Wow, there are just two weeks left in the regular season, and the races have mostly been decided. The Twins might catch the Tigers, and the Giants or Marlins might catch the Rockies…and if you want to get a laugh, consider that the Nationals might catch the Mets. That’s a long shot, but it’s mathematically possible, which proves what a horrid season the Mets have had. Here are the power rankings for this week:
1. New York Yankees (94-54)—There should be no question who the first team to 100 wins will be. CC goes for win #18 today, and at this point there is probably no doubt who the best free agent signing was this season.
2. Los Angeles Angels (88-59)—Still coasting, and though the Angels moved up to #2 this week, they can’t feel good with Brian Fuentes struggling this time of year.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (88-60)—Who is the better team in L.A.? Ask me again in a month.
4. Boston Red Sox (87-59)—Still only six games back of the Yanks, but a playoff berth is all but guaranteed with a 7-game wild card lead. A first round match up with the Angels looms, something Red Sox nation does not and should not fear.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (86-62)—It’s okay to get a few losses out of the way now, what with a ridiculous 10-game lead over the Cubs. But along with the Angels and Phillies, this team has a big question mark at the back end of the bullpen.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (86-60)—Playing good ball again, and Cliff Lee has returned to form at the right time. Magic number is 8, and with a close record to the Cards, it’s unclear which team will face the wild card winner.
7. Colorado Rockies (83-65)—This is not the time to play mediocre ball, but the Rocks were so hot that cooling off was inevitable. Still have a 2.5-game lead in the wild card standings.
8. Texas Rangers (80-66)—Fading fast.
9. San Francisco Giants (80-67)—Still hanging on, but the clock is ticking. Big win over Dodgers last night.
10. Detroit Tigers (78-69)—Not only are the Marlins threatening to take their spot in the power rankings, but the Twins are now just 3 games back after shutting the Tigers out last night.
According to a report by the New York Post, Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield asked the club for a contract extension, they rejected, and now he’s threatening to leave the team and go home.
As of 6:30 p.m., one of the sources said, Mets officials and Sheffield were in discussions on how to move forward. Mets pitcher Tim Redding actually said he heard Sheffield had been released. But a Mets official told the Post that was inaccurate and that Sheffield had not been released.
Sheffield had been part of the original lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Braves. But Jerry Manuel said that Sheffield had pulled himself to clear his head.
It’s understandable that Sheffield wants an extension considering that his current contract is expiring and at his age, he’s looking for a little job security. He’s also hitting .285 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI, so he’s had a good season up to this point.
But it was highly unprofessional of him to remove himself from the starting lineup on Thursday because he’s upset with the front office. Just because he’s had a good year and has proven that he can still play at 40, doesn’t mean he’s entitled to put his personal desires above the team.
The Mets gave him a chance to continue his career after the Tigers released him in March and how does he repay them? By causing a stink because they won’t give him a contract extension. Seems selfish and immature on his part.
Sheffield has burned down bridges everywhere he’s gone and seems intent on doing that again in New York.
Even though Ryan Church is now a member of the Braves, he’s still reminded of how frustrating it was to play for the Mets and manager Jerry Manuel.
When Church’s former teammate David Wright suffered a concussion after he was hit in the head with a fastball by Giants starter Matt Cain in a game last weekend, Manuel said Wright was a “different animal” than Church when it comes to missing time due to a concussion. (Church missed much of last season after suffering two concussions.)
According to a report by ESPN.com, Church was upset with Manuel’s “different animal” comment.
“It just felt like a low blow,” Church said. “I saw it. I wasn’t happy. If he had a problem with me or anything like that, you’d think he’d tell it to my face. I had plenty of opportunity to talk while I was wearing that uniform. It just was like, all right, now that I’m wearing another one, why would he come out and say that?”
When he met with reporters before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Braves, Manuel was told that Church called the comments a “cheap shot.”
But Manuel said he meant no disrespect. He said he was simply trying to explain that the players involved were different, just like the concussions.
“There’s no ill intent,” Manuel said. “I don’t mean to take a shot at him. If that’s how he felt, I apologize to him. I like Ryan Church.”
Manuel and Church had bad blood before this incident and I don’t blame Church for feeling like Manuel took a cheap shot. Manuel wasn’t sensitive to Church’s injuries last year (the entire Mets’ staff mismanaged Church’s two concussions by making him available to pinch hitting him two days after the first injury and then putting him on a freaking plane to Colorado with post-concussion symptoms shorty after that) and isn’t being sensitive now in his comments. Because Church is in Atlanta now, Manuel probably feels as though he can take swipes at his former player without facing any repercussions.
Granted, the Mets have suffered an unusual amount of injuries this season, which have nothing to do with Manuel. But that doesn’t mean he deserves a mulligan for what has transpired this season. He’s a lousy manager and I would be shocked if the Mets didn’t fire him in the offseason.
In one of the scarier moments of the 2009 baseball season, Mets third baseman David Wright took a mid-90s fastball from Giants starter Matt Cain off the helmet during a game on Saturday.
Wright was diagnosed with post-concussion symptoms on Sunday and was released from the hospital. The Mets may be forced to put him on the DL, which would be yet another blow in an already frustrating season for New York.
