Monday, September 14, 2009

I'm Getting tired of being right all the time...

Once again, as has happened several times in bizarre circumstances on this site, I called it. I said Pedro going to the Phils could only end one way: him being healthy and dominant for them, and helping them to ultimately eliminate the Mets once again from the playoffs. What happened tonight? Well, Pedro, who is undefeated since joining the Phillies, absolutely dominated the Mets for 8 shutout innings in the game that officially eliminated the Mets from playoff contention. Now, obviously, the Mets haven't had a realistic hope for the playoffs in months, but really, how else could this season end but being officially eliminated by Pedro? Still think Pedro's not a capable pitcher anymore, Jerry Manuel? Great job. It's alright, though. You and Omar have job security. What an organization!

....by the way, as some of you may know, I'm also a Detroit Lions fan, so as the Mets officially had the nail driven in their coffin for 2009, the Lions kicked off another massochistic season today by being annihilated by the New Orleans Saints. Something tells me that football season won't be cheering me up much....

Monday, July 27, 2009

A Winning Streak? What is this?

So, the Mets have now won 3 in a row against legitimate baseball teams (the Astros and Rockies). And tonight they played very good fundamental baseball, including a successful sacrifice bunt by Daniel Murphy (Unbelievable!). It was all capped off by a pinch-hit grandslam by Fernando Tatis in the 8th. I'll admit, I was furious when Jerry sent Tatis out there in place of Corey Sullivan (who already had an RBI sac fly earlier in the game). To be fair, Tatis has given no reason for fans to be confident in him in that spot -- grounding into a double play in one out of every 10 at bats this year. But he came through. And the Mets are on a winning streak. And Tony Bernazard was finally fired today. All positive stuff.

If only Omar didn't blow the day by creating more bad press for the Mets... At least the consensus seems to be that the end is coming for Minaya, as well. After all, his two big hires since gaining full autonomy (Bernazard and Willie Randolph) are both gone now. No more scapegoats left, unless he buys a bit more time for himself by firing Manuel (who probably should be terminated anyway).

Monday, July 20, 2009

WTF?!

http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=12974

According to the very reliable Jon Heyman, the Blue Jays offered Roy Halladay -- the best pitcher in the game -- to the Mets for Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese, and minor league SS Ruben Tejada. Omar Minaya, in his infinite wisdom, turned down this deal.

Of course. Why would Mets fans ever want Roy Halladay instead of those 4 guys? F-Mart failed in his call-up this year and is now injured, Parnell has clearly worn out after an initial good start (and has no quality second pitch), Niese projects to be at best a #3 starter, and unless we plan to give up Jose Reyes in a deal, Ruben Tejada's value to the franchise is as trade bait. We could have Santana and Halladay as 1-2 in our rotation, but why would we want that when we already have Ollie Perez? Perez is all we need. Just like Randy Wolf on the cheap wasn't necessary over the off-season because we had Livan Hernandez and Freddy Garcia. Makes perfect sense...

This is exactly what we did with Lastings Milledge. We held onto that guy until his trade value was a small fraction of what it once was. There was a time when the Astros offered us Roy Oswalt for Milledge -- straight up. And we turned that down. Now, we turn down Halladay to hold on to Fernando Martinez. F-Mart had better become a superstar, and Jon Niese better develop into a consistent 15-wins-a-year-pitcher, and I don't know much about Ruben Tejada, but if he doesn't produce big returns for us I'll always hate him now. The Blue Jays offered Halladay TO US! And Minaya says no. What is the plan here?! Can't wait 'til Halladay goes to the Phils and beats us 5 times next year as we fans all suffer again.


***************************
**Update**
It's now being reported that the Halladay story was bogus. But even so, I wouldn't put it past Omar Minaya to turn down such a deal if it was offered. That's what makes this bogus story so incredible: that it seemed completely possible. This wasn't like the Curious Case of Sidd Finch.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This can only end one way....

