Blog Closed

Mets Fans Revel, for Now, in an Undefeated Season

From The New York Times

Enjoy it. Brag about it. Dine out on it.

It won’t last. It never does.

This is about the way it is right now, and for Mets fans it’s undiluted sweetness, a blip of rapture to relish while it lasts, even if for only a day.

After Monday night’s game, the Mets were still undefeated. First place, the envy of baseball. The fact that we’re only talking 4-0 is just nitpicking. Another 90 or so wins and they’re a lock for the playoffs. The World Series will be simply a formality.

But what makes it sweetest of all is that the vile Yankees are struggling. Their victory against Baltimore Monday night was their first, with the prospect of few to come. And Bernie Madoff didn’t steal any of their money. They didn’t lose Jose Reyes to oranges and Florida sunshine.

“It’s a new beginning,” declared Jodi Darowitsch, 46, a teacher and fierce Mets fan from Glendale, Queens, who doesn’t dismiss three games against the Braves as insufficient evidence to validate the start of a dynasty.

Think about it. On Sunday, Jon Niese dusted batter after batter and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. These Mets — they’re good!

Shopping on Monday at the Queens Center Mall with her son and his friend, Ms. Darowitsch wore a Mets necklace. She carried in her wallet a treasured autographed baseball card of Keith Hernandez, the former Mets first baseman.

“This is their year,” she insisted.

Yes, Mets fans need not hang their heads or admit to Mets allegiance only after dark in deserted Queens alleyways.

Neil Abramson, 50, a workers’ compensation lawyer, grew up in Queens and enlisted as a Mets fan in 1969, the year they first won the World Series. He thought he had bonded with an elite team that would reward him with limitless joy.

Even as he learned what he had actually gotten himself into, he rooted unswervingly for the Mets. He possesses what he imagines is the biggest collection of Mr. Met bobblehead dolls — about 30 varieties, including a Mrs. Met from a minor league squad. He has two seats from Shea Stadium.

As befits any genuine Mets fan, he hates the Yankees “with a burning passion.”

“It’s heaven,” Mr. Abramson said of the unblemished start to the season. “I just hope it lasts longer than the eight days of Passover.”

What he doesn’t want is a return to normalcy, where, as he put it: “I’m back watching the Mets with the sound off so I can do something useful. And then you pick your head up now and then to see how much they’re losing by.”

The opposite starts of the Mets and Yankees dominated caller talk on WFAN Monday morning. Mark Chernoff, the radio station’s operations manager, said: “We were trying to figure out what was the bigger story, the Mets’ winning or the Yankees’ losing. At first, it was the Yankees’ losing three, but by the end it was the Mets’ winning three.”

He said Yankee fans presumably were aware that their team could drop the first three and still win 114 games, as it did in 1998. The Mets have reached the century mark three times, topping out at 108 wins in 1986.

Yet their fans can dream hard.

Jesse Mancuso, 25, a security guard at Rockefeller Center who lives in Middle Village, Queens, owes his name to the Mets. He was named after Jesse Orosco, the Mets’ relief pitcher whose strikeout sealed the 1986 World Series championship.

Mr. Mancuso was buying an Ike Davis jersey at Modell’s in the Queens Center Mall. Most shoppers were checking out Knicks memorabilia, but what did they know? “Hopefully they keep it up,” Mr. Mancuso said. “You gotta believe.”

Good times for the Mets and bad times for the Yankees have intersected before. The same beginnings occurred in 1973 (when the Mets went to the World Series with 82 wins and the Yankees finished below .500) and 1985 (when the Mets took 98 games and the Yankees 97). If there is anything to divine from this history, the Mets will win more games this year than the Yankees.

Several hours before Monday’s game, some fans were gathered outside Citi Field hunting for player autographs. Among them was Ralph Pietromonaco, 47, a season-ticket holder from Williamsburg, Va., who shows up once a month for games. The last four digits of his phone number, he pointed out, are 6387, the associated letters spelling METS.

“We’ve got just as good a team as anyone else, but everyone talked bad about us because of the Madoff thing,” he said. “But we have the pieces together.”

Still, all Mets fans can’t be expected to blot out the unrelenting, merciless betrayals.

Mark Evans, 28, a security guard who lives in the LeFrak City development in Queens, had his Mets cap on as he walked to the post office. It has been two years since he attended a Mets game, but taking in a game is on his to-do list for this year. “The Mets always do good in the beginning of the season,” he said. “But by the end they mess up.”

Murphy's single in 9th lifts Mets over Nats

From The New York Post 

Daniel Murphy singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and the undefeated New York Mets took advantage of a throwing error by reliever Henry Rodriguez to beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 on Monday night.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his first major league homer for the Mets, who are 4-0 for the first time since 2007. Coming off a surprising three-game sweep of Atlanta to start the season, New York rallied from a three-run deficit before a crowd of 23,970.

Several fans left Citi Field chanting "Undefeated! Undefeated!"

The Mets received another excellent effort from a retooled bullpen that ranked 28th in the majors last season with a 4.33 ERA. Miguel Batista got out of trouble in the sixth, Ramon Ramirez escaped a seventh-inning jam with a double-play ball and Jon Rauch (1-0) worked two hitless innings for his first win with New York.

2013 All Star Game Potential Logos

So, the Mets are hosting the 2013 All Star Game. Here are some of many fan-created potential logos. 

The Mets Perfect Opening Weekend According to the New York Post and New York Daily News

Why the extension of Neise's contract is great news: This stat says it all

Neise is among some pretty great company. 

Lucas Duda hits pair of home runs, David Wright adds another and NY Mets stay perfect with 4-2 win over Atlanta Braves

Henry Aaron. Moises Alou. Lucas Duda. When Jerry Manuel, leaning back in the dugout before a game in 2010, strung that trio of names together, all those assembled erupted in laughter. Ok, Jerry. Lucas What?

