On this date nine years ago, Curt Schilling struck out his 300th batter of the season, joining Randy Johnson to become the first teammates to each strike 300 hitters out in the same season. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Conor Glassey of Baseball America took an early look at the top 50 prospects for the 2012 draft (subs. req'd). Stanford right-hander Mark Appel tops the list, and Glassey says he has "Justin Verlander upside."
- Ozzie Guillen will decide his own fate, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). He can return to the White Sox if he wants to and if not the Marlins would love to have him.
- One executive told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that Francisco Rodriguez’s public comments about his displeasure setting up aren’t going to help him in free agency. ”Everybody is going to think he is a me-first guy, totally selfish,” the person said. “Why would you say those things right now?"
- Bill Price of the New York Daily News wonders if the Mets might be better off without Jose Reyes and David Wright.
- GM Mike Rizzo told the Philadelphia Daily News that the Nationals feel that they're going in the right direction. "Our young players are getting opportunities and we're progressing. So I think it kind of shows not only our fan base, but the organization itself that we are improving," Rizzo said.
- Paul Hagen of the Daily News wonders if Ryne Sandberg could end up managing in the Major Leagues next year.
It’s a matter of when Sandberg becomes a MLB Manager. If it’s not next year, it’ll be the year after. This guy is going to get a chance from somebody. Personally, I’d like to see this guy stay and become Charlie’s bench coach and future successor, similar to the Torre/Mattingly situation. That said, I don’t think that’s a likely possibility.
Give the Nationals 2-3 years and they’ll be contending for a playoff spot.
I don’t believe that about Ozzie. I think he’s gone and it won’t be his choice, I think he just wishes it was his choice.
Mets should just trade Wright and Reyes and acknowledge that there is no way that they are going to overcome the Phillies in that division. Their better off just picking up a few prospects that will help pave the way for the future after Halladay and Lee retire or become ineffective. Now they are only left with Wright to trade with and Reyes will probably leave them.
Only way they could trade Reyes now is to extend him then do so… and why would that make sense? At this point it’s let Reyes walk and get the picks, and take what you can get in a trade for Wright.
I would take David Wright…
So would I, you’re completely missing my point.
Wright and Reyes are not the problem. The team should retain them. Who else will play third and short? Dim-bulb Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada?
Look, the real problem is the current Mets pitching staff and bullpen. Mike Pelfrey, Manny Acosta, Ryota Igarashi and Bobby Parnell are giving up too many runs, walking too many runners and hitting too many batters. Every Mets pitcher other than Dickey has an ERA over four and Igarashi alone has a 5.57 ERA and a 1.948 WHIP. Hell, I bet the team leads the majors in balks.
Pitching wins ballgames.
Tejada and martinez
Ruben Tejada can’t hit well.
Fernando Martinez can’t stay healthy.
Edit: Tejada has a .678 OPS with a 91 OPS+ for 2011.
Yeah that’s true and by all means I’m not saying there better then wright or Reyes but they should trade one of the two and I believe it should be wright because reyes fits in that stadium wright doesn’t
I heard they’re widening the entrances
Actually, Murphy plays third base best (by best I mean serviceable). He was the closest thing the Mets had for team MVP until his injury.
I do have to agree with you about pitching. Perhaps this off-season, the Mets should focus on improving their starting and relief corps. Heck, if Reyes is gone and Wright is traded, the Mets can get the pitching help they need.
I also want to see the Mets fire pitching coach Dan Warthen.
I do like Alderson’ some smart moves with the pitching staff this season – leaving Jenry Mejia in the minors to develop, signing Chris Young and Chris Capuano and getting Pedro Beato from the rule five draft. Young pitched well until he got injured.
Omar Minaya should never have promoted Mejia. Brought up too soon, wasted service time and now Tommy John surgery.
@Blue387 as well. Mets should re-sign Reyes and trade Wright. They have not won anything with either, but Reyes has been more productive throughtout his career, even with his recent injuries. Wright has been a class act and the face of the franchise, but nothing else.That may sound like blasphemy to some Mets fans, but he doesn’t steal bases, his fielding has never been anything more than adequate at best and his hitting has been overated to say the least. Fred was right when he said ‘Nice kid, but Wright is no Superstar’.
That being said, there are teams that would be willing to trade for him, as there still is some hype surrounding him. He could possibly bring back a starting pitcher and/or a prospect, so the time to trade him would be now! As for who would play 3rd base, Joveoak has it right about Murphy. If he comes back from injury, that is his best position. If not, how about Turner at 3rd, Tejada at 2nd and Reyes at SS.
They have not won with either, so they must be the problem
-Wrong, flawed team around them.
“Wright has been a class act and the face of the franchise, but nothing else.”
-Wrong again. Look at years years 05-10 and tell me he’s not done anytime..
“That may sound like blasphemy to some Mets fans, but he doesn’t steal
bases, his fielding has never been anything more than adequate at best
and his hitting has been overated to say the least.”
