A "Best On The Worst" Side Story: The Donne Wall For Johnny Damon Non-Trade

Every year, I write a 13-part weekly series that spotlights former Mets players who are connected via the theme of the series.  This year's theme, "The Best On The Worst", focuses on Mets players who experienced their best seasons on some rather lackluster Mets teams.

This past week, I turned the focus of the series over to Steve Trachsel, a pitcher who won 66 games as a Met, with 50 games of those victories coming between 2001 and 2004, a four-year period in which the team was nearly 60 games under .500.  While doing research for the piece, I came across a news article that caught me by surprise.  It was so shocking that I felt the need to write a side story to the Trachsel post.  And it's all because of a certain relief pitcher on the Mets who could have been traded for a dynamic leadoff hitter in his prime, but wasn't - the Donne-for-Johnny trade that never was.

Back in December 2000, the New York Times published an article by Murray Chass on the signing of Steve Trachsel.   Chass discussed the flurry of activity by Mets' general manager Steve Phillips, which included the free agent signings of starting pitchers Kevin Appier and Trachsel, as well as a trade for relief pitcher Donne Wall.  At the time, the Mets had a strong bullpen with right-handers Turk Wendell and Armando Benitez and left-handers Dennis Cook and John Franco.  Chass noted that because of the Mets' bullpen depth, Wall could have been flipped to Kansas City as part of a deal that would have brought 27-year-old Johnny Damon to Flushing.

Wall had pitched beautifully for San Diego prior to his acquisition by the Mets, posting a 2.92 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in three years with the Padres.  Meanwhile, Damon had come off a season in which he hit .327 with a league-leading 136 runs scored and 46 stolen bases.  But Damon was a center fielder, and the Mets already had one of those in Jay Payton, who had just finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote.  Damon was also a Scott Boras client, which posed a problem for the Mets for two reasons.

• Damon was about to become a free agent, and Boras had made it clear that Damon would not sign an extension with any team under he first dipped his feet in the free-agent waters.

• A month prior to the acquisition of Donne Wall, the Mets had strained their relationship with Boras because of a botched attempt by Phillips to sign another of Boras' clients - free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

Eventually, the Royals did trade Damon to Oakland, as part of a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  The Mets were left with Payton in center and Wall in the bullpen.  Payton failed to approach his 2000 numbers again as a Met, and within two years, he had been traded to Colorado, where he had a tremendous season (.302, 28 HR, 89 RBI) for the Rockies in 2003.

Wall, on the other hand, was horrible in his one season in New York, losing all four of his decisions and posting a 4.85 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.  Wall allowed multiple runs in a quarter of his 32 appearances and became a part of major league history on August 23, when he allowed a home run to Rockies' starting pitcher Jason Jennings in the ninth inning of a 10-0 loss.  Jennings was making his major league debut in the game, making him the first pitcher in modern major league history (since 1900) to pitch a complete-game shutout and hit a home run in his first big league appearance.

It's no wonder a certain Mets blogger who attended that game will never forget what he witnessed on that infamous night at Shea Stadium when Jennings took Donne "over the" Wall.

Jason Jennings - #NeverForget

Like Donne Wall, Johnny Damon also had an off-year for his new team in 2001.  But for Damon, his off-year in Oakland still produced 108 runs scored and 27 stolen bases, even though his batting average dropped to .256.  However, unlike the Mets, Oakland reached the postseason in 2001, and Damon was outstanding in his first playoff experience (.409 batting average, .591 slugging percentage).  Damon parlayed his October brilliance into a free-agent contract with the Red Sox and became a legend in Boston.  Wall became an ex-Met following the 2001 season and an ex-baseball player by June 2002.

Imagine how things could have turned out different for the Mets had they actually acquired Johnny Damon for Donne Wall and friends.  Steve Trachsel might never have been a candidate for "The Best On The Worst" because the Mets might never have become a last-place team.  It's a non-trade Mets fans will never forget.
 

Heartbreaking Transactions: A Mets Valentine's Day Special

Mets chief cook and bottle washer Fred Wilpon has announced to the world that the team is no longer in debt and can spend on free agents if there are good players to be had.  Papa Smirk made the announcement yesterday as pitchers and catchers have been trickling in to training camp in Port St. Lucie.

