Last night, I had a dream. I had an awesome dream. The Mets were in first place, and a Mets pitcher not named Santana was leading all of baseball in ERA. This despite the fact that, as a team, they...
Understanding that hindsight is 20/20, much of the blame for the present travails of the Mets falls squarely on personnel decisions that should have been dealt with very differently. We will never now for sure which decisions can be attributed...
Nationals 5 - Mets 2 I'm not trying to do a ton of game analysis this season. I try to get something with some thoughts on each game, but my work schedule doesn't allow me to post after games in...
Nationals 4 - Mets 3 One of the bigger questions for the Mets this year is which Oliver Perez will show up -- the good Ollie, who can be a dominating left-handed pitcher, or the bad Ollie, who doesn't have...
Updated Sunday, April 11, 2010 Oliver Perez (0-1) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/10WAS5.24446406.351.41LL April (1 Game)5.24446406.351.410-10-1 Season (1 Game)5.24446406.351.410-10-1 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April15.76.49.56.40.06.35.190.320.286 Season15.76.49.56.40.06.35.190.320.286 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only writer...
Updated Sunday, April 11, 2010 Mike Pelfrey (1-0) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/9WAS62246403.001.33WW April (1 Game)62246403.001.331-01-0 Season (1 Game)62246403.001.331-01-0 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April16.06.06.06.00.03.00.182.308.318 Season16.06.06.06.00.03.00.182.308.318 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only writer...
Updated Sunday, April 11, 2010 John Niese (0-1) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/8FLA61145204.501.67LL April (1 Game)63383204.501.670-10-1 Season (1 Game)63383204.501.670-10-1 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April16.012.04.53.00.04.50.308.357.462 Season16.012.04.53.00.04.50.308.357.462 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only writer...
Updated Sunday, April 11, 2010 John Maine (0-0) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/7FLA61145207.201.80LND April (1 Game)54483127.201.800-10-0 Season (1 Game)54483127.201.800-10-0 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April15.014.45.41.83.67.20.364.391.682 Season15.014.45.41.83.67.20.364.391.682 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only writer...
Updated Monday, April 12, 2010 Johan Santana (1-1) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/5FLA61145201.501.00WW 4/11WAS55553319.001.60LL April (2 Games)116698514.911.271-11-1 Season (2 Games)116698514.911.271-11-1 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April25.57.46.54.10.84.91.231.318.410 Season25.57.46.54.10.84.91.231.318.410 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only...
Mets 8 - Nationals 2 All of the hand-wringing over Mike Pelfrey's spring numbers can come stop, at least for a few days, as Pelfrey delivered a solid 6 inning effort in his first game that counts. That split-fingered change...
Marlins 3 - Mets 1 Jon Niese looked pretty good in his first start, but the Mets left their bats at home last night. I was impressed how much mileage Niese got out of his fastball and cutter last night....
Marlins 7 - Mets 6 (10) There were several different story lines running through this one -- the offense was pretty bad, some dumb plays on the bases, and the Marlins bullpen looks a little shaky in the early going....
Low Expectations May Be the Elixer For the first time in several campaigns, no one picks the Mets the win the NL East and few pick them for the NL Wild Card. Perhaps we have been blessed by the lowering...
Mets 7 - Marlins 1 I was at Opening Day yesterday thanks to Dana Brand, the author of the wonderful The Last Days of Shea. The sun was shining, the temperature was comfortable, and for at least a day we...
Thanks to George Vecsey for yet another condescending piece on the Mets from the New York Times. I used to enjoy the Times' sports coverage once upon a time, but there is a certain arrogance to it now that makes...
The news is out on the latest round of cuts, and they pretty well clarify the bullpen the Mets are going north with: Francisco Rodriguez (R) Ryota Igarashi (R) Jenrry Mejia (R) Sean Green (R) Fernando Nieve (R) Hisanori Takahashi...
Before I get into the meat of this piece I'd like to offer a quick apology for the sporadic posting. The "part-time job" that I started working early this month has developed into a 6 day a week more than...
Sorry for disappearing on you for a few days. On top of work I was trying to write something on my concern with the way the Mets are handling top prospect Jenrry Mejia. I do think it's a mistake that...
Two-thirds through spring training and halfway through the exhibition schedule, things are not so bad in Metsville. In fact, things are pretty darn interesting. Can the Mets contend? Sure. Can they win the East? Only if a lot goes well...
Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets By Greg W. Prince Hardcover, 320 pages, Skyhorse Publishing I'm going to start off this review with a disclaimer. Thanks to a Federal Trade Commission rule...
Despite the fact that he has made only one spring training start we here at Mike's Mets are ready to completely give up on Oliver Perez. Sure, at first we actually were impressed that Perez was pitching with better balance...
When I decided to start blogging again early last month I felt that my starting point would have to be the Mets' bizarre hot stove strategy of allowing almost all of their targeted free agents to sign with other teams...
Back in high school there were always a few people who liked to instigate fights. They would go up to a guy and ask, "Did you hear what Jimmy is saying about you?" He'd say something back, which of...
In his Daily Scoop column today at SI.com, Jon Heyman doesn't travel very far out on a limb when he pronounces Mets manager Jerry Manuel as "on the hot seat." I'm going to preface what I say next by noting...
[Note: This is the conclusion of a 2-part article. For Part 1 of this article, please click here.] For all appearances, the Mets operated this past winter without a real plan. Despite claiming that they were putting together a...
I'm still trying to finish Part 2 of my Looking Back, Looking Ahead post. Hopefully I will have it up Sunday night, possibly Monday. I've been spending a lot of time job hunting this week and that has cut...
Going into this winter I thought that the Mets had too many question marks to consider themselves a player or two away from being legit contenders, particularly with the Phillies and Braves looking solid. There were some pundits and...
I received an email earlier this week from a blogger from StalkingStevePhillips.com who thought I might be interested in his take on Jayson Bay and Johnny Damon. Actually, most of the piece was on Damon, with the following on...
Sorry it took so long to get this first one posted. I haven't written much for the past few months and the words still aren't quite flowing freely. I promise we'll get to some talk about the Mets off-season soon,...
The last thing I posted in this space was a piece about Newsday's new pricing model back in mid-November. Since then, I've probably started a dozen or so posts running the gamut from the Bay signing to reaction to Mark...
Bay Play Jason Bay will be roaming the vast expanse known as left field at Citi Field for the next four seasons. While I am not particularly enamored with such a development, it should be good for the Mets for...
In the first few weeks of this off-season, while other teams scooped up free agents and the Mets did next to nothing, some fans grumbled about the team's inactivity. Now that they've signed Jason Bay, other fans are grumbling that...
As we turn the corner on another decade, the Mets find themselves at another sort of crossroad. Should (or better put--can) they go for broke, or be clever and prudent and see exactly what they have in-house? If the latter,...
In my most recent posts to this site, I lamented how the Mets in one season went from a legitimate World Series contender to a distant also-ran in the NL East. I also speculated that financial constraints would restrict the...
In my previous post, we discussed some creative tweaking of the Mets roster. Let's try to put away all the diatribe aimed at the Wilpons, Minaya and Manuel and analyze just some of the various items that must be considered...
Hot Stove has arrived and speculation runs rampant as usual. As Mets fans, we have little else to think about or cheer. So, how do Jeff and Omar set forth to right the ship? Let me throw my two cents...
Several weeks ago, I wrote that the Mets would retain Minaya and Manuel and make only enough moves to give the impression that they are trying to improve the team, with an eye on the pocketbook. Well, M and M...
We attended our last home game of the 2009 season on Friday night. It was truly bittersweet. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that this 2009 season was coming to an end. The bad news...
I'll give the Mets some credit yesterday for trying to prove to all of us that the organization is determined to fix what has been broken over the last couple of years, but it seems to me that they've already...
Just a quick note before I get started here. I want to take a minute to thank those of you who continue to support this blog despite the circumstances in my life that have led to what was essentially a...
As I watched the Mets come from behind to just about dash the Fish's dwindling playoff shot, I was surprised that it didn't mean just a little bit more to me. For two straight years the teal-clad bunch played loose...
Today is the first anniversary of the most disappointing game I ever attended at Shea stadium. To mark it, I would like to share a portion of a chapter of my new book The Last Days of Shea: Delight and...
Whether you like Daniel Murphy, as I do, or not, his 2009 season has inarguably been a disappointment. The Post's Joel Sherman went as far as identifying Murphy as "one of the key faces of the Mets' failure in 2009",...
