OK Met fans... it's beginning

What a difference a week and a day make in Queens.

Last Monday the Mets were 7-3 and were playing a fun and exciting brand of baseball.
And here we are 8 days later. The Mets went 1-5 since and are at even .500.
The one win they had was a game on Saturday that was so sloppy that they should have been playing Yakety Sacks during the highlight clips.

And what has today wrought?
Three massive middle fingers.

Jason Bay is out with broken ribs.
Well, that was only a matter of time.
One more year, Met fans, then you can decline Bay's option.

Mike Pelfrey? Remember him? He's on the DL too.

And who is coming into town?

That would be the Marlins and Jose Reyes.

Reyes, the home grown Met All Star and only batting champ in franchise history... the guy they did NOT trade for prospects at the trade deadline and then didn't bid against the Marlins for his services.

As of this post, the Mets are 8-8 and the Marlins are 7-8.

Call me crazy, but I have a feeling this will be the last time the Marlins are looking up at the Mets.

I have been screaming for the Mets to rebuild since the end of the 2009 season.
How much older and injured does this team need to get with their best players playing elsewhere before someone listens to me?

The long year begins NOW!

People who hate the Yankees and Red Sox should be happy

Over the last few off seasons, I've heard lots of bellyaching, complaining and people angry at the Yankees and Red Sox for going on wild free agent shopping sprees.

It wasn't fair.
How can teams compete?
The rest of the league is just the farm system for Boston and New York.
And they buy the World Series every year (forgetting that more often then not, neither the Yankees nor Sox are even IN the World Series.)

Well last year the Phillies put their flag in the ground to make it three teams that buy everyone up.

And THIS year?
Hey big spenders in Anaheim and Miami!

A few years ago nobody wanted to sign with the Angels and the Marlins had a payroll lower than what Jose Reyes will make a year!

And the Nationals seem to want to spend money and the Blue Jays want to make a splash. And don't count out the Rangers (who have as many World Series appearances in the last 7 seasons as the Red Sox and Yankees combined).

And did you notice who seems to be sitting this free agent season out?
The Yankees and Red Sox.

They may bid on a Ryan Madson or an outfielder, but the idea of them buying every player is out the window.

There are other buyers out there.
Maybe there will be a "Miami - Anaheim" bias to replace the Northeastern bias.

Rejoice Yankee and Red Sox haters. Your wishes are coming true.

Taryn Cooper and Rob Paravonian join The Sully Baseball Show

With Jose Reyes leaving the Mets and Ron Santo joining the Hall of Fame, there is a lot to talk about today.

I talk Mets with the fabulous Taryn Cooper, creator of A Gal For All Seasons.
Then I got the Cub fan point of view from the brilliant comic mind of Rob Paravonian.

It is the second hour of the Seamheads block on Monday night after What's On Second, the flagship show of the Seamheads National Podcasting Network.

Listen to internet radio with Seamheads on Blog Talk Radio

The Mets and the Marlins pull a Freaky Friday

The Marlins signing Jose Reyes makes one thing clear:
The Mets have become the Marlins and the Marlins have become the Mets.

Like Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris (or Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis) they have switched places a la Freaky Friday.

For so many years the Mets were the big market team that seemed a bit insecure. They weren't as sexy as the Yankees nor did they have the stable organization as the Braves in 1990s or the Phillies in the late 2000s. But they kept spending, kept bringing in big splashy names (even if they didn't fit.)

And it resulted in big huge mongo unmovable contracts stuffing up the payroll.

And yeah... a lot of players played for the Marlins and ended up on the Mets.
Al Leiter, Cliff Floyd, Carlos Delgado, Gary Sheffield, Dennis Cook, Livan Hernandez, Moises Alou, Kurt Abbott, Braden Looper and Luis Castillo all played in the post season with the Marlins before finding their way to Queens.

And don't forget, Mike Piazza came to the Mets not from the Dodgers but after his brief cameo in South Florida.

Well now it is the Marlins who are making the big spending signings, even if they don't 100% fit.

