tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50187022008-09-14T22:14:32.954-04:00Disseminating descriptions and accounts of New York Mets games without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball or the New York Mets since 2003.joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comBlogger617125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-59149203721514109952008-09-14T22:11:00.002-04:002008-09-14T22:14:32.965-04:00

If you're wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while, I assure you I have a very good excuse. Things had been going so well for the Mets since I last posted that I didn't want to do anything to jinx them. But now that the team's fortunes have taken a bit of a downturn in the last few days, I thought I'd come back and try to talk Mets fans off the ledge. With fourteen games left to play

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-60427972644049119962008-07-22T00:38:00.000-04:002008-07-22T00:39:10.596-04:00

With the Mets in a first place tie, winners of eleven of their last thirteen games while the trade deadline looms like a mythical beast from the deep, lurking just below the surface, threatening to take a chunk out of the farm system at any moment, I thought I'd take this time to peer into the future of the 2008 New York Mets. The next sixty-three games seem likely to culminate in another photo

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-51636895210828790282008-07-06T16:39:00.000-04:002008-07-06T16:40:38.358-04:00

The All-Star rosters have been announced and, as usual, the fans, coaches and players have made some odd choices. The only Met on the National League roster is Billy Wagner. Johan Santana, top five in the league in ERA and strikeouts, didn't make the cut. David Wright (.288/.385/.508, 137 OPS+) couldn't beat out Aramis Ramirez (.280/.379/.493, 126 OPS+) for the backup third base spot, but at

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-54554618043932480922008-06-17T19:08:00.001-04:002008-06-17T19:10:30.227-04:00

As you may have heard, Willie Randolph is no longer the manager of the New York Mets and Omar Minaya handled the firing with the sort of tact and professionalism we've come to expect from this organization. The bottom line is that Wilie is out, which I regard as a good thing, and Jerry Manuel is in, about which I don't really have an opinion. Manuel was 500-471 with one division title in six

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-3077288785439226902008-06-12T23:39:00.000-04:002008-06-12T23:40:34.511-04:00

Mets starting pitchers over the past seven games: 42 1/3 IP, 40 K, 14 BB, 2 HR, 2.34 ERA. Games won by the Mets during this stretch: One. First it was the offense going limp as the Mets lost three straight 2-1 games in San Diego. Once the bats came to life, the bullpen decided to pick up the slack, blowing leads of at least two runs in each of the next four games. Billy Wagner has now blown

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-6348415361621715862008-06-05T23:20:00.002-04:002008-06-05T23:28:03.064-04:00

The Mets organization had some reason to smile entering Thursday, having won three straight series and holding three of the first thirty-three picks in the MLB draft. And Met fans could be forgiven for smiling too after the Mets didn't use any of those top picks on college relief pitchers. In fact, the Mets used only one of their eight picks today on a pitcher, taking right handed starter

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-35806451416961026302008-05-28T22:56:00.003-04:002008-05-28T23:05:44.785-04:00

Aaron Heilman pitches two perfect innings, striking out four. Endy Chavez hits a game-tying pinch hit home run in the bottom of the ninth, just as I'm cursing Willie for taking out Ramon Castro. And after Duaner Sanchez gives up a twelfth-inning home run to Alfredo Amezaga of all people, the Mets fight back, capped off by a two-run double by Fernando Tatis. If this game doesn't wake the Mets

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-22849591028699676842008-05-26T23:42:00.000-04:002008-05-26T23:43:36.862-04:00

The Mets did not elect to fire manager Willie Randolph today and as a result will probably never win another game. I don't know who the Mets could or would hire that would be able to turn things around, especially given that both Bobby Valentine and Earl Weaver are likely unavailable. But I don't really think the team is going to be able to find a new first baseman, a new second baseman, a

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-71516709833196213202008-05-21T00:40:00.002-04:002008-05-21T00:45:11.757-04:00

Today one of the greatest New York Mets off all time officially said goodbye to the game of baseball. Michael Joseph Piazza, most recently of the Oakland Athletics, announced his retirement, beginning the five year countdown to his Hall Of Fame induction. The only questions that remain are which hat, Mets or Dodgers, will adorn his plaque in Cooperstown--judging by Piazza's statement, he'd

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-42739062190306892242008-05-11T21:46:00.000-04:002008-05-11T21:52:29.247-04:00

The Mets had another mediocre week, splitting six games with the Dodgers and Reds. The offense does appear to be coming around as they put 38 runs on the board in these six games. They even put together back-to-back twelve-run efforts. Of course, they wouldn't be the Mets if they didn't follow that up by being shut down by a pitcher of dubious quality. This time it was Bronson Arroyo who the

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-74319294531502822312008-05-04T22:57:00.002-04:002008-05-05T18:35:52.432-04:00

The Mets had a pretty good weekend, as they tend to do when they head to Arizona. They won two of three and put their theoretical everyday lineup on the field for the very first time in the season's twenty-ninth game. Moises Alou and Brian Schneider are back, Carlos Delgado is starting to hit and the Mets are just half a game out of first place in the NL East. It's enough to trick you into not

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-47794430843622076002008-04-27T23:35:00.000-04:002008-04-27T23:37:29.545-04:00

The Mets' performance over the weekend wasn't exactly dominating, but it was certainly an improvement over the previous week. Facing the three best pitchers the Atlanta Braves had to offer, the Mets managed to take two out of three with neither Johan Santana nor Oliver Perez taking the mound. The starting pitchers only pitched fifteen and two-thirds innings, but the bullpen was solid (Jorge

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-19727648974314923652008-04-25T00:24:00.002-04:002008-04-25T00:28:39.929-04:00

