My Favorite Shea Moments

In honor of Shea Stadium being demolished and Citi Field being opened next year, I decided to write about my favorite memories at Shea. I have not been to many games in my lifetime because everyone in my family is Yankee fans. However there are two games in particular that I attended that were truly amazin' in my mind.

The first game that sticks out was on Saturday, April 15, 2005. My godfather called my dad the day before and asked if we wanted to go to a 1:00PM game the next day. The Mets were playing the Marlins and injured starter Kris Benson was being replaced by none other than Mr. "Jeckle and Hyde" Aaron Heilman. For the Marlins, former World Series MVP, Josh Beckett was starting and newly acquired 1b Carlos Delgado in the heart of the lineup. On teh way to the game my godfather tells us that he could have gotten us tickets for Sunday's game but he couldn't have gone with us. Of course my two favorite starters were pitching against each other, Pedro Martinez and Al Lieter. We joked around with my godfather giving him grief for not giving us tickets to Sunday's game instead. We were kidding of course and just glad to be going to in the first place. My dad joked and said "Watch Heilman pitches the first Mets' no-hitter in history." He nearly did. The game was amazing as Heilman blanked the Marlins to throw a one-hit complete game shut out. The one hit by Luis Castillo was a dribbler to 2b Miguel Cairo which I thought could have been considered an error but the offical scorers disagreed. Regardless, the game was great. Heilman only walked 3 and struck out 7 Marlins including one to the heavily booed at the time, Carlos Delgado. To make the game even better for me my favorite Met Mike Piazza went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Reyes had also had a double but Wright unfortunately had the day off because of back spasms. The Mets won 4-0. The Mets won the Sunday game 4-3 with a walk off single by Ramon Castro, but I don't think it could have matched the Mets game I went to. Even Wright not playing could not take away from a great game and possibly the best game I've ever been to.

Game two was this July 27th, my birthday. My friend had tickets to the game and the four of us took the ferry and the train to the game. New Met ace Johan Santana was going up the Cardinals' Kyle Loshe. The Mets would go on to win the game 9-1 with Johan Santana tossing his first CG as a Met and the first CG by a Mets pitcher in 2008. The game was amazing with Johan taking a no hitter into the 5th. Wright, Castro, and one of my new favorites, Fernando Tatis hitting home runs. Johan Santana became a new favorite when he got a hit and ran the bases like a real player, not wearing the jacket and running hard. The CG came after the Mets bullpen struggled the night before and the Mets needed a long outing from Johan. He delivered and didn't give up a run until 7th giving up a solo shot to Albert Pujols. The Pujols HR came right after Carlos Beltran robbed Ryan Ludwick of a HR and being the top play of the day on ESPN. Another great play in the game came in the third when Endy Chavez bunted Jose Reyes to third. Chavez was hustling to first and dodged the tag and slid head first into first. My friends and I were going crazy. It was truly an Amazin' game which I will always remember. The game just helped give me one of the best birthdays of my short life.

World Series Homefield advantage

Let's take a look at how home field advantage for the World Series is determined. Prior to 2003 the home field advantage for the World Series was alternated between NL and AL. However after the 2002 All-Star game ended in a tie, commissioner Bud Selig changed the rule and made the winning team of the All-Star game have the home field advantage for the World Series. While to many home field advantage may not seem like much, it can have a significant impact on any game, especially the World Series. I personally do not like the current way of having the All-Star game decide who has home field advantage. You may think that I think this because I am a fan of the NL and the Mets. This is not the case however.

I think it is unfair that the All-Star game decides the World Series because many times the best players do not play in the All-Star game. Those who play are voted on by the fans. This year Wright was only on due to Soriano injury and Reyes was not on the team at all despite the fact that he had an historically good first half becoming the first player in history to have 10 home runs, 10 triples, 20 doubles, and 30 stolen bases before the All Star break. Santan was not on the team despite having one of the lowest ERAs in the NL at the time. These are just 3 snubs from the Mets this year and does not take into account everyone else in the league for every other year. Also, the All-Star game is an exhibition game meant for fun. This means that the fans want to see all players get in the game so many times managers take out their starting and sometimes best players for backups who may not even deserve to be on the team in the first place.

