Tartans

I will admit that so far in 2008, the Chicago White Sox have been better than I had them pegged to be, thanks to some very surprisingly effective pitching. And I should give the guy some credit for this. So Kenny, I underestimated you and your club.

upon hearing the news that A’s prospect Fautino De Los Santos had undergone Tommy John surgery this week, it reminded me of something.

You see, De Los Santos is a 22-year old pitcher who was traded by the Chicago White Sox to Oakland along with Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney in exchange for Nick Swisher during the winter. It was believed at the time that, while raw, his potential upside was higher than any of the other players involved in the deal. But the A’s shut him down in early May due to a sore elbow. And now it’s Tommy John, meaning that he’ll most certainly be out for the rest of the year, and may miss all of 2009 as well.

But this was reminiscent of another trade that the White Sox made back in 2001, when Mike Sirotka was sent packing as part of a deal that netted Kenny Williams David Wells from the Toronto Blue Jays. But Sirotka never threw a single pitch in a Toronto uniform, because his shoulder had been injured (torn labrum) before the deal ever happened. Kenny Williams (as first year GM) argued that Toronto was given all the medical reports they needed, and the Jays cried foul, claiming that vital information was withheld from them. The whole issue turned into a bit of a fiasco with the Jays appealing to Bud Selig to overturn the deal as a result.

Selig upheld the deal. essentially stating that while Chicago was very well aware of the poor state of Sirotka’s shoulder, that Toronto should have done their homework, which isn’t all that unreasonable, I suppose. As I understand it, the Jays front office did not make the trade pending a physical. It was only conducted after the trade was consummated. Oddly enough however, the first physical given by Toronto showed nothing irregular. It was only when they went for a second opinion to Dr. James Andrews that the problem was discovered. But Sirotka himself put it very nicely:

Sirotka said he was examined by White Sox doctors in early January and given a cortisone shot. He was told to let team doctors know if there was any discomfort after 10 days, but was traded.

“At the time I was getting examined, I didn’t think there was much to worry about because they didn’t seem too concerned,” Sirotka told the Sun-Times. “But one of my first reactions after being traded was I must really be hurt because I didn’t think the trade made much sense.”

It should also be noted that another player that went to Toronto in that deal, pitcher Mike Williams, was also injured before arriving in Canada, but Chicago argued ignorance on that one.

Believe it or not, there’s more. Back in 2006, the Philadelphia Phillies also received a pitcher that was injured prior to a trade. And yes, he came from Chicago’s South Side.

The acquisition of Freddy Garcia was initially considered a pretty good move for the Phils, who was in need of an “innings-eater”. And Garcia certainly fit the bill, making Philadelphia contenders going into 2007. But right at the onset of spring training, something was apparently wrong. By mid-March, there was talk of him starting the year on the disabled list.  Of course, the Phillies went on to win the NL East last year, but none of the credit went to Garcia, who made 11 starts, compiled a 5.90 ERA, and won 1 game. He made his final start on June 8th and underwent season ending surgery in August. It would come to light that Garcia had been receiving cortisone shots in his shoulder, although the pitcher denied this despite his own agent admitting it's veracity.

Again, it was a case of a team (this time, the Phillies) not doing their homework. They had relied on the White Sox’ own medical reports to inform them before pulling the trigger on the deal. It was really only after the injury became apparent that people inside the game talked openly about how Garcia’s fastball had lost velocity before the trade even happened. I’m not sure where these opinions were before his shoulder exploded as a Phil, but they were loud and clear by June of ‘07. Sure, in retrospect, the numbers posed a bunch of red flags, especially his strikeout rates in ‘05 and ‘06. But I can’t find one instance where a columnist or analyst pointed this out to be problematic at the time the deal went down. Either way, it was yet another situation where the Chicago White Sox were able to unload a pitcher with a pre-existing injury.

