2012 Mets Season Thread

[Shea Knight]

Well, we continue to prove...we can't beat the Cubs.

But still, if you'd told me we'd even be in this position before the season began, and with a no-hitter to boot, AND with potential Cy Young and MVP candidates, I'd never have believed it, so still, all in all, happy to be at least this far at the Break, though we really do need some help.

In any case...for a little fun, going into the Break...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBz3PqA2Fmc

You've all probably seen that before, but I just found it...hilarious, one of the most fun times with the Mets in TV or movies, though I still like the Amazing Mets on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and the New New York Mets on "Futurama"...

"I know that sleazebag! He's the guy who owns the Ultimate Robot Fighting League!"
"Not anymore...NOW I'm the sleazebag who owns the New New York Mets!"
"The Mets? Those bums stink worse than I do!"
"Close to it! but THEY don't draw a crowd like you do, which is why I wanna sign you to the team! I figure a one-eyed lady skull-buster might bring out the freak-show crowd."

(And yet, somehow, I'd still take him as the owner over Wilponzi!)

[Brooklyn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBz3PqA2Fmc

Great skit, although the Mets were in Pittsburgh that day. I'm always more impressed when the writers take the time to make it historically accurate

[Shea Knight]

Great skit, although the Mets were in Pittsburgh that day. I'm always more impressed when the writers take the time to make it historically accurate

If this were done today, they could've made it a real game easily...

I can think of some games where errors have cost us 5 runs and the game easily. I can see it now...

[theAmazingMet]

Pretty boring ASG after the 1st inning. David Wright was quiet, but RA Dickey got out of a jam in his only inning. Just an aside but how does Rodney get away with wearing his hat all ghetto? There's actually a rule that a player must wear the hat squarely on the head. I'd like to know how Rodney gets to wear it all gangster, I think Brandon Phillips does it too. Just a pet peeve of mine, I think the look is just....well... DUMB.

[Shea Knight]

Pretty boring ASG after the 1st inning. David Wright was quiet, but RA Dickey got out of a jam in his only inning. Just an aside but how does Rodney get away with wearing his hat all ghetto? There's actually a rule that a player must wear the hat squarely on the head. I'd like to know how Rodney gets to wear it all gangster, I think Brandon Phillips does it too. Just a pet peeve of mine, I think the look is just....well... DUMB.

I've never seen Rodney before, actually (between watching the Dodger games for Vin Scully and the occasional Giants/Dodgers matchup and being a Mets fan, I AM really an NL-first guy at heart, I guess, really only the Red Sox/Yankees/Angels grab my attention from the AL, the Mariners and Orioles used to when Junior and Cal were playing) but I don't have a problem with him wearing his hat that way...

Looks different, and I feel the Major Sports try and be a bit too conformist sometimes and squeeze out the fun, like the NFL having a fit over T.O.'s TD celebrations; I know the whole "act like you've been there before" routine, but as long as you can back it up, I see no problem in a little flamboyance and fun, like the time he asked for pom poms from the cheerleader and did a little dance, that was fun...the Sharpie incident was pushing it, but still, there's a middle ground between no fun and overdoing it.

Same with baseball--a little fun and a little quirkiness doesn't hurt the game at all, in fact, I think it helps, that's one of the NBA's great strengths, that you can easily identify the players, and quirks DO help casual or incoming fans get invested in players, and from there, they can start to grow to care about the team as well, and then maybe the league as a whole and become a real fan.

[theAmazingMet]

Quirks are fine, looking like you belong in a 50 cent video are another, whats next underwear showing above droopy baseball pants? I cant stand the way Joba Chamberlin wears his hat either, looks like he belongs on a WWII destroyer gun crew with that helmet.

[Shea Knight]

Well, with uniforms the way they are and belts and all, I don't think we have to worry about the "Ain't my boxers purdy, yo?" look just yet...

