Baywatch FINALLY ends

As long as Jason Bay passes a physical, he will be patrolling left field for the Mets for the next 4 seasons. This part always makes me nervous - I know that signings are almost never called off due to injuries (with Yorvit Torrealba and the recently dead Mike Lowell to the Rangers deal as exceptions) but it still nags at the back of my mind.

Anyway - I'm happy with this signing because, if nothing else, it means we've done something. Jason Bay is an upgrade offensively, which seems to be the only thing the Mets are concerned with. And I still have enough faith in Carlos Beltran that Bay's defense does not depress me. However, I do not think that Jason Bay is the solution or that he will be the baseball savior in Queens. Also, this signing coincides quite nicely with the season ticket renewal deadline. Who said the Mets didn't know how to run an organization?

I really, really hope that, despite appearances to the contrary, Omar Minaya can actually multitask. Since it seems like we've wasted weeks waiting for Bay to make up his mind when he only had one offer to choose from, I want to believe that Omar has something up his sleeve. One of my friends suggested that we were stockpiling catchers to make a trade for Matt Cain in San Francisco. While that would be amazing... I refuse to get attached to that idea, because that's generally not how the Mets do things. I've mentioned Bronson Arroyo and Ben Sheets recently and I still think that they would both be good additions - although first Sheets would have to realize that not pitching AT ALL for a year does not earn you a $12 million signing. There is not one person in major league baseball outside of Mets management who considers our rotation to be legitamite. Every starter we have is either Mike Pelfrey or coming back from a season ending injury... and that doesn't inspire much confidence.

Who the hell is R.A. Dickey?

Why, R.A. Dickey is a 35 year-old journeyman knuckleballer the Mets have signed to a minor league deal. We're really making some progress now! Unless Dickey spontaneously begins to channel Hoyt Wilhelm's spirit, I don't care.

Adam the Bull said it best on WFAN this morning: The best move the Mets have made so far this off season was the Phillies signing Brian Schneider.

Oh and one more time... stop dragging on this Bay/Molina saga. Give them a deadline and either sign them or move on. This is getting old.

The lights are on... but is anybody home?

It would appear that Omar Minaya fell asleep at the switch. Again. Ok, maybe that is a slight over reaction, but for those of you who missed this - Jason Marquis is a now a National. Trust me, I'm not delusional enough to think that Marquis was the answer to our prayers. But how is it possible that someone who is a solid middle of the rotation starter with the right attitude, who had said flat out that he wanted to play for the Mets, ends up with Washington?? Marquis said that he felt the Nationals were making the right moves in terms of making themselves relevant in baseball (i.e. adding Pudge Rodriguez and Brian Bruney). So it follows then that Marquis feels as though the Mets are not doing those things.

And you know what? He's absolutely right. I've been saying for months that pitching is our problem. Do I want to see Angel Pagan starting in left field again? Of course not. But I could handle it if we weren't able to bring in a left fielder because we were focused on pitching. The Mets are not building a team to fit their ball park. Citi Field should be synonymous with pitching and defense. Instead, we currently have one of the most questionable rotations in baseball and we are a defensive nightmare in terms of fundamentals. But yea, let's have a staring contest with Jason Bay and Benjie Molina, who are really just stringing Omar along while they wait for something - anything - else to come along. At this point, I'd rather see some creative trade work (after all, Omar is still the man who found a way to land Johan Santana) and save the actual money for next year's free agents. I'm trying to convince myself that there are things going on behind the scenes that are being kept quiet... otherwise, Mets fans are going to give up before spring training even gets here.

There's something in the water...

Let me just start by saying I understand chasing money to a certain extent. I also recognize that in order to be successful, players have to believe they are worth a lot. But what the hell is wrong with the free agents and market in general this off season?

The Mets have already upped their original one-year contract deal to Benjie Molina to two years - which should be the absolute most he gets. However, there have been reports that Molina is looking for a third year. Let's break this down: a 35 year-old catcher (who can't run, by the way) wants a 3 year contract. Omar, shake his hand and say, "Thanks for stopping by."

