Mets Merized Online

Once upon a time…there was a first baseman who played in New York. He was adored by fans, admired by teammates and respected by those who competed against him. Known for his large hands and quiet disposition, Gil Hodges led the Brooklyn Dodgers to the NL Pennant in 1952. Hodges hit 32 Home Runs that year, knocked in 102, walked 107 times, compiled a .386 OBP and slugged at .500. And then, in the Fall Classic, on the greatest baseball stage of all, against none other than the hated Yankees, Hodges did the unthinkable: He went 0 for 21 in the World Series! It was arguably the worst October by a player of his caliber in the history of the game. Brooklyn lost in 7 games, losing Game 6 by a score of 3-2 and losing the 7^th and deciding game, 4-2. Fans could have easily blamed Hodges for the collapse. They did not.

The following spring brought new hope, but Hodges continued struggling. One month into the 53 season, Hodges batting average was hovering at .200. Had he forgotten how to hit? What was wrong with the big first baseman? At 28 years old, was his career over?

And what did the fans do? How did they react? With encouragement. Hodges received hundreds of letters daily, good luck charms, gifts and yes, even a standing ovation every time he came to the plate at Ebbets Field. Father Redmond of St. Francis Roman Catholic Church uttered the famous phrase, “Keep the Commandments. And say a prayer for Gil Hodges.” Shortly thereafter, Hodges began to hit and there seemed to be no stopping him. The next four years of his career were statistically his best.

The point is this: Brooklyn fans supported their team. And their first baseman.

As Mets fans, we can not give up on our team and boo our own players. These are the New York Mets. A team from New York will always get booed a bit louder on the road than other teams. A team with a $130 million payroll will be subjected to more negative chants than say, the Marlins or the Pirates. Our players hear enough of that in Philadelphia, in Atlanta, in St. Louis, etc…They don’t need to hear it at “home.”

Yes, we are all unhappy with the way the team is playing. 2008 has been the most frustrating season in recent memory. Never has such a highly talented group of athletes performed so inconsistently. However, booing the players is pointless, immature, infantile and just plain wrong. Let the Yankee fans do that.

Fans may argue that they have the right to boo. They paid to get in and therefore can act however they want. But honestly, does that make any sense? If, as fans, we are unhappy with the product presented, then don’t go. If one is upset, disappointed or angry with the team the Wilpon’s and Omar Minaya have given us, then stay home. If you want to show your displeasure for ownership, they why spend money in the first place only to boo the players? People who are unhappy with American made products don’t stand outside the gates at a Chevy plant and boo the employees. Instead, they just buy a Toyota. Do the Wilpon’s care if the players are booed? Maybe. Maybe not. But they are making money as long as bodies are passing through the turnstiles. If one wants to show their unhappiness with the team, then show that to ownership where it hurts: the wallet. Stay home.

Perhaps there is an ironic twist in the Friday doubleheader. In game one, in Yankee Stadium, Carlos Delgado set a team record by knocking in 9 RBI’s in a single game. This occurred in The Bronx–Away from home. The second game of the doubleheader was played at Shea–At ‘Home.’ And Delgado followed up his record setting performance by going 0 for 2. Coincidence?

After 80 games, it is clear that this team has issues. Major issues. However, baseball is a team sport. To blame one or two players for all the shortcomings on this club is pointless and short-sided. Blaming Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo for all the problems on the 2008 Mets makes about as much sense as blaming Henry Ford for the high gas prices or accusing Abner Doubleday for steroid use.

The New York Mets are a team. We win as a team. We lose a team.

The Yankees beat the Mets today 3-2 in a rain-soaked game at Shea that saw the Mets fall back to two games below .500… again.

The Mets wasted yet another start from their new ace Johan Santana. That is now five straight losses in games that Johan Santana started. By the time he takes the mound again, it will have been a month since he last won a game.

Santana was clearly frustrated, but tempered his remarks and emphasized that we win and we lose as a team.

"All I know is that they brought me here to do a job and help the team and I have given them my best. It seems like every time I pitch I have to be absolutely perfect, or else we lose. I’m not perfect."

 "There were some tough calls particularly to Jeter and Abreu. They ended up costing us a couple of runs. I told the umpire he needed to be more consistent."

Carlos Beltran had a brutal day at the plate and struck out four times in the game.

