Studious Metsimus Presents The Happy/Crappy Recap For 2017

It's the end of another calendar year, Mets fans.  And with just six weeks or so remaining until pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie, it's time to look back and reflect.  No, we're not reflecting on all the injuries that seemed to be Ray Ramirez's fault in the eyes of the fan base.  (Okay, maybe we'll reflect on one or twelve of them.)  We're here to share what was happy and what was crappy about the 2017 season.  And if you followed this season as closely as the Studious Metsimus staff did, you'll probably expect the "happy" part to be as long as a Jeff Wilpon interview and the "crappy" part to be of a similar length as a modernized version of "War and Peace".

You know what?  You may be right about that.

But despite everything that a 70-92 record might suggest, not everything was crappy for Mets fans in 2017.  We got to see the Nationals make another first round exit, which means all of Daniel Murphy's postseason celebrations continue to be with him wearing a Mets uniform.  We also saw the Yankees complete an eighth consecutive season without winning a pennant.  (Hey, we hadn't seen that occur in over two decades.)  And of course, future Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran went out as a champion, winning a World Series ring with the Mets' 1962 expansion mates a full 13 seasons after his epic postseason run with the Astros led to him becoming the greatest free agent signing in Mets history.

As Mets fans, we can take comfort that things other than the Mets can give us pleasure.  Sometimes it's all we have.  And with that, I think it's time to delve into this year's Happy/Crappy recap.  I promise it won't depress you as you read it.  After all, we wouldn't want you to end up wearing a leg boot because of a depression diagnosis.

So what was happy about the 2017 season?

(Crickets...)

Seriously, what can we look back on and remember as a good thing that happened this past season?

(More crickets, getting louder...)

Anything at all?  Bueller?  Bueller?

(Crickets quieting down, mainly because they're all shaking their heads...)

Okay, so it wasn't easy to find something to be happy about when looking back at the 2017 campaign.  I mean, the team needed a win on the next-to-last day of the season to avoid their first year with fewer than 70 wins since Art Howe's crew "battled" their way to a 66-95 record in 2003.

Everyone except Ray Ramirez got hurt at some point of the season.  I mean, Jay Bruce was traded to Cleveland with almost two months left in the season and still had the third-most plate appearances on the Mets.  Michael Conforto got hurt swinging the bat.  So did Wilmer Flores, who found a way to foul a ball off his face.  Both players appeared to be heading toward career years, as Conforto was on pace to hit 35-plus homers and Flores had already established career highs in home runs (18), batting average (.271), slugging percentage (.488) and OPS (.795) before the invisible magnet in his nose attracted a fastball off his bat.  Even Noah Syndergaard, who was expected to contend for the Cy Young Award, missed the majority of the season recovering from a lat injury.

Hey, but at least he got to woo Mrs. Met on Twitter as part of his all-out war on Mr. Met.

The injuries, as well as the selling off of the team's veteran players (and by veteran, I mean the guys who made the most money and were in the final season of their contracts), allowed the Mets to call up their top two minor league prospects, Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith.

Aha!  We've reached the bright side!

Rosario and Smith had flashes of brilliance, but neither took the baseball world by storm, as both posted OBPs south of .300 and OPSs under .700.  Still, Rosario just turned 22 last month and Smith won't be 23 until the anniversary of the Midnight Massacre.  And yet, some people are calling for Smith's days as a Met to be terminated before he's gotten a chance to prove himself.  Why?

The two neophytes combined to produce a .223/.266/.395 slash line, which isn't that for off from Noah Syndergaard's career slash line (.200/.273/.345).  That may not sound impressive, but consider the following.

Rosario gives the Mets speed they desperately need.  The swift Dominican finished second on the team behind Jose Reyes in triples and stolen bases.  If Reyes doesn't return in 2018, Rosario will be the only dependable source for steals and extra-base hits that don't come to a screeching halt at second base.  Plus, he'd be the best candidate to go first-to-third on a single.  Without Reyes and not including Rosario's totals in two months with the team, the Mets would have finished the 2017 campaign with 17 triples and 27 steals.  That's fewer than Lance Johnson had by himself in 1996 (21 triples, 50 SB).  Rosario should become the go-to guy to get the go-go signal from his coaches.

