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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Phillies acquire Lee and Francisco

The Phils have acquired Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson.

Lee is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA this season. Francisco is hitting .250 with 10 HRs and 33 RBIs and can play the outfield.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

File under: Tacky


Wow. How tacky. The Mets recently unveiled "players choice gear." Gary Sheffield, John Maine, Omir Santos, Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy and JJ Putz worked with designers to create t-shirts/jerseys that reflected "them."


Here's the full story:

Mets unveil new Players Choice gear

Five players combine with designers to create fresh look

NEW YORK -- Prior to Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies, the Mets unveiled the Players Choice Signature Series -- a set of merchandise designed by six Mets players for their fans -- that will be sold exclusively at the Players Clubhouse Store at Citi Field and on MLB.com.

Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, J.J. Putz, Omir Santos and Gary Sheffield were on hand to model their own gear. John Maine, the sixth Met to take part in the project, was not available due to his shoulder injury.

The players designed T-shirts, jerseys and hats with consistent themes, working with Steve Wolff of Majestic in partnership with Aramark and Twins.

"We found we could make really fresh, dynamic products that reflect the personalities of the players," said Judy Heeter, director of business affairs and licensing. "It also sounds like the phones are ringing from other players and other teams who want to do the same thing."

Murphy built off his Irish heritage by infusing the Mets' classic road look with both the color green and a logo of a clover over his signature.

Parnell went with "earth tones" -- brown with camouflage lettering -- to give his merchandise an outdoors look that is big in his native North Carolina.

Putz strove for a patriotic feel, going with a camouflage jersey with red, white and blue lettering. Putz also produced an elaborate T-shirt design with his name in gothic letters above two eagles and a home plate bearing the Mets' interlocking "NY" logo.

Santos paid homage to his native country with a Mets logo that integrated the Puerto Rican flag in the background. His T-shirt consisted of a big picture of Santos in catching gear.

"I just wanted to see myself on a T-shirt," Santos joked.

Sheffield's jersey utilized a black pinstriped look with an elastic collar and the racing stripes down the shoulders and sides from the Mets' uniforms of the 1980s. The "10" on the back of the jersey includes a picture of Sheffield in action -- an idea the designers thought was particularly cool. Sheffield also made sure to include a logo celebrating his 500th home run, which he hit on April 17 at Citi Field.

Maine's gear showed off both the New York skyline and Mr. Met. Even though Maine wasn't there on Tuesday, it was his merchandise that was generating the most interest from fans early.

The players worked closely with Wolff, throwing out ideas before settling on themes, sketching designs and finally seeing them come to life in the attire they modeled proudly, if a little awkwardly, on "the catwalk" on Tuesday.

All five of the players present agreed that the project was a lot of fun to work on; they couldn't reach a consensus, however, as to whose merchandise was going to sell the most.

"Nobody's going to beat J.J.," Sheffield responded immediately.

"The guy on the end is going to do okay," Murphy replied, pointing at Sheffield. Putz added that Sheffield had the unfair advantage of sporting a logo for his 500th home run.

Jeff Wilpon apologizes to Adam Rubin on behalf of Mets

Multiple tweets are surfacing that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon is apologizing on behalf of the New York Mets to Adam Rubin of the Daily News. Omar Minaya called out Rubin during yesterday's press conference to discuss the firing of Tony Bernazard. Minaya said Rubin, who published the reports about the misbehaving Bernazard, had an ulterior motive.

Developing...

Game 99: COL @ NYM

Here are the starting lineups for Game 2 of a 4 game series at Citi Field. The game starts at 7:10 and can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN.

New York Mets (47-51)
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Brian Schneider C
Alex Cora SS
Mike Pelfrey RHP (7-6, 4.99)

Colorado Rockies (54-45)
Dexter Fowler CF
Seth Smith LF
Todd Helton 1B
Brad Hawpe RF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Ian Stewart 3B
Chris Ianetta C
Clint Barmes 2B
Jason Marquis RHP
(12-6, 3.49)

Notes

  • Mike Pelfrey is 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA in three career appearances against Colorado.
Weather
  • 80° F and mostly sunny at gametime. (Very slight chance of T-storms.)

Mets sign Pettyjohn

The New York Mets today announced that they have signed LHP Adam Pettyjohn to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Buffalo Bisons. He has been activated to the team's roster today.

Pettyjohn was most recently in the Reds organization. He will likely take Brandon Knight's spot in AAA-Buffalo. Knight requested and was granted a release this weekend so he could sign with a Korean club.

