Rational (sometimes) Mets Musings

The State of the Franchise

2012-01-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

As we sit here in the middle of January, with all of the offseason moves (as minor as the additions were) in the rearview mirror, the only thing anyone wants to dissect is just how bad things have gotten for the Mets. It seems that the issue of most paramount importance - much higher up on the priority list for fans over the makeup of the roster - is their desire for Fred Wilpon to sell the team. They don't care who he sells to, how much he sells the team for, or what it would mean for the future of the team. They just want Fred to sell.

It's not enough for people, though, to simply clamor for the Wilpons to sell. There seems to be a need, a burning desire even, to talk about Fred Wilpon as if he's the bad guy in the movie. The detestable bastard everyone wants to see lose in the end.

Let's be clear: I'm absolutely furious over the predicament the franchise is currently in. However, I'm not angry at Fred Wilpon. I'm angry at the situation. Here's why:

Unless you think Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, and/or Jeff Wilpon were willing participants in or knew about the scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff, they can be seen as nothing but victims of it. And if there was any evidence to support a claim that they knew about the scheme, Irving Picard would've sniffed it out by now. That scheme is the reason the franchise is in its current situation. Once you get past that part, you have to look at this from Fred Wilpon's point of view. Not your view of what his mindset or behavior should be, but his view.

Fred Wilpon is a guy from Brooklyn. Someone who went to Lafayette high school a few miles away from where I live. Someone who grew up and turned himself into something special. Someone who is a self made multi-millionaire, who had the opportunity about three decades ago to purchase (with Nelson Doubleday) a Major League Franchise. Not a random franchise, but the one that represented his roots, his borough. The National League franchise from New York. Up until 2010 (when Madoff's fraud was linked to him), Fred Wilpon was simply seen as a gentleman. Someone who cared deeply about the ballclub he owned (even if fans at times felt put off by him for some reason). For the majority of the time he's owned the Mets, they have had one of the highest payrolls in the sport. For all of that time, Fred Wilpon has made sure the Mets were one of the most charitable organizations in all of sports. Everyone seems to recall the Yankees when the aftermath of September 11th is discussed, but it was the Mets (due in large part to Fred Wilpon) who led that charge.

Put yourself in Fred Wilpon's shoes for a minute. For over 30 years, you've owned the Mets. Over the majority of those years, you've signed off on maintaining one of the highest payrolls in the sport. You're self-made, well respected, charitable, and proud. You, like thousands of other people, were a victim of the largest fraud in the history of the Country. You've been smeared mercilessly by Irving Picard, the trustee in the Madoff case. You've been destroyed by the fans, and destroyed in the press. But, you don't want to sell the team. Again - although the precarious situation the team is in upsets me and angers me, I can understand Fred Wilpon's position. It doesn't mean I'm happy with it, just that I can understand it...at least for the time being.

At this point, it appears Wilpon will only be on the hook for about $80 million as far as the Madoff case is concerned. If that holds true, he can probably ride this out. If Irving Picard is somehow able to get a higher amount (in the hundreds of millions), the situation will most likely become untenable. Dropping the payroll to between $90 million and $100 million, while not ideal, does not create a situation where Wilpon can be forced out. However, if the payroll continues to drop, you'd have to imagine he'd eventually either cave to the public pressure, have Major League Baseball step in, or simply not have enough cash to continue to own and operate the franchise.

If you put the Madoff/cash-flow situation aside for a moment - something that's obviously incredibly difficult to do - you'll see that that the state of the Mets...you know, the team...really isn't as dire as it's made out to be.

-Sandy Alderson, Paul DePodesta, and JP Ricciardi are in charge of the baseball operations. Though hamstrung by the current payroll constraints, they've managed to not make any idiotic mistakes. To not hand out any absurd contracts. The loss of Jose Reyes was painful, but I don't think Sandy Alderson would've matched the deal Reyes got from Miami even if the Wilpon's were flush with cash. And the claim that Alderson never tried to retain him is both baseless and absurd. It was Reyes' agents who refused to negotiate mid-season, and Reyes' agents who refused to negotiate during the Mets' exclusive window after the World Series ended.

-The current Manager, Terry Collins, appears to be a stabilizing force in the dugout and in the clubhouse.

-The ballpark that was too cavernous is being adjusted. It's not being turned into a hitters park, though, simply a more neutral one.

-The Minor League System, which was basically a wasteland a few years ago, is now seen as at worst middle of the pack, and appears to be approaching the top third of systems in all of baseball.

-The current roster, while not likely Championship caliber, is being constructed with an eye on the future. There aren't any expensive long-term band aids being put on a deep gash.

Now, the almost universal fan anger is understandable. And as was mentioned above, the screams to sell will continue. And Fred Wilpon relenting and selling the team will become inevitable if the payroll continues to get slashed and/or if the outcome in the Madoff case isn't a desirable one.

I, for one, am rooting for Fred Wilpon to be able to hang onto this team. If he can't, it'll happen sooner rather than later. But I refuse to join the chorus of blood-lusting fans who are making the man out to be a villain. Painting him as a perpetrator and swindler, not as a victim. The current situation is extremely unfortunate, and a source of great anger for most of those who love the Mets. What it shouldn't be, though, is an excuse to pile on a decent man who's been put in an almost impossible situation.

Why Should We Believe Baseless Nonsense?

2011-11-01T08:34:00.001-07:00

Prior to the 2011 season, nearly every baseball writer (national and local alike) was convinced Jose Reyes was going to be traded during the season. They had no facts to back it up, but it just "seemed" right to them. Their absurd claims caused tons of Mets fans to have near nervous breakdowns, while a select group of fans chose to look at things rationally - realizing that it made no sense to trade Jose Reyes, and that it wasn't going to happen.

As Jon Heyman surmised in an article on June 20th:

For a while, it appeared that his (Reyes) being traded was a foregone conclusion...

No, Jon, it didn't. Jose Reyes being traded made for good articles, sold papers, added clicks to websites, and drove Mets fans crazy. It was never close to being a foregone conclusion, nor was it ever likely.

Now that free agency is about to get underway, the media is at it again. Nearly every writer and talking head is shouting for all the world to hear that Jose Reyes is a goner. There's no way he'll be signing with the "cash-strapped" Mets, they say. They claim that Sandy Alderson (who it's pretty clear does not allow major leaks out of his front office) won't be willing to offer what it takes to re-sign Reyes (even though no one has any idea what it will actually take). All the media claims to know is that whatever the final number is, Alderson will shy away.

My favorite has to be today's headline above Andy Martino's article. That headline states that

"GM Sandy Alderson says Mets plan to make low contract offer to Free Agent SS Jose Reyes."

The only problem with that headline is that nowhere in the article is there any statement or hint from Alderson at what the Mets' offer will be (low, moderate, or otherwise). This is completely reckless journalism, pandering to the segment of the fan base that is gullible enough to believe it.

The "juiciest" quote in Martino's article is this one:

Sources familiar with the team's thinking have maintained that the Mets are unwilling to offer six or seven years, and might be uncomfortable with five.

The above quote is not only vague...it's also not from anyone who actually works for the Mets. Even if Martino claimed the quote was from a Mets executive (which it isn't), it could also be seen as a negotiating ploy. Why would anyone in the Mets' front office come out publicly and tip their hand? The answer, of course, is that they wouldn't - especially considering how tight lipped things have been under Sandy Alderson.

What I want to know from the writers and talking heads is this: What exactly has changed from July (when the Mets refused to trade Reyes) to now? From my end, the only major development that can potentially impact the Mets' finances was the positive ruling the Wilpon's received in the Bernard Madoff/Irving Picard lawsuit. Sandy Alderson indicated that the 2012 payoll would likely be around $110 million, of which only $65 million is currently allocated. Jose Reyes stated repeatedly during the season that he wanted to remain with the Mets (when he could've easily said "no comment" or been non-commital). According to Ken Rosenthal on Twitter, Sandy Alderson recently asked Jose Reyes' agents what it would take - in both dollars and years - to take Jose Reyes off the market. Reyes' agents failed to respond, likely because they've been determined all along to take Reyes to free agency. It certainly sounds to me like Sandy Alderson is serious about retaining him. However, he's being prudent and is refusing to set the market.

If Sandy Alderson either didn't have the payroll flexibility to keep Reyes or simply didn't want to keep him, you'd think he would've been more open to trading him over the summer. He wasn't. We heard a few weeks ago (from the writers, of course), that the Mets would seek a quick answer from Reyes' agents and would move on if they didn't receive it. Well, it appears that assumption was false, with Alderson himself stating yesterday that it will be a "slow process," and intimating that the Mets are prepared to wait it out.

If some team comes out and guarantees Jose Reyes 7 or 8 years, he'll most likely be playing elsewhere in 2012. I simply can't see that happening, though. Perhaps someone guarantees 6 years for Reyes, but perhaps no one will guarantee more than 5. I'm confident, though, that the Mets' front office knows what they're doing. I'm confident that they want Jose Reyes back, and that Reyes wants to stay (as he himself stated over and over during the season). I surmised during the season, when most Mets fans were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, that it simply made no sense for the Mets to trade Reyes - and that the Mets wouldn't trade Reyes. With Reyes about to hit the open market, the only prediction I can make is this: No one knows a thing about what the Mets or anyone else will offer Jose Reyes. Until we do, it makes no sense to doubt the Mets' chances of re-signing him for 2012 and beyond. It makes for a good story, but it's a story that's not based in reality. A story designed to get attention, not designed to be factual.

Ignore it.

The Futures of Reyes and Wright

2011-10-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the 2011 season, most beat writers held the notion that Jose Reyes would be traded before the All-Star break. When that didn't happen, "the Mets may not be able to afford both Reyes and Wright" became the new meme. Now, the question has simply become whether or not the Mets should hold onto Reyes, Wright, or both. Not because of dire financial straits, but because some are questioning whether or not the team would be better off without one or both of them.

The screams bellowing from the less astute writers suggest that since the Mets haven't won a World Series with Reyes and/or Wright, how could they possibly be worse off if one or both of them was gone? I find that suggestion to be not only absurd, but insulting to anyone who follows baseball religiously. I'm not going to waste anyone's time by pointing out how many All-Star/Hall of Fame caliber players went their entire careers without ever making the Playoffs. Those men (and there are many), were victims of the players that surrounded them.

There are some who throw out an arbitrary amount of years it will be before the Mets are "competitive" again. In actuality, no one has any idea how long it will be before this team returns to the Playoffs. The 2009 Mets won 70 games, the 2010 Mets won 79 games. In 2011, the Mets won 77 games - a small step back as far as the win total was concerned. However, it's important to note that the 2011 Mets, with an eye on the future, dealt Carlos Beltran (their most productive offensive player), and Francisco Rodriguez. Had Beltran and Rodriguez not been dealt, the team would most likely have finished right around .500 or a bit better. The trades hurt the team on the field, and probably had a bit of a negative effect on morale. It's also important to note that the Mets played most of this past season without Ike Davis, whose return in 2012 should somewhat negate the absence of Carlos Beltran from the lineup.

Everyone (myself included) has gone over the non-baseball reasons for wanting to keep both Jose Reyes and David Wright. The fans love Reyes, and to a lesser extent Wright. They're marketable. They're homegrown Mets. A separate worry is what the departure of one or both of these players would mean revenue-wise for the team in terms of ticket sales. However, let's focus on the on baseball/team construction aspect only. First, David Wright will be addressed. Next, Jose Reyes will be addressed. Lastly, the potential of the team will be addressed.

David Wright

Turning 29 this December, some argue that David Wright is already past his prime. From 2005-2008, Wright was an MVP candidate. In 2009, he had a brutal year. He was adjusting to the new dimensions at Citi Field, had no protection in the lineup, and was drilled in the head with a fastball by Matt Cain. In 2010, though, Wright rebounded to once again eclipse the 100 RBI mark to go along with 29 homers. It wasn't quite vintage Wright, but it was enough to show that 2009 was an aberration. 2011 was injury riddled for Wright. He played through a broken back before it finally forced him to the disabled list.

Dealing Wright now makes virtually no sense baseball wise, for three reasons.

1. Although some say tons of teams would be clamoring for his services, you'd be selling incredibly low. He's coming off a serious injury, and hit only .254 in 2011 - the lowest average of his career by nearly 30 points. If the Mets really do want to trade David Wright, it should be done during the 2012 season if/when he reverts to at least his 2010 level of production.

2. The Mets don't have anyone on the roster (or in the minors) who would be able to replace Wright's bat in the lineup, his glove at third base, or his leadership in the clubhouse. Aside from second baseman Reese Havens, the better hitting prospects in the organization are all in the lower levels of the minors - and are all extremely raw. The only blue-chip prospects in the organization are pitchers: Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Zack Wheeler, and Jenrry Mejia.

3. The dimensions at Citi Field are about to be adjusted. In 2009, the Mets unveiled a ballpark that featured a right center field power alley that became a death valley for Wright. That alley will be shortened significantly, and the left field wall (another favorite target of Wright's) will be lowered and brought in. It would be foolish to deal Wright before seeing what he could do in his adjusted home park.

Jose Reyes

Reyes turned 28 this past June, and despite two brief stints on the disabled list, put up incredible numbers - including winning the National League batting crown. There isn't another player like Reyes in baseball. A dynamic offensive player who plays shortstop at a gold glove level, Reyes is a once in a generation talent.

Letting Jose Reyes go makes zero sense baseball wise, for the following reasons:

1. Regarding the makeup of the team, Sandy Alderson has stated that the 2012 roster will most likely have a payroll around $110 million. The other top offensive players on the market (Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols) both play a position the Mets already have filled, and would both cost a great deal more than Jose Reyes. Like Reyes, there are also question marks surrounding both of them. Pujols has had tons of injury issues over the last few seasons, and Prince Fielder is massively overweight. With nearly $60 million coming off the books with the departures of Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez, and others, Jose Reyes easily slides into the team's plan. Re-signing Reyes would not preclude the team from improving in other areas, nor would it hamper them significantly down the line. Realize this: Jose Reyes made $11 million dollars in 2011. His raise if re-signed would likely be only 6 million to 7 million yearly.

2. As is the case with David Wright, the Mets have no one on the roster or in the minors who can replace Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot, or at shortstop. Ruben Tejada may yet prove to be an adequate offensive player and a solid defensive one, but he has yet to prove that over the course of a full season. Baseball-wise, it makes more sense for the Mets to pencil Tejada in as their second baseman, and potential utility infielder if Reese Havens can ever stay healthy.

The Potential of the Team

As was stated above, the 2011 Mets had their won/lost record skewed by a few trades that will likely strengthen the team in the long run. In my opinion, the 2011 Mets were a .500 baseball team. Now, can a .500 baseball team improve by 9 or 10 games in a single offseason? Sure. Is it likely? Perhaps not. I wouldn't be surprised if the 2012 Mets (with Reyes and Wright) contended for the Playoffs. More likely, though, they'll be ready to contend in 2013. The potential of the team contending in 2013, however, will be due in large part to having Reyes and Wright on the roster.

Aside from Jason Bay, the offensive core of the team is young. Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, Josh Thole, and Daniel Murphy are all under 27. Their two offensive prospects who may have an impact next year are Reese Havens and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, both in their mid 20's. The bullpen needs to be revamped, but should contain some promising arms in Manny Acosta, Pedro Beato, and Bobby Parnell.

The main area of concern is the starting rotation. That concern is due to the fact that the Mets lack a true Ace. However, in Jonathon Niese and RA Dickey, they have two middle of the rotation arms who should be able to contribute to an eventual contender. Dillon Gee is a question mark, but may be able to slide into the back of a contender's rotation. Until Johan Santana returns to the Major League mound, he's a non-entity. I'd never count him out, though.

The best hope for the Mets lies with the development of Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Jenrry Mejia, and Zack Wheeler. All four of those pitchers have Ace potential. It's highly unlikely all four reach that potential, but the rise of one or two of them could make the team an instant contender.

If the Mets let David Wright and/or Jose Reyes go, the offense would be weakened to a point where it would be nearly impossible for the Mets to contend. They're not going to sign Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder (nor should they), and they're most likely not going to gut their rising farm system for a major offensive piece. I believe the best move is to hold onto David Wright, and make a strong effort to re-sign Jose Reyes. A fair offer would be 5 years at 17 million or 18 million per, with a vesting 6th year option based on cumulative at-bats over the last 3 years of the contract. If a team comes out of nowhere to offer Reyes 7 or 8 years guaranteed, I'd understand if the Mets didn't match. I don't think that offer is out there, though.

We'll see how this plays out. What is almost certain, is that the Mets in 2012 and beyond would be substantially weaker without Jose Reyes and/or David Wright. They should be given the opportunity to attempt to finish what they started together, to play behind the pitchers who are rising through the system, and to once and for all prove themselves worthy of being called franchise players.

Appreciating Carlos Beltran

2011-07-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

In early 2005, after Pedro Martinez had signed with the Mets, most doubted that Carlos Beltran would soon follow. He was a sweet swinging, switch hitting, 27 year old gold glove center fielder. The Mets and their fans wanted him badly. One night in January, while I was at a friends house keeping one eye on the Jets Playoff game (I'm a Giants fan), I followed the Beltran developments like a madman: He was going to Houston. Wait, now he's undecided. Now he's deciding between Houston and the Mets. Houston won't give him a full no-trade clause...Beltran is a Met.

The Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran signings were the two moves that pulled the Mets out of the abyss. Without conducting research, I can't conclusively say that most Mets fans didn't appreciate Carlos Beltran enough - but that's the feeling I always got. To many, he wasn't boisterous enough. Didn't say enough. Didn't do enough. To me, he did it all.

Beltran didn't have the greatest debut season in 2005, but what I remember from that year is Carlos hitting one high off the right field scoreboard at Shea. I remember the ridiculous home run robbing catch he made against the Angels at Shea - an inning before Marlon Anderson's inside the park home run tied the game in the 9th, two innings before Cliff Floyd hit one of the most memorable walk off home runs ever in the 10th. A home run that left me rolling around on the ground in celebration in front of my seats in Section 22, Row A of the Loge. I remember screaming in horror when Beltran and Mike Cameron smashed into each other in the outfield later that season. And I remember the team telling Carlos to take the rest of the year off, only for him to return and play the remainder of the year with broken bones in his face.

From 2006 to 2008, Carlos Beltran was incredible - eclipsing 112 RBI's each year. 2006 was the year of the walkoff for the Mets, and Beltran delivered the most memorable one in extra innings against the Phillies. In the NLCS, he won Game 1 with a home run, and led the team to a win in Game 4 with two more. Yet, all anyone wants to remember about that NLCS is the called strike 3 he took with the winning runs on base in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7. I was there. It was a crushing end to what could have been a magical year. But the Mets would've never made it to that game if Beltran hadn't almost single-handedly won two games in that series by himself. And the curveball he took for strike 3 was a nearly unhittable pitch. More glaring in that inning was Randolph not bunting with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out. But everyone needs a scapegoat - and Carlos was it.

Both 2007 and 2008 ended painfully for the Mets - with the team getting eliminated from contention on the last day of each season at Shea. In 2008, though, Beltran gave the old place one last jolt with his game tying 2 run homer. As "Twist and Shout" blared, Beltran rounded the bases and disappeared into the dugout as I and everyone around me went berserk. I'll never forget that moment. Even in defeat, there are great memories that will never go away. Especially for those who were there that afternoon.

Carlos Beltran dealt with a multitude of injuries during the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, leading many fans to classify him as soft - a notion that was and always will be completely absurd. This year, he returned and showed what kind of player he can still be.

When all is said and done, Carlos Beltran will be remembered for being one of the best players the Mets have ever had - and perhaps one of the top two all around players in the history of the franchise. Carlos Beltran was a leader, usually by example. Once he got comfortable in New York, he would constantly take young or struggling players under his wing. He always played hard. Always played hurt. Always carried himself with dignity and class. Too often, people misconstrued his lack of emotion for lack of caring. The relaxed demeanor was just how Carlos was. He didn't often let his guard down. However, if you look at his face after some of the at bats where he delivered, the smile is there. The emotion is there. Carlos cared just as much, if not more, than the other 24 guys.

If today was Carlos Beltran's last home game as a Met, that's simply a damn shame for all of us who have grown to love and respect how he plays the game. I wish I could've been there. I wish we all could've filled the place and given him the rousing ovation he deserved. Those who were there did their best, but it wasn't enough. Hopefully, Carlos knows how much we appreciated him. If he comes back to Citi Field this year or next in a different uniform, I'm confident we'll give him the long-lasting ovation he's earned.

Thanks for everything, Carlos.

The Reyes Injury Conundrum

2011-07-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

Six days ago, Jose Reyes was removed from a game against the Yankees at Citi Field. After watching replays of his activity on the field during the game, it wasn't evident when or if he had actually hurt himself. Was Reyes simply being extra cautious in a contract year, not wanting to push himself on a hamstring that didn't feel perfect that day? After the Mets completed a thrilling comeback the next day, it was disclosed that Reyes had suffered a Grade 1 strain of his hamstring (the least severe grade, confirmed after an MRI), and that he would not be landing on the disabled list. Rather, he would fly to the West coast with the team in hopes of returning to the lineup mid-week.

Since then, what has happened has been a bit strange. On Monday and Tuesday, Reyes participated in limited activity. He walked on the treadmill, took grounders at short, and took batting practice from both sides of the plate. It appeared that he was progressing, and that his return to the lineup was a day or two away. On Tuesday, Reyes reported that his hamstring was feeling better and that he would attempt to run on Wednesday. Then, his agents stepped in. They requested for the MRI results to be reviewed by the doctor who performed Reyes' hamstring operation in 2009. Reyes' rehabilitation attempts were shut down - not by Reyes or the Mets, but because he had to wait for clearance from a doctor who was hand picked by his agents to review an already conclusive MRI.

To no one's shock, Reyes' agent's hand picked doctor recommended for Reyes to rest for a period of three weeks. The doctor didn't disagree with the initial diagnosis (Grade 1 strain), and didn't report that there was anything else wrong with Reyes. Instead of jumping all over what appears to be a clear move by Reyes' agents to err on the side of caution in a contract year, the beat writers (as expected) chalked this up as another "Met injury disaster" - which makes zero sense.

Let's review the events again:

-Reyes felt discomfort in his hamstring, and was immediately removed from the game on July 2nd.

-Reyes had an MRI on July 3rd, which revealed a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

-Reyes participated in light baseball activity on July 4th and July 5th, in hopes of returning to the lineup. Reyes himself stated that his hamstring was getting better, and that he would attempt to run on July 6th.

-On July 6th, Reyes' agents requested a review of the MRI and Reyes was shut down while he waited for the results.

-On July 7th, the doctor who reviewed the MRI (as requested by Reyes' agents), recommended for Jose Reyes to rest for a period of three weeks - while at the same time not disputing the initial diagnosis.

...Again, it's quite clear to me that Jose Reyes' agents stepped in to make sure that their prized client would take more time off than needed in an attempt to be extra cautious in a contract year. Nothing the Mets did raised any eyebrows prior to Reyes being shut down on July 7th.

Now, will this ploy by Reyes' agents come back to bite them (and Reyes) in the end? According to most who are familiar with Grade 1 hamstring strains, they heal in a matter of days - not weeks...which jives with the fact that Reyes came on the road with the Mets in an attempt to get back into the lineup quickly. Since Reyes' agents have stepped in, they have guaranteed that Reyes will miss no less than three full weeks (if Reyes returns the day he is eligible to come off the disabled list, which is doubtful). More likely, Reyes will miss around a month with an injury most believed would force him out of action for only a few days.

On the surface, it may seem that Reyes' agents are being prudent here. If Reyes returned too quickly and aggravated the injury, who knows how much time he'd have missed. However, by requesting a second opinion that forced Reyes out of action and onto the disabled list, his agents have now re-opened the conversation about how brittle Jose Reyes actually is (something that is overblown, but nonetheless out there). They've placed doubt in the minds of those who may potentially bid for Reyes' services after the season, most likely lessening the amount of guaranteed years and dollars Reyes will be able to earn from his next contract. And that scenario benefits the Mets, who badly want to re-sign him.

In the short-term, being without Jose Reyes is a huge blow for the Mets - who last night entered a stretch where they'll face seven All-Star starting pitchers in a row, before facing the Cardinals. Reyes will miss all of those games, making the task of hanging in the Wild Card race much tougher on the team. However, if you asked Sandy Alderson if he'd exchange a month of Reyes' services in 2011 in order to secure his services after the season for less years and dollars, I bet he would have happily signed up for it.

What Can We Do?

2011-05-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

At this point, there's no need to recap Fred Wilpon's quotes that appeared in the recent issues of the New Yorker and Sports Illustrated. All Mets fans and most casual baseball fans are well aware of what was said. The question most have , is how do we interpret these quotes? After being completely sane all of his life, has Fred Wilpon gone mad? The comments he made to Jeffrey Toobin were cleared by Wilpon to appear in the article, so he certainly wanted people to read them. Ditto for the quotes in Sports Illustrated about the team's financial issues.

So, what's the deal here? Some think that Fred simply let loose during a casual conversation while watching a game. Others think he planted the quotes to attract attention to a positive story about the Bernard Madoff situation, and some people believe he made the quotes in order to set the stage for drastic player moves - to gauge the fanbase's reaction of his critique's of the team's cornerstone players before acting.

At this point, I don't give a damn why the quotes were made. I don't believe they were as salacious as they're being made out to be. I don't think Wilpon actually "ripped" his players, as the beat writers would have you believe. But I do think airing his grievances in public at this point in time was a huge mistake. A mistake that has taken the focus off the baseball field (where the Mets have one of the best records in the National League over the past month), and placed it firmly on the front office and the coming reaction from the clubhouse. Instead of reading about a team that's persevering and playing hard, we're reading about how quickly that team is about to be torn apart by trades.

If trades (most specifically the trade of Jose Reyes) are on the horizon, what can the fanbase do to prevent them? We certainly can't sit in on meetings with the Wilpon's and the front office and offer our advice. We can't reach out to Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran and David Wright, and let them know how much we value them as members of the team. And we can't call up the other 29 teams in baseball and order them to not trade for Jose Reyes and/or the other players we want to stay.

So, what can we do?

Unite.

Mets fans who have partial ticket plans (I've had one for 11 years) and full season plans need to band together. This isn't meant to be a slight on fans who support the team in other ways (or from afar), but the only thing that can get the attention of ownership is the thought of more money slipping out of their hands. And money is exactly what ticket holders represent and provide. I'd imagine most of us want the team to keep Jose Reyes. I don't care what the reason would be for letting Jose Reyes go. People can speculate until their heads fall off, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that Reyes stays. What do we do?

At every game we attend, we each bring a sign. That sign should be as follows:

Account Number: 469***
Years I've had my ticket plan: 11
Amount of seats in my plan: 4
If Jose Reyes goes, my money goes with him.

...the sign is simple and to the point.

The next game I attend will be May 31st against Pittsburgh. I'll have that exact sign with me.

No one knows whether or not ownership will give a damn if we all show up with those signs. No one knows if it will change the way they're thinking. What I do know is this: There's no way in hell we can sit idly by and allow the team to get rid of Jose Reyes. We need to make our voices heard, and make ownership realize what the consequences will be if they deal Jose Reyes.

How Satisfying Would It Be?

2011-05-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

The following is not going to be a post that discusses the Mets' chances of reaching the 2011 Postseason, and it's certainly not going to be a post that claims the Mets are likely to reach the 2011 Postseason. Rather, it will be a post that asks what if?

The Mets are 21-22, a robust 16-9 since their awful start. They sit 4 games out of the Wild Card (behind Florida). That awful start seemed like a bit of an anomaly then - the starting pitching and the bullpen alternated between being terrible, resulting in the majority of those losses. Since the pitching has come around, so has the team (despite the short term losses of both Ike Davis and David Wright).

As I stated above, I don't expect the Mets to make the Playoffs in 2011. I expect (as I've stated since Spring Training) for the team to win somewhere between 84 and 88 games, which would likely leave them a few games short. However, what if?

Back in 2006, the Mets waltzed through the regular season. Making the Playoffs was never in question, the only question was how far they would go once they got in. Most people conveniently forget that the 2006 squad was dealt two major blows right before the NLDS against Los Angeles began (losing Orlando Hernandez and Pedro Martinez for the year), after losing Duaner Sanchez in late July. They entered the Playoffs undermanned, and bowed out in 7 games to a flawed Cardinals team that won 83 games during the regular season. There's no doubt in my mind that a full strength 2006 Mets team makes the World Series, and likely wins it. But they weren't full strength, and they didn't make it.

I remember the feeling of jubilation I had at Shea when the Mets clinched the Division, the elation and explosion that I felt when they clinched a trip to the NLCS after closing out the Dodgers. And I remember standing in Shea, as if I was experiencing some kind of out of body experience, half expecting the Upper Deck to collapse after Endy's catch. It was an incredible feeling each time, but not one that was borne out of surprise.

