Mets Futility Could Help Einhorn

Adam Rubin wrote an interesting article (linked below) on ESPN New York about David Einhorn and how he could benefit greatly from Fred Wilpon’s financial crisis. In short, Rubin wrote that Einhorn has made a living off of betting on losers. In this case, Einhorn would benefit from Fred Wilpon taking a major blow in his billion dollar lawsuit as well as from the team continuing to struggle on the field and at the ticket office. In other words, the more the team loses, the more Wilpon loses. The more Wilpon loses, the more Einhorn wins.

Three years from now, Wilpon will have the option to accept or reject Einhorn’s increase in team ownership from what it is now to 60%. However, if Wilpon elects to reject that increase, Einhorn would still retain his minority share of the team and have all of his money refunded to him. In effect, this means the worst case scenario for him is that he is currently paying a loan to get minority ownership. Best case scenario is he is the majority owner in three years.

As awkward of a relationship as it might create between the two, Einhorn benefits from Wilpon’s financial struggle. It’s hard to imagine with the team losing and Fred Wilpon seemingly in desperation that three years from now things will have made a turn for the better so much so that he can hold onto the team. From appearances alone, it seems that he is on his way out.

Therefore, if I had to guess, Einhorn will be the majority owner some time around 2014.

Here is a link to Rubin’s article, which has additional quotes from David and some more insight.

Bunting Bucs?

As we all know, R.A. Dickey has a bum foot.  The whole world knows this including the Pittsburgh Pirates.

So my question is, how many bunts will we see tonight from the visiting Bucs?  I am putting the over/under of bunt for hits at two.  If it’s me managing the Pirates, I’m going to make Dickey prove to me he can field his position.  It’s not like they have a Murderer’s Row in terms of a lineup.

Hopefully the agility exercises that R.A. had to participate in were a bit more complicated than a few jumping jacks and some up-downs.

A Ton of Singles and A Couple Doubles

Hi

When I first read the news that Jose Reyes would not be playing tonight, I proceeded to seriously worry about the Mets’ chances.

It was pretty silly in hind sight. I should have trusted in the fact that Dillon Gee was on the mound and that he would keep the Mets in the game as he does every start. He is now the second Mets rookie to ever go 5-0 to start his rookie season.

Chicks may dig the long ball, but the Mets went at scoring their runs in a different fashion.  I don’t care if they Mets had 32 singles.  All that matters is that they scored more runs than the other team. It was nice of Josh Thole and Justing Turner to remind us of what an extra base hit looks like though.

Clowns

I hate to bring the room down for a second but there is something that has to be said. I was trying to avoid it but I just can’t hold back. Prior to the game I read a few comments that expressed frustration with how long Jose Reyes would be on his bereavement leave.

Hey Mr. Sensitive, don’t be a clown. I love the game of baseball but there is nothing and I mean NOTHING more important than family. Jose’s importance to the Mets is a very distant second to being there for his family while they grieve for a lost one.  Go back to kicking defenseless animals and old people when no one is looking.

Why Willie?

Normally I don’t spend a whole lot of time questioning lineups. Terry Collins is getting paid a boat load of money to make those decisions and I get paid just a smidgen less to write this blog,  so I assume he is much more qualified to give us the starting nine.

In this case I am going to break from the norm for a brief moment. Why in the world was Willie Harris leading off tonight? His barely above the Mendoza Line average and hack at everything mentality doesn’t sit well for me in terms of a table setter.

Just figured I’d share that.

Three in a row tomorrow?

If There Is A Time

If there is a time to get healthy so to speak, the upcoming stretch of games would be exactly that. 8 of the next 14 ballgames the Mets play are against the Pirates (whose record really isn’t half bad, but it’s still the Pirates). The other six games consist of 3 at home vs. Atlanta and 3 on the road in Milwaukee.

I cringe as I present my optimistic scenario of finishing 9-5 over this stretch – a scenario which would return the Mets to .500 overall. In order for it to happen, I would say taking 3 of 4 vs. Pittsburgh twice, and splitting the six games against Milwaukee and Atlanta would be the way to do it.

That said, is it doable? Yeah, I think so. Do I expect it? No, not really. The team is just fractured and broken in just about every sense of the word. More importantly, the Mets are going to have to figure out a way to put together all of the components at once – pitch when they hit when they field, as opposed to just one or two.

I guess I just want to see some solid baseball and I’d rather be 5 or 6 games from a Wild Card than 10 or 11. False hope at least creates the illusion that games are more important than they are. Also, the more the team loses, the more we will all have to suffer through the Reyes and ownership drama. There’s some motivation to aspire for the mediocrity that is .500 baseball.

Not Ideal Timing For The Bullpen To Go MIA

I’m not sure which is more frustrating, watching the Mets blow two late leads in a row, or listening to it.  For my viewing pleasure, I was graciously provided the Reds vs. Braves by FOX tonight.  Barf.

Don’t worry, this isn’t another MLB Blackout Restrictions suck rant.  Just read this again, and you’ll capture how I felt not being allowed to watch tonight’s game.

Frankly, there is never a good time for your bullpen to start blowing leads.  This particular stretch really, really, is an inopportune time.

The last two nights have been excruciatingly frustrating.  There is nothing I want more than this current group of players to stick it to everyone and go on a tear.  Clearly, that isn’t happening.

