Mike's Mets

Thursday, May 11, 2006
By Mike Steffanos

I guess I've come off at times as fairly critical of Steve Trachsel. I've always respected Trachsel, who gave the Mets some decent innings in some dark years, but never have been able to buy into the Trachsel worship of some Mets fans. I've found it interesting that many of the complaints against Victor Zambrano could apply to Steve, also. When things aren't going for Trax, he's one of the most painful pitchers to watch I've ever seen, and I've been around long enough to see quite a few of them.

Trachsel is pitching tonight in attempt to wrestle the rubber game of a 3-game series away from a good Phillies team. Jose Lima and Jeremi Gonzalez will pitch the next two games in Milwaukee. The Mets need Trachsel to step up and be the good Steve Trachsel tonight. He was in the same position last Friday night against the Braves and was far short of what was needed, although he was eventually bailed out by the comeback. Take away a pair of games against the Giants, and he hasn't been a very good pitcher since returning late last year and bumping Zambrano out of the rotation. That needs to change, as the rotation is likely to remain in a state of uncertainty for the foreseeable future.

Newark Star-Ledger: Shocker: No Sanctions for Angel
Don Burke tells us what we already new, umpire Angel Hernandez will receive no discipline for his latest dim escapade:

Mike Port, Major League Baseball vice president, said his office looked into Sunday's incident at Shea Stadium in which Jose Lima said plate umpire Angel Hernandez told him he wasn't getting some strike calls because "You're not John Smoltz." "Anything we found out was inconclusive," said Port, who oversees the game's umpires. "When you get into the issue of integrity, you'd better be 100 percent sure you know what happened."

I love it when MLB throws the word "integrity" around when it comes to their out-of-control umpires. I grew up watching baseball at a time when most umpires realized the game was much bigger than they were, and it's sad to see all these "new breed" umps in action.

Mets Geek: Interview with Matt Meyers
Michael Oliver interviews Baseball America's Matt Meyers on some of the prospects in the Mets farm system.

Brooklyn Met Fan: Kaz Matsui
In a post on last night's game, BMF made the following comment on Kaz Matsui:

At the beginning of the game, the guys in the booth ascribed Kaz Matsui's transformation into a soild contributor to the competition with Anderson Hernandez. BMF disagrees. Kaz had completely bottomed out. After even the Japanese National Team ignored him for the WBC, there was no way to sink lower without a heroin addiction. That kind of depth of failure can be liberating. He's not bound for the All Star Game, but you see the results.

I love all the guys in the Mets booth, but I couldn't agree more with my colleague. I had a similar experience years ago when I actually was an athlete (hard to believe, I know). When everything goes so wrong that you're looking up to see the bottom, you finally get out of your own head and just start to play the game. And no, I won't bore you with the rest of my story.

Lonestar Mets: Good Stuff
Speaking of colleagues, you can probably guess that I like dogs, but I'm getting a little annoyed with Nancy from Lonestar Mets. She's making me look bad by coming up with more intelligent opinions on the Mets than mine. Maybe I can bribe her with some leftover prime rib to go easy on me?

More Mets Stories:
SportsSpyder Mets
Pro Sports Daily Mets