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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Preseason Preview - Catcher


This will be the first in a number of posts we are working on leading up to opening day going through each position and letting you know where we stand. Where better place to start than the position that calls the pitches, adjusts the fielders, and squats uncomfortably close to the umpire.

As you could see in our previous post on the potential emergency catching duties of Mike Jacobs, the Mets' great teams have always had an offensive anchor behind the plate. From Grote to Carter to Hundley to Piazza to LoDuca, the Mets seem to thrive when they get good offensive production from behind the dish.

After a couple years of disappointment with Brian Schneider, the Mets brought in some veteran talent to keep the catching position warm this year before Josh Thole, a Mets Top Prospect, is ready for the bigs.

Rob Barajas and Henry Blanco were brought in to be formidable backstops to handle the Mets' "due for a comeback" pitching staff. With Blanco's experience catching Mets' ace Johan Santana and with Barajas' veteran leadership working with the other starters, the Mets have definitely upgraded at the catcher position defensively going into 2010.

Offensively though, I think the catcher position is a place the Mets will really improve in 2010. Last season, the Mets' revolving door of catchers combined to hi 13 home runs and 77 RBIs. 7 of those homers are still on the Mets roster in Omir Santos and will probably be starting the season backing up Thole in AAA waiting just in case one of the veterans needs some time on the DL.

Compare that 13/77 number with Barajas alone last year who put up 19 home runs and 71 RBIs. Not only would Barajas have beaten all catchers combined on the Mets last year in home run output, but he would have led the team. Obviously the move to Citi Field could decrease that, but I think there is no doubt that there will be improvement. If you put Barajas and Blanco together you get 25HR and 88 RBI. I think we'd all agree we'd sign up for that kind of output from our catchers right now!

So get ready Mets fans because the B&B boys are ready to help the Mets 'catch' some pennant fever in 2010.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Jos-A-OK!

So if you're a Mets fan and weren't under a rock for the last day or so, you'd know that Jose Reyes has been given the okay to resume baseball activities and was seen around Port St. Lucie today fielding grounders and taking BP. What does this mean for us Mets fans? Excitement!

To borrow a little tidbit from Joe Posnanski's blog, Joe used some statistics to try and calculate an Excitement statistic. He basically used triples, average, steals, defense, etc to come up with it. Out of the last 25 years, 3 of the top 6 individual seasons all belonged to Jose Reyes. And, given the news from yesterday, I'm ready to predict 4 of the top 7 will be Jose Reyes' after 2010.

We know the Mets have talent on this team. Every player has the potential to be a superstar. But if the Mets are an engine, you need a spark plug to get that engine moving. Jose Reyes is that spark plug.

Just think about it. Reyes double...Castillo bunts him over....David Wright base hit. 3 batters and we're already winning...and that doesn't even count when Reyes leads off with a homer. Mets fans have been mired in the horror that was last year so much that they forget even in the previous couple seasons (which just ended badly) the Mets were a fun team to watch because of Reyes. A lot of these guys haven't even been given the chance to hit with Reyes on base yet! How many times did Francoeur get to hit with Reyes in the lineup last year? Zero! Jason Bay is an RBI machine - and Jose Reyes is some of the best raw material to work with in that machine.

Also, let's think about some of the recent league MVPs - Rollins, Pedroia, etc. Don't be surprised if you see Reyes' name on that list in 2010.

Bottom line - Reyes is not only a player that creates legend, but he makes everyone better. This is huge news for the Mets and further cements a HUGE comeback year in 2010.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Mets are better than the Fab Five


Though Spring training results are usually meaningless, I couldn't help but notice the Mets' nice win yesterday over the University of Michigan, 8 to 1.

The win cannot be ignored because while most exhibition games are against teams that don't care about the end result, you know that the Wolverines were trying their hardest to upset a big league squad. UM players were also trying to impress Michigan alumn Fred Wilpon, knowing that just one good performance could potentially net them a multi-million dollar contract from the Mets owner.

