SB Nation - Tim Redding

Stop Saying Omar Minaya Only Goes After Latino Players

James Kannengieser — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:14 -0000

The "Omar Minaya only pursues Latino players" topic has appeared again this offseason and the propagators of this myth are out in full force. Perhaps it was brought on by the signings of Alex Cora, Henry Blanco and Elmer Dessens. Maybe embarrassing rubbish like this post is promoting it. Even the mainstream media has been involved, as Bill Madden of the Daily News, ~~deserving~~ winner of this year's J.G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in baseball journalism, wrote the following in a recent column, only to have the word "Latin" later removed:

Mets? Did somebody say the Mets? They won't spend the money for Holliday, Bay or Lackey and apparently, they're only interested in signing low-budget Latin players...

It's sad that this topic still needs to be addressed. Looking at the racial makeup of the Mets 40-man roster, as provided by a comment from Mark last week, the Mets had 15 Latinos out of 39 players, or 38%. About 29% of MLB players are Latino, meaning the Mets have four more Latin American players on their roster than average. Wow, stop the presses! How many Latinos are presently on the World Champion Yankees' roster? Answer: 19 out of 37, good for 51%. This is irrefutable evidence that Brian Cashman only goes after Latino players. Let the Yankee fan outrage begin. Former Mariners GM Bill Bavasi signed Raul Ibanez, Carlos Silva and Adrian Beltre to free agent contracts in his short tenure, and traded for Miguel Olivo and Horacio Ramirez - he too must have only gone after Latinos!

There's more research to be done here I suppose, analyzing the racial breakdown of Mets trades, free agent contracts and the minor leagues under Omar. However, it's not worth mine or anyone's time indulging the uninformed masses who think a general manager would choose 1.5 WAR* Player A over 3.5 WAR Player B because Player A shares the same heritage.

* - If you like, substitute any metric or evaluator you think Omar and co. might use in lieu of WAR. The point remains the same.

Last winter, Omar's Mets were part of a blockbuster three team trade which included Mariners and Indians. In the biggest trade of his reign, at least in terms of player volume, he gave up four Latino players and received (gasp!) three white players in return. It had nothing to do with race. Omar wanted to upgrade the bullpen at seemingly any cost and he got his guy, J.J. Putz. Flawed evaluation of players? Almost certainly. Racial bias motivating a transaction? No, sorry. It's curious how transactions like this are conveniently ignored once the Omar racism watchdogs come out of their holes to spout absurdity. Usually, Oliver Perez, Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez and Luis Castillo are brought up with nary a mention of Tim Redding, Scott Schoeneweis, Darren Oliver or Gary Sheffield.

If you think Omar Minaya only goes after "certain players" it's because you want to believe the poorly performing GM of your favorite baseball team favors one race over another. It's because you want to believe he has some sort of scheme to decrease the number of non-Latinos in baseball, or to increase money paid out to Latinos in this country. Criticizing his moves in the strict baseball context is not enough for you - it has to become personal, an assault on Omar's character. As always, you're free to have these beliefs, but you're flat-out wrong.

Worst New York Yankees of the Decade

Ed Valentine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

We had some fun the other day debating the Pinstripe Alley Yankee Team of the Decade. Good points were raised on several controversial choices.

Along the way, some of you asked for the 'Worst Yankees of the Decade' team. I thought that would be fun, so I decided to take a shot at it.

Looking at the rosters over the years, though, I found it almost impossible to narrow it down to a single team. Instead, position-by-position, here are some of the most forgettable -- and regrettable -- Yankees of the past decade.

I am sure there are many other names that could or should be added to this list. But, this should get you started strolling down the wrong side of Yankee Memory Lane.

C -- Alberto Castillo, Chris Turner, Chris Widger, Todd Greene, Joe Oliver, Bobby Estelalla, Wil Nieves, Sal Fasano, Michel Hernandez,

1B -- Travis Lee (.105 in 7 games)

2B -- Tony Womack

SS -- Erick Almonte,

3B -- Wilson Betemit, Drew Henson,

INF -- Alex Arias, Felix Escalona (.000, 5 games in 2004), Mark Bellhorn (.118, 9 games, 2005), Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa, Morgan Ensberg

OF -- Kenny Lofton, Matt Lawton (.125, 21 games, 2005), Mike Vento, Justin Christian,

DH -- Jose Canseco

SP -- Kevin Brown, Tim Redding (54.00 ERA in 1 game, 2005), Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Jaret Wright (Carl Pavano BEFORE Pavano), Christian Parker (one 2001 start, got hurt, never pitched again), Jeff Weaver, Darrell May, Sidney Ponson (multiple times),

RP -- Alex Graman (19.80 in 3 games, 2004) & 13.50 in 2 games, 2005), Colter Bean, Bret Prinz, Sean Henn, Gabe White, Billy Traber, Anthony Claggett (33.75 ERA in 2 games).

