First and foremost, I would like to take this time and apologize to the blog and my fellow authors for my “stint on the DL” if you will. It turns out raising a 1 1/2 year old is a lot of work. Combine that with a job that demands pretty much 60 hours a week because your salary and full time school…you will have one hell of a time finding time to do anything. I found a new job (thank god) that is much better organized and should allow for more time to contribute. Im off the DL finally and ready to take some hacks. Thanks to MLB.Tv, I was able to catch or listen to most of the Mets games this year and boy what a year it has been so far.
First of all, if anyone told us on March 1st that at the end of July we would be 5 games out of the second wild card, everyone in the Mets universe would have signed up for it (myself very much included). While the Mets have lost 9 out of 10 games and the seemingly unbeatable Nationals next on the docket, I think we need to remember the type of resolve these guys have displayed at various tipping points so far this season. With Terry Collins at the helm, we can be assured any opponent will get a hard fought 27 outs . No matter how bad the Mets are going, David seems to find a way to lead by example and set the tone for the offense. Locking up David long term should be the top or among the top priorities this off season. He is putting together a career year and is the face of this franchise. He bleeds blue and orange, that needs to be rewarded.
One thing that I have thoroughly enjoyed is this teams ability to have good at bats at the plate. In my opinion, the perfect example of the grittiness that this team displays at the dish is Ruben Tejada;s at bat versus Papelbon. He fouled off some really nasty pitches from Pap and as a result, we all know what happened. This team may not have the big bopper to get that 3 run home run (except if you call Valdespin off the bench) but they grind out at bats and you cannot really ask for anything more. That being said, even the most prolific offenses cannot overcome a horrific bullpen, it will eventually catch up to you and I think more than anything that is whats going on with the Mets. The Mets have the worst bullpen in the majors and yet they are just one game under .500 and 3rd place in the NL east. Before you say the Mets suck, just think about where the Phillies and Cubs are in respect to .500 as they own the second and third worst bullpens in the Majors. The Mets for the first time all season are below .500 by a game, the fact that they are not completely buried is a testament to how hard this team has played this year.
I know the Met fan base is clamoring for Sandy Alderson to make some move to improve the ball club. I really dont see him doing anything major come the trade deadline. Thats not to say Sandy is not trying his best to make something happen but he should not barter the teams future for the sake of making a move. Promoting Matt Harvey was not in his plans but neither were a bullpen this horrific and losing Mike Pelfrey along with Dillon Gee for the year. Promoting Matt Harvey was the last thing Sandy wanted to do at this point in the season and it says to me that the trade market is way too expensive to obtain even a fringe starter let alone a reliever. Make no mistake, Sandy has one of the toughest gig’s in baseball right now. Even though we may go through the deadline without doing anything, Sandy im sure is weighing a commitment to rebuilding an organization to contend for many years to come, much like the GM from the Nationals who is adamant about shutting down Strausberg.
This has been an equally frustrating and exciting season. Like Terry said before, this is a young team and there will be some inconsistencies, however there are some moves that should be taken into serious consideration from a “fans” standpoint. I think the Jason Bay era should come to a close even if it means eating most of his contract. He is getting paid 16 million dollars to occupy a bench spot, heck he cant even hit lefties at this point as a redeeming quality. The Mets should find a way to get Valdespin some playing time. Yes, he is cocky but at least he can back it up with clutch at bat’s, cutting bait with Jason will free up a spot for more playing time. The Mets should also look into recalling Rob Johnson in favor of Nickeas. I know Mike wasn’t expected to be Mike Piazza behind the plate but hell, R.A. Dickey with less than half the at bats that Mike has is hitting for a higher average. As much as it pains me to say this but perhaps giving Acosta another shot might be worth exploring also as he seems to have gotten his act together in AAA.
All things considered, Mets fans really shouldn’t be as down in the dumps as they are. We had the first no no in Mets history, a dramatic walk off hit by David Wright (that’s reminiscent of my favorite Wright moment of all time when he hit a long fly ball over the head of Johnny Damon off Mariano in the 2006 subway series) and a story like R.A. Dickey who has captivated the nation while bringing a whole lot of good press to a franchise that has lacked in good press for a few years. Yes, losses like yesterday hurt but if the Mets have shown anything this season, its an ability to fight. A lot of young guys are stepping up and others are coming out of the woods like Ike Davis. While there are a lot of good teams ahead of us in the wild card hunt, the Mets are only 5 games back, within striking distance if you think about it. I truly believe the Mets have a few pushes left in them and one could start tonight. At the very end, im sure we can all agree that the franchise is heading in the right direction and brighter days are ahead. #LGM
26 comments
srt
7/23/2012-1:29pm at 1:29 pm (UTC -4)
You might have been on the ‘DL’ for a while, Dirty but you haven’t missed a beat. Excellent read.
Hope all is going well with your soon to be little one moving into the toddler years.
