The #MetsTwitterDraft Thank You Speech

Hello, everyone.  This is Joey Beartran, otherwise known as the more entertaining half of the Studious Metsimus blogging duo.  If you're on Twitter, then you're aware that today was the #MetsTwitterDraft.  The good folks at The Daily Stache decided to conduct a special draft today to honor the best tweeters, players, bloggers and Mets personalities who use the 140-character social media outlet.

My colleague at Studious Metsimus was selected by #TeamPresser as the 14th overall pick in the draft (7th round).  He was so thrilled by his early selection that he decided to compose a thank you speech.  However, as most of you know, he's a big chicken who has no public speaking skills whatsoever.  Therefore, he left it up to me to read it to you.  Here goes.

I dedicate this photo to my colleague, the chicken who couldn't even deliver his own thank you speech.

I can't tell you how honored I am to have been selected by #TeamPresser in the #MetsTwitterDraft.  Actually, I can.  It's something I never thought would happen, considering my humble beginnings.

As a child, I used to write Mets-themed anecdotes and was always fascinated by statistics.  I even won five bucks once for knowing that Cleon Jones' 52 RBI in 1972 was the lowest full-season total for a team leader in RBI.  And those five bucks immediately went toward the purchase of Mets tickets.

But there was only one problem with my statistical-driven stories.  They were too short.  It wasn't until the advent of Twitter (did Al Gore take credit for inventing that as well?) that I found the perfect outlet to share information that would bore the common man (i.e. Yankee fans who only know how to count to 27), but would pique the interest of the uncommon man (i.e. Mets fans).

Since I joined Twitter several years ago, I've created a number of memorable and recycled hashtags (#HakunaTejada, #BackToYouLaGAREs, etc.), made fun of Jason Bay and Ike Davis in ways no one knew was possible, and delivered as much Mets minutia as can be absorbed by the human brain.

Now, thanks to Mr. Matthew Falkenbury and Señor Jon Presser, all that hard work has finally paid off.  I'm now the 14th overall pick in the #MetsTwitterDraft, or the meat in a @marccarig / @RageWynn sandwich.  That's a pick that Mets fans don't take lightly.  After all, only two Mets have ever been drafted as a 14th overall pick - Lee Mazzilli in 1973 (you may have heard of him) and Rich Puig in 1971 (the most famous Puig in baseball until Yasiel showed up in Hollywood).

I promise I will be more like Mazz and less like this little Puiggy as I embark on doing whatever it is a 14th overall pick does.  And I promise, if anything unfortunate should happen to the lucky 13 taken before me by #TeamStache and #TeamPresser (i.e. getting permanently stuck in a Citi Field elevator, being part of a mass demotion to Las Vegas to keep Ike Davis company, etc.), I will gladly take over the top spot and treat it with the respect it deserves.

Thanks again to all my supporters, to the Daily Stache, and to #TeamPresser for taking a chance on a Mets blogger who needs a teddy bear to read his speeches for him.

Joey's Recap: Sponsored By "R", "A" and "20"

Hi, everyone!  This is Joey Beartran and here is my recap of today's Citi Field finale, a game that featured a number of key moments in Mets history, both inside and outside the ballpark.

Since today was a day game, we headed out to the ballpark early, especially since today was going to be The Apple's Final Mets Tailgate Ever.  So after a few hot dogs (I think I had more hot dogs than Jason Bay has doubles this year - he has two in case you didn't know or can't count past one), we took some photos of friends, tailgaters and bloggers alike before moving on to another historic event - the shaving of Keith Hernandez's iconic mustache.

The crowd that gathered around the Home Run Apple before the stroke of noon for the shaving of the 'stache was quite large.  In fact, I'd wager a hot dog that the number of people with cameras in tow was larger than the attendance at Wednesday night's game.  But then again, this was no ordinary 'stache we were talking about.

Some fans, like Matt Falkenbury of The Daily Stache, were particularly moved by the moment.  After seeing Matt's sign, I couldn't help but be moved as well.

Shortly before noon, the barber began to work his magic.  There was music playing over the speakers, with all the songs having a common "gone" theme.  I was glad they didn't play any songs from "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", or else Keith might not have stuck around in the barber's chair very long.