Heath Bell arrived in Florida as a closer in his 30s making big bucks when all logic says "Closers tend to flame out when they reach that age" and "a decent inexpensive pitcher throwing in the 9th will pile up saves".

And now they spend $106 million on shortstop Jose Reyes. Keep in mind, they are ALREADY spending $16 million a year at the shortstop position with Hanley Ramirez. You'd think they'd spend $106 million on a position that wasn't already expensively filled.

So the Marlins are winning off season headlines trying to get fannies in the seats of their new ballpark and getting season tickets sold. Whether or not they will be winning in the fall is another question. And these contracts will no doubt be clogging up their payroll for a while. (Kind of like Jason Bay, Johan Santana and David Wright are doing with the Mets.)

And oh yeah, the Marlins management is under scrutiny for underhanded financial dealings. Maybe not as big as Bernie Madoff, but its not a good way to emulate a big market club.

Meanwhile for years the Marlins were a team that big name players left. They constantly cut costs and dumped players and gave feeble nominal attempts to resign them.

Guess who that is now?
The Mets have an advantage that only the Yankees have. They play in New York. They have the biggest media market to feed from. They should have national exposure for their players. Instead they are a nickel and dime organization going nowhere in a hurry.

Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez and now Reyes are all gone. And no doubt David Wright, Jason Bay and Johan Santana could be acquired for the right price.

Their payroll is going to be significantly lower next year and a lot of players are going to be on the Mets next year who would normally be in AAA. (Sound familiar Marlin fans.)

Of course the Marlins would have DEALT Reyes at the trading deadline and piled up some prospects. But who knows? Maybe the draft picks will yield the next big Mets star. (Although it would have seemed smarter to get a big league ready prospect.)

Maybe a youth movement is exactly what the Mets needs.
Have low expectations and play all the young kids and they might build on the franchise's two total World Series titles.

Hey!
That's the same amount of titles as the Marlins!

This is why I keep dumping on the Mets

I don't dislike the Mets.

I really don't.

I'm always kind of shocked by how they do business.

They have been handed an advantage that only the Yankees have (the New York market) and still they somehow manage to average 86 losses each of their first three seasons at CitiField.

Will 2012 be any different?

They had stretches of solid baseball last year but still just narrowly missed the 90 loss mark.

And at the trade deadline they pulled off a great deal, sending Carlos Beltran to the Giants for Zack Wheeler. Everyone knew Beltran was good as gone and they got one the Giants top pitching prospects.

But they held onto Jose Reyes.

Reyes was more valuable a chip than Beltran.

I questioned their sanity THEN.

If they wanted to sign him to a long term deal, then they could have traded him for a pair of prospects and then when he became a free agent, sign him. You get Reyes AND the prospects.

My friends who are Mets fans said that not signing him was a sign of loyalty and they were confident that Reyes would see it that way and he'd be in New York for a long time.

Well now reports are coming out that he will probably go to the Marlins.

Now mind you, I don't think signing Jose Reyes to a long term deal is a smart move. There is something about peaking on a walk season that strikes me as very J. D. Drew-esque.

And someone whose game is built on speed will be deep into his 30s during a long term contract. Never a good sign.

So in a way, having him walk could help the Mets spend the money wisely.

But they could have dealt him!

Unless they use their draft picks and snag a few stars, they will look back at the trade deadline when a player like Reyes could have been a difference maker and got a few other pieces to join Wheeler and build a new team up... and grind their teeth.

Things are more bleak for the Mets than the Dodgers

There were more players in uniform than fans in the stands in Dodger Stadium yesterday.
The team is a bankrupt embarrassment with a tabloid divorce looming over the team along with the Bryan Stowe beatings and its grotesque aftermath and MLB taking control of the team.

It sucks to be a Dodger fan.
It's worse to be a Mets fan.

I'll say it. The Dodger mess will be easier to fix.
If a new owner can be put into Los Angeles this off season, the good will in Dodgerland will come around the nanosecond the owner says "My name is NOT Frank McCourt."

