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.

Hot Potato

The game of hot potato continues. Can anyone remember the last time their was a serious division fight? 2006 was a runaway, and 2007 ended with a crazy game of hot potato, with both the Mets and the Phillies doing their best not be be stuck with the division in the end. The Phillies lost, or won depending on how you look at it, that game, but it appears we're playing a new round. I serously thought that by this point in August the Mets would be taking that potato like a football and heading into the end zone. Instead they floundered around in April, and whenever they've acquired the lead, they've made sure to play just bad enough to lose it again. Then the Phillies take a shot at playing badly, the Mets catch and pass them, and we repeat the process.

Sure, last night sucked. Not because of anything Philly is or did, but the same revolving story with the Mets. The bullpen giving it up in key situations, although Pedro could've been better, the inability to score after putting up runs early. This wasn't a 'great battle', it was an exercise in frustration. However, it was just one game, and even if it technically puts the Phillys back in first, there is still plenty of time to play. It's merely a two game series, and tonight is merely one more game. I wasn't surprised that the Mets, who were so hot, have faltered a little of the last five games, but it's time to make a serious play.

We've got Santana going, they've got Kendrick. A mismatch on paper, but then so was this division going into this year. Santana's pitched so brilliantly lately, you wonder if he's not just due for something more medicore. However, the Mets are also due to beat on Kendrick a little, and maybe they'll be able to mess up a now tired Phillies bullpen. Getting Kendrick out early serves that purpose as well. Keeping the bullpen puts pressure on their starters, and gives the Cubs a prime opportunity to beat on them this weekend. The Mets have an off day tomorrow, which allows them to throw everything they've got at the Phillies today and rest after.

It's an important game, but not a dire one by any stretch. Let's see the Mets get back to some decent baseball and put some solid distance between them and the Phillies. I'd like to see the September series as an opportunity to bury the Phillies, not a close battle.

The 2008 Holy Grail: The Grand Slam

Grand Slammed to the mat. The problem with the Mets this year is the 4-run home run. They haven’t been successful since they last hit one, which was 2006. Beltran struck out with the bases loaded to end the season and they haven’t made good on an opportunity yet. They’ve certainly given them up this year though, whether to American League pitchers who can barely tell one end of a bat from the other, or to anyone coming up against the bullpen trying to protect a one-run lead. We got rid of Jorge Sosa who was helping put games out of reach by giving up Grand Slams, but what we really needed was for someone to hit one.

This team needs to find that Grand Slam so they can get over this malaise and start winning games again. You’d have thought the Mets bringing up Grand Slam machine, Fernando Tatis, would help them shake off the disaster that was Chan Ho Park and 2007 and get their very own 2008 four run dinger.

It wasn’t a manager or coach change that the Mets needed. It isn’t a Zephyr call up or a mid-season trade. It wasn’t the off-season acquisition of an Ace. No, what this team needs is a grand slam, and when they get that sweet quadruple helping of runs batted in, this team will take off towards the ultimate prize, October and the World Series.

Aboard the Runaway Train

I don't buy the argument that the Mets are .500 over the last 162. It's a misleading statistic. This team has rarely played .500 baseball. It's played better and it's played worse. Talent wise we all know they should be better. Anyone that tells you otherwise is either disappointed, or a Mets hater.

The biggest, and main reason for their failures has been their inconsistant hitting. They often fail to do the situational stuff, like get guys in from third, or get a big hit with runners on. They're doing better at scratching and clawing and adding on than last year, but often they only do this, failing to have the big 5-6 run innings. Some of this can be attributed to lack of power, notably the decline of Carlos Delgado, who's actually hit the ball well lately. However, as Keith would tell you, they didn't always used to look for the damn 3-run home run. Could this be all the problem is? Rather then trying to simply bloop one or make solid contact up the middle, everyone's trying to drive the ball high and far? Could someone please tell the Mets that a ground ball often scores the run as easily as the sac-fly, so stop worrying about driving the ball or long home runs and just get a hit. Maybe more guys could score from second and go first to third if every hit didn't look like it could be caught causing them to have to hang back.

I'll even give the Padres two of these games. Wagner is going to have the occasional blip, so maybe you give them Sunday. And the offense isn't always going to be on, maybe an opposing pitcher actually pitches well, and maybe the Padres can take one of those other three. Still, the Mets should've been able to take those other two, and they have no excuses. They're backing themselves against a wall for no reason.

100 games left. You could project numbers, guess or estimate what everyone is going to do. And you'd be wrong 95% of the time. The Mets are capable of winning anywhere from 45-70 of the remaining games. The Phillies are capable of losing anywhere from 40-60 games. Looking at the big picture is what got them into trouble last year. I say they look at being in position to take the division back from the Phillies by their next meeting in early July. That is 22 games prior to a four game series. Probably 23 games if you factor in the Yankee makeup. There is no reason why they can't play one game better than the Phillies every week, and be in a competitive place by July.

