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Aggressiveness and Finding the Balance

This team still feels like it’s trying to find that right balance between aggressive and sloppy. The problem seems to be, and this was probably the case last year too, is that when they’re unsure they’re leaning towards aggressive, which leads to sloppy mistakes like forgetting to check a runner back to third, or breaking for the plate like Clark did on the double play Sunday. It translates into hitting too. This is why I don’t believe, and never did, that the team was ever ‘flat’ or ‘uninterested’.

They played hard last September, and they are playing hard now. Maybe too hard. Think about how often Reyes was thrown out last September. He wasn’t doing it just for stats, or selfishness, he was playing aggressively, trying to make things happen, just like _everyone_ says he should do/does. So what happened this year? He seems to be trying to tone down the aggressiveness a little bit, be smarter, but so far it’s not working. Just like it didn’t work when they tried to change how he ran. Reyes, like the rest of the team, needs to find that balance of aggressiveness and smart baseball, and when they do the difference is going to be remarkable.

The difference this year is that last year they succeeded with the aggressiveness early, and maybe they stubbornly stuck to it when it turned bad. This year it’s failing for them early, and they’ll be able to adjust to it and turn it around. It’s not Willie’s fault either. He can only teach, he can’t execute. If they players can’t execute on what they’re being taught, it doesn’t really matter who or what they’re being coached to do. However, this team is too good, and wants it too much, to not be able to execute all season. I thought as much before this season, but so far it doesn’t look like Atlanta or Philadelphia is capable of running away with the division to a point where the Mets can’t catch up; In fact, neither team is ahead of the Mets in the standings.

The biggest concern I have is still the bullpen. Even if Sanchez is as good as he was two years ago, he’s going to almost definitely replace either Muniz or Smith on the roster, and both of those guys have been good. It’s Heilman, who you hope will turn it around like he always does, Schoeneweis and Sosa who have been the biggest culprits, and they won’t be replaced. As the weather gets warmer and the pitchers get more comfortable, I have to believe both Maine, Santana, and hopefully Perez and maybe even Pelfrey will be able to go a little deeper into games more consistency, and allow Willie to more regularly use only the top three or so guys in the bullpen who are doing well, instead of routinely having to trot out the 5th and 6th best relief options they have.

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Home Opener 2008

Now that was a rather depressing game. My camera died before the game even started and the spare batteries I brought were duds, and then the Mets were duds. The game pivoted on that double play ball that Delgado field and hit Utley in the back with.

First time they’ve ever lost to Philadelphia on opening day. I was really hoping that we could put last year behind us, but with losing to Atlanta and Philly so far and the poor bullpen, it feels like last year.

It seems like they need some time to really mesh well with each other, the way one screaming fan was pointing out as he stormed out of the building after the 8th inning because no one was standing in the bullpen clapping or cheering for Church to get a hit. You could see it in Sunday’s game where David Wright was surprised by Santana fielding a bunt, and wasn’t at third to field a throw. Little things like this that they’ll hopefully fade away as they get comfortable with each other and really click.

It’s Reyes and Castillo offensively that have been having the biggest problems, but once the lineup balances out a little more with slumps and streaks, things should be fine. The Mets are very much like Mike Pelfrey right now; They can be great, but they need to find their confidence.

All the pre-game stuff was pretty cool, with them unveiling the retired Shea in left field, or the game countdown. It was very neat seeing Citi Field so nice looking in the beginning, sort of a window into next year’s Opening Day. There was a lot of curiosity about how it may affect wind patterns in Shea and make it more hitter friendly, but judging by the way Easley’s and Wright’s long fly balls flew, I’d say it’s much the same.

Opening Day jitters out of the way, I can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully the Mets find their strike, and start mashing this poor pitching team that Philly has.

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April Fools of Silly promotion?

I assume this is a silly April Fools joke since I can’t find any other reference to it.

From the Mets Press Pass for today’s game:

“The club has decided to honor unique angles from players who not only put on the Mets uniform but also featured rare talents off the field …Dyar Miller, who pitched for the Mets in 1980-1981, will be the first player to be so honored…In 1980, Miller was 4-0 in cow milking contests across the league…Miller will be recognized prior to the Mets-Nationals game on May 14th when New York holds its’ first annual Farm Night at Shea…Miller will reenact his cow milking skills prior to the game.”

It’s funny though.

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Opening Day

BASEBALL! It’s begun, and so far Johan Santana appears to be the real thing. After watching the Nationals, and David Wright’s good pal Ryan Zimmerman, hand the Braves their first loss of the season last night it was a good feeling to watch the guys take the field for the first time and come through like they should. And the best part is we get to flip on the television and see them do it again tonight! That’s eight strike-outs for Santana, now lets see how many Pedro gets.

In other news, the biggest story in “Yankee Country” was again not baseball, but weather. The ghost of Babe Ruth is giving them grief, 86 years after he christened the structure with a home run, they’re knocking it down.

For an interesting article I wrote about why Opening Day should be a national holiday to celebrate our national pastime, click here.