Two years ago, as part of the epic collapse of the Mets, Pedro Martinez started a game against the Phillies in which he blew an early 7-0 lead in a game the Mets eventually lost. Remember, the Mets eventually lost the division to the Phils by a game. Now, that same Pedro Martinez has signed a one-year deal with those same Phillies. What does this mean for the Mets? If history is any lesson (and I am a history major, so I sure hope it is), we know that Pedro will both stay healthy all year (which he never did for the Mets) AND be absolutely dominant (or at least he will be in games he starts against the Mets). Can't wait to see this one play out. And anybody who thinks that this time it could be different, remember that the Mets are throwing a minor-league quality lineup out there every day.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Officially giving up

The Mets desperately have needed to make a trade for the past several weeks. Today, they made one. They sent Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff "Strike Three" Francoeur. Yes, the Mets made a trade with the BRAVES! WTF!!!! Another right-handed hitter who strikes out constantly and hasn't put up good numbers in a couple years. And we give up our best fielder and one of our few legitimate hitters. And we do it in a trade that will help a rival that's only half a game ahead of us in the standings. Here's the rest of my expert commentary:

#$)&#)$#&)$#@)#@&#@&() V&*@ Minaya &*()RE#*()$#&)$#@#^)#^*@*^&#) Jerry Manuel &*()#$&)$#&)#( Shake Shack )(*&#$&#(&$(&(*&*(&*( strikeouts. If Jeff Francoeur doesn't hit 25 homers the rest of the year, I want Minaya and Jerry Manuel not only fired, but also tarred and feathered. Let's hear Jerry Manuel try to claim he didn't have a personal hatred of Ryan Church all along now. What was the reason for it? The quickest explanation may not hold much weight (Church is white) since Francouer is too. But I'm certainly not abandoning that theory; after all, why did Daniel Murphy not play last night after a big night on Wednesday? Manuel said he wants to get Tatis in a rhythm. How f*cking long are we gonna wait for that? What happened to "if you produce, you'll stay in the lineup"? Murphy was producing, and he was benched in favor of the Hispanic player who's leading the world in GIDP's per at-bat. Church was productive on the last road-trip, and now he's gone. When Francouer strikes out in each of his first 15 at-bats, he'll be benched in favor of whoever the next Emil Brown is to come to town. Can't wait to see who..... And sticking with the theory: who did we remove from the rotation to make room for the returning Ollie Perez? Not journeyman Fernando Nieve, but rather veteran expensive starter Tim Redding. Please explain.

I'd love to believe the Mets can still win the division, but don't believe it. I can't root against Ryan Church even in Atlanta; I'm a fan of players. But I officially give up on Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya. I just want them gone.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Fossum File

It's been a long time since I've posted a Fossum File. My bad. The state of the Mets has just depressed me far too much to speak. However, here's the update: Fossum is once again available. After pitching very well for a few weeks at Scranton, Fossum used an out in his contract and opted for free agency. Will the Mets pick him back up? Very unlikely. But where will his great, epic story take him next? I already need to add a couple more verses to the tribute song.

Two straight Met wins, but...

Yes, the Mets have now won two in a row. However, I'd rather write about this topic:

The Mets have signed the 16 year old son of former all-star reliever Ugueth Urbina. He will receive a signing bonus of $1 million +. He reportedly has a fastball in the high 80s and a decent curve.

However, the only comment I have is this:

I'll take it, as long as he's not a lunatic like his dad. I'd like him to light the league on fire someday, rather than literally lighting people on fire (and I hope no machetes were involved in the signing bonus).

I hope you get to hear about this from your cell, Ugueth. But I sure hope the signing bonus isn't used to bail you out (or bribe the guards, or whatever is done in Venezuela).

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A petition to the Mets management

To: The Wilpons and Omar Minaya
Re: The remainder of the 2009 MLB Season

We, the long-suffering fans of the New York Mets franchise, implore you to simply forfeit the remainder of the 2009 season and begin preparing for 2010. The injury rate of Mets starters this year may otherwise soon be matched by the rate at which Mets fans are committed to insane asylums or plunging from skyscrapers (or from the top of Shake Shack, if nothing else). The Mets players all require time to heal their physical ailments (and also some time to maybe watch instructional videos on baseball...), and we fans require at least a full year to recover emotionally and mentally. Many of us have endured the collapses of the last two years -- as well as the choking in the 2006 NLCS -- and continued to root unconditionally for the Mets with all our hearts. However, so far this year, we have been forced to suffer through losses due to a dropped fly ball in left field by Murphy, a miss of 3rd base by Ryan Church (followed by a comedy of errors in the field), a dropped pop-up in the 9th inning by Castillo against the hated Yankees, multiple blow-out games against those same Yankees, a bases-loaded walk to Mariano Rivera to give those same Yankees an insurance run, and Fernando Martinez falling down on a fly ball followed by a 4-run double by Ryan Braun. And that is only the minimum list. Several other losses have been nearly as devastating to us devoted fans. Therefore, for the welfare of all those involved, we urge you to forfeit the remainder of the 2009 Major League Baseball season. After all, it looks like we may never win another game anyway.

