STILL LOSING...

My outlook is a little rosier today, despite the Mets losing again to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Perhaps because I made it through the day without crashing a car into anything. Perhaps because another issue we had on Tuesday at the House sponsored by DirecTV was resolved. I forgot to mention it on in Tuesday's posting, but the hot water was out. That was fixed early Wednesday. Perhaps it's because I found the old "Umlauts" standings from 1999 between johnnymets, the Southern Bureau, and Justin in NYC.

"Umlauts" was a game whereby you had to throw a CD (usually played with the "Umlauts" CD, so called because it was only identified by a U with umlauts over it) onto a shelf across a hallway. The shelf was divided up into different squares and rectangles, and you earned more points for getting the "Umlaut" to settle into the smaller areas. It was tougher than it sounds, but by the end of the year, we were experts. The game took place at Boston University's radio station, WTBU. The creation of this game, sadly, may have been among our greater accomplishments during our college years. At least I know it was for me. So, since the parents are cleaning out their house during a renovation, all my old stuff is popping up...and the "Umlauts" standings were a recent find. Very exciting. For the record, Justin finished in first place in the standings.

I think the preceding two paragraphs illustrate the point I was going to make tonight. I've just spent two paragraphs talking about a game I made up 8 years ago...I'm afraid that I'm no longer the true blue Mets fan I've always been. Or...I ask the question, what makes a true blue fan? I used to think I was going to lose my status as "#1 Mets Fan in the World" if I missed one pitch during the course of a game, even if it was the late innings of a blowout. Now I'm lucky if I can stay awake past the seventh inning stretch...let alone the first pitch of a west coast game. Worse still, I might not even care when I see the score in the morning whether the Mets won or lost. What does that say about me?

I've become someone who rationalizes losses - if the Mets lose to the Phillies and Cole Hamels is pitching, for example, I say, "Well, if they were going to lose, at least it's to someone on my fantasy team." I didn't even realize until this morning that the rest of the National League East is right back on the Mets' tails because they've won just one game so far this month (although that may serve more as a commentary on my common sense than anything else). And it didn't make me run down to the computer to issue a call to arms on the blog.

I think steroids has a lot to do with this. I think slowly I'm separating myself from what I've been very close to, so that I'm not as disappointed as I might have been when names I've convinced myself were not involved get released as being involved in the scandal. I know fatherhood has been a major part of this, because I look forward to seeing my daughter every day far more than David Wright or Jose Reyes. But her bedtime is 7pm, just in time for the east coast games, and if something else comes up, I'm not as disappointed about missing the game as I once was.

So I'm having a fan identity crisis. Maybe all I need is the Mets to come back East, play at reasonable times, and get back to playing exciting, winning baseball. Maybe that's this weekend when they're playing the Yankees.

All that said, though, it only makes me more confident that the Mets are going to win it all this year. I wanted this blog to be a running record of the season - with Players of the Game following every game, all year long. I've lost that option, because I've missed so many postings. I missed major events of the season such as the emergence of Carlos Gomez, the surprise contributions of Jorge Sosa, and the Endy Chavez injury. So because of that, based on the way things work out for me, this will be the year the Mets win it, and I will only have a partial history recorded. It will have to suffice, but it could have been much more. Does that make me less of a fan? I don't know. I do know that the johnnymets of a year or two ago would have said that it certainly does.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: Thanks to everyone who commented on the return posting from Tuesday. The Sister even weighed in! FYI, the 'system' she refers to in her comment is her so-called 'system' for the "New Baseball Pool". I'm convinced she picks a random team each week - she claims to have a 'system'. I know people enjoy leaving comments on the site, but also don't forget that you can e-mail at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com.

AT LEAST HIS NAME'S NOT DICK: I keep forgetting to mention this, but every so often, the guys in the SNY booth will bring up a certain player from the Chicago Cubs who played in the late 70's, whose name happens to be Pete LaCock. Usually Keith Hernandez instigates it. But they'll allude to him, call him Pete or something, but never mention his full name. This has been happening for about a year, about once every other month...not very often. Last week, they did it again, and Gary Cohen, in what I'm guessing was coming through on an off-air bet that he couldn't say the name and keep it together, came right out and said, in response to Keith's hint at the player, "You're talking about Pete LaCock, right?" Well, they all lost it. And Hernandez goes, "Sorry folks."

