213 Miles From Shea

By now you have probably have seen this advertisement on the web or actually in a Subway Car/Station. On the surface, I think this advertisement is incredibly funny. The reason I find it so funny is because of its reflection on the culture in New York. Yes the Mets are a joke. Right now they are a joke in so many different ways. They underperform. They make bad baseball moves. They are terrible at money.

This is of course all pre 2011 Mets information.

In the past offseason the Mets made their money problems worse (or, Madoff and the Wilpons made the money problems worse) but they made good baseball moves (Alderson, Collins, and then we'll see how the players are) and have been performing well in Spring. What I like about this advertisement is that its fuel. I hope someone brings a full size image of this advertisement and sticks it up in the Mets clubhouse. If you look at any major Mets website that has posted this image, it has incited Mets fans, and it should light up our players.

That leads to the other reason why I like this sign. It made fans angry. I'm fairly sarcastic person, and when it comes to sports I don't take things seriously at all (which is a major surprise generally for people who get to know me personally), so I wasn't surprised that I was not angry at all about this poster. However reading comments some fans are really angry. Unreasonably angry. What that translates into though is passion. It is nice to remember that we really are part of a passionate fan base that is ready and knocking down the door to come out of the gate with a good team.

So yeah, someone get a copy of that Subway Poster to Collins.

Similar to last time I missed two days, I again missed three games to go over. In the last three games the Mets have gone 2-1. In the one loss (to the Nationals) the Mets actually rallied to score 4 runs in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 6-5, only to then lose the game. So in these meaningless Spring Games, the Mets are showing some fight in their 6-8-1 record.

The big story out of these last three games for me at least has been Josh Thole. On Wednesday he went 3-3 with 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B and his first homer this Spring. Then yesterday against the Marlins he went 2-3, with 2 RBI's and his second double this Spring. So in the last two games he has had 5 hits, 2 doubles, a homer and 4 RBI's. He also managed to raise his Spring Batting average to .391. Thole is showing us that he could provide some interesting numbers in the catching position, an area that has been pretty much written off offensively ever since LoDuca's .318 BA season in 2006. We know that Thole can hit for a “high” average (the possibility of .280 for a catcher is very good) but some surprise pop in terms of doubles and hard hit line drives could be the unexpected boost, or surprise the Mets could need this season if they want to be competitive.

Another minor offense note would be David Wright, who finally got a hit this Spring. For the rest of the offense notes, you should probably check the box scores, but the Mets have been hitting much better these last two days than previously this week. Other players having two hit days in the last three games include Harris, Duda (who also hit his second homer of Spring) and Hu.

The only really bad pitching note would be Mike Pelfrey who showed that he is human yesterday allowing 4 earned runs in 4 innings of work. A really positive pitching note would be Dillon Gee who rebounded from his last appearance allowing no runs in three innings of work. Beato also added in another scoreless inning.

Next up for the Mets is a home game against the Marlins. Let's Go Mets!

The word around the baseball world is that Oliver will now get two more chances to make the team, in bullpen appearances. Let's backtrack though to explain the situation.

When Perez came to camp this year, he was going to be given a shot for the rotation, but it was said constantly by people close to the team that they see him more as a reliever, and they had him work out with the relievers. He then made his first start, which was pretty bad. The word was Perez was on a tight rope. Second start was good. However at that time the rest of the starters were also doing well, so it didn't seem like there was a place in the rotation for him, that he was still fighting for a place in the pen. Then came yesterdays start where in the first inning he was terrible, and in the second inning he was good (see the earlier post from today).

The result from the front office is now Perez will have two more shots to make the bullpen, and he is going to have to be stellar.

….I'm lost.

I thought we were already at this point with Perez where we gave him his chance, and now he was as the end. He has had a lot. Also, I have more patience than most Mets fans, so I have a feeling that if I feel fed up, then there are many more angry Mets fans out there about this situation.

With the way that the bullpen is shaping up, especially with the introduction of Izzy, I really don't see how Perez comes out of camp with the Mets, so can we just let him go already? Or do we need to use more preparation time for other pitchers to prolong the inevitable.