As expected, Mets fans were incredibly upset and booed Cain every time he stepped onto the mound, into the batters box and blinked. But there was no way that was an intentional act by Cain, who had an 0-2 count on Wright in a scoreless game and a runner on first. It’s common sense that Cain wouldn’t want to hit Wright in that situation and it’s not like Cain has a history of headhunting. (Wright was only the second batter Cain has hit all season.)
Cain was clearly upset after the incident and concerned for Wright’s health, although people were irked by Cain’s hat-tipping motion when he was pulled in the 8th. Some, including the broadcast team who were announcing the game on TV, say that Cain was sarcastically mocking Met fans that had booed him, although he says he was just adjusting his cap.
Considering Cain has always shown professionalism throughout his young career, I believe him when he says he was just adjusting his cap. Besides, why would he show compassion for Wright’s health only to mock the situation four innings later? It doesn’t make sense and it’s not like the Giants and Mets have had a history of bad blood. If Brian Wilson hit Casey Blake in the head in L.A. and then tipped his cap, then someone would have an argument. But not here – not with a stand up guy like Cain, who wouldn’t put his team in a bad situation considering the Giants still have two more games in New York.
Here’s hoping Wright is okay and he returns to action this season. He’s a tremendous player who makes the game of baseball better when he’s on the field. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.
It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.
Top 5
1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.
2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.
Bottom 5
1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.
3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.
4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.
5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.
Kevin Burkhardt of SportsNet New York is reporting that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes’ season could be over after flying back to the Big Apple on Tuesday to have team doctors examine his hamstring injury.
This is when you know Reyes’ season is over – he flew back to NY today to have Mets team doctors re-examine him for right leg discomfort.
The Mets have to shut this kid down for the rest of the season. If he needs surgery, it’s better to do it now than to wait hoping that Reyes can come back and the Mets can put together a feeble comeback.
What happens if he rushes back onto the field and winds up hurting his leg even more than it was? Reyes is a big part of the Mets’ future and while the situation must be frustrating to everyone involved, risking a bigger injury just isn’t worth it with New York currently sitting in fourth place in the NL East and 10 games back of the Phillies.
Things are bad for the New York Mets. How bad you ask? Bad to the point where the VP of player development is ripping off his shirt, calling a Double-A player a “part of a woman’s anatomy” and then challenging the entire team to a fight.
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.
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.
The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.
Hey, when you’ve got a bunch of underage players getting all hopped up on the alcohol and playing like a bunch of women’s anatomies, then sometimes the only thing to do is rip off your shirt and challenge them to a fight. I mean, the audacity of some of these players going out drinking after the games; wait until they get to the big leagues – where players go directly home following games and usually cozy up to a nice book.
The entire Mets organization is a freaking mess right now. The big league club can’t keep anyone healthy, the GM is clueless and the VP of player development is ripping off his shirt and challenging the Double-A team to a fight. Ridiculous…but hilarious.
For those Mets fans that were hoping either manager Jerry Manuel or GM Omar Minaya (or both) would be fired after yet another disappointing season in NY, think again.
With nine players on the disabled list, including three members of the Mets’ core, it became apparent early on that neither Jerry Manuel nor Omar Minaya was going to take the fall for the team’s dismal performance this season.
Manuel is signed through 2010, and Minaya’s three-year contract extension doesn’t even begin until next season. So it wasn’t surprising that a source confirmed today that COO Jeff Wilpon already has assured both Manuel and Minaya that their jobs are safe. The story was first reported by SI.com.
There’s no question that injuries have played a huge role in the demise of the Mets this year. So maybe Manuel and Minaya do deserve a mulligan for this season.
But regardless of injuries, this year has been an utter disaster for the Mets in terms of the most basic things in baseball. They can’t field pop ups, the outfielders don’t communicate on fly balls, the team struggles on a whole running the bases properly, etc. Those things have nothing to do with injuries – those are basic fundamentals of the game.
Now, is all of that Manuel and Minaya’s fault? Maybe not. But they both have had a hand in how poorly this club has played this year – injuries or no injuries.
Lenny Dykstra, self-proclaimed financial guru, has filed for bankruptcy. He was once hailed by Jim Cramer as “one of the great ones,” and he wasn’t talking about Dykstra’s baseball career.
It’s all too much for Jon Stewart, who has a field day with this one.
I don’t know how this slipped through the cracks here at TSR yesterday, but ESPN reporter Erin Andrews apparently took one on the chin (huh-huh, huh-huh) during a Mets-Dodgers game on Wednesday:
Andrews — who serves as a sideline reporter for ESPN — was struck in the chin by a foul ball hit by New York Mets player Alex Cora during the 4th inning.
Erin was hustled to the hospital a few innings later, but only suffered a bruised chin.
UPDATE: ESPN just released the following statement:
“She’s totally fine. The producers on site suggested she go to the hospital as a precaution. Doctors released her soon thereafter. She flew home as scheduled and is looking forward to working MLB All-Star events and the ESPYs in the coming week.”
Nothing good happens at Mets games these days – NOTHING.