No, the soon-to-be-outgoing manager insisted. Only three hitters make a particular sound during batting practice, their bats producing a thunder unique to them: One home run king, one longtime master of the craft, and the young Dude. After Duda's two-home run game on Saturday, which pushed the Mets over Atlanta 4-2, Manuel's comparison remained highly hyperbolic. But you know what? The old guy wasn't quite as crazy as he sounded.

Yes, other Mets made meaningful contributions in the team's second straight win to begin the season. David Wright homered in the first for his second of the year, R.A. Dickey allowed just two runs in six innings, and Sandy Alderson's renovated bullpen again dominated the later frames.

New closer Frank Francisco, after allowing two runners to reach base, struck out Matt Diaz to earn his second save in as many games. But this game belonged to the Dude, and was decided by his power.

When Mets officials gushed last winter about the ballpark's redesign, intended to neutralize what plated as an extreme pitchers' park since it opened in 2009, they mentioned the potential impact on Wright, Jason Bay and Duda.

If the third name seemed lower-profile than the others, its inclusion made clear how highly the club had come to regard its 26-year-old right fielder. A seventh-round draft choice in 2007, the Dude had always shown power - but scouts were unsure if he would ever become a complete hitter.

Through three minor league seasons, Duda did not distinguish himself as a prospect - until 2010, when he mashed 23 combined home runs in Double-A and Triple-A, and landed in the major leagues by the end of the summer. On Saturday, Duda's power unfastened what had been a tight game. Wright's homer in the first gave Dickey and early lead, and Duda supplemented that with his shot to center in the fourth that was the first homer to result from Citi Field's revised dimensions.

In that inning, though, the Mets failed inflict further pain on Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens. Ostensibly the Braves' no. 2 starter, Jurrjens - known for a plethora of both talent and injuries - offered a fastball that peaked in the high-80s m.p.h and peaked at about 89 m.p.h. But the Mets did not maul him, stranding three runners in the fourth. The consequences were immediate; with two outs in the fifth, Dickey walked Michael Bourn and allowed a two-run homer to Martin Prado: Tie ballgame, but the Mets snatched back the lead in the bottom half of the inning, when Josh Thole singled in Ike Davis.

Now facing Livan Hernandez in the sixth, the Mets again put two runners in scoring position with two outs, and again failed to pad their lead. This time, Davis struck out looking on a close pitch low and away. Davis barked at home plate umpire Eric Cooper, but the score remained 3-2 - until Duda's bat helped to increase the lead.

5 reasons Why Citi Field is an even better stadium this year

1. The walls are now blue, instead of black, in honor of the teams colors. 

2. The food has gotten much better. Read about the new food and best places to eat here.
3. It's now not ridiculously  impossible for players to hit home runs, as the walls have been moved in. Read more about this here. 
4. There are more seats/more places to sit closer to the action. The more seats, the louder the stadium.
5. Even more murals honor the greats who have played for the Mets. And, there is a tribute to Gary Carter in Center Field now.

Johan Santana throws five scoreless innings, David Wright drives in game-winning win run in NY Mets’ 1-0 win over Braves

For all of the talk of Opening Day optimism, for all of the inspiration they hope to draw from honoring former star Gary Carter this season and for all of the reconfigurations made to their home park, the true significance of the Mets' first game of the 2012 season largely revolved around one person.

Johan Santana made his first start in nearly 19 months on Thursday, and the Mets could not have expected more from their erstwhile ace in his long-awaited comeback from shoulder surgery in September of 2010.

Santana didn't factor in the decision in the Mets' 1-0 win over the Braves at reshaped Citi Field, but the returning lefty had enough of a fastball - consistently in the upper 80s - to uplift a fan base in tossing 84 pitches over five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.


PHOTOS: METS WIN OPENER AGAINST BRAVES, 1-0

Of course, the news wasn't all favorable for the Mets, as new centerfielder Andres Torres pulled up on Tyler Pastornicky's one-out triple in the seventh, aggravating the left-calf injury that sidelined him late in spring training.

David Wright went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in the lone run for the Mets with an RBI single off Braves starter Tommy Hanson in the sixth.

Ramon Ramirez, acquired with Torres from San Francisco for Angel Pagan, threw 1 1/3 of the four scoreless innings of relief by the Mets revamped bullpen.

Lefty specialist Tim Byrdak struck out both batters he faced after Pastornicky's triple in the seventh, newcomer Jon Rauch worked a 1-2-3 eighth and imported closer Frank Francisco pitched a perfect ninth to complete the five-man shutout and notch his first save with the Mets.

During pre-game introductions, Jason Bay (0-for-3) and Mike Pelfrey heard the loudest boos, while Santana received the liveliest ovation as he warmed in the bullpen. The Mets also honored Carter, the Hall of Famer and '80s Mets catcher who died in February from brain cancer, with his family unveiling a "Kid 8" logo along the new blue outfield wall in left-center.

Terry Collins projected a pitch count of "85-to-95" for Santana, who allowed just a one-out single in the first to Martin Prado on 58 pitches over the first four innings.

But the two-time Cy Young winner labored after recording his third straight strikeout with a whiff of Freddie Freeman to open a 26-pitch fifth. Matt Diaz ripped a one-out double to right-center and Santana issued two out walks to Pastornicky and Hanson to load the bases.

But after falling into his third straight full count, the lefty retired Michael Bourn on a comebacker to end the threat, leaving to the customary sounds of Santana's "Smooth" and a standing ovation from the home crowd.

Hanson matched zeroes with Santana through five, but he walked Torres to open the sixth and Daniel Murphy followed with a single to right, his second hit. Wright then pulled a run-scoring single to left, and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez pulled Hanson for righty Kris Medlen, who retired Ike Davis, Bay and Lucas Duda to avoid further damage.

