Mets oft-injured OF Cliff Floyd begged out of the lineup before yesterday’s 9-1 loss to the Dodgers, and Newsday’s heartless Ken Davidoff says “the pity party must end.”
Willie Randolph, who naturally plays down such meetings, said that he and Floyd (above) spoke “briefly.” Twenty-four minutes is a brief period of time when you consider that our planet is roughly 4.5 billion years old, but for a baseball manager and player, this was a substantial get-together.
Yet Floyd seemed just as fed up with himself as Randolph was with Floyd, who has been a part-time player since returning from the disabled list Sept. 2. And to be fair, Floyd is dealing with more than mere “BS.” In addition to the tendinitis in his left Achilles, for which he has said he will get corrective surgery following the season, he also recently suffered the heartbreaking loss of his 21-year-old sister, Shanta, to breast and brain cancer.
That’s what Floyd referred to yesterday, when he spoke of the “mess” that he must block out.
In discussing his situation, Floyd admitted that his head has been clouded by his professional and personal adversity. “If you have a different attitude, then at least you’re giving yourself a better chance,” Floyd said. “At least you’re not moping around here, walking around like, ‘Damn, I’m hurt.’ It is what it is. You have to have a different attitude if you’re going to play.”
The Mets could probably make the World Series without Floyd, but they’re obviously a better club if they have someone resembling the Floyd of last year (34 HRs, 98 RBIs). Especially in the Fall Classic, when they would be taking on an American League team with a deeper lineup.
The always-helpful David Pinto points out the Mets are 11-19 this season against left-handed starters . Grady Little, Tony La Russa, there’s your answer for the playoffs — make your righties switch to lefty when you face the Mets.
The New York Daily News’ Bill Madden picks Omar Minaya for National League Executive Of The Year.
Until he got hurt, Duaner Sanchez had arguably developed into one of the best setup relievers in baseball. When Julio didn’t pan out, Minaya quickly turned him into Orlando Hernandez in an inspired trade. In addition, he had gotten John Maine back from Baltimore in the original Julio deal. The fact is, Minaya has not stopped dealing the entire season, quickly addressing the Mets’ needs while, in the process, stockpiling starting pitching with El Duque, Maine, and the lefties, Perez and Dave Williams. Now, with Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber waiting in the wings, Willie Randolph figures to have all sorts of starting pitching options at his disposal next spring, and you have to wonder if this takes the Mets out of the Barry Zito hunt this winter. Under the circumstances, throwing $80 million over five years at a pitcher seems foolhardy, especially when there figures to be a far more pressing need in left field.
But after bringing in Delgado, Lo Duca, Sanchez, Billy Wagner, El Duque, Maine, Endy Chavez, Guillermo Mota, Green, Jose Valentin, Darren Oliver, Pedro Feliciano, Chad Bradford, Perez and Williams at the expense of just money and two players – Benson and Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs – who aren’t contributing anything of consequence at the major league level, Minaya is a deserving candidate for executive-of-the-year honors. Chances are, however, he won’t get the honor as his GM peers, who do the voting, are probably more inclined to salute Beinfest, who transformed the Marlins into playoff contenders with no money.
Though I have no problem with Madden’s praise for Minaya, the columnist must have awfully high standards when a first baseman with 19 HR’s, 75 RBI’s and 35 doubles is considered such a non-entity. And Mike Jacobs is earning $327,000 this season.