When I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Mets won last night. I hate the fact that West Coast games are generally scheduled to air later on the East Coast. I have to wake up at 4 a.m so the chance of me catching last nights game was nil.
But I am not here to bitch about the way MLB schedules it’s games, I am here to bitch about how the Oliver Perez situation has degenerated into a three ring circus. On the surface of this situation, it seems like the Mets front office is trying their best to accommodate Oliver Perez’s wishes to avoid being demoted to triple a Buffalo. According to baseball insider, Jon Heyman, the Mets offered a scenario to Ollie and his agent, Scott Boras, where Ollie could simply go to Port Saint Lucie to work with Mets minor League pitching coach, Phil Regan , but Ollie refused. On yesterdays Mike Francesa’s Mike’d Up radio show, Baseball analyst, Peter Gammons reported that a couple of weeks ago Boras suggested to the Mets brass to D.L Ollie so that he could work with a sports psychiatrist, But Jeff Wilpon allegedly put the kibosh on that . Hmm maybe psychiatrists aren’t covered under the Mets health insurance plan ?
And now one of the few possible options that the Mets had is gone! Yes folks, if you haven’t heard – Dontrelle Willis was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher , Billy Buckner. So armed with the perceived knowledge that the Mets will refuse to cut Ollie and eat his 20 million dollar contract, Omar Minaya and the Mets ownership have essentially hamstrung the team financially and the bullpen physically since Ollie will only pitch in the occasional blowout.
Oh yeah by the way , As per MLBTR.com, Roy Oswalt has allegedly said that he would “consider” a trade to The Nationals ( shoot me now !)
                                                                                 
                                                               ” Don’t go away mad … JUST GO AWAY !!!”
And with that said … HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Happy Birthday wishes go out to the one time Mets second baseman of the future, but became a serviceable utility man from ’79 – ’85 ,Kelvin Chapman (1956) .
The middle reliever with the rubber arm – Mike Stanton is 43 (1967) .
Utility infielder , Kurt Abbott is 41 (1969) .
One of the more forgettable starting pitchers from the ’95 season, Reid Cornelius is 40 (1970).
Sadly on this date in 2001 , outfielder from the ’62 team,Gene Woodling passed away.
New York Mets selected pitcher, Eric Hillman in 16th round of free agent draft on June 2, 1987.
New York Mets selected catcher,Todd Hundley in second round of free agent draft on June 2, 1987. Damn I loved Todd – until the Mitchell report came out !
New York Mets selected infielder,Chris Donnels in first round (24th pick overall) of free agent draft on June 2, 1987.
New York Mets selected pitcher,Anthony Young in 38th round of free agent draft on June 2, 1987. A.Y was a tough luck pitcher if there ever was one !
New York Mets selected infielder,Tim Bogar in eighth round of free agent draft on June 2, 1987.
New York Mets selected pitcher,Pete Schourek in second round of free agent draft on June 2, 1987.
New York Mets selected one third of Degeneration K -Paul Wilson in first round (first pick overall) of free agent draft on June 2, 1994.
New York Mets selected outfielder,Terrence Long in first round (20th pick overall) of free agent draft on June 2, 1994.
New York Mets released outfielder,Gary Thurman on June 2, 1997.
New York Mets selected pitcher,Pat Strange in second round of free agent draft on June 2, 1998.
New York Mets selected first base prospect,Craig Brazell in fifth round of free agent draft on June 2, 1998.
New York Mets selected reliever, Jaime Cerda in 23rd round of free agent draft on June 2, 1998.
New York Mets selected pitching prospect,Jason Tyner in first round (21st pick overall) of free agent draft on June 2, 1998. He is one of the many pitching prospects to end up as busts in the Mets recent history.
New York Mets selected third baseman,Ty Wigginton in 17th round of free agent draft on June 2, 1998.He was a minor folk hero in Mets history, playing on some bad Mets teams. He is currently the back up second baseman for the Orioles
New York Mets selected outfielder,Prentice Redman in 10th round of free agent draft on June 2, 1999.
New York Mets selected catcher, Mike Jacobs in 38th round of free agent draft on June 2, 1999. He has had a unremarkable pro career, and is now toiling away in Buffalo .
New York Mets selected pitcher,Jeremy Griffiths in third round of free agent draft on June 2, 1999.
New York Mets selected Angel Pagan in fourth round of free agent draft on June 2, 1999. It’s hard to believe that Angel has been playing pro ball for ten years already !
New York Mets traded one time highly touted pitcher, Bill Pulsipher to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pinch hitter supreme,Lenny Harris on June 2, 2000.
