Mets no Cordero; Braves get Dotel; Shut Up Steve

There were rumors that the Mets were close to obtaining Chad Cordero from the Nationals for Kevin Mulvey and another prospects but it did not happen. Frankly, I'm disapointed. I don't like Mulvey and I like Cordero. Imagine having Heilman in the 7th, Cordero 8th, and Wagner 9th with Felicano mixing in. That would be an unstopable bullpen. The Mets did not make any trades today after landing Luis Castillo yesterday.

The Braves improved their bullpen by acquiring Octavio Dotel in exchange for right-handed starter Kyle Davies. All I have been hearing on ESPN by Steve Phillips is how great the Braves are now and how they are the team to beat. Phillips also said the Mets could be in jeopardy of making the playoffs. Once again Steve Phillips does not know what he is talking about considering the Mets have the best record in the National League. Steve also said that he believes the Braves have the best offense now by a lanslide. All I have to say to you Steve is shut up.

If I caught 755 or 756

Barry Bonds is on the verge of becoming the all time home run leader. I was thinking what I would do if I caught home run 755 or 756. I know I have no chance be it that Bonds is playing in the West Coast and I’m here in the east. But you can still think what you would have done.

If I caught 755 or 756 I would not sell, I would not give it to the hall of fame, and I would not keep it. When I caught it I would pull out a Sharpe and draw a big * (asterisk) right on the ball. I would then hold up the ball for all the cameras, people, and especially Barry Bonds to see. After a minute or two I would then look at the ball and then throw it on the field. The ball would be tainted with a big asterisk on it so if it were to go into the hall of fame everyone would see what the fans thought. If Bonds kept the ball he would have to live with the stain on it forever. I know I would be giving up thousands or millions of dollars but I believe that would send a message to Bonds that no one is with you.

The best part for me would be after the game. If I would be interviewed and to be asked why I did it I would say, “Barry Bonds is the biggest tool and juicer in the game of baseball. Barry gained about 50 pounds from 1985 to now and have you seen the difference in pictures. I would like to ask Barry’s trainer what program he used to gain all that muscle. Oh wait, I can’t because his trainers in jail for distributing steroids.” Lets just hope Barry is unable to reach 756 or please don’t let him have the ball.

Jose Castro

20 year Jose Castro is tearing it up in A St. Lucie. The 5 foot 8, 160 pound shortstop is batting .335 with 40 runs, 12 doubles, and 22 rbis in 69 games. Castro was a Flordia State League Mid-Season All-Star and you can see why. The only thing he really needs to improve is his aggressiveness. He is too agressive. He has stolen 7 bases but has been caught 9 times; that drastically needs to improve. Keep an eye for this 20 year old because you will definitely here more about him.

What will happen with Gotay?

Now that the Mets obtained second baseman Luis Castillo from the Twins Ruben Gotay will almost certainly loose his starting role. Gotay has been red hot at the plate but the Mets want a veteran staff for the most part come the post season so Castillo will take over at second base. Gotay will most likely play day games after night games for the most part and pinch hit. Ruben can also play in the outfield so look for him to start a couple games there with Beltran heading to the DL and the lack of production from Shawn Green. It is a shame that the kid is batting .350 and looses his job. Thats how it is though, so when Gotay plays he better play well and then might have a chance to get his job back.

Humber misses a start; Nothing serious

Philip Humber was scratched from his scheduled start last night for AAA New Orleans from food poisoning. He will most likely start tonight.

Trade:

The Mets acquired 2B Luis Castillo from the Twins in exchange for Double-A C Drew Butera and Single-A OF Dustin Martin. Boy did I call this.

Castillo, 31, was hitting .304 (106-349) with 11 doubles, three triples, 18 RBIs, 29 walks, 28 strikeouts and nine stolen bases in 85 games with the Twins this season. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound switch-hitter is a three-time All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005) and a three-time Gold Glove Award recipient (2003, 2004, 2005). Note: Luis had his 32-game hitting streak at Shea Stadium, the longest such streak in the 44-year history of the ballpark, snapped on June 18th earlier this year.

Butera was an all star for A Port St. Lucie. He hit .258, with 22 runs scored, 14 doubles, five home runs.

Dustin Martin was the 2006 A Cyclones player of the year last season an led the team with a .315 average. Martin currently has a .287 average with 52 runs scored, 22 doubles, six triples, five home runs

Low on Prospects

Throughout today I have heard that most Major Legaue Teams are not to high on Mets Prospects. You hear names like Lastings Milledge, Philip Humber, Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Gomez who are all on the verge of playing in the majors if not currently in the Majors.

