For the record, I don’t agree with the Mets playing in Puerto Rico. I know Major League Baseball is looking to expand but it’s just not going to happen. If the Mets and the Marlins walk away from this field without any injury that is major, I consider it a plus.   Field  Turf went out with the 80′s and the only benefit it has is that it doesn’t just give you a small knee injury, it could completely end your career.  Hey, did you notice the large round circle in the outfield? Is this a baseball stadium or a converted soccer field?   I’m just hoping that the injury to Reyes is not as bad as it seems and I’m glad the Mets got the win.
Now on to real business—I have created in my garage a Buick Time Machine. That’s right, I couldn’t find a DeLorean so I used a blender and some Christmas lights and created a machine that could travel through time.  Just so you know, I will admit that I actually own a Buick.  So hope in ( someone is getting in the child’s seat) and lets travel 28 days into the future when our old friend Oliver Perez is eligible to come off his rehab assignment.
So here we go—-when we arrive at Citi Field we glance into the dugout and I see Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt or Fausto Carmona or a new gun sitting in the dugout. I also see a new utility player instead of Tatis. Maine? he is no where to be found. Takahashi is in the bull pen and Parnell is our 8th inning Set Up Man. The team is in the thick of the race, both the Wild Card and the Division.Â
And here is Oliver Perez, ready to come off his rehab assignment. He feels good because his fastball has topped off at 87 and he is ready to become a Starter again.
What do you think is going to happen?
This is a question that the Buick can’t answer and I don’t think the Mets can either. But they better because now the clock is ticking.
I know that they basically have 28 days to either A) re-invent Perez into something other than a starter B) release him         C) trade him or D) hope that he accepts another assignment to PSL.
Ah yes, the beauty of time travel.
What do you think?
Oh, you know what else the Time Machine revealed to us? David Wright doesn’t make the All-Star team and Charlie Manuel pulls a Joe Torre and puts all his Phillie players in the game and lose 8-2 thus extending the N.L. losing streak. Normally, I would feel bad because I want the National League to win but I have no feelings for the Phillies whatsoever, so watching them blow the All-Star game would just top off my year.Â
So now what do you really think?
38 comments
ceetar
7/1/2010-9:06am at 9:06 am (UTC -4)
I think I don’t want to speculate and continue the discussion on Oliver. There isn’t much to say. He’ll get three more starts. He certainly is capable of pitching well. Things will be evaluated then, with the results, hoepfully without Manuel’s opinion. If he can pitch, he will. if he can’t, they’ll do another MRI, see the same scar tissue in his knee, and DL him again.
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-9:18am at 9:18 am (UTC -4)
I think you are right in seeing Lee in a Mets Uni. Oswalt, Carmona, Haren, not so much. And I have a feeling Parnell would be part of that package to get Lee, even though our pullpen is pretty hurting right now (Met’s management’s decision aside from only carrying 6 pitchers…)
As for Ollie, if his fastball is cruising at 87 MPH, you might want to consider backing over his foot with your tricked out buick. Maybe even hit him in the elbow with your Flux Capacitor! 1.21 Gigawatts! But, if he really does regain some of that magic, I can’t see where they don’t try him back in the rotation. Even with no additions to the rotation, an average Ollie with Taka back in the pen may just be best. I said “may”, so ollie hatesr, just chill.
I can’t see Wright not going. With Polanco on the DL, I can’t see Wright not getting an invite. Would be a shame if he doesn’t.
ceetar
7/1/2010-9:24am at 9:24 am (UTC -4)
if he doesn’t get selected, he’ll be on the fan +1 ballot and get in taht way. or he’ll be the first replacement by MLB to injury/steppign gdown.
saltygary
7/1/2010-9:23am at 9:23 am (UTC -4)
I enjoy it when the teams go to other places like PR or Cuba. They should do a DR trip as well. Good for the game and it gives those countries a chance to see a high quality product like the Mets. I wouldn’t worry about the injury thing they are big boys. Plus lets not forget the Mets have played there a bunch of years while the Los Expos were being relocated. I believe David Cone had a really good start down there?
For speculation I think the Mets will pull off Lee as long as the Mariners don’t drag the process out. The Mets are only going to give up the prospects if they can get him now. If not they will probably move on to a guy like Westbrook and then work on other pieces.
As for Ollie, I have no desire to entertain a thought on him until he starts thinking about his team.
ceetar
7/1/2010-9:25am at 9:25 am (UTC -4)
I enjoy other places, but that stadium was not cool. State of the art facilities or bust.
