Matt Harvey

It is accountability, which is the backbone to admit screwing up.

We certainly didn’t see any the past few days from the Knicks, so let’s turn to the Mets. After losing Thursday to the Reds, Harvey was front-and-center about his performance and threw high-heat at himself.

“It was a tough day – whether it was the changeup I couldn’t necessarily throw for a strike when I wanted to – and everything just crept over the middle,’’ Harvey told reporters at Citi Field. “It was one of those days. I didn’t execute. I didn’t do a good job. I’ve got to be a lot better than that. Nine hits is unacceptable for me. Obviously I wasn’t happy giving up any runs. We needed a big win, and I wasn’t able to do that.’’

What a reporter wants is for a player to be stand-up, to answer questions when the heat is on. Davis tried, although sometimes it seemed as if the listener would get frequent miles for following along with the answer.

I’ve never been enamored with Davis’ approach to hitting and explanations of his approach and thought process. This time, I didn’t care for his defensive explanation, although I appreciated the effort.

With runners on the corners in the ninth inning, Brandon Phillips dribbled a ball down the first base line. Davis, who misplayed a similar ball in the seventh that allowed a run to score, seemed confused on how to play the ball.

“I couldn’t get the guy at home,’’ Davis said. “[Shin-Soo] Choo runs really fast. And it was really slow to my backhand side. I was trying to get off the bag to get in the hole because it was a right-handed hitter.

“They usually don’t hit it down the line like that. The second bounce … I thought it bounced foul. In my head, I can’t turn two. I can’t catch it, touch the bag and then throw it to second and get the guy out, because then it’s a tag play and the guy [Choo] scores anyway.

“So, in my head, when I thought I saw it bounce foul, I pulled my glove back, because then we’d be 0-2 on Phillips [if it were foul] and the run wouldn’t score. That was my thought process on that. I still can’t tell if it was foul or fair on replays. But I definitely did think it bounced foul right before I got it. He made the call fair.’’

With no interpreters in the Mets’ clubhouse, let me attempt to boil it down: Davis said he couldn’t get the runner at home or get the 3-6-3 double-play, so he thought his best play was for the ball to go foul.

Only, Davis couldn’t tell if it was fair or foul. Given that, Davis’ mistake was letting the ball go and hoping for the right call. As a hitter, Davis wouldn’t stay at the plate and wait for the call, but run the ball out. So, why didn’t he do the same on defense? Why would he let the ball go on such a close play and hope for the best?

Maybe he wasn’t asked, but even so, he should have known what to do and admit the mistake of giving up on the play. What we got was a roundabout analysis that sounds like an excuse. Just catch the damn ball. If it is fair and a run scores, so be. Letting it go by opened the door for three to come in.

And, let’s cue the violins when he said, “everything that could go wrong for me now is going wrong.’’

Terry Collins is in a rough place, between telling the truth and not throwing his players under the bus. But, when his team is already ten games under .500, I’d like to see him go to the whip a little more. Didn’t he also promise a culture change and emphasis on fundamentals?

Where’s the fundamentals when all but two players in the normal starting lineup are on pace to strike out over 100 times? Where’s the emphasis on getting a good pitch to hit?

Two walks is a stretch in saying Davis is showing come-out-of-it signs. And, I don’t buy Collins saying Davis is not taking his offense to the field. His fielding has been miserable lately, so how could his offense not be a connection?

Collins didn’t get on Jon Niese for letting the first inning get away from him Tuesday. Nobody on and nobody out and he walks three and let three runs in. That’s inexcusable on any level.

Collins wasn’t forceful on getting on Jordany Valdespin last week when he should have been in full rip mode. And, I would have liked for him to get on Shaun Marcum more for not coming to camp in good condition. He did the previous spring with Ruben Tejada.

However, in fairness to Collins, it is hard to come down on a player if he doesn’t get the backing of the front office. Sandy Alderson, who over the weekend said the minor leagues wasn’t imminent for Davis, echoed that Tuesday, saying: “ … at this point we’re going to live with Ike for a little longer.’’

When Alderson came on the job, he promised a change in culture and stressed accountability. Immediately, we knew he was talking about Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo and both would be gone the following spring. Alderson also knew Jason Bay‘s lack of production after three years shouldn’t net him a fourth. Bay was a good guy, yes, but wasn’t hitting.

So, why be hesitant with Davis, especially if he’s considered a building block?

Alderson speaks like a lawyer with the way he dances around questions. All, I want to hear is: “I didn’t do a good job of putting together the bullpen,’’ and “I didn’t do a good job putting together the outfield,’’ and, “I should have handled things differently with Johan Santana this spring,’’ and, “If I stocked the farm system better, maybe I’d have more options to replace Davis.’’

And. ownership should show more accountability, if for nothing else, letting the Ponzi scandal distract the Mets and influence their off-season moves the past two years. Not to mention, signing off on contracts given to Perez and Bay.

And, don’t deny it hasn’t.

Be accountable. We deserve that much.

Lagares To Make MLB Debut? (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• The Las Vegas/Colorado Springs game was postponed due to cold.
• Binghamton dropped a game to Portland, 8-2.
• St. Lucie defeated Charlotte, 2-1.
• Savannah had an off day.

Prospect Pipeline (Morsels From The Minor League Staff)

