[[ NEW YORK METS 2009 OFFSEASON POST: Beltran ahead of schedule ]]

[addictedtofreshkicks]

Johan Santana > ___________

 

[btllovesjays]

<<<<<<<<<<<<< New Avy

Going tomm, hopefully figgy can replicate what he did to the Brewers last year..

 

[nyzmagician]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

W- Santana

S- Rodriguez

Get used to that.

 

[shuges]

Ok.... Tatis is making his first career start at 2nd. Jerry just wants to get him into the line-up. Fine... Cool...

But at the expense of Castillo, who is swinging such a hot bat??

edit:
For the record, I'm not saying to sub him over anyone else as everyone seems to be swinging the bat well right now.

But my point is, let Fernando sit a little while longer if anything.

I guess that's just the superstitious nature in me. Don't mess up a good thing.....

 

[bussinessilicitos]

Yeah i feel you on that one.
Hopefully the bats wake up today.

 

[shuges]

@ Keith whining about being cold in the booth.

Nice hit by el Gato.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Originally Posted by SHUGES

Ok.... Tatis is making his first career start at 2nd. Jerry just wants to get him into the line-up. Fine... Cool...

But at the expense of Castillo, who is swinging such a hot bat??

edit:
For the record, I'm not saying to sub him over anyone else as everyone seems to be swinging the bat well right now.

But my point is, let Fernando sit a little while longer if anything.

I guess that's just the superstitious nature in me. Don't mess up a good thing.....

Yea but Grandpa could probably use the time off. I would have much rather seen Murph at 2nd and Tatis in left, for defensive purposes.

 

[shuges]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

Yea but Grandpa could probably use the time off. I would have much rather seen Murph at 2nd and Tatis in left, for defensive purposes.

Good point.

 

[vc3fan]

That is nuts.

I know that thread is up and most Mets fans have commented but the Natinals are just a mess

Milliege in the minors

Dukes is 5 min late so they suspend him the day

his replacement breaks his ankle in centerfield.

Fig is pitching well.

 

[bussinessilicitos]

These bats really need to wake up.

 

[shuges]

@ bases loaded, 1 out, no runs scored.

edit:
Ralph K in the booth.

 

[mez 0ne]

Coffee is a lucky @%*#%.

Not bunting with Tatis or PH with Castillo to bunts gets me even more upset.

Church sits today vs the righty, and is used to PH vs a lefty.

This game would have been a WRAP if Jerry played some small ball.

 

[bussinessilicitos]

Yeah Jerry was dumb for this one.

 

[shuges]

Yeah, I wasn't feeling some of the decisions Jerry made today.

My biggest gripe of course was sitting Castillo. Is it a coincidence Tatis went 0-4 and then Luis went 0-1 pinching?

This game was definitely winnable. I mean c'mon... 20 men LOB? 2-13 RISP??

 

[j steezzz]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Coffee is a lucky @%*#%.

Not bunting with Tatis or PH with Castillo to bunts gets me even more upset.

Church sits today vs the righty, and is used to PH vs a lefty.

This game would have been a WRAP if Jerry played some small ball.

Exactly word for word what i was comin in here to say

Only thing I don't like about Jerry is he goes for the big hit instead of small ball

That won't happen everytime, use FUNDAMENTALS

 

[airmaxpenny1]

at least we took the series

 

[justhotkicks]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

This game would have been a WRAP if...

I have a sad feeling this will be a recurring theme this season.

 

[mez 0ne]

I think once things settle down the team will be fine overall, but Jerry needs to get that Willy-ism out of his system and throw some sac bunts if you want tomanufacture some runs, he made a lot of bonehead decisions today.

 

[shuges]

Article with some good points....