New York Mets released catcher, Mike DiFelice on June 2, 2005. The Mets would re-sign him the next season.
Mo Vaughn was sighted at Sea World yesterday – Oh never mind that was Shamu !
49 comments
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-8:07am at 8:07 am (UTC -4)
As bad as Ollie as been this year, that’s as good as Pelfrey has been. Saw the game last night and he made it look so effortless.
Perez….I’m not quite believing everything I’m hearing on this one – especially that the Mets won’t release him. Ollie is being incredibly stubborn and/or really has no clue. From the interviews I’ve read/heard with him he really thinks this is the same as hitters going through a slump and he just magically going to ‘find’ it again. It ain’t happening, Ollie. His mechanics are a mess, hence the problem with his velocity. Without help, he’s never going to fix himself. He’s turned down all scenarios so far that would have gotten him that help. I don’t know what’s in his mind but thinking the Mets are just going to stick him back in the rotation tells me how far out there he is.
In case he doesn’t realize it, the Mets are trying to win ball games. Their number # priority is not his pitching problems…
I still say come Saturday when they activate Niese we’ll know for sure what the Mets really have in their minds…..
rustyjr
6/2/2010-8:10am at 8:10 am (UTC -4)
I hope Neise comes into his own this next start
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-8:25am at 8:25 am (UTC -4)
Same here.
Oh…and looking at the list of draft picks, we haven’t done too well at times in the past, have we? Here’s hoping our talent evaluaters have become better at that…
rustyjr
6/2/2010-8:28am at 8:28 am (UTC -4)
Well if only Paul Wilson lived up to the hype – wiggy had had a solid career & hundlu was a premier catcher for a perid of time
ceetar
6/2/2010-8:57am at 8:57 am (UTC -4)
It’s just like hitters. It’s mental and you get in a zone. He’s got plenty of help, too much even. His mechanics aren’t messed up, he’s pitching exactly like Warthen directed him too. If he’d scrapped it like Maine did, we wouldn’t have having this discussion.
I don’t believe the Mets refused to DL him with psuedo-injury if Boras okay’d it. that doesn’t make sense. It also doesn’t make sense that they’d be reluctant to send him to Dorfman given Pelfrey.
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-9:00am at 9:00 am (UTC -4)
I still think his mechanics are messed up. If you look at his throwing style from pre-2009 and what he’s doing now, it’s completely different.
Someone tried to ‘fix’ him to get him to be more consistent. I don’t think the problem was ever his release or delivery but more his game plan and pitch selection.
Maine kind of alluded to ‘hell with what everyone was trying to tell me in ST’ and said he was going back to what worked for him. I think the problem with Ollie is too much information but not sure Ollie has a clue how to get back to where he was….
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-9:03am at 9:03 am (UTC -4)
And for the record, I’d like nothing better than for Ollie to find it again. I’ll take the 15 game winner from a couple of seasons ago….
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:19am at 9:19 am (UTC -4)
Warthen tried to fix him. They redid his mechanics this spring, which is one of the reasons I’d give him more time to get used to it than the 8 starts he’s had.
Or have him blow it up.
But really, from going to Arizona, to Spring Training mechanics changes, Perez has done _everything_ the team has asked up to this point, and it hasn’t worked. I’m sure he’s thinking “well, your changes didn’t work, and you want to blame me and ship me out? tough, I can pitch here, and I will.” It’s not a bad attitude to have ,and it doesn’t make him slow or simpleminded or an idiot. (He’s not, and I’m getting tired of these attacks on Mets players. Not saying he’s bright, but he’s not like “talking to a wall” )
Anyway, I’m tired of rediscussing things that haven’t and aren’t changing. This goes for Beltran too. On to happier things, like Santana’s impending perfect game to one-up Halladay again.
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-9:23am at 9:23 am (UTC -4)
How on Earth would you have the slightest idea of what talking to Ollie is like?
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:50am at 9:50 am (UTC -4)
I wouldn’t, and neither do most analysts/twitterers and even most reporters who are all basically going off one comment from Wagner.
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-9:35am at 9:35 am (UTC -4)
Sorry…both sides are responsible here and Ollie doesn’t get a pass. Ultimately he is the one who has to produce. If nothing they’ve done has helped him, taking the attitude of ‘I did everything you asked, what now’? implies he has no clue how to help himself.
And let’s face it, if Ollie knew how to pitch with the talent he had, none of us would be having this discussion.
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:52am at 9:52 am (UTC -4)
Obviously. but they’re not going to just cut Perez and if he’s not going down, he’s here.