• BREAKING: RHP Christian Montgomery of the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets, was suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a banned substance. ”My job is not done and my goals aren’t reached yet, but I’m striving and dedicated to be where I wanna be,” he said to fans via Twitter.
• NEW: RHP Tyler Pill makes his fourth start of the year with the B-Mets. He got his first win of 2013 in his last start, a 4-3 victory over New Hampshire. He threw 6.0 innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, and struck out six batters. On the season, he has struck out 14, and walked four. Opponents are hitting .338 overall against the righthander, and are hitting .438 (7-for-16) against him with runners in scoring position. Pill was ranked the #25 prospect in the Mets organization by Baseball America  prior to the 2013 season. He was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
• So resident psychic Joe D. gave Juan Lagares a well-deserved shout-out yesterday – and lo and behold, the story broke that he might be making his MLB debut with the Mets ASAP. As for my opinion on the matter, Joe and I are sharing a brain. I know that some people argue that Lagares may be experiencing a little statistical inflation, but I think Lagares has always had the potential to become a successful MLB player. More importantly, he has the tools to do it in CF, where the Mets are desperate for any kind of talent. You never know when a rookie can come up and light a fire under a team with some hard-nosed play, so I wish Lagares the best.
• Wally Backman gave his Lagares a sweet send-off. ”He’s a kid who can play all three outfield positions and he’s got speed. He’s a good outfielder. He throws to the right bases. He has a knack for getting the barrel on the ball. He looks like he’s a real good hitter. I mean, if you just watch him, you say, ‘This kid is going to be able to hit.” It’s almost as if it was taken straight out of my Prospect Spotlight on Lagares. (Joe D.)
• Speaking of sharing a brain, Mitch and I both have high hopes for T.J. Rivera – and he is definitely a feel good story. Rivera added two more hits and RBIs to his stat sheet for the 2013 season last night and is continuing to turn heads. Rivera can flat out hit and it may not be long before he is raking in a Binghamton uniform soon.
• Jacob deGrom was a hard luck loser in his first AA start a couple days back, and he ran into some more bad luck on Monday night as the B-Mets had a ton of defensive issues behind him. His final line was tough, as he somehow lasted five innings, but allowed seven hits and four walks. He was on the hook for six runs, but only one of them was earned. The Jake deGrom that you should expect to see going forward is a lot more like the young man we saw in his first AA start – where he lasted eight innings and allowed only three hits and one earned run.
• Jim Callis recently wrote about a piece about a 25-man prospect roster taking at most one player from each team. He chose Zack Wheeler from NY, but he mentioned that he could have easily gone with D’Arnaud. He also answered a direct question about Rainy Lara, where he stated “He’s also old for low Class A at 22, and unless he adds velocity or develops a quality second pitch, he’s looking at a ceiling as a middle reliever.” Lara, as Callis also mentioned, has gained some respect because of the effectiveness of his sinker, which sits at 89-92 MPH. Lara may not be the sexy prospect right now, but I would advise that you keep an eye on him until he gives you a reason not to. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched so far this season, with a 3:15 BB:K ratio.
• Aderlin Rodriguez may have three home runs and three doubles in 68 at-bats, but he is struggling mightily to keep his batting average anywhere near respectable – it fell to .162 last night.
• Shout-out to T.J. Chism, who picked up his second save of the season for St. Lucie and has a 1.59 ERA so far this season.
• Adam Rubin tweeted on Monday that his next farm report would feature Steven Matz…a fun fact? The Mets, as an organization, have only five left handed starting pitchers listed in contrast to 22 right handed starting pitchers according to their organizational depth chart. Jon Niese and Aaron Laffey make up two of them. Angel Cuan, Darin Gorski, and Steven Matz are the other three. Matz’s 1.29 ERA through 14 innings is tops in the Mets Minors right now.
• It’s no fun when Savannah has an off-day and you’re all ready to gush about Kevin Plawecki and Brandon Nimmo. For all the talk about Las Vegas inflating offensive numbers, the top three batting averages in the Mets Minors belong to three Savannah players: Nimmo’s .424, Boyd’s .388 and Plawecki’s .381 who all play at one of the toughest places to hit – Historic Grayson Stadium..
• T.J. Rivera is a well-oiled, finely tuned hitting machine at the plate. After another two-hit game, he’s now swinging a .310/.383/.394 slash and at 24, you’ll soon be seeing him at a Bingo hall near you and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it to Sin City and even to that other Citi for a September cup of coffee. (Joe D.)
• You know how I’m always harping on Zack Wheeler‘s command? If only he could put up strikeout to walk ratios like Jake deGrom 21:3, Rafael Montero 27:1, Steven Matz 18:4. Then you’ll know you really have a can’t miss prospect. Wheeler’s K/BB ratio is 21:12 if you want to know how that would translate in the Majors, take a look at Oliver Perez‘s career. I still maintain that Montero is more MLB-ready than Wheeler is (not so crazy now, huh?), but it won’t stop the frenzied fanbase from forcing Wheeler up based solely on his heightened legendary-status that’s being driven by SNY –  who happens to be owned by Fred. Once attends shrivels up some more, you’ll see Wheeler in Flushing – ready or not. Hopefully it won’t lead to his unravelling. (Joe D.)
• The executive producer of SNY told me last week that 99% of Mets fans only care about Wheeler, Nimmo and D’Arnaud, and that nobody cares about Montero, Flores or Lagares. I was asking him why they only cover the same 4-5 prospects day after day and ignore 3-4 dozen other great names and rattled off the three I mentioned. Toby Hyde jumped into our conversation and said, “Bingo!” Whose Minor League coverage would you rather read after seeing a mindset like that? (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Day

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB

Tweet Of The Day

Pretty sure I just saw a commercial for a farmers-only dating website. The farmer’s daughter cliche must really be struggling these days.

— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) April 23, 2013

I thought we had the market cornered here at MetsMerized with pictures of hot farm hands… We may now have some competition. This tweet had some competition from @JohnStrubel, who noted that Jason Bay flew out to Fernando Martinez to end an inning – right before Oliver Perez entered the game…

Transactions/Injuries

• Pedro Feliciano was placed on the temporary inactive list down in St. Lucie. Feliciano left the team to deal with a personal issue in Puerto Rico.
• Darwin Frias was called up to St. Lucie from Brooklyn.
• Shaun Marcum threw 52 pitches over 5.0 innings in an extended spring training game for St. Lucie yesterday. He is scheduled to be promoted to the Mets and start Saturday against the Phillies.
• Mets announced they have signed RHP D.J. Mitchell, who was released by the Seattle Mariners. He’s only made one start for Tacoma (AAA) this year and allowed three runs in four innings. He was assigned to Mets extended spring training camp.

Comment Of The Day

Buddy3 asked… “Do you see Matt Reynolds and TJ Rivera jumping over Tovar and Muno at some point this year or next at the double play combo? Seems like Reynolds is going to push Tejada, not Tovar.”

I love this question. First off, remember not to count Phillip Evans out – the Mets have invested a lot in him financially and he is pretty talented. Now, although Matthew Reynolds always profiled defensively as a third baseman, it was unlikely that his offensive capabilities would progress to match the expectations for that position – so the move to short should benefit him in the long run.

