Opening Day Springs Eternal
Opening day is nearly upon us. In fact tomorrow at this time the Mets season will have already begun. This excites me. Not because I’m a Mets fan but because I’m a baseball fan.
Opening day is always exciting to me because everything starts anew and anything can happen. It doesn’t matter what your team did last season because they all start fresh. Expectations don’t matter either because every season has it’s surprise teams and who’s to say the Mets can’t be one of them.
Likewise it doesn’t matter that Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship. The Yankees (who have won the World Series every time Kentucky has won the NCAA) are no lock to win. It’s why they play they games.
I’m not going to get into comparing the Mets to other teams. I won’t go into position by position analysis. None of it really matters to me right now.
Looking at the Mets roster I see some players I expect a lot from and others I don’t expect very much from. I see a team that, if everyone plays to their ability and stays mostly healthy, can be competitive. I’m not saying their going to win many games but that they can be competitive in almost every game they play. (There’s a big difference.)
I know that there are many places you can look to find a more detailed look at the team than that and that’s ok. The main point for me is not to do in depth analysis but to enjoy the games. Statistical analysis is great and has a place in sports arguments but it shouldn’t get in the way of enjoying the game.
Anyway, I hope everyone is looking forward to watching games that count as I am. Maybe we’ll be watching the Mets play in more games that count this year than the last few. It’s only opening day so you never know.
Comments to this post
Wright Needs A New Six Pack
There are many injury worries in Mets camp this year (which seems to be par for the course for recent Mets camps) but the one that seems to be talked about the most lately is the one suffered by David Wright. Wright was in New York so team doctors could get a better look and give him a cortisone shot yesterday. They’re calling the injury a torn rectus abdominis muscle.
The key word in this diagnosis is torn. Muscles that are torn don’t mend on their own very well when you’re pushing your body like a professional athlete does. In fact Baltimores Nick Markakis had the same injury last season and had offseason surgery to repair it.
This injury will definitely nag Wright throughout the season. The question is how much will he be able to play with it? Markakis had the surgery in January and is still about a week away from playing the field (he’s scheduled to start DHing some time this week). I understand not getting the surgery now (he’d end up missing at least half the season if he did) but that means another season of Wright not being quite right (another bad Wright/right pun).
Comments to this post
Minaya’s Deal With The Devil
Ever since Omar Minaya left the organization I’ve wanted to believe the Mets bad injury history would be over. And just when I’m starting to believe that it is the team is hit with an injury bug. Pedro Beato, Scott Hairston, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lucas Duda and Reese Havens all have been recovering from injuries this spring but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Ike Davis has a lung infection, David Wright has a rib cage issue that may still keep him out another couple of weeks and now Tim Byrdak had surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
One might say you can’t blame Minaya anymore and for a while I wanted to believe that. But there’s just no escaping the only logical explanation: in 2006 Omar Minaya made a deal with the devil to get the Mets into the playoffs. Considering all the bad that’s happened to this team since (two major late season collapses, a very well documented string of injuries, the Bernie Madoff backlash, etc.) this is the only explanation that makes any sense.
Think about it.
Comments to this post
Spring Is Where Questions Start Getting Answered
This is an incredible time of year for baseball. No matter how many questions a team may have as the offseason ends there is great anticipation.
How will the Mets cover for the lost offense and leadoff characteristics of Jose Reyes? Will Johan Santana be able to return to his old form? Is there a rotation behind him? Who will be the starting second baseman? Is there a place for Daniel Murphy on this team? Will re-configuring the outfield fences help the bats of David Wright and Jason Bay? Will Lucas Duda continue to develop?
We will start getting answers to all these questions and more today. Because today is a day that we baseball fans wait for all offseason. For today pitchers and catchers report!
Comments to this post
Forever A Kid
All day yesterday I was thinking of new beginnings. Despite the doldrums the Mets are currently in I found myself looking forward to next week when pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie to begin preparing for the 2012 season in earnest.
