2008 Met of the Year Award: White Bracket voting

Here is the second groupings of votes in the 2008 Met of the Year Award tourney.If you're behind, check out the original post and the results from the Orange Bracket.

Today's matchups:

[Voting is over.]

Make sure you vote for the correct Pedro!

Voting ends at 11:59 pm.

Honestly, I'm already teary eyed [My Shea stadium farewell]

Yeah, I'm a sap.

I literally just woke up, and I flipped on SNY. "45 Years of Shea" is on, and I'm already a little emotional.

There is not better way to send out Shea than this day. This day could mean it all for the Mets in 2008, but it will never be forgotten as Shea's possible goodbye.

It's a battle of present versus the past.

Do the Mets celebrate Shea in grand style, or do they focus on the task at hand and beat the Florida Marlins. Oliver Perez goes today, and he could cement his place in Mets history, and probably guarantee a big paycheck next season.

I'll miss Shea, there is no doubt. I first saw my first game against the Florida Marlins (how fitting) and my final game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I have two favorite moments from Shea: One happened last season, and the other was this year.

May 16, 2007, against the Cubs, the Mets were getting rained on, and hard. But the game was not canceled. The Cubs refused to come back to Shea, so they were going to try their hardest to get the game in, no matter what.

The game didn't start until 10 pm, and didn't end until 1 am. I've never been in Shea that long, or that late, so it was truly something amazing. There were only a handful of people left in Shea by the time the game started, so from our seats in the mezz. the players could easily hear us.

My other moment happened this year, on FOX Fan Night. Due to my internship, I was able to work at Shea, setting up for a FOX News Channel event.

I got to Shea at noon for a 7 pm game. I was able to walk around the bleachers and take a long, hard look at the stadium, completely empty. I admit I got teary eyed then as well.

Just looking around at the completely empty, quiet stadium was just overwhelming. Most people only see it packed to the gills with fans, cheering their heads off, with the players on the field. So to see it completely empty, with only a few security guards roaming the field level, was simply unbelievable.

Thanks, Shea. You've been an amazing ballpark.

You've had some great memories inside your walls, and hopefully one more can be etched into Mets history today.

A tale of two seasons

Last week I brought you "A Tale of Two Stadiums," this week, it's "A Tale of Two Seasons."

J.A. Happ has made two major league starts in his career, both against the New York Mets.

In 2007, the Mets pounded Happ for five runs in four innings. He surrendered three home runs to Carlos Beltran, Paul LoDuca and David Wright. Happ allowed seven hits, while striking out five and walking two. Jorge Sosa earned the win for the Mets, who upped their record to 46-33.

Beltran ended up going 4-5, hitting two home runs and picking up 10 total bases.

This time around, it was an entirely different story. Happ went 4 2-3 of an inning, allowing only three hits, striking out three and walking four. He surrendered only two runs, the only ones the Mets managed to put across.

On the flip side, Johan Santana pitched 8 innings, allowing only six hits and two runs. He took the loss as the Mets fell to 42-44. Beltran went 0-4 and struck out twice.

Two different teams, two different seasons, and two vastly different outcomes.

Rebuttal: Blame Santana On This One

Lou Di Falco, over at Never Forget 69, pens his latest article entitled "Blame Santana On This One."

From Di Falco:

No question the second inning was a bit bizarre. After walking a batter and giving up a hit, with two outs David Wright made an error on a routine ground ball that should have ended the inning. The next batter, the pitcher Felix Hernandez, on the first pitch he has seen all season hit an opposite field grand slam home run. How does this happen? Sorry, but Johan Santana has got to do a better job than that. This you would have expected from Oliver Perez, not Santana. He is supposed to be the Mets stopper. Since the Mets won on Sunday, you had to feel good that with Santana on the mound the Mets had a chance to end up on the right side of the .500 ledger.

Ah yes. If you're Santana and your Gold Glove third baseman makes an error to keep the inning alive, then you throw a pitch high and outside of the strike zone to the opposing pitcher, he closes his eyes, swings, and hits a home run, it's obviously all your fault.

How could I not see that?

I do agree this is something I would more likely see out of Perez, or even Jorge Sosa, but we all know, or at least we should, that Santana gives up a lot of home runs. He lead the AL in home runs allowed last year with 33. So far in '08, he's given up 14, running at pretty much the same pace.

After that grand slam, Santana buckled down and allowed only three hits and one earned run through the next five innings. The Mets offense on the other hand, after knocking out King Felix in the fifth, managed only two hits off the beleagured Mariners bullpen.

If you're going to place blame, it's on the offense, not Santana.

The roster shuffle

Off the Mets: Nelson Figueroa and Jorge Sosa have been designated for assignment. Angel Pagan has been placed on the 15-day DL.

On the Mets: Matt Wise was activated off the disabled list. Fernando Tatis and Claudio Vargas were called up from New Orleans.

