Don’t Take The Bait On Pelfrey Comments

Before we go any further, I need you to do two things.

1. Understand this post is not about Mike Pelfrey’s performance in 2011 or whether or not I feel he should play a role in future seasons.  Those are topics for another time.
2. Read this article by the New York Post’s Mike Puma.

This article reeks of a setup.  It reads as if Puma went fishing for something “controversial”, took a portion of what Pelfrey gave him, fed it to the anonymous Met in the piece, and got a reaction he could go to print with.

Take a look at the state of the 2011 Mets and convince me I’m wrong.

• Hopes of the post season are over, so writing about a pennant chase is out.
• The front office has a plan, is sticking to that plan, and is no longer fodder for interesting material.
• The Wilpons have been eerily quiet and uncontroversial since Fred hit bottom back in April.
• Nothing very relevant has developed with the Madoff Mess recently.
• Terry Collins has control of the clubhouse, and all of the players understand their roles and are giving max effort.

What in the world can the media write about to obtain top advertising dollars?

I will give Puma some credit.  He does attempt to be fair by including Pelf’s approval of the organization’s future direction, and his desire to remain a Met.

Shame on the anonymous Met quoted in the piece.  Regardless of how you feel about how well Pelfrey has performed this season, you should know better than to go off on him in front of a reporter/reporters.  Surely you knew said reporter’s motive was to create a controversy to write about.  You flat-out have to be smarter than that.

That being said, this is much a do about nothing.  Don’t take the bait.

UPDATE:  The Day After

For the first time in quite some time I was disappointed with SNY’s Gary Cohen and Ron Darling.  I stopped listening to last night’s telecast right before Pelf got drilled with the line drive.  Turned the volume off and just watched.  It troubled me that no one seemed to pick up that the quote attributed to Pelf was clearly a portion of a larger conversation. 

Don’t worry Gary and Ron, you’re still the best in the biz, no one’s perfect. 

Don’t get me wrong, Pelf shouldn’t have started talking about this year’s playoff hopes not being realistic.  However, I don’t feel it’s fair to bash him without being able to read the entire statement/quote.

Again, why aren’t more people bothered by the  “anonymous” teammate?

For the record, here’s Pelfrey’s thoughts about the quote provided by ESPN New York:

As for his comments in the Post, Pelfrey said his thoughts were taken out of context and misinterpreted during what he thought was a positive conversation.

“I didn’t think I said a negative thing,” he said. “That is why I was shocked.”

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.

Pelfrey Walks The Walk

“I understand that if you want to get something back for him you have to trade him, but in the same sense I would think if we ended up getting rid of him, the front office’s view is that we don’t have a chance, because he gives us our best chance to win. If he’s not here, then they felt we can’t rebound from where we’re at.

In the past we’ve kind of been close, and moves are kind of made at the deadline where guys are kind of like ‘We could have used this, we could have used that and been right there.’ “It hasn’t happened a couple of times, and I know it’s kind of gotten to some guys.”- Mike Pelfrey

The comment above from Big Pelf is an example of the white flag talk I referenced last night.  When I read this last night I was disappointed in Pelfrey.

I understand that as a pitcher losing Beltran doesn’t exactly help his potential run support.  But this is a classic case of someone who needs to take a look in the mirror.  The number one thing the Mets need to do is bolster their pitching in order to compete.  Maybe Mike knows that and that is why he is a bit chippy on this matter.

Regardless, this kind of talk doesn’t help.  The only thing that does is winning games. All he can do is go out and pitch to his potential and prove the front office wrong.

That is exactly what he did last night.  I was extremely impressed with his performance.  We all know his propensity for difficulty on the road.  Not only did he turn in a quality start, but he goes the distance in a very efficient way.

I was nervous about this particular match up too.  The Reds had two very dangerous lefties in Votto and Bruce that Big Pelf had to face in a home run friendly park.  Not exactly the combination that favors him.

Hopefully, this is the type of pitching we will see from Pelfrey for the rest of the season.  If so, I will be more tolerant with him if he decides to comment about roster moves by the front office.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.

