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Mets Fans at Last Night’s Giants Game

At least, it felt like that didn’t it?  The truth is there weren’t that many Giants fans at Citi Field, but the Mets fans had very little to cheer about.  There were a lot of isolated groupings of Giants fans, and pretty much all of 302 in the Pepsi Porch was loud and cheering, as well as a group behind the visitor’s dugout.  The few times the Mets fans did get some chants going when the game was still tied, the Giants fans were drowned out.

 

Initially we boo’d, or Lets Go Mets’d, over the Giants cheering, but by the end of the game a lot of people had left and we were cold and there just wasn’t anything to cheer for.  Cowbell Man seemed awfully pitiful with very few people joining in.

 

The game was cold, it felt like April, or San Francisco.  Even with the Giants and Tim Lincecum on the mound, it felt like a poor showing of fans.  Mets Police did a little digging and found that a local bar sponsored a Giants Fan trip to Citi Field.   If the Mets continue to flounder I imagine you can expect more of these types of events becoming affordable for groups.

 

I’m tired of Willie Harris.  He hit two double play balls and failed to even get a sacrifice in a key spot.  He’s quickly approaching Gary Matthews Jr levels and I hope he’s quickly off this team.   I know some have soured on Jason  Bay, but this game would’ve been a lot different if he’d been in the lineup.  I don’t begrudge him the paternity leave, but the Mets missed him.

 

In all three games against the Cy Young award winners lately I felt like the Mets have done a good job, but really they failed to get the big hit when it matter.  Key walks, singles and long AB to drive up pitch counts are nice and all, but if you don’t capitalize, it’s all for naught.  I really miss Johan Santana.  Get well soon Johan.

 

Still, Tim Lincecum is quite good.  

 

I do feel like the Mets will win the finale.  I sense a seven inning Pelfrey performance in which he gives up merely two runs on a double after a walk and a hit.  Izzy, K-Rod, game over.  5-2 Mets.

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Breeding Confidence

Terry Collins called last night’s win “No doubt the biggest win they’ve had this year.” It’d be hard to disagree, and they extend their winning streak to six games after they got shut down early by Gorzelanny.  He talked about turning the anger the team has about the last couple of years on the opponent and using it to their advantage.  One things for sure; this team is an extremely likable team that plays with energy and is fun to watch.

 

Winning games when you struggle to hit early and have to overcome bad calls and comeback in the 8th and the 9th can be huge morale boosters.   I know all teams have huge comeback wins and look great and energetic doing it.  All teams look better when they’re winning.  For _this_ team, the comeback and practicing winning, as uncrowned captain David Wright would put it, may be a bigger deal.  We watched the Met struggle early this season, and press and try too hard and make mistakes.  Terry Collins tried to keep them upbeat, but nothing does that better than winning.  Games like this reinforce the attitude on the team that they are winners, and that no obstacle is too large to overcome.  It’ a complete 180 from where they were earlier in the season.  The baseball season is a long one, and there is a huge mental preparation aspect to it.  When teams believe they can pull out a win, when they don’t doubt themselves, it can be a huge weapon to get through a season.  The other side: When a pitcher is out there, maybe a closer that hasn’t handled the role well, (Why, hello there Ryan Madson) knowing that the other team is sure they’re going to beat you, it can eat at you.  The Phillies of recent years may be an example of this. You heard from everyone, including opposing players, that the Phillies are never out of a game.    It creates a mental edge.  It may not be a large one, or one that’s measurable, but it does exist.

 

I don’t know if a “winning attitude” or some sort of mental edge is enough.  I don’t know if the Mets are talented enough, or will stay healthy enough, to win a division.  I believe they can, but me believing it, or even the players believing it, doesn’t mean it will happen.  For now, it doesn’t matter.  They’re a fun bunch that believe they can win any game, and I’m going to have fun watching until the end believing they can pull it out.  I’m not worrying about how many wins they have to have if they’re going to compete, or what their record needs to be against this opponent or that. Play the game, try to win the game, and I’ll sit on my couch and root for you.  It’ll be a nice change from having to root against teams the last couple of years.

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Statistics Rising

You can make yourself crazy over-analyzing baseball.   A week ago the Mets rotation wasn’t pitching deep into games, the bullpen couldn’t get anyone out, and people were all set to write the Mets off.  Now they’ve run off a stretch of five wins in a row, the pitchers have pitched well from rotation to bullpen, and they’re scoring runs in all sorts of ways from home runs to errors to simple clutch hits.

 

The last time a major New York sports team other than the Mets won a home game was last Sunday the 17th when the Rangers and Yankees did it.   Since then the Rangers and Knicks both got bounced from the playoffs and the Yankees are 3-3 including dropping the last two home games against the White Sox with each of their two closers, Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano, blowing saves.

