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.

After the Fire (maybe Omar) the Fire Still Byrnes...

Hello All -

Tis been awhile since I blogged about our beloved team. Fear not, I won't recount the bad season the Mets had in '09.

But, some news has prompted me to dust off the cobwebs during the off season. It's time to look ahead.

I have always been an Eric Byrnes fan (just do a search in this blog and you will see how many times I cited him).

Well, as Ralph Kramden said to Alice about his "ship coming in," the Queen Mary is here. The Diamondbacks made a judgement call and picked up Adam LaRoche (do a quick count and see how many teams he's been on the last few years) and designated Eric Byrnes for assignment. So, that simply means they cut bait and he will be available. Az is on the hook for some $11 million, so, whoever picks up Byrnes, can do it relatively cheap.

Byrnes is a good clubhouse leader, a motivator, a hustler and a pest at the plate when he's healthy. Plus, he steals bases and plays gutsy. It's been awhile since we saw the hustling Jose Reyes, so a Byrnes would be refreshing on the basepaths. There is nothing wrong with a Dykstra-Eckstein-Brett Butler-like player.

Omar, you made a few good and a few more BAD judgement calls. I implore you to sign Byrnesie. Sheffield was a similar signing and that worked out better than expected. Eric is a team player and we need good morale.

It won't bust the budget. Byrnes will be a good ambassador for the team. Hey, the Yanks got Granderson, the Mets need a charismatic player.

Omar, fill out a contract and get Eric to sign it. He's interested in the Giants. How about pulling a player away from another team - it's been done to us too many times.

Stoned By The Rockies

This sums up tonight's game...Rockies Catcher Yorvit Torrealba hasn't stolen a base since 2007. Tonight, he got one.

Jason Giambi, cut to oblivion (and I recommended picking him up) crushes the ball and runs score.

Why am I awake watching?

Pelfrey.....struggling as I Write This

So - what is wrong with Mike Pelfrey. Bases loaded, 0-2 count to Garrett Atkins (who is sliding down the talent hill quicker than greased wheels) - what happens. He Walks him.

Threw about 58 pitches to the third inning.

Mets lead the majors in walks...NOT getting them, giving them.

To echo Casey Stengel - Can't Anyone Here Play This Game?

Can't wait for Curling Season to begin....

It Cuts Like A Knife (But it DOESN'T Feel All Right)

Johan and Ollie went under the knife today. It's a good thing Mets fans didn't have a chance to cut Ollie the way he has been cutting us. (A lot of runs and walks are coming out of this $36 million dollar arm).

http://www.seattlepi.com/scorecard/mlbnews.asp?articleID=263596

The other note is that Beltran will be making a rehab start...let's hope all goes well.

September 1 is just 2 hours away. It will be interesting to see who the Mets (and other teams) call up to expand the rosters. Maybe a few diamonds. A friend of mine has been touting Ike Davis who is in the lower levels...At this rate, I agree with one of his statements...Let the minor leaguers play. They deserve a look without judgement of winning or losing. Does this mean I am packing in the season? Well, mathematically I think it was decided - though not officially yet.

Well, off to read the latest issue of Baseball Digest- an enjoyable bunch of words...(And the quizzes are pretty tough too!)

Kazmir, Zambrano & Zambrano

Title may lead you to believe this is a law firm with nepotism between the second and third name, but its more of a bit of irony...

The Mets today beat Carlos Zambrano who, at one time, was close to unhittable. Part 2 - the Angels got the old Met, Scott Kazmir who essentially was given by the Mets to the Rays for Victor Zambrano. Where is Victor Zambrano today? (chuckle - did HE show up on the the mound for the Cubbies?).

Omar - you missed the boat again...Prospects for someone who could help....Pitching is decimated, so we are looking long term here.

As my old Italian relatives used to say.... "Oooh-Fah...."

Even the Mets CANT Hit Heilman

Turned on the game today at a crucial spot. Jake Fox was rounding third after his grand slam. Is there anything else to watch?

Want to know the sad part? The Mets only managed ONE HIT against Aaron Heilman. If I recall, he gave away hits the way Rockefeller gave away dimes.

Look at the box score... http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=290829116

Counting to 162 is going to be painful -- considering there won't be a 163.