Reynolds may have a good glove, but Wilfredo Tovar has an elite glove…so although Reynolds will likely work out to be a better offensive contributor than Tovar, he is fighting an uphill battle. Rivera can flat-out hit and that statement will be said so many times this year that it will be drilled into most readers’ minds. I actually do believe T.J. Rivera will eventually overtake Daniel Muno when projecting the future, but Tovar’s defensive wizardry will likely keep him in the conversation over Reynolds for now.

Photo Of The Day

Don’t mind me, I’m just watching some Mets Minors baseball…

Of all the players I ran into over the weekend Niese somehow stood out. He carries himself well, he’s bigger than I thought (actually they’re all bigger than you think – they’re like on a different scale), he’s soft spoken and unassuming and just seems like a really nice guy.

Jonathon Niese was born on October 27th 1986, the day the Mets won their last World Series. Talk about cosmic coincidences. He was picked 209th overall in the 2005 draft, and he spent time at all three levels of the Mets minor league system where his numbers were good but not great. His best year was probably his 2008 season in Binghampton when in 22 games he had a 3.04 ERA. The season before in St. Lucie he’d gone 11-7 with a 4.19 ERA. At the age of 22 while at AAA Buffalo in the midst of a stretch where he’d pitched to a 3.82 ERA over 16 games he got the call.

My first impression of him was that he was ok, nothing special. He gave up a homerun to his first batter, Rickie Weeks, and ended up surrendering three runs in three innings. Not so good, I thought. Maybe a back end number 4 type guy at best. Then in his next start Jonathan Seagu … er, Niese, surprised me, pitching 8 shutout innings to beat the Braves 5-0. What I noticed was the sweet arcing trajectory of his beautiful southpaw curveball. A true hammer. Jonathon had defied my initial impression with that performance.

Niese got called up again in 2009 after Oliver Perez got hurt. He pitched to a 4.21 ERA that year making only 5 starts before he suffered a complete tear of his hamstring and had to miss the rest of the season. Niese went 10-9 in 2010 with a 4.20 ERA and 11–11 in 2011 with a 4.40 ERA and it was looking like my initial assessment was maybe not so far from the truth, middle to back end of the rotation kind of guy.  But like Jonathan Seagull’s doubters (a seagull cannot fly like a hawk!)  I was focusing too much on his limitations …

Niese had rhinoplasty after the 2011 season at the urging of ex-teammate Carlos Beltran. I knew what this was. Nasal deformity can result from skeletal hypoplasia or skeletal asymmetry and can cause an assortment of breathing problems up to and including sleep apnea. The problem can also affect nasal resonance (hyponasality), which can distort speech. I found it a little odd that a number of early stories found humor in Niese’s “nose job.” When you look at some older pictures of Niese, his nose deviated severely to his right. Functional rhinoplasty is actually a vital procedure for those who suffer from obstructed and malaligned nasal passages.

The surgery likely addressed some lingering asymmetry that was obstructing his airway. I’d learned about this stuff during a graduate practicum at the University of Minnesota’s Craniofacial Clinic (one of the top institutions of it’s kind in the nation). I knew that if the breathing was repaired it could potentially make a big difference in his O2 intake as an athlete, not to mention the far more significant effects of improved sleep (if apnea was an issue). Sure enough he had the best season of his career, going 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA. Jonathon was on the move again, defying expectations, ascending.

Jonathon pitched a hell of a gutsy game the other night. With brutal near blizzard conditions at game time the Mets came out and pounded Vance Worley with 5 quick runs in the first. Worley’s command was off, his pitches all appeared to be some version of a straight fastball, he had nothing. The Minnesota weather was brutal, I couldn’t imagine trying to grip a baseball in this stuff when you could barely feel your hands.

I had my fingers crossed when Niese came out and sure enough he ran into some trouble with a walk and a hit. Niese appeared to be having trouble locating his signature cutter. Buck went out and chatted with him and Niese seemed to settle down after that, sans the cutter. He relied mostly on his fastball and change with a few breaking balls thrown in for good measure. In the end, Niese gutted out 5 innings for the win with 4 earned runs, 4 walks and a strikeout, which, under the circumstances was nothing short of amazing. This quiet kid from Lima, Ohio is something else I thought. Pitching like a true ace, Jon Niese has become resilient, able to do what he has to to win even when his stuff isn’t there and the conditions are stacked against him.

On Saturday, the morning after Niese’s start, as the groundskeepers were doing their thing and hosing down the infield, Niese was the first guy out of the Met clubhouse doing laps. He was working on that conditioning that had made all the difference for him in 2012.

This kid has gone from the ninth pick of the 7th round of the draft, from his average days in the minors, from an uninspiring start to his major league career, to what he is now, which is one of the best starters in the league with a true knee-buckling curveball that has to be one of the toughest breaking pitches in the game.

I wouldn’t put anything past this guy. Like Jonathan Seagull, he is on a stratospheric trajectory. There’s no ceiling in sight for Mr. Niese, and I don’t think he’s set any limitations on where he may end up, so I certainly won’t.

The impression is the tail is wagging the dog when it comes to Mets’ starters, and this isn’t new. Pitchers tend to be divas by nature, but it has gone to another level with the Mets.

Clearly, free-agent Shaun Marcum did not report to spring training ready to go by telling Collins and GM Sandy Alderson he only needed four starts to get ready. He was allowed to set his own pace, but obviously didn’t have the track record to deserve it.

Marcum received cortisone injections in each of the last three years, and last spring was down for nearly three weeks. Without question, this is a guy who should not be setting his own program.

Marcum vows 200 innings, a level he’s only reached once since 2005. His lifetime 57-36 record was why Alderson gave him the benefit of doubt, but his 124 innings last year should have accounted for something.

Wasn’t Marcum’s history and workout program discussed? If it was, then why agree to this?

Santana does have the resume to set his own program, but abused it when he threw off the mound without Collins’ knowledge the first week of March.

The Mets said they monitored Santana in the off-season, and told him to go easy since he rehabbed the previous two winters. Something was lost in the communication as Santana wasn’t ready when spring training began and will open the season on the disabled list.

Collins said Santana knows his own body, but here’s a guy who hasn’t worked an inning all spring and at the beginning wanted to pitch in the World Baseball Classic. Had he done so, the results could have been career threatening.

