Joey's Soapbox: Six Degrees of Mets Contention

Hi, everyone.  This is Joey Beartran, coming to you from atop my soapbox.  After a four-day hiatus, baseball is finally back tonight as the Mets take on the Atlanta Braves for the first game of a three-game series at The House That Ted Built.  (No, I’m not referring to Mark Wahlberg’s foul-mouthed furry friend … and as Forrest Gump would say if speaking about that particular Ted, “No, we are not relations.”)

Tonight also marks the first of 12 consecutive games in which the Mets take on teams that currently have better records than they do.  After their weekend series in Atlanta concludes, the Mets will travel to Washington to take on the first place Nationals, followed by a six-game homestand at Citi Field against the NL West-leading Dodgers and another date with the Nats.

How they perform in this 12-game stretch could answer a lot of questions about what this team is and where it’s headed.  But even after the fortnight is complete, the Mets will still have many questions that must be answered.  Here are six questions that come to mind.


Can R.A. Dickey continue his run of excellence?

Although he went 12-1 prior to the All-Star Break, he did not fare well against teams who already had seen him at some point this season.  So far, Dickey has made 17 starts this year.  Of those 17 starts, three of them came against teams who had already faced him in 2012.  His ERA in those three starts is an ungodly 7.79.  Even Tim Lincecum would shake his head at that figure.  If Dickey can make the proper adjustments before teams get too familiar with him, then he will continue to be the team’s co-ace.  But if he doesn’t, Frank Viola might hold on to the title of “Mets’ last 20-game winner” for another year.


Can Johan Santana’s arm hold up for another 15 starts?

When Johan Santana threw his 134-pitch no-hitter, Terry Collins pushed his next start back two days.  After turning his ankle on a play at first base last Friday, Collins is once again pushing Santana back two days, sending him to the mound on Sunday instead of tonight’s second-half opener.  Fortunately, last week’s near-injury was not arm-related.  In fact, Johan’s arm has held up quite well this season, enabling him to make more starts during the season’s first half than most experts predicted he’d make all season.  Although Santana is not on a Stephen Strasburg-like innings limit, the Mets will have to monitor his workload, especially if they remain competitive for the rest of the season.  Burning out in August could spell doom for the Mets in September.


Is Matt Harvey ready for the bright lights of the big stage?

With Dillon Gee’s artery surgery potentially keeping him out of action for the rest of the season, the Mets are going to insert Miguel Batista into his spot in the rotation.  Should he fail, Jeremy Hefner or the man who has enough frequent flier miles to get him free travel for a lifetime (Chris Schwinden) could step into the role.  But another option that is being discussed is top prospect Matt Harvey.

Photo by Michael Baron

Although Sandy Alderson has been trying to keep him at Buffalo for as long as he can, Harvey might have to be called upon to help the parent team before rosters expand in September.  Over the past 20 years, the Mets have not had much success when they have called up pitching prospects too soon (see Jenrry Mejia, Mike Pelfrey, Generation K).  But Harvey has pitched at every minor league level, succeeding wherever he has pitched.  If he does get called into Wally Backman’s office to get the good news (Backman himself has gone on record saying that Harvey is ready for the big leagues), his performance with the Mets over the final 2½ months of the season could not only determine the Mets’ outcome this year, but also for many years to come.


Will Jason Bay’s return help or hurt the team?

Prior to his latest concussion, Jason Bay was hitting .187.  Bay was so confused at the plate that even Ike Davis was giving him tips on how to improve his batting average.  With Bay now playing in rehab games, his return to Flushing appears imminent.  But with Scott Hairston tied for the team lead in homers and with Bay also swinging from the same side of the plate as Hairston, it may be time for Bay to either:

a) play a different position,
2) ride some pine, or
iii) start getting some frickin’ hits already!

We all appreciate that Jason Bay goes all out on the field (his concussions are proof of that).  He also hustles to first on every ground ball in the hole, every pop-up that might fall in, or whenever he strikes out and the ball evades the catcher’s mitt.  But if he really wants to show off his hustling skills, how about trying to extend a single into a double?  Fans would really go for that.  You know why?  Because that means he actually got a hit!  What I’m trying to say is, Jason Bay is a likeable guy.  He’d be even more likeable if he was actually productive at the plate.  And if he was more productive at the plate, the Mets would have a better chance at winning more ballgames.


Will David Wright continue to carry the team on his back?

I guess David Wright really does carry the team on his back.

If you look at the everyday lineup, you’ll notice that four players have already reached double figures in home runs (Wright, Hairston, Duda and Davis).  There are also four players with 40 or more RBIs (Wright, Murphy, Duda and Davis).  Although that suggests that a good chunk of the lineup is contributing, that hasn’t exactly been the case.

Scott Hairston still can’t hit right-handed pitching and has only been forced into everyday action because of Bay’s continued membership in the injury of the month club.  When he was in his formative years, Lucas Duda clearly eschewed Tom Emanski’s Defensive Drills videos for something else.  I have more confidence in a blind driver getting through a demolition derby unscathed than I have in Lucas Duda making a routine catch in the outfield.  If not for his three-day power surge a few weeks ago, Daniel Murphy would still be asking former Met Rey Ordoñez for tips on how to hit with power.  Oh, and speaking of Rey Ordoñez, we heard a rumor that he has also been in contact with Ike Davis in an attempt to help him raise his batting average.

This brings us back to David Wright.  He has been the one consistent bat in the everyday lineup since Opening Day, reaching base in all but four of his 82 starts.  If not for Andrew McCutchen’s performance with the first place Pirates, Wright would be at the top of the National League MVP race.  Unless the players batting around him can turn things around, Wright will have to continue to keep his back in shape, not because of last year’s injury, but because he’ll need it healthy to carry his teammates on it.


And finally … one last question …  one that doesn’t need any embellishment … and that question is,


Who the @&%$ is going to fix this godawful bullpen?!?!

"Put me in, coach.  I'm ready to play!"

Well, that about does it for tonight.  I’m going to get off my soapbox now so I can get ready for tonight’s game.  Hopefully, I won’t have to climb back on it anytime soon to complain about something else bugging me regarding the Mets.  But I wouldn’t count on it.  Such is life as an animated inanimate Mets fan.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s game, the second half of the season, and the third half which will hopefully begin for the Mets shortly after the regular season ends on October 3.  (Yogi Berra helped me with my math.  Don’t judge.)  Let’s Go Mets!

Mets Must Avoid The Second Half Blues

The All-Star Break represents the unofficial end of the first half of the baseball season.  Going into this year's break, the Mets have a 46-40 record.  They are 4½ games behind the Washington Nationals for first place in the National League East and a half-game behind Atlanta for the second wild card spot.

If the Mets are going to be serious contenders in September, they're going to have to continue playing as well as they did in the first half, if not better.  The Mets have shown no signs of coming apart at the seams, but then again, they didn't show signs of doing so in each of the last two seasons either.  Now if you catch yourself saying "but I don't remember the Mets being competitive over the last few seasons", you'll have to step aside and allow me to retort.

In 2011, the Mets were also above .500 at the All-Star Break with a 46-45 record.  Once they returned from their four-day break, the Mets proceeded to go 31-40 over the season's final 71 games.  Similarly, in 2010, the Mets went into their summer hiatus with an even better 48-40 mark.  Then they went out west after the break and tanked, losing nine of 11 en route to a 31-43 second half record.

But second half sleepwalks are nothing new for the Mets.  In fact, they've been doing in throughout their half-century of existence.  Let's look at the Mets' record in each of their first 50 seasons prior to the All-Star Break and compare it to their second halves.  The winning percentage for each half will also be included as part of this analysis.  Bold face and orange color denotes the half with the higher winning percentage.

