Mets Fan Club

Would You Sell Your Soul for $58 Dollars?

2009-11-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

After last night's Yankee World Series championship, we can finally all put the 2009 baseball season to rest. It's really been a tough one for Mets fans. Bad enough all the injuries and incompetence: we even had to watch 2 of our most hated teams reach the pinnacle of the sport.

And I really thought I've seen it all, until last night when I watched one of the biggest Met fans I know place a wager at a Las Vegas casino for the Yankees to win the game.

Let that sink in for a moment: He didn't bet against the Yankees. He bet them to win - on a World Series clinching game at that! And while Met fans across the country were expressing their outrage over having to actually call Alex Rodriquez a "Champion", this Met fan - this HUGE Met fan who could recite to you batting averages and uniform numbers of every Met that's ever played for the team - sat there satisfied collecting his winning ticket for $58.

"I knew they were going to win, so why not make some money with it?" explained this Met traitor known prominently across the country as "JTA" (which in fact sounds eerily close to "Jeter").

And that's exactly how the dark side lures you in. One day, it's just one bet. But before you know it, you're wearing a Yankee hat and being photographed for newspaper mugshots after committing a crime. (why are all criminals shown in the news wearing Yankee paraphernalia? - You never see a drug dealer wearing a Met hat, do you?). Anyway, after a while you become completely immune to the drivel spewed by the likes of Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling on the radio as well as the Yankee shills you read on the newspaper and watch on TV. Finally you start to buy into the Yankee entitlement until you're then reduced to the common slime that walk the lonely streets late at night.

All from the seemingly innocent "I'm just rooting for them this game only" line of reasoning. Just like with Anakin Skywalker, the road to baseball hell begins with one single justification.

Real Met fans don't bet on the Yankees to win. Period! Ever! You can bet them to lose - that's a different story. But unfortunately for this one-time proud Met fan, the cost of his soul was a mere $58 dollars. How can he even look at himself in the mirror?

There's an Elephant in the Room

2009-10-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

We're not supposed to talk about this. No one in the media is supposed to talk about this at all, even though it's unbelievably obvious. Everyone's talking about why the postseason has been so strange this year - games called on account of snow, 30 degree weather, pounding rain, inconsistent pitching, fielding gaffs, windstorms, incredulous bad plays from solid major league players... What could possibly be the reason for all this?!?

No one else will say it, so we'll say it: THE WORLD SERIES WAS NOT MEANT TO BE PLAYED IN NOVEMBER!!! THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS SHOULD NOT BE DETERMINED IN LATE OCTOBER!!! Everyone sees the elephant, yet no one mentions it.

Whether you like it or not, it's a fact: Weather becomes a factor from late October onward. It's just not right to see players playing important baseball games (games that decide major championships) playing with scarfs, earmuffs, wool face protectors, and 3 layers of clothing. This is baseball! To borrow a quote from Tom Hanks: "There's no shivering in baseball!" You shouldn't see the air when baseball players are breathing - leave that for football, where it belongs.

So what's the solution? It's simple: either shorten the regular season or (even more obvious) SCHEDULE MORE DOUBLEHEADERS! Remember doubleheaders? That's what used to happen when organizations and MLB in general really cared about their fans. If every team scheduled 3 doubleheaders, you could play an entire 162 game schedule, finish the regular season in late September, then play all rounds of playoffs and shockingly have a World Series Champion crowned on October 19th - today. Instead we're not even half-way through the League Championship Series and we have the whole World Series to "look forward to"... In even worse weather most likely.

Let's stop wondering why the baseball postseason gets less and less interesting every year (as it gets scheduled further and further into November). Winter weather and baseball don't mix. There!... I said it. That's the elephant. It's right in front of the entire media, but no one will mention it because it would be way too controversial to schedule doubleheaders because they effect the bottom line profits of a team. Shortening a season would be even worse for team owners since they'd lose all the revenues for the games that wouldn't be played.

And baseball wonders why it's no longer the "American Pastime". Nothing about the game is fan-friendly any more. The players know it, the announcers know it, the media knows it, the fans definitely know it... everyone's just afraid to come out and say it for fear of losing their cushy well-paying gigs.

Perhaps I'm just a disgruntled Met fan jealous of the teams playing in the postseason... Or perhaps I'm just a football fan waiting patiently for the baseball season to end - hopefully before Thanksgiving. Either way, when I watch a baseball game being decided because a player's hand is too cold to grip a ball in a game delayed by snow, I'm calling that a tainted victory indeed!

As the Major League Baseball Postseason Continues "Met-Less"...

2009-10-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Next time you're stressed out trying to make your mortgage payment, or you get laid off from work, or wonder where your next dollar is coming from, check out this video and ask yourself, how could this be?!?!?!

How can there be such incompetency in an organization and how can it continually get rewarded?

Too Much, Too Little, Too Late

2009-10-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's over....
Call it a day....
Sorry that it had to end this way...
No reason to pretend...
We knew it had to end someday... this way....

AND THANK GOODNESS IT WAS TODAY! Who would have thought that Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams would be singing about the Mets 2009 season at Citi Field when they released the classic Too Much Too Little Too Late way back in 1978?

Thankfully, the Mets celebrated Fan Depreciation Weekend by sweeping the Houston Astros in their final home series of this miserable season - perhaps the worst in the history of the team. After all, when they were losing all those games in the early years, the Mets were supposed to be bad. This year held many great expectations of another meaningful choke in September.

And please don't tell me the last three games (where the Mets pitching staff allowed 2 runs TOTAL in beating the Astros 7-1, 5-1, and 4-0 respectively) hold promise going into next year. Remember this is the same team that got swept by the lowly Nationals (who call the Mets the lowly Mets) right before the Houston series. This team is a train wreck, and Mets fans will need to see SIGNIFICANT changes before we can develop any confidence going into 2010 thinking next year will be anything different. C'mon - sing it!:

Yes it's over...
The chips are down...
What's the use of trying to hang on...
Somewhere we lost the key...
So little left for you and me... and it's clear to see...

I mean really... are those classic lyrics to describe the Mets or what? The 2009 season at Citi Field and away showed way too much baserunning blunders, managerial mishaps, fundamental flaws, fielding follies, management meltdowns, and minor-league mindsets. TOO MUCH!!