Baseball's Sad Lexicon - The Named and the Reality

Back in 1910, newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams wrote what is titled "Baseball's Sad Lexicon." This work was first published in the New York Evening Mail on July 10, 1910, and is now in the public domain.

Many of you know it, the first two or so lines, but probably were not aware of the title.

It goes:

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."


Today, (well, not really today, but at the start of all the DL trouble for the Mets) Baseball's Saddest Lexicon is:

A Pagan
L Castillo
D Murphy
J Francoeur
F Tatis
O Santos
C Sullivan
W Valdez
P Misch

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?

I heard the expression of the title of this blog a few times growing up. Today it happened with the Mets. Finally, a chance to trounce a good team (nowadays, all the teams they play are good, even the ones that suck) in front of the opposition's home crowd. Though there really wasn't anyone there...just several whole sections of empty seats with a few dots representing people. The box score claims 14,000+ showed up. Nice try.

Anyway, the skeleton crew (let's be real here, Third Shift) of the Mets performed admirably and it was smart to stretch Tim Redding a few innings since he is one of the key starters now.

While I am on that, wouldn't it make sense for the Mets to take a look at Brad Penny, fresh from his release from Boston? Wouldn't cost much and is a semi solid band-aid to minimize (did I say that?) the loss column.

On WFAN, they were speculating that the Mets COULD lose 90 games this year...scary.

Everything's Broken

Santana was probably the pin in the balloon that will make the Mets season just blow away with a raspberry sound fading into the end of '09.

Today, we get news that Oliver Perez is out for the year. Why couldn't we have had this sooner? Say, in April?

Not much to say, but as I was driving today, a thought popped into my mind and it was Bob Dylan's song, "Everything is Broken"

You can just substitute Mets player's last names if you don't know the words.

Check the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMWcgtB-Fkw&feature=related

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Injury Day - Next, JoSAN

And, another Met bites the dust for the season (???). Johan is getting the MRI and apparently there are bone chips.

Check out this article...it really says a lot: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-4-213/Did-Mets-mismanage-Santana-.html Keeping a guy like Santana pushing it is like gunning that Rolls Royce and never putting oil in the engine -- or in park.

Well, I would rather see Santana in the park, but apparently, all the Mets I and my fellow Mets fans brethren have a better shot of visiting their fave player in the hospital.

Oh, and by the way Gary Sheffield...Nice "hustle" towards the end of yesterday's game. Another cramp today? Awwwwwwww...You had us believing for awhile, now the Three-Card Monte game is done.

Level the Field....Field Level...Not a Level Playing Field - 6-2 Loss

Today I had what can be tantamount to an out of body experience. No, nothing celestial. Just ballpark bliss.

I bought a few tickets to today's game on eBay and went with a friend. My intention was to sell two to cover the game. Cliff Lee, last year's Cy Young winner - should be a slam dunk. Had a few scalpers offer me $10 for the pair and were mad I didn't sell. About 2 minutes later, I sold the pair, met a friend and we walked in.

As we walked in, a man approached me and tapped me on the back. He asked to see my ticket. At first I thought the eBay transaction may have been a fraud...We had the paper tickets, but thought the eBay seller duped and sold the electronic and the hard copy tix...Nothing of the kind.

Major upgrade at CitiField today...walked in, security tapped me on the back, looked at my ticket (Sec 537) and asked if I wanted to be upgraded...Moved us to field level seats (Sec. 109) on the right field line...about 20 feet away from the ball boy.

One of the cool parts in getting to our seats was we had to walk in the maze of the tunnel under the stadium PAST the player's club house.

Was nice to be so close...wish the score was. But it was an experience of a lifetime.

Thank you Mr. Security Guard

Bizzaro Baseball - Ollie's Folly - Inside The Parker and a Triple Play....Oh, The Mets ALSO Lost.

I saw a chicken with lips, a pig flying and the devil buying a parka coat. Oh, and I also saw the Mets game today too. I was surprised (no I wasn't) that Ollie Perez turned in a poor performance - 6 runs and didn't even make it out of the first inning. (So, they cut Livan Hernandez the other day...Omar...Wake the *&^% up. Cut your losses...cut Ollie.