Then the news came. I first saw it on Twitter as I see most breaking stories these days. And as most breaking stories my first reaction was skepticism. Just because it’s on Twitter doesn’t mean it’s true. But as time went on and the various outlets began reporting it the sadness began to sink in.
The news, of course, was that after battling for several months cancer had taken Gary carter from us. Carter was the catcher for the great Mets teams of the mid/late 1980’s during my formative teen years. Those are days I’m nostalgic for regularly for many reasons outside of baseball but also for what Carter brought to the table for my hometown team.
Many people will be writing far more interesting stories and posts about Carter’s passing than I will. They’ll talk about Carter’s accomplishments on and off the field, their personal relationships with him and the legacy he’s left behind. They’ll talk about his Hall of Fame credentials, his 324 career home runs, his 1,225 RBIs, his rally starting single with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning of game 6 in 1986. They’ll talk about his trade to the Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Floyd Youmans and Herm Winningham. They’ll talk about his faith and enthusiasm for the game and life in general.
But on a day I was thinking about new beginnings I chose to remember him for an old beginning: his first game as a Met. The game that got us believing that the breakout season the Mets had in 1984 would not be a fluke. That with this big kid anchoring the batting order and coaching the pitching staff from behind the plate 1985 would be so much bigger than 1984. And it was. From the very beginning.
The day was April 9, 1985. The Mets opened at Shea Stadium with a day game. It was a Tuesday so I was in school most of the day but managed to get home to see the end of the game (much as I’d do for game 6 of the 1986 NLCS, but that’s another story). The Mets had gone into the 10th inning tied 5-5 with the St. Louis Cardinals when Carter came to the plate to face Neil Allen, who had been traded from the Mets (along with Rick Owenby) to the Cards in the Keith Hernandez trade. Carter hit an Allen fastball deep to left field that just cleared the outfield wall before landing in the visitor’s bullpen to win the game for his new team.
It was more than just a game winning home run. It was a message to his new teammates that he’d always be there for them. It was an example of the never give up attitude that would infect that team and eventually win them a World Series championship. This is what Carter brought to the table both on and off the field. This is what would greatly influence the budding sports fan in me and, more importantly, influence my still developing personality.
I didn’t know Gary Carter. I never got a chance to meet him. And I never got a chance to thank him. But from the bottom of my heart I’d like to say thank you, Mr. Carter, for the thrills you gave me when I, to, was a kid. Goodbye, Kid. Rest in peace.
Comments to this post
Almost Spring
The agony (if you’re a Jets fan) and ecstasy (if you’re a Giants fan) of the football season is now behind us. With the Giants Superbowl victory on Sunday and parade yesterday the NFL news cycle is now complete. We can now start thinking about baseball.
I’m not one to analyze rosters through the offseason (barring a major trade or signing) but with spring training less than two weeks away I took a look at what we’ll be seeing when pitchers and catchers report. Unfortunately I saw much the same that was there last season. But there are some potential bright spots:
- Johan Santana is likely to get very much attention during spring training as he returns from a season off due to surgery. Everyone will be watching him like a hawk. Can he return to dominance? Or will he be a shell of his former self?
- Outside of Santana I’m not very enthused by the rotation. As much as I may like R.A. Dickey if he’s your best known quantity (being that Santana is an unknown quantity right now) going into the season there’s a problem.
- Who will play second base? The rest of the infield is set with Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada and David Wright but there are a few candidates for second base. Daniel Murphy is a fan favorite for his bat but doesn’t have a position. He played plenty of second base in the minors and has worked out there over the offseason but will his defense be good enough to win the position? Or will Justin Turner claim the spot? Turner impressed last year and would seem poised to grow if given the chance to play regularly. Considering these players bat from opposite sides of the plate there’s a chance we’ll see some kind of modified platoon here.