This is not to say that Fautino De Los Santos was damaged goods before he was traded. I have no idea if this was the case and am not making an accusation. But this is now the fourth incident in Kenny Williams’ tenure that something like this has happened. So you have to wonder - will front offices become far more hesitant to even deal with Kenny Williams? And why aren’t they taking more precautions than they do?

Exactly one year ago today, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes seemed unstoppable. At the time, Reyes was a 24-year old who appeared ready to break out and announce his presence with authority. He had won NL Player of the Month Award in April with an incredible .356/.442/.596 line to go along with 17 stolen bases. But perhaps the most encouraging stat Reyes accumulated that month was the 16 free trips to first base.

As a point of comparison, back in 2005, Reyes walked 27 times. All year. In 161 games. The following season, things looked to be on the up-and-up, as he nearly doubled those numbers with 53. And in April of 2007, I believed that he was tapping into a potential that even I had not imagined him capable of.

And so it was, that as of May 23, 2007, I thought that my Mets had the best shortstop in Major League Baseball - and he was only 24 years old.

But it hasn’t worked out that way. Since that day, his line has been a far less impressive .268/.338/.407. Journalists, bloggers, sports radio, pretty much anyone with a voice, pen, keyboard or even a talking wheelchair put much of the blame on Reyes for the team’s failure to clinch a playoff spot in September. It’s absolutely true that Jose had a terrible month to close the 2007 season. The man batted .205. His OBP was .279. His god-given talent was no where to be found at a time when everyone was looking for someone to blame.

At the beginning of the 2008 season, it was believed that one of the keys to the Mets success was to get Reyes back on track. But right now, I’m just wondering - what does that mean?

So is Jose Reyes the blame of the Mets issues, and if not then Who? Well, a lot of things.

1. We’re still in May. There’s a lot of baseball that is played in one year. We’re still at a small portion of that one year. Smaller the sample size, the more anomalies stick out.
2. Strength of Schedule. Here’s a part of that “sample size” thing. The 2008 Phillies have thus far played 49 games. 28 of which were played against the Giants(6), Padres(3), Nationals(6), Pirates(3), Astros(4), Rockies(2) and Reds(4), who are generally considered to be the worst teams in the NL. The Mets have played 45 games. Only 14 of them against the aforementioned  of underachievers. Now this is cherry-picking to the highest-degree, but the Mets haven’t exactly had it easy so far.
3. No Power. So I don’t let this team off that easily, consider this. Collectively, the Mets are slugging .391. That’s “good enough” for 12th place out the 16 NL teams. In 2007, the Mets slugged .432 (8th Place), which is not great by any means, but acceptable once you consider Park Factor. For these Mets, it hasn’t been a lack of “clutch hitting” as some have suggested. They just aren’t hitting period. If they can’t hit in any other situation, how can you expect them to hit in “clutch” situations?
4. Pitching. This is the area that concerns me most. It’s one thing to cite the lack of power in a Mets team that plays in a pitcher’s park. But if that holds true, then how do we describe the pitching as anything more than “not good”? Their ERA at the moment is a rather respectable 4.04. But what that doesn’t show is the fact that as a team, they’ve allowed (including unearned) 223 runs. That’s 4.7 runs per game. It’s a big difference.
5. Injuries. This is kind of a double-edged sword. Yes, the Mets have been without Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, and Moises Alou for most of the year. But can we really say that this was a surprise? Sure, even I, a bit of a pessimist, didn’t expect it to be this bad, but that’s kind of splitting hairs. If we were relying on these guys to lead this team, then brothers and sisters, it was a flawed strategy from the start.

Now before everyone gets the wrong idea, let me just state that I am nowhere near giving up on this team. It’s May. I’ve noticed some Mets fans already setting themselves on fire. It’s really embarrassing. Please stop it.

But despite the date on the calendar, there are things here that are worth mentioning. As expected, the Luis Castillo signing was a pretty bad move. That Pedro signing hasn’t worked out all that well either. And let’s be glad that Carlos Delgado’s contract is up at the end of the year. I’m not one of the people who are calling for Willie Randolph’s head on a platter, but his bullpen management is questionable at best. And I don’t know whose idea it was - Willie’s or GM Omar Minaya’s - to have a bench consisting of Damion Easley, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez, Angel Pagan, and Fernando Tatis, but there’s not one name there that I would like to see on my roster - especially to back up a starting nine that you know is going to get hurt badly and often.