Who knows where they're going to go, how they're going to play, or if the Phillies are going to keep this pace. It's up to the Mets, and the most infuriating part of it all is that we could be on a train ride headed for a wreck with no way to get off.

Oh, and could they go ahead and announce the Yankee makeup date already? If they'r really planning on doing it in two and a half weeks, it'd be nice to know. Especially if they make it at an iffy time like Friday afternoon.

Frustrations.

Frustrating.

Something just hasn't been right with this team on the West Coast. Maybe it's all the travel, which would be a poor excuse, or maybe it's something else. This failure to get runners in is the biggest frustration of them all. You'd almost excuse a small offensive blip, especially in San Diego, but the way they're getting the hits and the runners and just not getting them in sucks. Some of it's just poor execution, and some of it even seems luck and good defense, like Hairston's great catch on David Wright's hit the other night.

Time to turn the page, get energized by Pedro and take the final game of the series. Then use the off day to recover from jet lag, and beat the tar out of the Diamondbacks and Rangers.

Wise Moves at Shea

It's not 2007.

This team isn't as doomed as you think it is.

Putting aside the fans, the FAN and the media's ultimatum about a 5-2 homestand aside, and actually look at how they've been playing. The offense is rolling. They've gotten more than 10 hits in five of the last six games. They've scored 12, 12, 1, 8, 4 and 6 runs in the last six games, which is very respectable. The bullpen has actually pitched pretty well (Sosa isn't part of the bullpen btw), and the starters have been very good too (Figueroa isn't a starter). If you could look at this season, or this stretch of games, or even this last game, without also looking at 2007, you'd realize things aren't as dire as they seem.

The Mets have to beat up on bad teams was one of the teams today. Well let's look at the bad teams, specifically the ones in the division, because that's who they play the most. They are 5-2 against the Washington Nationals. Looks good. They are 2-1 against the Marlins. Limited sample, but the Marlins are playing well too. They are 2-3 against the Braves, which is the only team they're under .500 against in the division, and it's only one game, with only about 25% of the series. They are 4-2 against the Phillies, which is probably right where you'd want them to be. Overall that's 13-8 against the division, where the games matter the most.

The Mets made Wise moves today (I know, bad pun) in keeping Smith with the team and not bowing down to options or guaranteed money. Sosa, who was pitching like Mota, was designated for assignment, as was Figueroa who at least has a shot at coming back if he goes to New Orleans. Likely Sosa, baring a Mota type steroid shot to the arm, will continue to suck in the minors or get claimed and suck for someone else. Claudio Vargas will pitch for the Mets tomorrow, and I'll be in attendance. He did win 11 games last year, so hopefully he can find those wins here with the Mets this year. It's tough, but you'd still like to see the Mets go 4-1 against these mediocre teams. If they don't, winning three of four from the Braves afterwards would certainly make up for it.

Nothing is set in stone yet. You certainly don't think the Rays will still be in first place with the best record in the American League (And the best record in the majors if the Diamondbacks lose tonight) at the end of the year do you?

Ceetar's Ready To Watch the Mets Again

When the Mets start there game tonight after the break, Rickey Henderson will be the new hitting coach. I like Rickey, despite all his baggage. I thought Rick Down was a good coach, but I'm not going to be upset over the switch of someone I almost never see save for an occasionally spot with the SNY guys.

I think this can only be good. Rick Down certainly wasn't the reason the Mets hit last year, they hit because they are good players. There's always more Reyes can learn about base stealing from Rickey, and I'm sure so can Beltran and Wright. It's just a shame Gomez is injured and will have to wait for those lessons. Rickey is also a superb hitter, and at the very least I'm sure he can lend some insight to some of the struggling bats.

I think the Mets are going to start hitting again anyway, but this move will basically give Rickey the credit. In general the Mets have had a rather lackluster first half. It had it's moments, but it certainly wasn't great. Now is the time to push towards the playoffs, get some distance in the division, rediscover that offensive stroke and fine tune the team. Pedro looks like he'll be back, Alou supposedly will be back. Endy will be back. Maybe the Mets make some changes here and there, bench and bullpen and get better. They're only looking at a pace to win about 91 games, but I think they'll have a good enough second half to win at least 95.

Lastings Milledge will by all accounts be back with the Mets, hopefully over Ledee, tonight. It's been almost a year since he's had any real major league experience, and I expect that this time he'll have more success. I kind of like the guy, he's got some personality and excitement.

The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are fun in their own ways, but I'm looking forward to the Mets again tonight. I'll be at Shea for my 18^th and 19^th baseball games of the season tomorrow and Saturday for Endy Chavez bobble head night and Ralph Kiner night.

