Results tagged ‘ Mets ’
Wild ending!
Back in early August ESPN radio blowhard Colin Cowherd complained that the Major League Baseball season was too long and that the schedule should be cut down to at least 150 to 130 games. He said, to paraphrase, ‘there is no need to have 162 games when most playoff spots were already decided.‘ Clearly not knowing or understanding baseball history, Cowherd thought all the teams leading their divisions and Wild Card races were basically a lock to make the postseason. Fortunately the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t get the memo and not only fought throughout August to put themselves in a position to make a postseason run, but both took advantage of the September collapses of the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox the respective leagues. Therefore, it came down to game 162 of the marathon to decide the Wild Card races and complete the postseason picture. Who said baseball needs less regular season games?
Historic collapse!
I have seen historic collapses in my 19 years of watching baseball, and some of the collapses that comes to mind right away when you think about them are the 1995 Angels collapse, along with the Mets 2007 collapse that unleashed the beast known as the current Philadelphia Phillies. And of course, probably the worst collapse in the history of baseball, the Yankees blowing a 3 game lead against the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS (one out away from continuing the Curse…I feel like puking). But to speak of historic regular season collapses, game 162 of the 2011 season saw the complete and historic crash of two teams that entered the month of September holding comfortable leads in their respective Wild Card races. On September 2, the Boston Red Sox held a 9 game lead in the American League Wild Card race; while the Atlanta Braves held a 8 1/2 game lead in the National League Wild Card race. The way both teams played this season, there was no way in the world they would collapse in late September and lose their leads. I mean just looking at both teams, the Red Sox either lead the Wild Card or American League east from May 24, while the Braves had a commanding Wild Card lead throughout the summer and at one point early in the season, were just 4 games behind the eventual NL East champions Phillies. There was just no conceivable way these two teams would miss the playoffs. Yet they did.
I have to do research in order to rank these two collapses, but the fact that they happened, once again shows the importance of the 162 game schedule. No one can sit and say in August that the playoff teams leading their divisions and wild card races, will be the same teams leading their races by the end of September. As far as I’m concerned, 162 games just isn’t enough!
Turk Wendell and Shark Week
In celebration of Discovery’s Shark Week, what better way is there to honor these majestic mammals other than remembering the only Major League player that I once characterized as a shark. That player is the one and only Turk Wendell. Much beloved by Mets fans, and laughed at by Yankees Fans, Wendell was one of those players–who in all reality–was hard to root against. Like a shark, Wendell’s behavior was odd, as the eccentric reliever was named by Men’s Fitness as the most superstitious athletes of all time. Among the odd things Wendell did during his 12 year career was wearing a necklace of sharp animal teeth while he was pitching. If I’m not mistake, he had a shark tooth on the necklace, which fits perfectly well to Shark Week. He also chewed black licorice, brushed his teeth in between innings, and leaped over the baselines while walking to the mound. Wendell’s eccentricities also extended off the field, as he asked the Mets in 2000 to make his contract for $9,999,999.99 in honor of his uniform number.
But what made Turk Wendell great wasn’t his pitching on the mound (even though he was a very solid middle reliever) but his ability to speak his mind, damn the consequences. When baseball’s steroid problem was uncovered, Wendell emphatically said that Barry Bonds was guilty of using steroids. “I mean, obviously he did it,” said Wendell referring to Bonds, “(His trainer) admitted to giving steroids to baseball players. He just doesn’t want to say his name. You don’t have to. It’s clear just seeing his body.” That comment–as you might have guessed by now–did not sit well with Bonds.
Bonds wasn’t the only player Wendell irked. Vladimir Guerrero, of the then Montreal Expos in 2001, took exception to being hit by one of Wendell’s wild pitches. When Wendell heard about it, he said: “If [Guerrero] doesn’t like it, he can freakin’ go back to the Dominican and find another line of work.” But one of his best comments had to be the one in St. Louis that same year. When asked about his errant pitch to the Cardinals Mike Matheny, Wendell asked rhetorically: ”When [Rick] Ankiel is out there and he throws balls everywhere, why don’t they throw him out of the game?”
Like sharks, Wendell behaved in unpredictable ways, no one ever knowing when this man would have a good game, or implode on the mound. It would be easy for me to sit and just write about his career stats, but Wendell’s eccentric nature is far more interesting than his two seem fastball. So here is to Turk Wendell, the last shark of baseball!
Top NL Shortstop right now: Jose Reyes
.So who is the best shortstop in the National League right now? Some people would say that Troy Tulowitzki is the best in the League. Afterall, he has lead the Rockies to a decent start this season and is part of the reason why they are just 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (yes that’s right, the Diamondbacks are in first place) in the National League West, despite the struggles of Ubaldo Jimenez and others; more importantly, Tulo is the leader of the heart and soul of the Rockies as he has become the natural leader of that club in the past three seasons. What about Jimmy Rollins? He clearly is the leader of that Phillies ballclub, and ever since his 2007 declaration that the Phillies were the team to beat in the National League East, the Philadelphia have been the best team in all of baseball, with four consecutive division titles, two trips to the world series, and three straight trips to the NLCS. What about Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins? For years, Ramirez has been considered to be the top shortstop in the NL. Afterall, Ramirez is a very talented player who could be a superstar in the Majors, if he would concentrate on baseball. But is one of these three players the best shortstop in the National League right now? The answer to that question in my opinion is no. Not even close. The best shortstop in the National League right now is Jose Reyes of the New York Mets.