The new owner will have a huge fan base eager to put their support behind the team.
AND they have a young MVP candidate in Matt Kemp and a young Cy Young candidate (and probable WINNER this year) in Clayton Kershaw.

Plus he plays in a Division where the Giants can pitch but can't hit, the Diamondbacks are great one year and bad the next, the Padres are great the other years and bad the next and the Rockies forget to contend before September.

In other words, the idea of being a power in the NL West isn't so far fetched. Just add competent ownership!

As for the Mets... well, their problems haven't featured obscene divorces and people in comas. But they HAVE had the biggest Ponzi Scheme in American History hamstring them.

And oh yeah, playing in the biggest media market in the country probably won't help them stumble to their third straight losing season.

And today we found out that David Einhorn, their great knight on a white steed, who was going to buy $200 million worth of the Mets and probably eventually take over the team and lead them to their greatest days ever, is saying "No Thanks."

The Wilpons are still in charge. The Phillies and Braves are still VASTLY superior. The Marlins have talent and will move into a new ballpark next year. The Nationals are developing talent and have the combination of Strasburg and Harper looming on the horizon.

What do the Mets have?
They have Jose Reyes' impending free agency where, once Albert Pujols comes off of the table, he will be the biggest available name.

They have David Wright who is a nice player but no longer a franchise player.
They have nice players like Dillon Gee, Ruben Tejada, Jonathon Niese, Mike Pelfrey and Daniel Murphy.

All nice players.
Not exactly franchise players. Not exactly great building blocks to go past the Phillies, who seem hell to win their 5th straight Division Title and 3 pennant in that same period of time, or the Braves who have stockpiled amazing young talent.

If the Dodgers and the Mets could combine like Voltron, they would be a terrific team. Kemp, Kershaw and maybe Reyes with some nice complimentary players.

But they aren't one team. They are two big budget flops for 2011.
For 2012 and beyond, things are brighter in LA.

Why I am standing by my "Mets will lose 90 games" pick

At the beginning of the season, I picked the Mets to lose 90 games... and man oh man Met fans HATED me for saying that.

I was called stupid, a Boston fan (which I can't deny) and my sexuality was questioned. And I still felt that the team that lost 83 games last year was worse.

Throughout the year, I would e mails from Met fans and some of my friends who are Met fans asking me if I will eat my words about the Mets and if I would admit that I was wrong.

The Mets were playing better and some fans were upset that Beltran was dealt because the Wild Card was in reach.

Calm down everyone.

90 losses remains a real possibility.

For all the talk about the Mets playing better than expected this year, let's keep a few things in mind.

They are a sub .500 team in late August. A $118 million payroll should be a contender. Being above .500 is a given.

They are on pace to lose 85 games this year, making this year a step backwards.

After tonight's loss to the Phillies they are 8 games under .500 with 34 left to play.

Just to reach break even they would have to go 21-14 the rest of the way... a .600 clip.

And with Beltran gone and Reyes injured, the team has no spark.

The Mets have lost 15 of their last 20 games. This is their third 5 game losing streak since July 30th and their next four games are against the Phillies and Braves.

In order to lose 90 games, the Mets would have to go 12-22 the rest of the way.

So nope. I am standing by my pick. Besides, part of my rationale was that they would unload some players at the deadline and the weakened team would play some legit contenders. And that's kinda sorta exactly what happened.

They were last above .500 on August 1.

They are 5-14 since.

Why is Jose Reyes still a Met?

Seriously. What the hell?

Do the Mets think they have a shot at the Wild Card? If so, why did they deal Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran?

They are in rebuilding mode... then REBUILD!

They got a quality chip in exchange for Beltran. Imagine what they could have snagged from the Cardinals for Reyes. From the Angels. From ANY team that needs a spark in the shortstop position.

(I thought the Giants should have packaged for Beltran AND Reyes.)

They could have at least 2 players who if they aren't big leagues ready now, they will be by 2012 or 2013.

And THEN when Reyes hit the open market, out bid everyone for him there. You could even say to him before the trade "No matter what happens this year, nobody is going to out bid us." Wink wink.

