By: Josh Cohen

Shea Stadium was built to house the Mets when the franchise started, and now the Mets are looking to have a fresh start in Citi Field.  Some people may have hated Shea, but it was one of my favorite places to watch a game.  There were no bad seats in the entire place and it had the feel of a baseball stadium.  The smell of popcorn, beer, sweat, tears, and all of the other great aspects of baseball.  There was a certain charisma about Shea that few stadiums in the majors share.  Now the Mets join the ranks of the Phillies, Cardinals, Padres and many other teams that have recently replaced the stadiums that they called home for so many years.  If you are a Mets fan you have seen all the comparisons already, all the measurements, the extra ammenities (money makers), the size of the seats, distance from the field and of course the lovely new price you get to pay to see “America’s Pasttime”. 

Shea Stadium was named after a man that fought with all of his might to bring a National League team back to the people of NY.  He wanted to get the stadium for the people that lost their teams growing up.  For the diehard anti-yankee fans and I personally would like to thank him for that.  Now we have Citi Field, brought to you by big business.  It is estimated that 13,000 people working for CitiGroup will lose their job because of the naming rights.  Now tell me how ridiculous that really is.  Just so a big business can write their name in huge letters on the side of a building 13,000 families will be without that income.  The trickle down effect will make it even worse and this is going to help lead to the long term demise of our economy.  Why not just go back, and give it to William Shea again?  Why let the man who helped make sure we had this team in Queens go forgotten?  No rotunda, not the grass itself, no high class seating named after him, and we all know the reason.  He isn’t paying any money so who cares!!!  If this is America’s past time, let’s let it be that.  Let’s fight to get the name back to what we all know and love.  Give me Shea all the time, forget this debacle corporate naming process that changes over and over.  Remember who brought us here and helped this growth into the team we love.

jewcer2k5 Mets, Shea Stadium, Uncategorized Citi Field, Mets, Shea, Shea Stadium

By: Josh Cohen

This is the start of what will become a Thursday ritual.  I will spotlight one Mets MLB player every Thursday starting today.  How can I not start this ritual without the biggest offseason acquisition the Mets made this season?  I am very close to saying the most vital acquisition we have made this decade and will explain as we go on.  

K-rod comes to us from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (still the most absurd name in all of sports).  Last year as we all know he set a major league record with 62 saves, and our management went out and did the right thing by getting him.  On the minus side, he pitched in 76 games and only threw 68 1/3 innings.  He is NOT the stop gag closer that will come in in the 8th inning, stop a rally and come back in the 9th and end it.  In that tiny inning count, he still K’s a ton of people, more than 1 per IP which is what you want from a closer, but as I’ve been reminded by some friends, he walks a lot of people (more than Billy Wagner).  Us Mets fans are gonna be tough on him, give him a chance.  He is what we need and let’s hope he doesn’t turn into another big FA bust!

What makes this possibly the biggest offseason acquisition of the decade?  You might say Pedro, Beltran, or Johan but why not a closer?  The Mets biggest problem over the past 3 seasons is they haven’t been able to finish anything off.  We are so close every year, but just miss that final piece.  We can get to the end but we can’t close the deal.  We had the best record if games ended after 6 innings (yes I am going to beat that into your heads).  This is the man we need, Wagner was obviously not the answer.  If he does what he was brought into do, and closes out 45-50 games and is lights out then he is it.  If he does his job like Johan did last year, then he is it.  He needs to prove it, but when it’s all said and done, if we make the playoffs this year, he is going to be one of if not the main reason we did it this year instead of the past 2.  

jewcer2k5 Francisco Rodriguez, Free Agent Signing, Uncategorized Bullpen, Francisco Rodriguez, K-rod, Spotlight

By: Josh Cohen

After a 46 pitch bullpen session today, Johan told reporters that he is eyeing Opening Day.  He felt no pain and it’s his goal to pitch that first game.

