213 Miles From Shea

The Mets and Marlins finish off their opening series with a rubber game today in beautiful Florida (before traveling North to dreary Philly). For the Amazin's, one of last year's heroes will get the start as R.A. Dickey opens up his 2011 season. On the other side of the field, Javier Vazquez starts his season of redemption after a disappointing year for the Yankees.

Last season Robert Allen logged in 174.1 innings with a 11-9 record as he recorded a 2.84 ERA and became the Mets most consistent pitcher on staff. This year, he looks to bring his new slower knuckle into games more to mix in with his unusual fast knuckle. Last season he also posted his highest K/BB ratio ever a 2.48 (closest would be in 2003 when he had a 2.47 K/BB ratio). Anyway, in a theme that has been developing over the last two previews, Dickey also struggled against the Marlins last season. He recorded a 6.38 in 3 games and 18.1 innings against the fish last year with a 1-1 record. The Marlins have these numbers against Robert Allen:

Infante 8-14, 2B, HR

Ramirez 6-12, 3 2B

Sanchez 4-8, 2B, HR

Coghlan 2-5

Stanton 0-5

The Mets bats will get their first crack of the season against Javier, who went 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA over 157.1 innings for the Yankees. As bad as Vazquez was last year, he was very effective against the New York Mets. In his two starts he had a 1-1 record and pitched 13 innings where 1 ER (0.69 ERA) and struck out the Mets 10 times. The Amazin's have these numbers against Javier:

Reyes 3-19, 3B

Wright 4-12, 2 2B, HR

Beltran 2-9, 2 HR

Pagan 2-7. 2B

Davis 1-5

Lineup:

Reyes (SS)

Harris (LF)

Wright (3B)

Davis (1B)

Pagan (CF)

Duda (RF)

Murphy (2B)

Thole (C)

Dickey (P)

(I'm not going to lie, I'm a little puzzled why Murphy gets the start for a groundball pitcher, but I think it's mainly due to how the schedule rolls out. I'm still happy to see him in the lineup).

Let's Go Mets!

Although the baseball season generally comes down to who get's hot at the end of the year, a lot can be said about first impressions. For example, back in 2007, the Mets got off to a hot start, but cooled by the end of the May. However, due to the start, they looked incredibly tough, until everything came down in September. So the idea behind this article is too look after, every day, the teams that are off to a hot start and the ones that are off to a cold one. Today is a particularly important day because it is sweep day. Which of these winning teams can complete the sweep or which of these losing teams can finally squeeze out a win.

2-0 Teams:

Baltimore Orioles (they would now have to lose the next 16 games to replicate last season)

New York Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays

Chicago White Sox

Seattle Mariners

Texas Rangers

Philadelphia Phillies

Cincinnati Reds

San Diego Padres

0-2 Teams:

Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays

Detroit Tigers

Cleveland Indians

Minnesota Twins

Oakland Athletics

Houston Astros

Milwaukee Brewers

St. Louis Cardinals

From the above numbers:

We know that in 8 of the 15 opening series, the same team has won the first two games. We also see that right now, all of the 0-2 teams in the National League are coming from Central Division. if this list doesn't look much different after today's games, it probably will look a lot different on Tuesday.

The Mets and Marlins play game two tonight at Sun Life, as the Mets look for the first win of the 2011 season. Last night the Mets weren't able to get through Josh Johnson, and they look to have better luck tonight dealing with Nolasco. The Mets will send out Jon Niese, looking to improve off of a successful season last year. Niese went 9-10 last year with 173.2 innings pitched while posting a 4.20 ERA. The Marlins were a tricky team for Niese last year (and looking at the season stats, I think the Marlins were just a tricky team for the Mets in general last year) as he had a 1-4 record with 26.1 innings pitched and a 6.49 ERA. The fish have these numbers against Niese:

Infante 3-15, 2 2B

Sanchez 3-12, 2B

Ramirez 2-8, HR

Coghlan 1-6, 2B

Morrison 2-4, 2B

(Uggla was his major thorn in his side)

Ricky Nolasco last season pitched 157.2 innings with a 14-9 record and a 4.51 ERA. Last season he was 2-0 against the Mets over 4 games with a 3.96 ERA and 25 innings pitched. Those were huge improvements over his career against the Mets where he is 5-6 with a 5.46 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Nolasco:

Wright 18-47, 4 2B, 3 HR

Reyes 15-40, 2B, 3B, 3 HR

Beltran 11-30, HR

Murphy 6-17, 2 2B

Pagan 4-11, 2B

Davis 0-8

Starting Lineup:

Reyes (SS)

Pagan (CF)

Wright (3B)

Beltran (RF)

Davis (1B)

Duda (LF)

Emaus (2B)

Thole (C)

Niese (P)

Lets Go Mets!