Since 2006, everyone knows what's befallen this team. The actual collapse of 2007, the Wagner-less collapse of 2008, the injury riddled misery that was 2009, and the mediocre year that was 2010. Fairly or not, the Mets have been made out to be a laughingstock, even though they're not one. They've been spat upon, disrespected, and snickered at. Before the 2011 season, they were left for dead by the local and national media. After they started 5-13, some in the media wondered if they'd lose 100 games.

I'm sure if the 2006 Mets made it to the World Series, I would've gone absolutely insane - along with the rest of the fans who've been waiting for this for a hell of a long time. Seeing them in the Playoffs in 2007 and/or 2008 would've been great. But to make the Playoffs this year? After being disrespected by everyone, after getting asked by strangers why you're wearing a Mets hat, after dealing with pompous Yankee fans who have basically the same record as the Mets with a Payroll that's $80 million dollars higher? That'd be a feeling that would have to be experienced to realize the potential magnitude of it.

Again, this is not about expectations. It's not about making a crazy boast regarding a 21-22 team. It's simply about imagining it. If nothing else, a Playoff run by the 2011 Mets would ensure that Jose Reyes remains a Met through the end of the season - and likely re-signs. It would take the focus off the ridiculously overblown Madoff issue. It would allow us to enjoy Carlos Beltran for at least a few more months. It would shut up every local and national writer who can't wait to type that next article bashing the Mets, no matter how absurd or out of line that article is. Think about it: We've seen articles this year claiming that Jose Reyes was to blame for being incorrectly called out at 3rd base because he slid. That's how absurd the coverage of this team has become.

Imagine the 2011 Mets clinching a Playoff spot at Citi Field on September 28th against the Reds, or any day before that. Think about how sweet it would be, how satisfying it would be, to see this team go absolutely berserk on the field after the way the last 4 years have played out. After the way they were talked about before the 2011 season began. In order for that to be a possibility, they'll have to get Ike Davis and David Wright back when they're supposed to (about a week and change from now). If those two are out long-term, regardless of how gritty the fill-ins have played, the team is probably screwed. But Davis and Wright should be back soon.

Ever since the Mets moved from Shea Stadium to Citi Field, there hasn't been one single game where the crowd energy was even close to how it was at Shea. Maybe it's because the fans are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, maybe it's the acoustics of the new place, perhaps it's the fact that so many fans are always walking around and not paying attention to the game - or some combination of all three. I can guarantee one thing, though. If the first Playoff game at Citi Field is this season - whether it's Game 1 or Game 3 - the Shea noise will be there. The electricity will be there.

The fans who stuck with this team after pretty much everyone was telling them they were crazy for doing so will be in those seats. Personally, the Mets making the Playoffs in 2011 would be more satisfying than a 2006 World Championship would've been. Simply because of what the team and the fans have been through, and what rising up and making it all the way back this season would mean to them and us. I yearn for a cool September afteroon or night where David and Jose once again puff away on their victory cigars, while dumping champagne on each-other and the fans. It's why I keep watching, why I keep going. I know the team has it in them. Just imagine what it would feel like if they made it happen.

I Reject Your Hypothesis

2011-05-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

It's been all over the place the last few days. It's been on blogs, on ESPN, and on Twitter. It's even been uttered by Gary Cohen in the SNY booth: What are the Mets going to do with Jose Reyes? If they decide to trade him, when will they pull the trigger? Who are his suitors? What can they get in return? It's becoming exceedingly difficult to ignore the avalanche of speculation that's been thrown around recently regarding Jose Reyes. It's beginning to anger most Mets fans, who know from watching him play over the last 9 seasons that Jose Reyes should go absolutely nowhere. So, what is there to do?

You can believe that Sandy Alderson - he of the Ivy league education and decades of experience as an executive in Major League Baseball, is a moron. Then you can go ahead and believe that everyone who's advising Sandy Alderson is also a complete moron. After convincing yourself of those two things, you'll have to convince yourself that the owners of the Mets have no interest in drawing fans, selling merchandise, or generating revenue in any other way. No, they'd rather go bankrupt. You'll have to believe that Fred and Jeff Wilpon and whoever the minority ownership consists of are willing to watch the New York Mets franchise spiral into oblivion. The above isn't believable, is it? Well, it would take an army of morons and owners with no interest in making money to let Jose Reyes leave the Mets. The prior sentence is why I believe this is all media speculation, and why I reject their hypothesis.

Take the following into account:

-Jose Reyes is 27 years old. He is one of the most dynamic offensive players in baseball (currently on pace to hit .313 with a .363 OBP with 100 runs scored, 219 Hits, 52 Doubles, 16 Triples, and 57 Stolen Bases). As if that isn't enough, he plays a prime position (Shortstop) at a Gold Glove level. That's the strictly on field stuff. Contrary to what people like to say, this is not an "all legs" player who will deteriorate as soon as he begins to lose a bit of his speed. This is a once in a generation talent, not Tony Womack.

-Along with David Wright, Jose Reyes is the face of the Mets. He is the one player fans come to the ballpark always excited to see (sans a healthy Johan Santana). The team markets itself around Reyes and Wright. In the face of the Madoff situation (even with how unfairly the Media have smeared the Wilpon's), sagging attendance, and the poor on field performance of 2009 and 2010, letting Jose Reyes go would be ridiculous. It would be even more ridiculous for the Mets to let him go during or after the 2011 season cosidering....

-The Mets have at least $40 million dollars coming off the books after this season (close to $60 million if Francisco Rodriguez's option doesn't vest). If there was any offseason where the Mets have payroll flexibility, it's the upcoming one. With all of that money coming off the books, and the new minority ownership scheduled to be finalized in the next few weeks, it's clear that the Mets can afford to pay Jose Reyes. Big market teams do not let franchise players in their prime (who also happen to be the face of that respective franchise) walk out the door (nor do they trade them). I invite anyone to find one example of a healthy player 28 or younger with the stature of Reyes who was discarded by his large market team.

...To recap, there is no reason to even begin to consider trading Jose Reyes. There is no reason to let him leave via Free Agency. That conclusion can be reached by simply looking at his stats. When you combine those stats with the impact he has in the clubhouse, and the fan mutiny that would be caused if the Mets let him go, it becomes unfathomable that the Mets could be that shortsighted.

So...

I'll again state that I reject the media's hypothesis. The Mets don't have to trade Jose Reyes, the Mets don't want to trade Jose Reyes, and the Mets won't trade Jose Reyes. They'll re-sign him, because it makes no sense not to.

Yes, This Does Indeed Suck

2011-04-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

So far this season, the Mets are making me and any other fan/blogger/writer who had confidence in the team look like fools. That much is not debatable. Yes, it's only been 17 games. And a determination regarding the ultimate fate of the 2011 Mets (or any other team) can not be made after 17 games. However, if any team in the Majors needed a fast start, it was the Mets. How they've performed so far has not only been bad - their play at times has bordered on unwatchable. So, what should be done?

For one, it's important to note that negativity for the sake of being negative helps no one. If the fans show up at the ballpark every night and boo anything and everything, it won't help. Boo a lack of effort (of which there's been some), but nothing else. It puts the players on their heels. It undoubtedly makes them feel like garbage.

Would I be stunned if the Mets continued falling downward and spiraled into oblivion? No. Would I be stunned if the Mets won 7 games in a row? No.

The main problem with the Mets' 5-12 start is that it's the only sample size we have. If they had a stretch like this after beginning the year 26-21, people would be upset. They'd be disgusted. But they wouldn't be calling for an immediate firesale. Doing that after such a tiny sample size (no matter how brutal it's been) is foolish. The Mets aren't this bad. I think that's pretty apparent. So, what ails this team? What can be done immediately to alleviate some of the issues? Here are a few suggestions:

-Release Chin Lung Hu: Most fans have been saying this since day one. Hu has absolutely no value to the team. He's strictly a defensive replacement, who is not being used as a defensive replacement. His main value is as a shortstop, and the Mets have a shortstop who plays every inning of every game. Hu is completely overmatched at the plate, which has led some to pronounce that they'd rather pinch hit with RA Dickey. Hu needs to go. Now. Cut him and call up Nick Evans.

-Increase Pedro Beato's responsibility: Terry Collins intimated today that Jason Isringhausen is the team's 8th inning man, which is fine. However, the bridge to Izzy and Frankie must go through Beato. He's been the best arm in the pen so far, and has fantastic stuff. There's no need to baby him.

-Argue when horrendous calls go against you: This is for Terry Collins...the worst possible thing for the fans to get a sense of is apathy. And that's exactly what they sensed last night after a series of terrible calls against Josh Thole and an almost impossibly bad call at 2nd base doomed the Mets. It was the perfect time for Collins to get himself run, to maybe light a fire. At the very least, getting tossed there would've given the umps some pause...maybe they'd be a little less apt to screw the Mets. Just maybe. Next time that happens, I expect an explosion.

-Disprove the notion that the team is soft: Ever since 2006, there's been a belief that the team is soft. That they quit when they're down, don't go above and beyond, don't pitch inside, don't fight back when someone (an ump, an opposing player), bullies their team. That has to change. Winning solves everything. However, while this team is learning how to win, it's important to show that they have a chip on their shoulder. As Billy Joel says at the end of each of his concerts, "Don't take no shit off nobody." For the longest time, this team has not only taken it, they've fallen down and rolled around in it. That has to stop.

I'm confident that the Mets will turn this around. That they actually have talent. That there's absolutely no way they can continue to underperform to the level they have so far this season. If they improve, and do the four things listed above, the clouds will start to part. There will still be storms every now and then, but the daily sense of dread will go away. Their mission starts tonight, at home, against a brutal Houston team. Destroy them, please.

The Mets Are Coming Home

2011-04-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

In less than 24 hours, the Mets will take the field at home for the first time in 2011. Is it somewhat disappointing that the Mets will arrive home at 3-3 after starting 3-1. Yes. If I could've signed up for 3-3 after the first 6 games on the road (knowing that Josh Johnson and Roy Halladay were pitching two of the three), would I have? Yes. Can we base anything definitive off of the first six games of the season? No. Therefore, I'm not going to try. The Mets hit the ball well at times, not so well the rest of the time. They pitched brilliantly at times, not so brilliantly the rest of the time.

What I do know is this: Tomorrow around Noon, Mets fans will start trickling into the parking lots at Citi Field. I plan on leaving Brooklyn a bit after 12:30, so I should be there shortly after that. Mets fans will enter the lots with cars full of food, beer, and hope. Hope that the 2011 season may turn out to be special. No matter what happened in the seasons prior, or what the new season eventually turns into, there's always Opening Day at your ballpark.

During the offseason, it's common to pass the ballpark a few times on the highway, craning your neck as it disappears from view. It may be a brisk November day, a March day with snow still on the ground, or sometime in-between. Whenever you pass it, it's natural to wish that it was Opening Day, and not some Fall or Winter day that's completely devoid of baseball. Well, tomorrow is Opening Day. If you're one of the people who's lucky enough to be heading out to Citi Field tomorrow, remember that. Remember all the days from October through March where we would've given anything for there to be a Mets game to go to. Or a Mets game to watch. Or a Mets game to listen to.

As the parking lot morphs from empty concrete to a mass of fans dressed in orange and blue, and begins to smell like an enormous barbecue...as the smoke from the grills and the hops from the beers enters your nostrils, remember how you felt from October through March. Then remind yourself that it's April 8th, and the Mets are about to take the field at home for the first time this season. For those of you who will be partaking in the consumption of alcohol in the lots, remember to use Solo brand cups to conceal your drink - unless you want a ticket from an overzealous cop.

The pageantry will be on full display tomorrow at Citi Field, from the pre-game introductions to the unfurling of the giant American flag. The stands should be filled, and the fans should be loud. Tomorrow is not a time to attempt to draw conclusions off a 3-3 start, nor is it a time to dwell on 2009 or 2010 - or 2007 if you're still hung up on that. It's a time to simply enjoy the Mets. And revel in the fact that what you waited for all Winter is finally here. Baseball is back, and the Mets are home.

Mike Francesa Isn't a King - or the Pope

2011-04-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Since a definitive answer regarding the outcome of the Mets' 2011 season can't be gleaned from a three game sample, I was wrestling with exactly what I would write about today. At around 2 PM, Mike Francesa made my mind up for me. Mike Francesa isn't a King or a Pope (though he would lead most to believe he held one of those Title's with the way he talks down to people). No, Mike is not one of those things, nor can he tell the future. However, after three games and a 2-1 record, Mike Francesa has proclaimed the following about the 2011 Mets:

"The Mets aren't even a good team."

If the above information is accurate, the Yankees (at 2-1) aren't a good team either. Nor are the 0-3 Red Sox, the 0-3 Brewers, etc. What defines "a good team" after three games? Three wins? Three shutouts? I'm confused. But Mike continues spewing brilliance:

"Nobody in the World thinks the Mets are good, but that's OK."

Ah, so Mike has cleared it up for us! It's not that the Mets aren't actually "a good team," it's that "nobody in the World thinks" they're a good team. Cool. I know Mike takes up a significant portion of the gravity and air supply with the space he fills and the hot air he blows, but I don't think there's any way that statement can be taken as definitive. I think the 2011 Mets can be a very good team (again, can't make concrete judgments based on three games), but pushing that aside for a moment, aren't they at least a better team than the 2010 version? Mike?

"Are the Mets a better team than last year? No."

I see. The 2010 Mets, who sent out an Opening Day lineup that included Alex Cora, Luis Castillo, Mike Jacobs, Jeff Francoeur, Gary Matthews, Jr., and Rod Barajas, that had two rotation members who are currently not in the Majors (Oliver Perez and John Maine), were an equal or better squad than the 2011 Mets are or will be. Thanks for clearing that up, Mike. Makes total sense. Any more pearls of wisdom for us today?

"Well Mets fans, you'll always have Florida."

In a way, that's true. Mike was basically trying to tell all Mets fans that winning the Season opening series in Florida will be the high point of the season. What I take from the claim that "we'll always have Florida" is the following: Mets fans are a loyal bunch, as evidenced by the fact that their fans drowned out the fans of the Marlins in their own ballpark - nearly 2,000 miles from New York. It reminded me that we've done the same in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, and San Diego (to name a few). It reminded me of why exactly the majority of Mets fans despise the Yankees. It's imbeciles and Yankee fans like Francesa, who think Championship's are owed to their team. Who bash the Mets even when there's nothing to bash. Who snicker under their breath at the supposed genius of their words - even though they sound like fools. Mike Francesa isn't actually a moron, but he also has his head placed firmly up his ass regarding his current opinion of the 2011 Mets.

If I could've gotten through to Francesa this afternoon, I simply would've discussed facts - by discussing The 2010 Mets' Opening Day lineup, bullpen, and rotation, and putting them up against the 2011 version. And if Francesa had the guts to answer honestly as to which team had better personnel, and a better chance to win, he would've looked like a fool. I emplore anyone who has the patience to attempt to reach him to use that strategy. If nothing else, It'll take up a bit of the time between now and the first pitch in Philly tomorrow night.

The Shredded Season Preview

2011-03-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

I just read the 2011 Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview issue. After I soaked up their predictions (that had the Mets in last place at 74-88), and read their idiotic words regarding the Mets, I decided to rip it to shreds - literally (see picture above). I was going to immediately light it on fire, but decided it would be more fun - and more symbolic - if I brought it with me to Opening Day at Citi Field next Friday and set it aflame in the parking lot. Their piece on the Mets didn't offer any insight and didn't incite my anger, it was the quote from the "rival scout" that they attached to it that set me off. Observe this gem:

Their motto should be Trade Anybody - no one on the roster should be off limits. The system is thin at the minor league level. I don't see an impact player there, and they have to do something to change the climate. If they're smart, they would blow up the club and start over.

I'm at the point where I'm about to swear off all print journalism entirely. It's gotten that bad. There was an Editor at Sports Illustrated that signed off on this appearing in his or her magazine. And if this type of illogical, thoughtless nonsense is going to be printed, I refuse to read it. This "rival scout" obviously has zero knowledge of the farm system since Jenrry Mejia, Wilmer Flores, Cesar Puello, Reese Havens, and Matt Harvey are all potential "impact" players, of whom he claims the Mets have none. He calls the farm system "thin," without noting that Jonathon Niese, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Bobby Parnell, and Josh Thole were recently produced by that system. He says they'd be "smart" to "blow up the club and start over" by immediately dealing anyone on the roster.

If the Mets are out of contention at the All Star break, dealing Beltran makes sense (if he's healthy). Still, how much can be gotten for a perennial injury risk in the last year of his contract? Beyond that, who would it make sense to hastily trade? Johan Santana is not tradeable, neither is Francisco Rodriguez or Jason Bay. Aside from them, the majority of the "older" players are on 1 year deals - Scott Hairston, Chris Young, Chris Capuano, Tim Byrdak, etc. Should they trade RA Dickey? What would he bring back anyway? The rest of the players are in their 20's with varying degrees of upside, and other than the face of the franchise, cost next to nothing.

Should they trade Josh Thole? Ike Davis? Brad Emaus? David Wright? Angel Pagan? Mike Pelfrey? Jon Niese? Bobby Parnell? Pedro Beato? Daniel Murphy? Blaine Boyer? Jenrry Mejia? Matt Harvey? Wilmer Flores? I don't get it - and this scout isn't the only person who thinks the Mets should blindly "blow up" the roster, apparently not taking into account that the majority of the players who are signed beyond next year are both in their 20's and inexpensive. The only long term/high priced players are Jason Bay and Johan Santana. No one is taking those contracts. The other older players are either 1 year deals, moderately priced, or both. The rest are the names listed above. I simply can't fathom how it would make sense to deal productive Major Leaguers in their 20's for unprovens to "change the climate." The change that was needed (releasing Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez)has been taken care of.

The Mets won 70 games in 2009, and 79 in 2010. The offense projects to be much better in 2011, as does the bullpen. The rotation as a whole is deeper than it was entering 2010. There's new Management in the dugout and in the front office. Why would this team (barring catastrophic injuries) regress to the point of winning 74 games? It makes no sense whatsoever.

If the "experts" want to say that the Mets will win somewhere around 80 or 82 games, that's more than fair. They, like every other team in Baseball, have question marks. However, the constant doom and gloom articles that are getting churned out are so alike and so ridiculous that it seems as if the baseball writers of America have colluded for the sole purpose of hitting a franchise while it's down. I know that's an absurd thought, but that's what it feels like.

The other notion present in these doom and gloom pieces is the belief that the cloud of the silver haired swindler, Bernard Madoff, will haunt the Mets and make it impossible for them to lift their bats or close their gloves. The horror! Going hand in hand with the severe underrating of the Mets' on field personnel is this moronic belief that the players on the field give a damn about the Bernard Madoff issue. Yes, some of the players who are close with the Wilpon's will care (such as David Wright), but why would it have any impact on their on-field performance?

Let's put this out there for all to decide: If the Owners of your company were in some type of financial distress, but your job wasn't in danger, your title wasn't about to be changed, your salary wasn't being impacted, what you do on a daily basis was staying exactly the same, the location of your workplace wasn't changing, and the long-term prospects of your company were the same as when you were hired (regardless of if new Owners came in), would you care? Of course you wouldn't care. This is something the writers aren't able to grasp for some reason. The Madoff situation is a Public Relations nightmare, but the players don't care. The on field personnel is vastly improved, but the writers don't seem like they want to give the team any credit for putting a solid roster together. A positive or even fair story affects the hits their articles will receive, and the amount of attention they'll get on twitter.

If the Mets do what many fans think they can do, the writers will have no choice but to churn out positive and/or fair pieces. In the meantime, feel free to join me at Citi Field on Opening Day as I set the Sports Illustrated preview issue on fire, and watch it and the "experts'" opinions disappear as the 2011 Season gets underway.

The 2010 Mets and the 2011 Mets: Not the Same

2011-03-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like everyone to take 10 seconds and try to remember who was in the Mets' Opening Day lineup last year. Now, please see below for the answer:

Alex Cora SS

Luis Castillo 2B

David Wright 3B

Mike Jacobs 1B

Jason Bay LF

Gary Matthews Jr CF

Jeff Francoeur RF

Rod Barajas C

Take a few moments to wipe the vomit from your mouth. Now realize this: The Las Vegas over/under win total for the 2010 Mets - the one that trotted out that deformity of an Opening Day lineup, was 81. EIGHTY ONE. The Las Vegas over/under win total for the 2011 Mets - the one that will trot out an Opening Day lineup that includes Jose Reyes, Brad Emaus, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, Josh Thole, and potentially Jason Bay - who should be back sooner than later if he does miss any time? That over/under is 74.5...In the words of Lloyd Christmas when he thought that Mary Swanson's last name was actually Samsonite, something seems "way off."

There are those out there (fans, bloggers, media) who do believe the 2011 Mets will be improved and may surprise. But the majority is of the belief that they won't even compete. That they'll finish dead last. Below the Nationals. The Nationals, whose Opening Day starter is Livan Hernandez. While everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, it seems to me that the Mets are being treated quite unfairly. That the media has found what they believe to be a punching bag, a team that has shots taken at it nearly every day. Frank Robinson came out of nowhere today to say that the 2011 Mets are in worse shape than the 2002 Montreal Expos - The team that was about to be contracted, and was eventually moved to Washington, DC. I'm not even going to get into a debate regarding that, because Robinson's idiotic assertion doesn't merit one. Sports Illustrated has picked the Mets to finish last, with 74 wins. Adam Rubin, by far the most respected beat writer out there, has lowered his expected 2011 Mets win total to 76.

What have the Mets done between 2010 and 2011 to result in the expectations being this low, to cause my UPS delivery man to ask me quizically "really bro, the Mets" when he delivered my ticket package? Their expected 2010 win total was 81, and they won 79 games. Not far off. Then, this happened: They fired their incompetent Manager and replaced him with someone who has a reputation for being way above average tactically, and who has a reputation for having so called "fire." They did not go the Bob Melvin milquetoast route. They fired their maligned General Manager, and replaced him with one of the most well respected men in Major League Baseball. They released the two players who were dreadful on the field, and hurt the team from a PR standpoint off the field. They didn't make any bad trades or bad signings. The Bernard Madoff situation is out there, but I simply don't think the players give a damn. And I certainly don't think it will negatively impact performance. It almost seems as though the columnists and prognosticators want it to, just so they can smile at the end of the year in the event that their predictions come true.

The Mets enter the 2011 season with a lineup that should be vastly superior than the 2010 edition, a bullpen that has been rebuilt with mainly high upside arms, and a rotation that is stronger top to bottom than the one that opened the 2010 campaign. Yes, Johan Santana not being available until June at the earliest is a blow. However, the rotation for 2011 projects to be Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey, Jon Niese, Chris Young, and Chris Capuano. There are concerns, no doubt. But that rotation from top to bottom is better than the one that opened the 2010 season - Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Jon Niese (then an unproven rookie). In addition, the Mets have much better insurance at AAA in the form of Dillon Gee, Boof Bonser, and Jenrry Mejia.

No one knows what 2011 will bring, but it's clear to me (and most Mets fans who aren't blinded by negativity), that the team is headed in the right direction - not backwards, as so many are predicting. For those of you who want to question why I'm a Mets fan, save it. The better question is why aren't you? I've lived in New York City since I was born, and from what I've seen and the people I've encountered, Mets fans are a whole different breed. We don't give up, we don't waver, we don't lower our passion level because someone asks us to. Root for your team, and I'll do the same. We'll see how everything shakes out come October.

Forget the Negativity

2011-03-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

With the spike in popularity of blogs over the last few years, it should be easy for most serious Mets fans to ignore the uninformed spittle that drips from the mouth's (or fingertips) of a majority of the so called "experts" in our midst. Whether the negativity is planted in our daily papers, voiced on SNY, or tweeted (two of the most obnoxious offenders are Dave Lennon and Steve Popper), the presence of it makes something clear: The majority of the level-headed (and most informed) commentary comes from our own - fellow fans. However, when blind negativity is voiced by one of our own - and is given play on Metsblog, it's especially grating.

Today, 8 days from Opening Day, the following quote appeared in a piece by David Daniels from Metsreport.com:

Let’s see… Johan Santana may be out for the year, Carlos Beltran is one slide away form blowing out both knees, Jose Reyes is one hard run from blowing out a
hammy, and Krod is one fight away from prison. We have a rookie catcher, two pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery, Mike Pelfrey’s Psychiatrist passed
away so the yips may be back, the franchise 3rd baseman has yet to step up and be a leader, an ongoing hole at 2nd base and the team can’t/won’t be spending any money anytime soon. Did I miss something?

As seen above, anyone can find negative spin if they're searching for it. However, the foolishness displayed above is absurd. The writer argues that Jose Reyes is "one hard run from blowing out a hammy." Who isn't? He intimates that Francisco Rodriguez may go to jail if he assaults someone. Who wouldn't? He makes a baseless accusation about David Wright, somehow turns Luis Castillo being released (and second base being taken over by someone with actual upside) into a negative, and asserts what the financial situation will be as if he's Sandy Alderson. In the rest of the piece, the writer attempts to speak of the Madoff situation as if he's an authority on the subject - and can tell the future. He isn't, and he can't.

Anyway, the point here isn't that David Daniels from Metsreport.com is ridiculously negative about the 2011 campaign. The point is that his claim - that the Mets have no shot at making the Playoffs - seems to be the belief of far too many (both media and fans). Why is that? It certainly can't be the projected 25 man roster. Even those who rarely allow an optimistic thought to cross their mind have to allow for the possibility that a team that won 79 games last year could scrape some more wins together and have a win total in the mid or high 80's. And if that happened, they'd be contenders.

While I'm confident that my evaluation of the team is level-headed, and most die-hard fans have the ability to ignore the sky-is-falling mentality, it's clear that the coverage of the team is negatively affecting a large portion of the fanbase. Negativity sells. It's what draws listeners to Mike Francesa's show. It's shocking to me that a team that averaged 90 wins per year from 2005-2008 (before succumbing to injuries in 2009 and having a sub-par year in 2010), is now being treated as if it's the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals. And it's worrisome that one of the main things that can help bring financial stability to the franchise - the potential of fans in the seats - is being sabotaged before the season begins.

Allow me to re-write the paragraph from David Daniels from the point of view of a realist. Not an optimist, but a realist:

Let’s see… Johan Santana is out until late June at the earliest. His rehab is moving along, though. If Santana comes back this season, it'd be great. If not, one could argue that the added offense, more stable bullpen, and a Manager who actually knows how to Manage may offset the absence of Santana. Carlos Beltran's knees are still giving him trouble, and he's unlikely to ever be the MVP caliber player he was in 2006. Fortunately,Sandy Alderson has prepared for the likelihood that Beltran will miss time in 2011 by filling in the roster appropriately. Jose Reyes, like every other human being on Earth, is one hard run from blowing a hammy. Let's hope he doesn't. K-Rod is one fight away from prison, as are most people who are forced to obey laws. We have a rookie catcher with tons of promise who has focused on improving his defense, two pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery who aren't being counted on to anchor the rotation and who have adequate replacements waiting in the minors should they re-injure themselves. Mike Pelfrey’s Psychiatrist passed away, which is terrible. Prayers go out to the man's family. The franchise's 3rd baseman has been a leader by example, an ongoing hole at 2nd base was filled when the team cut Luis Castillo and replaced him with someone who actually has upside,and Sandy Alderson noted today that the money to add a piece at the deadline would be there should the Mets be in contention. Did I miss something?

How easy was that? And that's just being realistic.

I'm not asking the Media and the fans who take them at face value to make everything sound optimistic. And I'm not asking them to stop printing pieces that are designed to catch eyeballs. What I'm asking is for them to once in a while, simply cover the team. Report the facts. One of the Mets' beat guys does this, the rest not so much. It's turned into a vicious cycle. The media spews negativity, often reporting things incorrectly. The fans react to it by venting on SNY and WFAN and Twitter. And by blogging about it. The writers then cite the venting they themselves caused as one of the reasons the team is in so called "disarray."

The team isn't in disarray. The season hasn't even started.

Until the media considers fair coverage, the Mets will simply have to be the Jake Taylor to their Rachel Phelps.

Get at it, boys.

The Legs of The Franchise

2011-03-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

He first flashed before our eyes as a Met in Texas in June of 2003, at just 19 years old. His arrival was the result of an injury that was sustained by Rey "the barber" Sanchez. In that first game, Reyes had two hits and displayed the promise that would soon mold him into one of the better all around players in baseball.

