Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Enough Already
We have to accept it 2006 was it. Our one taste of the playoffs since the subway series. Now we have to wait for ownership to realize that as well. I said that only positive things about this team on my blog would be acceptable by my standards. I will still watch every game, shake my head at all of the excuses that ownership keeps giving, and somehow still find a way to enjoy watching the Mets. But it is time for a change. By that i don't mean rebuild. I mean renovate. I can think of only 8 players the should stay. The rest have to go.
The backstop out.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Breaking a Long Silence
The Backstop Back At Ya: It has been some time since the Backstop has been able to collect his thoughts enough to post an opinion about the 2010 Queens NY Baseball enigma that is the NY Mets.
Sow I just threw together a few quick things that we as Met fans could ponder and discuss.
To Begin: My predictions about certain players' performance going into the season are not always right. They are often close. Often spot on even. As far as the starting pitching staff goes this year I could not have been more wrong. I really thought John Maine was going to step up, stay healthy and return to his 2007 form. I also said that Oliver Perez had a 65-75% chance of rebounding from what was ultimately a masked knee injury that nobody wanted to blame the WBC for.
Well I was pretty far off on those 2.
I also made an educated prediction concerning Mike Pelfrey. It was not hard to see. He was a) coming off a shaky year where as a second year player, he just could not keep his spirits up, his sinker down, and his head leveled. b) Going into a season as primarily a ground ball pitcher with Mike Jacobs, a left handed catch 22 first baseman and an aging Loise Castillo at second. Jose Reyes was not going to start the season at shortstop leaving David Wright as the only (slightly) above average infielder to play behind Big Pelf. This basically meant that Frenchy had a chance to have more outs thrown to first base than 3 of the 4 infielders. This lead me to the conclusion that after 4 or 5 games of watching 30 hop ground balls finding their way into the outfield that Pelfrey was slowly going to go insane. c) I guess I just wanted to believe that they were going to swing a deal for a big time #2/#1a starter before they broke camp in St. Lucie.
Well I could not have been more wrong about any of those predictions. Maine is hurt...Again. Perez has made his way onto The Backstop's very short list of players that I am done apologizing for. I just can't make excuses for a guy that forces his team to play with a 24 man roster because he and his agent are above taking a minor league assignment in hopes of maybe earning some of the money he is presently stealing. Its not like there is no evidence of this working before. (See Steve Trachsel & Bobby Jones.)
Most of all I was wrong about Mike Pelfrey. I continue to be amazed at how he continues to step up each time his spot comes up in the rotation. Each start seems more dominant than the last. At this point, aside from one game against the Phillies where Roy Haliday was virtually untouchable, Mike has no other blips on the radar. In fact, if we begin to discuss the NL Cy Young award possibles for this season Only Ubaldo Jimmenez has positioned himself in a class above the likes of Pelfrey, Haliday, The 2 former A's aces Zito, and Hudson, Josh Johnson and a few others are in the same discussion.
I Like Ike Davis. Enough said.
The Mets offense goes the way Jose Reyes goes. Simply look at the team's win/loss record when he is and isn't playing. That speaks for itself.
METS TRADE TALK: Yeah its almost that time. We need a starter. I have heard several names. Most notably Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt being the most intriguing at this point.
What most people don't know about Oswalt: He has a clause in his contract that if he gets traded (which he would have to agree to) he has the right to declare free agency at the end of the season. Because it is part of the CBA this clause can't be waived prior or after he is traded. Considering what we would have to give up for him I think this is a red flag and that going after Oswalt could prove to a huge mistake.
That takes me to my argument for Cliff Lee. Every start he makes, what the Mariners can get for him becomes less. The Mets are the only team that can afford to pick up for the remainder of the season. We already know that he is going to test free agency at the end of the year. It would be nice to have a guy that is playing to earn a big contract for once instead of being the team that winds up trading for the latter part of all this big contracts gone wrong. Maybe we sign him, maybe we don't. I will be fine with the draft picks if we don't. Baseball is changing back to a stage where home grown talent to develop the core of a team that comes through the system together.
