Jose Lima and the Final Destination of the 2006 Mets' Starting Pitchers

Here's to you, Mr. Lima.  Hope you're able to pitch past the fifth inning in Heaven.  (Victor Baldizon/Getty Images)

Ten years ago today, the baseball world lost one of its true characters in Jose Lima.  The former Met, who had heart issues before his untimely death on May 23, 2010, finished his career with an 89-102 record and 5.26 ERA in 235 starts, which is the highest lifetime earned run average in major league history for a pitcher who made that many starts. 

Lima was the second pitcher who started at least one game for the 2006 Mets to pass away, following the death of Geremi Gonzalez (who was then known by his hip-hop nom de plume, Jeremi Gonzalez) in 2008.  Gonzalez was tragically killed at the age of 33 after being struck by lightning in Venezuela.

Back in 2009, Studious Metsimus jokingly reported that after the Mets released Jose Lima in 2006, he put a hex on the franchise, lovingly referred to as "The Curse of Lima Time".  The whammy was supposedly the reason for the Mets' failure to reach the World Series in 2006, as well as their late-season collapses in 2007 and 2008.

But is the curse real?  Has it expanded beyond a Studious Metsimus story?  A look at the thirteen starting pitchers who took the mound for the Mets in 2006 seems to suggest that it might have escaped the confines of this blog and gone searching for the Unlucky Thirteen.

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Tom Glavine (32 starts) - Failed to get more than one out for the Mets in the 2007 season finale.  Later went back to Atlanta where he picked up two wins and was released by the team in 2009.  By co-inky-dink, he ended his career the way he began it, by going 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA for the Braves in 2008.  He also went 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA for the Braves in his first season with the team back in 1987.

Steve Trachsel (30 starts) - After leading the 2006 Mets with 16 wins, the Human Rain Delay II (with apologies to the original Human Rain Delay, Mike Hargrove) signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles in 2007.  He was traded in August 2007 to the Chicago Cubs, then re-signed by the Orioles the following off-season, before being released by Baltimore in June 2008.  His post-Mets stats for the 2007 and 2008 seasons featured an abysmal 9-16 won-loss record and a 5.60 ERA.

(David Zalubowski/AP)

Pedro Martinez (23 starts) - Started off brilliantly in 2006, earning wins in each of his first five starts.  Then he was placed on the disabled list after pitching horribly in his return to Fenway Park on June 28.  After coming back from his injury exactly one month later, Martinez pitched poorly in the potential division clincher at PNC Park and was caught weeping in the dugout.  In July 2009, Pedro signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, but his affiliation with the Bloods (see photo, right) helped bring about his downfall.  Facing the Yankees in the that year's Fall Classic also helped, as Pedro lost the two starts he made, including the game that gave the Yankees their sole championship of the last 19 seasons.  Following his defeat in Game Six, the 37-year-old Martinez never pitched again in the major leagues.

Orlando Hernandez (20 starts) - It looked as if the Curse of Lima Time was going to escape Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez.  After all, he was surprisingly effective for the Mets after being acquired in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Dookie went 9-7 for the Mets and struck out nearly a batter per inning (112 Ks in 116.2 innings).  However, The Dookie met The Curse right after he was named the starting pitcher for Game One of the 2006 NLDS.  While running sprints in the outfield, the then-57 year old (give or take a few decades) tore a calf muscle and had to be removed from the postseason roster.  Despite his AARP membership and injury history, the Mets signed Mr. Dookie to a two-year, $12 million contract that off-season.  They were rewarded by getting 24 starts from His Dookness in 2007 and no starts in 2008.  He then signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in 2009, only to be released a month later.  No longer in baseball, The Dookerino has apparently been offered three lucrative deals to be the spokesperson for Geritol, Metamucil and Depends undergarments.

