Sometimes It's Painful to Be Right

I can't tell you  how many comments I received from angry Mets fans over the past two years when I lobbied for the Mets to go get Roy Halladay. I wanted to give up prospects. Give up every day players. Give up pretty much anyone to get a Halladay/Santana tandem at the top of the rotation.

The arguments I heard included comments about Halladay's age, he's never been to the playoffs,  you're wasting the future of the franchise on a small market pitcher...yada, yada, yada.

And here we have proof positive: Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball. Period. It's not just the fact that he pitched a no-hitter last night. Or that it was his second no-no of the year. It's the fact that he's a winner. Every time he steps on the mound you're guaranteed 8+ innings of 3 runs or less (most likely less) and the guys a fighter.

Omar could have saved his job if he got Halladay. I'm not saying the Mets would have been World Series champs, but they'd be a heck of a lot better.

So I leave you with a post from July 2009...
http://metslifers.blogspot.com/2009/07/mets-have-to-get-roy-halladay.html

...and a confession...I was cheering for Halladay...and the Phils...

One Run Games Are Mets Kryptonite

The Mets are 14-22 in one run games this year. That's 36 games decided by a single run. Sunday was no exception. The Mets battled back against arguably the best pitcher in the National League in Roy Halladay but leave Philly with nothing to show for it.

When the Phils knocked out Dickey with a 6-2 lead I could have sworn that was it. Halladay would cruise to victory. But like the Mets often do, they teased you enough to keep you interested only to ultimately come up short in the end.

The Mets record in one run games is a microcosm of their season and the last few years. They can't seem to get that one big hit when they need it. And in the 7th inning when Beltran came up with runners on 1st and 2nd I was actually hoping they'd pinch hit for him because Beltran looks as bad as Castillo at the plate.

Another road series loss. Another series loss to the NL East. Another disappointing weekend of Mets baseball.

Welcome back to the feelings of 2009. Until the Mets can find players that are able to have some semblance of clutchness, we're going to see a lot more of these 1 run losses.

On a side note, big kudos to the bullpen who were in total lockdown for a change, but yet again one massively bad inning from a starting pitcher ruins what should have been a good baseball game.

Only the Mets Can

Only the Mets can beat the best team in the league one night, and lose to the worst team in the league the next.

Only the Mets can turn a 2 homer/5 RBI night by their star player into a mocking defeat.

Only the Mets can have a starting rotation where their top pitchers can't find their way out of the first inning.

Only the Mets can give confidence to a team that's lost 7 straight games.

Only the Mets can deserve a four game losing streak to the worst team in the National League.

Only the Mets can average 6 runs a game over their last 4 games and have a 2-2 record to show for it.

Only the Mets can give you hope one moment and make you gag on it the next.

Only the Mets can find a way to risk losing a series to a bad team on their Hall of Fame induction weekend.

Only the Mets can make Aaron Heilman look like a decent closer.

Only the Mets can sit idly on the sidelines while other team bulk up on pitching.

Only the Mets can be satisfied with their current rotation.

Only the Mets...

Mets Won't Make a Move

The Mets are pretty predictable when it comes to the trading deadline. Every year there's a ton of hype early on and the Mets are named as players in the market for top notch talent, but by the time July 31st roles around the Mets usually find themselves outside looking in.

2010 is no different. The Mets have gone from buyers for Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt to Ted Lilly and Brett Myers to now a number of middle of the road relievers. I guess a 2-9 road trip can change your perspective on things.

The Mets need to find some direction and purpose to the roster moves they make instead of reacting to the current situation. Since the Mets starting pitching has been doing well of late, although the bats have struggled, so Mets management feels that maybe they don't need another starting pitcher. That's a myopic view of things.

I applaud their caution in not wanting to trade Niese or Ike or even Mejia at the first offer that comes along. That's a huge step in the right direction from previous years. However, the Mets need to look at what will help long term. For the last two seasons, the Mets starting pitching has needed another top of the line arm. Halladay, Lee, or Oswalt are the type of talent that can make a huge impact on this team. But because of one or two weeks of solid performance the Mets think they don't need that extra help?

Yes Dickey is a great story and I believe Jon Niese will be a guy that can be a #3 starter over the long term, but you've got a clearly inconsistent Pelfrey, a reliever turned starter in Takahashi, and a total crapshoot in Perez/Maine.

The Mets NEED another arm. Santana has been awesome, but he needs help. Pelfrey started out great, but we can see he's not ready to carry the load yet. I'm not positive theirs a deal to be made that the Mets should take advantage of, but if they do make a move it clearly needs to be done with the long term in mind.