Finally Cliff Lee gives the Mets 2 things that they need to return to prominence. 1) If they can stay within a snake bit of contention, a 1,2,3, punch of Santana, Pelfrey, & Lee could position to get hot at the right time and maybe steal a playoff birth from another team for once. 2) The Mets need to recharge the Mets rivalry with the Phillies. What would accomplish that better than getting the pitcher that they traded for Roy Haliday this off season and beating them with him?
My last point is a bit out of the parking lot behind the bleachers behind the fence that is behind left field.
But here it is anyway. I have said for a long time that the WilponsSteinbrenners. Well I changed my mind. I got a much better idea.
Apple C.E.O. Steve Jobs. This is likely a point that would be better dedicating an entire blog to but think about it. Even from a marketing perspective. "The Mets Home Opener Next Week at The Big Apple." The i-Met. Changing the home run apple to the Macintosh Apple. Most of all Apple is the technology company that has been left for dead countless times in the past 30 years only to come back re-invented stronger and more innovative than ever. That is how The Backstop wants his baseball team ran.
Sow I just threw together a few quick things that we as Met fans could ponder and discuss.
To Begin: My predictions about certain players' performance going into the season are not always right. They are often close. Often spot on even. As far as the starting pitching staff goes this year I could not have been more wrong. I really thought John Maine was going to step up, stay healthy and return to his 2007 form. I also said that Oliver Perez had a 65-75% chance of rebounding from what was ultimately a masked knee injury that nobody wanted to blame the WBC for.
Well I was pretty far off on those 2.
I also made an educated prediction concerning Mike Pelfrey. It was not hard to see. He was a) coming off a shaky year where as a second year player, he just could not keep his spirits up, his sinker down, and his head leveled. b) Going into a season as primarily a ground ball pitcher with Mike Jacobs, a left handed catch 22 first baseman and an aging Loise Castillo at second. Jose Reyes was not going to start the season at shortstop leaving David Wright as the only (slightly) above average infielder to play behind Big Pelf. This basically meant that Frenchy had a chance to have more outs thrown to first base than 3 of the 4 infielders. This lead me to the conclusion that after 4 or 5 games of watching 30 hop ground balls finding their way into the outfield that Pelfrey was slowly going to go insane. c) I guess I just wanted to believe that they were going to swing a deal for a big time #2/#1a starter before they broke camp in St. Lucie.
Well I could not have been more wrong about any of those predictions. Maine is hurt...Again. Perez has made his way onto The Backstop's very short list of players that I am done apologizing for. I just can't make excuses for a guy that forces his team to play with a 24 man roster because he and his agent are above taking a minor league assignment in hopes of maybe earning some of the money he is presently stealing. Its not like there is no evidence of this working before. (See Steve Trachsel & Bobby Jones.)
Most of all I was wrong about Mike Pelfrey. I continue to be amazed at how he continues to step up each time his spot comes up in the rotation. Each start seems more dominant than the last. At this point, aside from one game against the Phillies where Roy Haliday was virtually untouchable, Mike has no other blips on the radar. In fact, if we begin to discuss the NL Cy Young award possibles for this season Only Ubaldo Jimmenez has positioned himself in a class above the likes of Pelfrey, Haliday, The 2 former A's aces Zito, and Hudson, Josh Johnson and a few others are in the same discussion.
The Mets offense goes the way Jose Reyes goes. Simply look at the team's win/loss record when he is and isn't playing. That speaks for itself.
METS TRADE TALK: Yeah its almost that time. We need a starter. I have heard several names. Most notably Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt being the most intriguing at this point.
What most people don't know about Oswalt: He has a clause in his contract that if he gets traded (which he would have to agree to) he has the right to declare free agency at the end of the season. Because it is part of the CBA this clause can't be waived prior or after he is traded. Considering what we would have to give up for him I think this is a red flag and that going after Oswalt could prove to a huge mistake.
That takes me to my argument for Cliff Lee. Every start he makes, what the Mariners can get for him becomes less. The Mets are the only team that can afford to pick up for the remainder of the season. We already know that he is going to test free agency at the end of the year. It would be nice to have a guy that is playing to earn a big contract for once instead of being the team that winds up trading for the latter part of all this big contracts gone wrong. Maybe we sign him, maybe we don't. I will be fine with the draft picks if we don't. Baseball is changing back to a stage where home grown talent to develop the core of a team that comes through the system together.
