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2010
2010 Had It’s Share Of Moments For The Mets
An article by 
As the clock winds down on 2010, a disappointing, yet transitional season for the New York Mets, let’s take a moment to look back at the significant moments, games and issues of the season.
Spring training began with a myriad of issues and questions that never dissipated during the long and tumultuous summer.
Among the more intriguing moments and issues were:
The Turnover: Sandy Alderson in for Omar Minaya as general manager and Terry Collins in for Jerry Manuel as manager. Manuel seemed in trouble from the outset with early reports Bobby Valentine would take over. That didn’t happen, but this will be the year where the Met could have turned around their culture. We shall wait and see. So far, Alderson has played it conservatively in terms of player acquisition. To date, Alderson’s plan is to hope for the physical returns of Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay and that nobody else gets injured. It doesn’t sound like much, but the goal is to build a base for 2012 when dead weight salaries are cleared off the books.
Blanking the Phillies: On the field the Mets had two spurts that pushed them into contention, but nothing stood out at Citi Field like the three-game, shutout sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, featuring R.A. Dickey, Hisanori Takahashi and Mike Pelfrey.
Draining the Bay: The Mets’ free-agent splash of signing Jason Bay from Boston busted out. A slow start that never got started flamed out with a concussion that kept him out for most of the second half. The $66 million hire that was supposed to energize the Mets’ offense produced just six homers.
Beltran’s Relationship and Knees Sour: Botched communications between Beltran and the Mets front office over off-season surgery led to a rift that only shows signs of thawing under the new administration. Beltran returned after the All-Star break but never showed consistent signs of being healthy and strong. In actually, this was mishandled at the end of the 2009 season when Beltran should have had surgery instead of waiting.
Reyes Never Settles: Jose Reyes missed the first month of the season with a thyroid illness, then returned to the lineup as the No. 3 hitter. Manuel stuck when the results were clear it wasn’t working and later conceded it was a mistake. Reyes ignited when he was returned to the top of the order, then strained an oblique muscle and was never the same. This injury was compounded when Manuel rushed him back into the lineup.
Mike Pelfrey’s Development: Pelfrey took a major step forward, regressed at midseason then showed recovery signs to win 15 games. With a little bit of luck he could have won 18 or 19. With Johan Santana out at the beginning of the season Pelfrey will have to pick it up again to assume the ace role. The pessimistic feelings about Pelfrey at the beginning of the season were replaced by confidence and optimism.
Oliver Perez and John Maine Implode: The Mets had questions entering the season about their rotation that were answered in the negative with Perez and Maine. If one player personified the troubles of the Minaya regime it would have to be Perez, who lost his spot in the rotation, and then refused an assignment to the minor leagues to work on his mechanics. Perez forced himself back on the 25-man roster after a stay on the disabled list, then languished untouched in the bullpen until the last game of the season when Manuel pitched him as a parting gift.
The Rise of RA Dickey and Development of Jon Niese: Out of adversity, Dickey, Niese and Takahashi stepped up and filled the voids left by Maine and Perez. They kept the Mets competitive until the All-Star break. Dickey was rewarded with a new contract and he and Niese will enter spring training with rotation spots. Takahashi left as a free agent.
Johan Santana Injured: The Mets were cooked by the time Santana’ shoulder was injured late in the second half. Santana didn’t pitch with his usual brilliance on a consistent basis and undergoing surgery for the third straight off-season must raise concerns of his durability during the remainder of the contract. If not Pelfrey, the Mets need to start thinking about a No. 1 in their rotation for the future.
The Emergence of Angel Pagan: With Beltran out Pagan emerged as a budding star in centerfield and will win a spot in the 2011 outfield. Pagan improved dramatically in his outfield and base running decisions and developed into one of the team’s clutch hitters.
The Kids Come Through: The Mets’ long-maligned farm system bore signs of progress with first baseman Ike Davis and catcher Josh Thole, both of whom enter spring training penciled in the lineup. Both showed rawness, but enough glimpses to warrant optimism. Ruben Tejada also saw time but will open the season in the minors. As far as young pitchers go, Bobby Parnell improved over 2009 and will compete for the closer’s role.
David Wright Goes Deep: After hitting ten homers with 72 RBI in 2009 and sustaining a concussion, there were concerns about Wright’s ability to hit the long ball. Those questions were answered with 29 homers and over 100 RBI, production that could have been higher with a healthy Beltran and Bay. There aren’t any questions now about Wright’s power.
Twenty-Inning Marathon: In a thrilling display of endurance the Mets won at St. Louis, 2-1, in 20 innings. Santana started and was superb with seven scoreless, but the Mets’ bullpen was clutch in extra innings, leaving the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th innings, and 22 runners overall. Pitching on his throw day, Pelfrey earned the save.
K-Rod Explodes: Maybe the ugliest moment of the season came when Francisco Rodriguez punched out his father-in-law outside the family room at Citi Field. Rodriguez was arrested and the Mets sought to void his contract. The two reached an agreement, but the relationship remains tenuous. If Rodriguez finishes 55 games this season his option for $17.5 million will kick in.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. It is my privilege to be a senior writer for Mets Merized Online.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 26 | 17 | .605 | - |
| Nationals | 25 | 17 | .595 | 0.5 |
| Marlins | 23 | 19 | .548 | 2.5 |
| Mets | 22 | 20 | .524 | 3.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 22 | .488 | 5.0 |
Last updated: 05/22/2012
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The shutout sweep of the Phillies is probably the most satisfying moment of 2010 and probably the last three years too.