I am ashamed to admit so many guys like this have worn the pinstripes during the course of the last decade. Yuck!

2009 Mets Transaction Register, Part 1

Eric Simon — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:01:02 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Who is he thanking: Poseiden or Ra? (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Browse more photos »

The wretched 2009 season is over, so enter a glut of retrospectives, commentary, and analyses chronicling the whole mess. We'll kick things off by taking a look back at the moves -- trades and signings -- the Mets made since the 2008 season ended unceremoniously (for the Mets, anyway). There's a lot to wade through, so we're going to break this into at least two parts.

November 18, 2008

Signed Andy Green: Andy saw just five plate appearances with the Mets in 2009, spending most of the season with Triple-A Buffalo, where he hit .259./.330/.379 with a .326 wOBA and .5 hWAR. This now qualifies as the most anyone has ever written about Andy Green.

December 3, 1998

Signed Nelson Figueroa: Figgy had a 3.07 tRA in 112 innings pitched with Buffalo and a 5.06 tRA in 58 innings with the Mets. He made the league minimum (less if you consider the time spent on a minor league deal), and has generally been pretty mediocre in his two seasons since returning to the states. He's a useful guy to keep around Triple-A to make the occasional emergency start, and might even be passable as a swingman/mop jockey.

December 9, 2008

Signed Francisco Rodriguez for 3 years/$37 million plus vesting 2012 option worth $17.5 million: We've already covered this. The guaranteed money is probably too much for a good reliever with diminishing velocity, declining strikeout rates, and spotty control, but the overlooked option makes this a brutal deal for the Mets. It seemed like a good idea at the time, ubt unless Frankie's arm falls off the Mets will be on the hook for $46 million over the next three seasons, the mere thought of which just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Rodriguez is hardly a bad pitcher, he's just not a great pitcher, and the Mets are paying him to be brilliant. They might be able to swap him for someone else's bad contract -- Milton Bradley's name continues to come up -- but I don't think the Mets are down on Rodriguez at all, let alone as nauseated as we are.

December 11, 2008

Drafted Darren O'Day from the Angels in the Rule 5 draft: This looked like a pretty good move for the Mets at the time, though O'Day only pitched three innings before being waived to make room for Figueroa to make a start in Mike Pelfrey's absence. Few tears were cried over O'Day's departure, until he went on to strike out 54 in 55.2 innings with the Rangers while posting a 2.83 tRA, 11.8% swinging strike rate and a sub-1.00 WHIP. His .244 BABIP might be unsustainably low, but the Mets' loss was the Rangers' gain.

Traded Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Mike Carp, Jason Vargas, Joe Smith, Ezequiel Carrera, and Maikel Cleto in a three-team deal with the Mariners and Indians, getting back J.J. Putz, Sean Green, and Jeremy Reed: Ugh. This one looks worse with each passing day. Green is probably the best player going to the Mets in this deal. Putz was spotty and then injured, and his outlook for 2010 is questionable. He'll pitch, I assume, but the Mets hold an $8.6 million club option with a $1 million buyout, and his return to Queens is hardly guaranteed. Reed was worth -.7 WAR with the Mets in 2009, and is apparently terrible at everything. Endy got hurt but he's Endy which just makes this trade worse for reasons both rational (his leather-flashing puts Rob Halford to shame) and irrational (he's Endy!). Joe Smith was so-so with the Indians; he's a younger, slighty shabbier Sean Green. Carp had a decent season with Triple-A Tacoma and hit .315/.415/.463 in 65 plate appearances with the Mariners. Vargas was nothing special, and managed to allow 16 homeruns in 91.2 innings. Heilman was traded in a separate deal from Seattle to the Cubs, and was about what you'd expect (good strikeouts, too many walks, mirthless scowl). Carrera had a .408 wOBA with Double-A West Tenn. Cleto made eight starts with Single-A Clinton, striking out 24 and walking eleven in 25.1 innings. If Putz had stayed healthy and effective things would look a whole lot different, but as it stands this deal gets worse with each passing day.

December 23, 2008

Signed Omir Santos: We rag on Santos here a lot, mostly because he's bad, but also because the Mets think he's actually good. The truth is that he's pretty bad, at hitting at least, but the Mets paid him nothing and he was worth almost half a win with his bat, and he might be pretty good with the glove, too. The truth is that the Mets could do worse than Santos in a backup role next year, but the frightening reality is that he may be more than that.

January 9, 2009

Signed Tim Redding for 1 year/$2.25 million: Looked like a decent deal for an average starting pitcher. Then he missed the beginning of the season with a shoulder problem. Then he was below average for 120 innings with the Mets. Whatever. I'm not losing any sleep over this one. It was a pretty good one-year gamble.

