You Can't Lose Them All

The Happy Recap: Mets 18, Cubs 5

After losing in Atlanta to the Braves in humiliating fashion like they always seem to do, then dropping the first two games in Chicago against the Cubs, the Mets bats finally came alive highlighted by Ruben Tejada, who hit his first Major League home run and had 5 rbis on the day, proving once and for all, no matter how bad you are, you just can't lose them all.

THE GOOD: Let's just concentrate on this game for the good, because there really isn't that much else. On our last post, we called for low expectations from this team, and they've certainly obliged. But yesterday, the team scored 5 runs in 3 different innings in a game that David Wright didn't even play in. Angel Pagan drove in 3 runs. Luis Hernandez went 3-for-7 and is really looking to be a bright spot at second base. Carlos Beltran's getting better day after day and perhaps we can look forward to a monster season from him, next year. Ike Davis had a four-hit game, which hopefully gives him some needed confidence, as the league has slowly been exposing him at the plate, making him look more and more like Daniel Murphy each day. Josh Thole has earned the title "Mets catcher in the future" and continues to impress - especially when your competition is Hank White, Rod Barajas, and the ever-offensive Brian Schneider from last year. (Remember when we had Mike Piazza... Todd Hundley... Gary Carter... Jerry Grote?)

And of course Ruben Tejada. 2-for-4, a home run, 5 rbis, and still hitting under .200.

THE BAD: Until yesterday's game, every game has been Jeff Francoeur Appreciation Night, as his ex-teammates continued to honor the recently traded rightfielder by swinging at first pitch non-strikes, never working the count, and generally displaying no discipline at the plate whatsoever. Upon hearing the news that the Mets put up 18 runs against Chicago, loyal Met fan Hunter Greenwood's first question was: did they win? And when that's the response, you know things are bad.

The Cubs have Starlin Castro as their young phenom to build their team around. He's hitting .317 and impressing just about everyone on offense and defense and will probably win the Rookie of the Year award. The Mets have .059 hitting Lucas Duda. The Cubs played 22-homerun hitting and perennial All-Star Aramis Ramirez at third base. The Mets have career minor leaguer and .146 hitting Mike Hessman, who really should never get another at-bat in the major leagues. The Cubs have hot-headed Carlos Zambrano, who makes a ton of money for doing nothing and actually beat the Mets the other night. The Mets have Ollie Perez, who makes a ton of money and can't even see action in an 18-5 laugher in a mop-up roll.

The Cubs are bad, yet they still outclass the Mets. Here's another example:

The Cubs realized they had a manager who has clearly seen the game pass him by and politely asked him to "retire" (folks, has there ever been a manager who's stock has fallen more than Lou Pinella, now considered a laughing-stock after some brilliant seasons early on in his managerial career). Not surprisingly, since the woefully inept Pinella's left, the Cubs have been 8-3 before yesterday. Likewise, when Baltimore realized their manager was a stiff, they replaced him with Buck Showalter and the team's gone 17-12 since (and Baltimore at the time was vying for worst record in baseball - ever!). The Mets however, recognize they have a problem, but continue to let Jerry Manuel manage.

"Oh, I know I have cancer, but I'm waiting for next year before I get treatment". Ridiculous, yet that's exactly the team's approach. Once again, we've said it over and over: it's not so much the fact the Mets are bad that have the fans fuming. It's the continual rewarding of incompetence from just about every level of the organization that makes this team so hard to root for.

THE UGLY: Few things are uglier than when a multimillion dollar organization has been hit so hard that they need to fly their high-ranking executives in coach - which apparently is the case with Omar Minaya and the Mets. No wonder the Mets hands are tied and haven't made any deals to help this team after the All-Star break when everyone else was at least trying to do something.

MLB needs to force the Wilpons to sell this team. They are not financially capable of running this team. Period.

Rumors have swirled about the Wilpon's getting hit hard by the Bernie Madoff ponzi scam, but they're not the only ones to give into greed. It's becoming increasing clear that they should just admit what happened, then sell the team before it gets listed in some bankruptcy procedure that's probably right around the corner as far as we know. At least then the fans can get back to rooting for a team with some financial where-with-all before the Mets turn into the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oh,wait... the Pittsburgh Pirates MAKE money!

Going, Going... Gone!

The Recap: Mets lose 2 of 3 to the Marlins, Injuries and Apathy Signal End of the Season

After a 6-5 series opening comeback win, the Mets fell short in a 5-4 loss, then got embarrassed again last night losing 11-4 and also possibly losing Jose Reyes for the season. The Mets medical staff says it's just a "mild condition", like Hurricane Katrina was just a mild hurricane.