So I missed two days, three games and three losses, but thats Spring Training for you. Going back to Monday, the Mets dropped a game, 2-1, to the Tigers as Terry Collins got to manage against his mentor Leyland (thus why Collins is also wearing number 10). With a score like that, you can tell right off the bat that a problem for the Mets on Monday was the bats, which really fell silent only collecting 5 hits (Pagan, Bay, Evans, Thole and Lutz). With that stat, its understandable that some players had terrible days like Castillo (0-3), Harris (0-4), and Fmart (0-3, first bad day of Spring). Also, as you can imagine with the Tigers only scoring two runs, the pitching was on spot the majority of the day. Izzy had a scoreless inning. Igarashi struck out the side.

Then yesterday, the Mets played a split squad with half the team going with Collins on the road to Houston, and the other half staying back to play the Nationals. The Houston game was more interesting, so I'll save that for last. At home, one of the prospects I'm looking at made his Spring debut in a big way as Cory Vaughn in his first AB blasted a 2 run homer. With Castillo struggling, yesterday was a great day for Murphy who (playing 1B, 2B) went 2-5, scoring 2 R. Finally, Wright again went 0-3, this time with two strikeouts. Pitching wise, Izzy had his first blight of Spring, allowing a solo homer, but that was it. His Spring ERA is still 2.25, and he is starting to move off of the bubble and into the clubhouse for this 2011 Mets team.

The dominating story for the Mets yesterday was in Houston as Oliver Perez had a very Oliver Perez outing. In the first inning he allowed 3 earned runs, and according to people watching the game, he got lucky with two outs as the defense behind him made two spectacular plays. Then in the next inning, he was fine as it went 1-2-3. I'll have more on this later today.

The other day I read a really interesting article in the New York Times last week about the dirt in St. Lucie. Apparently they finally decided to bring the same dirt that is used in the infield in Queens down to Florida. The coaches interviewed in the article talk about how it just makes logical sense to practice on the same material that you will playing on all year.

I full heartily agree.

I am also confused. Why did this take so long to figure out (assuming that St Lucie didn't have Shea dirt when Shea was made). Playing on a different surface is like using an SAT study guide to prepare for GRE Exam. Or actually, better yet, it's like learning how to drive in a broken down car, when you are going to use a clean, efficient, working car on the driving exam. It just makes sense to practice in the closest scenario to the real thing as possible.

So rather than complain about the Mets not making good decisions early, let's celebrate them switching over to correct idea. I'm sure the playing surface in Spring Training will not impact the team significantly going forward, but it may have some impact.

Anyway, if you get a chance read the article. It's a good read.

The Mets improved to 4-4-1 and to 2.5 games back of the Grapefruit League “Championship”. Anyway, the big story of the game was Carlos Beltran who went 1-3 in his Spring debut and scored a run. He has been quoted this morning that he feels the good type of sore today, and will most likely DH again today. The Mets also flashed some power today as Ike Davis blasted his first homer of Spring (a two run shot) and then Duda hit a homer later in the game that put the Mets back in the lead. Other hitters that had a good day yesterday would be Pagan who went 1-3 with a double, Murphy who went 1-3, Bay who went 2-3, 2 R, RBI, and Hairston who also went 2-3.

I'm not concerned about Wright, as he has had productive outs in Spring. But he has not had a hit in a Spring Training Game yet.

In terms of pitching yesterday, Krod had a good outing pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. Igarashi also had a good outing allowing no hits, walking one and striking out 2. Niese wasn't bad, slightly worse than average yesterday, pitching 3.2 innings allowing 2 ER. What was promising was he struck out 4 batters. I'm assuming, I don't know for sure, that he may have hit a pitch count limit yesterday. IF he got one more out, statistically he would have been average. So all in all, it was a positive outing for NIese as well yesterday.

Next up for the Amazins is two straight days of Izzy pitching and more Beltran hitting.

I of course think of the Mets.

This entry isn't meant to be as critical as more of “How'd they think of this?” While surfing through Mets products for this entry, I came across a series of Plush toys that featured the Mets logo and cap on a Pretzel, Ice Cream Cone, Hamburger and Peanut. I completely understand why these products exist. They're cute, the appeal to young children, they have the Mets logo on them, they sell, they aren't stupid. Also, I'm fairly confident, on just speculation alone, that this wasn't an original idea by the New York Mets. I just wish I could have been wit the company that decided one day to make this for the first sports team/city/corporation etc.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

The Ice Cream Cone.