January 13, 2009

Signed Alex Cora for 1 year/$2 million: A .291 wOBA and -3.7 UZR in 82 games, the best thing you can say about him is that he had the good sense to get hurt and not further hamper the Mets with his sub-replacement ballplaying.

January 16, 2009

Signed Casey Fossum: Appeared in two games for Buffalo and three for the Mets, doing little of anything worth mentioning. Spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs' system.

January 20, 2009

Signed Cory Sullivan for 1 year/$600k: Posted a semi-respectable .332 wOBA in 156 plate appearances with the Mets, but was unspectacular in the outfield. FanGraphs has him worth $400k, so this signing was hardly a disaster. Nothing to get too excited about either, I suppose.

Searching for a Skipper, Part Two

davoag — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:35:07 -0000

More photos » by Luis Alvarez - AP

5 months ago: In this Aug. 12, 2008 file photo, Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta waits as umpires talk with each other during a baseball game with the New York Mets in Washington. Acta is out as manager of the Washington Nationals. Acting general manager Mike Rizzo confirmed the firing Monday morning, June 13, 2009, in an e-mail to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

Browse more photos »

When the Astros confirmed that Manny Acta would be the first candidate brought in for an interview, it began what could be a very open managerial search. This is good for us in that we can get an in-depth look at each potential skipper. So, let's continue this with a look at former Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta.

Acta was signed as a 17-year old first baseman out of the Dominican Republic by the Astros in 1986. He advanced as high as Double-A in both 1989 and 1990, playing 77 games there and batting .194/.194/.258. Acta played 370 games in the minors and had a career line of .241/.241/.299, including his final season at Low A Burlington, where Acta was a player-coach at age 22. Two years later, in 1993, Acta got his first managerial job with Houston's short season New York-Penn League team, the Auburn Astros. Over the next eight seasons, Acta put together a record of 419-432 with four winning seasons, including two straight at his highest stop, High A Kissimmee in 1999 and 2000. Acta also won a Florida State League title in 1999, coaching players like Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge, Keith Ginter and Wayne Franklin. In 2000, Acta coached Roy Oswalt, Tim Redding and Jeriome Robertson.

Acta started coaching in the winter leagues in 1999 as well, starting out in Caracas in the Venezuela Winter League before moving to Licey of the Dominican Winter League in 2002. Acta spent 2001 as a coach on the New Orleans staff, when it was still the Triple-A affiliate of the Astros. Players on that 200 team? Astros Pacific Rim scouting director Glen Barker and Lance Berkman, along with former Astros Scott Elarton, Roger Cedeno, Julio Lugo and Scott Linebrink.

Acta was just 33 years old when he was hired as the Washington Nationals new third base coach under manager Frank Robinson in 2002. Acta steadily moved up in the eyes of the Nationals until he was given the mangerial job after Robinson was fired following the 2006 season. Acta also managed the 2006 Dominican Republic entry into the World Baseball Classic, coaching Astros free agent Miguel Tejada and Angels free agent-to-be Vladimir Guerrero as well as former Astros farmhand Francisco Liriano.

So, that brings us to his stint as Washington's manager. In 2007, Acta saw the team to a 73-89 record but revived the career of Dmitri Young. Da Meat Hook even was selected for the All-Star game that July. The Nationals were not great that season, but that was partly because the team had a 4.58 ERA and a WHIP of 1.48. Of course, his starters ERA was 5.11, which makes it hard to win any games. Acta used his bullpen for 590 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.81, which we will revisit later on. The other telling stat about his pitching staff is in the 73 wins, the team's ERA was 2.91 while in the 89 losses, it was 9.02. Big difference, huh?

In 2008, the team's ERA jumped up to 4.66 but the starter's ERA was still too high at 4.97. His bullpen threw less innings at 553 1/3, but had a slightly higher ERA at 4.18. The team itself lost 102 games and had just 28 saves in 34 save situations. Offensively, Acta got surprisingly good seasons out of shortstop Christian Guzman, second basmean Ronnie Belliard and outfielder Elijah Dukes. Young had another good season, with an OPS of .794, but Acta was hurt by the roster machinations of GM Jim Bowden.

All those roster moves came to a head in 2009, when Acta and outfielder Lastings Milledge had a very public feud. Milledge was sent down to the minors after playing just seven games. Reportedly, the reason was Acta didn't like how Milledge behaved in meetings and that he had a generally surly attitude. This did not endear Acta to management, and he was let go halfway through the season.

The Nationals never had much talent, but Acta did show a knack for getting good performances out of other team's castoffs. He also didn't overuse a bullpen, and got similar results to the Astros this season (534 1/3 IP, 4.13 ERA). I'm not sure whether he would affect the staff positively or negatively, but he's definitely familiar with some of the pitchers and knows how to not go all Joe Torre on his relievers.

