Mets Fans Forever

Attention Howard Johnson: It's Check Out Time!

 

Author: Greg Pomes

Growing up as Mets fan “HoJo” was one of my favorite players.  I always looked forward to seeing him hit, hoping to see him hit a homerun when I was at Shea and to see the apple rise.  I remember defending him when he wasn’t able to hit in 1992 and 1993 that I actually got into fights with friends who ragged on him as he was my favorite player.  I was saddened to see him leave the Mets in 1994 for the Rockies.  I think I was even more saddened to see him attempt a comeback in 1997 with the Mets that ultimately led to his retirement.  In 2002 I was happy to hear that he took the job as the hitting coach and then the next year he became the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones.  I went to a few games that year just to see him.  When he was promoted to AAA to coach future Mets batters I was thrilled.  Afterall HoJo is 3rd on the Mets all time homerun lists as well as second in steals and doubles for the Mets.  The future looked bright.  I thought that HoJo being promoted to the majors as the 1st base coached was a good fit given his ability to steal bases.  After the all-star break in 2007 HoJo became the hitting coach for the Mets and I thought that was going to make the Mets the best offensive team in baseball.  Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case.

From the 2nd half of the 2007 season up to the present the Mets have been horrible at the plate.  The 2006 Mets were known for how clutch they were during the season, the ability to wait for their pitch and take advantage.  2007 the team was not as good behind the plate, Delgado was awful so the Mets make Howard Johnson their hitting coach, firing the previous one.  If you look at the stats the Mets ability to hit with runners on and in clutch situations went down.  The lineup in September was downright awful except for Wright and Alou.  2008, more of the same, the lineup could not hit with runners on and left a lot on base. 

This year has been even worse.  Look at the way David Wright has hit this season, no power at all this season.  Strikeouts are way up for him.  Over Wright's career with two strikes he was one of the most dangerous hitters to face.  His ability to go the other way with 2 strikes in the count made him one of the best hitters in the league.  This year he has over 80 strikeouts, on pace for 170 strike outs.  The power doesn't really concern me but his average is very deceptive.  His swing is all over the place, he has struck out over 30 times looking.  The last 2 weekends Wright has gone 0-23, 8 strikeouts and ground into 3 double plays.  That's not even accounting the  Fernando Tatis is another guy having a hard time at the plate.  I noticed that his swing seemed a little longer, a little slower than last year.  For the last month or so Keith Hernandez has been talking about the same thing.  Tatis even admitted that something is different with his swing, but there have been no reports of HoJo working with him, trying to fix his swing, doing what the Mets pay him to do.  When I watch Met games and other baseball games, after guys have some bad at bats the tv crews sometimes show into the dugout the hitting coach talking to someone, I've yet to see anything like that from Howard Johnson.  Whenever we see him in the dugout he's usually sitting down, staring straight ahead, chewing gum. 

This team at the plate has looked awful this year, even before the injuries started.  This weekend the Mets had no extra base hits following the 7th inning Friday night.  In 27 innings the mets have scored just 3 runs!  12 of 20 games this season the Mets lost by 3 or fewer runs.  The lineup made Rodrigo Lopez, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton look like Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine circa 1995 this weekend. 

For 2009 we are last in HR's.  When I say last in HR's, I don't mean in the NL East or even the National League but in the entire league, we are dead last, it's not even close.  At first it was blamed on Citi Field the Mets lack of power but this team is not hitting any more homeruns outside of Citi Field.  Opposing teams homeruns at Citi Field have more than the Mets do. 

I know firing and hiring a new hitting coach will not come close to solving the problems the Mets have but a change needs to happen and soon.  Usually when a coach is fired a spark is ignited and the Mets need something to ignite them and soon.

Fernando Martinez Has A Sore Right Knee

David Lennon, the New York Mets beat writer for Newsday reported on his twitter account that Fernando "F-Mart" Martinez is out of the lineup today due to pain behind his right knee.  This isn't the 1st injury of F-Mart's career nor is it the first time he has hurt his right knee. 

What's really bothering me is that there are no plans at this time for F-Mart to go see a doctor and have the knee looked at.  I just don't understand what will it take for the Mets to treat injuries a little more serious.  We all know the Wilpons fell victim to Bernie Madoff, but did they lose so much money that they can't send their injured players to get an MRI?  You would think that with almost 70 million dollars sitting on the DL they would treat injuries more seriously than they have.

