There are many adjectives that are used in conjunction with the 86 Mets. Confidence. Arrogance. Swagger. Obnoxious. But they were good, damn good. And they knew it. That’s a far cry from the 2013 Mets.

However, it’s not just wins that count. It’s playing as a cohesive unit. It’s playing as, no pun intended, a TEAM. And that is something this club does not do. You don’t have to get along off the field. You don’t even have to like it each other. But when you’re on that field, you play as a team. You fight as a team. The Jordany Valdespin situation shows in glaring fashion how incredibly dysfunctional this “team” is.

The 86 club was a bawling and brawling brazen bunch of ballplayers chasing women and partying. But there were exceptions. For all intents and purposes, Gary Carter was an outcast. He was a family man, religious and clean-cut. Heck, the guy was so pure he did a commercial for Ivory soap. Mookie Wilson was one of the longest tenured players on that club. Yet, he graciously accepted becoming a platoon player with Lenny Dykstra. Or moving to left. But yet, they won. 108 times. The 4th highest win total in the last 50 years.

That club had issues. No doubt about it. Darryl referred to Wally Backman as a “(expletive) redneck.” In his 1985 book, “Bats,” Davey Johnson referred to Dykstra as “an ***hole kind of guy.” When they were posing for their team picture in the spring of 1987, Keith Hernandez and Strawberry came to blows about seating proximity to Davey. What is this, 3^rd grade? But yet, on the field, they pulled together.

After being chided with chants of “Daaaah—ril” in Fenway, Straw answered back. In the 8^th inning of Game 7, it was he who hit a towering blast off of Al Nipper that was the final nail in the Sox coffin. And then he strolled around the bases in probably the longest HR trot in history. Confidence. Swagger. The following spring Nipper beaned Darryl. And the dugouts promptly emptied. Who else but the Mets could get in a bench-clearing brawl in spring training? Straw was not overly popular with some of his teammates. But they immediately came to his defense. Why? Because that’s what teams do. That’s what winners do.

When Valdespin gets set-up by his manager to get plunked, what do the 2013 Mets do? They sit on their ass. And then rub salt in the wound by condoning the actions of the Pirates.

This is a team?

Baseball is filled with players that did not get along off the field. But yet, they pulled together and they won. The Oakland A’s of the early 70s bickered constantly. Yet, they won 3 straight World Series. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent loathed each other. But they put their differences aside and gave their team 2 division titles and 1 pennant over 6 seasons. Ruth and Gehrig were polar opposites who disapproved of the other’s lifestyle. Yet, the Yankees of the 1920’s and 30’s seemed to do okay. And how about ‘The Bronx Zoo’ of the late 70’s. Those guys not only clashed off the field but on the field. And in the dugout on national TV. When Reggie Jackson wasn’t avoiding being punched by Billy Martin, he was getting into it with Thurman Munson. Talk about a dysfunctional mess! But yet, the Yankees won 5 divisions, 4 pennants and 2 World Series over a 6 year span.

The Mets, meanwhile, bicker amongst themselves. Then, go out and lose.

Did Valdespin act bush league by hitting that HR and then showboating on a very small scale? Did he act inappropriately for a rookie? Personally, I don’t give a damn. He’s a New York Met and as such he should be defended by his, pardon the pun, “team” mates. Terry Collins set him up to get beaned. I guess we should be thankful Collins allowed him to wear a batting helmet.

Had any other rookie done that they’d be praised for trying to light a spark on a team where no spark exists. Last season Bryce Harper played with arrogance rarely seen in a rookie. And although Valdespin is no Harper, I don’t recall Harper getting blowback from his teammates. He gets praised while Valdespin gets violently slammed in the face by John Buck. John Buck who is on his 4^th team in the last 5 years. John Buck who will be riding the pine once D’arnaud arrives. Can you imagine back-up catcher Ed Hearn violently slamming a pie into the face of Lenny Dykstra? I can’t either.

Kevin Mitchell was a rookie in 86. Does anyone think had Mitch been purposely beaned like that, the Mets would not have retaliated? Tell me Bobby Ojeda wouldn’t have had someone kissing the dirt the next inning. In 1969 Wayne Garrett was a rookie. Garrett was unassuming and quiet. But can you imagine Gil Hodges setting up Garrett to get beaned? I can’t either.

Why should we expect the 2013 Mets to fight the other teams in the NL when they don’t even fight for each other?

You can clearly see the dissension on this “team” by some of the quotes of Valdespin’s “team” mates.

Latroy Hawkins: “What, now we’re supposed to get into a fight for that?” First of all, I didn’t even know Hawkins was still in the majors until the Mets found him on the scrap heap. Secondly, to answer your question, Latroy, yes. Yes you are.

Marlon Byrd: “The Pirates did what you’re supposed to do. We would have done the same thing.” With all due respect, Marlon, I disagree. When was the last time the Mets protected one of their own and retaliated?

If the Mets are going to lose, at least lose with some dignity. Losing is one thing. Being a doormat is unacceptable.

And to David Wright, you’re the captain. Avoid the politically correct statements and settle this in the clubhouse. You’ve got that “C” on your jersey. Now act like a captain. I can’t imagine Keith or Gary or John Franco allowing this to fester. Isn’t it David who said, “You play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the one on your back.”

One vivid memory of 86 was the all-out bench-clearing brawl when Ray Knight decked Eric Davis in Cincinnati. Dugouts emptied…except for one player. Former Red George Foster sat on the bench and watched the Mets fight his old team. And although Foster was the 2^nd highest paid player on the team (and yes, an outcast even before), GM Frank Cashen had no problems immediately getting Foster out of New York. Why? He realized that Foster was not a team player.

Thank goodness Alderson was not the GM in 86. He would’ve kept Foster and gotten rid of Ray Knight.

And ask yourself this: What’s easier to imagine—a guy like Valdespin fitting in with the 86 Champions…or a guy like Keith Hernandez fitting in with the 2013 Mets?

So, to Valdespin, I say, hang in there. Your time here is probably limited. The fact that you’re exciting, try to light a spark and want to win, is clearly not in synch with the 2013 Mets. Management wants everyone to be nice and quiet. We don’t want to upset anyone else in the league.

Shhh. Heaven forbid someone gets mad at us. So, sit tight, Jordany. We’ll probably get rid of you like we did Beltran or Pagan. You know, two ex-Mets who escaped this madness. Two ex-Mets now wearing or pursuing World Series rings. Yes, World Series rings, something Terry  Collins can only view on Google Images.

Lately, it seems the only thing the Mets excel at is finding ways to lose.

Shaun Marcum had his first quality start as a Met, going 6.2 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking one and punching out three. He threw 96 pitches, 65 of which for strikes, however fell to 0-4 on the year in easily his best effort for the Amazin’s this season.

After matching goose eggs with the Cardinal’s young phenom Shelby MIller, things got rocky in the bottom of the fourth. With Matt Holliday on first and two out, Jon Jay roped a double to Mike Baxter in right that went to the wall. Seeing that he didn’t have a play on Holliday, who came around to score, Daniel Murphy threw to third and pinned Jay in a run down. Apparently giving up, Jay stood almost still in front of Wright for a routine play to tag him. Wright went to lay the tag on, but dropped the ball. As it skidded into the infield, Jay was able to safely make it to third base, costing Wright just his third error on the year. Tony Cruz would follow up with a knock to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Looking overmatched at the plate, the offense was completely anemic against Miller who did not have his best stuff today. He held the Mets off the board through 5.2 frames before being relieved by Randy Choate for the last out of the sixth. In the seventh against Seth Maness, John Buck got himself on base with a one out single, setting the table Rick Ankiel. On the seventh pitch of the at bat with a full count, Ankiel took a 90mph sinker deep to center to tie up the ballgame at two. Maybe the Mets luck is finally starting to turn around right?

Wrong. In the bottom half of the frame, Marcum got the first two outs but got himself into trouble with runners on first and third. After which he was lifted for this year’s go-to lefty, Scott Rice. Rice came on to face the former-Met Ty Wigginton, and on the first-pitch of the at-bat, threw a breaking ball that careened off John Buck and to the backstop, scoring the lead run in Daniel Descalso.

After the end of the seventh, the life was sucked out of the Mets. Carlos Beltran walked to lead off the eighth. Matt Holliday grounded into what would be a routine double-play, but the throw from Murphy sailed into the home dugout, allowing him to go to second. Allen Craig would also be walked to create a nice opportunity for Yadier Molina, who came through with a base hit to drive in the insurance run and make it 4-2.

After the wild pitch from Rice, the offense showed little fight as they went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth to end the game.

John Buck had a nice day at the plate, but a horrible one on the basepaths as he was doubled off on a Ruben Tejada liner that was caught, then made a boneheaded steal attempt, resulting in the slow-footed backstop being picked off at second. That plus the key wild pitch, and it was overall a night to forget for Buck.

The offense continues to be ice cold. Ike Davis and Lucas Duda both had 0-fers in this game.

The Mets just aren’t playing good baseball, it is as simple as that. They are giving opposing teams extra outs with sloppy D and giving away at-bats with an inept lineup.

Two positives to take away from this one however was the encouraging start from Marcum, and the solid offensive effort by Rick Ankiel.