Early in camp, after Alderson questioned Santana’s conditioning, the lefthander, angry with the Mets and media, threw off the mound without his manager’s knowledge. Collins wasn’t happy then and now must be fuming because Santana has done little since and has no set timetable. One must wonder how much that stunt set him back.

There are other examples of how the Mets let their starting pitches get away with setting their own routine that ended badly.

In 2009, Mike Pelfrey refused to go on the disabled list and miss a start and insisted on the start being pushed back. To placate him, the Mets brought up a starter from the minors, but to make room released reliever Darren O’Day, who only proved to be a key in the Rangers getting to the World Series twice.

O’Day has worked 247.2 innings in his five-year career with 217 strikeouts, 63 walks, a 2.73 ERA and 1.058 WHIP. The Mets don’t have anybody with that production in their current bullpen.

The Mets also let Pedro Martinez march to his own tune with mixed results for several years. Is Pedro pitching today? What’s going on with Pedro? It was like that every spring.

The Mets did everything they could, including alienating a future Hall of Famer, Tom Glavine, to placate Martinez and his whims.Of course, don’t forget Oliver Perez, whom former GM Omar Minaya signed to a disastrous three-year contract. The height of the absurdity is when Perez refused a minor league assignment – as was his contractual right – to work on his mechanics.

Consequently, the Mets carried him the rest of the season rather than release him and eat his contract, which they eventually did the following spring.

Funny, the Mets once had the stones – but no brains – and traded Tom Seaver, who wasn’t happy with his contract. Now it seems they don’t have either, as the trend is obvious, from Alderson to Minaya, and with each of the managers, to let some starters dictate to them how things would be and it turned out for the worse.

Will it be that way in 2013 with Marcum and Santana?

One thing the Mets may want to try is to move him to the bullpen. Give him the long-relief role, that way he can still eat innings for the Mets. In most long relief situations, he would be entering the game with a sizable lead or with the team down. That would likely take some pressure off of him and allow him to just focus on pitching.

Another idea is to send him down to the minors, if he would accept it. Hopefully, he won’t pull an Oliver Perez.

Sending a struggling pitcher down to the minors has worked before for the Mets. Remember Steve Trachsel? He did very well after returning from that minor league assignment.

It’s definitely worth a try in my opinion. Plus, even if it doesn’t work out, during the time Pelfrey is down, that gives the Mets space on the roster to have another pitcher, one who isn’t struggling.

Of course we can simply give up on him completely, but I don’t suggest that just yet. They can try to trade him and see what teams will give up for him.

I think the Mets should at least try to explore the possibility of sending Pelfrey to Buffalo to work on things. If he’s as talented as everyone says he is, he probably won’t be there long. And it could be great for his confidence.

Now for some of my thoughts about recent Mets events.

Johan Santana did pretty well in his first spring start. Although he didn’t hit 90 (according to the stadium’s radar gun), he has time before the regular season to get back into the 90′s.

I don’t like the Frank Francisco signing. I don’t have a particular reason why, it’s just a feeling I have. I don’t feel he is the right choice to be the Mets closer. Joe hit on some of his troubling trends. He could very well may be the solution for them, but I just don’t think he is.

I believe Mike Pelfrey‘s time as a Met will be ending sometime soon. By that I mean either this year or next. He isn’t being efficient enough for them, and his production isn’t helping them either. However, here’s an idea that might change that… Try moving him to the bullpen. They moved Oliver Perez to the bullpen when he wasn’t working out as a starter, why not try moving Pelfrey? While it didn’t work for Perez, it could work for Pelfrey.

Even though Hojo’s Mojo said that the Mets liked what they saw from C.J. Nitowski, I am wondering if he is even worth bringing in. Especially considering he hasn’t pitched on a Major League team since 2005. That raises some major doubts. If you remember, he played for the Mets before. In 2005, he pitched 5 games with the Mets, had an ERA of 0.00 and a record of 1-0. I just think the Mets would be making a huge mistake in signing him if they did.

As of this writing there have been 18 games played. In those games Mets pitching has currently walked 79 batters, 4 of which were intentional walks in just 160 innings pitched. The staff ERA is 5.25 and their WHIP is 1.62 this season. Already the staff has given up 20 home-runs as well.

The Mets walk too many batters and those walks almost always come back to haunt the team. It’s interesting that this season as of this writing, R.A Dickey has walked 12 batters in just 4 games.  None of those walks are intentional walks. Last year Dickey in 27 games walked just 42 batters. Now it’s also interesting to note that Dickey spent a good part of last year at Triple A, not working with Dan Warthen. Could it be coincidence? Absolutely, but the entire staff is having trouble throwing strikes. Another case would be Dillon Gee. Gee this past weekend had a great outing, he threw strikes. Overall he looked more composed than some of our starters out there. Once again he hasn’t worked with Warthen much at all.

Equally if not more so troubling than the walks is the injuries our pitchers have had under Warthen over the years. The starting staff over the last few seasons have battled injuries with Warthen as the pitching coach. There were reports in 2009 that Santana was skipping side sessions dealing with his elbow injury and Warthen did not know about that. I find that unacceptable. Santana is the ACE of the staff and he’s paid a lot of money to pitch but the pitching coach, whose job it is to know the health of his pitchers was not aware of the situation.

The pitchers under Warthen have also regressed. Look at Pelfrey and his struggles. Also Maine and Perez were coming along fine until the firing of Rick Peterson and the promotion of Dan Warthen.

Warthen also has a problem of talking to the media and saying things he shouldn’t. Let’s not forget last year and the fiasco with him calling John Maine a “habitual liar.” In Spring Training Warthen told the media and the rest of baseball that he believes Mejia would be a reliever instead of a top of the rotation starter. Not only did he go against what the team plans but he could have killed any potential value Mejia may have one day if the Mets wanted to trade him.

I was surprised that Warthen kept his job, though I guess I shouldn’t be with this GM and manager. Hopefully soon the Mets will realize that Warthen is doing more harm than good for the staff and part ways with him.

This is what addition by subtraction is all about!

Usually we’d wish former players the best of luck, but in this case we’ll just say, “Adiós amigos!”

