"... And here's today's Thanksgiving Turkey !!"
First off I would like to wish you the readers as well as my fellow brothers in arms here at TRDMB a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
This past year has been rather brutal for us supporters of the orange and blue. Last winter we endured through a tediously slow and painful hot stove season which netted us only one advertised superstar player ( Jason Bay) along with alot of flotsam and jetsam caliber players – remember Gary Matthews Jr, Mike Jacobs etc ? Our hearts stopped when we heard about Jose Reyes’ thyroid condition, only to be kick started again by rookie sensation Ike Davis.
The team started off slow and it looked like Jerry Manuel would be gone before you could say MAYDAY!! , but the team settled into a hot streak after the toxic twins named Ollie and Maine were pulled from the rotation. We even sat in first place for a brief period of time. Like I said – brief, because come mid July the ghosts of Mets debacles past would rear its ugly head. First was the rape allegations against our ace, Johan Santana. Then Francisco Rodriguez did his best Clubber Lang impersonation when he beat his common law father in law to a pulp in full view of the other Mets players families.
With the exception of Mike Jacobs being traded for the infamous “ player to be named later” there were no deals to be made by our fractured front office- led by the hamstrung lame duck Omar Minaya. Without the injection of any fresh blood, dissension started to fester among the players and it was taken out on our ever sedate manager, Jerry Manuel. Who could forget Mike Pelfrey turning his back on Jerry when a pitching change was made in that one game, or when R.A Dickey who fought tooth and nail to no avail to be left that game against the Dodgers after he tweaked his calf ?
But as the Mets faltered so did the attendance at Citi Field. If you thought the attendance during the final weeks of ’09 was bad, the waning weeks of 2010 made Citi Field resemble Shea Stadium circa 1980.
The Mets would end the season with a record of 79-83 , which was good enough for their second straight fourth place season .
But from the ashes of this forgettable season we have plenty to be thankful for.
We saw three one hitters this season thrown by Neise, Santana, and Dickey.
Ike Davis came on strong , even though he tired mid season, just to turn on the jets in the final weeks of the season. He has proven to be the real deal.
R.A Dickey has proven to be the best scrap heap pick up of all time.
David Wright reverted back to his power hitting ways – now if he could only find his glove and cut down on the strike outs.
Jose Reyes has proven when healthy , he is still the most explosive member of this team.
Mike Pelfrey has finally turned the page and could be a real number two starter.
We saw the departure of the faces of this teams failure ( Minaya, Manuel and Rudy Tersas)
We have a front office that has a sense of direction , led by Sandy Alderson and augmented by DePodesta and Riccardi.
Terry Collins should make for a interesting manager – this ain’t Jerryball anymore !!
We should be thankful that the baseball gods didn’t punish us with a Yankees/Phillies World Series again.
And most of all , we should be thankful that we aren’t Pittsburgh Pirates Fans
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni that will be having a piece of turkey with their birthday cake are :
Out fielder Chico Walker – possibly one of the nest names in Mets history is 52 (1958) .
Japanese import who Omar Minaya raven about ” his command of four pitches ” , Shingo Takatsu is 42 (1968) By the way Omar was wrong on all counts about him.
One time rookie pitching sensation, Octavio Dotel is 37 (1973)
New York Mets traded starting pitcher, Paul Byrd to the Atlanta Braves for setup mam Greg McMichael on November 25, 1996.New York Mets released relief pitcher, on November 25, 1996.
The San Francisco Giants signed outfielder, Kevin Roberson of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 25, 1996.
The Florida Marlins, signed relief pitcher, Willie Collazo of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 25, 2008.
And don’t forget while you are prepping yourself for tomorrow’s Black Friday sales events, just remember that there are just 127 daysuntil the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami. and 134 days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
It is said that Mo Vaughn will consume more than twenty thousand calories during today’s Thanksgiving celebration at the Vaughn compound ! Let us all be thankful that we are not his toilet seat !!
9 comments
stickguy
11/25/2010-9:40am at 9:40 am (UTC -4)
I wonder if Mo follows you on Twitter or reads your column? Beware!
rustyjr
11/25/2010-9:41am at 9:41 am (UTC -4)
lol yeah ill be the stuffing
metsfan4decades
11/25/2010-11:09am at 11:09 am (UTC -4)
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Rusty.
‘But as the Mets faltered so did the attendance at Citi Field. If you thought the attendance during the final weeks of ’09 was bad, the waning weeks of 2010 made Citi Field resemble Shea Stadium circa 1980.’
I thought the ’09 season was bad and couldn’t wait to put that behind us. But in many ways, the ’10 season was even worse, IMO. Didn’t have the injuries to blame, appeared the franchise all the way to the top was in a shambles, and as we slid further into the summer and further down in the standings, it seemed to me we all collectively were just waiting for the ax to fall on everyone from Omar on down.
Here’s to this off season being the start of more promising times in Met land. With the revamped FO and supporting cast for Sandy, I think it’s off to a good start.
njstuckintx
11/25/2010-12:06pm at 12:06 pm (UTC -4)
‘But as the Mets faltered so did the attendance at Citi Field.’
Number 1 reason why 2 SPs are needed. Preferably one in the Garland mold type. Not too expensive, but not too crappy either.
kingman 26
11/25/2010-2:11pm at 2:11 pm (UTC -4)
I was at a few late 1970s games before Doubleday refurbished Shea and when there were 4,000 folks there.
VERY grim.
darknova306
11/25/2010-11:30am at 11:30 am (UTC -4)
Despite what happens this offseason and next season, I’ll try to keep myself grounded by remembering how thankful I am that Omar is gone.
Thanks for reminding me of the powerhouses that were GMJr and Mike Jacobs, Rusty. So many good memories :p
kingman 26
11/25/2010-2:10pm at 2:10 pm (UTC -4)
Would be fun to try to get to 20,000 calories of food and drink today and tonight….
Happy happy Rusty my friend!!
rustyjr
11/25/2010-2:29pm at 2:29 pm (UTC -4)
As I sit outside of patrolling the CCU unit I thank you lol
kingman 26
11/25/2010-3:19pm at 3:19 pm (UTC -4)
Hope you have a good turkey later.
BTW I will be with my Dad rooting for his and your Jets tonight—I really hate Owens and OchoMoron and the Bengals…