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Casanova on Bereavement Leave; Cancel Called Up

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 04 2008 09:05 AM

Casanova's dad passed away, according to the snooze. Robinson Cancel last played MLB nine years ago and only recently returned from the DL at AAA. We bought him out of the Northern League.

metirish Jun 04 2008 09:07 AM

Robonson Cancel might take up two roster spots he's so big from what I remember of him.

Gwreck Jun 04 2008 09:08 AM

If it wasn't puzzling enough as to why we have 3 catchers on the major league roster -- when we desperately could use another outfielder -- we have a roster spot, and Omar calls up....ANOTHER CATCHER! Omar, WTF?

sharpie Jun 04 2008 09:47 AM

With Casanova unavailable we needed another former Milwaukee catcher. Couldn't Damian Miller be had?

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 09:59 AM

Funny. We've also had ex-Brewer backstop Jesse Levis bouncing around. If we need a former Brewer back there, I say we go for Dave Nilsson, "The Thunder from Down Under." Robby is a big fella:

Frayed Knot Jun 04 2008 10:05 AM

These recent moves are sure to be temporary - Casanova's outage will be short and Alou will be back soon (at least according to him) - and therefore are probably more guided by 40-man roster contraints than any particular desire to have a 3rd catcher around. Both Cancel and Evans will likely be gone by the end of the weekend.

Gwreck Jun 04 2008 10:45 AM

That's a fair point, although I suppose 40-man room could be created by moving Jason Vargas or Ambiorix Burgos to the 60-day DL. And even when Casanova comes back, we'll still be (foolishly?) carrying 3 catchers.

TheOldMole Jun 04 2008 11:02 AM

What was the roster move to activate Pedro? I missed that.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 04 2008 11:03 AM

TheOldMole wrote: What was the roster move to activate Pedro? I missed that. I think Muniz was sent down.

Fman99 Jun 04 2008 11:05 AM

sharpie wrote: With Casanova unavailable we needed another former Milwaukee catcher. Couldn't Damian Miller be had? He was profiled, among others, in a recent EPSN.com article. He said that he doesn't want to have to live on the road, so he's only going to play if the Brewers come calling.

Willets Point Jun 04 2008 11:15 AM

Cancel is a headline-writers dream name.

seawolf17 Jun 04 2008 11:16 AM

You can never have too many fat catchers, I say. Bring me Spanky LaValliere!

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 11:29 AM

Screw Spanky. Bring me Engleberg.

TheOldMole Jun 04 2008 12:36 PM

That's a great interview.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 06:29 PM

If Cancel makes it to a game, and then is sent back down before the Mets play the Snakes on Tuesday at Shea, I wonder what number he would be among Mets since 1964 never to have played a single game at Shea? Wouldn't be that hard to research now that game logs and such are available though, safe to assume that we are talking about players to only have gotten in less than 10 games or so.

Rockin' Doc Jun 04 2008 06:54 PM

I haven't checked, but it 's likely already tabulated on UMDB. I swear Ben has stats for virtually everything Mets related on his site. It's amazing.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 04 2008 07:12 PM

Mets players who never appeared in a home game. (Either Shea or Polo Grounds) May, Jerry Scarce, Mac Medich, Doc Sweet, Rick Hernandez, Manny Liddell, Dave Castillo, Juan Clontz, Brad Haney, Todd Hinchliffe, Brett Bennett, Gary DePastino, Joe Baldwin, James Heredia, Felix Urdaneta, Lino Ambres, Chip

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 07:46 PM

I wonder how many Mets have one hit, but it's a game-winner. I know Ambres isn't the only.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 04 2008 07:48 PM

Mets,com lists Cancel as wearing #4. Anyone see otherwise?

vtmet Jun 04 2008 08:14 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 04 2008 08:17 PM

The one thing that I like about carrying 3 catchers is that, IMO, Willie is using Ramon Castro more often than he normally would...and I'd rather see Ramon enter the game than either being stuck on the bench because "what if Schneider got hurt", and I'd rather see Castro bat than see some AAAA player playing the OF... While neither Casanova or Cancel are the ideal bench players, it might not be a bad thing to see how each handle the Mets pitchers and hit mlb pitching before Castro goes down for his semi-regular injury.... It's probably only a temporary thing until Alou comes back or until things start to heat up in the summer and players will need rest more often... I know it goes against the norm, but I'd rather see a full season 27 man roster with a slight increase in September (maybe a 30 man cap in September) than having a 25 man roster with carrying 12 pitchers and virtually no bench during the majority of the season like the Mets do...

Elster88 Jun 04 2008 08:16 PM

vtmet wrote: The one thing that I like about carrying 3 catchers is that, IMO, Willie is using Ramon Castro more often than he normally would Good point. This could be why we're carrying 3. Castro is a nice pinch-hitter.

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 08:21 PM

Good point. On the other hand, we could get a good pinch hitter. And maybe one that not so limited in position.

Fman99 Jun 04 2008 08:24 PM

Elster88 wrote: ="vtmet"]The one thing that I like about carrying 3 catchers is that, IMO, Willie is using Ramon Castro more often than he normally would Good point. This could be why we're carrying 3. Castro is a nice pinch-hitter. I'd like to see Castro be the first pinch hit righty off the bench with ducks on the pond. He's got good pop and has good at-bats up there. Given the suckliciousness of Schneider's recent work it would also please me to see Castro get more starts against lefties (and even righties). Make it a 50/50 platoon.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 08:25 PM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Mets,com lists Cancel as wearing #4. Anyone see otherwise? I will be armed with my Kodak Friday, hopefully I can get something. Though I'll be with someone who hates it when I walk around the ballpark and take photos of things and people who aren't myself. I will purchase a program.