Please act quickly.

Signed,

The New York Mets Fan-base

Monday, June 22, 2009

What is Going On?

Today, the Mets placed Carlos Beltran on the DL -- joining Maine, Perez, Putz, Pagan, Reyes, Delgado and others. They also demoted Ken Takahashi and Wilson Valdez. Filling those 3 spots, the Mets called up Fernando Martinez, Elmer Dessens (yes, Elmer Dessens... the latest in the "Where Are They Now?" series of Mets), and LHP Pat Misch. (By the way, 3 other candidates for "Where Are They Now?" Mets were recently released from Buffalo: Javier Valentin, Bobby Kielty, and Wily Mo Pena........ none of which make sense to me) (Also, did you happen to hear that Jose Reyes -- already disabled -- was in a car accident today on the Triboro Bridge along with trainer Ray Ramirez [just what we need: even our medical staff isn't safe from injury -- though the terrible team doctors being replaced probably would help this team...] A fire truck rear-ended their car)

It was also announced that Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano were unavailable for tonight's opener against the Cardinals. Tim Redding, still looking for his first win as a Met, was slotted to start, and counted on to go deep into the game.

All of that news combined seemed to spell doom for the Mets. And yet, they won -- leaving all of us in a state of giving up forever on trying to understand this team. Along the way, highlights included:

  • Tim Redding pitched into the 8th inning, allowing 4 runs (one of the runs was a homer leading off the 8th, which was his last batter).
  • Jon Switzer struck out the first hitter he faced in relief of Redding. His next hitter got on, and Switzer was replaced by Brian Stokes.
  • Brian Stokes came into a game!!! And in a pressure spot, which Jerry Manuel has said all along he doesn't trust Stokes in. Why he doesn't trust him, Mets fans don't know. It's the same irrational dislike he has for Ryan Church. And yet, due to all the insanity of the Mets roster for tonight's game, here was Brian Stokes coming into the game in the 8th inning leading by one, with the tying run on first. And who was coming to bat as the potential go-ahead run? None other than the best hitter in the league, Albert Pujols. Jerry Manuel must have been peeing his pants. Stokes fell behind Pujols on a series of sliders, then battled back and finally induced a weak grounder right back to himself, and turned the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Jerry Manuel must have immediately entered into a state of shock that may or may not have required Sandy Alomar to manage the rest of the game; we don't know. But who knows, could this actually make Jerry Manuel realize that Mets fans and analysts are right and begin trusting Stokes again like last year when he became the go-to guy at the end of the year until he was burned out? Probably not; nothing Church has done has convinced Manuel about him. But maybe.... After all, desperate times call for desperate measures -- even trusting people you wouldn't at any other time. And could things be more desperate for the Mets right now?...
  • Daniel Murphy homered, giving the full Mets lineup for tonight's game a total of 17 home runs on the season. Fourteen players around the league have at least that many as individuals.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Quick Political Statement

I know this is a baseball blog, and I've completely avoided any mention of politics thus far (Steve made one little promo for Obama at one point...). But this is one I have to say:

People have to understand that Iran may be the Islamic Republic, but it does not have the close ties to other Islamic nations that that official name would suggest. Iranians are not Arab (the name "Iran" comes from the same root as Aryan), and despise most Arab nations. Through Hezbollah they've gained influence in Lebanon, and they sponsor Hamas in Palestine. But are we really afraid of offending Hamas further? I think their opinion of us is pretty well set -- no matter how much Obama tries to suck up to them during his Mid-East trip (at the cost of our Israeli friends, putting Mr. Netanyahu in a difficult place). The US government supporting protesters in Iran is not going to offend Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, or most other Islamic countries -- only the extremists who despise us anyway.

It's time for Mr. Obama to show what he truly aims to promote in the world: American principles or American image. He won the presidency with a popularity contest strategy fit for a high school class election. Now it's time to be a real leader. The reform candidate in Iran may still be in favor of their nuclear program and certain other disagreeable policies, but he would still be a great improvement over (and I apologize if I spell this wrong) Ahmedinejad.