In the years that followed, Reyes overcame a rash of lower body injuries, and eventually became the main attraction at Shea Stadium. "Come on out to Shea and see Jose Reyes run," was bellowed on a nightly basis by the eternally over-exuberant but harmless Fran Healy. And the fans listened. They came on out to Shea. Jose Reyes stole bases at will. He turned routine groundouts into singles. Singles into doubles. Doubles into triples. He struck fear into the opposing pitcher every time he reached base. He displayed a cannon for an arm at shortstop, eventually harnessing his boundless energy and turning into one of the better defensive shortstops in baseball.

Jose Reyes rose with the Mets (or was it the other way around) from the wreckage that was 2002-2004, and was a key member of the team that averaged 90 wins a season from 2005 to 2008. We all know what has happened since then. The injury riddled campaign (for Reyes and everyone else) in 2009, and last year's 79-83 finish.

2011 is viewed by some as a transition year, and others as a year where the Mets may contend. However, it's being overshadowed by the Bernard Madoff situation and the uncertainty about Jose Reyes' future. Entering the last year of his contract, the debate rages over Reyes. Will he price himself out of the Mets' range? Is he worth what he'll be asking? Is he Sandy Alderson's "type of player?" Should the Mets trade him mid-season? Will he stay healthy?

To me, the only question that matters is the last one - Will Jose Reyes stay healthy. If he does, this is what he averages over a 162 game season:

.286 Average

33 Doubles

15 Triples

13 Home Runs

196 Hits

111 Runs

58 Stolen Bases

...That's Jose Reyes' average season. If he isn't Alderson's "type of player," then Alderson isn't my type of General Manager. Players who put up numbers like that are extraordinarily rare. When you add those numbers to the fact that Jose Reyes plays a premium position at a Gold Glove level, he becomes that much more indispensable. And when you attach all of his on field value to the fact that he's a homegrown Met - a fan favorite whose destiny is to team up with David Wright to shatter every one of the Mets' offensive records and lead this team to a Championship - letting Reyes go (via trade or free agency) becomes reckless. It borders on idiotic. Letting a healthy Jose Reyes go would be an enormous detriment to the Mets on the field, and it would slice through a fan base that is currently hanging by a thread.

A majority of fans are swayed by how the media covers this team. While that's unfortunate, it's reality. And the media has been skewering the Mets for the better part of three years. Their coverage, coupled with the Bernard Madoff situation, has left many Mets fans more pessimistic than they've been in over a decade. Considering the product the Mets are putting on the field - a product I feel can easily contend for the Wild Card - the pessimism seems misguided. However, as was stated above, it's still there. The only thing that will change that perception is winning. And if the Mets intend to win, it's in their best interest to have Jose Reyes at the top of the lineup (both this season and beyond).

This Winter, the front office sold the fanbase on the fact that because of previous contractual obligations, the team wouldn't have much money to spend on new contracts for the 2011 season. That was understood, and they've done a solid job adding pieces to a team that has the potential to surprise. After 2011, the Mets have at least 40 million dollars coming off the books - a number that would reach nearly 60 million if Francisco Rodriguez's option doesn't vest. There is no possible way Sandy Alderson and the Mets will be able to sell the fanbase on trading a healthy Jose Reyes during the season, or letting him walk away after it.

At the moment, the Mets are viewed as a team in disarray (even though I would strongly argue that perception). Ticket sales have dropped considerably. Tickets that were once coveted (Opening Day), leading to raffles for the right to purchase them, will now be available when the rest of the ticket inventory goes on sale on March 14th. On top of that, is the debate over Reyes.

David Wright is widely regarded as the face of the franchise. He grew up a Mets fan in Virginia, runs his own charity, is accessible to the media. Reyes' voice has been quieter than Wright's, mostly because he only recently became comfortable enough with the English language to begin giving full interviews in English. And that's a credit to Reyes' desire to learn the language.

While Wright may be the public face of the franchise, Reyes is its legs. He's the one who makes the lineup go. He's the second piece of the Mets' homegrown All-Star left side of the infield. Like Wright, he lives for the game. The joy drips off him nearly every time we see him on the diamond. Every time he smacks a ball into the gap or down the line, the crowd rises in unison as they wait for Reyes to kick it into high gear before sliding head first into third base. Reyes is the dancer, the hand shake connoisseur, the straw that stirs the drink. And like David Wright, Jose Reyes IS the Mets. He belongs in Orange and Blue. I can't imagine the Mets without Jose Reyes. It's not something I want to fathom, and it's not something I ever want to deal with.

What Sandy Alderson and the rest of the Front Office need to realize (if they haven't already), is that this fanbase has been knocked down repeatedly over the last few years and still gotten up. Losing a healthy Jose Reyes for any reason would not only imperil the team's chances on the field, it would cause a large portion of the fanbase to take that hit and stay down. A healthy Jose Reyes would likely mean a contending Mets team in 2011. And a contending Mets team has no business dealing Jose Reyes or letting him walk away after a successful campaign.

Jose: Stay healthy and do what you always do.

Hopefully, the rest will take care of itself.

A Threat I Don't Want to Carry Out

2010-11-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

Jeff, our friend Chad, Charles, Jeff Wilpon, Me, My Father, and our friend Gianni at Citi Field, March 2009.

A few minutes ago, I got off the phone with the Mets ticket office. I had called a few weeks back in order to request an upgrade to the Saturday ticket plan I've had since 2001 (when I was 17). That Saturday plan started out in Loge Reserved, Section 28 at Shea. By 2008, we had moved closer to the infield and were in Section 22. After the 2008 season, after my friends (Jeff and Charles, pictured above) and I had spent nearly all of our disposable income watching the Mets falter down the stretch again, we had to sit on the sidelines like pieces of trash while the Mets decided if we were going to be allowed to purchase a Saturday package (or if they were even going to exist) at Citi Field. Thinking back now, it's absurd that the Mets nearly shut all of the plan holders out. Back then, they still had a bit of leverage...something to sell. Right now, it's time for us to have leverage.

To get back to today's phone call...it wasn't about a potential upgrade for my Saturday package. It was to very politely inform the Mets that if they hired Bob Melvin to be their next Manager, my friends and I would not be renewing our tickets for next year. This isn't a choice I would've ever made on my own. The other two guys who purchase the package with me are the ones who informed me of their choice. I can't afford the tickets by myself, and even if I could, sitting there alone doesn't really appeal to me. We're not looking for adequacy, we're looking for excellence. We expect the front office to have the same mindset.

So, I made the call. It was h0nestly one of the toughest phone calls I've ever made. One of the hardest conversations I've ever had. The guy I spoke to was a ticket representative, not the type of guy who can directly impact Sandy Alderson's decision. What I asked him to do, for the sake of the organization, was to tell everyone in his department about my phone call. To have them tell employees who would filter that information to the people in the organization who care about losing millions of dollars after tons of other fans who are in my situation do the exact thing I'm threatening to do. The Mets employee informed me that he and others in his department have been getting lots of calls similar to mine, that they know how the fans feel.

Let me be clear: I do not want to cancel my tickets. I, alone, would not cancel my tickets if the Mets re-hired Art Howe. I would be furious, but the only thing that could make me cancel my tickets is if my friends pull out. And if the Mets hire Bob Melvin, that's exactly what they're going to do. Bob Melvin, from everything I've heard, is a good man. He's a smart man. He has experience Managing in the Major Leagues, but the best thing his supporters say about him is that he's average. AVERAGE? That's what this team is shooting for? Melvin would be an absolutely abysmal choice for this team at this point in time. He's been fired from his last two Major League managing jobs. People close to him say he doesn't want to deal with the media scrutiny in New York. People close to him also say he's not a fit for the New York market in general. Before the Mets job opened up, Bob Melvin interviewed to be the Major League manager for three other teams. No one hired him.

The Mets, from 2007-2010, have been a team that's lacked discipline, lacked a certain hunger to win. They've made mistakes on the field, and made mistakes off the field. They've had a serious leadership void. After 2009, the fans started to stay away. 2011 will most likely be a transition year, and that's fine. However, the fans need something to grab onto. They need someone in the dugout who offers them hope. Wally Backman does that. And to a lesser extent, Terry Collins and Chip Hale could as well. Bob Melvin? He's the only one of the remaining four candidates who would cause fans to CANCEL their tickets. Choosing him would cause, although a bit unfair, the fans to believe that nothing has really changed. The Mets cleaned out the front office, and fired Jerry. They replaced Omar's group with three brilliant individuals. If those individuals hire Bob Melvin, it will be seen as not just a safe and uninspired choice, but a slap in the face to the fans who support this team monetarily. For those who ask how we can be happy with Alderson being hired, but unhappy with his Managerial choice, this is my response: Even smart people make bad decisions.

During the conversation I had with the employee from the Mets, I was as calm as could be. I apologized several times for the fact that he had to take the brunt of my anger. I informed him that it's not the fairweather fans who the Mets were going to lose, it's the fans who have been there in good times, bad times, and awful times. Like in 1993, when I was 9 years old and the Mets were horrendous. I wanted to go to a game to see Sid Fernandez pitch because I loved the team and the season was about to end. So I begged my father and we went. I told the employee from the Mets that I would never stop being a Mets fan, that I wouldn't care any less. I would simply not be contributing one cent to the team.

These tickets mean a lot to my friends and I. Going to a Mets game isn't just about sitting there and watching the Mets. It's a way to hang onto our childhood. In 1983, I was born into being a Mets fan. Most of my earliest memories are Mets related. Aside from moments with my family and friends, most of my fondest memories are Mets related. My Grandfather is the reason everyone in my family is a Mets fan. He was born in 1913, and became a die hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan. When they moved to Los Angeles, he was devastated. In 1962, the Mets arrived and he was whole again. I learned to love the game of baseball and respect the game by observing him as he watched the Mets, by listening to all of his stories. He passed away in 2008. Like my Grandfather, I will never stop being a Mets fan. I will never stop caring about them. I will never stop hanging on every pitch, waiting for that next incredible moment.

Now is the time for the Mets to go all the way, to take a chance. The fans, who have been there no matter what, need something to grab a hold of. We know it's the players who have the greatest influence on wins and losses, but it's the Manager who is responsible for keeping those players focused, firing them up, standing up for them. Art Howe, Willie Randolph, and Jerry Manuel didn't do that. We don't think Bob Melvin will either. Don't hire the person who you know will do things adequately, hire someone who you think can do something special.

Why Mets Fans Want Wally Backman

2010-11-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

The search for the next Manager of the New York Mets has been lengthy (the last candidate interviewed on Monday). It's been analyzed to the point of dizziness, and everyone seems to have a strong opinion regarding which direction the team should go. The fans have their favorites, and if you've read anything written by Bob Klapisch (pro-Backman) or Ken Davidoff (anti-Backman), it's quite apparent that the writers have their favorites as well.

Along the way, there were rumors that only two men would receive an invitation to sit down with Alderson and Co. for a 2nd round interview. Then, it was mentioned that three guys might get a 2nd round interview, or four, or five. Finally, it was revealed yesterday that Wally Backman, Terry Collins, Chip Hale, and Bob Melvin would be receiving 2nd interviews. What did all of those conflicting reports mean? Likely, that no one has a clue which way the Mets are leaning. People can cite eight year old quotes from Moneyball in order to push their argument that Alderson wants a puppet, or they can use two week old quotes in order to push their argument that Alderson wants someone who, in his words, could be "a fiery manager. And I think a fiery manager is actually quite desirable. I think that in some cases a manager is not only representing an organization, but the fans in maybe frustrating situations and acts as a proxy for all of us."

A "proxy for all of us." Sounds like someone who cares as much as the fans do, not just inwardly but outwardly. It sounds like someone who would be able to deal with the media and the scrutiny that comes along with managing in New York. It doesn't sound like someone who quit his last two managerial jobs that were in small markets, and it doesn't sound like someone who may not be a a good fit for the New York market. People like to point out that when the Yankees hired Joe Torre in 1996, he had pretty much only failed as a manager to that point, and he wasn't known as much of a "personality." However, Joe Torre was from New York. And Joe Torre stepped into a situation where his team's payroll was so astronomical that trips to the Playoffs were basically guaranteed. No one really knows what Sandy Alderson wants, except for Sandy Alderson. It is why the rest of us sit around arguing with eachother over who the best fit for the Mets will be. We argue because we care deeply about the future of our favorite team. We argue because we're almost frighteningly passionate about the Mets. Whoever is hired to manage this team needs to not only realize how intense the market and the fans are, but be able to deal with it.

Which takes us to Wally Backman, who has been regarded as both a favorite and a long-shot to manage the Mets in 2011. Backman's past is well known by most. He was arrested for driving under the influence 11 years ago. Tony La Russa and Terry Collins have also been guilty of that transgression, so let's bury that one. His other main offense was being involved in a domestic dispute where HE was the victim. That was the past. No one (not Sandy Alderson, not you, not me), is perfect. And it's been mentioned that the Mets are viewing his candidacy strictly from a baseball point of view. Like most, they don't care about supposed transgressions that happened over a decade ago - stuff that could've happened to nearly anyone.

Why do many Mets fans want Wally Backman to manage the Mets in 2011 and beyond? It's not, despite the ramblings of some, because he was on the 1986 World Champions. If that was the case, fans would be clamoring for Tim Teufel or Lee Mazzilli or Ray Knight. It's not because he's fiery. If fiery - and fiery alone was what Mets fans wanted, they'd be on board with Terry Collins. It's certainly not because of a Youtube video of Backman going off on an umpire. That video is incredibly entertaining, but being able to go off on an umpire who just ran your player for no reason (before running you for no reason) does not make someone equipped to be a potentially great manager in the Major Leagues.

Lots of those who are attempting to discredit Backman and his chances, note how no other Major League teams have come after him hard for their managerial opening. To that I say the following: Who interviewed Ryne Sandberg for big league Manager besides the Cubs? Who came after Don Mattingly besides the Dodgers? The point? Just because someone isn't being sought after by other clubs (who obviously know much less about the man than the club they're employed by), doesn't mean they're not qualified. And it certainly doesn't mean they're toxic.

Mets fans want Wally Backman because of the way his players talk about him. Most players will always back up their manager, but the way Backman is spoken about doesn't fall into the same vein of most of the politically correct praise you hear players heap upon their manager. Mets fans want Wally Backman because they relate to him. They get the sense that he cares as much as they do, that he'll do anything in his power to help the team succeed. Mets fans want Wally Backman because of the way he relates to his players, the relationships he's formed with them, and the way he communicates with them on a daily basis regarding their role and how to improve. Mets fans want Wally Backman because of the style of baseball he's known to teach and push. Yes, he bunted a lot in the minors, but research has shown that players who bunted last year under Backman reached base safely nearly 50 percent of the time (hat tip to Acer from NYFS). Which means he was bunting for hits, not to give up outs. Mets fans want Wally Backman because they feel he can handle the New York market, that he won't shrink at the sight of 50 microphones in his face day after day after day. And damn right, Mets fans want Wally Backman because he's hungry and a bit combustible. Backman won't sit back and watch his team or any individual player get screwed by the umpires, as Art Howe and Willie Ranolph and Jerry Manuel often did. We don't want him to throw things on the field and get ejected, we want him to stand up for the players, for the team, for us. Which he would do. Mets fans want Wally Backman because of everything that was mentioned above. All of those qualities meshed together would (we think) make Backman a near perfect fit for this team.

Wally Backman doesn't have experience managing in the Major Leagues. How many days of major league managing experience did Gil Hodges have before he was hired by the Senators? How many days of major league managing experience did Bobby Valentine have before he was hired by the Rangers. How many days of major league managing experience did Tony La Russa have before he was hired by the White Sox? None, none, and none. Without first chances, no one (let alone major league managers) would be employed. No one would get the opportunity to make an impression, to prove themselves, to do something special.

I've listened to Wally Backman manage (on the radio). I've watched Wally Backman manage (on TV). I've seen Wally Backman manage (in person). I know first hand how he operates on the baseball field. I've seen the type of strategy he utilizes, I've seen how he's constantly pumping his players up and offering advice. I've seen how, before every inning starts, he stands behind home plate analyzing the opposing team's pitcher before he jogs over to 3rd base (where he coached last year on top of his managing responsibility). I know how I feel about Backman. Here's how his players feel about him:

Dan Uggla- “He’s one of my all-time favorite managers -- just people in baseball, bottom line. He really cares about the game. He really cares about his players. And he cares about winning. Wally, I know he’s been through some tough times, but he is seriously one of the best guys I’ve ever met in baseball. He helped me out a ton. He’s very passionate with protecting his players.

I’ll tell you what, if you play for Wally Backman, you’re going to be able to run through a brick wall, because we have the same emotions toward him as he has toward us. I mean, I would have run through a brick wall for him. Everybody is playing hard -- I think playing above their ability -- when they play for a guy like that."

Jeremy Reed - 'He’s definitely the best manager that I’ve had throughout the minor leagues. He puts people in situations to succeed. He’s a fiery guy, a hard-working guy and a guy that when you play for him, you want to succeed so much because of the way he goes about his business every day. Every day we had to work tremendously hard to get better before the game. And then after the game, if things kind of didn’t go our way, he was still the same way and still respected the player. He didn’t bash the player. Sometimes you get a cold shoulder from a manager. He was the same every day, and it was fun to go to the park every day. I played every day for him, but he would let me know ahead of time if I wasn’t in there.

You could just have conversations. He’d call me into his office and ask me if there was anything I felt like I needed to do differently, if I needed a day off. Just the communication was very solid. You just don’t get that at a lower level. You get that a little more at the big league level because I think guys kind of know their role a little more. At the minor league level, you don’t really get that, because for the most part they have their guys they have to play. But he found a way to get every guy in there regardless of what their situation was. To be honest -- and I’m not a pitcher -- I think it was the best I’ve ever seen a minor league manager run a bullpen."

No one knows whether or not Wally Backman would succeed in New York with the Mets, just as no one knows whether or not Bob Melvin or Terry Collins or Chip Hale would succeed in the same role. What we do know is that he's had success at every level he's managed. We know what his style is. We know how pretty much every man who's ever played for Wally Backman feels about him. We know how he motivated them. How, unlike Collins, who was apparently unable to "relate to his players as human beings," and unlike Melvin, who most feel isn't suited for the New York market, Backman seems like someone who would thrive in a market like this, for a team like this. Someone who was born to lead. Someone who if given a chance, would have the opportunity to prove it.

6 Hours and 53 Minutes of Insanity

2010-04-18T10:04:00.001-07:00

Even though the Mets lost the night before (4-3, due in large part to Jerry Manuel's curious decision to use Raul Valdes in the 7th inning), I still found myself counting down the hours and minutes to yesterday's game against the Cardinals. It's what a Met fan does. We come back for more, no matter what the latest result was - joyous or painful.

And so it began yesterday at 4PM with a beer - a Peroni to be exact. The Mets were 3-7 and were getting it from all angles. By the 2nd inning, McCarver and baby Albert had become unbearable, so I turned to the radio. When Howie Rose gave way to Wayne Hagin, the radio broadcast also became unbearable. It was then that I turned all the sound off and simply enjoyed the game in silence.

Watching the game in silence is an interesting thing to do. You don't have to shake your head at what the announcers are saying, you're not forced to listen to irritating commercials that become even more irritating on the heels of a bad inning. There's no crowd noise (not that the Cards fans generated much anyway), and it makes your thoughts bounce back and forth in your head as the game goes on.

After Johan recovered brilliantly from his arduous first few innings, and put to rest all of the chatter about his diminishing stuff and velocity (9 strikeouts and closing the game with a 92 MPH fastball will do that), the silence became too much. When the 8th inning began, I kept the game muted and turned to The Lovin' Spoonful and a host of other groups from the 60's to get me through the rest of the game. The optimistic and sunny tunes of the Spoonful acted as the perfect counter to Tim McCarver's biting words.

By the time my girlfriend arrived in the Top of the 13th inning, the game had started to spin out of control. I gave up sitting in the 13th, and put my road grey jersey on for good luck. For the next 8 innings, I was a ball of nerves. I kept moving until I found a spot that I thought worked. When I found myself standing in the same place I was standing last year when Luis Castillo dropped the pop-up, I retreated and stood against the wall. When Hisanori Takahashi put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out, I started muttering to myself that the game was over. In an effort to re-assure me and to silence my ramblings, my girlfriend told me to stay positive. She insisted that "she had heard" that each Cardinal that was about to come up "sucked" or "was crap." And she was right. Takahashi K'd the side and the game went on.

I continued to pace back and forth, nearly pulling my hair out...layed down on the floor at some points, stood with one leg up, peeked out from behind my hands, sat on the floor by my couch, and crouched down like a catcher...among other things. And the game went on and on. All the way through Jenrry Mejia's dazzling display and Raul Valdes' tightrope walking. When Felipe Lopez - the infielder - was inserted to pitch in the 18th inning, the game got out of control. Valdes was called out at 2nd base after trying to move up on an error - even though he was clearly safe. CB Bucknor's strike zone was absurd - one of the worst strike zones I've ever seen. It's as if he wanted someone to have to groove something so the game would end - and that's probably exactly what he was going for.

When the Mets finally took the lead in the Top of the 19th, it just didn't seem like the game was destined to end there. Not with Albert Pujols coming up, and not with Francisco Rodriguez (who had thrown over 100 warm up pitches) coming in. And when Yadier Molina arrogantly strode to the plate with Pujols on 3rd and 2 outs, I was suddenly transplanted back to my Seats in Section 22, Row Q of the Upper Deck at Shea. That's where I sat for Game 7 of the NLCS in 2006. Any time Yadier Molina comes up in an important spot, Game 7 is what I think of. And I suddenly felt uncomfortable. When Molina tied the game with a liner that went over the outstretched glove of Luis Castillo, I sunk down in despair.

Of course, the Mets would retake the lead in the Top of the 20th and turn it over to Mike Pelfrey. Mike Pelfrey, who had thrown a 70 pitch side session earlier in the day, had demanded the ball from Jerry Manuel. When Pelfrey induced a soft roller to 2nd base with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, I didn't have the energy in me to scream. I instead assured myself that the game was indeed over. I knelt down, smiled like a raving lunatic, and immediately began to reflect on the incredible game that I'd just witnessed.

The Mets are 4-7. Last night's unbelievably gutsy and hard fought win doesn't change that fact. What it does, though, is offer hope. Johan Santana was again untouchable. The bullpen, that's been incredible all year, was incredible again last night. Jason Bay looked horrible, and so did David Wright...but who cares? Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday looked just as bad. It was just that type of day/night.

Games like yesterday are what separates National League Baseball from every other sport. Everything else is timed...it has to end or pause at a specific time. Even NHL Playoff games that go to overtime have breaks every 20 minutes. Yesterday's game had no breaks. Just an endless string of tense moments and unreal plays. When the game ended, and the Mets were exchanging high fives near the mound, I simply smiled. There was nothing to say. And the season is 11 games old. It's hard to imagine a game like that in October, but if the Mets continue to get pitching like they've gotten lately, we just may. Their 4-7 record be damned.

It's not Funny, Jerry

2010-04-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

While listening to Jerry Manuel give his interview to Mike Francesa this afternoon, I started to forget that the Mets were 2-5 (which would become 2-6 within hours). As Jerry kept tripping over his own words, cackling like he was high, and saying "you right, haha, you right" at least 20 times, the team on the field was all of a sudden not my biggest worry.

Before today's interview, I knew Jerry was a sub-par Manager. I knew he would often laugh stuff off, either as a defense mechanism or in an attempt to endear himself to the tough New York scribes. Today, he finally lost it. And in turn, the Mets fans who listened to his babbling mess late this afternoon have lost it as well...they've lost any last shred of patience they had for Jerry Manuel.

Mets fans are passionate, knowledgeable, and let losses interfere with their mood - often to the detriment of their daily responsibilities. We almost care too much, and having a Manager who lacks any tactical skill laughing his ass off about the state of a 2-5 team is unacceptable. And this determination was made before Jerry Manuel made himself look like a complete imbecile during the 10th inning of tonight's loss to the Rockies in Colorado.

This isn't about the team anymore. The Mets are 2-6, and that hurts. What hurts more, is the fact that they had a chance to win the game tonight, and it was sabotaged over and over again by their own Manager.

With one out in the 10th and Mike Jacobs representing the go-ahead run on 2nd base, Manuel pinch ran for him...after the count to Rod Barajas was 2-2. Instead of pinch running with Alex Cora, he pinch ran with Fernando Tatis - taking the bat out of the hands of the best pinch hitter he had left on the bench. After Barajas made out, the Rockies brought in a lefty to face Cora. Instead of countering that move and using Henry Blanco (since he had already needlessly used Tatis to run), Manuel let Cora hit. And Cora hit it to 2nd base for the 3rd out. Incredible.

In the bottom of the 10th, Manuel turned to Jenrry Mejia, who was pitching on back to back nights. It was the perfect spot for Francisco Rodriguez, who didn't pitch last night, and has the stamina to pitch two innings. Manuel went with Jenrry, though, and the kid served up the game winning homer.

There's nothing to be mad at Mejia for. He's a 20 year old kid who grooved a fastball in the thin air of Colorado and paid for it. There's nothing to be mad at Cora for. He's a backup infielder, and shouldn't have been the go to guy with the go ahead runs on base in the 10th. The anger all goes to Jerry. On a night when the team fought for a win, he put them in position to lose.

If most of the fan base had a choice, Manuel would've been fired after 2008. He wasn't. 2009 and the injuries weren't Manuel's fault, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he's a terrible Manager. The first 8 games of this year prove nothing about the Mets and where they'll end up. But if this team ever managed to get hot and fight their way to the Playoffs, Manuel would be there, ready to sabotage them with his incompetence.

It's time for ownership to step up and fire Jerry. He's a perfectly nice man, but a painfully bad Manager. Wally Backman would be a great replacement, but the Mets probably want him to prove himself in Brooklyn first. Bobby Valentine would be a phenomenal choice, and Ken Oberkfell would be a wise choice as well. A name the fans and media don't seem to be mentioning much is Tim Teufel, who's been quietly moving up the ranks in the Mets' Minor League system. Any one of those four would do.

What won't do, and what will slowly drive the rest of the fans away, is ownership forcing the fan base to watch a team that's run by a Manager who doesn't seem to know what he's doing - who laughs off his problems and the team's issues instead of doing something about them.

Hyperbole At Its Worst

2010-04-12T15:12:00.001-07:00

I present to you, Captain Hyperbole. The man above represents all of the laughably reactionary fans and writers who have been spewing their incoherent drivel about the Mets over the past 48 hours. I'm not writing this as an apologist, I'm writing this as a realist.

The 2010 Mets are 2-4. If we were to use some 3rd grade math and use these first 6 games to predict the final record, that record would be awful. Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel would be fired, and a complete overhaul of the roster would most likely occur. Watching the Mets lose listlessly to the Marlins in the 3rd game of the season, and watching Johan Santana get smacked up while his teammates were stifled by Livan Hernandez yesterday was not fun. It really, really sucked.

Over the course of 162 games, losses - often ugly, happen. Coming off the 2009 season, lots of fans and writers are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Reacting as if the season is over after 6 games, though, is absurd. The Mariners and Angels are both 2-5, the Dodgers are 2-4, the Cubs are 3-4. Are their seasons over also? 6 games are a tiny sample, a sample that no one should even attempt to draw conclusions from.

The Mets have played 2 crappy games, and 4 pretty good ones. The starting pitching (aside from Johan's bad 1st inning against the Nationals) has been fine, the bullpen has gone nearly 14 innings without allowing a run, and the team has shown fight - both literally and figuratively. In the 2nd game of the season, Gary Matthews smoked what appeared to be a game winning hit in the bottom of the 9th, but Hanley Ramirez was playing behind 2nd base. The Mets eventually lost. On Saturday, Rod Barajas hit a ball with the bases loaded that was ticketed as a game winner (even Gary Cohen thought so), but Willie Harris made what has up to this point been the catch of the season...by any player...on any team...in either league. If those 2 balls found the outfield grass, the Mets would've been 4-2. Instead, they're 2-4.

Even if those 2 balls had found the outfield grass instead of the gloves of the opposition, writers and fans would be calling the Mets' 4-2 start a mirage. "Can't take it seriously after 6 games", they'd say. But the Mets are 2-4, not 4-2. And 2-4 is a record the naysayers and sky-is-falling crowd can rally around. It's extraordinarily annoying, and reading and/or listening to what they're regurgitating over and over and over is a complete waste of time.

Drawing conclusions after the 6th game of an 162 game season is pointless, whether those conclusions are that the team will win the World Series or finish in last place. Would it have been better if the Mets were 6-0? Absolutely. They'd be 4 games better, to be precise. Still, no one would have any idea how that imaginary 6-0 team would fare over the remaining 156 games of the season. Just like no one has any idea how the actual 2-4 team will fare over its remaining 156 games.