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-9:28am at 9:28 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, in game 2 when Paulino(?) tried sliding to catch a ball back by his dugout and the turf practically ripped his shin guard off… That’s not really the field you want to be playing on.
rustyjr
7/1/2010-9:44am at 9:44 am (UTC -4)
You’ve been listening to that grand funk railroad again haven’t you gonzo !
gonzowill
7/1/2010-9:57am at 9:57 am (UTC -4)
How did you know?
rustyjr
7/1/2010-10:10am at 10:10 am (UTC -4)
Because we both love the able bass stylings of mark Farner
fongy2
7/1/2010-9:48am at 9:48 am (UTC -4)
Agreed with the above Ceeter…AND
watching the national(espn)broadcast
lastnight was tough.Perez&Singleton
going on and on for the entire 9innings about the isle of Puerto Rico
and P.R.Baseball…Holy Mary!..We know
we know already, P.R. is a beatiful
island and Clemente was an all-time
great!…Focus on the game,tell me
whos warming in the BP etc…
Also, for all the love thrown Jesus
Feliciano’s way, this guys got some
bad friggin habits on the field.
You’d think a guy whos spent 12 yrs
in the minors would hustle down the first base line and back up his LFer
on balls reaching the wall.
This certainly is a different club
w/o Jose in there. The record now
stands at 277-113 when he scores a
run the past 5 yrs. At least he looked to be in good cheer and active
on the bech last night so being scratched from the line-up doesn’t
seem very serious.
trs86
7/1/2010-10:04am at 10:04 am (UTC -4)
The Ollie decision does not worry me. It’s not like Taka has been great of late and his services will be needed in the pen. I also don’t think Ollie will keep us from bringing in a top starter. I could see Ollie getting a few starts for Taka and then a decision being made later on his future. Not of my concern right now. 27 days is a long time.
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-10:06am at 10:06 am (UTC -4)
Intersting read at MLBTR on the Rangers. Might increase the the prospects for lee if the mariners eat his salary, which would have no affect on payroll, which is the big hold up on the whole deal. I’m sure they could do that with Oswalt as well, with Houston saying last week they would eat salary for a better propect package.
And Chubs Molina is a Ranger. The Dominos are slowly beginning to fall.
fongy2
7/1/2010-10:09am at 10:09 am (UTC -4)
I see where The Giants traded Bengie Molina….And THATs the reason why my
friends you don’t give Catchers in their mid-30s more than a one-yr deal.
On a team which has hit this season, he has as I noted he would fallen of the cliff offensively and his Defense
has con’t to decline. It happens to almost every Catcher since the beginning of time.
Also, while looking over numbers related to the two teams involved,Texas and The Giants, I note
The Rangers lead the AL in hitting and
are third in Runs score behind The
Yanks And Redsox…..More proof that
“Blame the hitting Coach” or in our
case “Fire HoJo” is absurd!……
I thought Rudy Jaramillo was the great
hitting coach in history???….
Try explaining that to Derek Lee or
Aramis Ramirez!!!
ceetar
7/1/2010-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
speaking of which. okay, not really, but Pelfrey. People love to pick arbitrary dates (Met are X-X since Ollie left! etc) that often mean nothing. Anyone notice Pelfrey’s numbers since Castillo went down?
fongy2
7/1/2010-10:39am at 10:39 am (UTC -4)
I know we’re like 18-7…..
Or so since he was DLed.
I can’t stand the guy……
Friggin’ Bad-Luck Charm!!!
stickguy
7/1/2010-10:42am at 10:42 am (UTC -4)
if that is not completely cooincidnetal, then V is a ture stroy and we are all about the be wiped outby aliens.
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-10:44am at 10:44 am (UTC -4)
The new one is horrible compared to the old one. But yes, lizard woman coming to steal our water. It’s on Wikipedia, so it must be true.
ceetar
7/1/2010-10:54am at 10:54 am (UTC -4)
he. My point was mainly that A. You can’t use arbitrary dates to say anything. Ollie leaving the team, Jeff’s meeting, firing Willie, etc, did not do anything magical to the team.
B. Castillo is not a liability on defense.
C. I need a beer.
My premise fails anyway, i looked at the dates and Cora started two of the badder games in that stretch.
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
badder? You do need choice C.
stickguy
7/1/2010-10:48am at 10:48 am (UTC -4)
Ollie? That is like when you are totally broke, and know the rent bill is coming and you can’t pay it, but you pretend that it isn’t going to happen. Out of sight, out of mind.
Say he needs 3 more starts. That would mean ready just after the ASB. And hopefully by then, the Mets have picked up another SP (my hopes right now are for Lilly). In that case, Taka is already back in the pen.
So, that means (assuming no one else has gotten hurt) that Dicky would be odd man out. And since I expect Dicky to regain his form next start and keep cruising deep into games, that ain’t happening.
So, if a New SP comes in 1st, ollie back in the pen (85% chance) or released (5% chance) or traded (10% chance).
If the current rotation still in place, Ollie will get 2-3 starts, pushing Taka into the pen, and then either releasesd/DL’d (due to suckitude), winning his job back, or pushed aside for a trade deadline PickUp.