Even though season started a day ago, I feel it is still early enough in the month to start this three day series of articles (I didn't do it earlier because of the preview articles, and didn't want to overload the front page of this website with content that generally takes quite a bit of time to write). Anyway if this is your first time around here, I love looking around teams across the league to see what they are doing for promotions during the seasons. I'm a sucker for free jerseys and free lapel pins, and anything abnormal. Anyway, here are the highlights:

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are a staple in this article series. When other teams always disappoint, the Rays generally don't. In April they have two items that are worth highlighting. First, whenever a team wins anything that is worth hanging up in a banner, then its worth it to give the banner to the fans. Second, armsleeves? Wicked.

Kansas City Royals:

The Royals get an automatic mention with their Replica Road Jersey Giveaway. Nice.

Texas Rangers:

American League Champions Ring. (No Photo, sorry).

Seattle Mariners:

The Mariners know how to make a bobblehead. The key to a good giveaway bobblehead is that there is some sort of date or event that it is tied to. For example, if it is just the player playing, then it could be confused with a normal bobblehead that you can pick up in the store. However, here, for King Felix, it's him holding his Cy Young award. Perfect.

Oakland Athletics:

Ditto From Above. Just Ricky Henderson Style.

And that's it. Not that much creativity from the American League in the first month of the season.

Don't let the weather outside fool you. It's baseball season! The Mets open up the 2011 Marathon with the Marlins tonight in Florida for what will be the last home opener for the Marlins in that stadium (and as the Florida Marlins, next year they become the Miami Marlins). But this isn't about the Marlins. This is about the Mets starting another year of baseball. This is about the Mets showing us what they are made of. Today is the first time we will get to see Terry Collins manage a baseball game in a Mets uniform (for real, Spring Training doesn't count). In some ways, today represents a lot of the entire season. The Mets will be facing an uphill climb this season in a stacked division. We will need strong performances from Mike Pelfrey and we will need the team to rise up in tough situations. One team that has always had Mike Pelfrey's number is the Florida Marlins. One player that has always the Mets Lineup looking silly is Josh Johnson. The Mets get a challenge on day one, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Mike Pelfrey gets the call for the Mets today. Last season he 204 innings (second time in his career breaking the 200 mark) while posting a 3.66 ERA and a 15-9 record. In his career he is 1-6 with a 5.32 ERA over 67.2 innings against the Marlins. However, last season he started to improve posting two no decisions in 11.2 innings of work and a 3.86 ERA. The fish have these numbers against Big Pelf:

Ramirez 9-32, 2B

Dobbs 7-17, 2B, HR

Infante 8-15

Coghlan 3-9, 2B, 2 3B

(Scary Numbers)

In the other dugout, Josh Johnson gets the Opening Day start. Last season Johnson 183.2 innings of work where he had a 2.30 ERA (league low) and an 11-6 record. Overall against the Mets, he is 7-1 with a 2.74 ERA over 75.2 innings. Oddly, the Mets were able to get to him last season as he posted a 0-1 record against the Amazin's over 17.0 innings and had a 4.24 ERA. The Mets have these numbers:

Beltran 4-23

Wright 6-26, 2B, HR

Harris 4-15, 2B, HR

Murphy 4-14, 2 2B

Thole 1-3, 2B

Let's Go Mets!

2010 doesn't feel like a year ago. It feels like a decade ago.

2010 doesn't feel like a year ago. It feels like last week.

This is the two-headed paradox that is being a Mets fan for the last several months. On one side, 2010 feels like such a long time ago. Many of the fixtures of the Mets organization are no longer here. We no longer are in the Omar era, Jerry is gone. The Mets not only cut ties with Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, but several long stay Mets are not here. We no longer have Pedro Feliciano, John Maine, among others. 2010 feels like such a long time ago because the focus on the field is no longer (completely) on Wright and Reyes but now on Davis, Pagan and Thole. 2011 feels just so different because of these players. They are youth, they have ceilings. It isn't a race against the clock.

On the other side, outside voices don't allow us to forget 2010. The financial troubles carry over. The heavy Mets criticism in the media is just as alive as it always has been. These forces make it seem like these are dark times for the Mets indeed.

However, today isn't about the dark times. Today isn't about 2010. Today is about 2011 and the upcoming season. The Mets are on a blank slate with everything to prove. They have young talent and mystery pieces that are ready to go. Who will be last year's Dickey? Who will be last year's Pagan?

There is so much to look forward with this team.

Let's Go Mets!

In our final installment of the 2011 Preview Series, we look at the our favorite team, the New York Mets.

The Mets have been bashed by the media and all prediction websites. They have no rotation. They have too many front office problems. There are no players coming up through the system. There is no hope. The bullpen is anchored by a crazy man.

All of the above, well is actually up for debate. Crazy, I know.

