Stuff – Carson, Lowe, Tampon, Wheeler, Holt

Lone Lefty In The Bullpen

The Mets DFA’d Garrett Olson Saturday to make room for SP Johan Santana. This created another scenario in which the Mets have only one lefty coming out of the pen (Josh Edgin). Is this really happening again? They did this to Jesus Feliciano, pitched his arm off, but got lucky when it became the Yankees problem. Then came Tim Byrdak this year, totally overpitched throughout the first half of the season and now looks to permanently be left on the shelf. There’s no reason to do this to one of the Mets future stars. All you have to do is release Ramon Ramirez (who cares about the money) and bring up Robert Carson to spell Edgin. Carson has the gonzongas to handle the promotion and just might develop into a viable option in 2013. The team is 138 games down in the loss column and nothing should be executing to screw up the immediate future of this team. Terry, please, talk to Sandy here. 

Derek Lowe

Speaking of gonzangas, only the Yankees have the balls to pull off a signing like this. Barry Zito told me once that ‘the only New York road to the World Series comes through the Bronx’ and he was right. These are the kind of moves that make champions and Lowe is smart as hell to become part of a team that has a good chance of going all the way, regardless of how choppy they are playing right now. I used to root for the Mets and, boy, do I miss a team that has money in their checking account. Can you imagine if the Mets signed, oh, let’s say, Michael Bourn, Mike Napoli, and Cliff Lee in the off-season. How much easier would it be to win games with this team? Can you imagine how many people would fill the stands if the Mets won 100 games in 2013.  Should I care what it cost the Wilpons to get there? It never bothered George and the Yankees have the flags to prove it. The Mets? Two flags in 50 years. 

Fred Wilpon

Fred Wilpon was asked by Dave Lennon about the David Wright situation and Tampon shot back “ask Sandy.” Here we go again. (this portion was written before yesterday's post) More jicky-jacky bullshit about the heart and soul of your team. I assume most of you that read this are Mets fans. Let me tell you something. You’ve got one more year to enjoy David before he takes his talents to a team he has a chance of winning something with. Jose Reyes did, Wright will, so will RA Dickey, and anyone else that has a brain in their head. And just how much longer do you think Sandy and Depo are going to stick around for this shit? No, they too will be gone, probably in the off-season. Nobody wants to play for this owner. I take that back. Jon Niese must want to. The bottom line is the team you root for is owned by someone that makes the train guy on ‘Hell On Wheels’ look like the Owner of the Year. He doesn’t care folks. The Mets are his personal little sand box and you are the idiots that support everything he does and doesn’t do by going to the games, buying all the shit they sell, and paying SNY a subscription fee. Me? I don’t give him anything. I write about this team and stopped rooting for it as soon as I found out things about the Wilpons I should never have known. There will be a day the league (or the Teamsters) steps in and removes this guy, but until then, you will have to get used to small market baseball in a big town. This isn’t even Moneyball.  

Zack Wheeler

Wheeler tossed five no-hit innings in his second AAA start on Saturday. It will be interesting to watch how Sandy Alderson, Terry Collins, and Freddy Freeloader calls this one. I’m sure he has a bad outing coming up before the season ends, maybe two, but the Mets will leave Buffalo (for the last time) knowing they have something special in Wheeler. I wouldn’t assign him to a winter assignment… I take that back… I’d assign him to two, maybe three starts in Arizona, and then I’d tell him to go play on Twitter until the January camp opens up. I’m get him the nicest condo in St. Lucie, where all the good lookin’ girls live, and tell him to hide out at the 4pm senior dinner buffets that line the main drags there. I’d ban him from Duffy’s and ask him to wear a hoodie if he wants to go to the movie theatre near the batting cage (no, don’t hit anything!). I have no problem with him going to the beach but stay the hell out of the riptides. Yeah, I’d make him feel special but I wouldn’t have him host an autograph party at some local sports equipment store (the one Teddy and all the guys used to pawn their old equipment at). Opening day? Too early to say, but probably Rochester.

Brad Holt

Do we give this guy another shot? And how far do we go with him. We never accredited his bust to his talent. This was always Mets coaches screwing with his mechanics, something they don’t do now with pitchers like Zack Wheeler. Does anyone really care if these guys need a chiropractor six years from now? I just want five great years for all of them. Holt has good stats in AA this season, except for walks, which has always been his problem (31-G, 39.1-IP, 2-1, 3.20, 1.63, 35-K, 27-BB, only 1-HR). We’re the ball thrown just off the zone? Did he get bad calls from the umps? I’ll tell what they were… there were four pitches that should have wound up somewhere else. Batters get the book on you pretty early at this leave and, if your sink is too sinky, they’ll wait it out and let you give them first base (emphasis on OBP in that level). Holt had a peek at AAA, but that didn’t last long or fair well: 10.13, 2.81, 5.1-IP, 3-K, 4-BB. Obviously, he has earned himself a return to, where, Rochester, but do you bring him to Big League camp with a shot of making the 25-man?