The news was meant to coincide with the comments made by manager Terry Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson on the state of the team.  However, at Studious Metsimus, we know better than that.  We know that Wilpon wanted to make the announcement in time for Valentine’s Day, a day known for spending money on unnecessary gifts, an intense outpouring of love, and a famous massacre.  And who knows more about spending money on unnecessary things (Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Jason Bay), unconditional love (Sandy Koufax) and massacres (damn you, M. Donald Grant!) than the Mets?

In honor of Papa Smirk’s Valentine’s Day announcement, let’s take a look at what the Mets have done over the years when they’ve spent money for players they thought fans would love, only to see them revolt when those players failed to live up to expectations:

I'm in the mood for love...

In the 1970s, the Mets boasted wonderful starting pitching and a woeful offense.  Throughout the decade, the Mets tried to acquire a top slugger.  Joe Foy and Jim Fregosi were supposed to improve the offense.  Instead, they became answers to trivia questions about the worst trades in Mets history.  The closest they ever came to acquiring a top hitting talent was when they traded for Rusty Staub in 1972.  Of course, after the 1975 season, one-month wonder Mike Vail pushed the team to trade Staub to Detroit for Mickey “The Refrigerator” Lolich.  One can only imagine that if Twitter had existed in the mid-1970s, that deal would have been referred to as the #LOL-ich trade.  Have another donut, Mickey.

So the 1970s didn’t quite work out with regards to trading for a top hitter.  But once Frank Cashen came on board with his pedigree for winning (Baltimore won several American League pennants under his watch), it was assumed that the Mets would finally sign a premier slugger to give them a legitimate power threat in the lineup.  They thought they added that punch when they signed former home run champion George Foster to a five-year, $10 million deal in 1982.  A .300, 30 HR, 100 RBI season was commonplace for Foster in Cincinnati.  As a Met, he never hit .300, never hit 30 HR and never drove in 100 runs in a season.  Foster was as punchless at the plate as he was on the field.  The leftfielder refused to participate in a bench-clearing brawl against his former team in Cincinnati, citing that it would be a bad example for kids.  This, of course, from the same man who thought “Get Metsmerized” would be a hit rap album.

"I'm George Foster and I'm here to say - if there's a fight, on the bench I'll stay."

Cashen did well after learning from the George Foster fiasco.  But his replacement did not.  After Cashen’s departure in the early 1990s, the Mets tried to put together the best team money could buy, signing former All-Stars like Eddie Murray and Bret Saberhagen, as well as manager Jeff Torborg.  They also brought in the Bronx’s most famous tour guide, Bobby Bonilla.  Just as the Mets made Foster the highest paid player in baseball in 1982, they did the same one decade later for Bonilla.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Bonilla spent his hard(ly)-earned money on a wonderful pair of earplugs in four so-so seasons with the Mets.  Bonilla actually did reach the 30-HR mark that eluded Foster, but he also surpassed the ‘80s “slugger” in boos and phone calls placed to the official scorer.  Bonilla should have just stuck to being a tour guide to authors and reporters.  At least he was pretty good at that.

Sometime between being picked before Roger Clemens and Lenny Dysktra in the 1981 June amateur draft and being accused of sexual misbehavior as an ESPN baseball analyst, Steve Phillips was the Mets general manager.  Phillips continued the once-a-decade tradition of trying to upgrade the offense in a year ending in the number “2”, signing and/or trading for Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Roger Cedeño, Shawn Estes, Jeff D’Amico and Pedro Astacio.  Had Stifler’s mom been available, he probably would have made a run at her, too.  (Rumor has it that she was already locked up in a deal with a relative of former Met phenom Sidd Finch.)  Phillips eventually took care of his sexual frustration when he became ESPN’s resident lothario.  His class of 2002 gave Mets fans a different kind of frustration.

Finally, Omar Minaya didn’t wait until a year ending in “2”, acquiring Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Orlando “The Dookie” Hernandez, Duaner Sanchez, Roberto Hernandez, Oliver Perez, Guillermo Mota, Luis Castillo, Julio Franco, Moises Alou, Johan Santana (see a pattern forming here?) and honorary “Los Mets” players Paul Lo Duca, Billy Wagner and Jason Bay.  Under Minaya, the team had what can now be called a fluke season in 2006, claiming the NL East division crown with a league-best 97 wins.  Unfortunately, the 83-win Cardinals led the National League in World Series championships that year with one.  After two late-season collapses by the rapidly aging team in 2007 and 2008 and two injury-riddled sub-.500 campaigns in 2009 and 2010, Minaya was relieved of his duties.  He can now be seen signing players left and right on Metstradmus’ Facebook page and Twitter account.

