A Day Off

I have some friendly advice for you.  Take the day off.

No, not from work for those of you that have to pay the bills.  Take the day off from The New York Mets.

Blasphemy!  Right?

Nah.  We are very close to reaching a crossroads of sorts with this team.  It is very clear that the next couple of weeks will not only determine the fate of the 2011 club, but it will possibly dictate the path of the next couple of years.

That is a lot to consider and kind of makes my head hurt.  It’s going to be exciting and there is going to be a hell of a lot to talk about.  Just not today.

Nothing is going to happen today to give us any clue as to what is in store for the New York Mets.  So take a breather.

Today, I won’t frequent Metszilla, MetsBlog, The Daily Stache, ESPN New York, and all of my other favorite sources of everything Mets.  I’m going to recharge.

This does not mean I am avoiding the game of baseball entirely.  I will be attending a minor league game as the Tucson Padres host the Las Vegas 51s.

Don’t run for the hills for fear the Earth is going to implode due to too much awesomeness being in the same location.   Tom and I are not in the same town, or city of Arizona if you prefer.  I will be watching this match up in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Have I lost you yet?  Why are they playing in Fort Wayne?  Answer:  My home town is home to the Fort Wayne Tincaps who happen to be the single A affiliate for the Padres.  They are hosting this AAA game as a special promotion.

Gotta love minor league baseball.

Another coincidence, it is also Dollar Beer Night!

I am looking forward to re-charging the Mets battery.  It is far more exhilarating than what Tom will be doing.

He informed me last night that he needs to study all day for his home economics final.  Apparently, he has to demonstrate how to sew a button on a pair of pants, make french toast, and demonstrate how to properly set a table for a dinner party all in one final.  Good luck buddy!

For Those Of You That Need  A Mets Fix

I realize some of you may still be jonesing for some Mets content, so I figured I’d highlight where Midwestropolitan.com stands going into the second half of the season:

Chasing The Braves:  Last week I looked into what will need to occur in the second half of the season in order for the Mets to catch the annoying Atlanta Braves.

In Order Not To Be Sellers At The Deadline:  Tom feels (and I agree) that the Mets need to be five games behind in the Wild Card race for the Mets to avoid being all out sellers at the trade deadline.  Killer schedule breakdown for the Mets and Braves included.

K-Rod Trade Not A White Flag, A Smart Move:  In case you missed it yesterday, Tom provided us all with the truth about the K-Rod trade in terms of what it signifies for the Mets future.

Don’t Turn Beltran Into A Buckner:  I figured I’d through in an oldie but a goodie.  At the beginning of the season I hoped that my favorite Met, Carlos, would show all of his detractors just what he brings to table.  I would say he is well on his way to doing so.

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K-Rod Trade: Not A White Flag, A Smart Move

In trading K-Rod to Milwaukee, Sandy Alderson has made the best of a bad situation. K-Rod’s contract was heavy and his option was obviously an enormous cause for concern. K-Rod wasn’t going to be the catalyst to a playoff run, either.

If the Mets do make a run it will be because they play a couple weeks of flawless baseball starting immediately, get a little bit of help and consequently decide to hold on to Carlos Beltran. If and when the Mets elect to trade Beltran, that would be raising the white flag because his presence in the lineup is invaluable.

Alderson may elect to move Beltran regardless instead of letting him walk, but I still believe the next couple of weeks will play a big factor into that decision.

For the time being, I wouldn’t be opposed to Bobby Parnell closing out ballgames. Izzy looks exhausted.

__________________

Note: The amount of cash heading Milwaukee’s way hasn’t been confirmed as of the time I am typing this, so bother Jason if this post is outdated by the time I wake up. I can’t promise he’ll care.

Update from Jason:  Reports are saying the Mets will eat $5 million of K-Rod’s salary.  By my quick math, that is still $12.5 million better than holding on to him and letting his option vest.  A big thanks goes out to Tom for having seven of his family members out east call me at separate times to remind me to look into the cash details. 

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Have A Heart, Scott

June 24th, 2011

“If I am going to be traded, obviously I want the opportunity to close out games, but if it’s going to be good teams like the Yankees or the Rays, and it’s going to be for two months, I can go out there and help them out. I mean I would definitely love to stay here, but I have to be open to every possibility out there right now.”-Francisco Rodriguez

July 12, 2011

“Francisco Rodriguez is a historic closer.  He’s not going anywhere to be a setup man.  Closers don’t make good setup men.  Does anyone want an unhappy setup man in their clubhouse?”-Scott Boras

Groan.

I knew this was coming as soon as I read that K-Rod was switching over to the gentile, warm, loving, and easy to work with Scott Boras.

So why not try this angle?

ME:  Scott, I understand your position on Francisco and I respect it.  But, maybe you go at this a whole different way.

BORAS (in robotic tone of voice):  I’m listening.

ME:  Convince Francisco to accept a trade to a team looking for a setup man.

BORAS:  Laughing in robotic way with shoulders moving straight up and down slightly.

