Monday, May 19, 2008

If I were in charge . . .

I'd send Ian Kennedy down to SWB and let him know he is staying there for the remainder of the '08 season.

The only other starters I would consider bringing up going forward should the team need a body would be Karstens or Steven White. And publicly declare so Kei Igawa's name would never have to be mentioned again as a possibility.

I would move Joba to the starting rotation.

I would bring up Old Prof's man crush J.B. Cox to be the 8th inning guy.

I would bring up Brett Gardner and Juan Miranda.

I would send down Duncan, and try to package Melkey and Ensberg in a trade to obtain a catching prospect.

I would bench Cano and play Gonzalez.

I would bring in Paul O'Neil as my bench coach and Tino Martinez as 1b Coach.

Finally, I would let these guys know that if they didn't start showing some heart out there that they had better start looking for apartments in places like Pittsburgh, Cincinati, Texas, and Seattle.

21 comments:

57 said...

Cashman is a lame duck. He should go out and get Oswalt and Piazza to play 1st base. Oh, I forgot, Oswalt will be a Met in July.

Prof, Gary Carter has managed in the Mets' farm system for years. He'd ready and well respected in the organization. Fire Randolph!

Here's to the Knicks fixing the lottery like they did when they got Ewing in the 80s. I'm liking what Walsh has done so far!! Knicks will be back in the playoffs next year.

old professor said...

57, If Oswalt goes to the Muts, he can join Pedro on the DL apparently he has been experiencing elbow pain and is set to have some tests. Pizza has been sitting home eating canoli's and getting fat. As for Randolph, he has the Muts 1 1/2 back in the East and the team is over .500. When they collapse in September then you have a reason to fire the guy.

Mid, as for your roster moves, Karstens is set to make his first start of the season coming of the DL (he may have already made it), White is not quite ready. Cox needs one more year to rebuild his strength from having surgery - he also needs to have his head screwed on straight about not punching walls, doors, etc.

If you are looking to package for prospects, than you have already written off the season.

The Yankees have some catching prospets in their system, BUT none are ready for prime time. I am not sure why you have jumped on the Miranda bandwagon.

I was surprised the other night to hear Joe Morgan say that Wang would win the Cy Young award this year based on how he was pitching (of course that was before he was saddled with the loss).

old professor said...

Mid, just a follow up on some of your pronouncements: Miranda is batting .271 at AAA his on base percentage is impressive - .405 as is his slugging percentage .421. The systems best catching prospect is currently at AA - Pilttere, who is hitting .302 with OBS .362. Jesus Montero who is at A and is projected longterm as the stud behind the plate is hitting .3o7 while his backup Austin Romine is hitting .351.

The best outfield prospect they have who is probably major league ready is Brett Gardner and he is doing well at AAA (Avg=.288, slg=473). Tabata continues to struggle and may be another Ruben Rivera.

Anonymous said...

From the Farm:

Looks like Steven White is coming back down to earth in AAA. His ERA is up over 3.50 and the WHIp (prof's favorite stat) is steadily been increasing as well.

Jeff Marquez was a name floated around this past spring. Looks like he has struggled.

Who is Dan Giese? #'s are impressive.

Eric Duncan still can't hit at AAA, Cody Ransom is showing some power but is striking out way too much. I didn't realize JD Closser was on the farm. He was once a big time catching prospect in the Rockies(?) organization, but struggled when he was called up a couple of times (batted around .200 I think).

***

In closing, Than k Goodness Mid is not in charge.

The Scooter said...

I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up on the season just yet. If you took Ortiz and Manny out of the Red Sox lineup I'm sure they would be struggling as much as the Yankees are without A-Rod and Posada.

Let's remember we are only about 1/4 of the way through. Plenty of time to right the ship.

I have to believe that Cano is going to start to produce to the back of his baseball card...Abreu will get on one of his streaks....and I think A-rod is going to come off the DL on fire.

About two weeks until Posada, the bright side his that he will be fresh for a stretch run.

The wild card is Giambi. Let's hope he has one more run in him as a big time producer. I go 50/50 on that one. The guy needs to realize that this is a contract year and if he wants to get any team to buck up some coin for him he has to start hitting. He should consider wearing the thong full time (I can't believe I just typed that).

Anonymous said...

It is not the record that bothers me, it is the lack of fire.

No one seems to be pissed, no one seems to be fighting.

Maybe we should not have considered holding on to a guy like Andy Philips or Doug Meinkiewicz.

I don't know, there just is no spark, and there does not appear to be anyone willing to step up and be that spark.

Anonymous said...

57 I'll make a bet that the Yankees finish with a better record than the Mets this year.

If the Yankees have the better record I get the Lexus, if the Mets have the better record Mid puts up his Mercury. A push, all bets are off.

old professor said...

Crash, Closser was actually a draft choice of the Diamondbacks and was traded to Colorado for Mike Myers and Jack Cusp (eventually traded to Oakland). He is 28 years old and was signed by the Yankees on May 1 as a free agent. He is not on the 40 man roster.

Giese is even older. He is 31. Phillies picked him up from San Diego. Apparently started the season with Iowa (still a Cubs farm team??) and is now with SW.

Mid regarding no fire and no one willing to step up. Isn't that supposed to be what a Captain is for? Opps, sorry Jeter is the silent kind of leader. When you look at past Yankee Captains, Gehrig, Munson, and Mattingly, you get a sense of real leadership and the fire you are looking for. Can you really put Jeter in the same category? And please don't talk about - he has four rings. The team that surrounded him had a lot to do with those four rings including Tino, O'Neill, Mariano, Cone, a younger Pettitte, Boggs, Bernie, and Girardi. Take those people away and surround him with let's say the Cano's, Giambi's and Damon's and guess what?, No Rings, a losing record and no fire.