They get the prospects AND they get Reyes for next year.

And yet here he is. Still with the Mets. I give the Mets tons of credit for keeping their nose above .500 and if they have a winning season, then color me impressed. There is NO WAY they are passing Atlanta or Philadelphia this year.

But they COULD be building a team for when Philadelphia's age catches up to them (which could be in a year or 2.)

Reyes, Wright and Wheeler would be on that team. But for the love of Sid Fernandez, so could have a few other players!

Someone help me. Someone explain it to me.

I'm at a loss.

I've got to give the Mets credit...

I've been brutal on the Mets both on my blog and the podcast.

I wondered how a team in New York could be losing money, putting a non contender on the field and be an absolute mess.

And I predicted that they will have a firesale and lose 90 games.

Now I stand by most of those statements.
But I have to give Terry Collins some credit.
He has been handed a crappy hand (and the aftermath of the Omar Minaya years) and has the team over .500.

He doesn't have David Wright nor Johan Santana at his disposal. And the line up and bullpen has been patch work.

Just last night the Mets had Willie Harris at DH, Lucas Duda at first base, Justin Turner at second base and Josh Thole at catcher. That's a lineup you'd expect at a split squad spring training game.

And they throttled Detroit to the tune of 14 runs. And that's not a chump team. That's a first place team they blew out of the water on the road.

I don't know how much longer this will last. I still think Reyes and Beltran and Rodriguez are going to be dealt in a month (and why not? They could get three valuable and cheap building blocks for them.)

And it is unlikely that they will leapfrog five teams for a playoff spot.
But if they split the next few games, they will be at the official half way spot with a winning record... and that's more than I was expecting.

And if I can give the Pirates, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Indians and Mariners all credit for exceeding expectations, then I suppose I should for the Mets as well.

Things could be worse for the Mets. They could be the Dodgers.

Maybe Brandon Crawford WILL be needed!

Yesterday I wrote about why the Giants should make a trade for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. And I suggested in the trade package they include shortstop prospect Brandon Crawford because, and I quote, "slick fielding young shortstop Brandon Crawford won’t be needed."

Well today, Crawford made his big league debut and hit a go ahead grand slam that made a winner out of Tim Lincecum.

If he can keep hitting like that, maybe the Giants can save their prospects.
Then again a grand slam in your first game a star does not make.

Just ask Daniel Nava.

Either way, a nice "welcome to the big leagues" for Mr. Crawford. You will notice in this picture, Miguel Tejada looks really happy for Mr. Crawford.

Look out Miguel. He might have your job before long.

Jose Reyes should replace Buster Posey

The Giants lost their young budding superstar catcher Buster Posey to injuries for the rest of the season? Naturally the Mets shortstop should take his place.

I do not literally mean take Posey’s position of course. The Giants need to fill the catcher’s position but that is a short order. Eli Whiteside is a capable catcher and Bengie Molina, the man who Buster Posey made expendable, can be signed as a free agent. Both can split time behind the plate and call a good game. Maybe even Fresno’s Jackson Williams can catch a few games for the parent club.

Getting someone to squat and tell the pitchers what to throw is not an issue. His bat will be sorely missed. A team this offensively challenged can’t afford to simply remove Posey from the lineup. The combination of Molina, Whiteside and Williams can’t make up for his production.

But Jose Reyes can.

The Mets shortstop is healthy and contributing in the lineup. He leads the league in hits and triples. He has 17 steals and his OPS is in the .800s. And he is doing it in a miserable situation. If he could do that in the poisonous Mets culture, imagine how he could flourish in the positive environment of the defending World Champions!

The Mets are imploding, sinking in the standings, infighting with the management and selling off chunks of the team.

When a team is trying to find new investors (or maybe a new owner) and losing tens of millions of dollars, wouldn’t it behoove them to start cutting payroll? Especially when the team is a losing team in an empty stadium. Hell, Wilpon has already said his team stinks. Why not start dumping the bodies?