 

An aside on the Yankees: For a team as old as they are, it has to be a little worrisome that they’ve postponed so many games already doesn’t it?  They’ve played far fewer than anyone else, and in fact only played four games last week.  Those three games will have to be made up, and it’ll eat into days off and rest time for some of these veteran players.

 

You could make excuses about the quality of the Mets opponents, but I could make excuses that they were a bloop or a lucky bounce away from winning some of those games they lost too.  Regardless of who is in the other dugout, the Mets are playing good baseball right now.  When this team is playing well, they’re capable of beating anyone.  The question has always been if they’re going to stay healthy enough to have the chance to play well, and can they sustain the success longer than the slumps they might go through when guys are struggling?

 

Also worth noting is that if the only reason the Mets are winning is because they’re playing bad teams, why can’t the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks?

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New Mets Ticket Specials

Way back before Citi Field’s construction, and a playoff berth, prompted a surge in attendence at the Mets home ballpark they often offered ticket deals via Wendy’s, or LIRR, or the always popular “Bring a Pepsi Can, sit in the picnic area” deal.

Well, with dwindling demand this year the Mets have again started in on some of these promotions. 

You may have noticed an increased presense by Pepsi this year, particularly Pepsi MAX.  Pepsi is really pushing their diet soda this year, and being a big sponsor of the Mets it’s particularly evident at Citi Field.  Last Wednesday they were giving away samples before the game next to a giant inflated Pepsi MAX bottle and a pitch speed tent they had set up. 

On Friday they had huge bins of free Pepsi MAX cans to give away to Mets fans as they exited the park.

They also have a ticket special;  Pepsi MAX Mondays. 

“In partnership with Pepsi, you can now maximize your outing at Citi Field with Pepsi MAX Mondays. Starting at $80 you can get 4 Monday game tickets in the Pepsi Porch and 4 Pepsi Fountain Sodas.”

 

They’ve got the BJs Club-House sections, specially priced at $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

McFadden’s always has special happy hour packages than include tickets.

And McDonalds has a deal where if you donate $1 to the Ronald McDonald House you can get select tickets 50% off to value games in May and June.  Tickets will cost anywhere from $14 to $48 after the discount.  Plus the donation and normal ticketing fees of course.

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Happy Easter Eggs

Courtusy of the Mets Twitter account, the Mets are 12-19 on Easter Sunday.

 

The lineup will be:  Reyes-SS, Murphy-2B, Wright-3B, Beltran-RF, Bay-LF, Davis-1B, Thole-C, Pridie-CF, Niese-LHP

It is also Carlos Beltran’s 34th birthday.

 

The last Mets player to hit four home runs in four games was David Wright on June 7th through June 10th of 2007.  Ike Davis has a chance to match that today.

 

For all the bullpen bashing for how badly they started, they haven’t allowed a run in eight innings, and have a 2.08 ERA over their last eight games.  Additionally, Pedro Beato has thrown 11 innings to start his major league career and has yet to allow a run.

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Keep Doing That

Swing and a Miss

The Mets starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey pitched as well as, or better than, the Astros pitcher Bud Norris.  Dickey pitched eight innings and gave up four runs, for a 4.5 ERA on the day, and Norris pitched six innings and gave up three runs, also equaling a 4.5 ERA.   I’d give the tie-breaker to length, especially since relievers are generally not as good as starters.

The Mets also out-hit the Astros. The Mets got 12 hits, with three extra base hits, and the Astros got eight, with three extra base hits.

Of course, when all was said and done the Mets made a variety of mistakes and lost the game.  The Mets cannot afford to lose these games that are practically handed to them, but if they continue to pitch and hit like they did today, they WILL win most of those games. What they need to do is identify what they’re doing wrong that’s giving them such a low amount of runs per hit, and why the opponents hits seem to be worth so much more. 

Not bunting with only three precious outs left on the first pitch with one of the fastest guys in the game on first base would also go a long way towards not losing.

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5-1 Homestand Still Alive

I wanted the Mets to go 5-1 on this homestand to claw their way back to respectability.   If they lose the first one, the third one, or the 6th one, the resulting record is the same.  I’m sure the Mets understand this, but I’m going to head out to Flushing tomorrow to make sure they start winning again.  (Follow me for in-game thoughts and pictures from around Citi Field)

 

While it’s still April and very early, the longer the Mets play losing baseball the better they’ll have to play, for longer, to make up for it.  While I still believe the Mets are a good team, and certainly better than this, there does come a point where they’re going to have to show it.  They don’t have to come out blazing to a 10-1 stretch and just destroy everyone, but they do have to play consistent baseball and win more games than they lose.

