August 2009
Keep your hat on
In the showdown at Citi Field yesterday between the Mets and Giants featured two of the best arms in the game. Johan Santana took the bump for the home team, while Matt Cain got the start for San Francisco.
For the Mets, the day couldn’t have gone any worse. They lost, 5-4, in 10 innings thanks to a home run off the bat of Bengie Molina. For the real story of this game, we have to rewind to the 4th inning. It was in the bottom of that from that Cain hit Mets’ 3B David Wright in the helmet with a 93-mph fastball. This AP picture taken by Frank Franklin II sums up the event in one frame:
Everyone on the Mets, even Santana said that they felt Cain was not headhunting in that situation. They knew he was trying to pitch inside and that the ball just got away from him. It happens. That said, Santana still reacted. With Pablo Sandoval at the plate in the 7th inning, Santana threw a fastball behind the rookie, meriting a warning to both benches from the home plate umpire. His second pitch knocked Sandoval off the plate too and his third offering was knocked out of the ballpark, putting the Giants ahead, 4-1. Molina came up next and Santana finally got hit the target, plunking the catcher. Despite being warned, Santana was not ejected; however manager Jerry Manuel removed the Mets’ ace from the game anyway.
The next part of this story is a little odd. When Giants manager Bruce Bochy came out to relieve Cain in the eighth, the New York fans jeered the pitcher for what he had done earlier in the game to their star at the hot corner. They had been giving it to him all game, despite the fact that Cain was visibly shaken after hitting Wright. Then, in a moment that had me scratching my head, Cain tipped his cap in jest to the crowd. That gesture can be interpreted so many different ways. Was he upset that he was being taken out of a close game? Was he proud of the fact that he sent Wright to the hospital with what has been diagnosed as post concussion syndrome? Is he totally clueless? I really can’t explain it because I’m not Matt Cain, but it sure make you wonder.
The loss of Wright, for however long it may be, is devastating to the Mets. Since joining the club in July of 2004, the Mets have played 833 games. David Wright has missed 15 of those. He’s been one of the few constants for a team that has been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season. I know he wants to be out there, but it might be best if Wright sits the next week or so, or at the very least until Thursday or Friday.
Did anyone else catch the article in The New York Times this week by David Waldstein about the new batting helmets being developed by Rawlings? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do so (link). Read it and you might ask yourself if Jeff Francouer might be having a change of heart real soon.
In it to win it
It’s been said and written and said again that Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams is one of the boldest front-office men in the game. On July 31st, he pulled off a deadline deal that netted 2007 Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy for the Southsiders. Today, Williams was at it again.
Today, Williams landed the talented, but pricey Alex Rios in a waiver claim that was placed last week. The two-time American League All-Star is under contract through the 2014 season with a club option for 2015 at $13.5 million. All total, the White Sox inherit a contract valued at nearly $60 million. Tack on the $52 million that the White Sox took in Peavy’s deal and that makes for quite an expensive week for Williams and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
I wouldn’t call either of these bad deals because neither player is a rental for just this season. In the short-term, how often will Rios play? Jermaine Dye has right field locked up and assuming Carlos Quentin is fully recovered from the foot injury that cost him most of the first half, he needs to be in the lineup everyday as well. In center field, Scott Podsednik has been a fantastic addition for the White Sox, playing more like he did in 2005 than in ’06 and ’07. He’s an established lead-off man who won’t kill you in the field. If Podsednik is on the bench, does Rios automatically fill that lead-off spot? It will also take away at-bats from the recently acquired Mark Kotsay. Also, who is removed from the current roster? The logical choice is Mark Buehrle’s best friend, Dewayne Wise, but he is out of options and will have to pass through waivers, which is unlikely.
Looking beyond this season, the contracts of Podsednik, Dye and Jim Thome can come off the book. Dye has a mutual option for next season, but said this evening from Seattle that , “It’s a shock.”
As always, it’s tough to predict which direction Williams will opt to go. Dye has proven that he can still hit, as has Thome. As I mentioned before, Podsednik is healthy and a viable top-of-the-lineup hitter. At least one of these guys will be gone when the White Sox report to Glendale in February. However, like Williams always says, they’re trying to win it this year, and with these additions, they might be able to make a little noise in the next two months. Stay tuned.
Hello again everybody
Good evening, everyone. I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you lately, but I have a reason. I started a new job about a month ago and it’s consumed more of my time than I anticipated, leaving me less time to share my thoughts in this space. While the updates may not be as frequent as they had been in the past, I promise not to neglect the blog for that long again.
I’ll be back later this week for my triumphant return to the blogosphere. Stay tuned.
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