Shannon Shark @metspolice – Page 4354

May 29, 2008

No Mets To Start All Star Game?

MLB.com says:

Hanley Ramirez (268,386) of the Florida Marlins leads a tight race at shortstop, currently edging Miguel Tejada (256,613) of the Houston Astros and Jose Reyes (237,800) of the New York Mets. Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones has collected 420,664 votes, putting him nearly 100,000 votes ahead of the N.L.’s starter at the hot corner the last two years, David Wright (321,091) of the Mets. Jones is batting a Major League-best .418 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI.

So that suggests (correctly) that no Mets will start. I like Wright and all but the other guy is hitting .418. Can’t argue. OverReyes doesn’t deserve to be on the team at all. Hurdle should leave him home and save some room for Santana and Maine.

If you’re sad that you might not see a Met on the field until after bedtime, don’t worry – Willie Randolph will be out their coaching! Ain’t that a hoot.

If Willie is jobless come July then Hurdle should invite Torre. What a circus that would be!

May 28, 2008

Bloggers Leaving Mets for Rays!

USA Today reports:

The New York Mets may have held on to a manager this week, but they’ve lost a blog.

The club that collapsed during last year’s pennant chase, is struggling this year and has a manager (Willie Randolph) on the hot seat, has been fired by one corner of the Internet.

After three years of following New York’s National League team, Eric Simon and his cohorts, who operate the Mets Geek blog, announced they’d had enough.

Simon and crew have switched their allegiance to the Tampa Bay Rays and renamed the blog Rays Geek.

http://www.metsgeek.com/articles/2008/05/27/welcome-to-raysgeek/

May 28, 2008

Lupica Checks Out Third Rail

Minaya was asked about another perception – rather insulting – that the Hispanic players come to him instead of Randolph, as if they are all members of some secret Hispanic club.

“That,” Minaya said, “is ridiculous.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/05/27/2008-05-27_to_omar_minaya_racial_divide_on_mets_sou.html?page=1

May 28, 2008

Omar Watch

They call me cranky, but in the end I’m always right.

People are beginning to understand that Pedro is 7-5 since June 2006!

Omar, you should have gotten out of this mess on Monday – now everyone is mad at you too!

Here’s some good stuff from a Florida paper.

It was Minaya, the Mets general manager, who overpaid Pedro Martinez, foolishly giving him a four-year contract when everyone knew he was on the verge of physically breaking down and wouldn’t get past the first two seasons.

It was Minaya who spent $100 million to bring Carlos Beltran to Queens, where he has done nothing to live up to his paycheck.

It was Minaya who wanted Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo and Moises Alou, none of whom are playing the way Mets fans hoped when the team left Port St. Lucie two months ago.

Delgado, 35 and aging fast, went into Tuesday night’s game batting a paltry .215. Castillo, who too often plays older than his 32 years, was batting .259. Alou, who will turn 42 in July, has spent all but 14 games on the disabled list.

Then there’s Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who claims to be 38 and hasn’t thrown a pitch this season because of a foot injury.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/28/minaya-must-share-blame-for-mets-woes/

May 28, 2008

Davidoff Correctly Forsees Doom

By combining a large payroll, aging players and a shallow farm system with their difficult start to the 2008 season, the Mets have created a high-stakes scenario for themselves.

Great stuff, including this question:

Who forms the nucleus of this Mets team for 2009 and beyond?

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spken285704775may28,0,7601065.column

Not ending the Willie Watch seems to have started the Omar Watch. The fanbase is very very unhappy. A new stadium alone won’t do it – any new stadium buzz will be overshadowed by the House That Yes Built.