Don't let two weeks of decent pitching fool you. This starting rotation needs some insurance.

The Mess that is the Mets

The Mets have won two of their last 8 games. For most of June the Mets were floating around the 10 games over .500 mark and now find themselves closer to 10 games out then having the division lead.

This is such a bizarre season of opposites. When the bullpen is good the starting pitching struggles. When the starting pitching is good, the bats go cold. When the bats are hot, the bullpen implodes. The Mets finally get everybody healthy and can't seem to win with first string players.

What is going on with this team? They are finding ways to collapse and with 6 more games left on this West Coast trip, the Mets could be 8 games out by the time they return to Flushing.

If the Mets were ever going to make a trade, now is the time to do it. This team needs a fire to ignite them. Maybe it's a bench clearing brawl. Maybe it's an unsung hero stepping up. But mostly it's the guys doing what their supposed to do.

Last night's loss is fully on the shoulders of Mike Pelfrey who self-destructed before the second inning even started. But this entire team needs to get it started before we are sent back to the torture of last season.

Johan Santana Is in a Rare Position

Johan Santana will take the mound tonight and be in a position he hasn't found himself in for a long time. He's fighting to stay above .500. He's trying to stay relevant. He for the first time in ages needs to prove he's the best pitcher in the rotation.

All of these questions and more are on the line tonight. Man, do I sound melodramatic or what? But in all honesty the drama is warranted. Santana has lost his mojo. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it's disappointing to find that it's been sooner rather than later. Santana needs a dominant start if for nothing else than to shut everyone up.

I'm dying for Santana to go out there and just dominate. I don't want to hear about lack of run support. I want him to leave no question in our minds that Santana has still got it, and is able to be the #1 starter this team needs him to be.

So what happens if Santana goes out there and gives up another grand slam or has one of his infamous implosion innings? The sad answer is pretty much nothing. It's business as usual. We've come to not be surprised when Santana crumbles.

That's not the way it's supposed to be. Tonight is the night for Santana to change our minds. If not now, then when?

2010 Mets Could Be Worse than 2009

The 2009 Mets were pretty awful. In fact, the last few months of the year were unwatchable. Fast forward to 2010 and the Mets are finding themselves in a bit of a similar situation except it's 4 months earlier.

Mets fans may soon forget, but May 2009 was a good month for the team. The Mets finished last May 7 games over .500 and only a half game back of the Phillies in the division. May 2010 started with similar expectations, but has quickly become a debacle of its own kind.

The Mets starting pitching continues to disappoint. Sure Oliver Perez is the brunt of most Mets fans ire but John Maine deserves just as much ill will. The bullpen is fading after being unhittable in April. And of course the middle of the lineup continues to invent new ways to strikeout.

After being swept by the Marlins in Miami, the Mets get no relief as they continue to face in division rivals Atlanta and Washington, followed by the Yankees and then the rival Phils. When the calendar turns to June, we may very well find the Mets 7 games under .500 and Jerry Manuel looking out for Omar Minaya in hotel lobbies.

This could be a very long summer for Mets fans.

Bye Bye Ollie

Oliver Perez stay in the major leagues should be over. He can't pitch up here with any consistency. Forget his contract. Forget the fact that he's still owed a double digit million dollar salary over the next few years. That money is already gone whether he pitches or not.

The Mets should cut their losses, send Ollie down to the minors, and see what happens. Maybe he's the next Rick Ankiel?

If Tobi Stoner was pitching the way Perez has this season, do you think the Mets would continue to keep him with the ball club? No way. Yet for some reason they believe that there's a magic switch that can be flipped to make Ollie good. What they forget is Ollie was good really for only one season. The rest of his career he hasn't been over .500.

Yes, the lineup needs to be adjusted. Sure the bullpen is overworked. But if you want to address the easiset problem the Mets can fix, it's cutting Ollie loose and moving on.

Oliver Perez is Unbelievable

Oliver Perez is a modern marvel of baseball achievement. What he does each time he steps on the mound is a spectacle that is unlike any pitcher you will see this season. Who else can only give up 2 hits and 7 walks in less than 4 full innings of baseball? Who do you know that can secure a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract for basically pitching one good season? Who can lose 7-8 mph on their fastball in a matter of months without any sign of injury, weight gain or major crisis?

There's only one who can and his name is Oliver Perez.

Now I'm not going to complain about the Mets loss yesterday. They were up against Tim Lincecum after back to back walk off wins so it was expected that they might fall short.What I'm going to whine about is the fact that Oliver Perez does not deserve to be in the major leagues at this point. I'm willing to have Manny Acosta as my fifth starter just to keep Oliver Perez from pitching.