Much like the rest of the teams in baseball, save for one Microsoft like operation that spends upwards of $220 million on their payroll, the Mets have issues that may or may not work out. That's what the season is for...to find out just what this group of players can do. To see how quickly Carlos Beltran will return, to find out whether or not the bullpen can keep performing close to the torrid pace they've set for themselves, etc.

I refuse to accept the fact that these first 6 games have shown us anything concrete. Those who mention how none of the starters have seen the 7th inning yet, fail to mention that all of those pitchers (save for John Maine) went 6 innings, and would've gone longer if it wasn't their first start of the year. Facts are for those who actually pay attention, while fantasy and hyperbole is for those who refuse to give this team a chance...those who insist on jumping to conclusions after 55 innings have been played.

If you're a fan who chooses to give up on a season and/or adopt a woe-is-me attitude at this point in the season, I truly feel bad for you. We waited 6 months for the Mets to come back, and the first thing the majority of the fan base is doing a week after the Mets finally started playing regular season games, is forming as one massive cloud, jumping into the sky, and turning their idiotic words and negativity into a thunderstorm of shit that's raining on all of the other fans' season opening parades.

If it's June 1st and the Mets are in last place, feel free to go nuts. Until then, please let the fans who still have faith in this team enjoy a season that's still in its infancy.

Time to Fight Back

2010-04-01T15:33:00.001-07:00

According to everyone at ESPN (except for Bobby Valentine), the Mets are going to finish in 4th place this season. According to Bill Madden in the Daily News, the Mets are going to win 77 games. And according to Sports Illustrated, the publication that picked the 2009 Mets to win the World Series, the 2010 Mets will win 79 games and finish in 4th place. Once the pessimism started, after nearly every Met got hurt last year, it ran rampant and it's now become fashionable for every writer on the face of the Earth to doubt/make fun of/unfairly attack the New York Mets.

Negativity sells, so it's no shock that today's New York Post headline screamed "What a Mess," in response to the fact that Jose Reyes would be missing 4 games before returning on April 10th. The sad thing, is that there are people who don't follow the Mets as religiously as some others, who pick up the newspaper and actually believe the stuff they're printing.

When their core was healthy, from 2005 through 2008, the Mets averaged 90 wins per year. Last year, nearly every important member of the team was lost to a significant injury for a significant period of time. If the Yankees lost Derek Jeter, Mark Teixiera, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and 10 others (like the Mets lost Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Jon Niese, JJ Putz and 10 others), they wouldn't have done a damn thing last year. That didn't happen to the Yankees, though, it happened to the Mets. And since it did, the Mets (who averaged 90 wins the previous 4 seasons) have become a punchline for no good reason. That ends now.

Spring Training stats shouldn't matter. To writers and talking heads though, they do (but only ones that can be spun into negatives). The Mets' starting pitchers this spring have high ERA's, so according to the writers and talking heads, the pitching will be a mess this season. The Mets are leading the Grapefruit League in HR's this spring, but no one knows that. Why? Because it isn't negative. A few weeks ago, writers were screaming that Jose Reyes would be out until June. Now, the Mets are being extra cautious with him (with good reason), meaning he should return April 10th. Still, the writers find a way to bash the Mets for the 4 games Reyes will miss. It's a joke...enough to make you shake your head so much it'll eventually lead to chronic neck pain.

Here's what the Mets need to do: Starting April 5th, prove to everyone that the team that averaged 90 wins from 2005 through 2008 wasn't a 4 year abberation. 2009 (and the absurd amount of injuries that led to 92 losses) was the aberration.

Take the field a little after 1PM on Monday the 5th, and take it with pride and a touch of anger.

Take the field and have respect for it, and the fans that fill it day after day, night after night.

Take the field, and if an opposing pitcher throws at David Wright, throw at that team's best player and beat the hell out of their entire team if it comes to it.

Take the field and feed off of us. Feel the energy when we chant, when we rise as one, when we scream for a strikeout.

This offseason has been nearly unbearable. All we've heard is that the Mets have question marks, while the other teams have potential. The Mets didn't sign enough players, but the other teams were fiscally responsible. The Mets, with one of the best cores in all of baseball, are a joke and have no shot.

It's been all words until today. Now, the Mets attempt to fight back with their actions.

Jose is Back

2010-03-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Jose Reyes will be released from the exile that lasted a little over two weeks. Omar Minaya announced the news a little while ago - that Jose Reyes' thyroid levels had returned to normal, and that Jose has been cleared to return. It was the best news Mets fans have received in quite some time.

While most writers responded to the Reyes news of March 11th by claiming the season was in peril, Endocrinologists and the Mets held firm to the belief that Reyes would be back in as little as two weeks - and he is. It was on this blog on March 12th, after listening to an interview with New York based Endocrinologist Dr. Mark Hershon, that I pegged Reyes to return (to actual games) between March 26th and April 9th.

With Reyes set to resume baseball activities tomorrow (March 24th), he will have a little over 11 days to get back in shape and be in the lineup for Opening Day at Citi Field on April 5th. Omar Minaya today stated that Reyes could indeed be at Shortstop on Opening Day, but wouldn't elaborate further. The important thing for Reyes is building his legs back up, and not attempting anything crazy until he and the trainers believe those legs to be game-ready. At that time, he can reclaim his spot.

Until then, Mets fans will simply bask in the news of Reyes' return. For once, a Met actually came back from the Disabled List at the short end of the estimate. The debate about whether or not Ruben Tejada or Alex Cora should start at Shortstop can be pretty much put to bed. Even if Reyes isn't starting on Opening Day, he should be right on the cusp. Cora can resume his role as a backup/player-manager, and Tejada can report to the minors and hone his craft.

When the news about Jose Reyes broke on March 11th, all Mets fans could do was hope for the best. Today, the best happened.

Welcome back, Jose.

The Bizarre Logic of Jerry Manuel

2010-03-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

With Opening Day in less than 18 days, and with the first round of cuts out of the way, a sizable portion of the Mets' future (and perhaps the present as well) remains in big league camp. Ruben Tejada is still there, and may crack the roster to start the season if Jose Reyes doesn't return by then. Ike Davis is still around, and if Daniel Murphy continues to hit the way he has and Davis stays on his absurd pace, some questions will arise as to whether or not Davis can supplant Murphy as the Opening Day first baseman.

The two names that are driving most of the debates, though, are the 21 year old outfielder Fernando Martinez and the 20 year old pitcher Jenrry Mejia. Both players have been incredible so far, with Martinez OPS'ing over 1.000 and Mejia dazzling the opposition, the writers, and the Mets with the ridiculous movement on his pitches and the results those pitches have yielded.

When you go through the players the Mets have, and what their team will most likely look like at the start of the 2010 Regular Season, the logical conclusion is that the Mets are more in need of a center fielder than a bullpen arm - especially considering the fact that the bullpen arm (Mejia), has been a starting pitcher his entire career and has the potential to be an Ace - which is what made yesterday's comments by Jerry Manuel a tad absurd. When asked by reporters if he would consider starting Fernando Martinez at center field on Opening Day, he responded by saying that it would "...Be difficult, in all honesty. That would be difficult. The center field part is very important to us right now. We came in here with the mantra that we're going to catch the baseball, play good defense, that type of thing, so we'll see how that turns out. But right now, we have Gary and Angel slated for that spot."

So, according to Jerry, it's fine to take Jenrry Mejia - a kid who's been a starter his entire career, and put him in the bullpen even though there is no glaring need (the Mets have Francisco Rodriguez, Ryota Igarashi, Kiko Calero, Pedro Feliciano, Bobby Parnell, Fernando Nieve, Hisanori Takahashi, Sean Green, Nelson Figueroa and others all competing for the 7 spots in the pen) - but it's "difficult" to envision Fernando Martinez, who's played center field and the other outfield positions every year he's been with the Mets, opening the year in center field because, according to Manuel, his defense is inferior to Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr?

Manuel's line of thinking here is completely ridiculous. Angel Pagan, for all of his talent, is not a plus defender. He takes terrible routes on fly balls, throws to the wrong base frequently, and suffers through other mental lapses in the field. Gary Matthews, Jr. was once an elite defender, but that time has passed. In his limited time in the Majors last year, Martinez made a few errors, but showed to be no less capable than Pagan.

If Fernando Martinez continues to hit the way he's been hitting, he should make the squad over Pagan and Matthews. There would need to be decisions made when Carlos Beltran returned - Would the Mets send Martinez back to AAA? Would they have him split time in right field with Jeff Francoeur - but Those are questions that can be answered when Beltran comes back. The main goal is for the team to win ballgames, and with Beltran and perhaps Jose Reyes out to start the year, the addition of Martinez to the lineup would bring a potential power boost in their absence. If it's perfectly fine to Manuel to take Jenrry Mejia, the most prized pitching prospect on the team, out of his element and stick him in the pen, how can Manuel not be strongly considering using Fernando Martinez to fill an actual need by playing his natural position?

The Calm (and lack of electricity) After The Storm

2010-03-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday night, the New York City area was pounced on and ripped apart by an absurd storm - which dumped 4 inches of rain, brought 70 MPH winds, toppled trees, and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. As can be seen from the above picture I took today on my way to work, a tree up the block from my house toppled to the ground, taking out the power lines on the way down before landing on a car and causing a house to catch fire.

While I was able to listen to Johan pitch yesterday on an emergency crank-powered radio, my house (and thousands of others around New York) has been without power for the last 48 hours or so. It is because of this wicked storm and its aftermath that I have been unable to update Rational (sometimes) Mets Musings for the last few days. I'll do my best to post new stories from work, while hoping for the electricity in my house to return.

In the meantime, Let's Go Mets.

The Day After - A Doctor's Prognosis

2010-03-12T14:00:00.001-08:00

It's been over a day since the Jose Reyes news broke. As was expected, the local writers spit out article after article, usually framing the absolute worst case scenario. The Mets intimated that Reyes would be cleared in 1 to 7 weeks, which somehow led some writers to say he wouldn't be back until June - when he can just as easily return at the end of March. Some writers went with the hGH route, suggesting that Reyes' condition may have been brought on by the use of the illegal drug. Some others bashed the Mets, which is strange since the Mets did nothing to cause Reyes' condition, and did nothing to harm his chances of a quick recovery.

The response by Mets fans was understandable. It's perfectly normal to be upset at what's happened to Reyes, especially after what the Mets and the fans went through last season. However, in this instance, the Mets did absolutely nothing wrong. The people who spoke to soon were Reyes' agents, who claimed on Wednesday that Reyes was basically in the clear, and that he'd be returning to game action within days. That was a mistake, and made the news that Reyes would be sidelined for at least a few weeks sting much more. But it wasn't the Mets who dropped the ball.

In an interview that wrapped up at 4:30 PM on WFAN, Dr. Kenneth Hershon, a well respected New York based Endocrinologist with 30 years of experience, discussed Jose Reyes' diagnosis at length. Dr. Hershon went out of his way to say that he was a Yankees fan - and therefore not biased - and stated that he had called Mike Francesa because lots of what he was hearing about Reyes' condition was inaccurate.

In Dr. Hershon's opinion, the issue that Jose Reyes is dealing with is mild and easily curable. Reyes does not have Graves Disease, and there is no medication for the type of diagnosis Reyes has. According to Hershon, the reason medication is not suitable for this type of condition, is because medication would block the thyroid from picking up iodine. The elevated hormone level that Reyes has needs to be burned off - and Dr. Hershon stated that it usually takes 2 to 3 weeks for the high thyroid levels to normalize.

When Dr. Hershon was asked to address the hGH issue, he said that while it's impossible to rule out hGH as a cause for high thyroid levels (since nothing should ever be ruled out when making a medical diagnosis), it is highly improbable for hGH to cause the type of ailment Reyes has, and would not be something Doctor's would ever look to as a cause. Rather, Dr. Hershon explained, elevated thyroid levels are usually caused by a virus or by supplements that contain iodine. For instances like the one affecting Reyes, once his thyroid levels normalize, the chances of a recurrence are slim to none.

If Dr. Hershon's estimations are correct, and Reyes' thyroid levels return to normal within the 2 to 3 week span (1 to 2 weeks from now), it should only take him another week or two to regain his strength and return to playing games with the Mets. That would put Reyes on track to return sometime between March 26th and April 9th.

I know people will be skeptical until Reyes returns, but I'd trust the opinion of a well respected Doctor over the hyperbole infused ramblings of men who are trying to sell newspapers.

Just One More Thing To Overcome

2010-03-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Like every other Mets fan, I was shocked, rendered speechless, and left completely unable to do my job when the news about Jose Reyes broke today around 1 PM. After being told for the last 48 hours that Reyes would be back at Camp and playing in games within the next few days, the news that he would be out for 2 to 8 weeks was extremely unnerving - especially for a fanbase still picking off the scabs of the 2009 campaign.

Everyone wanted to know why other people with conditions similar to Reyes get treated with some type of medication, and go back to their their regular routine within days. The fact that Reyes' agents were calling this a "best case scenario" was puzzling. To us, the "best case scenario" would've meant Jose Reyes getting on a plane this afternoon, returning to Pt. St Lucie, and playing in a game or two this weekend. The fact that Omar Minaya touted the Alex Cora signing as some sort of saving grace pretty much sapped any sanity I had left - but then I calmed down.

Realistically - not in the baseball World, but for Jose Reyes the person - today's news was the best case scenario. The results of the blood tests Reyes took could've brought far worse news. They could've shown that he had Thyroid Cancer, a tumor, or another serious condition. What they revealed, was that his thyroid levels were high, and that he would rest and watch his diet until they normalized. Once the levels normalize (in as little as 2 weeks, and as many as 8 weeks), Reyes will be cleared to play baseball again.

We all hope that Reyes is cleared to play in 2 weeks - and he very well may be. After the almost unfathomable rash of injuries the Mets dealt with last season, and the way the timetables for the players' eventual returns became running jokes, one would think that the Mets may have elongated the potential timeframe for Reyes' return, leaving them some wiggle room if some things don't go perfectly along the way. And, if that's the case, so be it. The way it's been told, Jose Reyes will be cleared to play ball sometime between March 25th and May 6th. Again, hopefully it's as early as possible.

While the news that Jose Reyes would most likely not be ready for Opening Day was extremely tough to take at first, it isn't a terrible thing. An unfortunate thing, no doubt, but not terrible. And not something that this team can't overcome. This isn't an injury, it's a medical situation. It's not something that was bungled by the Mets and/or the Doctor's, it's something that's being handled with care. By the time I'm finished writing this, the rest of the Mets fans who were rapidly approaching meltdown mode this afternoon will hopefully start to see that this is something the Mets, and more importantly, Jose, will get through.

Since the Mets' pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training nearly a month ago, I've been counting down the days to Opening Day. Whenever the clock passes Midnight, I calculate how many days are left until the Mets return to us...29...28...27...26. Today was day 25, and as the last bits of snow melted and we prepared to turn the clocks ahead, I could feel baseball season getting closer. Me and 3 of my friends have already taken off for Opening Day. We'll be in the parking lot at Citi Field by 10AM on the morning of April 5th, with our gloves on one hand and our drinks in the other. The excitement is there, but it was almost lost this afternoon.

After I took a step back and examined the grand scope of what went on, and understood that Jose Reyes would indeed be OK, everything returned to normal. That is not to say that I and tons of other Mets fans are taking Mets baseball any less seriously. The fact that everyone initially reacted how they did this afternoon should really make us all smile. It's March 11th, and thousands upon thousands of Mets fans were rendered useless to their jobs, wives, girlfriends and whoever else because news broke that Jose Reyes may not be ready for Opening Day. That's how much we care about the Mets. Enough to let news like that immobolize us.

But what makes Mets fans even more special, is how in the midst of the craziness that was this afternoon, we became resilient - together. This franchise and its fans have been forced to deal with so much nonsense over the last year, and now is not the time to put our heads down and give up. Articles will come out tomorrow declaring that the Mets' season is doomed - even though Jose Reyes really shouldn't miss that much time. Irrational people who claim to be die hard Mets fans will call talk radio and surrender. The real Mets fans? We'll shake this off, wish Jose Reyes a speedy recovery, and resume the countdown to Opening Day.

Digging Through Out of Touch Journalism: Bill Madden Edition

2010-03-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

After opening their Spring Training slate last week, the Mets' record stands at 5-2. Most people are of the mind that Spring Training records don't matter (the '86 Mets finished with a .500 Grapefruit League record), but most fans would also prefer for the Mets to be 5-2 instead of 2-5. Since Spring Training began, no Mets have gone down with injuries. There have been no controversies. The top prospects every New York scribe claimed to not exist before March (Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Ruben Tejada etc...) have opened eyes.

To one man, though, as we sit here on March 8th, the Mets' "Preseason glow has begun to fade." Hall of Fame writer Bill Madden (above with George Steinbrenner) is getting his Wallace Matthews on this morning, with an ill conceived and foolish opinion piece about what he believes to be the slow crumbling of the Mets' 2010 season. Let's take a closer look at his article:

Ever since David Wright's chipper "we expect to be in the postseason" and Johan Santana's "I'm the best pitcher in the National League East" inaugural addresses, the sunny optimism at Camp Met has been muted by Jose Reyes' thyroid condition, Frankie Rodriguez's pinkeye and Kelvim Escobar's idleness.

The optimism has been muted? That's not the way even the most pessimistic Mets fans have reacted to the events of the last week. The majority of the fans are actually extremely encouraged with the growth of the prospects, the fact that no one has gone down with an injury, and the fact that the players seem to be loose and confident. I'm not sure how Francisco Rodriguez's bout with pink eye (he's back at camp today) "muted" any optimism. People get pink eye, they go away for a while to recover, and then they come back - like Frankie did today. No one has been talking about Kelvim Escobar, especially since Ryota Igarashi has looked very good, Kiko Calero has been signed to take Escobar's place, and Jenrry Mejia has looked dominant. The Jose Reyes issue is another story, and while no one can be certain about what will come of it, the likelihood is that Reyes will be treated for his thyroid issue and be back playing games within the week.

We tell ourselves, the Mets tell themselves, it's still early March. Plenty of time left in the spring to get that feel-good mojo (not to mention two key players) back. Things could be worse.

Who is this "we" Madden speaks of? Did he mean to say I? Madden states that there's "plenty of time left...to get that feel-good mojo back." Where did it go? Seems to me (and every other objective person) that the Mets are full of optimism right now. I'll agree with Madden that "things could be worse," since they are actually going extremely well right now.

Amid this ominous backdrop, the Mets chose Sunday to announce that single-game tickets are now on sale for the 2010 season - the same day Ollie Perez was making his first start of the spring. Talk about pressure. And Odd Ollie, who didn't provide a whole lot of reassurance that 2010 is going to be much different than 2009, admitted he felt it.

What "ominous backdrop" is Madden referring to? Does this "backdrop" have something to do with David Wright regaining his power stroke, Ike Davis going 8 for 14, Fernando Martinez hitting close to .700 thus far, Jenrry Mejia's dazzling display, or the fact that nearly every bullpen arm the Mets have thrown out there has been effective? The fact that Madden attempted to tie his imaginary "ominous backdrop" and Oliver Perez's first Spring Training start (where the only objective was to throw strikes) into some mistake by the club to put tickets on sale yesterday is completely moronic. I don't think any Mets fan is going to run out and buy tickets or decide to not buy tickets, based on the first Spring Training start by the Mets' likely third or fourth starter.

For what it's worth, at least Perez was able to throw strikes - 33 in 49 pitches. Unfortunately, in pitching to contact, he allowed the visiting Washington Nationals to make plenty of it. The enigmatic $36 million lefthander gave up three runs in the first inning, including a towering home run to 6-5 rookie first baseman Mike Morse.

Did Madden even watch the game? The home run that Ollie gave up to Mike Morse was a line drive. Does Madden know the difference between a line drive and a "towering" shot? I suppose not...which isn't surprising, since it seems that he doesn't know the difference between optimism and pessimism either.

I have nothing against Bill Madden as a person, but articles like the one he wrote today are a perfect example of why blogs and other online sites may eventually leave print journalism in the dust. In a poor attempt at "the sky is falling" journalism (and in an effort to scare Mets fans), Madden exposed himself as someone who is completely detached from reality. While some of the less than die-hard fans may buy into his assertions, the true ones shake their heads at it - before casting his paper aside and relying on eachother for accurate information regarding the Mets.

Is This A Mirage?

2010-03-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

There's a scene in the middle of the movie Goodfellas, where Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci, above in the middle), asks if he's a "mirage." He had been asking Michael Imperioli's character Spider for a drink, but Spider failed to respond quickly enough. For that and other transgressions, Spider was eventually gunned down by Tommy. While following both of today's Mets games (via gameday, message boards, and my friend who's fortunate enough to have a TV on his desk), I started to wonder if Jenrry Mejia was a mirage. And when his name failed to appear between Jon Niese and Ryota Igarashi in the gameday stats (it was a blank space, as if he had never entered the game), the feeling got stranger.

When 20 year old Jenrry Mejia AKA King Jenrry (credit for that nickname goes to the witty posters over at NYFS) entered the game in the 3rd inning, I completely lost my concentration at work. When his two and a third innings were complete, and he had struck out four, walked none and given up no hits, I began to laugh to myself like a crazy maniac. I was only one year old when Dwight Gooden exploded onto the scene in 1984, and although I've seen videos of him at his peak, I never experienced it. The closest I came to "experiencing" Doctor K was when I was in attendance to see him shutout the Rockies on Opening Day of 1993 - when he was a shell of what he once was.

Before anyone screams, I am NOT comparing Jenrry Mejia to Dwight Gooden. I'm discussing the two of them in the same paragraph because since I've been following the Mets, there hasn't been one Ace brought up from the minors by the franchise. Generation K had the talent, but none of them could stay healthy. Scott Kazmir was traded to Tampa. Mike Pelfrey has the goods to be a #2, but not nearly the stuff that Mejia appears to have been gifted with.

The drum started to beat earlier in the Spring, when Jerry Manuel talked about Mejia becoming the 8th inning man. Then, Darryl Strawberry nearly had an orgasm after he saw Mejia pitch for the first time (comparing the movement on his fastball to that of Mariano Rivera). Then today happened. Mejia came into the game and recorded 7 outs - 4 by strikeout. Yes, it's only Spring Training. The pitchers are ahead of the hitters. However, that doesn't change the fact that Mejia's pitches move like no one elses. His 94 MPH fastball has as much action as a slider, and he also features (albeit less often) a changeup and a curveball.

Pardon me and the rest of the Mets faithful as we drool. Jenrry Mejia is 20 years old, and has been blessed with a golden arm. Today in the Daily News, I shook my head as I read an article by Bill Madden that ripped the Mets' farm system. Aside from Mejia, the Mets have close to 10 guys who are ready to break through.

But back to King Jenrry...

I am not one of the people who believes he should start the year in the bullpen with the big club (before eventually becoming a starter). I can't say, though, that I would be angry if that happened. Worried, yes, but not angry. In a perfect World, Jenrry Mejia goes down to Binghamton or Buffalo and dominates - inflicting pain on opposing hitters the way Clubber Lang did to Rocky Balboa during their first bout. Soon enough, if all goes according to plan, his talent will lead him out of the minors and straight to Flushing. If I had three wishes, I'd ask for World Peace, unending riches, and for Jenrry Mejia to stay healthy and harness his talent. If there's a genie out there who wants to grant the last of those wishes, be my guest.

Today, The Mets Will Play A Game

2010-03-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

In roughly 30 minutes, about 1,000 miles from where I sit (at work, while the snow melts outside), the Mets will play a baseball game. Sure, it's just an intrasquad game, but it's a game nonetheless. It's been nearly five months since the New York Mets played a baseball game. Today, the winter ends. Today, the offseason that felt as long as a Steve Trachsel start finally comes to a close. Play Ball.

The first day of March always seems like the day we can begin to put the winter behind us. While there still may be some awful weather down the line, the countdown to Opening Day and the Spring has begun. When Jenrry Mejia (pictured above) and the rest of the Mets start their game today, millions of Mets fans will be smiling. Kids who are in school, people who are at work, those who are home - all of them will be happier today because of an intrasquad baseball game. The die-hards who have access to a computer (wherever they are) will be following this game on the internet, hanging on every pitch of a game that means nothing in the standings, but everything for what it represents.

The fact that today is Monday seems irrelevant. In addition to the wonderful game that's about to be played, Mets tickets went on sale today for Partial Plan holders (which I am). While I anxiously sat at work preparing to purchase my Opening Day tickets, I felt the nervousness I feel before and during a big game...the nervousness that sometimes lasts an entire day. After I secured Opening Day tickets for me and my friends, the feeling started to change - going from tension to anticipation.

In 35 days, things get going for real. Johan will be taking the mound for Citi Field's 1st Season Opener against the Marlins. I've already taken the day off, as have thousands of others. That day will be magnificent. Until that day, games that count for the Mets in the standings will wait. Baseball is back, though, and it doesn't seem to matter that today is Monday.

"The Mets Are In Trouble, Buddy"

2010-02-24T12:58:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting at work, dealing with a bunch of different matters. I'm answering e-mails that won't stop, rushing from office to office for answers, and trying to arrange meetings around other meetings. Every half hour, when he catches me at my desk, one of my work acquaintances (another Mets fan) walks by, glares, and states with venom and vigor: "The Mets are in trouble, buddy."

The first time he walked by, I mutterred something and shook my head. The second time, I tried to offer a retort but he scurried out. The third time he did it, he sat next to me and added this for effect: "If you don't think the Mets are in trouble, there's something wrong with you. You got Johan and 4 bums." When I responded that a Mets team with a similar rotation and a bullpen that's far worse than the 2010 team should be (the 2008 pen) won 89 games, he started to bash the offense. When I noted that Jason Bay in effect replaces Carlos Delgado's production, he called Daniel Murphy a "liability."

It was then that I paused to take in exactly what was going on here. It's February 24th...all of the Mets have gathered in Port St. Lucie, and Opening Day is in 39 days. 39 days! We've been without Mets baseball for nearly five months and it seemed lately that even the most pessimistic of Mets fans had started to look forward to the 2010 season. However, my work acquaintance isn't one of them.

I then came to the conclusion that it is some fans' preference and wont to relish in the fact that the Mets might fail, instead of hoping that they become Champions -of the Wild Card, the Division, the National League and/or the World. I used to think these fans were simply pessimistic, but now I think they actually enjoy acting this way.

This is perplexing to me. Is someone who claims to be a Mets fan, yet spends his or her day (during Spring Training no less) attempting to make other Mets fans miserable by stating how the season is over in February actually a Mets fan? I say no. I would term these people Mets followers.

A fan (especially one of the Mets), has every right to be aggravated or angry at the state of the team/franchise, but a true fan would never relish the possiblity of his or her team failing - since that result would hurt too much.

Now, I understand that Citi Field (for many reasons) will never have the feel of Shea Stadium. However, we should all hope (and for those of us who attend lots of games - we can make this happen) that in 2010, Mets fans shake off the pain that was the last 3 seasons and focus on rooting and making noise instead of sulking and arguing with eachother. If not, this faction of followers will multiply and then the Mets may actually be in trouble, buddy.

Beards, Superstition, and the Mets

2010-02-17T10:58:00.001-08:00

A little over a week ago, my friend Jeff called me with an idea..a call to put down the shaving cream. His idea was for us (and any of our other Mets fan friends who agreed) to grow a beard. Having gone down this road before with what we hoped would be Playoff beards in September of 2007, I was hesitant at first - due in large part to the fact that we were forced to shave off our beards in late September of 2007 after we attended a Philip Humber meltdown against the Nationals at Shea (in an effort to reverse the team's fortunes).

Even though the wounds from the 2007 beard-growing fiasco are still fresh, starting today, and continuing through the morning of April 5th (Opening Day), Jeff and I will be abstaining from shaving. Let's call this one the "Opening Day Beard." With tomorrow being the official reporting date for pitchers and catchers, spring training is about to be underway. And as spring training - and the countdown to Opening Day - starts, our shaving stops. I am not a person who experiments with wild facial hair. The only other real beard I grew was for the 2007 fiasco. I do go 4 or 5 days without shaving during the week if I have nothing important to do, but I am usually as close to clean shaven as possible.

When I broke the news to my girlfriend this morning, she was less than pleased. She thought I was joking at first, before realizing how serious I was about the Opening Day beard. I really don't even know what Jeff and I expect to get out of this. After 4 and a half months without baseball, we've started to become delirious. I suppose the beard is many things...

It's a show of unity for the upcoming season, a sort of reverse countdown to Opening Day (the longer the beards get, the closer we get to Opening Day), and eventually, a type of cleansing on April 5th - when we shave our beards and finally wash off the filth and grime of the 2009 regular season.

