I once again ask my annual question, "who will be booed" most in 2009?

Past candidates include Shawn Green, Scott Schoeneweis and Tom Glavine (as a Brave), but this year I am a bit torn. Now I am not a "booer" unless someone doesn't run out a ground ball or something lazy like that. But it is guaranteed that other fans will latch on to someone and boo the heck out of them for even the slightest ineptitude.

The expected answer should be Luis Castillo, but as I wrote here, it is easy to exceed very low expectations and he may surprise us. Although, if he continues the path he was on, he will certainly win the prize.

If Duaner Sanchez performs to last year's standards (4.32 ERA) I think he might have a shot. The "Citi Faithful" were hoping for a big rebound last year which never arrived, and their patience is thin.

My 3rd candidate is the 5th starter, whoever he may be. Whether it is Freddy Garcia, Tim Redding, Jon Niese, or Other, filling the shoes of Nelson Figueroa, Brandon Knight and Jose Lima should be easy! However, if they fail to surpass such performances, the fickle crowd could turn on them.

Lastly, fresh from a new shiny 3-year contract, Oliver Perez just might win. Fans will expect him to have developed as a pitcher and be more consistent. Last year was like a roller coaster ride with Ollie. Either he was lights out, or got lit up. I fear for his ego if he can't learn how to tap into his better half more often.

I will go with my gut and pick the lighter and fitter Castillo! Although I hope he can turn it around, and think he just might, I fear that the hole he has dug for himself is a bit too large.

Adding to my two-year old Keithisms, I have created a new section this year for Mets Heads called Mets Fun Facts which I will periodically be adding to. I will also be posting trivia questions and giving away prizes so check back in there for that!

Hope you enjoy it, and feel free to add your own credible facts.

Also, follow me at my new Twitter page.

Just a ramp remains at what used to be Shea Stadium.



Thanks to this Twitter post you can also see more pics.

UPDATE 2/18: And here is Ted Berg's video of Shea's final stand...

As Shea Stadium nears its final days, I've attached my Flickr photostream from the last game at Shea as a farewell to the old girl.

Click here to see it all, but below are a few of the best.

Hi Fellow Mets Heads,

I decided to raise money this year for the American Cancer Society in honor of my father who passed away from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in March of 2004.

For every home run the New York Mets hit this season, I will be donating $5 to the American Cancer Society.

I have an overall goal of raising $5,000, but I can't reach it alone! Please help me "Knock Cancer Outta Here!" (inspired by the immortal words of Gary Cohen), and reach my goal before season's end on October 4th. All contributions go to the ACS and will help to fund cancer research.

All the details are on my ACS sponsored site below, so please forward this to anyone you know so I can surpass my goal! Seriously, even $1 will help.

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/regis

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and all the best!

I cringe when Luis Castillo walks to the plate. I really feel that last year, I could have outhit him, and I haven't even been in a batting cage in a year. Few players get me to boo, but he managed to inspire that on occasion in 2008.

But as the saying goes, "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it". Well, if that's true, I think that Mets fans have certainly forgotten that Castillo has had a good, consistent career, so I hope the saying rings true in 2009.

Last year was a bit of an anomaly for Castillo. Between the years of 1999 and 2007, Castillo averaged 164 hits/year. In 2008, he had just 73.  Keep in mind however, that was in about half as many at bats due to plaguing injuries.

In the same time frame, Castillo sported a .375 OBP. In 2008, his walks were up so it didn't actually dip too much (.355), but I'm thinking that was because he was so beleaguered by knee problems that he decided walking to first was the best way to get on...at least it was the most pain-free way of doing it.

Another interesting stat I came across was that he hit .263 with RISP and 2 outs last year. I would have guessed that to be around .175 with my tainted perception. After all, when your expectations are low, it is easy to exceed them.

But here's my point. As much as it pains me that he is still on the team, perhaps I'm being too hasty as many a New York fan has been known to be. I doubt he will, but if he proves me wrong - and history says that if healthy he may - I will be the first to apologize. He doesn't give a crap what I think anyway.

So many good lines, including:

"They call me Dr. K because I operate, I surgically remove the batters from the plate"

Enjoy

I was riding the subway today and saw a guy with a Phillies hat sitting next to a guy with a Yankees hat. Both are teams which I despise, but which do I hate more?

Rationally, I should hate the Phillies more because they are the Mets perennial rival (for the last couple years anyway). Their fan base and their players irk me to no end. Plus the Yankees are after all from New York so shouldn't I like them more? I dislike the Yankees because I have to hear Yankee fans (mostly my friends) make fun of the Mets and hang their 26 championships over my choking head, so perhaps it's really the fans that I hate. Not the rational ones, just the arrogant, irrational ones. In the Mets' defense (and yes I'm being defensive), the Yankees were around for about 60 years longer than the Mets so who knows how many they would have won in that time.

I know that I dislike both teams but as I scanned back and forth from logo to logo I couldn't figure out which I liked less. Perhaps this is extreme but I've decided to put my psychology background to use and implement the scientific method to help determine which team bothers me the most.  This is hardly valid, but I tried to be as genuine as possible, and yes I am very bored today.

Observation:

When New York Yankees or Philadelphia Phillies stimuli are visible alone or together, I have an averse reaction and become slightly angry and nauseous.

Hypothesis:

I will react with a stronger negative reaction to Phillies stimuli than I will to Yankees stimuli. I will have no reaction to Royals stimuli.

Experiment:
Sample Size: 1
I
I presented myself with the following logos for 10 seconds each and rated on a scale of 1 (no negative feeling) to 10 (extreme hatred) how I felt when viewing them.  I presented the Yankees logo by itself, the Phillies logo by itself and then simultaneously. The Kansas City Royals are my control.
                            
II
I visited the websites of the Yankees, Phillies and Royals and rated how I felt while browsing on a scale of 1 to 10.

Results:

I
Yankees Logo: 8
An onslaught of Jeter walk off memories and negative energy flooded my entire being. Plus there was the time I got beer thrown on me at the Mets-Yanks series in the Bronx.
Phillies Logo: 7
More anger than with the Yankees but was a little more indifferent.  Thoughts of their championship didn't make me as upset as I thought I would be.
Royals Logo: 1
Absolutely no effect
Yankees/Phillies Logo Together: 9
I couldn't rate it a 10 because that would mean I would have jumped out the window of my office, but I couldn't even leave the logos on my screen for the full 10 seconds.  Similar feeling to when I smell Absolut Citron.

II
Yankees Website: 9
I felt as if I was checking out porn sites at work, neither of which I should ever be doing...I was scared of getting caught.
Phillies Website: 7
Although seeing Rollins, Howard and Utley made me sick, I wanted to find out what was going on with them since I try to keep my enemies close.
Royals Website: 2
Who are these guys? Like the karaoke bar I was at on Saturday night, I really have no reason to be there.

Discussion:
I was fully expecting to find that I hate the Phillies more than the Yankees but the gut reaction results don't lie. I really should dislike the Phillies more than the Yankees but I guess my feelings toward our cross-town rivals are more negative than I thought.

In retrospect it kind of makes sense. I feel a guilty pleasure when the Yanks lose to the Red Sox, like I did during their 2004 collapse. Overall, I just don't like either of them very much at all, and with the recent A-Rod news I kind of feel bad for the Yanks. I fully expect the Phillies to lead them in the hatred department once the season starts and I am reminded of how much I truly despise everything about them.