Your 2010 New York Mets opening day lineup. (props go to Kevin B on twitter, where I saw it first)
Look ma, no hands!
1 – Alex Cora SS (2009 on-base percentage of .320)
2 -Â Luis Castillo 2B
3 -Â David Wright 3B
4 -Â Mike Jacobs 1B (2009 OPS of .698)
5 -Â Jason Bay LF
6 -Â Gary Matthews Jr. CF (2009 OPS of .697)
7 -Â Jeff Francoeur RF
8 -Â Rod Barajas C
9 – Johan Santana P
Discuss amongst yourselves the merits of batting a guy with a 2009 OBP of .320 leadoff and a guy with a 2009 OPS below .700 batting in one of the most crucial spots in the lineup. Thanks Jerry.
35 comments
GravediggerHebner
4/4/2010-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
There is no merit that I can think of but as I just guessed in Rusty’s thread (since he mentioned the lineup there) I think that Jerry is just showing his favoritism of veterans on Opening Day and I believe that in Game 2 Tejada will be at SS and Pagan will be in CF, and that those two will be playing the majority of the games at those positions while the starters are out. I see this as just giving the vets the moment of pomp and circumstance.
njstuckintx
4/4/2010-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
I hope so. I hope so…
stickguy
4/4/2010-1:41pm at 1:41 pm (UTC -4)
I would like to think so, but I expect that both you and Jerry had too much wild turkey, or some other mind altering subject of choice, today.
How exactly does jerry have a job as a ML manager?
playing GM to start with is ridiculous. and the batting order? Odd to say the least.
Kingman 26
4/4/2010-11:25am at 11:25 am (UTC -4)
People can disagree about the merits of Reyes batting third all they want, and this is an ambiguous debate, but batting Alex Cora leadoff ahead of Luis Castillo is absolutely ridiculous and embarrassing.
And all of the logic behind having Jacobs bat 4th works infinitely better if you bat Francouer 4th instead. Francoeur also has a weak OBP, but is certainly a better hitter who can hit HR and 2B at least as well as Jacobs, and could be much better with bay behind him, which would assure he see better pitches.
Why isn’t Pagan playing? Why isn’t the lineup
Castillo
Pagan
Wright
Francoeur
Bay
Jacobs
Barajas
Cora
Santana
Even in my brightest days of sunshiner optimist positiviality glory (which WILL return, I assure you) I have thought Jerry was a terrible manager. Glad he is reinforcing this quite firmly before the damn year even starts.
prismo
4/4/2010-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
I don’t know man. I agree 100% with everything you’ve said above.
According to Metsgrrl on twitter, Jerry went up to the edge of the stands to sign autographs. One blogger called him out, “Jerry, I don’t want an autographs but I gotta say my piece” and explained why Cora shouldn’t be batting leadoff. Metsgrrl says Jerry was a good sport… (I’d rather he be a bad sport and make the lineup logical)
Kingman 26
4/4/2010-11:41am at 11:41 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, I would rather he be a bad sport and a good manager!
Cannot wait for tomorrow, but the clouds on the horizon are dark and ominous….
Some things are debatable, some things we fans really don’t know jack about, but how can you not use Castillo as a leadoff hitter over Cora? And how can you choose Jacobs over Frenchy to bat cleanup when applying the same logic to both players?
stickguy
4/4/2010-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
Simple answer. Jerry is an idiot that is not qualified for the job he holds.
dirtysanchez
4/4/2010-11:55am at 11:55 am (UTC -4)
Jerry is staying as conventional as possible. Yes cora’s ops sux but im sure he is faster than GMJ and Jacobs. I would rather him play pagan instead of GMJ but then cora would have to bat way lower in the lineup and doesnt have the strength that GMJ has. Jerry wanted to keep some power in the lineup while having the speed guys up top. Thats my only rational that im guessing he did this for. I just hope the bullpen holds up and they finish games that we have a lead because we are going to need all the games we can get.
metsfan4decades
4/4/2010-12:01pm at 12:01 pm (UTC -4)
This lineup leaves me scratching me head.
Would have thought it would be Pagan leading off and in center and Cora playing SS and somewhere down in the order.
The fact that Pagan isn’t in there at all would lead me to believe they still don’t trust his baseball smarts. Can’t say GMJ is much of an improvement though.
Can’t agree more with Dirty above: we need all the wins we can get. Everyone dang one of these games count. And if Johan leaves the game with a lead, they’d better damn well hold that lead. This is going to set the tone of the whole season.