I had the Mets winning about 74 games and finishing in the cellar going in. So low expectations lead me to really enjoy the first half.
Bay gone – check
BP upgrade – check
Nickeas gone – check
FO sticking with the ‘plan’ – check
Not much more to add.
Now that the SP has really faltered – losing Pelf and Gee for the year and Johan for who knows how long, it’s probably going to be a long second half. Either way, it’s still NY Met baseball and bad Met baseball is better than none.
Catch y’all in the dugout!
Stickguy
7/23/2012-2:17pm at 2:17 pm (UTC -4)
I would add that they need to make some actual moves to bring in missing pieces, at the MiL and even ML level.
That is, you can’t wait for stuff that hasn’t been planted to grow.
so try to balance out the organization, which may mean trading a few IFs for a C, an IF for an OF, or moving some pitching..
I would also be good with taking ML parts that aren’t likely to be foundation blocks and trying to convert them into something more useful.
in any case, the downside to standing pat and hoarding prospects is, eventually you can keep them all on the 40 man roster. So, time to move some excess inventory!
NJstuckinTX
7/23/2012-1:44pm at 1:44 pm (UTC -4)
Dang, a Dirty sighting and Real commenting… All in the same day. If Grave came back, I’d fall into a coma, i believe.
Nice read, man, and good to see you off the DL.
trs86
7/23/2012-2:15pm at 2:15 pm (UTC -4)
LOL, hey I have written, uh… well posted a few post game articles. Dirty’s right, life gets in the way.
trs86
7/23/2012-2:22pm at 2:22 pm (UTC -4)
And from reading other places today, hell I will have to spend all my Mets time here. They are flat out unbearable. Wow, are some of the blog owners able to completely control the opinion of their readers. I guess some are happy campers though. It’s like some were waiting just for this moment, hoping.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-2:29pm at 2:29 pm (UTC -4)
oh for sue, there are some happy campers now. Between having nothing in the way of their agendas, and being able to trot out constant “I told you sos”, no point bothering.
trs86
7/23/2012-2:34pm at 2:34 pm (UTC -4)
Eh, it’s no longer the lunatic fringe, they have taken over the asylum. Sad, the damage that will cause to the blog overall.
srt
7/23/2012-2:39pm at 2:39 pm (UTC -4)
I think it’s more along the lines of fans gravitating to the blogs that most represent their mindset. We all know who the lunatic fringe ones are, the I-Hate-The_FO ones, the sabermetrics ones, etc.
Do you know how crazy some fans are? I found a link to some obscure Mets site where the author went off on a rant, accusing RA Dickey of making up his childhood trauma to deflect the fallout from his affair.
You know that was just someone who was trying to generate hits and make a name for themselves. But what kind of crazy are you to do it at the expense of what obviously was very painful for an individual to confront and publicize? Idiot……
trs86
7/23/2012-2:45pm at 2:45 pm (UTC -4)
I agree, but to me there has to be a popular Mets site that is a happy medium. I guess that is why we are not up there with AA or MMO but I refuse to make this a one view blog or push any agenda.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-3:19pm at 3:19 pm (UTC -4)
Cubs are open for business. Too bad the Mets aren’t getting back guys like Delgado or Lee. Not with Santana down, and young being young!
Getting one of them back (or something as good) would take the dickster to pull off.
NJstuckinTX
7/23/2012-3:45pm at 3:45 pm (UTC -4)
Randall Delgado for Dempster… wow.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:15pm at 5:15 pm (UTC -4)
wow cheap, or wow expensive?
NJstuckinTX
7/23/2012-5:21pm at 5:21 pm (UTC -4)
Wow, in that He was a top 50 prospect in baseball and is basically MLB ready for a rental. I know Wheeler for Beltran is similar, but Wheeler was/is still some ways away. To me, with so few sellers, the cost to rent just went up.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:25pm at 5:25 pm (UTC -4)
I figured you meant that. And yet, people are still whining that Sandy did not get a couple of guys like Dempster 2 weeks ago.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-3:34pm at 3:34 pm (UTC -4)
I’m trying to keep track of some Met myths.
1) Sandy “did nothing” particularly with the pen. Somehow, like the moves or not, bringing in 3/7 brand new players seems like “something”.and since then, 3 more have been flushed out of the system. they now have, IIRC, only Parnell and Byrdak as actual carry over guys.
2) Omar left the farm brimming with talent, because the mets ended up fielding an all home-grown lineup a few times. Ah, no. There were bodies there, and Sandy by hoarding let them get older, but any system can graduate guys. There are still none IMO that seem to be stars in the making. More like limited in certain area guys (such as D), or guys that are hard to project as more than platoon or bench.
once you start seeing more guys coming up that profile to be Votto, Reyes or Wright, then you can say Omar left something behind!