Then there is Jason Bay. I was fine with the Mets offering Bay a fifth year because I'm getting a little desperate... but apparently now he wants six. SIX. Jason, I have some news for you - you're a solid outfielder and I've heard good things about your clubhouse presence, but you should not be getting six years. On Wednesday, Jon Heyman reported that the Mets were looking to wrap up the Bay situation within 48 hours. I guess technically those 48 hours aren't up yet... but I'm starting to get that feeling of dread.

And let's not forget where this all started: Randy Wolf and the Brewers agreeing to a ridiculous contract for a second tier pitcher. Thanks for skewing the market, boys. Now guys like Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro - in other words, average pitchers coming off of career years - are demanding way too much money and too many years on their contracts. The one thing I am thankful for is that the Mets appear to be staying out of what I have decided to call the Oliver Perez Trap with these guys.

Here are some new names to consider: Bronson Arroyo and Ben Sheets. Sheets should only be in discussion if Arroyo or someone similar is also brought in because he is a high risk/high reward pitcher. I can only continue to hope that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Omar has a plan and knows what he is doing.

"And the hits just keep on comin'..."

This was my afternoon on December 14:
3:58 PM - Text from Josh - "There goes Lackey..."
4:02 PM - Response - "I have a worse one...Halladay to the Phils."

And then this morning I heard a report that the Cardinals offered Matt Holliday an 8 year contract, which means there is no way the Mets will somehow steal Holliday away. I'm actually okay with that, because Scott Boras is ridiculous and Matt Holliday is not Mark Teixeira by any stretch of the imagination. I always felt Holliday was a long shot to come to the Mets anyway.

Back to the pitchers - honestly, I'm not that upset about the Lackey situation. I think Boston is overpaying him. Doc Halladay though... that one stings. Rumor has it that the Jays offered the Mets a trade that would have sent Jose Reyes, John Maine, and prospects to Toronto. I'm not ready to give up on Reyes yet, so I'm okay with the fact that we didn't pull the trigger on that deal. But the Phillies? That's the part I can't handle. Toronto couldn't find a way to send Halladay to the AL West?

And this is where I get nervous. As much as I want the Mets do something, ANYTHING, I also know that we have a tendency to make stupid decisions and offer people ridiculous contracts. Out of the second tier pitchers, the only one I was really interested in was Randy Wolf. Thanks to him and the Brewers, every other pitcher in the market is looking to get more than he is probably worth. Pitching is my biggest concern for next season... and right now, it is not looking good. Now that Chien Ming Wang is on the market, I've been hearing some rumors about the Mets pursuing him. I don't know how I feel about that yet, but I wouldn't be upset if we worked out a contract with him. The only other pitcher I'd really consider right now is Jason Marquis.

Hopefully the reports are true that the Mets are now the only team seriously interested in Jason Bay, since the Red Sox signed Lackey and the Mariners are involved in the Doc Halladay trade (not to mention stealing Chone Figgins. They'd better win the freakin' World Series in 2010 for all the stress they're causing me). If we come away with Bay, Wang and/or Marquis, I would be all right with it. It's obviously not the way we all envisioned filling in the holes, but at least it's something.

Trying to keep the faith

I'm trying to be optimistic this off season. I really am. It might be working too, except for the fact that part of my daily routine includes skimming espn.com and the Mets' website for any kind of updates on trades or signings. And lately, I've been getting the feeling that the Mets are preparing us for a letdown. The tone I'm getting from these articles is that there is a helplessness about the Mets now, and that doesn't inspire much confidence. I keep reminding myself that Omar pulled off the Johan Santana deal when everyone said it was impossible. He also managed to bring us Carlos Beltran, who is one of the top center fielders in baseball today. I want to have faith in Omar and the Mets, so I'm trying.

However, the moves that we've made so far have left much to be desired. I'm glad we signed Alex Cora - I think he earned it. He is a good veteran who can back up multiple positions and was unfortunately forced into a role he couldn't handle in 2009 (not to mention while playing through an injury). But I really don't understand why we need Chris Coste, Henry Blanco, Omir Santos, and Benjie Molina on the roster (to be fair, the Molina thing hasn't actually happened yet). I just want to be inspired by something this off season - and I want to stop feeling like we're being left in the dust.

