign marquis, washburn, bedard, davis, harden, looper, brett myers, brandon webb?
from this list above i'd like to see the mets explore oswalt, bedard, harden myers and webb. you have to find the cheap guys who might work out. trading for oswalt - maybe - at that money the cost in prospects should be minimal. the others are free agents.
the mets have to cut payroll, however. you can't go into next season with a $150m payroll with no flexibility to increase it as the season progresses. with certain arbitration commitments assume the mets start with a $105 m payroll. if you add lee, oswalt and another pitcher you're at $138m. they can't do much more than that. that's why murphy, castillo, pagan and some others must be a part of the 2-3 year plan to improve each year.
there will be more coming on the mets and baseball in general.
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