As is my want, from time to time because so few here have any interest in talking baseball, I wander through the internet seeking out tidbits that help me shape an opinion of a particular ballplayer.

 

So sheerly out of boredom and having seen him at FanFest I starting searching on Mike Jacobs, who it turns out has gone from can't miss phenom to bum in the eyes of Mets fans now that he's been traded to the Marlins. (BTW, ditto for Yusmeiro Petit.)

 

Anyways, a couple of pieces caught my eye and I thought I would share.

 

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Wednesday January 25, 2006

 

Jacobs as slugger flames out with Mets manager Randolph

 

John W. Fox / Commentary

 

This is the month that I come out of baseball hibernation by buying Baseball America's 2006 Almanac. See my shadow or not, spring training can't be six weeks away.

 

The Almanac's treasure-trove of statistics never fails to intrigue me. Would you believe that Wayne Lydon's 19 sacrifice bunts for last year's Binghamton Mets were more than twice as many sacrifices as the Texas Rangers team's 162-game total (9) and as many as Oakland's?

 

My favorite stat however, was a 125-game Lydon teammate's slugging percentage in the National League later in the season.

 

Mike Jacobs' 100 NL at-bats at age 24, while nowhere near the minimum required for eligibility as league-leader, produced a profuse .710 in the SLG column higher by far than any other player in the majors except a momentary Oriole who batted only once and a Ranger with four at-bats.

 

Alex Rodriguez, 100 points lower at .610, led the American League and was second only to the Cubs' Derrek Lee at .662 among the majors' qualifiers. (To clarify for the uninitiated, slugging percentage is calculated by dividing the player's times-at-bat into his total bases one for each single, two for a double, etc.)

 

Barry Bonds had been the leader four straight years, starting with his .863 in 2001 that broke Babe Ruth's record set 81 seasons earlier with a 261-foot right-field target. Although the streak ended in 2005 when Bonds sat out all but 14 late-September games, he bettered champion Derrek Lee by five points.

 

Thus, unabridged SLG statistics of the 2005 season will forever verify that among the Big Time's players with five or more at-bats were Jacobs and Bonds. In that order.

 

With 17 games left on the floundering B-Mets' 2005 Eastern League schedule, honchos of the not-so-hot-themselves New York Mets ordered immediate delivery of catcher/first baseman Jacobs because of an injury to Mike Piazza.

 

Not being an admirer of parent clubs' incessant plucking, I was not a happy camper: Jacobs, to be voted the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player, left town within seven RBI of becoming the second 100-RBI man in B-Mets franchise history and indeed had a good shot at a triple-crown of RBI, home run and batting-average titles.

 

Then, Jacobs sat without a beckon from manager Willie Randolph, becoming not too happy a camper himself. On the fourth day, Randolph summarily told Scott Lauber, at the time this paper's minor league baseball writer, that (a) the incumbent first basemen were now healthy; (b) if another catcher should be injured, he'd call up a more proven catcher than Jacobs; and © he wasn't about to use Jacobs as a pinch-hitter only to give him the satisfaction of appearing in a major-league box.

 

That was on a Saturday. On Sunday, nevertheless, Randolph GAVE him the satisfaction. Jacobs hit a pinch-hit three-run home run off Washington's Esteban Loaiza and after the game he was informed that he might be sent back to the minors to make room on the roster for recalled light-hitting Triple-A catcher Mike DiFelice.

 

It may have been none of all-star pitcher Pedro Martinez's business but he spoke up, to unspecified members of the organization, deploring such cruel deflation of the Sunday hero's euphoria. Lauber heard of Martinez's intervention, casually mentioned it in print, and regrettably inspired an online, off-key rabble-rouser to a roughly 100 percent untrue "true story of how Willie Randolph came around."

 

To summarize the 2 1/2-page blog: "Don Pedro" [postED BELOW] sends henchman Jose Reyes to the manager's dinner table with an empty lineup card, requesting the favor of Jacobs' name being on it, pronto: "Pedro doesn't ask a second favor once he's been refused the first. Understood?" Randolph refuses, adding that if DiFelice fails, he will sign journeyman Alberto Castillo (of the championship 1994 B-Mets) as his catcher/first baseman. Exit Reyes, by command.

 

Be forewarned, the gothic blog becomes R-rated:

 

"The Next Day. Randolph awakens ... kicks the sheets off and finds Alberto Castillo's severed head in his bed. 'Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!' "

 

Far from being shipped out, Jacobs plays in 29 more games, 28 on Randolph's lineup cards as his first baseman. He bats .310 with 11 homers. Granted, he doesn't slug at a .710 pace against all eight teams he gets to swing at. He's .000 against Bonds' Giants teammates. But he's 1.200 in 15 at-bats against Arizona, 1.286 in 14 against Colorado, 1.000 against Washington. He bats .310 with 11 homers.

 

Since then, changes-of-address have occurred. On Thanksgiving, playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, Jacobs learned in a phone call from his future brother-in-law that he, top pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit, and third-base prospect Grant Psomas had been traded to the cost-cutting Florida Marlins for slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado.

 

Martinez and Reyes remain components of manager Randolph's happy family. Lauber is covering the Phillies for the Wilmington paper. Mike DiFelice is on a minor-league contract with Washington. So is Alberto Castillo.

 

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll.../601250335/1003

 

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Don Pedro

 

Finally, the true story of how Willie Randolph came around to giving Mike Jacobs some playing time -- it was all Pedro Martinez' doing. According to Scott Lauber, that is. Check it out:

 

Jacobs survived another day without being returned to the minors, and Pedro Martinez may be partially responsible.