Omar Minaya just gave Don Kelly a 3-year $39 million contract.
— Metstradamus (@Metstradamus) June 30, 2011

For many years, the Mets were content to toss money at players, hoping they would produce in Flushing the way they produced with their former teams.  But for every player that actually does well after coming to New York (we miss you, R.A. Dickey), there are a handful of players that don’t (Vincenzo Grucci – you may know his as Vince Coleman – comes to mind).

According to Fred Wilpon, the team now has money to spend, which it will most likely do in 2014.  Wilpon made this announcement as a pre-Valentine’s Day gift to fans who have been forced to sit through four straight seasons of fourth place finishes.  We’ll see if Wilpon really does have money to spend or if he was just yanking our chains to get us to come back to Citi Field for something other than Pat LaFrieda steaks.  If we find out that he cut back on Valentine’s Day flowers and chocolates for high school sweetheart Sandy Koufax, then perhaps this time we might have to believe him.

Smooch, there it is!

"Give Me Something To Write On..."

Hey, I heard you missed us, we're back! I brought my pencil Give me something to write on,

Read more: VAN HALEN - HOT FOR TEACHER LYRICS

Hey, I heard you missed us, we're back! I brought my pencil Give me something to write on,

Read more: VAN HALEN - HOT FOR TEACHER LYRICS

"Hey, I heard you missed us, we're back!
I brought my pencil.
Give me something to write on..."

-- David Lee Roth (who doesn't feel tardy)

So this is what it's like to be a Mets fan this off-season.  I have to resort to gimmicks like using classic Van Halen videos and lyrics to attract an audience.  And why do I have to do that?  Because the Mets aren't giving me anything to write on!

David Wright and R.A. Dickey have still not been signed to contract extensions.  As each day passes, I'm starting to believe that the NHL will have a resolution to its labor impasse before the Mets bring Wright and Dickey up to the podium to announce their new contracts.

Since Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro and all the other former Mets on the San Francisco Giants completed their sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series almost a month ago, this is the extent of the Mets news:

• Jason Bay goes bye-bye.
• R.A. Dickey wins the National League Cy Young Award.
• Johan Santana's reward for pitching the first no-hitter in team history is a sweet new Mets blue jersey.
• Team signs pitchers Greg Burke, Scott Rice, Carlos Torres, Wanel Mesa, outfielder Jamie Hoffman and second baseman Brian Bixler, apparently because the Bad News Bears wouldn't take a flyer on them.

See what I mean?  There are no trades to report on and no big-name free agent signings.  Basically, the Mets are putting the "off" in the off-season.  So all I can give you today is a Van Halen video and a false report on the Bad News Bears' roster.  (Contrary to my report, they actually did take a flyer on Jamie Hoffman when incumbent outfielder Kelly Leak left the team, riding away on his motorcycle.  Leak eventually returned to the team, having left only to buy a pack of cigarettes, thereby making Hoffman expendable.)

Unlike yours truly, other more talented Mets bloggers have found material to write on.  Below are links to a number of those posts:

• In a post on Mets Merized Online, John Delcos discusses why Jonathon Niese is as "untouchable as any Met can get."

• With the Marlins going through their semi-annual fire sale, Steve Rogers of Mets360 brings back painful memories of the times when the Mets shipped off their players without giving them any lovely parting gifts.

• The always wonderful Metstradamus doesn't predict what will happen, but does toss around the idea of the Mets trading R.A. Dickey for a top prospect on a team desperately seeking a top-notch starting pitcher.

• The Tom Seaver of Mets bloggers, Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing, reminds us that we'll have "80 other opportunities" to see the Mets at Citi Field in 2013, especially if you don't want to shell out three Andrew Jacksons and three George Washingtons to see one Lucas Duda and one Josh Thole.

• And speaking of ticket prices, someone who writes on Kiner's Korner going by the obvious nom de plume "The Coop" (never heard of him/her) gives his/her take on holiday tickets, season tickets, and how the Mets are using the All-Star Game to get fans to pay up as soon as possible.

