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? 

Joey's Soapbox: My Connection To Jose Reyes

Greetings, Mets fans.  This is Joey Beartran reporting, although I have to say that I am too distraught to get up on my soapbox today.  As you already know, Jose Reyes has traded in his orange and blue duds for a Miami Marlins' Skittles-colored jersey.  It's a day I never expected to see, and one that I'm having a tough time accepting.

It's not because I'm upset that Reyes remained in the NL East, where the Mets will see him for 18 games per season.  It's also not because the Mets lost their leadoff hitter and shortstop, replacing him at those positions with Angel Pagan and Ruben Tejada, respectively.

My tough time accepting the loss of Jose Reyes goes back to the day I was born.  Please allow me to explain.

I'll always be connected to Jose, and not just through an internet connection.

On June 20, 2004, my future colleague at Studious Metsimus saw me sitting up on a display in the Mets Team Store located behind home plate at Shea Stadium.  I was dressed in the gray Mets hoodie you're used to seeing me in, surrounded by... nothing ... I was the last Mets bear of my kind in the Team Store.  From my vantage point, I could see outside the windows of the store, but I couldn't see the field, even with my proximity to home plate.  Therefore, I had yet to see Jose Reyes play.

It was Father's Day and my future colleague decided I should come out from behind the window and see my first Mets game in person.  So he paid $25 for the right to take me off the display (I don't come cheap) and we went up to our seats in the mezzanine.

That weekend was special for other reasons in addition to it being my first Mets game after my "birth".  On Friday, June 18, the Mets held a ceremony to honor Mike Piazza for becoming the all-time leader in home runs by a catcher.  The following night, June 19, was Jose Reyes' first appearance for the Mets after spending the first two-plus months of the season on the disabled list.  I wanted to see Reyes so badly, being that I was not "alive" for his rookie season in 2003.

Do you know how much of a fan of Reyes I was?  I told my colleague once we left the Team Store on June 20 that my name was Jose (even though we all know it's Joey).  Reyes did not lead off for the Mets that day.  That honor went to Kaz Matsui, who was also playing shortstop for the Mets at the time, with Reyes manning second base.

The game between the Mets and the Tigers was scoreless through three and a half innings.  Jeremy Bonderman was pitching beautifully for the Tigers, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth.  Then Jose Reyes came to bat to lead off the inning and everything changed, both for me and the Mets.

Reyes worked a seven-pitch walk to start the inning.  After Bonderman struck out Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd, he faced the dangerous Richard Hidalgo.  Hidalgo had just been acquired by the Mets from the Astros prior to the weekend series against Detroit and was familiarizing himself with Shea Stadium.  Prior to his fourth inning at-bat, Hidalgo had gotten off to an 0-for-8 start as a Met.  But in none of those eight at-bats did Hidalgo come up with Reyes on base.  That was not the case in this at-bat.

With Reyes bouncing back and forth off first base, Bonderman started to become frazzled.  He threw several times to first baseman Carlos Peña with Reyes getting back safely each time.  Finally, after throwing a strike to Hidalgo, Bonderman grooved a pitch that Hidalgo hit over the fence for his first home run as a Met.  Without question, it was Reyes' nerve-jangling dance off first base that caused Bonderman to change his approach on the mound.  I had just seen firsthand what a dynamic player Reyes was, how he could change a game by getting into the mind of the opposing pitcher.

 I idolized Jose Reyes so much that I'd slide into second base head-first like he would.

It was the beginning of a love affair with Jose Reyes that took me to the highest highs (the 2006 playoffs) and the lowest lows (any of his ten million trips to the disabled list).  Ever since Father's Day 2004, I followed everything Reyes did.  I cheered when he moved back to shortstop after Art Howe's ill-advised decision to move him to second base in 2004 failed miserably.  I cringed when Jerry Manuel tried to bat him third in the lineup in April and May 2010.  I was confused when Jose took himself out of the lineup after collecting a bunt base hit in the team's final game of the 2011 season, then elated when he won the batting title later that night.

But alas, that bunt hit was the last time I'd see him in a Mets uniform.  It would be the last time anyone would see him wearing the only major league uniform he had ever worn.

Jose Reyes is now a Miami Marlin.  It doesn't seem right, does it?  I didn't know who the Mets' shortstop was before Reyes played his first game in 2003 or who wore No. 7 last before it became synonymous with Reyes.  It didn't matter to me that Rey Sanchez manned the position prior to Jose's debut or that Jason Phillips wore No. 7 for 11 games in 2002.  It was all about Jose Reyes for me.

Now he's gone.

I named myself Jose after my "birth" because I wanted to be like No. 7 on the Mets.  He was the future of the team but he was right there in front of me in the present.  He was flashy, energetic and he played with such a love of the game, it was hard not to love him.

