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...my biggest concern about the early going is that despite the acquisition of Johan Santana, i feel no sense of urgency with this ballclub…ultimately, i fear that his acquisition may be a band-aid on a bigger problem…i hope i’m wrong…
…i’m not gonna lie, even i have found myself dismissing a loss here or there by saying, ‘It’s only April,‘ or ‘No worries, we’ll get ‘em tomorrow’…needless to say, it’s easy to get caught up the verbiage of a team’s manager…however, this kind of attitude is a big reason why the Mets underachieved significantly in the second half of last season and ultimately collapsed in September…this attitude, or the perception of it, regardless of what Willie says behind closed doors, must be changed…a game in April or June is just as important as a game in September…Willie shouldn’t underestimate or insult the intelligence of New York baseball fans by hedging like that…we’ve been around for a while, and so has he…this passive attitude is palpable and it reflects with what we are seeing, hearing and reading with the fans…
…before you think i’m all doom and gloom, remember that i know the Mets are good…the pieces, though some flawed, are certainly in place to contend…i only want to see them fight for it instead of wait to be crowned…
This is a little bit off topic here but ill bring it up anyway…
I was at the game yesterday, yes in the upper deck, and around the 3rd inning i thought i should go buy a program as it was the last opening day at Shea. Now the Mets organization HAD to know the game was going to sell out, i mean i had to win a lottery just for the priveledge of buying one of these seats (40 bucks in THE top row of the upper deck – great views of queens from there…), yet the Mets Org. had sold out of programs by the 3rd inning. How can this even happen? They should have had more than enough made for everyone, its a joke. The organization couldnt care less about the fans, and I for one have just about had it.
I still love the team (that is, the guys out on the field playing) the organization is down the tubes
maybe you should have bought one earlier. They had a whole stack of them right there when you first entered the park, right?
Maybe I should have….maybe they should have made enough for everyone, even the dudes that were too drunk when they entered the game to remember to buy one in the first inning
i guess it’s better to be having this conversation than if they hadn’t sold out of them and you didn’t agree with the price they were charging for it.
How many times would you go to the same steakhouse if you came home complainig about one thing or another every time? Eventually you would stop going, right?
well, I walked in the gate at noon and they were already out of programs at the shop at gate B, and the guy who normally sells them (who’s right there at a podium as you walk through ) yelled at me that he doesn’t have em, he doesn’t know who has em, he’s standing there selling annuals, and tha’s it! …should’ve known then it was gonna be a rough day at Shea (eventually found one at the fan shop by gate A)
Being it was the last season at Shea, didn’t you ever think they would become collectors items? And that people might scoop them up in large quantities to auction them off on eBay? Or to give to other Mets fans they know?
Go to ebay and do a search on “Shea opening day” and you’ll see that the programs are going for around $50 or more now!
You should of scooped them up when you saw them. You might have been able to make a pretty profit on them,.
Then the vendors should have instituted a limit of 2 programs per customer. My brother got a free ticket to opening day, and all he was asked to do was bring back a program in return, and despite looking all over the stadium throughout the game, could not find one. That should not happen.
First come, first serve. They are in the business to make a profit and sell as much merchandise as possible. Especially since I think the vendors get a cut of what they sell (I’m not sure; someone correct me if this is wrong).
I’ve learned the hard way that if you want something that is bound to become a collector’s item, you have to get it early. I’ve waited too long to go look for some SI issues with the Mets on the cover and have come up empty handed as a result.
If anyone is really interested, they should at least call the Mets to see if they will sell any extras they might have on hand today.
Well said, vcarver!
It was sold out before the first pitch mainly because people were buying multiple copies. One of the last copies was literally sold to the guy right before me in line who asked for 5 but settled for the last 2. (I assume so he could sell on ebay or something but whatever).
Unless there was one printed specifically for Opening Day, my experience with the programs is that the Mets don’t print a scorecard for each day, they print one for the next 1-2 homestands and the magazine itself is printed about 6 times a season. There should be more tonight or at least by this weekend.
BTW, Opening Day has sold out at least the last 3 year and until this year, the program has never been sold out.
I think you’re right…nothing to stop anyone from buying a program tonight and calling it the opening day program.
Not sure but when they showed it on camera, it looked like the date was on the bottom of the front cover. I could be mistaken, but I believe it was.
I’ll check when I get home, and get another one saturday. If anyone’s still interested then, we’ll have an answer. It’s the little mysteries that keep life interesting.
Hmm…yeah, the date is on it. I’m assuming it’s a special cover for opening day and possibly some content. I’m actually suprised the Mets didn’t charge more for them. Just the usual $5.
I just want a program cause I actually read them. I could care less if it’s the Opening Day version.
The date is on the cover. They show it in some of the eBay auctions. Go there and you can see how it looks.