The Mets have now lost six-games in a row for the second time this season and are 8-18 in their last 26 games. They now have the third worst record in baseball at 14-23, nine games under .500. Only Houston and Miami are worse.

Jonathon Niese (2-4, 5.93 ERA) opposes right-hander Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.30) in the series finale on Thursday at 1:45 PM. The Mets look to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals which last happened in 1982 when Keith Hernandez played for St. Louis.

I gave Davis a pass during last season’s first half, what with the Valley Fever and that whole ankle debacle, but what’s his excuse this time?

How long can we afford to continue to trot him out there, especially with a left-hander on the mound?

Three weeks ago I called him a platoon player at best. Some of you said it was too early to make such a judgement – small sample size and all.

Is anybody ready to join my bandwagon now or are you still seeing Ike as the power-hitting first baseman of the future even with every mighty whiff at those down and outside baseballs pitchers love to feed him?

Well guess what? I’ve got another shocker for you.

But maybe you should sit yourselves down for this one…

Given the incredible season by catcher Kevin Plawecki – by the way I told you to expect great things this season – I’m thinking some crazy thoughts. It will be sacrilege to most of you actually…

Amid all the hoopla of acquiring Travis d’Arnaud in the R.A. Dickey trade, it seemed the catcher who nobody could stop talking about a year ago, was suddenly rendered mute and was no longer in the team photo.

Meanwhile as D’Arnaud logs more and more time on the disabled list, a hobby he’s become quite adept at, all Plawecki keeps doing is fulfilling those high expectations that caused the Mets to select him in the first round out of Purdue in the first place.

Scouts see a solid defensive catcher with a .280 bat and a few .300 seasons in his future. They project his bat to be in the 15-20 home run range, but with the additional benefit of 30-40 doubles due to his gap power and ability to drive the ball to all fields. That would explain his league leading doubles totals. He’s an old-school backstop behind the dish and regarding those plays at the plate, he’s not afraid to take a hit and keep on ticking. Tough as steel.

What this organization needs more than anything is an outfielder. My solution? Send D’Arnaud to his fourth organization in three years to get one, sign John Buck on for another season until Plawecki can take over, and put Duda at first base until Jayce Boyd resumes his rightful place as the real first baseman of the Mets future. A first baseman cut right out of the same fabric as Keith Hernandez.

I don’t get into these fanboy attachments with players and prospects like so many Mets fans do. I want to win and do what’s right for the team more than any attachment to a singular player – even one as touted as D’Arnaud. He is suddenly looking more and more like a player who is too brittle to handle the rigors of being an everyday catcher in the majors. There were already some concerns about his ability to stick at catcher anyway, and that was before the Mets traded for him.

His apparent propensity for spending more time off the field than on it, already have the Mets contemplating a permanent ban to keep TDA from blocking the plate moving forward. A catcher not blocking the plate? Sorry, but give me the tough-as-nails Boilermaker Kevin Plawecki if that’s going to be the case, and let’s use TDA to get that power outfield bat we so desperately need right now.

The truth is that love him. I was crazy about him as a player, and I’ve felt as though we became buddies, through the magic of TV, when he joined Gary and Ron in the booth.

But lately he’s been kind of cranky and he seems to pick on some of our players a little too much at times.

The other day, MMO staff writer Drew Staley wrote about his exchange with Ron and Gary about Lucas Duda. He’s completely frustrated with him. He doesn’t like this “approach” we keep hearing about and he went a little overboard when Duda didn’t swing at a first pitch strike during the Braves series with Wright at second.

I remember something he said last season the day after Duda came back from his banishment to the minors. “No improvement. It’s the same old Duda. It’s the same old hacker.”

At the time he said that he was actually right. Duda looked just as bad as he did before he went down.

But fast-forward to 2013 and we see a completely new Duda. Someone who is being more selective which is something he didn’t do much of last season. So far it’s given him a great OBP and OPS, but the raw numbers could probably be a lot better and he needs to get those up. Baseball is still a game that is based on the law of averages and I do think the RBI’s and run production will come as long as he sticks to his new approach.

The point is that Hernandez complained about Duda being a hacker last season, and now he’s complaining that he’s not a hacker this season. Pick a side and stick to it.

Okay, enough on that. There were a few interesting comments on Hernandez on out threads yesterday and while there’s no way for me to affirm their veracity, it thought it merited a debate and closer examination.

Phil Phil – May 7, 2013 at 2:04 pm

According to Mets reporter Bob Klapisch, Keith told reporter around the country not to vote for Darryl Strawberry for MVP in 1988 when Darryl had a huge year.

Keith was a real good player, but a lot of times he has an agenda. Beware of listening too closely to what he says. He knows baseball, but he also holds grudges and uses the media to go after guys.

I don’t think he likes the hitting coach, Sandy A., or some of the players. He didn’t like Jose Reyes. He almost got into a fight on the team plane.

Lisa – May 7, 2013 at 4:15 pm

My friend works for SNY and told me the reason Keith doesn’t like the taking pitches and high OBP strategy is it makes the games longer and he wants quick games so he can go home and have a nice glass of vino.

Keith also hates extra innings. My friend said to listen for sighs when the game is tied thru 9 innings.

Metsie – May 7, 2013 at 4:20 pm

LOL Lisa yes there is a LOT of truth in what your saying about Keith and the notion of getting out of there as quickly as possible….

But when he was a hitter he also practiced what he preached… He always said that in a Hitter’s count or with a man on base he wanted to look for that GOOD PITCH he was more likely to get and get what he calls a Rib Eye Steak!

And no one was a better hitter than him when he had the Pitcher on the ropes. So it’s not like he just came to this opinion he has exhibited it his entire playing career.

Lisa – May 7, 2013 at 4:40 pm

Ha, ha! Keith’s dream is a nice, crisp 1-0 game that finishes in 1 hour and 45 minutes so he can make it to the steakhouse to have a nice rib-eye steak and a bottle of high end wine. Ideally, Rusty Staub and Tom Seaver would be in town to join him!

Metsie – May 7, 2013 at 4:53 pm

LOL you can probably name about 10,000 Things Keith would rather be doing than being in that booth if you just listen to him during a game!

I actually understand it since when I work Baseball games about the worst thing that can happen is when it rains, Extra Innings or gets postponed and rescheduled as a Double-Header on getaway day.

Most techs who work on the game get paid per day and don’t get any overtime until after 12-16 Hours. And we have to be there about 4-5 Hours before game time even starts.

But he shouldn’t really let that get out when he’s on the air especially as obvious as he makes it sound.

It’s almost become common dialog for Gary and Ron to joke about Keith’s frequent tardiness, his propensity for leaving early, and the many days off he takes throughout the baseball season.

He certainly has shown that he can hold a grudge and led the parade when Jose Reyes came out of the game on the last day of the 2011 season to preserve and win his NL Batting Title.

Again, let me reiterate that I love Keith Hernandez the player and for the longest time Keith Hernandez the color commentator for SNY. But lately I get the perception that he would rather be anywhere else but in the SNY booth. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just reading too much into things. But when I saw those comments on last night’s game thread I realized I was not alone in this thinking.

Another thing…

For the longest time I have enjoyed the combination of GKR, they are no doubt the best broadcast team in the game. But I gotta tell you that I was incredibly impressed and entertained during the game that Kevin Burkhardt called on FOX two Saturday’s ago.

Burkhardt was so refreshing on my ears and he was a joy to listen to. I couldn’t believe it… Here I was listening to a Fox Mets broadcast and throughout the entire time I never once felt as though I was missing GKR.

Tom Verducci and Burkhardt teamed up and formed a great tandem, and their insights and analysis was beyond reproach.

I’m thinking it may be time to stick to with GKR, but maybe we should consider swapping out Keith for Kevin.

Sorry if you disagree, but that’s how I feel.

All valid in the early Duda critique.

Now, unbelievably, he’s become too selective, too patient at the plate. No matter how hard I try, I don’t get this one.

Even Keith Hernandez, who has forgotten more about hitting than most of us will ever know, has been after Duda on his patience. Hernandez believes Duda should be more aggressive with runners in scoring position. Yesterday in that position, Duda worked deep into the count. And, as the at-bat continued and the talk was for him to be more aggressive, Duda lashed a 3-and-1 pitch through the right side of the infield for a RBI single in a perfect piece of hitting.

Until that swing, the conversation was about Duda’s growing patience, as if it was a fatal, fundamental flaw  instead of a strength.

Duda has a .417 on-base percentage, in large part to 21 walks. While the season is still young, his on-base percentage and OPS are the best of his career. For much of the spring he had more walks than strikeouts, but that has reversed.

However, what people are noting most are his six homers with only 11 RBI. Surely, with that much power, he should have more RBI. It it is a plausible argument, but not an all inclusive one.

Pitchers, wary of Duda’s power, have been exceedingly cautious and try to get him to chase. However, when he might have swung earlier in his career, he’s now waiting them out. Instead of giving away at-bats, he’s learned to take the walk, but that’s not a flaw.

Do you really want to see Duda be another Ike Davis, who gives away countless at-bats by flailing a pitches he has no chance of hitting?

The best thing for Duda would be to continue being patient and taking his walks. If somebody – are you listening Davis? – provided more protection behind him, then Duda might see more pitches, fastballs to be exact, in the zone.