I’m really looking forward to a great season in 2011. Jose Reyes is running without pain, Carlos Beltran insists he’ll be ready for Opening Day, Chris Young and Chris Capuano are healthy and having solid outings, and how great has Frankie Rodriguez looked this spring! 

I haven’t felt this excited about a new Mets season in a couple of years.

Lets Go Mets!

When the Sandy Alderson pulled the trigger and finally put to rest the piñata that Luis Castillo had become, through that awful contagious ailment called aging, all of us in Metdom can now finally breathe a partial sigh of relief. It struck me that so many of us would be partially sad for the guy.

The guy gets to live on a 6 million dollar paycheck if no other team see’s the innate value in a 35 year old second baseman with little to no range, bad wheels, and an even weaker slap hitter with a self-delusional mentality that he SHOULD be starting in the Majors. Now that’s winning my friends.

I guess if Castillo were more introspective and humble about his decline the anger that attaches to him like Velcro to pet hair wouldn’t be so vitriolic. Then again the infamous dropped pop up against the Yanks probably negates any good will we will ever have for him. It’s best for him to wade quietly into history along with the Bobby Bonilla’s and Vince Coleman’s of Met history.

THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN HERE….NO FURTHER!!

You got that right Captain baldy with the English accent that has the French sounding name. I have a feeling all the off-season hand wringing about Castillo and Perez and all on field Met issues are being dealt with dare I say – FAIRLY – by Alderson. But without a doubt, the line in the sand is being drawn.

Sure he could have listened to the many voices out there calling for the heads of those infamous Mets but he waited and apparently wanted to see for himself. Basically he gave them the rope and they obliged.

Of all the player moves Alderson has made so far, these moves could very well define him in the eyes of the fan base. He’s not deaf to our calls but he shouldn’t flick his finger into the wind and go where the breeze from all the hot air takes him.

We have about 2 weeks left to go in Spring Training and theoretically we don’t have a clear cut second baseman. I’m fine with that. Have them battle it out and compete for the job, as they have so far. Believe me, we aren’t going to collapse because we don’t have a Dan Uggla manning second. Relax.

As for Ollie Perez, what can we say that hasn’t been already? After imploding as a starter this Spring, Collins moved him to the pen, as a situational lefty. A 12 million dollar situational lefty? Who the hell do we think we are, the Yankees?

As of right now, the official word hasn’t been given by Alderson to release Perez. But if I were you I’d keep an eye on TMZ today, Ollie Perez would be the perfect replacement for Charlie Sheen, both overpaid underperforming, with serious control issues.

Maybe Perez could tryout for Major League III, he has years of practice pretending to be a Major Leaguer.

Updated 3/20 1:00 PM

Oliver Perez left the Mets complex this morning and was not told what was next for him, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. Costa also says that we should expect a decision by Monday.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said this morning that no decision has been reached yet on Perez, but there will be a meeting of the minds with Terry Colllins and Sandy Alderson on Monday.  – JD

Original Post 3/19 10:00 PM

Yesterday many Mets fans received the 4 words we’ve been praying for. METS CUT LUIS CASTILLO. How can life get better? Oh wait that’s right Oliver Perez still exists. So Sandy, your supposed to be this Anti-Omar, wizard of a GM. Why is Oliver Perez still on the team? Well if Sandy had any last thoughts on the matter, they have likely faded away after today’s performance.

Oliver Perez’s line vs. Nationals today – .2 IP..3 hits..2 ER..1 BB..and a big fat 8.38 ERA for the spring.

I’m sure someone is erasing Oliver Perez’s name from his Digital Domain parking spot as we speak. Likely by tomorrow the news will come down from upper management to go ahead and do the inevitable – Cut Ollie Perez. Sadly this is the best moment Mets fans like I have had to enjoy in awhile. But the facts were plain and simple. Oliver Perez is not worth a roster spot.

My guess was the Mets were only keeping him around for the chance he could be Terry Collin’s desired Long Reliever/2nd Lefty. Similar to Hisanori Takahashi last season except his name is Oliver Perez. The experiment is clearly not working.

The Contenders:

Chris Capuano- 4-4, 3.95 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 2.57 K/BB, 0.5 WAR, $1.5 million, 32 years old

Chris Young- 4-6, 5.21 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 1.25 K/BB, -0.5 WAR, $1.1 million, 32 years old (all stats from 2009)

The Darkhorse:

Dillon Gee- 2-2, 2.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 1.13 K/BB, 0.3 WAR, $400K, 25 years old

The Very Longshot:

Oliver Perez- 0-5, 6.80 ERA, 2.07 WHIP, 0.88 K/BB, -1.1 WAR, $12 million, 29 years old

It appears as if the Mets rotation is pretty much set going into the season, but there still is some uncertainty as to who will fill out the last two spots. It goes without saying that both Chris Capuano and Chris Young will make the Opening Day roster. However, it is definitely possible that one of them may actually pitch out of the bullpen.

Chris Capuano has now twice undergone Tommy John Surgery. Last year, Capuano appeared in 24 games and started only nine of them. However, he does have a track record of success when he is healthy. Capuano won 18 games in 2005 and was named to the All-Star team the following year. Capuano needs to prove that he is still healthy and that he can go deep into games if he wants to make the rotation.

Chris Young is another pitcher that has undergone surgery. Young had his shoulder repaired during the 2009 season. Young managed to pitch four games in 2010 and performed very well. He had a 0.90 ERA in those four starts. He also has the best track record of any pitcher on this list with a career 3.80 ERA. He appears to have the most solid hold on a rotation spot out of those in this group.

Dillon Gee was very impressive when he was called up to the majors late last season. However, Gee did struggle a bit in the minors. He posted a 4.96 ERA in 28 starts at Triple-A. At age 25, Gee is a bit old to be considered a prospect and now could be his chance to earn a spot with the big league team. He has a bit of a challenge ahead of him to make the roster, but with a good spring there is no reason that he can’t make the rotation.

There is only so much that can be said here about Oliver Perez. The only reason that he is even getting mentioned is because of a report that Perez has been promised a chance to make the starting rotation out of Spring Training. This seems highly unlikely however. Perez struggled in the Mexican League this winter and this is not a good sign for his chances of making the team. He will need to be lights out this spring to have any chance of making the roster, let alone the starting rotation.