• 1962: First Half (23-59, .280); Second Half (17-61, .218)
• 1963: First Half (29-55, .345); Second Half (22-56, .282)
• 1964: First Half (23-58, .284); Second Half (30-51, .370)
• 1965: First Half (29-56, .341); Second Half (21-56, .273)
• 1966: First Half (35-48, .422); Second Half (31-47, .397)
• 1967: First Half (31-47, .397); Second Half (30-54, .357)
• 1968: First Half (39-43, .476); Second Half (34-46, .425)
• 1969: First Half (53-39, .576); Second Half (47-23, .671)
• 1970: First Half (47-39, .547); Second Half (36-40, .474)
• 1971: First Half (46-40, .535); Second Half (37-39, .487)
• 1972: First Half (49-38, .563); Second Half (34-35, .493)
• 1973: First Half (42-51, .452); Second Half (40-28, .588)
• 1974: First Half (40-52, .435); Second Half (31-39, .443)
• 1975: First Half (43-42, .50588); Second Half (39-38, .50649)
• 1976: First Half (46-42, .523); Second Half (40-34, .541)
• 1977: First Half (37-55, .402); Second Half (27-43, .386)
• 1978: First Half (36-50, .419); Second Half (30-46, .395)
• 1979: First Half (38-49, .437); Second Half (25-50, .333)
• 1980: First Half (38-40, .487); Second Half (29-55, .345)
• 1981: First Half (17-34, .333); Second Half (24-28, .462)
• 1982: First Half (40-47, .460); Second Half (25-50, .333)
• 1983: First Half (30-50, .375); Second Half (38-44, .463)
• 1984: First Half (47-34, .580); Second Half (43-38, .531)
• 1985: First Half (50-36, .581); Second Half (48-28, .632)
• 1986: First Half (59-25, .702); Second Half (49-29, .628)
• 1987: First Half (47-40, .540); Second Half (45-30, .600)
• 1988: First Half (53-34, .609); Second Half (47-26, .644)
• 1989: First Half (45-39, .536); Second Half (42-36, .538)
• 1990: First Half (47-31, .603); Second Half (44-40, .524)
• 1991: First Half (46-34, .575); Second Half (31-50, .383)
• 1992: First Half (42-46, .477); Second Half (30-44, .405)
• 1993: First Half (27-60, .310); Second Half (32-43, .427)
• 1994: First Half (40-47, .460); Second Half (15-11, .577)
• 1995: First Half (25-44, .362); Second Half (44-31, .587)
• 1996: First Half (41-46, .471); Second Half (30-45, .400)
• 1997: First Half (48-38, .558); Second Half (40-36, .526)
• 1998: First Half (44-39, .530); Second Half (44-35, .557)
• 1999: First Half (50-39, .562); Second Half (47-27, .635)
• 2000: First Half (48-38, .558); Second Half (46-30, .605)
• 2001: First Half (38-51, .427); Second Half (44-29, .603)
• 2002: First Half (43-44, .494); Second Half (32-42, .432)
• 2003: First Half (40-53, .430); Second Half (26-42, .382)
• 2004: First Half (44-43, .506); Second Half (27-48, .360)
• 2005: First Half (44-44, .500); Second Half (39-35, .527)
• 2006: First Half (53-36, .596); Second Half (44-29, .603)
• 2007: First Half (48-39, .552); Second Half (40-35, .533)
• 2008: First Half (51-44, .537); Second Half (38-29, .567)
• 2009: First Half (42-45, .483); Second Half (28-47, .373)
• 2010: First Half (48-40, .545); Second Half (31-43, .419)
• 2011: First Half (46-45, .505); Second Half (31-40, .437)

In 28 of their first 50 seasons, the Mets' winning percentage in games played prior to the All-Star Break was higher than their winning percentage after the break.  This may not seem like much of a disparity, but let's dig a little deeper.

The Mets have finished above .500 in 23 of their first 50 seasons.  But this season marks the 25th time they've been at .500 or better at the All-Star Break.  The Mets have only had 22 second halves in which they finished with a winning record.  And when the Mets struggle in the second half ... boy, do they ever struggle!

Beginning in 1962, when the Mets' second half winning percentage was .062 lower in the second half compared to their first half winning percentage, the Mets have had 23 seasons in which their second half winning percentage was at least .040 lower than their first half winning percentage.  In all but five of the seasons in which the Mets' production fell off after the All-Star Break did they remain within .040 of their first half winning percentage.

Meanwhile, in only 13 seasons did the Mets improve by at least .040 from the first half to the second half.  The last time this occurred was in 2001, when the Mets were thirteen games under .500 at the break, but recovered to play over .600 ball during the second half of the season.

The Mets have always been a first half team.  In seven of their last ten seasons, they've performed better prior to the All-Star Break, only to crumble after the Midsummer Classic.  This season, the Mets are once again having a solid first half.  Will they continue to follow the precedent they've set over the past decade or will they finally rid themselves of the second half blues?  If the Mets are going to play meaningful games in September for the first time at Citi Field, they better make sure it's the latter.

 

Need A Right-Handed Bat? Call Carlos Quentin

Entering the final game before the All-Star Break, the Mets are 46-39, tied with the San Francisco Giants for the second and final wild card spot.  However, after the Washington Nationals, there are seven teams separated by 2½ games vying for four playoff spots, with the Mets smack-dab in the middle of that crowded pack.

There are too many teams jockeying back and forth for playoff positions, so the Mets are going to need to do something to help them pull away from the competition.  Clearly, their top need remains in the bullpen, but Bobby Parnell has been stepping up recently.  Tim Byrdak has been solid all year.  Since returning from the DL two weeks ago, Ramon Ramirez has not given up an earned run in 5⅓ innings.  And Frank Francisco was finally doing well before he got hurt last month (1.35 ERA, .176 BAA in his last 13 appearances prior to his DL stint).  The bullpen could use a lefty here, a pitcher not named Miguel Batista there.  But getting a right-handed bat might be just as pressing a need for the Mets.

Earlier today, Twitter and radio personality (not to mention podcaster extraordinaire) Mike Silva tweeted the following:

Mets have scouts following Padres big interest in Carlos Quentin. Pads want a couple prospects back. Name mentioned most is Michael Fulmer.
— Mike Silva(@MikeSilvaMedia) July 8, 2012

Carlos Quentin has always had a strong bat.  However, he is prone to injuries.  Ever since his first taste of the big leagues as a 23-year-old in 2006, Quentin has never played more than 131 games in a season.  However, when healthy (as he is now), he can be quite productive.

Quentin began the season on the disabled list, not making his debut with the Padres until May 28.  But once he returned to the team, his bat came along with him.  In 32 games this year, Quentin has batted .273 with 7 doubles, 7 HR and 17 RBI.  He makes excellent contact, striking out 18 times in 110 at-bats, and also has a keen eye at the plate, as evidenced by his .403 on-base percentage.  He is also not afraid to lean in on the plate.  In 2011, Quentin led the majors when he was hit by pitches 23 times.  Despite the fact that he has yet to reach his 30th birthday, Quentin has been hit by 105 pitches, which would make Ron Hunt and Craig Biggio proud.

Although Quentin has a .253 career batting average, he has always been at his best in clutch situations.  With runners in scoring position, he has a lifetime .281 batting average.  He is also a .324 career hitter with a runner on third and less than two outs, meaning he doesn't just make productive outs to drive in runs - he extends rallies by getting run-scoring hits.

