JACKPOT!!!!

METS LAND JOHAN SANTANA

This is truly a great day to be a Mets fan. Not only does Omar Minaya and the Mets land THE premier pitcher in all of baseball, they do so without giving up any starting players OR their top prospect, Fernando Martinez. For Omar to pull this trade off is remarkable when you think about where the Mets were 2 months ago... which was behind the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels in terms of best deals on the table. Omar, all is forgiven after that horrible Milledge trade!

For the Twins, you have to feel a bit sorry for their fanbase. Again, the economics of baseball deprive them of an opportunity to hold on to a future hall of famer... wait what am I saying, screw that WE JUST GOT THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL FOR DIRT CHEAP!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Let's Go Mets!

Getting Close

Under Construction

Hey guys - My first little dip into blogging has been fun and very informative. With the information I learned, I'm coming back full steam next season with a bigger and even better MetsBrotha. Thanks to all who found this blog interesting and all I have to say is just wait. Next year is going to be funnnnn!!! Look for MetsBrotha to make a reappearance sometime in late February/Early March - just in time for Spring Training.

How To Cope With the Loss

Haha now this is funny stuff! Sean Gregory over at Time magazine is a lifelong Mets fan. So needless to say, he's feeling the blues just like all of us. So he asks the question:

So how do they get over it? How can sports fans, whose teams so often tease them with outsize expectations, deal with such unexpected failures? How should I, a lifelong Mets lover who has lived through so much disappointment from this franchise, take the greatest heartbreak of them all?

He continues:

The first step is to accept how much it hurts, regardless of those dismissive observers you might know who tell you to have some perspective, that it's just the end of the season, not the end of the world. Sure, the fate of your sports team is less pressing than, say, your marriage or mortgage, and it may seem ridiculous to tie your self-esteem to the actions of multimillionaire athletes who don't know you one bit, but you have to allow yourself to mourn a little. "It's natural to be upset," says Dr. Richard Lustberg, a clinical psychologist from Long Island and creator of the Psychology of Sports website. "Baseball is being taken away from you. It's difficult to handle, especially when watching Mets games have become part of your routine. There's some reality to it. It's like you've suddenly had an aneurysm."

An aneurysm? Sooooooo watching the Mets lose is like having an aneurysm? Call me crazy but it ain't hurt THAT bad.

You can click here to read the rest of the Time magazine article.

Here's my advice:

1.) First, grab a Heineken. Better yet, since this loss was such a tough one to take... make that some scotch or vodka on the rocks.

2.) Next, lift said drink and swallow as fast as you can.

3.) Next, repeat steps 1 and 2 over and over again until the Mets become the absolute last thing on your mind. Or until you pass out. Either or, you won't have to thnk about the "collapse."

And remember - don't drink and drive! Holla back.

Surprise: Scott Schoeneweis Received Steroids

Why am I not surprised. Looks like Scott "Show Me The Door" Schoeneweis had a thing for juice. And I ain't talking about Hawaiian Punch. Check it out:

Scott Schoeneweis, the veteran New York Mets reliever and a survivor of testiticular cancer, received six steroid shipments from Signature Pharmacy while playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2003 and 2004, ESPN has learned.

According to a source in Florida close to the ongoing investigation of Signature, Schoeneweis' name appears on packages that were sent to Comiskey Park while the White Sox were battling to win the AL Central title in 2003. Two more shipments arrived at the stadium in 2004, months before Schoeneweis underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow.

Source: ESPN.com


First off let me point out again that it seems like a good amount of pitchers were on the juice, far more than I ever imagined. But seriously, do the Mets have to sign all of them? I mean first Guillermo Mota and now Scotty. Sheesh it just gets worse by the minute.

Mets Will Keep Randolph

Looks like Willie Randolph will not be fired after the team's historic collapse.

From Newsday:

Willie Randolph will visit the principal's office today at Shea Stadium, and he'll be told to never, ever do that again. He'll be warned that if he attempts another stunt like this, he can try getting work with his first organization, the Pirates.