This season also saw way too little power from the lineup, too little gutsy pitching performances from the starters and bullpen alike, too little heart, desire, and overall willingness to go that extra mile to do what it takes to win. TOO LITTLE!!

And as a result, we keep hearing things like Jerry Manual and Omar Minaya will be back for next season... and when everyone comes back healthy, this team will be competitive again... and despite being totally cleaned out by the likes of Bernie Madoff, that situation will have no effect on how the team approaches the off-season. Well, it's way too late for platitudes. Fans want to see results. Cut the price of tickets? Be more fan-friendly? Play solid, fundamental baseball? Sweep the Astros in the last series of the season? TOO LATE!!

I know a lot of lifelong Mets fans who tell me they'll have nothing to do with this team right now. And can you blame them? When Met fans are actually rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series to hammer down the most embarrassment possible on the franchise, things are bad. Even David Wright called the season "A failed opportunity". But here's the key question: Does Mets ownership know that? If so, what will they do in the postseason to give the fans ANY REASON to look forward to next year?

Remember: if you keep doing the things you're doing without changing, why would you think your results would be any different? Too much? - we've never seen a season like this before... wait till next year? Too little? - Can Omar convince rival general managers that he's not playing checkers in their chess game during the off-season? Too late? Will Met fans ever be the same knowing the incompetence this organization rewards?

Sing it like Deniece: Yes, it's over... IT'S OVER!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah...

YA GOTTA BELIEVE ... Part One

2009-10-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

... or maybe not.

This has been an excruciating year for any New York Mets fan. This season, the third consecutive one of failure, is even more difficult to accept than the prior two. Granted, the past two seasons our Mets seemed to crumble under the weight of a potential playoff birth, and just so soon after being one win away from making it to the 2006 World Series. This season however, it seemed that they just decided to implode before they ever got off the ground.

Yes, there were injuries, but that was something that this organization's crack medical staff should have been able to handle - or was that medical staff on crack?... I forget. As the season progressed, this new Citifield seemed to become the setting for a remake of "The Gunfight at the OK Corral". Week after week players seemed to drop like flies.

The worst of it was that nobody seemed to know what the injuries were. Not the organization, the GM, the manager, the trainers, and most of all the players themselves. One day it was this, then next it was that. Oh, this player will be back in a week, then a month, then out for the season (can anyone say Jose Reyes?), and June was only looming around the corner. It even gets to be telling when one of your top players, if not franchise player, seeks an outside opinion from his own doctor. Very telling indeed. Who is on their medical staff anyway? One can only guess ...

How much more does this organization think we can take as fans? They could not erase the memory of Shea Stadium fast enough and begin anew by spending billions of dollars on a new ballpark for The Mets. Yet when you are in Citifield, you would never know what team played there. (DISCLAIMER: I have not been to the new ballpark. I just could not bring myself to do so, but I have it on good authority, (no... make that on MANY a good authority), that if you were blindfolded, taken into the ballpark then unmasked, you would not be able to tell where you were just by looking around.)

Here is my problem with Citifield: After looking at photos and video it is clear. Nothing personal against Jackie Robinson (and I hate having to qualify myself on this one), but in his entire career he had nothing to do with The New York Mets. If you are going to name a rotunda where The New York Mets play, why not make it a Memorial Rotunda and name it after the only true voice of the New York Mets Bob Murphy, or Gil Hodges, or Casey Stengel, or even Tug McGraw. How can you put BILLIONS into a ballpark and not have the history of the team, the World Series', the great players of the past and present? Again, this organization could not seem to part with not only Shea, but the memories of it, fast enough. This will be its downfall, for the past is what
makes your future. Get rid of the past ... there will be no one around for your future.

It is almost difficult to accept the bonehead after bonehead move the organization of this team just keeps making. You have two straight seasons of complete collapse and failure and what do the they do? They reward that failure by giving one of its architects, Omar Minaya, a new three year deal. Steve Phillips should have been so lucky... Oh wait, he was, showing up on ESPN Radio with SP40, and television, as an authority on baseball, and adding insult to injury, actually permitted to comment on actual live Mets games and getting paid for it no less. Someone still needs to explain that one to me. And what happens to the manager of one of those failures, "We are going to stand by Jerry "Manual". (Paraphrasing here folks) ... Like they stuck by Bobby Valentine? You better watch your back Jerry. What is ownership's love affair with this these guys? What clouds their vision?

Not only how he handled the VP of Player Development Tony Bernazard fiasco, allowing for the decimation of The Mets minor league system, throwing Adam Rubin under the bus, not knowing the condition of his players, throwing players under the bus, allowing the trade deadline to pass without making a play for someone to help lift this team out of the quagmire. I believe that if most of us were in the GM position, and it was looking bleak on the return of any of my regular players and there was a whole hell of a lot of season left, there would be no other choice but to find replacements, however temporary they would be, to at least give my team a chance at winning, or at least make a good showing as if you really care. How Minaya is not gone is beyond me.

As fans, all most of us want when we watch a game is to have a chance at a win. This season I'm thinking that most of you were like me, when you turned on the radio or television that even though the Mets had the lead you were never that confident that they were going to keep it and win. Even I remember The Secret. You have a brand new ballpark to play in, where is the motivation to win? They could not win the opener, and as of this writing they are playing the first of the last three games of the season at the new ballpark and they beat Houston (7-1). There's only two games left of this glorious season. Hope there was enough sarcasm dripping there.

Since mentioning Bobby Valentine a bit ago, I cannot help but wonder ... yes, I know that it will never happen, we can only pray, but wouldn't it be great to have him back?

"I believe this man has forgotten more about baseball then most know who are playing the game today."

A shout out here to fellow Mets fan Karen for that one. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the fans that wanted him gone, it was the press, media, and organization itself that wanted him gone. Not only did Steve Phillips need a patsy, a then rumor had it that then players Franco and Leiter had a hand in it as well. Let us think like a Wilpon for a moment: wouldn't the cheapest way to immediately improve the team and get fans butts back in the seats for next season be to fire Minaya, fire Manuel, and hire Valentine? I'd make sure I was there for Opening Day for that one. How many of you would as well? Let us know.

What, improve the team with players, coaches, a new GM, and manager? No way! What concerns ownership, let's get rid of the pinstripes, why not?, we have just about torn apart all other traditions concerning the Mets, what is one more, and go with cream color jerseys even if another team already has them. Not only does ownership have a love affair with the GM and manager, they have one with teams that have not been part of New York for over fifty years, t he Dodgers to Los Angeles and the Giants to San Francisco. I think I will let another fellow Mets fan speak her mind about this one upon hearing of the possible uniform change amongst other things...