There is always a question mark with Quentin when it comes to his health.  But when he's on the field, he's an above-average player who makes solid contact and can hit the ball out of any ballpark.  Think about this.  In only 110 at-bats, Quentin has hit seven home runs playing half of his games at Petco Park.  That's second on the team in homers, one behind team leader Chase Headley, who has hit eight home runs in 311 at-bats.  Headley has needed almost three times the number of at-bats Quentin has to hit one more home run.  Imagine what Quentin can do playing half of the season's remaining games at the more hitter-friendly Citi Field than in spacious Petco Park.

Finally, as a right-handed hitter, Quentin would help improve the Mets' chances against left-handed pitchers.  The Mets are an awful 12-20 in games started by southpaws, as opposed to a 34-19 record when facing a right-handed starter.  Quentin would combine with David Wright and Scott Hairston (who would move over to right field to give Lucas Duda a day off against a left-handed starter) to form a potent right-handed middle of the batting order against southpaws.

Carlos Quentin is available and the Padres are serving him up on a trade bait platter.  The Mets should reel him in before someone else snags him away.  He could be the equalizer the Mets need whenever their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher.

Song Parody: Hakuna Tejada

Have you been watching the Mets these days?  It seems like no one is missing Jose Reyes around these parts, mainly because of the play of his replacement at shortstop, Ruben Tejada.  Whether it's a 12-pitch at-bat, a key walk, a line drive base hit or a beautiful defensive play like he made in the ninth inning of today's game against the Cubs, Tejada has made everyone forget about the former batting champion who was just keeping position warm for him for the past nine seasons.

Have you been on Twitter these days?  It seems like everyone has a nickname or hashtag playing on Ruben Tejada's name.  From "Robbin' Tejada" to "Ruben Te-HOT-a", the Mets' shortstop has been inspiring Mets fans young and old to come up with the next great name for him.

Last year, I casually dropped a "Hakuna Tejada" tweet here and there.  Then this year, I've gotten a few of my followers to join in on the fun, hoping to get #HakunaTejada to trend on Twitter.  (Hasn't happened yet, but "ya gotta believe" that it will soon.)  But now I'm taking it to the next level.

Ladies and gentle-Mets, it's time for my latest song parody.  And it's one that is long overdue.  Parodying "Hakuna Matata", the feel-good song from The Lion King that means no worries, here is my tribute to our current and future shortstop.  Here is "Hakuna Tejada".


Hakuna Tejada, what a wonderful kid.
Hakuna Tejada, there's another base hit.
He isn't worried, he just makes the great plays.
It's so fun to see ... him at Citi ... Hakuna Tejada.

Why, when he was a young Bison
When he was a young Bison
(Say it twice, thanks)

He couldn't hit homers but he had an appeal
He could clear all the bases and the fans would squeal
Got a veteran's soul, but he's still just a kid
Doesn't hurt that his play is what got him accepted.

Oh, he's got game!
He's got great game.
Always stayin' the same (always stay the same)!
Never gets downhearted!  (How does that feel?)  Even if he just far-
(Uh, no.  Not our kid.  Sorry.)

Hakuna Tejada, what a wonderful kid.
Hakuna Tejada, there's another base hit.
He isn't worried, he just makes the great plays. (Yeah, play it, kid!)
It's so fun to see ...  him at Citi ... Hakuna Tejada.

Hakuna ... Tejada ...
Hakuna ... Tejada ...
Hakuna ... Tejada ...

He isn't worried, he just makes the great plays.
It's so fun to see ... him at Citi ... Hakuna Tejada.

Hakuna Tejada
Hakuna Tejada
Haku-u-u-u-u-na Tejada!

Smoke And Mirrors (The National League Playoff Race)

The upcoming All-Star Break is what is traditionally considered to be the end of the first half of the season.  But being the stickler that I am for mathematical detail, I know that all teams in baseball have already passed the halfway point of the season, having played at least 81 games of their schedules.

Since teams now have less than half of their schedules remaining to be played, now would be a good time to start looking at the playoff race in the National League.  And what an odd race it's shaping out to be.  As of today, the three division winners in the NL would be the Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers, with the two wild card spots being claimed by the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.  The Mets are a half-game behind the Reds for the second wild card spot.  The Braves are a half-game behind the Mets and the Cardinals are a half-game behind the Braves.  Got that?  Good.  Because it just gets more confusing after that.

None of the five teams currently holding playoff spots made the playoffs last year.  The top two teams on the outside looking in (Mets, Braves) also failed to crash the 2011 postseason party.  Are those seven teams really that good to be competing for the right to extend their season well into October?  Or are they just winning with smoke and mirrors?

The Washington Nationals currently have the best record in the National League.  They have had this success while being in the lower half of the league in batting average, stolen bases, on-base percentage and runs scored.  As of today, Bryce Harper leads the team with a .283 batting average.  He is also the only regular on the team with an on-base percentage higher than .340.  Second baseman Danny Espinosa leads the team with 14 stolen bases, but he is one of only four Nationals who have stolen more than three bases.  Meanwhile, the Mets' Jordany Valdespin stole four bases in one game on Monday before being recalled to the majors this week.

The Nationals are winning with pitching, pitching and more pitching.  Washington leads the league with a 3.23 ERA.  None of their starters has an ERA above 3.73 and four of their relievers (Tyler Clippard, Craig Stammen, Sean Burnett, Ryan Mattheus) have ERAs below 2.00.  Those four pitchers have combined to allow 27 earned runs in 141.1 IP.  Compare that to former Met Manny Acosta, who allowed 29 earned runs BY HIMSELF in only 22 IP.

The only thing scarier than this photo of Manny Acosta was Manny Acosta's ERA.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the second-best record in the National League, one percentage point ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Pittsburgh hasn't had a winning season since Willie Randolph was a Met ... as their second baseman!  Since Barry Bonds* defected to the land of BALCO following the 1992 campaign, the Pirates' best season was in 1997, when they finished in second place in the NL Central with a 79-83 record.  But with a 46-37 record this year, they might just finish with their best record in two decades.  As bad as the Nationals are offensively, the Pirates are even worse.  The team is batting .243 (13th in the NL) with a league-worst .298 on-base percentage.  They're also near the bottom of the league in runs scored (12th), hits (15th), doubles (13th), stolen bases (14th) and walks (15th).  But for all the flaws they might have, the Pirates are winning with the two Ps - power and pitching.

The Pirates have hit 85 HR, good for 6th in the NL.  They are led by third baseman Pedro Alvarez and centerfielder (and top MVP candidate) Andrew McCutchen, who have both hit 16 HR.  Utility player Garrett Jones has also shown impressive power in limited plate appearances, stroking a dozen home runs on the season.  Over 40% (137) of the Pirates' 329 runs have scored on home runs this year, which has offset the team's low on-base percentage.  In addition to their long ball prowess, the Pirates have also had exceptional pitching performances from unexpected sources.  James McDonald has pitched like a Cy Young Award candidate all year, going 8-3 with a 2.45 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average.  And seriously, who expected Yankee castoff A.J. Burnett to be 9-2 at this point of the season?  In the bullpen, Joel Hanrahan has saved 22 games and is on pace for his second straight 40-save season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were riding on MVP candidate Matt Kemp's coattails for the first month of the season en route to the best record in baseball.  Then Kemp went on the disabled list and the offense crashed harder than a Chicago Police Department cruiser chasing Jake and Elwood.  Take Kemp's numbers out of the Dodgers' team stats and the rest of the roster has combined for 37 HR in 2,661 at-bats.  That's worse than Joel Youngblood's power numbers as a Met (38 HR in 1,897 at-bats for the Mets from 1977 to 1982).  Despite the fact that Kemp has been out of action for nearly two months, his 28 RBI are still the second highest total on the team.  Simply stated, the Dodgers sans Kemp make the Nationals and Pirates look like offensive juggernauts.  But just like the Nats and Bucs, the Dodgers can claim one key strength - they can throw the baseball with the best of them.

