The Mets Are A Natural Disaster

• Cubs 9-Mets 6:

I don't think anyone who's watched the Mets for any significant length of time and has any baseball intelligence at all didn't see what was coming after they failed to score in the bottom

of the ninth inning with a runner at third base and no outs. This is not an isolated incident with the Mets as they find situations in which it's difficult not to score, yet find a way to accomplish the feat. Apparently, the "MVP candidate" David Wright has never heard of the term "shortening your swing based on the situation" because with Daniel Murphy on third base, Wright was hacking away as if he were looking to get his face time on SportsCenter with another walk-off home run instead of simply driving in the winning run with a fly ball. But, that's not why the Mets are the baseball equivalent of a natural disaster.
Like a hurricane or earthquake, there's no judgment or intent to injure; like any natural occurrence, what is simply is. Anyone who knows the Mets knew what was going to happen after they failed to score with that tailor-made opportunity in the bottom of the ninth. Just like the game against the Phillies in which they blew a 7-0 lead and ended up in extra innings, there was no way they were going to come back and win. The situation was such that I stopped watching the game. So confident in the Mets ability to demolish their playoff chances in the most painful way possible and quite likely give up a home run, I went downstairs to empty the dishwasher rather than watch it happen, because I knew what was going to happen and didn't have to watch.
Unlike the writer Stephen A. Smith, who claimed that he "didn't have to" watch the end of a

Jets-Patriots playoff game in January 2007 because, he wanted to imply, his innate football knowledge gave him the foresight to see the future but he was in reality talking out of his posterior, I truly knew what would happen...*

*I have to make a note here about Stephen A. Smith. As much as I rip him for his lack of even the most basic knowledge of baseball and football (he didn't know which team was in which division during his ill-fated TV show on ESPN), I read his column in ESPN the Magazine and the man's a very good, talented writer; skilled with the language, coherent and well-organized.

...because of that, after emptying my dishwasher, I walked back upstairs, looked at the TV

and saw Derrek Lee standing on second base, that the score was 7-6 and with Aramis Ramirez at the plate said, "Uh oh"; seconds later Ramirez deposited a Luis Ayala pitch into the left field bleachers to effectively end the game right there and then.
This isn't a function of any collapse; it's just the Mets being the Mets; being the thing that they are with no other definition necessary; whether or not they pull themselves out of this is another aspect of the Mets. As a franchise, they've fought out of worse situations than this (1973, 1986, 1999); and they've stumbled under the weight of themselves (1988, 1998, 2006, 2007). Which version they'll be this time will be discovered in the coming days, but no one who knows the team can feign surprise, because this is the Mets, for better or worse.

• Brewers 4-Pirates 2:

I'd suggest putting the brakes on the idea that these two wins against the Pirates (and

three in a row overall) have righted the Brewers sinking ship. C.C. Sabathia is showing far more courage than his body can handle and these taxing starts on three-days rest are going to haunt him in the coming years if he's not careful.*

*One note about pitchers. I contend that it's not the number of pitches per se that are causing the injuries, but when the pitcher gets physically tired, loses his leg drive and proper mechanics and deviates from throwing properly and as stress-free as possible, thereby overtaxing his arm and getting hurt; and Sabathia, while in shape for baseball, isn't exactly a bastion of physical fitness; but the Brewers know that they're not keeping him, so what do they really care about what happens with him after 2008?

