What I missed while I was hugging the porcelain throne

Last night was terrible.  Hopefully it’s only a 24-hour bug.

Anyway, here’s what I missed…

- Bobby Parnell will make a start on Saturday, filling in for Mike Pelfrey.  Pelfrey will be back with the Mets in Arizona, starting on Monday.

I like the idea of seeing what the Mets might have in Parnell, but don’t you think they should stretch him out a little more?  Though he was on the mound for three innings on Wednesday, he only threw 30 pitches.  I guess the Mets are hoping to get just five innings out of him, as he will be held to a 60-75 pitch limit, reports Adam Rubin.

- Angel Berroa DFA’d to make room for Anderson Hernandez.

Oh, goody.

- Gary Sheffield and Luis Castillo may not be as injured as we all thought.

Sheffield was in one of the lineups for the Mets last night, but ended up sitting out.  Castillo may return as early as Saturday, said Jerry Manuel.

- Mets lose to Padres by a score of 8-3.

Not much to see here.  Livan Hernandez had a rough first inning, as usual, but couldn’t stitch together much after that.

Anderson Hernandez is back in the fold

Adam Rubin is reporting that the Mets have reacquired Anderson Hernandez from the Washington Nationals for minor league infielder Greg Veloz.

Hernandez spent four years with the New York Mets after the team traded Vance Wilson to the Tigers for him.  He spent parts of three season with the Mets, never playing more than 25 games.  With the Mets, he hit .138 / .157 / .207, driving in three runs in 89 plate appearances.

Over two seasons with the Nationals, Hernandez has played 105 games, hitting .272 / .335 / .337 with 40 RBI.  This season with the Nationals he hit .251 / .310 / .320 with one home run and 23 RBI in 255 plate appearances.

Veloz, 21, is a Single-A player who hit .232 / .297 / .303 with two home runs and 19 RBI.  He also swiped 18 bases this season.

A-Hern must be better than Angel Berroa.  Right?  …Right?

Checking in on today’s Manuel’s Musing

Earlier today, I posted a the daily Manuel’s Musing.  In it, Jerry Manuel said, “Angel has had some success against Arizona.  That's what we are. That's what we have. He's somewhat of a veteran. So I didn't mind taking my shot with him at that point.”

Understandably, I was skeptical of this statement.  Does Manuel really know the history of Angel Berroa?  Does he even know who Angel Berroa is?

So I checked, and he’s actually somewhat right.  Berroa has had some moderate “success” against the Diamondbacks, and almost all of it came in 2008.

Career against ARI: 66 PA, .214 AVG / .313 OBP / .268 SLG, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB

2008 against ARI: 35 PA, .308 AVG / .455 OBP / .346 SLG, 2B, RBI, 5 R, 5 BB

Oh, but wait.  Angel Berroa pinch hit for Livan Hernandez, who had thrown only 81 pitches so far in the game.  Hernandez’s career numbers have to be much worse than Berroa’s, right?

Well, take a look…

Livan’s career against ARI: 45 PA, .310 AVG / .310 OBP / .381 SLG, 3 2B, 3 R

Manuel’s Musing

“Angel has had some success against Arizona.  That's what we are. That's what we have. He's somewhat of a veteran. So I didn't mind taking my shot with him at that point.”

-Jerry Manuel on pinch-hitting Angel Berroa with the bases loaded

Help from unexpected places

When your lineup looks like this, you many think you know where you’re going to get your numbers from. Not so much today. Sure, David Wright drove in two runs, but the real story was the obscure players who contributed.

Cory Sullivan and Angel Berroa combined for three hits, two runs scored and three RBIs in the Mets 7-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Johan Santana turned in another gem, allowing only four hits over seven innings. He walked only one while striking out eight. Santana retired the first eight batters and the last seven batters that faced him.

The Mets stitched together five straight hits in the second inning (six overall), plating five runs. They added runs in the fifth on a Wright sac-fly and two innings later on a Wright double.

Wright moved into a tie with Keith Hernandez for 10th on the Mets all-time list and now has sole possession of 5th on the Mets all-time RBI list.

An all-around solid game for the Mets fifth victory in a row. If they can pull off a sweep of the Rockies by taking both games of today’s doubleheader, then things really start to get interesting.

Lugo soon?

Julio Lugo is working out at the Mets camp in the Dominican Republic and could join the Mets as soon as he is released, according to Adam Rubin.

The Mets need to wait until he is officially released by the Boston Red Sox before signing him to some sort of contract.  Rubin also notes that Tim Redding would likely be the player cut from the roster.  The Mets seem willing to eat his $2.5 million contract.

I wrote yesterday that this would be a bad move, especially with Angel Berroa recently in the fold.  How many middle infielders can the Mets really bring in?

Julio Lugo DFA’d; Are the Mets that desperate?

The Mets just brought Angel Berroa into the fold.  They promoted him to the major league team after just four games in their minor league system.  But could they be looking to pick up another SS off the scrap heap from hell?

Julio Lugo was designated for assignment today by the Boston Red Sox and could be released by the team very soon, according to WEEI.

Lugo, who has seen his name tossed around in trade talks for years now, was once connected to the Mets in rumors, however unfounded or speculative.  Omar Minaya seems to like Lugo, but hopefully that has passed.  But would the Mets be that desperate to pick yet another player off the scrap heap?

I sure hope not.

I was against the Gary Sheffield pick up, but he has proven me wrong.  I was against Livan Hernandez signing, but he gave the Mets a decent half season.  I was against the Fernando Tatis signing last year, but he was amazing in 2008.  (2009 is a much different story.)

And of course, I was against Berroa coming on board (even if he is replacing Argenis Reyes).  And I would be absolutely horrified if Julio Lugo found his way into Mets orange and blue.

Even if the Red Sox are willing to take a huge chunk of his salary, it just isn’t worth it.

I think, if Lugo did end up playing his home games in Flushing, it would signal the white flag to the rest of the NL East.  I hope it doesn’t happen.

Angel Berroa to join Mets tomorrow in Atlanta

Tonight, Angel Berroa is playing shortstop and batting third for the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Tomorrow, Berroa will join the Mets in Atlanta.

Berroa will take the roster spot of Argenis Reyes, who was demoted on Sunday.  Berroa was signed on Saturday after the Yankees released the former Rookie of the Year earlier last week.

Through six innings in Brooklyn, Berroa is 1-4 with a strikeout, a run scored and an RBI.

A. Reyes optioned (again) to Buffalo

After the game on Sunday, the Mets once again optioned Argenis Reyes to Triple-A Buffalo.

No corresponding move has been announced, but one must think it might be Angel Berroa.  Berroa was recently signed to a minor league deal after the New York Yankees released him earlier this week.

Mets sign Angel Berroa

The Mets have claimed signed Angel Berroa off waivers from the New York Yankees to a minor league contract.  He will report to Triple-A Buffalo.

Oh, now they’ll win the World Series.