But why am I still talking?  I'll just let these exclusive photos tell the story for me.

That was the pre-game show.  Now let's move on to the game itself.  Today's game came on the heels of David Wright's historic hit against the Pirates.  Wright's 1,419th hit in Wednesday's game moved him past Ed Kranepool into the No. 1 spot on the club's all-time list.  R.A. Dickey was also trying to make history today.

With a win, Dickey would become the sixth Mets pitcher to win 20 games in a single season, joining Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, David Cone and Frank Viola.  Things didn't start off so well with the Mets' resident knuckleballer, as Rod Barajas drove a long double off him in his first at-bat, followed by a home run his next time up.  Barajas' blast off Dickey gave the Bucs a 3-1 lead over the Mets, giving this bear and my 31,506 human friends in attendance a brief "oh no" moment.  But it was just brief.

An RBI single by Scott Hairston in the bottom of the fourth cut the deficit to one.  Then in the fifth, Daniel Murphy dropkicked a single to center to tie the game, which was followed by a titanic opposite field homer by David Wright.  The three-run blast could not be caught by Pirates' rightfielder Travis Snider, who made an Endy Chavez-like catch earlier in the game on a long drive by Mike Baxter.  And by Endy Chavez catch, I mean he made a highlight-reel catch in a losing effort.

Although Dickey admitted he "felt exasperated" and "was not himself today for the most part", he certainly didn't show it on the mound.  After Barajas' fourth-inning homer, Dickey did not allow another run, striking out a bazillion batters in the process.  Okay, so it was really 13 Ks, but it sure felt like a bazillion.

I guess "bazillion" didn't fit on CitiVision.

Dickey pitched into the eighth inning but with two outs, he walked Travis Snider on his 128th pitch of the game.  That was enough for Terry Collins, who removed Dickey and handed the ball to birthday boy Jon Rauch.  Rauch got the final out of the inning, but then had us all reaching for our Rolaids in the ninth.

A leadoff walk to Jordy Mercer (he of the .196 career batting average entering the game), followed by a two-run homer to Alex Presley (he of the 41 career RBIs in three seasons entering the game) cut the lead to 6-5.  But Rauch beared down (no pun intended) and got out of the inning without allowing another runner to reach base.  When Mike Baxter squeezed the final out into his glove, Dickey became the team's first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990.  Interestingly, Viola also defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates for his 20th victory, as did Tom Seaver , who turned the trick twice.  Seaver picked up his 20th win against the Pirates in both 1972 and 1975.

Congratulations indeed!  What a season by the great R.A. Dickey!

Today was a day filled with many "lasts".  It was the last tailgate by The Apple (unless if the Mayans were wrong).  It was the last day Keith Hernandez got Tootsie Pop residue stuck in his 'stache.  It was the last home game at Citi Field.  But it was a "first" that became the most memorable part of the day, as R.A. Dickey became the first Mets pitcher to win 20 games in over two decades.

Although the season wasn't exactly great, Citi Field did get to witness three great moments.  In June, the home fans were treated to Johan Santana throwing the first no-hitter in team history.  Then in a span of 24 hours, David Wright became the franchise's all-time hits leader and R.A. Dickey put the cherry on top of his remarkable season (the whipped cream will be added on the day the Cy Young Award winner is announced).

Thanks to everyone who made this season special for me.  I'll miss seeing you all at Citi Field, but it'll just make me look forward to seeing you all again on April 1, 2013, when the Mets play their home opener next year.  I can't wait to see what the Mets have in store for us then.  Toodle-oo!

This Just Happened!

In case you missed it, we got our tweet selected by SNY as tonight's Tweet of the Game.  A tip of the blue Mets cap to both @MetsKevin11 and @metszilla for the screen grab:

For the record, Gary Cohen got confused by our Twitter handle, stuttering for a second before finally getting it right.  Keith Hernandez liked it and Ron Darling was probably eating something while it was on the air.

Thanks again to @MetsKevin11 and @metszilla for staying up late enough to catch it on SNY.  (You can follow Kevin on Twitter and see more of his outstanding meme work for The Daily Stache by clicking here.  And our good friends at Metszilla can be followed on Twitter here.)