Watching chunks of these two games made me see how bad the Pirates really are. I would be deeply concerned with the new management team because in addition to this embarrassing tete-a-tete betwen Scott Boras and team president Frank Coonelly as to whether or not Pedro Alvarez agreed to a deal or not, the deals that GM Neal Huntington

made at the trading deadline to shed the remaining marketable veterans on the Pirates roster are getting a horrible review in the short-term.
In dealing Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yankees as part of one deal, the return had to be equal or better than what they would've gotten if they'd dealt both separately. With both players being in heavy demand and playing positions that were desperate needs for so many teams, the Pirates have to hope that Jose Tabata regains his lost luster as a prospect; that Dan McCutchen develops (and he's about to turn 26, a bit too old to be a "prospect"); that maybe the talented Ross Ohlendorf can become a useful pitcher as a starter or reliever (I'd make him a starter); and realize that Jeff Karstens is a soft-tossing journeyman. The return on that deal looks weak.
Then there was the three-way deal in which Jason Bay ended up with the Red Sox and

Manny Ramirez on the Dodgers. Andy LaRoche (whom I'm convinced the Pirates were as interested in the marketing ability of uniting him with his brother on the corners of their diamond as they were a cornerstone to their rebuilding project) has looked overmatched at the plate and clueless in the field. Brandon Moss and Craig Hanson have talent, so they may end up as useful pieces; and young Bryan Morris is at least three years away from the big leagues. The fact that the Dodgers gave up on LaRoche so quickly would be a red flag for me because the Dodgers development people have the results to indicate they know what they're doing and even though they were getting a star like Manny, wouldn't have just dumped a player they had as high an opinion of as everyone else seemed to as was the situation with LaRoche.
In essence, that Pirates lineup isn't at all scary, so the Brewers should be beating them.

Now tonight will be a major test because they've activated Yovani Gallardo to take the start. Gallardo was supposed to miss the entire season with a knee injury, but has returned. The Brewers don't have much of a choice than to try Gallardo (unless they want to put Sabathia out there again), but I'd question what kind of performance they're going to get from him (his numbers in his minor league rehab starts weren't very good), and they're not going to be able to get him too deeply into the game, which will put things in the hands of that awful bullpen.

• Will the Mets recover from this? Will the Brewers seize their opportunity? And how will the weather forecasts in New York affect everything?

It's a four game season now with everything all even. The game tonight will depend on whether or not the Mets score some runs early and get a decent performance from Pedro Martinez. The fans and media grasp tightly to what happened

the day before more than the players do. Once the game starts, there's not going to be any "what-if?" lamenting on the part of the players. They might try a little too hard with runners in scoring position; they might hold their collective breaths when the bullpen enters the game, but it won't be as a direct result of one game.
With the Brewers beating up on the Pirates, it has to be remembered that they're going to play the Cubs this weekend and while Cubs manager Lou Piniella is being prudent with his players, he's also managing the games to win. That they're going from playing one contender in New York to Milwaukee also adds into that equation because Piniella's not going to give the Brewers an easy time after the way his team battled against the Mets. The Brewers "recovery" from their dreadful slump will be judged by how they play this weekend.
The weather forecasts in New York are also very important. It's supposed to rain all weekend to the point that the games are in jeopardy. The media is suggesting that the possibility of rainouts and doubleheaders are a disadvantage for the Mets, but I see it the opposite way. If the Brewers are forced to play while the Mets are sitting in their clubhouse playing cards, the pressure will revert to the Brewers. Add in that the Cubs----knowing that if tonight's game is rained out, there's a very real possibility of having to play a makeup game in

New York on Monday to decide who's going to the playoffs----are going to do everything possible to avoid that and play as hard as they can to eliminate the Brewers if necessary actually gives the Mets an advantage. And at this point, I don't think the Mets would refuse any divine intervention to get them into the playoffs because what they're doing on the field isn't working, so maybe if they sit around and watch the Brewers implode, they'll have more success. They can't do much worse than they have in the past two Septembers if they're not playing. Mets manager Jerry Manuel's a spiritual guy, raising his arms to the sky and saying, "Let it rain!!!" wouldn't be such a bad idea since they've tried just about everything else.