If the Mets can get two good prospects for Reyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season, then it makes sense for them. Getting two players who have already passed much of the minor league gauntlet might be a surer bet than the two draft picks the Mets would get after Reyes’ inevitable free agent departure. (Why would he want to come back to the Amazin’ Mess.)

The Giants are in a position to trade from strength. It is always risky to deal pitching, but with a rotation of Linecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Sanchez and even Vogelsong, the Giants have depth in the rotation. Wilson, Ramirez, Lopez, Romo and Mota give them the deep bullpen. If ANY team can trade a pitching prospect or two, it is the Giants.

Maybe dealing top prospect Zack Wheeler would be a stretch. And maybe lefty reliever Alex Hinshaw, who has some big league experience, might not be enticing. But first baseman prospect Brandon Belt could be intriguing for the Mets. 23 year old control artist Eric Surkamp could be spared. And slick fielding young shortstop Brandon Crawford won’t be needed. I am sure a package could be slapped together.

And it could even be easier if the Giants ever agreed to take on any more of the Mets payroll. Jason Bay is owed $35 million over the next two years. Johan Santana is owed $50 million. Send one of those contracts to China Basin and the accountants in Queens would be much obliged. Granted, the only stadium worse for Jason Bay’s talents than CitiField is AT&T Park. But imagine if Santana comes back to form? But I digress. This discussion is about Jose Reyes.

And the Giants have a spot waiting for him. Sorry, Miguel Tejada. The experiment to capture lightning in a bottle again after the post season success of Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe simply isn’t happening for the 2011 Giants infield. The bat speed is not there. The power is not there. The range is not there. He is aging the way 37 year olds USED to age.

Replace the lumbering Tejada with the spark plug of Reyes, rejuvenated after his parole from Queens and suddenly the Giants line up is a little more electric. He has gap to gap power and can stretch doubles into triples, making San Francisco the ideal park for his offense.

And playing for a potential post season run could not hurt his free agent prospects.

Deal a little of tomorrow for a chance to repeat today, Giants. You don’t need a catcher who can hit. You need a player who can hit.

Make the call. The Mets are DYING to shed some payroll.

A slow motion car wreck in Flushing, Queens

Did you ever have a tooth ache that you couldn't resist poking at with your tongue?

Ever have the urge to taste something that you know will be terrible?

I am sure some of you clicked on "Two Girls One Cup" knowing full well it was going to be gross.

Sometimes we are drawn to things that we KNOW are going to suck. Hell, I remember when I saw the trailer for Lady in the Water I remember thinking "Oh man, I HAVE to see it." And it didn't disappoint in its transcendent awfulness.

Well folks that's what is going to be happening with the Mets this season.

It is going to be ugly... it is going to be squirm in your seat awkward... and I personally won't be able to take my eyes off of the carnage.

This isn't exactly a new stance for me. I've been calling for the Mets to dismantle since January.

The Carlos Beltran knee fiasco and the bringing in of Gary Matthews Jr and Kelvim Escobar (not to mention the parade of players who said "thanks but no thanks" to the Mets offers) made me realize this injury plagued veteran team is going into 2010 with MORE veterans who are injury prone.

Met fans who disagreed with me said they still have Reyes, Santana and Wright and that's not a bad foundation.

That was before this whole bizarre thyroid condition that could keep Jose Reyes out for a while.

Oh yeah we are being told that it is only 2 to 8 weeks.

After the whole Carlos Beltran knee fiasco, the Mets are clearly a good source for guessing recovery times.


And Johan Santana got rocked in his first game back from injury. Now yes, it is a spring training game and normally I don't put much stock in what is essentially a practice game.

But he is coming back from injury... and what if this is the beginning of a decline?

He's had 6 great seasons, a pair of Cy Young awards and looked like he was Hall of Fame bound... and he very well might be.

But what if he is a Bret Saberhagen, Frank Viola, Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, Dave Stewart or David Cone type. A guy who dominated for a stretch but not long enough for a Cooperstown career.

As Santana goes into his 30s, if he is anything less than dominant, then the Mets rotation will be 5 question marks.