Kemp and the Youngbloods - a much better name for a band than Hootie and the Blowfish.

The Dodgers are second to the Nationals in team ERA (3.26) and have an impressive front of the rotation with reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (6-5, 2.91 ERA. 1.06 WHIP) and former Met Chris Capuano (9-3, 2.62 ERA, 1.12 WHIP).  To close games, they have one of the best young studs in the game in 24-year-old Kenley Jansen.  Jansen has 15 saves since becoming the team's closer in late April.  In his last 33 appearances, Jansen has been practically unhittable, holding opponents to a .111 batting average while compiling a 1.39 ERA.  For the year, Jansen has struck out almost half of the batters he's faced and has a phenomenal 14.3 K/9 IP rate, which is actually slightly lower than his 15.0 K/9 IP rate for his career.

The San Francisco Giants have no power (50 HR, good for next-to-last in the NL), strike out way too much (555 Ks, also next-to-last in the NL) and don't walk enough (239 BB; 13th in the NL).  They also lost their closer (Brian Wilson) to an injury and their ace (Tim Lincecum) has been lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (6.08 ERA, 1.55 WHIP).  So how are they competing for the division in the NL West?  By beating up on the NL Central.

The Giants are 17-9 against the six teams in the Central division, but are a .500 team (29-29) against all other opponents.  The other four teams in the NL West are a combined 37-41 against the teams from the Midwest.  Of course, it's not just their dominance over their Central division foes that has kept the Giants in contention.  The three-headed pitching monster of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong have combined to go 26-11 with a 2.73 ERA and 1.05 WHIP for the Giants.  Also, fill-in closer Santiago Casilla has been Brian Wilson-esque, racking up 21 saves with a 2.84 ERA.  And who actually expected Melky Cabrera to hit almost .360 in the first half of the season?

The Cincinnati Reds had recent playoff experience two years ago, but stumbled in 2011.  Now they're back in contention for their second division title in three years after failing to make the playoffs in every season since 1995.  They're not succeeding because they get on base.  In fact, their .248 team batting average and .314 on-base percentage puts them 10th in the National League in both categories.  They're not succeeding because of their starting pitching.  Other than All-Star snub Johnny Cueto (9-5, 2.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), the rest of the staff is mediocre at best.  Bronson Arroyo, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey have yet to miss a start (the Reds have only used five starting pitchers all year), but perhaps they should since all they've been able to produce is a combined 20-19 record with a 4.02 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.  But they are succeeding greatly in two places.

The Reds hit for power.  Lots of it.  Other than catcher Ryan Hanigan, the other seven regular starters have all hit at least eight home runs.  They also hit a ton of doubles.  Seven players have hit at least 11 doubles, with three of those doubles already having reached 20 doubles.  Joey Votto leads the planet in two-base hits with 35, putting him on pace to break Earl Webb's 81-year-old record of 67 doubles in a season.  In addition to the extra-base excellence, the Reds also have a sneaky good bullpen.  Of the eight pitchers the Reds have used in relief this year, only one (Bill Bray) has an ERA above 4.00.  Five of the eight relievers (Aroldis Chapman, Jose Arredondo, Sean Marshall, Alfredo Simon, J.J. Hoover) have ERAs of 3.00 or lower.  They also strike out a ton of batters, fanning 243 batters in 215.1 IP.

The Braves and the Mets are currently on the outside looking in, but both teams have gaping holes that leave people wondering how they've been able to contend for the majority of the season.  The Braves do not have anyone on the team with more than 50 RBIs yet.  Michael Bourn has nearly half of the team's stolen bases.  (Bourn has 23 SB; the rest of the team has 26.)  Take out the lost-for-the-season Brandon Beachy (2.00 ERA) and closer Craig Kimbrel (1.45 ERA), and you're left with a team that has a 4.31 ERA.  That's not a very good team.

Forget the planet.  The Mets have the worst bullpen in the Milky Way.  No other bullpen is even close.  The Mets' bullpen ERA has been at or above 5.00 for most of the season.  Plus Ike Davis has hit like Mario Mendoza.  Plus Lucas Duda's would be the worst fielder on Charlie Brown's team.  Plus the Mets have used 22 pitchers this season (the Reds have only used 13).  So why are the Braves and Mets competing?  Each team can do something better than anyone else in the league.

Sorry, Charlie.  We didn't mean to insult your team by comparing their defense to Lucas Duda's.

The Braves have the best road record in the National League.  At 24-17, they have a winning percentage of .585 away from the House that Ted Built.  The ability to win on the road has kept the Braves from languishing in the depths currently occupied by the Marlins and Phillies in the NL East.  (Both Miami and Philadelphia have losing records on the road.)  What about the Mets?

The Mets hit better than any team in baseball when the number '2' is flashing under the word 'outs' on the scoreboard.  The Mets have scored nearly half of their runs (185 out of 391) and have hit nearly 50% of their home runs (33 out of 71) after two men have been retired in an inning.  Furthermore, with multiple men on base, the Mets have hit an astounding .309 (134-for-434), with a .376 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage.  Of course, having a top three in the rotation of R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana and Jonathon Niese doesn't hurt either.

So in conclusion, there isn't a dominant team in the National League.  You won't find a 1986 Mets in this year's crop of contestants.   Every division race is still up for grabs.  Both wild card spots have multiple teams gunning for them.  The teams that make up the top half of the National League all have good reasons for being up there.  But they also have some pretty big holes they'll need to fill if they want to remain in contention throughout the second half of the season.

The Mets have been winning with smoke, mirrors and two-out hits for three months now.  But what happens if the mirror breaks?  What happens if the fire is put out?  What happens if those two-out hits find opponents' gloves?  The team needs to repair its leaky bullpen, add a potent right-handed bench not named Jason Bay and hope the starting rotation holds up or three more months.  If they don't, then they'll need more smoke, more mirrors and more teams to fold so that they can still be playing meaningful games in September for the first time since 2008.  It's certainly going to make for an exciting second half of the season.

Mets Have A Fearsome Threesome In Their Rotation

Jonathon Niese pitched eight innings of one-run ball in Tuesday's 11-1 victory over the Phillies, improving his record to 7-3 on the season and lowering his ERA to 3.35.  Since allowing four home runs in Toronto on May 18, Niese has been outstanding, going 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

With all the talk surrounding R.A. Dickey's historic start and Johan Santana's unlikely comeback from his season-squelching injury, Niese's great year has been largely overlooked.  But his name belongs right up there with Dickey and Santana.

Combined, the Mets' fearsome threesome is 25-8 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.  They also have 297 strikeouts while issuing only 90 walks.

The Mets have had numerous instances where they've had a dominant front end of the rotation.  Take a look at these special trios in Mets history:

• 1969: Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry (55-28, 2.61 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 542 Ks)
• 1976: Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack (52-31, 2.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 588 Ks)
• 1986: Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda (50-17, 2.75 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 532 Ks)
• 1988: Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone (55-21, 2.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 549 Ks)
• 1990: Dwight Gooden, Frank Viola, David Cone (53-29, 3.23 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 638 Ks)

Now compare that to what Dickey, Santana and Niese have accomplished over the team's first 81 games.  If they continue this pace over their final 81 games, these are what their final numbers would look like:

• 2012: R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese (50-16, 2.72 ERA, 1.06 ERA, 594 Ks)

This year's pitching trio matches up very well with the five threesomes listed above.  For the record, all five Mets teams listed above won at least 86 games in the years they boasted their stellar top three in the rotation and three of the five advanced to the playoffs.