As much as a let down Bay was overall last year, does anyone remember the first series against the Yankees last year? They couldn’t get him out, he was hotter then an August Day in Mesa……too bad that was it, but, I think it shows, it’s in there somewhere.
he seems to rake against the yanks. remember the dinger against rivera in fenway ?
One point needs correction. Manuel didn’t rush Reyes back, Reyes was a pain in the ass and pushed his way back into the lineup.
The only thing you can fault manuel for there was listening to him.
JerryG makes a good point. Bay started off very slow (as did the rest of the team) But he was starting to show some signs of his power in May and June. Most likely because Ike Davis was brought up then and gave him some portection plus Wright was tearing it up at that time. Then he got hurt in July and that is pretty much all she wrote.
I think Bay will be more like the player we expected this year. Last year (until Davis came round) All the pitcher had to do was get Bay and Wright out and if they did that they knew they would get out of an inning unscathed.
This year he will have Beltran, Wright, Davis and even Thole will contribute because Bay won’t have a Barajas or Blanco behind him so they can pitch around Bay. He showed he is a competent fielder (which was a question) and Even if all he ever turns out to be is a doubles hitter that should be enough to drive in Beltran and Wright if they do what they are supposed to do.
As for my favorite moment of last year, I know mmany like the marathon but I personally liked the Phillie Sweep the best. It showed without our best players and pitchers on the field that we have what it takes to beat the phillies!
If Beltran comes back and hits I don’t care how many frontline starters the Phillies have, we will win some games. And the numbers carlos put up in Sept tend to say that he will be the guy we decided was worth the money he got when he signed.
Beltran in Sept. .321 BA .365 OBP .603 SLG
If he did that for an entire season he would have ranked in the top 10 in all three categories.
I am not sure what your refering to as far as power returning but other than a brief window I don’t recall Bay being that impressive so I went to see if I could somehow confirm this at Baseball-reference and this is what I see.
From 4/5/2010 to 5/5/2010 – 28 Games
Bay hit .238/ba 1/hr 5/2b 3/3b 9/rbi 16/r
baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=bayja01&t=b&year=&share=2.20#923-950-sum:batting_gamelogs
From 5/7/2010 to 5/30/2010 – 23 games
Bay hit .356/ba 2/hr 7/2b 1/3b 14/rbi 17/r
baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=bayja01&t=b&year=&share=3.85#951-973-sum:batting_gamelogs
From 5/31/2010 to 7/25/2010 – 44 games
Bay hit .219/ba 3/hr 8/2b 2/3b 24/rbi 15/r
baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=bayja01&t=b&year=&share=0.73#974-1017-sum:batting_gamelogs
Now where you see this “power” you speak of I have no idea.
PROVE THAT REYES WAS A “PAIN IN THE ASS”
That is one truly hateful and horrible statement to make. So either prove it or issue an apology. DISGUSTING….
While I would not have asked in the same way Metsie but the question is valid.
You say “One point needs correction. Manuel didn’t rush Reyes back, Reyes was a pain in the ass and pushed his way back into the lineup.”
Can you provide something that backs such a claim or is this just your opinion?
I mean what does that say about Jerry of your right?
While I would not have asked in the same way Metsie but the question is valid.
You say “One point needs correction. Manuel didn’t rush Reyes back, Reyes was a pain in the ass and pushed his way back into the lineup.”
Can you provide something that backs such a claim or is this just your opinion?
I mean what does that say about Jerry If your right?
SORRY about the dbl post
Yes, They insisted on holding Reyes back from BP for quite a few days and then one day Reyes asked to take BP and felt another tweak. There were numerous reports of Reyes of going to the manager and telling him he wanted in the game and was quite unhappy about staying out that long. The team was loosing and Reyes thought he could change that.
He gets back in, makes a throw and winces, Wright calls the trainer and they literally have to pull him off the field after a long 6 minute discussion holding up the game. He was very unhappy about being pulled out. Another example was he wanted to play in the All Star game and the team convinced him not to (My guess is Wright may have talked to him too)
A good history of blurbs from last year is here.
http://www.rototimes.com/mlb/player/4605/notes#169312
July 13, 2010
Mets third baseman David Wright is confused about the way the Mets have handled shortstop Jose Reyes’ latest injury, according to ESPN. Wright had the Mets trainers pull Reyes from the game last Saturday after he saw him wince making a long throw, but was surprised when he was back in the lineup on Sunday. “It’s not my body, so I don’t know exactly what he’s feeling. I also don’t know what he’s telling other people that he’s feeling,” Wright said on Monday. “But if there’s any chance that he could do any more damage to himself, or if there’s a chance maybe it’s not best for the team for him to be out there, I think ultimately somebody needs to say something and avoid him hurting himself, because he’s going to want to be out there to play and he’s going to want to be out there trying to do things that maybe he shouldn’t.”
Nice try… YOU FAIL. A guy wants to play, good for him…..The guy has a manager and a trainer to tell him no. A guy likes to name call, he’s you. Retract your name. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE A METSIE. METSIES are good people. YOU ARE EVIL. YOU ARE BAD. YOU HATE METS. GO AWAY. YOU MUST BE A FILLY FAN.
Yeah and if you go to a trainer or Doctor and tell him I’m good to play, I feel good, what is his diagnosis going to be?
They can only judge his actualy readiness based on what he says to them.
If he says he feels good but doesn’t then you can’t blame the Doctor or Trainer for believing him. There is no PAIN scan in existence. There is no scanning method that will detect a strained muscle still strained.
All anyone has to go on is what the player says to them and while I don’t fault reyes for having the drive to play I don’t fault Manuel or the Trainer for believing what the player told them.