John Maine (15 starts) - Maine was originally the throw-in when the Mets unloaded Kris and Anna Benson to the Baltimore Orioles for Jorge Julio (who was then traded to Arizona for The Dookie).  Maine impressed so much as a rookie for the Mets in 2006 that he earned a spot on the postseason roster.  His victory in Game Six of the NLCS helped the Mets reach the do-or-die Game Seven against the Cardinals.  Although Maine won 15 games in 2007, his ERA increased annually through 2010, when he won one game and posted a 6.13 ERA in nine starts.  Maine never won a game in the majors after his 29th birthday and appeared in just four games as a thirty-something, all of them coming for the lowly Marlins in 2013.  The scowl that once helped Maine get hitters out is now solely seen whenever someone utters Jerry Manuel's name.

The look of a man who just heard Jerry Manuel say "gangsta" for the umpteenth time. (AP Photo)

Alay Soler (8 starts) - Pitched a complete-game shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his fourth major league start.  Three starts later, he gave up eight runs to the Boston Red Sox.  After that game, he was told to watch tapes of his outing against the Diamondbacks to prepare for his next start against the Yankees.  The Curse of Lima Time struck again, as the tapes were misplaced and instead Soler watched the tapes from his Boston Massacre.  He learned well, as he gave up another eight runs to the Yankees.  So long, Soler.  That marked the end of his short-lived major league career.

Oliver Perez (7 starts) - When the Mets needed a reliever to replace Dominican food aficionado Duaner Sanchez, they traded Xavier Nady to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 41-year-old Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez.  Perez did not pitch well for the Mets after his trade, going 1-3 with a 6.38 ERA.  He did pitch in Game Seven of the NLCS and then went 25-17 over the next two seasons, fooling the Mets into giving him a three-year, $36 million contract after the 2008 campaign.  Perez "rewarded" the Mets with three victories over the length of the contract.  However, sales of antacids did increase exponentially in Flushing during his time with the team, which was good news if your name was Duane or Reade.

Brian Bannister (6 starts) - The son of former major league pitcher Floyd Bannister was a respectable 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA for the 2006 Mets before the Curse of Lima Time found him on the bases at the ballpark formerly known as Pac Bell, SBC and AT&T Park.  While trying to score a run, Bannister left his hamstring in San Francisco and missed the next four months of the season.  Bannister was not himself after his return, going 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA.  He was traded that off-season to the Kansas City Royals for future felon Ambiorix Burgos, proving that the Curse of Lima Time was contagious.

Victor Zambrano (5 starts) - I won't waste your time.  You already know his story.  He was cursed before Lima could get to him.

Dave Williams (5 starts) - Williams was never meant to make that many starts for the Mets, but the team's membership with the Injury of The Week Club forced him into action five times.  Williams went 3-1 for the Mets in 2006, but the good record was due to excellent run support, as his ERA was a high 5.59.  Williams was not as lucky in 2007, appearing in only two games for the Mets.  Perhaps his 22.85 ERA had something to do with the lack of appearances.  Although he was only 28 at the time, Williams never pitched in the major leagues again.

Mike Pelfrey (4 starts) - Appeared to have been born with the antidote to the Curse of Lima Time in his blood.  After his breakout 2008 season, Big Pelf struggled a bit in 2009, but was been the Mets' most dependable starting pitcher in 2010, going 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA while surpassing the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career.  Pelfrey's success was short-lived, as he followed up his 2010 campaign by becoming one of the game's worst pitchers from 2011 until his final game in 2017.  Over those seven seasons, Pelfrey went 25-62 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.56 WHIP pitching for the Mets, Twins, Tigers and White Sox.  By age 33, the former ninth overall pick was out of the game.

The reason my wife drinks.  (Reuters)

Jose Lima (4 starts) - Just like Lou Gehrig wasn't immune to the disease named after him, Jose Lima fell to the Curse that took his name. Lima never pitched again in the majors after his brief tour of duty with the Mets, a tour that included an 0-4 record, a 9.87 ERA and a grand slam allowed to opposing pitcher Dontrelle Willis (which my future wife didn't remember even though she was at the game because Lima's appearance on the mound caused her to become best friends with her section's beer vendor).  Lima did, however, reach one milestone while in New York.  On May 12, 2006, Lima was credited with his 100th career loss, earning the landmark defeat by allowing five runs in 4⅔ innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Geremi Gonzalez (3 starts) - Gonzalez started against Randy Johnson in the first game of the 2006 Subway Series at Shea Stadium and gave up four runs in the first inning.  The Mets eventually won that game on David Wright's walk-off hit off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning, making Gonzalez the answer to the trivia question, "Who sucked so badly in Game One of the 2006 Subway Series that the Mets needed a walk-off hit by David Wright to win the game?"  Unfortunately for Gonzalez, he made a better lightning rod than starting pitcher, as he was killed during a thunderstorm in his native Venezuela.