Realizing the importance of winning this game, the Mets sent their own Fab Five of David Wright, Jason Bay, Daniel Murphy, Luis Castillo, and Alex Cora. They helped the Mets pound Michigan's pitching staff for 8 runs on 15 hits.

The win should help boost the Mets' hopes for an at-large bid come tourney time.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Jacobs to Catch the Fever

According to recent reports, not only is Mike Jacobs is in the lead for the final bench spot on the Mets roster, but he's been seen lugging around a bag full of catcher's gear in Port St. Lucie as of late. It seems the Mets are willing to give Jacobs the spot in return for being the Mets' emergency catcher. This makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, between Rod Barajas, Omir Santos, Chris Coste, and Henry Blanco you only have 4 choices to put someone behind the plate. A 5th choice will just make Jerry Manuel's options that much greater.

Not only that, but it seems that the Mets are looking back at history and are realizing, the only times in the past 30 years we've had great seasons are when we've had great performances at the dish by our catchers. 1986 saw great Gary Carter slug 24 bombs for 105 RBI. Mike Piazza jacked 38 homers for 113 RBI in 2000. The great team of 2006 included Paul LoDuca hitting at a .318 clip. Compare this to Brian Schneider's .218 and .257 BA's the last couple years and it's easy to see why the Mets came up short.

Jacobs hasn't hit less than 17 home runs in any season he's played in more than 100 games in his career. That would have easily been the most homers on the Mets last year and out of the catcher position? That is going to make a huge difference.

I mean, I know Jacobs will only play behind the plate sporatically, but my spine just tingles thinking of Ike Davis making the team and Davis and Jacobs playing on the same field together. I mean the Mets havent had 2 Jews in the field at the same time for as long as I can remember. (I know Jacobs isn't really Jewish, but he's gotta be honorary after Florida gave out Mike Jacobs t-shirts for Jewish Heritage Night a few years ago.)

Regardless, don't think about the K's, don't think about the batting average, think about the raw power you're going to see out of Mike Jacobs' bat this year and how many times he's going to put a ball on the Pepsi Porch. And, think of how that's going to be just one more reason why the Mets bounce back to greatness in 2010. Mazel tov to the Mets on a great decision.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Santana Has Company

“They key for us is that we have to pitch. We’re still going to have to pitch. Whether Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran is there, No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are going to have to pitch.” - Mets Manager Jerry Manuel.

If Manuel is right about the key to the Mets success being the starting rotation, then we might as well crown them World Series Champions right away. Let's take a look at the pitchers who, in addition to Johan Santana, will turn the Mets back into contenders in 2010:

Number 2: Mike Pelfrey - If Pelfrey can keep from balking on every other pitch, he will surely live up to his potential as a very good pitcher. So far it appears that his psychologist or hypnotist got the yips out of him, as Pelfrey has yet to stumble on the mound this spring.

Number 3: John Maine - Believe it or not, the fact that Maine has an ERA of 23.14 and has given up 5 hits in 2 innings is actually a good sign. It means that he is allowing batters to put his pitches in play rather than constantly foul them off, thus limiting Maine's usual absurdly high pitch counts. Once Maine gets "into it" and turns those hits into outs, he will be a dominating 7 inning pitcher this season.

Number 4: Oliver Perez - Ollie arrived at camp in great shape, something he clearly has not done since having that one good year as a Pirate. His focus this spring is on finally learning how to throw strikes, which shows just how dedicated he is to improvement even at the age of 29. Finally, he makes $12 million per year. All signs point to Ollie being a great starting pitcher.

Number 5: John Niese - Niese is battling three other guys for this spot, but he should get the nod come April. I cannot recall another top Mets pitching prospect failing, so there is no reason to believe Niese won't live up to the hype.

If these 4 pitchers are the keys to the Mets success this year, the Mets are in great shape.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Who needs Beltran when there's an Angel in the outfield?

