12/22/09

Igarashi, Takahashi, F-Mart, more no to Pedro... and more wrong Japanese


Ryota Igarashi

Ryota Igarashi thinks the Mets have a good chance at success next season. The 30-year-old Japanese reliever, who agreed last week to a $3 million, two-year contract, thinks he can be a setup man for Francisco Rodriguez. 'There is obviously no guarantee from our conversations with the Mets, of course, but there have been talks of being a setup man, filling that role from the seventh inning or the eighth inning,' he said through a translator. He joins a bullpen that includes right-handers Brian Stokes and Sean Green, and left-hander Pedro Feliciano. -  .fantasysp
 
 

Ken Takahashi:
 
The most recent import before Igarashi. He didn’t do a terrible job and probably would have been more recognized if the team performed better. Leave it to the Mets to bring in a second lefty to help Pedro Feliciano that is better against right handed pitching. The Raul Ibanez homer off Takahashi at Citi Field in June was a synopsis of the 2009 Mets. In all he had an ERA+ of 139 and ERA under 3.00 despite some shaky peripherals.  -  nybaseballdigest.





Fernando Martinez:

Omar’s boy F-Mart looked more like a bust than he did a future star during his short trial last season. He played in 29 games and tallied 91 at bats in which he batted an embarrassing .176, with a .242 OBP and .275 slugging percentage. F-Mart didn’t feel the need to hustle out of the batters box on more than one occasion. His work in the field was no better, more often than not he always got a late jump on balls hit into the outfield, and he even fell flat on his face in one game diving for a ball that was obviously out of reach. The results clearly showed that Omar dreadfully miscalculated that F-Mart would be major league ready this upcoming season, and too many considered F-Mart to be a flat out bust. - metsmerizedonline


Pedro Martinez:

Pedro Martinez back in Queens? Is that heresy? Maybe not according to Jayson Stark earlier today. I will add another nugget to ponder: Is Pedro the best “value” pick for the Mets starting rotation? So far we have seen Randy Wolf sign for 3 years/$30 million and Jason Marquis 2 year/$15 million. They had a 122 and 117 ERA+ respectively. In nine starts Pedro Martinez’s was at 117.

The other top free agent starters ERA+ were:  -  the Silva-meister








Wrong Japenese:

After two and a half years, Matsui was traded and ultimately became the starting second baseman for the Rockies’ 2007 World Series team. After compiling a .256 average in Queens, he hit .288 for Colorado that year. Kota Ishijima, an interpreter for Yoshii, knew Matsui from their days with the Seibu Lions and said the Mets did not deserve all the blame for Matsui’s failures in New York.
“At Seibu, they knew how to pamper him,” Ishijima said. “When he got to New York, there was too much pressure. He froze. He played like a robot and lost all his confidence.”

But Matsui did not give up, and neither have the Mets. After nine swings and almost as many misses with Japanese players, they are trying yet again. -  Daviw Waldstein/NYT









 
 
 
 

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