We’re Still Watching

At the beginning of the season, April 4th to be exact, I shared something with you that is contrary to what most bloggers believe:

“A message to new readers of this blog:

I am not a believer of forcing the issue,  in terms of providing content for this blog that is.  I do enjoy the stolen base and the squeeze bunt however.

Although I have been writing quite frequently lately, there will be times when that is not the case.  You see, I believe in quality not quantity.  The quality part is a matter of debate for some of you I’m sure.

There are a number of great Mets Blogs out in the blogosphere which helps makes this team fun to follow.  There are also a number of them out there that aren’t so great.  One reason for this, in my humble opinion, is some people tend to force the issue and post content just for the sake of posting content.”- Me

I share this because I wanted to let you know that we’re still here, and still watching.  There hasn’t been much that has inspired us to write.  New developments and interesting subject matter have been hard to come by.

There are three reasons for this:

1. The Mets are not in playoff contention and haven’t been for quite some time.
2. The trading deadline has come and gone.
3. Due to injuries, we are quite familiar with the Mets’ young talent.  In reality, their September call-ups found themselves on the MLB roster in April and June.

Just like you, we are keeping a close eye on the following situations :

• The Jose Batting Title Chase:  I am a bit surprised that this hasn’t received more attention.  After all, the Mets have never had a batting champion.  I realize it may be counter productive, but I am pulling for Jose.  I don’t care that it adds value to his side of the negotiating table.  I want it to happen.
• Is Lucas Duda A Full Time Solution In The Outfield?
• The Bench Mix:  Tejada, Murhpy, and Turner have all played well this season.  Now Nick Evans is showing his stuff for his homies as well.
• Pitching Woes:  The weak link that needs the most attention on this team.  Who stays?  Who goes?

I guess we could share our thoughts on the topics above each day.  The problem with that is, I for one, am taking this time to observe.  I haven’t made up my mind on what I think should happen and I want to play the season out before I start weighing in.

So never fear friends, we haven’t left you.  As exciting as Scott Hairston’s strained oblique is, it doesn’t make the cut.  Once things get a little more juicy, you’ll hear from us more frequently.

Until then, stay thirsty my friends.

Tejada Not A Long Term Solution

I am ignoring last night’s game.  Any game that involves the Mets getting duped on the little league double steal gets sealed in the “try not to think about this one” vault.

One thing good about injuries is young players get an opportunity to show if they are truly able to hang in the Show.  Although I have never truly believed Ruben Tejada to be a legitimate long term solution at shortstop, I still read and heard comments from people talking about how this is his chance to show management what he can do.

Come on man.  Ruben has played in 55 games and I am convinced the following is true:

He is a .250 hitter.  We’re not talking Rey Ordonez hitting, so that’s a plus.  But .250 isn’t exactly something to write home about.  It would be somewhat acceptable if he was a gold glove caliber shortstop, but……

Ruben’s best fielding position is second base.  Even though his “natural” position is shortstop, I feel he is better suited at second.  I don’t have any statistics to back this up, it is solely based on watching him play both positions.  It seems as though he rarely makes a mistake at second.   At shortstop?  Not so much.

I question his baseball awareness.  I.E. Tejada makes too many mental mistakes, he doesn’t seem to have a good feel for the game.  Case in point last night, when he inexplicably didn’t slide when he attempted to score from third on a tag play.

““I asked Ruben, I said, ‘What did Justin tell you to do?’ He said, ‘He told me to slide.’ So obviously he saw the signal….There’s some of those, just like Ruben’s play at home plate, that’s not accepted, I don’t care what level you’re at.  I asked him, I said, ‘Why didn’t you slide?’ He just didn’t know. He just saw the catcher come off the plate and thought he could score.” -Terry Collins

This play reminds me of the move Office Space.

I'm just not going to slide...

Peter Gibbons:  I don’t like my job, and, uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You’re just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won’t you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don’t know, but I really don’t like it, and, uh, I’m not gonna go.

Maybe some of these mental blunders work themselves out in time for Ruben.  The issue is, it doesn’t appear to me that there is enough time between now and opening day of 2012 to work through these issues.

So, for me, Ruben is not the answer.  Just another reason why signing Jose Reyes in the off-season is vital.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.

A Win Is A Win

My tweet after the game sums up my thoughts about tonight’s win…

I’ll take it.

In Their Own Words

One thing I like about Terry Collins is he seems to be pretty up front with how things go down.  For the most part, the players seem to follow that style these days.  When there are things Terry wishes to keep private, he simply says so.

The only way this works is if the manager holds the same conversations with the players.  TC seems to have this down.

“I was hoping it worked out.  If it didn’t, then why bunt your four-hole hitter? You look like an idiot.”- Lucas Duda

“Make no mistake about it, he came in and said, ‘Do you want me to bunt here?’ And I said, ‘If you want to.’ I said, ‘Can you?’ And he said, ‘Yeah,’ and he dropped the bunt down. I was pretty impressed.   I hit him fourth for a reason. He felt he could get the bunt down and get those guys in scoring position. He did it.” – Terry Collins

“He looked good. He looked good running to first base looking back at the bunt, too. But that’s Lucas. It’s good to see him, like people say, coming out of his shell a little bit and having some fun. He’s going to be a heckuva player.”- Jason Isringhausen

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.

Missing Gloves

Just a quick observation for your Sunday morning…

Don’t mistake this for belly aching, as the Bisons have done a formidable job and it has been fun as hell to watch them play.  However, last night’s game was a prime example that we not only miss Ike Davis and Jose Reyes’ bats, we also miss their defensive skills.  There were three double plays last night that I argue would have been turned had Jose and Ike been in the game.

Sometimes we forget about just how good Ike Davis is at first base, especially picking low throws out of the dirt.  I’m not knocking Lucas Duda, he is trying to play in a spot that is unnatural for him, but not gloving a low throw from Ruben Tejada in the first inning was costly.

Jose’s cannon masquerading as an arm makes up for a number of things.  Justin Turner has always been a hair slow on the turn, it was hard to notice with Jose firing the ball to first.  He is also quicker at starting a double play than Ruben Tejada.

Speaking of Ruben, he seems to be better suited for second base defensively now that I have had a chance to watch play a string of games at short.  This is a bit surprising to me knowing his natural position is at shortstop.  There were a couple of times that he seemed a step out of place last night, particularly on the missed tag.

Follow Midwestropolitan on Twitter  and like us on Facebook.