CRYING WOLF

Hi, it's me, Johnnymets. Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. It's a busy time of year for me.

That's a lame excuse, I know. But it's really all about the time of year right now. Read: It's not September.

It's hard for me to get swept up in the Mets right now. They've won ten of their last twelve. They have the best record in the majors in May. But that's the problem. It's only May.

And if 2007 and 2008 have taught me anything, it's that it doesn't quite matter where the Mets end May. It matters where they end up in September.

It's the ol', fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me thing. I was fooled twice. If it happens a third time, I don't know that I can handle the shame.

So I'm not getting caught up in all of this. Which is a shame, really. Because the Mets have been playing some exciting ball. A couple of late-inning rallies on the west coast. David Wright has 9 doubles! They're doing it without Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes.

But I haven't been staying up for the west coast wins. On a Friday night I didn't make it past the game-tying double in the seventh. I went to bed thinking the Mets would probably still lose the game. That's just not something I would have done in the past.

Maybe something will change when summer vacation hits, and I have the time to relax and watch the games. Maybe someone will drop a ticket in my lap to next weekend's series at Fenway Park and I'll get caught up in the excitement again.

But maybe I won't believe these Mets when they cry wolf until I actually see the wolf...in October.

STILL GOING STRONG

Some Mets number 5s help me recognize 5 years of blogging:

I distinctly remember how the blog started. I was sitting with The Wife (then the fiancee - I've been blogging longer than I've been married), surfing the net on her laptop, saying, "I want to write about the Mets. How do I start my own website?" She said, "You can start a blog." So I did. That happened on April 11, 2004. The site has come a long way, I think, since those mini-game recaps.

In 5 years we've seen the rise of David Wright, the closing of Shea and opening of a new stadium, Carlos and Pedro* and Johan, and disappointment after disappointment after disappointment. (Not to mention the Jets' share of disappointments...as well as the birth of two children.)

Hopefully the enthusiasm with which I've started off this year stays with me until late October.

A World Series championship would be a nice way to celebrate the end of our fifth season.

I STILL CARE

This is just a note to say that the blog isn't meeting its end or anything. I still care about it. And I still care about the Mets, despite their efforts to crush me at the end of every season.

It's just that situations like this whole Johan Santana ordeal right now are hard for me to handle. When it first happened, Santana said that he didn't think he'd miss Opening Day...and then it turned into a story about how he was going to most likely miss Opening Day.

This is a manufactured story. It's one I didn't want to write about because each time I would have written something, it would have changed and I would have had to write something again. It's certainly a serious situation - if Johan Santana is hurt, the Mets' season is finished. And if that happened right now, it would be over before it even began.

But I won't believe Johan Santana will miss Opening Day until I see the Mets play on Opening Day without him. And that's still a month away. This is nothing more than a media needing something to write about from camp, with all of the other star players playing in the World Baseball Classic. Nothing more. Talk to me again in a month.

SPEAKING OF THE WBC: It was nice to see David Wright in prime late-season form, popping out in a clutch spot (with the bases loaded in the seventh) against Canada on Saturday. And J.J. Putz will fit right in with his new teammates, walking a tightrope and turning a two-run lead into a one-run win-and-almost-loss in the 9th inning. It's like he was born to be in the Mets bullpen.

REASON #4 - THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

Reasons to Look Forward to MLB 2009

Funnily enough (I like using the word 'funnily' every so often), I don't much care for the World Baseball Classic. Maybe I'll watch it, maybe I won't.

For me, it's more of an inconvenience than anything else. Players will get hurt. The season won't start until April 6th. The USA will get embarrassed by other nations.


But I have a theory about the World Baseball Classic, which I'm about to share with you. It could just be the salve to the Mets' late-season struggles we saw in 2007 and 2008.

You may have noticed I used the World Baseball Classic logo from 2006. That was intentional. 1) I couldn't find one from this year (or I didn't look hard enough - one or the other). But, more importantly, 2) 2006 is Exhibit A (and really the only exhibit) in my argument.

In 2006 the World Baseball Classic was held and the Mets put together their most complete season in the past 20 years. Even when they went to the World Series in 2000, and appeared in the post-season in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000, they weren't as good.

The next two seasons following '06 were utter disappointments.

We all know - the team folded in the final two weeks of September. Now - I ask you to think back to 2006 - remember the Mets' struggles in mid-September, when they lost 3 games in a row to the lowly Pirates when they were attempting to clinch the division? They had a terrible September then, too, but it was overshadowed by the fact that they had built such a huge division lead.

What I'm here to tell you is this - the World Baseball Classic gave the Mets some prep time on the season, so that everything shifted up a couple of weeks. Like every funk, the Mets would have played their way out of the funks of '07 and '08 - they just ran out of games. In 2006, the funk came at the same time, games-wise, but earlier in September, because of the WBC. Then October came and the Mets righted the ship....until Game 7 of the NLCS.

I know it's slightly backwards logic - I hope you're still with me. But it makes sense. The other caveat is that more of the Mets' players will be tired because they will be involved in the games, which they weren't in 2006. I don't necessarily agree - I think the same thing will happen with the slumps those individuals (read: David Wright) would have gone through anyway.

So while I agree with those who say the World Baseball Classic is a bad thing, for this Mets fan, it's going to pay dividends in some fashion. Expect a big year in 2009....provided Wright doesn't get hurt playing third base for the U.S.

This idea was going to originally be "Reasons to Look Forward to the Mets in 2009", but I realized there are probably going to be some general baseball reasons as well as Mets reasons. So I've expanded it. Most will have to do with the Mets (like this one). Also, I'm counting up, rather than down, as we head towards the baseball season, because I'm just not sure how many items there will be in this feature. We'll go until we hit Opening Day.