Superstition and the Mets have always gone hand in hand. Many of us (Mets fans) wear the same jersey to the ballpark over and over if the Mets are on a winning streak, and remove it once the streak ends. If we're watching the game together in certain spots on the couch or the floor and something good starts happening, we don't move. If we're planning to watch a game at a bar, but remember that 3 months ago, the Mets lost a close game while we wathced the game at that very same bar, we switch the locale. No one knows for sure if any of this stuff matters, but it gives us a feeling of closesness with eachother and the team.

With pitchers and catchers set to report to Port St. Lucie in less than 22 hours, here's to a successful 2010 season - and to the continued use of ridiculous superstitious nonsense by fellow Mets fans.

LGM.

A Good Sign for the 2010 Season

2010-02-13T13:40:00.001-08:00

As I exited a store a few hours ago, I thought I felt something land on my hat. When I asked my girlfriend to confirm, she burst out laughing. In the picture above, to the left of the Mets insignia, is what landed on my hat. A huge glob of bird crap. It wasn't white, it was brown...and extra disgusting.

I was going to try to salvage that hat, but the car ride home with the bird crap on it would've been unbearable. After I got over the shock of losing my beloved hat, I realized that this is a fantastic omen for the upcoming season. Now, I'm off to get a new hat...

An Injection of Sanity

2010-02-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this by explaining a few things: I'm not affected by how the Mets are perceived in the papers/on the airwaves. I have no intention of getting into a debate regarding the Mets' medical staff/injury diagnoses. And when I look at the Mets' 2009 final record, I don't take it seriously. Why? Because those weren't the Mets. Those were imposters, filling in for the afflicted members of the team, trying in vain to stay respectable.

Today is February 1st. The most hellish month in the baseball offseason has come to a close. In 17 days, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training. It's so close, you can almost smell the grass and the leather, almost hear the snap of David Wright's glove as he has a catch with Jose Reyes. This should be a time of joy, but most Mets fans are instead miserable. Some of them are miserable for the sake of it, some are miserable because the media has told them they should be, and some are miserable because they honestly feel they've been sold a false bill of goods by the soon to be 2010 Mets.

They're wondering where all their shiny new toys are. They're angry that the team that lost 92 games hasn't completely re-made itself...furious that ticket prices were only lowered by a few percent. These fans are like dogs that have been infected with rabies, foaming at the mouth, running around looking for someone to bite. They refuse to back down, refuse to let common sense get in the way of their misery - or their pointless diatribe.

In 2004 (and 2002 and 2003), the Mets were bad. They were often unwatchable. They trotted out lineups that included Danny Garcia, Vance Wilson, Jason Phillips, Mike Glavine, and Jeff Duncan. The team was an abomination. During the offseason of 2004, things began to fall into place for the Mets. Over the course of the 2004 offseason, and the four offseason's that followed, the Mets continued to add star quality players to the team - but never added more than two at a time. Here's a rundown of the BIG moves (at the time, not moves that were seen as being big in hindsight, like the Duaner Sanchez trade).....

Offseason of 2004 - Signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran.

Offseason of 2005 - Traded for Carlos Delgado and signed Billy Wagner.

Offseason of 2006 - Re-signed Tom Glavine and signed Moises Alou.

Offseason of 2007 - Traded for Johan Santana.

Offseason of 2008 - Signed Francisco Rodriguez and traded for JJ Putz.

In 2005, the Mets were contenders for the Wild Card, but faded in September. In 2006, they dominated the National League and ran away with the Division Title. They would've most likely made it to the World Series and won it, but they lost their setup man (Sanchez) in late July, and then lost their #1 starter (Pedro) and #2 starter (Orlando Hernandez) the week before the Playoffs began. In 2007, they choked - but still won 88 games. In 2008, they lost their closer (Billy Wagner) in August, and missed the Playoffs by a game. Going into the 2009 season, the Mets were expected to contend for a World Series Title. And then...the roof came crashing in.

The 2009 season wasn't the most disappointing season in Mets history - since the players who were left by the time August rolled around had no shot of competing. Instead, it was the most numbing. The injuries started in March, and kept piling until they reached the point of being almost unfathomable. The Mets not only lost tons of players...they lost pretty much every one of their impact players - and lost them for months at a time. On the offensive side, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado went down in May, then Carlos Beltran started to limp - and eventually went down. Ryan Church (before the trade) was hurt. Then, David Wright got drilled in the head. Around them, the Mets lost backups (Angel Pagan, Alex Cora) and then the backups to the backups (Fernando Martinez, Wilson Valdez). It was absurd. The pitchers went down too. Oliver Perez missed most of the year with knee problems, John Maine missed 3 months, Jon Niese tore his hamstring, Fernando Nieve almost did the same thing as Niese...and then they lost Johan.

There isn't a team in Major League Baseball that could've overcome the amount of injuries that the Mets had in 2009. No shot. The result of all those injuries? 4th place, 70-92.

During the 2009 offseason, much like from 2004-2008, the Mets made one huge move - signing Jason Bay. The rest of the moves were minor. However, coming off of all the injuries, the fans were thirsty for more.

Fans began screaming for major changes. Ownership apologized on WFAN. Writers piled on the Mets every chance they got. Fans failed to renew their season tickets. People criticized Citi Field. Babies cried. There were dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria.

Some of that hysteria can be understood - SOME of it. It's understandable for the fan base to be worried going into 2010, considering what happened in 2009. However, it wasn't the core that failed last year. It was the replacements. Nevertheless, instead of counting on the Mets' players bouncing back, most fans are counting on everyone else's players having career years while each of the Mets sinks deeper into irrelevance. I don't know why, but that's the feeling.

From 2006-2009, the Mets had four all star caliber hitters in their prime who held together their lineup (Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran). In 2010, the Mets will have four all star caliber hitters in their prime who hold together the lineup (Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay). In 2008, the year the Mets won 89 games and missed the playoffs by one game, their rotation included Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. The 2010 rotation will include those four pitchers, along with one more yet to be determined name. Instead of overspending on volatile relievers, the Mets spent wisely on two high potential relievers who were rather inexpensive (Ryota Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar). The 2010 team, which has question marks, like every other team in baseball, will be fun to watch. It should be competitive, just like the 2005-2008 versions of the Mets were.

Yet, the fans still froth at the mouth. Instead of being satisfied that Jason Bay signed, they're angry that the Mets didn't get that fifth big hitter for their lineup to play first base. If they relaxed, they'd realize that the Mets haven't HAD that fifth big hitter in their lineup in quite some time...they'd realize that the Mets' top power hitting prospect plays first base. His name is Ike Davis. I wanted the Mets to trade Luis Castillo, but they couldn't. It sucks, you move on.

The bullpen has been solidified.

The Mets didn't hand out any outlandish contracts.

The one thing the Mets didn't do, that I (and most every other fan hoped they would) was acquire a #2 starter. The free agent market outside of John Lackey was extremely underwhelming, and a trade never materialized. Do the Mets have less of a chance of making the Playoffs since their rotation hasn't been bolstered with the acquisition of that #2 starter? Maybe. Maybe not.

Instead of focusing on what the Mets don't have, let's focus on what they do have:

Four of the best offensive players in baseball, in David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Bay.

A bullpen that's anchored by one of the best closers in the game.

A rotation that's anchored by one of the best pitchers in the game.

That's the core.

People wanted to break that core up. They wanted wholesale changes because of one fluky, insanely injury ravaged, hellish season. They didn't get their wish.

The Mets fans (some who seem like Yankee fans), well they wanted some shiny new toys - even if they weren't very shiny. They didn't get their wish.

What we have, is an immensely talented ballclub...one that should contend as long as it stays relatively healthy - which isn't a far-fetched idea.

17 days until Spring Training. Mets Baseball is almost here. Don't miss out because you've been brainwashed into believing your team isn't good enough, or because you think you've been duped. This team IS good enough.

Just sit back and watch.

Left Field at the Citi? We'll Call it BayRut

2010-01-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

If Peter Gammons had any idea what he was talking about when he bellowed that Jason Bay would rather play in Beirut than in Queens, the scene that unfolded late this morning at Citi Field would have never taken place.

Those who believed Gammons were the same who had already given up on the Mets' offseason. The rest of us took it for what it was: A crock from a bitter Red Sox fan who resembles a turkey. Sorry Peter, I had to.

The Jason Bay who emerged from his seat and calmly and confidently fielded questions this morning, bore no resemblance to a man who didn't want to play in New York for the Mets. He stated repeatedly that the Mets were always on his list (of 3 to 4 teams). He mentioned that the deal had been struck right around Christmas, and that the supposed hold-up had nothing to do with a desire not to play for the Mets, and everything to do with the fact that the important parties were out of the Country until recently(Bay himself and Omar Minaya).

Bay looked comfortable, and it was easy to envision him sliding into the #4 or #5 slot in the order and starting to rake. All of the naysayers and downers who questioned the Mets' motives, Bay's desires and the state of the Mets need look no further than this quote from Bay: "Like I said, record-wise, I know what happened here on the surface, with guys getting hurt. I think that I offer a perspective where, if you look from a talent standpoint...the lineup, if you have everyone healthy you have an amazing lineup and arguably you have the best pitcher, fresh perspective, I don’t see how that can’t be good."

Could it be that Jason Bay sees a team that averaged 90 wins for 4 years in a row before being decimated by injuries? There's always a certain amount of BS that has to be cut through at press conferences, but the above quote from Bay seemed genuine and on the money. Like lots of fans had been repeating ad-nauesum, Jason Bay was able to see past what was a freakishly miserable 2009 and fix his eyes on the big picture.

And here is that big picture:

The offensive core of the 2010 Mets will consist of Jose Reyes (26), David Wright (27), Jason Bay (31) and Carlos Beltran (32). That's a damn good core. Bengie Molina will probably be signed as well (not a huge fan of that potential move, but if it's for 1 or 2 years it's not terrible). Then, the Mets will either find a platoon partner for Daniel Murphy or take a chance on Carlos Delgado on a low-base salary. Offense shouldn't be a problem for this team in 2010, and the bullpen shouldn't be a problem either.

The starting rotation...Johan and ????...An ace and 4 other guys...

The starting rotation is the last item on Omar Minaya's agenda as we sit here on January 5th (along with maybe, finally finding a deal that rids the Mets of Luis Castillo).

Johan Santana, Ace, will be in the rotation. Oliver Perez (who was injured and aloof all of last year and who is attempting to rehab his body and mind in Arizona) will be in there as well. Those seem to be the only two certainties. Jonathon Niese could turn out to be the #5 starter, but that remains to be seen. Mike Pelfrey and John Maine are being dangled as potential trade bait that could net the Mets Carlos Zambrano. The Mets could always sign Ben Sheets - a huge injury risk, but the most talented guy out there (via trade or free agency). I pray that they stay away from Joel Pineiro, and his price tag will hopefully help to answer that prayer.

In 44 days, Pitchers and Catchers will start reporting to Port St. Lucie for Spring Training. In addition to Johan, Ollie and the relievers, what other pitchers will be there? January, to me, is the last hurdle in the too long winter of baseball-less discontent. It's the last month until November 2010 where we won't see a picture or video of a Met in uniform on a field - with a glove, or a bat, or just standing there in the sun on the grass. If I was Marty McFly, I'd jump in the Delorean and head to mid-February. Unfortunately, that's not an option. Mets fans will again be forced to be patient, or cause riots, while we wait for our #2 starter to arrive. Who will it be?

Patience - or Lack Thereof

2009-12-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Much like this agitated cat, Mets fans are growing impatient. To use this picture as an example, Mets fans are the cat and the offseason (thus far) is the empty bowl.

Some fans are still calm as can be and others are edgy. A handful have taken to being negative for the sake of it, and the ones who are buying the doomsday scenarios and reckless vitriol being presented by the media are beyond help at this point. All, however, are waiting to be fed.

Before Roy Halladay was traded to the Phillies and John Lackey signed with the Red Sox on the same day, most fans were in agreement with the following notion: Of all the deals that had been made so far this offseason (trades and signings), there wasn't a single player they were upset about the Mets missing out on. To name a bunch of the major moves - 32 year old Chone Figgins signed a deal with Seattle, Placido Polanco (whose value is as a 2nd baseman) signed a 3 year deal to play 3rd base for the Phillies, the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson, Randy Wolf signed with the Brewers, and the Braves signed two geriatric relievers (Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito).

If the Mets had made any of those moves, they would've been foolish AND they would've been blasted by the media. Figgins would've been seen as an older player with little power, Polanco as someone out of position, Granderson as someone who can't hit lefties, Wolf as too expensive, and Wagner and/or Saito as too old. Since those players all went to other teams, the moves were praised by the media around here and the Mets were painted as a team that had "missed out." Even though they didn't make an offer for any of those players.

When the Halladay and Lackey deals went down, though, lots of the fans reached their breaking point. Lackey didn't sign with the Mets, so to the media (and consequently the fans), that meant that the Mets were a terrible organization who Lackey didn't want any part of. Does that mean the other 28 teams in baseball besides the Mets and Red Sox are also horrible franchises? Because Lackey didn't sign with any of them either.

Halladay is a different story. He went to the Phillies. Does that move improve the Phillies marginally? Absolutely. However, to acquire Halladay, they traded 2008 AL Cy Young Award Winner and proven Postseason bulldog Cliff Lee (along with some of their top prospects). Halladay made it known that the ONLY team he was willing to accept a trade to and sign an extension with was Philadelphia. The Mets had no shot. Again, though, the media spun it as the Mets missing out (when 28 other teams missed out as well), and the fans got angrier and louder.

Today is December 23rd. As an intense and fiercely loyal Mets fan, here is my take:

The biggest need for the Mets this offseason is to find a corner outfielder/middle of the order bat. Right now, they have the best offer on the table for Jason Bay. People are speculating that since he hasn't accepted the Mets' offer yet, he must not want to play here. That may be true. However, using that logic, by rejecting the Red Sox' offer when it was the only one on the table, that must mean he didn't want to play in Boston either. What this appears to be, is a game of cat and mouse. The Mets want Bay, he wants a five year deal (while the Mets have only guaranteed four). Each side is trying to avoid blinking. I'm aggravated at the pace of the negotiations, and I'll be furious if the Mets miss out on Jason Bay and fallback option Matt Holliday. However, they're both still on the market and their suitors are minimal. One of them will probably be a Met in the coming days.

The Mets needed to address their bullpen, and they found one piece with the signing of 30 year old Japanese Reliever Ryota Igarashi. He throws in the mid to upper 90's, and was snatched up on a 2 year deal worth between 3 and 4 million - a very solid move for the Mets that was almost ridiculed because they haven't yet addressed the offense and rotation. If the Mets add one more power reliever (perhaps Octavio Dotel), their bullpen will be in very good shape.

That leaves the starting rotation. If you're a fan who's angry that the Mets didn't sign Jason Marquis (he of the career 4.48 ERA and 1.40 WHIP), I don't know what to tell you. The Mets need a solid #2 type starter to slide in behind Johan Santana, and Marquis is not that. Neither is Randy Wolf. The only #2 type starters on the market are injury risks (Ben Sheets to name one). And I'd much rather have the Mets take a chance on someone like Sheets, if the alternative is someone like Marquis or one year wonder Joel Pineiro. Low-risk, high-reward is the better bet than moderate risk-no reward.

Again, I'm antsy. I wish the Mets had done everything already...signed that power bat, acquired that #2 starter, finished upgrading the bullpen...but they haven't. I can't guarantee that the Mets will fill every hole. But I also don't believe that a team in New York with a brand new ballpark - a team that won 90 games on average from 2005-2008, only to suffer through the worst injury ravaged season in the history of baseball, is undesirable to free agents and as some writers have taken to spewing "a third place team even with Bay and others." I think that idea is a crock. If we're sitting here in a month and the roster is made up of retreads and R.A. Dickey, I'll have been proven wrong. And I'll be pissed. But it isn't January 23rd, it's December 23rd. Carlos Beltran signed in January, Johan Santana was traded in January. Mets fans should have a little more patience...not tons, just a little. See what happens.

The Disappearance of True Sports Journalism

2009-12-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

Around the time I was nearing the last leg of my daily morning commute, while I was hustling through the howling winds by battery park on my way to the subway, my thoughts were on baseball.

I thought first of David Wright, since he's a resident of the City, and I wondered what he might be doing today. Was he as excited for the season as I was? With the dawn of blogs, followed by facebook and twitter, the intensity of the fans during the offseason has been increasing.

And as the Winter Meeting have progressed - with little action by anyone, save for the Yankees who dealt a few of their overhyped prospects for a glorified platoon player - lots of Mets fans have become increasingly agitated. They were first bothered by the fact that the Mets wouldn't be spending money this offseason (which was perpetuated by the vast majority of the Mets' beat writers). Then, they were aggravated when a Yankee shill who's about to be honored by the Hall of Fame for some reason, penned an article stating that all the Mets were interested in was signing low-cost Latino's (the inflammatory part of the article was slyly removed by editors from the online edition after fans got wind of it).

When the first actual quote from anoyone but an unnamed source or supposed team insider came out yesterday (from Omar Minaya stating that the Mets would indeed be in on the big free agents), the writers printed it. They didn't apologize for spinning their agenda's in their effort to move papers. They didn't give the Mets credit. Everyone is aware that the object is to sell papers, and interesting negative stories sell. But if you're going to print stories like that, back them up with facts and common sense.

And then it dawned on me...The same supposed journalists who have been damning blogs to hell, are slimier and more fallacious than most bloggers. Worse, they're vindictive and agenda-driven. What else could possibly explain the unbelievable amount of piling on that has been done to the Mets since the 2009 season came to a close? A team who from 2005-2008 won 90+ games per year on average, had suffered a hellish injury marred season. Their punishment for their injuries and the record that resulted, has been writers (mostly local and some national) claiming that the Mets are a loser franchise that won't spend money. A team with no direction.

The fans who follow this team, but aren't as consumed with baseball as some, bought into the nonsense. They started to believe that the Mets were a loser team, even though 2005-2008 proved differently. They feared that the Mets wouldn't spend money, even though they've spent money every season and offseason in recent memory (obtaining Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, and extending David Wright and Jose Reyes).

So far this offseason, all the Mets have done so far is signed a backup catcher and showed remarkable constraint. It's something I'm thrilled about. While other teams have been handing out contracts to middling players that were excessive in both years and dollars, the Mets have lied in wait. It's the tact they took with Carlos Beltran, who signed in January. And it's the tact they took with the Johan Santana sweepstakes, which concluded around February. As the days have passed, the suitors for Matt Holliday have dwindled (the Cardinals are getting impatient, the Yankees dealt for Granderson, Red Sox officials have indicated they only have interest in Jason Bay).

All the while, the Mets lie in wait. Some of the fans that were perilously close to the edge, due in large part to the rambling and nonsensical hyperbole from the area's baseball writers, have slowly started to back off the edge. Others are still skeptical. The one's who have been level-headed throughout, are becoming even more confident in the direction of the team. One thing, though, is starting to become clear. The area writers (with some exceptions...Dave Lennon of Newsday for one) may want to take a look in the mirror before accusing blogs of being nonsense filled wastelands that are threatening to make newspapers obsolete. With every article that gets pumped out, the disappearance of true journalism is becoming more and more obvious. The writers are doing a fine job of single-handedly making their work obsolete. They don't need any assistance from us.

Why I Won't Cancel My Ticket Plan

2009-12-04T10:29:00.001-08:00

I received an invoice from the Mets a little over a week ago. Enclosed was a letter from the Mets, stating the obvious - they knew 2009 was an awful season all around, they knew that we knew, and they pledged to make 2010 better. I didn't believe them. Not because I think they're lying or being disingenuous, but because they can't tell the future.

If the Mets or anyone else could tell the future, the team would've been prepared for the rash of injuries that destroyed the roster last season. I appreciate the team's attempt at apologizing and promising better times, but I knew it wouldn't be something that swayed my decision - since my decision was already made.

I never once pondered the idea of not renewing my ticket plan. I've had a partial (Saturday) ticket plan with the Mets since the 2001 season. No, I wasn't a bandwagon fan who jumped on board after the 2000 World Series trip. I was a 17 year old who had finally convinced my father to purchase a ticket plan (2 seats in Loge Reserved, Row A between third base and left field) and come to the games with me.

For nine seasons, we cherished those seats in Loge Reserved. We made friends with most of the other plan holders who sat around us, and made enemies with the fairweather fans who came into our section and pissed us off. We imitated the vendors - everyone from the guy with the awful toupee, to the soda vendor who pronounced pepsi as "petsee," to the guy who sweated into his beer. The games were sometimes great and sometimes awful, but usually fell somewhere inbetween.

It was more than the games, though. It was knowing that any time the Mets were home on a Saturday, we would be there. For all the arguments fathers and sons have, there would never be one that took place at a Mets game. It was a time to sit in the sun, cheer for your team, curse a little, laugh a lot, and throw back a few. In 2007, when my father eventually got tired of dealing with all the traffic we had to sit in to and from the games, my friend Jeff bought his ticket and we split the plan until Shea Stadium was demolished after the 2008 season. Our last Saturday game at Shea was Johan's masterpiece against the Marlins that kept the Mets alive.

As the offseason before 2009 went on, we agonized over whether or not we would be offered a ticket plan in new Citi Field. We eventually were, but it was different than the one we had at Shea. Instaed of 13 Saturday games, we received 10 Saturday games and 5 weeknight games. This change was a problem for some, but since I work in the Bronx and my friend Jeff works in Manhattan, it wasn't a big deal meeting up after work to head to the weeknight games. We of course decided to get the plan, and our friend Charles came in with us and bought a 3rd ticket.

The seats we were able to secure in Citi Field were in Promenade Reserved, Section 527, Row 2...a far cry from our old seats that were in the Loge at Shea. But even though they weren't the best seats, they were still good. And they were a ton less money than we had paid at Shea (coming out to roughly $300.00 per seat for the 15 games - plus whatever we spend on parking and food). Every Met fan knows how last season turned out, so there's no need to go into that. We went until it was unbearable (which for me came when I was unfortunate enough to see David Wright take a fastball to the head). We enjoyed Citi Field, and even when the Mets were getting blasted, we enjoyed eachother's company.

My friends and I are enormous Mets fans. We follow the team 12 months a year, hang on every pitch, and look forward to every game. Our moods rise when the Mets win, drop when they lose, and go into the toilet when they drop a game in agonizing fashion. Our girlfriends can't understand why we care so much about the Mets, nor do we expect them to. We were born to root for this team, and take great pride in doing so. We DO care this much, and that's all that matters. No matter how bad the team gets, no matter how terrible the losses get, no matter how down the rest of the fanbase gets, we will always be there.

That's not to say that the losing doesn't have a huge impact on us. It affects us tremendously. We get pissed off, we storm around the ballpark by ourselves cursing and shaking our heads. When we're watching the games at home, we call eachother in disgust and throw our possessions at the walls when bad things happen to our team. Through all of it, the Mets remain our team.

We refuse to buy the negativity being spewed by the local and national media about the Mets. We aren't offended that our beautiful new ballpark has a rotunda that's dedicated to the man who broke baseball's color barrier. We aren't mad that the Mets haven't already signed Matt Holliday, unlike the delusional and impatient fans who are already thirsty for blood. We're aware that the offseason will play out slowly, and we hope that the Mets end up with the players they need.

Mets fans are different than Yankee fans. We're conditioned to not give up easily. We aren't spoiled brats who expect our team to win the World Series every year. We refuse to whimper in the corner because the Mets had one brutal injury ravaged season after having four seasons where the team averaged nearly 90 wins.

We will keep our ticket plan. And like the days I spent at the ballpark with my father from 2001-2006, the three of us will go to the ballpark together to cheer for the Mets. We'll sometimes get there early to tailgate a little, head to shake shack for a burger, and then settle into our seats. Every time we attend a game, we'll have our momentary escape from our jobs and our love lives and any nonsense that may be going on at the moment.

We'll enjoy the day or night, enjoy eachothers company, and hope the Mets win. We'll do those things because that is what being at a baseball game is all about. It's not a place to bicker over nonsense (like the rotunda or the media's controversy du jour), it's about enjoying the ballgame. If there are 2 strikes on a batter and Johan is in his delivery, we'll stand up and cheer (the fairweathers behind us can complain all they want). If one of the Mets drives in a run, we'll stand in unison and slap hands and beat the hell out of eachother in celebration. Unlike tons of other Mets fans who have been canceling their tickets in droves, we will be there. And come April, we'll be filled with optimism just like we are every season. That optimism will likely turn to sadness and disappointment sometime between April and late October. But if it doesn't, oh what a season it will be.

What is a Laughing Stock?

2009-11-30T10:25:00.001-08:00

Since the Mets' 2009 season mercifully came to a close, there have been quite the number of words/terms that have been used to describe them. They've been labeled pathetic, a joke, second class citizens, and a laughing stock. A great big laughing stock...

What IS a laughing stock? The 1962 Mets were a laughing stock. The Knicks since 2001 are a perennial laughing stock. The Detroit Lions are a laughing stock. But the Mets? Can one unbelievably unlucky injury plagued hell on Earth season make the Mets a laughing stock just like that? Many in the local and national media seem to think so.

The dreadful 2009 season the Mets had has somehow eliminated the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons. Jose Reyes is no longer a star on the rise -he's washed up at age 26 after being healthy for 4 straight seasons (apparently only players on teams other than the Mets recover from injuries in their 20's). The team that was picked by Sports Illustrated before last season to win the World Series is now dead in the water. They apparently have no direction (even though their farm system has been improving and is now around the middle of the pack). They have no hope (even though they sold over 3 million tickets, have pledged to keep a high payroll, and have a brand new ballpark and relatively new network). To the media and uninformed fans of other teams, they're a laughing stock.

From 2005 through 2008, the Mets averaged 89 wins per year. They came back from the dead in 2005, and were one swing away from making it to the World Series in 2006 (but were at a severe disadvantage after losing both their #1 and #2 starters before the NLDS - a fact no one ever brings up). In 2007, everyone knows what happened. In 2008, the Mets lost Billy Wagner in August and ended up missing the Playoffs by a game. Tough endings to seasons? No doubt.

From 1997-2009, the Mets have had 9 winning seasons and 4 losing seasons (three of those losing seasons were 2002, 2003 and 2004). They've made the playoffs 3 times during that span, and missed out on the playoffs by 1 game on 3 other occassions (1998, 2007, 2008). They've consistently been at one of the top spots in baseball as far as attendance is concerned. They've launched their own network, opened a beautiful new ballpark, continued to dwarf the team across town with their charity efforts, and have had no trouble attracting free agents.

But 2009 happened. Apparently, losing Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, JJ Putz, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Johan Santana, Fernando Nieve, Jon Niese, Ryan Church, Alex Cora, Gary Sheffield, Angel Pagan, Brian Schneider, Jeff Francoeur, David Wright and others for huge chunks of the season had nothing to do with the Mets losing over 90 games. They were a laughing stock again (even though they were contenders up until the point when the injuries got too absurd to combat in June). They were a joke of a franchise (even though they had a brand new ballpark, and a network with some of the best in the business as its voices). Their future was doomed and they needed to rebuild (even though their core of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez was in tact). Their farm system was brutal (even though they have Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Reese Havens, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia, Brad Holt and others on the horizon). All of these things somehow became fact after ONE injury ravaged season.

Now, according to the same drones in the media, it's going to be impossible for the Mets to attract free agents this offseason (even thought they signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran after a brutal 2004). If that angle isn't good enough, the writers (New York Daily News, I'm looking at you) will claim that the Mets are in a financial freeze - that they don't intend to spend this winter...another notion that's a complete crock.

All of this hyperbole is enough to drive a regular fan insane. Since most Mets fans are already insane, my advice is to take all of this stuff and shrug. Laugh if you must, or just crack a small smile. Don't believe the nonsense that's being spewed. Don't let the negativity cause you to scale back your fandom. Don't fall for the trap. The 2010 Mets, barring injuries, will be what the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 teams were - teams that win more games than they lose. If they play up to their capability, they'll make the Playoffs. And if they catch the breaks that are necessary for a Championship run, they'll make one. Laughing stock my ass.

Are These Retro Enough?

2009-11-24T11:18:00.001-08:00

Today, in an e-mail to fans and in an official release, the Mets announced what had been known by most fans for quite some time: The Mets are getting a new "retro" home jersey for the 2010 season (the old bright white pinstriped jersey is no more).

In its place, is a jersey that is similar but is a lot closer to the orignial Mets home uniforms of the 1960's. The new jersey is a cream color - the drastic difference between the old bright white jerseys and the new cream ones is evident when you look at them side by side. The pinstripes appear to be lighter, while the blue and orange Mets lettering across the chest appears to be darker than the lettering on the old jerseys (which I thought was too bright). However, one thing about the "retro" jerseys is completely 1998.