Justin Turner "Un-Vail-ed"

It seems like a lot of people have sent the Justin Turner bandwagon into overdrive. From #JustinTurnerFacts on Twitter (tip of the blue Mets cap to The Daily Stache for creating what has become a trending topic on Twitter) to this guy who's written too many blogs on him recently, Justin Turner seems to be on everyone's mind. Even a certain renowned writer who has an equal amount of "faith" and "fear" in his team has weighed in on Turner's recent accomplishments.

Needless to say, I noticed a connection between Justin Turner and Rusty Staub that has nothing to do with their hair color. Unfortunately, it's not one most Mets fans would want to make.

Let's hop into the DeLorean and set the time coordinates to 1975. At the time, the Mets were in a transitional phase. Yogi Berra was fired in August, replaced by Roy McMillan. 1969 World Series hero Cleon Jones was released outright. However, the Mets did produce their highest team batting average to date (.256), saw Dave Kingman belt a franchise-record 36 home runs and watched Rusty Staub become the first player to drive in 100 runs in a single season.

That team also produced a young outfielder named Mike Vail.

Mike Vail was a hitting machine at AAA-Tidewater in 1975, hitting .342 in 115 games. He was also a clutch hitter, driving in 79 runs despite hitting only seven home runs for the Tides. On August 18, he made his major league debut as a pinch-hitter. He singled in his first at-bat. Two days later, he made his first start and went 0-for-5. He wasn't held hitless again until September 16, when ironically, he did not collect a hit in an 18-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, going 0-for-7 in the extra-inning affair.

Vail's 23-game hitting streak set the franchise record, unsurpassed until 1984 when Hubie Brooks hit in 24 consecutive games. After hitting .302 in 38 games in 1975, Vail made Rusty Staub expendable in the minds of the front office, who traded Le Grand Orange to the Detroit Tigers for the rotund and past-his-prime Mickey Lolich.

The Mets did well in 1976, finishing with the second-most wins in franchise history at the time (86), but that proved to be the final respectable season for the team until 1984. Rusty Staub went on to average 106 RBI per season for the Tigers from 1976-1978 (no Met drove in as many as 106 runs in a season until Darryl Strawberry collected 108 RBI in 1990). Mike Vail went kaplooie after being anointed as the "player of the future" following the 1975 season.

A basketball injury sustained during the off-season kept Vail on the disabled list for most of the 1976 season. Upon his return, Vail struggled, hitting only .217, scoring eight runs and driving in nine in 53 games. He performed slightly better in 1977, but still only produced a .262 batting average with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 108 games.

The so-called "player of the future" helped send the Mets back to their losing past. After being an excellent contact hitter in the minors, Vail struck out 114 times in 584 career at-bats for the Mets. He attempted eight stolen bases as a Met and was thrown out all eight times. Vail also made Jeff Francoeur look like a walking machine. From 1975-1977, Vail drew only 34 bases on balls, never walking more than 19 times in a single season for the Mets. This continued throughout his major league career, as Vail walked a mere 81 times in 10 big league seasons.

Now let's get back into the DeLorean, fire up the flux capacitor (anyone have a spare piece of plutonium lying around?) and return to 2011. Justin Turner just set the Mets' rookie record by driving in at least one run in his seventh consecutive game. Prior to his streak, Turner had only driven in six runs in his major league career. But like Vail, Turner was also an outstanding contact hitter in the minor leagues, hitting .309 and striking out only 279 times in 2,202 plate appearances.

Justin Turner is also playing third base, filling in admirably for the injured David Wright, who drove in over 100 runs last season. With just about every Met having the "untradeable" tag removed from them, could it be that history is about to repeat itself?

Let's hope not. Justin Turner is on quite a bit of a roll, but he will never be David Wright, even when the longtime third baseman reverts to his David K. Wright persona. At best, Turner will platoon with Daniel Murphy at second base until Terry Collins decides that one of them has won the job outright.

Justin Turner is a nice player whose 15 minutes of fame have stretched into a second week. He's not David Wright just like Mike Vail was not Rusty Staub. Let's enjoy his hot streak while it lasts, but let's not make the mistake the front office made in 1975 by anointing him "the player of the future". For now, Justin Turner is a player of the present. We'll let the future take care of itself.