- I don’t see how anyone can be satisfied with the outfield. Jason Bay has been less than spectacular (I’m trying to be positive) since joining the Mets. One can only hope that modifications to the outfield wall at CitiField will help him.
In Center Andres Torres is hardly the answer. He may be better defensively than what we saw there last year but how can your lead off hitter be a guy who has never hit above .270?
Lucas Duda may be the one bright spot in the group. A fan favorite last season showed some promise in 2011 with decent average and power. He could grow as a regular starter.
Comments to this post
Rex Ryan’s Learning Experience
The collapse of this season’s Jets finds it’s root in last season when then Jets coach Sal Alosi tripped an opposing player on the sideline. Only two conclusions could have been drawn from that incident. Either Rex Ryan had advocated his coaches in taking cheap shots or Ryan was not as close to his staff (and by extension players) as he believed.
In Ryan’s three years as Jets coach player personnel has changed at an alarming rate. Much has been made of quarterback Mark Sanchez‘s chemistry with tight end Dustin Keller but that could e that Keller is the longest running starter at the offensive “skilled positions” for the Jets. In other words in only his third year Sanchez has worked with keller the longest. You could argue that the Jets have gotten better at wide receiver with the types of players they’ve acquired at that position over the last couple of years but at what price? It’s hard for a team to gel when players keep getting shuffled in and out.
Another sign of the Jets eventual demise was their attitude when they were winning. When questioned about a particular failing in a game the Jets won we’ve heard coach Ryan say time and again that it doesn’t matter as long as we won the game. This answer has been echoed by players, coaches and even team management. This answer totally ignores what makes winning teams win more. Even the most lopsided wins show areas to improve in. You always have to be looking to make a good thing even better. (Ironically this is how the Jets defend their turn over of offensive personnel.)
Watching Rex Ryan after the season ended and hearing the things he’s said makes me think he’s learned from this experience and that it’ll make him a better coach going forward. Only time will tell if my thinking is, indeed true.
Comments to this post
Schottenheimer Out, Sanchez Still In
There’s been a lot of talk about Mark Sanchez since the Jets season ended. Some bad, some supportive but very little actual good. Most of the talk is finger pointing by current (some anonymous, some not) and former teammates. I admit that I haven’t read all of what’s been said (it’s a very sad situation right now) but there are some points I’ve made in conversation since the middle of last season that bear repeating here.
When the Jets appeared on the HBO series Hard Knocks there was a segment in which Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets offensive coordinator, was meeting with Sanchez. I don’t remember the exact content of the conversation but I remember feeling very worried as a result of it. Schottenheimer was trying to make Sanchez understand something about the playbook and Sanchez was behaving like he was a grade school kid being scolded for not doing his math homework. This, of course, has nothing to do with Sanchez’s work ethic but it had me questioning whether or not he was up for the job of NFL quarterback. Not that I doubted he’d do the film study and the work but I doubted his maturity.
From all reports Sanchez does the things NFL QBs need to do. His offensive line believes in him. He works hard in game preperation. He even organizes a minicamp in southern California during the offseason. But that itself will not win games if his in game decision making is poor.
We’ve seen time and again where Sanchez throws an ill advised pass for an interception when he should hold the ball and take the sack. Or when he throws the ill advised pass instead of throwing the ball out of bounds. Or when he tries to be too fine with the throw into traffic. Even sliding head first instead of feet first after a run. (That’s very tough but not too smart.) Bad decision making is a sign of immaturity in the quarterback.
For his part Schottenheimer is not without blame. Without being in the lockerroom and team meatings it’s hard to say exactly what was wrong with Schottenheimer’s treatment of Sanchez but he’s been accused of coddling his quarterback instead of challenging him and his play calling was always under scrutiny even before Sanchez. Could this be the case of the coach not handling his quarterback well?