"Is this true??? This organization has so much more important decisions to make on how to run a professional baseball team; replace the front office personnel, medical staff, general manager, manager, coaches, etc. Yet, their first priority for next season is the uniform. This explains why we are fighting the Washington Nationals for last place!!!! And props to the Nats for winning and beating K-ROD with a walk off grand slam. Hey, today the Mets announced that Reyes tore his hamstring on Tuesday down in Florida rehabbing. Has Reyes aged fast-forward to the age of 80????? before our eyes. Can he stand up without tearing a muscle, hamstring, ligament whatever........ I can't stand this organization anymore."

- Taylor Tears

Hey Taylor, we could not have said it any better ourselves.

So, by August, life as a Mets fan just kept getting worse. Bad enough the other team here in New York started to surge, mostly every team in our division began to pull away. All but the lowly Washington Nationals, they had to be worse than the Mets. Wondering why the tone of disappointment? here's why:

(to be continued in part two).

END PART ONE

We Thought It Couldn't Get Worse - We Were Wrong

2009-09-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Should we even talk about the Mets getting swept today by the Washington Nationals after K-Rude gave up a pinch-hit grand slam homerun in the ninth, sending the Mets to a 7-4 defeat other than to say my contacts in Anaheim were right when they said Rodriguez didn't have enough stamina to make it through the season?

Good thing for KRod the Mets are so far out of it and fan interest is the lowest it's ever been, or we'd be talking about this guy like we talked about Armando Benitez. But enough of the games, the season, the sweeps to last place teams, the strikeouts in key situations, the horrible starting pitching, the bad managing - enough of it all!

Let's talk about some other interesting developments sure to embarrass the team in the very near future:

It's not the Mets fault they've had a bad season... it's the uniform's fault! The Mets are contemplating uniform changes for next season, where they'll drop their traditional pinstrips to more of a cream color. Great!... next year we'll be watching the San Francisco Giants play home games at Dodger Stadium East. Who's making the decisions in this organization!?!?!

Bobby Valentine is returning to ESPN as a baseball analyst. But wouldn't he look so much better in a Mets uniform? And regardless of what you think of him, don't the Mets REALLY need this guy as their manager right now? Believe it or not, most Met fans I know are actually rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series to put more pressure on the Mets to do something right for their fanbase. Like hiring this guy back! Don't let him go to the Nationals (or worse yet - the Braves after Bobby Cox retires). But it's the Mets... they'll embarrass themselves I'm sure.
Surprise, surprise: Jose Reyes needs surgery. It just took the team until 3 games were left in the season to figure it out. Now I'm no doctor, but didn't just about everyone see this coming as far back as July? Everyone, that is - except the Mets medical staff. I wouldn't trust them to treat my common cold, yet they continue to be paid, employed, and probably the key personnel in Obama's universal health care plan.

That's it. There are tons of other embarrassing situations the Mets are working on, but I'm tired of it all and really need to get some sleep. With "Hey Jude", the Beatles once sang: "Take a sad song... and make it better... "

But with the Mets, it's more like: "Take a bad team... and make it sadder..."

Mets Are Embarrassing, but Not THIS Embarrassing

2009-09-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

When you lose to the likes of the 100-plus-losses Washington Nationals as the Mets did last night, you know you've got to be embarrassed. The Mets have been an embarrassment, a train wreck, a complete mess, a dysfunctional organization, a leadership devoid and fundamentally flawed team all season.

But when you talk about total embarrassment, you have to hand it to some of the best teams in the league with their pathetic "celebrations" after clinching their respective post-season berths. If you watched the Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, and Cardinals "clinch", you'd have thought they all won the World Series with their on-field celebrations. Guys, you had your divisions locked up since July!!! It was just a matter of time. Jumping around, mauling players, the ridiculous "we're number one finger pointed in the air", the on field hugging - it's all embarrassing when winning isn't spontaneous or unlikely. Good thing we Met fans don't have to worry about that!

Now if the Twins beat the Tigers, or the Braves somehow overtake the Rockies, then I'm all for the celebrations, mainly because the result is truly an accomplishment. When you lead your division by 10 games, you don't need to celebrate a mere playoff appearance.

What really gets me is the lip service you get from some of these teams. The Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cardinals, Phillies, and Dodgers are all on record saying that anything but a World Series victory is a failure. Well if that's the case, why are you all jumping up and down after beating the Royals to reach the postseason in a meaningless game? How embarrassing!

When the 1986 Mets had a 21 game lead and "clinched" the postseason, before their "clinching game", Davey Johnson instructed his players to celebrate, shake hands, have fun, but remember that was only the first step and they had a lot more work ahead of them before the "actual" celebration. That created the mindset of the team advancing towards their goal.

Besides being totally embarrassing (like the ridiculous jumping up and down in unison at home plate after a walk-off win), excessive on-field celebrations for expected outcomes sends a very bad psychological message to the players, as if to say they've already reached their goal. In fact, you can look it up: the greater the meaningless on-field celebration, the less likely a team will go further in the post-season.

And if you haven't had your fill of embarrassments, remember the Mets still play 2 more against Washington before finishing out the season at home against Houston. There will be no celebrations.

Mets Swept by Braves... (Yawn!)

2009-09-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Like we all didn't know this was going to happen. So who at the game WASN'T yawning? As predicted, the Braves beat up on the Mets again last night, sweeping the series at Citi Field and making Mets fans envious of a manager about to call it quits. Yes, Braves manager Bobby Cox indicated before the game that the 2010 season will be his last - that news was met with great disappointment to the fans down in Atlanta.

Could you imagine what the reaction would be if Mets fans were told 2009 would be Manuel's last? A ticker-tape parade perhaps? Partying in the streets of Queens? It would certainly go a long way in instilling some fan confidence for next year at the least, right? Anyway, we can dream can't we?

Did anyone not know the Mets were going to be swept in this series? In fact, to the Mets credit, I'm surprised they kept it as close as they did during Tuesday night's 3-1 loss and yesterday's 5-2 loss.