I don't know what to make of this. First of all, I laugh every time they hint at his name...it makes me think of my old internship (the same internship for Southern Bureau and Justin in NYC), where the executive producer had LaCock's baseball card prominently posted in the office. But I also cringe, because Hernandez probably got Cohen in trouble for the whole thing. I like to think that Cohen is a little more professional than he gets when Hernandez is around. Again, I'm going to apologize for devaluing Ron Darling when he first came to SNY from Washington. He has been one of the best analysts I've ever seen/heard. I can take or leave Hernandez these days.

BEAT THE STREAK: I'm still playing, haven't really threatened Joe DiMaggio. I'll post this again when I get past 8 games, maybe.

WORKING OVERTIME

Giants 7, Mets 6 12 innings (NYM: 33-22, SF: 29-27)

For the second straight game, and third time in four games, the Mets went to extra innings. It was the tenth time this year the Mets have played an extra-innings game (by my count), and I think now the Mets are 6-4 in extra innings games (again, just my count). This is going to cause some wear and tear on the bullpen - and I think the Mets are going to start paying for it this week. Back-to-back extra innings games, and now a trip out west to play Los Angeles, Arizona, and then back east at Philadelphia. I'm not expecting the best road trip....but maybe the Mets will show how good they are and come away with a winning record. (This is the last tough road trip the Mets have this year - at least as far as mileage goes.)

As for the game, this was an exciting one (which I didn't get to see - more on that later). David Wright hit two homers - he's now up to 10 on the year, and 51 career, and continues to swing a hot bat. (He's now hitting .330..and getting much national recognition. Apparently this week 'The Sporting News' is comparing him to A-Rod.)

The Mets blew a lead in this game, but also came back a couple of times. The most dramatic was after the Giants took a 2-run lead in the 10th inning, then brought Armando Benitez in to close it out. Jose Valentin homered with one out, to make it 6-5, then with two outs, Lastings Milledge hit his first career homer, tying the game. (Milledge was 3-for-4, with 3 RBI, raising his major league average to .267.) Pedro Feliciano got tagged with the loss by giving up the final go-ahead run in the 12th (althoug Heath Bell gave up the hit that scored the run - Bell has been pitching very well since his call-up to replace Jorge Julio out of the bullpen. Not too many of the bullpen guys pitched well on Sunday.)

A rough series for the Mets against the Giants. They lost the series-opener (the first game of the doubleheader), which should have been a warning - the Mets hadn't lost the first game of a home series all season. (They had won 10 straight this year, 13 straight overall. I hate seeing streaks like that end.) Now it's off to the West Coast - let's hope for good things.

MEDIA-RELATED NEWS: First of all, I was wondering why Howie Rose was doing the Mets' game on SNY Saturday (the second game of the doubleheader) - I thought Gary Cohen just had some scheduled time off. But apparently Cohen was taken away from the stadium before the game with appendicitis. I'm not sure how long he'll be out for...but I heard a bit of the Mets' game on the radio on Sunday and Ed Coleman was filling in for Howie Rose...so I guess my services won't be needed. How about two Mets figures with appendicitis at the same time, though? (Xavier Nady and now Gary Cohen.)

Secondly, I couldn't watch the Mets on Sunday, and I can't figure out why. The programming guide on DirecTV had the Mets-Giants game on channel 735, and supposedly it was on Fox Sports Bay Area. But the game wasn't coming on that channel. I was mad...but sadly, being the way that I am, I'll never complain to DirecTV, and I'll never figure out why the game wasn't on. Oh well. I did get a look at ESPN.com's much-improved GameCast.

MONTH OF MAY: I forgot to post this Friday - but since the month of May is over, it's time for the monthly record. The Mets were 16-12 in May - following up their 16-8 April. If the Mets win 16 games a month, they'll do OK this season. (That would be about 112 wins, to put that in perspective...so 15 more to go in June!)

THE KID'S KIDS: The Mets are headed in the right direction again. They beat Tampa 5-1 on Sunday (for the third straight time), and are back to a game-and-a-half lead over Brevard County. That's some good managing by Hall of Famer Gary Carter.

FANTASY UPDATE: I'm back on the outs with this game. The What If Mets dropped all three games Sunday, and are back to .500. I have three coming up on Monday now with the Giants. I'm telling you - I don't know what to do. I'm still just two games back of the wild card, so there's some hope...but I'm 11 behind the division-leading phillies. Also, I filled out a mid-season survey that the game asks you to fill out, and I was pretty critical. I hope that's not why I'm suddenly on a losing streak.

