The Ring Is The Thing ... Just Not In Flushing

Marco Scutaro (left) and Angel Pagan (right) traded in their orange and blue for some orange and champagne.

Last night, the San Francisco Giants swept their way to their second World Series title in three years.  Meanwhile, it's been 26 years (and counting) since the Mets won their last championship.

Mets fans have proudly been wearing their team colors year after year hoping to see the team claim what has eluded them for over a quarter century.  But some players who have worn those same colors during their time at Shea Stadium and Citi Field have traded them in for another team's colors, winning World Series rings for their new teams while their former fans in New York continue to wait ... and wait ... and wait some more.

Here is a list of players who played for the Mets after the team won its last World Series in 1986 (meaning those players never won a title wearing orange and blue), then left New York to became part of a world championship team elsewhere.  You'll see the player's name, followed by the year or years he played for the Mets, and capped off by when he won a World Series ring for another team.  The list, unfortunately, is longer than we'd like.

Player Name	Years With Mets	World Series Championships Won With Other Teams
Tom Edens	1987	1991 Twins
David West	1988-89	1991 Twins
Kevin Tapani	1989	1991 Twins
David Cone	1987-92, 2003	1992 Jays, '96-'98, '00 Yankees
Pat Tabler	1990	1992 Jays
Tony Castillo	1991	1993 Jays
Dick Schofield	1992	1993 Jays
Tony Fernandez	1993	1993 Jays
Alejandro Peña	1990-91	1995 Braves
Charlie O’Brien	1990-93	1995 Braves
Bobby Bonilla	1992-95, 1999	1997 Marlins
John Cangelosi	1994	1997 Marlins
Allen Watson	1999	1999, 2000 Yankees
Ryan Thompson	1992-95	2000 Yankees
Jose Vizcaino	1994-96	2000 Yankees, 2006 Cardinals
Lance Johnson	1996-97	2000 Yankees
Armando Reynoso	1997-98	2001 Diamondbacks
Alex Ochoa	1995-97	2002 Angels
Jorge Fabregas	1998	2002 Angels
Dennis Cook	1998-2001	2002 Angels
Kevin Appier	2001	2002 Angels
Carl Everett	1995-97	2005 White Sox
Timo Perez	2000-03	2005 White Sox, 2006 Cardinals
Jason Isringhausen	1995-99, 2011	2006 Cardinals
Preston Wilson	1998	2006 Cardinals
Braden Looper	2004-05	2006 Cardinals
Xavier Nady	2006	2009 Yankees, 2012 Giants
Guillermo Mota	2006-07	2010, 2012 Giants
Octavio Dotel	1999	2011 Cardinals
Marco Scutaro	2002-03	2012 Giants
Angel Pagan	2008-11	2012 Giants
Joaquin Arias	2010	2012 Giants

But wait, there's more!  Here are four additional notes on former Mets and the World Series rings they won (or in some cases, didn't win) after they left New York.


Note #1:  Darrin Jackson began the 1993 season in Toronto, but was traded to the Mets during the season.  He still received a World Series ring from the Blue Jays even though he finished the 1993 campaign in New York.  Similarly, Miguel Batista started the 2011 season in St. Louis, but was released by the Cardinals and finished the season with the Mets.  Batista was still given a World Series ring by St. Louis for his contributions to the team.

Note #2:  Wally Whitehurst (a Met from 1989 to 1992), and Paul Gibson (a Met in 1992 and 1993) played for the 1996 Yankees, but were never given World Series rings.  Stay classy, Yankee brass.

Note #3:  Bobby M. Jones (a Met in 2000 and 2002; no relation to Bobby J. Jones, who pitched a one-hitter to clinch the 2000 NLDS for the Mets) pitched three games for Boston in April 2004, but was not given a World Series ring when the Red Sox won the championship.  Despite the oversight, they're still classier than the Yankee brass.

