Earlier today I re-tweeted a tweet from the Buffalo Bisons that mentioned a “big” announcement coming tomorrow at their Hot Stove Luncheon.
I really have no idea what qualifies as “big” news for the Bisons, but The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington has a guess.
Click here to find out what Harrington thinks might be coming tomorrow.
I guess that’d be a cool thing.
Last night as I was lying in bed, I caught the last end of a commercial for a cell phone. The baseball team featured looked a lot like the Buffalo Bisons uniforms.
Well, a little Googling and here we are. AT&T has sponsored the Bisons for 10 years, according to Buffalo Business First.
Here’s the video…
Unfortunately, and in typical Mets fashion, Carl Shouse tore his hamstring in the third inning and missed the rest of the season.
This morning, Joe Budd over at Amazin’ Avenue (one of my favorite Mets sites), wrote this “Where did Kirk Nieuwenhuis come from? If I thought it was hard to learn how to spell Francoeur, it's going to be a nightmare season if Nieuwenhuis becomes something.”
Which got me thinking about weird names. And off the top of my head, I could think of a few strangely named Mets players (at the major and minor league level). Here’s a rough list…
Mets
Jeff Francoeur – OF - I know his family is French, but I’m just not used to the combination of “c-o-e-u-r” and don’t think I ever will be. I always think I spell his name wrong.
Omir Santos – C - “Omar” would be one thing. “Omir” is something different. Only 208 people pop up with the name Omir on Facebook.
Tobi Stoner – P - I mean…come on!
Bisons
Ricky Bones – Coach – This guy?
Derrick Ellison – P – There are too many letters in the “Derek.”
Chip Ambres – OF – Anyone (nick)named “Chip” must have been mocked in middle school.
B-Mets
Mako Oliveras – Manager – What is he, a shark?
Emary Frederick – P – Um…Emary? I don’t even know where that comes from. Heck, he’s from Florida!
John Madden – P – BOOM! FOOTBALL!
German Marte – P – Have you met his brother, Polish? They used to not get along, but now they’re OK.
Jenrry Mejia – P – But hey, he’s good.
Elvys Quezada – P – Was he named for The King?
Kirk Nieuwenhuis – OF – Is that “new-when-house” or…um…something?
St. Lucie
Tim Teufel – Manager – I always found this name funny. Like he’s a character on a children’s show or something.
Reese Havens – IF – Yum.
Brahiam Maldonado – OF – I will name my first child Brahiam. Just don’t tell my future wife.
Sand Gnats
Jimmy Johnson – P – Nice hair.
Jean Luc Blaquiere – C – Oui oui!
Imbewer Alvarez – IF – I’ve got nothing here. I’ve never seen this name before. Ever.
Cyclones
Dock Doyle – C – Awesome name.
Jordany Valdespin – IF – I’m going to go by “Andrewy” from now on. Just add a “y” to your name and you can be equally cool.
Kingsport
Yohan Almonte – P – If he ends up half as good as Johan, I’ll be happy.
Guillaume Leduc – P – Another name I can’t pronounce. Is that “Gee-yam-me”?
GCL
ZeErika Hall – OF – I knew he existed, but I just couldn’t find him on any of the rosters. He was drafted this year. And he may have the greatest name of them all. (H/T to Ted Berg, a.k.a. OGTedBerg) – Update: Further investigations finds him on the roster of the Gulf Coast League affiliate.
Jeurys Familia – P – Sounds like a really bad television show on Univision. And let me tell you, there is some quality programming on that channel.
Lachlan Hodge – P – Lachlan spends his free time hunting kangaroos in the brush down under.
Jimber Mueses – P – My goodness. This GCL team might beat out the B-Mets for greatest names.
Nelfi Zapata – C – Anyone named Nelfi is OK in my book.
Aderlin Rodriguez – IF – Aderlin! Aderlin! Aderlin!
Wilfredo Tovar – IF – By far my favorite name.
Ray Van Gurp – IF – No, this is my favorite.
Marinus Vernooij – IF – Actually, it’s this one.
There were a few others along the way that I snickered at, but didn’t think belonged on the list. Did I miss anyone? How about some historic silly Mets names? Let’s hear them in the comments.
Tobi Stoner, a 24-year-old righthander, is expected to be called up to the Mets for Tuesday’s game at Citi Field, reports Adam Rubin.
Stoner went 9-9 between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Buffalo this season. He went 2-2 with Binghamton and 7-7 with Buffalo.
He compiled a 3.55 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP in 144 2-3 innings. He allowed 14 home runs while striking out 92 and walking 47.
Stoner is likely up for insurance purposes, as John Maine is starting in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday. Maine is coming back from a long stint on the DL with shoulder issues.
Does anyone else foresee a whole lot of “Stoner” jerseys selling out?
In a move that signals little to no confidence in Tim Redding, the Mets have recalled Pat Misch from Triple-A Buffalo, reports Adam Rubin.