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The starting pitchers for the 2006 Mets, otherwise known as the Unlucky Thirteen, have suffered professionally and personally since that 2006 campaign. The so-called Curse of Lima Time has claimed careers and lives, including the man for whom it was named.

Although this blog was written as a humor piece, we do not mean to poke fun at the expense of Jose Lima, who passed away ten years ago today at the age of 37.  Lima was a fun-loving man who had a respectable major league career, if you don't look at his ERA or X-Rays of my wife's liver.  Lima was also a positive presence in the clubhouse and was loved by his teammates.

Jose Lima will always be missed in the major league community and of course, in the blogging community.  May he continue to rest in peace.

This is how most Mets fans remember Jose Lima.  (Howard Earl Simmons/NY Daily News)

Joey's Letter To Sandy Claus (2016)

I figured a sandy setting would be appropriate for a letter to Sandy Claus.  Plus, it reminds me of summer and baseball.

Dear Sandy Claus,

Are you there, Sandy?  It's me, Joey Beartran.  You may remember me from the letters I've sent you in each of the last five holiday seasons.  Other teams' fans have gotten some of their wishes already, such as Cardinals fans getting World Series champion center fielder Dexter Fowler under their tree, Boston lovers getting the Sale of the century and ChiSox supporters getting almost every other team's young prospects to fill their ChiStockings.

As for me and my fellow Mets fans, we're not really asking for much this year.  After all, you've given us two consecutive postseason appearances and have us in position to make an unprecedented third straight October run in 2017.  You've also somehow managed to get superstar slugger Yoenis Céspedes to shun other teams' offers not once, but twice, which has made the loss of former Mets farmhand and current American League Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer a little more palatable.

That doesn't mean we wouldn't want a little something extra from you this holiday season.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  We're quite pleased with the riches you've given us on such a tight budget, but at the same time, we're Mets fans.  That means we're never satisfied.

So since I seem to be the only one here writing you a letter, I figure I'd speak on behalf on my fellow Mets fans so that you know what we'd like this year.  Considering that we've all been nice this year - except for Ray Ramirez, who should probably receive a lump of coal in his stocking, just sayin' - I don't think our wishes are all that unreasonable.  Here goes.

What should I ask for?  This would be a pretty inopportune time to get writers' block.

I'd like a trading partner for Jay Bruce.  It's clear that the Mets have a glut of outfielders.  One is the team's best offensive threat (Céspedes), one is supposedly the star of the future (Michael Conforto), one is a former Gold Glove winner (Juan Lagares), one always says hi to me when I'm sitting in my Right Field Reserved seats (Curtis Granderson) and the other is Jay Bruce.  I don't really care who you trade him for.  Trade him for a new head athletic trainer for all I care.  Actually, if you trade Bruce AND the team's current athletic trainer in the same deal, you'd be killing two birds with one stone, which is probably a good thing for the birds because if they weren't killed by that single stone, the trainer might have to take a look at them and that would be a fate worse than death.

I would also like a shutdown bullpen, you know, like the Nasty Boys that helped the Reds win their last championship in 1990 or the relievers that helped propel the Cubs and Indians to the World Series last year.  (I'd mention the Royals' bullpen that led the team to two World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015, but it's a little too soon for me.)  With Jeurys Familia possibly missing some time to start the season due to his domestic violence incident (and he should also get coal for what he did), the Mets will need someone with late inning experience to complement Addison Reed.  I'm well aware that relievers can go from Mariano Rivera domination to Mel Rojas abomination in a matter of minutes, but I trust you to find someone with the talent to fill the hole left by the impending absence of Familia.  Oh, and make sure the guy you get us isn't named Armando or have a second cousin once removed in the Benitez family.