On behalf of David Lee Roth, the recently unemployed Jason Bay, all the former ex-Mets who have won World Series rings since leaving New York, Kelly Leak, and people who use pen names in their blog posts, I'd like to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving weekend.

Maybe I can be thankful soon for some new material, provided the Mets finally give me something to write on...

Beltran And Pagan Take Center Stage In The NLCS

Earlier today, the one and only Metstradamus wrote a piece on the last two centerfielders who played regularly for the Mets before 2012.  Those players were Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan.  Neither player helped the Mets reach the World Series.  But now they will both be trying to help their respective teams reach the Fall Classic.

So how do I feel about this bit of news, especially considering that I was a big fan of both players and continued to follow their daily exploits on their current teams?  I'm happy for them, but all I can think about is how they're being successful, while the Mets' current outfield situation is one big, giant clusterfudge.

Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan as Mets, when there was a lot more stability in the team's outfield.

Here's a quick trivia question for you.  Since the Mets moved to Citi Field in 2009, which Met outfielder has collected the most RBIs in a single season?  Was it Carlos Beltran?  No, he was hurt most of the time and never played more than 98 games in a season for the Mets since the team left Shea Stadium.  Was it Jeff Francoeur?  Negative, as he played his way out of Citi Field during the 2010 season and never even reached 100 career RBIs as a Met.  How about Jason Bay?  How about "no"?

Believe it or not, the answer to the trivia question is Angel Pagan.  In 2010, Pagan drove in 69 runs for the Mets, a number that has not been reached by any other Met outfielder over the past four seasons.  The second-highest total belongs to ... you guessed it ... Carlos Beltran, who drove in 66 runs in 2011, playing in his first season as a rightfielder and his last year with the Mets.

With Angel Pagan traded to San Francisco and Carlos Beltran signing a two-year contract with St. Louis, it was a mishmash of mismatched Mets rotating in the outfield for Terry Collins in 2012.  Seven different players started at least one game in left field, with no one player starting more than 54 games at the position.  Seven players also started in right, with Lucas Duda leading the way despite starting only 77 games there.  Center field was the most stable position for the Mets, with "only" five players taking a turn as the team's starting centerfielder.

How much of a hodgepodge was the Mets' outfield situation in 2012?  Only Andres Torres started more than half of the team's games in the same position, trotting out to center field to start a game 101 times.  No other Met started more than 77 games (Duda) in the same outfield position.

While the Mets were struggling to find the right players to throw into their outfield cocktail, Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan were sipping up the good life in St. Louis and San Francisco, respectively, as both former Met outfielders played in over 150 games for their respective teams.

Carlos Beltran has been all smiles in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to the 2012 NLCS.

Beltran enjoyed his finest season since 2008, clubbing 32 homers while driving in 97 runs.  He even started to run again, stealing 13 bases for the Cardinals.  In the postseason, Beltran has been on fire, batting .444 (8-for-18) with five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers).  In the five-game NLDS versus Washington, Beltran reached base 13 times for a .542 on-base percentage.  He also had a Ruthian 1.486 OPS.

Similarly, Pagan was outstanding for the Giants in 2012, setting career highs in hits (174), doubles (38), triples (15 - most by any MLB player) and runs scored (95).  Pagan wasn't as dominant in his division series as Beltran was, but that doesn't mean he didn't contribute to the Giants' NLDS victory.  In five games, Pagan reached base five times and drove in four runs out of the leadoff spot.  His home run to lead off Game 4 set the tone for San Francisco's series-tying win and his diving catch to end the eighth inning of Game 5 was critical in preserving the lead and the eventual series victory for the Giants.

Like Carlos Beltran, Angel Pagan is just one series victory away from playing for the top prize in baseball.

Now Beltran and Pagan will be squaring off in the National League Championship Series to determine which former Met centerfielder will be playing in the World Series for the first time.  Meanwhile, Andres Torres (101 starts in CF), Lucas Duda (77 starts in RF, 23 starts in LF), Jason Bay (54 starts in LF), Kirk Nieuwenhuis (43 starts in CF, 20 starts in LF, 6 starts in RF), Scott Hairston (38 starts in RF, 37 starts in LF, 11 starts in CF), Mike Baxter (33 starts in RF, 10 starts in LF, 1 start in CF) and Jordany Valdespin (15 starts in LF, 6 starts in CF, 5 starts in RF) will be watching Beltran and Pagan play for the National League pennant.