In 52 games this season, Reyes leads all NL shortstops in runs scored (36), hits (76), doubles (17), triples (8), batting average (.335), slugging (.493) and on-base percentage (.382). Reyes also leads all NL shortstops in total bases with 112. Defensively, Reyes is not in the top five, but he is in the top ten. Tulowitzki right now is the best fielding shortstop in the National League, with a .992 fielding percentage and a range factor of 5.17. Reyes so far this season has posted .972 fielding percentage and a range factor of 4.12, which isn’t bad considering that he likely lost range at short after the injuries to his legs. Reyes isn’t defensive machine, but he is good enough to be a top 10 defensive shortstop.
In all, Reyes is having a much better productive season than the rest of the NL’s top shortstops, which includes the three other shortstops mentioned above. More importantly, the value of Reyes to the Mets is considerable. The reason why the Mets are only just 4 games under .500 and not more, is because Reyes is the Mets top run producer throughout the season. Without Reyes in the lineup and with the struggles of Jason Bay, injuries to David Wright and Ike Davis, the Mets would likely have 5 to 8 fewer victories leaving only Carlos Beltran as the only offense this team would have. If Reyes continues to produce at the current pace, or surpasses it, he should at least be in the NL MVP discussion.
Problem with Reyes…
The problem with Reyes of course is that at times he does too much showboating, which tends to aggravate opposing teams. The Philadelphia Phillies is one of those teams that certainly doesn’t like to be showed up by Jose Reyes, which has lead to something of a dislike for the Mets shortstop in the City of Brotherly Love. Another problem with Reyes is that he doesn’t exhibit the leadership qualities that a Tulowitzki or a Rollins bring to their team. As I wrote above, Jimmy Rollins carried his team in 2007 to a playoff birth, by making a declaration during Spring Training of that season that the Phillies–and not the Mets–were the team to beat in the NL East. After that declaration, Rollins had his best season in the Majors, becoming the NL’s most valuable player and turning the Phillies into perennial World Series contenders. And Tulo is the heart and soul of the Colorado Rockies. So far this season, Tulo led the Rockies to a fast start, and is currently the best player on the Rockies. Reyes, unfortunately, doesn’t come close to having those leadership qualities Rollins and Tulowitzki have. Reyes is just not a natural leader, has never been one and will never develop into one.
But Reyes lacks in leadership, he makes up as an offensive sparkplug. Most teams in the Majors would love to have a leadoff hitter like Reyes at the top of their lineup. Reyes Certainly isn’t a leader, but he is one heck of a baseball player and talent, and definately in my eyes the best shortstop in the National League right now.
Meet the Mets…Part 2
Carlos Beltra was asked in Chicago today what his thoughts were about the comments that Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon made to Jeff Toobin of The New Yorker. Beltran really didn’t answer the question directly, instead he focused on his successes and some of his failures during his time in New York. Beltran said: “In the years I have been with this organization, I have given everything I have…Unfortunately, the years that you’re hurt you can’t produce the way I know I can produce when I’m healthy.”
Whatever you might think of Carlos Beltran as a player now can’t take away the fact that the Mets signing of the outfielder was a good investment for the ballclub. Fred Wilpon is wrong when he said that Beltran was just 70% of the player he used to be when he signed with the Mets. Beltran in 2005 through 2008 was an elite player. His numbers with New York back that up. In that four year stretch, Beltran hit over 117 homeruns, drove in over 410 runs and posted a collective OPS of 3.280. Those numbers are of an elite player, not some outfielder who is just 70% of what he used to be. What slowed down Beltran, and other injured Mets the past two seasons, was the inept Mets medical staff. The incorrect diagnosis of injuries by the staff of the Mets set Beltran back, as he was 100% of the player he was before that injury.
Meet The Mets
“Sh*tty team!” That is how New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon described his team while they were playing a series against the Houston Astros earlier in the season. In an interview with Jeff Toobin of The New Yorker, an interview that had to be a way for the Mets owner to save his reputation and team, Wilpon had less flattering things to say about the players that make up his “sh*tty” club. Wilpon believes that Mets’ shortstop Jose Reyes isn’t worth the money that Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox is getting:
“He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money,” Wilpon said, referring to the Red Sox’ signing of the former Tampa Bay player to a seven-year, $142-million contract. “He’s had everything wrong with him,” Wilpon said of Reyes. “He won’t get it.”
Of David Wright, Wilpon said: “He’s a very good player but not a superstar.” And of Carlos Beltran, Wilpon, referring to himself, said: “We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series(2004 NLCS)….He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.” With that very honest and strange assessment of his team, the question that should now be posed to Fred Wilpon is: “Why should Mets fans go out to Citi Field and spend their hard earn money to watch a ‘Sh*tty’ team?”
