NL Cy Young Award

Clayton Kershaw

In the most decisive of our award, we present to you Clayton Kershaw as our 2013 Cy Young Award Winner with ten votes coming from our writers. In second was Stephen Strasburg with five and his juicing teammate Gio Gonzalez came in third with just a single vote.

National League MVP

Joey Votto

Joey Votto takes home his second MVP Award in 2013, tallying seven votes. Buster Posey, Bryce Harper and Matt Kemp all got two votes. Wright, Phillips, McCutchen, and Bruce also received nods.

NL Home Run Champion

Giancarlo Stanton

With seven votes, Giancarlo Stanton takes the National League Home Run crown. In a close second with five votes was Mets first baseman Ike Davis (hopefully he can have a better first half in 2013) and in third was Jay Bruce with two votes.

NL Batting Champion

Andrew McCutchen

Sparkplug of the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen wins the Batting Title in 2013 with seven tallies. Joey Votto came in second with five votes. David Wright, Buster Posey and Allen Craig each received a vote as well.

NL Stolen Base Leader

Ben Revere

With six votes, Ben Revere is our 2013 NL stolen base king. Everth Cabrera and former-Met Carlos Gomez came in at second with two votes a piece.

NL Rookie Of The Year

Zack Wheeler

Your 2013 NL Rookie of the Year is your very own Zack Wheeler! Wheeler took in five votes to best the likes of teammate Travis D’Arnaud, Jedd Gyorko, Oscar Taveras and Adam Eaton who each received two votes. Let’s just hope he’ll be up sooner rather than later for New York.

NL Comeback Player

Tim Lincecum

By a slim margin, Tim Lincecum is our 2013 NL Comeback Player of the Year. Lincecum had five votes with both Ryan Howard and Troy Tulowitzki coming in at second with four each.

So there you have it, our 2013 National League award winners. Keep an eye out for more of our predictions in the coming week as we’ll have our Mets predictions,  World Series predictions and plenty more! Stay tuned and feel free to comment with your NL predictions, but in the meantime, here is how each of our writers voted individually:

Joe D.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP: Buster Posey
NL Homerun Champ: Bryce Harper
NL Batting Leader: Andrew McCutchen
NL Stolen Base Leader: Ben Revere
NL ROY: Zack Wheeler
NL Comeback Player: Tim Lincecum

Paul Zinn

NL Cy Young – Stephen Strasburg
NL MVP – Bryce Harper
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Andrew McCutchen
NL Rookie of the Year – Travis d’Arnaud
NL Comeback Player – Ryan Howard

Clare Laferty

NL Cy Young – Stephen Strasburg
NL MVP – Buster Posey

Michael Barrett

NL Cy Young – Stephen Strasburg
NL MVP – Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Joey Votto
NL Stolen Base Leader – Billy Hamilton
NL Rookie of the Year – Oscar Taveras
NL Comeback Player – Tim Linceum

Vinny B.

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP -Joey Votto
NL HR Champ – Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader – Joey Votto
NL Stolen Base Leader – Ben Revere
NL Rookie of the year – Zack Wheeler
NL Comeback player of the year – Ryan Howard

Matt Balasis

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – David Wright
NL Homerun Champ – Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader – David Wright
NL Stolen Base Leader – Ben Revere
NL Rookie of the Year – Oscar Taveras
NL Comeback Player – Carl Crawford

Joe Spector

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Matt Kemp
NL Homerun Champ – Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader – Buster Posey
NL Stolen Base Leader – Everth Cabrera
NL Rookie of the Year – Zack Wheeler
NL Comeback Player – Troy Tulowitzki

Jessep

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ – Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader – Andrew McCutchen
NL Stolen Base Leader – Ben Revere
NL Rookie of the Year – Adam Eaton
NL Comeback Player – Troy Tulowitzki

Rob (Tie Dyed)

NL Cy Young – Gio Gonzalez
NL MVP – Brandon Phillips
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Andrew McCutchen
NL Stolen Base Leader – Carlos Gomez
NL Rookie of the Year – Julio Teheran
NL Comeback Player – Ryan Howard