The Milledge incident is also interesting, because it suggests Acta is willing to call people out and hold his players accountable. Of course, it also reminds me a little of how Cooper acted with this team, and we know how that ended. So, I'm sure this incident will be discussed in more depth during the interview with Wade and Co.

I brought up all the players he's coached or is otherwise familiar with to illustrate how the Astros might accept him or how he might handle the current roster. If Berkman and Oswalt are both considered the 'Faces of the Franchise', and they both turned on Coop, it's important to get them on board with the hire. Will their familiarity with Acta help? If Acta can get those two to support his style or his accountability methods, it would go a long way to setting up a successful culture on the team.

One interesting quote from this 2007 interview with Acta was regarding his influence on the organization as a whole:

I’m kept in the loop on everything that’s going on, and I have a say in how we want things done down there. I take a lot of pride in having continuity throughout the organization, all the way from rookie ball to the big leagues.

This is very interesting, since it's not a job the Astros have asked from their big league skipper in quite a while. Sure, the coaches will make a call on when to bring guys up or who makes the roster in spring training, but setting a tone in the minor leagues? Continuity at all levels? That's something the Astros have lacked since Hunsicker left in 2004. Now it seems like Bobby Heck and Ed Wade both set the tone for player development. Where would Acta fit into this scheme?

Another interesting quote from the same interview about his bunting strategy:

Bunting is pretty outdated. Everybody scores so many runs nowadays, it doesn’t make sense to play for one run unless it’s late in the game and it’s close. I hardly ever bunt early in a game, unless it’s with a pitcher. A big inning can win you a game. One run in the third inning can’t, unless you have Pedro pitching.

And of course, his pick for the best pitcher in baseball:

Roy Oswalt. He’s just tough as nails. He comes at you like nobody else. That’s a tough place to pitch, and he’s been very consistent.

Acta is also very interested in using sabermetrics to make better decisions, which is very interesting to the people around this blog, we heady baseball fans. I'm not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing, but it may help get all those bad OBP players out of the every day roster. Nothing drives me crazier than all the guys with OBP under .340. But that strays from the point. Acta is a young guy, who's failed in his first job and is looking for some redemption. Sounds a lot like Bill Belichick after the Cleveland fiasco but before New England. Does that make him the best candidate? No, because he still has done nothing to be successful at the big league level. He does make for an interesting candidate, though.

Justin Maxwell Hits A Walk-Off Grand Slam!!! Washington Nationals Win 7-4, Sweep New York Mets.

Ed Chigliak — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:15:20 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals' Justin Maxwell cleans the shaving creamfromn his face after hitting a grand slam in the ninth inning against the New York Mets in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009, in Washington. The Nationals won 7-4. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Browse more photos »

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!

• Justin Maxwell works the count full with the bases loaded and two down in the ninth with NY ahead 4-3, and J-Max takes the Mets' high-priced closer Francisco Rodriguez deeeeeep to left and GONE for a walk-off Grand Slam in the last home game of the season in Nationals Park...DO YOU BELIEVE!!!!

Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

See How The Mets Fans Took It At: Amazin' Avenue.

Check Out the Post Game And The Full Game Report (You Know, For The Completists), AFTER THE JUMP!!!

• Shadows from the stadium lights and the upper deck of Nationals Park are stretched in a large swath across the field of play from the left field grass, over third, the mound and wrapping around first as DC lefty John Lannan starts the final home game of the season against the New York Mets with a scoreless frame that Mets’ starter Tim Redding matches.

• Jeff Francoeur thinks for a moment that he’s hit a two-run HR to left off John Lannan in the top of the second, but it’s ruled a double upon further review, though the two runners who would have scored if it had been called correctly as a HR cross anyway when Fernando Tatis follows with a sac fly to right and Omir Santos hits an RBI single. 2-0 NY after two.

• Mets’ right-hander Tim Redding retires the first ten batters he faces before Elijah Dukes singles up the middle with one down in the fourth. Redding strands Dukes, but the Nationals finally get on the board in the fifth. Josh Willingham hits a leadoff single to center, moves to second when Josh Bard walks, third when Ian Desmond grounds out, and the Hammer comes home on a sac fly by Alberto Gonzalez to make it 2-1 NY after five.

• E: 140, 141...Angel Pagan hits a weak grounder to short with one down in the sixth, and Ian Desmond misplays what should have been the second out. E: 140. One out later, David Wright rrrrips a grounder to third, and Ryan Zimmerman sidesteps it and tries to snatch it with his glove and misses, E: 141. OUTCOME: Two on, two out. Carlos Beltran singles to center to score Pagan, 3-1 Mets’ lead after five and a half.

• THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! Ryan Zimmerman gives the DC Faithful reason to believe with a solo shot to center off Mets’ reliever Bobby Parnell in the eighth inning. Zimmerma---THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! hits his 33rd of ‘09 to make it 3-2 NY.

• E: 142. Ryan Zimmerman’s always had a habit of side-stepping hard hit grounders and trying to snap it up with his glove, but he’s missed two tonight and it might be time to start getting in front of them, cause his 17th error costs DC another run. OUTCOME: Jeff Francoeur reaches on the Zimmerman error and takes second. Fernando Tatis singles Frenchy over to third, and Omir Santos puts a perfect hit and run single behind the runner at second to score Francoeur for 4-2 NY lead...

• And Now The Epic Bottom Of The Ninth...

The New York Mets gave Francisco Rodriguez to a 3-year/$37 M dollar deal to close games for them, and the hard-throwing right-hander, who set the Major League record for saves last season, was called upon in the ninth tonight with the Mets desperate for a win against the pesky Washington Nationals who were threatening to sweep and seriously embarrass New York. Rodriguez, who'd converted 34 of 40 save opportunities this season, started Alberto Gonzalez with a 91 mph heater for a called strike and followed with a change that Gonzalez ripped to short and beat to first, sliding in headfirst ahead of Wilson Valdez's throw. Pinch hitter Mike Morse worked the count full in the next at bat and lined a K-Rod change back up the middle. Willie Harris fouled off one bunt attempt before getting a successful sac down to move Gonzalez and pinch runner Jorge Padilla into scoring position for Elijah Dukes, who worked the count full and took a gutsy ball four to load the bases for Ryan Zimmerman. Zim K'd swinging on the third pitch he saw, (curve for a called strike, fastball fouled off and an 0-2 change), to bring up Adam Dunn. The Big Walky battled K-Rod to a full count and took three straight out of the zone for a bases loaded walk and a one-run game which NY still led 4-3. Enter Justin Maxwell:

• Justin Maxwell...(1) Took a curve for ball one from Francisco Rodriguez then watched as a (2) second curve dropped in and the veteran hit the low outside corner with a (3) fastball for a called strike two. A four-seam fastball followed (4) that Maxwell took for ball two, 2-2, and then fouled off a fastball (5) and took a change outside (6) and looow to work the count full against K-Rod. 4-seam fastball up high (7), fouled off, four-seam fastball down low, (8) fouled off, and then a third straight fastball (9) that gets LAUNCHED TO LEFT AND GONE!!! GRAND SLAM!!! GRAND SLAM!!! Justin Maxwell wins it with a walk-off Grand SLAM!!! Nationals win, 7-4!!!

FULL GAME REPORT:

New York Mets At Washington Nationals. Game 158 Of 162.

Josh Willingham takes a knee to catch a low line drive from Angel Pagan. Anderson Hernandez makes Willingham spring to his left and leap up for a second hard-hit line out. David Wright flies to right and Elijah Dukes stares into the sun and makes the catch...Jeff Francoeur catches the first out for Tim Redding off Willie Harris’ bat. Elijah Dukes goes the other way with a high fly to right. Ryan Zimmerman swings through a high fastball to end the first inning.

Carlos Beltran walks to start the second and Jeff Francoeur lines one off the very top of the wall for what might be a HR? They’re taking a look. It’s ruled a double. Fernando Tatis flies out to right, Elijah Dukes tries for a throw home, but has no chance, 1-0 NY. Francoeur takes third on the bad throw. Omir Santos scores Francoeur with a single to center. 2-0 Mets. Lannan gets the DP grounder from Wilson Valdez, Alberto Gonzalez to Ian Desmond to Adam Dunn, double play...Adam Dunn flies out to left field for the first out of DC’s second. Josh Willingham grounds weakly to short. Josh Bard pushes Angel Pagan back to the track to end the bottom of the frame.

Tim Redding starts the third against Lannan with a ground ball to third for the first out. Angel Pagan lines out to Ian Desmond. Anderson Hernandez sends Elijah Dukes breaking back but he makes catch to end the Mets’ third...Ian Desmond’s grounder to short is cut off by David Wright, who fires to first. Alberto Gonzalez grounds out to short. John Lannan is the ninth-straight Nationals’ batter retired.

David Wright skies one to Dukes in right. Carlos Beltran’s way out in front of a two-strike change. Jeff Francoeur grounds to third, Zimmerman snaps it up and throws to first to end NY’s fourth...Willie Harris hits a high fly ball to center, Carlos Beltran makes the catch. Elijah Dukes singles up the middle to break up Redding’s streak of ten-straight set down. Jeff Francoeur avoids the stands that stick out into right and catches a foul ball from Zimmerman. Adam Dunn just pulls a long fly foul and ends up lining out to first to end the fourth.