Angel Pagan's two-run walk-off home run against the Cardinals yesterday got me realizing how this is just an example of what we may have in store for us in the comeback season that will be 2010. Pagan is showing that even without Carlos Beltran in the lineup, there is going to be some power out of the centerfield position in Queens this Spring.

I mean, did anyone see that jack yesterday? I haven't seen that much power out of a leadoff centerfielder in spring training since Willy Mays Hayes came back as Omar Epps in Major League 2!

Not only that, but he seems to be adding something the Mets were missing all last season - clutch hitting.

All I have to say is everyone should expect more of this from Pagan and watch your back Carlos Beltran. Don't forget Wally Pipp was a good player too, until he was replaced by Lou Gehrig...and we all know how that turned out.

Did you know that Angel Pagan had the second highest batting average on the Mets in 2009 by any player with more than 375 plate appearances hitting at a .306 clip?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Shed No Tears: Mets Cure K-Rod's Pink Eye


Team health will be a major factor if the Mets hope to bounce back in 2010. If early returns are any indication, the maligned Mets' medical staff is up to the task.

Case in point: Frankie Rodriguez has returned to pitching after seemingly having the worst case of pink eye in recorded history. Ray Ramirez & Co. helped him recover in just three weeks without missing a single meaningful game. And K-Rod was better than ever in his spring debut as he retired all three Cardinals he faced. Last year, the star closer likely would have been out for 2-3 months with the same injury.

I realize that several other important players are out for a while, but the Mets' medical staff cannot be blamed for that. Carlos Beltran had unnecessary surgery, Jose Reyes has a non-baseball related condition, and Kelvim Escobar should have stayed in better shape while he was sitting out for almost two years.

With K-Rod, the improved Mets' medical staff had a chance to make an immediate impact and they did just that. They handled his pink eye better than any middle school nurse and even prevented other players from catching it. All Mets' players can now trust that, should they stub a toe or scrape a knee, they are in good hands.

Clearly the team's new credo of "Prevention and Recovery" is already paying dividends.

Not to worry fans, he 'wasn't into it'


Yesterday, John Maine got roughed up pretty hard by a very powerful Marlins lineup in a relief appearance following Johan Santana.

“My mechanics felt fine. I just wasn’t into it,” Maine told reporters. “The feeling that it wasn’t my game as a starter - that was the hardest thing… It’s a waste of a day… I was up, down, I can’t put my finger on exactly what was wrong. My delivery was fine. I was rushing a little. But that’s normal when you haven’t pitched in a while.”

I take this as a good sign everyone. I mean, not only what Maine's delivery fine, but his mechanics were also. He just wasn't into it. Obviously by Opening Day, he will be into it. Not only that, but he was relieving. John Maine isn't a reliever, he's a starter. Just look at these guys when they aren't pitching in the role they're meant for:

Johan Santana: 3.98 Career Relief ERA vs. 3.02 Career Starter ERA

Mariano Rivera: 5.94 Career Starter ERA vs. 2.08 Career Reliver ERA

See? If you can't expect the same kind of production from 2 of the best pitchers in the game today, how can you expect the same kind of output from John Maine.

So, bottom line, not to worry Mets fans, things are going to be just fine.

Welcome to Mets Kool-Aid: Drink it Up

Welcome to Mets Kool-Aid, where we serve up that one final swig that will make you forget all about your Mets-related woes. Jon and Mike are huge Mets fans who have been lucky enough to live through the glory years, from Generation K to the Kazmir trade to Beltran looking to Ollie's contract and so much more. Ah, the memories. After becoming disgusted by the mass amounts of Kool-Aid being served by the Mets organization and chugged on other Mets blogs, we decided to make a new batch and pour it on even more. On this blog you will find only the most optimistic of opinions regarding the Mets. Because we too believe that Oliver Perez and Daniel Murphy will lead us to the 2010 World Series and become the best baseball players ever.