[h1]CITI FIELD FAILS TO SHOWCASE METS HISTORY[/h1]
T is good that the Mets saw fit to honor Jackie Robinson. It is honorable. It is right that in their new ballpark, the Mets decided to create a permanent reminder to the world that on the subject of racial tolerance, and advancement, the city of New York -- and, specifically, one of its National League franchises -- ran ahead of the curve.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets
I suspect most Mets fans have little problem with that, either. Or even the fact that the most prominent and ballyhooed portion of Citi Field, the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, is named after someone who not only never played for the Mets, and never worked in any capacity for the Mets, but in fact played his last game six full years before the Mets even were born.

What has to burn Mets fans, though, and should, is the fact that the Mets, as has been their custom forever, made no effort to make sure there was any kind of nod to their own history anywhere notable at their new ballpark. There is talk of a Mets Hall of Fame someday, but there has been similar talk forever. You only have one opportunity to open a new ballpark. And the Mets whiffed.

That isn't unusual, because this is a franchise that has gone to great lengths over the years to, for some mysterious, inexplicable reason, to distance itself from its own history. It is madness, and remains madness, that only one player -- Tom Seaver -- has his number retired, though it seems inevitable that Mike Piazza's No. 31 will join Seaver's 41 soon enough.

It is absurd that not one member of the 1986 Mets -- winners of 108 regular-season games and a World Series -- has their number retired. Not the No. 17 of Keith Hernandez, the catalyst of the renaissance that culminated with '86. Not Gary Carter, the only member of that team in the Hall of Fame. Not No. 5, worn by Davey Johnson, the best manager in the team's history (though it would seem that ship has sailed, because David Wright has gained proprietorship over the number now).

But it is the worst kind of slap at Mets fans that there isn't a room, or a hallway, or a wing, dedicated -- on the day the place opened -- to the team's history. It is inexcusable. And Mets fans have every right to be as angry about that as they do about obstructed seats, about the fact that the stadium's security guards seem to be dressed in Phillies jackets, about the fact that other than orange foul poles there's no nod at all to the Mets' team colors -- the same team colors the Mets have no problem at all seeing their fans shell out souvenir money for.
This has nothing to do with the Yankees, by the way. Look, nobody with a rational molecule in their brain would ever think to compare themselves with the Yankees unless you happen to play basketball in Boston or ice hockey in Montreal. The Yankees have more history than any of them; more history than any 15 teams in baseball. And the Yankees are more than happy to celebrate that history, to revel in it, to bathe in it. The Yankees would have opened a New Yankee Stadium without a home plate before they would have opened it without Monument Park. They have a peerless history. They should commemorate it at every turn.
But here's something the men who run the Mets never want to acknowledge, for whatever reason: the Mets have a pretty significant history, too, and that's true even without trying to attach themselves to their spiritual antecedents, the Dodgers and the Giants. The Mets have won two world championships; of all the teams born since baseball first expanded in 1961, 14 in all, just the Marlins and Blue Jays have won that many. Of the other 16, the Mets have as many as the Phillies, Cubs, Indians and Twins/Senators, all of whom had a 60-year head start on them.

What of the memories? Think of all the crazy games this team has played. There wasn't a place to put a big screen and a constant loop of highlights from the Imperfect Game, the Black Cat Game, the Ball Off The Top of the Fence Game, the Grand Single Game, the Buckner Game a you get the idea.

And think about this: name me another franchise, in baseball or any other sport, in which two of its teams are instant metaphors, for entirely different reasons? If you coach a Little League team, or play in a YMCA hoops league, and your team isn't very good, what do you invariably say? "We're the '62 Mets." Conversely, if you're team comes out of nowhere to turn things around, what do you say about yourselves? "We're like the '69 Mets." God, in the form of George Burns, said it Himself: "The last miracle I performed was the 1969 Mets."

You don't think that matters? You're either wrong or you're one of the people who designed this ballpark. And maybe both. I was talking with my friend Peter Schwartz, one of the gifted radio voices, who told me a story the other day about how he and his wife decided to encourage their 20-month-old son's rooting interest. He's a Yankees/Islanders fan. She's a Mets/Rangers fan. They compromised: he would root for the Mets and the Islanders. There are certain things, it's important to think them through.

It would have been nice if the Mets had.



