Say No to Rebuilding

In New York, the term "rebuild" is usually as accepted by sports fans as "gridlock" and "train delay" are by commuters. Yet with the Mets in the midst of yet another free fall, that hated term has turned into the word du jour among Mets fans and the media alike. Even Alex Cora, upon his release, essentially accused Mets management of secretly harboring a 2-3 year rebuilding plan.

However, despite two collapses followed by two inept seasons, the Mets should NOT enter rebuilding mode this off season. Truly rebuilding would mean scrapping some or all of the foundation of the team, also known as David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana. While none of these three stars have lived up to their extremely high expectations in Flushing, or more importantly brought home a ring, it would be impossible to net a return that would come even close to matching the production that each provides. All four are top five players at their positions and would be coveted by just about any team, yet no team would be able or willing to part with a fair price. Trading any, even Beltran, for prospects would set the Mets back and provide no guarantee of a bright future.

The fact of the matter is that the currently constituted Mets roster SHOULD be good enough to compete next year with just a few tweaks, making a total rebuilding effort unnecessary. On offense, I think we can expect Jason Bay to perform much closer to his past and Angel Pagan to revert just a little from his career year. With those and Wright, plus hopefully fully healthy versions of Beltran and Reyes, the Mets will enter 2011 with about as fearsome a lineup as the NL has to offer. Thole and Tejada can't be expected to do much, but they can help provide some of the youth injection that supporters of a rebuilding effort are hoping for.

Pitching- wise, the Mets again SHOULD only need one or two tweaks. The bullpen could certainly use some substantial help, but the rotation has proven it is up there with the best. Rather than getting rid of any of the existing rotation parts, the Mets should be seeking a legitimate number two starter to bolster what is already a solid staff. Trading Santana or even R.A. Dickey for prospects would be like playing Russian roulette.

So call it koolaid, or just call me crazy, but I am not ready to give up on this Mets roster for the faint hope that rebuilding provides. The Mets have four all-stars in their prime, and a combination of both younger and older supporting parts that can prove very valuable. Sure, some changes must be made both on the roster in the front office, but a total rebuilding effort does not make sense. In the end it may not work out, but at least we'll know that the Mets went for it with the best players possible rather than just hoping for the best down the road.

Different Ways to End the Season

I hope everyone enjoyed the Garbage Juice posts from last week.  I know our friends in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and across town in NYC definitely did.  Now, where do we stand?  The Mets are not mathematically out of the equation, good pitching, terrible hitting, turmoil in the bullpen and a fan base calling for the heads of the Owner, GM, and Manager.  There are a lot of ways the end of this season can go that will influence the offseason of both this team and the way the fans feel.  In the interest of staying positive and pouring you some of that koolaid now (although most of your koolaid is probably turning green and white or blue and red at this point), here are some things that could happen as the season closes that I know would make me feel better:

1. The Mets' starters continue to put up excellent starts on a consistent basis.
Since July 1st, the Mets starting rotation (with the exception of Mike Pelfrey and a bunch of 5th starter fill-ins) has had a 1.88, 2.79, and 1.96 ERA for Santana, Niese, and Dickey respectively.  What is the combined record of those starters during that time?  9 wins and 8 losses.  Amid all the talks of getting another starter down the stretch as the trade deadline approached, you certainly can't blame the starters we had for the team falling off after June.  And, while Pelf has struggled the second half of this season after a great first half, he's shown up his last couple starts and looks to have the confidence and command back that he had early on.  Going into next season with these guys and adding a legitimate 2 or 3 starter would make this rotation a formidable one.

2. Mets hitting bounces back after a terrible summer.
After David Wright was named NL Player of the Month in June, there hasn't been much to talk about at all offensively with this club.  Last year injuries were the excuse, but this year there really are no excuses.  As the trade deadline approached, it was hard to find on paper a lot of places that the Mets could improve their lineup.  So what is the problem?  Well, I guess if I could tell you that, I'd be doing more than writing this blog.  But, these are players that have been all-stars before.  They need to find their stride and perform not after working hard this offseason, but now, or the Mets need to makes some changes.  You'll hear things like a vocal leader is needed.  You'll hear the Mets need to stop pressing.  How about they start by just swinging at strikes?  Either way, this has been an ingredient that's made the kool-aid go sour.  However, there's still a month and a half left.  If even just a couple of these players can bounce back to end the season (preferably Reyes and Wright) it could be infectious.  I'm not sure how they'll do it, but if the Mets can start hitting like they did in June through the end of August and September, everyone will feel much better going into next year with a lineup that's probably not going to get much help from the front office.