Meanwhile, Smith may have batted .198 with 49 strikeouts in 183 plate appearances, but he was an excellent hitter with runners in scoring position.  On a team that occasionally struggled offensively, Smith batted .283 with an .871 OPS when a teammate was 90 or 180 feet from crossing the plate.  That explains why he drove in 26 runs in those limited plate appearances.  In fact, he was more likely to drive in a run last season than the 110 Million Dollar Man, Yoenis Céspedes, as Smith averaged an RBI every 7.0 plate appearances, while Céspedes drove in a run every 7.6 PA (42 RBI; 321 PA).

All I am saying is give Smith a chance.

That was the good that came out of the 2017 season.  Now it's time for the bad and the ugly.  Can we have some orange and blue toilet paper, please?

Okay, we've gone over the injuries ad nauseum.  We've yet to discuss the pitching staff posting the highest team ERA since 1962, but doing that would just get us ad nauseous.  So let me tell you a story about something that happened with the one team expected to do worse than the Mets in 2018.  I'm talking about the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins have a new co-owner/CEO/gift basket giver.  To protect the not-so-innocent, let's call him Dirk Jitters.  Mr. Jitters was part of a group that purchased the team, then decided to enrage the dozens of Marlins fans in South Florida by trading the one player who made them come out to Marlins Park on a nightly basis; Giancarlo Stanton.  But faster than you can say "most overrated shortstop in the history of baseball", Mr. Jitters also found a way to trade slugger Marcell Ozuna and speedster Dee Gordon and is now supposedly looking to unload the contracts of Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto in this liquidation sale.

One can only imagine what he would have done with Jose Fernandez had he lived.

But Mr. Jitters did also something that was very unexpected.  He attended a town hall in which Marlins season ticket holders were invited to ask questions about the direction the team was taking.  Mr. Jitters calmly answered questions from the gathering of disgruntled fans, including Marlins Man, who left his seat behind home plate at a nationally televised road game to attend the meeting.

In doing so, Mr. Jitters was able to address the paying customers in person and made him more than just a guy in a suit with a closet full of gift baskets.  Which means he's already done more as a Marlins executive than the Wilpons have done with Mets fans.

Dirk Jitters has more balls than both Wilpons combined.

When was the last time you say Papa Smirk and Little Jeffy address the media or the team's fans?  They don't need to.  That's why they hired Sandy Alderson.  The Wilpons are the most hands-off owners in baseball except when someone wants to get their hands on their piggy banks.  To most fans, they're just urban legends as most of the team's supporters have never seen them in person.

The Studious Metsimus staff once attended a similar gathering of season ticket holders in 2013, which allowed fans to ask questions to members of the front office.  Alderson was there.  So were his merry men (John Ricco, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi).  Who wasn't there, you might ask?

Fred, Jeff and Saul.

The Mets' owners once had no problems giving out money to the top free agents and to re-sign their own players.  They gave newly-retired world champion Carlos Beltran a seven-year, $119 million contract.  They traded for a guy currently on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, Johan Santana, then proceeded to sign him to a six-year, $137.5 million extension.  Then a con man "made off" with their money and apparently their public appearances as well.

As long as New York keeps signing low-risk, high-reward players for pennies on the dollar and get low performance and high injury rates from these players, the fans will continue to revolt.  They'll continue to come to the ballpark (blame the food) and watch the games on SNY (blame Gary, Keith and Ron), but they'll always be figuratively throwing darts at photos of the Wilpons.  Maybe not so figuratively in some cases.

With little chance of the club acting like a large-market team and with the owners continuing to avoid breaking open their piggy banks for a proven commodity in his prime (Céspedes notwithstanding), the fans might have to endure a lot more of the crappy before the happy returns to Citi Field.

