Reyes third?? - I have a better idea

As you must have heard by now Jerry Manuel wants Jose Reyes batting third  (No Eli, not playing third)  until Carlos Beltran comes back from the DL.
One of the reasons given was that he likes the idea of having three switch hitters bunched together in the lineup.
Well i have a better idea. Since the leadoff batter only ends up actually batting leadoff about 25 percent of the time why not leave Reyes alone - he is coming off a major injury you know - and bat Castillo 9th. Then you can have Castillo bat 9th, Reyes in the leadoff spot - where he is more comfortable - and Pagan bat second. Havent we learned anything from the Kaz Matsui disaster?  LEAVE JOSE ALONE!
I know this may be a bit radical but think about it - this is only temporary until Beltran comes back anyway.
I would much rather see Castillo batting 9th than Reyes batting third. Batting Reyes third would take away so much of what he does for the team.
And come on - who wouldnt want to see Castillos name in the 9 spot ;)

Spring Training .... Im loving it!

Call me a sucker. Call me delusional. Call me whatever you want but you cant get me down. Kelvin Escobar has a sore shoulder? So what!?! What do you expect from a guy who hasnt pitched in two years!?! Must be a slow news day. David Wright and Jose Reyes expect to win the NL east? DUH! what do you think theyre gonna say? Whos the best pitcher in the division? I would also say Santana! Good for him! This is my point: I am absolutely loving the attitude that the Mets seem to be showing. You cant win if you dont think youre going to win. Santana seems fired up - so am I! I want to see him back to his old fiery self. You think David Wright didnt mean it when he told Jose Reyes he missed him? He meant it! So for now there are no injuries, (ok one) no power slumps and no control issues. Now its time to get started. Come on guys, I for one cant wait to go to my first Mets game of 2010. And i have news for you - the Mets need the fans to be behind them. Now of course theyll have to win and play good baseball to do that but my point is that come the third game of the season - and the Mets are 1 - 1 and Ollie walks somebody in the first inning - try to hold back your boos. Give him a chance. Or if David Wright flies out deep to the wall to kill a potential rally - hold back the groans. Lets give this team a chance. I think theyre going to show us something.

All OverHyped/Bust team

Spring Training - No two words elicit such feeling hope, excitement and anticipation for a baseball fan. Every spring training brings with it players hoping to "bounce back" and who are in "the best shape of their lives". In addition every spring training brings position battles, aging veterans trying to hold on and yes rookies trying to make the team or showcase their skills and show that they deserve their "top prospect" or "future star" label that they felt they had earned. 


It is with this last point in mind that i write this post. I have been a Mets fan for 20 + years. Thats 20 +  years of hope, excitement and anticipation. Its also 20 + years of aging veterans and "cant miss prospects", some of who have stuck but most of who have not.
Ive been putting together an all-over-hyped Mets team of the last 20 years. You know the type im talking about - the type that the team wont include in the trade for the superstar. The type the team talks about in terms of when  not if. 
So now without further ado i (with some help - thank you Dov) present to you ......

The All Over-Hyped/BUST Mets Team Of The Last Two Decades 

Ill go in order of the diamond starting with my starting 5

1) Paul Wilson

2) Bill Pulsipher

3) Jason Isringhausen

Generation K - Hard to separate these 3 - boy what a letdown that was. Not one, not two, but three great arms in one farm system. Man!

4) Grant Roberts- Do you realize that in 2002 he didnt give  up a run until his eighth game! In June his ERA was 0.59!!  And then BOOM! rotator cuff surgery and effectively his career came to an end. Oh! he was also way ahead of his time as he was suspended for violating the minor leagues steroid policy.
5) Aaron Heilman
In 2003 he was the 45th rated prospect in all of baseball! He teased us both as a starter (i still remember his one-hitter in 2005 against the Marlins - broken up by none other than Louis Castillo) and a reliever. In 2006 he was actually quite good. Until he was quite bad. And then he was very bad. 


In addition ill add Octavio Dotel for long relief/spot starter
Remember the hype in 2000 about Dotel and about how he was going to be the secret weapon out of the bullpen in the playoffs.