However, as I said, they may still have a few stray ones around. Maybe if you have your ticket stub and call the Mets office and complain or beg them, they will send you one in the mail if there are extras around. It’s worth a try.
did it ever occur to you that maybe the Mets printed 60,000 programs and people bought 10 each…..
don’t bother. there is no pleasing upperdeckdweller. if they printed 100,000 he would be complaining that they were charging too much money. and if one copy didn’t sell, he would saying how the wilpons don’t care about the environment and will knock down the rainforrests to make a buck.
Maybe the wilpon’s thought was in order to ensure only “real fans” got a copy of the program, they would reward the people that showed up at 11 instead of those who waited until the 3rd inning.
All this doom and gloom….You would think we were 8 games back in late September. We are 1.5 games back and we haven’t even reached April 10th yet. Might I point out that we also have 2 games in hand on all teams in our division except Florida. Calm down everybody!
2 games in hand?
Yeah, what does “two games in hand” mean?
I meant we have played 2 less games then everyone else in our division.
Yeah and that mentality worked our really well last season too.
RELAX, Its early? sounds alot like We are still in first place. Look we want to see a change and so far we have not seen it. I want to feel confident that we can win any game, like in 2006. In 2007 and so far in 2008 I feel that no matter what the lead is we WILL blow it late in the game, and that aint good. I also feel that being down 2 or 2 runs in the 7th the game is over, we dont have what it takes to fight back and win. I think when the team proves they can hold a late lead, come from behind and win and win a series against a NL East rival with some consistancy, then the fans will relax.
I agree that the pieces are there, and that those pieces have the ability to and should propel this team to contention and ultimately to a division championship.
They will realize that they’re going to have to fight for it, because obviously, other teams want it just as bad. I only hope they realize sooner than later, because like most Met fans, I can’t bear to watch them play as lifeless as they have been thus far.
Games are not won and lost on words. They are won and lost on performance. And when Randolph insists on pulling Perez after 5-1/3, he is not able to perform.
The bullpen was the reason for the collapse last year, and here we go again — right back to the quick hook and using a bullpen that is frankly not nearly as good as the rotation.
This whole notion that championships are won in the bullpen is nonsense. Perez should have stayed in. Why is okay for the bullpen to blow a lead, but not a starter?
I was a Willie supporter when he first got here, defended him during the collapse because, really it was the players not getting it done, but now, I just think he’s an idiot.
Willie’s words mean nothing one way or the other. His insane strategies and quick hooks mean doom. Time for him to go.
It’s good to see people are coming around and less are in denial.
You need to assume the bullpen can get you through the game……,otherwise your whole season is shot anyway. I wouldn’t have had a problem leaving Smith in anyway.
Perez was shot….he was closing in on 90 pitches (he MAY have been able to finish the 7th) and just got done walking two people in a row with a balk in between. This is typical Ollie meltdown waiting to happen. Schneider was staring into the dugout the entire time waiting for someone to take Ollie out (or I could be wrong and he likes looking at Willie). Anyway….Smith comes in….gets outta the jam…..no problem going to the pen there, IMO. The problem lies when we can’t turn a DP or Heilman can’t throw a strike.
The problem lies with the continued misuse of Showeneweis. He gets lefties out … has trouble with righties. This is nothing new.
There is no way he should have been brought in to face Greg Freakin Dobbs. Then people say, “oh Willie got them to waste a bench guy”.
That’s not the point. Manual just countered by sending out a righty … which anyone with a pulse would have done … only to have two more right handed bats to follow.
Very poor decision. You either leave Smith in there, or you use Sosa for the righties, which Willie eventually used him anyway in that inning because he botched the whole thing.
Show “did his job” when he got Howard to hit the ground ball. The point is he shouldn’t be in there to “do his job” until the lefty bats come up.
I thought the same thing til I found out about Feliciano not being there and Wise being hurt (didn’t know that at the time, and I was furious with willie).
It’s still a moot point about Feliciano. Like I said … keep Smith in or use Sosa. He used Sosa anyway. Might as well have started him out on the righties and if he got in trouble … then you bring in Show for the lefties. Starting Show that inning was suicide.
LoL, go look in the game thread. People said in there that Willie should not pitch Smith in the 6th — to let him leave on a successful note.
You can bet if he left Smith in for the 6th and Smith gave up the lead, you and others would have been whining about “stupid Willie who overuses his relievers and keeps them in too long.”
Wiliie can never win with some of you fans.
I don’t care what anyone said on the game thread … I said it when it happened. There is nothing incorrect about what I’m saying.
I gave Willie credit in the first series, for using Showeneweis the correct way? Remember? We talked about it.
Now he just reverted to misusing him again. It is what it is. I’m not “some of you fans”. I’m stating facts.
well, technically it was only one righty, then two switch hitters, then the two lefties. I can see the logic of bringing in Feliciano for the first out (even after Manuel pinch hit)–having limited arms in the pen, and while Feliciano is worse against righties, he’s no Scott Schoenweiss. Smith is as bad v. left as Show is v. right…so whaddya do? I think Heilman would’ve been teh best choice, given the circumstances, but it’s all hindsight.