And that's it for 2017.  For most Mets fans, the year couldn't come to an end any quicker.  For the cast of crew of Studious Metsimus, we're not ready to give up on the year just yet.  At least not until we thank those who inspire, educate and amuse us.

Respected and long-running blogs such as A Gal For All Seasons, Faith and Fear in Flushing, Mets Merized Online, MetsMinors.Net, Amazin' Avenue, Metstradamus, Remembering Shea, The Daily Stache, Mets360, Rising Apple, Mets Plus, Good Fundies, MetSilverman, Converted Mets Fan and Mets Daddy, just to name a few (or 15, to be exact) always have interesting stories to share, day or night.  Check them out some time.  I'd say "tell 'em Ed sent you" but I'm not sure all of them know who I am.

From all of us here at the corporate office of Studious Metsimus, which is quite literally a desk with a computer, an iPhone and a cat who swipes at us whenever we need to use "his" bathroom, we'd like to thank you for your continued support of this site and wish you a safe and happy New Year.  And by "we", I mean Ed Leyro (the dude at the computer), Joey Beartran (the roving reporter/culinary expert with the iPhone) and Taryn "The Coop" Cooper (the chick getting swiped by the cat).

And remember, Mets fans.  It's not how you play the game.  It's how much money you saved by not signing the top free agents on the market and hoping to get similar production from lesser players coming off a subpar season, then hoping to get a game-winning single from them once a month.  (This paragraph was approved by Fred and Jeff Wilpon.)

Hey, Dirk Jitters?  If you could get rid of this monstrosity in Marlins Park, you'd be doing your fans a great service.

Joey's Letter To Sandy Claus (2015)

Is this where I deliver mail to Sandy Claus?

Dear Sandy Claus,

This is Joey Beartran once again, writing my fifth letter to you in as many holiday seasons.  I see other teams have written asking for stocking stuffers already.  I'm glad some of them got lumps of coal in their stockings, like the Giants, who got Jeff Samardzija as their main gift, even though he led the league last year by giving up more hits, home runs and earned runs than any other pitcher.  It serves them right after their fans invade Citi Field year after year, making it uncomfortable for Mets fans to enjoy any games against San Francisco.

Sometimes people just ask for things at the holidays, not once considering that it truly is better to give than it is to receive.  But I'm going to do a little of both, hoping that you'll appreciate that I'm not like all those other people, especially those who have 27 rings, ask you every year for a 28th, and then when you don't bring it to them, they constantly remind you about those 27 rings they already do have.  (I won't say who they are, but they really do yank my chain.)

So I hope you have a little bit of time on your hands, Mr. Claus, because as you already know from my previous letters to you, my missives are never just a few words long.  Sit back, have some cookies and milk, and get ready for a letter that's all nice and never naughty - kind of like me!

The beginning of a masterpiece.

I'd like a center fielder who can split time with Juan Lagares, especially if Lagares's arm is still kaput.  It would also help if this center fielder could find a way to get on base with a little more regularity.  I mean, Lagares's career OBP is .297, which is just barely higher than Denard Span's .287 lifetime batting average.  (Span also has a .352 OBP in eight big league seasons.)  Now I'm not saying you should put Span in the Mets' stocking.  Ah, who am I kidding?  Of course I want Span on the team.  And I'm not just saying that because he gets on base and steals bases (he swiped 31 bags in 2014 and has had three other seasons with 20+ steals).  I'm also not saying it because he bats left-handed which would allow him to be part of a righty-lefty platoon with Lagares.  I'm saying it because he absolutely KILLS THE METS!!  Did you know he's a lifetime .311 hitter vs. New York?  Did you also know that for a guy with little power, he has five home runs against the Mets, even though he's never hit more than three homers against any other team?  You better know that, because Sandy Claus is supposed to know everything!  Get me Span for the holidays and I'll be a happy bear.

