Canadian Smacktalk

"You see this?"  Hudgens referring to video of Bay hitting HRs as a Red Sox

"Yeah, I feel like that’s what I’m doing."  Bay

"No.  You’re not."  Hudgens via nj.com

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Remembering 10 years ago

"Because the games were called on 9/11, we went back to Pittsburgh before we actually played a game in New York.  At that time we had been impacted by meeting with the families of the rescue workers. And so we had hats and T-shirts that we wanted to wear under our jerseys and on our heads during the game. And I can remember MLB saying we could do it as a tribute at the beginning, but we had to put our regular hats on for the rest of the game.  "The quote was attributed to me that I said, 'They're going to have to pry them off our heads if they think we're going to take those off.' But the quote was really attributed to me because I was the player rep. It was really a collective feeling from everybody in the clubhouse, and Bobby Valentine included, that, 'Hey, we're wearing these out there as a tribute. This is not some trivial, novel little sign and gesture. This is a tribute. And we're going to wear these hats until we can't wear them anymore, until they're ripped off our heads.' That was the feeling we had toward New York. There was a unity there."  Todd Zeile via espn

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While harsh, I think Pelf’s teammates can respect the fact that he said this on record and not as a cowardly anonymous quote

"It's unrealistic for anybody at the end of last year to come in and say, 'The Mets, this is a one-year thing, next year we're going to win it all.' It's unrealistic."  Pelfrey via the post

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At least one player will be playing hard for a die hard

"It's just overwhelming.  It's phenomenal. It's a dream come true. How can anybody express what their feelings are? It's above phenomenal. It's just unbelievable. We live here in Queens, he played the city (CHSAA) championship here in Queens, always wanted to play for the Mets. Nothing better than this."  Mike Baxter’s father on his son’s Mets debut via dailynews

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Score one for Ray Ramirez

"Alive."  Johan on how he felt the morning after his first rehab start via dailynews

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A fitting farewell

"[Beltran] came over and shook everybody’s hands and said thank you."  Pagan via sports.yahoo.com

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Thank-you Bel-Tran

"Thank-you Bel-Tran."  Chant from right field stands during the top of the ninth.  Beltran raised his glove in acknowledgement.

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I’m picturing Bay saying this as he unveils a cutout of Alderson with 54 pieces of clothing taped to it

"I don't think it should really come as a shock to anybody or that this was one of those out-of-left-field things. I think the writing was on the wall for a while.  Regardless of the position we're in record-wise, I think it's safe to say that there's probably a couple of guys that will be wearing different uniforms.  We have to go out there and try to make it even tougher for when those other decisions have to be made."  Bay via dailynews

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Yeah but the guy only did it for the $100,000 All-Star bonus in his contract

"I wish I had something to tell you why I took him over the guys others as much as what I saw what he did against us -- a switch-hitter with power. He’s having a great year, very deserving. I mean this guy is on pace to hit close to 30 home runs in a tough park to hit home runs in and have over 100 RBIs. I have tremendous respect for Beltran and what he’s done this year." Bruce Bochy via espn

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Good one R.A.

"I guess the no-hitter’s next, right?"  Dickey regarding the end of the Mets grand slam drought via sports.yahoo.com

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Couldn’t have said it better myself

"Walden gave us a little heart attack.  Putting Reyes on is pretty nasty-scary."  Tori Hunter via dailynews

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I’m not sure what just happened

"Unlike the Cocksure Carrot Top (Turner), Low Key Gee, Tiny Tejada and Scowlin' Murphy, all of whom walk around like they belong here, Duda is not as sure."  Andy Martino via nydailynews

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Note to the league:  All your third base are belong to Reyes

"I take them at any time.  It doesn’t matter. A triple is a triple no matter where I play."  Reyes via sports.yahoo.com

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Wins like this show that you can in fact beat the Pittsburgh Pirates

"You need wins like this to show you can do it.  You have 27 outs. You don’t stop until the game is over."  TC via sports.yahoo.com

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So it begins

"He’s pressing.  A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar."  Wilpon on Wright via The New Yorker  

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It was a blown call for sure, but I don’t know what additional explaination Riggleman was looking for

"I really didn’t get an explanation.  He said he was out." Riggleman via sports.yahoo.com