Most of you know that this line here is the one I agree with most...

the fact that other than orange foul poles there's no nod at all to the Mets' team colors

 

[true 3 blue]

And once again, I cosign.

I was at the Padres game on Wednesday, it was nice in person but I didn't get the same feeling as I did going to Shea.

Just seems more like a neutral park

 

[shuges]

You made it out to the NYS yet t3b?

 

[mez 0ne]

The Mets colors are not important to me, but the Dodgers and Giants ARE the Mets history.

My only complaint is that they should honor the two championship teams more in the stadium, but those things can easily be added though its not a big deal.

CITI won't FEEL like home for a while, these kinds of things take time. When Citizens Bank Park just opened it took several years before Philly fans feltit was "home".

 

[mez 0ne]

from metsblog....
Yesterday, the Mets stranded two men in scoring position in the sixth inning; they scored one run in the seventh, but left the bases loaded; they started the eighth inning with two men on, neither of which scored; and, in the ninth, David Wright lined out to end the game with Jose Reyes standing on second.

…where is the No Runner Left Behind Act when you need it…

…like i said yesterday, it just seems like the entire offense is out of sync… what's worse, most every one seems to be swinging at junk early in the count, especially wright… it's like, when one guy is hitting, the guy behind him is not… there is no rhythm…

The Mets are 25 for 106 when hitting with runners in scoring position this season. They average roughly 10 men left on base per game.

Jerry Manuel, speaking to reporters about RISP, said yesterday:

"We just haven't clicked yet with runners in scoring position - and we will… I can't say that at this point, this early in the season, that I'm upset with anybody's approach. I think it's more about anxiety than anything. It's wanting to get it done. And that's not a bad thing… Obviously, we are struggling with men on base, with men in scoring position, but I think the good thing is we are at least putting ourselves in those positions."

…it's a fair point… i mean, he's right, at least they have guys on base, so it's hopefully only a matter of time before it clicks…

…the thing is, i would have an easier time buying in to manuel's logic if we were not having this exact same worry last year… in other words, this issue is not new, and it's not theoretical… it's very real…

…to me, it's a larger issue, in that the Mets seem to have a problem finishing strong - whether it's an inning with a runner on base, or a specific at bat, or an entire season that boils down to the final day in September… manuel agrees… i know he does, because the whole idea behind his infamous extreme 80-pitch batting drill from the spring was to reinforce the idea of finishing strong, even when exhausted… in the final moments of the drill, Razor Shines would scream, 'Final at bat now, finish strong, big moment, game-winning hit,' etc., so obviously the coaching staff found this idea important…

…it's still important… and i guess that's the real problem…


Yeah...we don't need Manny's bat.

 

[true 3 blue]

Originally Posted by SHUGES

You made it out to the NYS yet t3b?

Nah not yet. When it gets warmer and if the prices are reasonable.

Yeah...we don't need Manny's bat.

What was the real reason they didn't want to go after him?

My father always reminds me of how yall had the opportunity to go after Vlad but didn't want to take a chance because of his back (?). Yet they had guyslike Alou

 

[shuges]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Yeah...we don't need Manny's bat.

Mets are pretty much what the Dodgers were last year right before Manny showed up. A good lineup that can become great with the addition of amissing piece.
I'll never understand why the Wilpons are so gun-shy on GUARANTEED difference-makers. Manny... A-Rod... and yeah t3b, Vlad a few years back.
I'm really done whining about it cuz I know we're not making any more moves (unless it's for yet another washed up, over-the-hill slugger likeFrank Thomas).

(Hurt would actually be an interesting back-up to Delgado... But he's just a short-term fix, not a long-term solution).

And did you guys hear about the brouhaha over Doc signing a wall at Citi?

[h1]Over signature scrub, Dwight Gooden wonders if Mets want him at Citi Field[/h1]

Doc Gooden doesn't understand why the Mets are adamant about removing his signature from a wall inside one of the restaurants at their new stadium, and he wonders if the team doesn't want him to hang around Citi Field this season.