3. The Mets will finish the season over .500
At 59-59 right now, it's not even close to impossible.  More or less, if the above two points happen, this one will too.  The hope would be that Mets fans remember their tempered expectations coming into this season and realize the Mets actually would meet most people's preseason expectations with 82-83 wins.  This was supposed to be the year we didn't get our hopes up and get crushed.  We got lulled into thinking this was the year again and here we sit disappointed.  If the Mets can muster up more wins than losses, hopefully we get back some positive feeling.

 4. The Mets will cut Ollie and Castillo and fire Omar Minaya and/or Jerry Manuel
As I read back the first 3 points, I just got more depressed.  Hell yeah, they may happen.  I want to believe.  I do believe.  This is kool-aid after all right?  But what if it doesn't happen.  People need to be held accountable for the mess this season has become.  Why did we have those tempered expectations going into this season?  We kind of saw this coming.  Ollie Perez, John Maine, Luis Castillo, not knowing when Beltran would be back - all of these things had big question marks.  You hear a lot in the media now, it's not that the Mets don't spend money, it's that they don't spend it wisely.  Well, I'd have to blame that solely on the GM here.  I'm not to the point that I think this is Jerry's fault (although I think Bobby V would manage the hell out of Jose Reyes).  I do think the Mets needs someone new at the reigns when it comes to player personnel.  I also think that Ollie and Castillo are becoming team cancers.  Castillo came out the other day saying he should be playing everyday.  Guess what Luis, you shouldn't.  When you limp into 2nd to break up a double play, have no chance of hitting a ball out of the infield, and can't get to grounders, your time is done.  Moves like this help to change the feeling in the clubhouse and maybe that's what the Mets need.


No matter what, there will be a next year.  It's something I've learned throughout my life as a Mets fan...usually around this time of year.  Next year brings rebirth, new opportunities, and the hope for change.  However, when you've been consistently beaten into the ground, you need a little push to get to that hope.  This season may be just about over, but there's still time to give everyone that hope.  This team is capable of doing it.  Finish this season with our heads held high, hope none of the teams we hate win, and let's get 'em next year.  Drink it up. 

Garbage Juice: Another World Series Championship? YOU'RE PHULL OF IT!

At the risk of stirring up the cosmic forces that can cause a Mets fan's worst nightmare to come true in October, we are here to tell you why the Mets biggest rivals will fall short in their quest for 2010 World Series rings. In this final installment of Garbage Juice, I will explain why the Phillies will end up as losers this season.

As a Mets fan, I know a bad road team when I see one. The Phillies certainly fit the bill. They are under .500 with a run differential of minus 22 when playing away from Citizens Bank Park. Sure, they can pile on the runs at a stadium that is no bigger than the wiffle ball diamond at Citi Field. But those lazy pop-ups don't leave the yard at normal ballparks, which is why the Phillies home run happy lineup is not the same away from their home bandbox. The Reds, Giants and Padres, each of whom will be competing with the Phillies for a playoff spot, are all above average teams on the road. Winning on the road separates the contenders from the pretenders, and we know which category the Phillies fall into this year.

If the Phillies do find a way to make the playoffs, they will be lead into battle by a player who has never experienced playoff baseball. That's right, the great Roy Halladay has been a spectator like the rest of us in each of his twelve big league seasons. The rest of the Phillies roster is fraught with postseason mileage, but that won't mean anything if Halladay does his best Byung-Hyun Kim impression in Game 1 of a series and gets knocked out quicker than K-Rod's father in law. It's one thing to throw a perfect game against the Marlins in May; it's quite another to do it when your season is on the line.

If all else fails, we can always count on good old karma to put up a roadblock in the Phillies journey for a championship. So far this season, the Phillies have received three extra home games from MLB (quite a gift for a bad road team) and were caught using binoculars to spy on opposing pitchers. Then there are the Phillies fans, who deserve to celebrate a World Series about as much as Ollie Perez deserves $12 million. Whether they are vomiting on little kids or getting tasered on the field, Phillies fans have surely drawn the ire of the baseball gods.