 

After homering in his first major league at-bat Sunday, Jacobs was informed he may be sent to Triple-A. Martinez overheard and voiced a complaint with Mets' brass. Jacobs stayed with the team, started the next two games at first base and was spared a demotion Tuesday when the Mets designated reliever Danny Graves for assignment.

 

The move paid off for the Mets when he homered Tuesday night at Arizona.

 

"It's just not right," Martinez told the New York Daily News. "It could frustrate a kid when you have a top prospect like that and you bring him up and he hits a three-run homer that puts us back in the game and you send him back down. As a person that's been there, it's frustrating."

 

Luckily for all of you, I have access to the Mets security cameras, and was able to transcribe how this all came about for your reading pleasure.

 

 

The Night of the 9-8 Win

 

Pedro Martinez sits behind a desk in his office in the Mets locker room, a kitten sprawled out across his lap. As Pedro stares off into the distance, Jose Reyes comes to the door.

 

"Godfather, he's not on the list, but Mike Jacobs wants to see you."

 

Pedro looks up at him, inquisitively.

 

"Is this -- is this necessary?"

 

Jose shrugs as Pedro waves him on. Mike Jacobs bows and sits on Pedro's desk.

 

"Mr. Martinez... less than a week ago Mike Piazza goes down because of a broken bone in his hand. Omar's stumped, he doesn't know what to do. He wants to call up Mike DiFelice, but he knows the fanbase would revolt if they bring him up over me. So Omar calls me up only Willie Randolph sits me on the bench, and I've just sat there... for days! Rotting away, really. I mean, Willie even sends Miguel Cairo out to warm up the pitcher between innings. Oh, Godfather, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

 

Mike Jacobs begins to cry. Pedro, enraged, jumps to his feet and slaps him about the face.

 

"You can act like a man! What's the matter with you? Is this how you turned out? A Binghamton finocchio that cries like with a woman? What can I do?! What can I do?! What is that nonsense? Ridiculous. *sigh* You've kept up with your practicing of first base?"

 

Jacobs wipes his eyes.

 

"Sure I did."

 

Pedro nods approvingly.

 

"Good. Cause a young catcher who can't play first base can never be a real Met. You look terrible. I want you to eat. I want you to rest a while. And tomorrow this Randolph bigshot's gonna give you what you want."

 

Mike Jacobs sighs.

 

"It's too late. They send me down for DiFelice tomorrow."

 

Pedro wags his extremely long finger.

 

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. Now you just go outside and enjoy yourself, and forget about all this nonsense. I want you to leave it all to me."

 

 

Later That Evening

 

Jose Reyes sits at a dinner table with Willie Randolph. Reyes leans back in his chair, and lays a lineup card on the table.

 

"So, you see, Pedro wants you to give Mike Jacobs some playing time. It doesn't matter when in the game, or what position he plays, but he'd appreciate it if he saw some playing time tomorrow."

 

Willie shakes his head vigorously.

 

"I respect that; just tell him he should ask me anything else. But this is one favor I can't give

him."

 

Reyes shakes his head in return.

 

"He doesn't ask a second favor once he's been refused the first, understood?"

 

Willie stands up, upset.

 

"You don't understand, Mike Jacobs never gets in that lineup. First base is perfect for him;

it'll make him a big star. And I'm gonna run all the youth out of the organization, and let me tell you why. The Yankees have done it this way for years! It's all about the veteran presence! Authority! You can't just go around slotting in youth all willy-nilly wherever you want! We're making Mike DiFelice one of the organization's most valuable catchers. For months we've had him under training in Norfolk. Catching, throwing, hitting lessons. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on him. He's gonna be a big catcher! And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I'm not a hard-hearted man, and it's not all dollars and cents. If he doesn't work out, we're gonna sign Alberto Castillo for the league minimum! And he'll be my catcher/first basemen! If Mike Jacobs plays, then he'll hit for big numbers, and then I'm gonna look ridiculous! And a man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous! Now you get the hell outta here! And if that gumbah tries any rough stuff, you tell him I ain't no Terry Francona! Yeah, I heard that story!"

 

 

The Next Day

 

Randolph awakens, and rolls over to find himself in a pool of blood. He kicks the sheets off and finds Alberto Castillo's severed head in his bed.

 

"AHHHH! AHHH! AHHHHHH!"

 

 

The End.

 

http://chucknduck.blogspot.com/2005/08/don-pedro.html

Very interesting article. I was told something like this happend from one of my friends who is a Mets fan. Hope Jacobs can play as well for us just as he did for the Mets.

Good, let it serve as motivation.

 

FWIW, Willie is a huge jackass, this doesn't surprise me at all, and I had heard about the Pedro thing, of course not that graphically .

:lol

 

Good read, thanks for the post. March 3rd can't get here soon enough.

nice piece..... also that's pretty nice of Pedro as well

:lol

 

Good read, thanks for the post. March 3rd can't get here soon enough.

 

You betcha :thumbup

 

...and thanks Ramp

I had heard something about this before. Willie is a jackass, from what I hear. And Ramp is right, it was very nice of Pedro to do that.

 

I am a huge Mike Jacobs fan. He's going to produce big time for us this year. Just watch. :thumbup

nice read, thanks for posting

Jacobs later repaid "Don" Pedro by hitting a go ahead two-run homer off John Smoltz in the second inning of a 4-0 Martinez shutout of the Braves.