213 Miles From Shea

Well this is an exciting feeling. I haven't actually felt this way since 2005 and 2006. Remember back then when the Mets said they were so sick of losing they felt the need for a complete regime change. Yeah that was a good time (seriously). It was an interesting off season because it felt like that time right before Spring Training from October through February.

I'm excited again.

After three straight seasons of feeling pretty bad after the Mets season, I feel pretty good today. It feels like a new beginning and I'm really excited to get going, as if last season really didn't matter, it was just a precursor for the next show.

That is where we are now.

The Mets didn't exactly start the next era today, but they definetely ended the current one. By sending off Jerry and Omar, as an organization, we are ready to go in a fresh new direction. Jerry and Omar do deserve credit. Jerry did a great job reversing the 2008 season when he came in, and last season was not his fault, but this team really needs a fresh leader. Omar also did a great job at times and a bad job at times (more on that later this week). He brought in some great pieces in 2005 and 2006, he made some good trades over his regime (most recently the Pagan trade) but he has also made some bad signings (more recently) and some bad trades (Heath Bell).

But now we begin the search for new leaders, and its really exciting.

Lets Go Mets!

For the first year since 2006, I'm going to actually follow the playoffs. For obvious reasons I didn't follow it in 2007 and 2008, it just hurt too much and last year, as soon as the Twins were eliminated, I immediately stop watching. However this year, I'm going to try to stomach it all the way through, mainly because I want more material to write about so the content on this website just isn't about the future manager and the future GM. Anyway the Playoff's start on Weds with the following match-ups:

The following is not my Prediction, but just my Dream:

Now how I think it will actually go down:

Well for a second straight season, the Mets end essentially in wimper. While ending in this way is easier to handle than ending like the Hindenburg in 2007 and 2008, these quiet endings leave a lot to be desired. Essentially we were expecting fireworks each of the last two seasons and at times we really just stalled out due to injuires, bad chemistry (the politest way I could phrase the Oliver Perez situation) and just overall poor team construction.

This season was a wild one in the beginning with long streaks, but with a small collapse in July, the trailing two months have just sotra dragged out. There is a lot to think about, and we have a while to think about things right now. Today let's focus on the postives of 2010. The few players that really came into being and hopefully will plug up holes for the near and far future:

Eventually today's game will be funny in some sort of sick, poetic justice kind of funny.

Like many games this season, today featured basically 0 offense for the Mets. The starting pitching was fantastic, the relief pitching was fantastic but it got a point that the Mets found themselves in the 14th inning with the game tied at 1. At this point, Jerry had to call on Oliver Perez, who hadn't been used since August 27th.

At this point in time, I knew what the story was going to be for this last game article. It was going to be an unreal bizzaro world where the villain on the Mets would get the win, or the villain on the Mets would cement himself in the role he has managed to put himself in this season. First batter he struck out (with a very sarcastic MVP chant to follow), then he managed to fill the bases and then walk in the winning run. HE WALKED IN THE WINNING RUN THAT ENDED 2010.

Seriously, how oddly, disgustingly, disturbingly fitting way for this season to end.

The Mets had many chances to win this game today, and thanks to the offense, the pen had to be perfect. The only pitcher who could possibly make the loss about him and not the bats would be Oliver Perez. By walking in the run, he ended the season in the most awful, but predictable way.

In other words, its like you are at a bar and you get into a sports talk with some random stranger. And you know the guy is an idiot. He sees a player he hates and he tells you this overdramatic way the pitcher is going to screw up the game. You know the pitcher is terrible, but there is no way the pitcher is that terrible that he is going to make this idiot at the bar seem like Nostradamus. The pitcher does allright, and you can confidently tell the idiot that maybe his hate is out of proportion. Normally that would be how today would have gone. Perez was so inept today that he made that obliverated idiot seem like Peter Gammons. Unreal Perez. Unreal.

Well, here's to the offseason. I'm excited for changes, and the inevitable return of baseball in 2011 filled with optimism and hope. Starting tomorrow morning here at 213, I will be going over the highlights and the low-lights of this season in anticipation for Spring Training, because baseball never stops here.

The Mets play their final game of the 2010 season today, and I can't help but feel sad that after today there will be no more Mets games, box scores, etc for another few months, but such is the baseball season. Anyway, the Mets will go for their 80th win of the season today and try to end their 2010 campaign on a three game sweep. Other stories to keep a watch on today is that it is probably Jerry's last day as a Met manager, Wright is sitting on 29 homers and Davis is sitting on 19 homers.

The Mets will start Mike Pelfrey today who looks to end the season with an exclamation point. In his last four starts he has pitched 28.2 innings (at least 7 per start) with a 3-1 record and a 2.51 ERA. He needs only three more innings to make it 200 on the season. Overall this season the Nationals have not been too kind to Big Pelf as he has allowed 12 ER over 15.1 innings of work, in fact his last bad start was against this Nationals club. The Nats have the following numbers on Mike:

Facing Pelfrey will be Hernandez who looks to close a solid season where he is so far 10-12 with a 3.73 ERA. In the month of September he has pitched over 29 innings with an ERA over 5. Against the Amazin's this season he is 1-1 over four games and 26.2 innings with a 2.03 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers on Livan:

Lets Go Mets!

Even though the Mets are not in the playoffs, there is still a good chance that the Braves will be joining us on the couch this October. Also, there's a good chance that the other team in New York, may not win the division. Overall, on this last day of the season, there are still two division championships that need to be awarded and a Wild Card Spot, so let's break it down:

AL East Division Champion:

The National League:

So depending on what happens today, the season could end in a normal fashion, or the post season will end up starting early. Thanks to this article on MLB.com, for helping clearing some confusions I had while writing this.

Long time readers of this site know that I love minor league baseball. I really love minor league baseball. From the closeness to field, to the stadiums, to the monikers, I talk about minor league baseball with much alacrity. Anyway, Stadium Journey recently took a trip to Coca-Cola Field, home of the Bisons and liked it.

The review is pretty interesting because it is a little bit more of just the average rating different aspects of the ball park (which they do) but they also include some history about baseball in Buffalo. I completley forgot that Buffalo was one of the cities that was trying to become a major league city, so the stadium originally had seating for 21,000 fans. The rating of the ballpark pretty much goes with how you would think it would. The food is supposedly fantastic (Anthony Bourdain taught me to expect that) and a lot of the other categories follow as most minor league parks do.

If you are unfamiliar with Stadium Journey, one of the aspects that make their ratings unique is there is a fan component. They really want you to log on to their website, talk about your experience in Buffalo and rank the ball park as well. So if you have a few minutes, help make the internet a better place. (I would join, but I have yet to go to Buffalo, maybe you all can convince me).