The Pretzel.

The Peanut.

The Hamburger.

The Mets dropped a game to the Braves today by the score of 6-4. The “story” that MLB.com has been pushing was the Braves flirting with a no hitter for a period of time. Essentially what happened today was the vast majority of starters went hitless in todays game (Wright 0-2, Reyes 0-2, Harris 0-3, Thole 0-2). Ike Davis also went hitless today, but he also had no official AB's (0-0, 2 BB). Nick Evans continued to impress yesterday as he picked up a hit, as did Fernando Martinez (another double). Only one Met had more than one hit today as Turner finally had a good day at the plate going 2-2.

Mike Pelfrey wasn't perfect today but he was terrible either. He pitched 3 innings allowing 4 hits, 2 runs and one earned while walking none and striking out none. Dillon Gee was next up, and he struggled in his two innings of work allowing 3 earned runs and a homer while striking out 1 and walking 1. Parnell and Beato each contributed a scoreless inning of work while walking one batter.

Through 8 games now we are starting to learn a few things about this Mets club. First, Collins likes Evans (which is awesome) and is giving him every chance he can to prove himself and try to wedge himself in the roster. We are also learning that Beato could fit in the bullpen, as he has steadily improved over the last week. Finally, we are seeing another Spring where Martinez is fantastic, but the question remains if he and his health can keep it together during the regular season.

Up next for the Mets is the big reveal of Carlos Beltran this afternoon at home against the Red Sox. Niese and Krod will get opportunities to pitch. Murphy will get the start at 2B. Also, Monday and Tuesday Izzy will pitch on back to back days.

The Mets and the Marlins played their first of like 7 or 8 games this Spring (thats a lot against a team we are going to play 18 times over the regular season) yesterday, and the Mets took the first game by the score of 4-3. We have focused a lot of pitching here, so I want to start off with the bats, just to give them an equal representation on this website. Anyway, there were three Mets hitters who had two hits. Evans went 2-3 with 2 R and a BB. Hairston 2-3, R, 2B. Duda 2-3, RBI (and thats nice to see cause he has been struggling this season). Fmart had a chance to increase his high Spring Batting average, instead he got a walk. In short, lots of positives with the bats. The only negative was Castillo was 0-3 followed by Emaus being 0-2.

Chris Young had another good day, and thats great. He went 3.0 IP with 2 hits and one unearned run while walking 2 and striking one out. What is critical about his performance is he did not have his best stuff by far, yet he was still effective. That is really promising (I am overflowing with optimism about Young on the roster). Misch took a step back today allowing 2 runs, 1 earned over 2 innings with 5 hits. While that isn't terrible, when he is on the outside bubble of the rotation looking in, thats not going to help him. Oh, and Carrasco did well.

After 7 games now, what is becoming clear for this Mets team is that the options in competition positions are looking good. It doesn't look like we are deciding between the lesser of two evils. Which is refreshing and awesome. But I probably say that every Spring.

Perez may have made things more complicated by appearing competent on the mound, but don't let that fool you, he won't be on this team.

It was announced earlier today via the Daily News that Oliver is not factoring into the Mets rotation in 2011. This makes sense. The Mets have essentially three positions locked (Pelfrey, Dickey, Niese) with two more positions essentially locked by recent acquisitions (Capuano, Young) and then have two other players trying to break in (Gee, Misch). There is no room for Perez. Especially when you consider the hopeful return of Santana in July.

What that leaves for Perez is the bullpen. Terry has already stated that he has about two spots open in the bullpen, and there seems to be 7 or more players going for those two spots. For Perez to get one, the Mets have to have to say, “We Believe that Oliver Perez is more dependable and predictable than these other players. We believe he is more effective than these other players.” Although he did well today, can the Mets really say that with confidence?

That's why I feel the next appearance for Perez will be a big one as he will have to be as effective as he was yeas yesterday again to show that he could be a reliable arm in the pen.

I just don't see that happening.