Finally Cliff Lee gives the Mets 2 things that they need to return to prominence. 1) If they can stay within a snake bit of contention, a 1,2,3, punch of Santana, Pelfrey, & Lee could position to get hot at the right time and maybe steal a playoff birth from another team for once. 2) The Mets need to recharge the Mets rivalry with the Phillies. What would accomplish that better than getting the pitcher that they traded for Roy Haliday this off season and beating them with him?
My last point is a bit out of the parking lot behind the bleachers behind the fence that is behind left field.
But here it is anyway. I have said for a long time that the WilponsSteinbrenners. Well I changed my mind. I got a much better idea.
Apple C.E.O. Steve Jobs. This is likely a point that would be better dedicating an entire blog to but think about it. Even from a marketing perspective. "The Mets Home Opener Next Week at The Big Apple." The i-Met. Changing the home run apple to the Macintosh Apple. Most of all Apple is the technology company that has been left for dead countless times in the past 30 years only to come back re-invented stronger and more innovative than ever. That is how The Backstop wants his baseball team ran.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I Am Working on It. The Mets Will Find A Way.
The Backstop Back At Ya: As many of you have heard me say, The day of the Scot Kazmir trade seems like Christmas in comparison to what today feels like. All is not lost. I apologize for not having any solution ideas to discuss at the moment. I am looking at all angles. There is a way. All I can say for now is:
A) Yes Roy Halliday is a Phillie -I will no longer refer to him as "The Doc" because that is a sacred Met title that can only be passed to another Met. So now, to me, he is just plain old Roy.
B) Yes, John Lackey is a member of the Red Sox.
C) Yes this is just about the worst case scenerio for the Mets' pitching staff.
D) When I started this page I said I was going to do my best to always remain optomistic and loyal to my team. This has not changed. I will find an area to discuss and predict that will somehow make the glass half full. I just need a few days. In the meantime, Read A&B above a few times. Let it set in. Let it sting. Then lets get moving to the next way to fix it. Love does not always feel good. Sometimes it hurts more than anything else in the world. A hurt heart is a heart prepared for more joyfull things to come. I will get back to you by the end of the weekend... I have to get back to the drawing board.
P.S. The offseason is only played on paper. We won the offseason for the past 4 years. The Phillies signed Raul Ibanez last year who went on to have a season of a monster. Did anybody predict that?
A) Yes Roy Halliday is a Phillie -I will no longer refer to him as "The Doc" because that is a sacred Met title that can only be passed to another Met. So now, to me, he is just plain old Roy.
B) Yes, John Lackey is a member of the Red Sox.
C) Yes this is just about the worst case scenerio for the Mets' pitching staff.
D) When I started this page I said I was going to do my best to always remain optomistic and loyal to my team. This has not changed. I will find an area to discuss and predict that will somehow make the glass half full. I just need a few days. In the meantime, Read A&B above a few times. Let it set in. Let it sting. Then lets get moving to the next way to fix it. Love does not always feel good. Sometimes it hurts more than anything else in the world. A hurt heart is a heart prepared for more joyfull things to come. I will get back to you by the end of the weekend... I have to get back to the drawing board.
P.S. The offseason is only played on paper. We won the offseason for the past 4 years. The Phillies signed Raul Ibanez last year who went on to have a season of a monster. Did anybody predict that?
Friday, December 11, 2009
Winter Meetings Over. Path Seems Clear to Me.
The Backstop Back At Ya: Offers Made to Jason Bay and Bengie Molina. We can thank the Brewers for overpaying Randy Wolfe. That may have put us in the market for John Lackey. We are emerging as the front runners (with the Nationals) for the services of Jason Marquis. None of these players seem to be bargain basement players to me.
We need to be a little patient. As Omar Minaya said yesterday, he has never gone into an off-season with needs that have gone ignored.
I will make my first predictions soon.
We need to be a little patient. As Omar Minaya said yesterday, he has never gone into an off-season with needs that have gone ignored.
I will make my first predictions soon.
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