It really is amusing to watch what is happening with that team. Originally I had picked them for third, and I still think they MAY finish there, but....
It almost seems like Minaya and Randolph are over their heads. Willie is going to try to be like Torre and Minaya simply overpaid for everyone without addressing some real needs (bullpen).
And now all the sniping about Delgado, plus Pedro throwing 60 pitches in his first game - 60!!! Looks like he is trying to hard to impress. Wanting NY to feel they made the right decision in spending all that money on him. And Willie kept him out there for 3 innings - how many other pitchers threw 3 innings in their debut this spring? None that I have heard of.
Funny, I was just about to post the exact same thing. I like this from the NYT:
ReplyDelete"'That's not his first outing,' [pitching coach Rick] Peterson said stiffly, referring to the 36-pitch simulated game MartÃnez threw five days before. 'He told me he feels as good as he's felt in the last five years.' Because MartÃnez feels no concern, Peterson said, 'I don't.' "
Trusting Pedro to accuratelt assess his own abilities? Are they kidding?! Have they even paid attention to Pedro's career the last 4 years?!? It's going to be a loooonngggg summer.
[Sorry about the lack of posts -- I'm getting swamped at work.]
Trusting Pedro to accurately assess his own abilities? Are they kidding?! Have they even paid attention to Pedro's career the last 4 years?!?
ReplyDeleteI could not have said it any better myself.
I can see Randolph being a bit awestruck, but I'm shocked that Peterson would say that - this is a guy who supposedly is one of the best in the game. He certainly has been around long enough and should know better.
He probably has 6 more outings before the opener. Is he going to pitch a complete game in spring training? Boomer has said he wants to pitch 18 innings total all spring.
That is nuts! Even "I" know that Pedro shouldn't throw that many pitches in pre-season (and I am a dinosaur).
ReplyDeleteClearly, it looks like Pedro is trying to prove a point. However, it may not be a message to the Red Sox, but rather a note to his fellow team mate. This article in the NY Times paints an interesting picture of two very different leadership styles of the top additions to the Mets. For example, "'They both talk to us all the time, but in really different ways," Reyes said. "Pedro will say something serious and then make a joke to crack everybody up. Carlos just explains something that happened in the game and makes sure we understand.'" Just wait until the first slump when both players are pressing the players around them to do different things - that's sure to help get them out of the slump.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Pedro was always on a team in contention in Boston. He still pulled his crap.
ReplyDeleteWhat is going to happen when the Mets fall out of contention? Will his sore arm (from throwing 60 pitches in his first spring training outing) sometime in July force him to miss some starts? And if he doesn't miss any starts he will be "tired" at the end of the year...
And not for nothing (now I am just plain ranting), but the press said he was "awesome" in his first outing. If awesome is giving up 2 runs and walking 2 in 3 innings of work(and throwing a wild pitch to boot) then I now need a better word than awesome to describe truly fantastic performances.
Anyway, I still think that the Mets are going to be good. They have what looks to be a pretty solid lineup, but they do need help in the pen. They could always pick someone up. It's not like Minaya is afraid to spend money.
It should be interesting how Pedro holds up this summer - potentially being on a non contender for the first time since Montreal. But even back then, he was pitching for recognition and a Cy Young award - neither of which he is likely to be gunning for this summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that surprised by his less than stellar results - remember last year there were all sorts of questions about his "stuff" going into the season. Plus sometimes in the first outing a pitcher will throw only one or two pitches. It just was a little shocking that he threw 60 pitches and go three innings. I still have not heard of any other pitcher throwing 3 innings this year and its almost a week after Pedro did it.