My solution would not be to go back to alternating years (although it is better than the current All-Star game method). The World Series home field advantage should be determined by the team with the better record throughout the year. This rewards teams who play in an exceptionally tough division who have to win more games to get into the playoffs because of their division. Also, it gives teams who are lightyears ahead of the rest of their division motivation to continue winning games and not slack off. In the case of a tie for best record in MLB in both leagues (Yankees & Mets in 2006, although neither made it to WS) then you go to a coin toss or opposite of who had the advantage in the previous year. This system is more fair and would make the teams continue to play rahter than slack off and take the rest of the season lightly after clinching a post season birth. Also, it forces managers to be more stategic. For example if a team has the best record in the MLB and is in the AL but the best NL team is only a couple games behind them with a week left to play, do you rest your regulars or go for the best record and a chance for home field advantage? More managing and strategy = better baseball. (which is why the DH makes it easier to manage in the AL, but that is a whole other can of worms).

CC, Manny, and K-Rod

UPDATE: According to MLBTR.com Manny may be looking for 5 years for $85 million years. NO WAY do I go for it if these are the conditions. 5 years is way too many.

The three major free agents this offseason are CC Sabathia, Manny Ramirez, and Francisco Rodriguez. Listening to Mets fans talk, they want all three. This definitely will not happen as all three will be demanding large and expensive contracts. CC will probably be asking for 5-7 years. Manny will be looking for at least 3-4 years. K-Rod will be looking forat least 4-5 years. I think that all 3 of these contracts at their asking price will be too much because Manny is 37 and has been injured in the past, CC has thrown a ton of innings the past 2 years and any 7 year deal is alot, K-Rod has lost a few MPH on his fastball and has a violent motion. Having any 3 of these players would significantly change the view on this team. Having a lineup starting Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Manny, Delgado is ridiculous. Johan and CC would be the best 1-2 punch in baseball. K-Rod is a significant upgrade over Luis Ayala/closer by comitteee that the Mets finished with. There are guys I would sign over each of them due to age, $, or shorter contract term (Dunn, Perez/Sheets/Lowe, Fuentes/Wood). However I would not be against signing any 3 of these guys, which I think readers thought after my last couple of posts. Manny would be a great signing for a 2 and possibly even 3 year deal as long as we can keep him happy. Manny is also known as a "clutch" player which many believe is important. Although if you look at it statistically, clutch is an overused term but thats aside from the point. K-Rod is great but will be overpaid because of the flashy but relatively hollow saves record. He is a top 10 closer and would be a good signing but he may take away $ to improve the rotation, lineup or rest of the bullpen. CC is probably the riskiest signing because of the lenght of the contract and the innings he has pitched. It would also be the most lucrative contract because teams like the Yankees and Angels will also be involved in the bidding but the Mets may have an edge up on them because we are in the NL.

The Gangsta Years

Jerry Manuel agreed to a 2 year deal with a third year option as manager of the New York Mets. I like this move a lot and like Jerry. He is very fun to listen to and always has good quotes from his threatening to stab Jose Reyes on the field to Johan's gangsta performance on the second to last day of the season. Manuel motivated the Mets and did overall a very good job as manager. He was also manager of the year with the White Sox in 2000.

Lucky Charms 10/3/08

• The Mets announced that Omar Minaya's contract has been extended through 2012 with team options for 2013 and 2014. It is a good move in my opinion.
• Minaya said the Mets intend to pick up Carlos Delgado's $12 million option for next year. Another smart move.
  
• The Mets have reportedly offered Jerry Manuel a 2 year $2 million dollar deal but he has yet to accept it, possibly holding out for more. Give him more and bring him back or get Bobby Valentine back. Either would be fine with me.
  
• Cubs are down 2 games to the Dodgers and barring 3 straight wins (which is definintely possibly) the Cubs are all but done. God must really hate the Cubs. Dodgers are like I said a deceptively good team.
• Brewers are also down 2 games to the Phillies but I can't say I'm surprised about this. CC should have pitched game 3 on more rest rather than yesterday. Hindsight is 20/20 thought.
• Rays are up 1 game on the White Sox.
• Red Sox are up 1 game on the Angels.

Ambiorix Burgos is Hell-bound

According to the Daily News, Mets pitcher Amiorix Burgos is wanted for allegedly hitting and killing 2 women in the Dominican Republic with his Hummer. Burgos is also wanted for a gun possesion charge. Brilliant. This is one quality guy. Trade him ASAP. Some team who doesn't really care about the character of their players (Yankees possibly) because Burgos does have a lot of talent. Just get rid of him.