Bye Figueroa, I'll miss you. Willie Randolph, when speaking to Eddie Coleman on WFAN, said he hopes Figueroa clears waivers and would like to see him as a long man out of the bullpen. I have to agree. Opposing teams are batting well under .200 against Figueroa the first time through the order, so he'd be perfect.

On Sosa, I'm so happy about. Took them long enough. Same for Wise.

The battle between Pagan and Tatis will begin. If Tatis can do anything worthwhile, I can see Pagan staying in AAA after he's healed up. Omar Minaya likes Tatis, so I think Tatis is in for the long haul.

For Vargas, I will abstain comment on until after tomorrow's start.

Overall, good moves by the Mets.

Many Mets moves

Adam Rubin updates us on a slew of moves the Mets made or are making or might possibly think of making at sometime.

1. Instead of Adam Bostick, as previously thought, Claudio Vargas will be called up to start tomorrow.

Well, this is interesting. Vargas isn't on the 40-man roster, so that means someone is getting booted off. My guess is Jorge Sosa, who will probably be demoted. Sosa has the ability to refuse demotion and become a free agent while still being paid his $2 million.

If that's the case, Vargas might stick with the Mets as their long man out of the bullpen. That's purely speculation, but it sort of makes sense.

2. Fernando Tatis might be coming up as well. This means either Luis Castillo or Angel Pagan won't be able to return as soon as they thought, and one of them will hit the DL. Update: Looks like Pagan.

Tatis has shown tons of pop in the minors, but his average is pretty low.

Update:
3. Joe Smith may have been pardoned and looks like he will stick with the team. Guess that makes "Poor Joe Smith" a moot post.

Sosa is really in trouble. And rightfully so.

Poor Joe Smith

Ed. note: This entire post seems to be moot now.

After striking out the side on Monday night, the Mets rewarded Joe Smith with a demotion.

The Mets sent Smith back to the minors to make room for a spot starter for Wednesday's game, rather than pitch Johan Santana or Mike Pelfrey on short rest.

As I mentioned before, Adam Bostick was pulled from his start in AAA after three scoreless innings. According to Adam Rubin, Willie Collazo's name has also been tossed around.

Rubin also reports that after Wednesday's game, when the spot starter, whoever he is, is sent back to the minors, the Mets will activate Matt Wise from the disabled list.

Really, poor Joe Smith. He's probably been the best pitcher in the entire bullpen, aside from Billy Wagner. Just because he has options, and they don't owe his $2 million (Jorge Sosa), he gets demoted. Hopefully, the Mets realized their mistake and cut Sosa and eat the $2 mil.

They probably make that much off hot dog sales between the 3rd and 5th inning of a Wednesday night game anyway.

Joe Smith will be optioned to AAA, eventually

Depending on how the games are played out on Saturday, Joe Smith may be optioned to AAA after the second game, or maybe not at all.

The Mets plan is to send Smith to the minors to make room for Matt Wise to come back off the DL.

Marty Noble lays it out:

But now Wise has rejoined the team, though he hasn't been added to the roster. When he is, Smith will be optioned to Triple-A, despite his effective pitching. That is the plan, a person in the Mets hierarchy said Friday. But the postponement of the Mets' game against the Reds on Friday night, the resulting doubleheader on Saturday and the chance for bullpen overload in two games prompted the club to retain Smith on the roster.

If Smith pitches in the first game, he could be assigned to the Minor Leagues to accommodate Wise on the roster for the second game. If Smith doesn't pitch in the first game, the Mets might not make a roster move until Sunday. And if Smith isn't used in the doubleheader, the club could not make a move with Wise until after Smith does pitch.

I love Smith, and I think he has a big future with this team. It's too bad that he's pitching so well and he's going to get demoted. He's very young, so I know he'll be back when (not if) someone in the bullpen goes down with an injury.

I really couldn't gauge Wise's effectiveness as a pitcher, as he only pitched a grand total of two games, posting a 9.00 ERA. I always liked him when he was with Milwaukee, though. I just hope he can post numbers like Smith, otherwise this move looks bad.

Guess the Mets are married to Jorge Sosa.

Pagan will get an MRI

According to Adam Rubin, Angel Pagan will receive an MRI on his right shoulder.

Pagan started in left field on Wednesday and in the bottom of the first inning made a beautiful grab in foul territory. The catch carried him into the stands, where he flipped onto his head. Pagan put his arm out to brace his fall, and seemed to tweak it.

Pagan stayed down in the stands for a while as trainers, coaches and players gathered around him. He eventually got up and remained in the game. He was later removed with "shoulder tightness," as Endy Chavez replaced him in the game.