"It’s very unfortunate for Santana, because he is one of the best pitchers we have. Every time he pitches we seem to have a problem getting on base and scoring runs. We can’t keep wasting his solid starts like this."

Jose Reyes was picked off of second base with two out and David Wright at the plate.

"It’s over. There is nothing more I can do. It happened. Speed and being aggressive is my game and sometimes that’s what happens. It’s over."

I wanted to share some the post game quotes. I’m trying to understand and read between the lines, but it’s tough to assess the mood of the team. Obviously, even with a managerial change, the Mets continue to be as inconsistent and as puzzling as they were two weeks ago.

As I said many time already, I think the Mets needed to do more than just a managerial change to shake this team up. Trot Nixon and Andy Phillips are not the answer, neither is demoting Claudio Vargas and calling up Carlos Muniz.

Maybe the addition of Ryan Church on Sunday will change the dynamics a little in that clubhouse… I mean it’s gotta help, right?

Welcome to another installment of Hot or Not. This week was an interseting one in Mets Nation. After losing 2 out of three to the MLB worst Mariners, the Mets really picked up their game against the Yankees. Despite the 9-0 loss in the second game, the Mets offense did manage to get on base. I only hope for continued success throughout the season.

Hot As Fire
Carlos Delgado: It’s still too early to tell whether he’s back for sure or if he just got lucky. All I have to say is he had 10 RBI in the entire month of June; he nearly doubled that in one game. Hopefully, the Carlos that we saw yesterday afternoon is here to stay.

Aaron Heilman: The man hasn’t allowed an earned run in 13 innings. Some Mets fans still believe he has to go. I think the Heilman from 2006 (before The Home Run) is coming back. Everybody’s entitled to a bad start but now Heilman is seeing that he has to step up his game.

David Wright: After sitting out of Tuesday’s game, my boy is on a tear. If rest was all he needed, maybe Jerry might continue to do this with all of his regular players.

Not At All
Pedro Martinez: I understand the guy is getting old. I understand he’s a great veteran pitcher. But his last two starts have been shaky, at best. Hopefully, age won’t get the best of him until the end of the season.

Oliver Perez: We were supposed to beat the Mariners. Because of this guy, we lost in the worst shutout at Shea since 1999. I’m tired of trying to guess which Ollie we’re going to get. I’m cringing at the thought of tomorrow’s game.

What do you think Mets fans? Was I on the money or was I wrong? Was there anybody I excluded on either side? Hopefully thing continue to look up for us as we move forward. Ya gotta believe! 

The confidence and swagger that we’ve been accustomed to are now gone. The sight of seeing hitter’s knees buckle at the plate are gone too. Is this the end of an illustrious career for Pedro Martinez or just a bump in the road?

That’s the question Pedro asked himself after last night’s loss, his second straight lousy effort and third in his last five starts. Pedro Martinez is at a crossroads in his career. He can no longer pretend to be the pitcher he once was. Those days are sadly gone. But, many great pitchers before him have been able to resurrect their careers with guile, guts and know-how. If anybody can do it, certainly Pedro can.

Last night, Pedro sounded like an old prized fighter who was up against a younger and stronger boxer. He sounded as if he was on the ropes and only a couple of rounds away from a technical knockout. He sounded defeated.

"I’m not doing my job, and that’s something to worry about. I’m not helping myself in any given situation out there, and it’s time for me to start getting better, not getting worse."

"It seems like I’m getting worse periodically. So I’m going to have to make some adjustments and correct some of the stuff I’m doing. Spend a lot of time in the video room checking out what’s going on. Right now I feel like I’m caught in between."

"At this time in my career, it feels worse because you should be able to make better adjustments and do things in a better way. Have a better plan."

If Pedro doesn’t find that plan soon, the Mets may be planning for a long off-season. They already have one weak link in Oliver Perez, they can ill afford to have two-fifths of the rotation mired in uncertainty. Not if they have any hopes of clinching a division title and advancing through the post season.

Pedro doesn’t have to be his vintage self to help this team. He just needs to go out there and give the Mets a chance to win. I hope he finds his way.

While the Mets were losing 11-0 to the worst team in baseball, one very familiar face was sitting the game out, on a managerial-imposed day off. The shutout was the worst at Shea since ‘99. The next night, the same player came back and hit two home runs in his first two at-bats en route to an 8-2 victory over Seattle. Of course, I don’t need to mention any names….or I should hope not.

