Amazin' Avenue

Randolph's days are numbered

TomDC — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:48:58 -0000

Aside from maybe Bobbie Cox and Tony LaRussa, no baseball manager is safe when their team performs below expectations for a prolonged period. The Mets have been underperforming for roughly 3 months now spanning back to last season.

The blame for the Mets poor performance is of course mostly attributable to the players -- Delgado's rapid descent, persistent mediocrity at 2B, the usually awful middle relief, the unreliability of the Mets 3-5 starters, two and a half outfielders the norm, Beltran's continued vulnerability to NY pressure, Wright and Reyes pressing when the rest of the team falters, etc. Nonetheless, I do believe that Randolph has done a poor job of bullpen management as well as putting together the best possible lineup each game. Another failing of Randolph in my opinion is that he's not adept at postively influencing team morale and individual attitudes.

Unless Pedro miracuously comes back and gives the Mets a solid half-season or so, I don't see the Mets making the playoffs without the attitude and positional adjustments from a new and more competent manager. Even with a healthy Pedro and a new manager, the Mets may not make the playoffs. Who on this team is likely to play better for the rest of the season? Maybe Wright and Reyes. The right side of infield looks hopeless. Sadly, I increasingly believe that Beltran will usually underachieve as long as he remains in NY. Heilman is another big disappointment to me. I was of the opinion that he should have been given more of an opportunity to prove himself as a starter, but now I have my doubts about whether he will ever resume being just a relibable middle reliever. I've had enough of Perez. Pelfrey? I dunno. Santana and Maine and then pray for rain?

With Rollins back I think the Phils will overtake the Marlins shortly. Unlike Delgado, you know Howard is not going to continue struggling for long. Without a new and improved manager and a relatively strong Pedro, I think the Mets will finish third, ten or more games behind the division winning Phils.

Poll

When will Randoph be canned?

Billy Wagner: 2008 Mets MVP

ZaBlanc — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:46:33 -0000

Every Met fan in the universe should bet caressing any handy picture of Billy Wagner tonight.

All year it's been "The Mets have the most talent!" this and "The Mets will turn it around!" that. Well f*** that. I've been getting ripped on the blogs for my stance on Carlos Beltran. Everything I say gets taken out of context and I see the "great clutch single" comments all the time. Maybe it's funny, but when you're joking about it on a 2nd inning single, you don't realize what will happen when it's a 9th inning base-running atrocity.

Sorry, folks, the Mets will not *magically* turn it around on their own. Auto-pilot won't work, folks. This ain't Airplane, minus the cigarettes. The Mets need a complete mental change.

Billy Wagner is our only hope of that happening.

His tirade after the game today is what we need. Where are the accountable? How many times does he have to sit in the bullpen and watch this "oh so talented" team sleepwalk through games every day? These guys need some fire. They need to realize that they need to go out and WIN these games -- no one is handing it to them. WAKE UP, GUYS.

If the Mets somehow make it to the playoffs with this zombie team, I guarantee you you'll be thanking Billy Wagner. Not for today, but for what's to come. He is the only man who sees what's happening.

On the eve of the Subway Series, with Mike Pelfrey's no-hit flirtation squandered, the Mets had a clubhouse eruption Thursday. Closer Billy Wagner looked across the room, in the direction of the vacant locker of Carlos Delgado, and blurted:

"Someone tell me why the ---- you're talking to the closer. I didn't even play. They're over there, not being interviewed."

Wagner paused for dramatic effect. Then, in a scene reminiscent of last year's Paul Lo Duca comments, minus the racial overtones, the closer sarcastically added: "I got it. They're gone. ----ing shocker."

</blockquote>

PS - The only other MVP possibility is Omar Minaya, who *must* fire Willie Randolph. Right now. We need fire and grit and he has abandoned his post as Manager since Cardinals-Mets, Game 7, 8th Inning.

Poll

Why should Willie Randoph be fired?

Aaron Heilman is nauseating!