John Lannan throws a high two-strike fastball by Fernando Tatis. Omir Santos grounds out Ian Desmond at short. WIlson Valdez rolls the first pitch out to third and Ryan Zimmerman’s throw ends the Mets’ fifth...Josh Willingham starts DC’s fifth with a sharp single to center. Josh Bard works a walk. Ian Desmond hits a swinging sac bunt toward first to advance both runners. Alberto Gonzalez flies out to center to score Willingham from third, 2-1 NY. John Lannan slaps a two-out single through short. Willie Harris K’s swinging through a fastball outside to end the fifth.

Tim Redding K’s in the first AB of the sixth. Angel Pagan grounds to short, and Ian Desmond gets a bad hop and misplays it. E: 140. Anderson Hernandez pops out to Dukes in right after a long AB. David Wright rips a grounder through Zimmerman at third. E:141. Carlos Beltran singles up the middle to score Pagan from second, 3-1 New York. Jeff Francoeur flies out to right...Elijah Dukes drops a surprise bunt down the third base line and David Wright can’t make a play. Ryan Zimmerman pops out unproductively. Adam Dunn's up when a wild pitch moves Dukes to second. Dunn flies out unproductively to center. Josh Willingham swings at the first pitch and grounds out to end the frame.

Fernando Tatis lines to left and beats the throw to second for a leadoff double. Omir Santos flies out to right field. WIlson Valdez takes a two-out walk and Gary Sheffield gets pinch hit intentionals to bring up Angel Pagan. Pagan grounds to Ian Desmond, who takes the force at second...Bobby Parnell vs Bard. Bard battles for 10 pitches and eventually walks. Ian Desmond grounds into a force at second in the next AB. Desmond avoids a ground ball from Alberto Gonzalez and Anderson Hernandez tries to get the force at second, but his toss is late. Two runners safe. Pinch hitter Cristian Guzman pops out unproductively to third. Willie Harris works the count full. Willie Harris grounds out to second to end the seventh.

Zach Segovia’s on to pitch the top of the eighth. Anderson Hernandez K’s swinging to start the inning. David Wright grounds out to third. Carlos Beltran pops out to the infield and Ian Desmond’s catch ends NY’s eighth...Elijah Dukes gets jammed and grounds out to the mound. Parnell vs Zimmerman. Ryan Zimmerma--THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! HR to straight center, 3-2 NY. Pedro Feliciano comes on to face Dunn. Adam Dunn pops out. Sean Green vs Willingham. Josh Willingham grounds to third, David Wright fields and throws...by first, Hammer is safe, and he takes second. Justin Maxwell runs for the Hammer. Josh Bard works another walk to put two on for Ian Desmond. Desmond grounds up the middle, Anderson Hernandez gets there and tosses to second for the inning-ending force.

Jeff Francoeur vs Segovia in the ninth. Francoeur grounds sharply to third that Zimmerman can’t come up with, Zimmerman drops it and throws way over first, E: 142. Frenchy takes second. Fernando Tatis lines a single over short. Omir Santos smacks a hit and run single through second to bring Francoeur home, 4-2 NY. Wilson Valdez grounds back to the mound. Segovia gets one out at first. Ron Villone replaces Segovia and gets a weak grounder toward first from pinch hitter Daniel Murphy grounds out to first. Ryan Zimmerman throws out Angel Pagan to end the Mets’ half of the ninth...Alberto Gonzalez singles to short, deep in the hole and Gonalez beats Wilson Valdez's throw to first. Mike Morse makes a pinch hit appearance, and he singles to center!!! Jorge Padilla comes on to run. Two on for Willie Harris. Harris gets a sac bunt down. Second and third for Dukes!! Dukes works the count full and walks. Ryan Zimmerman K’s swinging through an 0-2 slider. Adam Dunn works the count full, and walks in a run!! 4-3 ballgame. Justin Maxwell works the count full, fouls off two fastballs, and then OH LORD!! IT’S GONE!! J-MAX takes K-ROD Deeeeeeeeeeep to left and GONE!! GRAND SLAM!!! GRAND SLAM!! GRAND SLAM!!! THE NATIONALS WIN!! THE NATIONALS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7-4 final. Francisco Rodriguez is on to end it. Alberto Gonzalez reaches safely on a grounder deep in the hole at short.

Nationals now 55-103!!!

Big Game Redding

James Kannengieser — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:00:49 -0000

Tim Redding vs. the Phillies in 2009:

18 IP, 2.00 ERA, 13 K, 5 BB, 0 HR

You thinking what I'm thinking? 3 years, $36 million.