 

Time To Build The 2012 Mets

Life is unfair and so is Major League Baseball.  If the Mets were in the National League Central they would be in the hunt for a division title.  They’re not, so it’s time friends.  Time for Mr. Alderson to show us what he can do.

He has given Terry Collins and his players enough time to prove they can compete for a playoff spot.  After this weekend’s disappointing series loss, it is clear that chances are slim to none, and slim left town with Logan Morrison’s eighth inning home run this afternoon.

As much as I don’t want to see it, I know Carlos Beltran will be dealt.  It also seems pretty clear that Jose Reyes is staying and the Mets are going to attempt to re-sign him.

What isn’t clear, is what else Sandy Alderson has in the works. Between now and opening day of 2012, Mr. Alderson has his work cut out for him.

Being the giver that I am, I figured I’d share with him who I’d like to see move on.

• Mike Pelfrey– I like Big Pelf and will always hope he does well.  However, I feel as if he has peaked as a Met and needs a change of scenery to see if he can thrive elsewhere.  The Mets have given him an ample amount of opportunities to prove he can be a reliable starter.  Too many ups and downs for me.
• Jason Bay– He’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but he belongs on this list for obvious reasons.  Maybe the Mets’ front office can blackmail high ranking officials from another team forcing them to make a deal for Bay.  It could happen.
• Angel Pagan– Similar to Pelfrey, Angel has been given plenty of opportunities to prove he can be an impact player.  He has regressed this year and his decision making ability irks me.
• Ryota Igarashi– Iggy is a bust.  His 6.25 ERA in 53 career appearances is explanation enough.
• D.J. Carrasco– Wasn’t a huge fan of his signing, and he hasn’t disproved my initial opinion.
• Bobby Parnell-  Parnell is last on this list for a reason.  I am still holding on to hope that the time he has remaining with Jason Isringhausen will help him get over the hump mentally.  Clearly he has electric stuff, he just doesn’t carry himself as if he believes in it.

I realize some of these players will log innings for the Mets in 2012 just as it is a reality that a number of players I didn’t list will not.  I just figured Mr. Alderson would want to get some feedback from Midwestropolitan.com before he starts building the 2012 Mets.

Good luck Mr. A., we believe in you.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.

 

Take That You Stupid Wall

Instead of crashing into the wall in Chavez Ravine, Jason Bay was blasting baseballs over it.  A much better option for him and the Mets I might add.

Combined with a shaky but effective start by Mike Pelfrey, the Mets uncharacteristically flexed their muscles scoring all six of their runs on the long ball.   My All-Star and your All-Star, Carlos Beltran got the night going in the fifth with a two run blast to left center.

Jason Bay took over from there.  He began his power display in the sixth inning with a 420 foot shot to left center.  Jason then put the game out of reach in the eighth inning, providing a three run knock to right field.

A Midwestropolitan Reaction

Obviously, the Mets are a very different team when Jason Bay hits.  He has been showing signs as of late and I can only hope that his performance in this game means he is embarking on a hot streak.

His second home run impressed me more than his first even though it was almost 40 feet shorter.  The fact that he took an outside off speed pitch to right field for power is a great improvement from waving and missing or rolling over weakly to the left side.

Mike Pelfrey was able to avoid trouble all game long.  Not exactly how I would prefer it, but I’ll take it any day. Maybe this kind of start will give him some confidence because he proved to himself he can pitch out of multiple jams.

As much as I like Jason Isringhausen, he is scaring me.  I can’t remember the last time he appeared in a game and came up with an easy inning.

On to game three which gives us the match up of Jon Niese versus Hiroki Kuroda, a pitcher that possesses the rare combination of a 6-9 record with a 2.90 ERA.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  or like us on Facebook.

The Big Pelf Predicament

“You’re happy we had a good road trip.  We won two series from two very good teams. But I want to get in on the winning, too. We went 4-2, and I pitched the two games we lost. So that’s tough from that standpoint. 