It seems very likely that Chris Young will win the fourth spot in the rotation. If he proves that he is healthy during Spring Training, the spot should be his. If not, then things will get a bit more interesting.

Working under the assumption that Young is actually healthy, the fifth spot in the rotation is still up for grabs as well. The current favorite appears to be Capuano by a slim margin. Spring Training will be very important in determining who actually wins the spot. This may be going out on a limb here, but Dillon Gee will round out the Mets rotation come Opening Day.

The next questions are obviously what happens with Capuano and Perez. It makes sense that Capuano would serve as the long man out of the bullpen and he would also be the team’s spot starter. If Gee struggles early on, he can be moved into the rotation while Gee is sent down to the minors.

Oliver Perez obviously presents a much more pressing question: Will he be cut? This is a very difficult call to make based on the Wilpon’s current financial situation. While Perez’s contract is a sunk cost, the Wilpons may ask Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins to get some value out of their “asset”. It is difficult to see how this is possible. If Perez is willing to accept a minor league assignment than he will remain with the organization. If not, it appears that he may get cut.

Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel, the last 2 managers of the Mets ran their teams much like this. They would let the player decide things instead of managing the player and doing what was best for the team. I’m surprised that he would let a player decide where he would play. Everything we’ve heard about Collins is that he’s a take charge manager, the opposite of Willie and Jerry. In a perfect world it would be nice if Beltran would go to Collins and admit his days in center are done but we don’t live in a perfect world. Collins needs to do the job he was hired to do and manage the team. We’ve seen what happens when the manager does not have the control to do this.

What doesn’t surprise me is that Oliver Perez might have been given a guarantee that he’ll make the team regardless of his performance this Spring.  I knew Alderson would never allow a player making that much money to be released, regardless if his performance is not going to help the team. I understand wanting to get some value from Perez who is making 12 million dollars this season but this makes no sense. Sometimes you have to go against your “moneyball” philosophies and realize a player is just a lost cause.  I don’t understand the logic of having Perez occupy a roster spot again this year.  It’s not like the Mets are a team that can win with a 24 man roster, they need all the able players they can get to be productive.  I would much rather see a young pitcher like Gee who is hungry and wants to help this team win, make the team instead of Perez who twice refused to accept a minor league deal so he can rack up service time.

I understand Alderson and Collins inherited an aging Beltran and an awful Perez but they could do things differently than the past regimes.  The whole reason the Mets got rid of Omar and Jerry was because the way they were running the team was not working.  I don’t understand why Collins and Alderson are doing the same thing.  Hopefully they’ll learn from history otherwise we’re doomed to repeat it.

Now that Alderson has hired his front office and has his manager he can start paying more attention to the players.  As far as I can see Alderson has 3 options in regards to Oliver Perez.

• He can just cut ties with Oliver Perez and pay him his 12 million dollars.
• Let Ollie come to Spring Training.  Discuss with Terry Collins what role they think Ollie fits into, be it a lefty specialists, long relief or as a starter.  See how Ollie performs after getting all his work in Spring Training.  If Perez is still awful tell him that he can either accept a minor league assignment, work on what needs fixing and work your way back to the majors.  If he doesn’t accept that then just release him.
• Let him sit in the bullpen like last year, occupying a roster spot.

Option one makes no sense to me.  The Mets are going to have to pay him 12 million, no sense in cutting him before Spring Training ends.  Option 3 is also something that would be very foolish.  The Mets as they are constructed right now cannot afford to be one man short on their roster the entire year.  The only option that makes sense is option two.  I know Perez’s numbers in winter ball are underwhelming to say the least but I don’t put too much stock into winter ball numbers.  I want to see how Perez performs in Spring Training against major league talent.

I believe that Perez most likely will not be on the opening day roster.  For the last two years Perez has shown that he’s unwilling to take the minor league assignment and I cannot believe that Alderson and Collins will allow Perez to occupy a much needed roster spot.  That’s how the old administration worked, this is a new front office with a new manager, and they need to show that the old way of doing things is over.

Hopefully Alderson will finally cut loose the dead weight  that is Luis Castillo.  The Mets should have signed Hudson in 2009, but instead they let him go to the Dodgers.  Once again the Mets had another chance earlier this year to sign Hudson, but Omar didn’t.  Since things are supposed to be different now that the great and powerful Sandy Alderson is the General Manage,r hopefully this is the year Orlando Hudson will finally wear a Mets jersey.

Hudson is a 4 time gold glove winner.  Hudson is a career .280 hitter with a career on base percentage of .346.  Another great thing about Hudson is that he actually wants to be on the Mets. I can’t say that about too many players these days.

Hudson is a solid player who is also known to be a great clubhouse presence.

Hudson can still field which is something that cannot be said for our current second baseman Luis Castillo. Hudson can also hit and get on base which is something defensive-minded Ruben Tejada can’t do very well.  Hudson will also be a leader on a team that needs some real leadership.

Now I know Sandy Alderson doesn’t expect to be active in free agency, but this is a move that won’t cost much and needs to be made.  The lack of defense up the middle has really hurt the Mets the last several years.  I think Hudson will also be a great influence on Jose Reyes and I would love to see Hudson and Reyes turn some double plays next season.

Last season he played for the division winning Twins, and the season before that the first place Dodgers. His final season with the D’Backs saw them finish in second place in 2008, but they have finished last two straight  seasons since the O-Dog left.

Unfortunately, I’m sure Hudson will sign on with another team and have another good season while we’re left with Ruben Tejada, who really should spend more time seasoning in AAA , but maybe Alderson will prove me wrong.

1) The Ballpark: Citi Field is just too big! I know we’ve been saying that for the last 2 seasons but the Wilpons refuse to bring in the fences.  All you look at what happened to David Wright in his the first season at Citi Field.  His power numbers were down and the last 2 seasons his strikeouts have been on the rise.  Wright’s power at Shea was to the right center.  Citi Field’s right center is about 45-50 feet deeper than Shea’s and it has affected Wright negatively.  Some called it a fluke but then look at Jason Bay’s horrific first season.  The park took away his power. Citi Field without a doubt robbed Bay realistically of 5 homeruns and probably more.  The great fence of Flushing needs to go down too while we’re at it.  It’s time to admit the size of this park was a mistake and change it.

