When the Mets started the season 0-5, it was, to me, more of the same.Then they won six in a row and I was stunned. As with all streaks, it ended and they suddenly couldn
4 thoughts on “Who Are These Guys?”
What I always loved about Mets baseball was their come from behind way of winning games. Back in 2003, when they were 0-2 in the World Series against the Yankees, I explained to everyone who cared that the Mets had the Yankees just where they wanted them, lulled into a false sense of security. Sure enough, the Mets won the very next game, stopping the Yankees winning streak of World Series games. It didn’t matter that the Mets ended up losing the Series; they had stopped the Yankees from achieving a shutout, and that was all that counted.
I’m very much enjoying this season of Mets baseball. Go Mets!
I have a feeling what we’ve seen with the Mets is what we’re going to get- a .500 team. I think they’ve been put together to be a streaky team. They have a decent offense- Beltran is a big addition and if Reyes can stay healthy he’ll be a tremendous table setter. As you pointed out, Piazza is getting old, Floyd is injury prone, and Wright and Matsui are unproven. They’re starting pitching will be good if Benson can come back from injury and Zambrano can find the strike zone. Their defense is better with Doug M (not even going to bother to try and spell it!) and Reyes and Matsui’s swap. I think their relief pitching is a HUGE issue… I remain cautiously optomistic, but they have a real tough division…Also- I can’t tell you how great it is to have a real Mets fan writing! I am sick of people in my area (CT) thinking there are only two teams in the Majors. Ever since you named a Starfleet officer after Benny Agbayani in your Gateways book, I’ve been impressed…
Well,Bob, I haven’t been to an Opening Day game since Ron Marz left the area–and the first stop on the way to Shea on those days always seemed to be your office! But, Ron says he’s coming back, so next year, who knows?…But just because I wasn’t sitting in the stands doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention. The last few years have been miserable, but I never realized quite how bad they were until the new guys went on that six game winning streak–now, THAT’S excitement! Watching the Shea Opening Day intros, though, I was struck by how only six of those players were in that very same position a year earlier (plus Trachsel and Cameron, of course–and half a dozen of those toeing the chalk line joined the team mid-season, but still, that’s an impressive turnover–and so far, it seems to be working. The only player I REALLY miss is Jason Phillips, who always seemed so likable, and, especially his first year, capable of hitting the ball awful hard. I hope he blossoms as LA’s number one guy…)Elsewise, I think you’re a little too harsh on Piazza. Not so much the over the hill bit, but I never saw him as a selfish player. Maybe not a gung ho, take charge leader, granted, but not someone who put himself in front of his team either. So he wanted the catcher’s record for home runs–can you blame him? Otherwise, I see him as good guy–and not a whiff of steroid scandal stench hovering about him either!I LOVE that new first baseman, though–he fields, he hits, he talks! Slick fielder who’s always good for a quote–and has a nice swing to boot! I’m thinking maybe Delgado did us a favor!Keep watching, Bob, and I’ll keep checking in as the season progresses!Fred
When I signed up for my Yahoo! league (sorry you aren’t playing, Bob!) I entered the contest for a front office job with the SF Giants. There was an essay question asking entrants to identify the two teams that made the best moves over the past winter. One of the teams I chose was the Mets. Beltran obviously is a plus, but Mientkiewicz is a great defensive first baseman and he’ll anchor a very good defensive infield. And while Pedro Martinez won’t last the four years for which the Mets are paying him, he’s going to anchor the staff like Tom Glavine didn’t. He’ll be like George Foster was to the early 1980s Mets… just the guy to bring them to the point where they can develop some good young players to take over. (Although I always thought the Mets management screwed Foster, getting rid of him mid-1986, just as they might have sent him off with a World Series ring.)I also said the Diamondbacks had a good winter, pointing to the Randy Johnson trade as a great move. Johnson could win 20 for the Yanks, but I think he’s got a bigger chance of going 6-11 for the Yankees than Javier Vazquez has of stinking it up for the Diamondbacks.Of course, if you ever come out to Seattle for the comic or science fiction conventions they seem to have here, I’ll be happy to show you the Mariners at Taxpayer Stadium. It’s a nice park. Shea must go.