Trust me on this one, the last thing you want is for Duda reverting to bad habits and chasing junk. The more walks he takes, the better he’ll become at recognizing pitches. He’ll waste fewer at-bats and eventually get his pitch to drive.

The expectations for Duda to walk less and swing more have been brought on by the Mets’ overall woeful offense.  The problem isn’t in Duda is taking too many pitches, but others in the batting order are not.

In other words, a cycle is a feat we regard with admiration primarily because it is COOL. It is so COOL that it even has a more refined version, the so-called “natural” cycle (single, double, triple, home run in order). This unique quality allows a cycle to actually transcend the game itself, remaining COOL even if your team loses the game in which it occurs, kind of like a consolation prize.

At this point in baseball history, only two teams remain cycle-less: the San Diego Padres (who also hold the distinction of being the only franchise not to have recorded a no-hitter) and the Miami Marlins whose relative youth as a franchise functions as something of an excuse. By way of contrast, the Red Sox have pulled off the feat an impressive twenty times.

Seven Mets had achieved the cycle prior to the day in July, 2004 when Eric Valent got one of his infrequent starts, spelling regular left fielder Cliff Floyd in a game against the Montreal Expos. Valent was a 27 year-old outfielder/first baseman who had been a late first round draft pick by the Phillies in 1998. After a couple of uneventful cups of coffee with the Phils, he was dealt to the Reds for catcher and future Met Kelly Stinnett in August of 2003. That winter, he was left off the Reds’ 40 man roster and was selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Mets timing was fortuitous, as Valent was about to turn 27, the apparent “magic” age for certain players when whatever baseball skills they possess coalesce long enough to produce some evidence to support their place on a major league team. The 2004 season would mark Eric’s high water mark as a player as he produced a respectable .267/.337/.481 slash line in 270 AB’s spread out over 130 games. He would hit all of his big league homers that season, including one that day in Montreal.

Facing Expos starter Rocky Biddle, Valent collected a single in the second inning and a double in the third. He then homered off reliever Sunny Kim, launching a shot that clanked off one of the speakers suspended from the roof of Olympic Stadium. That left him a triple short of achieving a cycle, generally regarded as the toughie of the bunch.

When he came to the plate in the top of the seventh, the Mets had opened a substantial lead in what would end up a 10-1 win for Al Leiter. Consequently, a discussion on going for a three-bagger had preceded his next plate appearance.  Mets coach Don Baylor had told Valent to expect third base coach Matt Galante to be “waving” him on anything hit down the line or in the gap.

When his subsequent at-bat produced a liner into the right field corner, “I just kept going when I hit it” Valent would say after the game

“When I hit the ball in the corner like that, I knew I was going to third. I just wanted to hit the ball hard. It was cool. There aren’t a lot of guys that can say they hit for the cycle, no matter how long they play. It’s a lot of luck.”

By virtue of that statement to MLB.com, we can trace an awareness of the cycle’s aforementioned “coolness factor” to the players themselves.

Of the ten Mets who have hit for the cycle (the most recent being Scott Hairston on April 27th of last year), Valent could be said to tie with infielder Mike Phillips of the 1975 team for “least likely.” After a few more desultory appearances with the Mets the following season, he was out of baseball, but in the record books. That moment of his career at least, was pretty cool.

Mets Who Have Hit For The Cycle

April 27, 2012, Scott Hairston at Colorado

June 21, 2006, Jose Reyes vs. Cincinnati

July 29, 2004, Eric Valent at Montreal

Sept. 11, 1997, John Olerud vs. Montreal

July 3, 1996, Alex Ochoa at Philadelphia

Aug. 1, 1989, Kevin McReynolds at St. Louis

July 4, 1985, Keith Hernandez at Atlanta (19 innings)

June 25, 1976, Mike Phillips at Chicago

July 6, 1970, Tommie Agee vs. St. Louis

Aug. 7, 1963, Jim Hickman vs. St. Louis

The left fielder’s .417 on-base percentage was 11th in the majors entering play Saturday and his .538 slugging percentage ranked in the top 30.

But his remarkable selectivity could also be detrimental on a team that relies on the slugger to drive in runs from the middle of the order.

In 24 plate appearances with runners in scoring position this season, Lucas Duda has walked 33.3 percent of the time, tied for the highest rate in the league. But he has just two hits, both singles, and two runs batted in. He has struck out twice. His slugging percentage in those circumstances is just .133, the 12th-worst in the majors with runners in scoring position.

“You don’t want to change a guy’s approach too much, but there’s certain times — his swing percentage on first pitch is like seven percent or something — I’d like to see him swing,” Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens said this week.

During one of the games in the Marlins series, SNY analyst Keith Hernandez sounded frustrated with Duda during one at-bat where he took a first pitch strike down the middle, and then a second fastball for another strike. “What the heck is he doing up there? What’s he waiting for? There’s a runner on second and he should be looking fastball and swinging – I don’t understand any of this.” Duda popped up on a changeup leaving Wright stranded at second.

Then in Wednesday’s win against the Marlins and right after a John Buck two-run double, Duda took a couple of fat ones before working out a walk when Ron Darling sarcastically said, “big walk.” The Mets barely hung on to win the game 7-6, but an extra insurance run would have been nice to have after a six-game losing streak going into the game.

Duda did hit a solo home run on Friday night when the Mets beat the Braves 7-5., but he has been very passive as a middle of the order hitter and the Mets have him batting 4th or 5th in the past week.

Manager Terry Collins hinted at that after the game. ”He’s trying to be more selective, which is going to ultimately get him better pitches to hit,” Collins said. “Now, do damage.”

The owner is obviously wealthy, a multi-millionaire probably hundreds of times over. One thing I can say is that I don’t feel sorry for the guy.

Therefore, why do I feel sorry for another multi-millionaire named David Wright?

This year David will earn $16 million. If he plays every game this season, he will earn in one afternoon more than most of us earn in an entire year: $98,765. If he plays every single inning of every single game, David will make $10,974 per inning! But yet, I actually feel bad for the man.

David’s a stand-up guy. He’s been the face of the franchise for almost a decade now and will continue to be. He’s a clean cut athlete who stays out of trouble and is never caught up in scandalous headlines or PED rumors. He’s the type of ballplayer you can have your kids look up to. After a tough loss, it’s David who sits in front of his locker and patiently answers all the repetitive questions hurled at him from reporters. While most of his teammates head off to the showers and refuse to talk to the media, David does his job by helping the media do theirs.

He has all the similar traits of another much loved and revered Met by the name of Tom Seaver.

David Wright is only 30 and has already solidified his spot as the best all-around hitter in team history. Safe to say, he will break every team record by the time he leaves. He may also surpass Ed Kranepool as the longest tenured Met.

And this past winter, Sandy Alderson, to his credit, did lock up #5 for the long term. While I do applaud Alderson’s decision and thank David for his loyalty to the blue and orange, I still find myself feeling a bit sorry for him. I feel sorry that he drank Alderson’s Kool-Aid.

Athletes, like the rest of us, want to earn as much money as possible. Unlike Mike Hampton, who accepted an exorbitant salary from the Rockies and claimed his reason for going to Colorado was for the better school system, David is a class act.

The Mets GM tells us we are rebuilding. That it will take 3-5 years. By that time, David will be in his mid 30’s, his most productive years behind him. Yes, money is important, but to a professional athlete winning is more important than money. You cant buy a World Series ring.

Ty Cobb, the greatest hitter ever, never got to win a World Series. Ted Williams would have probably given up that .406 in 1941 for even the opportunity to appear in the Fall Classic.

While I applaud David’s loyalty (I never thought he’d stay), I wonder if he regrets his decision. Let’s be honest. No one is expecting a World Series flag flying over Citi Field anytime soon. Hell, no one’s even expecting us to be competitive in the foreseeable future.

I’m reminded of a little known pitcher named Ed Lynch. Lynch was mostly a spot-starter for the hapless Mets in the early 80’s. From 81-85, Lynch tossed 708 IP and posted a respectable 3.74 era. He was a workhorse who was 38-40 for a team that was far under .500. He was here as the Mets rebuilt. He was teammates with the likes of Lee Mazzilli, Hubie Brooks and John Pacella. Lynch was injured coming into the 1986 season and on June 30, after 6 years of service and just 4 months before the Mets won it all, Lynch was traded to the Cubs for the unforgettable Dave Liddell and Dave Lenderman. (who???) Ed Lynch missed all the fun.

Will this same fate meet David Wright? By the time the Mets are competitive, Wright may very well be expendable, his best days behind him.

I also fret about the boo birds. In spite of David’s stellar career and now being named Captain even he has not been without his critics. It’s been implied that he needs to be a leader on the field as well. I, too, would like to see him assume that leadership role, a la Keith Hernandez. But simply, some guys are not made that way. They don’t have that genetic makeup. And that’s not a slam on him. Cooperstown is filled with players who were not ‘team leaders.’ But yet, now that David is making $98,765 per game, will he be unfairly expected to assume that role?

His stats over the last 4 years (09-12)  are still respectable. But they do fall short of the numbers he put up the previous 4 seasons (05-08.)

As the Mets “rebuild,” one can’t help but wonder if David’s numbers will continue to suffer. It’s very likely there won’t be anyone at the top of the batting order he can bring home. And very little protection behind him. In 2012, David’s line was 307-21-93. Solid stats. But even if he manages to repeat those respectable numbers, are those the type of stats that, along with not being a team leader, warrant $16 million?