Without question, I want good health for the players who lost time in 2016 due to injuries.  You know, like Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilmer Flores, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz...  You know what?  Just keep those guys away from the players who managed to stay healthy in 2016 until it's been determined that their injuries aren't contagious.  Though I suppose you wouldn't have to worry about that much with Wright, since he breaks more than wind at a bean burrito eating contest.

I want the Michael Conforto from April 2016 to become the Michael Conforto of every month of the 2017 baseball season.  We've had several one-month wonders in the past.  Does Derek Bell and his red hot start in April 2000 ring a (ahem) bell?  No one expects Conforto to put up the .330/.402/.522 slash line he's produced in 166 career minor league games.  But I do think we should expect more than his .238/.319/.448 performance in 165 contests with the Mets.  Considering that after the 2017 campaign, the Mets won't have Bruce or Granderson on their payroll, Conforto will have to step up to prove that he is going to be a top contributor on this team.  And while I'm at it, can you get Terry Collins to trust him a little more against southpaws?  l know Conforto is probably never going to be a .300 hitter versus left-handed pitchers, but TC has shown as much faith in him against lefties as I have in myself becoming a vegan.  It's time to cut Conforto loose against the world.

Palm trees go with things that are Sandy.  Just hope "Exotic Canadian" isn't a euphemism for Jason Bay.

Speaking of cutting loose, it's time to finally see the Fab Five in action.  I'm talking about having Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler take over this rotation and not let it go until Scott Boras gets Harvey a nine-figure deal to underachieve somewhere else.  Unfortunately, this has yet to happen because Wheeler took a two-year injury sabbatical, Harvey never quite recovered from the ninth inning of Game Five and deGrom and Matz couldn't make 30-plus starts, leaving Syndergaard to do all the heavy lifting in 2016.  And what heavy lifting he did!  Thor basically carried the staff on his back and nearly led them past Madison Bumgarner and the Giants in the Wild Card game.  Imagine if the Mets had several pitchers who could do the same over a full season.  Wait.  They do.  As long as they stay healthy and Yoko Ono doesn't try to break up the band.

I'm a fan of Kelly Johnson.  I really am.  I'm not a fan of losing future major leaguers every time the Mets decide to acquire him during the season.  In 2015, the Mets reeled in Johnson from Atlanta with a package that included John Gant and Robert Whalen.  Both pitchers made it to the majors in 2016 and Gant recorded his first big league victory against the Mets in June.  (It came just three days before my birthday, which was not exactly an ideal gift for me.)  Then after re-signing with the Braves prior to the 2016 campaign, the Mets once again traded for Johnson, sending pitcher Akeel Morris to Atlanta in return for the utility man.  Morris posted a 2.27 ERA for the Braves' Double-A affiliate in 25 appearances following the trade so I wouldn't be surprised if he made it back to the show at some point in 2017.  Therefore, on my wish list, I'd like the Mets to keep Johnson around for the entire 2017 campaign rather than having to sacrifice their young for his services.  We can't keep stuffing the Braves' stockings with so much talent year after year just to get half a season of Kelly Johnson each time.

Finally, I'd like more of those delicious steak frites that you can only find at the Pat LaFrieda joint on the Promenade level.  Why aren't they offered on the field level?  I didn't even know they were an option until we were well into the season.  Also, why was there no Rao's pasta in the Foxwoods Club in 2016 like there was when the area was called the Caesar's Club in previous seasons?  That was my go-to dish when I didn't want to stand in a long line of people who only wanted hot dogs and beer and could have purchased said items from any vendor walking around the ballpark instead of taking up so much space on the line in front of me!  On a related note, I'd also like you to help me control my temper, especially when I'm hungry.

More places in the stadium where these are available would be most welcome.

So that's pretty much what I'm asking you for, Sandy.  Just dump the latest outfielder with the initials J.B. that failed to impress in New York, add a piece or two to the bullpen, keep the players as far away from Ray Ramirez as possible and remind Conforto that his Olympian mom is still the best athlete in the family until he learns how to hit a baseball on a consistent basis.

