Only in Flushing can a guy who had a stat line of .295/.351/.421 in 190 at bats, along with getting some big hits (specifically against Ryan Dempster) can be put on waivers and allowed to be picked up by the Braves to make room for a guy who gets to spring training late because of visa problems, and then when he gets here, goes 7-for-33. But he can play more positions, so in he goes, and out goes the baby with the bath water.No wait, think of the hypocrisy of this, if you will. This is an organization that has no problem taking a guy and putting him in positions he doesn't normally play. But they don't think about putting Gotay in the outfield? And why would they need to, with Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley on the team to play first base? Someone has gotta tell me how Fernando Tatis makes sense? Because on a random April day in 1999, Tatis hit two grand slams in an inning? Don't even try telling me that has nothing to do with it ... because this guy wouldn't have been invited to spring training if that wasn't on his resume.
And by the way, do you know who those two grand slams came off of? Chan Ho Park. Chan Ho Flippin' Park! That's why Ruben Gotay is an Atlanta Brave: because Chan Ho Park gave up two grand slams in an inning in 1999! Chan Ho Park hasn't been on the Mets in months, and he's still retroactively killing us (albeit in a Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey kind of way).
Two days before opening day, and I'm already sobbing myself to sleep. Maybe this is the season I finally get that ulcer I've been cultivating. (The 2008 Mets: Your Ulcer Has Come).
9 comments:
C'mon Metstra, you are better that this. All it came down to is the fact that Tatis can hit lefties and Gotay can't. Note the career stats vs.LHP:
Gotay: .219/.315/.266 (no typo)
Tatis: .264/.341/.464
We all know that the inability to hit lefties is a documented weakness of the team. Taking Tatis over Gotay is an attempt to remedy that.
another stupid move. don't know who made the move but i suspect wllie has something to do with it.
remember metstra, if you haven't heard it yet, willie will kill us this year..i have a bad feeling about this guy. letting a young hitter like gotay go should be punishable by law. and now the braves have him? this will come back to bite us in the buttocks.
Though I agree that its mainly because Tatis hits right-handed, thing is he hasnt hit major league pitching in years. He couldn't make it with the lowly Orioles in the hit happy American league. If its to hit lefty pitching then it should be Brady Clark and if it ends up being Tatis then it is for the reasons Metstra stated. All except the he plays more positions line. He's a third baseman, period. He's played SS all of 8 innings 10 years ago. Secondbase? Try 2 innings. Rightfield, 8 innings, leftfield 22 innings, 1B 42 innings. All of those 2 years ago. The minors? He's only played 3B down there, even with New Orleans. To me he doesnt have enough experience to be considered a utility player and since he's shown so far that he still cant hit major league pitching, should be nowhere near Shea this year. The Mets will be hurting this year with no quality defensive backup for the middle infield positions, and dont say Easley because he's been showing signs of not being able to handle those positions since last year.
I am also heartbroken over the loss of Ruben. He is such a great kid. And I never thought he was so terrible defensively.
And though I can't remember the specifics of it, there was a game in 2007, before things got bad, June maybe?, in which he had a HUGELY clutch hit late in the game when the Mets were behind. Willie chose to let Ruben go to the plate in that situation rather than pinch hit for him. I will never forget how excited and proud he was.
Anonymous, chew on this if you will.
PLAYER A vs. Lefties: .194/.286/.222 in 42 PA's.
PLAYER B vs. Lefties: .162/.340/.189 in 48 PA's.
Both these sets of numbers happened in seasons where the players were each 24 years old. If Willie and Omar had used the same logic on player B as you gave for player A, which was Ruben Gotay, they would have released player B, which represented the 1984 season for Wally Backman.
And if you want somebody who can hit lefties (even though Damion Easley went .371/.446/.596 last season against them), can the Mets at least get somebody who's played baseball the last four seasons?
I have no doubt that Tatis, at some point, will hit a game winning home run and blow my argument to smithereens, but I have less doubt that Gotay is going to kill the Mets with a big hit this season. Like there aren't enough players in the N.L. East that are uber-motivated to destroy the Mets.
Gotay was a nice fill-in player last year. But this feels a little over the top people. He's simply not that good. Relax. Woodward and Franco could have had game winning hits against the Mets last year .. it wouldn't have changed the fact that releasing them was the right move. I'm not overly excited about Tatis or Clark, but Ruben Gotay is not going to haunt the Mets.
Nobody's saying that Ruben Gotay is a superstar (I don't think). But to lose him for nothing to make room for a guy who has barely played in the majors since '03 for the benefit of a minority of at-bats during a season which happen to come against lefthanders makes little sense to me. Omar's hit big with a lot of these pickups off the bench, but come on ... is it a crime to have one guy off the bench under 30?
No, this isn't going to tip any balances of power. And if Tatis is a success, I'll eat my words. I always do. But I don't get it.
Metstra
Any predictions for this year? I would have thought you would have done them by now? Or have the last two brutal years caused you to take it "one day at a time"?
Vegas odd makers are eagerly punching the Atlanta Braves as a lock for the NL Pennant due to a new 24 year old Backup 2B whose hitting prowess looks to help the Braves off the bench...
No word on who he is, but he was released by the Mets, adding more tensions to the tepid rivalry.
In other news, Chipper Jones & Tom Glavine went golfing.
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