The problems I have been hearing is teams are not to fond of the players below AA. I have heard Baseball America bashing the Mets farm system saying, "...But when you target relievers in the draft it's a little disconcerting. Pelfrey and Humber have been relatively disappointing, Martinez is hurt and didn't put up positive numbers in Double-A, I think Carp kind of is what he is and Mulvey's just OK.”

The Mets don't have a lot of depth in the quality of players. You hear the same names over and over again and most of these players won't become the stars you hope them to be. I feel like the Mets should trade either Pelfrey, Humber, or Mulvey. All three have strugled at diffrent points this season. Humber is 10-6 with a 4.21 era which is a little disconcerning. Mulvey looks like he'll end up becoming a long reliver. I say this because he has shown very average stuff going 8-9 with a 3.29 era in AA Binghamton.

Braves make BlockBuster trade

The Texas Rangers have agreed to send first baseman Mark Teixeira and lefty reliever Ron Mahay to Atlanta for catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, plus Minor Leaguers Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus along with player to be named.

This is a huge trade. Teixeira can really play. The Braves are currently 3.5 games back in the NL East to the Mets and 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race to the Dodgers/Dimondbacks. This could make september really exciting.

Luis Castillo; a good fit?

There has been rumors flying that the Mets might make a trade for second baseman of the Twins Luis Castillo. The Mets currently have 24 year old Ruben Gotay as their starting second baseman. In 54 games Gotay is hitting .350 with 4 homeruns, 19 rbi's, 20 runs, and 2 stolen bases. Gotay has been red hot with the bat with the Mets this year but what happens if or when he cools off. Luis Castillo would be a perfect canidate. In 85 games Castillo is batting .304 with 9 stolen bases, 54 runs, and 18 rbi's. Castillo would be a solid vetran player for the bench and a good canidate for the number 2 hitter. Castillo can take a lot of pitchers and usually just slaps the ball to left field or beats the ball out. Castillo is a better defensive player over Gotay.

I like Ruben Gotay alot as a player. He has hit very well and often been clutch. I would love to see Castillo on the Mets though. I think he would be a perfect fit. He could reunite with Delgado and Lo Duca all of which were on the 2004 Marlins and were all traded during that eventfull off-season for the Marlins a few years back. But, it always seems like these are just rumors... we'll find out by tuesday at 4:00 pm.

Class of 2007

Yesterday Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were inducted to the Hall of Fame. I have always been a fan of Cal Ripken and is one of my favorite players of all-time. The night the Yankees were in Baltimore near the end of the 1998 season and a healthy Ripken decided not to play, ending his streak at 2,632 games Willie Randolph, along with the rest of the Yankees saluted Ripken. Don Burke at The Star-Ledger writes about how Randolph feels about the 2007 Hall of Fame class.

Randolph had this to say about Gwynn and Ripken; "They were great ballplayers," the Mets manager said. "I'm happy for both of them. They were true ballplayers. They played the game the right way."

Injury Report

Over at Newsday.com Anthony Rieber reports on the Mets recent injuries to Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Beltran.

"Paul Lo Duca said yesterday he won't let the right hamstring strain he suffered Saturday night stop him from catching Tom Glavine's first attempt at win No. 300 tomorrow at Miller Park in Milwaukee."

"The news on the Mets' other injured regular, Carlos Beltran, was far less optimistic. Beltran also had an MRI and it showed little improvement on the strained muscle he suffered in batting practice Wednesday."

Crappy Broadcasts

Watching todays Mets game I remembered how much I hate Fox's baseball broadcast. Tim Mccarver is unbelivably terrible. I found this site about how bad Fox and ESPN commentators are; Fire Joe Morgan. In todays game Tim M said "Folks, we don't want to throw a lot of numbers at you, but this year, 39% of leadoff walks have scored. That's about 40% of the time." Great broadcasting...

Anderson Hernandez to be called up

Adam Rubin at Daily News reports that that Anderson Hernandez will soon be promoted from Triple-A New Orleans to replace Valentin on the roster. Hernandez hit .208 in April in Triple-A, then .240 in May, .333 in June and is hitting .371 with five doubles and a triple in 62 at-bats in July. Hopefully he will be able to hit and stay on the Mets which he was unable to do last season.

Mulvey has good outing

Kevin Mulvey improved to 8-8, 3.12 with six innings of two-run ball last night for AA Binghamton. He struck out two and walked two. Mulvey, Lino Urdaneta and Carlos Muniz combined to retire the final 12 batters in a row.

