It's been almost a week since the Mets had a heartbreaking loss, so you had to figure they were due.
It figures that on the night when Francisco Rodriguez blew a save for real and not just in the stats, Luis Castillo would make two great plays in the field.
But you can't save them all, not when Aubrey Huff is putting on a show for the Mets, going 6 for 12 with 4 RBI, 2 runs, a homer, and a double. Whether or not he ends up a Met, he has already had an impact on their playoff chances, with two game-winning hits on consecutive nights.
Huff now has nine homers and 45 RBI. Both numbers top anyone on the Mets.
So the Mets should do whatever they can to get Huff, right?
Maybe not.
Huff's numbers are much better at Camden Yards than on the road. Seven of his nine homers have come at home, where he has a slugging percentage of .500 and an OPS of .855. On the road, he slugs .371 with a mediocre OPS of .667.
The lefthanded Huff has even worse lefty-righty splits, batting .297 against righties but only .209 against lefties (all percentages going into tonight's game).
Huff has not played the outfield since 2006. This year he has only appeared at first base and DH. So if he came to the Mets, he would probably play first, unless the Mets wanted to have a second DH type out there along with Gary Sheffield.
But Huff playing first would probably put an end to Daniel Murphy's contributions to the Mets for this year at least, since it does not seem likely that the Mets would return him to the outfield.
Murphy ended up with a pretty good series himself, going 4 for 12 with 3 RBI, 2 runs and a double. Murphy doubled in the run that put the Mets ahead, 3-2, before Francisco Rodriguez went on to blow the lead and the game.
Murphy and Ryan Church have not had a chance to stay in the lineup when they are going well. When Gary Sheffield came in, Jerry Manuel kept jerking Murphy and Church in and out of the lineup, which could not have been a good thing for their confidence.
If the Mets could get Aubrey Huff without giving up anything, that would be one thing. But it would be a shame to further deplete the farm system and possibly jerk Murphy around again and Church as well, only to find Huff does not hit so well outside of Camden Yards.
***
Squawker Lisa saw the musical "Damn Yankees" last year. In the show, a member of the lowly Washington team sells his soul to the Devil so he can lead Washington to victory over the Yankees. This year, Lisa, you got to see the revival in the Bronx!
Showing posts with label Aubrey Huff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aubrey Huff. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Aubrey Huff's Met audition
Aubrey Huff, step right up! You're a power-hitting first baseman on a team that might be looking to shed your contract. You can also play the outfield, though you haven't done so since 2006. But hey, that hasn't stopped Gary Sheffield (though his knee might).
Tonight, the Mets got to see Huff in person, and what does the Orioles first baseman do?
He drops a popup that results in two runs scoring, and those two runs are the difference in the game.
After the seventh-inning play, in which Huff and second baseman Brian Roberts ran for the ball down the line behind first base, Keith Hernandez said it was Roberts' ball, but he wanted no part of it.
Just imagine if Huff does come to the Mets, and there is a popup at a very critical time that is within reach of both Huff and second baseman Luis Castillo. Will both players want it? Will neither? The way things go for the Mets, they would probably both go for the ball, collide, and the ball would drop while someone got hurt.
I know what you're thinking, Mr. Huff. You're worried that you've flunked your audition. But not to worry, the other player mentioned as a possible new first baseman for the Mets, Nick Johnson of the Nationals, also dropped a popup just last Friday, and his error resulted in his team losing the game.
As I noted last week, Johnson's eighth inning drop prolonged Gabe Kapler's at bat. Kapler then homered, breaking a 3-3 tie, and the Rays won, 4-3.
So look out, Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, Jermaine Dye and anyone else who might get mentioned in a Met trade rumor. Better use two hands on those popups.
***
Tonight's Met win was shaky on several fronts, including Mike Pelfrey failing to get out of the sixth inning and Bobby Parnell being unable to get anyone out in the ninth. But it was a win. Once again, the Mets quickly rebounded from a horrendous loss. If only they did not have so much practice.
***
Over the weekend, Mike Pelfrey helped separate Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Bruney. Tonight, it looked like someone might have to separate Pelfrey and David Wright after their heated exchange in the dugout. (Actually, it wasn't an exchange - Wright was doing all the talking.) I'm glad Wright is stepping up his leadership role. Now let's seem him set more of an example by running hard to first and taking the extra base where possible, which he did not appear to do on Huff's drop and on another play earlier in the game.
On the other hand, if Wright had tried to go to second on the throw home after Huff's drop, he might have been out. After a period when the Mets seemed to be going for the extra base at all times whether or not it made sense, maybe it's good that Wright did not seem to be thinking along those lines.
***
Squawker Lisa, I see that Anderson Hernandez hit a three-run homer off of CC Sabathia tonight. That doubles Hernandez' career homer total to two. Hernandez was traded by the Mets last year for the great Luis Ayala because the Mets did not think Hernandez could hit at the major-league level. Looks like all Hernandez needed were some Yankee Stadium at bats!
Tonight, the Mets got to see Huff in person, and what does the Orioles first baseman do?
He drops a popup that results in two runs scoring, and those two runs are the difference in the game.
After the seventh-inning play, in which Huff and second baseman Brian Roberts ran for the ball down the line behind first base, Keith Hernandez said it was Roberts' ball, but he wanted no part of it.
Just imagine if Huff does come to the Mets, and there is a popup at a very critical time that is within reach of both Huff and second baseman Luis Castillo. Will both players want it? Will neither? The way things go for the Mets, they would probably both go for the ball, collide, and the ball would drop while someone got hurt.
I know what you're thinking, Mr. Huff. You're worried that you've flunked your audition. But not to worry, the other player mentioned as a possible new first baseman for the Mets, Nick Johnson of the Nationals, also dropped a popup just last Friday, and his error resulted in his team losing the game.
As I noted last week, Johnson's eighth inning drop prolonged Gabe Kapler's at bat. Kapler then homered, breaking a 3-3 tie, and the Rays won, 4-3.
So look out, Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, Jermaine Dye and anyone else who might get mentioned in a Met trade rumor. Better use two hands on those popups.
***
Tonight's Met win was shaky on several fronts, including Mike Pelfrey failing to get out of the sixth inning and Bobby Parnell being unable to get anyone out in the ninth. But it was a win. Once again, the Mets quickly rebounded from a horrendous loss. If only they did not have so much practice.
***
Over the weekend, Mike Pelfrey helped separate Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Bruney. Tonight, it looked like someone might have to separate Pelfrey and David Wright after their heated exchange in the dugout. (Actually, it wasn't an exchange - Wright was doing all the talking.) I'm glad Wright is stepping up his leadership role. Now let's seem him set more of an example by running hard to first and taking the extra base where possible, which he did not appear to do on Huff's drop and on another play earlier in the game.
On the other hand, if Wright had tried to go to second on the throw home after Huff's drop, he might have been out. After a period when the Mets seemed to be going for the extra base at all times whether or not it made sense, maybe it's good that Wright did not seem to be thinking along those lines.
***
Squawker Lisa, I see that Anderson Hernandez hit a three-run homer off of CC Sabathia tonight. That doubles Hernandez' career homer total to two. Hernandez was traded by the Mets last year for the great Luis Ayala because the Mets did not think Hernandez could hit at the major-league level. Looks like all Hernandez needed were some Yankee Stadium at bats!
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