Spring Training - 2012 - Prelude to a Lonnnnng Year - Let's Say Sisyphus

 

A few disjointed and maybe a valid thought or two...

Spring Training.  Yes, I love to hear these words and it means that until the end of October, my mind will be consumed with baseball - both real and fantasy league.

But, being a Mets fan, and if you are one, you know the trials and tribulations ARE straight ahead.  See the image of Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill?  (Look it up if the reference is obscure).

Sadly, with the passing of Gary Carter, the team loses a leader.  Yes, he was retired for a long time, but the Kid still influenced many.

Let's step back a moment - Carter.  Piazza.  We haven't had a dynamic catcher who has been the face and inspiration for the Mets.  We need that now.

The whole Madoff thing really skewed (OK, SCREWED) our chances of being competitive in the free agent market.

Reyes was finally cast off.  Hey, I used to be a huge fan.  But the antics he pulled with that bush league stunt of 1 at bat, cheap bunt hit, take self out of game, win batting title was pure garbage.  Good riddance.

But there was limited off season activity, so I guess we will get a few castoffs from other teams desperate to hang on with a contract for 2012.

Every win will be a gift.  We won't have the Nationals to beat up on - and mark my words - they will be GOOD.

So, dear fans, let's fasten our seat belts and remain optimistic.  The stock market crash of '29 eventually recovered.

AND SO WILL THE METS!

LONNNNNNNG YEAR....Time to Hibernate

Where do we start?  Where do we end (well, that is summed up - below .500).

Going into 2011, there were low expectations.  Not only from this dyed-in-the-wool supporter of the orange and blue, but many others.

There were streaks.  Some capped with a W.  Many capped with an L.

A LOT of uncertainly.  Let's use these 4 words; 2 names and 2 verbs.  Wright. Reyes. Stay. Go.  Use every permutation. And, as of the last day + one of the season ending, they are still influx.


I have to say I give Terry Collins a vote of confidence.  He had a lot of junk to work with.  This gives me a good segue - glad we got rid of Oliver Perez and KRod.  Remember Ollie said he would NOT go to the minors?  I was laughing the day I saw he was picked up by the NATIONALS and then sent to their farm team in Harrisburg, PA.  Ever been to Harrisburg?  I lived there for a year.  Pure Hell.  Just desserts ya got, Ollie.

Oh, and Reyes ending the season with a bunt single and taking himself out of the game to win the batting title.  A bit strategic, yes.  But if you get paid a ton of $ and have talent, the view here is to play that last game out.  The true better player will prevail.

Where do we go from here?  Well, in 5 minutes I am going to bed.  Much like 24 (then 40) men did on the Mets roster.

Will I be back rooting next year? Hell yea.  A Mets leopard doesn't change his spots.

This Type of Loss -- TO THE NATIONALS -- (head shaking side to side - eyes looking downward)

Today is one of those losses where you just don't know where to start - but want it to end.

Washington got it together and ate up the pitching in the later innings.  I am impressed by Chris Young -- SO FAR.

Well, this is a short blog tonight.  Pick up the pieces, scrape off the residue and let's win tomorrow.

When driving today, I figured, "Hell, we are better than the 1962 Mets..."

Hope my prognostication is right.

Irony (AGAIN) - Oliver Perez Signs a MINOR League Contract

The man who refused to go to the minors to hone his diminishing pitching skills (AKA Beloved Ollie P) and got jettisoned by the Mets this week signed a minor league contract with the lowly Washington Nationals.

See story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-24/nationals-sign-ex-mets-pitcher-perez-to-minor-league-deal-mlb-com-says.html

Makes all of us Mets fans laugh (with anger).

I think Ollie leaves the NY Metro area as one of the most despised players since Ed Whitson.

Hope he enjoys the rickety busrides.

Santana AND Perez LOSE to the Nationals - A Tale of Two Pitchers

Dickens starts out "A Tale of Two Cities" with the line:  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Funny how over a century later, this can be applied to two Mets pitchers.  The Best (Santana) of Pitchers and the Worst (Oliver Perez).  The uncommon ground is both lost to the worst team on paper - and theoretically, on the field, to the lowly Nationals.

