The Media Ruined The Hot Stove

In a previous life I used to really sink my teeth into the off-season.  I would scour the bitchin’ internet for any and all reports of potential free agent signings related to the Mets and their National League East competitors.  Now?  Not so much.

For a while I thought this had everything to do with the fact that there isn’t a great deal to be excited about with the 2012 Mets.  At least in terms of being in the running for this year’s premier crop of talent that is.  We are going to have shorter, blue fences at Citi, which is nice.

Something dawned on me.  Prior to the Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran signings the Mets weren’t regularly in the discussion for this kind of player in the past. Yet, I was extremely interested in the off-season process.

Maybe I’ve become a full-fledged cynic at the ripe old age of 35, but I feel like things have changed in terms of how rumors are being reported in 2011.  We have become so insatiable for “real-time” developments that members of the media feel the need to run with a story the minute they hear something new.

Sources close to fill in the blank here are popping up everywhere and appear to be a legitimate origin for anything new these days.  I feel like a handful of years ago these legitimate sources were labeled as rumors (appropriately so in my humble opinion).

Just look at the saga of Jose Reyes.  He’ll definitely re-sign, he won’t re-sign, he’s going to the Brewers, he’s minutes away from signing with the Marlins (hideous uniforms and all).  It seems to me a guy riding two rows behind Jose Reyes’ third cousin on the bus  overhears a portion of a conversation and it is taken as Gospel.

I’m not a fan. Instead of scouring the bitchin’ internet, I now skim it.  I am no longer reading entire articles.  I click on interesting headlines, read the introductory sentence, and then start scrolling for actual quotes from the parties involved.  This doesn’t include agents by the way.  If I don’t find any, I discount the piece and move on with my day.

Who knows if this is a bad or a good thing.  It’s not something I’m losing sleep over.  Just me realizing that either things have changed, or my perception and interest in the hot stove season has.

Morning Baseball

Like many of you, I am a busy guy.  Husband, father, full-time professional employee, little league coach, friend etc. etc.  So there are days and nights in which I miss watching Mets’ games live.  Actually, there are very few games that I watch live in their entirety.

Typically, I am able to watch about four or five innings live.  Fortunately, it is 2011 and thanks to the bicthin’ internet (MLB.COM), I have the opportunity to go back and watch what I missed.

Due to my hectic schedule, I was unable to watch any of last night’s game.  So in my world, Carlos Beltran tied up the second game of this current series at 6:46am this morning.  At 6:50am, I was doing an Air Claw in my kitchen with a cup of coffee in my other hand once Angel’s blast won it.

Yes, I am a dork and I occasionally Air Claw the Mets when watching at home.

One of the benefits of this haphazard style of following baseball is the ability to skip to vital points of the game when I have limited time available.  Hence, the ability to watch both home runs within a five-minute period.

A Little Help From The Cardinals

How huge was David Freese dropping Carlos Beltran’s foul ball a few pitches before his bomb?  The dugout rail was a factor, but it wasn’t that difficult of a play.

I bet Ike Davis said to himself, “Shit, he didn’t even flip over and still dropped that.  Chump.” as he chuckled to himself.

Daniel Descalso’s throwing error in the eighth allowing Pagan to reach and eventually score a game tying run, was also appreciated.

Thanks Cards!

Is Mr. Alderson Sweating At All Now?

Well, 10 games left before the morning of July 31st and now 2.5 games to gain on the Braves to get to the magic wild card number Midwestropolitan.com established on July 10th.

Is 7-3 for the Mets and 4-6 for the Braves going to happen?  Unlikely, but I have to be honest with you.  There is a part of me that is hoping for a miracle that the Mets are on the verge of an insane hot streak while the Braves cool off and Mr. Alderson doesn’t pull the trigger on a Beltran trade.

It’s stupid.  But I can’t hide anything from my fellow out of market Mets fans.

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Jose’s Decision A Risky One

The Bitchin’ Internet is alive with reaction to the news of Jose Reyes declining to negotiate his contract after Sandy Alderson reached out to him.

Of course I feel the need to weigh in.  It would be an injustice if I didn’t, right?  Like I said, I’m a giver.

Don’t forget my friends, try not to get too wound up by this.  It is part of the process that will continue all season as I have said in the past.

Keep in mind, his stance is not a new one.  This has been his plan since Spring Training.  Frankly, I feel like this is somewhat of a risky move on his part.  He is in the middle of his best season to date, and the fans are absolutely in love with him.  Seems like a good time to investigate the possibility of cashing in to me.

What if he gets hurt? What if he cools off significantly? Seems like that might cost him a pretty penny.

But you know what?  I actually respect him more for his decision to hold firm.  Only Jose knows Jose.  If he says negotiating right now would be a distraction then I believe him.

Another thing that impresses me about this strategy is his confidence.  He has always said that if he is healthy he can not only play like he is at this current level, but improve.  There’s one thing I learned in my limited time playing the game of baseball (through high school mind you so it wasn’t that extensive) is that confidence is a huge part of this game.  It is such a humbling game.  The only other sport that can be more humbling is Golf, and there is some debate whether or not that is actually a sport.

So good for you Jose.

As far as the Mets are concerned….

