Tag: New York Mets (Page 8 of 20)

      Church irked by Manuel’s comments

      August 19, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

      Mets’ Wright beaned in the head by Giants’ Cain

      August 16, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

      MLB Power Rankings—Top 5 and Bottom 5

      August 15, 2009 /

      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.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

      Is Jose Reyes’ season over?

      August 5, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

      Mets VP challenges Double-A team to a fight

      July 22, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

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