Mets fans knew that Carlos Beltran's days were numbered in New York.  And if Zack Wheeler turns out to be the ace pitcher he's projected to be, then Beltran's mid-season trade to San Francisco in 2011 will be considered one of the best in team history.  Pagan also was certain to go, as he was considered to be an aloof player who constantly made errors in judgment on the field and on the bases.  But before the Mets said goodbye to both players, couldn't they have figured out who was going to replace them?

Had the Mets formulated a good plan for their replacements in center and right, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.  But they didn't.  And so now instead of watching the future of the team in the outfield, we're left to watch the team's past still playing in the present, with a chance to play in the World Series on the line.

Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan combined to play in 1,232 games as members of the Mets.  But now, they'll play four to seven games against each other to determine if they can lead their new teams to a place they never reached as Mets.  They'll both be taking center stage long after the Mets exited stage right.  And who knows what they'll give us for an encore.

Frank Francisco Doesn't Choke Anything But Chickens

After providing bulletin board material earlier today, Frank Perdue, I mean Frank Francisco, plucked the competition in the first game of the Subway Series, helping preserve the Mets' 6-4 win over their crosstown rivals.

After a nearly one hour rain delay prior to the first pitch, the Mets kept the thunder rolling, scoring five runs off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte.  The big blow came off the bat of Ike Davis, who used Nick Swisher's glove to his advantage.  The Yankee loudmouth helped push Davis' high fly ball over the right field wall for a three-run homer, giving the Mets the big early lead.

As is what usually happens with the Yankees, the Bronx Bummers chipped away at the Mets' lead with three home runs.  All four of their runs scored on longballs.  Solo shots by Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones, followed by a two-run blast by Robinson Cano, cut the Mets' lead to 6-4.  That set the stage for Francisco to come into the game in the ninth.

Russell Martin, whose cheap Yankee Stadium home run helped defeat the Mets two weeks ago, sent another ball deep into the night.  But this time, the venue was different and Andres Torres was able to track the long fly ball down, flopping to the ground as he caught it in center field, Lenny Dykstra style.

Then Frank Squared allowed a couple of chickens to cross the road, walking Raul Ibañez and allowing a single to Derek Jeter.  The Yankees now had the tying runs on base, with Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira waiting to pluck back.  Instead, Frank Francisco roasted them.

Granderson struck out looking at a fastball down the middle and Teixeira popped up to the middle of the infield, where shortstop Omar Quintanilla did his best not to copy Luis Castillo, catching the ball for the final out.

It could have been a fowl moment for Frank Francisco and the Mets tonight.  But the closer backed up his words and sealed the deal on the Mets' victory.  Perhaps the great Metstradamus said it best when he tweeted the following:

Put it in the bok bok boks!
— Metstradamus (@Metstradamus) June 23, 2012

Frank Francisco might have been foolish to say what he said.  In the past, those words would have come back to bite the Mets in their collective @$$e$.  But this isn't the past.  And these aren't those Mets.

The Mets are now 39-32 heading into Saturday night's middle game of the Subway Series.  Their 23 home victories are second in the majors to the Dodgers, who have an MLB-best 24 home wins.  The Mets are proving that they're not hanging on in the division race on a wing and a prayer (and a drumstick).  They really are a good team.  And they're not chicken to prove it to anyone who gets in their way.

Joey's Post-Game: Heroes And Zeroes

Greetings and a belated happy Opening Day to everyone!  This is your fav'rit bear blogger, Joey Beartran, welcoming you to a new season of Mets baseball!

Yesterday's home opener was special in many ways.  First, it was special because it was the Mets' 33rd Opening Day victory in the last 43 years.  It was also memorable because it marked the return of Johan Santana.  And our Johan was certainly back in yesterday's game, pitching five scoreless innings in the Mets' 1-0 victory over the Braves.  Finally, it was special because I got to spend the day with a number of Mets bloggers, sharing in their tailgate parties and talking Mets baseball.  In other words, it was a perfect day all around.

We'll start with the tailgate.  It was a beautiful day for food, folks and fun.  (I hope McDonald's doesn't sue me for using their pre-I'm lovin' it slogan.)  At the Chapman tailgate, we met up with a number of acquaintances and even got to enjoy some Mets-colored cookies.