Connor

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Allen Craig
NL Stolen Base Leader – Ben Revere
NL Rookie of the Year – Zack Wheeler
NL Comeback Player – Troy Tulowitzki

Clayton Collier

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Jay Bruce
NL Homerun Champ -Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader – Joey Votto
NL Stolen Base Leader – BJ Upton
NL Rookie of the Year – Zack Wheeler
NL Comeback Player – Ryan Howard

Gerry Silverman

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen
NL Homerun Champ: Jay Bruce
NL Batting Leader: Andrew McCutchen
NL Stolen Base Leader: Ben Revere
NL ROY: Christian Yelich
NL Comeback Player: Tim Lincecum

Adam Rossi

NL Cy Young – Stephen Strasburg
NL MVP – Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ – Jay Bruce
NL Batting Leader – Joey Votto
NL Stolen Base Leader – Matt Kemp
NL Rookie of the Year – Travis d’Arnaud
NL Comeback Player – Michael Young

Dan Valis

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Matt Kemp
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Joey Votto
NL Stolen Base Leader – Carlos Gomez
NL Rookie of the Year – Jedd Gyorko
NL Comeback Player – Troy Tulowitzki

XtreemIcon

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw
NL MVP – Bryce Harper
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Stolen Base Leader – Everth Cabrera
NL Rookie of the Year – Jedd Gyorko
NL Comeback Player – Tim Lincecum

Gregg Hopps

NL Cy Young – Stephen Strasburg
NL MVP -Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ -Ike Davis
NL Batting Leader -Andrew McCutchen

Jim Mancari

NL MVP – Joey Votto
NL Homerun Champ – Giancarlo Stanton
NL Batting Leader – Andrew McCutchen
NL Stolen Base Leader – Denard Span
NL Rookie of the Year – Adam Eaton
NL Comeback Player – Tim Lincecum

I totally loved digging into the first half of this reaction post by Bill Price of the Daily News, after learning that the Mets balked at Scott Hairston’s two year contract demand.

Just who the heck does Scott Hairston think he is? According to reports, he has the nerve of asking the Mets for a 2-year, $8 million contract? If my math is right, that’s $4 million a year. Who does he think he is, Albert Pujols or something?

This ridiculous request comes just weeks after R.A. Dickey had the gall to look for almost $13 million a year. What’s next, Ike Davis wanting his own parking spot? I mean the nerve of these guys.

Hairston has to know the Mets are all set in the outfield with Baxter, Kirky and Duda, and spending that kind of money on a guy who hit 20 home runs (some of them big ones at that) and drove in 57 runs in under 400 at-bats is just crazy. And who needs veteran leadership in the clubhouse, we have John Buck for goodness sakes

Now, the Mets must know that Hairston is just dying to come back to the Mets. I mean what free agent wouldn’t want to come here, knowing once 2014 rolls around, the Mets will be the greatest team on the face of the earth?

Who cares that the Nats – after adding Rafael Soriano – are loaded with young talent, or that the Phillies still have some big-time players and pitchers or that the Braves always seem to compete? None of that will matter next year once the Mets spend like a college kid with a credit card on free agents and bring up 30-game winner Zack Wheeler. I’m shocked guys don’t offer to play for free just to be part of the next baseball dynasty.

You can read the rest of this bitter pill from Bitter Bill right here. Actually he wraps it up quite nicely…

The Mets are only offering $2 million for one year as opposed to Hairston’s two year demand worth $8 million dollars. I don’t see how either side can bridge a $6 million dollar gap without one side completely conceding.

It’s an exciting time to be a San Francisco Giants fan for sure, but I’m talking about RickeyBobby, the 2012 MMO Fantasy Baseball Champion. In one of the closest and tightest World Series I’ve ever seen, Rckey defeated runner-up and first time fantasy player Urinal Blogs Rule by the score of 5-4-1.The lack of a bullpen was UBR’s downfall, as Rickey squeezed a save each out of Greg Holland, Huston Street and the Mets own Bobby Parnell, while UBR was shutout in that category.