  
C  - Brook Fordyce - I pick him only because there is nobody else. In 1991 he was the 47th rated prospect in baseball
1B - Rico Brogna - Again not much comes to mind - but remember that summer of Rico. I actually cheated quite a bit here as Rico was actually a product of the Tigers and got traded to the Mets. Still - what a tease.
2B - Gregg Jeffries - He may be the captain of this team.
SS - Rey Ordonez - still think hes the greatest defensive SS ive ever seen and as such almost didnt put him on this list. But to look back and remember how people would compare him and Jeter is just funny - or sad
3B - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET IT NOT BE DAVID WRIGHT!! 
OF - Alex Escobar - He was the one finally included in the deal that brought Roberto Alamor to the Mets. He was named the organizations top prospects for three straight years! He finished his career with a total of 125 games in four seasons
OF - Lastings Millidge - twice named the organizations top prospect - the guy they wouldnt include in a deal for Manny. Are you kidding me?!? The worst part is that they then shipped him off for Ryan Church!
OF - Victor Diaz - "The next Manny Ramirez" - need i say more?


A couple of notes: 1 - I did not count Kaz Matsui although i saw many people who did.
2 - This list is unscientific and not quite complete so please comment, ill reviews and change if i feel like it
3 - Im going to give Mike Pelfry and Fernando Martinez some more time.


Let me know what you think!!

They dont make it easy do they?

I try. I really do. I try my best to be THE optimistic Mets fan. I think Jason Bay and David Wright will combine for close to 60 HR. I think Johan will win the Cy Young award. I think Jose Reyes will be the comeback player of the year. I think K-Rod will have 50 saves. I think Louis Castillo will be an All-Star - alright now i may be getting carried away - but I do think the Mets will make the playoffs. But why do they have to make it so hard! I want to believe! So when i saw the headline today that they Mets had made three roster moves I got excited. Only then i saw the players. A pitcher from Japan who will fight for the 5th starter spot but could also be in the bullpen (like Fernando Neive and Josh Fogg), a lefty hitting first baseman (to platoon with .. another lefty hitting first baseman?) and then the last move - Shawn Riggans - a - you guessed it - backup catcher to along with the FOUR OTHER BACK UP CATCHERS THEY ALREADY HAVE! (From left thats Santos, Thole, Coste and Blanco) 

In 2006 we had catcher that tagged out two guys in one play! Now we cant seem to make up for that guy no matter how hard we try. But seriously, what are they doing here? Bringing in fringe players who may or may not make the roster just to say that they made some "lo-risk high-reward" moves?

One more piece of Mets-related news before i sign off for the night. A legend has officially retired from the game. A sure-fire (probably first ballot) HOF. One of the greatest the game has ever seen. Also one that is responsible for what may be my worst memory as a New York Mets fan. Yes. Tom Glavine has retired from the sport. Tommy - thanks for the 2/3 of an inning. Its a moment ill never forget. Hes going to be guest with Joe and Even tomorrow and the truth is i cant say this any better than Eli from Brooklyn said it today via twitter in response to Joe and Evan announcing that they will have him on.
"In middle say, "Now, we're gonna take calls from some Mets fans... (pause)... Kidding, Tom."

Citi in the snow - Keith and Murph in the sun

Happy Snow day to my fellow east coast residents! I came across this great picture of Citi Field courtesy of Gary Wong from http://www.thewongway.org/) A reminder that theres still a long way to go before baseball season starts but pitchers and catchers are in eight days.

Speaking of which the Mets signed Mike Jacobs today - hopefully not be their catcher as suggested by Mark Healey of baseball digest but rather to be a lefty power bat off the bench. I like the move but i dont know if i agree with it. Does that make sense? Im not sure. But im also not sure why they signed him.

Daniel Murphy should be their 1B when the season starts. In case you missed it - Keith Hernandez went down to Port St. Lucie to work  with Murph (and Nick Evans). Here is the video courtesy of metsblog
Watching this video a couple of things popped into my head. First of all Keith offering to help and saying "any time, any time ... just call Jay (i assume Horowitz) Im a 40 minute drive". How awesome must that be for Murphy? He even offers to call him to talk it out. I also loved seeing the instruction. Really makes you think back to the Mike Piazza at 1B experiment. What were they thinking? In case you were wondering i also read somewhere that Hernandez did not talk to Murphy about hitting saying "Thats Howard Johnsons job". I like that - hes not looking to interfere - he just wants to help. They really need to retire this guys number already. Also he says that Murphy "played remarkably well last year".
And finally watching this video - it struck me how much Daniel Murphy looks like Johnny Galecki

hmmmm

Just saw this on the home page for the NY Daily News - is this the Mets 2010 5th starter?