Flag-bearers of freedoms should be supported by the US throughout the world -- whether it's oppressed protesters in Iran or Aung San Suu-Kyi (again, sorry if I spelled it wrong; I'm doing this whole thing off the top of my head) in Burma (yes, I know it's called Myanmar ever since the military junta took over and imprisoned the rightfully-elected president (Aung San Suu-Kyi).

To tie this in to sports for the sake of this blog, the Iranian national soccer team saw 8 of its players -- including its captain -- wear green bracelets in support of the reform candidate during the World Cup Qualifying Match against South Korea. When the second half began, the bracelets were suddenly gone. Little doubt that Ahmedinejad -- who is a huge soccer fan -- and his regime played an active part in removing the symbols of protest.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Just try naming the Mets' current 25-man roster. Go ahead.

Alright, so the last several days, my younger brother and I have been quizzing each other on our favorite teams in specific years. We've been asking each other to name -- say, the full roster of the '98 Yankees or the 2000 Mets. And with that we both did very well -- incredibly well even with very obscure people.

However, as many past Mets as I could name, I admit I can't possibly name all 25 guys on the Mets current roster. Emil Brown just came into the game tonight. Now, I knew we acquired him in a minor-league deal for a player to be named, but when the heck did he get called up from Buffalo? Add him to such standouts as Wilson Valdez and Fernando Nieve, it's hard to believe this team could not be in first place....

Actually, I just checked the Mets' active roster, and Brown and Nieve are the only ones I wouldn't have gotten -- though I would have named Nieve as "Random Pitcher called up to Take JJ Putz's Place."

It's probably a good thing I haven't posted in quite a while. If I tried to keep up with all these Mets health issues, I think my computer's CPU would have burned out from over-use. And I would have been just as likely to hurl my computer across the room (which coincidentally would probably be faster and have more sink than a JJ Putz splitter this year) if I tried to blog about the Mets recently being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, despite that already-pathetic team sending away Nate McLouth for -- I don't even remember who... Three hockey fans they found on the street outside the Stanley Cup finals maybe? If the three hockey fans had on Braves caps, it's hard to say if the inept Pirates front office would even realize the difference. They certainly didn't recognize that they've gotten no sort of significant return on trading away McLouth, Nady, and Bay (who shockingly enough may have given the Pirates the best outfield in the league while they were together).

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Why is Ryan Church not playing?

Marty Noble of mlb.com was asked in his most recent Mets Inbox why Ryan Church has seen his playing time continually decrease while players such as Gary Sheffield have seen plenty of playing time with worse numbers. He wrote:

"You hardly are alone in your wonder. My sense of it, and that of others, including men in uniform, is that Church has been shortchanged -- in words, plans and, since the season began, playing time. It began early in Spring Training. The comments manager Jerry Manuel made about him then seemed unnecessarily uncomplimentary. Then Church made most of the trips and played as much as anyone other than Daniel Murphy in exhibition games. He was exhausted by mid-March. Since Opening Day, he has become the player most affected by the batting-order imbalance -- too many left-handed hitters.

"Church is a fine outfielder, the best defensive right fielder the Mets franchise has had, and he ought to be in right as often as possible in Citi Field. He plays hard; no one can quarrel with that. And he was hitting early on. I suspect Manuel didn't want to sit Murphy when he was having so much trouble in left field and have Murphy begin to doubt himself."



Now here's my take on it: Omar Minaya has had the reputation since his days with Montreal that he favors mediocre minority (specifically hispanic) players to even good white players. His seeming preference all through the offseason to stick with Ollie Perez instead of Wolf or Lowe looked like further evidence of that. Could he be pulling the strings against Ryan Church? Or could Jerry Manuel have the same preference? Sheff has hit nothing at all (other than his 500th homerun), Tatis can get at-bats at other positions (and has done so, with Delgado's health issues). And look how long it took for Jeremy Reed (who is also white) to finally get a start. He only just got his first one this past week, over 20 games into the season. And while Daniel Murphy was favored by Jerry Manuel in his statements during Spring Training, Murphy has also seen his starts decrease in favor of Tatis and Sheffield. So while one white outfielder was favored over another, they both take backseats to the minorities. I'm curious what will happen when Brian Schneider comes back from his injury (whenever that may wind up being). Is Minaya going to try long and hard to deal him away in order to keep Ramon Castro and Omir Santos?

