And Then There Were Three... (Soon To Be Two, Then One)

Wright may be Shea Stadium's sole survivor in 2016.  Niese is now a Pirate and Murphy and Parnell will be ex-Mets soon.  (All photos by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

During the 2015 season, a total of 49 players played for the Mets.  Of those players, four of them - David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell - had been with the team since the days when the Mets called Shea Stadium home.

But with yesterday's trade of Niese to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Neil Walker, that number has dwindled to three.  And with Walker taking up residence in Murphy's primary defensive home, there might soon be two Mets left who played for the team at Shea.

The number could very well be one by Opening Day, as Parnell has pitched just 25 innings over the last two seasons and they haven't been very good innings, as he's allowed 21 runs (18 earned) and 50 base runners (32 hits, 18 walks) in those 25 frames.  For all you kids out there, that's a 6.48 ERA and 2.00 WHIP since the start of the 2014 campaign.  In other words, if Bobby Parnell was left off the postseason roster in 2015, he should be missing in non-action again in 2016 and beyond.

Once David Wright becomes the last Met standing from the halcyon days of Shea, the honor of being the second longest tenured Met will go from a soon-to-be former second baseman (Murphy) to a player who's familiar with seconds (Jenrry Mejia), as his second drug suspension for the same drug in 2015 will cost him much of his 2016 campaign as well.  Mejia will be the second longest tenured Met by a matter of minutes, as he made his Mets debut during the sixth inning of a game on April 7, 2010, just three innings before Ruben Tejada graced us with his presence for the first time.  And yes, that means that not a single player of the 26 men who made their Mets debut in the same year Citi Field made its debut (2009) remains on the team.

Besides Mejia and Tejada, the only other players who played for the Mets as far back as 2010 and were still members of the team last season were Lucas Duda and Dillon Gee (remember him?), although Gee has been granted free agency and will probably join forces with Bobby Parnell in the Land of Make Believe You Were Never A Met.

Just like 2009, there are no players who made their Mets debut in 2011 who are still with the team.  In fact, of the 22 players who suited up as a Met for the first time just four years ago, only one - Josh Satin - made it as far as the 2014 campaign, but he and his eyebrows are now property of the Cincinnati Reds.

That bring us to the 2012 season, a year that saw the Mets debuts of just three players who played for the team in the just-completed 2015 campaign.  And one of those players (Kirk Nieuwenhuis) had a cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County near Disneyland this past season.  That leaves Matt Harvey (Mets debut in July 2012) and Jeurys Familia (Mets debut in September 2012) as the only players from the Year of the No-Hitter who are still with the team and have only played with the Mets.

So let's review.

There were four players on the 2015 roster who were in uniform at the Shea Goodbye ceremony.  One of those players (Jon Niese) will now be partaking of pierogies and Primanti Brothers sandwiches as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Another one (Daniel Murphy) will be counting his money and his defensive lapses as a member of a new team in 2016.  A third (Bobby Parnell) was less dependable than Alex Torres's hat and is more than likely also going to be an ex-Met in 2016 - something Bartolo Colon will not be, no matter how much he slips up on the mound or elsewhere.

YouTube video posted by psu19420

Jenrry Mejia, Ruben Tejada and Lucas Duda will now replace Murphy, Niese and Parnell as the second, third and fourth longest tenured Mets.  They will join David Wright as the only players who know what it's like to be managed by Jerry Manuel and who remember firsthand what the Great Wall of Flushing used to look like before half of it was blocked by the Party City Deck.

Since Kirk Nieuwenhuis sported Angels red for a spell in 2015, that will leave Matt Harvey and Jeurys Famila as the fifth and sixth longest tenured Mets, respectively.  So who rounds out the top ten as far as longest tenured Mets are concerned?  Try this on for size.

• No. 7 - Juan Lagares (Mets debut on April 23, 2013)
• No. 8 - Carlos Torres (Mets debut on June 16, 2013)
• No. 9 - Zack Wheeler (Mets debut on June 18, 2013)
• No. 10 - Wilmer Flores (Mets debut on August 6, 2013)

With Neil Walker and new Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on board, the days for Ruben Tejada as a Met could be numbered.  Jenrry Mejia is one suspension away from not only being an ex-Met, but also an ex-major league baseball player.  That means Lucas Duda might soon find himself as the only Met besides Wright who remembers Omar Minaya signing anyone.

The days of players who were continuously with the Mets for nearly a decade are long gone.  The way things are going, half-decade players could be a thing of the past for the Mets as well.  How long will it be before players on the team start calling Wilmer Flores the old man on the team, assuming Flores sticks around long enough?
 

