Bleacher Report - Articles by Joe Scumaci

Latin Players Struggling Early for the New York Mets

Joe Scumaci — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:15:16 -0400

The New York Mets have some big names playing in a high-expectation city. The diverse New York Mets are only a game out of first, but are looking for answers to their early underachievement.

David Wright, Brian Schneider, and Ryan Church were the lone three American players in the Mets' lineup yesterday. They combined for six strikeouts in the game.

This is not a racist article by any means, just something I have noticed while watching the Mets play baseball this year. If you look at the offensive woes of the Mets, you seem to find a trend in the early-season struggles.

Lead by Angel Pagan's .267 batting average, the remaining Latin batters on the Mets are surprisingly behind.

Some notable averages include the speedy Jose Reyes' .263, Carlos Delgado at .217, Moises Alou is hitting .267, and Luis Castillo is a pathetic .234.

Pedro Martinez has been a disappointment since joining the Mets, immediately getting hurt and sending the Met's rotation into chaos. Not to mention, Carlos Beltran has disappeared since the season began, and has been hampered by injury to go along with his .231 average.

Nelson Figueroa's latest start was just five innings, eight hits, five earned runs, and one home run allowed, in a start they badly needed against the red-hot Dodgers.

Oliver Perez, another Latin starter, has seen his ERA fluctuate and hover around five all year, as he continues to find his groove on the mound. Reliever Jorge Sosa has an ERA of 6.05, almost identical with fellow Latin reliever Duaner Sanchez. (6.00 ERA)

On the other hand, the Mets' best investment in the off season, Johan Santana, has not let them down so far. He is earning every penny with his 2.91 ERA and again, like every year, at the top of the league in strikeouts (47).

But you cannot blame these Latin players for the struggles of the Mets, because when they win, they are the first players to be praised. In today's game, where Latin players have been prospering across the country, 80 percent of the Mets payroll is spent on their big name players. But with a division as tough as the NL East, they will need every one of them to step up and play to their potential.

As far as predictions go, I think the Mets will be just fine. Their less than stellar averages will raise with the weather, and the return of Pedro should help out Willie Randolph's rotation big time.

Hopefully, they will all heat up at the right time, and avoid the late-September collapse.

Tribe Needs to Find That Lock Down Closer

Joe Scumaci — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:54:57 -0400

After Rafael Betancourt's blown save Thursday night to the Seattle Mariners, the Tribe's bullpen is now 4-for-10 in save oppurtunities. Good for last in Major League Baseball.

Manager Eric Wedge's hair has to be falling out or turning gray, or both, the way the season has been for his Indians.

Between Joe Borowski's struggles to close a game out or throw 85 mph for that matter and Rafael Betancourt's inconsistent 9th inning showings. The Indians have been giving away games early in the year that they cannot afford. Especially with the bats hitting a collective .250 following the first month of the year.

The Indians really have not had that dynamic closer that was almost a sure lock since the Jose Mesa days in the late 90's. Last year, the Indian's bullpen was considered one of the best in the league, but this year they can't seem to get an out if they need to.

With the bats still cold as the weather, Cleveland has struggled to hold leads and let another good starting performance slip away. Paul Byrd shutout the Mariners through 7 2/3 innings before turning the 1-0 lead over the bullpen. The lead quickly discintegrated with a wild pitch, stolen base by Ichiro thanks to a Casey Blake error and then a home run on the first pitch of the 10th by Richie Sexson quickly gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.

The home run, surrendered by newest bullpen member Masa Kobayashi, was the 35th home run the Tribe pitching staff has allowed.

Starter Paul Byrd's wasted gem is frustrating because his run support is hovering around 1. The Indians bats are struggling still with Hafner dropped in the lineup to the 6th spot and Ryan Garko just getting out of his recent 0-for-25 slump.

Although, Garko's one-out single started the rally that got to Mariner's closer J.J. Putz, as Grady Sizemore's bases-loaded walk scored Jamey Carrol to tie the game at 2. In the bottom of the 11th, the Tribe loaded the bases with 2 outs and young stud Asdrubal Cabrera laced a single into right to save the Indian's pathetic bullpen effort.

With the month of May turning the corner, the Indians should search the free agent market or look to make a move for a consistent closer. Their young guns (Perez, Betancourt, Lewis) have yet to prove that they can hold the lead night in and night out like they did last year during their ALCS run. GM Mark Shapiro is a bright guy who usually has a good sense for talent and will evaluate a good closer from a bad one.

The Tigers, the Indians real threat at the AL Central crown, have not played anywhere near their potential. But with the Tribe's bullpen not capitalizing, maybe that one move for the shutdown closer will get them over the edge and make them again, the elite team to beat in the AL.

Chris Paul Deserves MVP in Only 3rd Season

Joe Scumaci — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:45:33 -0400

Can an MVP call out his front office and demand to be traded in the beginning of the season? In my opinion, No, but what matters is the voters for the MVP award.

Kobe Bryant's numbers from this year are down from last year, but his team is much better. However, the other "LA," Lousiana, is a state that is still recovering from a tragic hurricane and is looking for a new leader, besides rapper Lil' Wayne to put the city back on track.

Wake Forest graduate Chris Paul's numbers are impressive, very impressive for a guy no taller than 6 feet. He came into the playoffs averaging 24.8 ppg and taking the assists title from former MVP Steve Nash by dishing out an average of 12 dimes a game. He lead New Orleans to the 2nd seed in the West and already they have eliminated Dallas from the playoffs andwait to play San Antonio in the next round.

In comparison to the two, Kobe has a MUCH better team. Even with the injury to young star Andrew Bynum he still has the automatic double-double in Lamar Odom and newly aquired Pau Gasol looks really good as he dunks the ball almost 7 times a game. Role players Derek Fisher is a veteran guard and Sasha Vujacic never misses when he is wide open. Chris Paul, on the contrary, has turned David West and Tyson Chandler, two mediocre household names into a reserve all star anda powerful center. They both put up career years, mostly thanks to the arrival of CP3.

But does it matter that Paul is a 3rd year guard, while Kobe is in his 12th season and his experience deserves him the trophy? No. Chris Paul took a team who finished 10th in the conference to 2nd and already a trip to the quarterfinals, something the city of New Orleans has not seen in a very long time. He was so good this year, he made his coach look good, winning Byron Scott the NBA's Coach of the Year Award.

Yeah leadership is significant in the MVP voting, but both are obvious leaders and both can take over a game. It would be nice if the NBA could incorporate the playoffs into the MVP race. Then last year's MVP Dirk Nowitzki would not have been in the top 5 after his Mavericks choked badly vs Golden State in the 2007 playoffs.

Hopefully the Hornets can handle the methodical, argumental San Antonio Spurs andthe Lakers can do the same with the winner of the Rockets/Jazz series. This way they can meet in the conference semifinals and we will really be treated to an MVP battle.

Some say Bryant's tenure in the league deserves him the MVP award. Yes it does, but not this year, his Lakers are stacked with talent, which takes pressure off him to score 50 points every night. Just watch Paul's highlights in game 5 vs Dallas and you will see why Mark Cuban was about to cry. A display of dazzling layups and unthinkable passes were just a small part of the repertoire CP3 brings to the court every night.

A triple-double in the playoffs? Kobe has yet to do that in this year's playoffs. That's worthy enough of my MVP vote.