2) Coaching Staff: The entire coaching staff needs to go.  Howard Johnson has been a horrible hitting coach.  The situational hitting since Hojo took over has been non-existent.  It seems like Hojo would rather be their friends than a coach.  I get it he’s an 86 Met and the Wilpons are reluctant to fire him.  The Mets should just give Hojo a job with a nice title and a good payday and let him go away.  Dan Warthen also needs to go.  I know the pitching was better than expected this season but I don’t like all the injuries to our pitchers under his reign as pitching coach.  I didn’t like that in 2009 he didn’t know about Johan’s latest injury and he didn’t know that Santana was skipping side sessions.  I also didn’t like him calling Maine a habitual liar to the press. That’s just something you don’t say.  Razor Shines just needs to go.  Chip Hale seems to be a decent to good coach but at the same time Ron Darling mentioned many times throughout the season that Hale had been working with Wright and changing his defense.  Wright’s defense this year was pretty bad. He committed 20 errors and at times was slow in turning a double play.

3) The 3 Poisons (Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo): Once the Mets finally do hire a general manager that GM (Alderson) must find a way to get these three off this team! Castillo is done, he can’t hit and he has absolutely no range at 2nd base.  Castillo brings nothing to the New York Mets, time to cut ties with him. Oliver Perez should not be on this team, he has done nothing for the Mets since signing that contract.  Perez cares more about himself than the team as he repeatedly refused to go to the minor leagues.  He didn’t win 1 game in 2010!  If you look at the way the Mets played before the all-star break and after the break there’s a huge difference.  Carlos Beltran decided to finally grace the team with his presence and was supposed to be the spark for this team but unfortunately did nothing other than make outs at the plate and miss balls hit to center on defense. Beltran refused to move over to right field to allow the better player Angle Pagan to play center and help the team.  Let’s not forget that these guys also refused to go visit wounded soldiers with the rest of their team.  These guys are not team players, they’re hurting this team and it’s time to get rid of them.

The new GM when he/she is finally hired has a lot of work to do and a lot changes to make.  Without these changes we can expect another losing season.

Also among the victors, he listed the spoils… chief among them were Oliver Perez of whom he writes,

It wasn’t easy to hand the ever-popular Cy Yuk Award to someone who doesn’t work for the Pirates, the first staff since the 1946 A’s to produce three starters with at least 10 losses but no more than three wins. But when Perez is still in our midst, raking in his $12 million a year, that’s hard for even the Cy Yuk Award Committee to overlook. It was some year for Ollie, all right. He showed up in the box scores in 16 games. The Mets won one of them — on April 27, in a game in which Perez got gonged in the fourth inning. But that just got this guy rolling toward a truly historic disaster of a year. His record: 0-4. His WHIP: a terrifying 2.02. His ERA: a messy 6.65. His strikeout/walk ratio: an ugly 36 whiffs/39 walks. So how many other pitchers since 1900 who made as many starts and pitched as many innings as Ollie managed to rack up a WHIP and ERA as bad as this man’s and avoid winning a game, even by accident? Exactly one — Jim Converse, of the 1994 Mariners (0-5, 8.69). But those numbers only tell the story of Perez’s on-field debacle. Off the field, he was just as inspirational. He was so adamant about not going to the minor leagues to get his mechanics ironed out, the Mets all but invented an injury to send him out on a rehab option. After he returned, he was one of three Mets who skipped out on a team trip to visit wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. And his team was so delighted with his whole M.O., the Mets made it through 25 consecutive games in August without asking him to pitch once, even though he was on the active roster. No other pitcher on any club could make that claim, according to Elias. So it isn’t often you run across a pitcher who so clearly grasps the true essence of Cy Yuk-iness. But Ollie Perez — he gets it. In more ways than one.

That’s some harsh criticism, but definitely well deserved of course.

With all this talk of axing Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel and invoking change, I hope the first change we see after they get their ducks in order, is Oliver Perez getting jettisoned from the Mets 40 man roster.

Of all the players currently on the Mets and projected to be back in 2011, Perez is the one I mostly want to see gone for good.

Andy Martino of the Daily News reports that Oliver Perez has asked the Mets for permission to play winter ball in Mexico and that the front office is discussing the idea.

The Mets will likely allow Perez to play, a source said, but are looking into the legal ramifications. When a veteran with a long-term contract participates in winter ball, there are liability issues to work out, such as who is responsible in the event of an injury. Ultimately, though, it is a logical decision to have Perez attempt to establish some value this offseason.

“He is really eager to work and come back strong next year,” the source said.

Perez confirmed his desire to play this winter. “I haven’t pitched very much that past two years,” he said (because of a knee injury, Perez contributed only 66 innings in 2008, and has so far thrown just 46 this season). “I want to play, and get stronger again.”

There was some discussion that Perez would get a start in the coming days, but that will not happen and Ollie won’t start again for the Mets this season.

This should be a no-brainer for the Mets and I expect them to let Ollie pitch.

A solid performance in Winter Ball could make Perez more attractive to other teams and help the Mets find a taker for the remainder of his $12 million contract, although the Mets will still have to eat a significant portion of it.

A bad performance may give us a real sign of just how much autonomy the new general manager will actually have.

If Oliver Perez gets released this spring, than things might actually be looking up.

However, if Oliver Perez is still on the 2011 Opening Day roster, it means the Wilpons are still calling the shots and that not much has changed.

Picture it this way: would bloggers, local writers, fans, etc. be up in arms had it been, I don’t know, David Wright, Ike Davis and Jon Niese who didn’t attend?  Let’s say David Wright had to attend to a school opening in rural Virginia that he was responsible for, Ike Davis said he didn’t have to speak about non-baseball issues and Jon Niese, being a young guy, said veterans made him “uncomfortable.”

I think some of us would roll our eyes and go about our business, but because it happened to include Castillo, Perez, and Beltran — three Mets players who were not as much “prominent” as some writers suggested but under fire for underperformance in particular — THEN it became a story.  Chances are, if Wright, Davis or Niese didn’t attend, most of us would shrug and say, “Meh, whatever.  It wasn’t mandatory.”  My guess is we’d have never heard about the great things that Fred Wilpon and particularly Sterling Enterprises do for veterans, if at all.  It would have quietly been kept under wraps, as most charitable works are.  Which is sad, because the team really is getting one thing right, at least on the paying-it-forward department.