The jerseys the Mets wore in the 1960's were cream with light blue pinstripes and Mets written in bold across the chest (just like the new "retro" jerseys). One thing those jerseys didn't have? Black drop-shadow encasing the Mets lettering across the chest. To the non die-hard fan, this isn't a big deal. To the fans who almost unanimously relayed their disdain of the black colors that appeared in Mets uniforms starting in 1998 (in surveys that the team sent out themselves). "Retro" jerseys - especially ones that celebrate the teams past- should not have black drop-shadow. Especially when the fans the team polled pretty much all hate the Mets' black hats and uniforms. Black was not an original Mets color. Their colors were blue (from the Dodgers) and orange (from the Giants).

This new jersey is very nice. If it's worn strictly with the blue hats and blue stirrups it will look great. In order to make it look fantastic, the Mets need to remove the black drop-shadow. Tom Seaver never wore a Mets uniform that had any black in it. David Wright's "retro" jersey shouldn't have black either. Make the change.

Vomit Inducing Voraciousness

2009-11-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

Today, Rational (sometimes) Mets Musings will focus its attention on a report about the team that plays across town -the team that plays in another league, but whose personnel moves profoundly affect the Mets and the rest of Major League Baseball.

In a report for SI.com, Jon Heyman relays the news that the Yankees recently reached out to the Toronto Blue Jays to express interest in acquiring their (and arguably the American League's) best pitcher. According to Heyman, in exchange for Roy Halladay, the Yankees are willing to include Phil Hughes and Catcher Jesus Montero (the Yankees' top prospect).

There are two parties I'm disgusted with. One of them is the Yankees...who after a World Series Title that came on the heels of one of the biggest spending sprees in the history of baseball, may attempt to add yet another enormous contract (Halladay will seek a 6 year extension worth over $20 million annually) to stack up next to the rest of their mercenaries. The Yankees cannot be faulted for this. It's disgusting, greedy, and absurd, but it's not their fault. They're simply trying to buy every single marquee player in their quest to eventually make the entire baseball season an irrelevant masquerade. The rules are the rules, and there is no hard salary cap. If the Yankees acquired Roy Halladay, their payroll would skyrocket to close to $250 million (almost double what the Mets' payroll is, and $100 million clear of the field).

Regardless of how recklessly the Yankees are acting during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the party I'm far more disgusted with are the Blue Jays and Alex Anthopoulous. For those who may not know, Anthopoulous is the new General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. In sharp contrast from his predecessor J.P. Ricciardi, Anthopolous has intimated that he has no reservations about dealing Roy Halladay to a team in his own division (namely the Yankees or Red Sox). If the Yankees - and to a lesser extent the Red Sox - were on the same financial level as the Blue Jays, I would agree with lots of Anthopolous' points.

Anthopolous states that if the trade packages are comparable between a team in his division and a team outside of his division, he would almost certainly deal his star player to the team that plays outside of his division. He goes on to say that if the markedly better package is from a team in his division (the Yankees), it's in the best interest of his franchise to deal his star player to that team. While this idea may not be totally absurd if the Blue Jays were the 2nd best team in the Division - making them a contender for the Wild Card each year - it IS absurd since the Blue Jays are also in a division with the Red Sox.

I'm not suggesting that General Managers refuse to deal quality players to the Yankees -that would result in cries of collusion, and create an enormous mess throughout Major League Baseball. My suggestion is that the brand new General Manager of a team in the same division as two financial behemoths, exhausts every single trade option before even considering dealing Roy Halladay to the Yankees. In a perfect world, there would be a hard salary cap in baseball (Maybe $200 million), that would prevent scenarios like Halladay to the Yankees from becoming a reality. With the absence of that hard salary cap, General Managers who outsmart themselves all the way to unemployment must be trusted to not let this situation with the Yankees get any more out of hand.

Our Ballpark

2009-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

With the absence of any concrete team related news over the last few days, Rational (sometimes) Mets Musings will today turn its attention to our glistening new ballpark, and the unfair abuse it has taken during its first year of existence.

This weekend, it was reported that the bullpens at Citi Field would be renovated for the 2010 season. Instead of one being behind the other, the bullpens will be changed to a side by side setup. Both broadcasters and players of visiting teams complained throughout the season about the location of the visitors pen (which prevented broadcasters from seeing who was warming up, and prevented players from having a quality view of the game that was taking place before them). The renovation of the bullpens follows lots of other adjustments/corrections that were made to the ballpark in-season (some with lots of fanfare, some that no one noticed).

For any Mets fan, Shea Stadium was a place that was filled with memories - a place that shook with anticipation and excitement, and a place that was loved even though it was absent of charm and was lacking in most areas. The ramps were steep, the escalators were usually broken. The corridors were cold and dark, the seats weren't angled properly, and the blue exteroir that was unveiled in the mid 1980's turned to purple after a while. Nevertheless, the ballpark was loved despite its deficiencies - treatment that Citi Field has not received.

What is Citi Field? It's a brand new ballpark that was built for baseball. It is the home of the New York Mets, who wear Blue and Orange. Like its predecessor, it is a distinct pitchers park. The outside of the ballpark is beautiful, and is a nod to the exterior of Ebbets Field. The seats, for the most part, aren't absurdly priced, and are angled toward the field (there are some blind spots, like there are in every ballpark). There are lots of advertisements, a tremendous food selection, a train that lets you off at the entrance of the ballpark, and pictures of past and current players that take up just about half of the left side of the exterior of the ballpark. Sounds nice, right?

Lots of Mets fans (and New Yorkers) chose to ignore everything that was great about Citi Field, and attacked everything they felt was wrong about it. The most deafening screams came from those who claimed the ballpark was a nod to the Dodgers, and nothing more (simply because the rotunda was named after Jackie Robinson). Those people failed to take into consideration that the Mets are descendants of the Dodgers and Giants (we'll get to the other old New York NL team in a second), whose fans are in turn descendants of the fans of those late, great teams. The fans complained because the seats were green (ignoring the fact that when Shea Stadium opened, the seats were pastel colors). They complained that the walls weren't blue, but were the black and orange colors of the old New York Giants (ignoring the fact that the walls were green when Shea Stadium opened). They complained that there were (gasp!) seats where you couldn't see every inch of the playing field. The last complaint is a circumstance of going to a ballgame. There isn't ONE ballpark in Major League Baseball that offers unobstructed seats from every location in the joint.

There were a bunch of issues that the fans complained about, and those issues were addressed. It was noted by season ticket holders that the LED Boards that ran along the Promenade Level were blocking the view for some fans in the first row. The Mets responded by lowering the boards. The fans complained that there weren't enough pictures of Mets greats adorning the ballpark (even though there were pictures ringing the entire outside of the ballpark to go along with the enormous mural that covered the left field entrance, not to mention the silhouettes of great moments in Mets history that were at each main entrance). In turn, the Mets added MORE pictures to the inside of the ballpark. After all of these complaints were addressed, the only thing left to yell about was the fact that there wasn't enough blue and orange throughout the park.

Ballparks, these fans claimed, were filled with the colors of the home team's uniform (even though that claim is false). Without those colors, the fans roared, it's impossible to know whose ballpark they were at (just like the fans in Fenway Park who forget where they are because of all of the green). With the fans and talk show hosts continuing to roar through the offseason, the Mets announced that they would add orange and blue to the bare walls that enclose the staircases at Citi Field. This, they thought, would please the fans. Wrong. The same fans who screamed about the lack of Mets colors at Citi Field are now screaming because they're worried that the staircase walls (that they haven't seen, and have no idea how the Mets will paint them) will look tacky. Plain walls were an indication that the Mets didn't care about their history. Walls that contain orange and blue are tacky. Note to whoever builds the next Mets ballpark in 50 years: Don't build walls.

Justice for Wally

2009-11-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

After being out of Major League Baseball since his unceremonious firing by the Diamondbacks five years ago, Wally Backman has finally (and deservedly) been welcomed back to manage the game he loves. In a story that was reported online at New York Baseball Digest, it was announced today that Backman has been hired to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones (one of the Mets' single A affiliates).

Although Backman is not immediately returning to manage the big league team, one would think he's relieved today that his five year nightmare is finally over. After ripping through the Minor League managing ranks (drawing raves from future stars Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin - who Backman managed in the minors), Backman was hired to manage the Diamondbacks in 2004. Just days later, citing concerns over certain information they claim Backman didn't share during the interviewing process, the Diamondbacks fired Backman.

Wally Backman isn't a saint. He and his wife don't host game night with other couples. He's had some issues with alcohol, and he's had some issues with his finances. With that said, he did not deserve to be hired and fired by the Diamondbacks in the manner that he was back in 2004. After that firing, he certainly shouldn't have been blacklisted by Major League Baseball.

The reason the Diamondbacks fired Backman, was because he had failed to disclose that he had once filed for bankruptcy (not a crime), because of a "domestic disturbance" he was involved in (an altercation with his wife where she struck him, and where Backman was found to have done nothing wrong), and due to the fact that his struggles with alcohol had let to an arrest for Driving under the Influence.

Again, Backman is not a saint. However, filing for bankruptcy is something millions of people go through. It's not something that anyone would ever bring up in an interview with a prospective employer, and it's not something that should trigger a firing. Being involved in a domestic dispute with your significant other is ugly and embarrassing. However, when it's determined that you have done nothing wrong, it should remain ugly and embarrassing, but allow you to keep your job.

Driving while under the Influence is a whole different story. In that instance, Wally Backman was wrong. He made a mistake, and he paid for it - and he was lucky his idiotic decision didn't cause anything more severe. No one would (and no one should) ever condone getting behind the wheel after too many drinks. Tony La Russa (he of the multiple World Series Titles) has made that mistake, so did Billy Martin before him, and a countless number of athletes. While some of those men have a longer resume than Backman, it doesn't make them better people. And it certainly doesn't entitle them to have the jobs they deserve, while Backman is forced to sit on the sidelines begging for another shot.

After five years, Backman has that shot. It's not in the bigs (for now), but it's his chance to do what he loves again. It's his opportunity to take advantage of. For many Mets fans, Backman becoming manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones isn't satisfying because it reminds us of 1986 (I was only 3 when the Mets won that year). It's satisfying because Backman is one of us. He's a human being, and he's made mistakes (and paid for them in full). If Backman takes over the Cyclones with the same fire he displayed as a player, managing in the minors, and managing in the independent leagues, his potential is limitless. If he loses his temper and falters, he will most likely have ruined his best shot at making it all the way back.

Congratulations Wally. Keep your priorities straight, and go kick some ass.

To Whoever is Feeding Crack and Assorted Hallucinogens to the New York Daily News Staff: Please Stop.

2009-11-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's been irritating enough being subjected to moronic trade ideas from both the hosts and the first time caller/long time ignoramuses on WFAN. To them, the cure for a team that is ravaged by injuries is to trade one or both of its franchise's cornerstone players.

Although misguided and generally absurd, the hosts and callers making themselves heard on WFAN were at least hypothetically trading Jose Reyes and/or David Wright for other young cornerstone players who were under contract. They wanted to trade Jose Reyes for Tim Lincecum or deal David Wright for Kevin Youkilis. Those deals are still something I (and most rational Mets fans) would never consider, but they pale in comparison to the idiotic proposal that was spewed today from the mouth of William "The Bitter Bill" Price of the New York Daily News.

In Mr. Price's article, he suggests trading David Wright to the Blue Jays as part of a package for Roy Halladay, and then signing Chone Figgins to play third base. Price claims that his proposed trade "makes sense on several levels." He cites Citi Field as a place where "power - especially from the right side - isn't going to get it done in Citi Field." He claims David Wright had a year that was "horrible" overall in 2009. Price goes on to suggest placing Fernando Martinez in a second deal to acquire a "second tier" Left Fielder (even though there are second tier free agents on the open market). It's hard to pick one aspect of this article to pick apart, so I'll deal with several:

Mr. Price thinks the Mets should deal David Wright as part of a package for Roy Halladay...there are tons of things wrong with that idea alone. First of all, if the Mets were clueless enough to even consider doing that deal, it would be a one for one. As it stands, teams are balking at including even one top tier PROSPECT in a deal for Roy Halladay. If the Mets called up and offered David Wright for him, Wright alone would be the price. Second, Roy Halladay will be 33 years old this season...and he will be asking for a 6 or 7 year extension worth over $120 million dollars. If you're trading David Wright, you trade him for a player that is entering his prime, not exiting it. And if you trade David Wright, you do it after a season where he was near his best. You don't do it off a season where his power numbers sagged because of an adjustment to a new ballpark, the complete lack of protection around him in the lineup, and because of a fastball to the head.

Moving on, Mr. Price claimed that David Wright had a "horrible" season. His home run numbers were down, which brought his RBI numbers down. Aside from that, he was at or near his career averages in every other category. If David Wright played an entire season with the proper players around him (Reyes, Beltran and Delgado), he would've most likely ended up with close to 20 homers and 100 RBI's (to go along with his very good average and OBP). Contrary to lots of hyperbole filled uninformed reports, Citi Field IS NOT a place that saps power from right-handed hitters. According to Bill James, it was actually 10 percent easier for righties to pull home runs in Citi Field than in any other park.

Let's recap: Mr. Price wants to trade David Wright AND others (coming off a down - for him - year), for a soon to be 33 year old pitcher who will request a contract extension, then sign a proven complementary player with no power who's never been a star (Chone Figgins) to replace him at third base. He then wants to trade one of the organization's top prospects (Fernando Martinez) for a second tier left fielder, even though there are outfielders available via free agency.

At the end of his article, Mr. Price states that the Mets are a "doomed" franchise, because he suspects if the Blue Jays offered Roy Halladay straight up for David Wright, the Mets would decline. That mindless statement wraps Mr. Price's excuse for journalism up in a nice little bow. The Mets are "doomed" because they would hypothetically not trade their 26 year old franchise player for a soon to be 33 year old pitcher who would demand a 6 or 7 year contract extension worth over $120 million dollars. Right.

Near the end of his article, Mr. Price claims that the Mets "won't even sniff" a championship without a pitcher like Halladay in the rotation. Unless I'm confused from being on the same stuff Mr. Price is on, the Mets already have a pitcher just like Halladay in the rotation (Johan Santana). The one that's already in the rotation is also 2 years younger than Roy Halladay, and has proven himself in New York - much like David Wright has. Wright is a player you build franchises around. He's a guy who's idolized by young Mets fans and beloved by the older ones. He's someone you hold onto. Sometimes I'm worried about the fact that Omar Minaya might make some rash moves, but today I'm comforted knowing that if he ran into Bill Price and heard about his idea, he'd laugh in his face.

Minaya and Boras Meet to Discuss Matt Holliday

2009-11-11T07:19:00.001-08:00

Despite earlier reports in the Daily News claiming that the Mets would be focusing on 2nd tier free agents, Omar Minaya and Scott Boras met for 45 minutes last night to discuss Matt Holliday. In Joel Sherman's report in the New York Post, two Mets executives are quoted as saying they wouldn't be averse to going after Matt Holliday full bore (while executives from other teams are quoted as believing the Mets may be more cautious with their dollars).

According to Sherman, a power bat for left field is number one on the Mets' offseason priority list. After the 45 minute meeting with Minaya, Scott Boras did his best to discount the notion that Holliday would be negatively affected playing 81 games a year at Citi Field - going as far as to guarantee that Holliday would be a 100 RBI/100 Run man if he signed with the Mets.

This is just an initial meeting, and Boras wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't paint the Mets as serious suitors. However, as I stated yesterday, it would be shocking if the Mets didn't explore what it would take to bring Holliday to Queens. Boras has likened Holliday to Mark Teixiera (and indicated that he should receive a contract similar to the one Teixiera signed last year with the Yankees). Again, this is Boras' job. If a psychotic team bites on Boras' initial demands, he'll sign elsewhere. If not, the Mets should be right in the thick of things.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

2009-11-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

In a report that appears in today's Daily News, Adam Rubin (with Omar Minaya in the picture at right) cites mine and your favorite, the team insider (or team source), depending on which paragraph you believe more, while spinning the notion that the Mets won't be going after free agents Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. While that's not a completely outlandish statement, it seems to be a complete departure from every indication we've gotten from the Mets since the season ended - specifically Jeff Wilpon's statements about the payroll after the last game.

While the article itself sits under a headline that states that an "Insider says Mets won't pay top dollar for pricey top-tier free agents," the link to the story offers up the more alarming (if you're a Mets fan hoping for a big bat or arm) headline of "Mets won't pay top dollar for free agents." Well, which one is it? Is it a claim being made by a team insider, or is it a fact that was signed in blood by Fred Wilpon? The link to the article suggests the latter, while the headline above the article itself leads the reader to believe the former is the case. Let's give Adam Rubin the benefit of the doubt, and realize that a frisky Daily News editor probably didn't realize he/she was creating two completely different headlines for the same story. Now, let's take a look at the content of the article itself:

In the article, there is not one quote from anyone in the Mets organization that states that the team will be priced out of the top-tier free agent players. The juiciest quote comes from the team insider, who says that he "expected the salary demands of Matt Holliday and Jason Bay to be too high for the Mets." That's it. He expected their salary demands to be too high. He's not relaying information from Jeff Wilpon or Omar Minaya or John Ricco. He's not revealing what the Mets' offseason plan is, and he's not quoting potential salary demands from the two players mentioned. He's simply assuming that two free agents (who won't even be able to negotiate new contracts with the rest of Major League Baseball for another 10 days), will have demands that are too high for the Mets' taste. If you believe something as vague and poorly worded as that, you're probably one of the millions who believed the Mets had no shot at acquiring Johan Santana.

In the offseason of 2008, there was one reason after another that was spewed out by the local and national media alike, hammering home that the Mets had no shot at Johan: The Mets have nothing in their Minor League System; the Mets can't outbid the Yankees and the Red Sox; Johan doesn't want to be a Met; the Mets won't commit the money needed to extend his contract....It went on and on and on. However, one difference between all of those assertions and the assertion in Adam Rubin's article today, is that the Yankees and Red Sox actually DID have better prospects than the Mets. At least some of that nonsense was based in reality.

As recently as last offseason, it was forced down Mets fans throats that the Mets would be priced out on Francisco Rodriguez. How'd that work out? It's November 10th. The Mets have a gaping hole in the lineup and a vacancy in left field. They have over $30 million dollars coming off the books. Matt Holliday seems like a perfect fit for this team, and I refuse to believe for one second that they won't pursue him. His agent is Scott Boras. The second November 19th becomes November 20th, Scott Boras will start bellowing to anyone who will listen that Matt Holliday wants $20 million dollars per year for eight years - as is his right. If any team is insane enough to entertain those demands, he won't be a Met. However, if this offseason resembles the last two, no team will be insane enough to let Boras completely dictate the market.

There will be thousands of rumors, blogs, tweets, and articles between now and the time Matt Holliday signs his new contract. Some of them will paint Holliday as a city boy at heart, eager to embrace the big stage. The next day, an unnamed friend of Holliday will claim that the slugger wants no part of the big city. Boras will float rumors of mystery teams and enormous salary offers. General Managers will float nonsense to their beat writers. Fans will create ideas and circulate them on internet message boards. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is where the players ultimately end up. Until that happens, don't believe everything you read, or hear, or see...

2009 Was An Aberration...In 2010, The Mets Seek Redemption

2009-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

With the General Manager's Meetings kicking off today, this seems like as good a time as any to begin analyzing why things went so terribly wrong in 2009, and to figure out what needs to be done to ensure that the Mets' 2010 season bears little resemblance to the disaster that came to an end five weeks ago in half empty Citi Field.

Most fans of the New York Mets are die-hards, so the strong reactions that have been echoing from them have been expected. However, it seems that way too many (fans and the media alike) have quickly forgotten that from 2005-2008, the Mets (with their returning core of Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran) averaged around 90 wins a year. Last season was so awful that it's been clouding people's judgement.

According to the fans that have lost all hope, other teams have struggling young players who will reach their potential, while the Mets have washed up 24 and 25 year olds who will never meet theirs. The sentiments have been insanely overly pessimistic. People are so angry at the disaster that was 2009, that they refuse to accept the fact that it was one thing that sabotaged the season. To them, it's much easier to condemn the organization as a whole than to face the facts. Yes, the Mets played sloppy ball at times. Yes, they couldn't hit home runs. Yes, they made tons of baserunning mistakes, and saw a potential game winning single turn into a game ending triple play.

With all that happened to them, the reason the 2009 Mets finished 70-92, was because their players were knocked off the field at a rate that was so absurd that it became comical by August. The Mets didn't get decimated by injuries because they had too many old players, or because of a lack of conditioning, or because players were dogging it. They got hurt in ways that ranged from annoying to ordinary to plain frightening. Let's analyze the afflicted (in rough order of when their injury happened):

Johan Santana - His elbow acted up in March, causing him to miss some time in Spring Training. By most accounts, he pitched hurt the entire year before going down for good in August and going under the knife.

Oliver Perez - Also went down in Spring Training with knee issues. After roughly 3 months, he came back and pitched hurt before being shut down for good.

John Maine - Went down in June, and missed pretty much the rest of the season with shoulder issues.

JJ Putz - The man who was supposed to be the Mets' setup man, went down with elbow problems in late May and never returned.

Francisco Rodriguez - Missed time with back spasms in May.

Jon Niese - After showing promise, ripped his hammy from the bone while covering 1st base.

Fernando Nieve - Much like Niese, went down in July after showing tons of promise.

Carlos Delgado - Hip trouble sidelined him in May. He never returned.

Jose Reyes - A multitude of lower body issues cost him the final 4 months of the season.

Carlos Beltran - Missed nearly 3 months with knee trouble.

David Wright - Missed 2 weeks after getting drilled in the helmet by Matt Cain.

Alex Cora - A torn thumb sent him out in May and ruined the rest of his season.

Gary Sheffield - Missed nearly half the season with various ailments.

Fernando Martinez - I bet most people forgot he was even injured. Missed the last 3 1/2 months of the season.

...I left off Brian Schneider, Tim Redding, Angel Pagan, Ramon Martinez, Omir Santos, Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur...It was getting too painful to recount these atrocities.

After reading that list, anyone who attributes the Mets' 2009 season to an overall organizational failure is delusional. Any team that loses 5 of its 7 starting pitchers (depth chart wise), 3 of their MVP caliber core players for the vast majority of the season, and the 4th MVP caliber player to a beaning, their setup man, their top prospect, their starting catcher, TWO backup shortstops, 2 different right fielders (Church and Francoeur), and a host of others is screwed. There's not a single team in baseball that would've been able to deal with the amount of injuries the Mets suffered (considering the severity of the injuries and the players they happened too). Any other team would've been just as screwed as the Mets. Say it again. Any other team would've been just as screwed as the Mets.

With that in mind, I'm obviously not of the opinion of some others - which is that the Mets should rebuild. That notion is absurd. A team that has a core of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez does not rebuild...especially when there's a very taleneted crop of minor leaguers on the horizon. Among those that may be ready to contribute in 2010 or early 2011 are Fernando Martinez, Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Jon Niese, Brad Holt, Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Niuwenhuis, Ruben Tejada and Reese Havens. Lots of "experts" continue to claim that the Mets have a terrible farm system. That claim is false.

Since it's 70 degrees today in New York (making me hungry for a baseball game I know won't come for over 4 months), and I'm on my lunch break at work, I'll continue this post instead of cutting it in half. Above is why I believe the Mets can contend next year. Below is what I feel should be their course of action this offseason.

Immediately after the season ended, Jeff Wilpon stated that the Mets would continue to have one of the highest payroll's in the National League. The Mets probably have around $30 Million to play with (before taking into account any potential trades that could bring substantial salary relief). They have declined JJ Putz's option, and are preparing to cut ties with Carlos Delgado.

Now, Rational (sometimes) Mets Musings' Plan:

Catcher: The rumors are that the Mets are looking into Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas. Pass and Pass. Molina is 36, and Barajas isn't good.

Your 2010 Mets Catcher Solution: Platoon Omir Santos and Josh Thole. Some think Thole needs some more seasoning behind the plate, which is an accurate take. However, with Reyes, Wright and Beltran returning, and the Mets upgrading the offense in other areas, there's no need to go after Bengie Molina.

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez is out there. He's young, plays great defense and has tremendous power. There's no doubt that he'd be a tremendous addition for any contending club that's in need of a first baseman. However, there are two big reasons why the Mets shouldn't trade for him. First of all, since he's still under contract for another two years, he'll cost a fortune in prospects - prospects the Mets don't have to deal since there are power hitting options available via free agency. Second, one of the Mets' top prospects (Ike Davis) should be ready to contribute at the big league level by midseason.

Your 2010 Mets First Base Solution: A Daniel Murphy/Troy Glaus platoon, which eventually gives way to Ike Davis around midseason. Yes, I got the Troy Glaus idea from Marty Noble. I think it's a great low-risk option - especially with Ike Davis waiting in the wings. Do I think Daniel Murphy would be better suited being a jack of all trades (1B, 2B, 3B, PH) off the bench? Perhaps...and if Davis continues to hit, that's exactly where Murphy will end up.

Second Base: As of now, the Mets are still locked into Luis (I love bunting more than sex) Castillo. Castillo DID have a decent year - his lack of range and terrible baseball IQ not withstanding - so teams in need of a second baseman could be interested.

Your 2010 Mets Second Base Solution: Trade Luis Castillo for two lower level prospects...eat a couple of million dollars if it's necessary. Sign Orlando Hudson. After becoming invisible in Los Angeles, Hudson should come cheap.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes

Third Base: David Wright

Left Field: The Gary Sheffield experience is over. Fernando Martinez is coming off of season ending surgery (though he still has tons of potential). Moises Alou is peeing on his hands somewhere else. Hideki Matsui is a DH at this point of his career. Manny is staying in Hollywood. The Mets need some more toughness. The Mets need some more power.

Your 2010 Mets Left Field Solution: Sign Matt Holliday (6 years/96 million). Holliday is 29 years old, and he's a perfect fit for the Mets. The vast majority of his homers and doubles were pulled, and according to Bill James, it was 10% easier to hit homers to Left Field in Citi Field than it was in the other National League Parks. Invite Holliday to Citi Field on November 20th. Have David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana greet him in the rotunda. Get it done.

Center Field: Carlos Beltran

Right Field: Jeff Francoeur - The additions of Orlando Hudson and Matt Holliday should drop Francoeur to 7th in the batting order - which is exactly where he should be.

The Starting Rotation:

1P: Johan Santana

2P: Roy Halladay is a beast. Roy Halladay is available. However, much like Adrian Gonzalez, Roy Halladay will cost a fortune in prospects. He will also be seeking a 7 year contract extension worth $20 million dollars annually. At this point in his career, Mike Pelfrey is not stable enough to serve as a # 2 starter. John Maine has the stuff to do it, but has legitimate health concerns. Randy Wolf isn't a bad pitcher, but he's not a #2. Neither is Jason Marquis. Rich Harden has tremendous upside, but can't be relied on.

Your 2010 Mets # 2 Starter Solution: Sign John Lackey (5 years/$85 million). Lackey will be 31 on Opening Day. He has the same mentality as Johan Santana, but comes at you from the right side instead of the left. His ERA's the last 5 years in the American League have been 3.44, 3.56, 3.01, 3.75 and 3.83. He won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series, and has a career Postseason ERA of 3.12. He screamed and cursed when the ball was taken from him in Game 6 of the ALCS. I'd love to see him screaming and cursing while getting taken out of a game by Jerry Manuel in 2010.

3P: John Maine

4P: Mike Pelfrey

5P: Jonathon Niese/Oliver Perez - Here is where lots of Mets fans will start to scream. "You can't trust the 3 through 5 spots of the starting rotation to question marks," they'll say. My response? With Johan Santana and John Lackey at the top of the rotation, you have more room to take chances. There are NO guarantees in baseball. The Mets are NOT the Yankees. They're not going to commit over $200 million dollars to payroll. If the Mets acquire Matt Holliday and John Lackey, they'll be adding roughly $35 million dollars. After that, it's time to get creative and to put some trust in the players you've developed.

The Bullpen:

Closer: Francisco Rodriguez

Setup: JJ Putz - Potential glutton for punishment scenario? Yes. Best option since the Mets will have very little to spend if Holliday and Lackey are acquired? Probably. JJ Putz wants to close. JJ Putz is also coming off back to back injury plagued seasons (that very well may be completely behind him after having surgery this fall). Lock him down with an incentive laden deal, and give him and Frankie the do-over they deserve.

Lefty Specialist - Pedro Feliciano - Ideally, someone will emerge in the Rule V draft or from the Minor League System who can partner with Feliciano.