Box Score

Add to the comical environment, Angel Pagan's long ball stops under the outfield wall and the Phillies call for a ground rule double...Angel made it home.

Then, the catch by Francoeur which was reviewed and overturned...to quote the Mets announcers - I think it was Keith Hernandez - said officiating has been terrible lately.

And, we all know how the game ended as the Mets attempted to rally - BOOM - Unassisted Triple Play to end the game. That's when we all 'walked off.'

What's next? I don't know for sure, but if I see a Republican at Berkley University, something odd will happen with the Mets.

I will be attending tomorrow's matinee - Bobby Parnell vs. Cliff Lee (who I traded in fantasy for Brian Fuentes...after the trade, Lee reeled off like 4 in a row).

Happ Schmapp

J.A. Happ pitched well for the Phils, but the Mets were not embarrased - the team has not gotten blown out as this scribe is writing during the bottom of the 8th.

I still have confidence the team will come back and sweep.

Today, the cool item is the 40th Anniversary celebration of the 1969 season....what a joy it was to see Koosman, Garrett, Kiner and Joe Pignatano, Dr. Ron Taylor (among others) in the broadcast booth and in-the-stands interviews with Kevin Burkhardt. Also now, a segment with Seaver, Ryan....ah, the good ole days.

Next year, we'll have a good year and dynasty built. I promise.

PHILLIES - Balls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's 4-2 in the 7th as I write this. The game we all love is played with balls and I am going to make a prediction...

Mets will SWEEP the Phillies - all 4 games.

Sometimes in life, you have to take the Bizzaro approach.

(a few personal experiences this week not related to baseball influenced this call here).

Livan, On a Jet Plane (Don't Think He'll Be Back Again)

I Shall Return....or so, declared Billy Wagner in his mind...and, he did.

Coming back from Tommy John surgery, the 38-year-old hurler set the stage with a first pitch strike right down the alley. And he looked good retiring the side.

And, the end of an era as Livan Hernandez, another one of the ageless brothers, gets cut by the Amazins. He had some good outings, but is definitely past his prime. OK, so, why didn't they try to trade him and get some value in return? Some of the minor stars got away for nothing (Aubrey Huff, etc.)

Check additional details from mlb.com
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090820&content_id=6525440&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

As I write this, Mets are holding their own against the Braves in the 9th...down 3-2....I am signing off and hoping this turns into a W.

15-2 Braves Trounce....

After seeing the Braves score 8 runs in the second, I pinched myself and was aghast that this wasn't a split-squad spring training game.

Wish it was...there would be more players with marquee names.

Johan, please get a W tomorrow.

Brave's New World

Derrick Lowe, one of the scions the Mets tried to chase this winter looked awful..JUST awful against the Mets tonight.

Good rally ball...a slew of hits and Ollie came away saving face.

Short post, but we got a few more games to play.

And, most importantly, it was nice to see (on TV) the METS starting to pay tribute to THE METS (rare)...Nice "1969" emblazoned on the field.

Cora Cora Cora...Wright Away...DeciMETed

Unravelling is the term that comes to mind. Wright is woozy and in a text poll, 52% of all fans agreed he should be shut down for the year...Cora has trouble with his hands and is now gone too.

They always say the only direction is up....and I am an optimist, but the team is deciMETed from opening day. (Yeah, obvious statement).

So, I am driving back from Pennsylvania today (was able to stay connected with WFAN!!!!) and I hear that Aubrey Huff was traded. Granted, his value has gone down a bit on paper since earlier this year, but he can play 1B and 3B...who gets him? The Tigers for a Minor League pitcher.

Too many good or decent players (granted, some would be band aids for only 2009) came by and Omar watched them drift away....(just like the win column, just like the ERA, just like the....

On a positive note, I got tix for the Mets-Phils next Monday afternoon...have an extra if anyone is interested....

MurpFrancoeuRUN

Didn't get a chance to watch the game, but heard a good part of it on WFAN and it was refreshing to see Murphy hit a game winner and score Jeff Francoeur.

Time changes things. A few years ago, this was a routine method of winning. Today, it is a prized novelty. Stat reflected stated this was only the FOURTH walk-off "W" the Mets had. Lord knows how many we saw this happen for the opposition.

As I will reiterate, glad we are skipping Lincecum. (Are WE?)