Halfway Home

Author: Clare Lafferty

    Well, the season is now officially halfway over. In the beginning, we had such promise and high hopes. We had gone out and made some acquisitions that were needed to significantly improve our bullpen with JJ and K Rod. Although we didn't go out and get a major star, we did sign Gary Sheffield for the league minimum and took a chance on him. So far, he has been fine. Luis Castillo has been playing fine this year, except for one notable exception. And although he has not had the power numbers this year, David Wright is one of the league leaders in batting average.
    Now for the negatives and there are plenty.
    The injuries are just killing this team. Currently, we have a AAA team out there with the exception of Wright and Castillo. The pitching has not been consistent this year - -even Johan is struggling. And do I need to talk about the defense or lack of it? The defense has been horrible this year and it is costing us games. I don't mind if errors are made - after all, the players are human. But it's when the fundamentals of the game are not followed that gets me mad. AAA or not, you have to make the routine plays.
    Has Jerry Manuel lost control of this team? I still think he is a good manager and actually has done a good job considering that the Mets are only 2 games out of first.  That is also due to the mediocraty of the entire division. Thank goodness the Phillies have been playing so terribly.
    I hope that when Beltran and Reyes return, we can get back to a winning pattern. I have my fingers crossed as well that when Oliver Perez comes back, he can pitch the way we know he can. There are a lot of "ifs" with this team right now and it is a very uncertain future.
    Nevertheless, I still have hope. Since we are right in the running now, what's to say we can't have a hot streak after the All Star Break and get it together. I will never give up on this team. When all the core players perform as we know they can, we are as good as any team in this weak division. So, hang in there everyone and keep the faith. Let's see what the next 81 games will bring.

Mets Overcome Adversity, Take Down Pirates

Author: Paul Zinn

A one-day stop in Pittsburgh for a make-up game sandwiched between tough series in Milwaukee and Philadelphia had to be inconvenient for the Mets. And New York had additional reasons to throw in the towel during this afternoon's contest at PNC Park.

They endured a rain-delay. They trailed 5-0. They rallied and built a 8-5 lead. They blew an 8-6 advantage in the ninth on a two-run home run. They then nearly lost.

But finally in the tenth, the Mets railled one final time, and the second time around Francisco Rodriguez converted the save for a huge, 9-8 win.

In the end, the Mets manufactured a run. With two outs and no one on in the tenth, Fernando Tatis was hit by a pitch. He stole second and scored on Ryan Church's single up the middle.

It was fittng because Church  and Tatis were the two biggest offensive performers for the Mets. Church went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Tatis added a 3-for-4 performance and two RBIs and four runs.

Rodriguez entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with an 8-6 lead in a save situation but was unable to convert. Pinch-hitter Freddy Sanchez beat out an infield single and Adam LaRoche followed by belting a two-run homer to right centerfield.

Following the round-tripper, the go-ahead run got to third base, but fortunately, Brandon Moss' liner was right at second-baseman Luis Castillo to end the threat.

New York showed a lot of character rallying from a 5-0 deficit. Starting pitcher Tim Redding clearly just did not have his best stuff, going 2 1/3 innings and allowing five runs on six hits.

Robinson Diaz started the scoring in the second with an RBI single, and then after Redding loaded the bases, he hit Andrew McCutchen with a pitch to force home a second run. Jack Wilson's sacrifice fly made it 3-0, and then in the fourth Garrett Jones and Diaz knocked a run-scoring double and triple, respectively.

The Mets clawed back though, as Pirates starter Paul Maholm was equally as bad as Redding. And New York rallied quickly. Daniel Murphy's single brought home two runs in the fourth. Then, Gary Sheffield, Church and Nick Evans all had run-scoring singles, and Jeremy Reed added a sacrific fly during a four-run fifth to give the Mets a 6-5 lead.

A two-run homer by Tatis gave the Mets two more runs in the sixth that proved key. At the time, it added up to an 8-5 lead.

Jones' homer got one back for the Pirates in the seventh. But Sean Green worked out of a jam in the eight, and it was set-up for Rodriguez. The Mets closer has 21 saves and is in the midst of an excellent season. He is probably entitled to some slack, certainly more so than most Mets, but he has certainly not been as good of late.

The Mets will be in Philadelphia over the holiday weekend for a huge series. The matchups are as follows:

Friday, 7:05 p.m.: Livan Hernandez (5-3) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (No Record)

Saturday, 4:05 p.m. Fernando Nieve (3-2) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-6)

Sunday, 1:35 p.m. Johan Santana (9-6) vs. Joe Blanton (4-4)

The Mets are now 39-39 and amazingly, have an opportunity to be in sole possession of first place at the end of the weekend.

Mets Salvage Finale With Brewers

Author: Paul Zinn

In a game the Mets desparately needed to have, starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey's performance was the biggest of many key efforts that spurred New York to a 1-0 victory over the Brewers at Miller Field this afternoon.

The victory snaps a five-game losing streak, and allowed the Mets to avoid a sweep to start a key seven-game road trip. It also follows a 30-minute, closed door team meeting by manager Jerry Manual last night and a dreadful month of June for the team.