I hear ya jamie. Good point about Smith vs. lefties. Still, Showeneweis was the worst choice there.
mikey, my point is that no matter what he did in that situation, he would have been skewered if the lead had been relinquished then. If not by you than by other fans.
The only way he will not be called every name in the book this year is if the Mets win and they have a winning record and are either in first place or close to it. Anything else and he will be the stupidest man that ever walked the face of the earth.
that, I completely agree with, mikey.
I’m with ya VC … I just don’t like being grouped in and generalized. When I criticize him, it’s legitimate criticism.
Some do take it too far, I agree.
Lets see Mikey_FF, Smith goes out to start the inning, Manuel pulls his righty hitter and sends out a lefty. Now Smith is about as poor against lefties as Show is against righties. With two switch hitters coming up and two lefties after that, you’d rather him pitch to 5 lefties. Willie takes Smith out and brings in Show. There was no Feliciano to go to. Manuel removes the lefty pinch hitter and puts up a righty, yes we made them use up a player and though you say its no big deal, it is part of game strategy. At that point Show has to pitch to him because its part of the rules that he has to face one batter. Suprise, he got him out. Then he had to face the two switch hitters batting righty. He could have brought in Sosa but he would have been facing 4 lefties and he hasn’t done very well lately either, giving up a hit and letting a run score against a righty later that inning. At this point, there aren’t many choices to be made out there. Smith against 6 straight lefties, Show against 3 righties, or Sosa against 4 straight lefties. Put it this way, it shouldn’t be coming down to this in the first place. If they were all doing their jobs situations like this wouldnt be coming up. Sorry for the vent.
Mudville, I would have had no problem with Sosa going 9, 1 and 2 … lefty or righty.
No problem on the venting … that’s what we’re here for.
quick hook? Have you followed Oliver Perez career? Have you watched his melt downs in a Met Uniform?
If Perez is left in after WALKING the two guys an inning after walking a pitcher GIVING HIM a sac bunt (who is a year OLDER than Shea Stadium mind you) and then proceeds to cough it up, there would be your evil twin posting on here calling Randolph an idiot for sticking with Perez.
But yes games are won and lost on performance, and when your historically ERRATIC pitcher is 2-2 with 2 outs, walks one guy, goes 3-0 and BALKS when there is cleary no one covering first and the throws ball 4 near guam, you lose him on performance. Perez DID NOT pitch well yesterday, he skated by which starters do from time to time. Smith did his job, shakey, but did his job. Schoenewiess did not. Nor did Sosa, nor did Heilman.
The walking of the pitcher scenario you cite happened the inning before. An inning in which he regrouped and shut the door.
If Perez is ever going to learn to buckle down, he needs the chance to.
That calls for Willie seeing what he can do and thats not allowed in here anymore.
And if Willie had left Ollie in and he blew the lead, I guarantee you there would be tons of fans screaming on here how Willie was an idiot for pushing Ollie to his limits in the early season when he has a rep for self-destructing and the bullpen was fresh coming off an off-day.
Yesterday you had fans within minutes of each other saying Willie should have Endy hit away and NOT bunt, and then later when he hit into a double calling Willie an idiot for not having Endy sacrifice the runner over.
We didn’t know Feliciano was unavailable. Hell, a lot of us at the park didn’t know Wise was on the DL. Willie knew these things and should have switched gears accordingly.
It’s just like that terrible game from Florida in September where Wagner was unavailable and Willie still made his same no-brains buzzard-from-Looney-Tunes bullpen moves with no regard to who he has to work with.
Wise being put on the DL was announced well before the game and Muniz was called up instead. So they were only down one reliever.
He switched gears by calling on Schoeneweis and then leaving him longer than he probably wanted to.
As I said, if he left Ollie in any longer — or Smith in for another inning — and the Phillies tied the game, Willie would still be skewered here. It’s in some of your fans’ DNA to do this!
He was functionally down two relievers because he would never use an unknown like Muniz in a big spot. He prefers the guy he knows sucks.
I’m one who skewered Willie on this one, and it most certainly IS NOT in my DNA to do this.
He was dead wrong on this one, IMO. I knew it at the time. This is not second guessing on my part.
So dykstraw, are you saying Willie should have kept Ollie in? Or he should have used Muniz in the 6th?
The worst is that this buffoon blamed the quick hook on Ollie (he of the ZERO POINT ZERO ERA) to cover for the arson job his relievers pulled in the next two innings. I don’t see how anyone can call this guy a good clubhouse manager when he takes his zero-tossing starter and throws him under the bus.
This is rapidly turning into Isiah territory. And I said I wasn’t getting worked up today.
You mean Omar’s relievers.
But I agree that he was too harsh on Ollie.