3) Sandy does not want to “win”. This makes no sense on any level. At best, you can frame it as he wants to win for an extended period of time, beginning in a few years, and is not willing to derail that for a flyer this year. But even then, it is hard to believe that if the Mets were actually for real, still in the WC hunt, and he could add some pieces primarily for some salary or B prospects he would not do it.
NJstuckinTX
7/23/2012-3:43pm at 3:43 pm (UTC -4)
I though Sandy did a very good job with the pen. Just never imagined Rauch would be as bad as he had been, that Ramon Ramirez would fall off the face of the earth and FFF would get hurt. Byrdak was really good for a while and, well, the rest sucked. I always said we needed another SP. Hated to see Cap go, but I understand why. i would have rather plopped Gee in AAA than worry about stunting his growth.
For the talent… well, it is there, just not at the elite level, like you said.
Not wanting to win… That’s a tough one, because NY is a NOW NOW NOW town and Sandy’s plan is not that at all. Slow and Steady, and that is not the way to make friends. But we don’t need a buddy. We need a GM that will do things and do them correctly. This is where I am envious of the White Sox. Williams tries to win, and the second he thinks it won’t works, kaboom! He starts over. And he gets them back to contending in almost no time.
trs86
7/23/2012-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
You know, Ramirez has not been as bad as everyone is saying. Until the disaster of yesterday he had pitched very well since his DL stint. Hopefully that was just a fluke.
trs86
7/23/2012-4:55pm at 4:55 pm (UTC -4)
I also don’t think people understand how devastating losing FFF was. It shifted everyone to different roles and really was the final straw in the pen.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:20pm at 5:20 pm (UTC -4)
I have been saying that all along. he was very solid and reliable. Losing him led to Parnell for saves, and Batista as your set up man. Plus Elvin the first time around.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:09pm at 5:09 pm (UTC -4)
he did have a lousy start, but since coming back from the DL had been solid.
And this is anecdotal, but it seems like most of his notably bad outings have been when he came out for a 2nd inning. Some guys are just 1 and done. And I think he is one of them.
Mr North Jersey
7/23/2012-5:07pm at 5:07 pm (UTC -4)
“just never imagined Rauch would be as bad as he had been”
Rauch had a very poor 15 game stretch but he really despite his record has pitched a lot better than people give him credit for.
For example in his 1st 11 games he was 3-0, 1-BS and 3 Holds. He had a 0.00/ERA in 10.0/IP a .118/BAA and allowed 2 of 5 inherited runners to score. Oh and the 1BS was the game vs the Giants where Kirk misplayed the flyball that should of been caught to end the inning and the Mets came back to win that game.
His next 15 games were flat out horrendous. He was 0-5, 1-S, 2-BS and 2 Holds. He had a 8.53/ERA in 12.2/IP a .362/BAA and allowed 2 of 2 inherited runners to score.
Now in his last 15 games he was 0-2 with 4 Holds. He had a 1.54/ERA in 11.2/IP a .140/BAA and allowed 0 of 8 inherited runners to score.
The bulk of his season has been better than worse yet some only focus on the 15 game stretch of games.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:14pm at 5:14 pm (UTC -4)
most fans hate numbers, at least when they don’t support their gut feelings! So the ERA gets blaoted, and people fixate on that.
and I think rauch had his bad stretch (same with Franky) right at the time he was pitching hurt (remember when he was shut down for a few days?).
RPs are always subject to having their seasons ruined by a a bad stretch. Just not enough IPs to make up for it.
I did notice that yesterday, before Ramon’s 2nd inning (and even at that, up there in PC, he was 2 out 2K on the guy that drove in the 1st run of the inning), that all the RPs had ERAs in the 3s. Rauch, Bryd (highest at like 2.9), Ramon, Parnell were all at about 3.3-3.5 (other than Byrd).
So there must have been pretty good stretches in there.
The truly horrid guys have been weeded out already.
Stickguy
7/23/2012-5:18pm at 5:18 pm (UTC -4)
I thought he did pretty good with the Pen also, given the budget constraints (and though the haters think otherwise, he did not spend that much for this year).
Ramirez i really though was going to be a hug help.
and while Rauch and Franky were not the most exciting guys, the plan seemed to be to get some steady veteran experience in there. Otherwise, the alternative was nothing but rookies and flyer guys, and that was really scary to think about!
and of the other guys that keep getting bandied about (Broxton, Capps, that dude on KC), Franky was actually (based on ERA+ and IPS) the most productive.
trs86
7/23/2012-5:24pm at 5:24 pm (UTC -4)
I expected either Rauch or FFF traded but fate didn’t allow that to happen.
Mr North Jersey
7/23/2012-4:17pm at 4:17 pm (UTC -4)
Good to know your doing well Dirty. Having you & TRS around more will definitely be a boost for the site. Just wish the team was playing better as well.
gategem
7/24/2012-7:05am at 7:05 am (UTC -4)
Dirtysanchez, welcome to TRDM (although your name seems vaguely familiar).