David is a much loved Met. No doubt about that. But as we will stumble our way through another season, as the dog days of summer drag on, as attendance drops and our big battle will be beating Miami to stay out of the cellar, I wonder if Wright may unfairly be booed. It seems like there’s always a fall guy, someone to blame, be it Willie Randolph, Aaron Heilman, coaches, even trainers.

So, to David Wright, I thank you. Thanks for being a stand-up guy. Thanks for remaining loyal to the blue and orange. Thanks for not being all about the money and giving Alderson a chance.

He may wind up like Cobb and never win a World Series. Or Williams and never get to play in one. But hey, think of the bright side. Maybe 20 years from now the #5 will be in a circle on the outfield wall alongside #41.

Maybe…

I was 13 years old and it was October in New York City. Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was on TV. While listening to Evans speak, I remembered Billy Buckner, who was not in the auditorium with us, but the memory of that amazing night was vivid in my mind. All I could think about was that ball rolling between his legs and that famous call by Vin Scully:

“A little roller up along first; behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!”

Every time I hear that call, it gives me goosebumps. I feel like a kid again. I was watching the game in my room and from what I can remember, there were three very nervous people in my home wishing and praying that something miraculous would happen as the Mets neared the end of Game 6.

While my stepfather watched the game in the living room, my mother was in the bedroom reading and relying upon me for instant updates from me. We lived on the second floor of a duplex in the East New York section of Brooklyn, and the rooms weren’t that far from each other. So running into her room to give her updates and running back, didn’t take too long  and was actually quite fun.

As the game went along and the Mets found themselves down 2-0, my heart was pounding very hard and I couldn’t breathe. It was only the 4th inning, but being down three games to two and needing to win this game, I couldn’t begin to tell you how frazzled my nerves were.

Then the Mets tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Whew, a sigh of relief went through my body, now I could finally breathe a little. At this I wondered why my mom wouldn’t come out her room and watch the game with my stepfather on the big TV in the living room. It was if she was too nervous to watch and preferred my between innings updates.

I had this thing, that throughout the World Series, no one was allowed to watch the game in my room; it was off limits because I wanted to be alone when it mattered most and if I wanted to scream or yell, I didn’t want anyone to tell me to shut up.  Neither of them would dare come in especially after the second game of the series, they knew I needed to be alone – just me and my Mets.

Now back to the game. It’s now the top of the 7th and those damned Red Sox scored again, Oh man was I having a fit, but that was short lived because the Mets scored to tie it again in the bottom of the eighth at 3-3.  What a nail-biter this was becoming.

“It’s okay,” I would say to myself. “David, just breathe man, just breath, they will do it, just like the song says. “Do it…Let’s go! Do it…Let’s go!  Lets make it happen!”

We’ll win it in the bottom of the ninth – I was convinced. That’s what I kept telling myself. However, the bottom of the ninth just comes and goes and we are headed into extra-innings. I’m sweating profusely while gazing at my TV in a trance-like state after watching the Red Sox score two runs to take the lead 5-3.

This can’t be happening. Please God, don’t let it end like this…

My mind went blank. I was now so upset that my mother yelled toward my room telling me to stop screaming. By now she was huddled with my stepfather and watching it all unfold together. What’s the matter with them? Did they not just see what has happened; of course I’m screaming.

I dug my head in my pillow and remembered praying real hard that if God would just allow the Mets to somehow come back, that I would always listen to my mom. I am sure my mother would get a thrill if she could read this part of this post.

Here we go… We’re down to our last three outs and before I can finish my praying, Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez both hit fly balls for outs.  Now its two outs and nobody on and I can hear my mother whisper to my stepfather, “Oh this is not good.”

I am sure she was more concerned about me and what my reaction would be rather than the Mets who looked like they were about to lose the World Series.  For so many years at school. my friends had given me a verbal beating for rooting for the Mets rather than the Yankees.

But the Mets were my team and I would be there for them no matter how bad they were. But in 1986, they weren’t bad, they were the most dominating team in the game. It was hard to sit and watch them go down like this. I just couldn’t stand to sit there and watch them lose the biggest game in their history at the time. I was dying inside and then suddenly a glimmer of hope…

One of my favorite Met players Gary Carter came up to bat. And as I peeked through my fingers, as if I am watching a horror flick, I prayed one last time for a miracle. There it was! A base-hit  by Carter and the Mets were still alive!

And before I knew it another base-hit by Kevin Mitchell and suddenly we had two men on and the winning run at the plate and it’s Ray Knight.  I am alive again for just a moment, and think okay, a home run right here and we win. Knight lines another a base-hit and Carter scores as Mitchell hustles to third base.  At this point I start to hear some noise coming from outside my window. I can hear screams from my neighbors, but I just didn’t want to get too excited yet, it was still two outs and the tying run was on third base.

Mookie Wilson comes up to bat.  The pitch comes in toward Mookie and he leaps in the air in one swift motion as the ball goes under him and to the backstop, and Mitchell scores to tie the game. Oh My God, the neighborhood erupted, people screaming out the windows, I have tears running down my face, I am so excited that I start to cry.  I can’t believe what I just witnessed, was it real, could it actually be happening.  I run into the living room, and give my mother and stepfather high-fives and run right back to my spot. The game isn’t over yet, but we are back in it and the winning run is now at third base in Ray Knight.

And then it happens… The play that any Met fan watching will never forget – the image burned into our minds forever. A ground ball to first base, everything seems goes into slow motion and I all I hear is that famous Vin Scully call:

“A little roller up along first; behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!”

What, Oh My God, Oh My God, we win, we win, and now my mother and stepfather come running into my room, we are screaming, I am screaming out the window, my friends are all coming out their homes and a party is going on in the street that night.  What a game and with one more win the Mets will become champs.

Well we all know what happens in Game 7 of the World Series.  I got to witness my very first Mets championship, and unfortunately to this point it has been their last.  But I still have hope that they will get it together and allow me the opportunity to relive the Glory Days and witness some more of that Mets magic.

After the Mets win the series, my mother promises me that I could go to the parade, even if it meant me missing school. I am not sure what she told the nuns at my school, but who cares – I was going to the Canyon of Heroes in New York City to celebrate the greatest Met moment of my life. Nothing else mattered other than the Mets were finally champions – and to all my friends that mocked me, I finally had something to brag about.

The night before the parade, my stepfather tells us that we need to be there no later than 7:00 AM.  He says that millions of people will be there and we need to get a head-start. When we arrive in downtown Manhattan, I kid you not, no one was there.

It was 7:00 AM in the morning and the crew that were preparing the parade route were just arriving and just starting to put the barricades up. But because of my stepfather’s insistence that we get there early, we had a great vantage point for the greatest parade I would ever see.  Front row seats to watch our Champions parade down the Canyon of Heroes. How lucky can you get!

It was great… It was amazing… It was a day that is embedded in my brain and I will never forget.  A former Red Sox was a guest speaker a church breakfast meeting and revived one of the greatest games in Mets history. Thanks Dewey.

Here are some pictures we took the day of the parade. They’re not great, but I picked out the best ones that I could share with all of great Met fans on MMO. I hope you enjoyed my story.

October 28, 1986

World Champion Mets Victory Parade

1986 Mets Parade: Darryl Strawberry batted cleanup that day...

1986 Mets Parade: NYPD Blue

1986 Mets Parade: I'm Keith Hernandez...

1986 Mets Parade: That's a Roger...

1986 Mets Parade: Rick Aguilera was there too...

1986 Mets Parade: Here they come...

1986 Mets Parade: Let's have a party!

1986 Mets Parade: Bobby Ojeda and family...

1986 Mets Parade: Mookie Wilson was all smiles...

When logging onto the Mets’ website there was an advertisement plugging Harvey T-Shirts. And, all of this is for a guy who was starting just his 15^th major league game.

I am waiting for the Mets to put him on a banner outside the stadium, joining the likes of Keith Hernandez and David Wright; Ed Kranepool and Bud Harrelson; Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack.

Make no mistake, Harvey is a good Met, but not yet a great one. There is plenty of time for him to reach that distinction.

“I don’t get caught up in the marketing angle,’’ manager Terry Collins said when asked if this is too much, too soon, much the way it was last winter for the Knicks and Lin-sanity.

“I don’t thing he gets caught up in it, either. Let’s ride the wave. This guy is ready.’’

He might have been ready last night, but clearly was not sharp against the Los Angeles Dodgers despite the relaxed definition of a quality start. The no-decision indicates Harvey still has growing to do, but does not diminish what he’s already achieved.

“I didn’t like it,’’ Harvey said of his performance in Wednesday night’s 7-3, 10-inning victory. “Tonight was about winning, and we did that. … I have work to do.’’

That humility is why the Mets believe they have something special. Technically, it was a quality start – three runs given up in six innings – but Harvey knows he has to do better than 90 pitches. He knows that many pitches should get him to, if not through, the eighth inning.

History is full of powerful young arms that captured the imagination of not only their fan base, but also those across the nation. Look at Tom Seaver, Vida Blue, Mark Fydrych, Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Guidry, Dwight Gooden and Stephen Strasburg.

