Enough Already

Just what the heck is wrong with New York baseball fans?

I'm sitting here listening about how terrible the 2011 season is going to be for the Yankees if they don't get Cliff Lee because of how improved the Red Sox are and I have to wonder... with the possible exception of Andy Pettite, isn't this the same team that the Yankee fans expected to storm through the AL into the World Series before a hot Texas team cooled those plans?

I mean, let's see... They have a $25 Million dollar 1st baseman who is pretty much considered a top 5 first baseman (both in hitting and fielding). You have an MVP candidate at 2nd base who took a fairly strong career and made it even beter with a monster season. You have a guy playing shortstop that, despite his age, is still one of the smartest guys on the field and is more likely to raise his game back up then allow it to stay to the depths it was stuck in during the 2010 season. You have a $30 million 3rd baseman who really is likely to give you a 30 homerun, 110 RBI season and that's considered a DROP in production. You have an ace starting pitcher who has been a mixture of solid and dominating in the two years he's been here. You have a young, talented and soild #2 pitcher who will likely improve upon his impressive 2010. You have an, admittedly old, closer who defies all logic and shuts down other team's bats 99.9% of the time. I haven't even started on your very talented, if slightly uneven, outfield who's regular season stats have been pretty damn good.

In other words, why do the Yankees have to worry so much for? I'm not saying they are a lock to make the playoffs in 2011, but the team, just as presently constituted is as strong as most of the league and you know... you just KNOW they will find a way to add a pitcher. I think Pettite will be back and I could see the Yanks winding up with someone like Matt Garza, James Shields or a Wandy Rodriguez.

My gut is that Lee will remain in Texas. I think he's just trying to use the Yankees to get as much as he can there. In fact, I'll go as far as to say I don't think he ever wanted to go to New York. That doesn't matter though. The Yankees are a solid team who, frankly, still have a leg up on most of the AL. A.J. Burnett is not as bad as Yankee fans seem to think he is, and can easily be a #4 guy and contibutor. The offense is more than fine as long as Swisher continues to perform as he has (and there is no reason to think he won't) and A-Rod, Cano and Teixeria do what is expected of them (and there is not reason to think they won't).

As for the Mets... I'm SO SICK of the whining going on here. Everyone... and I mean EVERYONE wanted Omar and Jerry gone. Well they ARE gone and so is the way they did things. The new mangement group is looking to steamline the entire organization and with the lack of real talent on the free agent market this year, I'm GLAD to see them playing it smart and not grabbing someone for the sake of making a splash.

This organization needed a change and we're getting it. As fans, we have to be patient and let this season play out to get some money off the books and be able to make some moves to contruct this team with some real solid pitching and a view for longer term success as well as short term.

Listen. I know I'm in the minority, but I expect the Mets to be competitive next season. Yes, the loss of Johan Santana until June will hurt, but I have faith in the tandum of Pelfrey, Dickey and Neise to be decent. I'm also looking at an offesne that will have a full season of Carlos Beltran in a contract year, a bounce back season from Jason Bay (who I expect to come back to his normal numbers in a big way) and the solid performances of David Wright, Jose Reyes (also in a contract year), Ike Davis and Angel Pagan. If they can keep themselves at .500 until Santana comes back I can see this team being in the wild card mix. Do I thnk they could win the division? No, not at all unless one of the Roys misses a chunk of the season for the Phillies, but to automatically think the Mets are a 4th or 5th place team is ridiculous.

I expect the Mets to sign someone like Brandon Webb or Chris Young to an incentive laden contract and who knows... maybe they'll catch lightning in a bottle. The thing is, look at the big picture here folks. The Mets STILL will be in the top 5 or 6 in payroll in 2011 and odds are will spend a little more for the 2012 season. This is NOT going to be the Oakland A's East. The Mets aren't going to be a Moneyball team. Just shut up and let the new front office crew have some time to reshape this franchise like we've all been begging for the last three years.

Please. Enough.