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Probably smiling about his next contract #blamebeltran

"I was always wondering, 'How's it feel for those players to get three homers in a game? It feels great. ... Being able to [do] something like this, I feel like a little kid, honestly. I was smiling. I never smile a lot, but I was smiling. I was happy." Beltran via espnny

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The players react

"I don’t like to give Philadelphia fans too much credit, but they got this one right."  Wright on the U-S-A chants via espnny

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No beer and bad calls make Jose go something something

"I went a little crazy there."  Reyes via espnny

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Jason Bay = Bizarro Beltran

“Obviously having Jason Bay back—to pull these guys together is one of the best things that could happen.  I think his presence in the clubhouse, in the dugout, and on the field is a big factor.”  Collins via sports.yahoo.com

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I think we can all agree that there have been copious amounts of articles, posts and web blogs trying to figure out Mike Pelfery.  There have been posts discussing Mike’s true ability level to posts about his mental state.  While I’m not Dr. Phil, I think there’s a much simpler explanation to Mike’s early season struggles than what has been previously explored.  BABIP.  Now I know it's early in the season and we’re dealing with really small sample size issues, but I really think BABIP is the root cause of Big Pelfs problems.  However, since this is AA and since the amount of words I’ve used so far will cause everyone to tell me this should’ve been a FanShot, let’s take a closer look into the numbers.

As we all know, Pelfrey is currently hitting .000/.000/.000/.000 with one strikeout.  For those that prefer the advanced stats, Mike currently is sporting a .000 wOBA with a 20.0% K rate.  While Mike has never been the most gifted hitter, this is a far cry from his career .237 OPS and .116 wOBA.  That being said, his 0.0% BB rate is fairly close to his career 3.8% BB rate as well as his current .000 ISO being pretty much in line with his career .010 ISO.  In addition, his 20.0% K rate is actually an improvement from his 27.4% career K rate.  So what has really changed?  Well Mike’s BABIP stands at .000 while is his career BABIP is .125.  Thus, Mike’s early season struggles might not be a problem only a psychologist can solve but simply a matter of Mike going through a rough patch of bad luck to start the season. 

Of course, maybe it is somewhat mental for Pelfrey.  After Chris Young’s debut against the Phillies, in which Young had three hits, Wright was quoted to say "I didn’t realize he was such a good hitting pitcher.  It just makes Pelfrey look that much worse."  While I still contend that Wright is a great leader for the Mets, he clearly dropped the ball calling out Pelfrey for no good reason during what should’ve been a time of good feelings in the Mets clubhouse.  Rather than ignore Wright’s dig at him, Pelfrey stated that, "I’m not going for average anymore. I’m swinging for the fences. Don’t miss down the middle."  The problem here is two-fold and perhaps explain Mike’s poor BABIP, for one, Pelfrey decided to change what worked for him and change his approach and two, he blatantly told opponents how to pitch to him.  Or so it would appear. 

Here are Pelfrey’s pitch fx charts, via texasleaguers

As we can see, not only have opposing pitchers not been deterred to not "miss[ing] down the middle" but Mike taken pitches thrown down the middle as well.  We can also see from the charts that Mike has not chased too many pitches outside the zone.  So, while Mike has stated that he is trying to hit for more power, it appears that his approach to the plate remains as solid as it has been throughout his career.  This leads me to believe that, while Mike has been going through a well-documented poor start to his season, his .000 BABIP simply cannot continue.  I’m willing to bet that by the end of the season, Big Pelf’s season line will probably look much closer to his .091/.136/.101 and we’ll all laugh at the arm chair physiology performed at the beginning of the season.      

Or you know, he can stop ordering from this Chinese food place I passed in the financial district.

Counting $141.5 millon can also get in the way

“[Dickey] was always a little bit different. He was always a smart guy, always looking for the deeper meaning of life. Position players don’t have that much time. We don’t get the luxury of figuring that part of life out.”  Helton via espnny

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He’s like a bearded Buddha or a character from The Wire

"This game is about how to handle regret, it really is."  Dickey via thedailynews

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Obviously where Perez got his attitude #blamebeltran

"Going and playing in the minor leagues it’s boring, honestly." Beltran via sports.yahoo.com

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