Well it looks like we will have to wait until the end of the World Series to find out who the next General Manager and Manager of the Mets will be , Might it be Sandy Alderson, Rich Hahn Terry Collins ? Could our next manager be Tony LaRussa, Wally Backman Bobby Valentine or some other candidate that is flying under the radar? Who knows, whoever gets the job I am sure will be the right person for the job and unless it is Al Harazin or Steve Phillips part deux then I won’t complain.
But there are five players on the current roster right now that I will be very annoyed if they are still on the roster come Opening Day of next season. These are players that either contributed very little for the team. Some of these players are pariahs, others tried hard but just don’t make the cut for next season.
So here they are The five players that should not be allowed to don a Mets uniform next season ( unless they are used for target practice).
5. Manny Acosta : He has a upper ’90′s fastball , but what is the use if the opposing team is able to hit it consistently ?
4. Mike Hessman : The ” Real Life Crash Davis” , too bad he showed why he was a career minor leaguer. He made Garry Matthews Jr look clutch in comparison.
3. John Maine : Everyone here knows that I love John Maine . He always went out there and tried his best. He is a very intense competitor, but he has had so made surgeries on his pitching arm that I think it wold have to take some kind of miracle for him to ever pitch effectively in the majors ever again.
2. Luis Castillo: He was never the best available option for second base, He was once a speedster on the base paths , and there was a time where a infield grounder couldn’t elude him . But those days are long past and he has made it known that he wants out of Flushing.
And the number one player that I never want to see wearing a Mets uniform ever again is the ever present, always oblivious Oliver Perez. Ollie we Mets fans are a very forgiving lot, but when you refused that minor league assignment to get both your head and your mechanics straightened out – well you committed career suicide with us fans.
"Finally - Ollie finished first in the voting !"
And with that said … HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Celebrating Birthdays today are :
Utilityman from the ’98 team, Jim Tatum, (1967)
One third of Generation K ,pitcher Bill Pulsipher is 37 (1973). Oh what could have been if he , Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson didn’t blow their arms out.
Cuban defector that proved that not all Cuban pitchers are great , Alay Soler is 31 (1979).
Thw Oakland A’s claimed outfielders, Matt Watson and Marcus Scutaro of the New York Mets on waivers on October 9, 2003.
And Mo Vaughn is rooting for the Phillie Phanatic to die in a violent painful accident.
20 comments
njstuckintx
10/9/2010-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
Hessman, to me is a goner. Figuring Evans or more likely Murphy takes his spot.
Castillo I can see getting traded over the off-season, but more likely during spring training when another team loses a 2B so a need pops up.
Acosta, eh… Could take him or leave him. I know he isn’t good, but right now our BP is Parnell, Igarashi, and ….
Maine, he’ll be DFA’d, so unless he’s brought back at a very cheap contract, he shouldn’t be an issue at all.
Now, for Ollie… Unless the new GM is a Miracle on 34th St. worker, I don’t see Ollie getting traded. More likely a spring training DFA with the Mets eating all but 400K.
Lastly, if it is Steve Phillips, part Deux, Interns and secretaries beware!!!!
kingman 26
10/9/2010-10:52am at 10:52 am (UTC -4)
Hey Mr Rusty!
Just wanted to say hi and I still read your column every last day without fail.
Nice work on the Caesars upgrades and winning gambling…AC and Vegas are just some of the most fun places our little planet has provided us with.
I agree and think you are correct on your five Mets. I loved Maine too, but I really think someday we may find that he and/or Ollie were using PEDs and that could be the mystery to the missing mid-90s fastballs.
Alderson could be like Gillick for us and be great. I think LaRussa is fantasyland though.
Oh well; another fine column and I hope your life is great!
rustyjr
10/9/2010-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
Thank you sir – can’t wait to read your next magnum opus
kingman 26
10/9/2010-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
LOL! It will be within the next couple of days…not on the Phils!