BEAT THE STREAK: David Wright was my pick on Sunday, and he got me up to a five-game streak. I'm taking Carl Crawford on Monday, hopefully we can get this one up into double digits and beyond.

PHILADELPHIA PHOLLIES

Mets 13, Phillies 4 (NYM: 22-11, PHI: 18-15)

The Mets bounced back against Philadelphia Wednesday night in just about the best way they could have. They ended Tuesday night's heartbreaker with the Phillies scoring on a bad error. They began Wednesday night's laugher with a couple of runs off Phillies' errors...and then poured it on. They showed what they're made of - it was a great win. The Mets were the team we've seen all year....and the Phillies were the team they've been the past few years. All you need to see from this game is this:



What's not seen there is Tom Glavine's pitching line - 7 innings, 3 ER, 4 hits, 4 K's. The Mets need a night like that from Steve Trachsel on Thursday.

Jose Lima is going Friday in Milwaukee, Jeremi Gonzalez Saturday. Interesting nugget from Wednesday night's telecast - Lima is 10-0 in his career versus the Brewers.

BELL-Y LAUGH: Heath Bell is back with the team, having been called up when Bartolome Fortunato was sent down this week. Gary Cohen told a funny story about Bell when he got up to warm up Wednesday night. Bell was commenting on how close the fans are to the visitors' bullpen in Philadelphia, and he says he's the perfect target for them. He says (and I'm paraphrasing) - "They can make fun of my first name. They can make fun of my last name. I wear the high socks, they can make fun of that. And I look fat in the uniform."

THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie completed that 13-7 win over Fort Myers Tuesday night, and started a 4-game series at Sarasota on Wednesday. Three runs in the seventh, another in the eighth, and the Mets notched a 6-3 win over the Reds. E. Alfonzo picked up the save, pitching 3 nnings...I wonder if he's related to the other Alfonzo's (Edgar and Edgardo) the Mets have had in their system. The St. Lucie Mets have opened up a 3-game lead in their division, with a 21-11 record.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What if Mets won the overnight game, but that was the high point of the day. Looking for the 4-game sweep, the Mets got drilled by the Braves, 22-7. Then they lost game one to the Rangers, 10-5. I can't figure it out. My pitchers just don't respond sometimes. I do know I'll never pitch Jerry Koosman against Atlanta again. One more game against the Rangers, then I play the Indians.

BEAT THE STREAK: Conor Jackson got me a hit in his first at-bat (I like when they get it out of the way early), so it's up to a 6-gamer. I really like the way Carlos Beltran* is swinging the bat right now, so I'm taking him to make it 7.

Today, November 9th, might just live on in my memory as one of the greatest days in Mets fan history. Gary Cohen, voice of the Mets on WFAN radio (and Number 2 man overall next to Bob Murphy for about 15 years prior to becoming #1), will take over as the play-by-play man on Mets telecasts on the Mets' new television network beginning next season. Ted Robinson, to coin one of Cohen's calls, "IS OUTTA HERE!" The Mets wanted someone who was exclusive to the Mets as their voice on the new network, and Ted Robinson (for some reason) is in high demand, what with all the tennis, college football, and other sports he covers elsewhere for other companies. The Mets made a great move. I wonder if Howie Rose will take over the number one spot on the radio, with Ed Coleman moving from pre-and-post-game coverage to the booth. That would be OK...but the radio won't be the same without Cohen. I'll live with listening to others on car rides to NYC, though, having Cohen for the majority of the games when I watch on TV. (There's still no word on a color commentator, but the Mets would be very wise to snatch up Keith Hernandez, who has done fabulous work in a limited role with the Mets until now. I don't mind seeing the harmless but dopey Fran Healy take a hike. And the Mets have to keep Ralph Kiner on in some capacity.)

What will a baseball season be without me complaining about the broadcasters? I can't wait...and there will actually be good baseball to watch!

A Hot Stove Update: Word out of the meetings in California is that the Mets are talking to the Devil Rays about a deal that would get them Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez. The Mets would have to give up some combination of Aaron Heilman, Yesmiro Petit, and others. Both Baez and Huff are entering the final years of their contracts. That would be OK, because Huff would fill a need opposite Mike Jacobs at first base, but I think the Mets would be better off not dealing Heilman. Too many times they've gotten rid of someone who's gone on to star with another team, and I think this might happen with him. He found his niche last year, and I would love to see him become their closer, a la Jason Isringhausen with Oakland. (Unsuccessful young starter, turned successful closer.) Baez has Armando Benitez written all over him - he just hasn't shown he can shut the door in key situations.