After reaching the lofty heights of a 10-6 record last weekend in Philadelphia, the Mets have gotten an early start on this year's collapse. They've now lost four of their last five, outscored 32-18. Their means of defeat have ranged from inadequate starting pitching to inept offense to incompetent relief. The bats have seemingly all gone cold at once. Except for Carlos Delgado, who was cold

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-3236241432065496982008-04-16T00:07:00.001-04:002008-04-16T00:09:03.814-04:00

Twelve games into the season, the Mets' record sits at an even .500. This despite the fact that they have outscored their opponents 64-47. Some things have not gone as planned, as evidenced by the fact that Scott Schoeneweis has thrown more innings than Pedro Martinez. But there have also been some pleasant surprises, and I'm not just talking about Angel Pagan's ridiculous .381/.462/.500 start

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-40759956575524423382008-04-06T21:49:00.000-04:002008-04-06T21:52:47.811-04:00

The Mets' season is five games old, so I think it's about time I start complaining about Willie Randolph's bullpen management. I will give him some credit for apparently having figured out how to use Scott Schoeneweis. In Schoeneweis's first two appearances, he faced a single lefty and in his third, he faced a lefty and a switch hitter. Of course, that third lefty got a run-scoring hit and the

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-62902475148207099932008-04-02T23:35:00.000-04:002008-04-02T23:58:13.515-04:00

Only the Mets could find a way to outscore their opponents twenty-four to seven over three games and come out feeling like losers. Yes, the Mets' offense thoroughly pounded what passes for major league pitching in the Florida Marlins organization. And yes, the Mets got a good first start from their big offseason acquisition and an even better one from their talented but inconsistent third

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-90888342567375312422008-03-30T01:55:00.000-04:002008-03-30T01:56:41.299-04:00

The Mets' pitching was in the middle of the National League pack in 2007. They allowed 750 runs, 4.63 per game, good for seventh best in the league and a completely average ERA+ of 100. They got off to a much better start than that, posting a team ERA of 2.96 in April, but that number rose every single month, all they way to 5.14 in September. Things were even worse in the final seventeen

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-91484098483995324012008-03-29T15:07:00.001-04:002008-03-29T15:10:24.777-04:00

As you may have heard, the Mets' 2007 season did not end as well as they or their fans might have liked. It's hard to blame the team's offense for the historic collapse, though. In those fateful seventeen games when the Mets went from prohibitive pennant favorites to historical punchlines, the team scored 98 runs or 5.76 per game. They put a total of 804 runs on the board in 2007, 4.96 per

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-53270302659904066692008-03-05T23:07:00.002-05:002008-03-05T23:12:59.023-05:00

Things that happen in Spring Training tend to be pretty meaningless in the long run. Some no-name hitter getting hot for three weeks batting against other teams' minor league relievers isn't cause to run out and buy his jersey. Your team's ace getting knocked around while experimenting with a new pitch shouldn't lead you to sell your season tickets. Still, the first three weeks of baseball

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-16941760720279979162008-01-29T23:34:00.000-05:002008-01-29T23:48:58.319-05:00

This hasn't been an easy offseason to be a New York Mets fan. For months it seemed the Mets would either do nothing significant to improve the 2008 squad or they'd sacrifice the farm system for the sake of a short-term splash. The Milledge trade made it appear that they'd much prefer the latter approach. I never would have figured they'd pull off what they did today. The Mets have acquired

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-89628223381069077942007-11-30T19:28:00.000-05:002007-11-30T19:31:12.489-05:00

Prior to today, I thought the Mets had been having a decent offseason. They hadn't made a big splash, but they had said goodbye to their two worst everyday players, Paul Lo Duca and Shawn Green, making room for better, younger players. The starting rotation would be the same as the one that started 2007 except that Tom Glavine would be replaced by Pedro Martinez, quite a swap if Pedro stays

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-72211776484721745502007-11-20T22:49:00.000-05:002007-11-20T22:54:32.935-05:00

It has been a whirlwind few days for the New York Mets. Or at least as whirlwind as you can get when you're not losing anyone better than Tom Glavine circa 2008 or getting anyone better than Luis Castillo. Regardless, things have happened. First of all, Glavine returned to the Braves. This leaves the Mets with a hole to fill in their starting rotation, but it also leaves them with two first

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-73835123221439930822007-11-17T23:42:00.000-05:002007-11-17T23:45:30.937-05:00

The Mets' deal with Yorvit Torrealba fell through. But Ramon Castro is signed. So they are still in need of one catcher. Hopefully Paul Lo Duca is so insulted by the Mets' treatment of him this offseason that he refuses to negotiate with them.

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-76164770180801717992007-11-15T20:39:00.000-05:002007-11-15T22:08:06.585-05:00

The Mets are apparently about to sign a couple of catchers. According to various reports, Yorvit Torrealba will sign a three-year deal to be the starter and Ramon Castro will sign up for two years as his backup, though Castro is expected to start more often than he did in 2007. This is hardly ideal, but I'll take it. The appeal of Torrealba eludes me. He's a career .251/.313/.391 hitter who's

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5018702.post-70500270255908881242007-11-11T23:24:00.000-05:002007-11-11T23:32:57.023-05:00

This has the potential to be a rather boring offseason. Collapse or no, the Mets are a good team without many obvious holes. At the moment they could use a catcher, a second baseman and a starting pitcher. But the weak free agent class and the paucity of tradeable commodities in the Mets' system makes it unlikely any of these spots will be addressed in headline-grabbing fashion. But even the

joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362010025559387458noreply@blogger.com