The Mets Killers Team: Second Base

by Matthew Callan on Jan 7, 2011 12:00 PM EST

For a full explanation of this little project, see my introductory post here.

The Reader's Digest version: I'm working on a piece for the upcoming Amazin Avenue Annual about an imaginary team made up solely of Mets Killers, to see how such a team would fare when forced to play a full schedule against teams other than the Mets.

Today, we're looking for the top Mets Killing second baseman. And before you comment accordingly, I've already gotten a few requests to make Luis Castillo one of the choices. I was briefly tempted to do this, but ultimately decided that this list should be comprised of players who do damage to the Mets in service of other teams. Plus, a Castillo choice would take the drama out of this list, because we all know he'd win in a landslide.

Polling begins....(wait for it)....now!

Poll

Among active players, who is the biggest Mets Killer second baseman of them all?

Dan Uggla

208 votes

Chase Utley

558 votes

Brandon Phillips

62 votes

Ronnie Belliard

70 votes

898 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 32 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Utley easily

Can’t even count on my hands how many times he’s just killed us

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet

by Syler on Jan 7, 2011 12:06 PM EST reply actions

a friend of mine went to a bar in philly recently.

there is a “I heart chase” martini at this bar.

i vowed to never enter there ever.

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jan 7, 2011 12:38 PM EST up reply actions

Brandon Phillips

Something inside me went “Urgh” when I saw his name. Sure enough, I looked up the stats, and he hit .344/.388/.632 against us in 140 PAs (32 games), with 8 HR and 31 RBI. Utley has more power (.277/.379/.534 with 26 HR and 64 RBI), but he also had 485 plate (115 games) appearances against us.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Jan 7, 2011 12:26 PM EST reply actions

"but he also had 485 plate (115 games) appearances against us."

And that’s why it should be Utley, hands down.

Beyond the Box Score

by Bill Petti on Jan 7, 2011 2:45 PM EST up reply actions

Oh, it's Phillips.

Again, 8 HRs and .632 slugging in 1/5 of a season’s worth of PAs.

Utley doesn’t even have more power against the Mets… we’ve just seen him more often.

by LeiterMilnerFasterStronger on Jan 8, 2011 4:55 PM EST up reply actions

that smug bastard

who mac wrote a letter to.

What Would Matt Szczur Do?

Fact on Villanova Sports

by Hoyadestroya85 on Jan 7, 2011 12:35 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

rec'd for the gang

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jan 7, 2011 12:38 PM EST up reply actions

Utley.

by nmigliore on Jan 7, 2011 12:44 PM EST reply actions

NEXT POLL

the bit about Castillo gave me an idea for another poll: “Met-Killers” in the sense that they hurt/killed the Mets while they were on the Mets. Lots of candidates there (the aforementioned Castillo, Mel Rojas, Bonilla- the list goes on). The criteria could include players that the Mets front office kept long after even the casual fan could identify them as poisonous. For example, last year’s list would be Jacobs, Tatis, Cora, & Francouer. This year’s list would begin with Castillo & Perez.

by MDMETSFAN on Jan 7, 2011 2:04 PM EST reply actions

topped

Topped by Manuel.

Castillo wouldn’t even be the top 2B of last decade.

-Ceetar, the Optimistic Mets Fan

by Ceetar on Jan 7, 2011 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

third

in fact..he wouldn’t even be second.

-Ceetar, the Optimistic Mets Fan

by Ceetar on Jan 7, 2011 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

I was going to nominate Castillo

but then I thought of Kaz, Arias, A Hern, A Reyes, Cora, Jeffries, Relaford, Miller, Alomar, Baerga, Gotay, Pecota, Lopez, Alexander, VIzcaino, Willie, Almon (not Greg), Scutero, Junior Naboia, Bell, Mcknight, Vina ,Cairo, Herr, Woodward, Abbott and Chico Walker. Basically everyone not named Alfonzo and Valentin over the last 20 years. Face it, 2B is the new 3B. Maybe they’ll do a song about it too.

by t agee on Jan 7, 2011 7:22 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Wow

Please tell me you did not come up with these off the top of your head. If so, a hat tip to your strong memory of disappointment at second basemen.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 7, 2011 7:47 PM EST up reply actions

Mookie, I didn't want to leave out any of the rogues

so I looked ‘em up, had forgotten quite a few of them, but many of them had left an indelible impression. Hope there’s another Fonzie in our near future.

by t agee on Jan 7, 2011 8:32 PM EST up reply actions

You forgot washed up Randolph

by FrancoTAU on Jan 7, 2011 8:31 PM EST up reply actions

Put him inbetween Vizcaino and (not Greg) Almon

by t agee on Jan 7, 2011 10:23 PM EST up reply actions

Desi Relaford was pretty good in 2001

Don’t know why he’s on that list.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!

by Steve Schreiber on Jan 7, 2011 10:44 PM EST up reply actions

Your right mistermet.