LGM!
njstuckintx
4/4/2010-12:26pm at 12:26 pm (UTC -4)
Was it Hazmet who said that yesterday they think that this is Omar giving enough rope for King Gansta to hang himself? I think that he’s well on his way fashioning a noose…
When Manuel came in, I thought he was a welcome change to what we had in Willie. Willie I was not a fan of from the start, so any change was good. Now I’m seeing change may not always make the situation better. I certainly hope that they look to bring in one of the many inhouse options the Mets have when the time for change does come about.
prismo
4/4/2010-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
Willie:
Personality – 2/10 (knock, knock! is anybody home?)
Game Management – 5/10
Jerry:
Personality – 6/10 (deducted points for not seeming to care/laughing as the Mets were losing last season)
Game Management – 3/10 (Cora leading off should probably make this a -15)
Bobby V:
Personality – 11/10 (bonus points for the mustache routine)
Game Management – Too long ago for me to remember…but higher than 5.
njstuckintx
4/4/2010-12:41pm at 12:41 pm (UTC -4)
I liked his game management. I would love Bobby V to come back. What he did with what he had deserves major credit. Timo Perez? Benny A.? No need to say more. I think it was a combination of him not jiving with GM and FO not happy about him spouting off.
Will they bring him back? No. I can’t see them going the Steinbrenner/Billy Martin route. I think they give serious consideration to Wanny Backstra, err, Mr. Backman. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with Bob Brenley though.
Hazmet
4/4/2010-12:44pm at 12:44 pm (UTC -4)
And my avatar smiles.
Hazmet
4/4/2010-12:42pm at 12:42 pm (UTC -4)
Looking at that lineup, Jerry being the company man, seems to have even brought his own rope. Yikes.
Still, tomorrow starts baseball 2010 which makes me all the glader. I’ll watch game 1 peeking through my fingers.
Mr North Jersey
4/4/2010-12:54pm at 12:54 pm (UTC -4)
Trying to understand why GMJ over Pagan for Opening DAY.
Its’ not because one hits better lifetime than the other vs Johnson because GMJ never faced Johnson and Pagan has all of 6 at bats vs Johnson going 1 for 6 with a walk.
I haven’t heard anything regarding injuries.
It could be about playing the veterans or it could also be that Manuel feels GMJ has had a better Spring than Pagan.
G.M.J. – ab/56 r/9 h/16 2b/3 hr/2 rbi/5 bb/8 so/17 sb/2 .286/avg .385/obp .867/ops
Pagan – ab/67 r/9 h/16 2b/3 hr/2 rbi/9 bb/5 so/14 sb/5 .239/avg .284/obp .657/ops
Keep in mind it’s Spring Training these numbers mean little I’d say my 2 cents worth Pagan had the better Spring and should of played.
Kingman 26
4/4/2010-1:21pm at 1:21 pm (UTC -4)
Even though Pagan has the baseball insticts of Timmy Lupus, the gap between he and GMJ is pretty severe when you consider 2009 regular season stats. They had very similar PA, and Pagan topped GMJ in EVERY stat except RBI. Which of course was due to GMJ being on a far better team.
And Cora leadoff over Slappy? Crazy. Slappy is still fast, no matter what anyone says, and his OBP blows Cora’s away.
steveo
4/4/2010-1:10pm at 1:10 pm (UTC -4)
I’ve said it before Omar and jerry making their last decisions , if they work good for them if they don’t no big deal their fate has already been set. Omar fires jerry by early june the latest and then jeffy fires omar before the end of august kind of a live and let die approach. This form of stupidity is becoming old to us fans and the ticket sales will reflect that.
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-1:32pm at 1:32 pm (UTC -4)
I believe Omar’s job is safe b/c I have a feeling Omar knows deep down that we will be out of the playoffs and instead of slightly improving the rotation this offseason, he is giving Maine and Ollie one more chance to get back.
Omar believes that Pelfrey will get back on track and we wants to give Niese a full year in the rotation so he is ready to up his game in 2011. He knows that he will have a deep free agent class of SP and that with one signing he can have a strong starting rotation.
Maybe its wishful thinking, but is it possible that Omar expects a lineup similar to Reyes, Tejada, Beltran, Wright, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Thole and a rotation of Santana, Lee/Webb, Pelfrey, Niese, other with K-Rod, Mejia, Feliciano, Parnell and one other good acquisition in the pen…
stickguy
4/4/2010-1:47pm at 1:47 pm (UTC -4)
except if he really felt that way, mejia would be in AA as a SP where he belongs.
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-1:58pm at 1:58 pm (UTC -4)
i cant understand it really either but if mejia is not in the pen, then who besides Feliciano is going to bridge the gap to K-Rod.
maybe if Igarashi and Takahashi prove to be effective and Mejia is not as dominant as he was in spring, then maybe Calero replaces Mejia by the time May rolls around…
Mr North Jersey
4/4/2010-1:41pm at 1:41 pm (UTC -4)
Amazin Avenue posted a interesting article about Minaya’s decisions.