Elster88 Jun 04 2008 08:31 PM

AG/DC wrote: Good point. On the other hand, we could get a good pinch hitter. And maybe one that not so limited in position. Are these people that easy to come by?

Elster88 Jun 04 2008 08:32 PM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jun 04 2008 09:00 PM

]I walk around the ballpark and take photos of things and people who aren't myself.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 08:56 PM

The hell is your problem? I don't like taking pictures of myself, I like taking photos of inanimate objects, ballplayers on the field, other people, etc. I don't feel that comfortable seeing my image. Especially if I'm then going to plaster said images on places such as here.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 08:58 PM

I.e.

Elster88 Jun 04 2008 09:01 PM

I don't have a problem.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 09:02 PM

Elster88 Jun 04 2008 09:03 PM Edited 3 time(s), most recently on Jun 04 2008 09:14 PM

Regardless, the line I quoted is funny. You have to admit that much. Edit: Considering all the shit I give you, your reaction makes sense and is probably appropriate. Telling me to go f myself would've been understandable too.

SteveJRogers Jun 04 2008 09:08 PM

Fair point. Little too cranky at the moment.

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 09:18 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 04 2008 09:36 PM

Elster88 wrote: ="AG/DC"]Good point. On the other hand, we could get a good pinch hitter. And maybe one that not so limited in position. Are these people that easy to come by? That depends on who you think the real Castro is --- his career being one of ups and downs. http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/castrra01.shtml But, yeah, I think a team doing its work should be able to find an infielder or outfielder who hits as good as or better than Castro, providing the versatility that Cancelnova cannot.

Nymr83 Jun 04 2008 09:33 PM

finding a good (albeit overpaid) pinch hitter should be pretty easy as you approach the deadline and teams out of contention are all too happy to shed contracts. a few targets from teams unlikely to be in contention at the end of June and maybe willing to dump a veteran who is making money and isn't part of their future: Jose Guillen, Royals Marcus Thames, Tigers Raul Ibanez, Mariners

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 04 2008 09:47 PM

I think this was said above but this particular move is more about options and convenience than anything. I think the Mets kinda liked Casanova for his switch-hitting ability and were sorry to see him go when he did because he was just heating up. The fact that Pagan was out and Easley wasn't hitting until very recently prolly is an argument for him too. Maybe also they were worried Castro would disappear again. Maybe they realized they need a L/R platoon thing at catcher and a strict one at that. Pascucci gets a lot of love for a guy who was released by the Phils' AAA team which was 2-28 or something the time I looked. That's not to say he shouldn;t get any but you know.

AG/DC Jun 04 2008 10:04 PM

Well, I'm not trying to damn Cancel, but I just think there are these small windows of opportunity to see what you've got. But, I think, yeah, they want the maneuverability to switch catchers around, even pinch-hitting one guy for the other if it means getting the right matchup late in the game with a guy on base. I'm OK with that. I'm OKer with Church and/or Alou and/or Pagan healthy.

vtmet Jun 05 2008 04:57 AM

AG/DC wrote: ="Elster88"] AG/DC wrote: Good point. On the other hand, we could get a good pinch hitter. And maybe one that not so limited in position. Are these people that easy to come by? That depends on who you think the real Castro is --- his career being one of ups and downs. http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/castrra01.shtml But, yeah, I think a team doing its work should be able to find an infielder or outfielder who hits as good as or better than Castro, providing the versatility that Cancelnova cannot. While he's not a great player, a trade for Brandon Inge would give us a 3rd catcher option so that Castro could be used more often, and at the same time, also gives you a semi-decent backup at the corner infield positions...Inge has also played all 3 OF positions since Pudge took over his starting catcher's job in Detroit a few years ago... and while I can't picture the Mets ever using Fernando Tatis at catcher, supposedly (according to one of our opposition's broadcasters recently) Tatis was a catcher when Omar scouted him for the Rangers many years ago...Tatis, has played all infield positions and both corner OF positions in the majors during him MLB career...

sharpie Jun 05 2008 07:07 AM

Nymr83 wrote: finding a good (albeit overpaid) pinch hitter should be pretty easy as you approach the deadline and teams out of contention are all too happy to shed contracts. a few targets from teams unlikely to be in contention at the end of June and maybe willing to dump a veteran who is making money and isn't part of their future: Jose Guillen, Royals Marcus Thames, Tigers Raul Ibanez, Mariners We don't have the chips to get Ibanez, coming off of two consecutive 100-rbi seasons and on pace for another one this year. Since we can't play him every day it makes little sense (like the Nady talk). Thames isn't used much by the Tigers. He could probably be had.

soupcan Jun 05 2008 07:22 AM

="SteveJRogers"] ="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Mets,com lists Cancel as wearing #4. Anyone see otherwise? I will be armed with my Kodak Friday, hopefully I can get something. Though I'll be with someone who hates it when I walk around the ballpark and take photos of things and people who aren't myself. I will purchase a program. Steve - you in San Diego? I'll be at the Sunday game. I saw Cancel on the broadcast yesterday warming up Smith in the 7th or 8th. I think he was sportin' 4. I know - that doesn't really help.

SteveJRogers Jun 05 2008 09:12 AM

Will be tonight through Saturday, though may head up to LA on Sat.

A Boy Named Seo Jun 05 2008 09:25 AM

I think I'll miss you both. Was gonna go, but am too tired and broke from my trip last week. The park's awesome if you haven't been. You guys'll have a great time.

DocTee Jun 05 2008 09:29 AM

I'll be in SD Sunday through the 14th