Middle Inning Righties - Bobby Parnell, Fernando Nieve

Long Man - Nelson Figueroa

The Bench:

Catcher: Omir Santos/Josh Thole

Infield: Daniel Murphy/Troy Glaus

Infield: Alex Cora

Outfield: Angel Pagan

Outfield: Xavier Nady - The final bench spot goes to Nady, who should be affordable coming off an injury plagued couple of years. On days when Troy Glaus starts, Nady would offer some needed pop off the bench, and could fill in for Holliday and Francoeur as needed.

....That's it. That's the plan. Nothing too insane, since nothing insane is really necessary. The Mets need a power bat (Holliday). The Mets need a legitimate #2 starter (Lackey). The Mets need a Major League quality bench. Most of all, the Mets need to be healthy and to have some things break their way for a change. I don't want accolades if the 2010 Mets closely resemble the above idea, and I don't want to be ridiculed if the above idea isn't close to what the team is come Opening Day. The only thing I want is a winning ballclub. The offseason bell has rung...get at it.

The Choices We Make

2009-10-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: If you are a die-hard Yankee fan (you live and die with every pitch, you don't own any pink Yankee clothing), please DO NOT be offended by the way I'm about to slam fairweather Yankee fans. This is directed at them, not you. I still despise your team, though, and everything they stand for. Now.....

Over the past few days, what has been a potential nightmare scenario for Mets fans has started to seem certain. After a season where the Mets were ravaged by injuries on the field and scandals off of it, it appears that the two teams Mets fans loathe the most (the Yankees and Phillies), are about to square off in the World Series. What to do, what to do...

I've surveyed lots of Mets fans to see who they would root for, and they seem torn. Some are planning on rooting for the Yankees because of City pride or because they have close friends who are annoying Phillies fans. Some are planning on rooting for the Phillies because of a lifelong hatred of the Yankees or because this feud with the Phillies is so recent.

I didn't have to put much thought into who I'd root for. Over the past couple of weeks, strange things started happening. During my commute to work, people were breaking out never worn Yankees caps and jackets. On Facebook, people who never uttered a word about the Yankees were claiming to be crazy fans, when all they were really doing was following the crowd. The New York media and the National media started riding the Yankees like a prostitute. All of these things cemented what I've always felt: Rooting for the Yankees (for me) is like rooting for U.S. Steel or the Cigarette Industry. And as a Mets fan, rooting for them is not an option.

I understand the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans are slimy douchebags. I really do. However, for Mets fans, rooting against the Yankees (no matter who they're playing) is not only a birthright, but a duty we must uphold for the sake of our departed Brooklyn Dodger and New York Giant rooting family members, who passed the love of the Mets and National League Baseball down to us.

What are most of our first memories of baseball, and what stuck with us that made us become fans? For me, it was going to Shea Stadium. It was being able to crane my neck as the Stadium first appeared in the distance off the Grand Central Parkway, the smell of the grass after the usher brought me to my seat, the enormity of a Major League ballpark to a little kid. It was my Grandfather who passed down his love of the Mets to me, and it was being at the ballpark that made it that much more special.

Being at the ballpark...something the Yankees have made impossible for tons of their fans. I won't dispute the fact that Citi Field has its lavish features, but it's not the corporate playpen the New Yankee Stadium is. If you check out that link, you'll see how the Yankees forced out fans who had held season tickets for over 80 years. People who they should've cherished...all because of greed.

The 2009 Yankees are a tremendous baseball team - there's no disputing that. What enables them to be great, though, is what ruined baseball in cities like Montreal and it's what has made proud franchises like the Pittsburgh Pirates irrelevant. No one can spend with the Yankees. Their payroll of 208 million dollars is 90 million dollars more than the teams closest to them (the Cubs, Mets and Red Sox). Even with all of their lavish spending, the Yankees had moved further and further away from the dynasty teams of 1996-2000, until 2009. Eventually, throwing money around at every attractive free agent year after year was bound to work.

Not only are the Yankees a bloated financial behemoth, their team is loaded with mercenaries and steroid cheats. Alex Rodriguez, who was a pariah before the Playoffs started, is a steroid cheat. Andy Pettitte, the man with all of that down-home charm and Postseason moxie used hGH (human growth hormone). The last Yankees team to win a World Series (in 2000 against the Mets) had EIGHT players who would later be exposed as steroid cheats. Those players were Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Jose Canseco, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Jason Grimsley, Mike Stanton and Denny Neagle. The pitchers responsible for wins in 3 of the 4 games against the Mets were Clemens, Pettitte and Neagle. And the Title clinching 4th win was celebrated at Shea Stadium. Disgusting.

Now, we have Mets fans who sat through that disgrace, who are considering rooting for the Yankees against the Phillies. The way the team operates is terrible enough, but the vast majority of their fans are what cause the hatred. They get excited for Opening Day, then don't utter a word about the Yankees until late September. They wear pink hats with the interlocking N Y, and #2 jerseys with Derek Jeter's name on the back (even though the Yankees never wear their names on the back of their jerseys). When you try to engage them in an intelligent discussion about baseball, their only retort is "26 Championships"....even though 20 of those Championships came before the Mets were in existence. They post messages on your Facebook wall stating that "David Wright has a headache," just hours after the kid is knocked unconscious by a fastball to the helmet.

Phillies fans are more like gum that gets stuck on the bottom of your shoe. Most of them are developmentally disabled, so it's hard to discern what they're saying when they try to engage in trash talk. They're basically harmless. And even though Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino and Chase Utley and Cole Hamels make me want to throw up, they're all homegrown talents (unlike A-Rod and Tex and CC and Burnett). They play old school National League ball, and although their ballpark is a bit of a bandbox, it's not a place where broken bats and pop-ups end up going over the fence (like the New Yankee Stadium).

If the Yankees win the World Series, Mets fans will have to deal with constant gloating from all of their friends - most who live in the NY metro area. We'll have to sit through hours of endless talk of how great the Yankees are on every news channel, in every paper, on every blog. We'll be commuting to work one day in early November, and end up riding the train with hundreds of drunk Yankee fans on their way to a parade.

If the Phillies win the World Series, it'll mean that the Yankees have not. It'll suck to hear the Phillies fans gloating, but they won the World Series last year so that really won't be anything new. We won't have to turn off the TV for fear of endless replays of the last out or out of fear of flipping on Letterman to see the Phillies doing a Top Ten List. We certainly will not end up commuting to work in the middle of a Phillies parade. And those who passed the love of the Mets and National League ball down to us, the old timers who rooted for the Dodgers and Giants before the Mets, and loathed the Yankees...they'll be proud of us for continuing to follow their lead.

June 22nd...Two Games Out...Perez and Maine on the Horizon?

2009-06-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

As blogs and message boards have become more prevalent, and journalists and sports personalities on SNY and WFAN have become even more desperate to make a name for themselves by being more outlandish and ultra-reactionary, I've simply started analyzing baseball by myself. It's really pretty simple. The team that wins has more runs than the other at the end of the game. When a team has lots of injuries, it hinders their chances. When that team is missing multiple key players from the starting lineup, bullpen and starting rotation, those chances suffer more. When the two aforementioned malady's are compounded by the fact that the Manager of that team doesn't think before he makes in-game decisions, well then you've got a pretty big problem.

I don't need to read the Daily News (even though Adam Rubin is the most level-headed beat writer around) or listen to Mike Francesa or watch SNY to know what's going on with the Mets. I don't need the opinion of people who don't follow the Mets as religiously as I do. While I don't doubt their intellect or their credentials, I do doubt the reasoning behind their statements and wonder if they really believe what they're bellowing. I don't need to be told that the Mets are in big trouble if their injured players don't get better. I don't need to be told that the Mets "lack heart" when they've shown more of it over the first 2 and a half months of this season then they did in all of 2007 or 2008. Most of all, I won't read articles or listen to people who suggest breaking up "the core" of this ballclub.

The only thing I care about is the current state of the Mets, and what's on the horizon. Yes, the Mets are only a game over .500 at 34-33. Yes, they've dropped 4 series in a row. Yes, they're dealing with a brutal schedule. However, as I see it, barring any more crippling injuries, the Mets are in great shape. Who do they owe that to? None other than the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies lost Brad Lidge a few weeks ago (he was pitching terribly anyway) and Raul Ibanez a few days ago. They've been a lot healthier than the Mets, but they've done nothing to separate themselves.

Because of the Phillies' refusal to be even close to respectable over the last few weeks, the Mets are only two games out of first. Now, realize that the Mets have played this season with the following injury problems:

Billy Wagner - Out since the season began, on target for an August return.

JJ Putz - Pitched hurt, and is now out until at least August.

Oliver Perez - On the DL for the last 2 months with a bruised ego and injured knee. His return seems imminent.

John Maine - Pitched hurt, and has now missed the last few weeks with shoulder stiffness. His return seems imminent.

Carlos Delgado - Out since May after undergoing hip surgery. On target for an August return.

Jose Reyes - Out since May 20th with a torn tendon in his hammy. Like Walter from the movie "The Burbs," no one knows where the hell he is...

Ryan Church - Missed a month with a hamstring injury.

Carlos Beltran - Has been playing with a bone bruise behind his knee.

Gary Sheffield - Like Beltran, has been playing with an injured knee.

....Now, that injury list isn't an excuse, but I think it's safe to say that this team will fare better once that list slowly starts to become shorter.

If the Mets can get through the next 3 weeks, where they play stiff competition non-stop, while getting guys back along the way, then we can fairly start to judge this team. If someone told you at the beginning of the season that on June 22nd, the Mets would be without their setup man, two fifths of their starting rotation, their leadoff hitter and their cleanup hitter, but be two games out of first, would you have believed them? If the Mets can get healthy, there is a National League East Title out there for the taking. Be patient...

The 2009 Playoff Preview : April 14th Edition

2009-04-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

With the 2009 Major League Baseball Season now over, I present Rational Mets Musings' 2009 Playoff Preview. I'm a tad surprised about which teams survived the 7 or 8 game grind (depending on the unbalanced schedule), but these matchups are intriguing and should be classic.

American League-

Kansas City @ Toronto

Baltimore @ Seattle

National League-

Florida @ St. Louis

Atlanta @ San Diego

.......First, try to get over the fact that the Red Sox (Beckett was never the same after the brawl), Rays (year after effect), Yankees (CC ate too many burgers and Wang retired after 2 bad starts), Angels (Torii Hunter forgot how to play CF), Phillies (Lidge blew too many saves), Mets, (Reyes didn't hit any triples this year) Cubs (Piniella threw a base in disgust and broke Rich Harden's arm) and Dodgers (Torre didn't utilize the bullpen enough) will all be watching the 2nd season from home. Now, Rational Mets Musings' LCS and World Series Picks:

LCS-

Kansas City OVER Baltimore

San Diego OVER Florida

World Series-

San Diego over Kansas City

......................................................And now, we return to reality............................................................

It's incredible how every year, people react to the first week of baseball as if it's the last. The 1986 Mets started 2-3, the 1998 Yankees started 0-3. Those teams ended up doing OK. The last few losses for the Mets have been disgusting. Not because the team lacked fire, or because the bullpen failed, or because they didn't score, or because the starting pitching crashed and burned. None of that happened. They lost one game because an inexperienced Left Fielder dropped a fly ball in the sun, and another because an experienced Right Fielder dropped a fly ball and a pitcher flinched. If Murphy catches that ball, and Felciano doesn't flinch, the Mets are 5-2, not 3-4. They'd be on their way to the Canyon of Heroes instead of the Pit of Doom.

It could be worse. The Mets could've lost 15-5 last night in Tampa.

We'll Miss You Shea

2009-02-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

My Grandfather was born in 1913, about two months after Ebbets Field opened. He died in 2008, about two months before Shea Stadium closed. Over the 95 years he spent on this Earth, he had many passions. He was the most loyal man I ever knew. He was fiercely devoted to his family and his friends, and his greatest love was for the game of baseball. The man was a walking baseball encyclopedia. He saw all the greats play. From Babe Ruth to Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider to Tom Seaver.

He fell in love with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and they broke his heart when they left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season. His heart broke a little more when Ebbets Field was brought crashing down by a baseball shaped wrecking ball a few years later. In 1962, the Mets arrived, and my Grandfather's passion began anew. If it wasn't for him, I would probably still be a Mets fan. I would've probably set foot in Shea tons of times. But he taught me how to be a die hard. He showed me why the game of baseball was so important. Through his loyalty to the Mets, I learned how to be loyal - both to my baseball team and to the friends and family that I loved.

While Citi Field was being built, my Grandfather would say every once in a while how he didn't think he'd be around to see Opening Day in the new ballpark. We'd laugh it off, since we all thought he was invincible. But like every one of us, he wasn't invincible. The night before he passed away, when he was struggling for every breath, he said one last unprovoked thing to me. He lifted his head slightly and whispered "How'd the Mets do?" It was the last thing he ever asked me.

After I watched the final piece of Shea Stadium tumble to the ground today, there were a lot of things running through my mind. I thought of my Grandfather imparting his knowledge of the game to me, thought of my Father bringing me to Shea starting in 1986 when I was 3 years old, and I thought about all of the memories that the magnificent ballpark had given to me.

My story is one of millions. Mets fans are extra special. The vast majority are descendants of old Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants fans who lost their teams, but never lost their love for National League Baseball. Mets fans deal with agony, sit through sunny days and rainy nights. We're full of hope. It's the reason why mid-April games at Shea in the rain with 12,000 people in attendance sounded like there were 120,000 there. Those 12,000 were all die hards, and they were there to scream their heads off.

No matter how old I was, whenever I passed Shea Stadium on the highway - whether it was in the dead of winter or the middle of the summer - I'd stare at it as I passed by, and then crane my neck until it was out of view. I loved everything about it. It wasn't much from the outside, but the inside was a different story. I ran up the ramps, and always had to sit in my seat and take it all in before I went for food. I loved the smell of the beer and hot dogs, the smell of charcoal burning outside the park.

Shea would engulf me. The scoreboard in right field was enormous, the four seating levels were bright and full of life. The field seemed like something out of a dream. Even though the team on the field didn't always live up to expectations, a trip to the ballpark always did. As people get older, they tend to sit at home and watch their big screens. Going to the game is a hassle for them. For me, and millions of other Mets fans, going to Shea was a way of life.

I was there in the summer of 1986, but my Father had to bring me home because the sun was burning the hell out of me. I remember begging to go to the ballpark in September of 1993, when I was 9, and I ended up seeing Sid Fernandez's last game as a Met. I was there during the down years after that, still cheering my head off. I was at Shea for Benny's blast in the NLDS, Bobby Jones' 1 hitter, Cliff Floyd's walkoff homer after Marlon Anderson's inside the parker. I was at Shea when the Mets clinched the NL East in 2006, and I was sitting in the Upper Deck between third base and left field when Endy Chavez made that catch in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. It's my fondest memory of the place. It's the loudest I ever heard Shea, and the Upper Deck was swaying so ridiculously that my father thought it might give out. I told him I'd go down with it if it did, and I meant it.

The Mets lost that game, and they haven't been back to the Playoffs since. But no matter what happens on the field, the die hard fans remain. We're there for all of the wins and sit through downpours and 10-1 thrashings by cellar dwellers. We stay because we love the game and the Mets, and we stay because we have hope. We have hope that our team will win it all this year. We stay loyal to this team because we can't imagine our lives without them.

My Grandfather will never set foot in Citi Field. He won't watch Opening Day from his favorite chair, and he won't be there to talk to me about the game when it's over. Even though he isn't here, he lives on in me. Beyond baseball, he taught me how to be a man. He showed me how to speak with actions, not words. When Shea came down this morning at 11:21, I thought of him. When I go to my first game at Citi Field, I'll silently thank him for being the person who made me love this game and this team so much.

3 Out in The Loss Column with 79 Games to Go

2008-07-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

With 79 games remaining in the 2008 regular season, the Mets are still fighting themselves - both on the field and in the clubhouse. But as their less than stellar play has continued, the Phillies have gotten worse. The Marlins are finally coming back to Earth, and the Braves are being overcome by their myriad of injuries (some expected and some not).

Injuries are not an excuse. With or without their starting outfielders, a member of their starting rotation and their setup man, the Mets should still be several games better than they are. As of now, they aren't. Save for their miserable 2 game funk against Seattle, the Mets have either won or split each one of their series over the last 2 1/2 weeks. As I've already noted, injuries aren't an excuse. The team should've been able to withstand the offensive dropoff by relying on their starters. But Oliver Perez hasn't been reliable, and Pedro Martinez was tipping his changeup the last few games. With those two right, things should begin to fall into place.

The return of Ryan Church has given the team immediate benefits. Believe it or not, Moises Alou is slated to come back this weekend at Philadelphia (he homered last night in a rehab game). IF, and this is a huge IF Moises Alou gets off the plane unscathed in Philadelphia, doesn't slip in the shower, and doesn't pull a hammy putting his pants on, this team will be whole for the first time all year come this Friday.

Remember this: When the season began, Alou was out. Duaner was still rehabbing, and Pedro was lost almost immediately. Castro was out. Beltran was coming off knee surgery. By the time Duaner came back, Alou was gone again (and Pedro was still out). When Pedro came back, Church was out and then Alou got hurt again. When Church came back, it came out that Pedro had been tipping his pitches - meaning he had only been back in name, not presence. Come this Friday in Philadelphia - when the Mets are hopefully somewhere between 1 and 3 games back in the loss column, the whole team will be together for the first time this season.

Instead of running out a lineup that consists of a corner outfield that includes some combination of Nick Evans, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley, Andy Phillips and Endy Chavz (still love you Endy), the outfield will be Alou, Beltran and Church. We all screamed because of the Mets' offensive inconsistencies, but no one could've really expected a team with a 5 through 9 that was like swiss cheese to become an offensive juggernaut.

The much maligned bullpen looks to be something more than average. Billy Wagner had a rough week, but has otherwise been as dominant as ever. Duaner Sanchez has shaken off the rust, has his ERA in the 3's, and is again filthy in the 8th inning. Joe Smith has so far avoided a swoon. Pedro Feliciano still walks too many for my liking, but is death to lefties. Aaron Heilman even looks like a productive member of the pen again.

Say what you want about Johan Santana, but the man has an ERA that's sitting at 3.00. As has been repeated here ad nauseum, he is a notorious second half pitcher. One would think that he's starting to get used to the team and the city, and that he's beginning to learn the tendencies of NL hitters and the NL style. Watch for him to be utter filth in the second half. John Maine needs to last longer in games, but is right around where we expected him to be. Mike Pelfrey is progressing (lowering his WHIP and BAA each month), and has become more of a sure thing with each start. Oliver Perez has revamped his delivery, and Pedro will hopefully stop tipping his change.

The season to this point has felt like a climb up a mountain that keeps coming apart, causing the team to lose its footing way too often. There haven't been enough comebacks. There haven't been enough moments that make you jump up and scream out of pure joy. Instead, there has been lots of head-shaking and a great deal of disbelieving half smirks borne out of witnessing one more thing go wrong. Whether it's been a freak injury or a terrible call, a lazy play or a bad hop. Whether it's been a first pitch pop out with the bases loaded, a four pitch walk to the lead off hitter or an inexcusable mental mistake - it's been something.

The thing about Mets fans, is that we're all die-hards. You won't find a Met fan casually watching a game or not being able to name most of the 1991 roster. You won't see us wearing ill fitting hats, sitting in Shea staring off into space while the rest of the stadium is standing up. Sometimes being a fan of this team is destructive. A loss ruins your mood for a few hours, a bad loss ruins your mood for the rest of the night, and a devastating loss ruins your mood right up until first pitch the next night. This isn't healthy, but neither are our other assorted vices.

The next 6 games are huge. I'll be heading down to Philadeplhia on the 5th after shaking off my July 4th hangover, and I hope to roll into the ballpark with the Mets having a chance to tie the Phillies in the loss column or snatch 1st place from them altogether. There are 2 more games against St. Louis and their annoying overachieving team, before the return of Alou and the Independence Day stampede into Philadelphia. For the first time in 2008, the team should be whole on Friday. There should be 40% Mets fans in Philadelphia for this set. Those of you who are thinking about coming down, stop thinking and buy tickets. Come join us as we attempt to take back the Division that belongs to us.

Amazing

2008-06-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight was special. In the bottom of the 5th when Oliver Perez started melting down, I changed the channel because it was too brutal to watch. I expected to turn back and see the Mets down 5 or 6 to 3. But the Angels had only plated 3 runs. Ollie had melted down, but he hadn't completely evaporated like that silver dude at the end of Terminator 2.

Back in 2005, I attended the Marlon Anderson/Cliff Floyd game against the Angels at Shea. For those who don't remember, Marlon hit an inside the parker off K-Rod to tie up it, before the Mets fell behind again. In the next half inning, Cliffy had 2 strikes on him before hitting a walkoff. It was the greatest Mets game I ever attended in person. That game was in the back of my mind as the Mets' bullpen kept the Angels off the board through the bottom of the 8th. Frankie Rodriguez is a freak of nature, but I sensed that the Mets had a chance.

With 1 out, Reyes swung at some offspeed stuff in the dirt, but was still able to Ray Knight one over the second baseman's head and advance to 2nd on a pitch in the dirt. Then Wright came through. Then Easley gave us a moment right out of early 2007, before all the negativity started to set in. As Wagner trotted it and proceeded to set down the Angels in order, I kept muttering to myself: "Come on Billy, please God (and I don't even go to Church), one more, please."

When Torii Hunter swung through strike 3 for the 3rd out, I screamed and started clapping like a maniac. I then sat back for a second before uttering one word...

Amazing.

I didn't say it because I was thinking of the Mets' nickname. It just came out. It came out because that's exactly what this win was, and I said it because I still feel that it is exactly what this season can be.

Ollie bent, but didn't completely break.

Reyes responded to Manuel, in a big way.

The bullpen was lights out.

Jose hung in there in the 9th.

David brought him in.

Damion sent us home.

Along the way, David Wright made an absolutely ridiculous barehanded play on a soft chopper up the line, followed by an off balance throw to nab Kendrick to lead off the 9th.

Earlier today on WFAN, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo was bellowing to all who could hear that Shea Stadium would be empty in a few weeks. That if the Mets didn't turn it around (and he kept repeating that they were soft, had no fight), Shea would be a ghost town. I just smiled while he was saying it, smiled as the rest of the media kept taking shits all over the Mets all day.

After the biggest win of the year, the Mets now sit FOUR games behind the Phillies in the loss column. Through this storm, they took 2 out of 3 from the Texas Rangers, who had the best offense in basball. They went to Anaheim, and took 2 out of 3 from the Angels, who lead their Division. The joy of tonight can go straight to hell in the thin air of Colorado, but I don't think it will. For the first time this season, I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The Axe Has Fallen & The Willie Will Not Rise

2008-06-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I just happened to go to sleep last night with SNY still on. When my dual alarm clocks shook me awake at exactly 6:30 this morning, I instinctively sat up and started to stare at the TV. Out from the paid programming popped Steve Overmyer with breaking news. He was saying that Willie Randolph - along with Peterson and Nieto - had been fired. Was I still dreaming? If so, what a dream! I reached for my phone and saw a new text message. It had come at 5:16 AM and stated "Bye bye Willie...randolph has been fired..."

I was definitely awake. This had definitely gone down. Like everyone else, I was pretty surprised by the timing (both the time of night and that it had happened after a win). My time getting ready for work was spent thinking about this. I had a strong dislike for Willie Randolph the Manager dating back to when he was hired, but I also respected Willie Randolph the man. I wanted him to get fired, and I'm ecstatic that he did, but I do feel bad for him. I genuinely feel bad for the man.

There are other people involved in this who I don't feel bad for at all - the New York media, and some clowns at ESPN. To them, the way the Mets handled this is another sign of their ineptitude, their lack of class, their disregard for human decency. But the media doesn't really give a damn about Randolph the man, they give a damn that the timing of his firing made it impossible for them to get their stories in before deadline. We keep hearing "Oh my God, it was 3AM!!" It wasn't, it was actually 12 AM. We keep hearing "How thoughtless, they did this after that flight to the coast." Whatever.

No matter how the Mets did this, the media would've found a way to bash it. I bet, though, that if the Mets had announced this right after the game (around 1AM New York time), we wouldn't be seeing nearly as much vitriol as we are right now. Why? Because the NY media would've had their 2nd grade reading level drivel typed and printed for the morning papers.

If the Mets had fired Randolph after last season, the New York media's refrain would've been that he was made the scapegoat, the players failed him. The firing was unjust.

If the Mets had fired Randolph after the meeting around Memorial Day, they would've been bashed for not giving him time to turn it around.

If the Mets had fired Randolph on Sunday, they would've been lambasted as anti-dad because it was father's day.

If the Mets had fired Randolph right after the game, they would've been ridiculed for not giving him any time to gather himself before facing the media.

It was the New York media who said that this situation was eating at Randolph, and distracting the players. It was the New York media WHO SAID YESTERDAY that the Mets should either make an immediate decision or come out and announce that Randolph was being given the rest of the season. Well, they made that immediate decision and now all this. To borrow from John Lennon, it's as if the Wilpons have come out and declared that the Mets are more popular than Jesus.

What has really happened here? A millionaire who was given a chance to manage his favorite team has been fired. He had to make a trip to the west coast for the news, but one can argue that it was better for him. Would he have been happier if this happened at Shea, which would've meant an immediate release to the wolves? Did he want it to happen in New York so the media could follow him and surround his home? I don't think he did.

Willie Randolph is a genuinely nice man. He cared, he has impeccable character. Unfortunately, he was never very good at managing. He was never very good at dealing with the media. While he was under the microscope, he made some unfortunate remarks that accused people around the Mets of being racist (The Mets are racist, the same team that is naming their rotunda after Jackie Robinson). I don't know how I missed that one. He accused SNY of making him into his own star of "The Real World: Flushing," by only filming him when he was lifeless or angry. Did I mention he was never very good at managing? It was time for him to go. Again, the timing wasn't the greatest, but what is a good time to get fired? When is it ever fun?

Whew...Thank You God

2008-06-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

20 seconds ago, it looked like Billy Wagner was on his way to another epic meltdown. I had gone from reclined, to sitting up, to standing. When that rocket came off G. Anderson's bat, I thought it was about to shoot the gap. It breezed into Jose Reyes' glove, and he stepped on 2nd base for the game ending double play. I dropped to a knee on my hardwood floor and punched it 3 times (2 rights and a left, 1st time I've ever punched a floor), before laying flat on the ground and exhaling. Oh, to be a Mets fan.....

InGame Thought: Feliciano? Really?

2008-06-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's the Bottom of the 7th inning. The Mets have just broken the game open by plating 5 in the top of the inning. Pelfrey struggles a bit, and leaves with the Mets up 8 to 4, and with runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. In from the bullpen trots Pedro Feliciano.

Really, Willie, really?

The fact that Pedro Feliciano pitched TWICE yesterday should've been the only thing that mattered. There's no way he should've even been warming up. Even if you're showing complete disregard for the well being of the player AND the team, the move made little sense. Pedro Feliciano has had lots of trouble against the 1st batter he faces. That continued. Pedro Feliciano is a lefty specialist, but was brought in to face two switch hitters who are better from the right side.

Because of this, I'm pacing back and forth during a 2 run game in the 8th inning instead of relaxing. Willie's bullpen moves continue to be damning at worst, perplexing at best. Ever since he was hired in 2005, this facet of his managing style has been the easiest to pick apart. Let's hope this one doesn't come back to haunt us.

5 Out in the Loss Column with 94 to Go

2008-06-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

It's strange that a weekend where the Mets took 2 out of 3 from the team with the best offense in baseball felt like a disaster. Friday night was a reprieve, Saturday was a washout and Sunday was a blur. Through it all, the Mets took 2 out of 3, and are now 3-2 since Marlon Anderson mapped out their path to the Playoffs. All I wanted Sunday was a reason to be excited for Monday, and Pedro Martinez and Robinson Cancel gave me one. The Robsinson Cancel who I was about to bash mercilessly if he had gone down swinging or looking during his pinch hit at bat.

With 94 games left in the Mets' 2008 regular season, they sit 5 losses behind the Philadelphia Phillies. It's quite daunting if you look up at the standings and realize that the Mets would have to sweep the California Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in order for them to crawl back above the .500 mark. But while the Mets are facing the Angels, the Phillies will be playing host to the Red Sox. If the Mets keep winning series, and if the Phillies' offense doesn't put up 14 runs a game, things will quickly start to get a lot tighter in the NL East.

Lost in the madness of Billy Wagner's meltdowns and Willie Randolph's job security has been the outstanding work of the Mets' starting pitchers. Johan Santana, who had been bashed by journalists and fans alike for not striking out 27 per game, has his ERA down to 2.85. Oliver Perez looks like he's slowly turning into a human being who can control himself. Mike Pelfrey has been a revelation. Pedro Martinez has had 1 brilliant start, 1 good one and 1 average one since coming off the disabled list, but one would think the best is yet to come from him. John Maine has been the only blip on the radar screen, and his ERA is still only 3.87.