The Jeurys Out: Familia Is Guilty of Being a Top Closer

The Mets have not had too many "lights out" closers since the dawn of the 21st century.  Armando Benitez is the only Mets closer with multiple 40-save seasons.  But he walked too many hitters and was a Mr. April type pitcher, meaning he was wonderful when games weren't critical but always seemed to allow a crushing hit or home run in September and October.  Similarly, Braden Looper was booed off the Shea Stadium mound several times in his two-year stretch as the team's closer, yet somehow ranks in the team's all-time top ten in saves despite allowing more hits than innings pitched in both of his seasons here.  And since Francisco Rodriguez punched his ticket (quite literally) out of Citi Field in 2011, a total of ten pitchers have filled in as closer for the Mets, including Jason Isringhausen, Manny Acosta, Jon Rauch, LaTroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Valverde.

Stability has never been a word associated with the closer position in Flushing in the past 15 seasons.  But after injuries and/or suspensions curtailed the ninth inning duties for both Bobby Parnell and Jenrry Mejia, a third homegrown pitcher was called upon to put on his closer shoes.  And this time, the Mets may have finally found the dependable closer they've been looking for all these years.

Jeurys Familia has been pumping his fist quite often during the season's first month.  (Getty Images)

After starting 111 games in parts of six minor league seasons, Jeurys Familia was thrust into the bullpen once he made it to the big show.  Familia only pitched 23 innings for the Mets in 2012 and 2013, but finally stayed with the team for good in 2014.  Since earning a full-time gig in the bullpen, Familia has been nothing short of spectacular, posting a 2.11 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 88 appearances.  He has also struck out nearly a batter per inning and allowed just 63 hits to the 365 batters he has faced.

Familia got some save opportunities here and there in 2014, racking up five saves in his first full season in the majors - a year that saw him finish seventh in the National League Rookie of the Year vote.  But once Mejia was suspended 80 games for a banned substance violation earlier this season, Familia became the team's full-time closer, and he has been as close to perfect as we've seen in Flushing in quite some time.

Through Saturday's game, Familia is a perfect 10-for-10 in save opportunities, leading all of baseball in that department.  He also became the first Met to rack up eight saves in an 11-game stretch and the first to record more than eight saves before the end of April.  But what's more impressive than the total number of saves is how he's getting those saves.  He's basically doing it without even working up a sweat.

Since coming into the game for his first save opportunity on April 12, Familia has appeared in ten games.  He retired every batter he faced in five of those ten appearances and allowed exactly one base runner in each of the other five.  Familia has faced a total of 35 batters in those ten relief outings, allowing just five of them to reach base - and one of them was later erased on a double play.

This isn't a new thing for Familia, who has been on top of his game since last June.  Familia appeared in 50 games after the calendar turned from May to June in 2014.  He faced the minimum number of hitters in almost half of those outings (23 in all) and allowed no more than one base runner in 34 of the 50 contests.  Compare those numbers to what Jenrry Mejia produced as the team's closer in 2014 (56 relief appearances; allowed multiple base runners in 28 of them and faced the minimum just 20 times) and it's clear that Familia's appearances have given Mets fans less stress than Mejia's outings ever did.

After years of suffering through less-than-dependable closers and going with the closer du jour, it looks as if the Mets have finally found what they were looking for in their ninth-inning pitcher.  Jeurys Familia throws strikes that aren't hit 400 feet.  He's also efficient (13.2 pitches per inning in 2015) and limits stress-inducing innings.

Through injuries (Parnell) and poor choices (Mejia), Familia has been given a chance to be the team's closer.  He's done nothing to make manager Terry Collins regret his decision.  And he's done everything to become one of the top closers in the game.  Not bad for a pitcher who was once being groomed to be a starter instead of one who has done quite a bit of finishing.

The Magic 8-Ball Predicts The 2015 Mets Season

As the long winter turns to spring in the Big Apple, our thoughts turn from yellow snow and dodging slush puddles to the green grass of the ballpark and the smells of hot dogs, Pat LaFrieda meats and bacon on a stick.  Or if you're a vegan, perhaps you're into the smells of veggie dogs, Terra chips and edamame.

No matter what tickles your olfactory senses, your other senses are about to come to life on Monday when the Mets return to action, opening the curtain on the 2015 campaign.  And with the return of Matt Harvey, the potential of new hitting instructor Kevin Long waking up the bats of a team that hit .239 last season and the arrival of David Wright's BFF, Michael Cuddyer, it's the first time in the Citi Field era that fans are optimistic about the return of winning baseball to Flushing.