I'm begging you, Omar - please find me a gamer for left field and a starting pitcher who can eat innings. Big free agent signings are fun and make a splash, but I don't even think Matt Holliday is necessary. I was originally pulling for Carl Crawford, but I never really believed that had any potential. I was intrigued by Curtis Granderson... we know how that worked out. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Mike Cameron back in a Mets uniform, but I don't think he'll settle for a corner outfield position. I'm also really hoping that since the Brewers and Randy Wolf set a ridiculous bar for the second tier free agent pitchers, the Mets will go after Lackey hard. Lackey would make me very happy and would fill the void of #2 starter/bullpen savior.

Until then, I'm trying to ignore what I hope are ludicrous rumors. If the Mets somehow end up with Pat Burrell on their roster, I'm not entirely sure what I would do (and don't think I should be held responsible for any actions that may or may not take place following said acquisition). Make something good happen for us, and restore the faith in Flushing.

Did your wish list include two old catchers? Neither did mine.

Well. So much for aggression in the off season. I left the country for 9 days and the biggest thing that happened is Chris Coste agreed to a contract. And seriously, is anyone else confused as to why we decided it was prudent to sign not one, but two aging catchers? Especially when one of them doesn't even want to be a Met. (Side note to Chris Coste - I'm pretty sure there's a crypt you should be keeping somewhere. Go find it.)

Maybe I'm jumping the gun here... after all, the winter meetings have only been going on for about 4 hours at this point. But when I sat down to look at our depth chart and after thinking about the holes that presented themselves in 2009... I never once came up with "catcher" as a priority or a hole to fill. For me, it is all about the pitching, or lack thereof. I'm not even as concerned with the power issues as most people I have talked to about the Mets. I'm desperate for a solid number 2 guy, because guess what - Mike Pelfrey is not ready for that role. And I still think he should get the name of Zack Greinke's therapist.

In my dream world, we would suck it up and take the hit on Castillo's contract followed by signing Orlando Hudson. We would hide Oliver Perez in Buffalo with another "injury". And we would stop going after broken down guys who are cheap fixes. All I'm asking for here is a quality free agent or two - I'm not going on a Holliday/Halladay rant (although that would be nice). There are ways to fill holes without spending a ton of money, it just always seems like the Mets mess it up.

The FREAK

Oh, Tim Lincecum. I hope the Cy Young award takes the sting out of that marijuana possession charge. Although I don't think anyone was shocked by that story - and interestingly enough, it has pretty much disappeared from the press. Probably because no one was surprised.. unlike the Michael Phelps incident. Anyway, I'm happy with this decision too. Lincecum is one of those pitchers who just always seems to put in a solid outing. I really enjoy watching him pitch because he looks freakishly out of control while actually being completely in control. He's always in THE ZONE. Out of the three pitchers in contention for the NL Cy Young, Lincecum is the one I want to face the least during the season.

And, not to take away from Lincecum's award but who knows why we should be excited today?? That's right - starting at midnight, free agents are up for grabs! I can't wait for the Mets to go shopping this year (the Holliday joke was there, but it was just too easy..). I'm looking forward to some aggression in this year's free agent market and I really, REALLY hope the Mets can deliver.

Congratulations, Zack Greinke

The only time I saw Zack Greinke pitch this year was at the All Star Game and on SportsCenter highlights (which I think is insane and hope will be fixed next year by having MLB Network pick up some more games). Greinke has a great story and, based on interviews I've read/seen, is incredibly humble and down to earth. It's nice to see someone like him win this award - not only did he deserve it, he was the one thing worth watching on the Kansas City Royals this year. A win/loss record shouldn't be everything in Cy Young voting, and this year the writers got it right.

Also, I know that the comments on espn.com are not representative or indicative of everyone in sports. But seriously - do people really think Zack Greinke will be going to the Yankees? This is a kid with a social anxiety disorder. New York would be the worst place for him to play. I would even argue that he needs to be on a team like the Royals in order to experience the level of success and dominance he had in 2009. Greinke is someone who is never going to be comfortable with attention and the spotlight. Leave him where he is, give the team a chance, and give KC fans someone they can look forward to watching.

