Maine's In Massachusetts: Red Sox Sign John Maine

On May 20, 2010, John Maine took the mound against the Washington Nationals trying to rebound from his first poor start in a month.  Maine had given up six runs in five innings against the Florida Marlins in his previous start, after a four-start stretch in which his ERA was 2.49.

However, something didn't look right to manager Jerry Manuel after Maine walked leadoff batter Nyjer Morgan on five pitches.  Despite Maine's claims that he felt fine, Manuel took him out of the game.  John Maine never pitched again for the Mets, spending the rest of the season on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue.  When the Mets chose not to re-sign Maine during the offseason, he became a free agent and agreed to a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies, going 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA in 11 starts for their Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, in 2011.

Now comes word that John Maine will be changing his Sox, as the former Met hurler has agreed to a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox and has been invited to their spring training camp to compete for a spot on their roster.  Should Maine break camp with the Red Sox, he will be used as a relief pitcher, a role in which he has been rarely used.

Maine pitched for the Mets from 2006 to 2010, going 39-32 with a 4.17 ERA.  He ranks 23rd all-time in wins as a Met.  He also ranks in the top 20 in winning percentage (.549, 14th), fewest hits per nine innings (7.85, 8th) and most strikeouts per nine innings (7.76, 6th).  In addition, Maine was 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in three postseason starts for the Mets.  And of course, Maine almost pitched the team's first no-hitter in the penultimate game of the 2007 season, helping the Mets temporarily stave off elimination with his 14-strikeout performance against the Florida Marlins.

If John Maine makes the Red Sox out of spring training, he will play for another former Met, as Bobby Valentine is the new skipper in Beantown.  As Mets' manager from 1996 to 2002, Valentine was known for going to his bullpen early and often.  None of Valentine's pitching staffs in his six-plus years as Mets' skipper recorded 10 complete games (the 1998 and 2002 squads had nine complete games apiece).  Prior to Valentine's arrival in New York, the Mets had never had a full, non-strike shortened season in which the starting staff didn't reach double digits in complete games.

Given that Maine's role on the Red Sox would be out of the bullpen, he'd probably get his fair share of opportunities to pitch for Bobby Valentine.  Of course, he has to make the team first.  Considering his lack of success (and health) since 2010, that might be easier said than done.

As a Mets fan who was also a John Maine fan, I'd like to wish him all the luck in the world as he tries to return to the major leagues as a member of the Boston Red Sox.  More than likely, he's going to need it.

Terry > Jerry

Last night, the Mets scored five runs in the seventh inning to defeat Jair Jurrjens and the Atlanta Braves, 5-0. The big blow was provided by Jose Reyes, whose bases-loaded triple stretched a 1-0 lead to 4-0. Reyes later scored on a sacrifice fly by the current National League Rookie of the Month, Justin Turner.

Reyes has been the team's best hitter all season. He currently owns a nine-game hitting streak, batting .462 over the nine games (18-for-39). Over that stretch, Reyes is slugging .744 and has an otherwordly 1.231 OPS. Those numbers are more common for a middle-of-the-order hitter than a leadoff hitter.

So of course, during last night's post-game interview session, Terry Collins was asked if he'd consider moving Reyes down the batting order into the three-hole, especially since Reyes has been one of the team's top run producers, to which Collins responded,

"He's going to stay where he is. I don't think you ask those kind of players to do things they're not comfortable with."

That's the perfect response by a man who clearly knows how to get the best out of his players. Jose Reyes would not be a good third-place hitter, even with the injuries to David Wright and Ike Davis. The Mets have been there and done that with Reyes already.

Last year, Jerry Manuel (a.k.a. Dead Manuel Walking) attempted to bolster the offense by moving the speedy Reyes from the leadoff spot to the three-hole. In 20 games as the Mets' No. 3 hitter, Reyes was not exactly the answer, as his .207/.253/.280 line in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage were not exactly what the Mets wanted from that spot in the batting order. In fact, R.A. Dickey's offensive numbers (.255/.296/.294) were better in every category. Dickey even had a better eye at the plate than Reyes did as the No. 3 hitter, as the knuckler drew three walks, while striking out eight times last season. Reyes, on the other hand, walked once and whiffed 11 times in 20 games batting third.