REASON #2 - DAVID WRIGHT

Reasons to Look Forward to MLB 2009

(Note the reversal of the title and subtitle, for those of you keeping close track)

All right. I'll admit it. David Wright isn't exactly a superstar. Perhaps some of the shine has come off because he slumps at the times the Mets need him the most. But he's far from a disappointment - in fact, he's one of the top players in the game. I'd put him at the level just below superstar (a spot occupied by his teammate Johan Santana, among others).

And he's still a reason to look forward to the new baseball season.

First of all, he's a homegrown talent, and he's fun to root for. I swear - the day I find out David Wright isn't a genuinely good guy is the day I stop rooting for any professional athlete. He's a stand-up guy who hasn't backed down from the media in any situation - good or bad (and every season he's had with the Mets has ended in a disappointing fashion). He also has done everything to indicate that he is a quality individual.

He's also an exciting ballplayer. Though he strikes out a lot, and he hasn't proven to be tremendously clutch at this point in his career (he did have the Mets' lone RBI in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS), he's a lock to hit around .300, get somewhere around 30 HR, and collect more than 115 RBI. And he's improved from year to year, particularly on the defensive side.

I have my own little obsession with Wright as well; his assault on the all-time doubles record...or at least a team record. This will be an interesting year as far as that goes - Wright has always hit around 40 doubles. We'll see how Citi Field plays and whether or not it results in more doubles as a gap park, or maybe as more of a homer park, hurting his chances in this department.

The bottom line is that David Wright is one of the bright spots on what has become an otherwise disappointing team. And the fact that he alone can help me look forward to this season, coming off back-to-back heartbreaking playoff-missing seasons, makes him a very special player...if not a superstar.

This idea was going to originally be "Reasons to Look Forward to the Mets in 2009", but I realized there are probably going to be some general baseball reasons as well as Mets reasons. So I've expanded it. Most will have to do with the Mets. (Like this one.) Also, I'm counting up, rather than down, as we head towards the baseball season, because I'm just not sure how many items there will be in this feature. We'll go until we hit Opening Day.

MY FIVE STAGES

I don't get the fact that TBS is showing the Red Sox-Angels game so late on Wednesday night. The first night of playoff games is bizarre - the first game starts at 3, the second at 6:30, and the last is at ten. Seems to me they could have gone 1, 4, 7, and allowed people on the East Coast to see an East Coast game. But what I really don't get is why they aren't showing the Mets game at all on Wednesday.

WHAT?!? The Mets didn't make it to the playoffs!??! Are you *$&#&@! kidding me?! Don't even try to tell me they blew another lead late in the season. WHAT!!?! The Brewers?!! They haven't been to the playoffs since 1982!!!

Maybe we can work a deal. Maybe we can just let the Mets play one playoff game. One game with everything on the line, if they win, they get in....I'm sure we can work something out...

Ah, just screw it. What's the point anyway? They're probably just going to lose it anyway. They had their chance on Sunday, and what did they do? They lost. They had their chances in 2007, and what did they do? Lost. It's just pathetic. *sniff*

All right. There's always next year. I kind of like the way the Twins have played this year - maybe I'll root for them tonight and then into October. And then come April the Mets will be playing in a beautiful new ballpark. Springtime in Citi Field...I kind of like the sound of that....I think I'll go outside and breathe in some of this pleasant autumn weather. Maybe I'll write that nice boy David Wright a fan letter and ask him to just relax next year and not push himself too hard.

(Thanks to wikipedia for helping me out here.)

EARNING HIS MONEY

Carlos Beltran is winning me over.

I know I've taken him to task before. I've said that he's making superstar money and playing like a regular star. He's put up good numbers, and since I last wrote about him, he's put up great numbers. But I never exactly felt like he was putting up $17 million-a-year numbers.

Now I think he's worth every penny.

It's hard to tell that Beltran cares. He has a very calm demeanor. It's a poker face - it seems like he never gets too up or too down. But he has proven to me that he is a quiet leader on this team...and he's leading by example by coming through in the clutch.

The past week has taken some of the shine off of David Wright's record-setting year (he has 124 RBI on the season, tied with Mike Piazza for the team record). He's been hitting, but not late in games with lots on the line. Beltran has.

And every time Beltran comes up in one of those situations, Gary Cohen mentions the fact that Beltran's prime motivation is his strikeout in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the NLCS in 2006. And I love that he is so bothered by that strikeout.

The first time it came up was after Beltran's grand slam to beat the Marlins in Miami last month. Cohen told that Beltran wants to get back in the playoffs to make up for that at-bat against Adam Wainwright. Then Cohen mentioned it again in the ninth inning last night before Beltran ripped one off the first baseman's glove to beat the Cubs and keep the Mets one game behind Philadelphia and tied with Milwaukee. (Last year, by the way, the first baseman catches that ball...or Ryan Church gets tagged out at the plate in the 8th...this year is shaping up to be more promising.)

Carlos Beltran shocked a lot of people early this year by saying the Mets would win the division. He's finally starting to back that guarantee up with his play in the clutch. And if I'm the Marlins, I'd keep my mouth shut this weekend. Beltran is looking for motivation everywhere...and he's following through. He might just carry the Mets the next couple of weeks like he did with the Astros when he earned himself that huge payday.