Now suppose an organization was intentionally playing very mediocre white players over much better and more productive black or hispanic players simply due to race. That organization would be subject to lawsuits and be branded as racist by fans. Should the Mets not be viewed the same way? Racism against whites is still racism.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Another Stop on the Fossum Trail

After 3 appearences with the Mets, posting a 2.25 ERA in the process, Casey Fossum was DFA'd by the Mets to make room for 40 year old rookie Ken Takahashi. Now, I'm hoping Takahashi pitches very well for the Mets, and his first appearence against Philadelphia was impressive following another pathetic Oliver Perez start (which now has Perez headed to the bullpen to be a $12 million long reliever). But this is a sad time for me as a Casey Fossum fan. He was quickly snatched up off waivers by the evil Yankees across town. He made his first start at AAA Scranton on Saturday afternoon, pitching well against the Norfolk Tides. Saddest of all: I was at the Scranton-Norfolk game on Friday night, but did not find out until today (Monday) that Fossum had signed on there. Otherwise, I definitely would have at least gone and seen him pitch. Very sad. Very, very sad. Maybe another time this summer...

Go Blade!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Okay, it's Casey Fossum's first game with the Mets, and he's currently on his way to the mound from the bullpen to relieve (once-again) terrible Ollie Perez, who just walked in a run. As you can deduce from that, Fossum is entering with bases loaded. Dear God! He's doomed.

Let's hope the best....

Go Blade!!!!


------------


Well, he's just thrown 4 pitches. And... well.... none of them were anywhere close...

..at least it wasn't any different from how Ollie Perez was pitching...

He did it!!!


Today the Mets called up LHP Casey Fossum from AAA Buffalo to the Major League club. Here's how I learned this awesome news:

According to a commenter on DRaysBay, Fossum just got called up to the Mets??? And holy crap, he's on their Active Roster!! Yippeeeeeeee!!!!

That's an email I woke up to from Steve. I haven't had a chance to look into it yet, but my guess is this: Nelson Figueroa had to be called up for a spot start over the weekend since Pelfrey was hurt but not hurt enough to go on the DL. To make room on the roster, Darren O'Day (who we got as a Rule 5 pick from the Angels) needed to be designated for assignment. Pelfrey should be healthy enough for his next start, so Figueroa was no longer needed on the big league club. So I'm guessing Fossum is taking his spot on the roster, and O'Day's role with the club as a middle reliever. Not sure, but that's my guess. Whatever the explanation, Woo-Hoo!!!!


Friday, April 17, 2009

A Glorious Day

Today is truly a great day in my life. I just realized that Gameday pitch-by-pitch of minor league games is available at MiLB.com. What does that mean for me? Well, the Buffalo Bisons just started a game against Syracuse, and the starting pitcher for Buffalo is none other than -- you know who -- The Blade!

After one inning, Fossum's hopes for a season-long shutout are shattered: Syracuse leadoff hitter Jorge Padilla doubled to start the game, and scored on an RBI groundout following a Fossum wild pitch. In typical Fossum style, after a couple mistakes leading to a run, he then struck out the next two batters to end the inning. One of those was former Met great Lastings Milledge -- sent down to AAA by the Nationals last week. Fossum continues to please the authors of this blog in so many ways.

---------------------------

Update: Fossum just exited the game with a no-decision. In 6 innings, he allowed one earned run on 3 hits and 3 walks. He also struck out 9 (Lastings Milledge was a victim twice). He threw only 88 pitches. Eddie Kunz has come in to pitch the 7th.

Fossum File

There hasn't been much positive to say about the Mets thus far this season, so I figured I'd give a more uplifting post that's relevant to one of the main themes of this blog:

Casey Fossum has started one game so far for AAA Buffalo. In a no-decision, Fossum tossed 5 innings of scoreless ball while allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 3. With Pelfrey ineffective and possibly injured, and Perez and Maine both inconsistent, is it terribly unreasonable to believe Fossum could break the big league rotation this season? Granted, he's probably behind Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, and even Elmer Dessens on the organizational depth chart, but...... stranger things have happened. The '06 Mets who won the division used over a dozen starting pitchers during the season. So why not? The jersey I have will actually make sense then -- assuming he keeps his number 47 from Spring Training.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

See you in Buffalo

In what will very likely be his last appearance of the Spring, Casey Fossum today allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in 2.2 innings against hte Orioles. Clearly, Fossum was at his best on the mound. And that's why we love him. See you in Buffalo at AAA, Casey! The Buffalo Blade!