Time to Drop Your Socks and Grab Your… Bats

Ok, the horrible 2-9 road trip is over. The trip where the Mets showed an insane inability to score runs is done.

The question is… are the Mets done as well?

Well here is where we’ll find out. The next three weeks will basically give us a fairly well indication of what to expect with this team for the rest of the season.

They will wrap up a three game set with St. Louis and look to avenge a pathetic sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks this upcoming weekend. Then it’s gut check time. Six in a row on the road with the Braves and Phillies where the Mets can either pick up some needed ground or basically allow themselves to be pushed back out of reach of the NL East (and maybe even the Wildcard) contention.

After that it’s a three game set against the Rockies and then three games at home against the Phils.

After that the schedule gets much easier with ten out of the next thirteen against the Astros and Pirates… who are just about the two worst teams in the NL. By then, however, it may be too late.

While this six game series at home is quite important (anything less than a 4-2 homestand is going to be seen as a disaster) it’s those six games on the road in atlanta and Philadelphia that are going to loom large in everyone’s eyes.

A 3-3 trip will be considered a success. A 2-4 trip is what is going to be expected by the media and the fans. a 1-5 or 0-6 trip will likely kill this teams’ chances of playing meaningful games in September.

The question comes down to… can this team hit? The Pitching is NOT the question right now. R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana and Jon Neise all pitched great on the road trip. Mike Pelfrey’s last start was very good as well. The starting pitching hasn’t been an issue in this losing streak. It’s been the hitting. The Mets were shut out five times in a thirteen game span, scored only one run in another two games and two runs in another two games during that span. That means they scored two runs or less in nine out of thirteen games. That’s not a power outage… that’s a blackout of near fatal extremes.

Last night’s explosion against one of the best pitchers in the Majors was a nice sight, but what use is an 8-2 win last night if they lose 2-1 tonight? This team needs to stop swinging at everything and have a smart approach to the plate. More than anything else, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay need to start living up to their contracts and superstar expectations.

It’s now or never. If they go 10 – 3 in the thirteen games they have in August against the Astros, Pirates and Marlins it won’t mean much if they go 4 – 8 against the Braves, Phillies and Rockies at the beginning of the month. It’s time to stand up and be counted gentlemen.

Middle of the Order is Pressing

David Wright. Jason Bay. Jeff Francor. Not exactly the names you would expect to hear when discussing the Met players that are hurting the offense right now, but there they are in black and white. The middle of the Mets’ line-up is struggling.

Wright and Francour started off 2010 swinging hot bats. Since hitting two home runs in Colorado however, Wright is 4 for his last 24 with 1 RBI and 11 strikeouts and Francour is 4 for his last 29 with 1 RBI and 3 strikeouts. Bay has struggled most of the year batting .241 with 0 HRs and 3 RBI in the first 15 games of the season, including 5 for his last 23 with 2 RBI and 12 strikeouts.

One of the problems could be that the three righthanded hitters are all bunched in a row, batting in the 3, 4 and 5 spots in the order, thus making them a little susceptible to righthand pitching. Jerry Manuel commented that he plans on breaking the three up the next time they face a righty.

Listen, players have slumps and I don’t think it’s going to be a long term concern that these players are hitting, but to have them all slumping at the same time is rough. Out of the three, the one you might have the most concern for would be Francour, but he has done nothing since he’s come to the Mets but hit, so you have to think he’ll get himself out of this.

The desire to get off to a fast start might also have these guys pressing a little too much. Wright likely wants to erase questions about his power from last year, Bay wants to show his new team he’s a good fit and Francour wants to just continue to impress with the bat like he has since the trade that brought him here. The thing is, the Mets will be hard pressed to score runs without these guys. Jose Reyes is back, Angel Pagan is swinging a hot bat and Ike Davis has arrived, but the middle of the order needs to perform and help the offense click. The pitching for the most part has been much better then anyone would have thought, but it’s time the offense carried its weight.