Rubin defends self in today's Daily News

In today's New York Daily News, Mets beat writer Adam Rubin defended himself against the allegations made by Mets GM Omar Minaya. Rubin, who broke the eye opening stories of ex-VP of player development Tony Bernazard, was accused by Minaya of having an ulterior motive. This all happened during yesterday's coverage of the Bernazard firing, and to read coverage of that, read the blog I wrote yesterday.

Here's some highlights from the article by Rubin:

"Everything I wrote about Tony Bernazard - bombshell stories that appeared in the pages of the Daily News over the last week - is accurate."

"What I have done, and what Mets COO Jeff Wilpon acknowledged later yesterday, is ask Wilpon for "career advice." My question: Is it even remotely feasible for a baseball writer to get into an administrative job with a team - any team - down the road and what would I need for that to be achieved?"

"Wilpon once invited me to his office at Citi Field for an advisory session. I never took him up on it."

Rubin goes on to say that he got many of his stories directly from minor leaguers and their families.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Game 98: COL @ NYM

Here are the starting lineups for Game 1 of a 4 game series in New York. The game starts at 7:10 and can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN.

New York Mets (45-61)
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Oliver Perez LHP (2-3, 7.97)

Colorado Rockies (55-44)
Dexter Fowler CF
Clint Barmes 2B
Garrett Atkins 1B
Brad Hawpe RF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Ryan Spilborghs LF
Ian Stewart 3B
Chris Iannetta C
Ubaldo Jimenez
RHP

Bernazard dismissed, Adam Rubin dissed

Today the New York Mets dismissed Tony Bernazard from his duties as Asst. GM and VP.

Here is blow-by-blow coverage of the press conference:

  • Omar Minaya said the investigation was done by the Human Resources dept.
  • Minaya said he met with Bernazard on Sunday to discuss the report.
  • Minaya said he recommended to the Wilpons that Bernazard be fired.
  • "This was a difficult decision to make" -Minaya.
  • Minaya states that all the public records about Bernazard are "not exactly how it went down."
  • Minaya said that he was shocked at some of the things in the Mets HR Report.
  • Minaya says: "I have a lot of respect for [Tony Bernazard] him."
  • Minaya said he was not aware of the Bernazard issues until the Daily News report.
  • "Is Tony the most friendly guy in the world? No." -Minaya
  • Minaya says Bernazard's role will be filled within the organization...for now.
  • Minaya said that he is satisfied with the job Bernazard did.
This is where it gets ugly.

  • Omar Minaya said that Daily News reporter Adam Rubin (who brought the Bernazard allegations to attention) lobbied for a player development position within the organization.
  • Minaya seems very fired up and tense; almost argumental.
  • Adam Rubin appears shocked and shaken.
  • Rubin questions Omar and calls what he said "despicable."

Mets Blog: Something buzzing around the Mets

Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com is reporting "something buzzing around the Mets."

His post:

"…there are rumblings around the Mets that some sort of news will go down today… but, i have no idea what…

…i would think if it was a trade, by now, someone, from one of the major news outlets would be reporting something, but who knows

…i’m intrigued"


Interesting... My bet is something about Tony Bernazard.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Jays reject another Phils bid for Halladay

In a new article on ESPN.com, Jayson Stark is reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies most recent offer of J.A. Happ, Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald for ace Roy Halladay has been rejected by the Toronto Blue Jays.

That's a good group of prospects right there. Practically the Mets entire farm system!

Stark goes on to say that Taylor, Carrasco, and Donald are so highly regarded that the Phils once put them one their "untouchable list." Nontheless, the Jays still rejected the offer.

What does Toronto want? Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard? (A Mets fan would only wish!)

Prospects of Halladay going to Philly are becoming more and more unlikely. Other teams interested in the Toronto ace are the Texas Rangers, and the Anaheim Angels.

This is good news to Mets fans. Can you imagine a healthy Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay at the front of the rotation. Scary...

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Game 96: NYM @ HOU

Here are the starting lineups for Game 2 of a 3 game series in Houston. The game starts at 7:05 and can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN.

New York Mets (44-51) Tentative lineup
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Jon Niese LHP (0-0, 2.92)

Houston Astros (50-46)
Unavailable at time of post

Russ Ortiz RHP (3-4, 4.33)

Notes

  • Jon Niese makes his first start since May 13th against the Braves. He was sent to the minors to work on mechanics.
  • Gary Sheffield has been placed on the 15 day DL.
Weather
95° F and party cloudy at gametime.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Game 95: NYM @ HOU

Here are the starting lineups for Game 1 of a 3 game series in Houston. The game starts at 8:05 and can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN.

