Mets Merized Online

There are no words right now that can give me or you any comfort or peace.

After all, what can you say about a team that literally had it all and yet gave it all away?

What do you say about a team that had so much talent and not enough heart?

Over the next few weeks I will analyze this once promising season, one game and one player at a time. I’ve held back these last few weeks so that I could do the right thing and support my team through thick and thin. For now I will just sit back for a few days and reflect on what went wrong this season and what went right. Although the negatives seem very glaring right now, there were also many positives. It’s okay to be angry and upset right now, but don’t spend the whole off-season lamenting. We here at Mets Merized Online won’t let you!

I do want to take some time to thank every single Met fan that has graced this site with their presence this year. Writing for you has given me great pleasure and allowed me to make some enduring friendships.

I also want to thank everyone on our team for their dedication and commitment to a season that was full of excitement and never had a dull moment.

Your hard work was a credit to your standing as a true Mets fan and a huge compliment to Mets Merized Online.

I want to give a special thanks to Kelly who has been the creative genius behind this site. I also want to thank Brian M and Andrew for their non-stop commitment to excellence with their previews and recaps throughout the year. I want to also thank Tessa, Dave, Jon, Brian N, Ryan and Derek who were with us from the very beginning of the 2007 season and never missed a beat all season long with their weekly columns.

A big thanks to Joe M, David S, Denise, Adam, Greg, Joey B, Shawn, Matt, Mike and Milo who joined us mid-stream but still delivered great posts as the season wore on. I also want to thank Mets beat writers Adam Rubin, Mark Hale, and John Delcos for their time, their knowledge, and their insightful blogs and interviews. Finally, I want to thank our friends at Shea Nation, Metscentric, Mets Board, The ‘Ropolitans, Bleed Orange and Blue for their help and support throughout the year.

Despite the sad outcome of the 2007 season, the days I spent writing my blogs and reading your comments, were all days well spent. The Mets are still a great franchise and a first class organization. The team will always be a big part of my life. We are all one big family where we all hurt when the Mets hurt, and we are all overjoyed when the Mets win. This year didn’t go our way, but next season will be much different and full of even more excitement.

This is not the end of the line for Mets Merized… only the end of the 2007 season, and the beginning of the 2008 season.

Pitchers and catchers report in only 17 weeks, and the Winter Meetings are only a month and a half away!

I’ll say thank you one more time and leave you all on that note… at least until tomorrow!

Lets Go Mets!

Carlos Delgado sustained a broken right hand early in the game when he was hit by a Dontrelle Willis pitch.

Adam Rubin reports…

The Mets suffered another blow in the first inning when Carlos Delgado suffered a broken left hand when he was struck by Dontrelle Willis with a first-inning pitch.

This was later confirmed by John Delcos…

Confirmed: Fractured left hand. See you in Port St. Lucie.

Other News:

Jose Reyes has been showered with boos in each of his at-bats so far in the game as he continues to upper cut every pitch he sees at the plate. While Hanley Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins did their talking with their bats in September, Jose Reyes who was touted as an MVP in April and May, has taken a nose-dive in the second half with the worst of it coming in the last six weeks. Rollins and Ramirez, on the other hand have thrived and both will get plenty of votes when the MVP vote is tabulated next week.

It will be interesting to see how Reyes, who swore he would not regress after signing his big multi-year contract, responds after a dismal showing in the final weeks of a critical playoff push. 

Mets Fight Their Way Back To First Place

New York (88-73) vs. Florida (67-91), Sunday, 1:10 p.m. ET

Commentary

Glavine’s nearly spotless second half has since taken a hit, as he lost on Tuesday for the first time since July 2, and has now allowed 20 hits and four home runs over his last 10 innings. The Marlins are hitting .367 off the lefty in two meetings this season. You can throw all that away because I believe Tom Glavine is the right guy to be on that mound today…

Paul Lo Duca is out, and Ramon Castro who homered yesterday is back in the lineup…

Lastings Milledge will be in right field and bat eight today. Maybe what the Mets need is some youthful exuberance. When David Wright and Jose Reyes signed those huge multi-million dollar extensions, they were expected to act and get paid like seasoned vets when of course they were still just getting their feet wet. Lasto may be just what the doctor ordered today. 

Todays Mets Quotes

"It has been a rough week. We have to come out and pound people." – Lastings Milledge

"I want to win this World Series bad, obviously, a lot of guys do. I think we all realize how special and rare these chances are. We have to take advantage of them." – Shawn Green

"I was in the training room getting ice and was trying to zip up my pants as quick as I could to get out there, I don’t really know what happened, but Olivo is a little chicken you-know-what for taking a swing at a 60-something year-old man." – Paul Lo Duca

Mets Merized Game Notes

While desperately hoping to survive their historic late season collapse, the Mets got a penominal start from pitcher John Maine, who was only four outs away from becoming the first Mets pitcher ever to toss a no-hitter…. This was the best game of the season for me…

John Maine’s 14 strikeouts are the most by a Mets pitcher since Al Leiter struck out 15 on Aug. 1, 1999 at Chicago. … Leiter is also the last Mets’ pitcher before Maine to strike out seven straight hitters, doing it Aug. 23, 1998 against Arizona.