LGREENE — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:39:12 -0000

I love the Mets and I really enjoy watching them on T.V. but no matter what the score everytime Aaron Heilman comes in I walk away from the T.V. If he doesnt give up the long ball he can guarantee at least a run scoring single. He has let over 75 percent of inherited runners score I do not see how that can possibly help a team win a ballgame.

Can't we trade him??

Poll

Should we get rid of Aaron Heilman? yes or no

Who has more RBI...?

dissento — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:39:53 -0000

Who has more RBI than:

Miguel Tejada
Carlos Beltran
Albert Pujols
Mike Jacobs :)
Ryan Howard
Big Papi and Manny
Vlad Guerrero

Ryan Church. I know it won't last, but I love it when players surprise you. I'm so used to having players come in with big expecations, only to disappoint. So here's one that goes the other way, change. It will be interested to see how he looks over the full year.

Shea Stadium Seating and Tour Question

stadiumguru — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:19:48 -0000

Hey everyone,

I am visiting NY this summer, and plan on adding Shea to my stadium list before it's torn down. I am planning on going to a game on July 8th 9th, or 10th. Any answers and tips to my questions would be greatly appreciated!

What are the best tickets to get? I don't want to spend much more than $25-30, but would like decent seats. Is there a certain section to avoid, or try to sit in?

Do they offer tours of Shea Stadium? I go on a tour of most parks I visit, and I don't want to miss out on Shea, but couldn't find anything on the Mets website.

Finally, is there anything in or around Shea that I shouldn't miss visiting while at the game?

Thank you!

-StadiumGuru

A Modest Proposal

SQUAD — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:58:52 -0000

(I've posted this elsewhere, so if you've seen it, I am not stealing it... just thought you guys would appreciate the idea.)

Does anyone think MLB teams need to seriously re-think how they stock their bullpens? Instead of having a bunch of specialists, why not fill it with guys like Figgy. Pitchers who can't start because they get exploited after 2 turns through the order.

Assuming you carry 7 bullpen guys like the Mets, here is how I would construct a bullpen if I were a GM:

You would have 3 late inning, "shut down" pitchers. For us, this would be Wagner, Sanchez, and Feliciano.

Then you would have 3 "second starters" (or "failed starters" if you must). These slots would be filled by pitchers who are effective for about 3-4 innings at a time, but once a lineup sees them for the 3rd time, they get hit hard. It is due to a lack of a 3rd pitch or just stamina/focus issues. Heilman would be perfect for this role. Figueroa would probably work. Heck, even Lima would be fine (he really was ok for 2-3 innings before imploding).

The last slot you could play with. Maybe you would have a LH specialist, especially if you're the Mets b/c you have the Phils and Braves in division. Otherwise, you could add another 2nd starter or shut down guy, depending on your needs.

My thoughts with splitting the bullpen are like so: with starters lasting roughly 6 innings, this gives you 4 innings per night the pen needs to pitch. If you had 3-4 guys capable of giving you 2-4 innings per appearance, you wouldn't need to throw guys every freaking day.

So, for example: Johan – 6; Heilman – 2; Wagner – 1. Ollie – 5; Heilman – 3; Wagner – 1.

A few more notes on the execution: You wouldn't want to bring your second starters into the middle of an inning if you didn't have to. This is why you have 3 shut down pitchers. Say Ollie is cruising along through 5 when things start to unravel in the 6th. Now he's gone 5.1 innings, and there are men on 1 & 2. You wouldn't want to bring a "second starter" into this situation. This would call for a shutdown pitcher (or what they used to call a fireman). So you would bring in Sanchez.

The problem is, this would require a whole new way of thinking for managers. Imagine Willie bringing Duaner into the game in the 6th inning? I'm not sure he could even make the phone call. This would require a whole lot of "thinking outside the box." (And this would apply to most managers, not just Willie, so I don't mean to pick on him.)