Jose Reyes should not bat third. Ever. Jerry Manuel failed to see that and it showed in Reyes' performance on the field. Terry Collins knows how not to mess with a good thing. Perhaps that's why Terry has a job now and Jerry doesn't. When a player like Jose Reyes is on fire, you can't mess with a good thing. Jerry Manuel played with Reyes' fire and he got burned.

What If Roy Halladay Had Been Traded To The Mets?

In Game 1 of the National League Division Series, played Wednesday between Philadelphia and Cincinnati at Citizens Bank Park, Roy Halladay did what no other National League pitcher had ever accomplished in a postseason game. He held the opposition hitless. The masterful 104-pitch performance helped the Phillies take a 1-0 series lead over the Reds.

The former (and perhaps soon-to-be) Cy Young Award winner had pitched for the Blue Jays from 1998-2009 without ever sniffing the playoffs. If he had any butterflies churning in his stomach before his first postseason start for the Phillies on Wednesday, they certainly did nothing to prevent him from making history.

Ever since the Phillies acquired him via a trade with Toronto, Halladay has been nothing short of brilliant. He led the league with 21 victories in his first National League season and pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins in May.

But what if Omar Minaya had swung a deal with the Blue Jays to acquire Halladay before the Phillies did? Would it have been the Mets playing in October and not the Phillies? A quick look at Mets history should provide us with the answer.


Had Omar Minaya acquired Halladay, the bearded righty would have succumbed to an injury in May. Needing his leadership on the mound, the Mets would have rushed him back to the rotation (especially since the longer he stayed out of the rotation, the better chance that Jerry Manuel would have given Oliver Perez another chance to start). That would have led to a period of ineffective starts, which would have also included key losses to the Phillies and Braves.

Once Halladay righted his ship, Dead Manuel Walking would have tried to save his pitcher from overexerting himself by removing him from games after a number of seven-inning, 90-pitch efforts. Since the Mets never had quite the firepower found in the Phillies' offense, Halladay would have found himself leaving games with small leads that Frankie Kunckles would eventually give up.

Therefore, had Halladay been a Met, he still would have had a good season, but he would have led the league in no-decisions. He also would never have pitched a no-hitter or perfect game because signing with the Mets automatically prevents any pitcher from ever throwing one.

Perhaps it's for the better that Omar Minaya didn't trade for Roy Halladay. For one thing, we might never have seen R.A. Dickey become the quality starter he became. (You can ignore the fact that Dickey lost his only head-to-head matchup against Halladay at Citizens Bank Park on August 8). Also, it is a well-known fact that bearded players don't do well in blue and orange. Just ask Jeff Reardon.

Face it, Mets fans. Roy Halladay was never going to become a Met. Neither was Cliff Lee last season at the trade deadline. Neither was Roy Oswalt at this year's trade deadline. They all went to the Phillies because our now ex-general manager didn't have the clout he thought he once had.

Five years ago, Omar Minaya could just show up at any star player's door and say "if you can live with the fact that I say 'that being said' every other sentence, then I can give you more years and more money than anyone else is willing to give you." Now, players stay away from Flushing like if it had blue and orange cooties.

Jason Bay came to New York last year because no one else was willing to give him the exorbitant deal the Mets gave him, not because of Omar Minaya. The bottom line is that Omar Minaya couldn't give players what Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro Jr. could, and that was the promise that his team would be successful.

The Phillies have become one of the best teams in recent memory, while the Mets have become the team no one wants to play for. Roy Halladay is lucky the Phillies traded for him. Had he been a Met, he'd be trying to leave through the same door that Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel used on Monday.

It's The End of Their World As They Know It (And We Feel Fine)

We interrupt your regularly scheduled day of blog reading to give you breaking news that's already been broken. Omar Minaya has been relieved of his GM duties and Jerry Manuel's option for the 2011 season was not picked up.