And if you attended any of the three games, you got exactly what you deserved - other than "My boss couldn't go to the game so he gave me his ticket" or "I called a radio station and won free tickets to tonight's game", you really have to be a sadist to actually make a conscious effort and say, you know, I'm going to the Met game tonight and I'm going to have a great time watching my hometown team play their hearts out and spoil the hated Braves chances of making the postseason.

I'm reminded of Aerosmith: Dream on... dream on... dream on... dream until your dreams come true!

Mets Manhandle Powerhouse Nats

2009-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, the Mets won 2 out of 3 games against arguably the worst team in baseball. That's good - they did what they were supposed to do. But that's the extent of it. They were playing the Nationals. To read some of the posts and recaps I've seen in the newspapers and online, you'd think they pulled an amazing upset of the Yankees or something.

"Redding Pitches a Gem"
"Maine Back To Domination After Strong Outing"
"Mets Show Why Citi Field is Home With Big Series Win"
"Francoeur Making Case For Contract Extension With Heavy Hitting"

Folks, lets tone it down a bit. Again, not that wins are bad, but here's the real headlines you should be reading:

"Tim Redding Shuts Down Bad Team as Mets Edge Out 3-2 Victory"
"John Maine Pitches 5 Solid Innings To Move Nats Closer to 100 Season Losses"
"Mets Finally Win a Home Series in September Using Last Place Team as Patsy"
"Francoeur Goes 5 for 12 with ONE rbi During Weekend Series - Makes Final Out in Only Met Loss"

The Mets have avoided 100 losses for their inaugural Citi Field season. That's what we have to hang on hats on. Let's just tell it like it is however. My fingers are crossed, but I wonder how the likes of John Maine, Tim Redding, and the rest of the Mets pitching staff will fare against the wild-card chasing Braves during the next three games at Citi. My guess is the headlines won't sound as rosy.

Can Your Dog Do This?

2009-09-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

Play dead!

The Mets sure can. They continued a miserable season Tuesday night falling to the Braves 6-0 in a game where they got only 4 measly hits against Braves rookie Tommy Hanson, a sure bet for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. While the Braves continue to breed young talent year after year, the Mets farm system is dead as evidenced by the string of pitchers they put on display during this game.

Pat Misch starting, followed by Elmer Dessens, Ken Takahashi, and Brian Stokes... Don't the Mets play in New York? Don't they have resources other teams can only dream of? We all know about the injuries that have plagued this team this year due to the Curse of Shea Stadium (stadiums don't like it when they're torn down and rebuilt as a memento to another ballpark), but seriously, this is the best this team can do?!?!

Where's our Tommy Hanson? Where's our Joba Chamberlain? Where's our Tim Lincecum? Once again, we have to bring up a sore point - the Mets scouting staff needs a serious and complete overhaul. It's going to take years to overcome the damage Tony Bastardard did to this organization as director of player development. And remember, it was Omar's "judgement" that hired this guy in the first place.

Roll Over!

The Mets sure can. In yesterday's game, the Mets took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, then rolled over and died as Frankie Rod blew another save due to bad pitching, bad defense, and overall lifeless play. Anytime you start Bobby Parnell (who's no Tommy Hanson, that's for sure) and can actually take a lead in that game, you have to win it. But finger crossing, horseshoe hanging, and four-leaf clover clutching all did nothing to entice this team to show any kind of heart. Didn't Bobby Valentine get fired for not motivating players?

Beg

That's something we Met fans are getting used to as well. Please, please, please... fire Minaya. Please, I beg of you please... enough of Jerry Manuel. Please, I implore you, please... sell the team. We've heard that a lot over the past few months, right?

Why is it when the Braves are bad, they still come into New York and put a beating on the Mets - But when the Mets are bad, they visit the Ted in Atlanta and play dead and roll over for their opponents? Even your dog deserves better entertainment than this.

I shudder to think what's in store for this team in tonight's finale. And when the Washington Nationals start saying things like "Well, we have the Mets this weekend" as a comeback to the question "Will this team lose 100 games this year?", you know you're in trouble.

What a Difference One Small Letter Makes

2009-09-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

New York fans were electrified yesterday watching perhaps the best debut of an NFL quarterback in years. That's right, Mark Sanchez was almost Brady-esque in leading the Jets to an improbable victory shown to a nationwide audience.

Oh wait... this is METSfanclub.com! - In that case, John Maine returned, pitched 3 innings and took a hard-luck loss after Tobi Stoner blew it for him.

But the real story this weekend was defense. In fact, New York's opponent didn't even score until well over 75% of the game was complete when Dominique Barber scored on a 48-yard fumble recovery for the Texan's only score of the game.

Oh wait... this is METSfanclub.com! - In that case, Philadelphia scored in the first inning of both games, sweeping the Mets in a day-night doubleheader 5-4, and 1-0 respectively.

And talk about a crowd! Despite playing on the road, many in attendance were routing feverishly for their New York squad, with their brand new coach and new-look team playing with the heart of a champion!

Oh wait.. this is METSfanclub.com - In that case, the Mets-Phillies game on ESPN drew the lowest ratings in the history of Sunday night MLB telecasts in a game that not a soul cared about, except maybe to watch the 5-0 Pedro Martinez throw 130 pitches in defeating his ex-team once again. Nah, I much rather have Tim Redding than Pedro, right Omar? Pedro's finished, right?

And talk about huge plays being made by franchise players, both on offense, defense, and special teams!

Oh wait.. this is METSfanclub.com - In that case, David Wright went 1 for 8 in the doubleheader, including 4 strikeouts.

After witnessing only what can be described as an unexpected, electrifying performance by an up-and-coming and likeable team, New York fans have the entire season to remain optimistic of postseason play, perhaps even a Superbowl appearance in the near future.

Oh wait... this is METSfanclub.com - In that case, with yesterday's second loss of the day, the Mets were officially eliminated from the playoffs.

What a difference one small letter makes. If only we could replace the "M" in Mets with the "J" in Jets, maybe Met fans would have something to look forward to.

On The Field at Citi-Field

2009-09-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

These days, the Mets are playing so poorly, it's almost like you really have to get paid to visit Citi Field, much less buy a ticket yourself.