And David Wright showed that CitiField wasn't exactly the best place in the world for a right handed power hitter to play (something Jason Bay probably should have looked into.)

And without Beltran, Reyes nor Delgado in the lineup, why on Earth would he see a fat pitch to hit all year?


Toss in the fact that the front office is in perpetual turmoil, management that is still counting their pennies after Bernie Madoff made his way with the owners, a manager that just seems happy to be employed and having the biggest baddest baseball team in the world across town.

Forget playoffs... does any team really see this as a .500 team now?

They have no shot at the Division title. That is Philadelphia's to lose.
As for the Wild Card, would you honestly pick the Mets over the Marlins? The Brewers? The Dodgers? The Rockies? The Diamondbacks? The Giants?

Remember this is not a team that just missed the postseason last year... this is a 92 loss team that got WORSE!

They are more likely to lose 100 games in an empty CitiField.

This team reminds me of the post Messier Rangers and the Isiah Thomas era Knicks. Both teams got old, but the front office kept signing big priced players because "New York needs stars and won't tolerate a loser."

In came Fleury, Lindros, Kovalev, Jagr and Holik to the Rangers. They were expensive, the Blue Shirts missed the playoffs every year, Madison Square Garden was empty and nobody cared.

And of course the Knicks brought in Marbury, Curry, Rose and Francis... and the team became the laughing stock of basketball.

Ask any Ranger fan or Knick fan of that era if they would rather have seen young players miss the playoffs or old expensive players miss the playoffs!

Ask the MSG network how their ad revenue was during that era. I am guessing not that good.

The Rangers didn't get to be relevant again until they decided "heck, let's just play young guys."

The Knicks are nowhere near relevant and their sole plan seems to be "Hey! We'll sign LeBron James!" (If King James stays in Cleveland, there is no plan B at the corner of 34th street and 7th Avenue.)

So that's where the Mets are headed. They already are old expensive and irrelevant. But they are on the express track to being that gruesome YouTube video that you dare your friends to watch.

I would say "blow the team up" but the problem is it already has blown up... the Mets just don't know it yet.

I should address some of the comments about my Mets entry...

Well I must say the response to my Home Grown versus Acquired All Time Mets Team entry has been terrific.

Some people complimented the list and the writing.
Others questioned how severe my mental retardation was.

I love both responses (and man they are more passionate than the Rangers fans responses.)

But let me address some of the questions that have come up more than once:

1) THE PIAZZA VERSUS CARTER DEBATE


Trust me, I weighed the pros and cons of Carter and his Hall of Fame credentials and his contributions to the 1986 World Series title are something I remember ALL TOO WELL!

And every time I put my foot down and said "It's PIAZZA!" I would think "But wait... Carter was great."

I think the knocks on Piazza's defense was overrated. He had a lousy arm (but it's not like he was Mackey Sasser!)
But he also seemed to call a good game and the pitchers didn't seem to mind.

I needed an intangible to break the tie...
Carter's was starting the rally in game 6.
Piazza's was that post September 11th homer.

I'm a Red Sox fan who was in New York on September 11th.
I guess I picked from emotion.



2) THE REYES/HARRLESON DEBATE


Yes I am aware that Jose Reyes is more talented than Bud Harrelson... but I put Bud in front for a few reasons.

First of all Bud was the shortstop for the 1969 World Champion Mets.
Jose has been the shortstop of two of the biggest collapses in recent memory.

Bud wrote a book on playing baseball the right way.
Jose has been accused (and booed) for dogging it down the stretch.

Bud's famous clip was scrapping with Pete Rose in the 1973 playoffs.
Jose's famous clip was not running out ground balls while the Mets blew an unblowable lead.

Plus I put Bud up there the same reason I put Johnny Pesky over Nomar Garciaparra in my Red Sox post and why I put Phil Rizzuto over Derek Jeter in my Yankees post

I gave credit to them being such a major part of the team besides as a player. Bud has a World Series ring as a Mets player and as a coach (he was in the scrum at home plate when Ray Knight scored.)