But I dunno, short of that...if he really wanted to wear his hat in a silly way because of 50 Cent, I'd be OK with hit--don't listen to 50 Cent (I don't even know a single song of his) but I guess if the wanted to sport that look with his hat, how's that too different from the sort of movie/rock star mustaches that the 1970s and 1980s sometimes had going on, sunglasses and all?

I just tend to put this sort of stuff in the category of batting order music (which I'm again OK with for all the 5 seconds it plays, why not) and whichever reliever it is that runs onto the field and slides, can't remember who that is, but someone does it, and the fans love him and love it when he does that...and it's just fun. Meh.

As long as they're not injecting themselves with steroids right in the butt or smoking in the clubhouse (kids DO watch, after all, so smoking would be against the MLB rules and really a bad example of the kids...chewing tobacco I guess is sort of grandfathered into the game, though at least parents can lie to their 5-year old I suppose and tell Billy he's just spitting out...I dunno, something else) then I say let them have a bit of fun with these tilted hats and shaving cream pies.

Brings a little of the little leaguer element back into the game, which I think people miss a little and really do and would like in an era when something so innocent as letting a 37-year old start his one and only All-Star Game after a great storybook first half is drubbed out because of the baseball bureaucratic, calculating, cold mindset of certain people, and when players make millions of dollars when many people (myself included) are still trying to get their first job or get a new job and off unemployment.

[Paulypal]

Pretty boring ASG after the 1st inning. David Wright was quiet, but RA Dickey got out of a jam in his only inning. Just an aside but how does Rodney get away with wearing his hat all ghetto? There's actually a rule that a player must wear the hat squarely on the head. I'd like to know how Rodney gets to wear it all gangster, I think Brandon Phillips does it too. Just a pet peeve of mine, I think the look is just....well... DUMB.

Giant fans were rewarded by stuffing the ballot box. Pablo/Melkey leading the way with Cain pitching two scoreless innings. As far as Rodney goes its ridiculous. I dont think his hat came with instructions. I hate that $hit...its just more "look at me" stuff.

Anyway now that the meaningless is over. Time for the 2nd half and hopefully the Mets hang in. The next 12 games can decide which direction they go in.

[Cowtipper]

39-year-old CJ Nitkowski, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005, or in the affiliated minor leagues since 2006, or professionally at all since 2010, was signed to a minor league contract. They gave him a look in the offseason, but decided not to give him a contract. I guess they gave him another look and liked what they saw this time around.

[Shea Knight]

Umps making all kinds of mistakes this game, and it's cost the Mets in the 5th...

[milladrive]

This game should immediately be played under protest. Even if they overruled the call as a trap, Prado should've been called out when he was tagged by Davis when he returned to first. On the next play, there would've been three outs and the inning would've been over. But the umps improperly put Prado at second, and he scored on the two out double by Freeman. The inning as per the rule book should've been over with Chipper's ground out.

I've seen umps make mistakes before -- like, for instance, calling Valdespin out at first on the bunt when he was clearly safe -- but hey, that's the human element in baseball that I love. It balances out in the long run. But this was an entire crew's mistake. Not one of them got the rule correct, and there's no excuse for that.

There's no way a protest would not be upheld if the Mets lose this game by two or less runs!

[milladrive]

Seems I was mistaken. The umps did precisely the right thing according to the rule book.

Now it's just the same old typical blown lead by the Mets' pitiful deplorable useless worst-in-the-majors bullpen. Alderson needs desperately to address this by the deadline. Period.

[Blue387]

Seems I was mistaken. The umps did precisely the right thing according to the rule book.

Now it's just the same old typical blown lead by the Mets' pitiful deplorable useless worst-in-the-majors bullpen. Alderson needs desperately to address this by the deadline. Period.

The team did fight back and tied up the game, which is good.

[Shea Knight]

Still a bad call, by all rights he should have been tagged out all the same, even if it counts as a hit, you can have all the speculation you want, but in ruling...

He tagged the guy out, I'm sorry, you can award a hit, as it was a hit, but it's absurd to then waive off the tag out, especially when it was the umps bad call that allowed this whole situation to crop up at all.