Billy Wagner Possibly Out For The Season

With the ragged performances of the Mets bullpen in Billy Wagner's absence, I don't expect to hear the "experts" in the media----specifically on WFAN where Wagner is reviled

because he's not Mariano Rivera----saying much of anything now that it's quickly being learned what life is like without any closer at all. Now that the pain in Wagner's forearm has moved to his elbow, where there's swelling and a question as to whether he's going to be able to return at all this year, the Mets have to do something. They have several options, none of which are very appetizing. Here they are:

• Hope that Brian Fuentes gets to them when the Rockies put him on waivers and make a deal:
  

Fuentes isn't great, but he's adequate and experienced; as the season winds down, the

Rockies fall out of contention and see that they're better off getting a more advanced prospect or two rather than the compensation draft picks they'll get when Fuentes leaves as a free agent, GM Dan O'Dowd will deal him. Number one, Omar Minaya isn't going to panic and give up a top tier prospect for a closer who may not be that much better than what the Mets have in their bullpen now; number two, it's hard to believe that any of the teams that will have to let Fuentes pass them by on waivers will risk allowing him to get to the Mets. The go-for-broke Phillies would claim Fuentes and give up far more than the Mets will be willing to, so it's unlikely that the Mets are even going to get the chance.

• Explore other options and outside the box acquisitions:

The Orioles have no reason to trade George Sherrill unless someone knocks them over with an offer, plus Sherrill hasn't been that great lately anyway. People are convinced that

there's something wrong with Huston Street and A's baseball czar Billy Beane doesn't deal players when their value is low unless he has no choice like with the oft-injured Rich Harden. The Mets supposedly inquired with the Mariners about J.J. Putz at the trading deadline and it was said that the Mariners were asking for the stars, sun and moon. If they're unwilling to trade Jarrod Washburn for Boof Bonser with Washburn's

contract, then forget about getting Putz.
Outside the box options could include Rafael Betancourt (who's been awful lately); or Trevor Hoffman, who'd probably be unwilling to end his career away from San Diego without some cajoling, and hasn't been very good either, but might be reinvigorated by a move to a new team in the big city with a shot at a ring; at least he's experienced and would probably get through to the Mets on waivers. New York fans would go into a frenzy at the tolling of the bell in the beginning of AC/DC's Hell's Bells signaling Hoffman's arrival.

• Use someone on their current roster:

There was a caller on the soon-to-be-renamed Mike and the Mad Dog radio show on WFAN

in which the caller suggested to host Mike Francesa that John Maine be moved into the role. Maine hasn't been able to get too far past five innings all season long, shoulder pain or not, so it's not all that bad an idea. Had Maine not been recently disabled with shoulder pain, the Mets might think about this more seriously and it would be worth a try, but that transition isn't easy to make for a healthy pitcher late in the season and there's no reason to risk Maine's longterm future out of desperation in a move that would be a tossup.
As for their other starters, Oliver Perez can't be trusted to throw strikes; and Mike Pelfrey

has been too good in the rotation. Here's an interesting thought: could Pedro Martinez do it? He wouldn't be bothered by the pressure; the adrenaline would light up his fastball; and he might get a kick out of it. Would he be healthy to do it three times in a week? They could ask him and it's not something to dismiss out of hand.
They could continue down the road they're on with the mixing and matching of using Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, et, al. Duaner Sanchez would've been the logical choice at mid-season, but he's not 100% (or even 90%) either. The Mets don't have to worry about the division getting too far away from them because the Phillies haven't been playing well and as I've stated a couple of times, there's something wrong with that team; and the Marlins are going to fade down the stretch.
None of these options are particularly enticing or realistic, but the Mets are in this situation and they have to figure something out because it doesn't look like they're going to have their closer, the former talk show target and prime example of observers not appreciating what they have until it's gone, Billy Wagner.

