People Familiar With The Team’s Thinking.

“Jose is not going to be a quick process.  The fan base would love for it to be that way, but a quick process would mean that he will not be a Met. Let him go do the dance, and see how (other teams) value him. Why should we set the market?”-Person Familiar With The Team’s Thinking

Comments like this serve no actual purpose.  Frankly, I don’t put much credence in any comment associated to “People familiar with a team’s thinking”. Although I agree the Jose negotiation won’t be resolved anytime soon, I think it’s ridiculous anyone associated with the Mets is sharing their plans with regards to #7.

The reality is the source of this comment was probably Mr. Met.  Even though we love him, we all know he isn’t privy to the front office’s negotiating strategy.  I really wish he would keep that big mouth on that big old noggin of his shut and work on his t-shirt cannon accuracy.

I read the comment in a column that was another example of a Mets columnist fulfilling his required work load when there really isn’t much happening on the new development front.

When did quoting any Tom, Dick, or Harry off the street become so accepted as a reliable source anyway?

If I ran one of the New York news organizations, I would require my team beat writers to write about something else during lulls in the action like this.  Maybe a feature about Mets Bloggers that reside in Indiana.  You know, something riveting.

Enjoy game seven tonight.

Beer and Baseball

Beer is synonymous with baseball.  They go hand in hand.  No one eats cracker jacks anymore, but plenty of people associated with the game drink beer.

I am shocked that there are so many people surprised to discover that some players have drained a brew or two during a game.  Where have you been folks?

Even our own beloved Keith Hernandez enjoyed a cold one from time to time.  During game six of the ’86 World Series, he stayed put in the clubhouse with a beer during the infamous 10th inning rally because he believed there were hits in the chair he was sitting in.

So stop the witch hunt anti-beer baseball “fans”.  The minute you see a player come out of the clubhouse and lose his lunch because he was doing keg stands, then you can be appalled.

A Midwest Rivalry

Considering the fact this website is titled Midwestropolitan, I would be remiss if I didn’t share this article about the nasty little feud that has developed between St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Baseball Culture Clash Makes NLCS Fun

Especially an article that asks,

“What kind of freaky Midwestern culture war is this, anyway?”

Author’s Note:  After reading the article, does anyone else think Tony LaRussa has more than just a man crush on Albert Puljols?

I for one can certainly get into this series.  For the record, I’m pulling for the Brew Crew.  It’s quite simple, the Cardinals are my third least favorite team in the National League .  Behind the Phillies and Braves…duh.  During my formative Met years in the 80’s they were a bitter rival.  Combine this with 2006, and well, there you go.

Back to the rivalry that has formed between these two teams.  Can you imagine the pub this series would have if this was the Yankees and Red Sox?  Picture Jacoby Ellsbury talking shit via Twitter about “Alexa Rodriguez”.  ESPN would be ramming it down our throats every chance they got.

Thankfully, this isn’t happening because the Red Sox suffered an epic collapse, and the Yankees were bounced in the Divisional Series.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

*tear*

Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

*gasp for air*

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

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Rejoice

I would like to tell you that I do not have a petty bone in my body, and that it does not matter to me whether or not the Yankees or Phillies win in the playoffs.

I would also like to tell you that I do not take satisfaction in seeing the look of shock on Yankee and Philly fans’ faces as they realize that they just got bounced from the playoffs in the divisional round…at home.

The reality is my friends, I am not bigger than that.  I do possess a petty bone in my body, and I received a small amount of satisfaction witnessing the shock on our rival fans faces.

So follow the advice I received from Tom in a text last night,

“Rejoice” -Tom

 

Pitching, Pitching, & More Pitching

Jose Reyes will dominate the discussion in terms of 2012 roster decisions for the New York Mets.  He’s one of the most exciting players in all of baseball, so it’s easy to understand.

The problem is, the shortstop position should not be the focus of the organization.  The starting rotation should be.  The Mets could re-sign Jose Reyes, successfully convert Ike Davis into a gold glove center fielder, sign Prince Fielder and they still wouldn’t make the playoffs with their current rotation.  I may be exaggerating a tad, but you get the point.

Besides, their offense isn’t the problem.  The Mets were sixth in the National League in runs scored (718).  That’s five runs better than the Phillies.

The 2011 Mets’ starting rotation sported a woeful 4.11 ERA.  There were nine teams better in the National League in this particular area, including all four playoff teams.  As it stands, the rotation has no legitimate ace, a number two or three guy in Johan (due to injury and age), a number three guy in Dickey, and a collection of #4 or #5 guys at best.

Mike Pelfrey (career 4.40 ERA) and Chris Capuano (career 4.39 ERA) need to go.  To put it simply, they are not part of the solution.

Jon Niese and Dillon Gee still have yet to prove they are worth holding on to, but I wouldn’t be upset if the Mets want to give them both another chance in 2012.  Part of me thinks Niese doesn’t have the stamina or strength to make it as a starter and the Mets need to consider moving him to the bullpen. Right now, his 4.20 ERA in 2010 and his 4.40 ERA this season place him alongside Big Pelf and Cap.

Back to Jose for a second. For those of you new to Midwestropolitan (shame on you for not joining us earlier), I am not saying I don’t want Jose to remain a Met.  As a fan, I hold on to hope they can figure out a way to re-sign him and fix the rotation at the same time.  The realist in me knows that is a tall order.

The bottom line is we should keep an eye on what the front office does with the rotation.  It will tell us a lot about whether or not they truly believe they can contend in 2012.  If there isn’t much turnover, it means they are willing to sacrifice 2012 to give Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey, and Zack Wheeler time to develop with hopes that any and all of them form a strong young core in 2013.

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