Forever Blowing Ballgames

It's Time For Heilman to Go

If the Mets are going to seriously contend for the National League playoffs, they can't piss away games to the Washington Nationals.

Right now, that is exactly the Mets are doing.

Last night in a 1-1 ballgame and after newcomer Claudio Vargas gave the Mets a quality start, Aaron Heilman entered the game in the 7th inning and all hell broke loose.

4 runs crossed the plate in the inning, and in the blink of an eye the Mets were in a 5-1 deficit.

The Mets would score twice more, which had the bullpen not imploded again, could have been enough to win the ballgame.

This is, of course, what a contending team would do. This Mets team is so dysfunctional it is hard to tell right now which way this season will go.

Boxscore

Mets Hitting Lefties Well, Failing Against Righties

Numbers Tell the Tale For Hitters


Every scouting report you read about the Mets details their most glaring weakness - an inability to hit left-handed pitching.

At one time, that may have been true, but it is no longer the case. Through the first 37 games of this season, the Mets have hit .283 against left-handed pitching and only .248 vs right-handers.

The irony goes a bit further when you look at the power stats. The Mets have hit only 29 home runs thus far this season - 19 vs RH pitching and only 10 against lefties.

In analyzing these stats, I found a disturbing trend. The Mets’ AB leader vs lefties is Carlos Delgado. David Wright, the Mets’ premier RH hitter is fifth. Against right-handed pitching, Wright is first.

It appears that the Mets are being outmaneuvered in the right-lefty matchup game.

Other numbers that jumped out…….Carlos Beltran is hitting .229 against RHP and .294 against LHP. Why is he still batting clean-up against righties?……Wright is crushing LHP at a pace of .450 and struggling against RHP, hitting only .208……….Delgado is actually hitting LHP better than RHP (.268 - .229)

Things The New York Mets Need To Do Right Now...

...Move Nelson Figueroa to the bullpen. It made for a nice story for Figueroa to return home and put on a couple of decent performances, but he doesn't last deep into games. He can probably fill Aaron Sele's role from last year.

Get rid of Jorge Sosa. He can barely find the strike zone and when he does, the ball ends up closer to Citi Field than the catcher's mitt.

Speaking of catchers, now that Ramon Castro is healthy, platoon him with Brian Schneider. Schneider has a decent average thus far, but has no pop. Castro is at least a threat to get an extra base hit now and again.

Get rid of Carlos Delgado. The only league this guy could possibly play in is an over-30 slow pitch softball league; and he'd probably still hit into the shift.

Teach Moises Alou to play first base. He's one of the few guys on the team that can actually hit on a regular basis, but is a liability in left field. Too many balls are rolling into the corner and he can neither come in nor go back on a ball. Pagan should be the everyday left fielder and Endy can be reserved for pinch running and resting Carlos Beltran when he suffers from a strained cuticle.

Hire John Olerud as hitting coach. Here's the problem with HoJo. He's a switch-hitter so he has no idea how to teach a major league left-handed hitter how to hang in their against even a mediocre left-handed pitcher. Johnny O never bailed out against lefties and could rake.

Give the relievers set roles that make sense and stick with them. The last thing this erratic group of flat slider-throwing, dead change up-tossing misfits needs is to wonder when Willie is going to summon them from the bullpen. Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis are lefty specialists! They should primarily be in there against lefties. Joe Smith is a righty specialist. He should be in there to face righties! Read the stat sheet!

Are the New York Mets forgetting part of their past in Citi Field?

The Jackie Robinson Rotunda…

An Ebbets Field facade…

It looks like the New York Mets’ own Fred Wilpon will be doing plenty to honor the Brooklyn Dodgers at their new home, Citi Field, what they will move into in April 2009.

Sounds great -- a tribute to one of the game’s pioneers and a historic venue that never should have been torn down.

Just one problem, claim some New Yorkers.

The Mets, who many former Brooklyn Dodger and New York Giant fans adopted as their new favorite team, seem to be making two major gestures to honor their Brooklyn heritage, but none to honor their New York heritage.

True, they call themselves the “New York” Mets and use the interlocking “NY” on their hats in Giant orange as their primary logo, but they also use Dodger blue in their color scheme, which is seen predominantly in their current home, Shea Stadium.

A group that calls themselves the “New York Giants Baseball Nostalgia Society” has been making some noise regarding the lack of recognition that the Giants will receive at Citi Field. They realize that Fred Wilpon can do what he wants with the park, but feel as though the Giants have been slighted in Citi Field’s plans.

However, the plans for Citi Field do include a couple of nods to the New York Giants and their former home, the Polo Grounds (also the home of the Mets before the opening of Shea Stadium).

One will be the inclusion dark green seats in the stands, which was the same color featured in the Polo Grounds.

The second will be varying wall heights and angles in the outfield.

Will these elements make the New York Giants’ fans feel at “home” in Citi Field or are these features reminiscent of many current and former “retro” ball parks including Fenway Park, Citizens Bank Park, Tiger Stadium, Camden Yards, and Minute Maid Park?

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Sunday Crunch

Mets Wallop Reds, 8-3, to Take Series

HIGHLIGHTS

Splitsville Saturday

The Mets split a day-night doubleheader with lowly Cincinnati today, winning the day game 12-6, but losing the nightcap 7-1.




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New Lineup for Mets

Reyes SS
Beltran CF (who will abandon hitting right-handed because he cannot do it)
Wright 3B
Alou 1B
Church RF
Pagan LF
Castillo/Easley 2B
Schneider C
Pitcher P

Carlos Delgado is no longer a starter. He cannot hit a baseball the way he used to, therefore he will either be traded, cut or just benched...