Last night I was fortunate enough to attend a Mets game with Dana Brand, Greg Prince and Matthew Silverman. Dana was kind enough to provide the tickets and ride to the game (we live about 20 miles apart up here...
There was a lot of hoopla over Jayson Stark's "break it all down and start over" prescription for fixing the Mets at ESPN.com last week. I don't think Stark got everything wrong, but the piece read very much like it...
1B Carlos Delgado Avoids playing Lotto But he did less than zip When he messed up his hip. 2B Alex Cora Was looking to restore a Career path like his chums But alas he's all thumbs. SS Jose Reyes Likes...
I started writing this blog in August of 2005. The Mets under rookie manager Willie Randolph had treaded water around the .500 mark for most of the season, and then put a little run together in late August to force...
In the Mets' history, there have been several periods in which the Mets were barely competitive, where the attraction of going to or watching a Mets game was in hoping the underdog Mets could win and maybe knock off a...
If you don't mind, I'd like to weigh in briefly on the Sheffield situation. I read something today by the Post's Joel Sherman that I strongly disagreed with. Let me preface this by telling you that I consider Sherman one...
THE INJURY BUG BITES AGAIN The sight of Jon Niese sprawled out by the pitchers mound was as disheartening as anything we have witnessed this season. But following the freak injury to Luis Castillo the night before and Sheffield removing...
A well-penned article by Ken Belson, with assists from Ben Shpigel and Tyler Kepner, in today's NY Times is must reading for all Mets fans. It is aptly entitled: "A Disquieting Silence Envelops the Floundering Mets." Things are not going...
As yours truly struggles to find the time to pick apart this ball club, I pass along this info from Greg Prince regarding tomorrow's "Amazin' Tuesday" get together: Date: Tuesday, July 21 Location: Two Boots Tavern, 384 Grand Street (@...
Ok, I'm done drinking the Kool-Aid. I'm no longer buying what they're selling. I was a good little fan and I made it to the All Star break with the hope that come the second half of the season things...
Note: This is the first of a series of articles on the current state of the Mets. David Wright has 5 home runs in 327 AB. Of course, only 2 Mets have hit more this season -- the disabled Carlos...
Okay, we're going to try this again. My Mom is now settled in a convalescent home, but her finances are a mess. Things are still kind of nuts, but I figure if I'm ever going to get back to blogging...
With the Mets just barely treading water, Jerry Manual at the helm for a full year and the trade deadline a mere 40 days away, it's time for some fluff & games and special lists. THREE MOST IMPORTANT METS THIS...
The Mets are surely floundering, albeit gamely, without Reyes, Delgado, Pagan, Putz, Perez and Maine, among others. Perhaps the great unmentioned are the various nagging injuries to almost the entire playing roster, save a handful of younger players. Beltran, Sheffield,...
The mind-bending string of Mets injuries, which have been compounded by illnesses and a not-fully-ready-for-prime-time farm system, have altered the expectations of most dyed-in-the-wool Mets fans. So, what's the real fan supposed to do with all the new information we...
For months now I have been listening to people on sports talk radio and even some of you who comment on this blog, suggest that the Mets trade Jose Reyes. I have heard him called lazy, undisciplined, uncaring, and selfish...
Well, people, color me shocked. If someone would've told me that the Mets would be 19 - 9 in May, after having lost their starting first baseman, their starting shortstop, their starting leftfielder, one of their starting pitchers, and their...
Like our boss, Mike himself, I've been fairly quiet on the blogging scene these past few months. This is due to several factors. First, I hadn't felt inspired to add much to the conversation that hadn't already been said about...
Little has been made of the Mets ascent to first place in the NL East simply because this is a team that is constantly overanalyzed and ripped asunder to the negative. Early spring twinges in the left arm of Johan...
As I was watching last night's game against the Braves slip away from the Mets, I can't say I was all that surprised. Despite the 7-game winning streak I never had the feeling that the team had put it all...
Updated Monday, May 11, 2009 Jonathon Niese (1-0) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 5/8PIT62275003.001.17WND May (1 Games)62275003.001.171-00-0 Season (1 Games)62275003.001.171-00-0 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG May16.010.57.50.00.03.00.292.292.333 Season16.010.57.50.00.03.00.292.292.333 About Mike: I was the original writer on this web site, actually its only writer...
Game 30: Mets 8 - Pirates 4 The Mets' first true series win of the season extends their winning streak to 7 and puts them four games over .500. Last year it took the Mets until July 10 to get...