Add The Mets To The List Of Teams That Need A Starting Pitcher

• Marlins 7-Mets 3; John Maine leaves the game in the fifth inning with shoulder pain/stiffness:

A week ago, the Mets starting rotation was relatively solid in comparison to the rest of the

league even with the ambiguity of Pedro Martinez; now the may have to go into the market for a stopgap to give them some innings. John Maine left last night's game against the Marlins with pain/stiffness in the back of his shoulder and returned to New York for an examination and if he's out for any significant amount of time, the Mets have a problem.
The initial belief from pitching coach Dan Warthen is that it's not something serious that will cause Maine to miss more than one start, but that's hardly any comfort to the Mets who don't have any idea when they're getting Martinez back and what they're going to get out of him when he does return. So they, like most other teams, are going to scrounge around the non-contenders and teams willing to deal to try and find a starter. The Blue Jays have pulled A.J. Burnett off the market (more on this later), as the Reds have with Bronson Arroyo; that leaves the likes of Jarrod

Washburn; Paul Byrd; Vicente Padilla; Miguel Batista; and Tim Redding. There are teams like the Astros that should be making pitchers available to re-stock the franchise, but instead are acquiring spare parts that they don't need in Randy Wolf.
I wouldn't get too excited or give up much of anything for most of the pitchers mentioned; taking their salaries should be sufficient to

acquire them in lieu of viable prospects, but guys like Padilla, who's signed through next year with a 2010 option, wouldn't come cheap; and Redding is the type of impending free agent pitcher that the Nationals Bizarro GM Jim Bowden would ask for six top prospects after prematurely unloading the cheap, productive and versatile reliever Jon Rauch to the Diamondbacks for one. Byrd's been terrible this year, but he wouldn't cost

much in terms of players and the change might wake him up for the rest of the season; worst case scenario, he'd eat some innings. Perhaps the Twins would want to get something for Livan Hernandez as they promote Francisco Liriano; Hernandez would be a perfect fit for the Mets.
The only hope the Mets have in this case is that Maine will only miss a start or two and they can patch something together with Triple A veterans Brian Stokes or Ruddy Lugo; they could also promote top prospect Jon Niese from Double A for a couple of starts to see if they catch lightning. Unless they're getting one of the veteran pitchers available for little or nothing, patching the problem with what they have is the best solution for now.

• Another reason the Blue Jays should fire J.P. Ricciardi:

Now the Blue Jays are justifying keeping A.J. Burnett by implying that they're going to try to crawl back into contention and win right now after a brief hot streak has pushed them over .500. It's nonsense.
Take a look back at the Blue Jays track record under GM J.P. Ricciardi. Every year they've

either been out of contention completely by this point, or were hovering around exactly where they are now; not in a genuine playoff race, but not bad enough to warrant a thorough housecleaning of veterans; and look where they end up. They wind up with a record of slightly above .500 or a bit better and everyone thinks that they're improving; that they're ready to take the next step and join the Yankees and Red Sox at the top of the AL East and possibly vault past one to make the playoffs; but they don't. They're a hamster on a treadmill and it's enough already. They've had this latest hot streak to push them over .500 and into

"contention" against the fading Orioles and the Mariners. In August they play: the Rangers, Athletics, Indians, Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Yankees. Does anyone really believe that they're going to be able to keep up this "hot" streak?
Regarding Burnett, the main reason that they're not trading him is that they're not going to get much of anything for him because of that stupid contract that Ricciardi doled out in which the pitcher can either opt out at the end of this year or can activate two more years at $12 million per. If a deal could be worked out where Burnett would agree to activate the contract immediately upon being traded, then maybe the Blue Jays would get something of value for him, but why should he given the state of pitching around the big leagues? He's got 12 wins now and could wind up with 17-19 by season's end if he pitches well; he'd get a long-term deal from someone after the season if he does opt out.
The Burnett contract is eerily similar to the one that Frank Thomas received which----despite the disingenuous claims by Ricciardi----truly precipitated his release earlier this year. Thomas's contract was going to activate for next year after he reached 376 plate