Perez is a headcase who you could deal with because of his great velocity and pitch movement, but now those two lone bright sides have disappeared. It's time for the Mets to bite the bullet on his contract and do what's best for the team instead of hoping their investment magically resurrects.

Whether it's Takahashi, Acosta, Nieve or some guy from the minors, I'd rather see them pitching every 5th day than Oliver Perez. He was a risk the day they signed him and now the risk has vastly outweighed the reward.

Cut the dead wait, Omar. Perez is a sinking ship.

Mets Need to Avoid Pitfalls

Brad Bortone at Bugs and Cranks wrote a post this morning highlighting some things the Mets need to avoid now that things appear to be on the right track.

It's a great post and all of his points are things that potentially Mets management would consider which is also scary. The biggest point I think that Brad makes is his last one about staying too loyal to certain names. Specifically, Maine and Perez.

Yes, Maine had a good start yesterday. Yes, Perez' ERA looks really, really good. But if you've watched any of the games in which they've pitched you realize it was a stressful exercise that as Brad points out proves that the Mets bullpen is rock solid.

I'm still of the mindset that the Mets need another starting pitcher. I'm willing to believe that Pelfrey has turned the corner. Niese is young enough that he's going to have his ups and downs and that's to be expected. But I'm not willing to lay my confidence in Maine and Perez for the rest of the season. If there's a better option to be had, the Mets should explore it.

Click here to read the post on Bugs and Cranks.

Is this the Real Big Mike Pelfrey?

Who was that pitching for the Mets tonight? That couldn't have been the Mike Pelfrey we know. For the last two weeks Pelfrey has shown tremendous command on the mound. He's locating pitches. He appears to be pitching to situations better.

He looks like a legit starting pitcher. What happened?

I'll tell you what happened. Mike Pelfrey got ticked off. Pelfrey has finally manned up and become a pitcher we thought he could be. Who knows how long this will last, but I believe the disgrace he felt from being demoted to the #4 starter, the constant chatter of his underachiever status and just general disgust for what people were saying about him finally got to him.

I say, it's about stinkin' time. Pelfrey hasn't given up a run in his last two starts and hasn't been rattled by base hits or tough situations either. Unlike Santana, he was fortunate to find some rare run support thanks to the newly awoken bat of Jose Reyes.

I think this is the first time in a long time that I enjoyed watching Pelfrey pitch. If he can consistently pitch like this (yes, I expect he'll give up some runs here and there) he will be the much needed second starter the Mets have been desperate for.

A Sure Sign of Trouble

Any time the collective blogosphere of Mets fanboys knows more about the needs of a team than the team's management is a sure sign that your team is in trouble. Or that it's being run by a bunch of baboons.

I've been pretty much a broken record since the end of last season. Starting pitching, starting pitching, starting pitching. That's what the Mets need. Love the Jason Bay signing. Love having a healthy Reyes and eventually a Carlos Beltran. But pitching is what matters most in the game of baseball.

Apparently the knuckleheads in the front office chose to ignore such a fact and simply pray that the sun would come out tomorrow and everything would be alright. Oliver Perez is a head case? Nah, he'll be fine. John Maine hasn't had command of his fastball since 2008? No matter, this year he'll be the second coming of Tom Seaver. Mike Pelfrey is getting worse and worse over the last two seasons? Fughedaboutit, he'll be magical in 2010.

Sure, this is a bit of hyperbole, but it ain't too far from the truth. While every Mets fan was calling for pitching, the powers that be insisted that though the ship was sinking everything would be alright.

So now we have a situation where the manager is already questioning his pitchers after ONLY 7 GAMES. I understand the season is barely a week old. I get it. But there's zero confidence that things will magically improve given time.

Although that's what Omar Minaya is betting his job on.

Never Too Early for Stupid Mets Remarks

It's the second game of the year. The season is barely a few days old, but Mets manager Jerry Manuel has found a way to already start talking stupid.

Following yesterday's tough loss to the Marlins, our beloved manager made a remark that he has some concerns about the starting rotation.

Ya think? Umm, Jerry? Shouldn't you have expressed this back in like December when something could have been done about it? Did you talk to Omar Minaya at all these past 6 months? What the heck?

This is possibly the most idiotic thing Manuel has ever said. Even though it's the truth and no one can deny that there aren't problems with the Mets starting pitching, you don't say something like this after the second game of the season when you had an opportunity to do something about it just a few weeks before.

The crazy part is it was after a great game in which the Mets overcame a 5 run deficit to send the game into extra innings. We saw more production in the first two games of 2010 than we did in the last two week of the 2009 season.

And such is life with the Mets. Manuel can't leave town fast enough for my taste.