Although we arrived there at around 10:30am, it seemed as if the time flew by while we there.  It definitely went by faster than a Steve Trachsel start.  From there, we moved on to the Apple tailgate.  And no, I'm not talking about a tailgate that served apples.  I'm talking about the Apple, as in readtheapple.com.  Owner, operator and Mets fashionista Randy Medina was kind enough to pose with me for a photo and even allowed me to take a photo with his outstanding Opening Day pants (hence the fashionista part).

From there, we went back to the Chapman shindig, which by then had multiplied to include many other guests, including a certain blogger/author who keeps the faith (with an occasional dash of fear) whenever he's in Flushing.  You know who I'm talking about.  I'm talking about one of my blogging heroes, Greg Prince, from Faith and Fear in Flushing.

Greg was kind enough to take a photo with me and my sister, Iggy, before heading into the stadium.

In case you were wondering, the so-called "Joey Jinx" that has affected many current and former Mets does not apply to Mets fans.  Therefore, I can be photographed with the most die-hard fans and I will not cause them to go on the disabled list, be traded or (dare I say it) switch allegiances to another New York baseball team.  Our blue and orange antibodies are that strong.

After the tailgate action, we wanted some game action, so it was off to Citi Field!  But of course, before going in, I had to take this photo.  Don't worry.  I looked both ways before crouching.

Before the game began, there was a special tribute to the late, great Gary Carter.  Although it has been almost two months since his passing, I still haven't gotten over the loss of our 1986 World Champion catcher.

The Mets did a great job honoring their former catcher, inviting his family to throw out the ceremonial first pitches.  They also unveiled a special oversized "Kid 8" patch on the outfield wall, which was added next to the Mets' 50th anniversary logo in left field.

Although I was able to take photos of the family and the outfield unveiling, I was not able to take a photo of the ceremonial first pitches.  This was due to the fact that a so-called Mets fan decided it was more important to walk in front of us to return to his seat with his pastrami nachos than it was for us to digitally document a once-in-a-lifetime moment.  How did I know it was more important for him to do this?  Because he said (and I quote)...

"My pastrachos are more important."

Clearly this was someone who was too intrigued by the combination of cured meat and chips to care about the on-field events.  Either that or he was secretly a Phillies fan who had lost a bet with a Cardinals booster on the outcome of last year's NLDS and was forced to attend an Opening Day game at Citi Field while dressed in Mets apparel.  That's okay.  At least our first baseman was able to make his 2012 debut on Opening Day.

Fortunately, yet another Mets blogger who attended the game, Denise Winter (owner and operator of Metscellaneous), was able to snap a photo of the Carter clan throwing out their ceremonial first pitches, as shown below.

No pastrami nachos were harmed during this photo, but someone holding them almost was.

 

It was then time for the other important first pitch, the one thrown by Johan Santana to Braves' leadoff hitter Michael Bourn.  Santana retired Bourn before giving up a single to Martin Prado.  He then proceeded to retire the next 12 batters, before loading the bases on a double and two walks (including a walk to the opposing pitcher, Tommy Hanson).  But Santana remained smooth on the mound, showing his supremacy to Bourn once again, this time retiring the speedster on a comebacker to the mound.

That would be Santana's last pitch of the game, as he had already thrown 84 pitches through five shutout innings.  Although he wanted the ball for the sixth inning, manager Terry Collins told Santana his job was done for the day and he was handing the keys over to the bullpen.

After Ramon Ramirez pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning, David Wright's RBI single plated Andres Torres in the bottom of the sixth.  Although Torres was not around to see the end of the game, as he re-injured the calf that kept him out of action for most of spring training, his run held up.  The new bullpen of Ramirez, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco (with a little help from the Hulkamaniac, Tim Byrdak) kept the Braves off the scoreboard over the final four innings and the Mets had their 33rd Opening Day victory, defeating the Braves, 1-0.

Other than the impatient pastracho aficionado, the day was perfect in every way.  The tailgating was wonderful and I got to see old friends while making new ones.  The food was excellent, although I did notice that the chicken nachos will now set my colleague back an extra four bits, going from $9.25 last year to $9.75 this year.  And of course, Johan Santana made a triumphant return to the mound, pitching five solid innings.  Although he didn't get credit for the victory (that honor went to Ramon Ramirez), Santana reminded us of what we missed in 2011.  It's great to have him back on the mound.

