I STILL Don't Know How We Won That Game

There I was...writing the recap for Rising Apple when all of a sudden Daniel Murphy hits a 2-run home run.

You can see the vitriol I was swimming in from the beginning of the piece...and you can see where I was utterly amazed that the Mets showed any life at all. I actually wrote, "Then...wow, Daniel Murphy hit a 2-run home run."

I think the play of the 9th inning, other than the Murph jumpstart, was the Bobby Abreu ball off Chase Utley's glove. If you didn't see the play, well, Chase basically over-dove it. Chase could have easily made that play. Way to make contact there, Bobby, 'cause with the amount of LOB we had this weekend (Over 35), clearly we hadn't been making enough contact with runners on and less than 2 out.

And gotta give it to Ruben Tejada, for swinging at a 1st-pitch fastball, something they don't often do on this team, and lining it into left. He's been in the doghouse, so way to come through.

Honorable mention in this piece has to go to Chris Young as well, who got two key hits late, and put some good swings on the ball for those hits.

So, my frustration was cooled a bit. Just a bit. Do I still think that Terry Collins shouldn't be the manager of this team at some point, and sooner rather than later? Absolutely, and my friend Danny Abriano speaks for me in this piece right here. But it was nice for a nice Mother's Day surprise after taking care of it last Father's Day. And HEY! We were a much better team the rest of the season after that...maybe it happened a little earlier this year...you know...before we are 15 games under .500....

So, now we head to the Bronx to take on those Yankees. We are 17-19. They are 19-17. Interesting. Zack Wheeler will take on Carlos Beltran at some point. And maybe Curtis Granderson can REALLY turn it on by practicing in his old stomping grounds. Though I always expect that the Yanks will take more advantage of their joke of a ballpark than we do, but then again, we are riding a 4-game winning streak against the team! But Fastball-Bartolo in that ballpark frightens me...

Time to take the 4 train, True New Yorkers.

LET'S. GO. NL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

Grievance Schmievance

Late last night, there was some bit of Metsian news when it was reported that Ruben Tejada may file a grievance against the team for gypping him one day of service time which would have extended his free agency by a year (2016 vs. 2017). 

For more on this matter, please head over to Rising Apple, which covers all you need to know about this story if you haven't yet brushed up on it this Monday Morning.

I have a lot to try to fit in today, so I'm not writing too many words regarding the matter. I don't necessarily take any side as that sarcastic headline would make you believe, I just have to not spend too much time on the Mets today (which, let's be honest, I'll probably end up doing when we find out later in the day that Bobby Bonilla and Dave Kingman are having a demon baby together...wait, what?)

Anyway, here's the Random Nothing of the Day.

(Oh, YEAH! One more thing: Official Baseball Historian John Thorn will be on the Bedford & Sullivan Podcast at 6:30PM ET to discuss the roots of baseball in Brooklyn. So, yeah, there's that as well. Tune in then!)

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

Oh, What to Do at Shortstop?

Yesterday, the Star Ledger's Jorge Castillo reported that the Mets have reached out to Rafael Furcal, which totally makes sense, even if that's not the direction I hope they go.

It's the time of year where we are going to hear a bunch of "reached out to" and "met with" as everybody tries to fill the blank pages of the ever-darker-colder days of the non-baseball year.

And as Danny Abriano and I over at Rising Apple wrote, Stephen Drew or Jhonny Peralta make more sense than the declining range and overall skill of "I-actually-wasn't-born-in-the-80's-like-I-originally-made-you-believe" Furcal.

Ruben Tejada impressed me for a time with how well he was at getting the barrel of the bat to the ball and line-driving it, but then all of a sudden he took his security for granted and apparently drew the ire of the Mets folks with a bad work ethic. That's not cool, dude.

Us Mets fans got spoiled when Jose Reyes was the shortstop for 9 seasons, but a defensive-sounded .250 hitter with grit, ala Rafael Santana, isn't a bad route to go. So, Stephen Drew could make a lot of sense, though he should have hit better over the course of his career (right?)

Clearly, it's not just Mets fans who give up too easily on a player like Ruben, but no offense to the kid, we need to shore up the long-term solution sooner rather than later, and if you haven't figured out over the course of 3 seasons that you need to work hard to not only get better everyday but KEEP your job as well, then I don't know what to tell you, Tejada. As I said on a Rising Apple Report podcast recently, it would behoove him to get some Winter Ball ABs after he fully heals from his broken leg injury.

Anyway, I have to take my lil sis to school and then write the Rising Apple Eric Young, Jr. Season in Review.

Here's a Morning Random Song (since I already posted a Late-Night one...)

SHORE. UP. SHORTSTOP.

LET'S. GO. METS.

(Alright...maybe not so Random this time...)

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

So, uh...what's with catchers hitting?

I didn't know they DID that.