THE GOOD: Looks like the injury bug is hitting this team again, and now that the team is under .500, 10 games out of first, 7 1/2 out of the wild card (with 6 teams to overtake) with only 35 games left to play, Mets fans can finally get any notion of the postseason out of their minds and start enjoying the games for what they are - entertainment away from the daily grind of life.

Carlos Beltran may be on his last legs with the team. David Wright may not be a clutch hitter the team needs to build around. Jose Reyes may not play again. Jason Bay is most likely out for the season. Jon Niese may see his innings cut short in anticipation of next year. We've seen the last of KRod for this year and maybe further. Jeff Francoeur probably won't be back next year. And Rod Barajas is gone to the Dodgers.

Let's just use this time to see what the kids can do and hope the Wilponzi's realize that MAJOR changes need to happen for this team to succeed. The season's gone competitively, but that doesn't mean we can't watch this team for 35 more games with absolutely no expectations of anything good happening. Then, if Carlos Beltran does step it up, or Johan or RA pitch a no-hitter or they somehow do run off a 10-game winning streak with smoke and mirrors, we'll all be pleasantly surprised. See how we just turned negatives into positives?

THE BAD: From a top to bottom perspective, everything's bad with this team. When you go to a game, mention a player's name and the response from the crowd around you consistently is "Dump Him", it's bad. But, as we mentioned above, we've turned all the negatives into positives so there's nothing to worry about anymore, no matter how badly this team plays or what a total disgrace the automatic out batting order is, or how over his head the manager is, or how clueless the GM is, or ... whoops sorry about that - old habits die hard: we're into positive, I forgot.

THE UGLY: Ruben Tejada is now 1-for-41. You would think if you just closed your eyes, swung, and hoped the ball would hit your bat you'd still be hitting better than that. But he's young, so we'll have to give him a break - especially since there's really nothing to play for anymore. This, however, we can't condone: how Oliver Perez actually wants to come back next year and pitch for the Mets. Is this guy for real? U-G-L-Y!!!

New York Media: No Need to Thank Us

From the local newspapers, to the radio airwaves, to fellow bloggers, we see MetsFanClub.com content copied so often, it's gotten to be fairly ridiculous. In fact, there's a certain radio personality where we can actually predict what he's going to be talking about just by posting our opinions and takes to MetsFanClub.com - it's that blatant.

But that's okay. After all, we are the realistic voice of the fans and it's something we enjoy doing .... Although a shout out every once in a while would be nice.

It's Hard to Beat a Bad Team

The Recap: Mets/Astros split a 4-game series in Houston.

After losing 2 of 3 from the Phillies, the Mets stormed into Houston, played 3 one-run games and kept all four games close, leaving the woefully inept Astros mumbling to themselves under their breath: it's hard to beat a bad team! The Mets still haven't won a road series from a National League team all season - but their next stop is Pittsburgh, where Pirate fans have been heard saying "well, at least we get the Mets this weekend"

THE GOOD: The Mets continue to get strong performances by their starting pitchers - none better than R.A. Dickey who bidded for his second consecutive shutout before a hard luck no-decision. He also accounted for both runs the Mets scored while he was in the game, another testiment to how bad the offense is. The guy has to do everything.

And it's good to see the team play hard-ball with KRod, now that Super Tak looks to be in the closer spot and is performing admirably as well. Remember Joe McEwing, aka Super Joe? That guy did everything and played everywhere. Similarily, Takman has pitched in mid-relief, 7th inning spots, 8th inning setups, pitched in the starting rotation and now's the closer, all the while doing the job! (for the most part, at least).

Finally, for all you "the glass is half full" people, the Mets are only 8 1/2 games out of the wild card. (Come on, even the most optimistic die-hard can't possibly expect this team to win the division, right?)

THE BAD: Well, it looks like the honeymoon is over with Ike Davis. After another 0-fer last night, he's now hitting just .240 and looking more and more like Jeff Francoeur each day. That makes Davis, Francoeur, Tejada, any catcher, Chris Carter, and the pitcher's spot all automatic outs in the lineup. Add to that the invisible Carlos Beltran and a totally unpredictable David Wright and it's no wonder this team can't score any runs. Angel Pagan's been cold as well and Reyes is Reyes.