I should note here that it doesn't look like Braden Looper will be brought back. Also, Doug Mientkiewicz will not come back. The Mets have brought back Steve Trachsel.

One more thing - apparently, even though he says he doesn't want to come to the Mets, the Mets are still interested in working out a deal for Manny Ramirez (he has veto power). The Mets think if the Angels get Paul Konerko, they won't be interested in Ramirez (nor could they afford him), and they might be able to get back in the picture. Then they would be able to deal Baez and/or Huff to Boston as part of the Ramirez deal. This is BAD news. The best news to come out of Boston in 20 years was that Manny didn't want to go to the Mets. Leave it be.

I owe my fans a final update on the events they followed this whole (second half) of the baseball season.

ELTRAN*'S: The final numbers on Carlos Beltran*'s second half, needless to say, were disappointing. 266 AB, 71 hits - .267 AVG. 45 HR, 6 HR (he hit 8 in the previous postseason!!! - this is the second half of an entire season!!), 34 RBI. 13 SB. It better be a good year next year. For those of you dying to know, over the full season, Beltran* was:
.266, 16 HR, 78 RBI, 83 Runs, 17 SB. Whoopee.

WRIGHT WATCH: It's never too late to run a Wright Watch. David Wright finished the season with 42 doubles, 2 shy of the club record. A shame. But he'll re-write (re-WRIGHT?) the Mets' record books before he's done. FYI - he dwarfed Beltran*'s numbers, catching fire over the final weeks of the season. Here's Wright's final numbers:
.306, 27 HR, 102 RBI, 99 Runs, 17 SB. That's up there in "Greatest Mets seasons ever" territory.

Speaking of which, Cliff Floyd, after that torrid start, slowed waaay down...finishing with 34 HR and 98 RBI and a .273 AVG.

I'll see if I can do periodic Hot Stove Updates throughout the off-season.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Mets 3, Nationals 2, 11 innings (NYM: 43-42, 8 GB; WAS: 51-34)

The Mets are on their way. They did exactly what they needed to do this week, taking three out of four games from the Nationals, in Washington, bouncing back nicely from the disappointing weekend against Florida. The only thing better would have been a Mets sweep - and that darn near happened. The Mets also got help from Pittsburgh, who beat Philadelphia on Thursday, dropping the Phillies to .500 and into last place in the NL East. (Not that I'm afraid of Philadelphia...as a matter of fact, the Phillies don't scare me.)

But let's get back to Washington. The Mets took an early 1-0 lead, after THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, walked to lead off the game (by Gary Cohen's unofficial count on the radio, it was only the second time this has happened all season), stole second, took third on a Mike Cameron sacrifice bunt, and then scored on a Carlos Beltran groundout. Talk about manufacturing a run! Jose Vidro gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead in the 3rd with a 2-run double, but the Mets tied it later on a Mike Piazza RBI double. Piazza was swinging the bat well Thursday - the Mets need more of that.

So the game stayed tied for a while. Kris Benson pitched very well - getting himself out of a couple of jams, most notably, with the bases loaded in the fifth, getting Carlos Baerga to ground back to him to end the inning. Roberto Hernandez pitched the eighth, scoreless. Heath Bell did a great job in the 9th and 10th, and ended up getting the win. Braden Looper was once again VERY good in the bottom of the 11th - dare I say I am starting to gain confidence in him? This was a big series, and he picked up three big saves.

If you missed the top of the 11th, you'd better turn on ESPNEWS and check out the highlight. Crazy. With Carlos Beltran* on second and Cliff Floyd on first, and one out, Mike Piazza lifts a pop-up just out of the reach of Jose Vidro beyond second. It rolls to Jose Guillen, who barehands it, guns it home, and just misses Beltran* at home with the go-ahead run. The ball bounces in front of catcher Brian Schneider, but he picks it up, and nails Piazza, who tried to take second on the throw home. Piazza's out, but that's not all. Shortstop Jamey Carroll then catches Cliff Floyd coming home for the third out of the inning. With the Mets taking the lead, and then ending the inning on the same play, Looper had no time to get warm, so Heath Bell comes back out to take his warmups, and then after the warmups, Randolph subbed in Looper. Frank Robinson didn't like it - he argued...but I'm sure he would have done the same thing.