In addition, all I am saying is don't play Plastic Ono Band music near the starting pitchers and give Kelly Johnson a chance for an entire season.  Oh, and more stands with steak frites around the ballpark and the return of Rao's pasta dishes would be most welcome.  I'm speaking for all Mets fans, of course, not just myself.

Thanks so much for reading my letter, Sandy.  And thank you for what you've done to take this team from a perennial 70-something win squad to a club that has to cancel golf plans in October because playing ball for a title is much more fun than playing with a Titleist ball.

I wish you and your merry little elves a happy holiday season and I can't wait to see what you leave under my tree.  And remember, just because my tree is small doesn't mean you can't put everything I asked for under it.  You're a baseball maverick.  You'll figure out a way.

Love and Shake Shack forever,
Joey Beartran

Hope you get my letter, Sandy Claus.  And my tree really isn't that small; it still towers over me!

A Joey and Iggy Beartran Thanksgiving (2016)

We missed the start of the parade because Mother Nature called.  After all, that's what bears do in the woods.

Greetings and salutations, Mets fans!  We're Joey and Iggy Beartran and today is our favorite holiday of the year - Thanksgiving!  While most people are thankful for their health, their families and whatnot, we're mostly thankful that this is the one day of the year we get to eat anything and everything we want, especially turkey!  Oh, and we're also thankful that we're one day closer to the beginning of the next baseball season.  That's also kind of important to us.

The Mets gave their fans so many things to be thankful for since the last time Thanksgiving came around.  They gave us a full season of Yoenis Céspedes.  They gave us Noah Syndergaard and his Amazin' social media skills.  (He also has a pretty decent fastball.)  They gave us Bartolo Colón's home run.  And they also provided us with a second consecutive postseason appearance.

All Mets fans can be appreciative of those things.  But what are Iggy and I most thankful for this year?  And what will make us feel better about the upcoming 2017 season?  We have all the answers right here.  All you have to do is sit back and relax.  But don't relax too much!  You don't want to end up looking like Keith Hernandez during a day game after a night of barhopping in Sag Harbor.

Video courtesy of YouTube user watchablethings

Joey:  I'm thankful Iggy and I got to enjoy several baseball road trips together, as we visited Denver, Detroit and Cooperstown for the first time.  And even though I didn't get to meet Steve Gelbs in Detroit, that trip to Comerica Park set off a chain of events that eventually led to our first meet-and-greet at Citi Field.

Iggy:  I'm thankful we never have to go to Detroit again.  Going there was like getting in line at Citi Field's Shake Shack, missing three innings of the game and then being told they're sold out of Shackburgers.  In other words, it was a total waste of time.  (And it didn't help that the Mets lost every road game we attended.)

Meeting Steve Gelbs was one of our off-the-field highlights of the season.

Joey:  I'm thankful that we got to see Mike Piazza go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap on his plaque.  He was one of the best players to ever play for the team and I'm glad he got to share the day in Cooperstown with another of the game's all-time greats, Ken Griffey Jr.

Iggy:  I'm thankful I didn't get in this picture with Joey at Cooperstown.  The last thing I would want is for two guys from the 1969 World Champion Mets to laugh at me while I was posing in front of them.

Do I amuse you?  Apparently, I amused the good fellas behind me.

Joey:  I'm thankful we were able to spend the past three seasons marveling at the work of art that is Bartolo Colón.  He was a gem to watch on the mound and at the plate.  And he's also an inspiration to those of us who consider the act of eating to be as much of a national pastime as baseball has been throughout the years.

Iggy:  I'm thankful I bought Bartolo Colón's workout video.  It really helped me become more flexible while burning off those extra calories we consumed last Thanksgiving and throughout the baseball season.

We'll certainly miss this world class athlete.

Joey:  Finally, I'm thankful the Mets are going to make a push for an unprecedented third straight playoff appearance in 2017.  With Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler hopefully back at or near full strength, and the continued improvement of Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, the pitching should overcome whatever the Mets lose in offense this off-season.  And if Yoenis Céspedes ends up signing that long-term deal to remain in New York, we'll have a whole lot more to be thankful for.