Omar has certainly made some mistakes but he has also brought in some great talent. Willie however has brought this team nothing they couldn’t get out of promoting one of their minor league managers. This is why I am so critical of him.
Hey, I agree that Willie is not the sharpest knife in the managerial drawer when it comes to in-game strategy.
Maybe he’s about average. The thing is it’s never a sure thing you’re going to get a strategic genius if you change mangers. And you could get someone as alienating and controlling as Showalter or Valentine instead. Pick your poison.
In the meantime, Omar is the one who gave Schoeneweis that 3-year contract. And who didn’t get rid of him this past winter. I hope you also realize that 1/5 of that talented payroll is on the DL right now because they are too old and fragile.
Omar screwed up royally with the contracts given to Showeneweis and Castillo. Also the dependence on guys like El Duque and Alou.
He’s made some great moves … but for every great move he makes he matches it with a clunker.
See, I think he’s terrible at in-game strategy, but I gave him a pass because he was supposedly a great clubhouse manager who everyone played hard for.
Then September happened. And appears to continue happening.
I am by no means a Willie supporter but him taking Perez out last night was the best move he’s ever made. It was obvious that Perez was done and had just gave up a hit, then hit another batter, then walked another. That was it, he was done. Of course, he brought in the wrong reliever but what’s new?
I for one thought that it was a great move for Willie to remove Perez. It was just the type of decisive move that Willie rarely makes. Perez was showing every sign of going to pieces. He does that quite often, you know. And the move worked out as it was supposed to — Smith got out of the inning with no one scoring.
It is a little easier to criticize the move retrospectively because we now know that Feliciano wasn’t available and the BP was a little short. But I was still glad that Willie made the move because it indicated that at least *he* was feeling the urgency that we’re all accusing the the team as a whole of lacking.
Unfortunately I think the problem with this team’s attitude goes way beyong Willie. It’s the players themselves. Omar has built the team around apathetic players. THAT’S one of the reasons why I hated getting rid of Lo Duca and Milledge. Whatever your thoughts on those guys personally, those are the kinds of attitudes that you need on a team for an 162 game season.
I just think they don’t respect Willie … which is the biggest problem of all.
I dont think that trading those young players for Santana was a bad deal, however, we traded away too many young players for nothing. Brian Bannister would be nice to have now, LM would also be good as well as LoDuca and Gotay, but, they are all gone. I dont feel much confidence in 2 Washington Nats, an old fill-in and the pitcher at the bottom. If Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Delagado dont get it done it aint gonna happen.
This seems to be the difference between the Braves, Phillies and Mets. The Braves and Phillies take these games very seriously, and come to town ultra focused and want to take the Mets down because they know how important these games are. They play like there is no tomorrow. The Mets see these teams coming and take Willies approach of “it’s a long season, no need to get caught up in one game, it’s no big deal”.
Your right., This team does not have the killer instinct in it. I don’t know if you remember the 86 team or not, but that team went for the kill in every game. That weren’t happy just to win, they wanted to crush you. This team is really nothing more then a 500 team. It really is time for Willie to go.
i personally blame this all on jon stewart for predicting that we’d go 162-0. way to jinx, jon. way to jinx.
this sums up what the fans are feeling
We’ve know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you’re too shy to say it
Inside we both know what’s been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it
And if you ask me how I’m feeling
Dont tell me you’re too blind to see
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII just wanna tell you what I’m feeling…
touche on the last sentence, “I want them to FIGHT FOR IT, instead of WAIT to be crowned”
i think that this team is going to undergo a HUGE change come mid may. By then, Pedro will be back and hopefully healthy, Alou will be back and will have a few games under his belt, Duaner and El Duque should also be back, along with Matt Wise. And I would look for Omar to trade Sosa and Schoenweis to a team(s) that need bullpen help. Perhaps a change of scenary is needed for both players. We have the pieces to change our bullpen, and we must, because now we essentially have the same pen that floundered the end of last year and THAT’S why this team reminds so many of us of last year’s collapse.
I also wouldn’t count out a creative way for Omar to try and procure another bat or pitcher, but i’m not so sure that can happen without puttin F-Mart in the deal.
In any case, if this season is a failure, we STILL have Johan as our ace, and we’ll have about 40 mil coming off the books in alou, delgado, pedro, el duque, and some smaller parts.
And with Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Mark Texiera, Brad Penny, and AJ Burnett (not to mention Oliver Perez) on the market, i would DEFINITELY be surprised if we didn’t get two of those names.
–and for those that say “dunn and burrell suck, combined, they average 70 HRs and 180 rbi’s PER YEAR for THEIR CAREER. I’ll take a guy that strikes out a lot but walks and has slugging like that over a guy that makes contact and hits into double plays any time….and im not saying we’re getting BOTH, but that much needed YOUNGER bat is essential to the overall effectiveness of this lineup
This team needs to get pissed. They need to show the fans that they care about winning. If I have to hear Willie say that its a long season I’m going to put my foot through the TV.
