Dear Wilpons,
Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Having a child will do that to you. Stay tuned for a series of posts on players that I'm excited to watch this year. As always...Lets go Mets!
Sincerely,
The Fans
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
MTF: MORE TO FOLLOW
Posted by Jon at 12:30 PM 0 comments
Monday, January 25, 2010
WHO DOES DANIEL MURPHY REMIND YOU OF?
Dear Wilpons,
I was reading a post by Matt Cerrone on Metsblog.com today about Daniel Murphy, and it got me excited to watch him play this season. In an era where athletes are so concerned about their contracts and the fans are focused on power numbers, I’m encouraged to see a guy who plays the game with the heart and passion of a little leaguer and the determination of a guy who just wants to win. Murphy talked about his off-season workout regimen, his efforts to improve defensively, and how he sees himself helping the Mets. If you haven’t read the article yet, I highly recommend you go here: http://www.metsblog.com/2010/01/25/qa-daniel-muprhy-talking-1b-keith-and-workouts/
People think of first baseman, and immediately what pops into their head is guys like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, or (back in the day) Frank Thomas. I remember growing up watching baseball and seeing Frank Thomas at the plate. The guy looked like a monster, and when he got a hold of a pitch you knew immediately that it was a home run. And it’s because of these guys that people assume that in order to be a successful first baseman you have to tower over the other guys on the field and hit 30 homers a season. But that’s not always the case. There was another first baseman who stood out to me while I was growing up as well: Mark Grace. He wasn’t huge, he never had more than 17 home runs in a season, but he came to the ballpark and gave 110 percent every day and you could tell by the way he played that he loved the game. I see a lot of that in Daniel Murphy.
Let’s put aside the fact that they’re both 6’2” and they’re both lefty bats and focus on stats. Mark Grace won rookie of the year at the age of 24 with a .296 batting average, 60 walks, 57 runs batted in, 144 hits, 23 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 home runs in 134 games. At the same age, Daniel Murphy played his first full season in the bigs with a batting average of .266, 69 walks, 63 runs batted in, 135 hits, 38 doubles, 4 triples, and 12 home runs in 155 games. You know what? Put the numbers aside and just find a tape of mark grace playing baseball and compare it to the way Daniel Murphy plays. They both run out every grounder, they both sprint out to the field every inning, they both love the game.
Here’s hoping when it’s all said and done that they’ll both have similar careers.
Sincerely,
The Fans
Posted by Jon at 11:29 AM 0 comments
Saturday, January 23, 2010
WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?!?!?
Posted by Jon at 7:10 AM 0 comments
Saturday, January 16, 2010
STAND UP AND SHOW US WHO'S BOSS
- I heard on the radio that Beltran called Omar before the surgery to make sure he was on board, and Omar told him that he agreed and wished him luck.
- Minaya told Newsday that while he DID talk to Beltran before the surgery, he did not give him the OK to go along with it.
- John Ricco said that the Mets were aware that Beltran was feeling discomfort in his knee, but preferred that he continue rehabbing, despite the fact that a doctor said that surgery was the right answer.
- Beltran said in a statement "the most important thing is that the surgery was a success and I plan to be back playing the game I love sooner rather than later."
Posted by Jon at 7:00 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
MIKE FRANCESA THE PROGNOSTICATOR
I love sports talk radio, and I love New York sports, so it's only natural that I would love WFAN. I love driving to work listening to Boomer and Carton, and if I could watch a ball game with anyone it would probably be Joe Beningo. HOWEVER, in recent weeks it seems that Mr. Michael Francesa has taken it upon himself to draw Mets fans to his show by holding us hostage with potential Mets information. Normally, I don't mind Mike. I think his show has gone way downhill since Mad Dog left, but under normal circumstances I can tolerate him. But ever since the day he announced that he had some big Mets news and later went on to break the news that the Mets were going to sign Jason Bay, it seems like he thinks he's the main source of Mets information. You know what, maybe he is. Maybe Omar and the Wilpons are feeding Mike this information and he's allowed to disperse it at his own will in an effort to hype up the fan base for the upcoming season. But come on, there's GOT to be a better way of doing it besides having Psychic Mike telling us at the top of the hour that he's got big Mets news and then making us listen to him screaming about various topics until it looks like his head is about to pop like an zit on prom night. If you've got something to tell us about the Mets, just tell us. Heck, you can even throw in your opinion if you want. And if Mike does happen to read this blog, do us a favor and get Mad Dog back.
Posted by Jon at 4:29 PM 0 comments
Thursday, December 31, 2009
WELCOME TO NEW YORK, JASON BAY!
Posted by Jon at 11:19 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
THE OFFSEASON IN A NUTSHELL (SO FAR)
Does anyone else think that this offseason has been A LOT like the first "Major League" movie?
