We are just about two months into the 2009 season and the Mets have proven so far to be just as maddingly inconsistent as they've been since Carlos Beltran left the bat on his shoulder in '06. I must say I was proud of the team (and understandbly shocked) by the moxie they showed in winning the first three games of their series against the Giants, including some late night heroics against that guy from the Beach Boys. Of course I remain convinced that they won because I only watched about 15 minutes of the games all weekend. But Sunday's game just goes to show why the Mets make me insane. To look at Mike Pelfrey's stat line one would think he had an impressive outing. And in many ways he did but ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? Only the Mets have a guy get such a bad case of the "yips" that he commits THREE balks in one game and gets taken out after only 79 pitches. Oh yeah and then there was the offense. What does this team have against hitting with the bases loaded? I want to know what the record is for double plays grounded into with the sacks juiced. I swear other than the grand-slams from Omir Santos and Fernando Tatis it seems like the Mets never get more than a run from these situations. Can I see a bases clearing double please? I miss the days of Robin Ventura hitting a grand salami in each game of a double header.

Continue reading "Team Inconsistency"

Do you really mean to tell me that the Mets don't have a single capable shortstop in their entire minor league system? That's insane. Suffice to say, Ramon Martinez is not the answer. However, at the very least I have a newfound appreciation for Jose Reyes. For all his shenanigans and stupid pop ups (which begs for the Willie Mays Hayes treatment) he may some day win a gold glove.

Continue reading "The Mets Need Players"

Mets GM Omar Minaya finally woke up and DL'ed ailing starters Jose Reyes and Ryan Church. As a result, the team called up their prized prospect Fernando Martinez and debuted him tonight against the Washington Nationals. After hearing about this kid for years I've got to say his first game was pretty anti-climactic. I didn't even realize he was starting till I got home, having already missed his first two at-bats (a strikeout and his first Major League RBI on a fielder's choice). Looks like a kid with a good swing who will strike out A LOT while he's up in the bigs. My first impression of his defense was equally incomplete as he got turned around on a well hit fly ball to right that probably would have been over his head anyway. My guess is that barring a ridiculous Benny Agbayani-like offe

Continue reading "The F-Mart Era Begins!"

I don’t like where this is going.

One of the chief criticisms of baseball is that it puts people to sleep. It’s slow, it’s boring, nothing happens and the games last forever. That’s what foreigners and Communists say at least - and those people who don’t understand the tension and the passion of a well pitched game. Well here’s a brilliant plan – let’s create a situation where everybody stands around while a group of umpires disappear for ten minutes to watch replays of a disputable home run. So instead of a game taking three and a half hours, by the time everything gets sorted out and play resumes it now takes three hours and forty five minutes. Not what I’d call an effective strategy for speeding up games. I’ve got plenty of ideas for picking up the pace and that’s definitely not one of them.

Continue reading "My Brief Thoughts on Replay"