New York Times Pregame Report

Welcome to opening day, a day when all baseball fans are hopeful, even Mets fans! Well, maybe not all Mets fans. Feel free to tell us your hopes and fears for the new season in the comments section below.It's a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky, but a little cool in Flushing, with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees.
There are plenty of things to watch for in today's game against the Atlanta Braves. I'll be watching for:
• How Johan Santana looks in his first start since September 2010 (obviously).
• How the shorter dimensions in the outfield at Citi Field affect the game.
• The effectiveness of the Mets' defense, with Lucas Duda in right, Daniel Murphy at second, and Ruben Tejada at short. Not a lot of experience at their respective positions.
• How many Mets will have to leave due to injury? (just kidding).
There's plenty of storylines to be developed as we kick off the 2012 season. What will you be watching for today? Tell us.

‘Several thousand’ tickets still available for Thursday

Mets executive vice president of business operations, Dave Howard, told the New York Post that “several thousand” tickets are still available for Opening Day against the Braves.

The last time the Mets didn’t sell out a home opener was 1997, according to the report.

“It’s one of our marquee games, and we’re doing everything we can to get to a sellout,” Howard told the Post. “It’s one of the important games we have that we expect to sell out.”

---

Matthew Cerrone: I hope the Mets aren’t surprised by this. I mean, they finished fourth place each of the last three years, not to mention two collapses before that, all of which included firings and bizarre injuries. This winter, Jose Reyes left to sign with the Marlins during in an off-season where fans grew more and more dejected by talk of bankruptcy, legal battles and deepening sense of hopelessness encouraged by local media.

I’m going to Opening Day because it’s a tradition for me, I’m a Mets fan, thankfully I can afford to go, and I like to watch baseball. However, that’s my choice. Times are tough, the team has struggled and – considering how awesome the TV broadcast is – it’s understandable other fans might make a different choice. The laws of supply and demand suggest this will change if the Mets win and play exciting baseball throughout the summer and – more important – push towards a playoff spot. And if they don’t, it won’t change. It’s not a complicated equation and the team has to know this.

Hopefully, Thursday against the Braves will be the start of that new path forward. However, most things take time… and fans and the team should understand this.

---

Bleacher Report calls Mets "lock for last-place finish"

From Bleacher Report's Opening Day Rankings:

25. New York Mets

Johan Santana has looked great this spring, and because of that, I have more hope for the Mets than I did when the spring training season started.

But I still don't have much hope for this team. The Mets have weak starting pitching, a weak lineup and a weak bullpen. In the NL East, they're a lock for a last-place finish.

Mets Finish Spring Training with Worst Record in NL

So far this spring, the Mets finished with  the second-worst record in baseball at 9-19. Here is a look at the standings when they were 6-16.

---

---

“I’m not happy with the win-loss record,” Sandy Alderson told WFAN yesterday. “I know Spring Training is Spring Training, but we want to win games. Certainly it’s not as important here as it will be in a week. Nevertheless, I think it’s some indicator and I’m disappointed with our record.”

---

Brian Erni: I understand what Sandy is saying: with a young team, you want to instill a winner’s attitude from the onset. So, if Alderson or Terry Collins sense even the slightest bit of complacency, Spring Training or not, they want to nip it in the bud. However, it’s harder for younger players to flip the switch when the bell rings than it is for veterans, so I’m sure Alderson would like to see the team start playing like it matters and conditioning themselves now for what will be a season-long uphill battle.
That said, I can’t put a ton of weight into the actual record. I understand Sandy’s message and, as a fan, I love to hear it. But have to reserve judgment until the games start to count.

---

Michael Baron: The record is not as important as how the team truly looks on the field. Overall, they have played poorly on defense, they haven’t hit very much, and they don’t control the tempo of the game. A lot of that can be attributed to poor performances so far from Mike Pelfrey and Frank Francisco – and from not fielding their starting eight at any point this month. But if they continue to struggle to perform the little things, such as the routine defensive plays and sacrifice bunts, I’m concerned it could carry over into the regular season, which is something this team cannot afford to have happen.

Mets on Back of New York Papers

Top Stories:

-Johan Santana is ready for opening day.
-David Wright is ready to be the leader of the team

The Post-Reyes Mets

As the Mets continue to move past the Jose Reyes signing in Dallas, they have provided far more clarity on what they will not do this offseason than what they ultimately will.

For example: The Mets will not sign a top free-agent closer -- Ryan Madson, anyone? -- due to an unwillingness to destroy their financial flexibility. "I'd be surprised if we threw all our money at one guy," general manager Sandy Alderson said Tuesday, noting that he would prefer to split up bullpen funds amongst multiple pitchers.

For example: They will not sign any of the top starting pitchers available, preferring a one-year, incentive-laden contract at a later date this offseason. Though a source said Tuesday that the Mets and Mark Buehrle have expressed mutual interest, Alderson quickly shot down the possibility of such a significant signing, quipping, "That's not happening for us."

For example: They will not trade any of their top half-dozen prospects for Major League talent, preferring to rebuild around their farm. "We're not going to compromise the top end of our player development system," Alderson said.

Winter Meetings coverage

• Hot Stove: Tracker | Buzz blog
 Hot Stove news, analysis

 Select a team ¬  AL EAST ¬ Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays -- AL CENTRAL ¬ Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers  Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins -- AL WEST ¬ Los Angeles Angels Oakland A's Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers -- NL EAST ¬ Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins  New York Mets  Philadelphia Phillies  Washington Nationals -- NL CENTRAL ¬ Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds  Houston Astros  Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals  -- NL WEST ¬ Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies  Los Angeles Dodgers  San Diego Padres  San Francisco Giants 

What the Mets will do is attempt to sign multiple late-inning relievers, a cheap starting pitcher and multiple bench players, perhaps also swinging a trade or two if prudent. With starting pitching all but off their radar for now, the Mets crossed one of the most pressing needs of their offseason wish list by signing right-handed reliever Jon Rauch to a one-year contract, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

But the Mets have said they are looking to sign multiple relievers to fill out the back end of their bullpen.