What really gets my goat here is the timing.  Far be it for me to defend Castillo or Perez, but I happen to think Beltran has been taking too much criticism these days.  Anyway, the whole propaganda about three Mets who are recently being called into question for various reasons are being thrown under the bus once again for being non-patriotic, or seemingly so.  I have even heard some fans say, “Well they are not citizens,” or “they are not FROM here.”  Well, technically, they aren’t “from here” but Beltran is most definitely a U.S. citizen.  You know what is sad about this whole situation?  That the 30 players who DID make the trip, some of them not U.S. born, were not mentioned.  The good that came out of the Mets players’ visits to the veterans’ morale.  That is what is missing in these stories.  But no, because it was the Mets, because it happened to center around these two players, I guess the press saw a GOLD MINE of material.

There are two very big reasons why these three were called into question  One is that we are two days away from the saddest day in U.S. history.  New Yorkers, in general, are incredibly sensitive to any perceived anti-patriotism, especially so close to home.  The general feeling is, these three guys are given the opportunity to make exorbitant amounts of money in this very country, and they can’t even take an hour or two out of their schedule to visit soldiers who fight for their right to make said money (among other things).

The other reason is something anyone with any working senses can get: the Mets want these guys to be as uncomfortable as possible.  In the same town where Dick Young had a hand (or “underhand”) in driving The Franchise out of town, the Mets are doing the same by planting seeds that these guys don’t support our country, our troops and don’t support YOU, the tax-paying citizens who keep this country great.  So let’s make their lives as miserable as possible so they no longer want to play here, that they “retire” or “quit” on their own.  Although that won’t happen, my feeling is this is more directed at Beltran, with his backloaded contract, the Mets I’m sure would like nothing more than to have him waive his no-trade clause and wave bye-bye to New York.

Just merely an observation that I’ve made.

Don’t get me wrong.  I get the discord, I get why people are upset.  What I don’t get is the vitriol behind it.  The New York media of course is ALL OVER this like white on rice because of the significant heart-string impact it will make.  Not only with the timing of a sensitive historical event but because Mets fans have made it clear that these three guys are the bane of their existence.

Of course I recognize these guys have not made a good case for themselves with this particular visit.  Beltran is the only player who has somewhat taken the high road, saying that he had visited veterans with Fred Wilpon (who should be applauded for his support of these worthy causes), but he had to attend to personal business with his charities in Puerto Rico.  With that logic, shouldn’t we call Carlos Beltran PATRIOTIC for using his wealth and philanthropy for the common good in his native land?

Castillo and Perez did not help their case with their excuses.  Castillo gets “squeamish?”  You know what makes me squeamish?  Watching you try to catch a routine pop-up, Louie.  As for Perez, that is such a scripted Boras answer, it’s not even funny.  However, to play devil’s advocate, I do want to point out they didn’t HAVE to attend.  What I will say is…Luis.  There is this great saying and it goes like this: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

Far be it for me to defend these guys though, but this is a non-issue, a story on an off-day that the press is all over.  The local press members don’t have to read several blogs to know that these three particular players are on the doo-doo list of most fans (not to mention the team’s management).  This was SO EASY to do.  Cast these guys is as unappealing light as possible, then let the vitriol commence.

This was a case of cheap and schlock journalism.  If we don’t see that, then we are part of the problem, too.

My friend Dave Singer over at NY Sports Dog possibly said it best today: the veterans at Walter Reed fought for personal freedom and choice.  Like it or not, Beltran, Castillo and Perez did what was within their rights.  Deal with it.

Now is the time to let Ollie see some action. The Mets are just playing out the rest of the season and are using Oliver Perez the same way they were when the they were in contention. The Mets need to use Oliver Perez frequently whether it is out of the bullpen or as a starter in order to build his trade value. Oliver has barely pitched this year and when he has it has been bad. Perez has a 6.65 earned run average in 46 innings this season, and that isn’t very appealing to potential suitors for Ollie. Lowering an ERA that high cannot be that hard, even for Oliver Perez. If Perez can string a few decent relief outings or maybe a few decent starts this month, he can lower that atrocious ERA and build himself some trade value. With the lack of use Ollie is getting, it is impossible for him to build up trade value.

With the amount of use Perez is seeing, it will be very hard for the Mets to deal him to another team this off season. The Mets cannot afford to go into another season with Oliver Perez on the roster. If Ollie can pitch decently down the stretch to prove that he is at least healthy, a team may be willing to take a chance on Perez because of his past success and because of his “potential”. Hopefully Perez begins to see some more action this week and builds his trade value so that we don’t have to see him in a Mets uniform in 2011.

There’s some good news and there’s some bad news about Oliver Perez.  The bad news is he’s under contract for the 2011 season.  The good news is that 2011 is the last year of Ollie’s contract.  2010 is done for the not so amazin’ Mets.  Hopefully 2011 will be better for the Mets.  The Mets have a lot of questions next year and one big question is what will be done with Oliver Perez.

Perez after 2010 will still be owed 12 million dollars by the Mets.  Oliver Perez has not won a game this season.  His ERA is over 6!  Ollie spent time on the DL with an “injured knee” before coming back to the bullpen.  Perez has hardly worked out of the pen and rightfully so.  Unfortunately while Perez sits on his backside in the pen, thinking about how he’s going to play around with his facial hair he is occupying a much needed roster spot.  This cannot happen next year!  Perez is not going to change, it’s time to release him, 12 million dollars or not!

I understand 12 million dollars is a lot of money, especially with owners who are in financial trouble.  I don’t understand the thinking that it’s better to pay Perez to suit up, sit in the pen and take a roster spot.  Perez if he has to sit in the pen again next year also hurts the strength of the pen as the manager next year will not have a complete pen to manage.  Not only does releasing Ollie free up a roster spot, it does send a message to the rest of the team that the kind of play we’ve seen the last few years will not be tolerated regardless of what you’re being paid which let’s face it, this team needs a jolt like that.  There are too many guys on this team, veterans and rookies alike that are too comfortable, sending Perez packing will hopefully change the mindset of some of these players and make them play harder.