The Mets have released 40-year-old Ken Takahashi, according to Ben Shpigel.
Takahashi signed with the Mets on March 30 after being released by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made 28 appearances for the Mets, compiling a 2.96 ERA and 1.354 WHIP in 27 1-3 innings.
Let the roster changes begin!
The Mets dressed up the team’s rookies in various costumes after yesterday’s 4-0 win in Florida. Thanks to the power of the Internet, we can see those photos.
Here is my favorite, Bobby Parnell as some sort of German…um…woman?
Nick Evans as Minnie Mouse and Josh Thole as a Playboy bunny.
Lance Broadway as a nurse and Tobi Stoner as a French Maid.
Hilarious.
Mike Pelfrey got shelled (again), but David Wright and the rest of the Mets bats were able to bail him out. Six runs in the last three innings propelled the Mets to a 10-9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon.
Pelfrey gave up eight earned runs in six innings, allowing 10 hits while on the mound. He walked one while striking out three.
So up and so down. What a crazy year.
Ken Takahashi allowed one earned run in relief. Sean Green, Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez closed out the thriller.
The Mets jumped on Jamie Moyer early, plating four runs in the first inning. Wright drove in two runs with a single in the first inning as the Mets led off the game with five straight hits. Carlos Beltran followed with a two-run home run to center field.
From there, though, the Mets went quiet.
Moyer ended up tossing seven innings, only allowing another run in the seventh on a Wilson Valdez RBI groundout.
In the eighth, Wright added a two-run home run to pull the Mets within two. Daniel Murphy later singled to make it a one-run game.
As the Phillies struggle to find a closer, Ryan Madson was the pitcher of choice on Saturday. A two-out single by Fernando Tatis brought Wright to the plate, who drove the first pitch he saw from Madson into the left field stands, giving the Mets the lead.
As mentioned above, K-Rod came in and closed it out.
This was probably one of the most exciting games of the year. Too bad it helped the Mets avoid 100 losses. In a dismal season, this was a bright spot. This is why I love baseball.
It’s almost exciting watching how many ways the Mets will find to lose a game. Today it came via the grand slam.
Bobby Parnell surrendered a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning, ending his day. Parnell allowed eight earned runs on nine hits and two walks. He lasted only 4 2-3 innings, needing 110 pitches.
Is the Parnell experiment over yet? Or will the Mets just let him take his licks in the rotation?
Ken Takahashi pitched 1-3 of an inning, allowing one run to score.
Lance Broadway made his Mets debut, pitching three innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Yay?
The Mets got a pair of two-run doubles from Jeff Francoeur and Brian Schneider respectively.
Just a game closer to ending 2009.
Pat Misch has been sent down. Ken Takahashi has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
Carlos Beltran is officially heading to the disabled list.
Beltran was found to have a bone bruise, as he suspected, and could be out through the All Star Break.
Taking Beltran’s place on the roster is Fernando Martinez. Martinez, sent down just days ago, is allowed to come back to the Mets without waiting the required 10 days due to a player going on the DL.
Ken Takahashi has been sent down and Wilson Valdez was designated for assignment with two relievers coming up to take their place. Pat Misch, a lefty, and Elmer Dessens, a righty, will join the Mets bullpen tonight.
Misch, picked off of waivers from the Giants back on June 5, was sporting a 6.43 ERA and 1.571 WHIP in 7 1-3 innings pitched for Triple-A Buffalo.
Dessens was 3-2 in 27 relief appearances with Buffalo. He had a 2.31 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 35 against the International League.
This means the Mets will be playing slightly short on the bench, opting for more arms in the bullpen.
| OUT | IN |
| Carlos Beltran - OF | Fernando Martinez - OF |
| Wilson Valdez - IF | Pat Misch - RP |
| Ken Takahashi - RP | Elmer Dessens - RP |
Update – 4:14 p.m.: Carlos Beltran must be heading to the disabled list, according to Adam Rubin.
That’s because Fernando Martinez is heading back to the Mets, he reports.
Also coming up is Pat Misch to replace Takahashi.
Original Post: According to various tweets, the Mets have optioned Ken Takahashi back to Triple-A Buffalo.
Does this mean that Lance Broadway is coming? Maybe.
Another game, another late-inning, heart-breaking, soul-crushing defeat by the Philadelphia Phillies.
OK, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but it sure stung.
The Philadelphia Phillies (35-23) beat the New York Mets (31-27) by a score of 6-3 in 10 innings.