Valentin out with fractured leg

37 year old Jose Valentin was batting against Brett Tomko in the fourth inning in yesterdays game when he fouled a 2-1 pitch directly into his leg. He was removed immediately, with Ruben Gotay completing his at-bat. Valentin will most likely be out for the rest of the year.

With this being said, Ruben Gotay will now be the starting second baseman! In 45 games Gotay is batting .345 with 4 home runs, 2 stolen bases, 16 rbis, and 14 runs. Personally I wanted Gotay to consistently play over Valentin and now it will happen, its just sad to see someone that helped the Mets so much last season be out for the rest of the season.

Mets put Damion Easely on bereavement list

A few days ago The New York Mets placed infielder Damion Easley on the bereavement list and selected Chip Ambres contract from New Orleans (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. Easley is currently with his father, Raymond, in Riverside, CA. Easley's stay on the list is for a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days. Ambres, 27, hit .272 (82-301) with 60 runs scored, 18 doubles, 16 home runs, 49 RBI, with 46 walks and 71 strikeouts in 85 games for the Zephyrs.

HoJo Hitting Coach, Rickey First Base

The New York Mets announced today that former Met Rickey Henderson will join the team as the club's outfield, baserunning and first base coach while Howard Johnson, who was New York's first base coach, will now handle the hitting coaching duties.

Omar and Willies Relationship

Ben Shipgel at the New York Times writes about the distress between Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph.

Randolph could not hide his irritation that Down, his personal choice for hitting coach, had been dismissed... Asked how he responded after Minaya informed him of the choice, Randolph said: “If you want to make the decision, you’re the general manager. You can make that decision.” The moves were fairly bold ones for a team that, for the first time under Minaya and Randolph, is acknowledging a sense of distress. Since June 1, the Mets have won only 15 games and have often looked flat.

Franco to be released

NewsDay is reporting that The Mets are expected to remove Julio Franco from their roster today to make room for Lastings Milledge. An announcement will be made before today's game.It's not clear whether Franco, who turns 48 next month, will retire, or whether he'll accept an unconditional release and try to find a job elsewhere.

Dislike of Henderson

Throughout this morning I have heard everyone on ESPn criticize the Mets for replacing Rick Down with Rickey Henderson. Personally, I like Rickey and think he will be very effective. Remember, the last 2 spring trainings Rickey has been brought in to be a special instructor. During his stint he has helped Jose Reyes improve at the plate and on the base paths. I believe Rickey will have a big effect on Carlos Beltran getting him to be more aggresive on the basepaths along with helping him at the plate. Good luck Rickey.

Perez has solid rehab start

RotoWorld reported that Oliver Perez (back) pitched four scoreless innings and struck out seven Tuesday in his rehab start for the GCL Mets. Perezis penciled in to start Sunday in the series finale against the Reds.

Milledge is Back and Could Start

According to the New York Post Lastings Milledge is expected to be promoted today and return to the Mets for the first time in three months. "Milledge, who had three at-bats with the Mets in April before being demoted, has been playing minor-league rehab games, coming back from a sprained ligament in his right foot. The 22-year old outfielder could become the starting left fielder." Yes!

On Mondays game for AA Binghamton, Milledge had two homeruns. In 5 rehab games for Binghamton Lastings Milledge batted .435 with 3 home runs, 8 rbi's, and 7 runs.

Rickey Henderson hired as Mets hitting coach

Newsday reported that Rick Down has been relieved of his duties and that the future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson will take over immediately.

Down said that Willie Randolph informed him Wednesday night of the decision, and that he would be replaced by Henderson. A person familiar with the situation confirmed that Henderson, the future Hall of Famer who has never served as a coach, would take over as hitting coach. When asked whether Randolph offered an explanation, Down replied: "Not really. Approach, I guess."

AA All star game

The Eastern League All-Star Game will also be played tonight. Mets prospects, Kevin Mulvey, Brett Harper and Caleb Stewart of the Mets Double-A Binghamton affiliate will represent the Mets in tonight's game.

News:

Rachel Laudiero at New York Future Stars, writes about Greg Veloz who was named Applebee's Kingsport Mets Player of the Week for the third week of the season. He went 8-for-24 (.333) with four runs scored, four RBI, two stolen bases, two doubles and two triples during the week.

AAA All Star Game Tonight

The AAA All Star game will be played tonight starting at 7:35. The first place Zephrys will only be sending left-handed relief pitcher Willie Collazo who will represent the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Collazo appeared in 33 games for New Orleans, starting four, and compiled a 1-4 record with a 3.61 ERA. The game will be aired on ESPN2 for the 13th straight season.