With that in mind, I decided it was time to wake up our old friend, the Magic 8-Ball, to see what it thought about the upcoming baseball season.  Would it finally acknowledge that the Mets were close to contending for a playoff spot?  Or would it be its crotchety old self, threatening to call the cops on me for not getting off its lawn?

Why don't we just let the Magic 8-Ball give you all the answers to the questions you were afraid to ask?  The floor's all yours, M8B!

Oh, sorry about that.  But now that you're up, I'd like to ask you a few questions about the 2015 Mets.  I promise it won't take up much of your time and you'll be to get back to your comfortable bed in no time.

Really?  What do you sleep on then, if you don't mind me asking?

And why's that?

I should have seen that response coming from a mile away.  Anyway, let's just get to the first question.  Do you feel the Mets improved enough to contend for a playoff berth in 2015?

Just one trade?  What would it be?  Trading prospects for a more experienced shortstop?  Sending Dillon Gee packing for a legitimate bat?  Re-acquiring Scott Atchison so he can serve as a father figure to Bartolo Colon?

Wow!  A two-for-one deal!  I'm sure many long-suffering Mets fans would approve that transaction.

A steal of a deal!  Let's hope Sandy Alderson is reading this so he can trade away the people who sign his paycheck.  Speaking of paychecks, do you think Lucas Duda is worth a long-term contract extension after his first good season as a Met?

I never knew you were such a believer in the talent of Lucas Duda.

Moving on to the pitching side of things, what do you expect from Matt Harvey this year?  Will he be able to lead the Mets to their first postseason berth since 2006?

He did?  I don't remember him doing that.  That would have been a major news story.  Where did he make such a prediction?

Oh, wait.  You're talking about when he tweeted a photo of his middle finger from his hospital bed as he was about to undergo Tommy John surgery, aren't you?

I guess he was.  So let's move on to the team's closer situation.  Do you think Bobby Parnell will take over as closer once he comes off the disabled list?  Or will Jenrry Mejia continue to hold the position?

Even with the more experienced Parnell wanting to reclaim what was once his?  Parnell had a wonderful season in 2013 (2.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .211 batting average against him).  Mejia was a little more shaky as a closer (2.72 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, .265 batting average against him).  Can't there be a compromise between the bearded Parnell and the stomping Mejia?

That's downright frightening.  Plus, I didn't know Magic 8-Balls were capable of altering photographs in such a way.  I thought you were just a one-tool player.

Did you just use ball (snicker) and tools (giggle) in the same sentence?

Sorry.  That was very unprofessional of me.  Let's get to a true professional - David Wright.  The Mets captain had a subpar season in 2014, but he appears to have fully recovered from the shoulder injury that limited him to a .269 batting average and a career-low eight home runs.  Will he be able to produce better numbers in 2015?

He has to what?  You'll have to be a little more specific.

And which horrible memories are you referring to?

Ouch.  That is a horrible memory.  Okay, so I just have one more question to ask you before I get your prediction on the team's final record.  Then you can go back to your box for nap time.

This is the final year of Terry Collins's current contract.  If he leads the Mets to the playoffs, will he come back to manage the team in 2016 and beyond?

How would he not keep his job if he manages the team to its first winning season since 2008 and first postseason appearance since 2006?   It would seem like a slam dunk for the team to bring him back following that type of success.

Good point.  So let's end this by asking you for your prediction on the team's final record and standing in the NL East. 

But you said Matt Harvey predicted back in 2013 that the Mets would finish in first place this year.

And that's why Matt Harvey works his magic on the mound and you're the prognostication expert.  Thanks for taking the time to be with us today, M8B.  And I'm sorry for waking you up earlier.

Did I just shake the Magic 8-Ball to sleep?  Well, as a Mets fan, the time for sleep is over because we're on the cusp of a new season - one that might produce meaningful games in September and beyond.  And also one that could potentially cause the Wilpons to break open their piggy banks at the trade deadline for a change.  Assuming they're not traded with Saul Katz for a legitimate owner and a Mex Burger, of course.

Have fun this season, Mets fans!  It should be a pretty cool ride this summer.  And lest I forget, please help control the restless sphere population.  Have your Magic 8-Ball spayed or neutered.

LET'S GO METS!!