The Mets are without Ryan Church because of freak concussions, and they're without Moises Alou because he's been neglecting to soak his legs when he urinates on himself for strength. Billy Wagner just went through one of the worst stretches of his career. David Wright just went through one of the worst slumps of his career, and you've gotta figure that the rest of Major League Baseball has filled their quota of June web gems against the Mets.

With all the crap that has gone down recently, the Mets sit just FIVE GAMES behind the Phillies in the loss column. After this week, the Mets will be done with their west coast trips. After this week, they will have hopefully shaved another couple of games off of the Phillies' lead. Like I've said many times, this team has it in them to start ripping the opposition apart. They need to take care of business on the road before coming back to Church, who will be ready to preach once they step off the plane on June 23rd.

I Wonder How They Feel

2008-06-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

By guest blogger Jeff D....

During this roller coaster ride known as the 2008 New York Mets regular season, the lows have been devastating and the highs not nearly high enough. Some times I have felt let down, other times I felt hope and optimism. But there have also been times when I've felt betrayed. I am a Mets fan who lives and dies with my team. I know there are many like me who scream at the TV, who question Willie's moves, and who curse Omar for bringing in older, injury prone former All- Stars. We are also the fans who derive the most enjoyment from a win. I know when an extra inning game is won in dramatic fashion, it is not only a sense of enjoyment I get from my team winning - it's like a complete release of pressure, like I know that I can go home and sleep well now that the team has won.

I have been thinking about how much this team affects my life, how individuals that rely on each other to get a common goal accomplished affects me, and yet not one of them know my name, or that I even exist. Then, I think about how some of them must feel. What goes through Billy Wagner's head when he gives up the tying run in the 9th? What does Joe Smith think about knowing he gave away half of the lead the inning before? How does Damion Easley feel about not covering the bag on a possible force out? What does David Wright feel when he gets robbed of a game winning hit? What do the players feel? Any athlete, in any major league team sport will tell you that they feel a responsibilty to their coaches, teammates and fans. When a player makes, or does not make a play that changes the outcome of a game, what do they think when they see the faces of their teammates? How does it feel when your fans turn on you?

I have been involved in recreational sports league with my friends, and I know to a much lesser extent how terrible it feels when you let down the people who are counting on you. At that level we get over it in a relatively short amount of time. I know that grounding into a double play to end the game won't be on the front page of the paper the next morning. I know that when the game ends there won't be any reporters waiting to ask me what went through my head during the pitch sequence. I won't be bashed on the radio and TV for the next two days. When the game ends, I throw my bat and get pissed. My friends tell me that we'll get them next game, and we head off to drink beer.

I know people will say that I don't get paid millions of dollars to play. Well, they would be right, I actually pay someone else to play a game. But just because the players get paid millions, it doesn't mean that they're not human. These men are not machines. They feel the pain of losing, they feel the responsibilty to the other players and they hurt when they let their team down. People have been saying that the Mets don't care, that they're just going through the motions and collecting a check. I disagree. I think that they are just mentally broken down. I think that the pressure of performing on the heels of last year's collapse has completely worn them out.

Willie will say that the players don't feel that last year has carried over, but this is just a Manager protecting his players. You can see the batters pressing at the plate, you can see the pitchers overthrowing, and you can see the fielders trying to be too fine on every play. It is almost like they feel that each game is Game 7 of the World Series. The pressure is starting to mount, and the season is not that young anymore. This is the time when the fanbase needs to get behind this team and help them get that good feeling back. I don't know what it will take for the team to capture that good feeling and take off, but I know that they're capable of it. They need to believe that it's possible. That starts tonight.

This is Like a Nightmare

2008-06-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

This post is in red to signify how much my blood is boiling and to describe what I'm seeing. I was at the game last night, sick seats, about 10 rows up between home and 1st base. Pelfrey was becoming something before my eyes, the team looked great, and then Wagner came in and the walls came crashing down. I felt like slamming my head against the bars that separate the boxes on the field level. I felt like screaming. I sat there for the 10th, 11th, 12th, and jumped up like a lunatic and let out a roar when Beltran's rocket drilled the bottom of the scoreboard and the Mets won. They had dodged a bullet. They had faced defeat and gotten back up.

I was certain the Mets were going to win today. Before the game, I was having a back and forth with some Johan Santana detractors, explaining just how good he's been so far and claiming that he'd be great today. He was great. It was his best start as a Met by far. Being at work, I listened to some of it during lunch, followed the rest on gamecast. When the Mets expanded the lead to 4-0, one of my friends (another die hard) called me. I was so confident in the win that when he told me Reyes had just doubled, I wasn't even excited. There was nothing left to be excited or worried about - the Mets had this one.

There was a brief scare when Beltran lost a ball in the sun, Smith came out and Schoeneweis came in to run a 3 ball count to the go ahead run. But he got out of it. During the bottom of the 8th, I spoke to another one of my die hard Mets fan friends, and I was lamenting the fact that Wagner was going right back out there. He assured me that he'd be lights out today, for Wagner would be too pissed off about last night to blow this one. I sat down at my desk, and saw a 1-2 count turn into a leadoff walk. I got up, walked out and put my radio on. I stood in the hallway as a runner on 1st base became runners on 1st and 2nd. Wagner got a 2 strike count, then gave up a double. It was now 4-3 Mets. I still thought he'd get out of it, even though I was cursing him. When I heard Howie Rose exclaim that a ball had been hit to Reyes with one out, I was praying that the relay would be in time. It wasn't. I sank - and then it got worse.

This sucks, I figured, what the hell is wrong with Wagner? He just blew Santana's best start as a Met. He just took all the energy out of Shea, again. He just deflated all of his teammates for the 2nd time in 20 hours. Screw that, though, because Reyes just reached to open the 9th. We'll win this one like last night. With Reyes on 2nd and 1 out, another one of my die hard Mets fan friends called me. He was walking to his car and didn't want to miss a second, so I gave him the play by play. When I heard the crack of the ball off of Wright's bat, I thought the game was over. The fans were screaming like it was, but it wasn't. When I heard the crack of the ball off of Easley's bat, I thought the game was over, but it wasn't. Fast forward to the top of the 10th - a missed strike 3 call, a sac fly and the Mets were dead.

I felt the same way I did last year when Wagner blew the 4th game in Philly around Labor Day. I could barely stand, let alone walk. An hour earlier, I was convinced that the game was over. I couldn't wait to get home to watch the replay. To watch Johan being absolutely filthy. I was ready to hang out and soak it all up. The Mets were gaining some steam, the Phillies were going to lose again. We were going to be 4 back in the loss column. And then Wagner happened. And then Augie Ojeda robbed David Wright of the game winner. And now I'm stunned, and disgusted, and furious. And there's nothing I can do about it but wait for tomorrow's game. This fandom is like the plague, and I can't do anything to shake it.

How Fickle Are We?

2008-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Four days ago, the Mets were on a roll. They had won 7 out of 9 games - some in thrilling come from behind fashion - and they were 2 losses back of the Phillies. The Mets were sizzling, they had heart. The Mets were back! Then the sky fell. Schoeneweis had a bad inning Thursday night, threw a bad pitch, and the Mets lost by a run. On Friday, David Wright hit a rocket that would've been out of any other ballpark in baseball, a miraculous catch was made and the Mets lost by a run. Oliver Perez pitched well on Saturday, but Feliciano didn't and the Mets lost by a run. Billy Wagner struck Tony Clark out on Sunday with an unhittable fastball on the inside black, and the Mets w- oops, Laz Diaz forgot to call that pitch a strike, the next pitch landed 20 feet over the wall beyond Beltran's outstretched glove and the Mets lost again. Did I mention that the Phillies happened to win 4 in a row?

Now, everything the Mets did right during the previous 9 games has been forgotten. They had heart then, but are now bums who don't give a shit. I won't sit here and try to deny that this team is underachieving. I won't sit here and say that I'm not shaken by what's going on. But this is far from a season ending catastrophe. The Mets are 6 games back in the loss column with 100 games to play. It sure seems like there's lots of season left. There are reasons for hope and reasons for despair. There are reasons to smile and reasons to want to slam your head through a wall.

The problem here, is that this team and season are being viewed like 162 mini championship games. These games aren't all life altering, they're not all Division deciders. However, due to how the Mets finished last year and the expectations after landing Santana, every loss is a disaster - no matter what has transpired around the team the day or week before. No one wants to mention that the Mets played the entire weekend without 2 of their best hitters (Ryan Church and Moises Alou). No one wants to bring up the fact that with a couple of breaks either way, the Mets could've won 2 or all of these games against San Diego. All they want to talk about is that the team has no heart, the season is over. They want to know the best way to smuggle dynamite into Shea so we can destory the Stadium early - since the team obviously has no shot to come back from 6 games in the loss column with 100 games to play. Just like the Phillies had no shot to come back from being 7 games down in the loss column with 17 to play. There's no shot.

Mets fans have been changing their minds more often lately than a high school girl who's pondering whether or not she should give up her virginity. And they've been crying and moaning like little spoiled Yankee fans, who sit at stadiums in pink hats and pink shirts in seats that are paid for by a corporation, or by daddy. They've been making delcarations and then taking them back ever since December:

ON JOHAN SANTANA........

In December, the Mets fans said that our farm system was barren, we couldn't possibly land Johan. In January, we were going to blow the extension and lose him. In February, we were going to the World Series. Johan was the savior. In April, Johan gave up too many homers. In early May, he gave up 2 runs to the Braves and was labeled a choker. In late May, he dominated the Dodgers for his 7th win and was dazzling. He was about to start dismantling the NL singlehandedly. He gave up 1 earned run this weekend, and he's a chocker again. Right?

ON SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS -

He's a bum, let's boo him on Opening Day. It's mid-April and he's turning it around, but let's not anoint him yet. By early May, the cheers had returned. In early June he had a few bad outings. He's a bum again. Huge bum. Waste of life.

ON JOSE REYES -

In April, he's simply over-rated. What a joke, he's the 4th best SS in OUR DIVISION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! In early June - Wow, have you seen Reyes lately? He's on pace for career highs in homers and RBI's, and his average is close to .300. How can we let Hanley get voted to the All Star Game over Jose? Let's do something!!

.......What's the point here?

Mets fans need to stop all the knee-jerking. In the case of a few, let them keep having the knee-jerk reactions. Hopefully, they'll kick themselves in the face and shut up. Maybe this team just needs to get Church and Alou back before they turn it on. Maybe a team with a front four of Johan, Pedro, Maine and Perez is too good to keep losing so often. Maybe Pedro will get hurt and Perez will continue to change arm angles and alternate between great and awful. Maybe the ground will melt and Shea Stadium will sink into the abyss before tomorrow night's game against the Diamondbacks.

The Mets have shown the ability to come from behind late, look like worldbeaters.
The Mets have shown the ability to play like absolute trash.

I refuse to believe this is a .500 team - there's simply too much talent here. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, and maybe I won't. But the fans need to relax. Put the pitchfork down, open a beer and watch the season evolve. We know the Mets are capable of anything, so why write them off so early?

Actually Looking Like a Real Team

2008-05-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

...By guest blogger Jeff D...

I attended last night's game with the hope that Santana would step up and dominate a game for us when we were down. What surprised me was not Santana's performance, but the performance of the rest of the team. As soon as the line up was announced I started to feel a little better. Willie Randolph actually MANAGED. He inserted a righty loaded line up against a young, left handed, power pitcher. Normally, we wouldn't expect this from our manager. But not only was it insightful, it also paid off. All five runs batted in came from right-handed bench players. Easley had a nice piece of situational hitting to drive in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro both had 2 runs batted in.

I must also give credit where it is due and commend Luis Castillo for a nice stop up the middle (nabbing the lead runner in what could have turned into a big inning for the Marlins). Although he still looks like a mess at the plate, it was a great stop and a huge out. Reyes started the Mets off early with a double to lead off the game, which extended his 12 game hitting streak and his streak of 27 straight games on base. Beltran made a terrific catch on a ball that may have changed the whole complexion of the game if it had dropped, but he still seems to be pressing at the plate - even in favorable counts.

All in all, the team played well. Aside from Reyes' gaffe and Johan's brief bout with wildness, it was a crisp performance. Johan pitched well even though he was behind in the count most of the time, coming up with a big strike out of Uggla to end the
seventh, after two wild pitches and an error by Reyes. He also
contributed offensively with a double, his 4th of the year - wow.
When we turned it over to the pen, it was like a flashback to
2006. Sanchez came in and did a great job, getting the last out on a K with a filthy change in his scoreless eighth. In the 9th, Wagner came in and was lights out -striking out two.

This was the definition of a team win. The bench players contributed with timely hits, and players who still aren't performing at the plate didn't bring those struggles out with them on defense. Aside from Beltran's nice catch and Castillo's diving stop, nothing was spectacular. It was a well played game from start to finish by a team that is more than capable of putting that exact same product on the field every night. One would hope that the team realizes this too. It's time for them to start hitting their stride and it's time to put together a nice streak. If the Mets can do that, the bitter taste from these early season struggles will be gone in a flash.

LGM

What Being A Fan Means

2008-05-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

I turned last night's game off in the 7th inning, and every 5 minutes I felt like a crackhead fighting the urge to flip it back on. I didn't flip it back on until the Bottom of the 9th. I watched Endy Chavez ground out and turned it right back off. It's true that this season is going terribly wrong. It's true that most of the venom being displayed by the fans isn't misguided. And it's true that last night I looked around my house and felt like getting up and smashing each piece of Mets memorabilia I own. Their play is making me sick, the manager looks like he's sick, but I'm a fan. A die-hard fan. And so are the rest of you.

When the Mets lost last night, I had no intention of going to the game tonight. But when I woke up, it was a new day. Santana is on the mound. It's 10 bucks to sit in the bleachers, and pretty cheap to sit in the upper deck. I want to go, I really do. I'm sure there are lots of other fans who are feeling dejected, fans who have no desire to go. We can't become like them. We need to go tonight. We need to attempt to infuse some positive energy into a ship that looks like it's sinking. It's a nice May day, which will turn into a nice night for a game.

Watching this season has felt like a second job, felt less fun than any season I've watched - ever. Let's get back to enjoying baseball. Let's go tonight, grab a dog and a beer and cheer on our team. Let's sit directly behind Nick Evans and encourage the kid. Let's stand and cheer instead of sitting on our hands or booing. Let's go out to the ballgame tonight.

InGame Thought: Why Willie, Why?

2008-05-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

The Mets are slowly driving me insane. Every loss ruins my mood, and then my day or night. They're making me fight with my girlfriend. They're making me physically ill. Tonight, they're currently losing 6-3, and it's of the vomit inducing variety. They're making errors, failing to hit with runners in scoring position, not breaking in on balls hit by the Marlins. Nick Evans hits a ball 409 feet, and it gets caught. Brian Schneider KNOCKS MIKE JACOBS OVER with a grounder, and he records an out. The Marlins scored their first 2 runs on broken bat doubles, and their next 3 on a blooper that should've been caught. The combination really is vomit inducing.

With all that said, the person who epitomizes this nonsense is Luis Castillo. How many days, weeks or months will it take for Willie Randolph to realize that he is not the number 2 hitter? He wasn't the number 2 hitter at the beginning of the year. Randolph replaced him with Church, the Mets won 5 games in a row, and Randolph then went ahead and put him right back there (and watched the Mets go on a losing streak). I understand that Church and Alou are out right now, but Castillo should still not be anywhere near the 2 hole. Put Endy Chavez there. Put Nick Evans there. Put anyone there. Just not Luis Castillo.

All the man does is KILL RALLIES. He kills them early in the game, and he kills them late in the game. He kills them by popping out, striking out and by grounding into so many double plays that my head is starting to spin.

The Mets had a rally going on Saturday night in Colorado, and Castillo promptly hit into a double play.

The Mets had something going yesterday in Colorado, and Castillo slapped the ball right at the pitcher - who started the double play.

The Mets had a chance 10 minutes ago, with runners on 1st and 2nd, and Castillo slapped into ANOTHER double play.

A couple of games before that, the Mets had a chance with the bases loaded, and Castillo couldn't even put the ball in play and bring a run home.

So I ask again, why the hell is he still hitting 2nd?

He can't hit the ball into the outfield.

He can't get runners in from 3rd with less than 2 outs.

He hits into double plays more often than anyone on the roster.

He's lost his speed.

Why, Willie, Why?

His presence is crippling this team every single day. How long will it take for a change to be made? At this rate, fans will be projectile vomiting onto the field before, during and after each one of his atrocious slap-happy at bats.

Observations from a Debacle

2008-05-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while due to a host of idiotic reasons, so I thought the best way to get back into the swing of things would be to do this:

Below are thoughts that went through my head (and that I subsequently jotted down), while watching the Mets against the Braves tonight. Instead of having the sound on the TV - and subjecting myself to Tomahawk Chop chants after infield hits with 2 outs in the 2nd inning - I instead listened to 3 beatles albums as I took the game in. I started with Please Please Me, then went to Beatles For Sale, and closed with Revolver. By the time I was done (and the Mets were done), I felt like eating a bag of mushrooms and running around the neighborhood. But I digress...

Top of the 1st-

-I realize that even 1st pitch strikes to Reyes in the top of the 1st inning perturb me.

Top of the 2nd-

- Luis Castillo batting 8th means having two 9 spots with horrendous hitting pitchers back to back (cue ass out strike out by Castillo with runners on 2nd and 3rd). Awesome timing. Castillo is starting to remind me of Al Leiter, but with less power.

Bottom of the 2nd-

-Carlos Delgado is like Roger Dorn, without the golfing skills and hot wife. "What do you want me to do, dive for it?" Mind you, I thought about this when a grounder wasn't even hit near him. Just the sight of him is enough to conjure up these thoughts.

-I've never seen Mike Pelfrey get this many swings and misses - ever. His fastball is consistently in the mid 90's with great location.

-Gregor Blanco (who just K'd looking), should stop arguing and instead go ask his parents where the last letter of his name went.

-Luis Castillo has no bat, diminishing range, and is now lolipopping his throws to 1st base. Not cool....

Top of the 3rd-

-Leadoff single for Jose (is uppercut Reyes gone)?

-Before I could even come up with something to say after the Mets took a 1-0 lead, Beltran grounded into a 4-6-3 DP.

Bottom of the 3rd-

-Pelfrey is being an animal (as he K's Infante for the 1st out).

-And just as Pelfrey is dropping heat on the Braves, there goes Moises Alou to drop heat in the clubhouse. Lovely.

-At this point with all the various ailments, freak concussions, diarrhea in the middle of games, sick parents....I wouldn't be surprised if Jose Reyes dropped his glove, unzipped his skin and Gene Shalit popped out.

-Thanks for the double clutch Luis. Way to earn that money! Luis Castillo, wow.

-Right after Luis Castillo fails to end the inning, there goes a rocket over Endy's head. It is now Luis Castillo/Braves 2, Mets 1.

-The curse of the in-game diarrhea...Marlon Anderson with the awful misplay, Luis Castillo/Braves 3, Mets 1. Just what in the hell was Marlon Anderson doing?

Top of the 4th-

I've made it through Please Please Me and Beatles For Sale, and am immersed in Revolver. For the record, "Love You To" by George Harrison started before the Mets came to bat in the Top of the 4th, and ended after they had already made 3 outs. The song is 2 minutes and 52 seconds long.

Now going with the "Love You To" theme, a musical interlude.....

................"Each Mets at bat goes so fast, I turn around it's passed"...................

Bottom of the 4th-

-There goes a blooper right over Luis Castillo's head for a single. No attempt to dive or stretch. If it was legal, I'd kidnap him and chain him to a parking meter.

Top of the 5th-

-I can't hear the Giuseppe Franco commercial, and it's breaking my heart.

-Mark Tex slides and backhands Pelfrey's sharp grounder and records the out. It's nice watching a 1st baseman that tries.

-Reyes has been on base all 3 times, and the Mets have 1 run. Bad combo.

Bottom of the 5th-

-4 to 1 Braves as Chipper takes Pelfrey out to dead center to open the inning. I'm starting to lose my mind.

-Here's a grounder down the RF line, and an error by Endy Chavez. I am without speech.

....And with that, the in-game blogging is over. If the Mets come back to win, we can all read this and laugh about how bleak the situation was. Does anyone really expect that to happen?

InGame Thought - Why Burn Duaner?

2008-05-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

The Nats are up 10 to 3. They took advantage of errors, walks and hit batsmen early on and took advantage of Jorge Sosa's ineptitude in the top of the 6th. Jorge Sosa is the long man, the mop up man, a horrendous excuse for a pitcher - all of those aptly describe him. At this point the game is pretty much done. The smart move would've been to double switch Sosa into the game (removing Alou for Chavez) in order for Sosa to mop this game up. We know Willie Randolph isn't smart, though, but after he failed to double switch he still had one other way to keep Sosa in and rest the other guys in the pen.

After Sosa was torched, he simply could've let him hit with one out in the bottom of the 6th and the Mets down by 7 runs. Instead, he elected to pull him for a pinch hitter and proceeded to put Duaner Sanchez into a game that is out of reach. Why? The move is puzzling, especially with the recent doubleheader and the doubleheader the Mets have coming up next Monday in Atlanta. Why does Willie Randolph refuse to double switch, and why does he burn his better relievers in games that aren't close? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? We may never know....

Digging Through Selective Journalism (Santana Edition)

2008-05-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

I came home yesterday from playing ball, sat down with my sandwich from the deli and opened the Sunday Daily News. There was all the usual nonsense, magazines and of course shooting from the Lip by Mike Lupica. Then I happened upon an article..........http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/05/10/2008-05-10_johan_santana_seems_slow_to_change_up_me-2.html........... by John Harper and stopped to read it. It began:

On a day when he didn't have much brilliance, Johan Santana showed just enough toughness to get by, thanks largely to signs of life from Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. And since toughness is what the Mets seem to need most these days, maybe that's more important than throwing a gem.
Then again, in the long run this team is going to need more than six innings a start out of its ace to even think about going to a World Series. And so, much like the enigmatic Mets themselves, it's hard to know just what to make of Santana in his new digs so far.
Is he the $139 million savior, as touted, for a team in search of a killer instinct, or something less?

After reading the opening, I paused. The first paragraph didn't bother me nearly as much as the second (we all know that negativity and being critical sells more than anything else). But the second paragraph basically lumps Santana's season so far in with the Mets' - and the Mets' season has been slightly better than Mediocre. Santana has been almost in line with his career averages, and considering that Santana is a notoriously slow starter (with a career April ERA above 4.00), is now really the time for this type of article?

The article continues:

So far Santana has been good, not great. He's 4-2 and the Mets have blown a couple of potential wins for him, but in his last three starts he has gone six, six, and 5-2/3 innings, respectively, largely because of high pitch counts.

The part that gets me is the "last 3 starts" angle. Has it gotten to the point where we question the productivity of arguably the best pitcher in baseball who happens to be in a new league, playing for a team in the largest city in the world, in front of fans who booed him in his first start at home, on such a miniscule sample size? Seems to me that we have. Harper of course failed to note that over his first 5 starts, Santana went 7 innings four times and 6.2 innings once. He failed to note what I already alluded to - the fact that Santana is a notoriously slow starter. But why let perspective and facts get in the way of a story?

Towards the conclusion of his article, Harper alluded to Santana's velocity, even using the famous unnamed scout to back up his claims:

That changeup is what has made Santana one of the best pitchers in baseball, and it seems he needs it more than ever now that his fastball is usually in the 90-92 mph range, as opposed to 93-95 a couple of years ago.
"He hit 93 once today," said a National League scout at Shea, "but I had him around 90-91 on average, which is down a little from its peak. He still has a good fastball, and he's always needed his changeup to be one to dominate. He just has a little less margin for error now."

Let's look at the end of that 2nd line where it says "now that his fastball is usually in the 90-92 mph range." Harper bounces off of that line into the one by the scout to give off the impression that from now until his career ends, Santana's fastball will sit around 90-91, which is both inaccurate and reckless. If Santana had lost the ability to consistently throw 93-95, one would think that a couple of other news outlets might've picked up on that.

Either way, we've reached the point where it's safe to question and criticize a pitcher who's on pace to go 17-9 with 222 K's, a BAA of .226 and a 1.11 WHIP, and claim that after 1 so-so start in early May that he's lost the life on his fastball.

I can't wait to see the articles that pop up after Billy Wagner allows his first earned run of the year.....

Mets Fans

2008-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

As we wait around to see when/if this game will be played tonight, and continuing with the theme of die-hard fan pride, here's something I wrote to pass the time......

Being a Mets fan in New York means you’re in the minority whether you’re white or black, male or female.
Being a Mets fan will cause heartache.
Being a Mets fan is a test of ones will.
To be a Mets fan is to have eternal hope, whatever the circumstances.
Being a Mets fan will drain you mentally, physically, and emotionally.
If a purple stadium is your thing, the Mets are the team for you.
If you don’t mind broken seats with bird shit on them, you bleed ORANGE and BLUE and love Shea too.
Being a Mets fan is an act of defiance.
Mets fans are the ones that know New York is a National League Town that’s currently tripping on Acid.
If your Grandfather was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan who converted to the Mets after they left, you’re a Mets fan.
Mets fans believe in miracles but know how to cope with disasters.
If you’re a Mets fan, the Tomahawk Chop makes you feel like throwing up.
If you’re a Mets fan, you can do without the Irish tenor Ronan Tynan singing during the 7th inning stretch.
Mets fans would much rather hear Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

The Worst 17-15 Start in History

2008-05-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

Jose Reyes is being compared to Rey Ordonez. Aaron Heilman is getting the Guillermo Mota treatment. Johan Santana was booed off the field by a small chorus of imbeciles after his first Shea Stadium start. If you were a Mets fan who missed the first 32 games of the season, came home today and put on WFAN (and heard the critiquing of the team) you would've probably assumed that the Mets were something like 12-20. You would think that the team is suffering from afflictions that cannot be cured. You'd be wrong.

Let's examine two main points that have been regurgitated during this fan/media freak out and take a few things into consideration:

1. The Mets' offense is putrid: It's true that the Mets are near the bottom of the NL in most of the major offensive categories, but it's also true that they have played the least amount of games -32- in the Majors (every other team has played between 33 and 36). We also need to take into account the fact that aside from the opening 6 game road trip and the recent 6 game swing through Arizona and L.A., the Mets have played all of their games in cold weather cities (including at home in one of the worst pitchers ballparks in baseball). Let's also realize that the Mets have caught nearly every teams' top 2 pitchers so far this season. The Mets were without Moises Alou until recently, Carlos Beltran has done virtually nothing so far, and Jose Reyes has been maddeningly inconsistent. Still, the team is somehow 17-15. If you think that Beltran is a .220 hitter, that Jose Reyes has peaked at 24, and that David Wright will hit .265 this year, maybe you're right to be worried about the offense. Something tells me, though, that those guys will hit.

2. The fans have turned on the team: I've been to 5 games so far this year, and I will admit that I've never seen this much vitriol this early in the season. What's important to note, though, is that most of said vitriol has been coming out of the mouths of casual fans. If you want to take the pulse of the fanbase, go to sites like Nyfuturestars.com or Nyfansonly.com or read what Cerrone and his cronies have to say over at Metsblog. You can't usually take an accurate pulse of this team's fanbase by observing the behavior of casual fans at Shea Stadium. If you see a guy booing at Shea that looks like he belongs in Yankee Stadium corporate seats (hint: he'll be wearing a belt bag circa 1989, sitting with his wife whose skin looks like it's sliding off of her skeleton, and he'll be the guy that remains in his seat instead of standing to cheer when the Mets are scoring) pay him no mind. Since the 2006 season began, I've seen an influx of these types at Shea. They're at the game to pass judgment and have knee-jerk reactions. They boo, turn to who they're with, and then laugh at the scene they're causing. These people aren't die-hards, and they're not speaking for all of us. If you want to see the team's die-hards and get a gist of how they feel, head out to Shea on a Tuesday night against the Nats (where there's a 2 hour rain delay) and observe the fans that are left after that delay. Those are the die-hards. And die-hards don't boo Ace's who are making their first start at Shea, they don't boo relievers before they've thrown a pitch (unless it's Mota or Armando Benitez) and they don't boo Carlos Beltran for grounding out to 2nd base. Idiots do. If you're one of those idiots, stay home.

Let's all take a deep breath. Willie Randolph's lack of knowledge is beyond repair, but the Mets of 2008 can win in spite of him. Give them a chance to heat up with the weather.

Smile.

Ramon Castro is coming back and he's bringing his mascot sized head with him.