Johan Santana = New Favorite

Johan Santana today underwent knee surgery because he had a torn meniscus. How long has Johan Santana been dealing with pain in his knee one may ask? How about the whole month of September. Yes September, the same month he won pitcher of the month. Truly amazing. He did not tell the team about the pain. He pitched with a torn meniscus on the second to last day of the season on 3 days rest. A game in which he threw a 3 hit complete game shut out. Johan Santana is truly amazin'. He should win the Cy Young regardless of this new news. However now that we know this, there is no doubt in my mind he should win the Cy Young. This shows the type of player and competitor Santana is. Johan Santana will go down as a legend in Mets lore, even if they did not make the post season.

Off Season Moves : The Bullpen

UPDATE: I've been thinking about this more and thinking that the Mets should give Kunz and Parnell a shot to make the pen given a strong spring training. Also signing Lyon would be good to have as a back up closer.

The Bullpen is the area that needs the most work this offseason. As of now Smith, Schoeneweis is under contract with Heilman, Feliciano and Sanchez arbitration eligible. Lets take a look at who to keep, who to get rid of and who to go out and get.

I know I will get ripped for this but strictly from a pitching standpoint Scott Schoeneweis is very good at his job and terrible at anything else. His job is to get lefties out. He put up a .174 BAA for lefties and .333 BAA for righties. He is a good left handed specialist but that is it. If the Mets want to carry a left handed specialist he is the guy to keep since he is under contract and very good at getting lefties out. There is a problem of the fans hating him. I personally like him. He is a competitor and pitched all of last year hurt. He was in tears following the game Sunday. I would keep Schoenewies unless we can get someone better in a trade.

Pedro Feliciano has shown he can be very good at getting lefties out and he has also shown he can be just as bad at getting righties out as Show. He was pretty good against righties in '07 and '06 but was terrible this year (even worse than Show). I would offer him arbitration and give him another shot (altough I have never particularly liked him) especially if we trade Schow.

Aaron Heilman. I really like him. He had a terrible terrible year though. He just did not get the job done, especially against lefties (which is odd because his change up makes him usually very effective against lefties). He actually did decent against righties who hit .222 against him. He has been battling tendonitis all year. He did not use this as an excuse though for his poor season. He has good stuff and can be very effective and has shown it in the past. The fans hate him for this season though and it would be tough for me to argue to not trade him but I will do it anyway. He has a lot of potential and can be very useful. I would hate to see him traded for less than he is worth.

Duaner Sanchez was effective at times but forthe most part did not get the job done this year. This was his first year pitching since his terrible injury from the taxi incident in 2006. He should have been given more time off this year and it showed in his decreased velocity towards the later parts of the seaosn. I think we should bring him back for another year and see how he does. He can still be quite effective and it showed at points this season.

Joe Smith is coming back as the rightie groundball pitcher.

As for the closer situation I would love for the Mets to get Kerry Wood but he is probably going back to the Cubs. The Mets should go get Brian Fuentes. K-Rod will cost too much for too many years. His season was good but will be overrated because of his save totals. I love K-Rod and wouldn't mind signing him but I think a smarter move would be for Wood or Fuentes.

Brandon Lyon could be signed as a middle reliever who could potentially close for us in case of injury. Juan Cruz is an undervalued pitcher who could be a very good signing. Also bringin back Stokes and Wise may not be bad moves either. I thought Ayala did a good job and could be brought back as a decent middle reliever.

Burgos has a great arm and could be a sleeper pick for closer if the Mets decide to go internally for closer. He is a hot head who beats his girlfriend but there have been many jerks who have had success in the big leagues (Sheffield, Clemens, Myers, etc.).

Kunz is another pick to close but should be kept in the minors for another year. He could be used in the bullpen in the 2009 season but not as the closer. Bobby Parnell was converted to a starter but many believe he will be better in the bullpen and the Mets may decided to switch him back and while he may not be a closer he could possibly be a good middle reliever.

There is also the trade possibilities of Houston Street, Francisco Cordero, and possibly Joakim Soria. I love Soria but do not see the Royals trading him. I like Francisco Cordero but he may cost too much in prospects, altough he is a very intriguing option. I have always felt Street was overrated and do not want the Mets to trade for him because the A's will ask for way too much and we would likely end up being fleeced for him.