In many ways, I have to feel sorry for Fred Wilpon, who, from all accounts that I have heard of him, is really a nice man and was probably driven to do this interview as a way to defend himself against the charges being made against him in a lawsuit brought by Irving Picard, an attorney who is in charge of collecting funds for the victims of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme. A self made man from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Wilpon grew up to become a successful real estate developer. Along with his brother in law, Wilpon started Sterling Equities, a major real estate firm in New York City, which owns several properties in and around the city, including the Mets new home Citi Field. It was through his business that Wilpon met another Brooklyn self made man, Bernie Madoff. In the 1980′s, Madoff urge Wilpon to invest his money with Madoff’s investment operations; investments which were not lucrative, but were consistent. Over the years Wilpon had good returns for the investments he made with Madoff, which is why Wilpon (along with the rest of Madoff’s victims) didn’t suspect that the whole investment scheme was a big lie. But when Madoff’s ponzi scheme went belly up, investors like Wilpon, lost everything. Wilpon himself however, made a profit from the investments, which is why he is being accused of being a participant in the Ponzi scheme. In all, there is no doubt that Wilpon is a successful businessman. Probably a naive one at that, but successful nontheless. And the fact that he knows business has to make a fan of the Mets wonder why in the world the owner of the club would refer to it as ”sh*tty” on the one hand, and on the other urge, if not beg, Mets fans to show up at Citi Field this season and spend their money?
So far 2011 hasn’t been a good year for Wilpon. On top of the lawsuit and financial worries, the ballclub itself is not a very good one. The assessment of Mets as being ”sh*tty” by Wilpon was taking things a bit too far, but the Mets are in a tough spot. The club has been ravaged by injuries in the past few years, injuries that have bitten the club’s best players, including pitching ace Johan Santana; and the fact that the Mets are in the same division with the Philadelphia Phillies, a ballclub that is improving every year–thanks to a deep farm system and new found spendthrift ways–have placed the Mets in a no win situation. The Mets can’t go out and sign top free agents anymore; moreover, they don’t have the farm system to trade for top players. When the Mets failed to bid for the services of Roy Halladay two years ago and instead settled for Jason Bay (a deal which is looking worse and worse) that was a sure sign that there was something wrong with the team’s finances after the Madoff ponzi scheme was uncovered. In many ways, Wilpon found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he probably saw this interview with Toobin as a way to save his reputation and team, and explain himself better to the fans and critics. Unfortunately for Wilpon, he struck out.
Mets/Yankees update
Yankees are leading the Mets 4-2, in the top of the fifth. Both Mark Teixeira and Russell Martin have hit two run homeruns each. That is good news for fans that love homeruns; but it’s bad news for fans that want to see this Yankee team manufacture runs the way successful American League teams like the Rays do night in and night out.
This Yankee offense was supposed to carry the club in the early months, as the pitching staff settled in. Instead it has been the pitching that is carrying this team, while the offense has remained maddenly inconsistent.
AJ Burnett is holding his own so far tonight. Three earned runs in five innings.
Carlos Beltran’s monster game.
So much for Mike Francesa’s prediction that Ubaldo Jimenez would have a good game against a “weak” Mets lineup today, as they were missing Ike Davis who went on the DL. The “weak” Mets lineup ended up scoring 9 runs and received a monster performance from Carlos Beltran who blasted three 2-run homeruns, as they beat the Rockies 9-4. Beltran’s day is good news for the Mets who will no doubt deal the outfielder before the trade deadline this season. If Beltran continues to produce and if he can stay healthy, his trade stock will go up a few notches.
Ike Davis placed on the 15 Day DL.
This could only happen to the Mets and no other team. During Tuesday night’s rain delayed game between the Rockies and Mets, Ike Davis suffered a freak ankle injury when he ran into David Wright while attempting to make a catch of an infield pop fly. What is it about the Mets and injuries that have plauged this franchise since 2009? Are the Baseball Gods angry with the Metropolitans? Or are the Baseball Gods secret Phillies fans who love to see Met fans suffer (comparing Phillies fans to Gods is a sin…sorry about that)? Either way you look at it, the Mets injury problems continue and I would hate to ask who is next on the list. But I have to ask….who is next? Jose Reyes is having an incredible season for the Mets, leading all NL shortstops in average, slugging and other stats. In short, Reyes has been a constant in that Mets lineup. How about Jason Bay? Since he has comeback from the DL, the Mets are 11-5 even though Bay hasn’t hit a lick. I hate to think of seeing another Mets player go down due to injury before the Subway Series gets underway next week.
I’ll watch the Mets tonight…
Yankees/Orioles rained out, again so I will settle down and watch the Mets play.
Doubleheader at Citi Field.
Top of the 4th inning in Citi Field and the Mets and Rockies are still scoreless. R.A Dickey and Greg Reynolds are locked in a pitcher’s duel that could unravel at any time as it seems that Dickey is having problems with his knuckleball due to a fingernail injury. Dickey and the Mets scaped a baseloaded jam in the 3rd, when Troy Tulowitzki–who is having a great April–grounded out to an inning ending double play.
David Veloz
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