Last thought - Mike Pelfrey needs to give this guy a call. Greinke says that he credits a new mental approach on the mound to his success this past year, and if there was ever someone who needed a new mental approach.. well, it's Mike Pelfrey.

Pitching and Defense

These are my baseball cornerstones because they go together. As a pitcher, there is nothing more frustrating than poor defense when you are doing well (unfortunately, I speak from experience) and good defense can put together quick innings and keep a pitcher on his game. This off season, I am far more concerned with the starting pitching than the "power outage" of 2009. Yes, the lack of home runs was shocking, disappointing, and cause for concern - but there are other ways to score in the MLB, especially when you play in a park the size of Citi Field. I also think that with a healthy line up, home runs will increase because I think that protection in the line up is very real. But I digress.

The Mets' starting rotation scares me in a bad way. We have Johan Santana coming off surgery, Mike Pelfrey who spends more time pacing the mound and yelling at himself/licking his hand than he does pitching, John Maine off another injury-riddled year, and Oliver Perez who just makes me want to cry. My guess at this point is that Nelson Figueroa will be our fifth starter. What kind of rotation is that?! We need to find a solid number 2 starter to eat some innings and take some of the pressure off of Santana, Pelfrey, and Maine. We know the Mets have been considering John Lackey, but I wouldn't be opposed to tossing Ervin Santana and Randy Wolf into the mix either.

Santana is coming off a mediocre season at 8-8 and his 5.03 ERA might scare the seemingly offensively challenged Mets - but I think he could be a good fit because from what I've seen he is a fly ball pitcher and Citi Field is the kind of place where fly balls become outs not home runs. I like Randy Wolf because he had a solid year and more importantly threw 214 innings, which is something the Mets desperately need with their question-mark filled rotation.

As for the defense... 2009 made me long for the infield of 10 years ago: John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez, and Robin Ventura. The best infield ever. They were so smooth, always seemed to be in sync with each other, and never made me nervous. In 1999, Ordonez made 4 errors at shortstop the entire season. This year, Jose Reyes made 5 errors in only 305 innings. Those stats are not only on the shortstop, because a good first basemen will save errors for his teammates but the difference there is staggering. The Mets need a return to fundamentally sound baseball. Good defense can pick up a struggling pitcher and breeds confidence.

When you're dealing with a starting rotation with this many question marks, you need to be able to count on the defense. Having the ability to score runs is essential - but defense keeps you in games. Just ask Johan Santana, who had a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 0.0 after Opening Day.

The Daniel Murphy Experiment

Daniel Murphy has put every Mets fan in an interesting spot. He is the player you want to root for – seems like a nice guy, everyone says he’s a hard worker, and he internalizes poor performances which gets him sympathy. The only problem is that 2009 has left us all with the question of whether or not Murphy can cut it as an every day player.

Now, I am a firm believer that mistakes on defense have a negative effect on your offensive performance. If that is actually true, then it’s really no surprise that Murphy hit .266 with 12 home runs this past season. I don’t know who had the brilliant idea of taking a career infielder and allowing him to learn how to play the outfield at the major league level – but it clearly did not work. I don’t remember how many games Murphy’s miscues in the outfield cost the Mets, but it was at least two Johan Santana starts (and with this rotation, those are games the Mets can not afford to lose).

I think the front office is divided on how to handle Murphy. Right now, he’s an adequate utility player but someone somewhere believes that Murphy has the potential to hit .300 with 20-30 home runs. That would be great – but I don’t know many people who agree. From what I’ve gathered, the Mets are high enough on Ike Davis that they don’t want to block his entrance to the majors with a big first baseman signing (Side note – I really hope Davis and Josh Thole are the real deal. Anyone else remember Alex Escobar?). In that case, I could live with Murphy at first if his defense continues to improve and his numbers increase slightly.

Part of my frustration with Murphy also stems from the fact that it doesn’t seem like the Mets are finding him the right guys to work with in order to improve. I think Murphy’s defense at first base was much better than it was in the outfield, but there is still room for improvement. I know that Keith Hernandez and John Olerud were both lefties as fielders, but they were also both Gold Glovers. And they could both help Murphy out at the plate as well, particularly Olerud because his production was more similar to what the Mets are looking for out of Murphy. I hope it all comes together for Murphy he can at least make it through 2010 with some decent trade value if nothing else.