They lost the division by 1 game last year. 1 GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Same old sh*t different year. They look LIFELESS. Like they are going through the motions. I could take the losses easier if I felt like they were trying.
The team feeds off Reyes. He needs to do whatever he can to get on base.
PELF better come up big tonight!
That’s why I’d really like to see a brawl. Show the fans some passion, for pete’s sake!
PELF will loose tonight. We dont stand a chance in hell, deal with it. We would have a better chance of Pedro coming back and winning tonight. FIRE WILLIE and hire Gary Carter.
1 game in April and May actually does matter, its the exact amount we lost by the division by last year.
Just wait till Willie starts mailing in those Sunday games….
Good point. Maybe not being in first place all year will convince him to stop doing that (if missing the playoffs by one game hasn’t already done it).
‘i only want to see them fight for it instead of wait to be crowned…’
good observation by d.j. short.
but who exactly on the mets looks ready to fight for it?
what was shoenweis doing pitching to guys who were batting righty….god i want a manager who can think and show some emotion….
Exactly rosemary ……… it’s as if Willie doesn’t have the ability to think ahead more than one batter.
The good news is that the Mets have a stopper going tonight.
I have big hopes for Big Pelf, but the only thing he’s been able to stop thus far has been other teams’ losing streaks.
Honestly, the Mets are going to break this losing streak by having an offensive explosion. As we’ve seen, a good pitching peformance won’t do it unless it’s a complete game shutout.
the only thing pelfrey has stopped so far is the ability of my comments to show up on these pages
LOL. I know the feeling!
how do you play baseball with a sense of urgency?
Look how the Phillies have played the Mets … that’s how.
they hit the ball better and pitch better? that’s playing with a sense of urgency? interesting.
I have big hopes for Big Pelf, but the only thing he’s been able to stop thus far has been other teams’ losing streaks.
fortunately the phillies arent on one….i will be there tonight again but feeling a lot less optimistic than yesterday…citifield does look nice however….
I agree DJ 100% and I’ll just add that the passivity also extends to them letting Gotay go and Willie’s not being polite or at least careful (OR EVEN HAVING A CLUE) in his comments about Gotay after he was let go. Bannister’s departure was an obvious mistake, but at least we got something (well…) for him. Gotay, we gave to the Braves for nothing (and remember that we got Gotay in exchange for Keppinger, who was a good player too). I know what this team is doing wrong. It’s really hard to say why they are doing these things wrong. I really don’t think that they don’t care. We have a lot of anger and some of it is misplaced and some of it isn’t. I would say that a GM that keeps a player who doesn’t produce (SHOW/LOOPER, etc) and the manager misusing that player is one thing that I couldn’t abide by before and now, gee I don’t even know what the next level would be called.
How many posts have there been bashing Willie since yesterday. I’m sure it’s a record.. The thing is, it is somewhat ridiculous to do so, in my mind. Personally, I think it would be really pathetic on the Player’s part if they needed Willie to say anything at all to inject a sense of urgency. I mean, almost all of these guys were here last year. They know first hand how it is to fall one game short. With all of the smack talk and predictions this offseason, why does it have to come down to Willie saying something?? Don’t they all have a bad taste in their mouths to begin with?
That being said, a lot is being put into these guys ‘not playing with a sense of urgency’ or whatever. Can you really point to any examples where they’ve illustrated this? The results should not be cited as an example, by the way…
How about Sept. 2007? Didn’t that illustrate it enough for you?
I mean this year… How do you measure a sense of urgency? Have people not been hustling? (besides Catillo on the one play). Have they looked like they don’t care?
To be honest, I haven’t been able to watch a lot so far this season due to work, but I feel like people associate losing or not scoring enough runs or giving up too many runs as not playing with a sense of urgency.
Its not like we have Bobby Bo and Rickey playing cards and giving haircuts in the locker room during games…
Metties … if you watch every game you will just get the same feeling. It’s as if the 07 season has just continued on where it left off. Just because something isn’t visible to the naked eye, doesn’t mean it is not there.
Maybe so.. Part of me still thinks its just as simple as they are just not getting the job done or they are just underachieving. They took 2 of 3 from FLA and then they lost to 2 great pitchers and another good team. Sure, I think they should’ve scored more runs against that schlep Moyer. Of course, I think this bullpen blows right now and can’t wait for Duaner to get back.. I think we all can agree that being 2 and four to start the season sucks..
Either way, I am not going to push the panic button. I guess I can thank years of Art Howe for that
You are totally 100% correct metties1. Saying David Wright isnt playing hard because he didnt come up with the big hit, or Sosa wasn’t trying hard enough when he threw that one bad pitch for a grand slam isnt being realistic. Saying its just a feeling is no proof, and doesnt mean that there is something there. It’s their constant failures so far this season thats making you think this. You’re saying to yourself the players are too good to not be coming through in those spots. It must be that they are not trying, that they are indifferent, that they are uncaring. I think they’re trying to hard and are just in a team funk. We can only hope they break out of it soon.