One name that continues to surface in rumors is Francisco Rodriguez, whom the Mets traded to the Brewers in July. Though Alderson did not completely rule out re-signing the former closer, noting that his 2010 arrest would not factor into negotiations, the GM did admit that Rodriguez -- who recently switched loyalties to super-agent Scott Boras -- may be out of his price range. The Mets met with Boras on Tuesday afternoon, but not necessarily about Rodriguez; they are also interested in acquiring Rick Ankiel as a fourth outfielder.

In addition to adding another outfielder or two -- Alderson also met with the agents for Endy Chavez on Tuesday -- the Mets are looking aggressively at infield help and not quite so aggressively at backup catchers. The former is a need, while the latter is a luxury. The Mets are pursuing each accordingly.

And so it goes on a quiet day in Dallas. With talk of an imminent Albert Pujols signing swirling around the Hilton Anatole, the Mets' agenda seems modest by comparison. But such is the reality of the organization right now. With the Marlins loading up on star free agents, the Phillies revamping their bullpen and the Nationals pricing top-flight starting pitchers, the Mets' potential moves seem like footnotes.

And yet such footnotes are necessary. The goal, Alderson said, is to bring the Mets back to a position where they, too, can throw significant dollars at significant free agents. That process takes years, requiring the club to minimize monetary losses by cutting payroll, all while attempting to remain competitive in the interim. The latter portion of that plan is what the Mets are pursuing now.

It may be difficult to sit idly by while the other teams in their division make significant improvements, but such is the reality of the Mets.

Said Alderson: "It's too bad all the news is being made in the National League East."

Jose Reyes Debate Hotter than Ever

10 Reasons to Keep Him vs. 10 Reasons to Ditch Him. Frank Gary writes up both top 10s.

10 Reasons to Ditch Him 

Reason No. 1 The Mets are not in the spending mood this holiday season. In fact, they seem more like mean Mr. Scrooge than jolly St. Nick and with good reason.After making deals to raise $140 million to pay their debts, they are still in the hole by $60 million.That's right. They owed $200 million before this past season even ended. They just don't have the money to spend on a player that would demand a big payday.And here's why. It's reported the Mets plan to only spend between $100-110 million for their total payroll next year.Most of that is tied up into a handful of players (Johan Santana, David Wright and Jason Bay). Their payroll flexibility is in jeopardy as it is. This wouldn't be an issue if this team didn't have so many needs.They need to replace Chris Capuano and get another starter, even if Santana is healthy.They also need a closer. This is their biggest priority. They need bullpen help as well. They may need a catcher to back up Josh Thole or take the reigns of this pitching staff.They will need to fill up their bench as well.That's at least seven players this team is in need of just to take the field next year, let alone to be competitive. With more than half the salaries tied up in a few people, how can they afford to spend another big chunk of money and still expect to get all these needs filled?It can't happen.

Reason No. 2 There have been comparisons to Rickey Henderson when talking about Jose Reyes and his potential. The truth is, he's the best leadoff hotter in all of baseball.When he's healthy. That's an important phrase.The fact is he has not been consistently healthy from wire to wire in a season since 2008, when he played 159 games.Since then, it's been 36 games in 2009, 133 in 2010 and 126 this past season. The man is getting older.His body will no doubt be feeling the effects of a full-season grind much more evidently than it did in the past. Perhaps, this is what's so inviting to him about Miami—the weather allows for less nagging aches and pains as the season progresses.His biggest injury has been his hamstrings. For a player built for the speed game, that's a big issue. How often can he come back at top speed from yet another injury?Time will tell, but eventually the speed will be gone. Injuries will hasten that departure.In the case of Henderson—and Tim Raines for that matter—they never had traumatic injuries that called their careers into question. They slowly lost a step over many years until they just weren't at top speed anymore.This is not the case with Reyes. It is apparent he's on the cusp of losing his acceleration in the next few years because of his age and health history.If the Mets signed him to an extended deal and were stuck with another player on the DL for a year at a time (like Johan Santana currently), the backlash would crumble the team.Right now, everyone is saying he needs to be signed at any cost. But what if he signs, gets hurt in spring training and then is lost for a year-and-a-half?Would it be a wise investment then?The job of a GM is not only to balance the roster from a financial standpoint, it's also to predict trends and see what the fans don't see. It would be irresponsible of Alderson to ignore this very real danger.

Reason No. 3 Let's forget for a minute about the fact Jose Reyes is a solid arm in the field. Rather, let's take a brief look at what's going on just to his left at second base.If Reyes stays, there will be three players (Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner and Reuben Tejada) vying for one position.If Daniel Murphy wins the battle due to his bat, the defense will suffer. They will therefore need a leader in the infield on a regular basis.Should Tejada or Turner win out, they would benefit from a consistent shortstop by their side, not just for leadership but for the sake of reliability and stability on defense.The Mets have to platoon at second base, but the platoon plan is contingent on the stability of the shortstop position. They need to have one guy they can count on for that infield communication and teamwork.Suppose Reyes gets hurt (which isn't too far-fetched). What happens to that communication and that teamwork? Tejada moves to short and has to adjust to not only a new position, but a new double-play partner.The cohesiveness is gone. The defense suffers as an immediate result. The truth is this is a very real scenario if the Mets re-sign Reyes.Sure, this could happen to any player, but with Reyes, the injuries are piling up.