And so it goes for big-time Mets fan Tara, from TaraMetBlog.com who recently had the opportunity to be on the field (literally) at Citi Field for a Verizon FIOS demo. We thought we'd post her video here for all to enjoy (since you obviously can't enjoy Citi Field when the Mets are on the field):

Mets Play Rotten Spoilers

2009-09-11T09:11:00.001-07:00

Remember the last few years when the Florida Marlins would play the Mets in September and - despite being totally out of postseason contention - play spoilers to the Mets chances of reaching the playoffs? Back then we would listen to the TV commentators and read articles in the newspaper and magazines about how even though teams were out of it, professional ballplayers still play for pride and some even relish in their spoiler role.

Well things have gone so wrong for the Mets, they can't even play the role of a spoiler right! They're even bad at that! In yesterday's 13-4 loss to the Marlins, they:

Got swept for the first time at CitiField by a National League team
Saw starter Bobby Parnell walk consecutive batters with the bases loaded. (the Mets now lead the major leagues with 19 bases-loaded walks)
Watched centerfielder Angel Pagan forget how many outs there were.
Had Luis Castillo show off another head-scratching disaster at 2nd base.
Struck out 10 times or more once again.
Never had a 1-2-3 inning until the ninth.

Where are the fundamentals? Where is the focus? I guess closed door meetings don't work, as that's the way the Mets began the day. And here's an actual quote by manager Jerry Manuel:

"Every time I have a meeting we seem to play bad, so I guess we won't have anymore meetings"

I hope he was kidding, but doesn't the lackluster play, the brain-farts, the total lack of urgency this team exhibits, all fall under this guy's watch? What kind of message does the Mets organization send when they tell us despite the fact this team can't even play a spoiler role, Manuel (and Minaya for that matter) are definitely coming back next year!?!

What do they say the definition of insanity is? Doing things the same way over and over again and expecting different results...

Met Fans Heads Spinning as to Rooting Interest

2009-09-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Fans of the New York Mets are being faced right now with a very interesting dilemma: who to root for during the remaining games of the schedule. I must admit, during the past couple of games against the Marlins (both Met losses by the way), I found myself rooting for Florida to beat the Mets for some strange reason.

Actually, it's not that strange. The Mets have become a complete trainwreck - and like traffic accidents, something's so amazingly gruesome that you just have to watch it. And many Met fans are at the point right now where you kind of hope the Mets lose just to continue the tragedy.

But then again, I started to remember the last 2 Septembers and how the Marlins not only beat the Mets down the stretch in meaningless games (for them), but rubbed their noses in it as well. Laughing... excess celebrations... having no mercy on that useless Tom Glavine... so you can't root for the Marlins, right?

But you can't root for the Phillies either. Jimmy Rollins comments... Cole Hamels calling the Mets choke artists... Chase Utley being Chase Utley... If you're a real Met fan, ya gotta hope for a Philly meltdown, right?

So you can't root for the Marlins. You can't root for the Phillies. How about the Braves? Are you kidding me, you might be thinking? And you'd be right. Atlanta, also known as the HATED Braves for the way they man-handled the Mets all those years, is certainly a team you most definitely can not root for.

Then you have the Cardinals. You older Met fans know where I'm coming from when I say I probably hate the Cardinals more than I do the Braves. Whitey Hedgehog... Tommy Herr... John Tudor... remember how those guys won division title after division title over the Mets (when the Mets were thought to be a great team). Amazed the Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez teams never one more than one World Series? The Cardinals are the reason why. You just can't root for that team at all!

Perhaps the Dodgers are a team Met fans can root for now. Think again. Despite the fact the Mets basically play their home games at Dodger Stadium East, many oldtimers will never forgive them for leaving New York in the first place. That's the same reason you can't root for the Giants either.

That leaves the Colorado Rockies as the only team in the National League with a realistic shot at the postseason for us Met fans to possibly root for. Can I name one player on the Rockies? No.. and that's reason enough not to have any interest in them at all in the postseason.

Go Yankees? Never! Go Red Sox? I'm sick of them too. Go Tigers? Even people in Detroit know better than to root for the Tigers. Go Rangers? Weren't they the team that signed ARod to that ridiculous contract in the first place? We can never forgive them for that. Go Twins? Perhaps, but they're a tremendous longshot for the postseason. Go Angels? Now that's a possibility... but they're still American League and any self-respecting Met fan has to root for a National League team to win.

Tonight the Mets try to avoid getting swept at home by the Marlins followed by 3 games against the Phillies in Philly and 3 more games at Atlanta. Maybe we can root for a firing. Or two...

Murphy Leads Mets to Series Win Over Cubs

2009-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Daniel Murphy drove in all four Met runs in today's 4-2 Met victory over the Chicago Cubs, enabling the team to finally win a series from an opponent since late July. Considering the strength of the schedule, it's pretty hard to believe the Mets didn't win ONE series during the entire month of August. Then again, they also hit into an unassisted triple play, which is pretty unbelievable in its own right.

Beside's Murhpy's 3-hit explosion, it was also a big day for Mike Pelfrey, who finally won a game after a series of disturbing outings. Forced with the option of either pitching well today or having to endure a day-long Lindsay Lohan movie marathon, Pelf chose the stellar start and went 8 strong innings to reach double-digit wins for the season. His record stands at 10-10 and will now be considered the Mets ace for the rest of the season.

How does that sound? Well, much better I'm sure than watching the Mets first 3 hitters on Saturday's 5-3 loss each strikeout 3 times in the game. It was the first time EVER that's happened with the Mets. (another negative "first" for this team - we'd list them all for you here, but we don't have time). Nelson Figueroa wasn't horrible in that game, although he did give up 4 runs in 6 innings. (some would consider that a quality start!). Figueroa will now be considered the Mets number 2 guy for the rest of the season.

And what can the team possibly make of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, also known as Bobby Parnell? It's either a gem or a total disaster with this guy starting, as evidenced by his outstanding performance on Friday night's 6-2 win preceded by outings of 8, 5, and 9 runs respectively. (what a coincidence - that's also his August ERA!). I guess we have to consider Parnell the team's number 3 starter for the rest of the season.

Add Tim Redding (who's pitched well lately) and Pat Misch (who pitches well against the Cubs at least), and the Mets have a 5-man rotation that'll scare.... well... no one. But they always have the bullpen to rely on right? Like Stokes vulturing Friday night's game with an undeserved win and Frankie Rod putting baserunners on the paths in just about every appearance.

But there is good news. Carlos Beltran will be back soon as will John Maine. And since the team is completely out of contention for anything at 13 games under .500, maybe the team will have a good September for a change, since there's no more pressure from here on end.

