Midterm Exam
Well... here we are at the halfway point... Let's take stock of the locals... The Mets are 6 and a half games out of first place at 42-45. They've had a slew of injuries, as we know. They are fortunate not to be even further down in the standings. For a while, the Phillies couldn't get out of their own way. The Yankees are 51-37, just 3 games behind Boston. Both local clubs, were expected to make noise at the start of the season, but are going in different directions.
Let's start with the Yankees. As an overall grade, I'd give them a B-. They are 14 games over 500 after missing A-Rod for the first month. When he returned, he jacked the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark in Baltimore. His return to the lineup helped the Yankees as they went 38-22 with him. The biggest benefactor was Mark Teixeira who started slowly but went on a tear with Rodriguez back in the fold. The pitching has been up and down. C.C. Sabathia hasn't been great, hasn't been bad. Inconsistent, I'd say. At 8 and 6 with a 3.86 ERA, he hasn't been the dominant pitcher Yankees fans were hoping for. A-J Burnett started slowly but has picked it up, although his pie throwing is a little old. Joba Chamberlain looks lost. Right now he's not a starter. He gets pounded on a regular basis and doesn't give the Yankees innings. If they moved him back to the bullpen (which they won't) would he be the pitcher we remember from 2 years ago? Who knows? Andy Pettitte is what he is, a 37 year old pitcher with an ERA of almost 5. The bullpen has looked good. The bats have been lively. The Yankees are a good team, most likely a playoff team. It should be interesting in October. I would have given them a B+ but to be oh and 8 against the Red Sox, that ain't good. They have to learn to beat the Red Sox and for that matter, the Angels as well.
The Mets have been extremely unlucky as far as the injuries are concerned... We know this... I will take the glass half full view. For them to be JUST 3 games under 500 with the injuries they've had is a minor miracle. To be honest, if not for some high profile giveaway games: Castillo drop, Murphy drop, Ryan Church missing the bag just to name 3, the Mets could be a 500 team. If Jerry Manuel can get these guys to play fundamentally well, they'll be ok. Eventually the calvary will return. Hopefully the Mets will have enough time to come back. Its too easy to say they just need 17 games. Don't depend on that happening the other way folks... I'm still not impressed by the Phillies. They've taken a flyer on Pedro Martinez. Not sure what he'll give them. Since hitting comes and goes, the Mets pitching is the big question mark. Will Mike Pelfrey be able to put consistent good starts together? What if anything will you get out of Oliver Perez? Did Livan Hernandez and Fernando Nieve outlive their usefulness? Will K-Rod continue to pitch well. Will the Mets get Roy Halladay to take some of the pressure off Johan Santana? Lot's of questions, the answers will come. I give the Mets a D+ for their first half. Omar Minaya needs to bring in some help. I've been saying that for forever. Maybe Minaya has the lock on the pocketbook. In that case, the Wilpons should let Omar improve this team. I think Manuel has done an admirable job holding things together. Sorry, James Piccoli. I know you're not a Manuel guy.
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Comments: 1
I think the B- grade for the Yankees is fair. Their primary players have stayed relatively healthy. They are in good position to play for the division and/or wild card.
As for the Mets, D+ is fair. The injuries have hurt the Mets, but their poor fundamental play has hurt equally as much. Even with young, inexperienced plays and older bench type players, they should be able to catch the ball, turn the key double play, throw to the right bases and run the bases properly. I can understand these players being overmatched at times at the plate, but lacking crispness on the field is no excuse. Jerry "The Great Communicator" Manuel and his coaching staff should be taken to task for this poor fundamental play. Has Razor Shines made any correct decisions at third base? Jerry has continued to make excuses,but it is his inept ability to instill fundamental baseball in this team that has cost them games in the first half. See, when he makes excuses, he can then fool certain people into writing that he has done an "admirable job." Some may even say he is "holding things together." The Mets should be better than 42-45 and closer than 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies. Jerry got a free pass for his inability to handling a faulty bullpen and getting the Mets into the playoffs last year. He is getting a pass because of injuries this year. He has 75 games to get it right or he is OUT!!! Some people perpetuate this pass. You play and win with the players on the active roster. Send this "pass" to Jerry Manuel so he can be a better leader of men.