Why the Mets Pitching is so Important

I love the long ball. I appreciate a good hit and run. And I jump off my couch like any fan when I see a shot hit to the gap in right center with runners on base. But winning baseball is all about pitching.

The Mets are living proof of this point. It may shock you to hear this, but the Mets last year were a pretty good offensive team statistically. Yes, I didn't believe it either. The Mets in 2009 were actually tied with the Dodgers for the best team batting average in the NL at .270. They also were ranked #2 for average with runners in scoring position.at .276. That means the Mets actually hit better with runners in scoring position.

On top of that the Mets led the league in stolen bases and were one of the top seven teams in runs scored. Now that resume would make you believe that was at least a .500 ball club if not in contention for the division.

But we know that's not the case. Why? Because the Mets pitching is awful.

This year's success is contingent on solid starting pitching. Bullpens will have their problems and I truly believe the K-Rod is a more than adequate closer to sure up the last inning. The 2009 Mets team ERA was 4.45 with an almost league worst WHIP of 1.45.

Any improvement in the starting rotation will yield at least 10 more wins than last season. While many of us, myself included at times, have been focused on improving the lineup's power the real key is improving the Mets' ability to get opponents out.

To me spring training doesn't give us a good sign of what's to come. In the spring pitchers are focused on control, learning new pitches and just getting in shape for the season. We have no idea what to expect from Maine, Pelfrey or Perez, but I'm no longer worried about what we'll get from Bay, Wright or Reyes this year.

If a lineup that included Cora, Pagan, Tatis and Santos for most of 2009 can be in the top portion of batting stats last year, it goes to show that in the National League pitching is all the difference.

No Joy in Upcoming Mets Spring Training

Spring training was at one time a season of hope, joy and wonder. Those days are gone and have been replaced with discouragement, agida, and disbelief.

The last two seasons the Mets had made off season moves that gave Mets fans some hope for the coming year. The 2010 season lacks the silver lining that we had been fooled with in prior years. With pitchers and catchers reporting in just a few weeks, I personally have no excitement about the season to come.

The issues the Mets needed to deal with are still unresolved. The Mets enter 2010 with the exact same starting rotation as they did last year which delivered them a next to last place finish. Sure the Mets added a solid bat in Jason Bay, but now have an injured Carlos Beltran, a question mark at first base and a reliance on bounce back years from their star players in Wright and Reyes.

The free agents the Mets were supposedly targeting, whether you liked them or not, have been picked off by other contenders. Molina, Piniero, Halladay, Sheets, Garland, Figgins, and a laundry list of other players the Mets allegedly were focusing on are gone.

What is there to look forward to?

I love baseball. I'm a die hard Mets fan so I will be begrudgingly sucked into every Mets game, but I've lost any hope that this team can and will succeed in 2010.

The Mets are reliving their past. This team reeks of the 2003 or 1994 teams that relied on mid-level moves and the promise of player improvement to lead to success but ends up falling well short of any worthwhile goal.

I want to be wrong. I want to eat crow. But I don't think I will.

It's Time for the Mets to Sign Pedro Martinez

Jason Bay is apparently our everyday left fielder for major part of the next decade, and on this New Year's Eve I'm finally realizing that the Mets should sign Pedro Martinez.

I was not a fan of the Mets bringing Pedro back last year, but a friend of mine warned me that Pedro would come back with a vengeance and boy was he ever right.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that Pedro will be the Pedro of old, but I think he might be the best free agent pitcher for the Mets. Right now the Mets don't have a gamer outside of Santana. You've got three guys in Pelfrey, Maine & Perez who are the epitome of question marks. Then you've got a young pitcher in Niese who is coming off of a season ending injury and is still making his way in the majors.

The Mets need a veteran pitcher in the worst way. Sure you could sign Ben Sheets and I'd be open to that but not at the current price he is asking. Piniero is ok, but no better than if John Maine returns to normal.

Pedro would only start 25 games at the most, but his clubhouse presence and ability to step up during big games is what the Mets have to have. If Pedro was open to it, I'd see if he would like to take the role of what Roger Clemens did for the Yankees. Plan on coming back in June instead of having to deal with pitching in the cold weather games of April.

Who knows if Pedro wants to come back or if he'll require a multi-year deal. If the Mets aren't making moves to trade for a guy like Carlos Zambrano or another solid #2 starter, I think that at the very least they need to explore bringing Pedro back to Queens.

At the very least he'd fill some seats.

Mets Get Jason Bay, Now What?

So it appears the Mets will sign Jason Bay to a four year deal. Only took Bay the entire winter to decide that money does mean more to him than happiness and sign with the Mets.