I'd also like some better defense by the middle infield.  Last year, Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores got most of the playing time at second and short, respectively.  I know they combined for 60 doubles and 30 homers last season, but they only produced a 2.2 WAR between them, mainly because their defense left a lot to be desired.  The new double play combo in Flushing (Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera) almost doubled that with their respective teams last season, as Walker and Cabrera combined for a 4.1 WAR in 2015.  They're not going to win Gold Gloves out there, but they also won't make bone-headed plays.  Of course, just because they were serviceable last year doesn't guarantee anything this year.  Both Walker and Cabrera are in their 30s, so be sure to give them proper rest by having 26-year-old Ruben Tejada play for them every once in a while.

Once thing I definitely want is for Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler to be the second coming of Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda and David Cone.  The 1969 and 1973 teams both had Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, with the '69 team adding Gary Gentry and the '73 squad having Jon Matlack, but neither team had a fourth starter who gave them 25+ starts.  Meanwhile, the 1986 team didn't have David Cone yet and used Rick Aguilera as a fifth starter.  Aguilera was wild in the strike zone and allowed too many hits and home runs.  Only the 1988 team with Doc, Ronnie, El Sid, Bobby O and Coney had no weaknesses in the starting rotation, which was exemplified by the team's league-leading 2.91 ERA and 1,100 strikeouts.  Once Wheeler returns to the rotation in June, the 2016 pitching staff could rival the '88 staff as the franchise's all-time best when you consider all five starters.  I'm counting on you, Sandy Claus, to make sure none of our pitchers gets traded.  We need to keep our stars.

Speaking of stars, I'd like some Star Wars toys under my tree.  Not because I want to play with them, but because I want to keep them in the box in pristine condition.  That way, I can sell them next October when the Mets return to the postseason and the money I make from those sales can help me buy playoff tickets.  Did you see what World Series tickets cost a few months ago?  It was certainly more than an arm, a leg and a paw, that's for sure!

$225 for a World Series ticket.  Secondary market was much higher.  I almost had to skip a few meals so I could afford it.

While I'm on the topic of collectibles, I'd like it if you could use your powers as the almighty Sandy Claus to get the team to offer more than 15,000 gnomes, bobbleheads, beach towels, etc. when they have a popular promotion.  If Free Shirt Friday can have 40,000+ shirts, why can't we have at least half that amount for the other giveaways?  There were many times when I arrived a full hour before first pitch only to find that all the items had already been given away.  For the Jesse Orosco 1986 World Series bobblehead, I stood under the hot sun for over an hour before the gates at the Jackie Robinson Rotunda even opened just to make sure I got mine.  I'd appreciate it if I didn't have to arrive at the ballpark more than three hours before first pitch just to get an item that 25,000 or so people are going to wish they had.  Not all of us have short distances to travel to get to Citi Field and we'd rather not have to leave home before the sun rises just to get a free giveaway prior to a 4:10pm start.

Let's continue talking about start times for games, particularly ESPN Sunday night games.  I know the Mets can't control which games are moved to Sunday night, but surely they can be a little more vocal about it.  Just last season, a Sunday game against the Nationals was moved from 1:10pm to 8:08pm.  And as is par for the course, because it was a Sunday game, kids were allowed to run around the bases in the Mr. Met Dash shortly after the conclusion of the game.  Think about that for a moment.  It was after 11pm.  And kids were running the bases at that time.  Do you really think their parents wanted to stick around for an extra hour or so just so that their kids can spend 30 seconds running in their sleep?  Everyone is tired and just wants to go home!  And with the Mets now becoming one of the better teams in the league, Sunday night games are going to become more prevalent.  This isn't a laughing matter!  Do something about this, Sandy Claus!

I don't think Sandy's little elf should be laughing about Sunday night games, either.