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that perhaps Schottenheimer’s not the right coach for a young QB. Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers when they drafted (or, depending on how you look at it, traded for) Phillip Rivers. In my opinion Rivers was a better QB with better tools at the time he was drafted than Sanchez was. But look at Rivers now. He has never lived up to his potential and threw 20 interceptions this year. That’s two strikes. If I were looking for an offensive coordinator right now I’d only consider Schottenheimer if I had an established QB.
All is not lost for Sanchez. Perhaps this is more a case of an underdeveloped quarterback than anything else. Tom Landry used to say it takes 5 years to develop a quarterback. By that count Sanchez still has time left. With Schottenheimer out and the offensive coaching staff undegoing an overhaul (including the hiring of Tony Sparano as the new offensive coordinator) maybe Sanchezz can start to progress again after a season of regression.
Comments to this post
Bullpen Stronger, Leadoff Still Weak
The Mets made a flurry of moves last night in the aftermath of Jose Reyes‘s departure. The truth is that these are moves that would likely have been made anyway but as Mets fans the Reyes parting is the watershed event of this offseason. Everything the Mets do now will be compared (by most, anyway) to the tough loss of Reyes at the top of the lineup.
In this flurry of moves the Mets strengthened their bullpen by signing Frank Francisco & Jon Rauch and acquiring Ramon Ramirez from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Angel Pagan. The Mets also acquired outfielder Andres Torres in the trade with the Giants.
I have no problem with the bullpen restructuring. As the 2011 season went on, and certainly after Francisco Rodriguez was traded, the bullpen deteriorated. A decision was made to build bullpen depth instead of acquiring a top of the line closer and that is definitely the right way to go. What use is a top flight closer if the rest of the bullpen can’t preserve a lead for him?
My only issue with yesterday’s moves is Torres. I understand that they probably couldn’t get any more in this trade and as far as many facets of the game go, particularly on defense, he is an upgrade in center field over Pagan. So my problem is not necesarily with his acquisition. But he is now being looked at as the leadoff hitter for this club and that’s not a good thing. He’s a career .244/.318/.403 hitter who has never hit higher than .270 in his career. He also strikes out a lot for a leadoff guy (in my opnion) 95 times in 112 games in 2011 and 128 in 139 games in 2010.
With the deeper bullpen and better defense in center field it’s possible that the Mets could be a competitive (note: I didn’t say winning) team while scoring fewer runs. But if I’m Sandy Alderson finding a more capable leadoff hitter, while not as urgent as it was yesterday morning, is still a high priority.
Comments to this post
Goodbye, Jose!
I was going to write something about the Jets today (and I still may) but then the Jose Reyes news broke and I feel I must comment about it.
I suppose Reyes’ departure is no surprising but that doesn’t change the emotional reactions we’re all going through over this news. Yes, he’s probably the best leadoff hitters and among the most exciting players currently in the major leagues. For this he will be missed by Mets fans who have enjoyed watching him play all these years when there has not been much else to cheer about in Flushing.
But at the same time I don’t fault him for leaving. With the Mets he’s been setting the table for what? Outside of David Wright there has been no other player consistently in the lineup to help push Reyes across when he’s done his thing. Add to that the financial instability and almost perpetual state of rebuilding the club has been in during the 9 years since his debut (let’s get real, the Mets were only in contention for 2 or 3 years during that span) and who could blame him?
He’s going to a team that has made a renewed effort to attract good players. They’ve got a new name (not really but that’s what they say), a new stadium and, apparently, a new payroll. What’s not to like?
No, I don’t blame Reyes for leaving. And the financial issues not withstanding his departure could be a good lesson for the Mets. That lesson: it’s time. Time to move on from the past future of Reyes and Wright as the cornerstones of this team. Time to eschew the strategy of “if we could only find the right players to put around these two”. It’s time for a fresh start. Does that include Wright? I don’t know. But Reyes has made up his mind that it doesn’t include him.
Good luck, Jose.
Comments to this post