I think people forget three important things in terms of their ability to re-sign Jose:

1.  They are getting rid of a significant amount of moolah.  They will no longer be paying Carlos (tear), Ollie, and Luis’ contracts in 2012.  There is also some question about Francisco Rodriguez’s future.  Based even on the payroll cut that has been discussed, there should be enough money for Jose.

2.  The Mets and Jose will sit down at some point at the end of the season (unless of course they trade him).  It’s not like there is animosity between the two and they will refuse to speak to each other.

3.  Jose likes being in New York.  Money talks, but this is certainly a factor.

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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.

Another “Mini-Series”

I am not a fan of the two game series, or the “one night stand” of the baseball schedule if you will.   The sole reason is it screws up how I follow the Mets.

Two games isn’t enough to allow me to truly gauge how the Mets match up against a team at a particular time.  If you win both, you feel dirty saying you swept your opponent because it is only two games.  That leaves you with splitting or getting swept which still sounds awful even if it is only two games.

Regardless, the Midwestropolitan research staff scoured the Bitchin’ Internet for some thoughts about what to expect the next two days.

Nats Still Offensively Challenged

Even with a healthy lineup, the Nats didn’t exactly showcase a murderer’s row.  Along with Ryan Zimmerman, Rick Ankiel is injured (right wrist), so their lineup is even less scary.

Nat fans seem to doubt that Adam LaRoche will heat up.  He is currently hitting below the Mendoza Line at a .196 clip.

Crafty Pitching Ahead

Livan Hernandez and Tom Gorzelanny will provide the pitching, which means we are in for two games of pulling our hair out trying to figure out why the Mets aren’t rocking the hell out of them.

These guys, particularly Hernandez, thrive on mixing up their pitches so hitters don’t know whats coming.  They certainly aren’t going to blow anyone away.

What To Expect

Prior to Wright landing on the DL, I felt the Mets should take both of these games at home.  Now the lineup seems a tad bit different so I have changed my mind.  I see a split occurring as either Livan or Gorzelanny will wind up frustrating all of us to no end as they provide a one run win for the Nats.

On a positive note, I am looking forward to seeing how Ruben Tejada performs in his return.  I am also hoping Pedro Beato continues his fine pitching that he displayed prior to his injury.

Going Out On A Limb: Mets To Take 2 of 3

Fresh off one of the more exciting wins of the year, I may be a bit delusional as my gut tells me the Mets should take two out of three this weekend versus the Astros.

It doesn’t sound that crazy you say?  After all, the Astros are nine games under .500 and are obviously in a rebuilding stage.

Normally, I would agree but Beltran heroics aside, the Mets lineup is seriously depleted without Ike Davis.  Also, there are no signs that Jason Bay and David Wright’s struggles will end at this point.  Hopefully I’m wrong there.

In order for this expectation to come to fruition, Gee, Capuano, and whoever throws the third game will have to deliver quality starts.  Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran staying hot won’t hurt either.

Official Scouting Report From The Bitchin’ Internet

After perusing the ole’ web, I discovered that the Mets need to be careful pitching to Hunter Pence.  He is on a 15 game hitting streak.

Maybe Jason Bay can carefully place some shallow fly balls to right field that Pence will misplay so he gets rattled as he did in their last series.

Another thing I discovered, is the Mets will be missing Wandy Rodriguez in this series, who is the one guy in their rotation that I didn’t want to see.  So we’ve got that going for us….which is nice.

Pivotal Start For Big Pelf

Take a second and venture out into the bitchin’ internet.  Particularly, comment sections that have anything to do with the New York Mets.  There is chum in the water in terms of the fans turning on Mike Pelfrey.

The home-grown talent that at one point was the feel good story about the Mets future, now faces becoming the scapegoat for everything that frustrates fans about the Amazin’s.  Fair or unfair, you can see it happening.

Here’s an example:

“Get rid of him already he always licks his hand and makes excuses. “

This was one of the nicer statements I read.  Another reason why I chose this is because I think it is hilarious that this particular fan took advantage of an opportunity to make fun of Big Pelf’s finger licking habit.

That being said, the statement reflects the fact that fans are tired of hearing about why Pelfrey struggles, they just want them corrected. 

Some of what they are saying is justified.  The roller coaster that is Mike Pelfrey is a ride that hasn’t exactly been fan friendly lately.  He teases us with a lock down performance here or there and then gets shelled as if he is throwing batting practice in the next outing.

Where Pelf gets treated unfairly is in terms of expectations.  There are too many people who expect him to be the Tim Lincecum of the Mets.  At one point, that looked like it could be a reality.  It just never materialized.

You know what?  There’s nothing wrong with that.  We should expect him to perform as a number three or four guy in the rotation.  That is his peak.  He isn’t going any higher.  There are plenty of places for a player like that.  Unfortunately, Pelfrey is in the #1 slot right now placing him in a situation that he flat-out cannot succeed in.

I am going to let you in a little secret.  I am pulling for #34 today.  I want to see him come out this afternoon with a strong start and calm down the masses.

Why haven’t I given up on him yet?  It is a combination of reasons.

1. He is a Midwestropolitan.
2. He is a home grown talent.
3. I still see potential in Big Pelf to be a solid starter.  Just not an ace.

So come on Big Pelf!  It’s time to be finger lickin’ good!