So while the Mets' season my be disintegrating, we can at least find joy in the fact that there will be no parades in Philadelphia this year. A stacked lineup will not be enough to overcome the rigors of winning on the road or the postseason inexperience of their best player. But even if it does, a team cheered on by a serial puker has to fall short before the ultimate goal.

When all is said and done, the 2010 Phillies will be remembered more for the antics off the field then what they accomplished on it.

Drink it up. And make sure to keep it down.

Garbage Juice: Yankee Repeat? Fugetaboutit!!!

Well, it appears that the Braves faithful came out in droves yesterday to see why their team is not going to win this season with a record day for traffic on the blog.  Let's see if Yankee fans can beat that today.  I have no doubt they can check in on their iPhone 4s, iPads, Blackberries, the dashboard of their BMWs, or whatever other silver-spoon piece of technology they can afford now that gets internet.  That said, let's jump into the reason that the Yankees are not repeating as World Series champions this season.

Looking at this team on paper, they look like a straight up lock for a repeat.  I mean, I was actually thinking about this the other day.  Just about every player that starts for the Yankees is a fantasy baseball starter - that's impressive.  What's more impressive?  If you tried, you wouldn't be able to get every Yankee player on your fantasy roster because they'd be taken before you could take all of them in a draft - that's really impressive.  Do fantasy stats win championships though?  Nope.  You can't be afraid of a Yankee team because it's filled with stars.  Look at 2001 through 2009 - great teams, lots of stars, good regular season success, but no role players, and most of all, no championships. 

Last year the team was able to put it all together and win one - why? They had the desire to finally prove everyone wrong.  They don't have that this year.After last season, everyone forgets that the reason that the team won so many championships in the late 90s was because of home grown talent and good role players - guys like the core 4, Scott Brosius, Mike Stanton, El Duque, Bernie Williams, etc.  Now, it's all players that have been bought.  This is an old argument, but it serves still as a good reminder that this team is not the team of the late 90s, it's still a team of egos and businessmen brought in because of their performance elsewhere.  It will get you wins all season, but unless you can put it together in the post-season, it doesn't matter.  The one thing they had going for them last year was that they hadn't won one in a while - now they don't have that.

Also, while this team has put together wins, they are severely under-performing this season.  A first place record can often cause people to gloss over the performances of the individual players.  Derek Jeter, the new Mother Teresa of sports and poster boy captain, is skating by with a .276 average and little power at this point.  A-Rod and Texiera have lots of RBIs but not much else.  Robbie Cano has had an awesome year, but when your average drops from the .360s to the .330s, it's from a drop in production (.276 batting average in July).  And I just can't trust all of the pitching.  CC is good but after that (and after he matches up with David Price who can throw 100MPH on his 100th pitch) you have AJ Burnett and his ERA of almost 5, Phil Hughes who's had a terrible 2nd half (2-3 4.88 ERA since the break), Javy Vazquez who has an ERA of almost 5, and Andy Pettite who was doing great until an injury which is just showing he's still good but old and can't keep going this late in the season.  Mariano is still there and untouchable but the rest of the pen is marginal at best.

So, sit back in your $2500 seats Yankee fans.  Gear up for those playoffs.  Be confident.  But, don't forget that the Sox and the Rays are not out of this yet, their teams hate you, they are getting healthier, and they are getting hungry for a championship because they haven't just won one.  So, keep making fun of us over in Queens, and we'll be there to remind you, 2nd place is just first loser.

Again, Spiteful? Yes.  Kinda convoluted? Yes.  Does it make me feel better? A little.

Drink it up.

Garbage Juice: Atlanta Is Brave to Think They Even Have a Shot

Here's our first installment of Garbage Juice and I thought we'd start off with a team that I've hated for a long time - the Atlanta Braves.  Ever since the Braves joined the NL East, they have been a force and a team Mets fans have unfortunately had to be jealous of for a long time.  All through the 90s and early 2000s, we could never beat them, they had the unstoppable pitching staff, and you know how much everyone in NYC loves Larry Jones.  While they've been absent from the post-season for a few years now, it does look like the Bravos are going to make it back to October baseball.  Does this matter? No.  Why?  Same old Braves - no World Series for them.

