The memory of that nine game winning streak has faded and the Mets open a six-game home stand against San Diego and Florida looking very much like the team that has struggled for much of the season. The good news is they are much closer to the division and wild-card contenders then they were in June but the bad news is injuries and a shaky bullpen might be too much to overcome.
Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado are swinging hot bats but David Wright has come up short in a lot of key situations and Carlos Beltran can’t get in any kind of good groove. Despite that the Mets would probably be in first place if not for the bullpen which has failed time and time again to protect leads. Now with Billy Wagner’s and John Maine on the DL
you wonder if the relief corps can handle the job or this season will go up in smoke.
With the exception of the Marlins this weekend five the Mets next six opponents have losing records so the time to move is NOW!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Meet The (Same Ol') Mets
New manager and back home after a pretty decent road trip…time for the
Mets to get on a roll. Not quite as they fall to the worst team in baseball (Seattle) and again drop below .500. David Wright commits a costly error and then our ace Johan Santana gives up a grand slam to Felix Hernandez, who becomes the first American League pitcher to hit a grand slam in 37 years. Wright’s error prolonged the inning but for $137 million you should be able to get the opposing pitcher out.
I’ll say it again….maybe all the Mets are is a .500 team because they refuse to give us anything to really get excited about.
Mets to get on a roll. Not quite as they fall to the worst team in baseball (Seattle) and again drop below .500. David Wright commits a costly error and then our ace Johan Santana gives up a grand slam to Felix Hernandez, who becomes the first American League pitcher to hit a grand slam in 37 years. Wright’s error prolonged the inning but for $137 million you should be able to get the opposing pitcher out.
I’ll say it again….maybe all the Mets are is a .500 team because they refuse to give us anything to really get excited about.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Firing WIllie Randolph
While there is really no good way to fire someone there are right and wrong ways and you’ll find almost unanimous agreement that the Mets dismissal of manager Willie Randolph was handled poorly and showed a lack of class. Randolph was finally put out of his misery at around 3 o’clock this morning our time after the Mets had beaten the Angels in the opener of a three-game series in Anaheim. Also getting “pink slips” were pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. Bench coach Jerry Manuel takes over as interim manager for the rest of the season while Mets Triple A manager Ken Oberkfell and pitching coach Dan Warthen along with Luis Aquayo join the coaching staff.
There is no argument that Randolph was on thin ice and his firing has been talked about for weeks with rumors really heating up over the weekend. However why would the organization make him fly cross-country after a Sunday game in New York to fire him on the left coast after a victory? The answer is pretty obvious….to avoid the media circus that would have taken place back home and to give Manuel time to get things together before the team returns to Shea Stadium next week. While one can argue the validity of that the Mets treated Randolph like a second-class citizen when he has shown nothing but dedication to the organization. He was allowed to twist in the wind with luke-warm votes of confidence from General Manager Omar Minaya with Minaya finally pulling the plug on New York’s first black baseball manager in a west coast version of a “midnight massacre.”
Whether Randolph was a good manager is not the issue because he did provide plenty of fodder for second guessers. However he has been a beloved figure in New York for the way he conducted himself as a player and coach during his Yankee career and most recently as manager of the Mets. Unfortunately the Mets did not conduct themselves very well here and the organization takes a big step backwards. They and Minaya showed a lack of class and character which of course will be completely forgotten by fans if the team starts winning because at the end of the day…I guess that’s the only thing that counts.
There is no argument that Randolph was on thin ice and his firing has been talked about for weeks with rumors really heating up over the weekend. However why would the organization make him fly cross-country after a Sunday game in New York to fire him on the left coast after a victory? The answer is pretty obvious….to avoid the media circus that would have taken place back home and to give Manuel time to get things together before the team returns to Shea Stadium next week. While one can argue the validity of that the Mets treated Randolph like a second-class citizen when he has shown nothing but dedication to the organization. He was allowed to twist in the wind with luke-warm votes of confidence from General Manager Omar Minaya with Minaya finally pulling the plug on New York’s first black baseball manager in a west coast version of a “midnight massacre.”
Whether Randolph was a good manager is not the issue because he did provide plenty of fodder for second guessers. However he has been a beloved figure in New York for the way he conducted himself as a player and coach during his Yankee career and most recently as manager of the Mets. Unfortunately the Mets did not conduct themselves very well here and the organization takes a big step backwards. They and Minaya showed a lack of class and character which of course will be completely forgotten by fans if the team starts winning because at the end of the day…I guess that’s the only thing that counts.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Willie Survive The Season?
For now the status of Willie Randolph as Mets manager is not the lead story but rather the uninspired and inconsistent play of a team with the highest payroll in the National League. If Memorial Day weekend is a time in the season to begin getting a feel for teams than you can’t have a good one for the Mets. Under .500 and 6 ½ games out of first place in the NL East they show no sign of snapping out of the lethargy that’s plagued them for the better part of a year.