Before we start to walk through this year's team, let's look back to a year ago. Last season at this time we were all, or at least I was, raving about the offense, and worried about the rotation. Well after a full season of Mets baseball, the rotation was fine, the offense was just MIA. The Mets had a silently awesome rotation last season. Just no one knows about it.

What it comes down to for the Mets this season, is all the pieces just have to step up. Really the Mets don't have any key weak areas, it is just that they have had disappointing seasons from players in their current positions. If the majority of the Mets can at least be a fraction of what they are supposed to be, this team becomes amazing on paper. Picture this. If the Reyes is a shade of what he was in 2006 and Wright almost repeats last year. Bay becomes closer to his average and Beltran is Beltran. Pagan and Davis repeat and Thole steps up. Suddenly this line up is awesome. If Pelfrey stays consistent, Niese and Dickey repeat, and Capuano and Young extrapolate their springs, this rotation is really set.

That is they story right there of the 2011 Mets. If everyone just performs how they are supposed to, this team is scary. This team makes a playoff run. I know that is a lot to ask for. Someone won't step up probably. But at the same time, someone will that we were not expecting.

Of course I feel this way because I follow the Mets, and I know the ceilings of all the players. Perhaps I'm more positive this year solely because everyone else is so negative. When it is all said and recorded on the internet, I feel there are strong reasons to believe this team can win.

The last division preview is for the best division in baseball, the NL East. All bias aside, this is the toughest division in baseball as four teams could make the playoffs from this division. The Phillies have four aces, the Braves have aces and hitting talent, the Marlins didn't lose much, the Mets could surprise and even the Nationals got better. It could be a long summer as teams will be fighting all year long.

The Phillies:

The Phillies are the odds on favorite to win the division due to that rotation. They have a few injuries right now, but the four horsemen are very hard to bet against. That being said, a few seasons ago everyone said the Tigers would have 1000 runs, and that didn't happen. At all. The Phillies will probably win this division.

The Braves:

The Braves have the rotation and the lineup to make a serious run at the Wild Card. However, some things have to go right. First off, the pitchers will need to perform. A misstep and another team in this division will come right up. Second, the hits will have to come. With Uggla, they have a nice looking lineup. Things look good for this club as long as everything works.

The Marlins:

They have a Marlin esque rotation, and young bats. They didn't change much from last season, but they didn't really need to. If the raw talent on this team matures, the too look to make a run.

The Nationals:

The odd team out. They lost power from Dunn leaving and they won't have the spark of Strasburgh. While they have talent, the teams around them have more talent.

The Mets:

It has become chic to pick the Mets last. I'm biased but I also see potential for a lot more. I'll do this in more detail tomorrow, but if Niese and Dickey are on, and Young and Capuano make good comeback campaigns, this is a good team. The other way to say this, which I will do a lot tomorrow is the Mets don't have any missing pieces, they just need their actual pieces to perform the way they are supposed to.

One of the major complaints (I really wish there was a softer word for that, because this isn't that big of an issue) over spring training has been the lack of teams the Mets have been able to play. Since the East Coast of Florida has started to become a baseball ghost town, the Mets have had the option of playing mainly, the Marlins, Cardinals, Nationals and Braves. It makes sense that in the final days of Spring, that teams would want to travel less as well. So on the schedule, the Mets, including today, have played the Marlins Three Times (one that was rained out).

The Mets also open up the season against the Marlins.

Really?

I know this isn't that big of a deal, but hopefully the MLB Scheduling office has been listening to someone in the Mets organization this Spring. The same problem is going to happen with the Mets next season. They are going to mainly play the Marlins, Cardinals, Nationals and Braves in Spring. So next year, maybe we should not open the season against one of those teams.

(I can't restate enough how minuscule of an issue this actually is, I think I'm just tired of knowing the opponents as well as my own team).

This year's Major League Baseball Opening Day schedule just feels strange. The new schedule this year just doesn't feel the same, and although the games are technically starting earlier in the year, it feels like it is starting later.

But before I elaborate those claims, let's discuss some brief history on Opening Day. Historically, the first Opening Day pitch was held in Cincinnati, the home of the oldest franchise in the MLB. They would have the first game, and then everyone else would follow (to this day, they always open up at home). Then the first major change to Opening Day happened in this past decade where the team that won the World Series would open up on ESPN the Sunday Night before everyone else.

This year there was a major shift as the Opening Day is scheduled for a Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, there will be a semi-slate of games, with the night cap being the World Champion Giants against the Dodgers. Then everyone else joins in the fray on Friday.

While Opening Day this year is early (March 31st for some teams), it just feels later, and I think I figured out why. I'm so used to Opening Day being at the start of the week, that the final wait for Opening Day was replaced by the weekend. It's hard to to be completely impatient for opening day when you can distract yourself with the weekend. But this year, at the end of the week (and for me personally, the day after two Astrophysics Midterms) it just feels like forever away, although it's only a two days away.

Oh well, it's all relative anyway.