WHETHER THE WEATHER: I haven't been this excited to watch baseball all season. I wake up and can't wait for the night's games. Unfortunately, I might have to wait 24 more hours. There's some nasty weather across the region, and it's going to wreak havoc on the weekend's schedule. The Phillies are hosting the Nationals, the Mets have the Marlins. There might be a doubleheader on Saturday instead of a night game tonight for the Mets. I can't stand the suspense.

I'm also ticked because the Mets have a 1 o'clock game on Saturday. They are totally within their rights to have a weekend game at a reasonable time like 1pm. I'm not mad at them - I'm mad at Major League Baseball. The 1pm start means it won't be on an Extra Innings package because of the FOX blackouts (only the 7pm Saturday starts get picked up by the package). The fact that I can see meaningless games on a weekday night in May but miss one of the most important games of the season on the final weekend shows there's something flawed with that system. I'll have to turn to the trusty old wireless scoreboard or the ESPN GameCast instead.

COUNTING MY CHICKENS: I hate to even mention this and run the risk of putting a jinx on the entire thing...but my dad got his post-season tickets the other day. (He's had a Tuesday & Friday ticket plan the past few years - which I took advantage of once in those two years.) But he has one Division Series game, two NLCS games, and one World Series game. One of the NLCS games falls on Columbus Day (depending on the Mets' seed)...the World Series game is a Saturday night (I think it's Game 3 - a guaranteed game...not 'if necessary', in other words). I could make it down to NYC for those games. I've never been to a World Series game - I'm getting butterflies just thinking about the possibilities...imagine if my final two trips to Shea Stadium were for a Billy Joel concert and a World Series game (and maybe add a third - the LCS game - I would not be able to make any Division Series games). If the Mets don't make it I might cry.

HO-HUM, JUST ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP

This is about a week late, but Hall of Famer Gary Carter is a champion once again. He managed the Orange County Flyers to the Golden League Championship - his third championship game appearance in three years of managing, and his second championship in that span.
Just a heads-up to all those who think Jerry Manuel hasn't been much better in September 2008 than Willie Randolph was in September 2007.

All Gary Carter has done in the minor leagues is manage winners. Here's a brief recap:

Gulf Coast Mets, 2005
37-16 reg. season
Post-season: 0-2

St. Lucie Mets, 2006
1st Half: 40-30
2nd Half: 37-32
Post-season: 5-0 (2-0 1st round, 3-0 second), Champions

Orange County Flyers, 2008
1st Half: 28-15
2nd Half: 26-22
Post-season: 6-4 (3-2 1st round, 3-2 second), Champions

Overall
Regular Season: 168-115 (.594 winning percentage)
Post-season: 11-6, 2 championships in three years

Again, I know we're not comparing apples to apples with the three levels of minor league baseball, and I know that the minors and the majors are different...but the numbers convince me that Carter can have that kind of success at the big league level.

METS MINOR LEAGUES: Before last season, the Mets were among a number of teams to shuffle their Triple-A affiliates. The Mets ended up with New Orleans, which meant their Triple-A players logged lots of travel time as members of the Pacific Coast League.

Well, in 2009 (and at least 2010), the Mets' Triple-A affiliate will now be the Buffalo Bisons, back in the International League. This will cut down not only on Mets' minor leaguers travel time overall, but travel time to and from the big league team in New York (also useful for rehabbing major leaguers).

WRIGHT WATCH: Just a quick update on David Wright's assault on the all-time doubles record (and Mets single-season record):

2008: 42 (2 behind Bernard Gilkey's team record with 5 games to play)
CAREER: 183
ALL-TIME LEADER: 792

You look at the season leaders in doubles and it kind of makes you scratch your head: Guys like Dustin Pedroia and Brian Roberts have more than 50 doubles, Lance Berkman and Nate McLouth have 46 to lead the National League - that's a lot of doubles. It seems like a guy like David Wright would have more than just low-40's every year. Especially since Shea isn't exactly a home run hitter's ballpark. Just a thought. Also interesting to think about how Citi Field will play...will some of the David Wright doubles become homers? Will his assault on Tris Speaker take a hit because of the new stadium?

And let's not overlook here the statistical season Wright is having - there has been no late-season slide this year - in fact, he's having his best year all around in 2008.

PLAYERS I LIKE

I was inspired to come up with this team by Dave in Brighton, who hasn't checked his fantasy team in so long that he may not remember this, but he built it this year around players he liked. I thought about the players I liked, and if I could make a team out of those players. I can. Some of this is dated, though, because I jotted it down so long ago (for example, before Mike Piazza was officially retired). I figured today was a good day for one last fluff piece before the nitty-gritty of September hit.

Terry Francona, Manager: I've written before about how much I like Terry Francona. I think he's done a great job, facing his fair share of adversity and maintaining a high level of success. He can manage my team any day. I share the concern of many who follow the Red Sox, though, for his overall health. Hopefully he's at least kicked the chewing tobacco.

Mike Piazza, Catcher: I don't know who I'd pick if I had to go for a player who isn't retired - perhaps Matt Wieters, this Orioles prospect who's supposed to be great. But I pick Piazza because he's a class act, and played the game hard. Clean? I'm not sure - I find it suspicious that he couldn't find a place to play this year...but I certainly hope so. I wouldn't pick him if I didn't believe it in my heart.

Sean Casey, 1st Baseman: This team isn't all about talent. Sure, Casey's a good hitter, but by all accounts, he's one of the nicest people in sports. That means he can play for me.

Chase Utley, 2nd Baseman: Yes, he plays for the Phillies, but he's one of the fantasy league all-stars I have on my team. Actually, not all of them are all-stars, as you will see.