Enough about what I want in my stocking.  Now I'd like to thank you, Sandy Claus.  I'd like to show you my appreciation for doing what it took to give Mets fans an unexpected thrill ride during the season's final two months and in October.  We all know the story.  The Mets struggled to stay above .500 all season.  Wilmer Flores cried.  Then he homered against the Nationals.  Yoenis Cespedes came, saw and conquered National League pitching.  The team swept Washington.  Then they swept them again.  Finally, they celebrated in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Chicago all the way to the World Series.  Our dreams became reality.  And we couldn't have done it without you, Sandy.

I've also heard that your doppelganger and namesake, Sandy Alderson, has been undergoing cancer treatment.  Little Jeffy Wilpon might be laughing at other things, but I'm sure he's not laughing at this diagnosis.  Unlike the Phillies, Braves and Jonathan Papelbon, cancer is no joke.  It crushes dreams and rips families apart.  Sandy Alderson has made Mets fans dreams come true and in doing so, he helped us all become one big pennant-winning family.  I'd like to wish him all the best so that he makes a full recovery and can continue to be the baseball maverick that he's become.

Well, I guess that's it, Sandy Claus!  You see?  I didn't just ask to receive things.  I also gave my sincerest thanks where it was deserved.  And I also asked for other people to receive things, like good health.  Surely, this will keep me off the naughty list this year, right?  Thanks so much for listening and I hope you have a safe a merry holiday season!

Love and best wishes for the 2016 season and beyond,
Joey Beartran

Citi Field's gates were closed so I had to put this in a mailbox.  Ya gotta work on that for 2016, Sandy Claus.

Are You Ready For Some Hot Stove?

The Boston Red Sox finished off the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 Wednesday night to take the 2013 World Series crown.  In doing so, the once-cursed team won their third title in ten seasons, or one more than the Mets have won in 52 seasons.  What will the Mets have to do to win that coveted third championship?  That’s something Sandy Alderson and his Merry Men will have to address during the Hot Stove season, which is now officially underway.  It should be the most important offseason the Mets have had in nearly a decade.

The Mets need help.  Okay, let’s be honest.  They need lots of help.  They need as much help as Jaime Escalante’s students needed to master “cal-cool-us”.

First base?  According to Little Jeffy Wilpon, the Mets have a glut at first base.  Not a glut of talent at first base.  Just a glut.  I guess the next time Webster’s dictionary is updated, the word glut will be defined as “a hybrid of Lucas Duda and Ike Davis” or “the roadblock that prevents a team from pursuing a highly coveted Cuban talent”.

Second base?  Well, that’s Daniel Murphy’s position for the time being.  But now there is talk about moving Gold Glove finalist Eric Young, Jr. to second base.  For the record, Young was considered for a Gold Glove for his defensive excellence in left field, not second base.

Shortstop?  Will Ruben Tejada ever get another shot to be a starter there?  Probably not.  The Mets will have to consider trading for a shortstop that can play the position effectively on a daily basis.  Otherwise, we might see Justin Turner more than we should there.  For all I care, the Mets can trade him to the World Champion Red Sox.  His beard would fit right in.

Sorry, Justin.  Mike Napoli is not impressed.

Third base?  The Captain.  Let’s move on.

Left field?  If Eric Young doesn’t move to second base (he better not), he’ll probably stay in left to entertain the drunken Party City dwellers.  But he might be better served as a fourth outfielder, a la Endy Chavez.  The Mets need to add some pop to the lineup, and left field is one of the positions that could use some.  Lucas Duda need not apply.

Center field?  That belongs to the smooth-as-silk Juan Lagares.  Lagares proved he can handle the position, making superb catch after super catch and showing off his strong, accurate arm every time an opposing player was foolish enough to test him.  You know who else was foolish?  The people who made Andrew McCutchen and Denard Span finalists for the Gold Glove in center field over Lagares.