Today's Pet Peeve: Woodwork Fans

Also known as Bandwagon Jumpers. You know who you are - you're the ones with a loose, if any, affiliation with a given team until they have success. Then you all come crawling out of the woodwork proclaiming your "fanhood" loud and clear. This is not a shot at the Yankees, because every team has "fans" like this. It's just that the ones for the Yankees have more opportunities to make themselves known. Another Woodwork Fan characteristic is not being able to understand the emotions involved with wins and losses. I can say with pride that, although it is not healthy, the Mets affect my emotions on a daily basis. Woodwork Fans are the ones who try to talk to you about being eliminated from contention. Getting knocked out of the playoffs. Things that no fan wants to discuss immediately after (or in the case of 2006 for the rest of the year. I honestly blocked out that the Cardinals had won that World Series until recently). And they also feel the need to go out of their way to let you know about situations you'd rather not talk about or even acknowledge. I am close friends with/related to many true Yankees fans. You know how many of them contacted me last night? Zero. They don't want to waste their time rubbing my face in it, they want to celebrate. They know that anyone who isn't a Yankees fan either A) saw and is disgusted or B) is completely apathetic. And why ruin a Championship buzz with that?

On the bright side, at least this horrific season is finally over. Thanks to FOX and Bud Selig, it took until November 4th... but it's over. Time to move on to important things, like free agents, deadlines, and off season moves.

Game 6.. I already feel my blood pressure rising

I’ve realized that I almost never agree with the “Keys to the Game” presented by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (and Fox for that matter). So I’m writing my own this time around:

The Phillies need to get to Andy Pettite early and often. They have had moderate success against the Yankees bullpen, so it’s important for them to chase Pettite after 6 innings at the most (4 or 5 would be ideal.. but let's not get greedy here). They need to give themselves a chance during innings that aren’t the 9th because I’m pretty convinced that Mariano Rivera is actually a robot. In order to do that, I think they’re going to need big games from the following people:
Jimmy Rollins – He’s a catalyst for them and when he is on base, good things generally happen. The issue with Rollins is that he is not a typical lead off hitter, although he has been putting in quality at bats recently. Everyone in the line up should be working the pitcher, but with Rollins getting the first at bat of the game it’s even more important. Take a strike and let your teammates see some pitches.
Ryan Howard – I have to believe that the Yankees will start pitching around Chase Utley… which means they will start facing Howard with men on base. Howard is batting .158 in the series at this point. I personally thought he showed some signs of seeing the ball better during Game 5 but maybe that is just wishful thinking. During the regular season, strike outs accounted for nearly 30% of the outs Howard made at the plate. He has to put the ball in play tonight.
Pedro Feliz – The Phillies need to get some pop out of the bottom of their order. So far Feliz has 4 hits – one of them being a clutch home run. He knocked in 82 runs and batted .266 for the Phillies during the regular season, and he needs to play more of that kind of baseball and less of the kind that makes him bat .180.

The Yankees are in a similar situation – for them, the key lies in getting Pedro out of the game so they can take advantage of the patch-work bullpen the Phillies have going on right now. One way to do this is to freeze him during the time he is on the bench (also known as have 1,398,735,098,735 meetings on the mound) because this is the AL – no swings or base running to stay warm for the pitcher. For them, that means a couple of guys either need to keep their game at its current level or step up:
Johnny Damon – Damon is having an amazing series. He is just ALWAYS THERE. He never goes away. One of my friends told me last night that Damon is the guy he is most scared of in the Yankees line up and I believe it. Batting second puts Damon in a crucial spot – if Jeter is on base, he can hit and run and if not, he will find a way to get there himself and then he will wreak havoc.
Nick Swisher – Strangely enough, I don’t personally think that Swisher’s biggest contributions come on the playing field. He is the guy that keeps everyone else relaxed and ready to go. That being said… being that guy has to be difficult when you’re not producing. At all. The Yankees need Swisher to come up big even if it’s just for one at bat tonight.
Mark Teixeira – The fact that Teixeira is having a terrible World Series has somehow escaped the wrath of the New York media and fans. It's probably because they are still winning... more likely because his Gold Glove is saving his ass as well as errors and runs. If Teixeira suddenly starts hitting the cover off the ball, the Phillies could be in some real trouble.

