When three Mets helped volunteers fill care packages near ground zero for the crew of the U.S.S. New York on Thursday, there were no questions about which teammates were not there. It was simply an event like others the Mets have participated in since the Sept. 11 attacks: Josh Thole, Bobby Parnell and Dillon Gee, all teenagers nine years ago, loaded bags with Mets caps, water bottles and key chains, shaving cream, vitamins, toothpaste, razors, nutrition bars, flashlights and patches like the ones worn by New York City’s first responders. - link
The Big Three: - 1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida (.383 wOBA, .404 ZiPS RoS wOBA) - - 2. Jose Reyes, New York NL (.334 wOBA, .360 ZiPS RoS wOBA) - - 3. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia (.378 wOBA, .352 ZiPS RoS wOBA) - - It really looks like it’s time to do this. Derek Jeter is on pace to break his own personal record in ground balls, isn’t stealing bases at the clip that he manages in his good years, and isn’t putting up the other-worldly BABIPs of recent years. At his age, he’s always a candidate to slow down, and suddenly it seems like this is the year. If he isn’t going to have the plus batting average, his poor home run and stolen base totals look a lot less exciting. As wrong as we might have been for pushing Jeter into the top tier for his excellent start, we were as right about keeping Jose Reyes near the top despite his poor first month. After an excellent June, Reyes looks like the man he used to be, and when he bags an extra 25 steals or so over Jeter, he’ll overcome any other advantages the elder New York shortstop has on him. - link
link - Start Angel Pagan In Right Field - He’s earned it. He’s second in the National League in steals, seventh in triples and baseballprojections.com lists his Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating—the single number that represents the number of wins the player has added above what a replacement player would add—at 4.8, which is sixth in the N.L. (By comparison, MVP candidate Joey Votto sits just above Pagan at 4.9) Sandwiching him between Jose Reyes and David Wright in the number two spot makes the Mets much more dynamic than with Jeff Francoeur hitting in the fifth or sixth spot in the line-up.
link - Takahashi vs. LHB: 27 IP – 0.67 ERA – 23 H – 8 BB – 33 K… Feliciano vs. LHB: 26 IP – 1.04 ERA – 22 H - 8 BB - 28 K… It’s no contest really, and while Feliciano (2.22 WHIP) is completely ineffective against right-handed hitting as we’ve painfully observed over the years, Hisanori Takahashi (1.33 WHIP) is as good a crossover reliever as the Mets have had in several seasons.
link - The old man is suddenly the dark horse in this scenario, but he might provide the team’s best chance to actually get a 100 wRC+ offensive line from their second base spot. On the other hand, it’s probably not happening as the power as completely left him (.033 ISO, .061 career) and he’s had line drive rates around 15% three of the last four years, so the BABIP has started to come down (.257 this year, .329 career, .267 in 2008). His defense looks scratch by the numbers this year, but after two years of declining UZR/150s, it’s probably best that Castillo see his playing time reduced.
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