But in any case--

SHAMEFUL work by that bullpen, and I usually like Bobby, but all around, disgustingly poor.

If this bullpen were even SUB-PAR we'd be a few games further up...but we don't even have a sub-par bullpen, we have an ATROCIOUS bullpen, we may as well not have one at all, I'd feel safer having any of our starters pitch with a pitch count over 120 then ANY of these guys coming in fresh, they are THAT BAD.

[Paulypal]

Seems I was mistaken. The umps did precisely the right thing according to the rule book.

Now it's just the same old typical blown lead by the Mets' pitiful deplorable useless worst-in-the-majors bullpen. Alderson needs desperately to address this by the deadline. Period.

Hopefully they can upgrade. I am sure everyone with a blue chip in their pen available to be traded is getting phone calls from anyone that is a contender. The question is - do the Mets have enough to out bid other teams?

What do they give up to get a guy like Street or someone like that? Everyday that passes these guys become more valuable.

I heard on WFAN a fan call with a trade- Justin Turner, a bullpen guy, and a low level SP (not any of the blue chippers) for Felix Hernandez. I had to pull my car over.

[Cowtipper]

They should sign Sergio Mitre. He may be an Elmer Dessens 2.0.

[Strawman]

Hopefully they can upgrade. I am sure everyone with a blue chip in their pen available to be traded is getting phone calls from anyone that is a contender. The question is - do the Mets have enough to out bid other teams?

What do they give up to get a guy like Street or someone like that? Everyday that passes these guys become more valuable.

I heard on WFAN a fan call with a trade- Justin Turner, a bullpen guy, and a low level SP (not any of the blue chippers) for Felix Hernandez. I had to pull my car over.

I dunno, a lot of teams are trying to stockpile journeymen infielders with "plus" whipped cream pie throwing and rally cap abilities!

[Chuck The Mets Fan!]

CB Bruckner, the worst umpire ever?

[Shea Knight]

Somehow down 6-0 now...?

Well, a sweep to start the second half, and at the hands of the Braves (again, oh joy, childhood come to life again.)

What now?

[Blue387]

Regression is a bitch.

[Paulypal]

Regression is a bitch.

As I said the 12 games after the break will determine if the Mets are buyers or sellers. If they get swept by the Nats we don't have to wait the 12 games.

[Chuck The Mets Fan!]

Hopefully they can upgrade. I am sure everyone with a blue chip in their pen available to be traded is getting phone calls from anyone that is a contender. The question is - do the Mets have enough to out bid other teams?

What do they give up to get a guy like Street or someone like that? Everyday that passes these guys become more valuable.

I heard on WFAN a fan call with a trade- Justin Turner, a bullpen guy, and a low level SP (not any of the blue chippers) for Felix Hernandez. I had to pull my car over.

Ahh, We Mets fans... To get a Felix Hernandz, The Mets would have to give up Wheeler, Harvey, Flores, Mazzoni and maybe a Nimmo. Even that's too much for a potential ace yet a team with TOO many wholes to fill. Trading Wright would bring back A level prospects, if Santana could right his ship, he could bring back some help.

The depressing thing about the Mets this season is that they only signed 18 of the 41 players, and in those they signed the only potential MLB ready star they took was Cecchini and that might be years away. A co worker of mine spoke about The Mets in general and their lack of a position playing mega star, Strawberry COULD HAVE BEEN, but wasn't. It 42 years to produce a David Wright and Jose Reyes, but i would say either are franchise players. Will the Mets have their Trout or Harper?

[Paulypal]

Ahh, We Mets fans... To get a Felix Hernandz, The Mets would have to give up Wheeler, Harvey, Flores, Mazzoni and maybe a Nimmo. Even that's too much for a potential ace yet a team with TOO many wholes to fill. Trading Wright would bring back A level prospects, if Santana could right his ship, he could bring back some help.