Everything evens out eventually, right? So with all the improbable negative events this team has faced this year, can a Mets no-hitter be far away?

Successful Surgery? Reeeeaaaally!!!

2009-09-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

The big story yesterday was not the Mets 8-3 loss to the Rockies in Colorado where Mike Pelfrey continued his mastery of the inadequate. And it wasn't the return of David Wright from his head concussion, who singled sharply in his first at-bat back with specially fit headgear that made him look like Dark Helmet from Spaceballs.

No, actually the big news came from the Mets medical department who CLAIMED to have performed successful surgery on both Johan Santana and Oliver Perez, which brings me to one of my pet peeves about announcements such as these - I love it when marketing departments add meaningless words to their statements as if to convince us they know what they're doing.

I've never liked the word "successful" with "surgery" as in "successful surgery" in press releases. You hear it all the time though. "He underwent successful surgery"... "Yesterday, Dr. David Altchek, the Mets' medical director, performed successful surgeries..."

First of all, what's the definition of "successful"? - What, the patient didn't die?!?! How do we know it's successful? Won't it take months of rehab and healing before we know if the surgery was successful? If Johan comes back at half the pitcher he was, was the surgery successful? Whether or not the surgery was successful or not can only be determined in the future!!! You can't claim a successful surgery at the time of surgery, can you? Yet find me a statement from any ballclub that doesn't use the word "successful" when surgery is performed on one of their players.

"Successful" is totally unnecessary in the context of the sentence. What are they going to say?: "you know, we performed surgery on the guy yesterday and boy did we really screw it up!" Of course not. (well, maybe the Mets organization can) The correct sentence should read:

"Dr. David Altchek, the Mets' medical director, performed surgeries Tuesday morning on left-handers Johan Santana and Oliver Perez."

Not "successful"... just "surgeries" thank you. What about all these players all over baseball who have "successful surgery", then have to have surgery again... and again... and again... all on the same problem - where each surgery is a "success". Please, let's stop with this.

Then again, we're talking about the Mets crack medical staff here. So I guess it is successful surgery if the doctor even performs the correct procedure on the patient.

Seaver K's 10 Cubbies in Figueroa's Uniform

2009-08-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

He sure looked like Nelson Figueroa on the mound for the Mets today, but any REAL Met fan can tell it was none other than Tom Seaver made up to look like Figueroa in a Mets uniform instead. It's the only explanation, right? I mean, come on... Nelson Figueroa?!?! Pitching well? On the road? During the day?

After a quick visit to Rollie Tyler's studio, Seaver took the mound wearing number 27 and completely shut down the Cubs in the Mets 4-1 victory, striking out 10 and salvaging one game to avoid a Chicago sweep of the 3-game series at Wrigley Field.

I guess it helped facing the most overrated pitcher in all of baseball (Carlos Zambrano - trust me, NO team will EVER win with this guy as your #1 pitcher), but the Mets did lash out 12 hits today, with every starter (including Figueroa... whoops, I mean Seaver) getting at least one hit in the game. But I will give Zambrano credit for going to the "Barry Zito School of Contract Negotiation", where you basically get paid obscene money for sub-par talent. Amazing that GM's fall for this. I guess Omar's not the only dumb one in the bunch out there.

I know a lot of people don't believe this Seaver conspiracy theory, but why do you think Figueroa and Oliver Perez look so much alike? Exactly: Rollie Tyler from the movie FX! Is it a stretch to think Seaver went there too?

Also, further proof: Whenever Perez was active on the roster, Figueroa was no where to be found. So think about it... have you ever seen Seaver and Figueroa together in the same place? Aha! Now are you convinced?

Will the Mets Win Another Game This Year?

2009-08-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

The answer to the question is probably yes. But even so, the only real legitimate question remaining this season is whether or not they can hold Washington at bay to avoid finishing in last place in the NL East.

You can bet a PF Chang's dinner that won't happen. It's almost mathematically impossible for the Mets to falter that badly. With 35 games left to play for both teams, even if the Nats were to over-achieve and play just .500 baseball for the remainder of the year, all the Mets would have to do is win just 7 more games.

I'll take that bet. But then again, yesterday they lost Oliver Perez for the rest of the season with Roger cleMEns syndrome (you know - when you pitch well, you're great... and when you pitch poorly, you find an injury to blame it on). And Mike Pelfrey seems to be regressing at an alarming rate losing once again yesterday by a 5-3 margin to the Marlins.

We'll just leave it up to Tim Redding, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, and Ken Takahashi to pick up those seven wins for us. Then again:

Perhaps I'll have the Szechuan Spring Rolls to start, followed by the hot and sour soup, and the mu shu chicken entree - maybe the shrimp with lobster sauce...

Mets Lose 3 Pitchers and Game in One Day

2009-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Mets lost 2-1 to the Florida Marlins last night - who cares?

The Mets lost Billy Wagner when he was traded to the Red Sox for who knows who - who cares?

The Mets lost J.J. Putz for the season as his rehab has experienced a "set back" - who cares? Could Oliver Perez be next?

Then the Mets lost Johan Santana for the rest of the season due to bone chips in his elbow - CARE!!!

Okay, it's not as bad as Tommy John surgery, and he should be ready for the spring - but folks, let's face it: we're talking about the Mets medical staff. And seeing how everyone on the disabled list this year seems to be experiencing "set-backs", Johan may have a better chance with the aliens from Cocoon.

I'm not even going to get into the story about Johan expressing his concern over this elbow after the all-star break while the team (and Jerry Manuel) put him out there every 5th day anyway. But I will say this: when the best pitcher in the game tells you two months ago that his elbow was hurting, you take that concern seriously RIGHT AWAY. You don't wait until it's a serious problem for you to be "terribly concerned". Manuel will not be content until he personally ruins everyone on the team that haven't bought into his "gangsta" mentality.

In the meantime, our suggestion is to place KRod in solitary confinement in an anabolic chamber for his own well-being, as he's the only one on the team to avoid the "Curse of Shea Stadium", which is the only logical explanation I have for the bizarre series of injuries this team has faced this season.

And you don't have to call it the "Curse of Shea Stadium" if you don't want to - any name will do. It can be the "Curse of Citi Field", the "Curse of Bobby Valentine", the "Curse of the Buried Philly Jersey", ... use your imagination. The fact remains that there certainly is a curse in place with this team.