Of course, this wasn't even breaking news before it became official. It was a foregone conclusion that the man famous for inserting the words "that being said" into every other sentence and the man known as Dead Manuel Walking were not going to retain their positions after the completion of the 2010 season.

The team had underachieved since the end of the 2006 season. The players were performing below expectations and if there was camaraderie between the players, it wasn't as evident as it should be with winning teams.

It is the general manager's job to put the team together and the manager's job to get them to perform between the white lines.

Omar did his best to put Los Mets together. That being said, that also included offering contracts that were far too long to the ostracized Oliver "El Perez-idente" Perez and Luis "Squeam Queen" Castillo. Other players that were signed for more years than they should have been were Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez, Pedro "I Left My Fastball In Beantown" Martinez and Carlos Beltran (sorry, we like Don Carlos, so we won't give him a demeaning nickname). He also traded for fan-favorite, but now increasingly fragile Johan Santana.

Jerry Manuel was forced to manage an oft-injured group of ragtag players, a job that most managers would have difficulty doing, although a fellow Manuel (Charlie) had no problem doing that when his star players were dropping faster than Citi Field's paid attendance figures.

Part of Charlie Manuel's success with being able to survive his club's injuries was that his GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., was able to provide him with the right players to fill in the holes left by the disabled players.

When Rip Van Winkle (Jamie Moyer) went down with an injury, Amaro swung a deal with the Astros for Roy Oswalt. All four infielders for the Phillies (Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco) were also hurt at some point of the season. Amaro made sure each player had better than adequate replacements in Ross Gload, Ben Francisco and Wilson Valdez. Those three players combined to hit .266 (170-for-640), which was higher than the team's collective batting average (.260). In those 640 at-bats, which are about the same amount an everyday player would collect over a full season, the trio collected 37 doubles, three triples, 16 HR and 85 RBI, while scoring 77 runs and going a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen bases. They also excelled defensively, combining to make a total of four errors in 569 total chances.

While the Phillies didn't miss a beat when one of their star players got hurt, what did Omar Minaya give us? Either not yet ready for prime time players (Ruben Tejada, Jesus Feliciano, Lucas Duda) or the curious case of Joaquin Arias, who, like Benjamin Button, seemed to age backwards as seen by the photos below.



A general manager is the head talent evaluator. His job is to put together the best team possible so that his manager can put the best possible lineup on the field. Unfortunately for Jerry Manuel, the best team possible was never THE BEST TEAM. There were 25 guys, or 23½ as suggested by The Better Half in her recent post for Mets Merized Online, but these guys were never a team. Ruben Amaro has put together a team of guys in Philadelphia, not guys who were part of a team, like Omar Minaya put together in New York.

The new general manager has to realize that teams win games. He has to give the manager not just the best individual players, but the guys who stand the best chance to become a cohesive unit that can all contribute to winning ballgames. Twenty-five individuals don't lead teams to championships, but one team of players can do that.

Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel had early success with the Mets because they had a team of guys. Over the past few years, that team dissolved into a group of guys whose only common trait was the shirts on their backs. The formula is simple: Have team, will win. If the new general manager can't get the new manager a team of guys to work with, then they stand a good chance of being shown the same door that Omar and Jerry were last seen walking through.

A Clash of Opinions: Should I Cheer Or Should I Boo?

There is a lot of turmoil in Mets-tropolis. R.A. Dickey was clashing with Jerry Manuel when the manager removed him from yesterday's game. The fans are clashing with the front office for not doing anything to improve the team. What's a blogger to do with all this clashing going on? You guessed it. It's song parody time!

What better song to choose than the classic hit by The Clash (duh, like you didn't know where this was going) called "Should I Stay or Should I Go?". The song was released as a single in 1982 (and performed by The Clash in concert at Shea Stadium that October. Betcha didn't know that?), right before the Mets became a good team again. Will this song parody I've written help the current Mets get better?