Right field?  Give me Choo or give me someone who’s better than whomever the Mets trotted out there last year after Byrd became the word in Pittsburgh.  Obviously, acquiring Shin-soo Choo would prove the Mets are indeed down with OBP, as his .423 on-base percentage was second in the league to teammate Joey Votto.  Choo also posted his third career 20/20 season, hitting 21 homers and stealing 20 bases.  If Eric Young, Jr. loses playing time, the Mets will have to find steals from someone other than the National League stolen base king.  Byrd was the word in 2013.  Choo should do in 2014.

Catcher?  Like it or not, the position belongs to Travis d’Arnaud.  He’ll have to perform better if he wants to be known for something other than being the Met with a large P on his back.  To back up d’Arnaud, the Mets should probably bring in a veteran player.  But if they don’t, Anthony Recker isn’t a terrible option.

Starting pitchers?  Zack Wheeler, Jonathon Niese and Dillon Gee form the top three.  The bottom two is where the Mets will have to be creative.  Although Rafael Montero has already made 16 starts at the Triple-A level, he will probably not get called up until June at the earliest.  And Noah Syndergaard has yet to face Triple-A hitters, so don’t expect to see him at Citi Field before the All-Star Break.  With Jenrry Mejia coming off an injury, as well as Jeremy Hefner and that Harvey guy recovering from major surgery, the Mets will need at least one and perhaps two veteran stopgaps in the rotation.  Aaron Harang did okay in his late-season tryout and so did Daisuke Matsuzaka.  If I had Wilpon blood running through my veins, I’d bring back Dice-K.  After all, how would the Mets ever sell their glut (there’s that word again) of Matsuzaka T-shirts that are left in the team store?

Dice-K's shirt is almost outselling the Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in the Mets Team Store.

Relief pitchers?  Bobby Parnell, LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Rice should stay.  Scott Atchison could also stay unless the Senior League reforms and takes him as their No. 1 overall pick.  Everyone else can fade away or join the Phillies, like every other former Met eventually does, except for Frank Francisco.  He’ll be taking advantage of his soon-to-be unemployment by petitioning the Olympic committee to add chair tossing as a medal event.

Bench?  The Mets need a well-balanced bench.  It can’t be full of .260 hitters with little power and no speed.  (The fact that Justin Turner has hit exactly .260 in his career with little power and no speed should be viewed as a coincidence.  It does not reflect my personal distaste for the pie-chucker.  Supposedly.)  The non-starters should be split evenly between left-handed and right-handed hitters, with at least one speedster that can be brought in to pinch-run, one power bat, one contact bat, one utility player and one late-inning defensive replacement.  If a player can combine two of those talents, the Mets will have a better chance to compete when they eventually play another 20-inning game.

With Matt Harvey out for the 2014 campaign and many positions still up for grabs, the Mets enter the hot stove season with many pieces needed to complete what should be an interesting puzzle.  If Papa Smirk and Little Jeffy aren’t willing to keep their promise of spending money this offseason, the only thing Mets fans will have to look forward to in 2014 is not having to subject themselves to Tim McCarver’s analysis (he put the “anal” in analysis) during Saturday FOX telecasts.  As much as a Timmy-less Saturday pleases a plethora of Mets fans, we’d like a little more than that to make us not want to jump off the Shea Bridge in a Lime-A-Rita-fueled stupor.  Besides, we won’t have Frank Francisco to break our fall this year.

Let’s get cracking, Sandy!  Put some logs in the hot stove and see if you can fire up the fan base.  End this five-year fizzle by making Citi Field sizzle.  The Red Sox shouldn’t have to have all the fun in October. 
 

The Convenience of Rain Before A Nationally Televised Game

On Friday night, the Mets and Braves were about to start the ninth inning of a 5-5 game when the drizzle failed to fizzle.  The downpour caused the umpires to call for the grounds crew to put the tarp on the field, where it remained until the game was suspended just before midnight.

There would be no fireworks at 4am, no Keith Hernandez making six outs and still hitting for the cycle (although Ike Davis was making a bid for six strikeouts) and no Rick Camp exhumation for an unlikely homer in the 18th inning.