Strike Relaford from this gallery of rouges. Relaford’s overall good play in 2001 must have created the need to trade the crown jewel of our farm system for a 36 year old Alomar. Ah the days of Robbie, Jerry, and Mo doing the curly shuffle, good times, good times.

by t agee on Jan 10, 2011 10:26 AM EST up reply actions

The upside is if you do excel at 2B for the Mets than you have a manager's job for life.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 7, 2011 11:53 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

And rec'd as well

Even the championship teams needed platoons at the position. And the best 2B in team history (Fonzie) played about as many games at 3B.

What's the score, boys?
What did Bugs Bunny do?
What's with the Carrot League baseball today?

by StorkFan on Jan 9, 2011 8:23 PM EST up reply actions

Speaking of Killers, has anyone used this quote as a joke yet?

First of all to understand what happened to killer, you gotta understand who killer the dog was. Now killer was born to a three-legged bitch of a mother. He was always ashamed of this, man. And then right after that he’s adopted by this man, Tito Liebowitz he’s a small time gun runner and a rotweiler fight promoter. So he puts killer into training. They see killer’s good. He is damn good. But then he had the fight of his life. They pit him against his brother nibbles. And killer said “no man that’s my brother, I can’t fight nibbles” but they made him fight anyway, and killer, he killed nibbles. Killer said “that’s it!” he called off all his fights, and he started doing crack, and he freaked out. Then in a rage, he collapsed, and his heart no longer beat. wow.

HELLO HELLO MR WILPON... BUY THAT MANSION. WE DONT NEED A CONDO.

by kendynamo on Jan 7, 2011 4:04 PM EST reply actions 3 recs

Dude,

you have smoked yourself retarded.

Carter, hand me my thinking grenades!

by meigs1414 on Jan 7, 2011 4:16 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

I went with Ronnie Belliard

because the wounds from 2007 and 2008 are still strong. He seemed like he got a ton of big hits against us and made great plays in the field and not to mention that I always thought he looked like a Muppet.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!

by Steve Schreiber on Jan 7, 2011 4:17 PM EST reply actions

This

I saw this as someone who performed/stepped up against the mets. Utley was just basically himself.

by Joshuah on Jan 7, 2011 5:00 PM EST up reply actions

Same here.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 7, 2011 5:42 PM EST up reply actions

This is quickly turning into an All Star vote for the NL.

Having career 900 OPS players hit us at a roughly 900 OPS clip isn’t really them owning us.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 7, 2011 5:43 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

I voted for Belliard

because he’s a fat piece of shit, and I hate him.

Thus Spoke Keith Hernandez

Twitter: ThomasTSKH

"Everything's gonna be awesome." -Ken Oberkfell

by Thomas Wachtel on Jan 8, 2011 10:56 AM EST reply actions

Obviously it's Utley

but Belliard is the unexpected one

Squeezed to Song and Bendtner and Song and Nasri oh lovely lovely lovely!
-Peter Drury, the one time his commentating has ever been acceptable.

by Aidan Gibson on Jan 8, 2011 2:38 PM EST reply actions

It's really NOT Utley or Uggla.

Utley is himself, and Uggla’s actually worse against us.

Phillips MURDERS the Mets.

by LeiterMilnerFasterStronger on Jan 8, 2011 4:53 PM EST reply actions

Exactly

Utley is just good, not any better vs the Mets.
Utley, career OPS 894, vs Mets 913

Phillips career OPS 746, vs Mets 1.020

It’s Phillips hands down.

by TikiUVA on Jan 8, 2011 5:32 PM EST up reply actions

I know the stats don't back it up but I automatically voted Uggla.

Just seems that he crushes us in game winning situ’s

Mets 2010 slogan; "a whole new level of stupid you were unprepared for."

by scott from peekskill on Jan 8, 2011 7:26 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

"Killer" is a vague term.

Chase Utley is the best hitter on there, no doubt. Just because he puts up good numbers against the Mets, does that make him a Met killer? Not necessarily. His numbers against all teams are great, and I’m haven’t done any number crunching research, but just by eye, he hasnt been far-and-beyond better against just the Mets. I feel like (again by eye) Belliard is the guy who consistently does far better than his average statistics when he plays the Mets.

by VinnyG917 on Jan 9, 2011 1:31 PM EST reply actions