One more reason to hate the Yankees

How in the world can this possibly be justifed:

[Jeter is] also a New York institution and Yankee legend with the likes of Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth. Except there's one thing Jeter may end up with that none of those other Yankee heroes had. There are plans to have a bridge named after him in New York.

If you want to name something like a bridge after someone posthumously, I say go for it - it's a nice way to recognize accomplishments. But seriously, Jeter is still alive, and STILL PLAYING. For once coming from me, this is not a rip on Jeter, but on everyone else - get some perspective.

On another note, the World Series is at least staying interesting. Although part of me wishes it would just end so I could be put out of my misery this season and start focusing on important things like trade deadlines. If this thing has to keep going, it had better last 7 games so the Phillies can crush all the Yankee hearts, hopes and dreams simultaneously.

Pick your poison...

Well my fellow Mets fans, the time has come. Yankees vs. Phillies, Game 1 of the World Series is set for tonight... and it's time to decide who to pull for to win this thing. Let me just state for the record that for me, this match up is not nearly as bad as a Yankees/Braves series would be - apparently I have some deep psychological scarring from the John Rocker era. And I don't buy into that "I'm a New Yorker" crap - doesn't anyone else feel intense hatred for all the Mets 'fans' who have gone out to buy Yankees gear?? That's just ridiculous. So for this series, I will be rooting for the Phillies/National League to win it all. I admit that I am a sucker for the underdog, but another World Series win can only help our league gain some much deserved respect. Now, I know a lot of people who disagree with my point of view on this, and their World Series picks are amazing. Some of the ones I've heard so far are as follows:

I told one Phils fan I'm friends with that as a Mets fan, I was pulling for the NL and got this response: "I know a few others going for the National League thing, although most I know want it to rain for a month, end in a tie or have an earthquake happen."

Another Mets fan had this to say: "This World Series is going to be torture. I hope a plane crashes on the world series.. But like a remote control one so no one ON the plane would die."

And Benny B. from weretheteamtobeat.com (a Mets/Phillies rivalry blog that I am now in love with) compares the two choices to deciding between death by fire or drowning.

We might not have much at this point... but at least we're creative in our despair. I'm sticking with my league on this one - nine guys play the field, and the same nine bat. Baseball the way it was meant to be played. Let's go Phils!

Time to clean house!

Since my last post focused on Jerry, now it’s Omar’s turn. Omar has been far from blameless in the debacle formerly known as the New York Mets. He has definitely had some bright spots with free agent signings, but there have been mistakes too. I guess we could chalk that up to human nature, but where’s the fun in that?

The reason why I believe that Omar should no longer have a job comes down to appearances. Is it superficial? Probably, but that’s the way it is. My confidence in Omar Minaya is long gone. When did this man stop understanding how to give press conferences? Even scarier, maybe he never knew how to give them in the first place. His handling of the Tony Bernazard/Adam Rubin fiasco alone was an all around embarrassment. How do you keep your job when you have forced your boss to make a public apology on your behalf? Minaya's good moves and signings have become obscured by behavior like that. He has lost the respect of the fan base through decisions like that and apparently giving up on our season this year. This is not entirely his fault, because he only has so much freedom with the Wilpons running the show. But again, this comes down to appearances – and it appears that someone threw in the towel on the 2009 season in June (just to be fair, I have no idea how big a role Minaya actually played in that decision) and that is beyond frustrating to me as a fan.

On top of that, this ridiculous coaching staff the Mets have assembled in recent years is getting a mulligan on this season. Part of me understands the argument that they their influence can’t be assessed properly based on the injuries. But then why were there ludicrous “shake ups” on the staff the day after the season ended? For the record, I do not believe that either Luis Alicea or Sandy Alomar was the problem for the Mets this year. But we should keep Razor Shines around. That guy’s a winner. How could anyone think it was a good plan to keep the man responsible for the poorly handled base running on staff? (I have zero confidence in Shines in any major league capacity. Hide him in Buffalo.) This team is run based on relationships. That’s a real problem because regardless of the fact that the objective is to assemble a group of guys to play a game, at the end of the day, it’s a business. It shouldn’t matter who you like the most because it’s not personal. It’s strictly business. At least it should be.