ME:  Hear me out.  Everyone is a winner this way.  Let’s face it, Francisco is in a bit of a need of an image overhaul after beating up an old man in our clubhouse.  This would show a kinder, gentler, side of Franky.  It also shows he is a team player.

As far as your concerned, it would show that you have the capability to play ball with ownership every once in a while.  This will show the other teams that you are a reasonable man and not just after the highest dollar.  It shows that you care about what is in the best interest of your client.

BORAS (in robotic tone):  This does not compute.

Well, at least I gave it the old college try.

Thoughts Before the Quick Turnaround

Six days after losing on a balk-off the Mets walk off on a hit batsman. Kind of crazy. Nice job by Justin Turner to sort of move into the pitch while turning his back away.

Additional thoughts:

• K-Rod is pretty quickly turning a stellar season into an average one. His ERA has risen from 1.73 to 3.34 in a matter of ten outings. He’s blown two straight saves and looks really hittable (thanks captain obvious).
• These past two games have felt like American League baseball. Ugly as hell. Games take forever. It doesn’t help that last night Dillon Gee couldn’t throw a strike nor does it help that the A’s love taking pitches.
• Oakland’s grey pants with the yellow tops are gross. In my opinion their green jerseys with the white pants look fine. They should just wear gray on the road.
• I didn’t get to mention it last night, but why was Keith’s scorecard the focus of the SNY broadcast all night? Was it because the game was so unwatchable?
• J-Bay-Bay followed up his good night with an 0-5. Last year when he went yard twice against the Yankees a lot of fans believed he was breaking out. I don’t think many fans are holding their breath this time around.
• Game ball goes to R.A. Dickey who followed up a bad outing with yet another outstanding performance.

Other Notes:

• Jason’s little league team lost tonight. You can send him your condolences and well wishes by emailing midwestropolitan@gmail.com. He could really use some cheering up. He’s kind of like the Manny Acta of the wheelbarrow league. He just overthinks everything. Jason, you don’t need to pull a double switch or go lefty-lefty every game.

The Big Picture

Inevitably, there will be those that cry to the hill tops about how the Mets blew tonight’s game. “Same ole’ Mets” they probably will say.  Francisco Rodriguez giving up a two run bomb in the bottom of the ninth to blow a save and D.J. Carrasco’s losing balk certainly lends credence to that thought process.

My thoughts?  Quit your belly aching you Negative Nancies.

I am equally disappointed in the way things turned out tonight.  However, the difference is that I haven’t lost sight of the big picture.  The Mets took two of three in Atlanta, a place that has traditionally been extremely unkind to them.

If you want to focus on two horribly disgusting plays and forget the fact that the Mets actually won the series, there really isn’t much I can do for you.  Hell, you can actually look at tonight’s game alone  and find some positives.  The Mets could have easily mailed it in when they found themselves down by four.  They had already won the series.

Instead, they fought back, took the lead, and put themselves in position to win.  Obviously, it didn’t work out tonight, but I for one appreciate the effort.

If you want to call me a homer go ahead.  That is another example of your shortsightedness.  After all, I expected the Mets to drop two of three prior to the beginning of this series.  Instead, I am looking past tonight’s tough loss and grasping reality.  The Mets exceeded my expectations this series.

For those of you who want to bitch and moan about the small stuff and ignore the big picture, there isn’t much I can do for you.

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.

A Sight For Sore Eyes

NEW YORK METS    W: 22  L: 22     %: .500

wordpress is pissing me off

so now i am going to have to make this white colored font

Justin Turner On His Way To Becoming First Adopted Midwestropolitan

What more can be said for Justin Turner’s clutch hitting.  Not only did he drive in another huge run tonight, but he showed off his mad bunting skills by perfectly placing a bunt down the third base line for a hit.

Much more on Turner later tonight in another post (nice teaser huh?).

Izzy And KRod Deserve A Lot Of Credit

Much has been said about the starting pitching staff starting to find their way.  Let us not forget about how huge Jason Isringhausen and Francisco Rodriguez have been for the Mets.  They have literally been lights out.

Tonight was no different.  Izzy and KRod mowed down the Yanks in the eighth and ninth innings.  Lovely gentlemen, lovely.

Chicks May Dig The Long Ball But….

We spend a shit load of time dissecting the Mets lineup.  It is certainly fun, I won’t disagree there.

However, this current stretch shows how important solid pitching and solid defense are in this game.

I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence that the Mets seem to be coming up with the timely hit on a nightly basis.  The fact that they need only one or two timely hits is a huge difference than needing three or four timely hits in a game when they are down by a handful of runs.

What’s Next?

I’m not going to lie.  I was dangerously close to turning tonight’s game off before the biggest comeback of the season took place.  It seemed as if the Mets offense was going to have one of those games in which  they turn a decent pitcher into Cy Young.

Instead of turning the game off I got to see some things that many would not believe could happen all season, let alone in one game.