The Mets are banking on Harvey to join this prestigious list. Last night won’t remove him from consideration and won’t stop the rumblings of him possibly starting the All-Star Game at Citi Field in July.

The Mets are riding the Harvey wave, but there is an underlying fear is the attention could be too much this early. The expectations of Harvey increase with each start, of which last night’s was nationally telecast by ESPN.

It has been a long time since the Mets had a pitcher of Harvey’s marketability. Gooden perhaps nearly 30 years ago? Or Seaver? No other homegrown Met arm comes immediately to mind.

Gooden was such a long time ago, so you can’t blame the organization for being excited about having somebody this charismatic to promote. As much as Collins raves about Harvey’s demeanor and composure, a case can be made for going overboard. All this attention is a lot to absorb.

The Mets made sure to handle Harvey with kid gloves before bringing him up, so why push things now?

Let him concentrate on pitching first and not being a rock star.

Thoughts from Joe D.

He is a rock star!

But please no pies to his face from John Buck…

Baseball is a game of adjustments. The Mets under Dave Hudgens’ tutelage have adopted a doctrine of selectivity that emphasizes seeing lots of pitches, running up pitch-counts, zoning in on your pitch, and ultimately getting on base one way or another. There has been a lot of discussion on MMO about whether this approach is effective. The consensus, bolstered by a pile of data, seems to be that it is. Teams that take lots of pitches get on base more, teams that get on base score more runs … but if we’ve learned anything from following baseball over the years, it’s that successful trends tend to be attacked from every angle until a weakness is isolated and exploited.

The pitching side will adjust sooner or later, if they haven’t already. We saw the Giants, Nationals and Phillies come through Flushing late last summer pounding the zone, and it seemed like just about every one of our hitters were behind in the count before you could blink. Quality pitchers will do that to you … we have one of our own in Matt Harvey who has been doing that to opposing lineups routinely. Keith Hernandez noted on several occasions last year that when facing top-tier pitchers like Lee and Gonzales, the Mets struggled to adjust.

One problem that I’ve had with the Mets high OBP philosophy has been the blanket application of this approach system wide, with little regard to individual skill sets. You get the sense that they’re trying to squeeze more than a few round pegs into square holes … Not only does this fail with players who simply don’t have the aptitude to adjust (Kirk maybe?), but, there may actually be a place for the unpredictable aggressive hitter in a good lineup, if only to keep opposing pitchers honest.

First pitch strikes are up all over the league as a result of teams trying to be more selective and early indications are that hitters are taking these pitches. Most hitters that is … John Buck, hasn’t been one of them. John Buck, who has never been a very patient hitter, has been even less patient in 2013.

Watching the Met lineup this year has been entertaining. Any combination of lead-off hitters will take take take, swing … Murphy will take swing take take swing,  Wright will take a bunch of pitches then hit a triple, Ike will sometimes swing at the first pitch then take a bunch of borderline called strikes then he’ll whine and fuss and grimace, Duda seems like he walks every other at bat, then Buck will come up and launch a first pitch fastball 460 feet. He’s taking pitchers off guard. They get locked into this pattern of trying to get ahead with fastballs (because the rest of the lineup is so gosh darned selective), by the time Buck comes up it’s easy pickings.

Buck’s first pitch strike percentage has jumped from 61.1% last season, to 69.4% this year. His walk rate? After two seasons where he set career highs in BB% (which could very well be why the Mets were interested in him in the first place), this season he has seen his walk rate drop from 12.3% last year to 3.0% in 66 plate appearances so far in 2013. Go ahead, try and make sense of that.

When you look at other plate discipline metrics they’re all fairly comparable to his career norms with a few exceptions, his contact rates. Buck has a surprising 69% contact rate on pitches thrown outside the strike zone (o-contact %) and a whopping 85.1% contact rate on pitches thrown inside the zone (z-contact %). He’s not really being more selective, he’s just not missing pitches when he swings.

Buck’s contact metrics are up across the board, and at 9.9% his swinging strike percentage is at a career low. He’s not swinging any less either, he’s as aggressive (both in and out of the zone) as he’s ever been and he’s walking way less even though he is playing for a team that preaches being selective (!) … and, he’s been wildly successful. Why? Because his contact rates are up. Well, why are his contact rates up? Because he’s been dropped into this very patient lineup and he’s reaping all the benefits of clobbering fastballs off pitchers who come in pounding the zone … to the tune of  7 home runs and 22 RBI while hitting .290/.303/.661.

John Buck’s contact rates over the past 4 seasons:

The lesson here? Variety … the spice of life as they say. I like the selective/patient approach as much as anyone, I like the idea of running pitch counts up and long at bats — they annoy pitchers and tire them out at the very least, but you have to mix in a few free radicals to keep pitchers off balance. As a pitcher it’s a lot more difficult to prepare for a lineup reflecting a bunch of diverse skill sets than a homogenous always-patient top to bottom bunch. It’s really what made the 86 Mets so devastating.

It’s hard for a pitcher who gets accustomed to pounding the zone to suddenly alter his approach here, and there, and again there … they are less likely to get into a groove. This is why I advocated from the beginning for letting Kirk play to his aggressive tendencies in the 6 or 7 spot rather than forcing him into the lead-off role, but noooo, Terry Collins had to try him in the lead-off role … Exploiting pitchers who get into the habit of grooving early strikes is also probably why Ike hit so many first pitch home runs last year.

Again, not a knock on “selective aggression” or whatever Hudgens calls it, but there were times last year when I felt like the lineup stagnated because there were too many predictable hitters who seemed to have identical approaches. They were vulnerable to pitchers who worked inside the strike-zone. Carefully embedding a few aggressive hackers in a patient lineup may result in more of what we’re seeing with Buck.

Eventually the league will adjust and stop throwing Buck these fat first pitch fastballs, at that point we may see an up-tick in walks and we’ll see if he in turn can adjust … but the premise should still hold. There is a benefit to carefully placing a few aggressive hitters in an otherwise selective lineup because they stand a good chance of capitalizing on pitchers who adjust by pounding the strike zone early in the count.

Call Washington, I think we just made Contact.

The day started off on a sour note. I had my weekend MMO press credential clipped to my tie as I walked up to Target Field to see the Mets take on the Twins. I arrived on time for the pregame press conference only to be confronted by a big no-nonsense Security Guard at the entrance to the Met clubhouse. I explained to him that I was with Metsmerized Online, that I had a press credential. Didn’t matter. My credential included a field pass and access to the press box but not the clubhouse. “See, right there,” he said pointing to my card. “But I got in last night,” I said. “Terry Collins said we should be back at 11:45.” He just shrugged his shoulders. I felt like I did in the third grade when I couldn’t go on the field trip to the zoo because I forgot to get my permission slip.

I decided to walk out onto the field and calm down. Watching the groundskeepers on this frosty April morning prepare the field was about as soothing an image as I could ask for under the circumstances. I’d take it in stride and do what I could outside of attending the press briefing I thought. I went back up to the press box and started sorting through some pictures and chatting with some of the Minnesota press corps. They were about as nice a group of guys as you could assemble. Maybe they knew I’d been left out and were trying to cheer me up, or, maybe it was a Minnesota thing. People in Minnesota sure can be nice. I saw that the Mets had gone back out to the field and figured I’d head out and take some photos.

I went down the elevator into the bowels of Target Field (sub level -2!) with food prep people and racks and racks of cotton candy lining the long circular corridor … I turned down a door marked “Field Access” and walked up beside the Met dugout.

I could see David Wright signing some autographs, Justin Turner clowning around with his bright red beard, different groups of players stretching. Eventually one of the conditioning coaches came out and guided the majority of the team in what looked like some sort of abbreviated stretching routine. It reminded me of boot camp only the salary here was probably a little better.

At that point I notice Sandy Alderson walk up from the dugout. He looked around and started up a conversation with Jay Horwitz. I thought here’s my chance, go up and ask for an interview. I paced around awkwardly and finally just walked over and introduced myself and my affiliation with MMO, and asked Sandy if he could answer some questions.

Amazingly, he agreed, which took me completely off guard – I was expecting him to say “Sorry, no time.” I’d gone into this way too quickly. My mind went blank. He looked at me, waiting. “Hmm lets see,” I said, trying to stall. C’mon brain, DO something, THINK … a question, ANY question. I was about to blurt out “So how about this weather?” when all of my many Mets related questions came flooding back. It’s a good thing too because I think Sandy was about to walk away, most likely thinking they’re missing one at the funny farm.

I held up my handy iTouch video recorder and began. My first question was about the Stanton rumors which he responded to by cutting me off with a simple emphatic, “No.” No? I thought? That’s it? No to what, the question, or did he reconsider granting the interview? Another awkward pause. Fortunately I gathered my senses and asked for clarification. When it was all said and done he’d graciously answered every question. What a great guy I thought as I walked away. I couldn’t wait to watch the replay when I looked down at my recording device and noticed … I hadn’t pressed the record button.

I felt dizzy, the stadium was spinning around me as the blood rose to my head and I started to sweat. I went up and down the steps searching for the video in vain but it was not there, it would never be there. I wanted to punch myself in the face 26 times and then I wanted to bang my head against the concrete wall another 17 times or so until I’d pass out, but I didn’t because the security guards were eying me suspiciously by then. Maybe I could find an out of the way empty room where I could scream for about 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. My one chance and I’d blown it spectacularly.