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Good News and the Bad

Today brings with it both happy and sad news for the authors of this blog. For Steve and his Rays, Evan Longoria was named to Team USA today to replace the injured Larry Jones. So along with David Wright, Steve and I now both have our man-crushes manning the hot corner for the Americans for the semis. On a much sadder note, the Mets re-assigned our beloved Casey Fossum to minor league camp today (along with Jon Niese and a few others), officially ending our dream that he would somehow secure a role on the big league staff as a long reliever. Damn.... On a happier note, my Casey Fossum Mets jersey should be arriving in the mail in a few days. I just have to keep hope alive!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Long time no see..

So man, it's certainly been awhile since I've shown my face on this blog. Where can I even begin? My Rays!! Oh man, despite the bittersweet finish to the World Series, I could not have been more happy with the way the season worked out in the end. Who would have ever picked us to win 97 games last year? Absolutely ridiculous...that was too awesome for words. And I have to say, I would not be surprised in the least if that one season just made me a Rays fan for life. I have so many memories already attached to the team and experienced so much joy from this past season, I can't see myself ever rooting for another team.

At the same time, though, I don't know if I could ever limit myself to simply rooting for one team for the rest of my life. The way I see it, I was a huge fan of the Yankees back in the late 90s, but I jumped ship once I lost faith in the way that they were running their franchise. Now, I like to think that I won't do that again if the Rays ever start heading in the wrong direction, but I can't say for sure. I do know that at this point, I would find it very, very tough to root for a team whose front-office philosophy does not match my own. If the Rays ownership ever changes hands and start to import expensive talent like the Yankees are constantly doing, I very well might jump ship again.

I feel like this is an interesting question: do you root hardcore for your favorite team forever and ever, 'til death do you part, regardless of the direction and philosophy of the franchise? Are there any strings attached to your fan-dom? Could ever a hypothetical situation arise where you cut ties with your current favorite and pick up another? I must say, I have and incredible amount of respect for those people that can continue to root for teams like the Kansas City Royals despite the fact that their on-the-field product is horrible and their front office has an atrocious philosophy towards building a team. I respect them, but I can't ever imagine being the same way.

Maybe it makes me less of a "true fan", but I feel that like in any good relationship, both sides need to be able to get something out of the deal. Why should I pay you money if you refuse to even try to build a winning team? Also, I'm not about to stick around in a relationship with a team that I cannot connect to - a team that I do not hold the same values as. Does that make sense? I'm probably being a bit overly dramatic with this whole analogy, since I'm basically comparing rooting for a sports team to marriage, but I feel like the analogy holds true and does have something to it. There's a lot of time and money and emotion put into rooting for a team, so why root for a team that you don't have anything in common with and that doesn't care about you? It doesn't make sense in a relationship...it doesn't make sense as a fan.

Anyway, that was a long tangent, but I like the concept. For now, though, I'm totally loving the Rays - I love their current team of players and I love their front-office philosophy. It's a good match. Go Rays!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Clay Hensley is Going to Dominate the NL this season.

The Mets have batted around here against Clay Hensley of the Astros in the 3rd inning. Delgado just followed up Schneider's grand slam with a 3-run homer of his own (which nothing looked right about -- the swing was a terrible uppercut, it looked like a pop fly, and wound up going about 3 inches over the shoulder of the right fielder who simply missed the ball as it cleared the fence). Hensley was just pulled from the game after the Mets announcers said this is a terrible sign for a guy trying to earn a spot on the roster.

What does this all mean?

Answer: Clay Hensley is going to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Why, you ask? Well, last year, the Mets had a Spring Training game against the Cleveland Indians in which the Indians sent out Cliff Lee to the hill. Lee was competing for a spot in the Indians' rotation. He failed to make it out of the first inning after giving up several runs (I don't remember exactly how many), and the Mets announcers that day said it was a terrible sign for a guy competing for a spot. How did it turn out for Lee? He had a dominant season that resulted in a Cy Young Award and Comeback Player of the Year Award.

So there you have it: Clay Hensley is the early favorite for the NL Cy Young Award.