In the Braves historic run of playoff teams from 1991-2005, they won a single championship in 14 post-season chances.  That's terrible.  Well, you might say that those teams are not this team and this new team is young and ready to blast into legitimacy again.  I say, this team isn't all that different than those from that 14 year span.

First, you have the exact same manager.  Bobby Cox may be loved by the Atlanta faithful, but in my house, we've been waiting for him to trip and fall when running out to the dugout to yell at an umpire for years.  The guy has been thrown out of more games than any manager in the majors.  That's not as important as the fact that while his teams win, they don't win championships.  At some point, that comes down to managing.  This is Cox's last season as he's announced his retirement.  It would be pretty fitting that while this team is making a run for a championship that they fall short as Bobby has always done.

Next, this team does have a pretty good pitching staff like the dominant staffs of the 90s and early 00s Braves.  Sure, it's not Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, etc., but Tim Hudson is pitching lights out this year, Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens are excellent young players, Derek Lowe is pretty good for a 4th starter, and you don't really need a 5th guy in the playoffs.  Well, like I said, these guys are good, but they're not the big time starters of Braves teams past.  Tim Hudson has a career ERA of almost 4 in the playoffs, Hanson and Jurrjens have no experience, and while Lowe has had some success in the post-season, he's 37 now and is not the same guy that pitched in Boston or even LA.  And the question comes to mind, if a rotation full of hall of famers can't get it done, how is this rotation?

Finally, Larry Jones, my least favorite player of all time. As someone who has killed the Mets year after year for most of the time I've watched baseball regularly, it's been a pleasure watching him get old and fade into the sunset.  At the end of the day, Larry's batting in the mid-.200s and has 10 home runs this year.  I'm pretty sure no one is scared anymore and no one outside of Atlanta cares either.  He should probably retire after this season and go on a bicycle tour of America with Bobby Cox where they can hold hands and reminisce about how they couldn't win more than one championship with so many opportunities.

So, with all that, this team is a lot like the old Braves teams.  There are some new additions in Prado, Heyward, etc, but that doesn't seem like enough to carry this team to a championship in 2010.  The Braves will just float into the playoffs, get knocked out early, and then next year settle back to the middle of the pack in the NL East as the Mets rise to the top.

Spiteful? Yes.  Kinda convoluted? Yes.  Does it make me feel better? A little. 

Drink it up.

Garbage Juice: Trash Talk is the New Kool-Aid

Well, as much as we've poured over this season, things are not looking good for the orange and blue my friends.  We've stayed positive on our team all season, kept hope as long as possible, and while a late late run is not impossible, it's improbable after dropping 2 of 3 to both the Phils and Braves in the last week. With that said, there is still kool-aid to drink.  While the Mets may be done, misery loves company and we're here to keep a baseball smile on your face for the rest of the season through the failure of our enemies. 

Enter Garbage Juice - the anti-koolaid for some of our least favorite teams.  Sure it may have a bitter taste, but nothing's more bitter than watching your most hated ball clubs jumping all over each other (gross), spraying champagne, and winning championships  while your team decides what club to use on the 9th fairway.  We unfortunately learned this first hand last October.

Over the next few days, we're going to tell you why the Braves, Phillies, and Yankees, while poised for a playoff run are not going to win the World Series this year.  So, get ready for spite, get ready for a little bit of ridiculousness, get ready for a little bit of hilarity, and keep drinking.

Ya STILL Gotta Believe

Two days ago I swore I would take a break from the Mets. Watching them lose games in lifeless fashion was bad enough. Reading about it in the newspaper and seeing the highlights on Sportscenter just added insult to injury. I love the Mets, and am always willing to pour a glass of koolaid, but it was getting to be just too much.

Then last night I accidentally flipped to SNY in the top of the 9th, just in time to see Jeff Francoeur’s tie breaking home run against the Braves. As Michael Corleone once said, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

Such is the life of a Mets fan. We watch our team get pinned against the ropes and swear that this is the last straw. Then we get excited when they throw a counter punch, believing there is still a chance to come out on top. But it almost always ends in disappointment as we see the Mets take that final knockout blow.