I know that the Wilpons and Omar Minaya aren't TRYING to lose on purpose, and they're not TRYING to finish in dead last...but the similarities are comical.
What have we done so far this year:
- Signed Chris Coste: A 36 year-old career backup catcher who, by his own admission, will always consider himself a Phillie.
- Signed Mike Hessman: A 30 year-old career .208 hitter who's never had more than a dozen ML hits in a season.
- Signed Henry Blanco: The best pickup so far this season, he's a good defensive catcher but won't help us produce runs.
- Signed Clint Everts: Potential upside, but he's never played a day in the majors.
- Signed Ryota Igarashi: He pitched very well in Japan, but so did Hideki Irabu.
- Signed Elmer Dessens: Decent reliever, but he's pushing 40.
- On the verge of signing R.A. Dickey: 35 year-old knuckleballer. It concerns me that his wikipedia picture is him doing the stat book in the stands.
Look, you will not find a more diehard Mets fan than me. I hope they run roughshod through the NL East this year. But you have to admit that the similarities are amusing.
"I've never heard of half of these guys, and the ones I do know are way past their prime."
"Most of these guys never had a prime."
"This guy here is dead!"
Merry Christmas Mets fans.
Posted by Jon at 4:37 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
TIME TO PULL THE TRIGGER
Posted by Jon at 2:50 PM 1 comments
Thursday, December 10, 2009
LETS TAKE A PAGE OUT OF THE 86 METS BOOK
One of the things that the 86 Mets were known for was being a bunch of crazy, partying, drinking animals! If you haven't read the book "The Bad Guys Won! A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform-and Maybe the Best" I highly recommend it. I won't ruin it for you, but there's a chapter about a game against the Boston Red Sox, and within the first 2 paragraphs I read about Bobby Ojeda dropping more F-bombs than a Quentin Tarantino movie. These guys had heart. They played to win, they took losing personally, and if you read the book you'll know that they were a crazy group of guys. And what did it get them? A world championship.
- Mike Pelfrey: The guy can pitch. He's definitely got potential, but last year he showed us that maybe not all of his dogs are barking. On September 3rd, after he was pulled in a game against the Rockies, he said he needed to get some "fresh air" so he started running laps in a the Coors Field parking lot. He later said if someone would have tried talking to him in the sixth inning he would have done something he regretted. Crazy? Check. Talent? It's in there somewhere. How about this year we unleash the beast and see what this nut job can do.
- Oliver Perez: I knew something was off when Ollie showed up to his press conference after signing his new contract looking like he just rolled out of bed after a 48-hour bender. Yes he went on to have a horrible season that included talking to himself repeatedly on the mound, that sometimes led Omir Santos to go out to talk to him because he thought number 46 had called him out. Crazy? Check. Talent? It's in there somewhere...
- Jose Reyes: He's not crazy, but the guy's got one heck of a personality. Combine that with the amount of time that he's missed and you've got to imagine that he's going to come out of the gates ready to have an awesome season...not to mention some fancy new dance moves
Posted by Jon at 2:53 PM 1 comments
Sunday, December 6, 2009
TAKE A CHANCE ON: JASON MARQUIS
Where do I begin? There are too many things to complain about right now, but I’ll leave the tirades about “Alex Cora isn’t worth $2M per year” and “how could you sign a guy that came out and said he’ll always be a Phillie” and “why didn’t you grab Kelly Shoppach when you had the chance” to the other bloggers. Today I want to talk to you about a solid number two pitcher who’s not going to break the bank: Jason Marquis. Jason Marquis has been pitching in the Major Leagues for 10 years. In that decade-long career, he has never been on a team that did NOT make it to the playoffs when he was in the rotation. He's not a 20 game winner, he's never won a Cy Young Award, but the guy's got heart. He loves the game, he's a great teammate and a strong presence in the clubhouse, and whatever team he plays for he gives them 110% every time. Oh, and an added bonus: he WANTS to play for the Mets. "This (NY) is where I'm from, so to come back here and play in front of friends and family would be an honor" -Jason Marquis, on possibly pitching for the New York Mets This team needs a guy like that. There are already guys on the Mets who have passion (No. 5 comes to mind), but I think a guy who comes in knowing that it's an honor to don the blue and orange would do this team some good. His stats speak for themselves. He's been nothing if not consistent, and if the last 6 seasons are any indication of what next season has in store he'll give you something around 14 wins, an ERA between the high 3's and the low to mid 4's, 30ish starts, and probably 200 innings. Add the passion, the intensity, and the desire to pitch for us, and you've got yourself a solid starter. I think it's worth a shot. Sincerely, The Fans
Posted by Jon at 10:40 AM 0 comments