[public] one bright spot
My boy is back! And he pitched today!
Loading up: The Mets' big league roster includes 35 players now that Joe Smith, David Newhan, Anderson Hernandez and Lawrence have been promoted following the end of Triple-A New Orleans' season. Other than Smith, none of the four appears to have much chance to be on the postseason roster. Smith, the Mets believe, has regained most of his fastball and confidence. The composition of the postseason bullpen will depend, to some degree, on the composition of the opponent's lineup and bench, specifically the left-handed/right-handed balance.
"I'm not going to go out of way to find places to use [Smith]" Randolph said. "We'll use him when it's the right place to use him."
One of the reasons Randolph has wanted Guillermo Mota to assert himself is that Mota's changeup -- when he's throwing right -- makes him effective against both left-handed and right-handed hitters.
Now that he is back, Smith is a smaller story than he was when he made the team out of Spring Training. He is 10 pounds lighter.
Smith walked through the clubhouse before the game Sunday, tugging on his now-baggy uniform.
"Everything's too big now," he said.
Everything but his locker stall.
The stall that had been his before his demotion on July 27 since has been assigned to Lawrence. So Smith was assigned a shorter portable locker that had been wheeled in to the clubhouse to accommodate the SCU's -- September callups -- and stuck in a small vacant area.
"They've cut me down to size," Smith said.
-from here
I love this boy. However, I have no such emotions for Guillermo Mota. I haven't liked him since his run-in with Mike Piazza a few years ago, and he's done nothing to endear himself to me of late.
Loading up: The Mets' big league roster includes 35 players now that Joe Smith, David Newhan, Anderson Hernandez and Lawrence have been promoted following the end of Triple-A New Orleans' season. Other than Smith, none of the four appears to have much chance to be on the postseason roster. Smith, the Mets believe, has regained most of his fastball and confidence. The composition of the postseason bullpen will depend, to some degree, on the composition of the opponent's lineup and bench, specifically the left-handed/right-handed balance.
"I'm not going to go out of way to find places to use [Smith]" Randolph said. "We'll use him when it's the right place to use him."
One of the reasons Randolph has wanted Guillermo Mota to assert himself is that Mota's changeup -- when he's throwing right -- makes him effective against both left-handed and right-handed hitters.
Now that he is back, Smith is a smaller story than he was when he made the team out of Spring Training. He is 10 pounds lighter.
Smith walked through the clubhouse before the game Sunday, tugging on his now-baggy uniform.
"Everything's too big now," he said.
Everything but his locker stall.
The stall that had been his before his demotion on July 27 since has been assigned to Lawrence. So Smith was assigned a shorter portable locker that had been wheeled in to the clubhouse to accommodate the SCU's -- September callups -- and stuck in a small vacant area.
"They've cut me down to size," Smith said.
-from here
I love this boy. However, I have no such emotions for Guillermo Mota. I haven't liked him since his run-in with Mike Piazza a few years ago, and he's done nothing to endear himself to me of late.