David Wright is batting .261 and only has 4 RBIs with 0 HRs so far in
the early season. Plus he already has struck out 20 times in 76 at
bats.
Ok, that's a slump but it is early and Wright will snap
out of it. Everywhere you turn it's making headlines that Wright is
slumping but has everyone forgotten that every player slumps at several
points in their career? The season is a series of hills and valleys in
regards to a player's performance and who doesn't have faith that the
kid will work his way out of this.
Don't believe me? Tim Marchman at the New York Sun writes a great article that agrees with this.
Although
Wright's swing has been ugly at times, it's not anything to be
concerned about just yet. Wright has been exploited on every magazine,
video game and attends endless events so he just needs some time to
get his head back in the game and get in a groove. It will happen, and
when it does we'll quickly forget about this slump that is both normal
and sure to end.
In addition, the Yanks with A-Rod, the hottest
player in the majors are in last place and the Mets with a "slumping"
Delgado and Wright are in first.
Also,
if I sit next to anyone booing Wright as I have started to hear
occasionally and sparsely, I will throw a slice of pizza at them (see 4/18 post).
And check out Lastings Milledge's Myspace...not sure if this is really him or not but it looks authentic.
The Mets have a deep bench which was exemplified last night in a 2-1
win over the Rockies in the 12th inning.
Damion Easley came off the bench to tie the game
at 1 in the bottom of the 10th inning after being down 0-2 in the count
against the usually solid Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
Then, Endy Chavez ("N-D-C" as I sometimes chant but no one understandably gets it) came through yet
again with a surprise bunt which scored Shawn Green who had reached third on a very
unusual balk by Rockies reliever Ryan Speier to win
the game. If this was almost any other player I might question his self-made decision to bunt but Endy is as Endy does so he gets a free pass. Plus the 1B and 2B were playing him especially deep.
Has any bench player in recent history endeared themselves to a team's fanbase more than Endy friggin' Chavez? I can't remember one ever, especially on the Mets.
These are the close games that are going to test the Mets
makeup this year. Just like in 2006, grit and determination are going to help
them win games like this in what is shaping up to be a dogfight in the divisional
race this year.
On another note, doesn't Damion Easley kind of
resemble Sam I Am?
The Mets' bench consisting of Julio Franco, Endy Chavez, Ramon Castro, David Newhan and Damion Easley is now batting a collective .302 with 5 HRs and 13 RBI in 52 AB.
Also, during Wright's recent slump I swear I can hear some boos eminating from the crowd when he strikes out. This has to stop. It's only a matter of time until he snaps out of his funk so glare down any fake fans you see who are booing Wright under any circumstance.
Last night, John Maine had another great outing to get his third win of the season. MetsBlog points out that Maine is yet to give up more than two hits in an inning and opponents are batting just .169 against him this year.
I have been fortunate enough to attend several games already this season and last night I saw something that I thought was a bit strange. Willie came out to get Maine after he had pitched superbly for 7 2/3 innings. I feel this move was warranted since he was starting to give up hits and the Mets needed to lockdown the victory, especially after the rough weekend.
What struck me as odd was as Maine made his way back to the dugout, he shook his head despite the fans going ballistic for him as he walked towards us - no hat tip or anything. Was this because he wanted to finish the game? Perhaps he felt he had earned the right to atleast finish out the 8th. Your guess is as good as mine.
In his post-game comments, Maine remarked how appreciative he was of the fans' reaction to his performance, but his demeanor when he came off the field was that of disappointment. Most great athletes are never satisfied which is why perhaps John Maine wouldn't allow himself to be last night. If this is the case, I hope he remains hungry and continues to challenge himself throughout his budding career.
In the 7th inning last night, the Braves were winning 4 - 0 and had control of the game. I was there, and it easily could have been worse. However, the game was not out of reach when Willie Randolph decided to bring Ambiorix Burgos into the game. Burgos, the second of four relievers, walked in one run and allowed another to score
on a wild pitch.
The bases were loaded and I feel Willie should not have brought in someone with control problems. Burgos has been improving but is not the person I want taking the ball when the Mets needed an out via strike out or ground ball. The Cracker Jack guy had better accuracy than Burgos last night.
Perhaps Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Smith or even Aaron Sele would have been better choices. For now, Burgos should be left for times when the Mets have a lead and it is a non-pressure situation until he can prove that he can handle himself in such circumstances.
I understand that Willie has been working Burgos up to pitch in just a situation, but I really feel he needed a few more outings to find his location.
I'm not saying the Mets would have won if Burgos didn't come in, but perhaps that 9th inning rally might have meant a little more if he didn't.