Iggy:  And I'm thankful we each only have four things to be thankful for.  Our Thanksgiving feast has been sitting around since the days of the dinosaurs.  Let's eat!

Is that you, Scott Atchison?

So that's what we're thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Hopefully, you'll have many things to be thankful for as well.  Which reminds us, we're also thankful that even though you could be watching NFL football right now or perhaps picking away at the turkey on the dinner table like a 21st century version of the Old Man from "A Christmas Story", you chose to take the time to read our annual Thanksgiving Day post.  Hey, it's the least you could do after not inviting us over to share in your turkey day feast!

From our family to yours, we'd like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and may all your wishes for the upcoming baseball season come true, as long as those wishes all involve the Mets winning a World Series and Bryce Harper playing golf in October.  Ya gotta believe!

LET'S GO METS!!

When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.  We're greedy, so wished upon two of them.

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.

Dillon Gee vs. Jonathon Niese: Who Should Be Traded?

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports/Getty Images via ESPNNewYork.com

I love watching Dillon Gee pitch.  Similarly, I am a fan of Jonathon Niese.

Although the Mets have been under .500 every season Gee has pitched in the majors, Gee himself has a won-loss record that is six games over .500 and he has never been more than one game under the break-even mark over a full season.  Jonathon Niese, on the other hand, is one of the few Mets left on the team who played at Shea Stadium (David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Bobby Parnell are the others, although Murphy and Parnell may not be on this list much longer).  Niese is also the team's only southpaw on a staff filled with right-handed pitchers.

As much as I enjoy having Gee and Niese on the team, I understand that the starting rotation currently has Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom taking up four spots, with Noah Syndergaard waiting in the wings.  Assuming Colon is traded at some point during the 2015 season (if not sooner), Syndergaard would be the obvious choice to replace him in the rotation.  That would leave one of the members of the Gee-Niese duo out of luck and perhaps out of a job in New York.

Knowing full well that either Gee or Niese will not be a Met by this time next year, I decided to see which player the Mets would be better off keeping.  One or both pitchers might be traded if the right deal comes along, but I think one of the two would be better off staying in the Mets' starting rotation.  Here's my reasoning for the player I would like to stick around.

Although he has a 3.91 ERA for his career, Dillon Gee has had only one full season in the majors in which he posted an ERA under 4.00.  Advanced metrics also have his lifetime FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) at 4.23.  For all you kids out there, FIP measures how effective a pitcher is at limiting home runs, walks and hit batsmen while causing strikeouts.  Basically, those are the four categories in which fielders do not determine an outcome.  Therefore, Gee's 4.23 FIP is considered a little higher than what is expected from an average pitcher.

Jonathon Niese has a 3.87 career ERA, but has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his last three seasons, going under 3.50 in two of the last three campaigns.  But on the FIP side, Niese has a lifetime 3.72 FIP and has posted a FIP under 4.00 in each of his last four seasons.  Niese has walked more batters than Gee, but has hit fewer batters and allowed fewer home runs per nine innings than Gee.  And when it comes to strikeouts, Niese is far superior to Gee, as Niese has surpassed 130 strikeouts in a season four times, while Gee has done it just once.

Speaking of strikeouts, although Niese is just 28 years old (he's actually six months younger than Dillon Gee), he's already in the Mets' all-time top ten in career strikeouts.  Niese's 713 Ks are tenth on the team's lifetime leaderboard and he is just one strikeout behind Bobby Jones for ninth place.  Once he passes Jones, the only pitchers in front of him will be Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Sid Fernandez, David Cone, Ron Darling, Al Leiter and Jon Matlack.  You may also know that octet as arguably the eight best pitchers in the history of the franchise.   Niese's strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.69; 713 K/265 BB) is also far better than Gee's ratio (2.26; 464 K/205 BB).