A few bad breaks, but no excuses.  The line drive with the bases loaded on Friday night and the Willingham Granny HR didn't help much.

Yeah, we can get sour after this - as a colleague called - a True Litmus Test.  I think many of us are starting to turn purple.

See, Omar, you should have been more active in getting "A" quality players in the winter.  Now, the Boys of Spring and Summer in Queens are on the path to playing like the boys of the ice age.

Dickens also wrote Great Expectations...which I have.

2010 - Put the Seatbelt On....Gonna Be a Long Ride

Thrilled to death the season is starting.  I am watching the Yankees-Red Sox game as I am writing this - but don't call me a traitor.  Not hopping on any bandwagons.  I'm a dyed (Blue and Orange) in the wool Mets fan through and through.

The reality is, we are going to have a tough year.  Omar sat and fiddled while great deals burned about him.  (Instead we are getting burned with D-List - a la Kathy Griffin - caliber players).  Jason Bay is going to be a welcome addition, but he won't carry the team.   Reyes. Beltran. Murphy - all question marks of what and when.

I see the pundits are putting the Amazins at third or fourth.  Pitching would be the linchpin that are going to move us.  And, before I start ranting, Omar, please, get rid of Perez.  I heard on WFAN that at least 10 teams would be interested in him - save for that Stimlus-like salary package.  If he starts to slide, time to move him.  Personally, I would watch out for the Nationals.  They did a lot of rebuilding with some good lunchpail players.

Going to go out on a limb here -- Eric Byrnes will be Comeback Player of the Year.  Omar, you could have had him cheap.  But, as Ralph Kramden, of Honeymooners fame said, "What do I know, I'm just a blogger."

And, speaking of, I am glad to be back blogging for my beloved team!

Spring Training...Where are the Off Season Moves?

Glad Spring Training is upon us.  It is a better yard stick than those pesky groundhogs that predict the seasons for us.

However, I am inclined to think that when they peered out from their holes, (Pete and Phil, repping PA and NY - and somewhere there is a Staten Island "Chuck"?) they probably also had a prediction for the Mets: Six more weeks of inactivity.

If you were to grade the Mets pick-ups from the close of the World Series to now, I would give a C.  True, Jason Bay is on the squad, but he still is unproven.  Now, I know he had a great year with the Sox, but he struggled a bit when he was with the Pirates...  Today Kelvim Escobar, it's reported, can't grip a baseball.

Wonderful Omar.  What's next?

One thing that lights the ire (pun intended, with all respect to Jim Morrison) of Mets fans is that the Nationals had a pretty agressive year and picked up a few semi-solid free agents.  Superstars? NO!  But can each of these players in their role - be that limited or expanded - help the lowly Nationals advance? Yes.

Chess isn't won with two moves, but rather all positions working in concert with each other. That's what gives teams those cherised W's.

Irony though, the Nationals, formerly known as the Expos, was where Minaya hung his cap before the Mets.  Did Omar leave his playbook in Montreal?  Did the moving men box and bring it to the Nation's capital?  If you are just jumping on the Mets bandwagon, you may not know that at one time Omar was a wheeler dealer.

I'm not sure, but I bet the clubhouse men in DC have a lot more uniform making and locker assigning than the Mets do.

Let's hope for a solid season and some momentum pick-up.

Roid Rage

I always wanted to be a ballplayer and, I think with all the scandal in the just released Steroid Report: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/071213_Mitchell_report.pdfthe MLB may be looking for scab players for 08.

A colleague rushed into my office and had me look at the report. Interesting how many Mets were on it. Some were noteworthty, others marginal and one who was laughing at the Mets after he signed with his new team, the Washington Nationals, boasted he did so because they would be facing the Mets 15 times this year.

Mr. LoDuca, I loved ya when you were here. You were ballsy, but to throw it back in the Mets' face was uncalled for. I think the 15 games the Nationals will be facing the Mets will have you as a spectator (in prison) vs. behind the plate.

George Mitchell did a lot ratting out the bad, but this should have been done a long time ago. Pee into a cup. Clean. Play. Not clean. Choose another profession.

Oh, and while this is a primarily a Mets blog, I want to say to Barry Bonds two things. One: HA HA HA HA HA...and 2) Do the injection marks on your body resemble an asterisk too?