Bobby Crosby, Shortstop: I bought into the hype when he first came up and was supposed to be the next Miguel Tejada for the A's. I still check out how he did in the box score.

David Wright, 3rd Baseman: Need I say more?

Ryan Braun, Left Field: A fun young player to watch.

Johnny Damon, Center Field: When countless Red Sox players snubbed me on the field when I was working for a local TV station, he spoke to me. It went like this - he comes out of the dugout, I asked him for a word. "I have to take a couple of swings, then I'll be right back." He walked over to the cage, signed some autographs for fans in the stands, took his cuts, then came straight back to me. "You wanted to talk, right?" I'll never forget how he helped me. I'll also never forget how Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon were among those who wouldn't even look at me.

Vladimir Guerrero, Right Field: I guess time heals all wounds. When he was with the Expos, I despised him. Now, he's one of the players I most enjoy watching.

Roy Halladay, SP: He's awesome now, but I owned him back when he had to be sent back down to Single-A for some seasoning. I feel like a proud papa seeing him have this success.

Erik Bedard, SP: I feel bad for him for the whole Seattle thing. It just never seemed like a good fit to me. I wish he was back in Baltimore.

Mike Maroth, SP: He will always have a special place in my heart - we suffered through his 21-loss season together.

Boof Bonser, SP: Just because.

Troy Percival, CP: I almost didn't go with a closer - there aren't many I like - but I've always liked rooting for the Angels, and Percival reminds me of them. Plus, it's been nice to see his resurgence with Tampa this year.

BENCH - Freddy Sanchez (I was there the night he had an insane game for the Red Sox against Houston, which must have been the reason Pittsburgh traded for him), Grady Sizemore (maybe just because of his birthday - 8/2/82), Jason Bay (so excited to see his Red Sox debut), and Ken Griffey, Jr. (a schoolyard favorite growing up).

NOT GOOD

Win or lose (the game isn't over yet) there's nothing good that will come from this Mets-Phillies game.

It's tied at 7 in the 12th inning. Here's a list of how bad this game is:

-Pedro Martinez* went four strong innings before hitting a wall in the 5th inning and giving up 5 runs, turning a 7-0 lead into a 7-5 lead.

-Another blown lead by the bullpen (though Pedro* didn't put them in the best possible spot), and a blown save by (surprisingly good until now) Luis Ayala.

-The tying run in the bottom of the ninth scored on an ugly play - the runner, Jayson Werth, should have been out by a mile, but a terrible relay throw allowed him to score.

-Again it looked like the Phillies were more intense in a game against the Mets than the Mets were....especially concerning with first place on the line (the Mets entered the game ahead by just a half-game).

-Jimmy Rollins once again had a huge game against the Mets - with 5 hits (as of this writing).

-In a scene that has become all too familiar this year, the Mets scored early, and then did nothing offensively for much of the game.

-To top it all off, David Wright was thrown out in extra innings trying to stretch a single into a double.

The only, only good that will come from this game would be a win. And Philadelphia has seemed to be in control in the extra innings...a win doesn't look likely.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

This week marks the last week before the "overlap" season. Although school meetings begin (not to mention two fantasy football drafts in the evenings this week...and the possible birth of my second-born), I should have time to write this week, and the writing will be mostly about the Mets.

Next week, with the NFL season looming as of Thursday and the following weekend, will be Jets Week. I'll have Jets previews on the offense, defense, a division preview, and an overall look at the NFL standings. That'll start probably on Tuesday the 2nd, going through Friday the 6th.

After that, I'll try to balance between the Jets regular season and the Mets regular and (hopefully) post-season. I've also liked doing the bi-weekly MLB updates - I'll try to do some variation on that weekly with the NFL. And if I can get some folks to share their picks each week, maybe we'll get back to some sort of picks competition - I always like that.

And to reward you for sticking through the boring updates above, here's a look at where David Wright stands in his hunt for the doubles records, entering Sunday's play. Wright had two doubles the game where Carlos Delgado had the cheapest five hit-game in history (the first baseman threw way wide of first to the pitcher covering on one 'base hit', and the game-winner was a dropped fly ball by the left-fielder. Someone explain to me how that's a hit. But I digress.).

WRIGHT (2008): 36 Doubles
TEAM RECORD: 44
WRIGHT (career): 177
ALL-TIME RECORD: 792

WORTH ROOTING FOR

I've mentioned before how there are certain elements on the Tampa Bay Rays team making this unlikely run who make you not want to root for them.

In so doing, though, I breezed past the fact that there is someone on that Rays team who is probably a huge part of their success this season.

Cliff Floyd has played in just 59 games this year, hitting .260 with 9 homers and 25 RBI. But he might be the most important player on that team.

By all accounts, Cliff Floyd is a true professional. He does the right things, gets frustrated when he can't play because of injury (which happens a lot), and for a while now, he's been a mentor to younger players.

I never really thought about it much when he was with the Mets, but Floyd might have been the glue that made the 2006 team stick together and do as well as they did. There were some elements on that team that were potentially damaging (looking your way, Paul Lo Duca), but they never seemed to get in the way (like they did in 2007, when Floyd was no longer a Met).

He also took David Wright under his wing from the get-go. Maybe he sensed star power, and knew the MTV appearances would come if he was David Wright's right-hand man...but I know it was more than that. Floyd showed Wright the ropes about how to play in New York, and I'm sure a lot of what makes Wright the class act that he is has to do a lot with the fact that he spent so much time with Cliff Floyd while they were both Mets.