Game 29: Mets 10 - Pirates 1 Jon Maine was fairly hard on himself after this one, but I was happy to see him pitch a game with only 2 walks. Although obviously still not at his best, Maine is...
Game 28: Mets 7 - Pirates 3 I personally found the most significant number from Jon Niese's first start of the season the 67 strikes thrown out of 95 total pitches. Niese made three starts for the Mets last September,...
Game 27: Mets 7 - Phillies 5 I was somewhat amused reading around some of the Phillies sites that somehow the Phillies have left Citi Field with a moral victory. Hey, no problem, I'm happy with two wins that count...
Note: This is a conclusion to this piece posted yesterday, where I share some thoughts on the Mets 25 26 games into the season. J. J. Putz (continued) I mentioned yesterday that Putz' fastball has topped out at 92-93 mph...
Game 26: Mets 1 - Phillies 0 I'm old enough to remember all the great Mets pitchers: Seaver, Koosman, the underrated Jon Matlack and Gooden. There were many near-greats who put up some great seasons: Swan, Darling, Ojeda, El Sid,...
Now that we're caught up on all the games, I thought I'd take a few moments to share some random thoughts on the first 25 games of the season. The Backup Catcher Remember how popular Ramon Castro was here a...
Game 25: Mets 4 - Braves 3 Glass half empty: The Mets left some men on base and made a couple of bad errors, including one by Delgado in the ninth that turned it into a nail biter. Glass half...
Game 24: Mets 6 - Braves 4 The Mets were playing in Atlanta, their starter was struggling early and allowed the Braves to put a crooked number up in the second inning, and looked dead offensively against a Braves starter...
Well Ollie, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into. A 3 year, $36 million mess to be exact. And it leaves us with a huge hole to fill in an already Swiss-cheese like starting rotation. And don't think...
I'm not going to title this, "I'm Back", because I did that last week and then wasn't. Some people have been expressing concern about my lack of posting, so I thought I'd check in. I've been having some health problems...
Two weeks after sounding an early alarm on the 2009 Mets season, I am still waiting and hoping to be proved wrong. The lineup still NEVER gets a big hit, and when Santana isn't pitching the rotation is below average....
I have heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If this is the case, I am clearly insane. I watch each and every Mets game...
I received a text from one of my sons in the 7th inning of Thursday night's game that said, "I wish I wasn't a Mets fan". I answered the only way I possibly could. I simply typed the words "I'm...
Game 13: Cardinals 6 - Mets 4 Several things have contributed to the light posting by me the last couple of weeks. One is ongoing personal health issues, another is related to my Mom's health problems, and I've also been...
I can't believe I am actually going to type this, but...nobody panic. I realize it is difficult to control the impulse to do just that, given the army of men the Mets have left on base, our recent history, and...
Game 12: Brewers 4 - Mets 2 I know I'm late with this, but I'm posting it with a link to the box score for archive purposes. Regular posting will resume Wednesday. I will not do a stats page for...
Game 11: Mets 1 - Brewers 0 I don't know what's more amazing -- the fact that Johan Santana has only given up 2 earned runs in three starts or that if he allowed another 4 runs in those three...
Game 10: Mets 5 - Brewers 4 This game featured important roles for three players for whom I have some concern. Livan Hernandez had a good first outing against the Marlins, and looked good for about 4 innings last night....
Game 9: Padres 6 - Mets 5 Sorry to be so late with this. I've been pushing myself way too hard lately, and wound up passing out on the couch last night. I'm tempted to make something out of the...
Not much time for a big post today, so here's a quick look at how some of the Mets minor league prospects closest to the majors have been faring in the early going. Buffalo (AAA) OF Fernando Martinez: .267/.353/.567, 1...
Game 8: Mets 7 - Padres 2 It wasn't the most electric stuff I've ever seen from Oliver Perez, but he pitched intelligently and under control. During the game both Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez were very complimentary of the...
It is no secret that I don't do well with change. I also was not one of the legions of people screaming for a new stadium. Shea was my home. I grew up there. Pete grew up there. Our marriage...
In 2006 the Mets won 50 games at Shea Stadium and 47 on the road en route to a 97 win season. The following year, the Mets road record was 47-34 -- identical to the previous season. The difference between...