No, that was in 1985.  The 2013 umpires are a tad more reasonable (except for Angel Hernandez) and they decided to resume the game on Saturday at 6:10pm, approximately one hour before the regularly scheduled game at 7:15pm.

Why was a suspended game the best case scenario for Papa Smirk and Little Jeffy Wilpon?  It's all about the national TV audience.

The conveniently-timed suspended game is sure to turn the Wilpons' frowns upside down.

Tonight's regularly scheduled game was picked up by FOX.  The Mets have other games on the FOX Saturday schedule this year, but this was to be the only night game aired by the network.  It's also the only Saturday night game scheduled at Citi Field this year.

According to mets.com, any fan who was in attendance at Friday's suspended game can exchange their ticket stubs for both the conclusion of the game and the regularly scheduled game (seats subject to availability).  They are also entitled to the John Franco bobblehead giveaway and the post-game pyrotechnics display, which was originally set to go off last night before the rains served as a natural extinguisher.

Putting two and two together (no, we're not adding Ike Davis' daily strikeout totals there), that means fans who went to last night's game and fans with tickets to tonight's game have the right to occupy seats at Citi Field tonight.  So the ballpark is going to be more packed tonight than it would usually be, especially with the dozens of fans who are sure to brave the elements once again.

Hmmm, I wonder if the Mets' decision to allow fans from the first game to stay for the second game has anything to do with those national TV cameras that will also be in attendance covering the game for the FOX network?  I mean, it would surely make the team look really good for the national TV audience to see more fannies in the seats, don't ya think?

Rainouts are never a good thing for the players, umpires and fans.  But suspended games can be wonderful for a team's image.  And the timing of last night's called game and tonight's resumption has everyone involved saying "how convenient".  Maybe that'll wipe the smirk off Fred Wilpon's face once and for all.

Live from New York, It's Saturday Night (at Citi Field)!

Little Jeffy Wilpon Sticks Foot In Mouth ... Again!

In Thursday's Daily News, Wayne Coffey wrote an article about the progress of the reconfigured fences at Citi Field.  In his article, Coffey discussed how various players and front office personnel agree that the new dimensions will make Citi Field a neutral ballpark instead of one that was geared to eat up long fly balls.  One particular member of the front office chimed in at the end of the article with his own thoughts.

Mets’ non-prodigal son, Jeff Wilpon, was on hand to give the first public tour since Citi Field began experiencing shrinkage.  Little Jeffy, no stranger to the hereditary foot-in-mouth condition passed down to him by his father, gave his two cents on why the moved-in walls will make for a better experience for the dozens of fans in attendance at Citi Field this year.  Given the team’s current financial state, perhaps he should have kept those two cents to himself, especially when these were his words:

“I think fans are going to like (the new dimensions).  People would rather see a 9-7 game than a 2-1 game, for one thing.  And I think players are going to perform better, and they’re going to like that, too.”

So let me get this straight.  Little Jeffy Wilpon believes his customers would rather see a 9-7 game at Citi Field.  Now, I’m assuming he wants the Mets to score the nine runs in this scenario, but since he’s a Wilpon, that assumption can’t always be made.  Therefore, he’s saying that fans want to see Mets pitchers give up seven runs in a ballgame.

For most teams, giving up seven runs in a game means taxing the bullpen (been there, done that), while causing the starting pitchers to lose confidence in their ability.  It also leads to demotions and early promotions to minor leaguers who have no business being called up so soon.

Who wants people to say Johan Santana came off the DL too soon because he allowed a handful of runs in five innings?  How much more of Mike Pelfrey getting shelled can we handle?  If R.A. Dickey starts giving up run after run, will we start seeing #BlameMountKilimanjaro hashtags on Sandy Alderson’s tweets?  No one wants any of that to happen.  Well, almost no one.

Little Jeffy Wilpon would have no problem with any of that because he’s in tune with his fan base and knows we want 9-7 games instead of pitchers’ duels.  Right.  He knows us so well.  In fact, we would have invited our good buddy over for dinner by now but we’re afraid he’d take our silverware home.