-This was the comment that made me realize you are either a hater or you know nothing about David wright. Go look up his stats as you clearly have very little knowledge of his stats.
Come back and with stats prove Im wrong, you won’t be able to as the numbers show you are wrong.
Never thought I’d have to defend the inept Mets or their players..-.-
First of all I’m not a hater, nor am I in love with Wright, as you obviously are. To use stats when talking about Wright is just as misleading as is his career. Wright has never won a batting title, or lead the league in any hitting or fielding category, I’ll venture to say that he hasn’t ever been the MVP of the Mets even.
He may have decents stats and numbers, but one could easily state that they’re hollow numbers, put up in a more condusive Shea than the current Citi field. If you care to talk numbers look at his stats since playing in the new park. Last night is a prime example, he loaded up his stat sheet with 5 RBI’s a homer and some extra base hits, which looks great when one needs them to make a point. What often goes missing is the stat about him striking out or popping up when the team needs a clutch hit, something I’m certain you’re familiar with since you know more about him than I.
Were I the hater you call me, I’d reference the 8 errors in ten games he just went through and say that’s the real David Wright, but I’ll refrain because that would be hatin’.
You should also keep in mind that Alderson put him on Waivers this past month in order to see what type deal might be generated from an interested team. Would that make Alderson a big hater or just clueless when it comes to David Wright?
As I said on my first post, the Mets would most likely be able to get something of value for him. He is not a terrible ball player, just not an answer to the Mets’ current problem.
That’s why you would trade them, so that you get someone who can actually replace them.
I’m sure Wright would love to be traded at this point, and Jose has to be out of his mind to stay on a sinking ship. 2014 Mets fans! 2014!!!!!
Sinking, as in present tense?
Francisco Rodriguez… ”Everybody is going to think he is a me-first guy, totally selfish… Why would you say those things right now?”
As an Angels fan let me explain… he is a totally selfish me-first guy.
still hopeful that schilling comes back as a pitching coach someday, if not a manager. his stuff was excellent, but he was also one of the most thorough and professional players in the game when it came to scouting opponents and refining his approach
he’s earned his reputation as a loudmouth and kind of a jackass, but if i’m a GM there are few guys to whom i’d more willingly trust my young pitchers
You make a very good point about Schilling. I remember the first year he came to Boston, him and Varitek were unstoppable together. Schilling wrote down everything in his little book and Varitek is obviously one of the better game callers to ever play the catching postion. It was surely a deadly combo.
Is that likely though? He came on a Philly radio station and he sounded like he was really enjoying developing video games.
The question for the Nationals is what to do about Ryan Zimmerman: give him a $150MM+ extension or trade him for a massive haul?
Trade for pitching prospects. Nats are built to contend in 2-3 years with Harper, Rendon etc up by then.
They’ll need Zimmerman in that mix. Also Harper hasn’t proven anything yet; highly touted prospects have failed before.
I wish the Orioles would trade for David Wright.
Jim Presley could help him find his mojo again
He would love the confines of Camden Yards.
Change of Scenery, You Got It!
All the Mets would want is this? if he can bring back a solid No. 3 starter and a solid reliever or two. You Got It! The Orioles would even throw in Kevin Gregg for Free! LOL
The icing on the cake for the Orioles would be Wright would turn into a one year contract if traded. I don’t see a downside here, I really don’t
I think Wright located his mojo tonight with 2 HRs….
Only problem with your proposal is that the Orioles don’t have a solid #3 starter and only Jim Johnson qualifies as a “solid reliever”.
David Wright to the Dbacks makes them WS contenders for the next 2 years. Bauer and Skaggs will join Kennedy and Hudson to make a fine rotation. I suggest Jarrod Parker and Matt Davidson for David Wright with 50% of his salary paid for. Now if someone could forward this to Kevin Towers…
That actually sounds like a reasonable offer but don’t count on the words written by Bill Price. No reasonable Mets fan thinks that David should be going anywhere; it’s just a fluff piece, no intel.
By “WS contenders” you mean a good chance at being perrenial first round flameouts if everything falls into place but your homerism is cute.
Tigers should pick up Wright. For Drew Smyly straight up. (that is if the mets really want to get rid of him as bad as you all say they do. And if you havnt heard of Smyly look at his #’s in the minors this season)
They don’t want to get rid of him, Bill Price doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Just for the sake of arguing… Pirates get Wright for a box of crackerjacks.
Wright would allow the Halos to contend with the Rangers. If Reagins and the Angels are thinking big they could deal Conger, Aybar, and Bourjos to pick up Wright and then make the monumental splash by signing Reyes.
Morales returns with a vengeance and the Angels are the favorites to win the West.
White sox trade floyd morel jason frasor and quentin for bay wright and parnell. White sox would lack a leadoff man but they could use wrigth or rios at the leadoff plsopt fallowed by power such a bay konerko dunn. Rotation of peavy danks humber sale stewart. And they could sing heath bell or papelobon to find a real closer.