I will still be a fan of Jose Reyes.  After all, it's hard to give up on something once you've had a connection with it for your entire lifetime.  But that connection will never be the same for me.  It won't be the same when I see Ruben Tejada start a double play.  Whenever Angel Pagan wipes dirt off his pants after stealing a base or legging out a triple, no one will start singing "Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose".

It'll be quite difficult for me at Citi Field in 2012.  As always, I'll root for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the one on the back.  But when the Marlins come to town and I see the name "REYES" on the back of their leadoff hitter's jersey, a mountain of memories will flood my mind.

Jose Reyes and I will always have a special bond, going back to the day we first met on June 20, 2004.  The Mets won that game against the Tigers, but I feel like I won by getting to see him play for as long as I did.  Guess that's a connection that'll never break.

David Wright's Power Outage May Become Historic

It has been well-documented that David Wright is going through a power outage this season. The home run dropoff cannot be solely attributed to the move from Shea Stadium to Citi Field. Out of the ten home runs hit by Wright, five have come at Citi Field and five have been hit on the road.

Last year, Wright hit 33 HR in 626 plate appearances. That home run total has dwindled by 23 this season, as Wright has accumulated a mere ten home runs in 466 plate appearances. That includes the two-homer barrage Saturday against the Phillies.

If Wright does not finish the season with more than his current home run total and reaches the 500 plate appearance plateau (which he should), he stands to make some history.

Studious Metsimus has done extensive research and found ten players who compiled seasons in which their home run totals dropped by more than 23 from one season to the next. In both of the seasons in question, each hitter registered at least 500 plate appearances. The players are listed in order by the difference in home runs from the first season to the second.

Brady Anderson: 50 HR (1996), 18 HR (1997), difference of 32 HR
Luis Gonzalez: 57 HR (2001), 28 HR (2002), difference of 29 HR
Adrian Beltre: 48 HR (2004), 19 HR (2005), difference of 29 HR
Roger Maris: 61 HR (1961), 33 HR (1962), difference of 28 HR
Davey Johnson: 43 HR (1973), 15 HR (1974), difference of 28 HR
Barry Bonds: 73 HR (2001), 46 HR (2002), difference of 27 HR
Larry Walker: 49 HR (1997), 23 HR (1998), difference of 26 HR
Hank Greenberg: 58 HR (1938), 33 HR (1939), difference of 25 HR
Andre Dawson: 49 HR (1987), 24 HR (1988), difference of 25 HR
Richard Hidalgo: 44 HR (2000), 19 HR (2001), difference of 25 HR

Out of all these players, every one of them hit at least 15 HR in both of the seasons. In my research, I could not find any player who had as many as 33 HR (like Wright had last year) in one season and then followed that up with fewer than a dozen home runs in the next season, given the 500 plate appearance minimum in both seasons.

In fact, I only found three players in major league history with at least 400 plate appearances in consecutive years who hit at least 30 HR in the first season and single digit home runs in the following season. Those players are:

Gabby Hartnett: 37 HR (1930, 578 PA), 8 HR (1931, 438 PA)
Rocky Colavito: 30 HR (1966, 614 PA), 8 HR (1967, 436 PA)
Howard Johnson: 38 HR (1991, 658 PA), 7 HR (1992, 410 PA)

The last name on that list should be familiar to Mets fans. David Wright considers Howard Johnson to be his "baseball father". If David's power outage this season continues, it may be a case of "like father, like son".

HoJo's inability to hit home runs in 1992 was not due to an injury, as is typical in those situations. However, it might be explained by his change in positions. He played his customary third base position for most of the 1991 season until he was moved to right field for the last month of the campaign. In 1992, he became the Mets' full-time centerfielder and did not perform well in the field.

Johnson did eventually suffer a season-ending wrist injury in late July, but not before he played in 100 of the first 103 games, collecting his measly total of seven home runs.

The closest comparison I could find to David Wright's 2009 season was Vinny Castilla's 2005 season. Castilla also accumulated over 500 plate appearances in 2005 after a 2004 season in which he hit 35 HR for the Colorado Rockies. Like Wright, he changed ballparks from one year to the next, moving from Coors Field in Denver to RFK Stadium in Washington. His power suffered as he went down from 35 HR in 2004 for the Rockies to 12 HR in 2005 for the Nationals. However, Castilla still managed to get to the dozen home run total that Wright has not reached.

If I did my research correctly, David Wright could become the first player to hit as many as 33 HR in one season, only to follow it up with a season of fewer than 12 HR. No player with at least 500 plate appearances in both seasons has suffered such a power outage in major league history.

David Wright will probably finish his Mets career with many of the franchise's hitting records. However, he may end up with a major league record that I'm sure he'd rather not have. Let's hope for one quick power surge before the end of the 2009 season so that he won't hold this dubious distinction.