The depressing thing about the Mets this season is that they only signed 18 of the 41 players, and in those they signed the only potential MLB ready star they took was Cecchini and that might be years away. A co worker of mine spoke about The Mets in general and their lack of a position playing mega star, Strawberry COULD HAVE BEEN, but wasn't. It 42 years to produce a David Wright and Jose Reyes, but i would say either are franchise players. Will the Mets have their Trout or Harper?

I posted something similar in another thread (or maybe earlier in this one--who knows after a while). The history of Met position players is disgusting. Plain and simple.

In my opinion Strawberry was BY FAR the most interesting player in their history. Strictly talking on the field. I dont know maybe I was more of die hard back then or some other reason, but I tried not to miss a Straw at bat back in the day.

Now we see all this young talent coming up - Harper, McCutchen, Trout, Trumbo, and we come up with Kirk, Thole, and Duda. Then we are supposed to get excited that all the players are homegrown????? Ridiculous.

[Shea Knight]

I posted something similar in another thread (or maybe earlier in this one--who knows after a while). The history of Met position players is disgusting. Plain and simple.

In my opinion Strawberry was BY FAR the most interesting player in their history. Strictly talking on the field. I dont know maybe I was more of die hard back then or some other reason, but I tried not to miss a Straw at bat back in the day.

Now we see all this young talent coming up - Harper, McCutchen, Trout, Trumbo, and we come up with Kirk, Thole, and Duda. Then we are supposed to get excited that all the players are homegrown????? Ridiculous.

Well, in fairness, I like Kirk/Thole/Duda...

They're obviously not Trout/Harper/Trumbo, not anywhere close (though I think Kirk has the most upside by far, he just came up and rookies strikeout a lot, if he gets that under control, I can see him being a "good" player, if not an All-Star like the group above) but still.

I'm not prepared to bury the Mets just yet, they've gotten this far, and we didn't think they would. Every team, after all, goes through bad stretches, and the Braves and Nationals will get theirs as well...we just have less of a margin for error.

2/3 of those last games should have been wins, this series sweep is almost entirely the fault of pitching; Young/Dickey/Santana I can pardon, they've had their good moments (more than obvious with the last two) and Dickey in particular wasn't bad so much as he wasn't Dickey-sharp...if not for that absurdly-broken play in the 5th, he probably gets out of the inning with the score still tied, and that of course makes a huge difference.

The bullpen is another matter--WE CAN'T win without bullpen help, whether you count that as winning this year, Pauly, or winning next year or any year, we NEED some actual arms in there.

We have more than enough outfielders, and a couple others...at this point, with the exception of trading Kirk (as I said, I think he can be a good player after he gets over the Rookie-K Blues) I'd say any of those players are fair game...trade them for SOME help at the deadline.

If you can honestly tell me, Pauly, that with a competent bullpen--I'll be generous and say MLB's 20th best bullpen or better--we wouldn't be above the Braves right now and in a tighter race with the Nationals...then go ahead.

Otherwise, I see no need to sell the farm and play for prospects just yet, I think we HAVE a team that can contend for those WC slots and the division right now...it just needs a bullpen that isn't dead-last in MLB and has blown more games (by far) than any other bullpen.

I'll say it right now--

Fix that bullpen at the deadline, have it perform down the stretch like a competent bullpen that DOESN'T blow the most games by far of any MLB bullpen...

And we make the playoffs. We at least win one of the two WCs and get to play against the other WC team, and even if we lost that game...that's still far greater than we could've hoped for, and gives us some legitimate hope with Harvey and Wheeler coming through the system in the next year or two.

It needs to happen, and the sooner the better--as long as his name isn't Captain Kirk, Ike (no one will take him now, anyway), Wright, and possibly Tejada (probably should keep him, unless we can use him with others to get a Hanrahan or something) then they're fair game out of the position players.

Trade who we need to get some bullpen help, and those who are left WILL deliver...or at least they'll be given the chance, knowing every time they get a lead and the bullpen comes in they don't have to worry about it immediately being thrown away.

[Blue387]

I would be happy if this team won 83 games.