Will the 2012 Mets follow those playoff-bound teams from the past?  We won't know until the final 81 games are played.  But if Dickey, Santana and Niese continue to pitch they way they did in the season's first half, the rest of the National League better watch out.  Because if the Mets continue this ride into October, where most teams go with three-man rotations, they could be very hard to beat.

 

Stuffed Panda

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball revealed its next-to-last voting results for the 2012 All-Star Game.  At the time, David Wright had amassed 2,687,818 votes from fans to be the starting third baseman for the National League.  His closest competition for the honor was the San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval, who had received 2,223,269 votes.  Sandoval was 464,549 votes behind Wright with less than 72 hours of voting time remaining.  It should have been a shoo-in for Wright.  Instead, Giants fans are giving the rest of the baseball world some stuffed panda.

In what has become a shock to Mets fans and the baseball world, the man playfully known as Kung Fu Panda passed the Wright to become the National League's starting third baseman on Tuesday in Kansas City.  But he didn't just pass him by a couple thousand votes.  Rather, he blew by Wright faster than the fog blows into the San Francisco Bay.

Pablo Sandoval finished with 5,743,542 votes, compared to David Wright's final total of 4,133,380 votes, beating the Mets' third baseman by a whopping 1,619,162 votes.  In the final days of voting, Sandoval received over 2,000,000 more votes than Wright.  Over 3.5 million votes were cast for Sandoval in that time period, as opposed to less than 1.5 million cast for Wright.

Let's compare what Wright and Sandoval have done on the field in 2012 to see if Sandoval deserved to be voted in (stats through Saturday night's games):

• David Wright: .355/.449/.564, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 52 runs scored, 8 SB
• Pablo Sandoval: .307/.366/.482, 11 doubles, 0 triples, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 26 runs scored, 0 SB

Now let's look at what David Wright's numbers were after June 5, which was approximately one month ago:

• David Wright: .362/.465/.585, 19 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 37 runs scored, 5 SB

Notice anything interesting about those numbers?  David Wright could have missed every game after June 5 and still would have led Pablo Sandoval in every major offensive category.

But it's not just Sandoval supplanting Wright as the National League's starting third baseman by 1.5 million votes that gets to me.  It's also what Sandoval's teammate in San Francisco did.

Buster Posey is a very good player.  Is he an All-Star?  Yes.  But should he be the National League's starting catcher in the All-Star Game?  Don't make me laugh!  Here are Buster Posey's numbers (through Saturday, June 30) compared to the numbers put up by the Cardinals' Yadier Molina and the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz:

• Buster Posey: .296/.363/.472, 14 doubles, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 31 runs scored, 3 SB
• Yadier Molina: .311/.362/.510, 15 doubles, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 33 runs scored, 7 SB
• Carlos Ruiz: .358/.423/.585, 19 doubles, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 38 runs scored, 3 SB

Posey leads Molina in on-base percentage by one one-thousandth of a point.  I guess that's good enough for the voters because Posey doesn't lead Molina or Ruiz in any other major offensive category.

And here's what really gets me.  Not only is Posey starting the All-Star Game over Molina and Ruiz, but he received the most votes of any National League player in the history of All-Star voting.  Let me repeat that in a new paragraph and use boldface so you can read that better.

WITH 7,621,370 VOTES, BUSTER POSEY SET A NEW ALL-TIME RECORD FOR MOST VOTES RECEIVED BY A NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYER.

Prior to Posey's vote count, no National Leaguer had ever surpassed the 6 million vote mark, let alone the 7 million mark.  (Ryan Braun held the previous record of 5,928,004 votes, set last year.)  Posey almost didn't set the record.  Wanna know why?  Because Melky Cabrera, who had never made an All-Star team in seven seasons in the big leagues "earned" 7,521,784 votes, a mere 99,586 votes fewer than Posey's tally.

When Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera receive more votes than any other player in National League player in history, that shows that something is wrong with the current fan voting format.  How could Pablo Sandoval get over 3.5 million votes in the final 72 hours of voting?  How did he get 3.5 million votes, period?

In 1957, fan balloting caused the Cincinnati Reds to have seven players voted to start the All-Star Game (the only non-Red to be voted in was future Hall of Famer Stan Musial).  Commissioner Ford Frick, clearly disturbed by the ballot stuffing in the Queen City, replaced Reds' players Gus Bell and Wally Post in the starting lineup with the more deserving Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.  He also took voting privileges away from the fans until 1970.

Perhaps that is what needs to be done here.  If MLB wants to say "this time it counts" with regards to the All-Star Game and its outcome determining home-field advantage in the World Series, then we should not have undeserving players determine that outcome.  It's time to put an end to farces such as this one.  If the All-Star Game is going to "count", then the votes counted should not be cast by ballot-stuffing fans.  The best players should play in the Midsummer Classic, not the players who play in the cities with the most supportive fans.

Fans of Major League Baseball should never have to be subjected to stuffed panda again.

No June Swoon For The Mets' Starting Pitchers

(Photo by William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

The month of June was very good to the Mets, but it was especially good to the starting rotation.  The quintet of R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee and Chris Young started all but one game for the Mets in June (Jeremy Hefner made a spot start on June 7) and pitched brilliantly.

June began with the most memorable pitching performance in Mets' history - a moment that was 50 years in the making - when Johan Santana tossed the first no-hitter in team history.  Santana wasn't the only pitcher to make history for the Mets in June, as R.A. Dickey became the first player to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since Dave Stieb accomplished the feat for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1988.

But the rotation wasn't just Dickey, Santana and pray for rain mañana.  The other three starters also pitched effectively throughout the month.  Here are the monthly stats for Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee and Chris Young, who each made five starts for the Mets in June.

• Jonathon Niese: 3-1, 1.89 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 34 K, 5 BB
• Dillon Gee: 1-3, 3.90 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 32 K, 10 BB
• Chris Young: 2-1, 3.30 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 18 K, 8 BB

Niese, Gee and Young combined to go 6-5 with a 3.01 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 84 strikeouts and only 23 walks in their 15 June starts.  Those numbers are very good for a team's Nos. 3 through 5 starters, but when the top two starters in the rotation are R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana, they make for a dynamic starting staff.  Consider what Dickey and Santana - who each made six starts during the month - did for the Mets in June.

• R.A. Dickey: 5-0, 0.93 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 55 K, 8 BB
• Johan Santana: 4-2, 2.77 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 33 K, 17 BB

Let's take things a little further, looking at how opposing hitters fared against each member of the rotation.  We'll consider the opposing hitters' batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage against each member of the Mets' starting staff.

• R.A. Dickey: .131 BAA (21-for-160), .181 OBP, .169 SLG
• Johan Santana: .180 BAA (25-for-139), .269 OBP, .345 SLG
• Jonathon Niese: .271 BAA (35-for-129), .309 OBP, .388 SLG
• Dillon Gee: .230 BAA (28-for-122), .304 OBP, .369 SLG
• Chris Young: .281 BAA (34-for-121), .323 OBP, .388 SLG

In the month of June, opposing hitters collected 671 at-bats against the Mets' starting quintet, which is approximately the same number of at-bats a regular player collects over a full 162-game season.  In those at-bats, they hit a combined .213 (143-for-671), reaching base at a .272 clip, while slugging a paltry .323.  That .213/.272/.323 line is comparable to what Henry Blanco did in his one season in New York (.215/.271/.300 in 2010).  Basically, the Mets' starting five has turned the opposition into a lineup full of Hank Whites.

July is about to begin for the Mets, to be followed shortly thereafter by the dog days of August.  But if June was any indication of what the starting rotation is capable of, then the summer of 2012 might become one of the hottest on record in New York, not because of the outside temperatures, but because of the heat being delivered from the starting staff that calls Citi Field home.