It’s not where I wanted to be.  It’s not what I envisioned. It’s not what I planned. I have to have a lot better second half. Obviously I thought that May and June was a lot better than April. April was bad. But I thought the last two months have been better. But this was a bad road trip for me.” -Mike Pelfrey

Mike Pelfrey is a guy we all want to like. He works hard, says all the right things, and is also a home grown talent.  Hell, he’s even a Midwestropolitan to boot!

Despite all of that, he is quite the frustrating figure in Metland.  What is it about Big Pelf that drives us crazy at times?

I have one word for you my friends………inconsistency.

He has the ability to dominate, just look at his complete game against the Angels on June 18th for proof. But then there are the starts like yesterday in which he struggles mightily locating pitches and doesn’t make it out of the fifth inning.

The interesting thing about Big Pelf’s inconsistencies is that it comes in waves.  He’ll have a handful of starts in which he is all world, and then we are privy to very forgettable games of five inning or less efforts.

See?

Date	Opponent	Score	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K		W	L	SV	BS	HLD	IP	ERA
Jun 30	@ DET	L 2-5	L	4.2	8	5	4	1	5	3		4	7	0	0	0	100.2	4.92
Jun 24	@ TEX	L 1-8	L	6.0	8	4	4	1	2	3		4	6	0	0	0	96.0	4.78
Jun 18	LAA	W 6-1	W	9.0	5	1	1	1	0	5		4	5	0	0	0	90.0	4.70
Jun 13	@ PIT	L 1-3	L	7.0	4	2	2	1	0	6		3	5	0	0	0	81.0	5.11
Jun 8	@ MIL	L 6-7	–	6.0	4	2	2	1	0	2		3	4	0	0	0	74.0	5.35
Jun 2	PIT	W 9-8	–	5.0	10	7	7	1	1	3		3	4	0	0	0	68.0	5.56
May 28	PHI	L 2-5	–	7.2	4	2	2	0	2	6		3	4	0	0	0	63.0	5.00
May 22	@ NYY	L 3-9	L	6.0	8	5	5	1	2	4		3	4	0	0	0	55.1	5.37
May 16	FLA	L 1-2	–	7.0	6	1	1	1	2	1		3	3	0	0	0	49.1	5.11
May 10	@ COL	W 4-3	W	6.2	6	3	3	3	1	2		3	3	0	0	0	42.1	5.74

Editor’s Note:  Forgive the bunchiness of this table.  Our design team wasted this month’s budget on beer and Ho-Hos.

The sad thing is that I’m not sure we will ever see Big Pelf figure it out.  He’s been around long enough to give us a large enough sample size where trends are hard to ignore.  The inconsistency can also be see if you look at his seasons as a whole.  He’ll give us a year in which some start proclaiming he has it all figured out.  Then he follows it up with a fifth man/long reliever type season.

Check out the pattern in the years he has started at least 30 games (including the current season).  Bad, good, bad, good.

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2006	NYM	4	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
2007	NYM	15	21	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	9	0	0	.095	.136	.143	.279
2008	NYM	30	59	4	5	0	0	0	2	4	18	0	0	.085	.156	.085	.241
2009	NYM	29	52	4	5	1	0	0	4	2	12	0	0	.096	.143	.115	.258
2010	NYM	32	62	2	7	0	0	0	3	2	13	0	0	.113	.141	.113	.254
2011	NYM	14	26	1	1	1	0	0	2	1	7	0	0	.038	.074	.077	.151

Editor’s second note:  Damnit guys!  I told you about the beer and Ho Hos!

I was pretty good at figuring out patterns in kindergarten so I’ll help you out.  We are in the middle of a bad year.  You know what that means right?  If the Mets wind up parting ways with Mike for some reason, be prepared for a stellar year from him in 2012.

So here’s my plan.  Demote him to the bullpen if Johan comes back this season.  Keep him for one more year and then try to part ways with him in the winter of 2012/2013.

Fourteen Runs?!?

With 8,000 other Mets blogs out there surely you’ve read a riveting recap of the Mets 14-5 win by now. So, as always, I’ll take no part in that.

Anyway, the 14 run outburst had me wondering just how good the Mets offense is. Naturally I consulted the Midwestropolitan Research staff, and let’s just say I was surprised to find that the Mets are the highest scoring team in the division.