I dragged my sorry self back up to the press box running the interview over in my head. Maybe I could go back and ask him for another interview? HA! He’d really think I was crazy. “Excuse me sir, but I forgot to press this big red button the first time, could we do the whole thing over again?” Yeah, not happening. The day was turning into a nightmare, with my luck Harvey would get shelled and blow his elbow out.

I went back up with the same dejected look on my face that I had after I’d missed the press briefing.They must have thought jeez why are these Mets people so sad? I told a couple of the guys about the video and, surprisingly, they said “yeah, it happens.” Which made me feel quite a bit better. “Get it down on paper.” They said. So I did.

By the time I was done the game was about to start and I thought the written interview and commentary afterwards wasn’t half bad. There were a lot more people around by then and there was a buzz in the air. I got up to use the rest room and turned a corner too quick nearly running into Keith Hernandez. I looked up and thought, wow, it’s Keith Hernandez … look like you belong Matt look like you belong … I nodded my head in greeting and he looked at me suspiciously, like he knew what I was up to or something (I swear I’m not making that up) … I think maybe he was messing with me. Keith is an interesting guy … he should run for Mayor.

The day turned out to be a pretty good day after all. Harvey was again unbelievable, pitching a no-hitter through six and two-thirds innings. The Mets won 4 – 2. Jay Horwitz talked to the uptight security guard and got me into the post game briefing, and the Mets had saved me yet again from my own foolishness.

After discussing my earlier post with me on Twitter, Mike Newman of FanGraphs conducted his own polling to one of the largest trafficked sports sites on the web. There are the results.

My conclusion?

Too many Mets fans are prospect drunk…

I would speculate that a similar poll on MMO would be somewhere in the middle with the majority of them pulling the trigger on such a deal without hesitation.

Original Post 9:00 AM

I am well aware of how every Mets’ site has their own readership of Mets fans, especially so when it comes to their commenting community, for those few sites like ours fortunate to have a steady commenting community. The differences are stark.

I was very surprised this morning when I saw the results on a poll Mets Blog took yesterday on if they would swap prospects d’Arnaud and Wheeler in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Actually, the word “surprised” might be a bit too mild, I think “stunned” would be a better choice.

Wow, almost two thirds would say NO to the younger and more established Stanton who is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

“In a heartbeat,” said one Mets official, who is not in general manager Sandy Alderson’s inner-circle of decision makers but has a voice in discussions. “Nothing against those kids, but it’s Giancarlo.”

Stanton put up those gaudy numbers at ages 20-22. He just turned 23 and is still four years away from his prime 5-6 years of peak production.

I asked no less than – I don’t know – 10-12 different media types from Rosenthal to Callis to Heyman and not one said they wouldn’t pull the trigger. I asked three Mets players who requested to remain anonymous and one said, “Do you really have to ask?”

That is the majority sentiment on MMO as well. That poll up there just showed me the difference between MetsBlog regulars and Mets Merized Online regulars. The two couldn’t be more different.

Almost 75% of MetsBlog readers would rather keep the two unknown quantities rather than adding a proven 23-year old superstar even under the current Mets outfield situation… Wow!

To all of our MMO daily readers… All 16,000 of you… Well 17,000 if you just go by Monday… Have I ever told you how much I love you? :-)

I think it’s cool that when hot button issues come up like this one, that we have two megalithic sites for Mets fans that offer a nice contrast and together comprise the whole of the entire fan base.

Original Post 3/11

The Mets “retain an unfilled craving for a marquee outfielder,” writes Andy Martino of the Daily News.

Martino says that the team is monitoring star outfielders such as Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.

One Mets person told Martino “there is heat there,” in regard to the team having a preliminary discussion with the Marlins about Stanton, suggesting serious interest.

There is no evidence that GMs Sandy Alderson and Larry Beinfest have discussed a Stanton deal, only speculation. But it does sound like there’s some serious interest on both sides.

This adds to what Ken Davidoff of the New York Post said in a different report yesterday, where he said Stanton, Gonzalez and Andre Ethier are among seven outfielders the Mets might consider acquiring this season or next winter. I didn’t much care for the other four outfielders on his list. Soriano? No thanks.

If the Mets are truly serious and this isn’t just them blowing some smoke up our behinds, they must know it would cost them likely two of their top prospects, namely starting pitcher Zack Wheeler and catcher Travis D’Arnaud.

Surprisingly, someone close to Alderson’s told Martino the the Mets GM does not have any particular attachment to either of those players, simply because he traded for them.

The Mets had already considered, but then declined on trading Wheeler to get Justin Upton or Wil Myers, during the Winter Meetings.

There’s nothing  close here so don’t get the wrong idea. But usually where there’s smoke there’s fire so let’s keep an eye on this.

That said, the Mets obviously need a marquee outfielder and they have to stop playing pretend with this current group of flawed outfielders, many of whom wouldn’t be starting on a lot of teams not named the Mets.

The Starting Pitching

Two words: Matt Harvey. Harvey has been stellar … actually more than stellar, he has been intergalactic. What has impressed me about Harvey is his poise and his fledgling ability to control the came by sheer force of will. No one wants to face Harvey right now, he is overpowering … that’s a scary weapon to have on any team. Need a win? He’s your guy. You can’t put a value metric on that. You aren’t getting swept if Harvey is pitching. If he’s pitching the final game and you’ve won the first two you’re probably looking at a sweep.  Never underestimate the power of a true ace. Matt Harvey really does remind me of Tom Seaver, and there really are some uncanny similarities.

Then there is John Niese, who has been outstanding. I continue to maintain that Niese’s curveball is one of the most underrated pitches in the major leagues. When he’s dropping that thing in for strikes he’s as tough as anyone in baseball. Previous years Niese would unravel after a bloop and a walk. Not so since about half way through 2012, Niese is showing some tenacity under duress, which makes him pretty tough to beat. Right now Harvey and Niese comprise a legitimate one-two punch and there’s a school of thought that subscribes to the belief that two ace level pitchers at the top of a rotation is all you really need to contend. Unfortunately I’m not sure that’s true.

The rotation gets pretty dicey after our top two. Dillon Gee and Jeremy Heffner have been wildly inconsistent with command issues. You get the sense that maybe Gee wasn’t quite ready coming out of spring training, and Heffner just seems to leave too many fat pitches over the middle of the plate. We need Shaun Marcum to hurry up and get better because one more reliable starter and I think the balances are tipped in Mets favor in terms of matching up with other rotations. Lets just say Aaron Laffey seems ill-equipped as his replacement.

The Offense

Two words: Homer happy! The Mets have been hitting home runs like it’s 1998 … Duda hit one the other night at CBP in Philly that I swear was still going up when it hit the upper deck. The man may be lost in the field, but his power is freakish. I feel like he hasn’t even really gotten a hold of one yet, what happens when he does? He could knock a satellite out of orbit, he could hit one to North Korea. How about John Buck? Yeah yeah yeah, I keep hearing how he’s going to come back to earth, whatever. Here’s the thing, with the head start he’s got? Barring injury he’s going to have to come down pretty hard and pretty fast and extremely soon because if he keeps up this rate in another week or so it wont matter, he’ll be able to go back to his lifetime averages and still have the best season of his career (and probably make the all-star game). John Buck is playing with house money at this point.

David Wright I’m not worried about, and Jordany Valdespin needs more playing time. Ike Davis is going to break out sooner or later if he can get his head straightened out. Here’s the thing about Ike. When Ike first came up I was amazed that he was able to make as much contact as he did given his long loopy swing. He was able to because he has great timing, problem is when his timing is off he really struggles, again because of that long loopy swing. The thing that frustrates me about Ike is that he’s playing into the opposition’s prescribed approach. They put the stupid shift on (it’s stupid the shift – no other way to describe it) and they toss him a steady diet of breaking pitches.

Now, correct me, but when Ike came up didn’t he hit to all fields? I remember him talking about how his dad used to make him hit to the opposite field when he was a kid. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened, the stupid shift happened, it got into his head. Ike has fallen into the trap of not adjusting his game to the shift, like it’s taboo or something to change your approach because your approach is what got you to the bigs. Well the problem is, hitting to all fields IS what got Ike to the bigs … since when did he become a strictly pull hitter? I remember Keith Hernandez was incredulous at first that they were even trying the shift on Ike because Ike was always a guy who spread the ball around. Ike needs to get together with Hudgens and practice punching the ball down the third base line, get a few easy doubles, get that average up, get himself going, then he can hit as many homeruns as his heart desires. The rest of the lineup has been playing more or less as expected. We need an outfielder, badly, but in the meantime, Baxter and Valdespin should be splitting lead-off duties.

The Defense

Outside of a few misjudged fly balls by Duda and an inexplicable run of poor play by Tejada I think the defense is actually improved. Murphy has been solid. Ike hasn’t been great at first but I think he’ll settle in. Baxter is a great outfielder and Byrd can hold his own. Center field hasn’t been the disaster we were afraid of, and again, Duda plays the outfield like he’s wearing boots of lead. Wright has been a gold glove third baseman and John Buck has given us a strong veteran presence behind the plate. This team isn’t going to win or lose because of it’s defense, and that is actually a marked improvement.