New York Mets (44-50)
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Omir Santos C
Angel Berroa SS
Johan Santana LHP (11-7, 2.92)

Houston Astros (49-46)
Michael Bourn CF
Kaz Matsui 2B
Miguel Tejada SS
Carlos Lee CF
Hunter Pence RF
Pudge Rodriguez C
Chris Coste 1B
Jeff Keppinger 3B
Mike Hampton LHP (5-7, 4.63)

Notes

  • Gary Sheffield is still amazingly not on the DL.
  • Santana is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 3 career starts against Houston.
  • The Mets will face former Met Mike Hampton.
Weather
85° F and party cloudy at gametime.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Mark Buehrle pitches perfect game


History.

"Never say never in this game cause crazy things can happen."
-Mark Buehrle

White Sox ace Mark Buehrle pitched the 18th perfect game in Major League History today, the first since 2004. He retired all 27 Tampa Bay Rays batters to lead the White Sox to a 5-0 victory.

Sox centerfielder Dewayne Wise made an amazing catch and stole a homerun from Gabe Kapler to aid Buehrle in this historic feat.

By the way, former Met catcher Ramon Castro caught the perfect game. Castro was traded earlier in the season to the Chicago White Sox.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mets injury news


This is getting old, seriously.

According to a tweet by Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post, Alex Cora aggravated his already injuried thumb. He will take the night off. Angel Berroa will start at shortstop tonight.

Also, Hubbuch reports that a DL stint is "looking very likely." Kevin Burkhardt tweeted earlier:

"Sheffield is working out full steam today to test his hammy. How he feels tomorrow will tell the story"

Cory Sullivan will start in left tonight.

SI Rate's baseball's top 100 players

Today SI's Joe Posnaski released his "Top 100 Players" in Major League Baseball.

4 Mets made the top 100. Here they are:

9. Johan Santana, SP, Mets
He was 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA in six June starts and people screamed that he was done. But Santana is a demon in the second half ... and sure enough he has not allowed a run in his last two starts.

30. David Wright, 3B, Mets
His power has inexplicably disappeared, but he's hitting, running and playing defense as well as ever. If the power returns, he's a Top 10 player.

46. Jose Reyes, SS, Mets
Hard to know exactly where to put him because of his injury issues. When healthy he is, of course, one of the most exciting and unique players in the game. But how much will this injury affect his legs?

85. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, Mets
This may seem hard to believe, but K-Rod's numbers are better across the board than they were last year -- better ERA (1.81), way fewer hits per inning pitched (5.6), better WHIP. But no one seems to notice because his save total -- 23 -- is a long way from his record of 62 of last season.

Here's the full article.
Enjoy!

Tony Bernazard: Enough is enough

(Article and photos courtesy of Daily News)
There's no way I can recap this article. You must read it for yourself.

BY Adam Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

WASHINGTON - The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when VP for player development Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiples sources told the Daily News.

Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman's anatomy, a source indicated. The confrontation happened about 10days before the All-Star break, according to insiders.

"That's an all-timer if true," an AL official said upon hearing the account, which was corroborated by multiple people with ties to the Mets.

GM Omar Minaya acknowledged Bernazard spoke to the B-Mets in a "stern voice," but said he had no knowledge of the scope being portrayed.

"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Minaya told the Daily News. "It was not a 'you-guys-have-been-great meeting.' I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that."

While the 52-year-old Bernazard's actions were over-the-top no matter what the motivation, alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption, an organization source said. Still, sending players to counseling rather than challenging them to a rumble might have been a more appropriate course of action.

Binghamton went 1-6 during an early July home stand against New Hampshire and Erie that coincided with that tumult. Three of the defeats came by at least seven runs. The team's longtime Double-A affiliate entered last night with a 36-58 record, in last place in the Eastern League's Northern Division.

"It's ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it's acceptable," a friend of several B-Mets said about the treatment of the players.

The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.

The News reported Tuesday that Bernazard, one of GM Omar Minaya's top lieutenants, recently erupted at the organization's manager of baseball operations. During a game at Citi Field, scouts took their customary seats in a row behind home plate. Bernazard showed up during play and wanted a seat occupied by a D-Backs scout. Bernazard's deputy, already seated in the row, suggested to the Mets VP that he wait until the half-inning ended, to minimize the disruption. Bernazard ripped into his deputy with a profanity-laced tirade as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.