RickeyBobby stunned, finishing the regular season with the fourth seed and got hot at the right time. A first round tie with the fifth seed advanced Rickey due to seeding, and it was no looking back for the first time MMO champion. An upset win that went the proverbial seven games against last year’s champion and this year’s first overall seed catapulted Rickey in to the championship round against UBR, whose path was less strenuous. Two playoff victories with a combined 13-4-3 record looked for all the world that I’d be crowning as champion the manager who had to ask me the rules on how to play before the season began.

Offensive MVP recognition goes to Curtis Granderson, who tied for the most championship-match home runs with four that week and led all players with twelve RBI and eight runs scored. On the pitching side, co-MVPs Jaime Garcia and Miguel Gonzalez led the charge with a combined for four wins, 19 Ks, 1.33 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.

For his efforts, RickeyBobby will take home Matthew Silverman’s 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Rickey, look out for my e-mail sent through the league page on how to claim your prize. The book was generously supplied by Joe D., who once again cannot be thanked enough for his generous and unwavering support. I look forward to next season, when I hope to parlay this year’s overwhelming interest into multiple, more competitive leagues.

Till next year…

BANNER DAY CONTEST ENDS TODAY!

Hey Mets fans… We are at it again with yet another great MMO Fan Giveaway!

This time we are going to present TWO lucky Mets fans with a Free Pair of Tickets for BANNER DAY on Sunday, May 27, when the Mets take on San Diego Padres!

Hall of Famers Dwight Gooden and Rusty Staub will serve as judges for Banner Day on May 27, alongside WFAN radio personalities Howie Rose and Evan Roberts.

These tickets to Banner Day were made available thanks to our 2012 Ticket Partners:

Seatcrew.com is the ONLY online ticket marketplace that features NO FEES for buyers or sellers!

That means whether you’re buying or selling, if you use Seat Crew there will be no extra charges and you’ll save over 20%

Seat Crew has tickets for all New York Mets home games available for a fraction of the cost of other third party ticket places such as TiqIQ and Stub Hub. Check it out for yourselves because seeing is believing. You can follow them on Twitter at @Seatcrew.

2012 METS BANNER DAY CONTEST!

Here are the three simple rules to the contest…

1. Follow us on Twitter at @Metsmerized.

2. Register at SeatCrew.com. It’s free and all you need to register is your email address so the winner can be contacted!

3. Answer the following Mets question:

The very first Mets Banner Day was held in between games of a doubleheader on a chilly afternoon in 1963. What team did the Mets play against that day?

That’s it, you’re done!

Send your contest entries to us at GetMetsmerized@aol.com.

At 5:00 PM TOMORROW we’ll randomly select TWO lucky winners from all the properly completed contest entries!

*** Don’t forget to register with SeatCrew.com so they can award you your prize!

TWO WINNERS will WIN a pair of FREE TICKETS to see the New York Mets host the San Diego Padres at beautiful Citi Field on Sunday, May 27!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOU METS FANS!

IT’S GOING TO BE A BANNER DAY!

This 5-day fantasy baseball event will showcase DraftDay’s best, culminating in a $20,000 Main Event on Friday May 25.

With over $40,000 in guaranteed prizes, players will compete in a variety of game formats, while battling for position on our Player of the Series leaderboard.

In addition to big guarantees, DraftDay will also be running daily satellites, offering players a chance to win a seat in the Main Event for as little as $1.

Player of the Series – Each time you cash in one of the DOCOFS Events, you’ll earn Player of the Series points (see point structure).  The top point-earners at the end of the series will be eligible for additional prizes. Here are the top awards:

1^st – Heads-Up game vs DraftDay Endorser and Sirius XM Radio Host, Kay Adams, winner wins $2,000
2^nd – 11^th – Private 10-man game with $1,000 in cash prizes

So circle your calendars for the week of May 21 – May 25 and get ready for the inaugural DOCOFS schedule (Guarantees in BOLD):

May 21 (7:05p) – Event 1 – $10 Warm-Up $10,000
May 22 (7:05p) – Event 2 – $10 Hit It & Split It, NL-Only $2,000
May 22 (7:05p) – Event 3 – $10 Hit It & Split It, AL-Only $2,000
May 23 (12:35p) – Event 4 – $50 Turbo, $4,000
May 23 (7:05p) – Event 5 – $10 90k Salary Cap, $2,000
May 24 (7:10p) – $10 4 Main Event Seat Guarantee
May 24 (7:10p) – $50 5 Main Event Seat Guarantee
May 24 (7:10p) – Event 6 – $25 Double Up, $2,000
May 25 (7:05p) – Event 7 – $200 Main Event, $20,000

Winners of Event 1, 4, & 5 will receive a Main Event Entry and custom avatar.