Hey, kids!  The Magic 8-Ball has been making predictions since 2010, the year Jason Bay first soiled us with his presence.  To see what the Magic 8-Ball said prior to each of the previous five seasons, please click on the links below:

2014 Magic 8-Ball Predictions
2013 Magic 8-Ball Predictions

2012 Magic 8-Ball Predictions

2011 Magic 8-Ball Predictions

2010 Magic 8-Ball Predictions

Milestones Within Reach For Members of the 2015 Mets

The Mets lost their first eight Opening Day games from 1962 to 1969 before getting off to their first 1-0 start in 1970.  Since then, they have lost back-to-back Opening Day games just once in the last four and a half decades, dropping their season openers in 1999 and 2000.  And of course, New York made the playoffs in both of those campaigns.

The 2015 squad is trying to avoid becoming just the second Mets team to drop consecutive Opening Day affairs since those 1960s clubs.  That's a team mark no one on the current club wants, especially with hopes being so high for this year's club.  However, several players on the current squad can reach individual milestones that are mostly positive.  And of course, since these are the Mets we're talking about, there are some milestones that can potentially be reached that players would rather not discuss.

The time for dilly-dallying is done.  By the power of Scott Atchison's stubble, I give you the list of individual Mets milestones within reach (even if some players would rather I keep some of these milestones to myself).


Attainable Individual Milestones (Position Players)

Juan Lagares doesn't need anything but his Gold Glove.  (Getty Images)

David Wright:

• Needs 93 runs scored for 1,000 in his career.
• Needs 61 RBI to reach 1,000 as well.
• Needs 22 home runs to tie Darryl Strawberry for the franchise lead.
• Needs nine stolen bases for 200 lifetime steals.
• Needs 12 SB to be ahead of every Met not named Jose Reyes or Mookie Wilson.
• Needs a return to his non-injured self to validate his continued use in the No. 3 hole.

Daniel Murphy:

• Needs 173 hits for 1,000.  (Only nine Mets have reached that figure.)
• Needs 10 doubles for 200.
• Needs 36 doubles to become the second-most prolific Doubles Machine in team history.
• Needs to be careful what he says when asked for his opinion on certain "lifestyles".

Lucas Duda:

• Needs 26 home runs for 100.  (Just 11 Mets have reached triple digits in homers.)
• Needs 55 RBI for 300.
• Needs 136 strikeouts to enter the team's all-time top ten in whiffs.  (Boo.)
• Needs to string together two complete sentences in a post-game interview.

Curtis Granderson:

• Needs 13 home runs for 250.
• Needs seven blasts to pass Jason Bay for 65th place on the Mets' all-time home run list.
• Needs to make sure hitting coach Kevin Long never leaves his side.
• Needs to smile more.  (He doesn't do it nearly enough.)

Michael Cuddyer:

• Needs 13 homers for 200.
• Needs 76 hits to be halfway to 3,000.
• Needs to let Juan Lagares catch every fly ball hit in the left-center field gap.
• Needs to check out of the DL Hotel.  (He's been staying there way too often.)

Ruben Tejada:

• Needs to accept that Wilmer Flores isn't going to give him back his job at shortstop.

Attainable Individual Milestones (Pitchers)

Matt Harvey needs to pitch so he can make money to buy clothes again.  (Martin Schoeller/ESPN)

Bartolo Colon:

• Needs to pitch 214 innings for 3,000 in his career.
• Needs 166 strikeouts to enter baseball's all-time top 50.  (He'd pass Roy Halladay, Vida Blue, Jim Palmer and Lefty Grove along the way.)
• Needs to allow 20 home runs to become the 27th pitcher in history to allow 350.  (On the bright side, 14 of the other 26 pitchers are in the Hall of Fame.)
• Needs his batting helmet to continue flying off his head for a good belly laugh.

Jonathon Niese:

• Needs two strikeouts to pass Bobby Jones for 9th place on the Mets' all-time list.
• Needs 22 starts to enter the top ten in team history, displacing David Cone from 10th place.
• Needs 14 wins to tie Steve Trachsel for 10th place in Mets history.
• Needs to stay off the disabled list so the Mets can always have a lefty starter in the rotation.

Matt Harvey:

• Needs 27 starts to establish a new single-season career high.
• Needs 239 strikeouts to become the 22nd Mets pitcher to reach 500 career strikeouts.  (Hey, if Oliver Perez could strike out 239 batters in just 196 innings in 2004, why can't Harvey do the same?)
• Needs to give upper management the middle finger if they try to make him change his ways.

