Looking Ahead: The 2011 Mets Starters

For all things considered, the 2010 Mets season is over. Unless with some help from the big guy upstairs, we aren't making the post-season. Which is fine with me, because we'd just get bounced out early anyways. 

However, I'm not about to say this season was a complete loss. Here are my reasons why the 2010 Mets season was about the best we could hope for, maybe better. 

Pitching: Our pitching this season has been fantastic. Johan is for the most part being his normal self. Pelfrey has shown some real signs of dominance and showed he can be a true number 2 starter. I wasn't a huge Pelfrey fan until this year. He's had some rough patches, as any young pitcher will have. I am excited for him in our future. 

What can I say about R.A. Dickey that hasn't been said? He's been fun to watch, he's been brilliant, and he's genuinely such a nice guy. In my opinion he deserves to be our 5th starter next year, with Mejia crafting his skills in Buffalo next year. 

Finally, Jon Niese really had a breakout year this year. He has shown some real progress in his first full year in the big leagues. Currently he sports a 3.85 ERA which is more than we could've asked for. I am very happy that the Mets decided not to use him in any trades this year, or in years past. 

Now for next year, I have Johan, Pelfrey, Niese, and Dickey in my rotation. We need a solid number two starter in my opinion. Cliff Lee will be on the market, but I'm not so sure he would want to come to New York, or that the Mets have the money to offer him. 

I truly hope that the Mets decide to get rid of Ollie. He's been a waste. He's entirely too complacent with his contract and the money he is making. In his eyes, he's got what he wants and that's that. It's really sad, actually. Ollie, when he's on (which is insanely rare) is probably the best pitcher I've ever seen. I just wish he could get it together but he won't. 

This is part one of an on-going series. Next I will cover the bullpen, then the infield, outfield, bench, and finally the front office. This should be fun...

Where I've Been (Update)

So it's been roughly two months since my last post. To be honest, I've neglected my site a bit. I had thoughts about ending it because I wasn't getting people to read my articles. However, I still have my opinions and I'm going to get them out there regardless if I get a lot of people to read the site. Hopefully with word of mouth there will get to be a bit more traffic.

Anyways, since the last time I've posted there has been many changes with the Mets, most for the best. I'm not going to spend my time elaborating on these as many of my readers know them.

I will say, however. I want Cliff Lee. But I'm not giving up Ike, Mejia, or Niese. Those three guys are completely off-limits. Send F-Mart, Thole, Familia or whoever else. Just not those three.

I also went to the first game of the Mets-Yankees at CitiField this year. The Mets lost, but I had a great time and had great seats, being 8 rows up in left field. The bickering between Mets and Yankees fans was priceless and everyone was just having fun with one another.

Following the game I met SNY's Chris Carlin and former Met great Darryl Strawberry. I got my picture with Carlin and Strawberry and also got Straw's autograph. They were both super nice and Carlin and I even talked about a Tweet I sent him a while back.

With this update being sent out, I am hoping to write much more frequently on this site. I've put a lot of work into the site and I'm going to use it more often to stay tuned!

What Omar Has Done Right: 2010 Edition

There are many knacks on the job Omar Minaya has done over his tenure as the General Manager of the New York Mets. I myself have been a huge criticizer of the work he's done recently. The two glaring problems he's given us is Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo's contracts. Now while Ollie never deserved his money, at least Castillo this year and last year has been quite productive.

Now this brings me to the year 2010. As of right now we are 18-15 and showing some real signs of life. We've had a long winning streak already, we're good at home, and we have seen some fight in this team. Credit has to go to the man who has built this team. Let's take a look at some of the players Omar has brought in this season.

Who wasn't curious why Omar brought in so many catchers this off season? Well it's a good thing he did because Omir Santos, who was our projected starter before Rod Barajas came in late during Spring Training has recently been demoted to Double A because of his awful batting. Barajas on the other hand has given us big hits in even bigger moments. His average may be low, but when he does hit it's usually for extra bases and he is as clutch as they come this off season.

Next, Alex Cora has been huge for us this year. Last night showed how smart of a player he really is. With both the first and third baseman playing deep during his at bat, he laid down a bunt single to move Rod Barajas into scoring position, while putting himself on base. At first when I saw he re-signed for $2 million, I was skeptical to say the least. But Cora has been a fantastic backup at middle infield for us.

Ike Davis. What can I say about this guy that hasn't already been said? Some people say he should have been brought up to start the season, but I feel that his hot hitting in Triple A gave him some much needed confidence when he came up. He has been hitting well and seeing the ball even better. Not to mention he's been catching balls over the railing so often and with such ease, the play itself is becoming known as "The Ike." He is a much better first baseman than Daniel Murphy, our projected everyday first baseman to start the season.

Other players? How about Chris Carter? Acquired in the Billy Wagner trade, "The Animal" gave us a huge hit last night when we needed it. He should have been brought up much earlier, but when he finally did come up he did it with a bang. Takahashi? He's been the best guy in our bullpen this season arguably. He has come in to get us out of huge jams and seems to strike everyone out.

Now we have Ryota Igarashi and Raul Valdes. Before Ryota went on the DL he was pitching fantastically and his replacement Valdes has been equally effective for us.