Frank Frank Goes On The DL DL

Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Mets fans.  Or else you might end up with egg on your face.  Just ask Frank Francisco, who has just been placed on the 15-day disabled list, according to the Mets' official Twitter account.

#Mets place RHP Frank Francisco on the 15-Day DL, retroactive to June 23, with a left oblique strain.
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 24, 2012

Francisco will be eligible to come off the disabled list on July 8, the last day before the All-Star Break.

The oblique injury has been an epidemic in the Mets clubhouse this year, as several players missed time during spring training with the injury.  However, all of the players afflicted with the injury were able to come back relatively quickly and were able to play without further pain or discomfort.

It's a shame that Francisco will now have to miss at least 15 days.  Although he is still not a lights-out closer, he has been far more effective over his last 14 appearances.  Since May 17, Frank Frank has saved nine games in ten chances and has held the opposition scoreless in 12 of those 14 appearances.  He also has a 1.26 ERA and has held opposing hitters to a .182 batting average and .262 on-base percentage over that time period.

In related news, Little Jerry Seinfeld finally has a home.  Little Jerry, the chicken brought to the Mets clubhouse by reliever Tim Byrdak, has been adopted by the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, where he will live in a peaceful and media-free environment.

At least that's one chicken story that had a happy ending.

Hakuna Tejada! What A Wonderful Day!

Rejoice, all you Ruben Tejada lovers!  Your beloved shortstop is back!

The Mets' Opening Day shortstop has been activated from the disabled list (as was relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez) after being sidelined for the past seven weeks with a thigh injury.  Infielder Jordany Valdespin will be leaving 'Spin Citi to return to AAA-Buffalo to make room for Tejada on the active roster.

Tejada will be the starting shortstop and will bat second in tonight's rubber match against the Yankees, according to the Mets' official Twitter account.

#Mets Sunday lineup vs. Yankees: Torres-CF, Tejada-SS, Wright-3B, Hairston-LF, Duda-RF, Turner-1B, Cedeno-2B, Thole-C, Dickey-RHP
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 24, 2012

Since Tejada was injured on May 6, the Mets have started four different players at shortstop, with Omar Quintanilla (21 games), Ronny Cedeño (16 games), Justin Turner (6 games) and the recently-demoted Jordany Valdespin (1 game) all taking turns keeping the position warm for Tejada's eventual return.

That return will come tonight.  Prior to his injury, Tejada was hitting .305 with ten doubles in 27 games, all while playing a smooth shortstop (only two errors in 111 chances).  Sabermetricians will also be quick to point out that Tejada is one of only two Mets this year (David Wright is the other) to rank in the team's top five in offensive WAR (0.9, 4th on the team) and defensive WAR (0.3, 3rd on the team).  For those not into the advanced metrics, that's pretty darn good.

Hakuna Tejada!  Ruben is back, well-rested and (hopefully) fully recovered from his thigh injury and embarrassing face plant that kept him on the sidelines since early May.  His presence in the lineup and on the field can only help the Mets as they try to continue their improbable run to the top of the division.

Decisions, Decisions: Jon Rauch Has Plenty of Them

On Saturday night, Jon Rauch allowed a go-ahead home run to pinch-hitter Eric Chavez.  Since the Mets failed to tie the game after Chavez's opposite-field shot, Rauch was saddled with the loss, his seventh of the not-yet-half-completed season.  He is on pace to lose 15 games, a staggering number for a starting pitcher, let alone a reliever.

Although it is not uncommon for a reliever to rack up wins and losses, Rauch is on track to do some things that have never happened in Mets history, and it has everything to do with decisions, decisions, and more decisions.

Jon Rauch currently has seven losses on the season.  If Rauch were to reach double digits in losses, he would become the first Met since Greg McMichael in 1997 to do so.  McMichael went 7-10 for the '97 Mets, with all 73 of his appearances coming in relief.

Rauch does not just lose games.  He has also been on the winning end on three occasions.  His ten decisions put him on track to finish the campaign with over 20 combined wins and losses.  Only three Mets relievers have ever racked up a minimum of 20 decisions.  Skip Lockwood became the first Met to do so in 1978 when he went 7-13 in 57 relief appearances.  In 1983, Jesse Orosco joined Lockwood by going 13-7 in 62 relief appearances.  Finally, in 1986, Roger McDowell set the franchise record for wins (14) and decisions (23) for a relief pitcher when he went 14-9 in 75 appearances.

With his seven defeats, Jon Rauch is currently the team leader in losses.  Only twice in the Mets' 50-year history has a relief pitcher led the team in losses.  As detailed in the previous paragraph, Roger McDowell lost nine games for the Mets in 1986.  That was enough to lead the eventual World Series champions in losses that year, as starting pitcher Rick Aguilera was second on the team with seven defeats.  One year later, Jesse Orosco duplicated McDowell's feat.  In 1987, Orosco went 3-9 for a team that had none of its starters lose more than eight games (Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez both finished the season with identical 12-8 records).  Not since Orosco a quarter century ago has a reliever led the team in losses.  Jon Rauch has two more losses than starting pitcher Dillon Gee (5-5).  No other Met has more than three losses in 2012.

Jon Rauch is already in the Mets' record books for tallest player in team history.  But at his current pace, he might etch his name in those books in a few other categories.  Should he lose 14 games in relief, he would surpass Skip Lockwood's total from 1978 by one.  He could also become the fourth Met reliever to be credited with 20 decisions in a single season and the third Met to lead the team in losses out of the bullpen.

Fortunately for Rauch, all three relievers he would join or erase from the record books (Lockwood, McDowell, Orosco) were beloved Mets - players who were good enough to be nominated for best left-handed and right-handed relief pitchers on the recent all-time Mets team.  But surely Rauch would trade in those potential spots in the team's record books for more consistent pitching.  After a brilliant start to the season (no runs allowed in his first 11 appearances), Rauch has allowed the opponent to score in ten of his last 22 appearances, earning the loss in all but three of those ten games.

Jon Rauch is a very good pitcher.  But he can be better.  If he continues to pile up decisions, especially in the 'L' column, then Terry Collins might have to make a few decisions of his own when it comes to bringing in Rauch to pitch in a tight game or calling upon another member of the Mets bullpen.

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.

Davey Johnson Over Gil Hodges Was The Correct Call

On Sunday night, the Mets announced their all-time team, which was comprised of the best players at each position throughout their half century of existence.  There were no surprises at certain positions.   For example, Keith Hernandez was voted the team’s best first baseman, David Wright took home the honor of top third baseman and Tom Seaver was the team’s best right-handed starting pitcher.  But when it came time to announce the team’s best manager, it came as a surprise to some people that Davey Johnson was named the top skipper over Gil Hodges.  I have one question to ask those people.  Why are you so surprised?

The people who disagree with the selection have made some good points in defense of their favorite field general.  They claim that Hodges changed the direction of the team, showing his players that they were good enough to win and that the team was far removed from the early “lovable loser” days of the franchise.  That is very much true.  Under Hodges’ leadership, the Mets went from a team that had lost 100 or more games in five of their first six campaigns (losing 95 in the other) to a World Series champion in two seasons.  In Hodges’ first year as the team’s manager (1968), the Mets improved from 61 wins to 73 wins.  It was the first time the team lost fewer than 90 games in a single season and set the stage for the Miracle Mets of 1969.

Those who favor Gil Hodges over Davey Johnson also point to Hodges’ impact on his players.  To this day, the men who played under Hodges get misty-eyed whenever they talk about his influence on them as individuals as well as his role in getting all of his players to use every ounce of their talent so they could perform to the best of their ability.