Note #4:  Dennis Cook and Braden Looper share the unique distinction of being the only two players since 1986 to win a World Series ring the year before joining the Mets and the year after they moved on to another team.  Cook was part of the Florida Marlins world championship team in 1997, then played for the Mets from 1998 to 2001, before winning his second title as a member of the Anaheim Angels in 2002.  Similarly, Looper also won a title with the Marlins, although his came in 2003.  He then closed (or tried to close) for the Mets in 2004 and 2005, before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and becoming a part of their championship team.  This is yet another reason to always hate Braden Looper.

Joey's Soapbox: My Confusing 2012 World Series Pick

Hello, everyone.  I'm Joey Beartran and I'm one confused bear.  You see, I had the Cardinals playing the Tigers in the World Series, with St. Louis winning it all.  Although the Yankees obliged by playing dead in front of the Tigers, the Giants did not, winning the final three games of the NLCS to advance to the Fall Classic.

As a result, we're getting our first-ever Tigers-Giants World Series matchup. The two teams have met in four interleague series over the past decade, with the Giants holding a 7-5 edge in their 12 games, although the Tigers have won two of their last three series against San Francisco.

There is no bad blood between the two teams and no hatred between the two cities.  Basically, there's a whole lot of nothing going on, which does not make things easier for me to make my World Series pick.  But since I am Studious Metsimus' resident postseason prognosticator, I suppose I have a job to do.  Here goes (you guessed it) nothing.


World Series


Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants

As I stated before, there is no connection between the two cities in any sport.  San Francisco doesn't have a hockey team.  The Golden State Warriors play on the other side of the San Francisco Bay.  And the Detroit Lions have only defeated the San Francisco 49ers once in the last quarter century, losing 14 of their last 15 meetings since 1985.  That's not a rivalry.  And neither is Tigers-Giants.

Who would be happy if the Tigers won the World Series?  Kirk Gibson?  Ted Nugent?  Madonna?  Eminem?  Axel Foley?  Magnum P.I.?  Tony the Tiger?  (He would think a Tigers victory would be "grrrrrrrrrreat"!)

If San Francisco won its second title in three years, who would celebrate?  Joe Montana?  Keith Hernandez?  Tony Bennett?  Metallica?  Brian Wilson's beard?

Ha!  You thought this would be a photo of Brian Wilson's beard.  Well, it is Brian Wilson, but before he grew the beard.

Neither team has signature fans.  It's not like the Mets with Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Tim Robbins and Snooki.  In this year's World Series, you'll probably see celebrities in the stands who have no rooting interest in either team.  They'll just show up for five innings and conveniently mug for the cameras that always seem to find them.  Or better yet, if they're on a FOX television show, they'll get to be living, breathing, hot-dog munching advertisements for the shows they're on.

Am I rambling?  You bet your Billy Wagner bobblehead I am!  I'm stalling for time because I have no idea who to root for.

On the one paw, there's the Tigers, who have a strong starting rotation and fearsome middle-of-the-order.  With Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Tigers have three brown eyes, one blue eye and two big-time strikeout pitchers.  And who can match the Tigers' one-two punch of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, who combined to hit .322 with 73 doubles, 74 HR and 247 RBI during the regular season.  Not only were both hitters extremely productive, they were also durable, with Fielder playing in all 162 games and Cabrera missing only one game.  Great starting pitching and great hitting goes a long way in the playoffs.

On the other paw, there's the Giants, who also have great starting pitching, a lineup that produces in the clutch, and ten million former Mets.  No, really.  I'm not exaggerating.

San Francisco took an entire team from New York in 1958.  Fifty-four years later, they settled for just a few ex-Mets.

Angel Pagan (a Met from 2008-2011) is the Giants' leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder.  Marco Scutaro (a Met in 2002 and 2003) just won the NLCS MVP Award by hitting .500 in the seven-game series against the Cardinals and playing a steady second base.  Joaquin Arias (a Met for 15 seconds in 2010) has done well off the bench, hitting .375 in the postseason with two doubles.  Even Xavier Nady (a Met for not enough time in 2006) is a Giant.  Okay, so not every ex-Met has done well in the playoffs for the Giants.  I'm talking about Guillermo Mota (a Met in 2006 and 2007), who has allowed four runs on six hits in 1⅔ innings.  But Mets fans would rather forget about Mota, especially ones who remember the Mike Piazza spring training incident when Mota was a Dodger.

