Sun 27 Apr 2008
Didn’t see the games yesterday but it looks like John Maine is OK as he may have just had a cramp in the forearm but it took five pitchers to close out the last four innings of the game YIKES!
Nice interview by Wayne Coffey in the Daily News today with Davey Johnson especially the revelation that someone in the organization (Davey doesn’t say who) change Dwight Goodens delivery as they were worried about him not being adept in holding runs on. Johnson’s claim is it wasn’t him or pitchiching coach at the time Mel Stotlemeyer who did this.
The Klapper hits one out of the park today with his assement of Randolph and Minaya both on-the hot seat and how the Skill Sets will want to see a more competitive team by June 1st or heads will roll. Klapper hits the mood of Randolph on the head when he says he’s joyless. Those post game presser are depressing.
Mark Hermann sticks up for Mets fans for showing more passion than the team they root for.
Welcome back to the set up role Dirty Duaner.
I hope Willie Randolph took a lesson from Bobby Cox on Friday night when Cox went out and took a bullet for his team and his rookie pitcher Jair Jurrgens. Jurrgens was a victim of one of the worst umpires in baseball Tim “Look at me, Look at me” Mc Clelland when he missed a strike out that would have gotten Jurrgens out of a jam. The way Cox, who has two very bad wheels ran out as he was shot from a cannon must have had Mets players looking at Randolph wondering when he will do something like this.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Great links, Steve, especially the Davey Johnson interview. Really interesting that he brought up that people were messing around with Doc Gooden’s delivery, along with the drugs issue, for why the brilliant young pitcher’s career declined so early and disastrously. If his version is to be trusted, and if it was (as one might suspect) someone in higher level Mets management that intervened with Doc about changing his delivery, it is one more example of how management needs to leave the field operations and player relations to the manager and coaches. Too many bosses is a tough way to work, wherever you are.
Davey Johnson seems to have aged very well, smarter than ever, and man, if they brought him back to manage now, at 65, I would be alright with that.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Good for the Klapper. Someone needs to call Minaya out for his ridiculous relinace on older players. The Mets don’t rely on veterans, they make a sham out of it by having an infatuation with guys over 35. Uh, Omar, did we hear Alou got hurt AGAIN? Does this mean Freddy and Jeffy can pay him $8 million for NOTHING? And, Omar, if we as humble fans could have scripted that, how could you, as GM, not have seen it? And what are the Wilpons gettng from El Duque? Hmm, another 40+ year old being paid to be on the DL. Well, raise your hand if you’re surprised. Again, if the public can see it and the GM can’t, we have a problem.
That having been said, I’m thrilled to have beaten those guys 2 out of 3. Now is the test. A motivated team uses the weekend, and the win over Smoltz, as fuel to go on a roll. A complacent team goes 4-6 over the next 10 is still basically .500 in about 2 weeks.
What are the guys made of, Wille? We’ll see.