Tim Redding made the start for the Mets and turned out another good performance. Seven innings, six hits and three earned runs for Redding. He walked none and struck out six.
A very good, and surprising start, by Redding.
Pedro Feliciano turned in his third spectacular outing of the series, pitching another hitless inning. Bobby Parnell turned in an easy ninth inning and came out to start the tenth. After one out, Parnell let up a single to Shane Victorino and was removed from the game.
Ken Takahashi, whom lefties were hitting .440 off of entering the game, walked Chase Utley to start his outing. After striking out Ryan Howard for the second out, Raul Ibanez came to the plate. Ibanez parked a Takahashi pitch into the bullpen for a three-run blast, putting the Phillies in the lead for good.
I just don’t get this move. The Mets are sorely lacking a pitcher other than Feliciano who can get out left handed batters at a decent clip.
The Mets put one on the board in the first, third and fifth. All runs were scored by Luis Castillo and he was driven in each time by Carlos Beltran.
Beltran plated Castillo, who went 3-5, in three seperate ways. A groundout scored him in the first, a RBI double in the third and a sac-fly in the fifth.
David Wright went 3-4 on the night.
The Mets didn’t pick up a hit from the sixth inning until Omir Santos singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th.
Another game of score early, then don’t score again for the Mets bats.
The Mets lineup was not built to win.
The Florida Marlins (23-27) beat the New York Mets (27-21) by a score of 7-3.
Tim Redding was shelled. He allowed seven earned runs in four plus innings. Redding let up eight hits, walked two and struck out two. Jeremy Hermida chased Redding from the game with a three-run home run off the Pepsi Porch.
Sean Green took over for Redding in the fifth, striking out two. Ken Takahashi turned in three spectacular innings in relief, allowing only one hit. Brian Stokes finished out the game, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Fernando Tatis drove in Angel Pagan in the first inning with a single to centerfield for the Mets first run.
Fernando Martinez picked up his first major league hit in the third inning. He drove in the Mets second run in the fifth inning with a double to centerfield.
Pagan grounded a ball down the third base line in the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs, scoring Brian Schneider from second base. With runners on second and third, Martinez struck out to end the game.
Three balks.
The San Francisco Giants (19-18) beat the New York Mets (21-16) by a score of 2-0.
Mike Pelfrey did not have a bad game, but three balks and some timely hitting by the Giants doomed the 25-year-old pitcher. Pelfrey gave up runs in the first and the fifth, both runners that scored were moved over by balks and scored on RBI singles.
Pelfrey pitched six innings, allowed six hits and two walks, while striking out two. He threw only 78 pitches and induced 10 ground balls.
Ken Takahashi and Sean Green each pitched an inning in relief.
The Mets had the bases loaded, once with none out and another with two outs, and failed to score any runs. Matt Cain issued five walks in five innings, three in a row in the second inning, but a 1-3-1 double play and a ground ball ended the inning.
With the bases loaded in the top of the 8th, Jerry Manuel decided to pinch hit Angel Pagan for Daniel Murphy. Pagan promptly grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Don’t get that move at all. If someone could explain that one to me, it would be quite helpful.
The Mets had way too many chances to score and let them all slip through their fingers.
A walk-off win wasn’t in the cards two days in a row.
The Atlanta Braves (17-17) beat the New York Mets (18-15) by a score of 8-7 in 12 innings.
Jon Niese started the game and struggled to make it through five innings. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five. Every member of the bullpen got into the game with Brian Stokes, Francisco Rodriguez, Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano turning in shutout efforts.
Bobby Parnell was charged with one unearned run. J.J. Putz allowed an earned run on two hits. Ken Takahashi allowed a solo home run in the top of the 12th inning, which ended up being the game winner.
The Mets pounded out 12 hits and seven runs, but fell one run short. Luis Castillo had an RBI triple in the first. In the fourth with the bases loaded, Fernando Tatis crushed a grand slam to deep center field, giving the Mets the lead.
In the 8th, with the Mets down one, Gary Sheffield blasted a solo home run, No. 501 of his career, deep to left. In the bottom of the 12th, Jose Reyes missed a game tying home run by a few feet and landed him on second base with none out. After Castillo sacrificed him to third, Mike Gonzalez struck out Carlos Beltran and Sheffield to end the game.
Again, nice to see some fight but the Mets came up just short. A great battle between two good teams. It was quite enjoyable, even if the Mets couldn’t pull it out. The Mets have won eight of their last 10.