1. Jason Bay hit a home run.  It was an absolute moon shot too.
2. Fernando Martinez added a two run pinch hit home run.
3. David Wright came through in the eighth inning with a two run blast that drove in the tying and go ahead runs.
4. The Mets added an insurance run in the ninth inning in the form of an RBI double by Jason Pridie.
5. Francisco Rodriguez sealed the victory with his eleventh straight save.

Absolutely unbelievable that these five things could happen in one game.

I’m sure plenty of others are going to use the Friday the 13th angle.  Not me.  I think the notion of Friday the 13th is a bunch of shit quite frankly.

Wow.  I feel good now that I got that off my chest.

Combining tonight’s come from behind surprise with Carlos Beltran’s three home run game last night leads me to ask a simple question:

What’s next?

Could it be the Mets first no-hitter in franchise history tomorrow?

Carlos Carlos Carlos

Forgive me, but I am going to gloat about my boy Carlos for a bit.  I realize Tom will have a field day with this, but it is completely worth it.

Besides, I’ve got some time as Tom is busy making a pretty stellar care package for Chris Young, which includes an upside down pineapple cake.

I have no idea what today’s win means for the long-term. Short term, the Mets pick up a Road Series Win and a House Money Game win to boot.

To be honest, I really don’t care what this means in terms of the entire season.  For one day, my boy Carlos took all of the negativity surrounding the Mets and smacked it around the yard.  Very similar to the way I smacked my brothers around back in the day.  That’s right Matt and T.J., the truth hurts.

Who knows?  Maybe this dominating show will inspire some of the younger guys like Pridie, Turner, and Thole.  If you really want to shoot for the stars, maybe this game helps David Wright relax a bit and realize he doesn’t have to do it all by himself.

Some Of The Other Guys Helped Out

Jose Reyes continues to play well.  I would be remiss if I didn’t  mention the irony involved in watching Jose Reyes aid Beltran in today’s win.  The source of irony stemming from the fact that these two Mets seem to be the most likely to be traded if you ask most fans of course.

Even though it wasn’t a save situation, Francisco Rodriguez continues to impress, changing Twitter feeds from “Oh no here comes K-Rod” to “Don’t worry, here comes K-Rod“.  Franky is sporting a miniscule 1.04 ERA.

Defining Win, KRod, & ESPN

Moving on to baseball on this historic day…..

There was a lot of talk about the come from behind win against the Nats last week being a signature victory.  If that game was a signature win, last night’s was a defining win.

Don’t get confused by my terminology.  The victory over the Phillies didn’t got the ole’ adrenaline pumping like the win against the Nats.  I am being very literal when choosing to use the word defining.

If a non-follower of the Mets asks you about them, simply tell them to watch last night’s game.  They will see a team that, for whatever reason, just can’t put all of the facets of the game together at the same time.

I will say this.  Grinding out a Don’t Disappoint Game Win last night makes a world of difference for the club and all of us.  Getting swept by the Phillies and being entrenched in a four game losing streak is not the place any of us want to be in.  Especially, heading into an off day.

Well done fellas.  12-16 looks so much better than 11-17.

Collins Use Of K-Rod

There is one thing I’ll say about Terry Collins.  He manages to win.  There is something you have to appreciate about that.  His use last night of K-Rod to keep the game tied speaks volumes.

Basically, Collins was saying, “I need this win, so I’m going to throw my best guy out there to stop the bleeding.  Screw conventional wisdom.”

I know plenty of people asked why not use him to preserve the lead?  The answer is simple.  Collins believed Izzy could get the job done.  Once that didn’t happen he went to his best option.

Speaking of K-Rod.  It would be absolutely stellar if everyone would stop talking about games finished and K-Rod’s contract vesting.  It is too early to worry about that right now.  I realize this is somewhat unrealistic, so I am prepared to grin and bare it.

ESPN Coverage

As I have stated in the past, Met fans are spoiled when it comes to baseball broadcasts.  Gary, Keith, and Ron are the best in the business and watching any other broadcast team can drive you nuts.

Last night was no exception.  To put it simply, the Worldwide Leader In Sports has a bland and mildly irritating crew this season.  I get the feeling if they unleashed Bobby V. they could spruce things up a bit.

Until then, audiences will be stuck with an aw shucks type of telecast more concerned about non-essential things like the food at the ballpark and the Philly Phanatic.  I get that during a national telecast you want to highlight what makes the home team’s ballpark unique, but you don’t need to beat us over the head with it.  I wish I had a dollar every time they used the words cheese steak and Philly Phanatic.

Tom G.  Motivational Speaker

A bit of a housekeeping note here.  If you have been trying to get a hold of Tom today, you may want to wait until tomorrow.  He has flown to New York and is planning on meeting with each member of Mets’ lineup individually to give them a stern lecture about how they need to increase their run production for his boy, Chris Young.

Tom’s phone is off so he can focus on the task at hand.

Here is a photo of him practicing on his girlfriend and roommate:

You Have To Do Better With RISP!!!!