Everyone knows I don’t have much confidence in the 2011 Mets and I’m already looking forward to the 2012 season.  I honestly believe this is just a lost season, where .500 would be acceptable, but “what if” the Mets can compete in 2011? Marvel Comics does a series of comics where they explore the road not traveled by their characters. Last week I looked at the starting pitchers and asked what if they perform? This [...]

Gil Hodges must’ve been crazy! The Mets had just lost 101 games and finished in 10th place, 40 ½ GB of the Cardinals. Yet when Hodges was hired by the Mets in the off-season of 1967 he stated, ‘I see a lot more right with the Mets than wrong.’ Hodges first year as skipper provided us 73 wins, most in team history to date. And we all know what happened the year after. He and [...]

As Sandy Alderson and the Mets continue to wait and see how cheaply they can sign free agents, other teams are signing players at a brisk pace. I understand they couldn’t realistically be buyers for Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford, and without a doubt the Mets were right not to even come close to offering Jason Werth the kind of contract he signed with the Nationals. I also understand that the Wilpons refuse to pay a [...]

Frank Edwin ‘Tug’ McGraw was a relief pitcher for the New York Mets for 9 seasons. Over that time he compiled 85 saves with a 3.17 ERA. But he is best remembered for a phrase. In 1973, as the Mets were treading water in the NLE basement at the end of August, McGraw coined the slogan ‘Ya Gotta Believe.’ Fox ‘Spooky’ Mulder was a fictitious character played by David Duchovny on ‘The X-Files.’ Mulder firmly [...]

To be honest, in preparing for the Mets Holiday party, I was pretty sure there would be one player I would not get the chance to talk to: Carlos Beltran. With all the hype surrounding a possible position change or even a trade, I figured Beltran would briefly talk to the writers and reporters and then head out of there. Surprisingly, he actually came over and talked to the bloggers. He even was joking around [...]

The best centerfielders in the game are the ones who cover the most ground.   By doing so, they make everything easier for those around them.  That’s exactly what Carlos Beltran has been doing recently, as he’s been spotted all over New York this week. First, he appeared at Citi Field for the MVP Reception on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, he answered questions from Mets fans via Twitter.   But the biggest thing he did this [...]

Opening Day is 3 ½ months away and we all know what to expect in 2011. Not a damn thing. Sandy Alderson has stated that it will be a season to observe, to listen and learn, and rebuild for the future. Safe to say not many of us have hope for next season. It’s December 2010 and already we have set our sights on Opening Day 2012, a mere 480 days away. As we prepare ourselves [...]

As we come to grips with the fact that hope will be the prevailing theme in 2011 and that basically we are playing the same hand we had last season minus Johan Santana, we will all have our patience tested. There’s a lot of things that need to go right where hope is concerned for the 2011 Mets. We hope Jason Bay shows up and performs at a level we all expected when we first [...]

Is the North Pole in Flushing? No, just Citi Field with a light dusting of snow. Do Santa’s elves wear Mets jerseys? At Citi Field they do. The Mets hosted their annual Christmas party Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field’s Acela Club. Roughly 100 school children from around the New York area attended to sing Christmas carols, enjoy a nice lunch, and receive a gift from Santa and his elves. This year, David Wright played the [...]

Let me start this post off by saying that when the offseason first started, I was firmly in the camp that suggested a Beltran trade, no matter how much money the Mets had to eat of his contract. The Mets were 48-40 at the All-Star break this year, and then Beltran returned which started the massive decline to mediocrity. I don’t want to say that these two occurrences are linked, but it makes you wonder [...]

As we know the Mets don’t have much money to spend this off season.  Whether it’s only five million dollars or a little more Alderson is allowed to spend there will not be any top free agent signings this year.  No Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford next season. With signing 2nd or possibly 3rd tier free agents it might not be fun watching the Mets every day next year.  There will be plenty of stories [...]