The star-crossed former Mets ace acknowledged that he signed his name - with inscriptions depicting his status as the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year, the 1985 Cy Young Award winner and a 1986 World Series champion - on a blank wall near the bar inside the Ebbets Field club late last week.

But the Mets, who have been criticized by fans and media for not paying much homage to the team's history inside their new stadium, have informed Gooden that they plan to remove his autograph by the time the team returns home on Friday.

"One of the guys that worked there asked me to sign one of the walls, so I did it. It wasn't like I was walking around with a sharpie in my pocket," Gooden told the Daily News on Monday. "They asked me to sign the wall as a favor, as something for the fans to see. I was in there watching batting practice and they had fans taking pictures with me by my signature and I thought it was a fun idea.

"I definitely didn't think it was going to turn out to be this big deal. I didn't do anything intentionally for the Mets to get upset. I was just doing it for the fans. I don't see what the big fuss is. Honestly, I don't."

Still, multiple sources confirmed that several Mets higher-ups were not pleased by Gooden's artwork, which was covered up during Saturday's game. P.R. honcho Jay Horwitz said the organization doesn't want the signing to be repeated by Gooden or other former players elsewhere around the stadium.

Gooden said that he agreed to sign another wall in the Modell's "Mo-Zone" on the right-field concourse, where he watched nephew Gary Sheffield play right field for the first time as a Met last Wednesday.

"It's a brand new building, whether it's Doc or any other player, it wasn't meant to write all over the walls," Horwitz said. "We are going to do things to celebrate our history, but this wasn't the right way to get that started. If we allow this precedent, people will be writing all over the stadium."

Owner Fred Wilpon indicated last week that plans are in the works for a Mets Hall of Fame exhibit to be constructed near the outfield food court in the near future. But like many fans, Gooden wondered why that wasn't considered a priority for Citi's opening last Monday.

"They have every right to do what they want with their new stadium, but I don't understand it," Gooden said. "I think it's great that they're talking about it doing now, but I would've thought it would've been there already.

"You'd think they'd want to connect to the '86 team as much as they can, and the '69 team, because those are the only times that they won (the World Series). Most stadiums you go to, even if they've never won anything, they have that.

"So I would think you would have something in there to show the fans that you appreciate that history, and to show the former players, as well . . . I think the former players expect that. I think the fans want that. They want to share it with their kids. I know I want to share it with my kids, too."

Gooden, 44, returned to Shea Stadium for last September's closing ceremony after being away for years since his Mets career was derailed by substance abuse. He isn't sure now how often he will be back.

"Last year when I came to say goodbye to Shea, the ovation the fans gave me made me want to come around more, but when things like this happen, it makes me feel like maybe the Mets don't want me around," Gooden said. "Maybe I shouldn't be, I don't know."

Gooden, who tossed a no-hitter with the Yankees in 1996, also attended the home opener of the new Yankee Stadium last Thursday in the Bronx, and marveled at "how much they embrace their history."

"I wouldn't be upset if they took my (signature) down, but I was just doing it for the fans," said Gooden, who plans to open the Doc Gooden Baseball Academy in Blauvelt, N.Y., this fall. "Everyone was telling me how much the fans liked it and how they were taking pictures with it. But it's their stadium and they can do whatever they want, obviously."


Apparently, there was such backlash over the story that the Mets JUST (right as I was making this post actually) announced they won't remove the sig.

[h2]Just what the Doc ordered[/h2] [h3]April 20, 2009[/h3]

Here ya go, Mets fans, squeaky wheels always get the grease.

The Mets have listened to overwhelming backlash from their fans on Monday, and will not erase the wall in the Ebbets Field club that was autographed last week by Doc Gooden.

Instead, Jay Horwitz said the wall will be removed from the restaurant/bar and moved and placed behind plexiglass to a still-to-be-determined area in Citi Field that is more accessible to all fans. He added that the Mets plan to procure similar autographs from other popular ex-Mets - Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Mookie Wilson, etc. - and display them around Citi Field.