Let's look at another new metric to determine a pitcher's effectiveness - ERA+.  This metric compares a pitcher's earned run average to the league average and also accounts for park factors, with 100 being considered an average ERA+.  For example, Citi Field is generally considered a pitcher's park.  However, Dillon Gee has never posted an ERA+ of 100 in any of his four full seasons.  From 2011 to 2014, Gee has posted a 90 ERA+, with a career-best 98 ERA+ in 2013, which is still 2% worse than the average pitcher.  Meanwhile, Jonathon Niese has a 97 ERA+ since he became a regular in the rotation in 2010.  But since 2012, Niese has a 104 ERA+, making him 4% better than the average pitcher over the last three seasons.  Niese's career-best performance in this metric came in 2012, when he posted a 112 ERA+.

WAR (wins above replacement) is all the rage in this sabermetric era of baseball.  The higher the WAR, the better the player.  It's that simple.  Looking at the WAR posted by Gee and Niese since 2011 (the year both pitchers were rotation-mates for the first time), it's clear which pitcher has been more valuable to the team.  Gee has a 4.5 WAR since 2011, going above 1.0 just once in the four years (2013, when he posted a 2.2 WAR).  In the same time period, Niese has a 6.2 WAR, posting a 3.4 WAR in 2012 and a 1.7 WAR this past season.

WAR.  What is it good for?  For Niese, it might be good for keeping him in New York.  (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)

Finally, let's look at one overlooked, but still important, part of the pitcher's game - his offense.  When a pitcher comes to bat, he's not expected to do much.  If there's a runner on base, he's expected to bunt him over.  If there's no one on base, the best a pitcher is expected to do is not get hurt swinging the bat and maybe make the opposing pitcher throw a few extra pitches.  When it comes to proficiency with the bat, there's no contest between Gee and Niese.

Since becoming a regular in the rotation in 2011, Dillon Gee has a .154 on-base percentage, reaching base 27 times (18 hits, nine walks) in 206 plate appearances.  Meanwhile, since Niese joined the rotation for good in 2010, he has reached base an incredible 66 times (38 hits, 28 walks) in 304 plate appearances, which is a .237 on-base percentage.  Of all pitchers with at least 200 plate appearances since 2010, only Zack Greinke (.274 OBP in 245 PA) and Mike Leake (.261 OBP in 338 PA) have a higher on-base percentage than Jonathon Niese and only Ian Kennedy has drawn more walks (32 BB in 342 PA) than Niese.  Kennedy and Niese are the only pitchers who have walked more than 20 times since 2010.

So let's review.  Jonathon Niese has a better ERA, ERA+, FIP and WAR than Dillon Gee.  Niese is also much more adept at recording strikeouts than Gee and has a better K/BB ratio.  And while Gee is almost an automatic out with the bat, Niese gives the Mets a ninth hitter in the lineup, reaching base just under a quarter of the time.  Niese isn't going to break into a home run trot any time soon, but he has proven to be one of the better handlers of the bat among National League pitchers.

Dillon Gee will blow out 29 candles during the first month of the 2015 campaign.  Jonathon Niese will be 28 all season.  Niese has more experience than Gee, having pitched at Shea Stadium.  Niese is also left-handed, something no other starting pitcher on the Mets can claim.  Although Gee is still arbitration eligible and will likely not command more than $5 million in 2015, Niese is due $7 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016, hardly amounts that would break the Wilpon family piggy bank.

If the Mets are going to trade one of their veteran homegrown pitchers before the curtains rise on the 2015 season, it should be clear which one should go.  Although I've always enjoyed watching him pitch and still believe he can be successful in New York, Dillon Gee will probably be the victim of an overcrowded starting rotation.  Jonathon Niese, despite all the question marks surrounding his health, has still made at least 24 starts in each of his five full seasons in the majors.  Gee has surpassed 22 starts just twice in his four full seasons with the Mets.  Also, Niese may not always utter the most politically correct statements, especially when it comes to Mets fans' loyalty, but you can't say he was pulling things out of his posterior.  If the Mets are going to draw the crowds Niese was used to seeing when he was a neophyte, then the team has to play better.  And right now, I believe the team will perform better with Niese on the team instead of Gee.

Of course, trading Gee or Niese will depend on the package the Mets would receive in return, but if each package was similar and the Mets had an option of trading either player, then that player should be Gee.  The future of the team would look a lot brighter if it held on to Niese.
 