No, that would be silly. Scoring more runs will make them better. Even Dead Manuel Walking can figure that out while he's pointing out the next relief pitcher he's going to use not named Frankie Rodriguez.

I've said enough. It's time to tap your cleats to the song parody. Here is the song set to the Clash's hit single from 1982. This one is called "Should I Cheer or Should I Boo?"


Mets fans, you've gotta let me know
Should I cheer or should I boo?
If you say "make up your mind!"
I'll ask you 'till we're at inning nine.
So before you hear "play ball!"
Should I cheer or should I boo?

The Mets just tease tease tease
And Jerry still trots out Ollie
Like a bad fish, he'll throw him back
To give us fans a heart attack
So before to Citi I go
Should I cheer or should I boo?

Should I cheer or should I boo now?
Should I cheer or should I boo now?
If I cheer at Reyes' double
Then I'll miss Castillo stumble
Don't know which way I will go...

To cheer? To boo? It's bugging me
And so's the last month by Pelfrey
Will K-Rod pitch the tenth inning?
No way, says Dead Manuel Walking
Maybe it's time for him to go
I'm not cheering him anymo'

Should I cheer or should I boo now?
Should I cheer or should I boo now?
Can Beltran run down a fly ball?
Will the coaching staff take the fall?
Can't these guys win on the road?
I should cool it or I'm gonna blow

Should I cheer or should I boo now?
Should I cheer or should I boo now?
Jerry Manuel's in trouble
His team's been reduced to rubble
Cheering will get a big fat NO!
That's right, I'm going to BEE-OH-OH!

Baggy Pants And The Nitwits

In Mets history, the term Midnight Massacre refers to the events of June 15, 1977, when the Mets traded away Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman and got Jack Squat in return. 1977 was also the year a short-lived cartoon called "Baggy Pants and The Nitwits" premiered.

After watching the events unfolding at last night's Cubans-Bears game (I mean, Mets-Brewers game), I feel as if the cartoon made its return inside the Mets clubhouse and now it's the fans who want to do a little massacre of their own.

The Mets and Brewers played last night wearing throwback Negro League jerseys, with the Mets dressed in the uniforms of the New York Cubans. The baggy look of the jerseys might have looked cool, but what wasn't cool was the performance of the man who took the mound for the Mets, followed by his replacement's outing, making Jerry Manuel look like a nitwit.

Fernando Nieve might have had success last year in his first three appearances as a starter, but does anyone remember where he came back to earth last year after defeating the Yankees, Rays and Cardinals in succession? That's right, class. It was in Milwaukee against the same Brewers who wore Bears jerseys yesterday.

On June 29, 2009, head nitwit Jerry Manuel tried to use Fernando the Snowman's magic for one start too many and paid the price. The Brewers pounded 11 hits off Nieve in 3.1 innings and gave the Snowman his first loss as a starter for the Mets.

So when Dead Manuel Walking needed a spot starter for last night's game, who did he call upon? None other than the same Fernando Nieve (the reliever formerly known as Fernando Nieve-ryday) who gave up more hits (11) than recorded outs (10) in his last start in Milwaukee.

Nieve now has a career ERA of 7.53 against the Brew Crew and has allowed 22 hits in 14.1 innings. Of those 22 hits, six have been home runs, meaning the photo to the right is not a rare one.

The Head Nitwit had a chance to redeem himself when he removed Nieve from the game after two innings of so-called work. Despite Nieve's best efforts to gift-wrap the game to the Brewers, the Mets were still alive in the game, trailing Milwaukee 5-3. Instead of bringing in a dependable reliever to help shut down the Brewers and give the Mets their best chance to win, he brings in my friend and yours, Oliver Perez.

In true O.P. fashion, he pitched two innings, giving up three runs, three hits and walked two batters. Once he was removed from the game, the Brewers had already put up eight runs on the Mets in four innings.

Still, the Mets were only down 8-6 after four innings. Their offense was doing well against Milwaukee starter Manny Parra and reliever Marco Estrada. Then the men in baggy pants combined to become the greatest nitwits they could be by not hitting for the rest of the game.

