Suffice to say Jeff Wilpon, chief operating officer of the Mets, will never be confused with George Steinbrenner. A former major-league hopeful—he briefly appeared at spring training with the Montreal Expos in 1983 before changing his career trajectory to join his father and uncle, who owned a stake in the Mets, a decision he still quietly laments—he keeps as low a profile as anyone named “Wilpon” possibly can. He has long been rumored to be responsible for various front-office moves—and the internal discord that resulted—but he typically stays in the background, more a string puller than a public hatchet man. So when he showed up in Atlanta last Monday, with the last-place Mets in the midst of a five-game losing streak, eyebrows were raised. Let’s just say it’s rarely a good sign when your COO feels obliged to say, unsolicited, “I didn’t come down here to fire anybody.”,link
In combining both horizontal and vertical movement, it's evident that Peter Moylan generates enough movement on his fastball to throw it at elite levels, while Cabrera, again, has a mediocre-to-awful fastball in spite of his velo. Remember, I'm only including 95 MPH pitches, so imagine how bad his fastball must have been in 2009 at 91 MPH. Cabrera is the poster boy for pitchers who can throw gas but have no command or movement, rendering their fastball ineffective. Kevin Jepsen, Jonathan Broxton, and Brian Wilson are examples of pitchers whose 90-MPH pitches are better than most pitchers' 95s, since those guys are throwing off speed at 90. Also of note: Jenrry Mejia's fastball has excellent movement. - link
Sunday, on ESPN 1050, Brandon Tierney reported that an ex-Met (who he wouldn't name but said was "not necessarily a TV analyst") had upset two "prominent" Mets (he wouldn't name them, either) by telling them "to stop worrying about (media) criticism" and just "get out on the field and perform." The players, Tierney said, went to Jay Horwitz, Mets VP/media relations, and told him to keep the ex-player away from them. The former player, according to Mets moles, is Darryl Strawberry. The Straw Man visited the Mets clubhouse in Washington last week. - link)
There are two percolating subplots to the series that bear watching. There has been plenty of speculation about whether Jerry Manuel could be fired, something the Mets players are well aware of, Bay said. "We can't put more on (the series) than it is - a three-game series," Bay said. "But we also understand it's a little bit more than that." Also, since the last time the Mets and Phils played, Colorado accused Philadelphia of using binoculars to steal signs. That prompted Philly skipper Charlie Manuel to hurl the same accusation at the Mets, citing their sterling home record (16-9, .640 winning percentage at Citi Field). - Read more: link
Omar Minaya is a lovely man. He is a terrible GM, whose mistakes far outweigh his successes (and have been far more costly). Like his father, Jeff Wilpon fancies himself a savvy baseball man, and favors an “old school” approach to the GM’s office. It’s not working, and the Mets have never had the courage to hire an “outside man” lime Pat Gillick or Andy McPhail, who have a genuine track record. Maybe for the right type of incentive, a Terry Ryan, a Gerry Hunsicker (who they passed over once before), could be convinced that they would get to run the baseball operation, and their long line of accomplishment would allow Jeff to gain some experience in building a winner. Sadly, that approach would likely last about six weeks, so that would mean that Jeff would have to … link
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