There is no question that Hodges was one of the best managers in Mets history.  After never finishing higher than ninth in the ten-team National League prior to Hodges’ arrival, the Mets soared to new heights under No. 14.  They surpassed 70 wins for the first time in 1968, then followed that up with a championship in 1969 and two third-place finishes in the six-team National League East in 1970 and 1971.  But despite the unprecedented success experienced by the Mets under Hodges, Davey Johnson was just as good, if not better.

Other than the 100-win campaign in 1969, no Gil Hodges-led Mets team won more than 83 games in a single season.  Meanwhile, no Mets team under Davey Johnson’s watch won fewer than 87 games.  Prior to Hodges’ arrival in 1968, the Mets had finished in last place or next-to-last place in all six of their seasons.  Similarly, Davey Johnson took over a long-moribund Mets franchise in 1984 that had just come off its seventh consecutive finish in the NL East basement or knock-knock-knocking on the cellar’s door.

Tom Seaver had already won 16 games for a Mets team that only won 61 times in 1967, before Hodges was brought aboard.  Similarly, Jerry Koosman had already made his first appearance with the Mets prior to Hodges’ arrival, as did Cleon Jones, Buddy Harrelson, Jerry Grote and a handful of other key players that helped the Mets to the 1969 title.  Meanwhile, Davey Johnson brought Dwight Gooden with him from the minors, and was also instrumental in giving regular jobs and/or extended playing time to key members of the 1986 World Champions – players such as Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, Sid Fernandez and Kevin Mitchell.

Both won championships as managers, but only one deserves to be called the best in Mets history.

Whereas Hodges had a similar cast of characters throughout his four-year tenure as Mets manager (this was prior to free agency), Johnson had to deal with a number of new players in his 6½ years as Mets’ skipper.  Johnson won 90 games in 1984 with Mike Fitzgerald as his catcher and Jose Oquendo and Ron Gardenhire splitting most of the time at shortstop.  On the mound, Walt Terrell, Bruce Berenyi, Ed Lynch, Mike Torrez, Tim Leary and Calvin Schiraldi combined to start more than half (83) of the team's games.  By 1986, the quintet of Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bob Ojeda and Rick Aguilera started all but 14 of the team's 162 regular season games.  However, by 1989, mostly everyone was gone or on their way out.

Wally Backman was traded to Minnesota after the 1988 season.  The following June, Terry Leach, Roger McDowell and Lenny Dykstra were also sent packing.  July saw the departures of Mookie Wilson, Lee Mazzilli and Rick Aguilera.  Finally, in November, Keith Hernandez was granted free agency and Gary Carter was released.  Despite the extreme roster turnover, Johnson still won 87 games in 1989, remaining in playoff contention until the final week of the season.

Injuries were also a major concern for the Mets during Johnson’s tenure.  In 1985, Darryl Strawberry injured his thumb and missed seven weeks.  1987 was the year every starting pitcher missed time due to injury or drug rehab.  The Mets still managed to win a minimum of 92 games in each season.

Despite the injuries, the changes in personnel and the decline of veteran players such as Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, the Mets never finished lower than second place in any full season under Johnson.  They entered the month of September either in first place or within striking distance of the division lead in all of Johnson’s seasons.  Other than 1969, no Gil Hodges-led team finished higher than third place.  The 1968 Mets finished 16 games under .500, the 1970 squad finished six games out of first and the 1971 team was never closer than 10 games out of first after the All-Star Break.

Lastly, let’s take out Hodges’ best season (1969) and Johnson’s best year (1986) from their records.  How did they both fare when the team wasn’t at its peak?  It’s not even close.  Hodges was eight games under .500 (239-247) in his other three seasons as Mets manager.  Johnson was a whopping 124 games over .500 in his non-1986 seasons (487-363).

Gil Hodges had an outstanding year as Mets manager in 1969.  His leadership skills were certainly instrumental in taking the team from laughingstocks of the league to baseball nirvana.  But other than that miraculous season, the Mets were just mediocre at best.  Davey Johnson’s Mets were never mediocre in his six full seasons at the helm.  His teams were thrown curveballs from every angle.  Whether it was a drug suspension here or a rash of injuries there, Johnson always found a way to keep the team competitive deep into the season, and on two occasions (1986, 1988) well into October.  And he did that after taking over a Mets team that had not finished with a winning record since four years after Hodges’ untimely passing.

Although Gil Hodges did an exceptional job during his four years as the Mets’ field general, Davey Johnson earned the right to be named the team’s best manager over its first 50 seasons.  There should be no question about that one. 

Is Ike Davis This Year's Dan Uggla?

Over the first two months of the season, Ike Davis stunk more than a zombie wearing limburger cheese cologne.  Through June 8, the Mets' first baseman was hitting .158 (29-for-183), with a .234 on-base percentage and .273 slugging percentage.  Just how bad are those numbers?  In 113 plate appearances, former Mets pitcher Jason Isringhausen had higher career numbers as a Met in all three categories (.196/.238/.299).  Yeah.  Davis was that bad.

But Davis isn't the only National League East infielder to struggle for an extended period of time over the past couple of seasons.  Anyone remember Dan Uggla's start with Atlanta last season?

Through games of July 4 last year, Uggla was hitting .173 (55-for-318), with a .241 on-base percentage and .327 slugging percentage.  Then he embarked on one of the most unexpected long hitting streaks in baseball history.  After his poor start, Uggla hit in 33 consecutive games.  From July 5 to August 13, Uggla batted .377 (49-for-130).  The Braves' second baseman reached base at a .438 clip and slugged .762.  Over the skein, Uggla also displayed tremendous power and drove in nearly a run per game (15 HR, 32 RBI).

That brings us back to Ike Davis.  After slugging the go-ahead grand slam last night against the Baltimore Orioles, Davis is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.  In those nine games, Davis is smoking the ball at a .462 clip (12-for-26).  Davis also owns a .576 on-base percentage and .769 slugging percentage since June 8, driving in 11 runs over the nine games.  More importantly, he has shown better plate discipline, fanning a mere five times while drawing seven walks.  (Prior to his hot streak, Davis had struck out 59 times as opposed to 18 walks.)  This was not the case with Uggla during his streak in 2011, as he struck out 27 times but only drew a dozen walks over his 33-game bat-a-thon.

The Mets have been able to remain competitive in the NL East with their strong starting pitching and a tremendous ability to drive in runs with two outs.  But prior to June 8, they were playing winning baseball without a significant offensive contribution from Ike Davis.  That was then.  This is now.  And now is the time that Ike Davis is getting as hot as Dan Uggla was last summer.

The summer heat will arrive tomorrow in New York.  But Ike Davis has shown signs of heating up for over a week now.  The Mets will need Davis to continue his recent production at the plate if they're going to avoid melting this summer as they have over the past few seasons. 

R.A. Dickey's Recent Stretch Ranks Among The Best In Mets History

On Monday night, R.A. Dickey was in complete control of his craft.  He pitched his third complete game of the season.  He struck out a career-high 13 batters.  He extended his streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run (42⅔ and counting).  And oh yes, he became the first pitcher in Mets history to pitch back-to-back complete game one-hitters.

But this particular start should not have come as a surprise to any Mets fan who has been watching the recent stretch of lights-out performances by R.A. Dickey.  Over his last six starts, Dickey has been practically untouchable.  Since earning a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds on May 17 (a game in which he struck out eight batters and walked only one in six innings of work), Dickey has won all six of his starts, allowing two runs (one earned) in 48⅔ innings.  That's a 0.18 ERA, folks.  He has also allowed only 21 hits over his last six starts (an average of 3½ hits per start) and has a 0.53 WHIP over that time period.