Willies getting bashed because he continues to make the same moronic mistakes he made all of last year. Learn from last year….try something different. Its amazing 90% of the people on this blog realize Shoe cant get righties out yet Willie continues to put him and others in situations that they are set up to fail in.
They should have let him go after last year…..lets not compound a bad situation by waiting to long ….send him packing now
Thank you aqualeader. Practically the whole planet knows he can’t get righties out … yet Willie is either too stubborn or not intelligent enough to get it through his thick skull.
*aquadealer … my bad.
How about all the players comments this offseason? “Sometime we get bored” “We took things for granted” “I know Willie cares, but he doesn’t always show it”
The manager sets the tone for the team and they follow his lead and his example. When Willie spouts the same BS after every loss and seems to not care one way or the other if we win or loose, thats the way the team plays. IT SHOWS. The team plays like Willie, without heart, fire or compassion. And thats why we will NOT win in 2007 as long as Willie is the manager. He all but, killed Jose Reyes, when he was laughing ,dancing, high -fives, hand shakes and all smiles the team was kicking ass and taking names, when Willie trimmed his feathers and has him being more professional and playing the game the right way the team flounders.
I can’t wait for Matt to get on SNY again to tell the world about the state of the Mets fanbase.
LOL. Post of the day!
Bring back Bobby V!! I think I’m over Willie.
But also, as we all know and as many have pointed out, the bullpen was the biggest single factor in the collapse and Omar did very little to fix it. It was great to get rid of Mota, but we still have Show and Sosa and Smith, and all those guys are mediocre at best. Heilman was so up and down last year, these last 2 performances can’t be a surprise. I think he needs to go elsewhere to flourish. Bullpens are such a crapshoot that I’m not sure how much worse it can be with a new cast of characters, but at least we wouldn’t be booing them on sight!
Then again, if Delgado turns that DP, it’s a different story and maybe everyone is happy.
Has Reyes started drinking already?
And how soon until we’re debating the merits of Argenis Reyes as the 2nd baseman over Damion My Career Really Should be Over Easly?
Willie’s use of the bullpen aside, the common thread between last year’s collapse and this year’s slow start is Jose Reyes not getting on base. When he isn’t playing well, the Mets are a different team. Much like how David Wright figured out what pitchers were doing to him last year and took his game to the next level (remember when we all wondered whether he would ever hit a HR again?), Reyes needs to do the same or he will just end up being a speedy SS who hits a light .280. If Reyes ends up being ordinary, so will the Mets.
Last April … it was blatantly apparent to a lot of people that Wright had a bad uppercut in his swing. It was a physical thing.
I think what’s going on with Jose is mental … possibly emotional … and that goes a lot deeper. I’m worried about him.
I’m worried about him too. He just doesn’t seem to be waiting for his pitch like he did in 2006 and early 2007. It’s almost like he’s going up there and swinging to get the at bat over with.
Yeah he’s just not focused for some reason. I hope he gets it figured out.
I have to agree with you that Reyes’ slump seems to have more of a mental component to it that Wright’s slump did. But he also seems to be hitting everything in the air, much more than I ever remember (although I don’t have the data to prove it). Almost like he’s trying to do too much… which I guess is mental. But is it possible that pitchers are pitching him differently and inducing him to hit balls into the air more?
I think its more his focus … it looks like something is bugging him. He is not himself and he’s carrying whatever it is with him on the field. You’ll remember at the end of last season, even in the field he was not covering bases etc. Something is going on with him and I don’t like it.
Maybe Reyes has girl trouble, and that’s what’s bothering him? Is there anyway we can check on this? PerezHilton? TMZ? Mike & the Mad Dog?
LOL @ Mike & the Mad Dog.
It just can’t be all gloom and doom, and no matter what happens I know where I will be tonight for the game’s first pitch, and yes it will be parked in front of the tube with a cold beer.
I just hope I don’t pop a blood vessel and have to start pounding down brewskies to stay sane tonight.
Go Big PELF! Throw strikes early in the count and throw a bunch of strikes tonight. Don’t get behind and let the defense play. May the Mets bats come alive and Reyes go 3 for 4, withh 2 bags stolen and 2 runs scored. Let’s ReyeK (reek) a little havoc!
A buddy of mine at work last year remarked how the Mets won despite Willie’s managerial issues… It seems like that has even gone away…
Pelfry is a loser. He’s the second coming of Anthony Young. He exemplifies what’s wrong with this team — no backbone. Is anyone in his heart of hearts confident about his start tonight?
If you are, please pass over here what you’ve been drinking.