Masterpiece Theatre: Phillies 1, Mets 0

dajafi — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:15:29 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

3 months ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Pedro Martinez pitches in the second inning of the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the New York Mets, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

Through his first six starts as a Phillie, all wins for the team, Pedro Martinez clearly showed that he still had something left at age 37. In number seven, he turned back the clock and electrified a packed Citizens Bank Park, working eight superb innings to come out on the long end of a 1-0 victory.

After allowing five baserunners through the first two innings, Martinez mowed the Mets down over the next three innings with a low-90s fastball, evil changeup and rarely used but effective curve. He surrendered a leadoff David Wright double in the sixth--then struck out Carlos Beltran and induced easy fly outs from Daniel Murphy and Jeremy Reed. In the seventh, going over 100 pitches, he worked around a one-out single and a two-out walk to preserve the lead. Incredibly, Charlie Manuel sent Martinez back out for the eighth--and he started the inning by striking out Wright for the third time in the game and getting a Beltran groundout. After a long battle, Murphy doubled to the wall in right-center--but with a 1-1 count on Reed and Martinez at 130 pitches, a breaking pitch bounced a foot away from catcher Carlos Ruiz and Murphy took off for third. Ruiz pounced on the ball and fired to Pedro Feliz, who slapped the tag on Murphy to end the inning.

The excellence of Martinez overshadowed Tim Redding's continued and ever more inexplicable ownership of the Phillies. The first three Phils hitters reached base, Jimmy Rollins coming around to score on a Chase Utley hit to the wall that, because of Rollins' late break, went only for a single. But Redding retired the next three hitters to escape without further damage, stranded Feliz after a leadoff double in the second, and then set down the next 14 Phils hitters. Redding's ERA for the season before tonight's game was 5.78; in three starts against them this year, he's worked to a 2.00 ERA through 18 innings,

Ryan Madson worked the ninth to earn his eighth save, allowing only a one-out single to another Phillie-killer, Brian Schneider. With the doubleheader sweep, the Phillies officially eliminated the Mets from playoff contention; with their 82nd win of the year, the club clinched its sixth seventh straight winning season. They now lead the Marlins, who lost earlier Sunday, by 6.5 games.

Pedro Martinez Is Still Good: Phillies 1, Mets 0

Eric Simon — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:02:17 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Looked like the Pedro of old. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

Not that it really matters much to point fingers, but without a doubt we can hang this loss on the offense. Tim Redding held the Phillies to just one run on three hits and a couple of walks, finishing six innings and pitching about as well as could be expected agaist a very good team in a very tough ballpark. Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano each contributed a hitless inning of relief.

Unfortunately for the Mets, Pedro Martinez looked like the Pedro of 2005-ish, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out seven in eight innings. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel left Martinez out there for 130 pitches, and even tried to take him out with two outs in the eighth but was Grady Littled back to the dugout. This one worked out better than Little's rebuff, as Daniel Murphy was thrown out trying to advance to third on a ball in the dirt, ending the Mets' eighth inning threat.

Ryan Madsen allowed just one baserunner -- a one out single to Brian Schneider -- in shutting the Mets down in the ninth. The Phillies took three of the four games in the series, though the Mets remain in seventh place overall in next year's draft standings. The teams ahead of them are world class losers, so the Mets will really have to pull together over the season's final three weeks if they want to out-suck the Diamondbacks and Orioles of the baseball world.

Monday is an off day as the Mets travel south to take on the Braves beginning Tuesday. Pat Misch will take on Atlanta rookie Tommy Hanson.

Haiku by Howard Megdal

Vintage performace
Sees only heartless abstain
from vote for Pedro

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* The Good Phight Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Tim Redding, +18.7% WPA, Anderson Hernandez, +12.1% WPA
Big losers: Cory Sullivan, -21.2% WPA, Jeremy Reed, -15.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Wright leadoff double in sixth, +9.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Francoeur strikeout in ninth, -9.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +26.6% WPA
Total batter WPA: -76.6% WPA
GWRBI!: Chase Utley

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	MetsFan4Decades	35
2	fxcarden	30
3	Mex_17	20
4	Evan_S	9
5	metsguy234	5
6	Eric Simon	4
7	dcrockett17	3
8	Jsz	2
9	James Kannengieser	1
10	firejerrynow	1

Carlos Beltran Returns, Mets Still Terrible: Marlins 4, Mets 2

Eric Simon — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:51:57 -0000

Carlos Beltran is back, for better or worse. For the 2009 team I suppose it's clearly for better, as Beltran gives beleaguered fans another reason to tune in on a semi-daily basis. He went 1-for-4 in his return tonight with a double, a nice sliding catch in the eighth, and came a few feet shy of a momentum-shifting grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. Beltran claims to be at 100%; rusty, but pain-free. I used to think that if the medical staff cleared him to play then that was good enough for me, but that's a tough sell these days. A couple of months ago it looked like microfracture surgery on Beltran's knee might put him out of action for the rest of 2009 and much -- or all -- of 2010. A second opinion prescribed rest and now Beltran's playing big league baseball again. I have no idea if his playing these last few meaningless weeks could negatively affect his availability in 2010; I suppose something disastrous could happen on the field, but I suspect a bit of running, swinging, and other baseball activities probably won't cause any undue damage. I also suspect that he'll spend much of the offseason resting and conditioning so he can be ready to go for next year.