While many assume the Mets decline began in September it was really well before that because over the last 162 games (covering two seasons) they are
79-83. For the first time even loyal fans have to admit this may be a summer filled with discontent and the final season at Shea Stadium may be remembered for disappointment and plenty of empty seats.
While many assume the Mets decline began in September it was really well before that because over the last 162 games (covering two seasons) they are
79-83. For the first time even loyal fans have to admit this may be a summer filled with discontent and the final season at Shea Stadium may be remembered for disappointment and plenty of empty seats.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Opening Day!
It’s finally here…opening day of the 2008 season for my beloved Mets.
Sure there are a host of questions surrounding this team but you can say
the same for the other National League contenders. To me it all comes down to one player….Carlos Delgado. If he can put up good, not even great numbers then I think we will the NL East. Give me 25-30 homers and 100+ RBI’s from him and we will 93-95 games and that should be good enough to take the division. Wright and Reyes will be terrific but Delgado has to drive in runs and play 140 games.
Santana, Pedro and Maine will win at least 50 games between them and Wagner will save 50 as the anchors of the pitching staff. Everyone has concerns about middle relief and it’s a crap shoot because many of these guys are good one year and bad the next.
Hey the Phillies will be very tough but mark it down. Santana pitches a
great game in Florida today and might finally become the first Met to throw a no-hitter this season.
World Series…here we come.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Feeling Good About The Mets
Spring has officially arrived and opening day is just around the corner.
I feel pretty good about our team with one BIG exception and that is the
Injuries that have kept too many of our key players sidelined. Sure most of them are getting better and by opening day should be in the starting lineup but it’s scary to know that our trainer might have to be the MVP this season.
Pitching has looked very good of late with Pedro, Santana, Perez very sharp in their most recent spring outings. Along with Maine and either Pelfrey or El Duque you have to like this group….again if they stay healthy. Hamstring Injuries have been a problem with catchers Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro and plenty of other players have spent a lot of their Florida
time rehabbing injuries rather than playing every day, especially Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.
As we get ready to start the season I still think the Mets are the team to beat in the National League East but only if they can count on their regulars to be in the lineup every day. The Phillies and Braves will be tough enough with out best “9”….if we’re forced to use bench players too much then the final season in Shea Stadium will be one of disappointment.
However let’s put the negative thoughts aside….spring brings excitement and optimism so let’s play ball!
I feel pretty good about our team with one BIG exception and that is the
Injuries that have kept too many of our key players sidelined. Sure most of them are getting better and by opening day should be in the starting lineup but it’s scary to know that our trainer might have to be the MVP this season.
Pitching has looked very good of late with Pedro, Santana, Perez very sharp in their most recent spring outings. Along with Maine and either Pelfrey or El Duque you have to like this group….again if they stay healthy. Hamstring Injuries have been a problem with catchers Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro and plenty of other players have spent a lot of their Florida
time rehabbing injuries rather than playing every day, especially Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.
As we get ready to start the season I still think the Mets are the team to beat in the National League East but only if they can count on their regulars to be in the lineup every day. The Phillies and Braves will be tough enough with out best “9”….if we’re forced to use bench players too much then the final season in Shea Stadium will be one of disappointment.
However let’s put the negative thoughts aside….spring brings excitement and optimism so let’s play ball!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Mets Sick Bay
I want to get excited about the start of the season but I’m really concerned about the growing list of injuries with Moises Alou headed to surgery to repair a hernia. The 41-year old leftfielder will miss the start of the season and under normal circumstances should be back by mid to late April but with Alou you never know. He was out half of last season with a quadriceps injury and does not seem to recover quickly.
Besides Alou the Mets are missing starters Carlos Delgado (hip injury), Ryan Church (concussion) and Brian Schneider (hamstring). In addition Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo have yet to play a spring game while recovering from off-season knee surgery and pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez has not pitched in an exhibition game while he rehabs from toe surgery.
It’s only March and there’s no reason to panic yet but this is clearly not the start fans were hoping for. The Mets are not a young club and many of the injured players are on the back end of their careers which makes the situation all that more concerning.
Let’s hope that some of the walking wounded get back on the field and begin producing.
Besides Alou the Mets are missing starters Carlos Delgado (hip injury), Ryan Church (concussion) and Brian Schneider (hamstring). In addition Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo have yet to play a spring game while recovering from off-season knee surgery and pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez has not pitched in an exhibition game while he rehabs from toe surgery.
It’s only March and there’s no reason to panic yet but this is clearly not the start fans were hoping for. The Mets are not a young club and many of the injured players are on the back end of their careers which makes the situation all that more concerning.
Let’s hope that some of the walking wounded get back on the field and begin producing.
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