The Bullpen

Jeckyl and Hyde. The bullpen has had it’s good nights and it’s nightmares. Greg Burke, after one bad outing has been pretty good, that freaky windup of his makes my eyeballs hurt so I can’t imagine it’s easy on hitters. Scott Atchison has been the token “scary old guy” in the pen and he’s been quality through and through, Hawkins has been inconsistent — pretty much the same guy I remember in Minnesota, and Bobby Parnell is throwing a 92 mph change up (need I say more?) I will say more … when he figured out how to dial it back to 91 or 92 to improve his command little did we know he’d still bring the 99 mph heat after he’d get ahead ..  so it amounts to a 92 mph changeup — which is SICK! Anyway, Parnell is fun to watch … and the rest of the bullpen is giving me hope. Josh Edgin has been shaky but reliable and I think he’ll settle in. Overall, with Francisco and Feliciano and Carson and (potentially) Mejia in reserve this bullpen may actually have some depth to bridge the inevitable injuries during the dog days of summer. Fingers crossed on this one.

Overall

I’m hopeful. Right now, as constituted, if they can stay relatively healthy I think this is a .500 team. Maybe a few games better. Things need to break right, the back end of the rotation will need a boost – either by means of Marcum or Wheeler coming to the rescue or Gee and Heffner figuring out their command issues. Ike has to get it going and Wright needs to hit a few out of the park (has he hit any since his injury?). There are concerns, this team’s success is tentative at best. The back end of the rotation let us down in Philly but hopefully Philly won’t always be lucky enough to face Gee and Heffner in the same series in their band box of a home park.

This next series against Minnesota is important. They need to establish resilience, and what better place than a sub freezing tundra on the edge of the great plains against a young and scrappy American League Central team with Ron Gardenhire as their manager. I’ll be there for every game with my lucky hat and my heat-treat pocket warmers.

TARGET FIELD: I think we’re gonna need a bigger shovel.

But there are also games that seem to be indicative of some kind of destiny intended for a team. When it appears in retrospect that a team was destined for greatness, the games that stick out are the type where a win that seemed wholly improbable at one point was captured either through perseverance, dumb luck, a managerial gamble, or some apparently mysterious force. Such was the case when the Mets met up with the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium on the night of July 22 of that memorable year.

The Mets were down to their last out in the top of the ninth, trailing 3-1 as Keith Hernandez faced John Franco with the tying runs on base. Hernandez lifted an easy fly to right that looked to be the last gasp for the NY squad as the Reds’ Dave Parker settled under it. In a stunning turn of events, Parker dropped the easy chance and the runners scurried home to tie the score. Given second life, the Mets began a tenacious and somewhat  outre’ extra-inning odyssey.

A combination of factors including the use of 3 pinch hitters, a double switch, and an ejection (Darryl Strawberry in the 6th for arguing a strike call) had left the Met bench bereft of options for manager Davey Johnson. As the game moved into the bottom of the 10th, Johnson brought in Jesse Orosco as the fifth Met pitcher of the evening. It was at this point that an element of strangeness began to pervade the proceedings.

After Parker was retired for the first out, Pete Rose, then player/manager of the Reds, inserted himself as a pinch hitter and singled. He then reverted to straight managerial mode and brought in Eric Davis to pinch run. Davis promptly stole second and then went for third on a subsequent pitch. His hard slide brought him into contact with Mets third sacker Ray Knight who responded with a bit of contact of his own. A shoving match ensued along with some words being exchanged and before you knew it, Knight’s Golden Gloves instincts had led him to pop Davis right in the kisser. The result was your standard bench-clearing bedlam, and when order was restored, two players from each team were ejected including Knight, Davis, Reds pitcher Mario Soto and Mets RF Kevin Mitchell who had been inserted to replace Strawberry. This left the Mets without sufficient position players to field a full team as the only remaining bench asset at this point was backup catcher Ed Hearn.

Having conferred with his coaches and remaining eligible players, Johnson elected to shift Gary Carter from behind the plate to third replacing Knight and inserted Hearn at Catcher. The outfield was another matter entirely.

Anticipating the probability of needing a right handed arm to spell Orosco if the game continued much beyond the current inning, Johnson inserted reliever Roger McDowell in RF and initiated a strange merry-go-round of pitchers and outfield alignments to compensate for the Mets’ suddenly shorter bench.

As different Reds players came to bat, Johnson would shift either Orosco or McDowell to the mound based primarily on whom he felt could best induce the batter to hit the ball to an established outfielder if solid contact was made (at this point, Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra comprised the other two thirds of the outfield).

As the game wore on, players were shifted repeatedly as Johnson managed to dodge situations where his pitcher/outfielders would actually have to figure in a defensive play. By way of contrast, one of his other displaced troops sparkled in the bottom of the twelfth when, with two Reds on base and none out, emergency third sacker Carter figured in the middle of a nicely turned double play to end the threat.

In the bottom of the thirteenth, Tony Perez stepped to the plate seemingly intent on exploiting the Mets’ compromised defense.  Looking for a pitch he could drive the other way, he swung at a McDowell offering and lined a shot to right field where Orosco was stationed. Jesse made a quick lateral move and snagged the liner, unable to suppress a smile at the seeming absurdity of it all.

Finally, in the top of the fourteenth, Howard Johnson provided the coup de grace with a long three-run bomb off pitcher Ted Power and McDowell finished the Reds off for a 6-3 victory.  In retrospect, the result of this game seemed almost inevitable, as the Mets of that season were a juggernaut that apparently could beat you with one outfielder tied behind their back.

The Mets made it official this afternoon and named David Wright the team’s captain, joining a select group that includes John Franco, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter.

“This is probably one of the proudest days of my career so far,” Wright said. “I’m honored and very proud to be on that short list of guys that have been considered captain of this franchise. For me, it’s a dream come true, to say the least.”

There has been speculation for years – as far back when Willie Randolph was manager – and intensified  this winter when Wright was signed to a $138-million eight-year extension. Manager Terry Collins said at the start of spring training it was something he was considering, but needed to run it through GM Sandy Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon, as well as poll the clubhouse.

It was a foregone conclusion the announcement would be made prior to Opening Day. According to ESPN, Wilpon said the second Wright signed the contract there was nothing else to think about.

“When you commit that kind of money and resources that we have to a guy like this, you want to make sure he’s the leader,” chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said. “And he’s proven to be that.”

During the Randolph era, the manager said the promotion might be awkward because that team was loaded with veterans such as Carlos Delgado – who became a mentor to Jose Reyes – Carlos Beltran, and pitchers Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez.

At the time, Randolph said there wasn’t a need for a captain because of the veteran influence. Then came the Jerry Manuel era, but the team was so bad it seemed like a futile gesture.

Even so, Wright was always the face of the franchise, and the one player the media sought out for analysis on the Mets or anything else relating to baseball.

Wright will not wear a “C” on his uniform, but his leadership has been obvious in the clubhouse for years. Once, Reyes wanted to stay in a game, but was clearly hobbled. Wright, knowing an injured Reyes could be a liability told the manager, then Manuel.

Wright has worked closely with the pitchers and was one of the few players who could reach Mike Pelfrey when he was losing concentration. He often goes to the mound when a rattled pitcher needs to catch his breath.

With the Mets moving in a youth direction, there was no veteran presence other than Wright, who, as an All-Star had the talent to back up the promotion.

At the start of camp, Wright said being captain would be an honor, but wanted it through his teammates and not an edict from ownership or management.

“This is where I wanted to start my career and finish my career,” Wright said. “I feel very comfortable and very confident in this role.”

Today was just a formality. Wright has captained this team through good times and bad for the last five years. From the moment Wright was first called up, he has shown himself to be a leader in every sense of the word and has done so with integrity and honor.

He was never one to run and hide after an awful loss or those forgettable collapses in 2007 and 2008. Instead he  stood front and center in front of his locker and was always willing to take the bullet for the team.

As the years wore on, Wright eventually assumed the role of team ambassador, and no player in franchise history has done a better job despite the the negativity he was forced to navigate in. Despite it all, he always stood strong and wore his team colors proudly.

His record of accomplishments speak for themselves and he leads the team in over a dozen different offensive categories, many of which will likely never be broken.

Wright is too modest to wear the “C” on his uniform like all of his predecessors have. Instead he gets the “C” for class by all of us here at Mets Merized Online.

A heartfelt congratulations to David Wright – Our Captain.

Contributed to by John Delcos.

Updated on 3/21

Terry Collins just announced that the Mets have named David Wright the captain of the New York Mets.

Wright becomes the fourth captain in team history, joining Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and John Franco.

“This is probably one of the proudest days of my career so far,” Wright said.

“To be viewed in this light – by ownership, by Sandy and the front office, the coaching staff, and most importantly by the players – means a great deal to me. I’m honored and proud to be on the short list of guys of captains of this franchise. It’s a dream come true, to say the least, and something I am very, very proud of.”

Wright will not wear the “C” on his jersey, unlike the captains before him.

Interestingly enough, yesterday I think I told Clayton (was it you Clayton?) that this news was going to break today.

Original Post 3/13

From Bakersfield, California to Bayonne, New Jersey, Mets third baseman David Wright has become an overnight sensation as he continues to shine for Team USA in the World baseball Classic. Step aside Justin Bieber.