The City of Brotherly Love

We arrived in Philly around noon, stopped at my friend's condo, had some lunch, and then took the transit system, SEPTA, to the ballpark. We arrived in the top of the first, and it was weird that we were actually missing the Mets at bat. This was my first time seeing the Mets away from home, and they made me proud. The first game featured probably 30% Mets fans, so we weren't alone. The night game was sold out for fireworks, so there were less Mets fans, but we still managed to get a “Jose, Jose” chant going for a bit before we were booed. Oddly, I only heard one “Let's go Phillies” chant the entire day. I wasn't hassled much either. Some girls teased us a little on the train, and we got cursed at a couple of times throughout the day, but nothing major. We were in our seats in time to see the Phillies complaining about El Duque, and could tell that he was getting angry at them. Six innings later, with the Mets out to a nice lead, he had his revenge.

The Mets bats surely woke up, in both games. The second game especially, where the Mets stranded tons of runners on base, some from some nice plays by Michael Bourn in right field. They got some hits, they got some home runs, they stole some bases, and they got some hits with runners in scoring position and two outs. The Mets have won seven of eight, put the Phillies six losses back, and are again on a roll.

The bullpen make it a little difficult in the first game, and then we hurried over to Chickie's and Petes, which is a local sports bar. They have yummy crab fries, which I, and apparently MetsGrrl and now Metsradamus, highly recommend. We also had a tower of beer, which is just like it sounds. It's two and a half pitcher's of beer in a tall tower with a tap on the bottom to serve yourself that sits on the table. We also had some wings, paid, and headed back to Citizen's Bank Ballpark.

Back at the stadium I made sure to get a cheesesteak, and I had a Phillies hat full of chocolate ice cream, that I didn't smash like the Fanatic smashed a Mets cap on the field during the game. The Mets loaded the bases in the first inning, but didn't score. That was only the start though, Beltran blasted two runs, and the Mets chased Cole Hamels early. Not before he threw behind Reyes, leading to a wild pitch and a run. Reyes had an interesting day, he was angered by Hamels, and in the first game he was called out stealing second on what was clearly a bad call. He even stood around the base, still reluctant to actually leave the base that was rightfully his. Willie came out to argue briefly, but to no avail. Wagner was summoned after Maine gave up a double to start the 9th, even though it wasn't a save. Wagner sadly allowed that run to score, but in a measure of revenge for his only blown save of the year, he struck out Pat Burrell to end the game.

David Wright says he will be upset of John Maine is not on the All-Star team. Only Brad Penny has more wins than him at 10, and he's fourth in the league in ERA at 2.74. At what basically is his halfway point, he has 84 strikeouts in 102 innings. To compare, Cole Hamels has the same 9-4 record as Maine, with an ERA approaching four. To think that Maine was considered one of the Mets question marks before the season, is laughable.

I do enjoy the stadium down there, but I think it's nothing that special. It's a nice modern park, but nothing superb. The ball travels nicely there, and all the sight-lines are good. The Mets always hit well there, and they have much better food than at Shea. Still, when I go back to Shea later this month, I'm sure I'll have that 'It is good to be home' feeling.

Off We Go To Philadelphia

I'm excited about my impending trip to Philadelphia tomorrow for both games of the doubleheader. Maybe after watching the Mets' fireworks, I'll watch the ones provided by Philadelphia after the game. It will be my first time ever seeing the Mets on the road. Mike Pelfrey hasn't looked great in the majors, but maybe he figures it out tomorrow, and the Mets blast enough to win. John Maine continues his consistency tomorrow, and I expect the Mets can win that game too. I know their offense isn't quite there, but they are near the top of the league in batting average, even after the last three days. Obviously they need to get more big hits, and I think they will. I also think some 370 foot fly outs might become 385 foot home runs in Citizens Bank Ballpark.

I've only had one cheesesteak in my life, and it was a generic one at Shea earlier this year. I have yet to find that booth on the field level again after either. I plan to have a nice delicious one down there in Philadelphia, while I enjoy the games. I expect some heckling, but I'll be ready. I'm probably going to wear my Beltran shirt, because it's one of the two shirts I have that easily proclaims Mets on both the front and back. Which is surprising as I have roughly 10 different Mets shirts. It's probably going to be too hot to wear my jersey, so I'm leaving it at home. Our seats for the first game are in the upper terrace section, behind home plate. The nightcap seats are out in left field, in I believe the second area. I expect to have a blast, and hopefully not have to punch anybody wearing a Rollins shirt.

A quick note on tonight's game. I think it's a measure of redemption for Carlos Beltran to express that he can learn from past mistakes, and become a better player. The Mets need to hit the ball hard, in preparation for the weekend. I picked up Orlando Hernandez in my fantasy league, so I'm hoping it pays off. Are last view of last year was a curveball from Wainwright, and I think it's only fitting that the last thing Wainwright sees tonight is a Carlos Beltran home run.