Great job by Anthony Recker in his first start as a Met. Got us on the board after no at bats all week. When your main catcher is going so well, clearly you're going to keep him goin'. But Recker did exactly what you want your back-up catcher to do. Now, I'd like to see Terry get him some pinch-hit at-bats, without then inserting him into the catching position to keep Buck in the game. With the potential power Recker has, Phillie would be good looks for him in the pinch-hitting role this week.


Murph. That is all.

What is so interesting about Ruben Tejada running for 3rd in the 9th inning was that I thought he was a dead duck. The thing about being aggressive, and especially on weaker arms, is that their composure might be torn. And the throw was nowhere near being converted into an out.

That Jose Fernandez was nasty, and had the Mets in their first looks completely off balance.

Had the bullpen not done their job, we would most likely not be talking about a Mets 7-run come-from-behind win. Nice job by the whole team to put together the W.

Byrd might not ever hit like he used to, but the way Terry is mixing and matching, everyone might end up doing their part. Great hit, and nice job taking advantage of the oddly-brought-in infield.


Looking forward to the 1st Phillie series of the year. I'm not hesitant to say we have the edge in the opener with Matt Harvey going against Roy Halladay, but of course maybe we should be weary of being too overconfident every time Matt Harvey takes the mound this early in his career. And maybe we should be weary of being too overconfident that Roy Halladay won't figure out how to be crafty without his velocity by the time he faces the Mets.

But then again...

LET'S. GO. METS

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A Couple Wins...But More Importantly - Baseball

I've been going on and on how awesome it is baseball is back so early, and of course I forgot it was a 12 'o Clock start time on Saturday. So, I missed Ruben Tejada's 1st inning home run off Stephen Strasburg. I DVRed the rest of it, and crazily (like I'm sure so many other Mets fans) didn't fast forward (once the DVR stopped glitching.)

I'm not gonna elaborately recap it for you or jot down my notes like I did last year (but that was just me settling into blogging.)

For a recap of the first spring game of the year, check it out at Rising Apple here.

And for a recap of Sunday's Split-Squad games, here is where you'll want to click.

........ok, I slightly lied. I'm gonna over-analyze the first games a bit.

Marlon Byrd is a real sleeper in my eyes. He looks determined and ready to win a job after a lackluster 2012, which included a 50-game suspension for PEDs. A Quote From Ted states that Byrd started training with Victor Conte, and was a firm advocate for Conte's changed way, or something along those lines. And then he got busted for PEDs. Though, according to this USA Today article from when Byrd got suspended, Conte might have had nothing to do with it and it was all one of those "careless" moments that we never factor into our thinking when it comes to these 50-game suspensions being handed down. The Human Element and how stupid and absent-minded we can sometimes be (sorry, MANY times) gets completely thrown out of the equation when these news items pop up.

Am I advocating PEDs? No.

All I'm saying is that not every case is the same.

Anyway, Byrd seems like s perfect candidate for, maybe not Comeback Player of the Year, but something along those lines. I pose a question to you all.

What kind of production would be worth Marlon Byrd as the starting right fielder?

If I were to see a line of .260 15HR 75RBI at the end of the year, that would be MORE than enough production out of that spot. And for those of you who are already calling the outfield "devastating," I'm sure you would take even less than that from of a starting Marlon Byrd.

He will certainly be a very interesting storyline to follow throughout the Spring.

Here's a Kevin Burkhardt interview with the man.




Then there is the case of Collin Cowgill.

Another sleeper for sure.

He's got speed, he's got aggression, he's got determination and he's got guts. Sandy might have pulled off quite the under the radar trade that the people who haven't been paying attention will find out soon how under the radar it actually was. With a lack of opportunity at his fingertips in Oakland, the timing might just be right for him to blossom as a New York Met.

Here's Metsblog's Michael Baron interviewing Cowgill.



Anyway, there were of course many other takeaways from the weekend that was the first taste of Mets baseball we have gotten in a while. But I'm going to stop with the potentials for the outfield. No need to go on about The Duda's 0-7 or Matt Harvey's Spring Debut, or Cory Mazzoni's solid outing, or Dillon back from the shoulder surgery.

Let's just soak up the early baseball...

And love the amount coming up next several months.

For those that weren't able to watch the televised game, watch the following videos for no other reason than to see Mets uniforms on grass once more.

There's Ruben's home run.

And Shaun Marcum's Mets Debut, with a snazzy Ike Davis defensive play to boot.

Not to mention Wheeler's ML Camp Debut.

And of course Cowgill's heads up play.

INHALE. EXHALE.
BASEBALL'S. BACK.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

That Spring Feeling Starts a-Callin'

Though pitchers and catchers don't officially report till next Monday, the usual early birds are makin' us a little warmer than the 20-something degrees it is currently.

Mr. Met has done his annual photo-op.

Zack Wheeler is already throwing down there.

David Wright is in the cages.