And now, Floyd is playing that role again. Except most of the team is David Wright. And there's even a Jose Reyes - apparently B.J. Upton has had a case of the not-hustlings. And manager Joe Maddon has left it to the veterans (namely, Floyd and Carlos Pena) to handle the situation. I read somewhere that Floyd was near tears when he told reporters that the 23-year-old Upton will "get it right". He's someone that cares about the game and how it's played...and he's brought to Tampa Bay a little bit of what was missing with the Mets last year and much of the first half of this year.

So every time I see Cliff Floyd hit a go-ahead homer for Tampa, or get an otherwise clutch hit, I'm happy for him. Because it's tangible proof of his importance to that team that everyone can see - and I know that a lot of the intangibles are going largely unnoticed.

SAVE ME

I'm furious with the Mets right now. Furious.

There is no way they are going to win anything this year with the bullpen pitching the way it has been. And it's the most frustrating thing in the world to watch.

Aaron Heilman gets the bulk of the blame for Monday's loss to the Pirates, but the problem right now is that it's not just the 9th inning that Mets pitchers can't close out - it's any lead at any time. The Mets had a 5-1 lead going into the seventh inning, and right away gave back 3 runs, making it a one-run game. There is no way that game should have been a one-run game at any point after David Wright's 3-run homer in the first inning. (The offense can get some of that blame too - the Pirates tried to give the Mets a blowout win every which way on Monday.)

So after the game, Jerry Manuel talked about the fact that he had to make immediate changes to make things right. Here are my thoughts:

1) Eddie Kunz will be the closer. Manuel said he didn't want to have to put Kunz in that role so soon after coming up. You know what, the way the other dopes have been pitching, I don't care - Kunz should have been used in that role right away. It's what he did in the minors, he should have continued in New York. It's second-guessing at this point, but Manuel should have had Kunz in there from the beginning.

1a) I'm at the point where if Kunz can't do the job right away, and option 2 (below) doesn't work out, call up Brad Holt or some other minor league fireballer who can close the door. Just temporarily. The Mets are killing themselves here.

2) When John Maine comes back from his injury (possibly Wednesday), he will probably close until Billy Wagner gets healthy. I think this is an intriguing possibility, and if Maine is successful, I think it should be his permanent spot. He can be spotty as a starter, and ends up throwing too many pitches. I think he'd be ideal as a closer - and could solve the Mets' problems there for a while.

3) Johan Santana needs to go deep into tonight's game. It's the Washington Nationals, theoretically the Mets should win big (theoretically). Santana needs to step up and throw a complete game shutout.

4) I know there isn't a wealth of relievers available in the major leagues...but surely Omar Minaya could do better. The only person he seemed to be interested in at the trade deadline was the Nationals' Luis Ayala. 60 hits in 54 innings. And 21 walks. He's 1-8 (the losses are the only stat you can blame on the fact that he plays for the horrible Nats) with a 5.93 ERA. If Minaya makes that move through waivers (there are no indications he is still pursuing Ayala), it would be rubbing salt in this open wound.

Let's end on a positive note - David Wright is on another doubles tear - 3 in 2 games. I don't know that he'll break the team record, but he's creeping up there, and of course, continuing his assault on the all-time record:

WRIGHT (2008): 32 Doubles
TEAM RECORD: 44
WRIGHT (career): 173
ALL-TIME RECORD: 792

REDEMPTION

I was all set to rip the Mets after Wednesday night's game. Especially David Wright. Because everything that represented what has been wrong about the Mets in 2008 was on display, even as what's right about them was taking place.

Here's the example. In the fifth inning Wednesday night, Daniel Murphy comes up, batting second in the order, after a Jose Reyes single. After Reyes steals second, Murphy tries to move him to third by hitting the ball to the right side. The pitch is inside, and Murphy turns on it and pulls it right over the second baseman's head for an RBI single. That tied the game at 2. David Wright then reached on an error, so it's first and second for Carlos Beltran. Beltran flies out to deep right. Murphy tags at second, and would advance easily, except Wright forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off first.

To make matters worse, possibly because he was still thinking about the bad baserunning move, Wright made the error in the seventh inning that allowed the Padres to take the lead, and ended up giving Pedro Martinez* an unearned loss after a very good outing.

These were exactly the type of blunders (the baserunning more than the error) that cost Willie Randolph his job. And there's one of two things happening - either 1) Randolph so woefully prepared this team in the fundamentals of baseball in the spring that they're still suffering the consequences (obviously, the minor league system is teaching the right things, because Murphy and Nick Evans have been doing the right things all along), or 2) The current coaching staff is still stressing the wrong things with this team.

Either way, these Mets have made unacceptable mistakes all season.
Then along comes Thursday afternoon. Everyone is clamoring for David Wright to get a day off, but the problem isn't Wright - it's the bullpen. For the hundredth time this year, Johan Santana is pulled from a game, possibly prematurely, and the bullpen costs him a win. That's another story for another day.

What happened today was David Wright won a game for the Mets a day after losing one for them - a total turnaround for him. He hit a walk-off two-run homer. So that's a nice little bounceback. And it's good for the Mets that just when everything was seeming to go wrong (another blown save by the Wagner replacements), they're able to pull out a win.

Another big series with Florida begins Friday.

LAST WORD ON PENNINGTON: I'm not going to go through all of the possible destinations for Chad Pennington, because I've already done that. This is from before the draft (actually, before the Super Bowl even), but it's not outdated at all. I still think those are the most likely destinations, although maybe Minnesota moves up to the "very likely" category.

HEADING INTO THE SECOND HALF

I've already laid out what I thought the Mets needed to do for the rest of the season to be a success, and why they could do it. They've gotten a huge head start on that goal by taking a 9-game winning streak into the All Star break. (7-0 in their quest to go 46-28 over the rest of the season and get 90 wins to win the division.)