As you know by now, the Mets have pleanty of fight and life left in them. The Phillies lost to the Nationals, meaning the Mets control their own fate in the NL East. They also remained alive for the NL wild card, one game behind the Padres. Don’t count the Mets out and expect them to come out swinnging this afternoon…

I won’t be at my computer for the game, but you can bet I’ll be watching every second of the action. All of you Mets fans feel free to treat this as an open thread!

Enjoy the game!

In a surprsing move, the Comissioners Offfice acted quickly and suspended Miguel Olivo for five games for instigating the benches clearing brawl during yesterday’s Mets win.

No Mets players were fined or suspended for what took place before, during or after the brawl.

Several Florida Marlins players admitted that today’s game had plenty of meaning for them and that the Mets picked the wrong team to pick a fight with.

Hanley Ramirez on today’s game: "I don’t care if it’s broke (his hand). I’m gonna play. F@#$k everybody on the Mets. I’m going to kick their asses tomorrow.’’

Lets hope for a big Mets win today, and if you’re wondering about all this tie-breaker stuff, the Daily News was nice enough to make this easy to follow chart…

What seemed improbable only 24 hours ago has become a reality for the New York Mets. Not only do they win in impressive style on the strength of a masterful pitching performance by John Maine, but with both the Phillies and the Padres both losing this evening, the Mets are back in the game!

They once again are in control of their own destiny, and with a win tomorrow it ensures at the very least a one game playoff with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, should the Phillies lose, the Mets will clinch the division.

Like I wrote this morning…

We’ve seen how good the Phillies can be when they were chasing first place, now let’s see how good they are at staying in first place.

THEY LOOKED TENSE AND THE CROWD WAS MOSTLY QUIET UNTIL THE ROWAND AND HOWARD HOMERUNS.

I also wrote this…

I wonder what they will call the 2007 Mets after we comeback and win the division… The Unbelievable Mets? The I Can’t Believe What I Just Saw Mets? The They Came Back And Did What Mets? 

Miracles do happen, and they happen quite often for the Orange and Blue!

Tomorrow the Mets will pin their hopes on the crafty left-hander, Tom Glavine, who has been in these big games so many times in his career. Expect another dominating pitching peformance.

Ya Gotta Believe!

Maine Tries To Keep Mets Hope Alive

New York (87-73) vs. Florida (67-90), Saturday, 1:10 p.m. ET

Commentary

Maine allowed three runs to the Marlins in five innings last weekend, taking a no-decision in an eventual Mets win. That was his third start against the Marlins this season. He had won the previous two, holding them to four runs total.

Paul Lo Duca is out, Ramon Castro is in. Darth Vader has had some clutch homeruns for the Mets this season and has had a superb season as Paul Lo Duca’s backup…

Lastings Milledge will be in right field and bat eight today. Maybe what the Mets need is some youthful exuberance. When David Wright and Jose Reyes signed those huge multi-million dollar extensions, they were expected to act and get paid like seasoned vets when of course they were still just getting their feet wet. Lasto may be just what the doctor ordered today. 

Todays Mets Quotes

"We’ve got 55,000 screaming, crazy New Yorkers out there and it’s intimidating for a visiting team. So, why we haven’t taken care of business at home all year I don’t understand. We’re played well on the road, but this is where you have to get the job done and we’re not doing it.” – David Wright

“It’s tough.  Put it this way, I haven’t slept in two weeks.  It’s not fun.  It’s the worst I’ve ever felt with a baseball uniform on.  I know there’s people over in a war and people dying, and I know it’s just a game.  But professionally, for a game, this is as gut-wrenching as it can be.” – Paul Lo Duca

“It’s is hard to believe, no doubt.  But, there is still baseball left and who knows what’s going to happen the next two days.” – Jose Reyes

Mets Merized Game Notes

The Mets no longer remain in control of their own destiny. The National League East may now be beyond their grasp, with the Phillies simply needing to win their last two games to clinch. So Maine’s task on Saturday will be to win at any cost. If he does, the Mets can afford at least one more day’s worth of optimism. If he doesn’t, they very well might be headed home for the offseason. (mets.com)

I’m not in the mood for writing notes. I am completely besides myself and bewildered at the stunning turn to the Mets season. I know we still have a little bit of life left and I do believe. We must win this afternoon or our season will come crashing down at historic levels…

Enjoy the game!

Many years ago, former Mets manager Yogi Berra coined the phrase that would become synonymous with late season heroics.