Mets Fans/Phillies Fans

MAN in the BOX — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:11:06 -0000

We all know if you're a Mets fan you hate the Phillies. Well That got me to thinking. Do you dislike the Phillies fans, or just the Phillies? As for me I just dislike the Phillies. In a lot of ways Phillies fans are just like Mets fans accept for rooting for the Phillies. I mean Phillies fans are just as critical and hard on their team as Mets fans are. Any player knows if they play for either of these teams they better perform or they'll be booed. The Phillies fans have been through all of the hardships just like the Mets fans. Now you could say that about any team, but I see a difference. I mean let's take the Pirates for instance. Their fans expect them to lose, so they aren't near as hard on them or themselves as we would be. I really think Mets and Phillies fans take losses harder then most fans of their team do. Discounting the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs fans. I don't know I kinda drifted into 2 different topics there. Anyways what's your take?

MILLEDGE TRADE

MAN in the BOX — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:26:41 -0000

I know this topic has probably been visited many a time, but i'm new to this Mets page so I figured i'd re-visit it. I use to run a fansite on myspace called Mets Nation. Well I got rid of the site this past offseason, cause I just couldn't keep up with it. I do remember a lot of Mets fans cursing the Mets for trading Milledge. Well I just wanna get a feel from Mets fans a month in to the season. My opinion is that we got the better end of the deal. I love Ryan Church! Hell I said that right after the deal. I really wasn't high on Scheidner, but he's played pretty well despite the freak injuries he's been having lately. As for Milledge, I think he will be no better then Preston Wilson. I never saw all the hype. I actually ain't on board with the F-Mart hype yet either. The guy that will make strides will be Mr. Mike Carp. Mark my words. Well that's a different topic all together. So sound off on what your take is on the Milledge trade up to this point.

STATEMENT SERIES: LET'S GO METS!!!

MAN in the BOX — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:16:03 -0000

Well it's pretty clear that the Diamondbacks are the best team in baseball after april. I'm not saying they will be all season, but right now they are. This can be a big statement series for the Mets or it could become a major coming out party for the young, hungry and energetic D-Backs. I'm glad Billy Wagner called out the Mets players after getting stomped by the Pirates...yes the Pirates. The team playing in that game looked like the same team that was playing in the Cubs 2 game series. Not to mention that team from last year. It's time for the Mets to start hitting! If they struggle to hit in Arizona, they won't be able to blame the weather. Chances are we won't beat Brandon Webb, but let's take 2 out of 3! It's time for the Mets to make a statement!

Amazin Avenue Mario Kart Wii!

ZaBlanc — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:02:19 -0000

With tonight's game postponed, it means there's more time for Mario Kart Wii? Anyone here have it? Let's exchange friend codes and do some racing! Mine is:

5241-2320-9938

Respond with yours! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii! Wii!

Delgado, slap hitter?

jadelane — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:07:01 -0000

Okay, so that's never going to happen. Still, I was talking about Delgado's woes the other day and wondered a few things, had a few ideas. Delgado's basically a pull hitter who's getting old. My thoughts were basically this:

In order for pull hitting to work, you have to guess early and meet the ball over the plate, swinging through it. This essentially requires the ability to apply a lot of bat speed over a very short time, which in turn requires a lot of physical strength. As players age, their strength ebbs, and their ability to get their bat through the zone quickly declines--Delgado can't catch up to the fastball anymore.

One problem with this is that in order to catch up, he has to guess earlier, which leads to poorer guesses and more strikeouts or foul balls. The other problem is that even when he does guess right, he's just not as strong as he used to be, and so the ball just isn't going to go as far.

There's nothing he can really do about the strength--maybe work out, but even then, strength just declines with age. One thing he can do, though, is wait slightly longer on pitches.

Doing so will mean he gets less power on the ball when he makes good contact, but that he'll make good contact more often, and so more efficiently transfer power to the ball more often. He'd morph into more of a singles-doubles-and walks hitter, and so clog up the bases, but he'd be able to beat the shift more often and get on base more frequently.

Questions:

Is this totally obvious? My guess is yes, but it felt original when it occurred to me.

Do pull hitters tend to have steeper drop-offs than other players?

Does anyone know of other pull hitters that have transformed their approach as they aged?