I will throw this caveat out there - the Mets won 8 games in a row in April, and then pretty much immediately afterwards tanked for two months. But this 9 game winning streak just feels different. I should also point out here that it absolutely drives me nuts that they're only playing like this now...this is the way they should have been playing all season.

But I've been talking about one thing for the past couple of weeks, and it's mind-blowing how these numbers play out - and that is just how valuable Jose Reyes is to this Mets team. Perhaps you've seen these numbers somewhere else - I've only seen them early last week on SNY, and I couldn't find them anywhere else at the break. So I apologize if they're wrong, but I had to do them myself, and I admit that I may have made some mistakes. Either way, though, they're incdredible:

Jose Reyes in Mets wins
(51 games) .330 average, 8 HR, 28 walks, 32 RBI, 57 runs, 23 steals

Jose Reyes in Mets losses
(42 games) .262 average, 2 HR, 14 walks, 11 RBI, 11 runs, 9 steals

The saying the past few years has always been, "As Jose Reyes goes, so go the Mets"...but I don't think it's ever been as clear as this. Reyes has missed two games this year - the Mets lost them both. Reyes has one game with 2 home runs - the Mets lost it. Every other game in which he has homered they have won. Basically, if he gets on and scores, the Mets win the game...and he's been getting on base plenty this year.

I was also blown away by Reyes' overall numbers - he's hitting .302, his on-base percentage is .367, and he's slugging .487! This is a leadoff guy!

This is MVP territory. And I bring it up because for the Mets to win the division/make the playoffs/win the World Series they need to ride Jose Reyes. There are good players on the Mets, but the David Wrights can't do much unless Reyes is getting on base ahead of them. And the past two seasons, when the Mets didn't get as far as fans wanted, fingers could be pointed at many players, Jose Reyes prime among them. In 2006 it was the playoffs where he was not effective. Last year, it was after the All Star break.

It seems Jose Reyes finds his own motivations. Last year it seemed he was lacking a motivation, or was distracted. So maybe not making the All Star team this year is the best thing that could have happened to him and the Mets. Maybe that will be the spark he needs to complete this amazing season he's having. And maybe that spark will lead the Mets to a 90+ win season and beyond.

SCHEDULE: If you're in the business of buying the excuses of ballplayers, there might be something to the fact that the Mets had a draining schedule this first part of the season. I think I first heard it mentioned on one of the radio broadcasts of the Mets games last week - remember, the Mets made 3 trips to the west coast over 7 weeks in May and June. Distance-wise, they don't have anything nearly as grueling over the final part of the season.

For what it's worth, the Mets played the Sunday night game heading into the break, and are one of just a handful of teams playing on Thursday coming out of the All Star break. That's one day less of vacation than other players are getting...but maybe it'll end up keeping them more rust-free...and they're probably anxious to get back to work with how hot they went into the break.

A GAPING HOLE: With Ryan Church out indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome, Angel Pagan possibly not coming back this year, and Moises Alou now out for the rest of the season, the Mets need an outfielder bad. The names that have come up are:

Raul Ibanez: Carlos Beltran has endorsed him - they played together in Kansas City and are still close. He would be a typical Mets pickup - effective enough, but in the end, not worth what the Mets gave up. He's probably the most realistic option for a Mets pickup.

Fernando Martinez: The Mets' prospect is only at Double-A. Bringing him straight to the majors would probably be a mistake. I guess he's had some injuries issues too.

Matt Holliday: This was big on WFAN last week. I would say do whatever it takes to get Holliday. He's one of the best players in baseball, and he would be around for a while. I don't know why the Rockies would trade him....but if they did, Mike Pelfrey would be a great fit for Coors Field. He is a groundball pitcher, and that's exactly what the Rockies look for. Matt Holliday would be huge for the Mets.

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright added two more doubles since we last wrote about it - he's at 24 for the season.

All-Time Leader: 792
Wright's 2008 Total: 24
Wright's Career Total: 165

ALL STAR BREAK STATS: Just to clear up what I posted Monday night, and in response to the comment that was left - I never said it wasn't an impressive number that Josh Hamilton was putting up in the RBI department. I'm just saying that everyone should cool down when relating these numbers to others' numbers at the All Star break. It's not the mid-way point of the season - it's 96 games in. I agree he's on pace for a huge number of RBI, but it's not record-setting. I hope that clears it up.

Thanks for reading the three posts today. Back to baseball tomorrow.

ALL STAR GAME RECAP

I'm not the guy you want to be around if you're looking to see history. I'm the guy who watches an entire hockey game, but changes the channel for 25 seconds and misses the only goal of the game. I'm a Mets fan, so I've never seen a no-hitter that I really care about. I'm constantly aware that I may be watching something with historical significance, but it's the moment that I let my guard down that it happens.

Such was the case with the 2008 All Star Game, which was pretty magnificent (so I've heard). I loved the pre-game ceremonies, but I started feeling pretty sick by mid-game, so I turned in early. Justin from NYC wrote a great summary of the game at sportscracklepop.com. Here's the view of a guy who didn't make it past 11pm.

THE PRE-GAME CEREMONY: That was pretty cool. I saw some of the 1999 ceremony, at Fenway Park, but I was working then and didn't really enjoy it like I should have. This one I was able to appreciate. That was really, really great. I loved seeing Ralph Kiner out there, and guys like Bob Feller (when they showed him in the 1939 All Star Game at age 20 in the highlights earlier, I started questioning whether he was still alive - he looks good for 90!).