David Wright may not be having the best season of his career, but in the past two days, things have really turned around for him. After Jerry Manuel gave him rest on Tuesday, young David came back rejuvenated and he was ready to play baseball. On Wednesday, he led his team to victory thanks to two home runs in two innings. And today, Carlos Delgado was the hero with 9 RBI, but David still went 4-5 with 3 RBI, raising his batting average to .285.

Whether he likes it or not, David Wright is the leader and the face of this ballclub. With all the coaching and managerial changes going on, I think it’s time to pick up a needle and thread and put the "C" on David’s jersey. Despite the veterans we have in Moises Alou, Billy Wagner, Pedro Martinez, and Carlos Delgado, I (and probably every other Mets fan) think David is the captain of both the present and the future. Besides, the aforementioned veterans will probably be gone by next season, if they don’t leave the organization this season.

David Wright is one of the only player on the current roster who I see as a mainstay in the next 5, even 10, years (and its not because half the team is 35+ either!). Despite the veterans, David does stand out to the fans as both a consistent player and a team leader. So, what do you say Jerry? Are you going to make David captain or what? I’ll even sew on the "C"!  

Both the Mets and the Yankees are coming into this weekend’s subway series with records neither fan base is happy about. The water cooler has not been bearing witness to any smack-talk as it usually does this time of year. Rather, Yankee fans and Met fans seem to be avoiding each other, hugging the shadows not wanting to be noticed.

Frankly, both teams have stunk it up this season. Each team finds themselves in third place in their division, a place where no one would have guessed either team would be at this point of the season. Each team is starting to show signs of life though.

The surging Yankees have gone 7-3 in their last ten games. The Yankees pitching prospects have not performed as they would have liked this season. With Wang, Hughes and Kennedy going down, the Yankees have had to convert Chamberlain to a starter, and fill the other two rotation spots with other unproven commodities. The Yankees have an Oliver Perez of their own in Darrell Rasner, who has given up 9 runs in the past week. Apparently, Perez and Rasner will look to see who can give up the most runs when they face each other on Sunday.

The difference for the Yankees fortune has been their (more) productive bats. The team’s batting average is 20 points higher than the Mets’ (.274 v. .254). If we thought that Carlos Beltran has been on fire, take a look at Derek Jeter. It seems as though Jeter has been gearing up to continue his career devastation of the Mets as he has been hitting .455 (10 for 22) in the past week alone. Rather than run through Jeter’s career stats versus the Mets, I’ll just say that we can’t let him beat us this weekend. 

The series kicks off with a Bi-Borough, Day-Night Doubleheader. Game one features a matchup of Mike Pelfrey and Mike Giese.  Giese has a 1-2 record with a 0.64 ERA. The line on Giese is that he is one for efficiency. One route to victory for the Mets could be to jump on this guy’s pitches. Pelfrey could help by throwing a solid outing. Big Pelf has shown to be a gamer in his last few starts, working out of jams when needed. Game two features Pedro Martinez facing up with Sidney Ponson, who will look to leave his Texas issues in the past and prove he belongs on the Major League level.

The highlight game of the series looks to be on Saturday when Johan Santana will face up against Andy Pettitte. While Santana has not proven to be the ironclad stopper fans have hoped for, and he certainly has not gotten the run support he deserves thus far in his tenure, he has definitely pitched better than Pettitte this year, who has posted a 4.04 ERA to this point with a record of 8-5.

The Mets hope to receive a shot in the arm this series with the proposed return of Ryan Church to the lineup. The team is definitely in need of his bat and his arm. It just might be the push the Mets need to get over the hump.

The Mets have a tendency to play up to good teams, and leave their bats at home for the subpar teams. For once this season, I hope they actually continue this trend. The Mets face three good teams over the next twelve games. In addition to the Yankees, the Mets will take on St. Louis and Philadelphia in that stretch. This could be a good opportunity to show their moxie and possibly gain some ground.

The one thing that I’ve already grown to like about Jerry Manuel, aside from his colorful comments, is the way he reacts to the team.

Last night it was refreshing to see him run out there and jump down the umpire’s throat and protect his player.

A week ago, I like the way he handled the Jose Reyes situation and not only how he stood his ground, but how he ultimately motivated Reyes to elevate his performance on the filed the very next day. We’ve seen Reyes get chewed out before and then sink into a month long funk. Not this time.