To make room for Misch, Andy Green has been designated for assignment.
Misch has pitched 14 1-3 innings for the Mets in 2009, posting a 2.51 ERA and a WHIP of 1.744. He walked nine and struck out nine with the Mets.
Green had five plate appearances with the Mets, singling once and walking once.
Omar Minaya has begun his tour of the Mets minor league facilities, with his first stop in Buffalo, NY.
Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relays some info that the meeting was generally about how pitiful the Bisons were this year and that it won’t continue, that the Mets want to put a winning team on the field, yadda yadda yadda.
Pandering to your Triple-A city won’t win you a World Series.
More importantly, we now know that Adam Wogan has taken over Tony Bernazard’s job (sorry, Adam Rubin). Wogan worked from 2002 to 2005 as farm director of the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, hence the tie to Omar Minaya.
Wogan joined the Mets in January of 2006 as Director of Minor League Operations. (Toby Hyde interviewed Wogan in 2007.)
Harrington also noted that “the entire hierarchy [of the organization] would be reevaluated after the season.”
In a move to add to the Buffalo rotation, the Mets signed Adam Pettyjohn, a lefty who has been with seven different organizations in 11 years.
Pettyjohn was last with the Cincinatti Reds, where he was 1-6 with a 4.68 ERA and 1.760 WHIP in 50 innings.
Since Jon Niese was promoted and Brandon Knight was released, the Bisons had some holes to fill in the starting rotation. He’s one plug to those holes.
In another notch for Nelson Figueroa’s case for a promotion, he was named Pitcher of the Week for the International League. According to SmallBall USA, it was the second time Figueroa has earned the honors this year.
Here’s the release, via Surfing the Mets…
The International League announced that the Bisons' Figueroa has been named the league’s Pitcher of the Week for the period of July 16-19. It’s the second time Figueroa has been given the weekly honor by the IL, having also won Pitcher of the Week from June 8-14.
Figueroa began his week on Wednesday night as he pitched a scoreless inning for the IL in the Triple-A All-Star Game. The veteran righthander worked a scoreless eighth, allowing a hit and striking out two in the IL’s 6-5 win over the Pacific Coast League.
The All-Star returned to Buffalo to throw a seven-inning shutout in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader sweep of the Toledo Mud Hens. Figueroa allowed seven hits and no walks while striking out five in the Herd’s 2-0 win. With Jon Niese’s shutout in Game 1 the Bisons had their first doubleheader shutout sweep since 2006.
Figueroa’s gem lowered his season ERA to 2.32, the second-lowest mark in the International League behind only Charlotte’sCarlos Torres(2.20). Figueroa has won six decisions in a row and has allowed more than two runs in only two of his 15 starts with the Bisons this year.
Adam Rubin also notes that Brad Holt was named Pitcher of the Week for the Eastern League while pitching for the Binghamton Mets.
A few hours ago I wrote about the choice the Mets would have to make between Nelson Figueroa and Jon Niese. Now, what if I told you I don’t think the Mets should make that choice.
I think they should call them both up.
Bring up both Niese and Figueroa. Replace Tim Redding and Livan Hernandez.
Redding, we know, has struggled the entire season. He’s 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.681. Just not good at all.
Hernandez, over his last six starts, has allowed 47 hits in 33 1-3 innings, to the tune of a 7.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.963. (In his last two starts, where he pitched seven innings combined, his WHIP is 4.142. Woah.)
Yes, Niese and Figueroa have been collecting their stats at Triple-A Buffalo, but they’re also pitching for the worst team in the International League.
Send Redding on his way while eating the $2.5 million owed to his and move Livan somewhere else. He’s been eating innings but he’s not really helping the Mets.
Bring up both of the players from Triple-A Buffalo. It can’t get much worse.
Another day, two more Mets losses. One gets notched up in the loss column, the other scratches a player off the roster.
Fernando Nieve went down in the bottom of the second inning trying to leg out a groundball. His foot landed on first base awkwardly and he went down in heap on the first base line. He was said to have a right quadriceps strain, but more will be revealed after an MRI today.
One has to feel terribly for Nieve who was making the most of his chance at the big league level.
Now, the Mets have a choice to make: Nelson Figueroa, the journeyman pitcher they’ve designated for assignment twice in 2009, or Jon Niese, the young prospect who has seen the majors with little success so far, but is mowing down the International League.
Figueroa, who pitched once for the Mets in 2009, despite being called up twice, turned in a quality start against the Milwaukee Brewers before being DFA’d the first time. For Triple-A Buffalo, Figueroa was the team’s lone All-Star representative.
For the months of June and July, Figueroa made eight starts, winning six of them. His ERA was a miniscule 1.41, with a WHIP below 1.000 at 0.998.
Niese made two starts for the Mets in 2009. In 10 2-3 innings, he surrendered 14 hits and seven earned runs. But over June and July for Buffalo, he was equally impressive as Figueroa.
