Here’s a great Q&A I did with William Price of the Daily News, better known to all of you as The Bitter Bill. Bill was nice enough to answer some questions for us about the upcoming Mets season as well as some other things orange and blue. I’ve been a longtime follower of his blog, and you should be too, otherwise you wouldn’t have to miss gems like this little nugget he had in this mornings blog post.
As for Manuel, I took a shot at him the other day for comparing Jenrry Mejia to Mariano Rivera because they have similar cutters. But Mejia said yesterday he doesn’t even throw a cutter, rather his heater has so much movement it looks like a cutter. Good to hear Manuel is on top of things.
Poor Jerry, it’s only March 1st and already he’s fumbling his words…
Okay, here goes…
1. What are the two biggest keys for the Mets this season, and do you think they have a shot at unseating the Phillies and winning the division?
The first key is Pelfrey, Maine and Perez all staying healthy and all getting their acts together. There’s no room for error. The other key is David Wright rediscovering his power stroke. If he’s not a threat, the lineup is mediocre at best. As for having a shot at the Phils, yes, but it’s a longshot, everything must break right to have a chance.
2. As you wrote in your blog post last Friday, Jerry Manuel wants to bat Joey Kings, as you call him, third rather than leadoff. Good or bad idea?
It’s not a horrible idea, but I don’t like the fact that he will likely go back to leadoff when Beltran returns. Why mess around with him for two months? It doesn’t make much sense.
3. Who do you think will eventually have a bigger impact on the Mets between Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Jenrry Mejia?
Mejia. I’ll take a young pitcher any day of the week.
4. I think all of us can agree that the Mets could have had a better offseason. What one player that got away, would you have wanted to see on the Mets in 2010?
I think Lackey is the guy they should’ve went after. He would’ve taken so much pressure off Pelf, Maine and Ollie and our bullpen. True, it may have cost us Bay, but there were plenty of outfielders out there, but clearly not many big-time pitchers.
5. The Mets promised that they would correct the obvious communication gap last season between the medical team, the players, and everyone in the front office. Have they? And could it create more problems down the road? Do you think that kind of stuff really affects a players decision to sign with a team?
I can’t be sure if the problem is fixed, but the Beltran fiasco certainly makes it appear as if is hasn’t. As for players’ decision to sign with a team, unless the doctors are signing the checks, they are a non-factor.
How many homeruns will Jason Bay hit in 2010? 26
Will Omar Minaya still be the GM on July 15th? Yes
Which TV Drama will best describe the 2010 Mets? 1. Heroes 2. Breaking Bad 3. Greys Anatomy. No TV show comes close, but how about Hurt Locker? (Whew, I’m just glad you didn’t say Titanic.)
Besides Johan Santana, will any Mets starter win 15 or more games? No
Have you ever lobby Jeff Wilpon for a front office position? Does Mr. Met count as a front-office position? (He most certainly does count as a front office position!)
Sweet Caroline for Mets sing-along: Good or Totally Sucks? Awful. Can the Mets come up with anything original? Can we just bring back the Curly Shuffle for goodness sakes?
Whose uniform number should the Mets retire next? They should retire No. 17 next, but Piazza will likely be the next guy. If not, it will likely be No. 5 in about 20 years.
What Star Wars character best describes Jeff Francoeur? I’d have to say Chewbacca. He’s big, kind of goofy and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of him. I wonder if he can make that noise. (I see him more like Luke, sweeping in to destroy the Death Saber Star and save the Mets universe.)
Is Johan Santana better than Roy Halladay? Roy who?
If you were stranded on deserted island and could have a lifetime supply of one of the following gastronomical delights, which one do you go for? (1. Nathans Hot dogs 2. Shack Burgers 3. Blue Smoke Pulled Pork Sandwiches) I would have to pick the flat Harry M. Stevens beer with the plastic lids and nice cold Shea Stadium pretzel. (Ahh, manna from heaven…)
You rock dude!
Thank you for taking some time out of your hectic day for us. We look forward to following the Mets via your blog The Bitter Bill at the Daily News. And for even more of Bill’s keen insights I urge you to follow him on Twitter.
