Master Index of Archived Threads


Roster Moves - May 12

Frayed Knot May 13 2008 02:07 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 13 2008 02:19 PM

Figueroa & Sosa designated for assignment, Pagan to the DL Claudio Vargas called up to start Wednesday's game. Also Matt Wise and Fernando Tatis called up.

TransMonk May 13 2008 02:10 PM Re: Roster Moves

Frayed Knot wrote: Figueroa & Sosa designated for assignment, Pagan to the DL Claudio Vargas called up to start Wednesday's game. Also Matt Wise and Fernando Tatis called up. Can't say I'm unhappy with those decisions given the circumstances.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 13 2008 02:14 PM

This is official?

Frayed Knot May 13 2008 02:16 PM

I was about to post today that I've had enough of waiting for Sosa and hoping he'd come around to the good pitcher he's only been briefly during several spots in his career (including early last year). If we lose him trying to send him down then we lose him, we'll live. Probably one or both of Sosa/Figueroa survive in order to straighten themselves out. I have no opinion on the Vargas vs Bostick deal and don't know why they chose the one over the other. Wise needed to be called eventually and it's good that they did so without sending down Smith. I don't Bazooka Joe is as valuable as some fans seem to think but he's been good this season. Tatis is what he is, but at least he's a threat for a long-ball off the bench that Pagan doesn't give us.

sharpie May 13 2008 02:22 PM

Tatis also gives us a little more position flexibility as he can play third or first.

Gwreck May 13 2008 02:24 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: Tatis is what he is, but at least he's a threat for a long-ball off the bench that Pagan doesn't give us. Does Tatis really bring anything that Easley doesn't?

Gwreck May 13 2008 02:37 PM

[url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2008/05/subway-series-starters-johan-o.html]Adam Rubin[/url] also reports that Casanova cleared waivers and will report to New Orleans.

Edgy DC May 13 2008 02:43 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 13 2008 05:15 PM

Gwreck wrote: ="Frayed Knot"]Tatis is what he is, but at least he's a threat for a long-ball off the bench that Pagan doesn't give us. Does Tatis really bring anything that Easley doesn't? If nothing else, he can play one place while Easley plays another.

Benjamin Grimm May 13 2008 02:50 PM

Gwreck wrote: [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2008/05/subway-series-starters-johan-o.html]Adam Rubin[/url] also reports that Casanova cleared waivers and will report to New Orleans. Good! I was wondering what had happened with that. Thanks!

SteveJRogers May 13 2008 04:45 PM

FWIW Vargas is listed on the roster with 39 and Tatis is posied to be the 29th different Met to don #17 in a regular season game.

Number 6 May 13 2008 10:56 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: Wise needed to be called eventually and it's good that they did so without sending down Smith. I don't Bazooka Joe is as valuable as some fans seem to think but he's been good this season. This is a good point, IMO, and worthy of expanding. Smith is a lot more "likable" largely because he's successful while performing a limited role. The question is how good he needs to be in that limited role in order to justify a spot in the bullpen, at the expense of other relievers who may provide increased flexibility. As long as continues to ground-ball righties to death at his current level, sure, it's worth it, but it's a tightrope.

Fman99 May 14 2008 04:57 AM

Who is the long man out of the pen now, with Figgie and Sosa not on the roster?

metirish May 14 2008 06:55 AM

Fman99 wrote: Who is the long man out of the pen now, with Figgie and Sosa not on the roster? No one , each starter will now go at least seven innings , it's a good question , what happens with Vargas after this start , does he stay in the rotation or go to the pen , is there a move that Minaya has in the works?

Frayed Knot May 14 2008 07:05 AM

Well we still have a DH next week and we still need a 5th starter until Pedro resurfaces so Vargas is up until he's either not needed or is swapped out for a Bostick type. As for the long man .... umm, no one, at least not with that title. I suspect if a starter gets into trouble early that Schoeneweis and/or Wise would be the first ones up and you just gotta patch it through after that.

smg58 May 14 2008 07:10 AM

Sosa, like Figueroa, pitched himself out of the majors. Sosa has a $2M contract, which means he will certainly clear waivers. I think he could opt to become a free agent rather than accept a demotion, but he might lose his contract if he does that; I'm not sure what the rule is on that. People talk about Sosa's "rubber arm"; well, he HAD a rubber arm out of the pen last August, but it fell off in September and he hasn't recovered. Based on Wise's history, he can't take on all of Sosa's innings. So we'll need a few guys, both in the rotation and the pen, to do more. That being said, Smith is pitching far better than Sosa and clearly deserves to stay up. No arguments with the moves here. I'm very happy to see that Casanova cleared waivers. We'll need him later, I just have that feeling. I'm kind of surprised the Yankees didn't give him a look, though.