Bobby Parnell:

• Needs one appearance for 300 in his career.
• Needs 63 appearances to move into 6th place in club history, behind only John Franco, Pedro Feliciano, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jesse Orosco.
• Needs 51 strikeouts to become 7th pitcher in team history to record 300 whiffs as a reliever.
• Needs to give the team more than the one inning he pitched for them in 2014.

Jenrry Mejia:

• Needs 29 saves to crack the team's all-time top ten in career saves.
• Needs to pitch more 1-2-3 innings.  (He allowed at least one base runner in 28 of his last 40 appearances in 2014.  He allowed two or more base runners in half of those 40 outings.)
• Needs his new haircut to not get in the way of his game-ending stomp after each time the Mets put it in the books.

Attainable Individual Milestones

(People Who Have "Manager" In Their Title)

"You think I'm not going to win more games than I lose this year?  Don't make me laugh!"  (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Terry Collins:

• Needs 36 wins to pass Gil Hodges to become the third winningest manager in team history, behind only Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine.  Seriously.
• Needs 76 losses to tie Joe Torre for second-most defeats for a Mets manager.  (Collins would pass Casey Stengel and Davey Johnson along the way.)
• Needs 39 games to pass Joe Torre for third place in games managed by a Mets skipper.
• Needs to wear his pants a little lower.  He looks like a modern day Steve Urkel.

Sandy Alderson:

• Needs a winning record to tie Frank Cashen by getting his team above .500 in his fifth season as the team's general manager.
• Needs to borrow a couple million bucks to bring in a top offensive player.
• Needs to stop posing with Mets teddy bears and start posing as a successful general manager.
• Needs to prepare for meaningful games in September for the first time as the Mets' GM.

This bear will be very happy if the Mets play meaningful games in September.  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Joey's Letter To Sandy Claus (2014)

I hope Sandy Claus leaves everything I ask for under my ridiculously huge tree.

Dear Sandy Claus,

It's me, Joey Beartran!  And if I'm writing you this letter, that means it's that time of year again - the time when you have to decide who was naughty and who was nice in order to determine who gets what they want this holiday season and who gets coal in their stocking.

I know you must be tired from all your recent travels.  I mean, I would be pooped as well if I was spending all my time and energy trying to find good bargains on coveted holiday gifts like Michael Cuddyer and John Mayberry, Jr.  I'm sure you had to fight off many people to secure them.

But unlike others who absolutely have to have the best in right-handed hitting outfield/first baseman hybrids, I'm a simple bear.  And that is why this year's list shouldn't be much of a challenge for you.  Because my list is so simple, you should have no problem finding everything on it and we can overlook whether or not I should be on the "naughty" or "nice" list.  (Personally, I don't think causing one of the toilets to overflow in the Caesar's Club last summer should put me on your "naughty" list.  It could have happened to anyone who was trying to flush their autographed Chris Young baseball.)

Are you ready, Mr. Claus?  Here goes!

The home run apple outside Citi Field seems like a good place to write my letter to Sandy Claus.

I would like Matt Harvey to return to the rotation in the best of health.  You already wouldn't let him pitch in 2014 despite his constant nitpicking, so he should be good to go next season.  (And don't worry, I'm not going to accuse you of wanting to extend his free agent clock another year by not pitching him at all in 2014.  Remember, I'm nice, not naughty.)  Also, please don't let Harvey pitch too many innings in 2015.  I'm expecting the Mets to compete for a postseason berth so I'd like him to be as fresh as possible for any potential starts in mid-to-late October.

Speaking of returning to health, I would like a return to form for David Wright.  After all, he gets paid more than your reindeer and elves combined, so he might as well earn his salary.  Eight home runs and eight stolen bases is just not enough for a player who produced a 30/30 season in 2007.  I mean, if you want that type of production, just bring back Jason Bay.  That's what he averaged in three seasons with the Mets, although Bay averaged just 96 games per season as a Met, while Wright put up his 8/8 season in 134 games.

I'd also like a new and improved shortstop.  Yes, I know we already have Wilmer Flores and that Hakuna Tejada guy, but Flores' best position is hitter and Tejada is probably going to press next year now that he knows he produced more walks, doubles, and RBI than Nationals' wunderkind Bryce Harper, all while striking out fewer times than Harper and reaching base at a similar clip in just three more at-bats.  Don't believe me, Sandy Claus?  Take a look for yourself.

Player	RBI	Year	AB	2B	BB	SO	OBP
Ruben Tejada	34	2014	355	11	50	73	.342
Bryce Harper	32	2014	352	10	38	104	.344

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/13/2014.