I’ll be the first to say that I’m not convinced yet, but to call him a loser is a little much. He went 33-7 at Wichita State and shattered quite few records there. He is only 24. You may want to go back and look where Santana was a looked like when he was 24.
Opening Day started off nicely but finished horribly.
I was tailgating having fun, with my friends.
We went in, nice video tribute to Shea.
The jets flew over Shea, gave me chills.
Delgado’s homer, your happy, we got a small lead, Delgados hitting for power.
Then it dragged and it was one of those you felt like your losing even though we have more runs then the Phillies.
Then we were really losing.
Then the ugliness showed. There were beatings going on.
I was in the upper deck watching the game, then I heard, “Oh good fight”.
I look down to field level and some dude is swinging hard on some kid on the floor.
Just WIN Mets.
I’ve been a Willie supporter, but I’m starting to think this team does have talent, where is it, encourage it Willie, direct it a little.
Willie’s not the one swinging or throwing, the players are responsible, but is he a good motivator like some other managers?
BTW, our illustrious great defensive catcher – Brian Fing Schneider has 2 passed balls yesterday…..good thing we got him for defensive purposes!
Well he’s smacking the ball around a lot better than we anticipated. Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
“We got a break and ran with it,” Rollins said. “That’s usually how rallies start: Somebody makes a mistake. … They made a mistake to open up the door and we found a way to crack it open.”
Rollins grinned again. He wanted to say more. But he didn’t have to.
–yahoo sports
Some of you people are so funny. I love right after the collapse you wanted a clean house, get rid of Miledge, get rid of Lo Duca, get rid of Glavine, we can’t keep these players on our team after this collapse. Now you saying you want them back. I don’t get it.
Also I agree, I think Willie needs to go but you can’t blame him for not motivating his players. If I am a player and I read the Philly players, coaches, and fans quotes are saying things about us, there is no way I am not motivated for these games. I got motivated as a fan reading them. The only way they are not motivated is if Willie reads them a bedtime story right before the game and I doubt he does that. So to me that is the players fault. But Willie handling the bullpen is a different issue and he needs to go for that reason.
Yes they are frustrating to watch but maybe with these new player (Schnieder, Church, Santana) \it just takes a little time to get used to each other. I mean they didn’t play together much in Spring Training. Who knows, I just know that I am not giving up on them yet.
The Mets are a poorly-constructed team and the blame lies mostly with Omar Minaya. I’m getting weary of hearing about his successes when I see so many examples of his failures. Here is just a partial list:
1. Signing Luis Castillo to a massive 4 year, $32 million deal.
2. Having no backup for the inevitable time when Castillo goes down injured. Gotay — Gone. Anderson Hernandez — Not a legitimate major leaguer.
3. Letting Chad Bradford walk because he didn’t want to give him the money and the years and THEN giving the money and the years to an ineffective Scott Schoeneweis.
4. Resigning Moises Alou, which wasn’t a terrible idea, but making it a terrible idea by having NO credible backup for Alou, knowing he would inevitably go down.
5. Showing no interest in Kyle Lohse, who he probably could have had fairly cheap. I guess they’ll wait until Freddie Garcia comes back healthy and wins a few games for someone else before Omar gets around to “kicking the tires” on him.
6. Trading Brian Bannister for Ambiorix Burgos. If it’s true that you can never have too much pitching — and it is — how did the Mets have so much pitching that they needed to trade Bannister?
7. Letting Ruben Gotay go because Willie doesn’t like his defense. As if a gimpy Castillo and a .100 hitting Anderson Hernandez can be carried for their “defense” in this lineup.
8. Not having any flexibility at catcher. The result is that Willie can never pinch hit for Schneider because “the Mets are only carrying two catchers.”
9. Showing no interest in Reed Johnson, Marcus Giles, or any number of players that MIGHT have been able to help the Mets. I’m not saying they HAVE to sign them, but at least consider it. And maybe some of these guys wouldn’t want to go to the minor leagues, but at least discuss it.
These are just a few of the gaffes Omar and Fred have made.
The Mets are penny-wise and dollar foolish. Maybe if they offered a decent contract to one of these free agents they would would be amenable to biding some time in the minors waiting for the inevitable call up. They piss money away on Castillo, but they won’t pony up for some roster depth. Say what you want about the Mets payroll being high, but they really try to do a lot of things “on the cheap.” The Yankees (who I hate) don’t do that. They don’t mind paying a veteran big bucks to sit on the bench or in the minors until needed. And if they don’t work out, they release them. The Mets lowball some of their role players and then hold on to them like they are family.
And don’t get me started on Willie “Hey, it’s a long season, man” Randolph.
I blame Omar too. I would add to your list – not restocking the farm system and building a team of characterless players. You can live with a few of these, but the Mets seem to have way too many. And, he hired the wrong manager for this team.
I don’t think Willie’s all that bad, but he needs to manage a different team.