Justin pointed it out, too - but Willie Mays is a jerk. My dad was giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he was just 'out of it', but from all I've heard about Mays, he gave Josh Hamilton the cold shoulder. No wonder Barry Bonds is a mess - Willie Mays was his role model.

Speaking of 'out of it', I was wondering why Whitey Ford was not one of the guys throwing out a first pitch, then I thought back to the parade (which was horrible, but I watched anyway - Fox is such a joke...but that's a story for another day). When they asked him and Yogi Berra about the All Star Game Ford started at Yankee Stadium, he laughed and said he didn't remember - "How'd we do?", he asked. I thought he was kidding. Maybe he wasn't.

I thought conspicuous by his absence was Johnny Bench. Where was he? I can't really think of any other notable Hall of Famers that weren't there...but there probably were a few. And I know Paul Molitor finished his career mostly as a DH, but was that really fair to him to make him be the guy who represented designated hitters at the ceremony?

Finally, I was shocked by the George Steinbrenner appearance. He looked better than I expected...and it was much more touching than I expected as well.

THE GAME ITSELF: Billy Wagner still frightens the heck out of me. I didn't see him blow the save (truth be told, I didn't know until I saw a text from Justin this morning), but the fact that he only had to get one out and didn't in a big spot upsets me.

I only saw David Wright's first at-bat, in the eighth, where he struck out, but it's nice that he ended up getting four at-bats. And it's especially nice that he didn't play the field (he was DH), so he didn't have to beat himself up at all.

15 innings...I feel for the managers, who had to make some tough decisions. My newspaper didn't even have the final (it stopped at 13 innings in its game story), but The Wife forwarded me a quote from today's Boston Globe that said Clint Hurdle would have used David Wright as his pitcher had the game gone 16. I don't know if he was joking, or if he could only use Wright because he was the DH, but that probably would not have been a good thing for the Mets.

Finally, it was just a good All Star Game to watch (what I watched of it, anyway). It was truly the best of the best on display. I love baseball's All Star Game because of the uniforms - I love that the players wear their team's uniforms (just the home or away version, depending on the league), and I love the idea that on one night of the baseball season, all baseball fans are watching the same game. I think moreso than the post-season, where there might be bitterness, or there's competition from other sports, all eyes are on this one game. I think that's pretty cool.

ALL STAR QUICK THOUGHTS

I was going to just mail it in tonight, and save the comments I thought of while driving back home for tomorrow...but then I saw all the hard work the Southern Bureau put in over the weekend while I was gone and I figured I owed it to at least him to write something new.

HOME RUN DERBY: I don't love the Home Run Derby. It's just OK, it runs too long, it's too much Chris Berman, and it makes me think it would be better if it were like the old black and white one-on-one home run derbies the old ESPN Classic used to show about 15+ years ago. But every once in a while it redeems itself, and tonight it was in the person of Josh Hamilton.

Not only is his a great story, but he hit some bombs...and in record-setting fashion in that first round. And seeing the bombs land in places in Yankee Stadium where home runs rarely go was pretty cool.

One thing, though. So he has 95 RBI at the All Star break. His team has played 96 games. That's not like 95 through 81. I feel like this is really late for an All Star Game. Maybe it's been this late before, but let's not make such a big deal that a guy has this many RBI at this point of the season...or at least tell it like it is and say that it's through so many games. Same with Francisco Rodriguez's saves total - it's impressive, but it's not like this is the exact midpoint of the season.

MORE ON TEXAS: I heard a couple of interviews with Ian Kinsler today...for the most part the Texas Rangers seem like a likeable group of guys. This was the same team, remember, that won over Mets fans last month during the rain delay by sliding across the tarp in that game that ended up getting rained out...just seem like a group of guys that enjoy playing ball and being around one another. Just thought I'd mention that.

DAVID WRIGHT, ALL STAR: So obviously I'm thrilled that David Wright was named to the All Star team as an injury replacement. But up until I heard that on Friday, I was thinking that maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Wright wasn't part of the festivities. He has faded the past couple of years (although less so last year), particularly in 2006 after coming in second place in the home run derby. So I thought the rest would do him good. After seeing him named to the team, though, I think he'll be OK - there's no travel involved, with the game in New York, and he's not starting - he's just another player there. So that might prove to be beneficial. And from what I've read, he really wanted to be a part of the game at Yankee Stadium. So I think it'll end up being a good thing.

ANALYSIS THROUGH FOURTEEN WEEKS

MOST IMPRESSIVE: Brace yourself - I'm about to sing the praises of Jose Reyes. I mentioned this the other day - statistically speaking, he's the most important player on this team. I'll break it down further next week (SNY showed a stat about Reyes' numbers in Mets' wins and in losses, which I'll try to re-create), but for now I'll say this: Reyes got his average up over .300 in Monday night's game. He was hitting around .250 in mid-May. It's no coincidence that the Mets have gotten hot again as he has turned things around.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: New Life. I can't believe that the Mets aren't buried and gone...and I think neither can they. There's a different attitude around the team this weekend, as they're on the verge of taking three out of four from the Phillies - it's like some children's storybook. The Mets lost their confidence at some point in the past couple of years in Philadelphia. Well, the first weekend of July, 2008, they went back to Philadelphia, and lo and behold there it was - the Mets are back!