This is what Little Jeffy should have said if he didn’t want to stick his foot in his mouth:

“People would rather see us score nine runs instead of two.”

(No mention of how many runs the other team will be scoring.  Perhaps it’s a 9-7 game, but it could also be a complete-game 9-0 shutout.  What fan wouldn’t like the best of both worlds?)

“People would rather see 400-foot bombs land behind the fence and not in opponents’ gloves.” 

(He’d get an “Amen” from the blue and orange congregation who are tired of Jason Bay still chasing Richard Hidalgo on the Mets’ all-time home run list.)

“People would stop asking us to sell the team if we won a few more ballgames.” 

(Okay, that has nothing to do with his 9-7 quote, but at least he wouldn’t be sticking his foot in his mouth with that response.)


The fences at Citi Field will be lower and closer to home plate than they’ve been since the park opened in 2009.  Until the season starts, there’s no way of knowing if this will benefit the Mets or their opponents more.  Jeff Wilpon is counting on the cosmetic changes helping the Mets in both the standings and in ticket sales.  In fact, he’s sure his patrons are going to like it.  After all, he knows exactly what we want.

For his sake, Little Jeffy better be right.  His father has already stuck his own foot in his mouth on multiple occasions.  This is one family tradition that doesn’t need to passed down from one generation to the next.  Isn’t that right, Papa Smirk? 

Mets vs. A's: An Important Series Then, An Important Series Now

In 1973, the Mets and the A's squared off in the World Series, with the Mets winning three of the first five games before losing Games 6 and 7. (Dang you, Yogi Berra, for not starting well-rested George Stone in Game 6 and holding Tom Seaver on regular rest for Game 7.) The two teams did not meet again until interleague play made it possible in 2005. At the time, the A's were the only team the Mets had never faced in the regular season.

The Mets lost the first two games in Oakland before Mr. Anna Benson won the series finale to avoid getting swept by the Athletics. At the time of the series, the Mets were hovering around .500 while the A's were a miserable 25-37.

Two years later, the Mets and A's played their first and only regular season series at Shea Stadium, with the Mets sweeping the series in dominant fashion, outscoring Oakland in the three games by a combined 20-3 score. At the time, the Mets were struggling, having lost 13 of 16 and the A's were treading water in the AL West.

Tonight, the Mets open up the first-ever series against Oakland at Citi Field, with New York once again defining mediocrity and the A's keeping up with them in standings (The Mets are 35-37, while the A's are 33-40). However, this year, it is the team from the East Bay that is hot (winners of five straight, including a three-game sweep over the World Champion Giants), while the team from Flushing Bay is not (losing three of their last four).

The Mets must take advantage of the Athletics' poor play on the road. Oakland is 14-24 away from their newly-renamed O.co Coliseum. However, the Mets haven't exactly been believing in home-field advantage themselves, going 16-19 at Citi Field after finishing with a 47-34 home record in 2010.

With the Mets playing 13 of their next 16 games away from Citi Field following their three-game set with the A's, it is imperative that they do well in this series. Not only will it give them momentum going into their upcoming interleague series against the Rangers and Tigers, but it could finally push them above the elusive .500 mark, which has only been a rumor since they last found themselves above the break-even point during the first week of the season when they were 3-2.

The Mets may or may not keep Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline. Little Jeffy Wilpon has said that their standing in the playoff hunt could determine whether or not they add payroll at the trade deadline. After losing two out of three to the struggling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disneyland in Orange County over the weekend, the Mets have looked more like pretenders than contenders.

The future of the team is at stake over the next six weeks. Doing well against last-place Oakland at Citi Field is the first step towards determining what will happen to the team after the trade deadline. The Mets believed in 1973 and took that belief all the way to the World Series, where they lost to Oakland. The Mets can't lose to the A's this time. It's not the Fall Classic, but it might be just as important for the franchise to come out on top in this series.