 

They just need to win, and it doesn’t need to be pretty.  It could  be a 9-walk complete game shutout.  A 4-error game where the opposition fails to capitalize.  Jose Reyes could power the offense with three home runs in a 9-8 slugfest.  At this point they just need to start putting up Ws.  It starts with not giving free bases, not giving up outs, and not making too many dangerous mistakes in the field.  But it also starts with picking up your teammates when they do make a mistake, such as Wright did diving to get Lee at third base after Turner’s error.  Pitchers need to start striking out a batter after an error and not getting rattled by it and the fielders need to stop thinking they need to get two outs at once and stop panicking in the field.

 

Divisions are not won in April.  In fact, three of last years playoff teams were at or below .500 on May first.  There is still time for the Mets to settle down and start playing better.   There’s plenty of time for Collins to stop playing guys that tend to suck, and for Alderson to wish those that suck away into the cornfield for players from the minors or other clubs that suck less.

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They Come Home Winners

It’s  been a rough stretch for the Mets, but they’ll return home winners, having ended their losing streak Sunday in Atlanta.  For now it’s just one game, but they do face two of the weaker teams in the league during this six game homestand.

 

They’ve hopefully put the three games in 24 hours meme to rest, eliminating the need to juggle the roster, shuffle relievers and starters, and try to figure out how to keep everyone rested.  T hey can also get back into a normal routine of everyday baseball and hopefully eliminate some of these silly mistakes they’ve been making.

 

It’s the perfect time to start getting on a hot streak; the weather starts warming up, the starting pitchers arms have been strengthened a little, and Jason Bay may even be back as soon as Tuesday.

 

The bullpen has started to settle down as well, and has started to build up a sample size that Terry Collins can use when decided how and when to use different relievers to maximize success.

 

The Mets have played less than 10% of their games so far, and there is  plenty of baseball to be played.  I could give you a whole list of teams that have had poor Aprils that go on to have successful season as well as mention all sorts of statistics Mets player are posting that will get better. Right now we’re only look at one small sample of mostly under-performing data.   Many of those numbers will level out over the months to come, and many players will experience over-performing stretches that lead to more wins than losses.  It’s simply unfair to judge the team conclusively on this small sample of games.  They need to win games, but right now simply that they’re playing them is joy enough.

 

They return to Citi Field after an off-day on a one game winning streak with the path laid out in front of them to start making winning the trend, and losing the aberration.

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Well, It _Is_ Still Early

Spin? What spin? The Mets played horribly on this homestand.  At least there is nowhere to go but up!  All teams play with a long season with peaks and valleys.  The Mets have started out in the valley, but I’m not, and neither is anyone else, going to be able to give them a fair evaluation until they’ve had a peak to compliment it.  If they counter the 4-9 start with a 10-2 stretch, it puts them in a completely different stage than if their pinnacle is a 8-4 stretch.  The adage is you’re never as bad as you look when you’re losing and never as good as you look when you’re winning.   It might be smart to give them more than 8% of the season before we go insane trying to quantify the team.

So take solace that any ten, or 13, game stretch does not make or break a season, and definitely not one in April.

The Mets cannot play this badly all season, the pitchers will get better, will settle in.

The offense has actually looked pretty good for the most part.  Willie Harris mostly stinks, and Brad Emaus hasn’t really shown much, but Daniel Murphy has and Jason Bay will be back in a couple of weeks.

It’s a long season, with many ups and downs.  So we started on a bit of a downer, but that doesn’t mean their aren’t peaks ahead.  What’s that quote from Fight Club?

“It’s only after you‘ve lost everything that you‘re free to do anything.”

Now hopefully the Mets can stop playing like they’re sleepwalking through the game and generate some wins.

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Play Two, Win Two

Something you’ll hear a lot today:

“It’s hard to win both games of a doubleheader”

Don’t listen to them. This is just an excuse to temper expectations. The Mets can win both ends of the doubleheader today, if they pitch and hit the ball. Dickey on the mound for the first game with a healthy nail should be the starting point for a win. In my mind you never settle for a situation that includes losing, and accepting a split would be just that. If the Mets win the first game, should they just go home and concede the second? It’s hard to win both anyway right, so why burn out the pitchers? If you concede you solve the “Who pitches Friday?” problem as well, slotting in Capuano.

The Mets split the first doubleheader in Citi Field history on July 30th, 2009 against the Rockies. They swept the Rockies in a doubleheader on 8/19/04 in Colorado.

It’s still early and the Mets are still getting used to each other and the new leadership and the new season. Obviously you’d have preferred a rip-roaring start to this putrid mess of a homestand, but they’ve got a big series against the Braves this weekend and then six games at home against bad teams. Plenty of time to get the ship righted.

Upcoming Milestones:

Carlos Beltran is 1 double away from sole possession of 8th place on the Mets All-Time doubles list. He’s at 182 right now, tied with Cleon Jones.

Reyes, tied with Edgardo Alfonzo at 1136 hits for fourth in franchise history, needs 1 for sole possession. He’ll have a tough time catching up to #3, David Wright with 1163, but they’re both poised to pass Cleon Jones’ 1188 this summer.