appearances and the Blue Jays used Thomas's slow start (for which he's been notorious throughout his career) and chafing at being benched as the reasons he was released. The truth is that they dumped him because they didn't want to pay him for next year and having contracts dictate how a team is run and what player decisions are made in this way is inept management.
It's one thing to dump a player because of his contract and the team situation; it's another to dump him in April as the Blue Jays did with Thomas. It's the same situation with Burnett. They're not keeping him because they think they're going to leap into contention; they're keeping him because Ricciardi is hoping against hope that the Blue Jays will win their 87-88 games and again save his job as he hides behind the "improvement" that isn't really there. You really can't blame the guy for trying this strategy because it's worked in saving his neck before; you'd think that ownership would eventually catch on and make a change, but Ricciardi, with all of his controversies, embarrassing public dustups with players and bottom-line mediocrity, is still there, so he might again survive like the reptile he's proven himself to be.

Pedro Looks Out Of Whack, But Healthy

• Mets 15-Yankees 6 (Game 1); Yankees 9-Mets 0 (Game 2):

Carlos Delgado has a massive, team-record breaking day with two homers and nine RBI

and instead of people giving the guy some credit when he's been ripped relentlessly going back to last year, we hear stuff to the tune of "he's hitting off of batting practice pitchers" as a form of caveat for some positive results. No, it wasn't Brandon Webb he was hitting against when he did his damage, but every hitter fattens up his batting average and power numbers against mediocre pitchers; why should Delgado apologize or have to hear negativity when he finally does something good?
The Yankees aren't going to be able to function for much longer with the likes of Dan Giese, Ross Ohlendorf, Kei Igawa, Edwar Ramirez and whatever other journeymen they come up with to eat some innings. They can't count on Ian Kennedy to provide a spark and no one seems to know when Phil Hughes is coming back. The Yankees have the prospects to get

Roy Oswalt without digging too deeply into their farm system and that may be what they're going to have to do because the Rays don't look like they're going away and what the Yankees are trotting out there now just isn't going to cut it.
Pedro Martinez's velocity and stamina were expected to be the issues when he returned from his injuries, but his velocity has been consistently in the upper-80s to low-90s; Pedro's problem has been his command and that his head occasionally doesn't appear to be on

what he's doing. There's no excuse for a pitcher the stature of Pedro Martinez to be walking five guys in 5 2/3 innings; and where was his mind on Johnny Damon's grounder to second in the fifth inning? The pitcher is supposed to automatically bolt to cover first base on any ball hit to the right side of the infield; it looked like Pedro was in his own little world and not paying attention to what he was doing. For a guy who tries to set an example for the other pitchers on the staff, it was a colossal gaffe even though it probably didn't affect the result.

• Cardinals activate Mark Mulder and put him in the bullpen:

After all the rehab starts, aches and pains, visits to more doctors with various ailments, even the Cardinals are unlikely to be expecting anything of consequence from Mark Mulder.

They've got him in the bullpen for now in what looks like a case of "we may as well just bring him up and use him rather than have him waste whatever he has left rehabbing in the minors." If I had to bet, I'd say he comes up with another injury before getting into a game and goes back on the disabled list, or pitches and gets pummeled because he has very little left in his tank.

• Marlins 3-Diamondbacks 1:

In what must be a far cry from the Babe Ruth references that Micah Owings heard after his

hot start on the mound and at the plate, he may end up back in the minors in the very near future. On the whole, the Diamondbacks are looking eerily similar to the Mets last year----a hot start and bulging lead in their division, followed by a drunken stumble into mediocrity. The question is whether they're going to ride it out as the Mets did or do something to try to shake things up.

• Rangers 8-Phillies 7:

There has to be concern in the Phillies front office that the desperation switch of Brett

Myers to the bullpen last season, followed by a switch back to the rotation, has damaged the pitcher. His fastball is noticeably decreased in velocity and, aside from a solid game sprinkled in here and there, he's gotten pounded all season. Other than asking him if he's feeling healthy and/or ordering him to the doctor and possibly fiddling with his mechanics, I don't know what they can do other than just keep putting him out there and hope he straightens out.