The combined efforts of future Hall-of-Famers Todd Coffey, Carlos Villanueva and John Axford combined to retire the final 13 Mets and the Mets fell to the Brewers by that same 8-6 score.

With that loss, the Mets are guaranteed another series loss on the road and will still be searching for their first series win on the road when the calendar flips over to June. After winning five straight games against the defending World Champions and defending National League champions, the Mets went on the road to play the team with the worst home record in baseball. Instead of riding the momentum they had created for themselves, they provided the perfect remedy for the Brewers' home woes.

Corey Hart has proven himself to be larger than life against the Mets' pitching staff, driving in eight of the Brewers' ten runs over the first two games of the series. On a team that has real-life Bears in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, it's Grizzly Adams that has hurt the Mets the most.

Actually, it's not Corey Hart that has hurt the Mets the most in this series. It's the decision-making of Dead Manuel Walking.

Friday night, Manuel brought in Ryota Igarashi to face Corey Hart after Igarashi had not done well since returing from the disabled list. Bang-zoom. Hart took him deep and the Mets lost the series opener. Then last night, when Fernando Nieve set fire to the Mets' chances of winning, he should never have brought in Oliver Perez to throw his gas upon the flames.

Jerry Manuel should know better than that. Just as the Mets should know better than to give Corey Hart and anyone who wore a Bears jersey for Milwaukee last night meaty pitches to feast upon. We all know Bears love fresh meat. Leave it to Baggy Pants and The Nitwits to provide them with a full picnic basket for them to chow down on.

Ike-aramba! Mets Promote Davis To The Big Show

When Daniel Murphy was injured in Spring Training, the Mets could have turned to top first base prospect Ike Davis to replace him. After all, Davis was hitting an eye-popping .480 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in Grapefruit League action.

Instead, the Mets sent the 23-year-old Davis to Buffalo and decided to go with the platoon of Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis. After all, Ike had never played a professional game above the AA level and the Mets' front office believed he could use some extra minor-league seasoning.

Then the Mets got off to a rocky start, going 4-8 over their first 12 games and bringing up the rear in the National League East. The team was hitting a miserable .224 over those twelve games and had produced only nine home runs and a league-low 15 doubles.

The Jacobs/Tatis platoon contributed greatly to the early-season swoon. In 24 at-bats, Fernando Tatis had produced a mere four hits (.167 average), with only one double, no homers and three runs batted in. Mike Jacobs was not much better, as his 24 at-bats yielded five hits (.208 average), with one double, one homer and two RBI.

At the same time, Ike Davis was off to a torrid start at AAA-Buffalo. In 10 games for the Bisons, Davis was hitting .364 with three doubles, two homers and four RBI. He had also drawn nine walks while striking out only five times. His .500 on-base percentage was tied for first in the International League.

Dead Manuel Walking and the Mets' front office knew that a change had to made at first base if they were going to turn things around offensively. Step one was to designate Mike Jacobs for assignment. Step two happened tonight, as the Mets promoted Ike Davis to the major leagues.

With Davis, the Mets may have their first baseman of the future. Davis' father and the SNY crew have compared him to John Olerud, the man who anchored the infield that was arguably the greatest defensive infield ever assembled. Olerud was also a steady hitter, averaging 36 doubles, 21 HR, 97 RBI and a .315 batting average (including the Mets' all-time single season high of .354 in 1998) over his three years with the Mets.

In 677 at-bats in the minors (roughly the equivalent of one full major league season), Davis hit .288, with 49 doubles, 22 HR and 92 RBI. Therefore, the comparisons to the sweet-swinging Olerud are right on target.

The team has already stated that Davis is here to play every day. If he continues to perform at the major league level similarly to the way he was performing in the minors, Davis might be here to stay. He is not expected to be the savior of the franchise, but he is expected to be an improvement over Tatis, Jacobs and perhaps even Murphy.

Welcome to the Big Show, Ike Davis. Now it's up to you to prove to the fans and upper management that you belong here.