The contest was littered with key performances, but none were more significant than Pelfrey's.

The pitcher improved to 6-3 with the victory and threw 7 2/3's innings of shutout ball, while striking out six and allowing the same number of hits.

Pelfrey left with two outs in the eighth inning and runners on first and second, but reliever Sean Green got a key out against J.J. Hardy to put the game in the hands of closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Even Rodriguez did not make things easy on himself, in obtaining his 21st save of the season.

Ryan Braun led off with a single, and the next batter, Prince Fielder, hit a rocket of a line drive that would have definitely been a base hit had shortstop Alex Cora not been perfectly positioned to make the catch. Rodriguez then recorded two more ground ball outs to end the game.

No ones know if this will signal any type of turnaround, but it helps the Mets remain close to the Phillies and the Marlins for one more day, while they try to get healthy.

Even more significant is that the pitching had to be perfect today. New York faced Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo, and he had his best stuff, allowing just the one run on five hits, while striking out a career-high 12 in seven innings.

The lone run came in the sixth when Luis Castillo led off with a double to left and scored on Ryan Church's single to centerfield.

Still, Pelfrey was in and out of trouble all afternoon. He got a pair of key double plays in the fourth and fifth innings to stave off run-scoring opportunities. Then, in the seventh, Prince Fielder was tagged out stealing third for the first out of the inning.

The Mets make a one-day stop in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon at 12:35 p.m. before three key games at Philadelphia. Tomorrow Tim Redding (1-3) faces Paul Maholm (5-4).

Q & A With Adam Rubin Of The New York Daily News

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the chance to e-mail Adam Rubin of the Daily News a couple of questions about the Mets recent struggles, and what teams are saying around the majors. Enjoy

Will Sommer: Are the Mets the laughing stock around the majors?

Adam Rubin: Laughing stock? That's a bit harsh. I'm sure Willie Randolph may be privately smirking though in the Brewers dugout. I'm sure no one feels bad about a big-market team that throws around a lot of dollars struggling.

WS: How come the Mets have no baseball sense, and play such lousy defense?

AR:If you're referring to a play like Daniel Murphy throwing late across the diamond in the first inning and asetting the Mets up for a big inning, that's just inexperience at the position. If you're referring to Fernando Martinez falling in the outfield, that's just a bad break. I'm not sure there's a rhyme or reason. People noted that before the really poorly played game against the Yankees, the Mets took infield practice at Citi Field that afternoon.

WS: Are the Mets going to be buyers or sellers?

AR: I have a feeling neither, though they'll shop for now.

WS: If Oliver Perez does poorly in AAA what's next?

AR: Another Triple-A start. But assuming his performance is passable, Jerry Manuel has said he likely plans to piggyback Perez on Tim Redding's start next week.

WS: Is Johan Santana at his boiling point?

AR: I'm sure he can't be thrilled, but something tells me $137.5 million makes it a little easier to swallow.

WS: What's the word around the press box?

AR: It's not going to be a fun few days of travel with day game in Milwaukee on Wednesday, day game in Pittsburgh on Thursday and game in Philadelphia on Friday. Not exactly major hubs.

Mets Batting Stance Video

Author: Will Sommer

Since every Met fan is fuming, with their latest lost, I thought I would post a video from The Batting Stance Guy. Here is a video of The Batting Stance Guy recreating some of the Mets past and present hitters batting stance. His stuff has been featured on E:60, Fox Sports, MLB Network, and countless others. If I say so myself they are quite good.

David Wright, Gary Sheffield Get The Day Off Wednesday

The Mets have lost five games in row, they have lost 3/4 of their "core" and the manager continues to mismanage this team right out of contention.  For Thursday's game Jerry Manuel has decided to give both Gary Sheffield and David Wright the day off.  In last nights game the combination of Wright and Sheffield had 4 of the Mets 9 hits.  Wright knocked in 2 of the Mets 3 runs with a 2 run home run, his first in 3 weeks.  Now tomorrow the rest of the lineup, a lineup that we know cannot hit worth a lick will try and avoid yet another sweep.

I know Wright is not a machine and needs a day off once in a while during a 162 game season.  I also know that Gary Sheffield is 40 years old, his knees are aching and cannot play everyday.  My question is why are the two of the better hitters on the team getting a day off on the same day?  With these two players in the lineup this team cannot win a game.  It makes absolutely no sense.  Why not give Gary Sheffield off Wednesday, since it will be a day game after a night game and then give David the day off against Pittsburgh on Thursday? 

Jerry Manuel continues to make baffling decisions with this team while they are suffering.  This is not the first time this season that Jerry has pretty much given the game to the opposing team.  Coming into Spring Training Jerry promised that every game was going to be played as must win, unfortunately Jerry has gone against that promise. 

