Thursday, June 25, 2009

Tinker Toys

It's obvious as the nose on Snoop Manuel's face that as long as Fernando Nieve keeps pitching like this, he has to stay in the rotation. Isn't it?

Isn't it???

Well, maybe not. After all, Daniel Murphy has had nine hits in his last seven games before being benched against a righty on Wednesday night so Nick Evans could get into the lineup, and that 6-4-Tatis can stay there. Maybe Murphy came to Snoop asking for a breather. Maybe his last game being an 0-fer showed Snoop that Murphy needed a day of rest. But by that logic, everyone except Luis Castillo and Jeremy Reed needed to be benched after Jo-El Pineiro's two hitter.

My point is this: It's June ... late June. Everyone's on the DL. This whole Snoop notion of getting everybody at-bats has to be thrown out the window. There's no better chance to get players at-bats who need them to stay sharp. Gary Sheffield's knee is barking now? Guess what ... time for Ryan Church (3-for-4 with a long double to left which would have been out at Shea) to play every day and be in the middle of the order and not force-feed Sheffield back into the lineup. There isn't going to be a better opportunity to get Murphy in a groove and find out if he can do this every day than from now until the All-Star break. And if Nick Evans is going to go gangbusters as he did all over Brad Thompson on Monday, then let's put the kid in left field and find out if he can play and keep Fernando Tatis nailed to the bench if he's going to keep hitting into double plays.

It seems so obvious when it comes to using a hot pitcher like Nieve, why isn't it that obvious when it comes to hitters? The best players left have to play, and the lineup tinkering should be shelved.

There ... now that that's off my chest, hey, the Mets won 11-0! Awesome.

To reiterate, it was on the strength of another great outing from Fernando Nieve. And you thought I wasted a post on somebody who wasn't going to make the major league roster ... HA!

Well, I expected Nieve to be a disaster, so what the hell do I know? I'm just a dumb blogger, and I'm sorry. And if Nieve does this ten more times, I will apologize ten more times.
"I was thinking too much when I was with the Astros. The first time it was when (Roger) Clemens signed. Now, I just think about doing my job." -Fernando Nieve
So it's Clemens' fault. Figures. Screw you, Roger.

No similar salutation for Adam Wainwright, who admitted after this video that he still loves us Met fans. Well that's nice, but don't patronize me. The one thing that would have made 11-0 even better would have been if it was off Wainwright.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

As bad as it's been being a Mets fan the past few years (who am I kidding - the past 23 years) ... it's important to remember: we have Metstradamus, and other teams don't.

Schneck said...

I completely agree about the lineup. If Omar doesn't feel that there are deals to be made and it seems apparent that this what they will be going with for now, let's make some decisions and stick to them. Let your players feel like starters, not like they are always on trial. Church and Murphy deserve a shot and he should give it to them. Nice win, though.

Unser said...

Murphy has to play everyday, period. Otherwise, we'll have no idea what he can do over a full season and no idea if he can be the everyday 1Bman next year. Put Evans in left if you want, but Murph's gotta play.

fink said...

6-4-Tatis. awesome.

Anonymous said...

I am going catch the Mets for the 1st time at Citi field and I paid a ton to get these tickets from stub hub.
The Tickets are located in:
Level: Sterling
Section: 19
Row: 1
Where is this exactly? Stub Hub showed these tickets as Delta Club Section 19. But are they Delta club section platinum, gold, or silver. It's friggen confusing. And do these tickets include food and non-alcoholic bev?

fredstradamus said...

I can't believe the poll ... trust me, dear Metstradamus readers; as a resident of Cincinnati you do NOT want Adam Dunn. Nay, WE DO NOT want Adam Dunn.

Trust me. Terrible fielder, no hustle, strikes out a lot, can crank the ball, but I've only seen him have major success in venues like Great American Smallpark.

weesle909 said...

Agreed Fred. I hate players that are a HR or K.

Schneck said...

Anonymous, please mail me the tickets and I'll have a look and let you know. I love helping fellow Met fans.

Anonymous said...

Ok, what's your email?