Daily Archives: September 9, 2008
At his blog for ESPN.com, Peter Gammons lists five reasons why the Mets are a different team in 2008 compared to 2007.
His number one reason is Johan Santana, who is third in the NL in ERA at 2.70, first in quality starts with 24 and has had his bullpen blow six saves this season.
His other four reasons are as follows:
…M…V…P…no further explanation needed…
- Jose Reyes, who since May 11th has had a .381 OBP, .320 average, and an .890 OPS.
- Mike Pelfrey, who has stepped up with the injury to John Maine and has provided the Mets with a 1-2 punch behind Santana.
- Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans, who have performed more than anyone expected.
…i met murphy for the first time yesterday and he was just as advertised, a good kid who just wants to perform…i asked him about a potential move to second base and his answer to me was, “I don’t care where they put me, I just want to hit”...
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…exactly, because, ‘Daniel Murphy means business’…
The following is today’s MetsBlog Minute, during which I talk about life after Billy Wagner:
It is raining very, very hard right now in New York City.
In fact, the weather report is calling for heavy rain and thunderstorms through much of the night.
For what it’s worth, both the Mets and Nationals have Thursday off – so, if need be, tonight’s game could be made up then I suppose.
To look back at Billy Wagner-inspired 
backpages from newspapers in New York over the last few years, check out Tomorrow’s Backpage.
In his two and a half seasons with the Mets, Wagner had a 2.38 ERA, in 118 save opportunities he converted 101, which is the fourth highest save total in baseball during that time.
According to an on-air report from SNY, the Mets will create a new Home-Run Apple in Citi 
Field, as opposed to using the current Apple in Shea Stadium.
As Brendan Kuty pointed out in a post to MetsBlog earlier this morning, the Mets are conducting a tour of Citi Field today, during which they will likely make a more detailed announcement about the Apple.
Nevertheless, the sense I get, based on this site’s comments, my e-mail inbox, and one-on-one conversations with readers, is that most people do not care what happens to the Apple, and whether there is or isn’t one in Citi Field.
However, I do. I like the Apple. But, like I said, to me, it’s not about whether there is a Home-Run Apple in Citi Field, it’s whether there is the original, current Apple from Shea Stadium.
Let me explain…
It’s the team’s money, and they obviously can do as they please…but, frankly, I have long been disturbed and 
disappointed with the overwhelming references to the Dodgers in what is supposed to be a stadium for the Mets.
From the Ebbets Club to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to the overall look of the structure, it often feels like an East-Coast Dodgers museum, or Ebbets 2.0.
I understand Fred Wilpon grew up a fan of the Dodgers. However, today, he owns the Mets, and it would be nice to have the team’s new stadium reflect that.
Here’s why: Mets fans live in a city and a culture that is constantly beating us down with the idea that the Yankees are great, the Yankees are history, the Yankees are legend, etc., and so in our one chance to have a home for our heritage, a museum and a place that honors our memories, we have to split it with the Dodgers, a team that ran out on New York 
City, clearly disappointed Wilpon and countless other New Yorkers, a team that plays in California, not Queens, and who, by the way, is responsible for one of my worst memories as a fan – I’m looking right at you Mike Scioscia.
The current Shea Stadium Home-Run Apple, while at times goofy and haggard, would have been a great hat tip to the 80s, 90s and the final days of Shea, a time when I fell in love with the Mets.
Instead, Citi Field will seemingly be an homage to the time when Fred Wilpon fell in love with the Dodgers.
For more in the Apple, check out Save the Apple, whose efforts have been clearly ignored.
As Bart Hubbuch points out in the New York Post, Jose Reyes is hitting just .120 in 25 at bats during September.
Reyes hit .205 in September last season, which, according to Hubbuch, ‘was a primary reason’ for last year’s ‘Collapse.’
The good news for Reyes: the Mets are 4–2 in September, despite taking just one of three from the Phillies.
Last week, in the Journal News, Josh Thomson wrote a report about Reyes’s new workout routine, in an effort to prevent another ‘September slump.’
In case you missed it, Billy Wagner will miss the rest of the year with a torn ligament in his left elbow.
Mets GM Omar Minaya later told reporters that Wagner will have Tommy John Surgery this week, which will hopefully allow him to pitch ‘within a year’s time.’
…in other words, there is a very, very good chance wagner has thrown his final pitch for the Mets…
In a post to Faith and Fear in Flushing, Jason takes a moment to honor Wagner, who, he feels, ‘never got his due in New York.’
Minaya, during a conference call yesterday, said:
“Baseball is not about one guy - it’s about a team and the concept of togetherness.”
…the silver lining is that the Mets have had 30 days without wagner to develop a plan of attack, and it’s working…since wagner went down, Jerry Manuel has been able to learn who can do what in what role and when…had wagner been dominating, and the Mets had built their hopes around his stability, and then he injured himself and was then suddenly pulled out of the system with just two weeks left in the season, well, wow, this team would be in trouble…however, manuel and wagner’s teammates have been forced to live without him for a while now, and they’ve been winning, so, while i am sure they feel bad for their teammate, this reality should not dent their confidence…nor ours…
In a column from today’s New York Post, Kevin Kernan explains why the Mets can still win without Wagner, noting, “The odds of the Mets winning the NL East and making a mark in the postseason just got a lot longer, but remember the Mets posted a 22-11 record with Wagner on the shelf.”
A group of reporters – including myself – will tour the unfinished Citi Field on Tuesday.
Alongside Mets public relations master Jay Horwitz, we’ll probably explore the much-hyped Jackie Robinson Rotunda, as well as the rest of the ballpark, designed to be a new-millennium version of Ebbets Field.
A few quick facts about the Mets’ new digs:
- Citi Field will seat approximately 45,000. Shea Stadium has 57,333 butt-parking spots. Forty-two percent of the new ballpark’s seats will be located in the concourse seating level.
- There will be a smattering of climate-controlled bars, restaurants and lounges. Think: Prudential Center, home to the New Jersey Devils, in Newark, N.J., but on a grander scale.
- The Mets will commission a statue to honor Jackie Robinson, the legendary pioneer and great American who broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. What? No love for Armando Benitez?
- Outfield demensions: LF – 335 feet; LC – 379 feet; CF – 408 feet; RC – 383 feet; RF – 330 feet. Guess the Mets will move from one pitcher’s park to another.
- Citi Field will not feature a retractable roof. Arizona, Houston, Toronto, Seattle and Milwaukee have one.
I’ll post a few things we learned on the tour later Tuesday from my full article, which will be available at SNY.tv.
Tagged Armando Benitez, Brendan Kuty, Citi Field, Jay Horwitz, Shea Stadium, SNY | Newer posts →