Instead, we’ve been treated with two gutsy starts from Chris Capuano and Mike Pelfrey, average offense, and a complete disappearance by the bullpen.  All compounded by the fact that it’s the Phillies sticking it to the Mets late in each contest.

I consider myself a realistic optimist.  But it is becoming extremely difficult to find things to be optimistic about as the Mets continue to drop games (three in a row if you are counting at home).

There aren’t any answers as far as a fix is concerned.  Maybe a slim hope that the Mets can make a run when some of their injured stars, or nice guys depending on who you ask, return.  Hopefully, the Mets aren’t too far below the .500 mark for it to matter.

I’ll tell you one thing. I’m glad it’s a holiday weekend and I am fortunate enough to be spending it with family, enjoying some unbelievably good food, and a cold brew or two.

It has provided the perfect distraction from focussing on the Mets current woes. Too bad the players and coaches aren’t afforded such a luxury.  It might do them some good.

Why Now?

An essential part of being a Met fan is the transition between “We could win this.” to “Ugh.  There it is.”

Last night’s game provided a prime example.  The Mets kept things close, fought back, created some electricity at Citi, but eventually came up short.

Francisco Rodriguez had not given up a run in something like six weeks.  He has certainly been one of the few bright spots of the 2011 season.

So what happens?  He blows up in big fashion.  He waits until a Friday night against the Phillies and implodes by giving up hit after hit.

Granted, Daniel Murphy did not help matters with his lack of glove work.  Let’s be honest, most Met blow ups involve multiple team members.

These types of occurrences always leave me scratching my head asking myself, “Why now?”.

You would think I would learn by now.  I guess that’s why I am still a fan.  Deep down inside the “Mets could win this.” guy is still there.

Phlibity Phlew. Not The Phillies

The good news is the Mets are now in Queens for a ten game home stand.  The bad news is it starts off with the Phreakin’ Phillies.

Depending on how the weekend goes, we will be pretty jazzed up that somehow, someway, the Mets found a way to end their two game series skid against their bitter enemy.

OR

All of Met Land will be very, very, melancholy.  Which usually leads to outlandish statements and ideas on how to fix this team.

Using My Head Not My Heart

I want desperately to believe that the Mets can take two of three this weekend against the kings of the NL East.  The fan in me is still hanging on to that notion.

The realist in me thinks winning this series is a tall order.  Especially when considering how the Mets have performed in their last six games, particularly on the pitching front.  I also don’t like how the pitching match ups (see below) play out, even though we are spared from seeing Roy Halladay.

So let the record show that the realistic expectation for this series is one win for the Amazin’s.

The fan in me just kicked the realist in me square on the shin.  Twice.  Once on each shin.

Friday: LHP Chris Capuano (3-5, 5.36) vs. RHP Roy Oswalt (3-2, 2.77)

Saturday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (3-4, 5.37) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (6-2, 3.06)

Sunday: LHP Jon Niese (3-5, 4.33) vs. RHP Vance Worley (2-0, 2.14)

Looking For  A Chink In The Armor From The Bitchin’ Internet

I routinely reference the crack research staff we have here at Midwestropolitan.  Let me give you a peek behind the curtain in terms of what they are looking for.  Our tireless crew is sifting through a vast amount of information to find something about the Mets’ next opponent to make light of.

Let me tell you, that’s a tough nut to crack after digging into the Phillies.  Even other team’s injuries seem to help the Phillies.  Their fans were rejoicing about Buster Posey’s nasty injury because they now believe the Giants won’t make the playoffs.  They believe this is better for them because the Giants give them fits (see 2010 NLCS).

Editor’s Note:  I may or may not have taken the liberty to exaggerate a bit when I chose to use the word “rejoicing” in an attempt to get you to hate the Phillies even more.  The statement about Posey’s injury may or may not have been just that, a statement, rather than rejoicing.

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming

News from our favorite franchise continues to be chipper (sarcastic font).  The Mets are now saying Ike Davis is not progressing as they had hoped.

I’m not surprised.  Don’t mistake this for a “everything goes wrong for the Mets” statement.  If you recall, last year the Midwestropolitan research team took a look at bone bruises when Carlos Beltran was dealing with his injury.  They discovered that:

Bone bruises take weeks or even months to heal.  It seemed when Beltran was first diagnosed with these issues everyone focused on the weeks versus the months.

Let me warn you, I’m not a doctor so don’t take this as Gospel, but I have to believe that a bone bruise in the ankle is less troublesome than one in the knee.

Let’s hope I’m right on that point.

Um, 24 Runs Guys?

Not Good.

It is time to state the obvious.  You can’t give up 24 runs to the Cubs in three games.  For all of you math majors out there, that’s eight runs a game.

Putrid.  Even in the only win of the series, Dillon Gee allowed four runs in an inning.

Look, I’m not going to go on a big rant here.  The weather sucked, your owner kicked you in the mommy-daddy button, and somehow last year’s best starter hurt his heel in the third inning just when it looked like he had turned a corner.  It’s a rough combination to deal with.

This is the only pass I am giving you this season.  It’s time to man up and give us a better effort.

Just Depressing

R.A. Dickey limping off the field. He looks like he’s in some serious pain. He was just starting to figure it out it seems. When will it end?