Wednesday, July 20, 2011
This Day in Keith Hernandez History
Keith final major league hit came on July 20 1990 against the California Angels. It was a single off of Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
mid season report card
So its been a while. Life gets busy, computers crash. And as Kurt Vonnegut once said "so it goes". But I am prepared to give a slightly late mid season report card for the Mets.
1b - Ike Davis - (INC) Davis was having a good though not spectacular season before his freak injury sidelined him, for what looks like the rest of the season.
- Lucas Duda - (D) He is a butcher out there, much more suited to be an outfielder.
2b/SS/3B - Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada (A) - These guys started the season on the bench or in Buffalo, but fate brought them into starting roles, none of them are superstars, but they are showing they are solid contributors and when the team is back to full strength, the Mets will have a really solid bench.
SS - Jose Reyes. (A) - Right now Jose Reyes is the MVP of the league. He is the most exciting player out there, he plays with joy and he is putting up historic numbers (triples especially). I think his recent stint on the dl was just being extra extra careful. But I expect him to pick up where he left off. The Mets need to sign this guy or they need to change the dimensions of CitiField so he doesn't come in and torch the Mets with triple after triple.
3B - David Wright - (C) - He was on pace to shatter the Mets single season and all-time strike out marks before he went on the DL with a back injury. Hopefully his fresh bat will lengthen out the lineup when he returns and he can help keep the Mets competitive and above .500.
C - Josh Thole (D) - There are times when he looks lost both behind the plate and standing at the plate. Ronnie Paulino has been a solid backup, but Thole needs to step up or the Mets will be looking for a new "catcher of the future."
RF - Carlos Beltran (A) - We will miss you when you are gone Carlos. You never got the love you deserved in Flushing, but you'll be remembered as a natural who knew where to be when he needed to be there. That is why he didn't run all over the place in the outfield, its called instincts. This year you where graceful enough to move over to Right Field, where it looks like you always played there. I hope you find your way to a contender, and have a huge playoffs and get a big payoff again.
CF - Angel Pagan (B) - I still don't think he's an everyday major leaguer. It might just be me. But he has been solid and his flexibility in the lineup has been a valuable asset for Terry Collins.
LF - Jason Bay (D) - He has been dreadful at the plate and for the big salary he makes that is why he is constantly booed. But like Beltran, he is a solid ball player with great instincts. He knows where he needs to be. Remember Lastings Milledge? He was terrible, but it looked like he was always putting all this effort because he always had to run hard in the outfield, why was he running hard? He didn't have the instincts a Jason Bay or Carlos Beltran have.
Manager - Terry Collins (A) - if this team ends up at .500 how can this guy not be Manager of the Year. He was supposed to guide the ship while the front office gutted the team. But he has kept the team competitive and fun to watch.
Too lazy to break down the pitchers but here are some quick grades for the rotation:
SP - Chris Capuano - B
SP - RA Dickey - D
SP - Mike Pelfrey - D
SP - Dillon Gee - B+
SP - Jon Niese - B+
1b - Ike Davis - (INC) Davis was having a good though not spectacular season before his freak injury sidelined him, for what looks like the rest of the season.
- Lucas Duda - (D) He is a butcher out there, much more suited to be an outfielder.
2b/SS/3B - Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada (A) - These guys started the season on the bench or in Buffalo, but fate brought them into starting roles, none of them are superstars, but they are showing they are solid contributors and when the team is back to full strength, the Mets will have a really solid bench.
SS - Jose Reyes. (A) - Right now Jose Reyes is the MVP of the league. He is the most exciting player out there, he plays with joy and he is putting up historic numbers (triples especially). I think his recent stint on the dl was just being extra extra careful. But I expect him to pick up where he left off. The Mets need to sign this guy or they need to change the dimensions of CitiField so he doesn't come in and torch the Mets with triple after triple.
3B - David Wright - (C) - He was on pace to shatter the Mets single season and all-time strike out marks before he went on the DL with a back injury. Hopefully his fresh bat will lengthen out the lineup when he returns and he can help keep the Mets competitive and above .500.
C - Josh Thole (D) - There are times when he looks lost both behind the plate and standing at the plate. Ronnie Paulino has been a solid backup, but Thole needs to step up or the Mets will be looking for a new "catcher of the future."
RF - Carlos Beltran (A) - We will miss you when you are gone Carlos. You never got the love you deserved in Flushing, but you'll be remembered as a natural who knew where to be when he needed to be there. That is why he didn't run all over the place in the outfield, its called instincts. This year you where graceful enough to move over to Right Field, where it looks like you always played there. I hope you find your way to a contender, and have a huge playoffs and get a big payoff again.
CF - Angel Pagan (B) - I still don't think he's an everyday major leaguer. It might just be me. But he has been solid and his flexibility in the lineup has been a valuable asset for Terry Collins.
LF - Jason Bay (D) - He has been dreadful at the plate and for the big salary he makes that is why he is constantly booed. But like Beltran, he is a solid ball player with great instincts. He knows where he needs to be. Remember Lastings Milledge? He was terrible, but it looked like he was always putting all this effort because he always had to run hard in the outfield, why was he running hard? He didn't have the instincts a Jason Bay or Carlos Beltran have.
Manager - Terry Collins (A) - if this team ends up at .500 how can this guy not be Manager of the Year. He was supposed to guide the ship while the front office gutted the team. But he has kept the team competitive and fun to watch.
Too lazy to break down the pitchers but here are some quick grades for the rotation:
SP - Chris Capuano - B
SP - RA Dickey - D
SP - Mike Pelfrey - D
SP - Dillon Gee - B+
SP - Jon Niese - B+
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