Or could it be bad management, or a bad medical staff, or a bad front-office, or a bad scouting system. Hey! What do you know?... Seems like you'll always find worldly explanations when you try to analyze curses.

It Doesn't Take a Psychic to Predict Today's Result

2009-08-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

After the way yesterday's game ended with the unassisted triple play, coupled with the team starting Bobby Parnell off just about the worst pitching performance you'll ever see (aside from Oliver Perez of course) and the news that Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel will both be back for next season, and add the fact that Cliff Lee was starting today for the Phillies, did anyone have any expectation whatsoever that the Mets would win today's game?

Of course not. In fact, the casinos and sportsbooks were giving money away today on this no-brainer. There are few sure things in life, but a Mets loss today was a done deal as soon as Eric Bruntlett snared that Jeff Francoeur liner.

And why would the news of Omar and Manuel have any impact on what goes on the field? Well, just like in all businesses, when employees see incompetence rewarded, they tend to slack off themselves. Trust me - us fans aren't the only ones who see through the "dynamic duo"... the players know what's going on as well. Wanna kill your company? Promote your idiot son-in-law to president. I think you know what I mean.

3 errors in a 6-2 loss to the Phillies today... quite frankly, I'm surprised it was that close. I hope none of us wasted our time by watching it. And after hearing the news of Omar and Jerry, if you were actually at the game - shame on you!

How sure am I about today's result? I'm posting this before the game even ends!

Mets Hold Bizarro Day at Citi Field

2009-08-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started badly and ended badly for Mets manager Jerry Manuel. The middle of his day wasn't that great either.

It started off with Pedro Martinez' pre-game news conference where he basically said he wanted to stay with the Mets, but Jerry Manuel nixed the idea, claiming the Mets already had enough pitchers on their staff. So there you have it Met fans... Pedro's pitching in a Philly uniform because of Jerry Manuel. And the Mets are looking at Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, Pat Misch, Sean Green and Elmer Dessens to give them innings. Way to go Jerry!

Then, the Mets ended the game yesterday in a most bizaare fashion when Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play, the second time in major League history that ever happened. Why Jerry Manuel was sending the runners with no one out and Francoeur batting is anyone's guess. But it served as the official inauguration of Jeff Francoeur as a 2009 Met. Congratulations Jeff, you have arrived!

But that was just the end of day-bizarro. Consider all the following happened yesterday:

1) Oliver Perez couldn't make it past the first inning and was pulled in the middle of a 3-0 count against the opposing pitcher! I don't think I've ever seen that before. I've seen pitchers pulled during at-bats, but never against the pitcher... and never with a 3-0 count! (we know Met fans in attendance that actually left the game at that point). At $12 million dollars per year, Perez' performance was the worst I've seen since the $7.5 million Tom Glavine's debacle against the Marlins on the last day of the 2007 season when the Mets desperately needed a win to make the postseason. Talk about cash for clunkers! Way to go Omar!

One day removed from the Mets 1969 Championship team tribute, unfortunately Seaver, Koosman, and Ryan were not available to pitch.

2) Not only did Angel Pagan hit an inside the park homerun (the first ever at Citi Field), but he also hit a real homerun in the same game as well! When do you ever get to see something like that?

3) Just an inning before Manuel made him make history with the final at-bat, Jeff Francoeur made a Ron Swoboda like stab of a line drive which was originally ruled a non-catch. But when the umpires conferred on the call, they made the correct call by overturning the ruling. When do you ever see that? You see overturned calls, but mostly on home runs. You hardly ever see that happen on a meaningless play to the rightfielder. Oh, by the way, Francoeur was injured on the play...

4) A Met pitcher threw a no-hitter! Met farmhand Brandon Moore threw the first no-hitter in Brooklyn Cyclones history. Too bad he wasn't at Citi starting for the parent club instead.

So when was the last time you watched a game where there was an icon coming back to pitch against his former team for the first time, an inside the park homerun AND a regular homerun by the same player, an overturned outfield call, a pitcher who couldn't get past the first inning, and a game-ending unassisted triple play all in the same game? I'm pretty sure that's never happened before. What's next, reading that despite their incompetence, both Omar and Manuel will be back for next season?

Despite the Mets losing 9-7, Met fans will certainly remember this one. Much like you remember a bad dream... this is the part when I usually wake up in a pool of sweat.

123 Games Into Season, Mets Finally Do Something Right with Tribute to '69 Championship Team

2009-08-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day at Citi Field. It had nothing to do with the actual game, a 4-1 loss that meant absolutely nothing. Instead, the Mets honored the Miracle Mets of 1969, bringing back many of the players who set the standard for what all teams of all sports compare to as the ultimate in improbable championships.

Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Cleon Jones, Wayne Garrett, Jerry Koosman, Ed Kranepool, Jerry Grote, Ron Swoboda, Gary Gentry, Ron Taylor, Duffy Dyer - and even Ralph Kiner and good ole Yogi Berra were all present to remininsce about the greatest season in baseball history. Despite how poorly this franchise currently is run, at least we Met fans have that to cling to - Yankee fans can't say that. The '69 Mets were (and remain) the best story ever... no other team can lay claim to that. Yesterday was a day to remind us why we're Met fans, and it couldn't have been better seeing old heros. (and old heros aging gracefully at that!)

It was the first time all season that I wished I were there at Citi Field rather than watch the game on TV. But watching it on TV definitely had its perks, as so many of the 69 team where brought into the broadcast booth to share a few interesting stories with Keith, Ron, and Gary in the booth. None better than Cleon Jones, who finally "came clean" about what really happened during the infamous "Gil Hodges" incident. (turns out he wasn't being repremanded at all!). And you gotta love Ralph Kiner, still doing great at age 87 and who had the line of the day. After Cleon wouldn't stop talking and kept the broadcast team from going to a commercial break, Kiner quipped that after doing "Kiners Korner" for all those years, he couldn't get Cleon to say a word!

Big kudos for the Mets for arranging such a great day, a far cry from the organization that doesn't do Oldtimers Day anymore because it's quote "too much work".

As Omar Minaya said: "I think it's great of the way it went on that because of the facts of the situation makes you understand the way it was doing at the time only because you gotta wonder about the way it was going on and not because of what someone might think of what you actually do".... Thanks Omar for your clear and concise analysis.