After last night’s embarrassing loss to the Mariners, Jerry Manuel had seen enough. After a week’s worth of games under his belt he realizes the need for some changes.

Mark Hale of the NY Post summarizes…

Manuel, who was also ejected in the fourth inning along with Carlos Beltran, pronounced the Mets a flat-out "bad offensive club" and declared there could be radical changes if the team doesn’t start putting up.

"We have to find a consistent formula at some point," Manuel said. "We have not found that yet. But I believe we can. It could mean some tough decisions."

"It could be lineup changes. It could be rotation changes. It could be all types of changes," said Manuel, who said the Mets were being unfair to their fans because the team was "not giving them anything."

The first guy who might feel the Manuel wrath is Oliver Perez, who was abysmal in getting smashed for six runs (five earned). Manuel hinted was possible the lefty could be dropped from the rotation.

"I’m definitely concerned about his struggles right now," Manuel said. "And we’re going to have to address it at some time."

It’s about time that we have a manager who can feel what the fans are feeling. Rather than ignoring a bad performance and putting it behind him, Manuel seems ready to tackle the issues head-on. It’s a welcomed departure from what had been the norm in the last couple of seasons.

I am hoping that the changes equate to less playing time for Delgado and Perez, and opening up some opportunities for Tony Armas and Valentino Pascucci who are impressing in AAA.

Is it possible for the Mets to go on a run when almost halfway through the season their bench has been a source of subpar play and performances that would cast doubt on any chance at a division title? What kind of relief can we expect from a bench that has a combined batting average of .215? Comic relief? 

If the Mets are going to make some moves before the trade deadline, they can start by adding some punch to a punchless bench. It’s no small wonder why Mets managers have been reluctant to give David Wright a day off this season. Look at your options… 

Over the course of the last two weeks, yours truly has been absent from my weekly posting spot. My Mets Merized hiatus was spent scurrying the college baseball scene, taking in first hand the Super Regionals in Cary, North Carolina, and the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The experience was spent traveling with the North Carolina Tar Heel baseball team. More specifically though, my cousin, first team All-American outfielder Tim Fedroff, who was drafted by Cleveland in the seventh round of the amateur draft three weeks ago.

While away from the busy city hustle and bustle, my prime focus was still laid on the Mets beat. I was awoken in the wee hours one morning in my Omaha hotel room via text message. It was at the suddenly eerie moment I learned that Willie Randolph had been relieved of his duties as manager of the Mets. Major League Baseball fans that I spoke to in Omaha thought the Mets were one of the bigger laughing stocks they had seen in sometime. I found that quite comical considering a majority of them had their allegiances pledged to the Kansas City Royals.

When I was invited to take this very special globe trotting adventure, intentions of attaining first hand thoughts and opinions on the Mets two first round draft choices, Arizona State first Baseman Ike Davis, and South Carolina shortstop, Reese Havens were high on my priority list. Consensus feedback from players revealed to me that they felt Havens had more of an upside for the organization. Wishing to remain anonymous if posted, one UNC player told me, “Davis is a one way, hit or miss power hitter, but I’ve seen Havens up close and the kid is a grinder, he’s everything you want in a ball player, he would fit well in a teams two hole, and stick him some place in the middle infield”

Throughout my various interviews I’ve compiled my own personal opinions of what Reese Havens’ makeup is compiled of. He brings a patient approach to the top of the order; he is difficult to strike out. He has some pop, but nothing to write home to mother about. His baseball knowledge and perception are his biggest assets, while range and speed are his glaring weaknesses.

Keen opinions of Davis were far more difficult to locate because the team rarely if ever had seen him. Fortunately, Holiday Inn Express comes equipped with ESPN, and I was able to see a fair amount of his at bats on television during his appearance in the Super Regional tournament. Davis is solidly built, and has a smooth stroke from the left side, though he can be exposed high in the zone. His swing seems to alter to an upper cut style at times, making him vulnerable to the strike out.

Though it may take time to fully develop, both Havens and Davis got better every year they played for their college programs. It’s a true testament to how hard the two work to make themselves better ball players, the kind of players the Mets need to continue to bring aboard. Both players are veterans and will move through the system quickly, at least if they continue to develop on the pace that they have set for themselves. Teamed together with phenom Fernando Martinez, Havens and Davis are the shining jewels of the Mets future, how shiny? Let’s just hope it’s shinier than Jerry Manuel’s blade.