Oh, yeah.  I forgot one last thing from Opening Day.  If you were at the game, you wouldn't have seen it.  But if you were watching the game at home and kept SNY on for the post-game show, you might have seen this...

SNY Screenshot by Bryan Thompson

That's right.  Your fav'rit bear blogger showed off his photogenic chops during the SNY post-game show, repeatedly attracting the camera.  It was my first time on a post-game show but it certainly won't be my last.

I also went over to Bobby Ojeda and reminded him that I'm on his Wikipedia page, as he held me for that classic shot in Port St. Lucie two years ago.  Surprisingly, he remembered me, saying "so you're the bear on my Wikipedia page".  Memories...

So that's all for this special post-game report.  We hope you enjoyed it, as well as the Mets Opening Day victory.  Before I go, I'll leave you with one more photo, because I have to give a shout-out to more of my fav'rit Mets bloggers.  Some have already been mentioned here, while some others have not. From left to right, we have Denise Winter (Metscellaneous) holding yours truly, Taryn Cooper ( from A Gal For All Seasons and Kiner's Korner), John Coppinger (Metstradamus) and some random guy dressed in Mets gear who wanted to hold my sister, Iggy.  If anyone can identify him, feel free to let me know.  (Oh, and lest I forget, the photo was taken by another Mets blogger, Richard Sparago, whose work you can find at Random Mets Thoughts.)

Photo by Richard Sparago/Random Mets Thoughts

One game down, 161 to go.  If the Mets can have more games like yesterday's opener, the season might produce more smiles like the ones in the photo above.

Opening Day was a day in which I met my blogging heroes, celebrated the life and accomplishments of a fallen '86 hero and saw five Mets pitchers combine to put nine zeroes on the board.  Ain't baseball grand?

Studious Metsimus Presents The Happy/Crappy Recap For 2011

We've reached the end of another year.  It was a year in which the Mets missed the playoffs for the 43rd time in 50 seasons.  It was also a year in which New York finished in last or next-to-last place in the division/league for the 25th time.  You don't need Antonio Alfonseca to tell you that the Mets have accomplished that feat in half of their seasons.

The year began with Johan Santana supposedly being out until August, but it was never specified in what year he would make that late-summer return.  Mike Pelfrey was supposed to fill in for Santana as the Mets' ace.  He pitched more like Ace Ventura.  Jason Bay was supposed to prove that 2010 was a fluke.  Mission not accomplished.

On the bright side, Oliver Perez didn't get to throw ball four for the Mets in 2011 and Luis Castillo didn't get to hobble his way around Citi Field in search of a glove that didn't drop crucial Subway Series pop-ups.

The year was happy.  The year was crappy.  But how happy and crappy was the 2011 season for the Mets?  That's what this post is all about.  Let's start with what went right.

Terry Collins was not the fans' first choice to be Mets' manager in 2011.  Fans who wanted to see Wally Backman as the skipper of the Mets got their wish, sort of, as the former spark plug was promoted from Brooklyn to manage the AA-Binghamton Mets.  Collins did not get off to a fast start, to say the least, as the Mets lost 13 of their first 18 games.  However, he quickly got his players back on track and by late July, the Mets were four games over .500 and had fans thinking about meaningful games in September.  The ride didn't last for the full 162-game journey, but it showed that Collins could handle this team and gave fans hope for better things to come.

It was expected that the Mets were going to trade Carlos Beltran at some point during the 2011 season.  But Beltran had not played an injury-free season since the Mets said sayonara to Shea.  The odds of getting anything of value in return for Beltran did not appear to be great as the season got underway.  But something funny happened on the way to the trade deadline.  Beltran played.  And played.  And played.  Not only did he play, he played well, hitting around .300 for most of the season and leading the team in home runs and RBI.  The highlight of Beltran's season came on May 12, when he hit three home runs in a game against the Rockies at Coors Field.  That caught the eye of the offensively-challenged San Francisco Giants, who parted with their top pitching prospect in July to acquire Beltran.  Carlos Beltran was not going to be a Met in 2012, but Zack Wheeler might make an appearance at Citi Field within the next year or two.  Who would have thought the Mets could acquire such a top prospect for a player who was one injury away from not being worth a bag of baseballs and a used jock strap?