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/4/4/1404573/omar-minaya-isnt-making-any-sense
I spoke of the Mejia one where it is interesting that Parnell is sent down to develop a secondary pitch while Mejia made the team with them saying they felt he didn’t need one.
The Ike Davis not making the team but Tejada does is another head scratcher. Tejada may be here for just a week and makes the team. Davis could of been here for 6 weeks and doesn’t make it. Yet they don’t mind starting the clock on Tejada but would rather wait to start Davis’s clock.
The options thing is another head scratcher. They decide to put Misch and Figueroa through waivers even though Green has options and and has performed worse. Yet they send Carter down because he has options and keep Jacobs even though Carter has performed better.
Am I reading this wrong? Someone help me out here please.
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
well Tejada was coming up this season regardless…Russ Adams was not very good and to think that Reyes, Castillo and Cora will last the season without one of them going on the DL is crazy.
Tejada’s clock was starting either now or by June so it really doesnt matter…plus the Mets have the money to keep their prospects, we arent the marlins or twins here…
Mr North Jersey
4/4/2010-1:50pm at 1:50 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed so why didn’t that reasoning apply with Ike Davis?
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-2:00pm at 2:00 pm (UTC -4)
b/c Davis is not guaranteed to be up this season (besides September which im not sure counts as service time for contract purposes).
I mean lets say Jacobs pulls a hammy on opening day, they are calling up Carter not Davis…
stickguy
4/4/2010-1:50pm at 1:50 pm (UTC -4)
it is also more of an issue for a guy they expect to be a star, and that will cost big $$ in arbitration. So keeping Davis down until May and delaying arb for a year makes financial sense.
Mr North Jersey
4/4/2010-1:52pm at 1:52 pm (UTC -4)
So they don’t expect Mejia to be a star then?
GravediggerHebner
4/4/2010-2:01pm at 2:01 pm (UTC -4)
If he’s a middle/set-up reliever, he won’t make lots of money even if he’s really good at it.
Mr North Jersey
4/4/2010-2:16pm at 2:16 pm (UTC -4)
Is Mejia our top pitching prospect? I wonder if the Mets had Tom Seaver in their farm system how would they have handled him?
Appreciate the replies guys. I understand that Green is about $975,000.00 and Davis is because he is highly touted but you have to admit you can see why people are questioning some of these decisions.
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-2:02pm at 2:02 pm (UTC -4)
Davis wont be on the team in May unless Murphy, Carter and Jacobs are all out with injury/playing very very bad
stickguy
4/4/2010-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
stop trying to apply logic and reason to any decision made by Omar or Jerry. it will just give you a headache.
GravediggerHebner
4/4/2010-1:57pm at 1:57 pm (UTC -4)
I can’t find the source but I know I read a Mets beat writer’s tweet or blog which stated that “an inside source” stated that the Mets are not concerned with starting the clock on Tejada because “he’s not the type of player you worry about that with.”
To the best of my knowledge, Tejada doesn’t project as a high end player making a high end salary, so accelerating what will be a comparatively modest salary doesn’t concern them.
Davis on the other hand more likely projects as a high end player making a high end salary so avoiding the dreaded “super 2″ arbitration status with him will save the Mets lots of money and allow them to put off arbitration and free agency by a season.
Also, there is no one on the 40 man roster capable of playing above average defense at 2B/SS. The guy they put on it might as well be someone they expect to be on it for the next few years, and Adams is not likely in their multi-year plans. Now that he’ll be on it, Tejada will be the first call up (think the AHern role) if any one of Reyes/Castillo/Cora goes on the DL this season.
oleosmirf
4/4/2010-2:04pm at 2:04 pm (UTC -4)
i think your last paragraph is the most prominent reason…
Ike Davis wasnt making the team regardless even if there was no service clock…
metsfan4decades
4/4/2010-2:25pm at 2:25 pm (UTC -4)
Concerning your first paragraph, I was going to reply with the same thing until I saw your post. And I can’t remember where I read that either but I can tell you it wasn’t a tweet. It went on to say the Mets didn’t see Tejada as a potential future MI prospect for them but more along the lines of a utility infielder. I kind of got the impression if he does well, he’ll be trade bait.
gipperpdx
4/4/2010-2:39pm at 2:39 pm (UTC -4)
Hmmm…nausea early on Easter morning. Not good.
stickguy
4/4/2010-5:31pm at 5:31 pm (UTC -4)
now that the gin and tonics are flowing, it isn’t that bad.