Bonds, Barry Bonds

SQUAD — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:16:33 -0000

We need to sign him and hand him a 1B mitt. Yes there is baggage, but this team has plenty itself after the collapse. The fact is that if this team wants to compete and turn things around they need to improve their lineup. Bonds can still hit, and I'm sure if Ryan Howard can "play" 1B then Bonds can do the same. Cut Delgado and bring up Abreu to backup Bonds at 1B.

Is this somewhat drastic? Perhaps. But I think the lineup would actually go from whimpering to scary real fast with the addition of Bonds.

Reyes SS, Beltran CF, Wright 3B, Bonds 1B, Alou LF, Church RF, Schneider C, Castillo 2B, Pitcher.

Git R done.

Alou who? What's up with the signage?

dat cubfan daver — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:41:24 -0000

Hey, Mets fans! What's up? I know, I know...a Cubs fan is the last person you want to hear from right now. And, believe it or not, I didn't come here to gloat. I think your team remains one of the best in the NL. I'd say your better hitters just had an off couple of days and, quite frankly, many of us Cubs fans are in just as much shock as you are at how productive our offense has been over the last five games.

In any case, I have a simple question for you all regarding this picture from yesterday's game:

via assets.sbnation.com

Do any of you know why the Mets broadcasters hung an "Alou" sign under their booth? Is it a "get well soon" gesture? Is it some kind of odd swipe at Cubs fan -- an oblique Bartman reference perhaps? We're all rather confused over Bleed Cubbie Blue. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Good luck on the rest of the season! See ya in September.

Carlos Beltran: Clutch in September 2007?

ZaBlanc — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:58:27 -0000

So, I seem to get challenged on my assertions of whether Carlos Beltran is a "big time" player.

My observations are simple:In big situations, Carlos rarely performs. In fundamental RBI positions, Carlos routinely strikes out or fails to advance runners . In all other situations and facets of the game, he is an excellent player.

So, based on a challenge, here is Carlos's September 2007 performance, game by game. Note that I don't care about his overall numbers. I'm looking on critical situations and how he responds. Here they are:

9/1 - Mets win comfortably, 5-1.

9/2 - With Mets up just 3-1 in 8th, Beltran leads off with walk and steal. (good)

9/3 - Mets win comfortably, 10-4.

9/4 - With Mets down 5-3 in 6th, Beltran hits 2-run homer to tie game. (good)

9/5 - With Mets down 3-0 in 4th, 1st and 2nd, none out, Beltran strikes out, failing to advance baserunners. (bad)

9/10 - With Mets up 3-2, bottom of the 8th, Wright on 2nd with 1 out, Beltran strikes out, failing to advance runner. (bad)

9/12 - Tied 3-3, Beltran leads off 8th by singling and stealing. (good) (At this point I am reliving the nightmare of last season...how did we lose this???)

9/14 - Tied 2-2 in 8th against Phillies, bases loaded, Beltran strikes out. (baaad)

9/15 - Mets down 5-3 in 9th, runners on 1st and 2nd, flied out to end game. (bad) Game including this: "Carlos Beltran misplayed Jimmy Rollins' line drive into a two-run triple and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to beat New York 5-3 Saturday for their seventh straight victory over the Mets."

9/16 - Beltran hits 3-run homer in 5th to tie game 5-5 against Phillies. (goooooood)

9/20 - Down 4-3 in 8th to Marlins, Wright on 1st, 0 out, Beltran strikes out failing to advance runner. (bad)

9/? - Rallying from 10-3 down in the 9th, at 10-6, 2 on, 1 out, Beltran walks in front of Alou's double. (ok)

9/28 - Down 7-4 in 7th, 1st and 3rd, 1 out, Beltran strikes out and fails to drive in runner from 3rd. (baaaad) Down 7-4, man on 2nd, 2 out, Beltran ends game with foul out. (bad)

9/30 - GO TO HELL TOM GLAVINE!

All in all, what do you think? Not a lot to go on. The list will seem picky, but it's objective.

Oh, yeah, guess who made the last out in Game 7 2006? Yeah.