He’s one of the 25 tools that the club has to make use of. And it’s a tool that has value. Even if the tool isn’t automated like it should be, doesn’t give them a pass for not figuring out how to make it work.
njstuckintx
6/2/2010-9:10am at 9:10 am (UTC -4)
I brought up the whole DL on a mental level thing last week. It would be a win/win for everyone, with ollie’s spot freed up, there is enough time for ollie to right the ship and pitch well for his contract year, etc. etc. I’ve no doubt it was brought up, by Boras or even someone within the organization. 2 things on that. 1. Why would anyone say no to this? And 2. why would Boras call out an owner like he did with Wilpon (you know anything he says to gammons or whomever is reaching the air waves)? To me, that’s just plain stupid. Boras may have an ego the size of _________(insert something you consider large here), but he’s not a complete idiot, is he? Why would you call out an owner who is probably one of your better “clients”. I just don’t understand that.
saltygary
6/2/2010-9:00am at 9:00 am (UTC -4)
Used to be a huge D-Train fan but swapping Ollie for him would do nothing for a team that needs more stability in the rotation.
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-9:18am at 9:18 am (UTC -4)
“Degeneration K”—HAHA!!
OK, this is for Rusty and MF4D–
When out doing errands after work yesterday I had WFAN on, and Francesa was on…..my jaw dropped at how reasonable he was on two issues for a half hour, and I thought of you two.
First, a caller was saying that the Yankees need to try to get Cliff Lee and Ichiro from the Mariners—and Mike was incensed! He said something to the effect that the Yankees have enough big stars, enough is enough, we cannot have a superstar at every position, next we need to go and find a center fielder who hits .380, etc…..absolutely right on the money.
Then another obnoxious idiot Yankee fan said that the Ollie situation was a joke and how Jeter and Mariano would NEVER allow this to happen….and Mike angrily said something like “Nonsense…sure they would…ever hear of Carl Pavano? He was out goofing around at night collecting millions. Same situation.”
Wow. I almost drove off the road!
All I could think was that, hey, Rusty and MF4D are two of the people I have liked and respected the most for what must be several years now dating back to the days at Camp From What I Can Gather, so if they listen to Francesa, he must have something going for him.
And, as usual, you guys were right!
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:24am at 9:24 am (UTC -4)
He’s got some nuggets of wisdom, and they do often come from age/experience. (i.e. he knows the Yankees aren’t always and don’t always need to be all-stars at every positions and isn’t really intoa ‘buying a championship’ thing, even if he won’t admit that they do. and not that Pavano was long ago, but he does remember Yankees history and what was going on) Where he gets lost is when we approach anything considered modern and that’s changed since he first started following baseball. (Which is the case for many, many people, don’t formulate new opinions about things from when they were 16-24 or so.) So walk-up songs, and homer celebrations, and twitter and all that confuse him and befuddle him.
Oddly enough he likes the wildcard and interleague, but that might just be because he actually feels okay watching a Mets game when they play the Yankees, so he can comment on it based on something other than a post-game story.
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-9:41am at 9:41 am (UTC -4)
hahahaha, Kingman…
Once in a while I’ve heard MF calmly makes sense on certain issues he discusses. More often than not though it’s usually when the yankees are sitting on top of the world, as opposed to where they are right now.
Anyone who has read here long enough knows my biggest complaint with MF is I absolutely cannot stand the way he talks over everyone. It’s beyond annoying to me. And once he gets on a roll with a point, he goes on and on – and on and on. The Jets making post season last winter is a perfect point.
He’s showing his age lately though b/c he’s made several references to technology – not doing twitter, facebook, etc. – not knowing what half the new stuff even is. IMO, he’s on the downside of his career….
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-9:44am at 9:44 am (UTC -4)
Oh and the now MC infamous: ‘who reads blogs anyway. no one reads blogs’.
Uh…O.K., Mike….
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/2/2010-9:58am at 9:58 am (UTC -4)
I personally think he’s much more reasonable towards the Mets than other Yankee homer radio guys.
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-9:22am at 9:22 am (UTC -4)
Oh, and anyone check out Pineiro’s stats lately?
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:25am at 9:25 am (UTC -4)
I know he had a 10H complete game shut out yesterday right? Can’t go up and down on every couple of starts from guys we may or may not have signed.
njstuckintx
6/2/2010-9:31am at 9:31 am (UTC -4)
Agreed. And no one here would have not accepted Pineiro coming here. Just not for the money he wanted.
