And Now Deep Game 2 Thoughts

Some random observations that crossed the pea sized object inside my skull during game 2:

• Too bad I missed D. Wright’s bomb, but my chicken parm was worth it.  Besides, there will be more (optimistic font).
• Thole is swingin’ it.
• Dude.
• Pradio’s homer doesn’t exactly make Warthen look like a genius.  Nice visit.
• I don’t want to mow my lawn.
• Ike needs to chill the f$%# out.  As annoying as the outside corner strike has been, it has been called all game.  Bitching out the ump will only hurt his cause.  Especially if he gets a reputation as being a whiner.  We all know he is bad ass, but unfortunately the rest of the league and especially the umps still need some more proof before he gets that call.
• Bobby’s strikeout pitch to Michael Bourn was filthy.  Man I hope he has this figured out for the long haul.
• A beer sounds nice about now.
• Dude squared.
• Keith calling out Juan Francisco for wearing his hat “half cock-eyed” was hilarious.

“Come on, look like a ballplayer.” -Keith Hernandez

• Jon Rauch is tall.  Shouldn’t he be throwing the ball 137mph?  I hope he doesn’t read this.
• Two saves in a row, Mr. Francisco.  Nice.
• It sure feels nice to start the season off with a series win against the Braves.
• Sweep?

And Now Deep Game 1 Thoughts

Some random observations that crossed the pea sized object inside my skull during game 1:

• The pre-game ceremony remembering Gary Carter was classy.  Well done Mets brass.
• Ah, Johan is back.  I really wish SNY would remove the pitch count graphic when he pitches.  I find myself somewhat consumed by projecting out how many innings he’ll go.  I hate that.
• Daniel Murphy can still hit.  Sweet.
• I find it ironic that the player we traded Angel Pagan for in the off-season gets picked off at first base in the season opener.  Aren’t 34-year-old veteran lead off men supposed to keep base running errors to a minimum?
• The “no shit” statement of the game:

“And that’s not what he wanted to do there.”-Keith Hernandez in the 5th inning after Johan walked the 8 & 9 hitters (the 9th hitter being the opposing pitcher).

• Johan is the only pitcher I have confidence in getting out of that situation.  Well done El Gocho.
• Who schedules a staff meeting in the middle of the Mets’ opening day?
• Cool, still zero zero  “Who’s winning?  The Bears.”  Didn’t miss anything.
• David Wright with a clutch hit.  Man it would be sweet if he has a monster year.  This is certainly a decent start.
• Jason Bay got on base.  That’s nice.
• Duda & Ike a combined 0 for 8 with 4 Ks.  Ouch.  It’s only one game though.  No biggie.
• Diggin’ the 1-2-3 save by Francisco.  Dramatic, nail-biting, saves are over rated.
• Nice win.  Enjoyed it.  Mets are STILL in 1st place.

Well, Here We Are

The purpose of this post is not to drop mind-blowing insight or tinkle in your pants it’s so funny humor per the norm.  To be completely honest, it is solely to document my thoughts heading into the beginning of the 2012 season.  My apologies to those of you that came here to have your minds blown or to tinkle in your pants.

Let it be known that on the eve of Opening Day, I feel pretty calm.  I am excited that baseball is upon us, but I have absolutely no irrational beliefs that the Mets will finish better than fourth place in their division this season.

The cool thing about this is that anything better will be a sign of over achievement which takes a lot of angst out of the equation.  Low expectations equal low stress.

My expectation for 2012 is to leisurely enjoy each game with the hopes that I begin to pick up on signs that the Mets will contend next year, or more realistically in 2014.  With that in mind, here are some things I feel could happen this year:

• Ruben Tejada will play a solid, consistent shortstop defensively, and hit .270.
• Daniel Murphy will boast a plus .300 batting average but will struggle at second base.  However, it will still be a better showing than Luis Castillo’s efforts as a Met.
• Lucas Duda and Ike Davis will both blast 20 plus homers, maybe even 30 plus.
• David Wright will hit .280 and his strike outs will decrease, but will still rely on the submarine heaves across the diamond that will lead to a number of throwing errors.
• Johan Santana will remain relatively healthy and pick up 12 wins.
• Mr. Met will serve some jail time after beating Billy The Marlin’s ass after Billy insinuates that he has always been Jose Reyes’ favorite mascot. Who names a fish Billy anyway?
• Mike Pelfrey will have his last season as a starter as a New York Met.
• Tim Byrdak will be effective for a second consecutive season, largely due to the fact that he graced the first ever cover of the Midwestropolitan.com Facebook page.
• The Mets will still be looking for a true closer, even though Bobby Parnell will have a better showing this season.
• Andres Torres will be hurt much of the season.  After all, dude is 34 years old, that’s ancient for a lead off man playing CF.
• I don’t even want to discuss Jason Bay.  I am just going to hope like heck he has a good season.  He sure seems like a swell guy and I’d hate to see him have another tough go of it.

Dude

“Just write some (nonsense), man,”-Lucas Duda

Duda is quickly becoming the most fascinating player on the roster.  First, for his potential, particularly in the power department.  More intriguingly so, for his personality.

I’ve read that he is shy, quiet, doesn’t believe in his ability, has a dry sense of humor, that he only cares about playing the game, and doesn’t think too highly of all of the other non-essential parts of being a big league player.

Let’s assume what we hear about Lucas Duda’s potential from the Met’s baseball people is true for the purpose of this post.  You can debate whether or not it is a smoke screen at another time.

This means the mental aspect of playing in New York will lead to one of three things for Duda:

1. He will thrive as a Met because he just doesn’t give a shit.  The owners are a calamity of errors?  The media hover around like a swarm of locusts and have to create news on a daily basis?  Who cares.  He just wants to play ball.
2. He buckles due to the immense frustration of having to deal with the sheer volume of the ridiculousness that is playing professional baseball in New York City.   This is one aspect of following the Mets that irritates me a bit.  Things that, in the grand scheme of things, do not matter are magnified into apocalyptic levels and the players are asked repeatedly about them.  This scenario has Duda hitting .225 with over 200 strikeouts leaving pro ball to coach at a high school somewhere in California.
3. Duda winds up getting released or traded because he can’t handle dealing with the horse shit that Mets players have to put up with.  He signs with the Brewers and winds up becoming a perennial All-Star averaging 40 homers a year driving Bernie the Brewer and all of the Brew Crew nutty with excitement.

Personally, I’m pulling for scenario #1.