With Oliver Pereez going on the DL, the Mets have turned to Jon Niese to make Perez’s scheduled start instead of Ken Takahashi. Why Niese over Nelson Figueroa, who already turned in a quality start for the team this season?
Well…I have no idea.
Figueroa was set to make a start for Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, but it was rained out (as have five of the last eight games for the Bisons). Niese last pitched on Friday against the Louisville Bats. Figueroa
Niese has pitched three games in the major leagues, with two poor starts and one excellent outing. His first and third starts saw Niese on the mound for only three innings, letting up five and six earned runs respectively.
Niese’s best outing came against the Braves, where he turned in eight shut-out innings, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out seven.
I guess the Mets are looking for something of a shock to put into their starting rotation. Youth may be one way to do it. I look forward to watching Niese pitch and hope he can turn in something similar to his start against the Braves.
The money owed to the pitchers in the Mets
bullpen for their service in 2009, including
Billy Wagner and Oliver Perez.
The numbers for Hernandez and Takahashi are based on the most information known. Hernandez has a base salary of $1 million, with an unknown amount of possible incentives. That is estimated at $1 million. Takahashi has the chance to make up to $1.5 million.
I threw in Perez, even if he isn’t in the rotation right now. He’ll be back in the rotation eventually…
Right?
(Figures via from Cot’s Baseball Contracts and ESPN)
Oliver Perez has been moved into the bullpen, according to Jerry Manuel.
Ken Takahashi will start in his place on Friday, likely with a 65-pitch limit.
The Mets have just found themselves in possession of a $36 million reliever. How nice.
As it stands right now, Oliver Perez is not in the starting rotation for the New York 
All indications are pointing toward Perez heading to the bullpen as opposed to the minor leagues. Another possibility is that Perez lands on the disabled list. A report came out yesterday that said Perez had an ice pack on his knee before the rainout.
To me, that seems like a ploy by the Mets to slip him onto the DL and allow him to head to extended spring training without incident.
Perez cannot stay in the starting rotation at this pace. His starts eventually lead to bullpen blowouts, hurting the team for the game he starts and even a few games after that.
Is the bullpen the best place for Perez to re-learn how to pitch? Probably not. Who will start in his place? No idea. Will it cost the Mets a player from the bullpen that they will likely need in a tough spot if they call up another starter? Most likely.
For the last question, the most logical move right now is to slip Ken Takahashi into Perez’s spot in the rotation. With a pitch count, hope he can get through four innings and patch together the rest of the game from the arms in the bullpen. Not the best choice, but it keeps a roster spot from being swapped to call up a player from the minor leagues.
Options down on the farm include Brandon Knight, Nelson Figueroa, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, among others. Figueroa or Knight will likely get the call if they cannot figure out Perez while he’s in the bullpen or if he has to go to the disabled list.
Perez has quickly become Omar Minaya’s albatross. He’s not performing anywhere near expectations and is costing the team a whole lot of money. Right now, the Mets don’t seem to know what to do with Perez and would like to stick him somewhere where he cannot kill the team.
I think they’ll put him on the DL with a “knee injury” and hope for the best. Get him some “rehab” starts in the minor leagues and hope he can turn things around.
If not…well…who knows…
(Ed. note: Big Spanish final today (or should I say “grande”?). I’ll be back to post afterwards. Hopefully nothing important breaks. Oh, and wish me luck.)
After the finale between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals, they designated pitcher Casey Fossum for assignment.
Fossum had just pitched 2 2-3 innings against the Nationals in relief of Oliver Perez. Fossum walked three, struck out two and allowed one run to score.
To take his place on the roster, the Mets called up Ken Takahashi from Triple-A Buffalo.
The Mets signed Takahashi on March 30 after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here’s a Q&A with Patrick Newman from NPB Tracker that I did days after the Mets signed the 40 year old pitcher:
Is Takahashi a LOOGY (Lefty One Out Guy)?
No, he was a starter last year and didn’t perform that well against lefties — .333 ba against in 126 batters faced.
Average pitch speed?
Probably high 80’s on the fastball, but I haven’t seen him this year. I believe he can reach about 91 on his fastball.
Can he perform at the major league level? / Worth it or just minor league fodder?
The odds are against him, being 40 and not having an obviously dominating pitch, but he thinks his changeup is as good as [Hideki] Okajima’s. Definitely a low-risk pickup. You can’t have too many arms, and if he proves he can get lefties out in AAA the Mets may have something.
For more on Takahashi, check out a full post about him on NPB Tracker.