Click here to learn more about this series. Each new DraftDay customer receives a free $5 game.

Without further adieu, I present to all of you the first look at the Mets Merized Online 2012 Mets Annual.

This 2012 Annual will feature the excellent work of over 15 of our writers and will provide Mets fans with a valuable resource to help you follow the team all season long. But hang on a second, because it’s so much more than that.

This Premiere Edition will be packed with over a dozen wonderful 1,000+ word narratives covering all 50 years of Amazin’ Mets Baseball. These are just a few:

• Engineering a Miracle by Peter Shapiro
• The Year 1 A.R. (After Reyes) by Sean Kenny
• Changing the Dynamic, One Catcher at a Time by Taryn “The Coop” Cooper
• The Good, The Bad and The Metsie by Ed Leyro (and Joey too, I think)
• End Game: All Bets Are On Francisco, Rauch and Ramirez by Jesse Elgarten
• Plus so much more!

The MMO 2012 Mets Annual will also include many great staples you would expect to find such as:

• Player Profiles, Projected Stats and Forecasts by our crack MMO Staff
• MMO’s Updated Top 20 Mets Prospects by Peter Shapiro
• A 2012 NL East Preview by Yours Truly
• Six Mets To Watch This Season by Jesse Elgarten
• 2012 Complete Team Review by John Delcos
• Future Mets: 2012 First Year Player Draft Possibilities by Nicholas Pugliese
• Are You Metsmerized? (Test Your Mets IQ) by Ed Leyro
• Exclusive Interviews, 2012 Mets Schedule & Promotions, Minor League Affiliates, More!

Of course, this issue would be nothing without our Special Tribute to Gary Carter by Rob Silverman. And let me now mention that part of the proceeds from every sale will go to the Gary Carter Foundation. The donation which we project will be made sometime before the All Star break, will go toward the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, Hospice of Palm Beach County, and Palm Beach Atlantic University Baseball. These very special organizations were all near and dear to Gary’s heart.

The On-Sale Date is scheduled for April 1, 2012, and that’s no joke! It will be available in several popular digital formats via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the Apple iTunes Store. In addition to the $2.99 eBook format, print editions will also be made available at a yet to be determined price.

There are so many people I need to thank that worked tirelessly with me on this, and several others who made substantial behind the scenes contributions. But let me begin by thanking Michael G. Baron, SNY, and MetsBlog.com for providing the perfect photo for us to design our cover around. Of course, my partner and my best friend Kelly Horn gets a world of thanks for the amazing graphics you will find inside the issue as well as the eye-popping cover that completely wowed our partners at USA Today and our Publisher, Movable Type Management. Special Thanks also go to my Project Manager, Sean Kenny, and to Clayton Collier who first put the bug in my ear about finally going ahead with this endeavor, last September.

Anyway, I know you’re all going to love it, and I look forward to all of your most welcomed feedback.

Hmmm… I think I just wrote my own Foreword… Just kidding…

I have a special announcement about one of the many exciting things we have in store for you as we begin our eight season of covering the New York Mets!

In 2012, Mets Merized Online will be teaming up with Seatcrew.com to get MMO readers free tickets to a bunch of Mets games over the course of the Mets 50th Anniversary Season!

Seatcrew.com is a brand new, online ticket marketplace. If you’ve ever used Stubhub, you’re familiar with the expensive, and often absurd fees that typically leave the final price far above and beyond the initial listing. If you’ve ever bought or sold tickets on Craigslist, you’ve seen how difficult that system makes it to manage the entire process.