Gee sans a winter goatee is workin' back into game shape.

John Buck is gettin' some swings in as well.

And Travis d'Arnaud is stoked to get things going.

Meanwhile, Ike sounds refreshed.

Michael Bourn has yet to sign, though our captain extended an invite.

Our man Tejada is reporting to PSL early (as opposed to last year) and Jenrry and Jeurys's roles are more defined.

...I can almost smell the grass through the occasional flurries that pass by...

(Oh, and Danny Abriano got an interview with Michael Fulmer, a prospect we are all keeping an eye on.)

Here's the Random Song of the Night.

FIVE. MORE. DAYS. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

Soaking up the 162nd

In the middle of the last Orange and Blue game of the season, I heard of Josh Hamilton's mishap in Oakland, CA, that not only capped his team giving up a 4-run lead they had early, but capped the crazy charge those A's had down the stretch to yank the division from Texas' grasp. I decided to put the game on my dad's Ipad and spent the rest of the Mets' win with OAK/TEX in the foreground with the volume down. I couldn't even hear how crazy the crowd was, but I could certainly see it; A sold out sea of Green and Yellow cheering as loud as they could for their Amazin' A's.

The Mets game had many highlights (which I will probably watch on loop at some point tonight.) Andres Torres homered; Jeremy Hefner continued to make his case for a role next year with another great start; Scottie Hairston got his 20th home run; Ike Davis made it an even 90 RBI with an opposite field shot for his 32nd home run of the year; Daniel Murphy made a sick snare on a hard hit ball to his left (which I wish was an mlb.com video); Ruben Tejada had a 3 for 5 day; and the bullpen didn't blow it. All great individual awesomeness that combined for the Mets' 74th win of the year.

By the time the OAK/TEX game was 2 out in the 9th, I paused Bobby Parnell in our own last inning (who had a couple crazy ricochets that got converted into outs) and turned the volume up on the West Coaster. The intensity, the excitement, the every-cliché-word-that-describes-the-Oakland-crowd in that moment was something I very much craved. I imagined that sold out sea of Green and Yellow as a crazy Citi ocean of Orange and Blue, and for the first time this September yielded to everybody else's definition of Meaningful September Baseball. I had tried to rationalize our September all...well, September, calling every game meaningful in the evaluation of every player we had. And I still believe this is the way it's supposed to be, that this is the journey this franchise is meant to be on and when we're ready for what Oakland just went through it will be that much more...Amazin'. And look how long it took the A's to get back to this point. But MAN, I wanted what they had in the worst possible way as I watched Coco Crisp grab the last out, he, his teammates and the entirety of the Oakland fanbase going absolutely insane.

After about a minute, I turned the volume back down and pressed play on our Metsies. The last handshakes and fist pounds and high fives of the year were very bittersweet, and certainly not just for every Met fan tuning into that moment. I could see how tight knit those 2012 New York Mets were as they greeted each other for the last time, a cancerous clubhouse certainly not the reason for the failings of the 2nd half.

Many highs, many lows, and many inbetweens. There will be plenty of time to process it all, but for now we say goodbye to the 50th Anniversary season of the New York Metropolitans. Thank you to the 2012 Squad for giving me memories and thrills that will last a lifetime. And thank you to each and every one of you who tuned in, supported me and pushed me further than I ever thought I would go in my first season of blogging. My life has been effected for the better by becoming this much more apart of the New York Metsian family.

We shall reconvene in the 'morrow.

LET'S. GO. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

 

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

The Spoils of 6

I ventured out to Citi Field Monday evening for the first game taken in together by a few of us Rising Apple Folk. We got tickets in the Pepsi Porch, the first time any of us had sat up there.

I certainly was dreaming of an Ike Davis Bomb, but where his 2 home runs of the evening landed sufficed. 30 home runs. Fantastic turnaround after a historically bad start.

I'm still not sure what to make of Mejia, since he had 70 pitches through 3 innings, but he settled down to go 5 shutout frames. Undecided on his role going forward, but must give props where props are due. His best Major League start so far and we were thrilled to take it in live.

It was very refreshing after my last game to have a 6 run lead for most of it, as I'm sure it was for many (oxymoron these days) Mets fans in the stands. Even though those tight games are what baseball is really all about when it comes down to it, but, at least this time around, I liked feeling a lot better about having the game in the bag.

Afterwards, I got gas at the corner of 114th Street and Roosevelt, and I'm waiting for the attendant when I noticed a man signing a credit card receipt at the pump on my left.

"Is that...Is that Ruben Tejada?" 

It was. Fillin' up his Black Camaro.

He got out of that Citi quickly.


I'm heading out there next for "Closing Day", Thursday at 1 to watch RA go for the 20th.

Let's finish strong and continue to drive the dagger into those Black and Yellow Bucs.

KEEP. IKE. DAVIS.
LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.