Eddie Rules

elliot — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:59:37 -0000

The NY Mets have a special set of rules for how Binghamton Mets relief pitcher and closer prospect Eddie Kunz can be used. One of the unbreakable rules is that he can only enter a game to begin an inning. On Sunday (April 19th), the B-Mets got clobbered by the Portland Sea Dogs to the tune of 13-2. Their bullpen is on the thin side, and the starting pitcher Jose Sanchez only went 5.1 innings. Robert Paulk was brought in to pitch in the 8th inning. With two outs, he allowed 10 consecutive hits before the manager absolutely had to get him out of there. Since they weren't allowed to insert Kunz unless it was to begin an inning, they put in Jonathan Malo, a second baseman. Kunz was brought in to pitch a scoreless 9th.

Fox sucks

sireric — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:55:05 -0000

Maybe SNY has gotten me a little spoiled, but I can't stand watching the Mets on Fox. It seems like every time the Mets are on Fox they have the shitty luck of drawing Tim McCarver. Not only does Timmy love the sound of his own voice, but he apparently assumes everyone else does as well. Don't get me wrong he knows his stuff and he'll tell you all about it. Just once I would love to hear his play-by-play guy turn to him and say, "Jesus Tim you've beaten that horse into glue already, let it go man."

To harp on Reyes for his celebrating is ridiculous. If the Marlins had a problem with his dancing why did it come to a head then? It's not like he started against them, he was doing all that stuff in '05 and '06 as well as all of '07. Why get mad now?

And for the record, Kenny Albert needs to only talk about things he knows. What that is I'm not sure, but I know it's not Mets trades. When he makes the statement that Church and Schneider were aquired in a deal with the Nats that sent Milledge and LoDuca the other way, I turned to volume off.

Lo Duca Still Hates the Mets

DoctorK16 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:34:42 -0000

Paul Lo Duca has no hard feeling when it comes to Met fans. As for the team itself, that's a different story.

"I want them to lose every game," the Nationals catcher told The AP Sunday.

Lo Duca spent two years in Queens before signing with Washington in the offseason. He was available, he says, because Omar Minaya never attempted to re-sign him. He gets his first chance to beat his former team tomorrow night at Shea.

"I'm a brutally honest person, and I tell it like it is. You don't like it, so be it," he said. "And they didn't like it."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/04/13/2008-04-13_paul_lo_duca_boo_mets.html

Official: Gary, Keith and Ron are the best

JoshNY — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:54:20 -0000

(promoted from FanPosts. --eric)

Not sure if anyone heard about it, but the New York Emmy Awards were announced about a week ago. The 2007 Mets RS telecasts won for Live Sports Event: Program/Special, Series. In other words, Gary, Keith and Ron are the best booth crew in New York, as we all already knew.

Other honorees included a Telemundo piece on Jose Reyes, Len Berman's sportscasts on NBC, Yankees' pre/postgame shows on YES, MSG Networks' "50 Greatest Moments at Madison Square Garden" miniseries (which was itself responsible for nine awards), Al Trautwig for Sports Anchor, Marv Albert for play-by-play, and Billy Jaffe (who I think does Islanders telecasts) for sports analysis.

In addition to the Mets telecasts, SNY was also recognized for children's programming (Kids Clubhouse) and historical/cultural news (Baseball in Africa).

Shea Newbie

Mets fan in Hoosier Land — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:11:55 -0000

Hello, all!

I will be visiting Shea for the first time during Mets/Yankees series at the end of June. What are the one or two things I need to do prior to a day game? Are there any bars/restaurants or tailgating spots I should look for? And forgive the stupid question here but, as I will be driving, can I actually park at Shea? If so, how early should I arrive?

Thanks for the help!

Help on parking somewhere in Queens

elliot — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:25:20 -0000

A vanload of us are driving in from Binghamton, NY to see a couple of games at Shea this summer. We were thinking of going to a weekend day game, parking somewhere in Queens and taking the subway to the game. Any ideas on where we can park in Queens? Any ideas on a good pizza place or something like that to grab a bite after the game? We'll have some 12-16 year old kids with us. Thanks, folks.