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Letters to the NL East

Baseball starts soon, and that means I’ll probably start updating with a little more regularity once there is actual content. For now I’m planning a 6 part series of “Letters to the NL East” which I’m envisioning as a sort of rally cry/smack talk analysis of what I think of those teams.

the 6th team being the Yankees, as they are close enough to warrant a little attention.

Letters to the NL East: Yankees

Letters to the NL East: Nationals

Letters to the NL East: Marlins

Letters to the NL East: Braves

Letters to the NL East: Phllies

Letters to the NL East: Mets

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Betting on 2008

Pending wagers for the upcoming season.

I like to place a couple of simple wagers every year, and this year is no different.

My first one is the Mets to win the World Series. I made this wager pre-Santana so I have 15-1 odds.

Hanley Ramirez, Under 27.5 Home Runs. I don’t expect Hanley to have as good a year as he had last year, as pitchers will figure him out a bit.

Mariano Rivera, Under 36.5 Saves. 37 is a lot of saves, and I think the Rivera is in decline, plus the Yankees with a shoddy bullpen and inning-limited young pitching are unlikely to give him as many opportunities in years past. I made this bet last year and won.

Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, Over 75 wins. 76 is a lot of wins, would be a franchise record. I was hoping this number would be lower, but I still think they can do it. I think they’re a better team pitching-wise this year, and the division is worse, if only by a little.

New York Yankees, Under 93.5 wins. From the Yankees perspective I think the division is about the same as last year, Tampa improved, Orioles downgraded, Boston and Toronto remained about the same. I won this bet last year(I think the number was 96) and I would’ve won it with 93.5 last year too. The Yankees didn’t get better, in fact they got worse. (A-Rod and Posada won’t do better, and they didn’t acquire any new talent. Unless the young pitching blows everyone away, they’re in for a tough year)

Philadelphia Phillies, Under 87.5 wins. Did the Phillies get better? I’m not a big fan of Myers anyway, I think Lidge doesn’t give them much of an improvement. Just give the Mets two more wins against them and I’d win this. Philly will probably stick around though May and then fade. They just don’t have any pitching.

New York Mets, over 93.5 wins. Can the Mets fight off their stagger last year, and does Johan add what it takes? I actually think the Mets will annihilate this number, because I think Johan and Pedro will have years that make us drool. I lost this bet last year, when the number was 89.5, which I thought was practically a given.

So there are my bets for this year, I may add others if I see them, I’d love to bet on over strikeouts for Pedro, but I didn’t see one anywhere. Anyone else make any wagers, or think I’m crazy on any of these?

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Metamerica

Red Sox Nation, Yankee country? How about Metamerica? My Santana t-shirt provoked plenty of comments walking around downtown San Diego, on one March evening. I had a conversation about Santana, about Delgado, and about El Duque 3000 miles from Shea Stadium. I didn’t hear one peep from Padres fans, and I didn’t see one Yankees or Red Sox cap. This isn’t a very representative sample; it’s March and I was wearing a Mets shirt and hat. However, there were certainly Mets fan about, and people were excited enough to cheer “Let’s Go Mets!” at me as they walked by.

I’m not suggesting we have an election for “America’s team”, I’m just suggesting that maybe Hank shouldn’t count the Mets out so easily. There are plenty of relocated New Yorkers, and plenty of them are Mets fans. There are also plenty of people out there who will always remain National League fans, never jumping on an American League DH team’s bandwagon.

And remember, no one’s talking about how the Yankees kept the same roster they had last year, they’re talking about the biggest trade in baseball and New York; Johan Santana to the Mets.

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Watching the Game

I’m way more excited about grabbing a beer (homebrew), sitting on the couch in 30 minutes, and watching Johan Santana pitch for the Mets in Spring Training. But it’s a good way to warm up for the same event in a little over a month.

I’m also way too excited about hearing Keith, Ron, and Gary again. I don’t even know if they’re all doing this first game.

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Headliner Ryan Church

Now that the trade of Milledge for Church and Schneider has become a minor deal behind the acquisition of Johan Santana, I think we need to think back and remember how good the deal was for New York headline writers. Lastings Milledge has a unique name, but nothing can parallel the headlines the papers can write with Church.

If Church has a good day at the plate or a key hit, we could be ‘blessed’ with headlines like,

“Church is in session!”

“The Savior!”

“Hallelujah!”

“Church Crusading for All-Star Team”

If Church is quoted saying something notable, we could get something more like,

“Church Sermon”

“The Sermon on the Mound”

Or if Ryan makes a play at the wall on a fly ball,

“Thou Shall Not Homer”

Maybe whether the Yankees or Mets get more back cover stories is not dependent on the teams at all, but who can think up the most headlines.

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Good.

Beltran’s making statements now? Good. I love it. I’m glad he thinks the Mets are the team to beat. They are. They own this division. This was my favorite part.

“I don’t care,” Beltran said. “They boo me in Houston. One more city won’t make a difference.”

Good. Stop worrying about what fans think and just take what belongs to you. Maybe Willie’s right when he suggested you becoming a father gave you confidence.

It’s still February and I’m starting to feel some strong magic with this team..March 31st can’t come soon enough.