Rubin theorizes that "the Mets could put Pagan on the DL as a vehicle to activate both Matt Wise and Ramon Castro this weekend. Willie Randolph told the Daily News on Tuesday that he’d speak with GM Omar Minaya about carrying 13 pitchers in the short term to avoid having to part with Joe Smith, Jorge Sosa or even Nelson Figueroa."

Excellent theory. Sounds viable to me.

Injury updates: Pedro, Wise, Castro

David Lennon in Newsday relays info that Pedro Martinez has begun throwing off a mound in Port St. Lucie.

According to Assistant GM John Ricco, Pedro could face live hitters as early as this week, but in the end, "it just depends on how he's feeling. Patience is part of the process."

A few weeks ago, Pedro was not missed. Now, with Mike Pelfrey beginning to struggle a bit, the Mets could use a guy like him back in the rotation. Don't hurry yourself, Pedro.

*****

Adam Rubin reports in The Daily News that both Matt Wise and Ramon Castro may be activated by next weekend's series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Wise, who went on the DL with a strained forearm on April 2, is expected to throw in back-to-back games to test his arm and stamina, a la Duaner Sanchez's recovery benchmarks.

Castro could have been actiavated already, according to Rubin, but the Mets don't want two catchers with health issues on the roster at the same time. Leaving Raul Casanova up with the big squad gives them a steady, healthy catcher in case Brian Schneider can't go due to his thumb.

When Wise comes back, the Mets have a decision to make. Joe Smith has options, and is the most likely one to head back to AAA. So does Jorge Sosa, who before Arizona was almost entirely ineffective. Joe Janish from Mets Today also points out Aaron Heilman has options, but I think some barnyard animals need to sprout wings and take to the air before he goes anywhere.

And I've missed the Darth Vader walk-up music at Shea this year. Great to see Castro coming back soon.

Just a thought: Fixing the bullpen

Matt Wise replaces Heilman as the 6th or 7th inning guy. Duaner Sanchez takes over in the 8th. Stretch Aaron Heilman to the long relief role, which will be as close as he's going to get to starting.

Make Jorge Sosa go away.

Ayy! Numero cinco!

The 5th starter spot is still confusing as ever.

The Mets probably can't turn to Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey, because they're either injured and throwing like a little leaguer or not injured and throwing, well, just poorly.

Jorge Sosa and Nelson Figueroa are the teams best options right now. Joe, my new blogging buddy over at Mets Today, does an excellent breakdown of the rest of the options for the 5th starter role.
Here is the Sosa and Figueroa blurbs:

Jorge Sosa
The slider machine likely is the de facto Mets #5 starter. Who knows, maybe he can recapture the magic that made him virtually unhittable in the first half of 2007.

Nelson Figueroa
Being the type who roots for the underdog, I’m hoping “Figgy” has a lights-out performance in the “Civil Rights Game” and earns a spot in the rotation.

I'd like to see "Figgy" get his chance, while Duque and Pelfrey spend time in minor league camp fine tuning and getting healthy.

Recently released Claudio Vargas should get a look-see from the Mets, as they now realize they might not have enough arms to go a full season.

I wouldn't mind taking him on board, as you can never have enough arms. The team sure has learned that so far.

Figueroa and Sosa

Can the Mets actually turn to Jorge Sosa or Nelson Figueroa?

With the health of Orlando Hernandez and the poor performance from Mike Pelfrey, Sosa or Figueroa could be an option for the 5th starter spot.

Sosa, who went 7-6 with a 4.59 ERA as a starter last year, would be able to slip into that position, but they seem more content with keeping him out of the bullpen in the long relief role. Sosa went 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA coming out of the bullpen last year after shifting there due to a string of bad starts.

Figueroa, who has a 7-17 career record with a 4.65 ERA, has been pretty impressive so far this spring. He has a 2-1 record with a 3.38 ERA this spring. He has mainly appeared in minor league games lately, but after yesterday's absolute disaster, I think the Mets should take a serious look at him.

At best, Figueroa can fill in at the 5th spot, while Pelfrey and El Duque spend time at the extended minor league spring training, getting in more work and trying to stay healthy.

I can't believe it's come to this, as it's a sobering look at the Mets after all the hype of Johan Santana and the like. This is something the Mets should get used to, as the biggest issue facing them this year is injuries.

Middle relief for sale

With the overwhelming talent of bullpen talent in spring training for the Mets, it comes as no surprise there are a few names with "For Sale" signs attached to them.

According to Adam Rubin in the NY Daily News, GM Omar Minaya has alerted some teams that Jorge Sosa and Scott Schoeneweis are available.

A trade would create room for a guy like Steven Register, who has to make the 25-man team or go back to Colorado with $50 grand because he was a Rule 5 draft pick.

Schoe picked it up at the end of last year, especially when he was used in the correct situation for his abilities. Sosa is sometimes great, except for when the bases are loaded. I think he could help the team out, but his name hasn't been thrown around that much during ST.