Shame on you

I already spoke about the fact that we need to stay positive and we do but everybody seems to be making so hard. The media rips them as a bunch of baboons who dont know how to run a ball club but at least thats their job. People read the stuff and buy in to it. So i can accept that. But turning one of my favorite childhood activities into a cruel reminder of a lost season? Allow me to explain. As a kid i loved going to my favorite baseball card store "Hot Corner". I would save up allowance or use any monetary gifts i would get and go straight to there to spend it hoping to get a card with my favorite Mets player. My best moment came when they had a sale and i had a coupon and bought two old packs of cards and in one pack i got a Dwight Gooden rookie card and in the other i got a Mark McGwire rookie card. Those were some of the most fun times of my life. I remember getting a Brian Taylor rookie card and selling it to my Yankee fan friend for five dollars. I have kept my cards for the most part over the years. Most have been devalued but my memories have not and even though i have longed stopped collecting cards I still look fondly on that period of my life. Baseball cards should remind us of our favorite players not torment us, right? So why oh why did Upper Deck have to make a baseball card like this?

 Did someone at Upper Deck say to themselves "How can we further torment Mets fans? They havent suffered enough! - O I know - lets take the worst moment of last year and put it on the card!" Ok ok im getting carried away. And its not exactly Castillos dropped popup against the Yankees(see image on right). But still, havent we suffered enough? Were trying to move on here! By the way - hat tip to Metspolice.com for the picture

A plea to my fellow Mets fans

Calm down. Thats my message. Just take a deep breath and calm down. I know youre frustrated and so am i. Thats part of being a Mets fan. But havent the Mets had plenty of off-seasons where they were considered the big winners only to be disappointed during the real season? Was the off-season a success? No! of course not! Should they have overpaid for a couple of slightly above-average pitchers? I dont think so. Doug Davis would not have been the answer. Neither would Bengie Molina for that matter. As ive said before the truth is that the most important addition to the Mets this year will be Jose Reyes. Im not putting together a bunch of "ifs". The fact is that Reyes played a full season for four straight years. He had early injury problems but put that behind him and became one of the most exciting - and best - players in baseball. Last years injury was not a recurrence of previous injuries. It was a freak injury. I expect him to be back. Nobody in their right mind can possibly think that David Wright will have another year like last years. I expect him to come back strong. The Beltran injury hurts. Hopefully hes back sometime in May. I really dont think the offense will be a problem. I dont worry about bullpens in general because theyre so unpredictable. Theres a reason why there are so few really good middle relievers. K-Rod,hopefully, will be fine closing. If not - then we've got a problem but until i see otherwise ill assume hes fine. So that leaves defense and starting pitching. Lets start with defense. The Mets ranked right in middle of the pack last year in defense and i see no reason why they wont be just as good if not better. Murphy wont be butchering LF and should be a bit better at 1B, where he was pretty good already last year. Castillo is what he is. He turns a great DP but has limited range. A full season of Reyes will help the whole infield. Wright will make some errors but hell do a good job. Ill reserve judgment on the catcher position for now. In the outfield i think theyll be very good. Francour is a very good fielder with a cannon arm. Beltran is one of the best in the game, and Bay - despite what people say - is at least an average LF. Now - starting pitching: OK so they could have used another arm. But its not all bad. According to Scout.com here is the Mets averages of our front 4's seasons when they stay healthy. Pretty impressive.


               IP    ERA   WHIP  K

Santana  229 2.82 1.02    238

Perez     189 3.59   1.28    198

Pelfrey   192 4.36   1.43    109

Maine     166 4.02   1.30   151


This is the biggest what-if. But lets not be down on the team before they even take the field! Lets give Ollie a shot at redemption. Maine has always been good (who could forget that clutch one-hitter a couple of years ago to keep the Mets alive) - he just has to stay on the field. 


My point is that these Mets are not perfect but lets not bury them before they even arrive at camp.
We are Mets fans and we should be sticking with our team and supporting them through thick and thin.
This is a good team! Ya Gotta Believe! LETS GO METS!! 