Love is the Most Important Thing in the World, but Baseball is Pretty Good Too

So far this Spring Training, I've had to just listen to the Mets games on mlb.com since we do not get SNY here at Gettysburg College. However, we do -- for some strange reason -- get CW11, so I haven't moved from my seat since 1 pm as I've been watching the Mets take on the Astros. So far, the offense has looked good, loading the bases in each of the first 3 innings. However, they only just pushed in a run for the first time here in the 3rd on Ryan Church's grounder through the legs of the Astros first-baseman (the second time today Church reached on an error).

On another note, John Maine started today's game. His first inning was sharp (despite a solo homerun by Miguel Tejada). He lost his control a bit in the 2nd, but the important thing for Maine is seeing him healthy after last season. The importance of his health is heightened with the news today that Santana is returning to NYC to have his elbow examined.


....as I typed this, Brian Schneider hit a grand slam to put the Mets on top 5-1. Last season, I made it to three Mets games (two at Shea and one in Washington). Schneider homered in all of them -- including being the last person I saw hit a homer at Shea (against these Astros). Let's hope he stays healthy this year, as well, as he spent the first half of last season struggling from a multitude of problems before having a strong second half at the plate.

Watching baseball again feels great. The world is right again. If only Casey Fossum could pitch today it would be perfect.....

Friday, February 27, 2009

First Fossum File of the Spring

Okay, so the Mets lost their Grapefruit League game today against the Cardinals, 9-8. However, a couple things on the bright side:

1) Ryan Church had an RBI double in the second inning off Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer. It's no secret on this blog that I'm a Church fan (certainly more-so than Jerry Manuel, apparently), and I'm happy to see him still able to rake at the plate. I've had 6 concussions myself (4 in baseball), so it might be partly for that reason that I'm really rooting for Church. Good start to the spring; let's hope (for Church and for the sake of the Mets' lineup) that he keeps it up.

2) Bobby Kielty had a homerun off former Met great (in the same way Roberto Alomar and Kaz Matsui are former Met greats..) Royce Ring. Kielty is -- just like Church -- trying to make a comeback from post-concussion syndrome. Kielty, however, has been out of the game since 2006. It's impossible to imagine Kielty making the opening day roster, but he could be this year's Fernando Tatis. And taking a chance on Tatis after his break from the league certainly turned out well for the Mets last season. I hope to see him in Queens (or somewhere else, granted it isn't Philadelphia, Atlanta, or Miami) getting a shot at some point this year. A real feel good story if he can. (By the way, check out some old photos of Kielty. As some other blogs such as Metstradamus have pointed out, he bears a striking resemblance to Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons. And as most kids of the '90s like me know, Sideshow Bob certainly kept on coming back -- even if in Italy........ by the way, Johan Santana was supposed to make a start against the Italian WBC team for the Mets, but he's been scratched as the Mets play it safe with his health).

3) Most important to the heart of this blog (which any of you who are regular readers will know) was the fact that Casey Fossum, our beloved "Blade", pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Mets -- allowing two hits. Obviously Fossum is a long-shot for a spot on the 25-man roster out of Spring Training, but we're not giving up hope. We'll be following his incredible mediocrity whether it be in Queens, Buffalo, or just on the field the voices are telling me to build for him.

....by the way, I'm accepting donations to fund my construction of that field.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A-Rod Admits to Steroid Use, We ask the Obvious Next Question (at least obvious in my mind....)

The following is a list of the top shortstops from the late '90s and early 2000s in Major League Baseball (in no particular order) (the list actually comes from a poster I have in my house...):

1. Alex Rodriguez -- Admitted to steroid use
2. Alex Gonzalez -- Named in reports for HGH use
3. Nomar Garciaparra -- Extensive history of nagging injuries suggests performance-enhancing drugs have not been in use (or have been very ineffective)
4. Rey Ordonez -- Despite winning 3 Gold Gloves, had a dreadful career batting average of .246, with a high full-season average of .258, and had only 12 career homeruns, so who cares if he did take P.E.D.'s?
5. Omar Vizquel -- Has won 11 Gold Gloves for defense, but has only a .273 career batting average and 77 career homeruns in 19 seasons.
6. Miguel Tejada -- Named prominently in the Mitchell Report for P.E.D. use. Now under investigation for perjury.
7. Derek Jeter -- What's his story? Only member of this list to play at least 145 games in each of his full seasons in the Majors, clearly avoiding nagging injuries. Has a career average of .316 and 206 career homeruns. Seems suspicious....