As a Mets fan I don’t know if I should be excited or nervous.  We all look back and see Mo Vaughn, Robbie Alomar, and all the other big ticket superstars that have been brought in and immediately broke down.  Is it really worth the risk to have him throw game 1 of the season???  Yes, as a Mets fan I want to see Johan on the rubber when the season starts, but I’d rather see him not miss any other starts.  Let’s get him 100% healthy, make sure he is fine, get some ST work in before we get our hopes up…

jewcer2k5 Johan Santana, Mets, Uncategorized bullpen session, Johan Santana, Opening day

By: Josh Cohen

According the Daily News, Pedro Martinez will not sign a contract based on mostly incentives.  Why should any team take a big, guaranteed risk on Pedro.  I mean, yes, he was great at bringing baseball excitement back to the Mets after his great days in Boston, but baseball contracts are what have you done for me lately.  He had an over 5 ERA last year and he is just getting older.  Pedro, we understand that you have made a lot of money, if you don’t want to play just retire.  Manny, realize no one is going to give you a long term contract, and that is 100% your fault.  Act like a man and you get treated like you.  Go out before people forget those great days that you guys had together!!!!

jewcer2k5 Free Agent Signing, Mets, Mets Contracts, Other MLB News, Pedro Martinez, Uncategorized Contract, Free Agents, Manny Ramirez, Mets, Pedro Martinez

By: Josh Cohen

Who should be the Mets leadoff hitter this year…Luis Castillo or Jose Reyes???

Luis Castillo- Luis is looking to revive his career, not to mention ward off the boo birds that he was getting all of last season.  When he played for the Marlins he was one of the best leadoff men in the game and still has the ability to do it again.  He can slap the ball the other way, foul off a lot of pitches, and take pitches to build the pitch count and let all the hitters behind him see what that particular starter has to offer that particular day.

The biggest news for Luis is that he lost 15 pounds this offseason.  This will lighten the load on his knees which means he will be able to run more.  If he can slap the ball around, take pitches, get on base and can run he should be the leadoff man.  He has some value in the 8 hole because he will be able to clear the pitcher, but I’d much rather see him get on base and get driven in by the solid bats behind him.

Jose Reyes- Reyes has gotten so much better as a leadoff man under the tutelage of Ricky Henderson.  If he walks or hits a single it can easily become a triple in 2 pitches, but is he more valuable there or in the 3 hole driving in runs.  He has great gap to gap power and the potential to be a 20-25 HR threat down the road.  With his OBP moving up over .350 consistently over the past 3 seasons, he does have the ability to take the pitch, get on base, and obviously steal when it’s needed. 

The two options seem to be either Castillo leading off with Reyes in the 3 spot or Reyes leading off with Castillo hitting second.  If you told me Reyes would be hitting second I would be ok with that.   The 3 spot is for your BEST overall hitter traditionally and Reyes doesn’t come close to that.  If Reyes hits 3 he will not be able to take full advantage of his legs either, because someone in front of him (Beltran) picks his running spots a lot more.  Ideally this would lead to Wright and Delgado getting more fastballs to swing at if Reyes is on alone or has a free base ahead of him.

Reyes leading off with Castillo hitting second makes the most sense to me.  Call me traditional but you want your most explosive runner on base and getting the chance to make something happen.  Castillo hitting behind him is very willing to take a pitch for Reyes to run on and will be able to bunt Reyes over if necessary.  This will lead to a ton of RBI opportunities for Beltran, Wright, and Delgado.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  Last year, the Mets had the best record in baseball if games ended after 6 innings.  They could obviously score some runs and get some leads last year.  With the additions in our bullpen we should just leave the lineup the same and get into that bullpen and win some games. 

jewcer2k5 Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, Uncategorized Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes, leadoff, Luis Castillo, Mets

The Mets (30-30) lost to the Padres (27-37) tonight in San Diego.

This game could have been a great one for the Mets, but we just couldn’t score runs. We stranded the bases loaded with two outs two innings in a row, and out of those six baserunners we got 4 outs and 1 run out of those situations. We need to hit for Johan. When he’s on his game we need to support him. He was just pretty much left alone last night.