Like Beltran, Jose Reyes had also spent more time checking himself into the DL Hotel than on the field prior to 2011.  Reyes still made two trips to the disabled list in 2011, but when he was on the field, he was brilliant.  For most of the season, Reyes was leading the league in multi-hit games, triples, runs scored and one other category.  It was a category that no Met had ever led after Game No. 162 prior to this season.  Notice my use of past tense in the previous sentence.  By collecting a hit in his final at-bat, Reyes finished the season with a .337 batting average, becoming the first Met to win a batting title.  And I can't think of a better segueway into the crappy part of our season recap.

"Now batting for the Miami Marlins, number 7, Jose Reyes."  Admit it.  You never thought Reyes would ever play for a team other than the Mets, let alone a division rival - a division rival that Reyes watched from the Shea Stadium dugout as they eliminated his former team from postseason contention in consecutive seasons.   The departure of Reyes marked the biggest free agent defection of a homegrown player since Darryl Strawberry switched coasts following the 1990 season.  Back then, the Mets responded to the Straw Man's departure by finishing with a losing record for the next six seasons.  That doesn't bode well for the 2012 Mets.

The injury recovery time prognosticator at Citi Field failed again in 2011.  David Wright was only supposed to miss a few weeks with his injured back.  He ended up taking a two-and-a-half month paid vacation.  Ike Davis was day-to-day when David Wright danced the forbidden dance with him near the Coors Field pitching mound.  We're still waiting for Ike's return.  Johan Santana?  Apparently, his injury is causing major league baseball to consider changing the 15-day-DL to the 15-month-DL.  Ever since moving into Citi Field, no one has been immune to the injury bug.  Expect Mr. Met to go on the DL in 2012.

Hey, buddy.  Can you spare a dime?  How about a couple hundred million dimes?  That's what the Wilpons are probably asking right now, as the Mets' financial woes continue to get worse and worse.  As a result, Sandy Alderson hasn't been able to pursue big ticket free agents, while his division rivals have not hesitated to add star power.  The Phillies signed closer Jonathan Papelbon.  The Nationals traded for starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez.  The Marlins got whoever they wanted not named Pujols.  Season ticket holders get special perks.  Potential minority owners will get their own set of perks.  The only perks fans really want are spelled with a W, an I and an N, and the Wilpons seem more interested in spelling "NO SALE" than a much shorter word like "WIN".

Well, there you you have it, my friends.  It was another year full of happy moments as well as crappy moments.  There were times to cheer, times to boo and times to complain about there not being more chicken nacho stands at Citi Field (although that might have been more Joey doing the complaining than me).

As always, we'd like to thank you, our faithful readers, for making it a blast to write about our favorite team, whether they make us smile or make us hide our heads under paper bags.  Your continued support, as always, is very much appreciated.

We'd also like to thank our fellow bloggers, from Greg Prince and Jason Fry at Faith and Fear In Flushing, to Joe D at Mets Merized Online and the ever-wise John Coppinger (a.k.a. Metstradamus), your sites have inspired us at Studious Metsimus to be better bloggers.  We can't thank you enough for your contributions to the Mets blogosphere, but we sure can try!

Other blogs worth reading include Remembering Shea, Kiner's Korner, The Real Dirty Mets, Mets 360, On The Black, MetsBlog, Random Mets Thoughts, Kranepool Society and The Daily Stache, to name a few.  (But there are many other outstanding Mets blogs out there!)

Oh, yeah.  There's one more blog I forgot to mention.  Perhaps you've heard of A Gal For All Seasons (and if not, shame on you - but if you click on the link above, all will be forgiven).  The author of that site inspires the Studious Metsimus crew more than any other blogger in the Mets blogosphere, and I'm not just saying that because she's my wife.  Really.  I'm not kidding.  Ya Gotta Believe (me).  Let's just say that she's the reason the Studious Metsimus team will always have happy recaps, even if one of us asks for a $106 million box of chocolates.

From all of us to you and yours, we hope you have a happy and healthy New Year.  Then again, as long as we remain fans of the Mets and not players on the Mets, we shouldn't have a problem with health issues.  Let's Go Mets!

Photo by Jason Bornstein (Remembering Shea).  He brings out the blue and orange in all of us.