It reminds us all of one of the most amazing lineups ever to play the game: firstbase - Bugs Bunny, second base - Bugs Bunny, third base Bugs Bunny, first base - Bugs Bunny, etc... How bad is the offense? Try these stats on for size:

- Mets record versus NL teams under .500: 17-25
- Mets record in one-run games: 17-24
- Mets record trailing after the 7th inning: 1-46
- Mets record in extra innings: 5-8

Yet HoJo's job is safe. HoJo - a bad major league hitter becomes the batting coach of a bad offensive team and the team's hitting actually gets worse! Now who could have forseen that?

THE UGLY: Nothing says ugly better than the manager. Here's the latest from Jerry (and I quote):

We have to do what we’ve been talking about all of the time, we have to do more offensively. We’ve got to find a way to get that done. I mean, that’s poor. That’s a very poor effort on our part offensively… We have to do better. Period. It’s pathetic. We have to do better.”

We all know the offense is pathetic. Now Jerry Manuel's confirmed it. This is the same manager who last year said the only way the Mets have a shot at winning is if the other team screws up. Yet first place San Diego was a popular pre-season pick for worst team in baseball and the Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, and Twins have all experienced injury situations similar to the Mets and continue to prosper. Looks like Jerry is finally seeing the writing on the wall and my guess is he's going to throw everyone under the bus before he gets the axe.

FREQUENCY ... or, Remembering the 1969 World Series NY Mets

Frequency was released in late April of 2000, writer Toby Emmerich and director Gregory Hobit brought to the screen an extraordinary movie about family, love, and fandom, Mets Fandom. Centered around a single father, FDNY firefighter Frank Sullivan (Dennis Quad who has been in so many good movies that we can list), and his son, NYPD homicide detective John (Jim Caviezel the man who play Jesus Christ, and a great one at that). Although released in 2000, this tale spans across thirty years, 1969 to 1999, when John finds his father's old HAM Radio. On a fated evening, a mysterious cloud disturbance forms over the childhood house that John still lives in, and causes a time distortion that connects John to his father thirty years in the past that allows both men to talk to each other on the short-wave radio.

It has been thirty years since Frank had died in a warehouse blaze, and in talking with John he finds out what is to come and what to do to save himself, but in doing so, they had unknowingly changed the future. It is Frank's wife, John's mother, Julia Sullivan (Elizabeth Mitchell) of not only Lost fame as Juliet, but know has a significant role in the ABC series V.), who now falls victim to a serial killer. How this is depicted is awesome. It is nothing explosive, it is the quietness of the film that makes it intense. Spanning the thirty years from past to present, father and son work together to solve the crime that is yet to happen, or has happened.

Just a little aside. Another main character in Frequency is named Jack Shepard played by Shawn Doyle. Doyle also played Attorney Duncan Forrester on Lost in an episode titled Eggtown in Season 4 Episode 4. Talk about coincidences.

What makes this a great film for it's genre, is that the flashing back and forth from present to past, and back to the present is not confusing. The story telling is crisp and as mentioned before, quiet. It draws you in and the final outcome is astonishing.

Now, with all this said, what makes this a worthy mention here on MetsFanCLub.com besides the fact that our present day Mets team has tanked again and there is nothing really new to write about, it is the background story line for the scenes that involve the past and John's growing up that is brought to our attention. It is during the 1969 World Series New York Mets vs. The Baltimore Orioles. The references to the game as father and son talk back and forth is reminiscent of his childhood when it was baseball that brought them together, and it is The Mets and baseball, that again, bring them together. How the series is inter-woven within the story makes watching this movie a bit more fun, even with the seriousness of the plot.

If you have not yet seen this movie, I highly recommend it. The memories it brought back of growing up during a more innocent period of time, and how New York Mets baseball was fun and exciting thanks to Bob Murphy. An era when players played and did not worry about pitch count. An era when players and owners respected the fans. An era when a kid could be a kid.

A near perfect picture. A must see, especially during these trying times.

Well... We're waiting ....

The Happy Recap: Mets 1, Phillies 0

After another masterful performance from RA Dickey, who tossed a complete game 1 hitter last night, the Mets are still waiting for their first no-hitter. But at least they don't have to wait anymore for Carlos Beltran to drive in a significant run with a hit, as he drove in the game's only run in the sixth inning, his first meaningful RBI resulting from a hit since his return from the DL and his first big hit-RBI since May of 2009.

THE GOOD: Could yesterday's game have been the highlight of the season so far? RA Dickey continues to be the man, tossing the Mets second 1-hit shutout this year (while the rest of the league seems to be tossing no-hitters, but were not complaining - a Met no-hitter can't be too much more of a wait in the "Year of the Pitcher"). Only the opposing pitcher Cole Hamels was able to reach base with his soft blooper in the sixth. Other than than, Dickey was brilliant with the Mets 35th 1-hitter in team history and broke the Mets streak of 44-games without back-to-back victories, which in itself is mind-boggling considering the Mets lead the league with 18 shutouts after last night.

