Comments on: Scapegoatism

By: t agee

t agee — Wed, 18 May 2011 23:46:28 +0000

A game let alone a series is never lost on one AB. Carlos is one of the ten best
CFers of all time and I appreciate the chance to have seen him play almost every day.

That season he hit 41 HR’s while playing gold glove defense at the 2nd most difficult position on the field, add in another 40 x base hits and a hundred walks with a .600 SLG and a 1.000 OPS and he’s right up there with the other three elite NY CFers. Maybe a half step behind but how many CFers anywhere can you say that about?

Sophisticated fans? Yeah right.

By: sarge

sarge — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:42:59 +0000

I have always admired Carlos and his play in CF but he was always a target for media and fans cause of his contract and the fact that the rest of the team in 06-08 could not produce even a hit in an important at bat or an out at an important at bat.
Heilman will always be remembered for being un dependable.

By: Mookie

Mookie — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:54:16 +0000

Thanks, I thought so.

By: XtreemIcon

XtreemIcon — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:51:54 +0000

He was. And he was.

By: Mookie

Mookie — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:48:46 +0000

Wasnt Heilman a first round pick? If he was, in addition to other things, he was largely a bust.

By: XtreemIcon

XtreemIcon — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:34:43 +0000

I don’t really disagree with you. I don’t definitively think he would have been a bad starter, I just don’t have enough sample size to make an opinion. I saw him at his absolute best, but he had a handful of bad starts. That being said, he’s been on two teams since the Mets and hasn’t made a start since 2005. So apparently lots of other people think Heilman’s at his best out of the pen, which is a pretty bad indictment on him, considering.

By: The Coop

The Coop — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:28:56 +0000

T-Agee, sorry for missing this…but you are absolutely correct on Wagner, who for whatever reason always gets a pass when he never came through for the team when they needed him most. He goes to the Braves last year and light f’ing out too. F him! Then of course, there’s Pedro Martinez, who I am convinced purposely tanked his Mets career (I’ve written on that, and it’s not suitable for most audiences lol).

By: The Coop

The Coop — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:25:47 +0000

Agreed on the reliever part – I think he wasn’t suited mentally for it. We were bound to disagree on something one of these here days, Xtreem, it had to be Heilman (something people disagree with all the time!)

By: XtreemIcon

XtreemIcon — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:32:43 +0000

I’ve never seen Heilman start regularly (I did attend his one-hitter against the Marlins in 2005), so I have no opinion on it. But as a reliever, he was one of the worst this franchise has ever seen. And the consistency which he was used and the big spots he was in attests to not only poor bullpen management, but also poor roster management.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:55:59 +0000

Great Job Coop…

It has always been a sad fact of our society to find someone to blame for our unhappiness and try to make them an outcast in the rest of society. Unfortunatly in the case of Buckner Boston Society complied with the request.

While I did blame Carlos for not protecting the plate with two strikes and getting punched out I do agree that it should never have come down to one swing in the first place.

The truth is not swinging didn’t cost us the game. It was merely the play where the reality of us not being good enough to make it to the WS hit the brain!

By: Joe Spector

Joe Spector — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:54:07 +0000

Somewhere Greg Pomes is begrudgingly in agreement with this article.

By: Metstheory22

Metstheory22 — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:46:54 +0000

I don’t think Beltran will be here to give him his proper sendoff. Most times you don’t know his last game. It will have to be done if he comes back as visiting player. He was under-appreciated by a lot of fans in NY. Same thing with Reyes.

By: Mr North Jersey

Mr North Jersey — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:25:57 +0000

Congrats on a well written and insightful post Coop.

By: t agee

t agee — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:23:23 +0000

One guy always gets a pass though. Whether it was not being prepared to close a 4-0 lead against the NYY or pitching to an incredible 16.88 ERA against the Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS or really anything else.

The only time Wagner wasn’t blowing games down the stretch in 2007 and 2008 was when he was unavailable to pitch.

He also left behind the two biggest components of the Halliday and Blanton deals when he left Philly so in essence Philly got better by losing him. He did close a lot of games for us but next to none that really mattered deep down mattered.

Sean Greene turning Spezio’s fly ball to the wall in RF into a two out 3 run triple in game two was a huge turning point also. Blowing game two gave the Cardinals a lot of confidence but really, at 44 mil you would at the least expect Wagner to have been available in game 7. A game 7 that wouldn’t have been neccesary if he hadn’t pitched like **** in three other games.

By: BTF

BTF — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:22:28 +0000

I got some issues with Beltran but overall he’s been better than expected when healthy. I tend to get angry at players when they miss time especially when they take up huge chunks of the team’s payroll. I know it’s not their fault but it’s still upsetting and in Beltran’s case I think it fuels much of the frustration with him.

By: Russell Zanca

Russell Zanca — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:12:52 +0000

Vintage piece. Really nicely written, Coop!

By: The Coop

The Coop — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:03:55 +0000

Oh and Xtreem…I’ve defended Heilman to the nth degree. I still do (not as a reliever but as a starter). http://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/07/a-victim-of-circumstance.html

By: The Coop

The Coop — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:03:00 +0000

The funny thing is, I don’t even blame Heilman (well, maybe a *little* lol). But the reality is, they shouldn’t have even been at Game 7, they should have scored when they had the opportunities…they did not. And for whatever reason, Carlos Beltran is seen as the scapegoat leftover from that time, yet he’s the one who has put the team on his back for so long. Thank you all for reading and your kind words!

By: XtreemIcon

XtreemIcon — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:53:34 +0000

I blame Heilman. Trust me. I blame him a lot, and not just for that.

By: Hojo's Mojo

Hojo's Mojo — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:43:28 +0000

If Carlos Beltran doesnt hit the two-run homer in game one which the Mets won 2-0, there wouldn’t have even been a game seven in the NLCS. Plus why doesnt anyone blame Aaron Heilman for giving up the ninth inning 2-run homer to Molina that put the Cards up 3-1 that game and bringing the Mets to their last 3 outs?