Seatcrew is positioning itself directly in the middle. Seatcrew charges ZERO fees, whether you’re buying or selling. Seatcrew tells you where on the map tickets are so you can find sellers nearby and avoid Stubhub’s large overnight fees. Also, Seatcrew manages and tracks all of your listings and offers so you don’t have to chase after randomly generated email accounts. Plus, Seatcrew is completely transparent, putting you in direct touch with rated and reviewed buyers/sellers, which makes your transaction safer and more social.

You can see more about Seatcrew in this short video:

WIN A FREE PAIR OF TICKETS TO ONE OF THESE GAMES!

• April 10th – One lucky winner will get a pair of tickets to see Ryan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and the rest of the revamped Washington Nationals. Manager Davey Johnson believes his team can dethrone the Phillies in the NL East.
• May 17th – Win tickets to see National League All Star Joey Votto who puts the charge into the Cincinnati Reds’ offense. Matt Latos headlines a vastly improved rotation, while newly acquired Ryan Madson takes over as the Reds closer.
• May 27th (Banner Day) - The Mets bring back a fan-favorite tradition, Banner Day!. Get those bed sheets ready fans and look for details on our 2012 MMO Banner Day Contest. We will be giving away TWO FREE PAIRS OF TICKETS for this special day! Create the best banner and TWO LUCKY WINNERS will each win a pair of tickets to this Mets classic!
• August 7th – Jose Reyes returns to Citi Field with the Miami Marlins during the dog days of Summer. New manager Ozzie Guillen takes over a team rich in talent that has their sights set on the post season this year.
• September 19th – Win tickets to see the Phillies at the end of the year as the Mets prep for their historic, 50th anniversary, playoff run. Yes, you read that right, it says playoff run! Ya Gotta Believe!

What a great lineup of games!

Whoever the winner is will receive an email with a code. They can then log onto Seatcrew.com, message the specified user with that code and then make a bid of zero dollars. we’ll then mail them the tickets free.

We’ll be notifying you throughout the season as each Free Ticket Giveaway gets closer. And of course, check back regularly to see all of our great coverage of yours and our favorite baseball team, the always amazin’ New York Mets!

We haven’t had any giveaways since the season ended, so let’s kick off the offseason with a chance to win yourself a free copy of this brand new book release; The Amazins: Celebrating 50 Years of New York Mets History. First, check out all the details on this very cool book…

The Amazins: Celebrating 50 Years of New York Mets History

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this beloved franchise, Triumph Books and the New York Post are jointly publishing The Amazins, a history of the Mets that includes all the highlights, the lowlights the Hall of Famers, the underachiever, the great games and the memorable moments, virtually everything, in fact, from the rich 50 year history which makes their fans as passionate about their team as any in baseball.

• The book is a celebration of the New York Mets’ first 50 years and includes:
• More than 100 stunning rare and vintage color photos.
• 22 in-depth profiles of the greatest Mets ever to wear the “Blue and Orange”.
• The 24 most memorable games in Mets history.
• Aerial views and archival photos from all three Mets’ home ballparks.
• Feature stories on the managers and franchise builders.
• A half-century of Mets’ broadcasters.

I took a few shots with my Blackberry which doesn’t take the best photos, but I wanted to give you an idea of how remarkable this coffee table sized book really is.

LETS PARTY LIKE IT’S 1969!

GREAT FEATURES ON EVERY MANAGER!

IN-DEPTH PROFILES ON GREATEST METS OF ALL TIME!

As you can see the book is a must-have for any Mets fan, and a true treasure for your Mets collection. Once you start reading this book, I guarantee you’ll find it too difficult to put down, and I’m not joking…

WIN A FREE COPY!

Here’s your chance to win a free copy of this truly amazin’ new book chronicling the 50 year history of the Mets!

In 100 words or less, please answer the following question:

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE CURRENT DIRECTION OF THIS TEAM?

Leave your story right here in our comments thread for all to see, and tomorrow evening at 8:00 PM, we will randomly select a lucky winner and send you out a brand new copy of this stunning book.

For those of you who would rather buy the book now, you can help the site out by ordering a copy from Amazon either for yourself or as a great gift for any Mets fan you know!

Click Here To Get A Copy For Less Than $20 Dollars!