Now that the season is in full swing, the cruising Mets will face their first big challenge this weekend as the Braves come into town. Up to this point no team has really challenged the Mets, especially not the Phillies who up to this point have the "team to beat on" rather than the "team to beat".
The pitching matchups for the series look to be the following:
Friday
Tim Hudson vs. Mike Pelfrey
Saturday
Chuck James vs. Oliver Perez
Sunday
John Smoltz vs. Tom Glavine
I can't wait to go to Sunday's game to watch the masters as work. Although I have complete faith in the Mets, this series will be a lithmus test of sorts to gauge who is truly the team to beat this year in the division. The Phillies, Marlins and Nationals have not yet proven worthy of my concern at this early point in the season, but the Braves have looked strong. If the Mets can put the hammer down yet again in this series it will prove that for now they are the cream of the NL East crop.
Let's turn the tomahawk into a broom and sweep the Braves out of town!
The rescheduled pre-game Jackie Robinson tribute will begin tonight at 6:30.
During last night's game against the Marlins in Florida, they showed the scoreboard when a Met was up at bat. It had the usual picture of the player and their name, but in the corner there was a picture of Borat giving the thumbs up sign.
What was that about? When Shawn Green was at the plate, Gary Cohen jokingly said something about how he was surprised that Borat would give him a thumbs up...I assume because of his Jewish heritage but Cohen wisely didn't elaborate. If only it had come out of Keith's mouth who knows what he would have come up with.
The crazy Kazakh certainly brought the Mets some luck as Maine shut down the fish and D-train got blown up. Great Success!!
Update...
On Thursday night's game Borat was nowhere to be found yet the Mets still pummeled the Marlins again. I guess they don't need his luck after all. He must have been off gathering gypsy tears or something.
With Mark Buehrle's no-hitter last night, the Chicago White Sox are tied for the most no-hitters in MLB history with 16. John Maine had a no no through 6 last night but close doesn't earn you a cigar.
As
everyone painfully knows, no Met in team history has ever thrown a
no-hitter. While watching last night's game I jinxed Maine by
realizing he hadn't given up a hit then *WHAM* a single to rightfield.
It gets to a point where you wonder if it will ever really happen but
hey if the Red Sox can come back against the Yankees three games to
none and go on to win the World Series, maybe...just maybe a Met will throw one
some day.
I propose that when it does - and it will probably be some Anibal Sanchez type of pitcher, Jason Vargas maybe - the Mets should retire their number, have a ticker-tape parade on 5th avenue and construct a statue of them outside of Citi Field.
With a 7-6 record, the Zephyrs are a 1 game out of first place. OF Carlos Gomez
has had a hot start with a .404 avg. and leads the team in total bases
(29), extra base hits (8) and stolen bases (6). I though this was a
typo but 3B Andy Tracy already has 5 HR and 12 RBI's which leads the team in both categories. OF Lastings Milledge is only batting .167 in 18 AB since being sent down last week.
On the mound, Jorge Sosa (0.00 ERA) and Jason Vargas (1.50 ERA) have been stellar. Philip Humber is also off to a good start with a 2-1 record and is averaging a K/inning (14).
The
B-Mets are off to a slow start with a 2-4 record. In their defense
their last 3 games have been postponed because of snow! Some positive
notes are 2B Mark Kiger's .375 avg with a HR, and OF Fernando Martinez who has a HR and 12 total bases including a HR as well.
The Mets recent draft pick Kevin Mulvey is 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA in 6 innings of work. Conversely, Ricardo Morales (1-0, 2.70 ERA) and Tim McNab (0.00 ERA) have been holding their own.
Although
I like "Pronk", I was kind of surprised to see Cleveland Indians' DH
Travis Hafner on the front page of the Sand Gnats website.
The Sand Gnats are off to the slowest start of all at 3-8. 3B Leivi Ventura is batting a hefty .362 with 2 HR.
On the hill, Greg Mullins and Nelson Portillo are pulling their weight with ERAs under 2.00, and Tobi Stoner has 10 Ks in 12 innings despite having a 0-2 record.
Also, don't miss out on the Gnate T. Gnat interview.
Down in Florida, no one on the St. Lucie Mets is batting .300. Jon Niese and Deolis Guerra however
are tearing it up. In 10 innings, Niese has an ERA of 0.90 and 7
strikeouts, Guerra has an ERA of 1.80. Both have pitched 10 innings in
this young season.
Had Jackie Robinson come into the majors in 2004, perhaps he would be known as J-Rob by now and just have been another All-Star being paid a ton of money for a job well done. However, Robinson came into the league when MLB and America needed him most.