Reason No. 4 Jose Reyes has never won a Gold Glove for his dynamic play on defense. He has been an All-Star four times, but that's almost completely due to his offense.Make no mistake—he's a solid defender, though not without the potential to make some errors.In fact, he posted as many as 18 errors this past season to tie a career mark. His speed allows him to get to many balls that an average fielder would not be able to get to.That helps him make plays more frequently but also allows for more opportunity to commit errors.Perhaps, this is why his errors were so high this year. He has solid range now, in the prime of his career. But like his health, his range will begin to deteriorate.The same speed that is missing on the base paths in a few years will be the same speed that eventually will not get to the hole in time to knock down grounders for force-outs at second.Those types of things add up.He will certainly lose his range as his body continues to break down. When he does break down, it will hurt much more than one position or one game. It will affect games at a time as the entire defense loses confidence.That's a dangerous combination for the mediocre pitching staff they have right now or the young staff they will eventually develop in the near future.Those errors will mount and they will turn into losses as a result. Then, his range, or lack thereof, will matter.

Reason No. 5 Jose Reyes is an offensive weapon. There's no question he's a force on the basepaths and at the plate when he's healthy. Again, that's the important phrase.Allow me to pose the same scenario as I did a few slides ago but in a different perspective.Suppose the Mets re-sign Reyes to a multi-year contract. He's locked in as their leadoff hitter and all is going well. Then, one day, he pulls a hamstring and is gone for three quarters of the season.The Mets, over the longer term, would still be stuck with that contract. But in the short term, who takes over as the leadoff. Angel Pagan? We all know how well he did there.Pagan had a .262 batting average this season while being shuffled between the leadoff and batting sixth. He is not the answer. He has the speed, as evidenced by his 32 stolen bases, but he is not the on-base percentage type this team needs to fill in for any length of time should Reyes go down.That hurts the lineup. All of a sudden, a middle-of-the-order-guy is at the top.The second hitter is usually batting with one out in his first at-bat in that case, because the leadoff hitter is up there hacking and rarely does that lead to success.Then, the fifth hitter has no protection behind him and doesn't get a good pitch. Therefore, he makes an out in a key moment. That affects two spots because of one player.All that could be avoided by not signing Reyes in the first place and working on the leadoff plan in spring training.Losing Reyes for an extended amount of time and seeing this scenario play out is a very real possibility.He played 125 games this year. He missed 37 games. That's a quarter of the year. Even with that, he won the batting title. That's the amazing potential he has.Yet, he also has the potential to be on the DL for stretches at a time. Not a good mix. High risk for high reward.That's a risk Sandy Alderson may not be willing to take to preserve a healthy and productive lineup.

Reason No. 6 New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson is an avid believer in the money ball system. He looks for talent in stats for cheaper prices. One stat he lives by is on-base percentage.When it comes to a prototypical leadoff man, OBP has to matter.For the Mets, it has not mattered for far too long. Jose Reyes has shown so many great sparks of being that type of player. One that can work a count and draw a walk if there is nothing good to hit. A hitter that can allow the rest of the team to see the opposing pitcher's entire arsenal.Just when you think Reyes has turned that corner, he goes back to being a first pitch-hacking slap-hitter.His career average is .292, and his career OBP is .341. Those aren't horrible, but they are not elite leadoff hitter numbers.They are better than Jimmy Rollins (.272 AVG/329 OBP) but not better than Jacoby Ellsbury (.301 AVG/.354 OBP).Both those players are considered to be comparable hitters to Reyes.He gets stolen bases when he gets on, but the trouble has been getting on. He makes far too many fly-ball outs and strikeouts for a leadoff man. His strikeouts (one per every 13 at-bats) and fly-ball outs (0.82 ground-outs to fly-outs ratio) were down last year in a career year, but that's most likely a good stretch of seasons than it's a trend.The fact is he averages 79 strikeouts a season in his nine years in the majors. That's not the small ball Sandy Alderson way. That's not how this current Mets team is looking to improve in their new ballpark.They want to have hitters they know will get on base in any way possible, who will make something happen when they are there.Unless Alderson thinks Reyes will get on consistently in the next few years like he did this past year, it is doubtful they will take a chance on a big contract for that inefficiency.

Reason No. 7 When the Mets ownership decided to fire Omar Minaya a little over a year ago, they were making a statement. They were no longer spending big money on players that had questionable health issues and/or streaky performance potential.Players like Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo were major roadblocks to the Mets for a few years due to their enormous and undeserved contracts.Perez was a constant distraction, as he could not find his way back from mediocrity and refused a minor league stint. Similarly, Castillo was injured frequently but still collecting his checks from the Mets.The Mets hired a GM who knows how to build a team on a long-term basis. To build for the future and do it as inexpensively as possible. Enter Sandy Alderson, who was the architect of the San Diego Padres and Oakland A's for several years.Neither team broke the bank for average talent. They only spent money on extended contracts for exceptional players.Jose Reyes is an exceptional player, but he also fits into the criteria of what the Omar Minaya era would have signed. The Mets still have one such player on their roster in Jason Bay. There were some questions of his game translating to Citi Field.Those questions were valid. He has been terrible. But he's a perfect example of a talented player who has probably peaked and is beginning a downward trend.Alderson would not have made that deal for Bay.In the same reasoning that Bay should not have been offered that huge sum, the same could be said for Jose Reyes.This is the perfect example of an Omar Minaya signing. A player at his peak and about to hit a downward trend, who has been riddled with injuries.Minaya often took a gamble on these players hoping to squeeze a few good years out of them. In some cases he succeeded—in most cases, he didn't.If Alderson wants to succeed here, he has to take this old mindset into consideration.I'm not saying by signing one player (no matter how good he is) to a big contract that the Mets are taking a step backward. Rather, the contract situation with Jose Reyes has been very similar to those past failures.All signs point to a bad contract. Too many of those will cost Alderson a job.


