All right, so I've jumped the gun a little (the Mets are 21-17, giving them 38 games played, which means they're shy of the 1/4 season mark), but I haven't been too active on this blog and I'd like to get up to speed.

Unofficially tied for first place with the Philadelphia Phillies (percentage points separating the two), it's been a wild, up-and-down ride for the Mets to this point in the season. Not surprisingly, they've made their fair share of idiotic mistakes, both mentally and physically, including a real head-scratcher from Ryan Church last night. 

In Los Angeles, with the game tied 2-2 in the top of the 11th, Church ripped a single to left field with two outs. Up the plate strolled Angel Pagan, a player who has been out of sight for quite some time, after suffering a season-ending injury early in the '08 campaign. Pagan was the subject of much malign just a day earlier, when manager Jerry Manuel pinch hit with him in a critical bases loaded situation, and Angel proceeded to ground into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. 

Continue reading "The New York Mets: A Quarter Season in Review"

(Note: I've also published this post on FanNation, under the username JFro.)

About a month ago, I published a similar post complaining about Jerry Manuel's mind-numbingly awful managing. It actually generated some interest, as it appeared on a Mets blog and in various discussion threads.

But we Manuel haters need more momentum than that. Jerry must go. Now. Tonight's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers represented an all-time low in managerial decision-making. All I can do, is take it from the top...(and by the way, if you agree that Manuel is the ultimate cause of the Mets' woes, don't hesitate to join my Facebook group). But as I began to say, let's take tonight from the top...

(1) The batting order. To face Chad Billingsley, the Dodgers' top starting pitcher, and one of the best young right-handers in the game, Manuel went as follows:

Continue reading "Jerry Manuel Must Be Fired. Now!!!"

There's no way for me to keep everyone happy with this list, so I openly acknowledge its imperfection. Taking into account the differences in eras -- ballparks, styles, and substances -- it's impossible to find a flawless ranking system. With that in mind, here's what I've come up with:

(1) For hitters, I consider the following four categories the most important: (in no particular order) batting average, home runs, RBI, and OPS (combined slugging and OBP). 

(2) For pitchers, I consider the following four categories the most important: (again, in no particular order) wins, ERA, strikeouts per nine innings, and opponent's batting average against. Let's call the last two "K's/9" and "Opp. BA." 

Total strikeouts is an unfair category because pitchers went deeper into games in the past. Thus the starters from the mid and early 20th century have a distinct advantage there, due to a longer leash from their manager and organization, and subsequently more innings pitched. K's/9 provides a level playing field. At least, level in comparison to total strikeouts. 

Continue reading "The Top 30 Players in MLB History"