Ender or Endy

If you look on the minor league rosters of the different Mets teams you will see some pretty close names to those already on the Mets. There are two players that I am talking about; Jose A. Reyes (AA) and Ender Chavez (A). If you just glance at these players names you could mistake them for shortstop Jose Reyes and Outfielder Endy Chavez. Both Ender and Endy play outfield which could make it even easier to mix them up. Just try not to mix these players up.

NL looses 10 in a row, Thanks Aaron Rowand

The National League once again lost the All Star Game to the American League 5-4. Bottom 9, the NL scores 2 runs, bases loaded, and Aaron Rowand steps to the plate. The second I saw a Phillie walk up I knew the National League was going to loose. First off, Rowand should not even be an all star; .310, 11 hr, 43 rbi. I just wish Larussa didnt wasn't such a crappy manager. There was a pretty damn good player sitting on the bench in Albert Pujols who he could have put in, but no. In the fifth inning Billy Wagner left a fastball out over the plate to Indians Catcher Victor Martinez who crushed a 2 run homer. That home run was the difference maker in tonights ball game. The only highlight of the game for me was Jose Reyes going 3-4 with a run and a stolen base. Lets just hope if the Mets are in the World Series and if theres a game 7, they don't loose because they didnt have home field and all their fans behind them chearing them on...

Milledge Back by Thursday?

Anthony Rieber at Newsday repots that Lastings Milledge could be back with the Mets on thursday. "Lastings Milledge could be the Mets' leftfielder when the team returns from the All-Star break Thursday." Like I've been saying, Lastings Milledge will make a comeback!

Prospect Rankings

Top Prospect Alert recently updated their 2007 Top 100 Major League Baseball Prospects. The following players in the Mets Orginization made it; (#29) Fernando Martinez, (#33) Carlos Gomez, and (#100) Phillip Humber. Humber dropped from being ranked 54 in preseason

Minor League All Stars

(AAA) The Pacific Coast League announced the roster for the 2007 PCL All-Star team and the Zephyrs will be represented by left-handed relief pitcher Willie Collazo.

(AA)Binghamton Mets infielders Mark Kiger and Brett Harper, outfielder Caleb Stewart and pitcher Kevin Mulvey have been chosen to play for the Northern Division in the Eastern League All-Star Game.

(A)Representing the St. Lucie Mets will be starting pitcher Bobby Parnell, catcher Drew Butera and shortstop Jose Castro.

(A) Sand Gnats second baseman Hector Pellot will replace third baseman Leivi Ventura at the 2007 South Atlantic League All-Star

Zephrys Bullpen

Matt Langenberg wrote about the Zephyrs bullpen and how there are no set roles.

"The Zephyrs' bullpen has not been used in what most people would call a traditional way. There is no designated starter or set-up man. Instead the team is flexible and uses all of the relievers for whatever role the situation dictates, including making a spot-start for the rotation."

Stat

Shawn Green is batting .210 with five RBI in 100 at-bats since coming off the disabled list; and the outfield troubles continue.

Futures Game

There were 2 Mets invited to the futures game Deolis Guerra (A) and Kevin Mulvey (AA). Mulvey replaced injured Matt Garza Twins on the US team due to injury. Fernando Martinez was also invited but injuries prevented him from playing.

The only met that played was 18 year Deolis Guerra. In the fifth inning, Guerra gave up a solo shot to John Whittleman (Rangers).

Williams up and Ledee down

In order to make room for Dave Williams on the 25-man roster, Ricky Ledee was designated for assingment. C Sandy Alomar, Jr. was kept on the roster and was in the lineup in todays loss against the Astros. Personally, I never liked Ledee, maybe its because he was a yankee but I did not care for him. Can you say Lastings Milledge....

Williams

Mets LHP Dave Williams joined the Mets last night in Houston but has not been activated to the 25–man roster. Chances are he will get the start over Vargas who pitched earlier this week due to Oliver Perez's injury.

Good night for Milledge

Lastings Milledge went 2-for-5 with a home run in his first game with AA Binghamton. Milledge can be activated after the all star break.

Gomez out 6-8 Weeks

The Mets placed outfielder Carlos Gomez on the 15-day disabled list with a fracture of the hook of the hamate bone of his left hand. New York recalled David Newhan from New Orleans (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. Gomez will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. I am very sad to hear this.

Now Lastings Milledge might get his chance..... Brian Moritz reports that OF Lastings Milledge will join Double-A Binghamton today as he continues to rehab from a hand injury.

