Submitted by robsafuto on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 08:37.
Two games in a row now Mets players have been thrown out of a game for arguing a called third strike. On Sunday it was David Wright and on Monday it was Jose Reyes. Coincidentally both ejections occurred late in the game with the Mets trailing. The Mets lost both games. I say enough with these tantrums. Reyes and Wright hit 3rd and 5th in the lineup. These are not the batting positions where you look to take a walk. And while the pitches may have been close enough to argue about they were close enough to call strikes. These guys need to grow up and own up to the fact that they need to work on their hitting before the game and not try to undo strikeouts after the fact.
Incidentally, the Mets struck out a lot last night in the loss. So many missed opportunities. That includes Jason Bay striking out swinging on a really bad ball to end the game.
I'm all for players keeping their heads in the middle of the game, but i don't have a problem with ejections late in the game. Wright's was with 2 outs in the 9th, i mean the only way that could have hurt us would be if we came back and miraculously tied it with no outs to spare. in that situation, i'd be ecstatic if his injury cost him an at bat, because it'd mean we'd have sent it to extras! and reyes' was in the 8th inning, so his ejection only cost him 1 AB, in which alex cora singled anyway.
the true things to worry about with wright and reyes is whether or not they'll still be the superstars over the next 4 years they've been over the past 4 years. both had potentially career altering injuries last year. Reyes' got much more publicity because he's already had a leg injury, and now he's batting like .230 or something. he needs to heat up. but i'm even more worried about wright and whether he's still the same hitter he was before he got beaned last year by a 95 mph matt cain fastball. Buster Olney ran an article today illuminating David wrights .324 batting average in last years 400 something AB's before his beaning...and his .235 batting average in the 217 at bats since. I know it's a fairly small sample size, but anyone who's watched him knows he's a mess at the plate right now. he went 1-10 with 8 strikeouts in the San Francisco series and is 3rd in the NL in strikeouts, on pace for 213 compared to last seasons career high of 140. he's twitchy on breaking balls and late on fastballs, which suggest he's still afraid of getting beaned. to be fair he does have 7 homers and seems to have last years equally concerning power drought behind him, so he's overcome hitting difficulties in the past. but this is the type of thing that can hamper careers, and i want david to be the face of our franchise for years to come.
and not to mention Beltran's injury is looking like it might threaten his career! i mean a regressive, osteoporosis laden knee is not something a 5-tool, MVP caliber player is suppossed to have. It shouldn't affect his swing much but I suspect the speed and feilding we've come to love from him will be slightly lacking when he returns. And while he's not ancient at 33 years old, he's not spry either. So lets hope he can still give us 4 or 5 more solid years and that this doesn't spell the end of the road for our remaining half of "los dos carlos".
couple these concerns with Bay and Francouer's recent struggles and the fact that no regular position player other than Ike Davis is hitting above .275 and we have some serious batting concerns on our plate. Thank God the pitching has been a pleasant suprise, it may not stay this good throughout the whole year so lets light a fire under the bats while we're still in contention! There no reason Wright and Reyes can't all hit .300 while Francouer and Bay can't hit .270 with 25 homers. They have the talent, they need to adjust to their struggles and bounce back.
Submitted by robsafuto on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 21:06.
Heck if that's the case why not end every loss with a hissy fit leading to an ejection? These guys (Wright and Reyes) should be leading the Mets by example. Instead they blame the umpires for their own failures. How about protecting th elate with two strikes? There's no evidence that their actions cost us either game but I don't think that's the most important issue. The guys who are struggling right now can't fall to pieces on the field and expect their team mates (or the fans for that matter) to be encouraged by what they see. They need to stay professional on the field and put the work in off the field to help break these slumps. I trust that they're working with HoJo to correct the offensive issues. But what I see on the field I don't like because it indicates that these guys aren't confident enough in themselves right now.
Submitted by robsafuto on Wed, 05/12/2010 - 18:05.
What a disappointing series. I thought that after winning the second game the Mets would come alive in the rubber game an take the series. They did manage to score 4 runs, but K-Rod blew it again. As things stand right now I think that the Mets need a true cleanup hitter and a closer in order to be competitive for a playoff spot in 2010. More on these thoughts in a bit.
vs. 