Racial segregation was near its peak in 1947 America, and African-American representation in our "favorite pastime" was a reflection of that. The question lingers on though, why 60 years later are fewer and fewer African-Americans playing/managing in MLB?
"I don't think you can point to any one thing and say, 'That's the
reason.' There are a lot of reasons. Some carry more weight than
others, but they all contribute."
Moises Alou, Darryl Strawberry, and Lastings Milledge among others also chime in.
I agree that the sport's popularity within inner cities has an effect on this. Seeing high school players becoming instant millionaires months after graduation is certainly alluring, but finding an answer to this question is not an easy one. Is it an example of racism, or is it just because baseball has become less popular?
In 1947 you would have thought that by now we as a country would have progressed much further with regards to racial equality, but issues of race are still very apparent everywhere (i.e; Don Imus and Duke Lacrosse case), but especially in MLB where African-Americans are still highly under-represented.
Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to get an up-close and personal tour of the new Citi Field construction. I would have taken more pictures but the New York Times was taking pics as well and for whatever reason they told me to put the camera away.
I still managed to shoot a few - check them out here.
Here's what the pics are of in order: 1) Me and my boy Derek 2-4) Rightfield Stair Towers 5) Rightfield Stair Tower and Walkway 6) Standing at Future Pitcher's Mound 7) Standing in Centerfield 8) Standing in Centerfield facing 1st base 9) Standing in Centerfield (farther away) 10) Outside 3rd Base Stair Tower and Walkway 11) Home Plate 12) Behind Home Plate 13) What Kind of Stance is That? 14-16) Blueprints (wow, I hope I don't get in trouble)
We’ve managed to get our hands on three David Wright “Super 5” t-shirts which we will be giving away today to a few lucky winners!
We’ll be awarding them to the first three readers who
correctly respond to the following question:
Yesterday, Mets Heads recapped what Bobby Valentine has been up to since
leaving MLB in 2002. What number did Bobby V. wear while managing the NY
Mets?
Congratulations to Severino, Gary, and Mary for correctly answering #2.
For more information on where you can get these cool shirts click here
Former Mets Manager Bobby Valentine left MLB for Japan in 2002 and hasn't looked back. He has expressed the sentiment that he would never again coach in the states because they don't play the game the right way here.
It seems that anytime a reporter from the states is interested in the state of Japanese baseball, or whether or not MLB is stealing too much Japanese talent, Valentine is the go to guy. Because he never has a problem promoting the advantages of coaching and playing in Japan, he has become the unwilling ambassador for Japanese baseball.
Professionally, Valentine has been coaching the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League since 2004. In 2005, the team won the Japan Series which is Japan's equivalent of the World Series over the Hanshin Tigers, becoming the first American manager to do so.
"Bobby Magic" which refers to his coaching style, has become one of the biggest buzz words in Japan.
On Valentine's Day we appropriately found this great article with info on Bobby V. which touts him as the inventor of the wrap sandwich.
During his tenure which includes a stint as manager in 1995, the Marines are 288-248-12.
Valentine managed for 15 MLB seasons and compiled a record of 1117-1072. He is second on the all-time wins list in Mets history and is the only
manager to lead the team thus far to the postseason in two consecutive
years.
He also recently opened the Bobby Valentine Sports Academy in Connecticut which offers coaching to youths for baseball, basketball, football, softball, and lacrosse - even yoga for the parents.
Original Post 3/14... You can now "watch" the Mets Spring Training games on MLB.com's Gameday. I'm not sure if this is normally a free service or not but go to Them Mets for info on how to use this service for future games.
Also, you can go to the MLB Scoreboard for your team's abbreviation with some exceptions (i.e; Marlins = FLO).
Update...
If you're like me and are at work for most day games, the guys at 6-4-2 will be posting daily links to Gameday for every team this year.
In 1966, the Mets chose not to select Reggie Jackson with the first overall pick. Instead, they took Steve Chilcott, a catcher who would never make it to the Major Leagues.
In the 7th inning last night, the Braves were winning 4 - 0 and had control of the game. I was there, and it easily could have been worse. However, the game was not out of reach when 
During last night's game against the Marlins in Florida, they showed the scoreboard when a Met was up at bat. It had the usual picture of the player and their name, but in the corner there was a picture of Borat giving the thumbs up sign.
With 
Had Jackie Robinson come into the majors in 2004, perhaps he would be known as J-Rob by now and just have been another All-Star being paid a ton of money for a job well done. However, Robinson came into the league when MLB and America needed him most. 
Former Mets Manager 