I guess this is a bit of "We can boo our guy, but YOU can't say anything bad about him."


3) THE RAY KNIGHT VERSUS HOWARD JOHNSON DEBATE

Man, I knew Hojo was popular... but I am surprised how little love Ray Knight is getting!

Come on! He was the MVP of the most memorable World Series the Mets have ever been in!


But for the people who wrote really strongly worded e mails about those three debates, please keep in mind 2 things:

1. It's not like I left off Carter, Reyes and Hojo. I included them on the list.

2. It's just a subjective list on a lunatic's baseball blog. It isn't a real team!


Now some of the other points are worth addressing as well.

4) WHERE'S JOHAN SANTANA AND PEDRO MARTINEZ?


I thought long and hard about this one... and I decided to leave them off for a couple of reasons:
- Pedro really only gave the Mets one good season. And that season wasn't better than Ojeda's best, Darling's best, Cone's best, Leiter's best nor Hampton's best. You won't find a bigger Pedro Martinez fan than me, but his time in New York was Frank Viola-esque.

- Santana has a better argument and will probably be on this list if I do an update of it. But each of the names on the list had a big post season moment for the Mets.

- I am amazed how few people liked the Mike Hampton pick. Maybe I put too much weight on postseason performances, but if you clinch the National League Pennant with a complete game shut out and win the playoff MVP... you are getting honored on my list. It's a good goal for Johan to match.

5) WHERE IS CARLOS DELGADO?



Another tough one...
And with a little reflection I probably should have put Delgado over Dave Kingman.
I just gave Kingman the nod because he twice held the Mets single season home run record and he was a lot of fun.

I can't say all of my decisions are based on logic! But I grant you... Delgado is worth bringing up.


6) WHERE IS JOHN OLERUD? RICO BROGNA?

I thought about Olerud, but I knew I had Hernandez at first and I wanted to honor Donn Clendenon.
So it basically turned into a log jam with Delgado, Olerud and Dave Kingman.

I went Kingman.

Sue me.

As for Brogna, look... he was a good fun player during a dark age for the Mets. But there's no way he bumps Hernandez, Kingman, Delgado, nor Olerud off of the list.

7) NOLAN RYAN AS A MET?


An anonymous poster wrote "Hey if Ryan can make the All-Homegrown team, then why not have Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider on the All-Acquired team???"

A fair point... Ryan's stature on the club is increased by what he did with the Angels, Astros and Rangers.

But in Ryan's defense, he came out of the bullpen to clinch the 1969 pennant and got a key save in game 3 of the World Series.
So he DID contribute the Mets title.

And who else would you put in the homegrown starters?
Paul Wilson?


8) WHAT DO YOU MEAN OVERPAY FOR K-ROD?


Read it and weep... Benitez phase 2 is about to begin.








9) GIVE JERRY GROTE SOME LOVE


Fine, which catcher do I drop?
Piazza or Carter?

And I'm sorry poster who asked ". He only played in 103 games before the Mets got him, so can't we say he was home grown?!?"

These are MY crazy rules and I stick by them!



10) WHERE'S JEFF KENT?


I was living in New York when Kent played. He was as popular in Gotham as Gerald Ford circa 1975.
His numbers skyrocketed when he was in San Francisco (hmmmmmm).

Besides, Felix The Cat Millan was loved and pretty cool.


11) ED KRANEPOOL WASN'T AN ORIGINAL MET


Pat in Virginia pointed out that Kranepool wasn't an original Met. He was recalled later in the season.

A fair point.

It's a good thing I had Richie Ashburn, a real original Met, honored.


12) LEE MAZZILLI WAS OVERRATED


Perhaps, but can you think of another reason to go to Shea Stadium in the post Seaver-pre Strawberry days?

Didn't think so.



But thanks for reading it.
I was hoping for debate and some passion.

Thanks Regis at Mets Blog, the fellows at the 'Ropolitans, ND Nation, and anyone else who linked me.

Funny... the Marlins and Rangers posts didn't attract this much attention!