Yogi Berra believed in 1973, just like the late, great Tug McGraw.

With two games left in the season the Mets still have life. With a win today followed by a Phillies loss tonight, the Mets can get right back into the drivers seat.

We’ve seen how good the Phillies can be when they were chasing first place, now let’s see how good they are at staying in first place.

The tables may have turned, but my confidence in Carlos Beltran, David Wright and yes, even Jose Reyes, remains high.

This is baseball. This is what pennant fever is all about!

If the Mets comeback and win it all, will you tell your grandchildren years from now that you wavered when the Mets had their backs against the wall?

Or are you going to tell them how you gave up, and left the team for dead?

Get your heads up and think back to how the Mets got their name the Amazins’ or the Miracle Mets. It was because they did the impossible and won despite the odds being stacked against them.

I wonder what they will call the 2007 Mets after we comeback and win the division… The Unbelievable Mets? The I Can’t Believe What I Just Saw Mets? The They Came Back And Did What Mets?

Get your game faces on. It all starts this afternoon at Shea…

The Mets Have Their Backs Against The Wall

OPEN THREADS ALL WEEKEND LONG TO SUPPORT OUR TEAM!

New York (87-71) vs. Florida (69-90), Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET

Commentary

Oliver Perez is the only pitcher on the Mets who has stepped up in September. Ollie has won his last three starts and even pitched 8 solid inning in his last start against these same Marlins.

Lately you can almost tell if we are going to win or lose just by seeing how Jose Reyes performs. If you see him taking the first pitch for a strike, and swinging with an uppercut tonight, it just might be the end of the road for the Mets…

Throw all the damn books and statistics and records out the damned window! What’s passed is passed, and we must focus on the here and now. We can debate all the issues after the season. Right now we have to stay true to our team. Nothing Else Matters!

Todays Mets Quotes

"I think we’re due to have something special happen for us…I’m expecting something good to happen." – Pedro Martinez

“We’re even with three left.  So, there’s two choices: Roll over, and start making vacation plans, or battle like hell and win this thing.  We still feel like this is our division, and nobody in here is going to quit.  As far as I’m concerned, I want to play in the post-season, and every one in here wants to play in the post-season, and if we’re going to go down, we’re going down with a fight.” – David Wright

Mets Merized Game Notes

I’ve been asked by many to take the Magic Number down. I’m not taking nothing down until I absolutely have to. This season is not over, and the Mets playoff hopes are not over. It will still take a combinations of 4 Mets wins and Phillies losses to clinch this division. That Magic Number will stay there as a testament to the love and support we have for the entire Mets team and organization.

We are gonna win this thing! That’s what Willie said last night, and that’s what I want all of you to get into your heads. We are not giving up without a fight. We are still in first place and we control our own destiny. Stand up straight and stop slouching. Get your heads in the game and your hearts in the right place. Stay True To The Orange And Blue…

Enjoy the game!

For those of you want to watch the game and chat, join during each game for our LIVE OPEN THREAD from the first pitch to the last!

Willie Randolph could  have started Pedro Martinez instead of Philip Humber on Wednesday. He chose not to so he could give Pedro an extra days rest. Pedro said that he was ready to go, but his words fell on deaf ears. Willie had already made up his mind and he was going with Humber. Just like he made up his mind last week when he went with Brian Lawrence.

As a result of this decision, Philip Humber went on to face defeat at the hands of the Nationals and pitched an unimpressive 4 innings in which he allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and 5 earned runs. (not exactly Kyle Kendrick type numbers)  

Willie’s decision was a colossal failure.

The Mets wasted a solid effort from Pedro last night who tried his best to give his team every chance to win the game.

Now the Mets have squandered a seven game lead and share first place with the second hottest team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies. (The Yankees are the hottest team)

If the season ends in a tie, the Mets must choose between Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey or Dave Williams to pitch the tie breaking game in Philadelphia.

Pedro said he would pitch on three days rest if needed, but of course if Willie wasn’t going to pitch him on 4 days rest, there’s no chance in hell he’d pitch Pedro on three days rest. (By the way, thank you Pedro for actually coming back this season and saying and doing all the right things)

Managers live and die by the decisions they make throughout the course of the season.

Willie has made some dreadful decisions this season, many of which were made light of right here on this site. However, the decision to let Humber pitch on Wednesday instead of Pedro may have possibly doomed the Mets.

There’s still a chance the Mets can pull this out, but if it comes down to a tie, we’ll probably have to rely on one of our untouchable Mets pitching phenoms (Pelfrey or Humber) to take the mound at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.

Way to go Willie…

Did anyone else notice that SNY stopped running the "Your Post-Season Has Come" commercial? 

Todays Question: How many times has Willie Randolph tipped his hat to the opposing pitcher after a loss?