Would it be too much to ask for another good year from the bullpen?  After three seasons of throwing relief pitchers at a wall and hoping some of them would stick, you finally found some with good adhesive qualities.  They also had good fastballs and off-speed pitches.  Jeurys Familia was so spectacular that he finished tied for seventh in the Rookie of the Year vote, a feat almost unheard of for a middle reliever/set-up man.  Vic Black earned two wins and 12 holds, allowing more than one run in just one of his 41 appearances.  And Jenrry Mejia's 28 saves set the franchise record for most saves by a homegrown pitcher, surpassing Tug McGraw's 42-year-old record by one.  Please make sure they continue to provide a spark for the team in the late innings.

Speaking of Jenrry Mejia, could you please let him know that it's okay to toss a 1-2-3 inning every once in a while?  Mejia made 56 relief appearances in 2014 and retired every batter he faced in just 21 of those outings.  In sixteen of his 24 one-inning saves, he faced a minimum of four batters.  The numbers "1-2-3-4" might have been staples at Ramones concerts, but they shouldn't have to be staples of Mejia performances.

I'd like Daniel Murphy to stick around for at least another season.  In 2014, he became the first second baseman in Mets history to reach base 200+ times in three different seasons, so why shouldn't the Mets keep him around?  And if they did trade him before Opening Day, who would they give the job to?  Eric Young, Jr. was just non-tendered and Dilson Herrera, who won't be old enough to drink until March, still needs more minor league seasoning.  If the Mets do make the playoffs in 2015, Murphy should be there to enjoy it as the second longest tenured player on the team.  His teammates left him stranded on third in a crucial moment during the final week of the 2008 season.  His front office shouldn't do the same by trading him away just as the team appears to be heading toward contention again.

Are you there, Sandy?  It's me, Joey!

If it's not too much to ask, can you please make sure Lucas Duda has another solid season like he had last year?  Can you also have Curtis Granderson replicate Duda's power numbers?  And while I'm at it, can you get your decoder ring out so you can translate Travis d'Arnaud's second half performance into a full season of fantastic hitting?  Perhaps if all three hitters could give solid production, David Wright would have the protection he needs in the batting order and I wouldn't have to compare him to Jason Bay in future letters to you.

Finally, I understand the Mets have to trade a starting pitcher, especially with Matt Harvey coming back to claim one of the spots in the rotation, but does it have to be Dillon Gee?  I know how much you love dumping salary, which is why Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo were all given their walking papers before their contracts expired.  So maybe this is a good time to escort Bartolo Colon to the airport.  He served his purpose in 2014 at a $9 million cost to the team.  Now he's due to earn $11 million in 2015 and he'll be 42 before Memorial Day.  He should be the one to go to make room for Harvey.  And I'm not just saying that because he hogs up the Shake Shack line at Citi Field.  I just happen to like Gee.  What's so wrong with that?

I was only being held by Gee because it was easier to check up on his pitching arm that way.  Honest!

That's it for my letter this year, Sandy.  See, it was a very simple list.  All you have to do is remember to keep Matt Harvey healthy, prevent David Wright from watching his "Jason Bay Guide to Hitting" video, give me a shortstop not named Flores or Tejada who can hit AND field (not hit OR field), provide me with another dependable relief corps, show Jenrry Mejia how to count to three, make sure the Grandy Man can actually protect Wright (Duda and d'Arnaud can help in that regard), and last but not least, keep Dillon Gee from putting his arms around another team's uniform.

You've been able to provide me with many of the things I've asked for in the past few years, but not everything.  (I wanted a healthy Johan Santana in 2013.  Instead, you gave me a healthy Shaun Marcum.  Not the same.  Not even close.)  That's why I made this year's list a little easier for you.  As nice as I was this past season - pay no attention to the Chris Young Bathroom Incident - I don't expect you to make all my holiday dreams come true.  But as a long-suffering Mets fan, you owe me!  You owe all fans who have invested so much of their time and money on this team.  And while I'm on the topic of being owed, you also owe me change for a hot dog I had last September.  I paid with a $10 bill and only got a buck in return.

Thanks a lot for reading my letter, Sandy Claus!  I hope you can fit everything I asked for under my ridiculously huge tree.  I also hope you found a good plumber for the Caesar's Club.  I intend to use the bathrooms there at some point in 2015.  Maybe this time I won't have to bring a baseball with me.

All my love,
Joey Beartran

Hope this makes it to you on time, Sandy.  If not, I'll have to write another letter to my local post office.