Ok, Atlanta, Washington and Florida are all pretty bad offensively. But I figured at least Philadelphia would be ahead of New York (the Mets hold a 12-run advantage, 329-317).

The difference? The Phillies lead the NL in ERA and the Mets are 12th, almost a full run higher. That’s why the Mets only (slim) shot is the Wild Card…unless another one of the fantastic four goes down to injury…

So who is to blame?

Well, the Mets team ERA of 3.99 would be pretty awesome any other year, but it is the year of the pitcher. Clearly Mike Pelfrey (4.78 ERA) is the one dragging down the starting staff. Capuano has picked it up, Gee has been great, Dickey gets no run support and Niese is solid.

Four names have really messed up any chance of the team having a lower ERA though – Carrasco, Misch, Boyer, and Acosta. All of them have 5 or more games pitched and an ERA ranging from 6 point something to 11 point something.

The Point?

There is none!

Beat Like A Rented Mule

Pretty much a pointless game tonight as the Mets got lit up like Tom at dollar beer night.  Fortunately, we have avoided this type of loss for the most part this season.

Here’s a run down of what I took from this game.  I’ve got to warn you, it isn’t pretty:

• This might have been Manny Acosta’s last appearance in a while.  If the Mets stay true to form, I could easily see him being designated for assignment.  I can’t say I’d be too heart broken if this were to happen.  He isn’t a viable option in the bullpen anymore.
• The Rangers reminded me of what power in a lineup can do to an opponent.  Three bombs with runners on sealed any hope of the Mets clawing back in this one.
• It seemed as if the Mets started this contest down six runs.  They just never appeared to be remotely close in this game.
• Mike Pelfrey was disappointing tonight.  His up and down 2011 continues.  Wave bye bye to his quality start streak which ended at three.
• On a positive note, Jason Bay went 3 for 4 (all singles).  Maybe he is slowly inching closer to the day when he will produce a few extra base hits.

Well, at least this means the Mets have only two more games remaining against the defending AL Champs.  I am still holding on to some hope that the Mets can steal one in Arlington tomorrow or Sunday.

Texas Walker Rangers Series Expectations

Yup, you guessed it.  Had to do it.

I have to admit, it didn’t take me very long to determine what my expectations would be for the Rangers series.  I’ve got the Mets dropping two of three.

Why?

1.  It’s kind of obvious isn’t it?

2.  The Rangers’ offense is flat-out scary.

3.  Their starting pitching is solid.

I see the Rangers building multiple run leads in their two wins and their weak bullpen barely hanging on.  The sole Mets win will come from a dominating start from either Pelfrey, Niese, or Gee.

Why Not?

1.  The Mets get two dominating starts from Pelfrey, Niese, or Gee.

2.  The offense displays an uncharacteristic display of power in the hot and muggy Texas nights.

3.  The Rangers get so focused on the Mets stealing of their signature “Claw” hand gesture that they lose concentration during the series.

Speaking Of The Claw

I’ve been meaning to bring this up.  Does it bother anyone that the Mets have adopted a version of the Claw when they get a hit?

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t lose sleep over it, but I will admit the first time I saw Jose and crew throw up their long distance high-five I felt a twinge of disappointment that the guys didn’t come up with something more original.

I did ask the Midwestropolitan Research Staff to look into this matter.  They informed me that the claw has actually been adopted by multiple teams including the San Francisco Giants.  Keep that in mind as this will inevitably come up on message boards this weekend.

I enjoyed the following comment regarding this little issue:

“The Rangers stole their uniform and name form a hockey team, so they shouldn’t complain.”-Machinehead 4 Hart

The way I see it, the Rangers should be honored that other teams have copied their style.  Too bad they didn’t trademark it.

You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?

This may come as a shock to you but there are many in the Midwest that believe that people on the East Coast, particularly those in The Big Apple, have potty mouths.  During our in-depth research on the Bitchin’ Internet we have discovered that it is possible that Texas Ranger fans may take the cake in terms of their love of expletives.

Check out the comment thread in this post. Wowza! 