Reason No. 8 The Mets have needed a change internally for a while now. Their personnel has become stagnant. Their roster has become predictable. The names have changed, but the concept and core are still there.Let's take a look at this core. David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Pedro Martinez.How successful was this core? They got to within one strike from being in the World Series. One time.Beyond that, they've never made the playoffs. In fact, they collapsed in late September two different times. The Mets realized it was time to move on.They let Delgado and Martinez walk in free agency. They traded Beltran just this past July.Now there are two—Wright and Reyes. Wright is still here for another couple of years (unless they decide to trade him). Jose Reyes is a free agent. This team let Carlos Delgado and Pedro Martinez walk in free agency.They could be more than willing to do the same for Reyes and cut their losses in order to move on from the Omar Minaya regime and the core he set in place.If they were wise, they would cut him loose and start all over with just Wright. He's a better option for a leader for these younger players.Reyes is talented but is the face of the highly unsuccessful "New Mets" that Minaya preached so many years ago. It's time for a change. Let Alderson build a new "New Mets" team around his vision.You never know—it might just work. Even without Reyes.

Reason No. 9 There's a certain mentality in professional sport that says a player has to celebrate everything.An NFL receiver catches a first down at midfield late in the fourth quarter when his team is down by 20 points, and it's time to party!An NBA player shoots a three-pointer with under three minutes to go with his team is trailing by 25 points, so it's time to dance and beat his chest!The notion that this is passion is ridiculous. It's one thing to have passion and enjoy playing your chosen sport.It's another thing entirely to taunt and showboat your accomplishments in any and every given situation.Baseball is different from these other sports. If a player watches his own home run from the batter's box for an extra second, he's showing the pitcher up.Next plate appearance, he can expect one high and inside. There is a balance.In the case of Jose Reyes, he celebrates every little thing.Hit by a pitch? Time to hoot and holler. Gets a seeing-eye single? Applaud like it's the biggest thing you've ever done. Hit a double when your team is down by six runs in the eighth inning? Time to beat your chest and raise your fist to the sky.It's absurd and over the top. Teams get angry over it. The clubhouse antics of Reyes and other Mets players were a big motivator to teams like the then Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies.What came of all the chest pounding and excessive celebrations? Nothing.Not a thing was gained by overindulging in the waters of passion. In baseball, it takes a focused love for the game to succeed at a high level. No one can say the St. Louis Cardinals don't love the game of baseball or lacked passion.Yet they didn't go overboard when congratulating one another on something good, regardless of the situation.Jose Reyes needs this as a part of his game. If he plays with uninhibited emotion, what will the younger players around him learn? More of the same, obviously.Then, eventually, the Mets will be in position to once again be the most targeted team in baseball because of the excess celebrations.Is that a road this team wants to continue down?

Reason No. 10 The Mets are young and rebuilding. With Jose Reyes becoming a free agent, the team is at a crossroads. They can continue to stay the course and re-sign him, or they can make it known they are changing direction.The young players need a leader. Someone to lead by example on and off the field. Let's define the term leader for a minute.A leader is someone that goes to the manager when a player has been traded and tells him the team is not giving up.A leader is someone who calls closed door meetings for players only to kick them in the teeth for poor play.A leader is someone who, when you think of the team, you think of that player.A leader is someone who stays to answer all the criticism the media offers when the team just saw a multiple-game lead in the division evaporate. He will show his emotion, but he's what the other players aspire to be.Any of this fit Jose Reyes? Nope. In fact, when the Mets blew their division lead in 2007, Reyes was running out the back door and avoiding the tough questions like everyone else.Did Reyes go to Terry Collins and tell him man-to-man the team is not going to fold because Beltran and K-Rod were gone?No. That wasn't Reyes. All these things were done but not by Reyes. They were done quietly and without fanfare by David Wright.Say what you want about Wright's struggles and the high energy of Reyes—the fact is Reyes has rarely shown the qualities of a leader off the field.That's all Wright does. Fans get on him for not showing passion. He takes it in. Fans and media get on him for not hitting home runs. He takes it in. Fans and media get on him for playing hurt. He takes it in.The man shows his emotion at the right time. The man plays through pain because the team needs him on the field for more than his bat.David Wright is a leader. He is the leader this team needs moving forward. As long as Jose Reyes is in that clubhouse, the younger and more impressionable players are getting mixed signals.That hurts the manager, the team unity and the play on the field.I'm not saying Jose Reyes is a bad guy. Far from it. But he's not the leader this team needs.


10 Reasons to Keep Him BY FRANK GARY, WHO HAS CHANGED HIS MIND!:

Reason No. 1: Moving on from the "core"The "New Mets" as they were called a few years ago are long gone. But the group of players that comprised the main core of that movement are down to two: Wright and Reyes.Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez and Francisco Rodriguez are all gone. They have to move further into a direction of winning.The "core" of that old team never really won. Sure, they went to an NLCS, but they failed to complete their primary objective of winning the World Series. They had a team in 2006 that should have done exactly that. Since then, however, the team has fallen on hard times and has fallen apart. It's no surprise they are being dismantled.The two members of that core that remain are the heart of the team. Trading one would signify a change. It may be the drastic change the rest of the players and the organization, for that matter, needs to move on from the not-so-glory days of 2006.They have to break free from their losing ways and move on. This is a chance for a fresh start.