Jenrry Mejia Sets An Unusual Major League Mark

Jenrry Mejia started the season as the Mets' fifth starter but eventually became the team's closer when Bobby Parnell, Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth all succumbed to injuries or ineffectiveness.  Since then, Mejia has pitched through sports hernias, bases-loaded situations (of his own doing) and backbreaking celebrations to record 26 saves.

After a quarter century of importing closers from other teams, Mejia has followed in Parnell's footsteps to become a rarity in recent Mets history - the homegrown closer.  In fact, Mejia's 26 saves are the most by a Mets pitcher who came up through the team's minor league system since Randy Myers recorded the same number of saves in 1988.  Mejia is now just one save away from Tug McGraw's franchise record of 27 saves by a homegrown player, a mark McGraw established in 1972.

Note:  Jesse Orosco made his major league debut in 1979 with the Mets and saved 31 games in 1984, but he is not a homegrown Met, as he was drafted by Minnesota in 1978 and pitched in the Twins' minor league system for one season before he was traded to New York for Jerry Koosman in February 1979.

Mejia might be closing in on a Mets record, but he has already set an obscure major league mark.  His 26 saves are the most by any pitcher who made at least seven starts in the same season.  In fact, Mejia is one of just three pitchers to record as many as 20 saves in a year he started seven times.

Player	SV	GS	Year	Tm	G	W	L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Jenrry Mejia	26	7	2014	NYM	59	5	6	89.2	96	41	38	40	94	3.81
Joe Grahe	21	7	1992	CAL	46	5	6	94.2	85	37	37	39	39	3.52
Jose Jimenez	20	7	2003	COL	63	2	10	101.2	137	62	59	32	45	5.22

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/20/2014.

A little extra research found that only six pitchers other than Mejia have recorded as many as 25 saves when they made as little as one start during the same season.  Those half-dozen pitchers are:

• Ryan Dempster (2005 Cubs):  33 saves, 6 starts.
• Danny Graves (2002 Reds):  32 saves, 4 starts.
• Mike Marshall (1979 Twins): 32 saves, 1 start.
• Dave Giusti (1970 Pirates): 26 saves, 1 start.
• Lindy McDaniel (1960 Cards): 26 saves, 2 starts.
• Tug McGraw (1973 Mets): 25 saves, 2 starts.

With a little over a week to go until the 2014 season comes to a close, Jenrry Mejia has joined or is about to join former Mets closer Tug McGraw in two respects.  Mejia is one save away from tying McGraw's club mark for saves by a homegrown pitcher.  Mejia and McGraw are also two of just seven pitchers who recorded 25 saves and made at least one start in the same season.

But even McGraw can't say that he made a month's worth of starts and still managed to save as many games as Mejia has in 2014.  In fact, no major league pitcher can make that claim.  Mejia stands all alone in that respect.  It may be an obscure mark, but it's as good a reason as any for a closer to celebrate.

Funky Cold Mejia is all Kool and the Gang with his celebration.  (Photo by Brad Penner/USA Today)

 

Don't Blame The Bullpen, Blame The Bats

Don't worry, Jenrry.  It's not you or your armpit that stinks.  It's the team's hitters. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Saturday night, the Mets took a 4-3 lead against the Giants into the bottom of the ninth inning.  Closer Jenrry Mejia was called upon to protect the precarious lead, but he proceeded to allow two runs to San Francisco, turning what would have been a satisfying victory into an ugly defeat.

The loss was the 16th suffered by a Mets bullpen that has combined to record 15 saves.  The Mets are one of just four teams in baseball whose relievers have more losses than saves.  The other three are the Colorado Rockies (12 losses, 11 saves), Chicago Cubs (12 losses, 11 saves) and Tampa Bay Rays (12 losses, 9 saves).  Prior to last night's victory over the Dodgers, Colorado had lost eight straight games and 18 of their last 24.  As for the Cubs and Rays, no team in the National League has fewer wins than Chicago, and Tampa has the worst record in all of baseball.  But as unfortunate as the Rockies, Cubs and Rays have been with their bullpens, none of them can match the Mets' 16 relief losses, which are the most by any bullpen in the big leagues.

In addition, last night's game was the Mets' 17th one-run loss of the year.  That's 17 losses by the smallest margin out of their 34 overall defeats, or half of their losses.  The Mets lead all of baseball with their 17 one-run setbacks.  No other club has more than 14 losses by a single run.  And the team with exactly 14 one-run losses is Cincinnati, a team that made the postseason last year but is one of this year's biggest disappointments with a 28-32 record entering Sunday's game.  Another of baseball's most disappointing teams is the Boston Red Sox, who are also under .500 after winning the World Series in 2013.  Not by coincidence, the Red Sox have the most one-run losses (13) in the American League.  But neither Cincinnati, Boston nor any other major league team can say half of their losses have come by a single run.  Only the Mets can claim that.