Lately, it just seems like incompetence is radiating from the Mets front office. Maybe it’s not something we’d really notice if the season hadn’t been a disaster on so many levels. I’m a firm believer that the Tony Bernazard mess would not have gotten anywhere near the amount of press that it did if there had been anything else to write about (which would have also had an effect on Omar’s public appearance). And I think that as much as I would like to see Jerry gone, Omar is definitely up there too. They are in this together, even though the manager in situations like these seems to take the brunt of the blame, probably because of his visibility. I’m tired of the Mets looking like they are out of their league in baseball. They put too much faith in too many question marks and expect that to translate into winning. And that just looks bad all around. Change the appearance of this team and give us someone who can restore our confidence in the Mets front office.

Why Jerry's gotta go....

I’ve heard a lot of arguments for why Jerry should be gone – fundamentals start with the manager, the manager sets the tone in the clubhouse, time to clean house and start over, etc. I agree with all that, but for me, there is one more reason to add to the list: he isolates his own players.

I know everyone remembers Ryan Church for reasons other than the fact that he missed third base in Los Angeles once. He was a solid defender with some power and Jerry didn’t like him. Granted, I don’t know anything about what goes on behind closed doors. Maybe Ryan Church is a jackass who showed up his manager while simultaneously turning everyone in the clubhouse against him (I seriously doubt this). Manuel was against Church in March. He made public statements that right field was going to be a platoon position before spring training had even started! Within the first two weeks of the season, Church was taken out of the starting line-up even though he was batting .400. Then he started slumping, which was another reason to keep him off the field. Jerry was either unable or unwilling to notice that inconsistent at bats probably contributed to these issues. Church is not the first guy this has happened to (anyone see Pat Burrell this year?), and he certainly won’t be the last. But Jerry isolated him, and it earned Church a one-way ticket to Atlanta.

Ramon Castro is another guy who seemed to fall out of favor with Jerry for no real reason. He’s not exactly an All-Star, but for goodness’ sake he was better than Brian Schneider. This situation was less noticeable because Castro wasn’t supposed to be a starter like Church. I wasn’t the biggest Castro fan either, but I realized that he was a decent backup who was probably more consistent than our starter. And what did that get Castro? A trade for Lance freakin’ Broadway.

And finally – where the hell was Nick Evans this year? This is a guy who probably should have made the club out of spring training and was sent back to the minors instead. He’s a young guy, so you kind of take that with a grain of salt. But there was no excuse not to give him at-bats and experience at first base when (A) the Mets were already playing with a mostly minor league line up, (B) they were completely irrelevant, and (C) Daniel Murphy is by no means a Gold Glover. Sticking Evans in the line-up could not have possibly hurt the Mets, and yet he spent the season either in the minors or on the bench.

Jerry creates an “us vs. them” atmosphere that is awful for a clubhouse and shreds the confidence of anyone who falls out of favor with him. As my baseball buddy/sounding board put it – he doesn’t pull guys together, so there is no accountability within the team. That kind of attitude would normally end in a last place finish... so I guess we can thank the baseball gods for one thing this season: bringing a team back to the DC area.

Why can't the Mets tell the difference between the Major and Minor Leagues?

The Mets have released reliever Ken Takahashi. I’m happy about this for two reasons: 1. it is a step in the right direction and 2. it brings me to my next topic: minor leaguers that only the Mets believe can play at the major league level.

Ken Takahashi was absolutely one of them. I have a friend who is convinced that the Mets only brought him up because of his name and unfortunately there might be some merit to that. Newsflash to management: you want to know why a 40 year old pitcher is just now making it to the majors? It’s probably because he shouldn’t be there. At least the Mets kind of realized this and designated him for assignment/stopped using him in important situations. But that could just be because the Mets stopped playing in important situations in June.