New Layout and more

First of all - I have changed the layout of the site based on some suggestions from two professional bloggers and i thank them for their input. Let me know what you think.

Now - I wanted to get something off my chest. A couple of days ago Cliff Floyd did an interview with Mike Francessa. I saw many people post on their sites that this was a great job by Floyd (to read a recap of the interview check out the always terrific metsblog.com here) and a very informative interview. Ill give you informative but good? Come on! Among other things Cliff talked about how there is no team chemistry. First of all - how does he know that? The only guy he could have heard it from was David Wright as theres not really anyone else from when he was a Met. Even Pelf was a September call-up in his last year. But ok lets say that its true - although according to interviews with current Mets players its not - but lets say it is. What gets me is that when he was pressed by Francessa he "admitted" that even when he was there there wasnt a good chemistry and it was a "bad clubhouse" Give me a break. Did it ever occur to anyone that he said all those things because hes looking to land a TV job? I bet you if he gets that base hit in the NLCS he wouldnt be saying that today. Now dont get me wrong - I loved Cliff Floyd but this interview really makes me look at him in a different light.When he was there, there was so much talk about how he was so close with David Wright and how everybody loved LoDuca - so much so that SI did a whole story about it. Sad to see Cliff get swallowed up by Mikes typical ani-Mets negativity. Im sorry but bad job Cliff.

Finally I saw mention of this item in a tweet and then later here.
I will preface by saying that about a month ago my brother-in-law bought me one of those "fun-fact-of-day" Mets calendar. There are some good tidbits there (my favorite so far is that Jon Niese was born on the day the Mets won the 1986 World Series) Todays item is shown in the picture below.

OUCH! Just when i thought i was finally getting over that Adam Wainwright curveball I had to be reminded of today as soon as i walked in to my office. Remind me to thank my brother-in-law for the gift ;)

Finally the trade that will send us to the playoffs!

This is what weve been waiting for. The boys in the front office finally realized that they need to make a trade in order to get to the playoffs. So now they will finally get the help they needed after a mostly disappointing last few months. Thats right folks.  The New York Rangers have acquired Calgary Flames center Olli Jokinen for Ales Kotalik. What? You thought that i was talking about maybe Carlos Zambrano? Or Bronsson Arroyo?  No no no. The Mets have taken care of business already with the additions of "super reserve" Alex Cora, a "power hitting first baseman to platoon with Daniel Murphy" in Fernando Tatis, "shored up the bullpen" with Josh Fogg - i mean how much more do they need to do? But seriously, people need to realize that this is a very good team. Could they use another pitcher? Yes. But overall there are alot worse things than having  a healthy Jose Reyes leading off (and by the way if you didnt watch the clip on SNY about Jose Reyes, you really need to watch it to get fired up - especially the end where he pumps his fist and says hes ready)  and then followed in the lineup by David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay and Jeff Francour. Not bad. Im sure alot of teams would do anything to have a core like that. Ive said it before and ill say it again. The most important addition to the Mets this year would be a healthy Jose Reyes.

While im on the topic of other sports - has it really been 9 years since the Knicks sent a player to the All-Star game? What happened to this once proud franchise? Perhaps its the curse of Spree. 

The Knicks have not had an All-Star since 2001, when Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston were their ambassadors. The only team with a longer drought is the Golden State Warriors, who haven’t had an All-Star since 1997. His name: Latrell Sprewell.

As a Mets/Jets fan nothing got me more nearvous than this headline about Mark Sanchize in the New York Post 


"Jets QB's left leg, not right, needs surgery"


I could see it now - "Mets doctors asked to operate on Mark Sanchez - operate on wrong knee. Sanchez says - 'In retrospect I really should have listened to my new buddy Carlos Beltran and not gotten that third opinion' " 


As for JJ Putz (video here article here) - I have a message for all these guys - Shut up and play! You want to prove the Mets were wrong, go out on the field and dominate. Stop making excuses. 


Also it was nice to see this headline from the Daily News
"New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman conjures up budget woes to demonize Johnny Damon"


The first budget ever in Yankees history! Come on guys - say it like it is - you had no interest in him and once Boras started comparing him to Jeter - you had an easy excuse. Or did Jeter not want him on the team because he didnt want anyone who was compared to him on his team? hmmmm)


How do like that? Covered all three major sports plus hockey in one post ;)