And as fitting as the final score of the game was (4-1, perhaps in honor of Tom Seaver?), the 2009 Mets are anything but the 1969 team. And Jerry Manuel is anything but the genious that was Gil Hodges. Manuel's latest headscratcher came when he lifted Tim Redding after the fifth inning, having allowed just 1 hit against a Philly team he mysteriously seems to own. Was anyone in the ballpark surprised when it took Redding's replacement Pat Misch exactly two batters to lose the shutout, the lead, and the game?!?!

You have a guy pitching a career game like he's never pitched before, against a team he usually has success against and Manuel takes him out after 5 innings?!!? I never thought I'd ever say this, but why couldn't he have left Redding in the game? Plus he only threw 81 pitches - it couldn't be the pitchcount. Maybe Manuel just didn't want to win the game...

The 40th anniversay celebration of the 1969 championship team was AWesome. The actual game the fans saw afterwards was AWful. And in stark contrast of the optimism that followed '69 for Met fans, we're faced today with exactly the opposite moving forward now that Fred Wilpon has officially decreed that both Omar and Manuel will be back for next season, as per Joel Sherman's column in today's New York Post.

Remind me again why we're Met fans? I'm rooting for Pedro today

There Is No Crying In Baseball ...

2009-08-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Since the music references have been such a hit, I thought that I would head in another direction by taking us all to the movies. So, get your popcorn and soda ready 'cause here we go. Even with the way of the world is today, there are still many adults, especially in sports, who cannot help but act like babies, and Gary Sheffield, you really take the cake. More on this later.

Let's begin. First there is no crying in baseball, but if you were to cry, here is a list of reasons as a Mets fan that we would have to let the tears flow: A minor league that couldn't beat my 12-year old niece's team... a whole bunch of players bite the dust before the season even gets into full swing..., then there is a manager who tries to mix and match, and at times adds a little patchwork to a line-up he has no idea how to make work..., then there is a general manager who can't seem to come up with a halfway decent solution to the problems that he is actually hired to take care of..., then let us not forget the crack medical staff, or should that be a medical staff that is on crack. As a Mets fan, it has become difficult to figure that one out.

I mean come on, without the medical degrees, we even knew not to fly Ryan Church with a concussion across the country. That should have given all a heads up to what the future was going to bring. With all the millions spent, wouldn't you think that someone should be able to tell us something about the condition of most of the players? Yet here we are, still getting different stories not just every week, but every day.

Now, the biggest reason to cry if we allowed ourselves to, is for an ownership that is inept at running a professional baseball operation. An ownership that many fans have been clamoring for to sell the team to someone who knows something, anything, about baseball. The way this organization has been run over the last few years, you can see that those in the front office clearly have no idea what they are doing.

Now to Mr. Sheffield. With all the baseball that you have played, with all the money you have made, and with all of the accolades that you have received over the years, one would think by now that you would have learned or at least developed some sort of common sense. Like I mentioned before, many people are having a hard time out here, the team has been steadily heading into the abyss, players falling to the wayside, literally almost everyday, and you cry and take yourself out of the line-up because management won't sign you? Hey Mr. Sheffield: they do not have to sign you. ... I think it is about time you grew up ... seriously, it is not too late.

Same As It Ever Was

2009-08-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

And you may ask yourself, well..., how did I get here?

All these years we could have been Yankee fans. But instead, we continue to subject ourselves to the torture that is these New York Mets. How did it get to this point?!?

Just when we spoke about the offense un-retiring after an 8-run inning the night before, lo and behold, Bobby Parnell ALLOWED eight runs in the second inning to the Braves en route to a 15-2 shellacking at home. You can't argue with The Talking Heads regarding the play of this team:

Same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...
SAME AS IT EVER WAS!!!

Pity the poor people who actually had to pay to see it. As the Mets marched out batting practice pitchers Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, Tim Redding, and Sean Green, the Citi Field faithful had 2 hours and 54 minutes to sit back in their seats, enjoy a nice cold beverage, hopefully maybe catch a foul ball and perhaps start to wonder what they were doing in the ballpark in the first place. Mets management won't say it, but MetsFanClub.com will: we're sorry.

We're sorry you had to endure that. And if there were any justice in the game, you'd all get refunds for this one. But alas... $60 per ticket, $20 to park, $40 per person for food, $190 for a jersey at the Team Store...

And you may say to yourself, My God..., what have I done!?

New York Favorite Returns From Retirement

2009-08-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

No, no... not Brett Favre. We're talking about the Mets offense!

After a lifeless 10-1 loss to the Giants on Monday night with Livan Hernandez on the mound (talk about a guy who needs a retirement!), the Mets bounced back by putting up an 8-spot in the fourth inning to beat the Braves 9-4 last night. More amazingly, the Mets were down 4-0 before the fourth inning even started.

Angel Pagan began the inning with an infield single followed by Luis Castillo's single to right. Gary Sheffield then hit a Citi Field double scoring both of them. As Daniel Murphy grounded out, Sheff moved to third. With Jeff Francoeur up next, all any Met fan really wanted was a sac-fly, but Francoeur smoked a double to score Sheffield, and Francoeur scored afterwards on Fernando Tatis' single to left to tie the score at 4.

Of course with Oliver Perez on the hill, everyone in the ballpark and watching at home (which weren't many), knew the Mets needed more runs. So after an Omir Santos single, Anderson Hernandez singled to score Tatis with the go-ahead run. Perez helped his cause with a clean single to load the bases for Angel Pagan, who grounded into a fielder's choice to score Santos and stole second base on the very next pitch.

Finally, Castillo singled to score both Hernandez and Pagan and the Mets had their 8 runs. And it could have been more because after another Sheffield double, Daniel Murphy stepped up to the plate with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Alas, a strikeout ended the magical inning.

The 10 hits in the inning set a Mets record as the team matched a season high for hits (17), all without the benefit of a home run. The Mets homerun ability remains retired for now.

Ollie Perez was the recipient of the un-retired offense, helping him win for the first time in seven starts dating back to July 8th against the Dodgers. The key question now is whether the Mets bats can stay unretired for the foreseeable future - especially this weekend when Philadelphia (and Pedro Martinez) comes into town for a 4-game set. But in the meantime, tonight's game should be interesting to see what Bobby Parnell can do as a starting pitcher.