Notes from the game:

• The Mets stranded 6 baserunners in two innings, and were no-hit through 4 innings. The only run scored was when there was one out, with Wright up, and bases loaded – he crushed the ball to left center, but Scott Hairston made an incredible diving catch so only one run scored. As Gary Cohen said, that hit was a grand slam in any other ballpark in the National League. Wright was robbed of a potential bases clearing double.
• Johan Santana was hit in the shoulder while trying to bunt, and then gave up the two runs the next inning. It seemed like it affected him.
• Robinson Cancel made his first appearance for the Mets.
• Fernando Tatis kept his slump up, and went 0-4 and struck out to make the first out of the 9th.

It was a great game to watch, we just fell short at the end. The Mets will play the Padres again today, and PETCO Park, at 10:05 PM. Be sure to watch as Oliver Perez takes on Cha-Seung Baek.

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Game Overview

The Mets (30-29) will take on the Padres (25-37) tonight, at PETCO Park at 10:05 PM.

Pitchers

Mets ace Johan Santana (7-3) will face Padres pitcher Randy Wolf (3-4).

Lineup:

1. Jose Reyes
2. Luis Castillo
3. David Wright
4. Carlos Beltran
5. Damion Easley
6. Fernando Tatis
7. Brian Schneider
8. Endy Chavez
9. Johan Santana

Notes

• This will be the first game that Abraham Nunez will be active, following the demotion of Nick Evans.
• Moises Alou will be activated from the DL Tuesday.
• Mets first round draft pick Ike Davis will be playing for his Sun Devils tonight on ESPN.
• No game can be worse than last night, so I’m looking forward to a game we don’t lose to a walk off hit by pitch.

Live Blog

To follow the game play by play with me, and add in your comments, please click here.

marcut Uncategorized Johan Santana, Mets, Padres

As Aaron Heilman warms up in the bullpen, with the Mets leading by a short margin, the Shea Stadium boo-birds become a very frequent sound.

Heilman, coming into tonight, is 0-0, with a 4.64 ERA. Recently, he has been gaining a bit more confidence, and showing a lot more success. He’s only given up 1 run in the last 7.1 innings, which is a very good sign.

Two days ago, during the first-game win against the Cincinnati Reds, he came in, and gave up 2 runs. Yet we still had a 12-5 lead at the time, but Mets fans (including myself, I am far from a Heilman supporter) booed him off so poorly it sounded like he came into the came and gave up 6 runs and blew the game. Next inning, Jorge Sosa came in, gave up a run, did in my opinion worse than Heilman, yet he was cheered off.

Aaron Heilman is a very good pitcher. He needs to keep his mental confidence in tact and he can stay good. But the Mets fans have to give him a break.

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Kevin Devaney, of the Journal News, states that the Mets will play tonight, despite showers.

Assuming that the game is on, he reports that the mets will call up Adam Bostick, to start on Wednesday.

According to MetsBlog.com:

Bostick is 2-1 with a 3.83 ERA with 26 K and 16 BB in nine games, eight starts, this season for Triple-A New Orleans.

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This year, although our record isn’t terrible, has been horrible. Injuries, slumps, and just nothing very good to say. We are a very good team, and in my opinion we just are not living up to our potential.

A main cause to my anger:

Carlos Delgado. Get him out, please. The young phenom Mike Carp, although his value was diminished during an injury-filled and average season in double-a, has been really tearing it up at double-a. He has a ton of potential, while Delgado is just whithering away. Let’s hope that Willie doesn’t continue to be “Mr. Loyal” and not take out Delgado because he’s old, experienced, etc.
The same goes for Mr. Heilman. Probably the worst start I could have ever imagined for Heilman. When he gets in the game he can’t even pitch the ball, and worst of all he’s blowing wins for our pitchers. Johan Santana would have at least 4 wins right now if it wasn’t for out bullpen blowing wins.

Although there is plenty of time to improve, I ask Omar and Willie to make some decisions: Maybe throw away some of that loyalty, bring up some youth, and look at Duaner Sanchez damnit.
That’s my thoughts for today.

I’m going to start writing every day again probably starting Monday. Until next time, Go mets!

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