More Tantrums
Two games in a row now Mets players have been thrown out of a game for arguing a called third strike. On Sunday it was David Wright and on Monday it was Jose Reyes. Coincidentally both ejections occurred late in the game with the Mets trailing. The Mets lost both games. I say enough with these tantrums. Reyes and Wright hit 3rd and 5th in the lineup. These are not the batting positions where you look to take a walk. And while the pitches may have been close enough to argue about they were close enough to call strikes. These guys need to grow up and own up to the fact that they need to work on their hitting before the game and not try to undo strikeouts after the fact.
Incidentally, the Mets struck out a lot last night in the loss. So many missed opportunities. That includes Jason Bay striking out swinging on a really bad ball to end the game.
Bigger Concerns
I'm all for players keeping their heads in the middle of the game, but i don't have a problem with ejections late in the game. Wright's was with 2 outs in the 9th, i mean the only way that could have hurt us would be if we came back and miraculously tied it with no outs to spare. in that situation, i'd be ecstatic if his injury cost him an at bat, because it'd mean we'd have sent it to extras! and reyes' was in the 8th inning, so his ejection only cost him 1 AB, in which alex cora singled anyway.
the true things to worry about with wright and reyes is whether or not they'll still be the superstars over the next 4 years they've been over the past 4 years. both had potentially career altering injuries last year. Reyes' got much more publicity because he's already had a leg injury, and now he's batting like .230 or something. he needs to heat up. but i'm even more worried about wright and whether he's still the same hitter he was before he got beaned last year by a 95 mph matt cain fastball. Buster Olney ran an article today illuminating David wrights .324 batting average in last years 400 something AB's before his beaning...and his .235 batting average in the 217 at bats since. I know it's a fairly small sample size, but anyone who's watched him knows he's a mess at the plate right now. he went 1-10 with 8 strikeouts in the San Francisco series and is 3rd in the NL in strikeouts, on pace for 213 compared to last seasons career high of 140. he's twitchy on breaking balls and late on fastballs, which suggest he's still afraid of getting beaned. to be fair he does have 7 homers and seems to have last years equally concerning power drought behind him, so he's overcome hitting difficulties in the past. but this is the type of thing that can hamper careers, and i want david to be the face of our franchise for years to come.
and not to mention Beltran's injury is looking like it might threaten his career! i mean a regressive, osteoporosis laden knee is not something a 5-tool, MVP caliber player is suppossed to have. It shouldn't affect his swing much but I suspect the speed and feilding we've come to love from him will be slightly lacking when he returns. And while he's not ancient at 33 years old, he's not spry either. So lets hope he can still give us 4 or 5 more solid years and that this doesn't spell the end of the road for our remaining half of "los dos carlos".
couple these concerns with Bay and Francouer's recent struggles and the fact that no regular position player other than Ike Davis is hitting above .275 and we have some serious batting concerns on our plate. Thank God the pitching has been a pleasant suprise, it may not stay this good throughout the whole year so lets light a fire under the bats while we're still in contention! There no reason Wright and Reyes can't all hit .300 while Francouer and Bay can't hit .270 with 25 homers. They have the talent, they need to adjust to their struggles and bounce back.
Attitude Is Important
Heck if that's the case why not end every loss with a hissy fit leading to an ejection? These guys (Wright and Reyes) should be leading the Mets by example. Instead they blame the umpires for their own failures. How about protecting th elate with two strikes? There's no evidence that their actions cost us either game but I don't think that's the most important issue. The guys who are struggling right now can't fall to pieces on the field and expect their team mates (or the fans for that matter) to be encouraged by what they see. They need to stay professional on the field and put the work in off the field to help break these slumps. I trust that they're working with HoJo to correct the offensive issues. But what I see on the field I don't like because it indicates that these guys aren't confident enough in themselves right now.
Can't Even Beat The Nats
What a disappointing series. I thought that after winning the second game the Mets would come alive in the rubber game an take the series. They did manage to score 4 runs, but K-Rod blew it again. As things stand right now I think that the Mets need a true cleanup hitter and a closer in order to be competitive for a playoff spot in 2010. More on these thoughts in a bit.
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