Williams over Vargas

After lasts nights 11-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies I think it's safe to say that the Mets need to replace Vargas. Jason Vargas gave up 9 runs in 3.1 innings last night and 10 hits. The best option for the Mets is to call up Dave Williams. During the off-season there was alot of talk about Williams competing for the 5th spot in the rotation but injuries prevented him from spring training and about the first 2 months of the regular season. Williams has 2 starts for AAA New Orleans going 0-1 with a 3.38 era in 13.1 innings pitched. The opposition is batting .198 with him pitching. Dave Williams is the best option right now to fill in for Perez; Perez will be back after the all star break so the Mets need 1 start from Williams to replace the unsucessful Vargas.

Milledge is Back and Gomez is Beaned

New York Daily News is reporting that Lasting Milledge started in left field in a rehab game with Single-A Port St. Lucie on Sunday and RotoWorld added that Milledge should rejoin Triple-A New Orleans by the end of this week.

The Daily News also said, "Carlos Gomez's teammates fully expected the rookie to get plunked Saturday by Phillies reliever Jose Mesa. Gomez, drilled on the left arm, has been a little too demonstrative when celebrating his successes."

Vargas instead of Perez

RotoWorld writes that Jason Vargas will most likely start on tuesday due to the injury of Oliver Perez:

Jason Vargas was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A New Orleans on Sunday a signal he could be called up to start Tuesday. Oliver Perez, who was scheduled to start Tuesday's game against Colorado, is dealing with lower-back stiffness and is unlikely to be able to pitch. Vargas gave up five runs in seven innings the Cubs on May 17 in his only other start for the Mets.

Andy Tracy

Back in spring training 33 year old Andy Tracy was one of the last players to be cut who did not have a name on the back of his jersey. I remember hearing Keith Hernandez on SNY going I think its time to get this guys name on his jersey if he's still here. Well, Tracy has been tearing it up in AAA New Orleans; in 77 games Tracy is batting .315 with 19 homeruns, 62 rbis, 65 runs, and an on-base percentage of .420. Tracy has progressed throughout the season by increasing his batting average and runs every month. April: .254, 15 runs - May: .305, 23 runs - June: .362, 23 runs. Tracy plays first base but can also play third base. I doubt the Mets will call up this journeyman player with Delgado and Franco at first, even with franco batting .188. If Franco continues to struggle the Mets should at least think about giving Andy Tracy a chance.

Draft Note:

The Mets have signed all of their first 15 picks in the 2007 baseball draft except for first pick right handed reliver Edward Kunz and their number 12 pick right handed pitcher Michael Olmstead. The Mets have signed 31 of their 42 picks in the draft.

Other Options

The Mets lost todays game against the Phillies 5-3 brining Mike Pelfreys record to 0-6. Pelfrey went 5 innings giving up 3 runs only 2 of which were earned. Pelfrey continued to get into trouble having runners always on base. I feel that pelfrey is still not ready to pitch for the Mets. He gets rattled very easily and is a completly different pitcher than he is in AAA or "the bullpen sessions" which he said earlier in the year. I know Pelfrey has been very succesful in AAA but he needs to stay in New Orleans to work on his composure. This would give Phillip Humber a good opertunity to showcase his stuff. Jorge Sosa should be back shortly after the all star break so why not give Humber a chance. In 16 starts in AAA New Orleans, Humber is 9-5 with a 4.42 era with 74 strikeouts and 21 walks. Lets just see what Humber has and if he gets rocked bring back Pelfrey for another start.

Maine Gets Robbed!

I am glad Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Billy Wagner got elected to the all star game but I am outraged that John Maine was not. Cole Hamels of the Phillies has a 9-4 record with an ERA of 3.87 while John Maine has a 9-4 record with an ERA of 2.74. How is it possible that Hamels made it to the all star team but Maine who is pitching better this season then Hammels did not make it. In my opinion it is because Cole Hamels is hyped up as being this young stud with nasty stuff. But really he is not worthy of being in the all star game. Something needs to be done about players who are having great years but are being robbed of making the all star team.

Many people have said that Hamels is a better pitcher because he gets so many strikeouts. Hamels is second in the National League in strikeouts with 116 while Maine is thirteenth with 84. The thing is, Hamels gives up alot more hits then Maine so he needs to get more strikeouts. Hamels has allowed 107 hits and 19 home runs while Maine has given up 79 hits and 10 home runs. Does it really matter how many strikeouts you get; to me as long as your effective and get your team wins, who cares how many K's you get.