Adam LaRoche traded to Red Sox

Courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic of Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Article

By Dejan Kovacevic | 11:34 a.m. Wednesday

The Pirates' clubhouse is abuzz with word that a trade involving first baseman Adam LaRoche is imminent, and this is the reason the lineup has taken so long to get posted this morning.

That said, LaRoche is hitting in the indoor cage as I type this, and he probably will play this afternoon.

No word on a potential destination or anything like that just yet.

More as it comes, obviously.

UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: LaRoche is not in the lineup just posted.

11:58 a.m.: Word is that a LaRoche trade already is done, but this is unconfirmed. It also has not been denied by anyone with the team, either.

12:02 p.m.: Speculation among baseball people here from other teams is that LaRoche has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. Again, I stress, unconfirmed.

12:12 p.m.: LaRoche has been traded to the Boston Red Sox. No word on return yet. Still no official word of any kind from the team.

12:46 p.m.: Strange, but LaRoche is still sitting in the Pirates' dugout during the game. Hard to tell if he has a uniform on because he is wearing a jacket over the jersey, but he is wearing a Pirates cap. Could be that the Pirates are awaiting paperwork to be completed.

1:02 p.m.: Scouts in the seats are talking about how Jack Wilson may be involved in something, too. This is enormously unconfirmed, and it runs counter to information I have. But thought I would share. Do not take it for anything more than what the sentence actually says.

1:07 p.m.: The Pirates will receive two prospects, shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland, from Boston, according to the radio station WEEI in that city.

1:13 p.m.: Here are reference pages for Diaz and Strickland. Remember, these players coming here has not been independently confirmed.

1:18 p.m.: It is independently confirmed that it is Diaz and Strickland, thanks to the miracle of text messaging. Still no official announcement from the Pirates.

1:39 p.m.: Wilson absolutely, positively is not involved.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Flushing Pyschiatric Hospital Post Game Report


Wild Ollie.

'nuff said.

Shocker: Sheffield could be headed to DL


Shocking!

Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweeted that "Gary Sheffield is expected to go on the DL if his leg isn't significantly better by Friday."

That doesn't sound very promising for the New York Mets homerun leader. (10 homeruns.)

Game 93: NYM @ WAS

Here are the starting lineups for Game 2 of a 3 game series in Washington.

New York Mets (44-48)
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Oliver Perez LHP (2-2, 7.99)

Washington Nationals (26-66)
Nyjer Morgan CF
Cristian Guzman SS
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam Dunn 1B
Josh Willingham LF
Austin Kearns RF
Alberto Gonzalez 2B
Wil Nieves C
John Lannan LHP (6-7, 3.64)

Notes

  • Gary Sheffield will again sit tonight with an injured hamstring.
  • Oliver Perez is 3-4 with a 7.29 ERA in 9 career starts against the lowly Nats.
Weather
80°F and mostly sunny at gametime.

Julio Lugo not yet a Met

According to Alex Speier of the WEEI Sportsradio Network, Julio Lugo signing with the Mets is not necessarily a given. According to a MLB source, he says, the BoSox offered Julio Lugo to the Mets earlier this season, for "little to nothing in return."

Also regarding the rumors that Lugo has been working out at a Mets complex in the Dominician Republic, Speier confirmed that he is working out there. He also noted thought that Lugo also worked out there as a member of the Sox last year, so he may just be there to train.

News: Minaya's job not safe despite despite contract

Adam Rubin of the Daily News has an intriguing article about the future of Omar Minaya. The article talks about the "Wilpon's shifting view of Omar Minaya." Take a read here.

The most interesting part of the article I thought was about Mets VP Tony Bernazard. As you all know, I can't stand the guy. I think he's a cancer to this organization.

Here's an excerpt from the Daily News article that furthermore proves that:

Regardless, there's clearly dysfunction in the organization. One recent example: The scouting community has been abuzz with an account of Mets VP Tony Bernazard going into a profanity-laced tirade directed at the organization's manager of baseball operations at Citi Field, which left witnesses in the section behind home plate aghast. According to two sources, scouts had settled in a row behind the plate during a recent game. Bernazard arrived and found a Diamondbacks scout sitting in the seat he wanted. When Bernazard's underling suggested that the Mets VP wait until the end of the half-inning to change the seating arrangement in order to minimize the disruption, Bernazard went ballistic in a rant against his Ivy League-educated deputy.

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