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: Well, up until today I was going to comment on Pedro Martinez*'s efforts, but he might have turned a corner with Monday's start. Maybe all he needed was some run support. I could have predicted he'd find his stuff tonight, though - because I chose not to start him in fantasy baseball.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I guess when all is said and done, I really wanted the Mets to have some representation in the All Star Game (read: more than just Billy Wagner). But like I wrote last week - they really didn't deserve it. And Wagner showed on Sunday why his selection is dicey. I find myself, though, voting like crazy for David Wright to make the team - I like to think that at the end of his career he will have a really long string of continuous All Star appearances. (Help him out - click here to vote for David Wright!)

MOST IMPRESSIVE: Just because I happened to catch it live on Sunday, Justin Upton hit a 484-foot bomb at Chase Field against the Padres. It landed in the seating area for the restaurant out behind left field. It deserves mention as "impressive".

BIGGEST SURPRISE: A step up for the Tampa Bay Rays. Instead of just being "impressive" this time around, they get the "surprise" label because they don't just lead their division anymore, they have the best record in all of baseball.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: The Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Have you seen this stat? The Orioles won the first Sunday of the season, and haven't won since, dropping thirteen straight on Sunday. I love that type of stuff, unless the Mets are involved.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I guess this merits mentioning here. Jeff Francoeur was recalled today, after being sent down to Double-A for three days. It was supposed to be a three-week stint. He complained, and was recalled, after tearing it up at the lower level. I think the Braves did the absolute right thing, and I think Francoeur should have dealt with it and come back after the All Star break ready to play if he was upset about it. I became a big believer in the 'sending the ineffective player' back down thing after the Blue Jays did it with Roy Halladay five or six years ago - he went all the way down to Single-A. I know it's different situations, because Halladay had less major league experience at that point than Francoeur, but he's been dominant since that send-down. Think it lit a fire under him? I do. (I think it was the right thing for the Tigers to do with Dontrelle Willis too.) Maybe the same thing will happen with Francoeur - but his whining might have messed up the process.

WRIGHT WATCH: It's been a while since I did an update while the Mets were actually playing, which means it's been a while since we've updated you on David Wright's march on the all-time doubles record (he had an RBI double tonight, along with a homer):

ALL-TIME LEADER: 792
WRIGHT'S SEASON TOTAL: 22
WRIGHT'S CAREER TOTAL: 163

(22 doubles? That man should be an All Star! Vote here.)

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO ME: Not to toot my own horn, but I turned 30 today. And the only reason I bring that up is because you may or may not remember, but I designed an MLB-type sleeve patch to celebrate the occasion. This is probably the last opportunity I'll have to show it, so I'm showing it again.

SEASON OVER

I know it's only the end of June. I know there's still plenty of time to turn it around.

I also know that I may be late in realizing this - but the Mets are not winners. They're going nowhere this season.

They have the wrong people making the decisions, they're making the wrong decisions, and the way they are currently constituted, they are going nowhere this season.

The exclamation point on this realization came Monday night when the Mets got their hats handed to them by the Seattle Mariners - the worst team in baseball - on their home field.

The Mariners coming to town should be an automatic sweep. They're 3,000 miles from home. They're awful. If anyone has gone through more turmoil than the Mets this year, it's the Mariners, who lost both their manager and general manager in a matter of weeks. If you're the Mets, you're thinking, "Jeez, we have it pretty bad, but here comes Seattle. Those poor Mariners. We're low, but they're lower." But then you have to go out there and murder them. Kick them while they're down.

What do the Mets do? With their best pitcher on the mound, they lose. Their best player makes a key error, extending the second inning, with the bases loaded, for the opposing pitcher. Who proceeds to hit a grand slam. And then that pitcher (the Mariners' best) gets hurt in the fifth inning, meaning the Mets have four innings to get to the bullpen of the worst team in baseball, and they can't score more than a run.

That's a disaster.

You want to fire people? You don't wait until the middle of the night after a win across the country. You wait until you lose two straight to the worst team in baseball on your own field. Then you start firing people. Break up the team....I'm sick of these guys.

ON TO JUNE

As we turn the calendar page, I'm going to throw some numbers at you.

The Mets finished with a flurry towards the end of May, keeping me interested into June, at least. And Pedro Martinez* comes back on Tuesday night, so as long as he doesn't get hurt again, that's exciting.

Here's the breakdown:

March: 1-0
April: 13-12
May: 13-15

That 13-15 might not look too impressive, but from where the Mets were a week ago, the overall 27-27 is a huge sigh of relief.
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You know things aren't going so great when I'm relying on an end-of-season prediction in the beginning of June, but I feel like after a hot start like he's had, there's no better time to bring this up. If the name Jay Bruce sounded familiar to you after his call-up by the Reds this week, maybe it's because I had him pegged early (from my season picks on March 23):

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: I really have no idea who the rookies are this year. Just looking randomly at a list of rookies in 2008 I'll go with this Jay Bruce of the Reds. He's an outfielder, and maybe he'll lead the resurgence I think they'll have.
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WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright had a key double Saturday, getting on base ahead of Carlos Beltran's 2-run game-tying homer in the eighth inning. That made me realize we haven't looked at his doubles in a bit:

ALL-TIME LEADER: 792
WRIGHT THIS SEASON: 17 (Berkman leads majors with 21)
WRIGHT CAREER: 158

Watch out, Tris Speaker.
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And finally, this could easily be a joke from one of my friends, but here's an e-mail I got after Saturday's posting about Gary Carter (I know, since I now know he's a regular reader, that he doesn't mind that I post the e-mail):

"J:

Enjoyed your take on Gary Carter, and appreciate him being your favorite player. I was just poking fun—hope you weren't too offended.

Best,

Jeff Pearlman
espn.com"

It looked legit, figured it was worth posting. And, for the record, Pearlman's piece was funny.