So we have the Tigers in one dugout and the Giants on the other.  Both teams have great starting pitching.  The Giants have better relievers.  The Tigers have the big boppers.  The Giants have the most former Mets.  Decisions, decisions.  Which team should I take?  Hmmm...

By the power of Grayskull, I think I've got it!

Prediction:  The World Series will go 7 games and someone will win.


There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?  I didn't want to pick San Francisco because then Ted Nugent would shoot me and claim it was because I was a wild bear.  I didn't want to pick Detroit because James Hetfield and the rest of the guys from Metallica would chase me into Brian Wilson's beard, a place where bears check in, but they don't check out.  So I'll just say the World Series will go the distance and it'll be a fun, competitive series where both teams will fight to the very last pitch.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to get ready to watch the Fall Classic with a friend who you might say has a rooting interest.  Maybe it's a good thing I didn't pick Detroit to win it all or else I'd never get the remote control back.  Enjoy the series, everyone!

Lou Seal can have the remote.  I'll keep my paws on the chocolate and corn chips.

A Texas Toast To Jeff Francoeur

Jeff Francoeur was an interesting character on the Mets. Personality-wise, he was great. He gave candid interviews and made no excuses for lousy performances.

Francoeur also didn't feel the need to speak in cliches, like a certain local baseball player who claims to have an edge. (To protect his identity, we will use an alias when referring to this edgy player. For now, let's call him "Derek Jeter" to protect the innocent player.)

Frenchy held himself accountable for his actions. If he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, he would man up and not blame it on a runner leading off first distracting him at the plate. If he overthrew the cutoff man, he'd be the first to say it was his fault.

Despite his low on-base percentage, he was still the type of baseball player you'd want on your team. He was aggressive (sometimes too much so at the plate) and was not afraid to play hard. He was a gamer who accepted whatever role he was given, such as when Carlos Beltran returned and Angel Pagan became the everyday rightfielder.

Although Frenchy knew his time at Citi Field was limited, he never badmouthed the team and never punched any fathers-in-law. He was classy all the way, even after he was traded by the Mets to the Texas Rangers for the ugliest man in baseball since the days of Willie McGee.



While Joaquin Arias, the man with fewer career home runs than Johan Santana, fades into Mets obscurity (we hope), Jeff Francoeur is having a Texas-sized good time in Arlington.

With last night's 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees, Frenchy and his Texas Rangers advanced to their first ever World Series. The team that was born as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961 and moved to Texas in 1972 finally won the pennant with something that had eluded them for what seemed like the entire history of the franchise - pitching.

I mean, considering that Kenny Rogers is second on the all-time Texas Rangers list for wins and only five pitchers in Washington Senators/Texas Rangers history have picked up more than 68 career wins in 50 seasons, clearly pitching has never been the focal point of this franchise.

To this day, David Clyde might be one of the best pitchers who ever put on a Rangers uniform when he went straight from high school to the big leagues. How many wins did he pick up as a Ranger? Seven.

Now with an ace like Cliff Lee anchoring the staff and a better than average rotation, featuring Colby Lewis, C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hunter, teams can no longer depend on outslugging the Rangers. They have to outpitch them as well.

Jeff Francoeur has now joined this eclectic mix of star athletes (Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Nelson Cruz), flashy speedsters (Julio Borbon, Elvis Andrus) and the aforementioned pitching staff. Although his role has been limited, he performed well enough at the end of the regular season to be included on the post-season roster.

Now he is moving on to his first World Series, where the Rangers will be playing either the San Francisco Giants or that other team. After playing on a less than mediocre team in New York for a year and a half, Frenchy is now heading to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series, where he hopes to be at the bottom of another celebratory pile.


For everything he had to go through in New York, for all the complaints that Mets bloggers made about him, for having to live with Oliver Perez being his teammate for over a year, we'd like to offer a toast to Jeff Francoeur.