Of course, if Pelf continues to pitch like a scared baby Maine, Ollie may be pushing him to the pen (hey, he has success as a late inning reliever, right?)
trs86
7/1/2010-11:03am at 11:03 am (UTC -4)
LOL, did you actually say Pelf was going to the pen? My oh my are we Mets fans drama queens.
stickguy
7/1/2010-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
just saw on the MLBTR teaser feed that they are reporting that the Phils are interested in Haren now. What the hell do they have to trade for him, and where is that money coming from?
Actually, the money is probably all the post season revenue they see slipping away, if they don’t shore up the team soon!
I think they have 1 legit AAA type guy (brown) that is not a super-stud prospect (across baseball), and a couple of interesting guys down in low A. other than that, no clue (although Fongy probably knows).
Well, at least if the phils get him, if he continues to trend downhill (proving his numbers so far are not a fluke this year), then it won’t bother me at all!
njstuckintx
7/1/2010-11:04am at 11:04 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, I read that too. To me, that’s like saying “Guys are interested in Hot Woman” or “the kitchen table is made out of wood”. Duh, Of course they’re interested in Haren, as is about every other team other than Arizona. Just a matter if they can viably make something happen, which I would figure to be no.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:17am at 11:17 am (UTC -4)
Spot on……
trs86
7/1/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
Actually they could balance that out a little by trading Hamels for him. The Phills know that their window is small so they could get desperate.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:16am at 11:16 am (UTC -4)
They’re not trading Hamels my friend.
Not this year anyway.
trs86
7/1/2010-11:22am at 11:22 am (UTC -4)
Not sure. If you were the Phillies and had a chance to have two aces instead of Mr. Idon’tknowwhatthehellIamgoingtoget. I guess same could be said of Haren but he has a better track record. The Phillies are not the Mets, they are much older and are much more of a win now team.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:35am at 11:35 am (UTC -4)
No doubt they wanna win now
BUT Hamels
IS THE
GUY who Pitched them to a Championship just a yr&ahalf ago.
Kinda hard for them to just forget
4-0 in 5GS&35
inns of
brilliant Pitching AND the fact that he’s just 26
years old.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:14am at 11:14 am (UTC -4)
Well I dont know if that was
a complement or swipe?…..
BUT from the little I know, they don’t have much,if anything to trade for any of these top-tier, or even
second-tier Pitchers.
Dom Brown is looked at as their best prospect w/o question and looks like he’ll
be atleast a solid MLBer.
They’re not gonna trade him however, since it’s pretty
much felt he’s Werth’s replacement in RF next season.
Most all you hear is that Werth’s a goner since the Phils won’t be able to afford
him. I know they have TWO Pitchers they thought would be close to the Majors this
year, a Lefty named Savery
whos gettin’hammered in AAA
AND the Canadian Aumont who
they got in the Lee deal AND
they thought could well be their 8th inning guy at some
point this yr. For some reason? They made him a starter and he too has been gettin’ hammered in the minors(AA). Other than that, they
indeed don’t have anything
serious above A-Ball, so I
don’t buy-into them being able
to get any of these Pitchers.
Matter of fact, a couple weeks
ago they were talkin’up Pedro.
So……????
GravediggerHebner
7/1/2010-11:14am at 11:14 am (UTC -4)
I guess as others noted in the previous thread this is a similar topic. My answer hasn’t changed since then. I think barring other dramatic changes to the roster in the interim that when Perez is eligible to come back he goes back into the rotation & Taka goes to the bullpen.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:16am at 11:16 am (UTC -4)
Yeah BUT for how long??
trs86
7/1/2010-11:21am at 11:21 am (UTC -4)
Depends on results, our record, other pitchers, roster moves… Way too early to tell.
fongy2
7/1/2010-11:36am at 11:36 am (UTC -4)
My point was more…..
I wouldnt count on Ollie
lasting long in the rotation
when he returns.
trs86
7/1/2010-11:40am at 11:40 am (UTC -4)
Nah, most likely not but then again it’s not like he has not had sustained 16+ start success as a Met either.
GravediggerHebner
7/1/2010-11:40am at 11:40 am (UTC -4)
I consider that the worst case scenario because unless it’s due to injury (which would be fine cuz he’d be on the DL) he’d be leaving the rotation because he sucked really bad and if that happens the Mets are hamstrung – they’re not likely to release him or be able to trade him so in that case he just goes to the bullpen as the guy they never want to use.
Not good for the team at all if that happens. I have to hope that he comes back and pitches just well enough to be the team’s equivalent of a 5th starter.
GravediggerHebner
7/1/2010-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
Recommended reading by Toby Hyde on a Mets for Cliff Lee trade.
http://bit.ly/c6VEPw
CaseStreet
7/1/2010-12:43pm at 12:43 pm (UTC -4)
yes, an excellent analysis. I agree all around.
GravediggerHebner
7/1/2010-1:06pm at 1:06 pm (UTC -4)
I forgot to mention that I’m very angry at this post for putting Huey Lewis & The News’ “Back In Time” in my head, it just won’t go away.