Reason No. 2: Trading Wright lightens the financial loadThe Mets are strapped for cash—that's not a secret to anyone. You don't have to be "in the know" or a financial wizard to understand that the team needs to lift some of the weight off of them that is bearing down from previous heaving contracts.Mets GM Sandy Alderson said it himself just a few days ago that the team has been hamstrung by bad contracts, stating:"It's very difficult, unless you're one of a couple of teams, to have three, four guys making $15 million-plus. I don't care who you are -- again, with the exception maybe of a couple of teams. So I would expect we'll be looking actively in the free-agent market, but we've got to get it to a position where we can be active every year and not be hamstrung by existing contracts. Part of that is making good decisions in the first place. I mean, if you invest $15 million, you hope you're going to get $15 million worth of performance. We haven't always gotten that."They need to get away from over-spending and become more financially responsible. Is David Wright's contract irresponsible? No, but it is part of the four major contracts that are tying them up from re-signing a player that they desperately need.There was a time when the Mets were operating under the delusion that money is no object, but now, not only is it an object, but it is a road block.They have to make better decisions for the future. I believe they will try to re-sign Reyes AND keep Wright, but they may get into the situation where they have to decide on one or the other.If that is the case, they need to keep Reyes. The problem is finances.

Reason No. 3: There is no replacement at the topOne of the main reasons that Reyes is so valuable is because he is a leadoff hitter. First, he is one of the best overall players in the game. Just ask Alex Rodriguez.But not only is he one of the best overall, he is an elite leadoff hitter in the league.Despite two separate stints on the DL this year, he has 84 runs scored, a .867 OPS and is competing for a batting title with a .333 AVG. All this from a leadoff man. Most of the time, he will only start the inning once or twice in a game, but he brings more to the position in the lineup than just batting first.He sets the table for the offense. He gets on, he steals, he causes disruptions on the base paths with his presence. Pitchers get distracted with his potential to steal, they hurry a throw to the plate and make a bad pitch for the batter to rip. All of a sudden, there are two runners on the corners rather than one on first. All because of Reyes. Just the threat of him stealing.Then, he can steal too. He has 35 this season. All of a sudden, he's on second and scores on a single in that scenario. A quick 1-0 lead is a major boost for their pitcher to have. He plays the game within the game—the part of the game that goes on without being analyzed and is so pivotal to the success of a team. The mind game that Reyes plays on the opposition creates havoc.The Mets don't have a viable option to replace or come close to his production in that role. His stints on the DL have proven that. Angel Pagan has been less than stellar (.263 AVG) in the leadoff and there really is no one else that fits that speed and contact hitter mold of Reyes.

Reason No. 4: Reyes plays with a passion that is irreplaceableJose Reyes plays the game the way it should be played. He brings a youthful energy to the field that is seldom seen. He always hustles. He always plays hard. He celebrates the good and is supportive in the bad.He is the first one to greet players after they have come through with a big hit or scored a big run. His celebrations have been the focus from some teams, but he has become a standard for reacting to positive events in the sport.All across MLB, you see players excitedly celebrating a play, just like Jose. That's okay for them, but not for the Mets?A few years ago, the Marlins made it their goal to eliminate the Mets from playoff contention because of their perception of Mets' celebrations as being arrogant. They were not, but it was a noticeable motivator.When Reyes is not there, the team lacks energy. They lack spunk. They still have heart and play gritty, gutsy baseball, but they lack the pure excitement and joy that they have when Reyes is in the lineup. He makes those around him better.


Reason No. 5: Reyes is a cornerstone type of playerJose Reyes is the type of player that teams want. Other teams were drooling over the option to trade for him in June until the Mets took him out of the trade rumors.He is a player that other players look up to. He is supportive and vocal. He is a leader. Players want his approval.The team knows they are not the same without him. The players got depressed and worried when he came up lame on two different occasions this season. In truth, he was the injury that stopped their momentum in July.When David Wright went down, the team still produced because of Reyes. When Ike Davis was hurt, the team still won. It was entirely on the shoulders of Jose Reyes. Reyes responded with an MVP-type of season for that stretch until he was unfortunately injured too.How much is he liked by the team's new administration? When the season started, Sandy Alderson said they would evaluate every player. The decision would be made to offer Reyes a contract only in the following offseason. Alderson was so impressed with the leadership and skills that Reyes possesses, that they reached out to the star's agent to begin negotiations for a contract extension midseason.That's not Alderson's style or track record; Alderson is a smart baseball man. He not only knows talent, but he knows natural leaders and recognizes essential personnel. If Reyes wasn't that important to the team and that well liked, Alderson would not have tried to work on an extension. He is the type of player a GM builds around.When compared to Wright, they have equal value in that respect, but Reyes has shown his worth more this season than any other. They overcame Wright's injury—they didn't overcome Reyes' until Reyes came back. That has to say something.

Reason No. 6: Jose Reyes plays Citi Field type of baseballMuch has been made of Citi Field in the past few years of its existence. Most of it falls to David Wright when the conversation gets going.Citi Field, however, is a spacious cathedral of grass. It's perfect for a fast player and a gap hitter will excel there. Perhaps the Wilpons had Jose Reyes, rather than David Wright, in mind when designing it.Jose Reyes has legged out 12 of his 16 triples there this season, six last season and two in an injury-shortened 2009 season. In other words, when he feels up to it and he hits in it the gap, Jose Reyes can leg out a triple. A triple is an even more exciting play than a home run. It is more explosive. It takes more athleticism. It can score just as many runners (except when compared to a grand slam) and it is dramatic.As the runner rounds first, the fans can feel the potential intensify. As the runner rounds second, the fans know there will be a chance taken. The exuberance that breaks out in the stands and dugout alike when a player like Jose Reyes slides safely into third is unmatched.Citi Field is a canyon for home run hitters. This is why players like David Wright and Jason Bay have struggled so mightily there.It is a pitcher's park with deep dimensions to the corners, and nearly impossible dimensions to straight away center. It is imposing to most hitters. Players like Reyes find a place to put the ball and let their legs do the rest. That's the style of play that is required there. The style of game that Jose Reyes plays.