Next, my personal pet peeve: Angel Pagan. I understand that Pagan has potential and is a decent defender who can cover Citi Field. He always seems to get on base, which is normally great except this guy runs himself into more outs than anyone I can even think of right now. Pagan could quite possibly have the worst baseball instincts in the majors… and you can’t teach that stuff. Angel Pagan is a fourth outfielder at best. So why has there even been discussion about him competing for a starting spot?

More guys that fall into this category: Elmer Dessens, Pat Misch, and any other pitcher you had never heard of in the Mets system prior to all the 2009 injuries. It’s not like the Mets weren’t touting these guys because they were developing them as secret weapons down on the farm. I don’t care about flashes of brilliance – these guys belong in Triple-A Buffalo.

The one player that could be an exception to this is Nelson Figueroa. I’m still deciding on whether or not he is talented enough to pitch in the big leagues or if it just looked that way because of the state of the rest of the rotation. It’s pretty easy to look like an All-Star when you are surrounded by an injured ace, two head cases, and a revolving door.

My request is simple: stop trying to shove career minor leaguers down our throats. Go find a decent second starter to take the pressure off of Santana. I actually like some of Joel Sherman's suggestions regarding this.. basically go after an AL fly ball pitcher off a down year (Ervin Santana is on this list and I could definitely get behind that choice). Bring in some guys to up the intensity level and bring some power back to the line up. I do still like Matt Holliday regardless of his poor showing in Oakland, but I have a feeling the Mets won't play hardball with Scott Boras for him. And finally.. memo to the Wilpons: just consider your fan base ONE TIME this off season.

The Intangibles All-Stars

One quick note about this blog – while it’s going to be Mets-centric, I’m also going to hit on some overall baseball issues and discussions. I might even try to analyze some of our less-sane players. And there is the potential for some guest bloggers as well. I’m going to try to find silver linings following the 2009 debacle (the jury’s still out on how successful that endeavor will be) and I’ll be touching on some of my favorite topics this off season while we wait patiently for something good to happen. First up: the Intangibles All-Stars.

Now, we all know that the New York Mets have a love affair with bad contracts (see: Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez). We also know that, for some inexplicable reason, the team actually seeks out aging superstars that no one else wants a la Gary Sheffield (were those 10 home runs and .276 average really worth it?). But let’s be realistic here – that hasn’t been working for us. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for a new approach. I think we should go after an entirely different type of ball player, the kind that I call Intangibles All-Stars.

The Intangibles All-Stars are the guys that might not lead the league in stats but they get under your skin with their gritty, hard-nosed, never-say-die attitude. You won’t see these guys “forget” to run out a pop up or have to watch as their egos take over the clubhouse. Some of my favorites that fall into this category are David Eckstein, Dustin Pedroia, and Carl Crawford. They are the guys you don’t want in the batter’s box, because every at bat turns into an epic battle that wears down your pitcher (especially if he’s Mike Pelfrey... but we’ll get to him some other time). On the bases, they are alert, aggressive, and – get this – they make smart base-running decisions! It’s a problem when your base-running decisions are so bad that people “watching” the game on Gamecast can pick up on them. This actually happened to me on a Jose Reyes dumbass moment in May. Over the years I’ve become more and more convinced that Reyes actually makes more dumbass base-running decisions than anyone realizes because he has the ability to outrun being an idiot (which could be an issue in 2010 given this whole hamstring-tendon-surgery inducing injury disaster).

Whether management realizes it or not, the Mets are desperate for Intangibles All-Stars. Citi Field is huge, which means we should be building around speed, defense, and those often overlooked intangibles like grit and hustle. Hate the Phillies all you want, but we need our own version of Chase Utley or Shane Victorino – they both fall squarely into the Intangibles All-Stars category. How many Mets would have had the presence of mind or motivation to run out Utley’s foul ball single against the Rockies in the NLDS? And that’s just scratching the surface of what is intrinsically wrong with this team. It’s time to stop putting our faith in players that no one else would trust for a second, let alone a 3-year deal. We need someone to come in and shake things up by going the extra mile and lighting the proverbial fire under his teammates, and that’s who we should be targeting. A few guys who could potentially be a good fit come to mind, specifically Chone Figgins, Nyjer Morgan, and Crawford. While I doubt the Mets will be able to entice the Angels, Nationals, or Rays to give up these guys… it’s nice to dream.