One name I didn't mention in this post? Jason Bay. He hasn't played up to his full potential but he started off our huge rally last night and has been playing great defense, which was his biggest knock. As soon as he starts getting hot, you'll see he deserved his contract.

So for now, get off Omar's case. He has done a great job assembling this team and they're fun to watch again. This team hasn't had this much enthusiasm and excitement about them in a couple years.

I'm Back!

Hey everyone!

After a lengthy absence I'm going to continue writing for this site much more often. School is starting to wrap up and I will be on summer vacation Thursday so I will be dedicating much more time writing and taking care of this site.

As you can see, I have upgraded the template to something I like a little bit more. Hopefully my readers will enjoy it as well! I will be posting much more frequently in very near future, with a post most likely coming later today!

I would greatly enjoy some feedback as well on the new template, my posts, and anything else you can think of to help me improve. I'm an aspiring journalist/broadcaster so any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated. So either leave comments after my posts or throw something up over in the chat!

Again thank you for sticking with me during this absence. I will do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again!

My Memorable Moments at Shea: Part 3

This will be my final installment of "My Memorable Moments at Shea" because this was my last ever game at Shea Stadium.

I had recently started attending Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY on Long Island. When I got accepted and my then-girlfriend had started attending a school outside of New York City I knew I wanted to take her to a game at Shea before the Mets moved over to Citi for the next season. So I bought tickets via StubHub for the September 10th, 2008 affair against the Washington Nationals.

We were running late for the game as we were trying to figure out the subway system and which train to take. We ended up taking the local instead of the express train so we ended up stopping at every single stop instead of going through most of them. We finally showed up when the Mets went to bat in the bottom of the 1st.

This game was a slugfest. The final score was 13-10 in favor of the Mets. The biggest event of the game was when Jose Reyes broke Mookie Wilson's steal record in the 3rd inning. Next to the Moises Alou home run mentioned in the previous "Memorable" post, this was the loudest I've ever heard Shea. Everyone loves Jose and was happy to see him break the record.

Minus the Mets winning, the most important thing on my mind for this game was Shea. I had grown up watching the Mets play their games at Shea, and not seeing them there was going to be surreal to say the least. I had a blast with my girlfriend taking in the sights and sounds with the Shea Faithful.

After the Mets' fill-in closer Luis Ayala closed out the game for his 7th save of the year, my heart sank. The Mets won, but I would never be at Shea again. There were only 10 or so games left in the season, I wouldn't be there. I started frantically taking pictures on my phone so I could remember everything about my last game at Shea. They were the best seats I had ever had, sitting around Mets die-hard season ticket holders. I had an amazing time.

As I walked down the stairway I looked at the field one last time and I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two. I loved this place, and I had a personal 2-1 record there. It was awesome going out on a win, but in the end it felt like a huge loss.

All is Right With the World.

Very few things can take me away from my homework when I'm locked into my work. But I had to write a quick post.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN, Mets 1B Mike Jacobs has been designated for assignment to make room for P Tobi Stoner. Stoner is being brought up to give the Mets an extra arm in the bullpen after the bullpen getting drained last night in the 20 inning classic between the Cardinals and the Mets.

This isn't the move I thought would be made in order to get rid of Jacobs, but whatever does it. He hasn't produced since coming back to the Mets this year. I was hoping for great things out of him but I was sorely disappointed.

Good luck to Mike Jacobs in the future. Hopefully he catches on somewhere and does well.

What Needs to Change

We're 7 games in and looking at a 2-5 record. What you'll read here is what most people are saying. But I've got something more than simply saying we need to fire Jerry and Omar. Those things are too simple.

First off, yes we do need to get rid of Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya. I've been supporters of these two before, admitting last year was a tough year for Jerry with all the injuries and Omar couldn't have known these guys would get hurt. But now I've had it. The only main guy we are missing from the lineup is Carlos Beltran, and if you count him as a main guy, Daniel Murphy. And guys like Catalanotto, Jacobs, Matthews Jr., Tatis are not producing. This is solely the responsibility of Omar.

So here's the plan: Obviously get rid of Jerry and Omar. Also get rid of Dan Warthen who has done nothing right with the pitchers since becoming the pitching coach. Here's the answer Mets fans have been wanting: hire one Bobby Valentine. Think of the 2000 World Series team. Has one manager ever done more with less? You can argue some teams here and there but there is no doubting he is a fantastic manager. Also give him the GM duties so he can build his team.

Lastly what to do with some of these players? Get rid of completely: Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews Jr. These two guys haven't done a thing since coming to the Mets. To replace them? Let's get this youth movement going. Call up Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez. I know, I know, they're too young and why get them up here and what if they struggle? There has been too many what ifs this season anyways so why not? Have Ike take over first and F-Mart take over center until Beltran comes back.

Now with the pitching. Send down Maine and Mejia. Mejia has been doing alright and Maine has been awful. I want Mejia as a starter. We've been known to grow great starters in our history. He has great stuff and I'd love to see that stuff go 7 innings, not 2. To replace them we should call up Dillon Gee and either Manny Acosta or Kiko Calero. Dillon Gee has been impressing in Buffalo recently and Acosta has looked good as well.

If we make these moves I feel we'll have a new mindset and renewed optimism, which is something we desperately need.