I was happy to see Andrew Keh of the New York Times hit on something that his been really bugging me this season and that is the play of Mets centerfielder Andres Torres.

I find myself either screaming at him for some dumb misplay on the field or running the bases, or rooting and cheering him on when he ignites a rally… Oftentimes this happens in the same game… He drives me insane…

Take this weekend for example, Keh with the play-by-play:

On Friday, with R. A. Dickey pitching another gem, Torres allowed a softly hit fly ball to drop in front of him for a single in the third inning. Dickey did not give up another hit until the seventh.

On Saturday, Torres made two glaring base-running gaffes. He reached on an error in the first inning but was doubled off first base on a flyout. He reached base again in the third on a fielder’s choice, but he was picked off one batter later by the Dodgers’ catcher, A. J. Ellis.

On Sunday, Torres was picked off in the first inning after being badly deceived by Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw.

Torres was the other player in the trade for Ramon Ramirez that saw Angel Pagan get shipped off to the San Francisco Giants where he happens to be having a stellar season with them as a matter of fact.

The reasoning behind the deal at the time was to upgrade the bullpen and also upgrade in centerfield, neither of which ever materialized for the Mets.

As we approach the All-Star break, Andres Torres is batting .205 and in 195 plate appearances he has a .332 OBP and .292 slugging, and as for his speed, Torres has nine swipes to go with four caught stealings.

In comparison, Pagan has a .295/.341/.416 slash with 14 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 38 runs, 31 RBI and 15 stolen bases with just 2 caught stealing.

The huge defensive upgrade in center field was greatly exaggerated as well as Pagan’s .975 FP is just a bit higher than Torres’ .963, but basically it’s a wash.

At this point I’d rather see Kirk Nieuwenhuis playing center field when he’s in the lineup against right-handed pitching.

Keh wraps up his piece with a quote from Torres:

“I’ve been having a great time because we’re winning, and we’re playing some good baseball,” Torres said.

But after a pause, Torres said he knew one thing that would make it more enjoyable.

“I wish I was hitting more,” he said.

That makes five-million of us.

And as for reliever Ramon Ramirez, he’s left a lot to be desired so far, but that’s fodder for another post.