What I always loved about Mets baseball was their come from behind way of winning games. Back in 2003, when they were 0-2 in the World Series against the Yankees, I explained to everyone who cared that the Mets had the Yankees just where they wanted them, lulled into a false sense of security. Sure enough, the Mets won the very next game, stopping the Yankees winning streak of World Series games. It didn’t matter that the Mets ended up losing the Series; they had stopped the Yankees from achieving a shutout, and that was all that counted.
I’m very much enjoying this season of Mets baseball. Go Mets!
I have a feeling what we’ve seen with the Mets is what we’re going to get- a .500 team. I think they’ve been put together to be a streaky team. They have a decent offense- Beltran is a big addition and if Reyes can stay healthy he’ll be a tremendous table setter. As you pointed out, Piazza is getting old, Floyd is injury prone, and Wright and Matsui are unproven. They’re starting pitching will be good if Benson can come back from injury and Zambrano can find the strike zone. Their defense is better with Doug M (not even going to bother to try and spell it!) and Reyes and Matsui’s swap. I think their relief pitching is a HUGE issue… I remain cautiously optomistic, but they have a real tough division…Also- I can’t tell you how great it is to have a real Mets fan writing! I am sick of people in my area (CT) thinking there are only two teams in the Majors. Ever since you named a Starfleet officer after Benny Agbayani in your Gateways book, I’ve been impressed…
Well,Bob, I haven’t been to an Opening Day game since Ron Marz left the area–and the first stop on the way to Shea on those days always seemed to be your office! But, Ron says he’s coming back, so next year, who knows?…But just because I wasn’t sitting in the stands doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention. The last few years have been miserable, but I never realized quite how bad they were until the new guys went on that six game winning streak–now, THAT’S excitement! Watching the Shea Opening Day intros, though, I was struck by how only six of those players were in that very same position a year earlier (plus Trachsel and Cameron, of course–and half a dozen of those toeing the chalk line joined the team mid-season, but still, that’s an impressive turnover–and so far, it seems to be working. The only player I REALLY miss is Jason Phillips, who always seemed so likable, and, especially his first year, capable of hitting the ball awful hard. I hope he blossoms as LA’s number one guy…)Elsewise, I think you’re a little too harsh on Piazza. Not so much the over the hill bit, but I never saw him as a selfish player. Maybe not a gung ho, take charge leader, granted, but not someone who put himself in front of his team either. So he wanted the catcher’s record for home runs–can you blame him? Otherwise, I see him as good guy–and not a whiff of steroid scandal stench hovering about him either!I LOVE that new first baseman, though–he fields, he hits, he talks! Slick fielder who’s always good for a quote–and has a nice swing to boot! I’m thinking maybe Delgado did us a favor!Keep watching, Bob, and I’ll keep checking in as the season progresses!Fred
When I signed up for my Yahoo! league (sorry you aren’t playing, Bob!) I entered the contest for a front office job with the SF Giants. There was an essay question asking entrants to identify the two teams that made the best moves over the past winter. One of the teams I chose was the Mets. Beltran obviously is a plus, but Mientkiewicz is a great defensive first baseman and he’ll anchor a very good defensive infield. And while Pedro Martinez won’t last the four years for which the Mets are paying him, he’s going to anchor the staff like Tom Glavine didn’t. He’ll be like George Foster was to the early 1980s Mets… just the guy to bring them to the point where they can develop some good young players to take over. (Although I always thought the Mets management screwed Foster, getting rid of him mid-1986, just as they might have sent him off with a World Series ring.)I also said the Diamondbacks had a good winter, pointing to the Randy Johnson trade as a great move. Johnson could win 20 for the Yanks, but I think he’s got a bigger chance of going 6-11 for the Yankees than Javier Vazquez has of stinking it up for the Diamondbacks.Of course, if you ever come out to Seattle for the comic or science fiction conventions they seem to have here, I’ll be happy to show you the Mariners at Taxpayer Stadium. It’s a nice park. Shea must go.