From trending nationally on Twitter to being the hot baseball topic on sports talk shows from coast to coast, Wright has gone from face of the Mets franchise to the face of Team USA and his fans now number in the millions.

Meanwhile, back in Port St. Lucie, the buzz about Wright goes beyond his exploits in the WBC and questions regarding his captaincy still continue. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, caught up with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, who is happy for Wright and said It’s nice that they’re calling him Captain America.

When asked if Wright would be named the Mets’ team captain before Opening Day, Wilpon responded by saying he could not talk about it, but Rubin believes it sounded like something could be happening soon. If it does happen, Wright would become the fourth captain in team history, joining Keith Hernandez (1987-89), Gary Carter (1988-89) and John Franco (2001-04).

Of course, the big story of the Spring is David Wright’s dominating performance in the WBC for Team USA. He leads the team with a .438 batting average, .750 slugging percentage and a 1.276 OPS. Wright’s 10 RBIs are also the most in the WBC.

This great graphic of Wright as Captain America was designed and posted by @theroar_24 on Twitter and has been making the rounds all over the Mets blogosphere. I love it!

Team USA will battle against the powerhouse Dominican Republic at Marlins Park on Thursday night at 7:00 PM in what is certain to be an epic clash. The winner will move onto the semi-final round at San Francisco’s AT&T Park.

Former Met and reigning NL Cy Young R.A. Dickey will be on the mound for Team USA and will face-off against Samuel Deduno for the DR.

GO TEAM USA!

Harvey gave up a three-run homer to Washington’s Bryce Harper in the first inning, but rebounded to throw three scoreless innings and strike out six in an 8-5 loss.

Harvey settled down to retire 11 of the final 12 hitters against him; a very good sign for any pitcher let alone a young one after a rough start.

“I struggled there in the first inning, obviously. I think I came out a little too excited and needed to tone that down a little bit,’’ Harvey told reporters. “I made one bad pitch and it cost me three runs.’’

Harvey said he came out pumped in trying to atone for a three-homer rocking by the Nationals last year in spring training.

Bobby Parnell had a rough outing, giving up four runs in the seventh inning, which included a run-producing error by left fielderLucas Duda and RBI single by Harper.

Bright spots for the Mets included Collin Cowgill’s homer and scoreless relief innings from Robert Carson and LaTroy Hawkins. As of now, Cowgill seems to have the inside track in center field. Hawkins is expected to earn one of the bullpen spots. Carson, who was effective last year out of the pen in spots, could be the second lefty behind Josh Edgin.

METS MUSINGS: The Mets are expected to option catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud and infielder Wilmer Flores to the minor league camp by Friday. If a player on the 40-man roster is injured within 15 days of Opening Day they qualify for major league service time and pay, and must be placed on the disabled list until they are healed. It’s a financial risk the Mets will not take, especially since neither is expected to make the team. … The Mets are expected to name David Wright captain by the start of the season, joining Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and John Franco. Wright is having a mammoth WBC with ten RBI in four games, including a grand slam. Hope he doesn’t get used to hitting with the bases loaded when he returns. If the USA goes the distance, Wright will be out of camp for another week. …Daniel Murphy is expected to get into a minor league game this weekend. He took live batting practice today. … It his hoped Kirk Nieuwenhuis will begin baseball activities Thursday. He’s been out with a bruised left knee sustained 10 days ago. … Jordany Valdespin, who was hit in the groin by a Justin Verlander pitcher yesterday, now vows to wear a cup. Smart guy.

HERNANDEZ: Don’t forget to tip your waitresses.

There are few television analysts as knowledgeable and entertaining as Keith Hernandez, who, if you asked him the time would tell you how to build a watch.

Not only does he know baseball, but on Saturday showed he could work on Animal Planet, The Weather Channel and do QVC, which ironically has its corporate headquarters across the street from Tradition Field.

When the Mets are in Washington, always expect a history lesson.

After the starting pitcher leaves the game during spring training, writers wander in and out of the press room and clubhouse, where the televisions are always on.

Today, Hernandez was in mid-season form, talking about the spinner sharks gathering off the beaches on the Atlantic post; how to survive a tornado; and hawked Icky Poo, a product designed to eliminate pet odors.

When somebody in the press room asked: “What is Icky Poo?”

As if on cue, one writer said: `He’s coming into pitch.”

On several notable occasions Keith Hernandez himself went off on hitters taking 2-1 fastballs “right down the pike” as he’d say. There was a perception among many fans that the organizational philosophy emphasizing plate discipline while honing in and attacking the zone, as implemented by Dave Hudgens at the major league level, had in practice resulted in a Mets lineup that was taking too many pitches. In truth there is something to be said for going against the grain if only to keep opposing pitchers honest. Watching the games you were left with the impression that the Mets were very very predictable at times and that they lacked aggressiveness, but was that perception accurate?

Fans also lamented the fact that had the Mets put in a performance in July commensurate with what they managed in any of their earlier months they would have stayed in the race almost to the end, but they went 8 and 18, effectively ending any chance at a postseason birth.

The Mets as a team were 20th in OBP last year but in March and April they were 9th. In May they dropped to 19th, and from August through September they dropped to 25th. The team started off pretty patient from March through May, then they played the Nats and Giants a bunch of times and suddenly it seemed like the word was out, “pour in strikes early in the counts against the Mets.”

But was it the approach or the players? Maybe it wasn’t so much that the approach was bad, maybe Met hitters simply weren’t good enough to pull it off? Maybe too many of them were “faking it,” artificially implementing plate discipline by simply taking a few pitches (which is actually not Hudgens’ approach at all), and maybe that’s why the league was able to adjust effectively where a more talented (or receptive) team might have done better?

Hudgens’ hitting approach, however, is less about taking pitches and more about being selective and swinging at pitches in the zone. So, by Hudgens’ own standards, how did the Mets do? Below is a month-by-month breakdown of some key offensive stats followed by several important metrics focusing on plate discipline.

(Data obtained from: Fangraphs.com)

O-Swing% - Outside-the-zone swing rate
Z-Swing% - Inside-the-zone swing rate
O-Contact% - Outside-the-zone contact percentage
Z-Contact% - Inside-the-zone contact percentage

Some initial observations are that OBP declined every month. BABIP and BB% also dropped every month with the exception of August. So the Mets got on base less, walked less, and saw fewer batted balls drop for hits as the year progressed, but for the first three months of the season they also struck out less each month and, most importantly, they were winning somehow. June also brought a marked improvement in swings inside the strike-zone (that oh-so-important trait as preached by Hudgens) and a strong uptick in slugging percentage — never a bad thing.

Contact rates inside the zone stayed pretty flat through June at around 89% (68% outside the zone), but the Mets seemed to be swinging at more and more pitches overall which was perhaps a worrisome development. Another ominous sign in June was that line drive percentage dipped to 17.8%, not only was that a season low but it was odd because the Mets slugged better in June than they did both in April and May. In July their contact rates were significantly lower at 85% inside the zone (65% outside the zone) and they lost games at a staggering clip. The data smacks of running into some good pitching (which they did), but it also clearly appears to imply that contrary to Met batters slumping because of the selective approach at the plate, they slumped because they went away from it.

In the end we are left to make sense of one truly aberrant month when the Mets didn’t walk much and couldn’t get on base, July. Met hitters were swinging a lot more at pitches both in and out of the strike-zone while making a lot less contact. The fact that line-drive percentage, BABIP, and SLG% all increased from previous levels didn’t seem to matter much as they scored 36 fewer runs in July than they did in June and the losses piled up.

There is one very clear result in all of this. The disaster that was July of 2012 probably was not caused by the Mets taking too many pitches, trying to be too selective, or being too tentative at the plate. As they walked less and swung more they also stopped winning, so I think the approach as promoted by Hudgens passes muster.

If there is a flaw in this philosophy it may be that the approach is somewhat vulnerable to higher echelon pitchers who throw strikes, but the Mets in July managed to counter by hitting a lot of line drives (24.3%), slugging at a much higher clip and cracking 28 home runs … They scored enough to win. It wasn’t until August and September when the Met offense saw a real decline in production … By that time it was too late and even then we didn’t lose at nearly the same clip as we did in July. Nope, the offense, as much as it seemed to lurch and sputter in the second half, wasn’t what sunk the 2012 N.Y. Mets. It was pitching. July saw a whopping 5.25 team ERA, a .276 team BAA, and 88 walks (all season highs), much of that (though not all by any means) attributable to a putrid relief corps.

The Mets didn’t score much in 2012 to be clear. They scored less as the year progressed and seemed ill-at-ease at times with their walk-a-lot / attack the zone approach, but while the Mets won in May and June by clogging the bases and scoring in bunches, they were never a team that would win consistently with offense. The Mets hit enough in July — it was the pitching that fell through.

With this in mind you’ve got to feel a little more placated if not encouraged as a Met fan with the particular adjustments that were made this off-season. Bourne was never going to be a major difference maker in the grand scheme of a 162 game season, but if the Mets can finally put together a halfway decent bullpen and if their starting pitching is at least a semblance of what it was most of last season, you never know. If the Mets can avoid a full-scale pitching melt-down (which is really what July was) with an offense that manages to get on base and pester you with runs here and there, if they can pitch, and if they can hold a lead, then there is no telling what might happen down the stretch.