I like the fact that the Mets were aggressive on the bases in the top of the 11th - I wouldn't call any of those plays a bad baserunning play (much easier for me to say since the Mets won the game). But the Mets also won Wednesday night...in spite of some horrid baserunning. The Mets should have had a HUGE fifth inning (I think it was the fifth), but Ramon Castro got caught off first base after he had a big RBI hit, and then Marlon Anderson (who has otherwise been friggin' brilliant) got doubled off second base on a fly ball to right field. Those were bad baserunning mistakes - the Thursday baserunning were aggressive, at least. Although I will say Mike Piazza shouldn't be trying for any extra bases ever. He's lost more than a step the past couple of years - he is S-L-O-----W.

Marlon Anderson, it should be noted, finished this series 8-14. I believe that computes to somewhere in the .550 range. And he looks better being a fake first baseman than Jose Offerman ever will.

Pedro Martinez* will not be going to the All Star Game, claiming short rest (he's starting on Sunday). Whatever. Probably better for the Mets season...I agree with Peter Gammons, who said that Pedro*'s loyalty is to the Mets, and he's got to stay healthy. My only problem with it is that this is Pedro*...doing what he wants to do. He doesn't want to go to the All Star Game, so he doesn't go.

The Pedro thing probably breaks Dave from Brighton's heart - he wanted to see Pedro* face his former Red Sox teammates. Speaking of Dave - here's an e-mail:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

The series with the Nationals and a comment by Fox Saturday broadcaster Sean McDonough (Boston misses you Sean, if you're reading) prompted this question.

The Nationals have scored 340 runs, fewest in the NL. They have allowed 340. The Mets have scored 364 runs. They have allowed 358.

The Nationals are even, but 51-32. The Mets are +6 but 41-42. What gives?

Signed,Dave in Brighton"

First of all, hate to call you out in front of both of my readers, but it was ESPN Holiday Baseball Special broadcaster Sean McDonough (he was doing the Fourth of July game) who brought this up. (Who, incidentally, was way off his game on Monday doing the Mets game - probably because of the lack of air conditioning in his booth. I'll give him the benefit of that doubt - because he's better than he was Monday. Just saying. Sorry if I offended you, Sean - in case you're reading this.) But you're right - it's mind-boggling that number. Bill James and Rob Neyer, I'm sure, have addressed this abnormality, and if they haven't, they should. And if I've learned anything from those sabermetric types, it's that this thing will even itself out...and if for no other reason, that's why I believe the Nationals will soon be coming back to the rest of the pack.

Another note about the Nationals - the Mets 3-2 win ends a streak of about 12 consecutive wins in one-run games by the Nats. The Mets took away a lot of the Nationals' mystique this week.

And finally, I know I take a lot of shots at broadcasters on this site - I just want to show I'm not 100% anti-all-broadcasters. Howie Rose and Gary Cohen sure do paint a picture when you listen to them. Much better than any other team's broadcasters that I've listened to on the radio for extended periods of time...they make car rides to New York on days when the Mets have day games awesome. It's like I'm watching the game.

The Mets need to take at least two out of three in Pittsburgh - a sweep would be 100 times better. johnnymets.blogspot.com will be there. Approximate arrival time in Pittsburgh - 5-ish. sisterofjohnnymets.blogspot.com wants to go to a certain restaurant she heard about in Pittsburgh - this might be happening Friday night, then I'll watch Friday's game. Saturday is the game we'll be in attendance. Sunday is a lot of driving - hope to be back in New York before Sunday's game is over...then it's the long ride back to the House sponsored by DirecTV. Don't expect a posting on Sunday night. I've been working on a couple of stories for the All-Star break - maybe instead of writing about the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, I'll write about PNC Park. I am declaring it my favorite before even going (Houston's park is my former favorite), just because I love those bridges over the center field wall.

THE KID'S KIDS: This is not a typo - the Gulf Coast Mets beat the Gulf Coast Nationals 20-6. Record is now 9-3. Boy can Hall of Famer Gary Carter manage. For my 16th birthday, Gary Carter sent me an autographed picture (somehow my mother arranged it.) For my 27th, he gets me a 20-6 win. Nice job, Gary. But a 21-6 win would have totaled my age....still, I appreciate the effort. Incidentally, it looks like the Mets have the Nationals' number this year on all levels of baseball.