There wasn't much that Ollie did right today. A wild pitch, a home run in the first inning, and six runs in four innings. If he thinks Willie criticized his last effort on the mound, wait until this critique.
The stat line for this game will be very deceiving if you didn't see or hear the game. There were a lot of hits, and a lot of walks dished out by the pitchers on both teams today. But the Brewers turned 5 straight double plays and erased all the threats generated by the Mets. The Mets had the lead early in the game, but errors and bad pitching by Perez gave it all back. And then when ever the Mets threatened, the Brewers would slam the door. At least 1 of the DP was called wrong, but what else would you expect from the umps if you're a Mets fan. The umps always seem to find a way to screw the Mets. Timely hitting is something the Mets have struggled with for 2 years now. I keep hoping that someone will wake them up.
Castillo actually hit the ball out of the infield today. And it has a hit too!!! Imagine that. I disagree with Guinness 110% about Castillo. Where is it written that the #2 hitter has to be useless as a RBI threat? What good does it do to have an automatic out at the top of the line-up? He can hardly run to 1st base, but he insist on bunting all the time whether there is someone on base or not. Wouldn't all Mets fans rather have Jose' be driven in and scoring runs, then just moving 90' at a time? Why would Pagan driving in Jose' from the 2 hole be bad? Castillo would be a better fit lower in the order. If He was hitting 8th, he'd be more likely to get on base for the pitcher to move him into scoring position. The Reyes is coming to the plate with someone to drive home. It makes since only to Witless Willie and Guinness I guess. More and more people in the media and baseball world are questioning his spot in the batting order. Can myself and all of the others be wrong? Maybe but I don't think so.
I want to ask a question here. I thought Schneider was a A+ defensive catcher? EVERYBODY raved about his defense. But I see nothing to brag about. He constantly drops balls, doesn't block pitches, doesn't throw out many runners, and allows every pitch in the dirt to go skipping by him. What the heck is going on? As bad as people claim Lo Duca was behind the plate, I never saw so many pitches getting lost and dropped. Even the TV broadcast team [Cohan and Darling] were commenting on his inability to CATCH THE BALL!!! That's the job. That's why they're called CATCHERS. And Brian isn't doing a lot of catching lately.
I read the article on SNY about Willie's by the book managing style, and it couldn't be more on target. This team is playing baseball in a lackluster way and doesn't seem to get any better. If something doesn't change soon, how long will the Witless Wonder be employed? Here's hoping that the Mets don't allow the Nationals off the mat this week. Let's all hope Pelfrey, Maine, and Figueroa can do what Santana and Perez couldn't. Shut down a struggling team and sweep the 3 game series.
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8 comments:
I think you missed the point of my argument Dan. Pagan would be better off as a No. 3 hitter. He hits a lot of singles which would score Reyes from 2nd base after Castillo got him over somehow. Of course, you can't do that since that would leave the 6th, 7th and 8th spots all lefties...
i like pagan in the 2 spot. sounds silly but I don't think reyes sees good pitches with castillo batting behind him. not that jose takes many pitches nowadays anyhow. but you guys are missing the bigger point, I truly believe that this team would respond in a really positive manner if they just fire willie. did you read rubin in the news about willie being upset with the loss? curious how a man who never accepts any accountability for his actions resulting in a loss is so quick to call others out for theirs!
I actually don't think the pitches Reyes sees have anything to do with who's batting behind him. No pitcher wants to walk Reyes regardless of who's coming up because of the havok Reyes plays on the basepaths when he gets on. However, Reyes doesn't seem to see the ball very well right now so why would any pitcher throw anything over the plate anyway? Reyes will swing at something out of the zone.
Ideally, Reyes would get on base somehow (walk, infield single, bunt, line drive single, whatever) and then steal second. Castillo would bunt him over to 3rd and with Castillo, 50% of the time, he'll make it to 1st base on that bunt. Wright comes in and drives Reyes in, even with an out. So I definitely can't fault anyone for having Castillo bat second. The problem, of course, is that Reyes isn't getting on base and when he does get on base, he isn't stealing second...
And was the Willie thing sarcasm? Dan and I have been writing that he needs to be fired for about a year now! ")
The anonymous post was from me, Kjmcc. Does that answer your question?
Guinness,
I've yet to see Castillo get on base 10% of the time he bunts. If Pagan was batting second, Reyes wouldn't have to steal 78 bases and beat up his body. He could steal 50, and still score more runs if there was someone behind him that can hit the ball out of the infield. You're opinion of Castillo is definately in the small minority.
I think you're underestimating what Castillo can do. Nevermind the fact that he's playing hurt right now but he always puts balls into play. That's what you want from a No. 2 hitter. Someone who will take pitches so Reyes can steal a base and then puts the ball in play. It was the same reason why Lo Duca was so successful in the No. 2 spot. The only difference is that Lo Duca has a little more pop, but on the flip side, Castillo doesn't hit into nearly as many double plays...
If he's hurt, send him to Port St. Lucie. All he's doing now is hurting the Mets. He's almost as close to an automatic as the pitcher is. With him in the 2 hole, David keeps coming to the plate with no one on, and 2 outs. If Castillo is so great in the 2 hole, why have the Mets had so much trouble scoring runs ever since they signed him? When Lo Duca was the #2 hitter, the Mets scored early and often. With Castillo there, the Mets go down with a wimper all too often.
That's kind of placing the blame solely on Castillo. The Mets would score runs if Reyes was getting on base. Castillo is better with Reyes on base. Even Lo Duca would've recorded a lot of outs if Reyes wasn't getting on base. Lo Duca only saw fastballs because of Reyes. So that argument is a little weak...
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