The Midwestropolitan Statistics Department provided the following metrics regarding the love of profanity:

• 10 F-Bombs
• 2 Asses
• 1 Shit

Not only did we discover they love some cussin’, but they also seem to have a deep dislike for columnist Randy Galloway.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  or like us on Facebook.

Being Stingy With Walks = Success For Big Pelf

Mike Pelfrey picked a nice time to throw one of the best games of his career.  For that, I am thankful.

Obviously, you want your starter to perform well no matter who takes the hill.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s a double bonus every time Pelfrey brings his A game because he is a home-grown Met and he is a Midwestropolitan.  His successes are sweeter and failures sting a bit more.

For one batter, Big Pelf reminded me of 2006.  The crowd rising to their feet for the last hitter brought an electricity to Citi that I haven’t seen before.  It was refreshing.

Tonight’s gem was Pelfrey’s eighth quality start of the season.  More importantly, they have all come in his last 11 starts.

So why the success?  He is walking far fewer batters.  In fact, this is his third start in a row in which he hasn’t given up a single base on balls.  I know.  Now that I said that, he’ll probably walk four or five the next time out.

Pelfrey attributes this to better command of his fastball.  It’s funny how the simple things are huge in this game isn’t it?

He also had the following to say in his post-game interview:

“In April i tried to do too much.  I wanted to be TOO good.”

Suffice it to say, looks like he let the added pressure of being the #1 guy get to him.  Seems like the best thing he did was figure out he needed to stay within himself to be more successful.

Resting The Bullpen

Does anyone else find it funny when people in baseball talk about resting the bullpen like they are these really fragile creatures?  I get you want them as fresh as possible, but to me the bigger problem is your “best” pitchers aren’t getting the job done rather than your bullpen being tired.

When you stop and think about it, the reality is every team is trying to avoid using the guys in the pen.  In a perfect world the starters would throw complete games all the time.  So why do we use language like “protecting the bullpen” when we are really trying to avoid them like the plague?

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  or like us on Facebook.

Unites States of America California Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Series Expectations

I’m going to cut to the chase here.  The Mets should win their upcoming series against the Angels. The Angels are struggling lately, and the Mets continue to show the league that they are a tough team to defeat.

I’ve got the Mets favored in two of the three pitching match ups as I am giving an edge to the Angels in the Haren vs. Pelfrey game.  Big Pelf should have a good showing but I would be silly not to give Haren and his 2.54 ERA the nod.

What To Watch For

How will Francisco Rodriguez and D.J. Carrasco react to last night’s melt down?

Depending how you look at it, fortunately or unfortunately, KRod has been here before.  We all know full well he has the ability to bounce back mentally from dramatic blown saves.

Carrasco’s case is a little more interesting.  Balking in a winning run isn’t exactly a run of the mill way to lose a ball game.  I am not sure how that will affect his psyche considering the fact that he has been fighting for his roster spot all season long.  He is a veteran pitcher so you would think he has the mental game to put this behind him.

Is Jason Bay Breaking Out of His Slump?

Lost in last night’s drama was Bay’s second consecutive multi-hit game.  He even drove in a run last night.  It is crazy to thing about what the Mets can do if he starts producing.

The Reyes Watch Continues

Jose is now batting a robust .348 after his 3 for 6 performance last night.  That is nutty and for some it might even make them cringe as they worry about his value increasing with every hit.  I don’t buy into the Jose is unaffordable talk.  People tend to forget that the Mets have quite a bit of salary coming off the books next season.  They can afford him.  The issue then becomes what can they afford after they pay him.

The only thing that annoys me is reading about every other team salivating over him.  Check out this post to see what kind of package the Angels Fans feel they could put together to obtain Jose’s service.  The fact that other teams covet one of our players isn’t the annoying part.  Picturing him in that team’s uniform is what gets me.

How Long Will Tom Continue To Use The Term Brah?

Tom has found a new favorite term. Check out the comment section in my last post.  I have to admit, it is quite fun to use.  And it is one of those phrases that you can stick on the end of every sentence so it has multiple uses.  For example:  Why do the Angels seem to be in love with over the hill center fielders Brah?

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  or like us on Facebook.