Mets Lose 5th Straight 6-3

Author: Drew Costello

 

Johan Santana’s rough 4^th inning was unrecoverable as The Mets lost to The Brewers 6-3 Tuesday night. Two walks and two doubles in the inning led to three Brewers runs and would end up being enough to hold off The Mets feeble order for the rest of the game.

 

Johan’s last appearance started out shaky, but he was able to go into the clubhouse, watch video, and figure out the flaw in his delivery. I’m not sure if it’s mechanical or if the blister is continuing to bother him, but it couldn’t come at a worse time. I am of the opinion that it’s mechanical because how quickly we forget that Johan went through a rough stretch right around this time last season before he went on a roll.

 

The game got off to an encouraging start for The Mets as David Wright hit an opposite field two run home run that was reminiscent of the 2006 David Wright who hit a ton of home runs to right field. The Brewers were able to quickly tie it up over the next few innings and then the aforementioned fourth inning occurred taking the air out of The Mets’ sails.

 

Wright’s home run and Martinez’s home run were the only two positives to take out of this game. The Mets played sloppy baseball yet again and aren’t even giving themselves a chance to win. It’s very disheartening to watch and they better find a solution and FAST.

 

The Mets finish their series with The Brewers on Wednesday when Yovani Gallardo hosts Mike Pelfrey.

 

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S.O.S

Author: Drew Costello

 

  It is no secret that The Mets have struggled due to injuries and poor fundamentals over the last month and a half. The question has now become how to fix this group of struggling and injured players. Omar Minaya has struggled to make a trade due to the parity around baseball. The fact that The Mets stand 37-38 today and are only three games back of The Phillies is a prime example of the mediocrity in the National League this season. After the disastrous last three games, I thought it was a good time to look at The Mets options on the trade market as it stands right now.

 

Aubrey Huff:

 

Postitives:  Huff is batting .275 with 10 Home Runs and 52 RBIs coming into tonight’s game. He would provide the power and run production that The Mets have been in need of since Beltran and Delgado went down to injuries.

 

Negatives: We saw first hand that Huff struggles defensively at first base. The Mets have lost games due to poor fundamentals and he wouldn’t help in that category. Another negative is that he plays in a “hitter friendly” ball park. He would undoubtedly see his production diminish a bit playing his home games at Citi Field. He is also the type of player Omar Minaya has explained would cause a problem after The Mets’ players get healthy because his lack of versatility would create roster problems when The Mets get some players back from the disabled list.

 

Probability of becoming a Met: Unlikely

 

 Mark Teahen:

 

Positives: Teahen is hitting .281 with 8 homeruns and 28 RBIs with 36 runs scored. He can play multiple positions and has played third base, right field, and first base this season. His versatility would be his most attractive trait to The Mets. He would fit perfectly in the make up of Citi Field because the last two seasons he has had over 30 doubles.

 

Negatives: This is the first season that he has had average above .270 and Citi Field could bring him back down to his average of about .260 which is not very productive.

 

Probability of becoming a Met: 50-50

 

 Adam Dunn:

Positives: Dunn is batting .257 with 19 Home Runs and 53 RBIs. He’s also walked 60 times. Out of all the options mentioned so fan Dunn clearly has the best power of the group. He has hit some of the longest home runs in the majors this season and his power would not dip much at Citi Field. He also has the benefit of being able to play a corner outfield position and man first base for the Mets.

 

Negatives: While Dunn has 19 Home Runs, he also has struck out 84 times. The Nationals have a new general manager in Mike Rizzo who took over for Jim Bowden after he fired for a scandal in the Dominican Republic. Rizzo is looking to keep the job after the season and is looking to impress management and has been asking for a ton for Adam Dunn. Dunn is also a liability in the field. He has not very mobile and misjudges fly balls occasionally.

 

Probability of becoming a Met: Unlikely

 

 Nick Johnson:

 

Positives: Johnson is a good defender at first base and hits for a high average. This season he is hitting .299 with 5 Home Runs and 33 RBIs. He is hitting below his career average, but when is healthy he is a sure bet 40 doubles guy. His defense at first would be an improvement over Daniel Murphy.

 

Negatives: Johnson is not as versatile as some of the other players which brings up the question: where do you play him after Carlos Delgado gets back? Just like Dunn, Mike Rizzo has been asking for too much in return. It was rumored that the Nationals wanted Manny Delcarmen for Dunn about a month ago. That would be the equivalent of having to give up Bobby Parnell plus another player. Another red flag for Johnson is that he has had injury problems throughout his career. The last thing The Mets need is to trade prospects for someone who ends up on the disabled list.

 

 Probability of becoming a Met: Considering a baseball official was quoted today by Ken Rosenthal saying that the Mets would be better off with Murphy: slim to none

 

 

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