Tim Redding fell off the horse of a few straight decent starts and laid an egg, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four. Bullpen MVP (?) Elmer Dessens pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while the Mets' seventh inning bullpen committee of Ken Takahashi and Sean Green managed to record three outs without allowing a single Marlin to score. Brian Stokes and Pedro Feliciano combined to pitch scoreless eighth and ninth frames.

Angel Pagan, shifted to left field to make room for Voltron, went 2-for-4. Jeff Francoeur went 1-for-3 with an RBI and his second unintentional walk in the last two games. David Wright went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, one with the bases loaded in the seventh. Josh Thole's two game hitting streak to begin his career is officially kaput, as the Mets' young catcher went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Pat Misch takes on Ricky Nolasco at 7:10pm on Wednesday.

Haiku by Howard Megdal

A Beltran return
Cannot best Marlins, team that
Homers at Citi

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Fish Stripes Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Luis Castillo, +18.3% WPA, Fernando Tatis, +10.4% WPA
Big losers: David Wright, -27.1% WPA, Tim Redding, -16.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Ross GIDP in second, +10.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ramirez two-run homerun in third, -19.7% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -3.7% WPA
Total batter WPA: -46.3% WPA
GWRBI!: Cameron Maybin

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by KeithsMoustache; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	KeithsMoustache	72
2	blueandorange4life	66
3	Syler	52
4	metsguy234	51
5	Jadden Hopkins	48
6	FatalFlaw	44
7	firejerrynow	41
8	firejerrymanuel	29
9	All Shook Down	20
10	MetsFan4Decades	15

Tim Redding Good, Mets' Offense Bad: Rockies 5, Mets 2

Eric Simon — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:36:37 -0000

The Mets' ship may be sinking like lead but Tim Redding is doing his best to secure himself work for the 2010 season. On July 17, Redding had a 7.22 ERA after allowing a run on three hits in two-thirds of an inning of relief against the Braves. Since then, Redding has allowed 15 earned runs in 37.2 innings -- a 3.58 ERA -- and has lowered his season ERA to a better-but-still-terrible 5.70. Tonight he allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk in 6.2 innings, striking out six and throwing 74 of 114 pitches for strikes.

On the negative side of the pitching ledger for the Mets was Brian Stokes, who had his second disastrous outing in his last three appearances, coughing up three runs on three hits and three walks -- one intentional -- in just a third of an inning. By tomorrow, Jerry Manuel will surely have forgotten who Stokes is, but let's hope that a couple of lousy relief efforts don't ruin what has been an otherwise solid season and great second half. Prior to his suckfest in Chicago over the weekend, Stokes had allowed just one run in his previous 23 appearances. He's not a superstar by any means, but he's a solid bullpen arm and makes practically no money at all, which is exactly the sort of player a smart team should hang onto to fill out their bullpen.

Offensively, the Mets managed just five hits and a walk against Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales. Jeff Francoeur had one of those hits -- a solo homerun in the fourth -- but also contributed a double-play grounder in the first and saw just ten pitches in four times to the plate. Jimenez threw just 109 pitches in eight innings as the Mets' hitters constantly pounded his offerings into the ground. In all, Jimenez recorded 15 ground outs to just five flyouts, a recipe for success in the thin air of Coors Field.

The Mets used four pinch-hitters tonight, none of them named Josh Thole.

Thursday's game is an afternooner, as Pat Misch makes his second start against Jason Marquis. Game time is 3:10pm EDT, and Josh Thole is set to make his big league debut.

Haiku by Howard Megdal

Redding sharp again
Francoeur homers, but offense
Stops there; Stokes implodes

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Purple Row Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Tim Redding, +19.0% WPA, Jeremy Reed, +6.8% WPA
Big losers: Brian Stokes, -37.3% WPA, Fernando Tatis, -10.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francoeur solo homerun in fourth, +12.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Giambi two-run single in eighth, -18.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -12.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: -37.8% WPA
GWRBI!: Jason Giambi

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by Ballonthewall; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	Ballonthewall	31
2	Jadden Hopkins	29
3	lstorie1971	29
4	blueandorange4life	26
5	fxcarden	18
6	aparkermarshall	18
7	metsguy234	17
8	pingel	14
9	firejerrynow	14
10	bones_boy	12