Shealogy

It's over. Shea Stadium is officially demolished. We all want to equate the stadium to an old friend, maybe one that had seen better days, one that would be sorely missed. To me, the most chilling moment was that last game, that last walk out. All the pictures, all the drive-bys, all the reports since then have felt empty because without baseball Shea was just a building.

Shea Stadium died five months ago. That's when it contracted that terminal illness that we all knew would take her life within months. Yesterday it finally happened; Shea Stadium took it's last breath. To me, it was a relief. Finally she'd been put out of her misery, having her innards photographed and displayed for everyone to see, her illness discussed across the world.

I ask that you remember her as she was in her glory days, and not in her sickness. Don't remember the final tumble of those ramps, or the demolition of the scoreboard. Remember the fans rushing the field after that first championship, even if you weren't there. Remember Ventura's Grand Single, Pratt's home run, the glove that never came down, Seaver, Strawberry, That amazing June comeback against the Braves in the 8^th, or whatever your favorite moments were.

She's in a better place now, in our minds, on our blogs, on our highlight reels. Take a month, or 53 days, to mourn. A new friend waits on the horizon. One you don't quite know yet, one you've only exchanged the briefest of words with. You may be skeptical you can ever get along, or that you'll ever love again, but you will. It has tough foundations to fill, but rumor is it's up to the task.

Still Cheating

The baseball players that decided to cheat, especially the ones that cheated this century, are unlikely to have stopped cheating because of testing. In past decades these things were almost universally, if secretly, accepted in baseball so It's harder to be annoyed at any one guy. Everyone was cheating to get that edge. But as Balco happened, as we started to talk about making baseball clean, many people continued to cheat. The guys that have been caught, A-Rod among them, aren't likely to have stopped because of the 2004 testing policy, especially considering how weak the original penalty was. More likely these guys, used to taking something undetectable that gave them a boost, simply switched to something else undetectable. Many of them are wealthy and have access to many trainers and resources that can provide these things. So even when A-Rod tries to tell us, as guys like Pettite have told us in the past, that it was a momentary mistake, they only did it once, they're clean now, it's hard for me to believe. I'm sure most of them switched to HGH or something else that is undetectable in today's drug tests.

New site

New link. see above.

http://optimisticmetsfan.ceetar.com

I totally butchered the template for the blog in doing this, so I'll have to mess with that.

I also somehow lost part of my blog list..I don't know If I saved that anywhere. If I missed/lost your blog, it wasn't intentional. (except in one case) Contact me and I'll add it back.

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon on Optimistic Mets Fan:

I've got a fair selection of topics slated once Spring Training starts and we can start to smell Opening Day:

My yearly baseball wagers.

My fantasy teams, and what types of leagues I'm going to join. Hopefully a nice rotisserie league.

The Second Annual Letters to the NL East where I address all five teams in the division, and the Yankees.

Thoughts and observations on my first ever trip to Spring Training. I'm going to see Three Mets Games, against the Marlins, Nats, and Tigers, as well as the Twins versus the Pirates.

While I'm down in Florida, I'm going to be catching a game of the World Baseball Classic.

And that's just some of the thrilling prose I'll have for you over the next two months or so..before we can get down to some serious April baseball.

Fantasy Baseball

I've just started reading Fantasyland. If you don't know, it's about about Wall Street Journal Writer Sam Walker's entrance into one of the most prestigious rotisserie fantasy baseball leagues. Even thought I'm not a stathead, and cringe at the idea of spending hours and hours poring over minute details about minor leagues, I'm finding the book entertaining.

So entertaining in fact, that I want to join a rotisserie league this year. Usually I play in 3-6 different free Yahoo leagues, as well as a salary cap league on Sporting News. That one isn't quite rotisserie though, because anybody can buy the same players. I'm researching the 'better' rotisserie leagues out there to try to find one to join, but suggestions are always welcome.

We Don't Need More Offense

There seems to be a desperate need among some fans for the Mets to upgrade their offense. Some people are overly freaked out to the point (not that it takes much for some) of screaming and yelling about the Wilpons and/or Minaya and the inevitable 'please spend like the Yankees' pleas.

They're off-target. The offense we have is fine. The one area I'd like to see improved is the bench, and this isn't something you sign Manny Ramirez for. I'd be reluctant to sign an outfielder if it limits Murphy's playing time, and I think Castillo is going to have a more than acceptable year. Even without those two positions, which was basically where the Mets were last year, they scored the second most runs in the National League (ahead of Philadelphia). Some of it was bad situational stuff, which you have to pin on both HoJo, and Manuel's lineup and pinch hitting selections. Hopefully both of these get better, but one of the things that definitely will help is the better bullpen. For two years now, repeated blown saves have overshadowed the offense. The Mets weren't flat in 2007, the bullpen just gave back the lead too often. The Mets weren't unable to get a big hit in 2008, the big hits just were just obscured by the bullpen giving the lead back, or making the game so out of reach that the big hit that was needed was a 6-run home run.

The Mets will seem to hit better in 2009 even if the lineup stays the same. The Mets will be more capable of winning that 3-2 game, and suddenly their offense will be plenty.

Wheels Coming Off

J.C. Romero suspended

The magic that culminated in a 2008 Phillies championship is starting to crumble.  It was an odd culmination of player resurgence, finding the hot relievers, and just plain luck that got the Phillies to where they were.   Maybe this is the first sign that the magic was a one year thing, and they'll soon be back in third place where they belong.