Reason No. 7: David Wright is better off in another ballparkAs much as the Mets' home ballpark helps a player like Jose Reyes, it hurts a player like David Wright. Wright has 12 home runs this year, but only five of them are at home.He does have 12 doubles in Citi Field this season, but how many of those were massive blasts to center or left field that hit the wall? His speed made them doubles, but any other ballpark would have made them home runs. Still don't believe me?Last season, he hit 29 home runs. Among those, only 12 were at home. In the inaugural season there, in 2009, he hit only five. Again, that season he had 14 doubles. How many would have been home runs elsewhere? His power numbers have struggled enormously since the Mets moved from their former beloved home, Shea Stadium.Even arch-enemy Chipper Jones has expressed empathy for Wright's struggles in Citi Field. He stated:“It is a huge ballpark to center and right center and right field. You know, I actually feel sort of sorry for some of the guys out there because their power numbers are really going to take a hit; guys like David Wright. The days of them hitting 35, 40 homers — they’re over.”“I juiced the ball just right of center field as hard as the good Lord can let me hit a ball, and it hit midways up the center-field wall for a double,” he said. “And every time there was a long fly out or a double that hit off the wall or something, David Wright would run by me and go, ‘Nice park.’There was a time when Wright was off to a brilliant start in his career and it looked like the Mets were on pace for another Hall of Fame representative. Citi Field has all but ruined that. A more well-liked player, Jeff Francoeur called Citi Field "a joke."He cited the inability to hit home runs there as a direct result of the dimensions. Many tend to agree with him too. David Wright may or may not be as vocal about it, but there is little doubt that the park has hurt his career.Another home would help his numbers. Since the Mets aren't building a hitter-friendly ballpark any time soon, they plan on moving the fences in a little bit. The main question, though, is will it be too late to help a player like Wright get the past out of his head?

Reason No. 8: Others can step into Wright's shoesDavid Wright is a big bat in the lineup. To trade a bat of his magnitude for some teams may be a difficult blow to their offense, but it may not be for the Mets.There are several players that are capable of playing the position in the field and have shown that they can replace his offense to some degree. Two names immediately come to mind.First, is Daniel Murphy. Though I have petitioned for him in the past to be the everyday second baseman, he is naturally a third baseman. His offense this season has been severely missed since his recent injury a few weeks ago. His .328 batting AVG to go with 28 doubles was a surprise spark in an offense that was loaded with questions. He is expected to be a major contributor for years to come if he returns healthy.Secondly, is Nick Evans. Evans also plays third base as his natural position. He has developed much slower than most people expected, but even he admits that he has felt more comfortable the more opportunities he has had. It has shown. He has four home runs in just 86 at-bats this year and has raised his batting average up to .279 in a very short span of time. His hot hitting has made people sit up and take notice.The performances of each of them, combined with upstarts in the minors like minor league MVP Valentino Pascucci (who is listed as a 1B/3B on the minor league roster) have almost made Wright expendable. At the very least it would suggest that they can absorb his loss offensively.Wright is a big bat (12 home runs, 49 RBI and a .279 AVG in an off year), but it is a bat they can replace.

Reason No. 9: His market value now is higher than Beltran's was in JulyIn July, the Mets traded Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. They received Zack Wheeler for Beltran, a highly touted minor league prospect in the Giants farm system. For K-Rod, they received two players to be named later.One of them is currently on the Mets roster in the person of Danny Herrera, who has been solid so far in his first few outings in a Mets uniform and could be a part of the bullpen plan next year.Both Beltran and K-Rod were in-demand type of players. Both had reasons why the Mets would not be getting full value for them though. For Beltran, it was because he was in the final year of his contract.For K-Rod, it was because he had a multi-million dollar option guaranteed to kick in after a certain amount of games finished. Some teams were scared off. In both cases, it worked out okay for the Mets and GM Sandy Alderson came out looking smart.In the case of David Wright, he still has a few years left on his contract. They have him locked up until 2013, if they pick up all of the options on the deal. For a player in his prime, near 200 home runs (181 currently), near 1,000 stolen bases (869 currently) and closing in on 1,500 hits (1,232 as of today) in just 1,083 games played, a team will have to pay for him.Even if his contract includes $14 million this year, $15 million next year and $16 million in 2013, the Mets could pay part of that in exchange for top level prospects and MLB-ready players.If Carlos Beltran reeled in a top pitcher like Wheeler, how much more would a David Wright bring for the Mets right now?

Reason No. 10: It would be a good thing for DavidDavid Wright has been a model player for the Mets organization. He has handled the media circus day-in and day-out for seven years.That's seven years of ups and downs. That's seven years of media second-guessing of managers and him having to defend players' words and actions. He has to be mentally exhausted from the experience.Just two weeks ago, the team placed him on waivers. He downplayed the entire ordeal, but it had to hurt him inside. Behind closed doors, he has to be frustrated. When the camera is not rolling or flashing, he has to be suffering pain from the constant scrutiny. No one is that thick-skinned. Through it all, he has handled it with dignity and class.He was reassured by organizational leaders that he wasn't going anywhere, and that helped him get back into the spirit of the rehab in order to make a comeback this year. But how much can this man take? His confidence is up and down like minor league replacement players and his psyche must be as fragile as an egg right now.Still, he goes out and gives it his very best. A man like that deserves better. He deserves to be revered by the franchise he plays for, not treated as the scapegoat or spokesman for everything that is said and done by everyone at every moment. It's too much of a strain.On another team, he would be a god. Imagine how he would be treated by a small market team like Kansas City or St Louis. He would have a street named after him. Here, he is treated like garbage from the media and the fans, when he is struggling. Even if he is playing through a bad back, he is booed because he is not hitting.It's remarkable the expectations we have for him. He deserves respect. If the New York Mets can't offer it to him, they should have the decency to trade him to someone that will.