Omar Minaya is feeling pretty good right now. Angel Pagan? Not so much. Nice move Omar although I'd rather have Holliday, but Bay will be a solid bat in the middle of the lineup and fills the void the Mets have had for the last four seasons.

But now what? Is the Bay move enough to make the Mets brass feel good about 2010? I know I don't.

Pitching, pitching pitching. The starting rotation must be addressed before the winter is out. There's not many free agent pitchers that people would covet, but the Mets should exhaust every option out there from Zambrano to whomever to try and improve potentially the worst rotation in baseball outside of Johan Santana.

At least the Mets did something, but I hope no one has false hope that this is enough to field a competitive team in 2010.

Can the Mets Ever Have Enough Pitching?

The answer is no. It's impossible to have too much pitching. Ok, if you have 20 pitchers on your roster, that might be overkill, but for the most part pitching is like a good meal you never can get enough.

So while the Mets infatuate themselves with  the likes of Jason Bay and any catcher whose name ends in a vowel they're neglecting the most pivotal element of any successful team: starting pitching.

We have arguably the best pitcher in the game, but he's surrounded by Moe, Larry, Curly & Shem. Look at the Yankees that just won the World Series or the Cardinal team in 2006 or those great Braves teams in the 90's. Sure they had some decent bats in their lineup, but their success was contingent on solid, reliable pitching. Those are two adjectives that you will never hear to explain the Mets staff.

Pineiro is not the answer. Neither is Garland. While these guys might be an improvement, they're not the long term solution to the Mets problems. I'd rather see Daniel Murphy as our starting left fielder and have a solid #2 pitcher on the mound, than the Mets sign Bay/Holliday and be stuck with our existing staff.

I'd rather sign Carlos Delgado to a one-year contract and make Angel Pagan our everyday left fielder and have an upgrade to Perez or Pelfrey than get Benjie Molina and Adam LaRoche.

You can build a team around pitching. You can't build a team around a left fielder. If the Mets don't make a move in the next 45 days to improve their pitching, you can kiss the 2010 season goodbye.

Mets Starting Rotation in One Word: Shambles

The Mets starting rotation is in complete shambles.

John Lackey is off the table as it appears he's signing with the Red Sox. Roy Halladay is evidently in Philadelphia talking contract extension with the Fightin' Phils. And who are the Mets eyeing? The fearsome combo of Joel Pineiro and Jason Marquis.

While Omar and team have been busy signing every catcher born in the early 70's, the top two pitching options on the market are quickly being taken off the table. So where does that leave the Mets rotation? Absolutely nowhere.

The Mets will open the 2010 with the same disarray of arms that started the stellar season that will be remembered as the 2009 campaign. So what if we sign Pineiro or Marquis? We just dropped Tim Redding and here are two guys of equal talent. Okay, they're a step up from Redding, but still #4 or #5 starters at best.

I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but the Mets starting rotation next year will be Santana, Pelfrey, Maine Perez, & #5 starter that we'll probably overpay for.

This is not rocket science. You play in one of the most cavernous parks in the league. Your starting pitching lacks anyone who can support Johan Santana. You have 3 starters who are as inconsistent as Dunkin' Donuts coffee. But yet the first item on the docket is to secure a catcher?

The only good thing that will come from this is Omar's early exit. Start looking forward to 2011.

One Torture is Over and the Other is About to Begin

The Yankees are your World Series champs. (yawn)

What does that mean? It means the Yanks finally accomplished what they were expected to do for the last 9 years: win the World Series.

For Mets fans, the 2009 baseball season is finally over and along with it the torture of the lingering bad tasted that was the 2009 Mets. But now another torture begins: the unknown.

There are so many questions the Mets face this offseason that could make it just as torturous as July through September. Questions about Reyes, catcher, starting pitching, Pelfrey, free agents, trading for Halladay, Luis Castillo, Delgado, Murphy, Thole, Maine, Omar, Manuel, and on and on the list goes.

It is impossible for the Mets to solve every problem in the next 4 months, so curb your expectations now and just hope for a winning season in 2010.

While Mets management is talking about getting a bat for left field, I hope they don't lose sight of the real problem which is starting pitching. The chances of signing Lackey are slim because of his desire to play for Texas and there aren't too many free agent pitching options, but the focus needs to be on pitching first.

Would I like to sign Matt Holliday? Sure. Would I rather have a tier 1 pitcher? You betcha. The Mets made the right move last off season by signing K-Rod right away. That dealt with the number one problem in 2008.

Now you have to deal with the number one problem of 2009, inconsistent starting pitching. Then worry about the situation in left field.