Frenchy may not have been the best player to don a Mets uniform. He might not have even been the best player to wear #12 in Mets history (clearly that honor belongs to Alvaro Espinoza). But Jeff Francoeur played the game hard and played it with a smile. He shrugged off all the negativity that was thrown his way and still played to the best of his ability every day he took the field.

Good luck to the Jeff Francoeur in the World Series. He may have taken the long road to get there and he may not play as much as he used to, but he is now a champion. It's too bad his former teammates in Flushing (the ones who make far more bread than anyone on the Rangers do) haven't learned how to be winners themselves.

It's The End of Their World As They Know It (And We Feel Fine)

We interrupt your regularly scheduled day of blog reading to give you breaking news that's already been broken. Omar Minaya has been relieved of his GM duties and Jerry Manuel's option for the 2011 season was not picked up.

Of course, this wasn't even breaking news before it became official. It was a foregone conclusion that the man famous for inserting the words "that being said" into every other sentence and the man known as Dead Manuel Walking were not going to retain their positions after the completion of the 2010 season.

The team had underachieved since the end of the 2006 season. The players were performing below expectations and if there was camaraderie between the players, it wasn't as evident as it should be with winning teams.

It is the general manager's job to put the team together and the manager's job to get them to perform between the white lines.

Omar did his best to put Los Mets together. That being said, that also included offering contracts that were far too long to the ostracized Oliver "El Perez-idente" Perez and Luis "Squeam Queen" Castillo. Other players that were signed for more years than they should have been were Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez, Pedro "I Left My Fastball In Beantown" Martinez and Carlos Beltran (sorry, we like Don Carlos, so we won't give him a demeaning nickname). He also traded for fan-favorite, but now increasingly fragile Johan Santana.

Jerry Manuel was forced to manage an oft-injured group of ragtag players, a job that most managers would have difficulty doing, although a fellow Manuel (Charlie) had no problem doing that when his star players were dropping faster than Citi Field's paid attendance figures.

Part of Charlie Manuel's success with being able to survive his club's injuries was that his GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., was able to provide him with the right players to fill in the holes left by the disabled players.

When Rip Van Winkle (Jamie Moyer) went down with an injury, Amaro swung a deal with the Astros for Roy Oswalt. All four infielders for the Phillies (Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco) were also hurt at some point of the season. Amaro made sure each player had better than adequate replacements in Ross Gload, Ben Francisco and Wilson Valdez. Those three players combined to hit .266 (170-for-640), which was higher than the team's collective batting average (.260). In those 640 at-bats, which are about the same amount an everyday player would collect over a full season, the trio collected 37 doubles, three triples, 16 HR and 85 RBI, while scoring 77 runs and going a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen bases. They also excelled defensively, combining to make a total of four errors in 569 total chances.

While the Phillies didn't miss a beat when one of their star players got hurt, what did Omar Minaya give us? Either not yet ready for prime time players (Ruben Tejada, Jesus Feliciano, Lucas Duda) or the curious case of Joaquin Arias, who, like Benjamin Button, seemed to age backwards as seen by the photos below.



A general manager is the head talent evaluator. His job is to put together the best team possible so that his manager can put the best possible lineup on the field. Unfortunately for Jerry Manuel, the best team possible was never THE BEST TEAM. There were 25 guys, or 23½ as suggested by The Better Half in her recent post for Mets Merized Online, but these guys were never a team. Ruben Amaro has put together a team of guys in Philadelphia, not guys who were part of a team, like Omar Minaya put together in New York.

The new general manager has to realize that teams win games. He has to give the manager not just the best individual players, but the guys who stand the best chance to become a cohesive unit that can all contribute to winning ballgames. Twenty-five individuals don't lead teams to championships, but one team of players can do that.

Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel had early success with the Mets because they had a team of guys. Over the past few years, that team dissolved into a group of guys whose only common trait was the shirts on their backs. The formula is simple: Have team, will win. If the new general manager can't get the new manager a team of guys to work with, then they stand a good chance of being shown the same door that Omar and Jerry were last seen walking through.