In the past two months, Niese has made nine starts, winning five. His ERA over the past three games is an unbelievable 0.41, as he allowed only one earned run in his last 22 innings.
If the Mets choose Figueroa to fill the roster spot, I feel that it will signal that they still believe they can compete in 2009 and want a “veteran” to come up to fill the spot. If they opt for Niese, it would seem that they are planning ahead for 2010 and will let Niese progress at the major league level, a la Mike Pelfrey a few years ago.
Though the Mets have two solid options waiting in upstate New York, whichever player they choose will show their attitude for the 2009 season.
Manny Acta has been fired as manager of the putrid Washington Nationals. Jim Riggleman will take over in his place as interim manager.
When Acta was with the Mets, there was some indication that he might be in line for the job the next time it was available. Ownership was very high on him before he jumped ship to join the Nats.
Now, with a season teetering on the brink of disaster, the Mets brass might be prime to shake things up in the coaching staff.
First base coach Luis Alicea could be an odd-man out if the Mets do go through with any firings. It’s not that Alicea has done anything wrong, per say, but just to light a fire under the remaining coaches and the team to show they better kick it up a notch, it might be a move they consider.
In Alicea’s place, the team would likely try to bring in Acta, again.
I’m against that. Acta was a coach under Willie Randolph and bringing him back into the fold would be taking a few steps back. It would also be a punch to the guy of Jerry Manuel, a manager who has already suffered enough this season.
I wouldn’t want to see Acta back in a Mets uniform even if he’s the bat boy. At a minor league level, though, it’s a different story.
The Buffalo Bisons are about as bad as the Nationals, both with winning percentages below .400. A shakeup there might be the best thing for everyone.
All in all, Acta steered the mostly talent-less Nationals to a 158-252 record in his years in Washington. Talk about a mercy firing.
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.
Nick Evans was going to be sent down yesterday, but when the Mets traded away Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur, he stuck around another day.
Francoeur had to make the trip from Colorado to New York and wouldn’t make it in time for the game, prompting the Mets to keep Evans around one more day. Today, as Adam Rubin notes, Evans is starting at first base for the Buffalo Bisons today.
Francoeur will be with the Mets tonight, wearing No. 12.
The Mets are keeping as many arms as possible at the Major League level. Rumors were that Elmer Dessens would be sent down when Oliver Perez was ready to come back.
Instead, they sent down a position player.
Argenis Reyes was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo to make roster room for Perez.
Perez will be making his sixth start of the season tomorrow against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA and 2.262 WHIP in 21 2-3 innings.
Oliver Perez with the Buffalo Bisons: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
That puts him in purgatory. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t “major league ready” Perez. Though, as bad as Tim Redding was last time around, Perez might be ready to slip back into the rotation.
Oh, by the way, only half of Perez’s 92 pitches went for strikes. Half!
Oliver Perez will join the Mets Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, for what is expected to be one start.
Adam Rubin expects him to pitch on Friday, so if you’re in the Buffalo area, plan accordingly.
What is expected to happen, says Jerry Manuel, is Perez and Tim Redding share starts. That should be interesting to see be implemented. It’s not that Redding has been bad, but he’s just the weakest part of the rotation.
Maybe it’d be good to get Perez’s .429 AVG and .500 OBP back in the lineup.
After an abysmal start to the 2009 season and a call-up to the Major Leagues, Jon Niese has been impressing at Triple-A Buffalo.
Last night, in the 7th inning of his start, his consecutive scoreless innings streak was snapped by a sacrifice-fly. The streak ran 24 1-3 innings.
Niese is 3-0 over his last three starts and has a 1.03 ERA over his last four, according to Joel Sherman.
With John Maine and Oliver Perez on their way back to the major leagues and decent starting pitching already on the roster, this logjam is a great problem to have.
It must be “Trim The Fat Day” for the Mets.
Today, they designated Wilson Valdez for assignment, and cut four players from Triple-A Buffalo. Two of those players, Wily Mo Pena and Javier Valentin, were discussed earlier today.
In a press release about the other moves, the Mets announced they also released Connor Robertson and Bobby Kielty from the Buffalo Bisons.
Robertson came over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Scott Schoeneweis trade and the Mets signed Kielty to a minor league contract before spring training begin.
Happy trails, Pena, Valentin, Kielty and Robertson.
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.
Via Bisons.com:
New York also announced that INF/OF Wily Mo Pena and INF Javier Valentin have been released.
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Pena hit .276 (40-145) with five home runs and 21 RBI in 41 games with the Bisons.Valentin, who had been on the disabled list since June 15 with a strained right shoulder, hit .260 (20-77) with three home runs and 10RBI in 23 games with the Herd.
Valentin I can understand due to his shoulder issues.
Why release Pena? Not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but Pena was second on the team with five home runs. His 21 RBI was good for third. His OBP was pretty poor, standing at .296 , but not low enough to warrant a release.
Again, not that huge in the grand scheme of the Mets, but something that might come back to bite them, especially with all these injuries.