Vic Sage May 14 2008 07:26 AM

sosa's money is guaranteed, even if he refuses to go to the minors. He'll clear waivers, then sign for the minimum with a club desperate for a backup starter/long-reliever. Last night, i heard Willie say something about how they can't afford to have specialists, and feliciano and Schoenweise will have to get lefties and righties out, until the bullpen gets "straightened out". First of all, i didn't know the pen needed straightening out. Other than Heilman (and the late lamented Sosa) everybody is doing what they're supposed to... they're just being overused. And expecting schoenweise to get out righties because the "can't afford to have specialists" is exactly the kind of moronic thinking i expect from Wee Willie Small Balls. Schoenweise got pounded last year (and throughout most of his career) when asked to do what he cannot do. this year (and in previous years), when asked only to get out lefties, he's been totally effective. So naturally, willie is going to expand his role until he demonstrates his ineffectiveness. At which point, schoenwiese will become a whipping boy again, and Willie will shake his head, upset with his lousy bullpen. ugh.

AG/DC May 14 2008 07:27 AM

I think lack of a designatied long man for a few weeks won't be a major issue. If it is, we'll have bigger issues to concern us.

Frayed Knot May 14 2008 07:30 AM

Mid-season pickup of a long man = El Duque

Number 6 May 14 2008 07:49 AM

Vic Sage wrote: Last night, i heard Willie say something about how they can't afford to have specialists, and feliciano and Schoenweise will have to get lefties and righties out, until the bullpen gets "straightened out". Oh crap. Feliciano has at least demonstrated some ability against righties (.221 /.325 /.371 last season). Running Schoeneweis out against righties on a regular basis is a great way to turn a limited asset into a liability.

AG/DC May 14 2008 07:59 AM

I think he'll still try and get them work in advantageous situations. It's just his notion that explicitly declaring an intent to limit them to those situations is un-motivating and it leads to complacency. I think it's part of the WillieWinner philosophy. Personally, I think it contributed to the bullpen collapse of 2007, so he's wrong, but I don't think he's missing the message about Schoeneweis' capacity against righties. I just think it goes against his grain to make the Show any promises. Whitey Herzog, I think the first guy to carve a specific role for everybody in the bullpen and build his pitching staff backwards, was so keyed on having everybody aware of their role and focused on succeeding in it, that he told is bullpenners that, if he got them up twice and didn't use them, to shower and report to the dugout --- that their day was essentially over unless the game went to extra innings.

Centerfield May 14 2008 11:01 AM

Vic Sage wrote: Last night, i heard Willie say something about how they can't afford to have specialists, and feliciano and Schoenweise will have to get lefties and righties out, until the bullpen gets "straightened out". First of all, i didn't know the pen needed straightening out. Other than Heilman (and the late lamented Sosa) everybody is doing what they're supposed to... they're just being overused. And expecting schoenweise to get out righties because the "can't afford to have specialists" is exactly the kind of moronic thinking i expect from Wee Willie Small Balls. What could possibly be the logic behind such a statement? All I can come up with is: "We are struggling as a group right now, so we can't afford to use people in situations where they are most likely to have success." Does this "we can't afford specialists" idea also hold true for position players? If the Mets continue to tread water at .500, can we expect to see Castillo catching and batting cleanup?

Benjamin Grimm May 14 2008 11:04 AM

As I've said before, I'd really like to see a smart guy managing the Mets.

smg58 May 14 2008 12:52 PM

AG/DC wrote: I think lack of a designated long man for a few weeks won't be a major issue. If it is, we'll have bigger issues to concern us. Exactly. We won't have to worry so much about our pen caving in if more than two of our starters can get through the sixth inning.

metirish May 14 2008 01:06 PM

Is it me or does anyone else here think that the hitters for the most part are working counts more this season , seems just about any game I have watched this year , Mets or other the pitchers are throwing more pitches than ever. It's not uncommon now to hear that a starting pitcher has 80 to 84 pitches through 4 innings or that a relief pitcher has 40 to 45 in 2 innings.

batmagadanleadoff May 14 2008 01:46 PM

Vic Sage wrote: And expecting schoenweise to get out righties because the "can't afford to have specialists" is exactly the kind of moronic thinking i expect from Wee Willie Small Balls.. Wee Willie Small Balls!

Benjamin Grimm May 14 2008 02:02 PM

metirish wrote: Is it me or does anyone else here think that the hitters for the most part are working counts more this season. In an in-game interview with Howard Johnson the other day, HoJo said that the Mets hitters are working on doing just that. And it makes sense. If 100 pitches is a magic number for the opposing manager, and you KNOW that, then why not intentionally try to get the opposing pitcher up to 100 pitches as soon as possible? Of course, it would be better if you were exploiting the other manager's foolishness while your own manager wasn't engaging in the same, but we don't live in a perfect world.