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)

 

The Sixth Starter Could Be the Savior of the Season

Can Rafael Montero save the Mets' season as a starting pitcher?  (Photo by Brad Barr/USA Today Sports)

When Jonathon Niese takes the hill today for the Mets, he will continue a pattern that hasn't been seen much in Flushing over the past few years.  Niese, Dillon Gee, Bartolo Colon, Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia have been the only pitchers to start games for the Mets through the team's first 36 games.  That kind of stability is something that's becoming quite rare in today's game.

Last year, the Mets were forced to use a sixth starter in their 22nd game, when Shaun Marcum replaced the ineffective Aaron Laffey in the rotation.  In 2012, the Mets only needed 15 games before a sixth starting pitcher (Miguel Batista) was required.  The year before that, it was in game No. 14 that the Mets went to sixth starter D.J. Carrasco.  And let's not forget 1997, when the Mets used six starting pitchers in their first six games (Pete Harnisch, Mark Clark, Bobby Jones, Dave Mlicki, Rick Reed, Brian Bohanon).

The last time the Mets went past 36 games using only the pitchers in their original five-man rotation was 2010, when they played 40 contests until needing R.A. Dickey to fill in as a starter in game No. 41.  Before that, you have to go back to 2002, when they didn't need starter No. 6 until the midpoint of the season (Game No. 81).

Where do those teams rank as far as Mets squads that didn't need a sixth starter are concerned?  Let's take a look at the ten teams in franchise history that went the deepest into the season on just five starting pitchers.

 

Year	Sixth Starter	Game #	First Five Starters
1991	Sid Fernandez	89	Gooden, Viola, Cone, Whitehurst, Darling
2002	Mike Bacsik	85	Leiter, Trachsel, Estes, Astacio, D’Amico
1989	David West	81	Gooden, Ojeda, Darling, Cone, Fernandez
1978	Kevin Kobel	58	Koosman, Espinosa, Zachry, Bruhert, Swan
1976	Bob Apodaca	48	Seaver, Matlack, Lolich, Swan, Koosman
1973	Tommy Moore	41	Seaver, Matlack, Koosman, McAndrew, Parker
1992	W. Whitehurst	41	Cone, Saberhagen, Fernandez, Young, Gooden
2010	R.A. Dickey	41	Santana, Maine, Niese, Pelfrey, Perez
1975	Harry Parker	37	Seaver, Matlack, Koosman, Tate, Webb
2014	???????	36+	Gee, Colon, Wheeler, Mejia, Niese

Only nine times in team history have the Mets gone more than 36 games into a season without requiring the services of a sixth starter.  But by this time next week, the 2014 Mets might be surpassed by just five teams in this regard.

There has been speculation that Jenrry Mejia may be moved to the bullpen soon.  If so, the Mets will have to trot out a sixth starter for the first time this season.  But will it happen before the 2014 team can move further up the above chart?

With the way the Mets have been promoting young starting pitchers to the major leagues over the past two seasons (Matt Harvey in 2012, Zack Wheeler in 2013), it seems as if the 1991 squad will continue to be the Mets team who went the longest without requiring a sixth starter.  But take a look at the list above.  Other than the 1973 Mets, no team on the chart made the postseason.  And no team posted a better record than the 1989 squad, who went 87-75 that year.

The Mets have won 88 or more games in 14 different seasons.  They made the playoffs in six of those campaigns.  (The '73 squad that went to the World Series finished the year with an 82-79 record).  But in all of the years the Mets won 88-plus games, they needed to go to a sixth starter fairly early in the season.  Most of the Mets teams that used just five starters deep into the season failed to generate much success in the standings.

Is it possible that the use of five starters and only five starters wears down those pitchers to the point that the team can't remain competitive deep into the summer?  Past history has shown that good Mets teams have used other starting pitchers early in the season, which has curbed the workload of the top five guys in the rotation.  Or is it just coincidence that this is the case?

The 2014 season is still in its first few chapters, but it will be interesting to see how the book on the team's starting pitchers shapes up.  How those pitchers are used could very well determine how the season's final chapter will be written.