Six different pitchers (Jenrry Mejia, Kyle Farnsworth, Jose Valverde, Carlos Torres, Jeurys Familia, Daisuke Matsuzaka) have recorded at least one save for the Mets this year.  All six have also been saddled with at least one blown save in 2014.  And that's not including Bobby Parnell, the team's closer going into the season, who blew his only save opportunity before being lost for the year.

With all that negative statistical analysis, you'd think I'm blaming the bullpen for the Mets' inability to put up a few extra wins this year.  But it's the exact opposite.  It's not the bullpen I'm blaming, it's the bats.

Unlike recent seasons, the relievers are actually posting a lower ERA (3.51) than the starting pitchers (3.74).  And many of the relievers' losses this year have come when they've pitched beautifully.  For example, when the Mets lost to the Phillies in 14 innings a week ago, seven relievers combined to allow two runs (one earned) in 9⅓ innings.  But the bullpen got tagged with a loss in the Phillies' eventual triumph.  And yes, it was one of the Mets' MLB-leading 17 one-run losses.

Similarly, on May 9, when the Mets entertained the Phillies at Citi Field, the bullpen was stellar, allowing just one run on three hits in 6⅓ innings of work.  But that lone run was the decisive tally in the Mets' 11-inning loss to Philadelphia.  A one-run loss.  Again.

Those games are just two examples of how the Mets bullpen has been more than adequate this season even if the boxscore continues to show losses for the relievers and one-run defeats for the team.  The two losses to the Phillies have another thing in common.  The bats went to sleep after the starter was taken out of the game.  In the May 9 contest, New York scored one run on just four hits in the seven innings following the departure of starter Jenrry Mejia.  The team was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position once Mejia was sent to the showers.  Similarly, in last week's 14-inning loss to Philadelphia, the Mets were shut out over the last nine innings, going 0-for-7 when they batted with runners in scoring position.

Last night's game was no different, as the Mets went 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position.  However, all three hits came when starter Bartolo Colon was still in the game.  Once the bullpen was called upon to protect the Mets' lead, the hitters decided to call it a night, going 0-for-9 over the last three innings.  As a result, the lack of an insurance run or two allowed the Giants to chip away at the Mets' lead.  And the end result was a loss by the bullpen and another one-run loss for the team.

Here is the Mets' recipe for playing baseball these days, a recipe that has left a sour taste in the mouths of many Mets fans.

• Get an early lead.
• Mix in a hit with a runner in scoring position.
• Add a relatively strong effort by the bullpen.
• Stop hitting when the lead appears safe.
• Watch the bullpen allow no more than two runs in a one-run loss.
• Repeat.

No team should have more losses from their bullpen than saves.  But the Mets can claim that dubious distinction.  Furthermore, no team should lose half of its games by just one run.  The Mets are alone in that regard.

New York's bullpen is not perfect.  No team's bullpen is.  But the relief corps shouldn't have to shoulder the blame for what the real problem is with the Mets this year.  The team is just not hitting.  They hit enough to put several men on base, then they hit the snooze button just as it appears they're putting a rally together.

Last night's loss and the two losses to the Phillies in May were microcosms of what's plagued the Mets all year.  The bullpen does its job, but the hitters don't do theirs.  It's the reason why players like Travis d'Arnaud (the only player in baseball with 125+ plate appearances who has yet to reach double digits in both runs scored and RBI) get sent down to the minors.  And it's the reason why the Mets are struggling to remain relevant in an otherwise mediocre NL East.

If the Mets were 14-11 in one-run games instead of 8-17, they'd be alone atop the division.  Instead, they're struggling to stay ahead of the Phillies for last place.  Batting .231 with runners in scoring position and having more strikeouts (143) than hits (129) in those situations have a lot to do with the Mets' shortcomings this year.  And don't get me started on the Mets' .159 batting average with the bases loaded or their .128 average with runners on second and third - a situation that is easier to score a run on because there is no force play at any base, unlike the bases loaded situation.

Don't blame the bullpen for the Mets' late-inning losses.  The relief pitchers have done their job better than you think.  Direct your vitriol straight at what passes for the Mets' offense these days.  The team's lack of timely hitting is leaving a bad taste in all of our mouths.  And that's most certainly a recipe for disaster.