Anonymous said...

Chase Wright is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.70 down in Trenton.

old professor said...

Mid, do you just keep pulling names out of a hit and figure if you throw enough sh--t against the wall something will stick so we can read "I told you so"? Let's see: Karstens, Igwa, Rasner, Wright, Cox, White, etc.... and on and on.

The Cashman analogy on Wright is - they brought him up too soon and they need to let him come through the system slowly (sort of sounds like the initial Melky Cabrera experiment.)

In a warm fuzzy moment - people need to feel good about Jon Lester - early success, diagnosed with cancer, undergoes treatment, returns to the bigs and pitched a no hitter last night. Great story line even if it is with the Red Sox.

Back to my usual miserable self - 57, exactly what has Walsh done so far to fix the Knicks other than hire a coach. The lineup is still filled with egocentric individuals who can't play their positions and are making a lot of money to underperform (talking about the knicks here not the yankees. Hey it fits either way). They need to get rid of Marbury and get someone who can dominate on the front court. They also need to drop Eddie Curry. They should also regret getting rid of Camby. Hey Scooter, I bet you thought I only followed baseball!!!

57 said...

Crash - im in, and you're nuts. I hope you and your wife took advanatage of the most recent employee benefit that was offered to you or else...

Prof - just having life back in MSG is exciting. ESPECIALLY since Patrick Ewing may rejoin the knickerbockers on the bench as a coach.

Mid - where is my lawn mower?

Scooter - you should not give up on the season, nor should anyone else. The 'class' of the American Leauge excluding the Sox(Yanks, Seattle, Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit) are playing horrible and they are ALWAYS in the thick of things each year (baltimore might be a stretch. But the point is... and Fransesa made a good one yesterday....the Yankees will be in the hunt come October if you look at trends. Im on board with his point.

57 said...

Mets will win 2 of 3 at Shea against the Spankmees. Mark it down, and if I lose.. I will send each of you 10 bucks!!!

Anonymous said...

Let's all hear it for Mike "I'm not gay...really, and to prove it I'm marrying a Playboy Playmate" Piazza. He is officially retired after being one of the most dominate offensive catchers of all time.

I'm surprised 57 hasn't poured his affections for Mr Piazza all over this board yet.

Anonymous said...

Wait let me get this one...MOOOOOOSE!

57 said...

Mike Piazza is a future Hall of Famer... case closed. He was the leader and face for the Mets for years and helped the Mets come out of the doldrums of the 90s and into perennial contenders into the 2000s. All hail Piazza... but I can do without the dyed hair and the 'im not gay' dugout press conferences....


ANNA BENSON needs to make a return trip to the NY Mets... sign Chris. I will TOTALLY crash the XMAS party this year.

57 said...

and Lasorda can shove it. Piazza will be in as a Met. One Mets catcher has already been screwed by the hall..,they can't do it twice.

Mooooooooose

The Scooter said...

What a horrible morning...let's sum up.

-Crash beat me to the Moooose call

-Old Prof is showing that he knows just as little about basketball as he does about baseball

-57's lawn is getting out of control

-Mid is now calling for Chase freaking Wright

Did I miss anything?

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for Old Prof to chime in, essentially blame Jeter for last nights loss and say Mussina didn't pitch poorly bcz he was only charged with 1 ER.

On a positive note A-Rod hits another meaningless HR.Hopefully that means he's seeing the ball well and his timing isn't off from the DL stint. If he gets hot, maybe the rest of the team will take the cue.

Who's turn in the rotation, Rasner? Can he get the Yanks on the right track. If not, I'm going to side with Mid and basically call up the entire AA & AAA teams, they can't play any worse than the clowns that are wearing the pinstripes today.

old professor said...

Crash let's see if we can do a rerun - two outs one run in. Ground ball to short, Cano can't get to second base, why, who knows, so Jeter throws toward first base. A throw he makes a lot. True the fans sitting behind first have to sign insurance waivers before they sit in their seats, but he still should make the throw. He throws the ball high and before the next out can be recorded a total of seven runs have come across the plate. Let me take the Michael Kay approach, "if Giambi were taller and could jump we are out of the inning, if Cano had gotten to second so Jeter could underhand the ball we would have gotten out of the inning and if Moose hadn't lost concentration, he should have gotten out of the inning. Hello!!!!!!! the throw from short opened the flood gates. Make a good throw the inning is over and only two runs. No one seems to want to point the finger at the golden boy. AS A SHORTSTOP, HE SUCKS. HE HAS LIMITED RANGE AND TENDS TO MAKE ONE PLAY THAT EVERYONE LIKES TO DROLL ABOUT - THAT WOULD BE THE GOING DEEP IN THE WHOLE AND JUMP THROWING THE BALL TO FIRST. Maybe if he got to the ball sooner, it wouldn't be in the hole. Oh yes Mussina took the blame for not pitching well - he is the professional.

Middle Relief said...

As for last night's game. Jeter and Moose had an off night, they're not perfect.

What is killing me to no end is the lack of plate discipline by Mellkey and Cano. They are a younger version of Roberto Kelly. I hope we trade one or both for somebody good.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering the same thing when I was watching replays of that error...where the hell was Cano for the force at 2B?

Mussina owned up in his post game interview, saying if it didn't happen in the first it would have happened in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, because he didn't feel right. It was if he had never stepped on the mound before. They were out of it within 15 minutes of the first pitch and it was his fault. Prof you may call him a professional but he sure didn't pitch like one.

Jeter averages about 14 errors a year, that's roughly one bad play every 12 games. Too bad Mussina couldn't make only 1 bad pitch every 12 games.

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