I know there is a lot of rambling just now but to clear things up here is what my 2009 bullpen would look like:

Fuentes
Smith
Schoenewies
Heilman
Cruz
Long Man (Knight or Figueroa)

Johan Santana and the Cy Young Award

I have a huge problem with the way the Cy Young Award is handed out. The Cy Young award is supposed to be handed out to the best pitcher in the league. However many times the award is handed out to the pitcher who has the most wins, which is a terrible reflection on how good a pitcher really is. The goal of a pitcher is to prevent runs from scoring. There is a statistic that measures how good a pitcher is at doing that. That statistic is called ERA. In my opinion the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the league (given that he has pitched enough innings) deserves the Cy Young. A pitchers win-loss record is many times a reflection on how lucky he was, how good the bullpen was, or how good his offense was (something which for the most part is out of a pitcher's control). Take for example Steve Trachsel and Randy Johnson in 2006. Steve Trachsel finished the year with 15 wins (1 shy of the league leader) but had a 4.97 ERA. Randy Johnson finished with 17 wins (2 shy of the league leader) and an ERA of 5.00. It is amazing how these two pitchers had so many wins yet pitched so poorly. Now these are extreme examples but take this year for instance. The Cy Young candidates are Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum, CC Sabathia, and Johan Santana. The front runner for this award is probably Brandon Webb because he has 22 wins. Yet Santana has on average given up nearly a full run less per game than Webb.

I'll give you these stats anonymously and you tell me which pitcher you would rather have.
A: 227 INN, 2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 265 K, 26/33 Games started were quality (GS/QS)
B: 253 INN, 2.70 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 251 K, 25/35 GS/QS
C: 234.3 INN, 2.53 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 206K, 28/34 GS/QS
D: 226.7 INN, 3.3o ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 183 K, 24/34 GS/QS
E: 206.7 INN, 2.96 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 187 K, 21/33 GS/QS
F: 227.3 INN, 3.09 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 196 K, 23/33 GS/QS
(I only included K's because people love them but in the grand scheme it is not very important and just very flashy.)

I would take pitcher C over the rest of them followed probably by A then C then E then F then D. A is Lincecum, B is CC Sabathia, C is Santana, D is Webb, and E is Dempster. F is Hamels. Interesting how those stats stack up to one another when they are anonymous w/o wins. Santana has the lowest ERA in the MLB (yes even lower than Cliff Lee). He was undefeated since June 28th. If CC was in the NL the whole year and put up similar stats I would of course have to go with him. He wasn't though and didn't put up similar stats in both leagues. This award is for the year, not half of the year. Santana outpitched the rest of the league and if all the pitchers had the same run support and same bullpen, Santana would have the most wins. He pitched under more pressure than any other pitcher because of the NY media and fans. He was brought in to be the savior of the team and he did his best to be just that. He pitched one of the greatest games on the second to last day of the season. CC did a great job down the stretch as well but for the whole year Santana was better overall. The Cy Young Award should go to Santana but because he only has 16 wins and Webb has 22 and Lincecum has 18 it is unlikely Santana will win the award. This is not the only time in history where a pitcher will be robbed of the award. It has happend many many times before. It happend to Pedro the year Zito won. It happend last year with CC. It happend when Colon won it. It happened when Carpenter won it. It happend to many many others in the past. Johan should win but most likely won't and may not even finish top 3. It is a shame that the Cy Young award doesn't usually go to the best pitcher in the league.

Playoff Hopes and Predictions: 1st Round

Here are what I hope and what I think will happen in the first round:

MIL Vs PHI: I think that with a healthy Sheets the Brewers would win the series because CC and Sheets healthy are better than anyone the Phillies have (even Hamels). However Sheets is not healthy. I hope the Brew Crew wins but the Phillies will probably win.

CHC Vs. LAD: This is a tough call because the Dodgers are deceptively good. Not many give them credit. However I am going to hope and think that the Cubs will win with my boy Rich Harden and Kerry Wood. The Cubs have a great 3 man punch in the rotation in Dempster, Zambrano, and Harden. They also have a good bullpen with Wood and Marmol. I am going to go with the Cubs and hope they make it to the W.S,

LAA Vs. BOS: This is another tough call. Both teams are very good. Healthy the Sox probably have a better team but they are not healthy. It will be a good fight but I think overall the Sox will probably pull off a series win. I also hope they make it to the W.S.

TBR Vs. CHW: I think and hope the Rays have this one. I don't really feel like going into why because I am tired but yea Rays.