As amazing as that sounds, here's the best part.  Since May 17, Dickey has struck out 63 batters and walked only five.  That's a handful of batters who have seen ball four from Dickey over his last six starts.  We're talking about a knuckleball pitcher here.  A knuckleball control artist should be an oxymoron.  But there is nothing oxymoronic about R.A. Dickey or what he's accomplished recently.  In fact, it may just be the best pitching stretch in Mets history.

Let's look at some of the greatest individual seasons by starting pitchers in Mets history and dissect them to come up with some of the best extended stretches of dominance for those pitchers.  This is by no means a complete list of memorable months by Mets pitchers, just some of the ones that stand out above the others (minimum five starts).

• Jerry Koosman (7/21/68 - 8/19/68): 7 starts, 63.2 IP, 1.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 47 K, 16 BB
• Jerry Koosman (5/28/69 - 6/27/69): 7 starts, 60.0 IP, 0.60 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 62 K, 12 BB
• Tom Seaver (8/31/69 - 9/27/69): 7 starts, 63.0 IP, 0.71 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 44 K, 15 BB
• Tom Seaver (7/17/71 - 8/16/71):  7 starts, 60.1 IP, 1.04 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 66 K, 12 BB
• Jon Matlack (7/12/72 - 8/5/72): 6 starts, 51.2 IP, 0.70 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 36 K, 13 BB
• Tom Seaver (8/10/73 - 9/13/73): 8 starts, 75.1 IP, 1.31 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 69 K, 14 BB
• Tom Seaver (6/5/75 - 7/9/75): 8 starts, 69.2 IP, 1.16 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 66 K, 15 BB
• Jerry Koosman (9/11/76 - 10/1/76): 5 starts, 40.1 IP, 1.34 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 44 K, 7 BB
• Dwight Gooden (8/11/84 - 9/23/84): 9 starts, 76.0 IP, 1.07 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 105 K, 13 BB
• Dwight Gooden (8/20/85 - 9/26/85): 8 starts, 65.0 IP, 0.55 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 66 K, 14 BB
• David Cone (8/23/88 - 9/20/88): 6 starts, 48.2 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 48 K, 10 BB
• Frank Viola (4/11/90 - 5/12/90): 7 starts, 51.2 IP, 0.87 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 52 K, 6 BB
• Bret Saberhagen (6/30/94 - 8/10/94): 9 starts, 71.2 IP, 1.51 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 62 K, 5 BB
• Al Leiter (4/14/98 - 5/23/98): 7 starts, 49.1 IP, 1.09 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 44 K, 16 BB
• Johan Santana (7/27/08 - 8/22/08): 6 starts, 45.1 IP, 1.39 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 33 K, 9 BB
• R.A. Dickey (5/22/12 - 6/18/12): 6 starts, 48.2 IP, 0.18 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 63 K, 5 BB

Note: For those wondering where Jerry Koosman's stretch from 1973 is (the one in which he pitched 31⅔ consecutive scoreless innings), it's not included here because he actually wasn't dominant during that stretch.  From August 19 to September 7, 1973, Koosman had a 0.22 ERA, but had a rather ordinary 1.16 WHIP and a less than stellar 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (26 K, 16 BB).  Koosman was more fortunate than dominant during that memorable stretch that helped the Mets claim their unexpected division title.

As you can see from the list above, Dickey has the lowest ERA and WHIP of all the pitchers who had five or more consecutive dominant starts.  He also has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio (slightly ahead of Bret Saberhagen's K/BB ratio from 1994) and only Dickey and Dwight Gooden have averaged at least ten strikeouts per start during their torrid stretches.

Some of the best pitchers in Mets history have had extended runs of success in a particular season.  Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman had several of these month-long stretches of excellence.  Dwight Gooden had two of the most dominant stretches in club annals.  But for my money, I'd say R.A. Dickey is on his way to surpassing all of them.

No Mets pitcher has ever put together an extended stretch (minimum five starts) in which he averaged ten or more strikeouts per start, less than one walk per start, and had an ERA under 1.00.  R.A. Dickey is the only man in a Mets uniform who can claim those numbers for his own.  It truly has been a spectacular stretch for one of the most unexpected great pitchers in Mets history.

Memories of Baseball and Father's Day

As we reach another Father's Day, let's take a break from discussing the Mets' recent ups and downs and why Jason Bay can't seem to catch a break (other than in his body parts) to reflect on a special man in our lives.

He is the man who more than likely showed us how to throw our first curveball, took us to our first ballgame and showed us the proper way to order a ballpark hot dog (which I seem to have forgotten once prices passed the $4.00 mark). I'm talking about fathers.

As we have had many Father's Day memories, both pleasant and not so pleasant, the Mets and Major League Baseball have also had a number of noteworthy moments on Father's Day. Here's a small sample:


       HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!       HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!       HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!


On Father's Day 2004 (June 20), Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 500th home run of his career at St. Louis' Busch Stadium. At the time, he was the youngest player to reach that milestone. Making it more fitting, Ken Griffey Sr. was in attendance to help celebrate his son's momentous occasion.

On Father's Day 1997 (June 15), Major League Baseball instituted its first Home Run Challenge to benefit prostate cancer research. Now in its 16th season, the Home Run Challenge has raised nearly $40 million in the hopes that a cure can be found for this devastating disease that affects millions of men worldwide.

(Note to all men reading this. Please go to your doctors and get checked. Early detection can save your life, enabling you to share many Father's Day moments with your loved ones.)

In one of the most ill-fated trades in Mets history, beloved members of the 1986 World Championship team Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel on Father's Day 1989 (June 18). Samuel would have a tumultuous time playing centerfield for the Mets during his short stay at Shea and was later traded for another dud, Mike Marshall. Dykstra would become an All-Star in Philadelphia and helped lead the Phillies to the 1993 World Series. McDowell pitched seven more seasons after the trade and would become famous to Seinfeld fans for his role as the man who spit the magic loogie on Kramer and Newman when they confronted Keith Hernandez after a Mets loss. 

Just as Tom Seaver's trade is known as the Midnight Massacre, this day should be known as The Day The Hotfoot Died. On a lighter note, sales of Jheri Curl products increased in the New York metropolitan area ... by one.

Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game at Shea Stadium on Father's Day in 1964 (June 21) when he defeated the Mets by the final score of 6-0. Bunning struck out ten batters en route to becoming the first National League pitcher to pitch a perfect game in the 20th century and the first pitcher in the modern era to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He pitched his first no-hitter in 1958 as a member of the Detroit Tigers.

Please forgive the abundance of Phillies pictures in this post. It is unintentional and is not meant to dampen your Father's Day festivities in any way. If so, the photo beneath the next paragraph should bring a smile to your face, especially if you are a long-time Mets fan.

Ralph Kiner has always been the king of malapropisms. From classic lines such as "if Casey Stengel were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave" and "all of his saves have come in relief appearances", Ralph has mangled words and phrases with grace and dignity. One of his most famous quotes came on Father's Day as well, when during a Mets broadcast, he said "on Father's Day, we again wish you all a happy birthday!"

One final note before you go have a catch with your son or daughter. Mets fans are well aware of the fact that no pitcher in franchise history had pitched a no-hitter before Johan Santana turned the trick on June 1, 2012.  They have had numerous no-hitters pitched against them, including the aforementioned Bunning in 1964.  Prior to Santana's historic feat, the Mets weren't the only team who had never pitched a no-hitter.

The only team currently without a no-hitter to its credit has also been around since the 1960s. The San Diego Padres have gone 43 years since their inaugural season in 1969 and have never had a no-hitter pitched for them. Hmm, Padres. That's Spanish for Fathers. On that note, I can't think of a more fitting way to end this than by wishing all you fathers out there a Happy Birthday! (I mean, Father's Day!)


       HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!      HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!      HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!