Plain and simple, this team is soft, led my the manager. Beyond Wright and Reyes, no one shows emotion, no one seems to have any anger. No one has any brass. I called for Willie to be let go last year and I see nothing to change my mind. This team needs a manager who can light some fire…..A Pinella, Valentine type. Here is the problem. If Randolph is fired during the season, who do they go to? Whomever it is wont likley be the manager next year……pulling Jerry Manuel off the bench to manage isnt gonna get it done……..personally, I would lie, to see them dump Randolph within the next 25 games if this continues……go to Ken Oberkfell…the guy deserves a shot…..
I agree about the softness, but I don’t feel so sure that it’s a managerial problem. When Omar put together this team, he didn’t give much attention to the need to have some grinders, guys who will drive pitchers crazy at the plate with good ABs and pitchers (Pedro and Wagner aside) who will claim the inside of the plate as their own. To speak only of the Braves and Phillies, Rollins, Utley, and Kelly Johnson exemplify that style and we don’t have too many guys in the lineup who can do that.
Charlie Manuel isn’t the reason that the Phillies grind. It’s the guys he has who bring it to the park every day. Nothing Willie can do is going to make Delgado, Beltran, or Castillo that kind of player. I think that we need to *get* that kind of player — or a lot of these Mets need to get tough in a hurry.
Yes. More good stuff.
People need to look more at Omar and less at Willie.
How many games have we played again??
Watch for falling bodies from the bridges…
To be honest, I think the 2006 season spoiled the hell out of us.
BINGO!
FYI: Willie on M&MD at 5:05.
There’s an obvious problem with the construction of this team, and it isn’t B.S. like hustle or chemistry. It’s that they don’t score enough runs. We have three great players in our lineup in Wright, Reyes, and Beltran. But you’re supposed to get power and production from the corners, and we have Delgado, who’s thisclose to being completely finished, at first, and two proven mediocrities in right and left. This team desperately needs at least one more threatening power bat, post-haste.
When will people finally get it through their thick skulls that a game or series in April, is EXACTLY as important as games and series in September. Pissing away these opportunities now will bite us in the ass just as much as as losses in September.
Obviously baseball is a long grind, and you can’t be rabid 24/7 for six months………. BUT you can be rabid for a lousy three hours a day for six months, and this team, under this manager, is not.
Go ask the Phillies if they think April matters, didn’t they start 3-10 or something?
“barry? hi, it’s omar!”
LOL ….
PS: I couldn’t stomach the idea but good comment
It is becoming obvious that Reyes’s slump isn’t really a slump. It has more to do with the rest of the pitchers in the NL figuring out the holes in his swing. I’m afraid his best year was 2006 unless he can adjust. But he just doesn’t seem like he is trying to change his approach.
Willie must go…..he is without question the main reason for the dead malaise laid back attitude on this team. Let’s not forget that rather than him running a kick ass spring training camp after the disasterous collapse of last year, willie once again ran “country club” port st. lucie with everyone getting hurt and the regular starters not playing together all spring. This team is not ready to play and that is willie’s fault. He had the same ho-hum approach when he should have been in kick-ass mode from february onward. Instead the team went through the motions this spring and brought their lackadaisical attitudes up north to start the season. He must go before they dig a hole that they will not be able to come back from….
I’ve always been one to pooh-pooh the “sky is falling” comments about the Mets but one thing is becoming painfully clear. The Mets simply don’t play with the intensity of the Phillies and Braves. It’s hard to define what constitutes that intensity, but the clearest example I can think of is giving a tough AB, especially late in games. I just think that the Phils and Braves have more guys who do that than we do.
So far, the Met who has given the toughest ABs that I’ve seen this season is Brady Clark, and he’s batted maybe three times. I don’t want a lineup full of Brady Clarks, but I’d like to see some more serious grinding.
I think there was a reason that Omar was interested in signing Eckstein. I don’t have anything against Pagan, Church, etc., but they’re just not that kind of player. I think they all want to win, I don’t think they’re lazy or complacent, God knows Pagan is motivated to play hard, but the Mets just don’t have a lot of grinders. They really need a couple. Wright is capable of it, but I don’t see much else.
Remember Tony Phillips? The Mets could really use a guy like that right now.
I was pissed yesterday, not just because we lost but because Willie makes it seem that its okay because its only April. To me the most important game of the season is the game you play today. Every pitch and every play is as important as the next. There is no urgency from him to win now. He needs to show it to the fans and the players that he needs to win now.
I see Bobby Cox and Ozzie Guillen get thrown out of the game in the 3rd inning because they know that a bad call early in the game is just as important as a bad call late in the game. Everything is important, and we need to fight to win every game not just “big games.” Tomorrow is not promised!!
I was always a supporter of Willie, but he needs an attitude adjustment. His lame confidence and no panic act is getting real tiresome. If he doesn’t start managing with some fire and putting some fire in his players, there needs to be a change.