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-9:36am at 9:36 am (UTC -4)
I did not want Pineiro, and he is awful.
His stats are terrible, as they have been almost every year of his career.
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-9:38am at 9:38 am (UTC -4)
Um, he had a 10-hit complete game while allowing 6 earned runs and losing again; in his last eight starts he has allowed 6 earned runs twice and 9 earned runs twice.
ceetar
6/2/2010-9:54am at 9:54 am (UTC -4)
Oh, either the SNY scrolly thing was off, or I misread it. I saw the 10h, 0BB and though it said 0R as well.
njstuckintx
6/2/2010-10:01am at 10:01 am (UTC -4)
And I was going on your comments. It is tough to research all those pesky facts when you are trying to sprinkle in some work inbetween posting about Ollie Putrid.
ceetar
6/2/2010-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
work. bah.
I don’t care enough about Pinero to look up his stat line.
trs86
6/2/2010-9:55am at 9:55 am (UTC -4)
But Omar did nothing and the Mets are cheap…
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/2/2010-9:59am at 9:59 am (UTC -4)
Ok… I admit.. I was one of the idiots….
Omar for President!
njstuckintx
6/2/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Hindsight is usually 20/20. At the least, you’d have a pitcher not so bade as ollie who would still be in the rotation. And at least he saved the bullpen. Brightside of life today. Brightside of life…
trs86
6/2/2010-10:34am at 10:34 am (UTC -4)
You would also have Ollie part 2 with no money for a replacement.
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
LOL…..
Mr North Jersey
6/2/2010-10:02am at 10:02 am (UTC -4)
Yes Omar didn’t get the #2 guy to help Santana.
Mr North Jersey
6/2/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Of course Pelfrey is filling in rather nicely.
Mr North Jersey
6/2/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Time will tell if Omar’s non moves on the starter front were correct.
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/2/2010-10:06am at 10:06 am (UTC -4)
Well…. Omar’s non moves includes having hopes in Maine and Ollie. That didn’t pan out so nicely.
trs86
6/2/2010-11:18am at 11:18 am (UTC -4)
They sure did not. At least he got Taka and Dickey for cheap. I think the Mets were in a tough spot with Perez and Maine because I believe they felt they owed Maine a shot and uh owed a lot to Perez.
metsfan4decades
6/2/2010-10:04am at 10:04 am (UTC -4)
Wonder how long before we start seeing Pelfrey jerseys in the stands..
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/2/2010-10:04am at 10:04 am (UTC -4)
But to be fair, Mets could use a reliable starter or two right now.
trs86
6/2/2010-10:35am at 10:35 am (UTC -4)
Sure, now who was available that has been reliable?
Kingman 26
6/2/2010-10:40am at 10:40 am (UTC -4)
Your guy–Jon Garland!!
trs86
6/2/2010-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
Yup and unfortunately never wanted to come to NY.
Mr North Jersey
6/2/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
your wasting your time. Whats done is done now all you can do and see if the moves were correct.
Any pitcher you name TRS will give you a reason why Omar couldn’t or shouldn’t have got him. In the end the fact is that he did not sign or trade for a f
rontlineor should I say #2 type starter and we can only hope it was the right move.Kingman 26
6/2/2010-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
“your wasting your time.”
Uh, what is the point of the existence of this site?
Debating Met-related issues?
Some of us said that Pineiro (awful), Marquis (off the charts horrible), Lackey (overpriced and mediocre), Sheets (poor), Harden (terrible), and Randy Wolf (mediocre to poor) were all rotten choices.
And we were 100% right on the money.
They ALL were not worth the dough.
Except for Garland.
trs86
6/2/2010-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
And you NJ are wasting your time getting them not to debate a valid point. There is one thing we agree on. The Mets needed a mid-rotation starter and did not get one. Where we disagree is the degree to which one was available or at what price. You think obviously that he should have overpaid or traded away talent and I do not. Seems like something good to debate to me.
Mr North Jersey
6/2/2010-11:42am at 11:42 am (UTC -4)
Sorry in retrospect i see how suggesting debating what pitcher Minaya could of gotten was also the same as telling you to not debate.
I only saw no endgame and tried to suggest it was pointless.
Sorry I’ll try to refrain from such comments in the future.
If you want to make a determination 2 months into the season on what pitcher was right or wrong it is not my place to tell you otherwise.
Again I apologize.
trs86
6/2/2010-12:07pm at 12:07 pm (UTC -4)
accepted.
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/2/2010-10:44am at 10:44 am (UTC -4)
Livan…
trs86
6/2/2010-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
Omar would have been ran out of town.