And we can't stop there. As mentioned before, Carlos Beltran actually came up with a hit to drive in a big run, David Wright didn't strike out, and since KRod was arrested 2-days ago and not available for the game, Mets starting pitchers both went the distance for the Mets 2-game winning streak. Let's think about that for a second: Jerry Manuel (like just about every other manager in the game) automatically goes to the weakest part of his team (the bullpen) for 44 STRAIGHT GAMES with pathetic results, then lets his starters go 9 and gets 2 impressive wins. Good thing KRod's a hot-head or I can think of 2 games the Mets may have lost had he been available to pitch the ninth. Like we said before, this isn't rocket science - avoid the bullpen at all costs and you'll win games.

That and a hot hitting tandem of Beltran and Wright may help too. Perhaps that'll happen and the Mets have another 16-6 run in them, which may put them right in the race with a Chipper-less Braves team and an offensive-less Phillies team. Who knows?

THE BAD: I thought you needed conclusive evidence to overrule a homerun call, but apparently that's not the case as the umpire crew deliberated for about 10 minutes in overturning Mike Hessman's homerun to left in the fifth inning of a 0-0 game. Video replay blatantly showed that the fat, uncoordinated guy in the left-field stands leaning over trying to catch the ball was clearly in homerun territory, but for whatever reason, the umpires thought differently by reversing the original homerun call and awarded Hessman with a ground rule triple. All this of course, delayed a classic pitchers duel with R.A. Dickey in the process of a no-hitter. Not surprisingly, he lost his no-hit bid the very next inning after the delay. Isn't that always the case when you have a no-hitter? There's always some kind of ridiculous delay so you can lose your rhythm. (at least if you're a Met)

But that's not the bad part. The bad part is the atrocious at-bats that followed by Jeff Francoeur and Hank White (our new name for Henry Blanco), who both struck out while Hessman stood helplessly at third base. We know Cole Hamels is certainly an elite pitcher, but Francoeur especially needs to do a better job of just getting the bat on the ball in that situation. I'd even take a bunt or something, but Hamels made them both look pathetic. After an intentional walk to Ruben Tejada with 2 outs (must be the name Manuel, we couldn't figure that one out either), R.A. Dickey hit a soft comebacker to the mound to end the inning. Ouch... overturned homerun, runner at third with no outs, and you still can't score a run! That's bad.

And talk about the Mets offensive problems: Angel Pagan even missed hitting R.A. Dickey in the face with the obligatory "pie in the face trick" during the post game interview.

THE UGLY: We could point to the KRod situation as ugly, but that would be way too obvious. Plus, like the Jet Blue guy and his 15 minutes of fame, who wouldn't want to deck an annoying family member? (By the way, is Oliver Perez married? I think he should see his father-in-law more often)

And we could mention the 44 straight games without back-to-back wins as ugly, after all, you'd think by just dumb luck you'd win two in a row (the Pirates and Orioles do, right?). But I think the true ugly here is the way the heavy hitting, 2-time National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies bats are being completely silenced by Met pitching at Citi Field. Yesterday's 1-0 shutout loss makes it 4 straight shutouts for the Phils, and outscoring them 17-0 in the process. 36 straight shutout innings? Wow, that's pretty ugly (for the Phillies) and impressive (by the Mets).

Can they keep the streak going tonight with Pat Misch, newly called up from the minor leagues, who has to go against some guy named Roy Halladay?

When Will Manuel Learn? This isn't Rocket Science

Remember this post? For today's recap, just change the "Phillies" to "Rockies" and the score from 7-5 to 6-2... everything else is the same.

What's the definition of insanity?: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, as long as managers continue to manage towards the weakest part of their teams, results like tonight - when the Mets had the game won with a strong starting pitcher, only to automatically hand it over to the bullpen because "the book" says so - will continue to occur over and over again.

I've already heard Met fans wonder why Manuel just didn't go to KRod for the 5-out save. A better question: why take out Jon Niese in the first place?!? (don't tell me pitch-count. We've already proven pitchcounts are completely irrelevant). Tonight was just another easily winable game turned into a loss because of "by-the-book" managing. No wonder this team hasn't won consecutive games in 42 games - Jerry "Manual" always tries to work the bullpen in there when it's entirely unnecessary.

I'm disgusted. And amazed once again that no one's figured this out yet.