Game 7: Padres 6 - Mets 5 I was driving around listening to this game on the radio while running some errands last night. When I got home I sat down and tried to write this piece and just didn't...
Editor's Note: This is Michael Simon's first contribution to this site. - M.S. The season is less than a week old, but I can't help thinking that these are the same Mets we will be watching for the next 6...
Game 6: Marlins 2 - Mets 1 Not really much to say about this one. I had a bunch of people over for Easter and could only sneak away every so often to peek in on this game. I didn't...
Game 5: Mets 8 - Marlins 4 Sorry I didn't get something up on this last night. Unlike last year, I've been trying to get these short game pieces up fairly quickly so that people can gloat, vent or otherwise...
Updated Monday, May 11, 2009 Livan Hernandez (3-1) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/11@FLA6.22264302.701.35WW 4/17MIL54473017.201.40WND 4/23@STL4.177901314.542.31LL 4/28FLA5.13335215.060.94LND April (4 Games)21.116162512656.751.452-21-1 DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 5/5@ATL6.11172201.421.42WW 5/10PIT62275403.001.83WW May (2 Games)12.133147602.191.622-02-0 Season (6 Games)33.2191939191255.081.514-23-1 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April45.310.55.12.52.16.75.298.341.500 May26.210.25.14.40.02.19.318.392.409 Season65.610.45.13.21.35.08.305.359.469 About Mike: I...
Game 4: Marlins 5 - Mets 4 Tough one tonight. I guess some will harp on the fact that Maine allowed those two solo home runs, but I came away from his 5-inning stint fairly satisfied. Hopefully it's something he...
Updated Monday, May 11, 2009 John Maine (3-2) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/10@FLA52225123.600.60LND 4/16SDP566743010.802.00LL 4/22@STL5.25572507.942.12LL 4/27FLA61014300.000.67WW April (4 Games)21.2141317151225.401.341-31-2 DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 5/4@ATL63337604.501.50WW 5/9PIT61133211.500.83WW May (2 Games)1244610813.001.172-02-0 Season (6 Games)33.2181723252034.541.283-33-2 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April45.47.16.25.00.85.40.218.326.346 May26.04.57.56.00.83.00.150.306.250 Season65.66.16.75.30.84.54.195.319.314 About Mike: I...
Before I get into today's rant, I'd like to take a moment to pass along news from Lynn Cohen that GaryKeithandRon.com has just come out with a cool new Ralph Kiner t-shirt. According to Lynn: Just in at GaryKeithandRon.com comes...
Game 3: Reds 8 - Mets 6 I didn't catch this afternoon's game. So how did Ollie do? Just kidding. As I'm sure you know by now, after a couple of promising innings, Oliver Perez reverted back to the struggling...
Updated Sunday, May 03, 2009 Oliver Perez (1-2) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/9@CIN4.188575116.622.31LL 4/15SDP61134201.500.83WW 4/21@STL4.24464507.711.93LND 4/26WAS4.177933214.542.77LL April (4 Games)19.1202023181539.311.971-31-2 DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 5/2@PHI2.144526015.434.71LND May (1 Game)2.144282021315.434.710-10-0 Season (4 Games)21.2242428202139.972.261-41-2 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April44.810.78.47.01.49.31.295.411.462 May12.319.37.723.10.015.43.455.611.818 Season54.311.68.38.71.29.97.315.442.506 About Mike: I was...
Game 2: Mets 9 - Reds 7 I had an ugly feeling of déjà vu watching the last few innings of this one. I can't say all that surprised, though, particularly by Frankie Rodriguez in the ninth. I've seen him...
Updated Friday, May 08, 2009 Mike Pelfrey (4-0) DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 4/8@CIN54452417.201.80WW 4/13SDP55583229.002.00LND 4/25WAS5.22261303.181.59WW April (3 Games)15.21111196936.321.792-12-0 DateOpp.IPRERHKBBHRERAWHIPTeamResultPitcher Result 5/1@PHI5.13370405.061.59WW 5/7PHI73380113.861.29WW May (2 Games)12.166150514.381.622-02-0 Season (5 Games)2817173461445.461.714-14-0 Month By Month MonthStartsIP/StartH/9K/9BB/9HR/9ERAAVGOBPSLG April35.210.93.45.21.76.32.306.394.532 May26.210.90.03.60.74.38.306.382.408 Season55.610.91.94.51.35.46.306.389.477 About Mike: I was...
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