Will be my thoughts on bringing in the walls at Citi…stay tuned and have a great weekend my friend!
rustyjr
10/9/2010-11:27am at 11:27 am (UTC -4)
You too
stickguy
10/9/2010-12:04pm at 12:04 pm (UTC -4)
bring them in a few feet, make it a little more symetrical in RCF and RF, and lower them to 8 feet most of the way.
hazmet
10/9/2010-2:41pm at 2:41 pm (UTC -4)
How about instead of bringing the walls in, shifting the mound and infield out towards centerfield. Effectively brings the walls in, picks up more foul ground behind the plate and down the lines slightly. That plus lower the wall HR line for the Great wall of Flushing?
stickguy
10/9/2010-3:11pm at 3:11 pm (UTC -4)
I can’t imagine that it is that simple to shift the entire field like that.
Mr North Jersey
10/9/2010-3:49pm at 3:49 pm (UTC -4)
Don’t hold your breath on moving the infield Haz. J Wilpon said he has no intention of moving the infield on Boomer & Carton’s show this past week.
stickguy
10/9/2010-12:01pm at 12:01 pm (UTC -4)
Ollie I could see the PEDs being an issue. Not Maine though. The fastball didn’t disappear until his shoulder shredded and they had to keep cutting him open. Not that, of course, he couldn’t have done them, just that I don’t think stopping them had anything to do with his velocity drop.
stickguy
10/9/2010-12:03pm at 12:03 pm (UTC -4)
decent list. Acosta on the cheap in ST does not bother me, he does have some value/potential/something.
And Maine on a ST invite I am fine with. See what he has, but no guaranteed big $ contract.
The other 3 have to be gone. They can take Jesus Feliciano with them (no great loss).
And in honor of MF4D, how could you leave Sean Green off your list?
rustyjr
10/9/2010-12:24pm at 12:24 pm (UTC -4)
Lol he was number 6 on my list
stickguy
10/9/2010-12:29pm at 12:29 pm (UTC -4)
given the player involved, I think you should have made a longer list.
Hopefully the new leader is i place before they have to decide, because I fear that the current bunch will talk themselves into tendering him a contract (or offering Arb., whichever he is eligbile for).
GravediggerHebner
10/9/2010-12:33pm at 12:33 pm (UTC -4)
I think the list is very appropriate, except for Sean Green as noted above I can’t think of anyone else I’d put in my top 5.
As far as your first sentence Rusty I’m not 100% sure but I believe the moratorium on announcements is strictly “during” the World Series so if the Mets are able to find the right GM prior to the start of the WS I think they’re allowed by the league to hire him and announce it.
rustyjr
10/9/2010-12:39pm at 12:39 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah but the mets seem to kowtow to MLB rules
stickguy
10/9/2010-12:56pm at 12:56 pm (UTC -4)
they can hire him anyway and get him working, just don’t announce it or publicize it.
metsfan4decades
10/9/2010-1:36pm at 1:36 pm (UTC -4)
Not much to disagree with here, Rusty.
Except if we were only to pick just 5, I’d take Acosta over Green any day, as most seem to know from the comments above.
Green is just not good, period. He shouldn’t be in that bullpen next year. Acosta shouldn’t either but if it’s a choice between the two, I’ll take Manny.
If/when Maine is ever healthy I still believe he can be a decent middle of the rotation pitcher. But that shoulder being healthy is a big if. He’s got some talent but I suspect his body just isn’t strong enough to be a pitcher.
I don’t believe Carter has a place on this team next year either. Nice bat but one of the weakest arms I’ve ever seen. I believe we need bench players who have a decent bat, who can play passable defense and multiple positions as well.
metsfan4decades
10/9/2010-1:38pm at 1:38 pm (UTC -4)
I read somewhere that the Mets goal is to hire the new GM before the WS. That seemed to imply to me that you could make that announcement, just not during the WS.
However…if permission to talk to some candidates they really want to interview won’t be given before the series ends, I guess we won’t see that new hire in place by the beginning of Nov.
Mr North Jersey
10/9/2010-3:47pm at 3:47 pm (UTC -4)
Well Game 1 of the W.S. is Wednesday, October 27 so they have 16 days in which to make an announcement. I would say if they don’t have one by say Friday Oct. 22nd or Mon Oct 25th don’t expect anything till after the W.S.
oleosmirf
10/9/2010-5:19pm at 5:19 pm (UTC -4)
if the Mets start ST with John Maine, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez still on this around then clearly the Mets “culture” has not changed one bit.
I am also not a fan of Sandy Alderson for GM. i havent really followed now that im back at school but what has he really done lately. working for Selig and as CEO of Padres is not the same thing. Just feel like he might be a little outdated.