I still expect these Mets to win the NL East. I just may need to drink a few more beers to get through the year than I had initially planned.

 

The following comments are in response to recent events surrounding the New York Mets and my frustration over the team. Sorry guys I have to Vent a little!

– Mike Pelfrey SUCKS. I don’t give a golden goddamn about his “stuff.” When you follow up a gem of a game by throwing batting practice to the Atlanta Braves, you suck and don’t deserve to continue starting on a team that’s supposed to compete.

Pelfrey needs Mapquest and a guide donkey to find the strike zone, and when he actually does, it’s with flat, lifeless fastballs that quickly find their way out of the park. Mets management — how many times do you have to get hit on the head before you realize it hurts? Mike Pelfrey is a middle reliever at best. Stop starting him, or prepare for weekly depression.

– Moises Alou SUCKS. I watched a ton of replay last night, and other than a stiff breeze blowing in from right, I have no idea what caused his calf to cramp up….again. I’ve seen corpses with more resilience. It would take a three-part House M.D. to figure out how one man can be so lame. Can we please just end this morbid science experiment and admit that Alou’s body is one bump away from paralysis and his own charity telethon?

– Aaron Heilman SUCKS. He doesn’t care. Neither should we. He wants to start games, but can’t seem to finish an inning. Management is now “shopping” Heilman to anyone who will listen, which is roughly equivalent to shopping long-term life insurance to the Kennedys. Though I called for fans to continue to support him, I now realize it’s a lost cause. Heilman possesses all the spirit of All-Bran, and with twice the crappy results. He’s the Chuck Knoblauch of middle relief, and it’s time for him to leave.

– Endy Chavez SUCKS. I hate to say this, because we used to love the little guy. But he can barely carry that bat now, much less swing it. Watching him hit reminds me of that one kid on every little league team that plays because the league requires it. Because his bat has become so weak, his fielding has atrophied as well. Endy went from an exciting option to a last resort — a resort the Mets continue to visit because Moises Alou sucks worse.

– Willie Randolph SUCKS. How do I say you suck, without you alleging that I’m a racist? You have all the enthusiasm of a death row inmate, and a less hopeful outlook. Just days after saying that you want to keep all team business internal, you go and make a flaming a$$ of yourself by calling out broadcasters. It’s hypocritical and embarrassing. If you can’t manage this team to a .675 winning percentage, then you obviously don’t know what you’re doing. Congratulations on making this job seem harder than it is, and also for making Joe Torre look like a genius by comparison. Also, congrats on your inevitable return to the Yankees organization. I’m starting to wonder if that’s where you wanted to be all along.

– Omar Minaya SUCKS. You rode into town like a champion, then proceeded to coast along on the merits of a handful of good transactions. We turned the other way when you signed crap players, simply because their names ended in “-ez”. We pretended that the Pedro signing was still a good move, three years after his last meaningful Mets start. Hell, we even tried to support the idea that El Dookie and Alookie had plenty to give despite the fact that their combined age equals a good credit score. But we can’t support you anymore. You’ve developed a community college team for an Ivy League price tag, and have absolutely nothing to show for it but years of bad debts. Yeah, we got Johan, but something tells me he’s wishing he went elsewhere. It’s time to boogie and leave some other poor souls to clean up this mess.

I bet you’re thinking I’m going to say the Mets suck. But I won’t.

And I can’t.

This team still has the ability to rule this division, despite all of the dead weight listed above. However, after watching this team lose three in a row to the Braves, showing zero signs of ability in the process, they’re getting awfully f–k!ng close.

I’ll calm down once they start winning again, but for now, I’ll say this: Being a Mets fan in 2008 SUCKS.