In recent times alone the Mets have excelled at delivering that ultimately fruitless counter punch. Ventura came through with the grand slam single and then Rogers walked in the winning run the next game. Endy made the miraculous catch and then Yadier went yard a few minutes later. Santana pitched an absolute gem in game 161 and then they blew a playoff spot in game 162. The list starts in 1962 and goes on and on.

Yet there is also a very, very short list of exceptions that have kept Mets fans believing to this day. In ’69 they came from nowhere and actually hung on to win it all. In ’86 they got the Buckner miracle in Game 6 and still managed to win Game 7 too.

Hopefully Francoeur’s blast can eventually, in some small way, join that short list. It got our hopes up just a bit, and now we fully expect to see those faint hopes dashed quickly. Yet maybe this will be another exception to the Mets’ rules and last night’s win will prove to be the spark the team needed to go on a miraculous run. We have seen the 2010 Mets run off big winning streaks before, so despite their recent poor play we know it can be done. What better way to catapult that run than with a comeback victory and 3 or 4 follow-up wins against the Braves and Phillies, the teams that the Mets are chasing.

When Francoeur returned to the dugout, his teammates greeted him with the enthusiasm usually seen in a playoff game. Let’s hope that thanks to last night’s win we witness that scene again, only this time it’s in October. It's about time that a Mets counter punch knocked out their opponent.

The Mets Are Confident, So You Should Be Too!

In case you had lost faith in the Mets, reading these quotes will make you cancel those vacation plans you made for October:

“We’re confident. I’m confident,” said Johan Santana.

“We’re very fortunate in the spot we’re in because we haven’t played good baseball.  That’s the hope that we have, we haven’t played good baseball and we’re still in this thing. And if we could boom, run off 30 or 40 games of good baseball we’ve got a real good shot,” said Jerry Manuel

The good news is that Johan, Jerry and the gang are still confident.  And why shouldn’t they be?  Sure, the Mets have tumbled to fourth place and cannot seem to hit, pitch, and field well all in the same game anymore.  But this is still a good team, or so we’ve been told countless times by players and management.    

As Jerry says, all it takes is a “boom” to get this team off and running.  I’m assuming that “boom” involves something like Bay finally going on a power surge.  Or it could be Beltran returning to all-star form.  Maybe it’s Pelfrey pitching like he was two months ago.  I don’t know for sure what is necessary to get that “boom” going for 30 or 40 games, but if Jerry makes it sound easy it must be so.   

The bad news is that if the Royals or Indians ran off 30 or 40 good games they too might have a good shot at the playoffs, so that’s not really saying much.  But I bet the players on those teams aren’t confident like Mr. Santana.  More realistic, maybe, but being realistic doesn’t get you to October.

Confidence does, and the Mets are full of it. 

A Little Kool-Aid Left in the Pitcher?

We've been pouring you the Mets Kool-Aid since the beginning of the season at this point, and even as it got watered down, we've been able to add in a little more mix, shake it up, and pour you another glass.  Well, there's only a little bit of mix left, and we're going to use it all right here because these next 6 games are going to be the most important ones of the season.

The only way the Mets are going to jump back into the mix is to make up some games in the standings directly.  Right now the Mets are 6.5 games back on the Braves and are tied for 3rd with Florida.  That means with sweeps of the Phils and Braves, the Mets could end up right back in the mix just a couple games out of first.  Of course, you say, well what are the chance we sweep these teams?  We're not saying it's going to happen, but if it ever was, now is the time.

We're said it over an over again - this team is streaky, there is potential, the Braves have to lose at some point, etc etc etc.  Well, the Phils are retooled and the Braves show no signs of weakness.  No more excuses, no more spinning win or go home.

The team seems to realize the gravity of the situation according to a few sources:

"Simply put, Mets season on the line this week in Atlanta and Philly. Players know it, too." -Kevin Burkhardt via twitter


"We're positive heading into this week." -David Wright to reporters yesterday


This teams sees it now, this is the team, no moves, no trades, no firings, they're on their own.  It's playing for the season now.  If it doesn't work out, there will be plenty of 2011 Kool-Aid to be poured, but for now, it's 2010 or bust.

I'd love to go pick up a new pack of Kool-Aid with more autumn orange than the blues of a season ending, but it's up to this team to step up and win now.  If they can't, we'll be ready to pour you a glass on why 2011 could be the year of the Met.