Mets ownership, particularly COO Jeff Wilpon, is livid about the collapse that ended with Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Marlins. It's understandable. But it's heartening to see that the Wilpon family - described yesterday by Omar Minaya as "an ownership group that's a fan" - will look past its rage and give Willie another chance in 2008.

Randolph deserves that opportunity, because, just as Minaya said at his Shea post-mortem, his body of work as a manager merits it. He also should come back because it would be criminal to scapegoat Randolph for what turned into a system-wide malfunction.

Honestly, it's the right move. The team's struggles down the stretch were more of Omar Minaya's doing than anything. Willie just played the cards he was dealt. Turns out his deck needed a few more aces and trump cards.

A Sad Day...

I was originally going to post this long analytical piece on everything I think went wrong with the Mets. Then I got an email message from one of the biggest Mets fans I've ever known in my life. So instead of going in depth, I'll just post her email and my response. I think it sums up the emotions that all of us Mets fans have gone through these past weeks.

---

Subject:
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 08:32:55 -0400
From: ************
To: ************


Well Keith, I really don't know what to say, except that was the worst Mets game I have ever seen in my entire life. I'm not even disappointed, I'm just mad. The Phillies deserve that playoff spot, they played their hearts out for it and that is something the Mets just didn't do. Things might turn out differently next year if the Mets make some changes this winter. Thanks for the encouraging words the past few weeks.

---

My response:

Hey ***... yeah this sucks. I really kept hope and thought they would eventually pull it out. I mean, they're not called the "Amazin' Mets" for nothing. And after Saturday, I just knew deep down that Philly would blow it and the Mets would slide in. But after the first inning of yesterday's game, I knew it was not to be.

I just can't understand how this team lost so many games in the same fashion night in and night out for the last month. Score 6 runs, take a 3-run lead into the 6th inning, watch the bullpen blow it. Hold the other team to 2 runs, score 1 run on our end, lose the game. I mean it was sickening to watch. No clutch hitting, no clutch pitching... The whole thing is unbelievable.

A year ago I remember saying how the Mets would be good for years to come because the core of the team was young and Omar was building for the future. At the same time the Yankees were the old team of has-beens with the gloomy future. Somehow the whole thing flip-flopped and now the Mets look extremely old.

And what in the world was up with Jose Reyes? The guy seemed depressed for the better part of 4 months and it showed on the field.

They should just let all of the old players on this team go their merry way and continue to build for the future. Wright will be an MVP someday and we should build around him. Delgado, Glavine, El Duque, Alou (even though he hit well this season) Lo Duca, Green, Castillo... I say let them all go. Play Milledge and Gomez or bring up the kid Fernando Martinez and let them play the outfield. Get a young, big bat to replace Delgado or fill one of the corner outfield slots. But most importantly, get an infusion of young pitching talent into the organization. If that means trading Milledge or Gomez so be it.

The big question - would you trade Jose Reyes for Johan Santana? The fact that I can even sit here and not give you a definitive answer says a lot.

Anyway, Omar has plenty of work to do this offseason. They basically need everything - bullpen help, quality starting pitching and a legit, clutch run producer for the middle of the lineup. It sucks not to have October baseball this year when making the playoffs was never really in doubt all season... but hey what can you do?

So for 2008 and beyond... Let's Go Mets!

(P.S. - Even though things didn't go our way this year I can honestly say that I'd still take being a fan of this team over any other team on the planet. They broke our hearts but that sorta comes with the territory when being a Mets fan. This year's team learned a valuable lesson and hopefully it will stick with them when we compete for the World Series next year. Yes, I still believe.)

..............

New York Times: You Gotta Bereave

Newsday: Pedro Can't Unsink Ship

Newsday: Willie Remains Upbeat

New York Post: Jimmy Rollins Was Right

New York Post: It Ain't Over Just Yet

Daily News: Randolph Guarantees Win

Who Is The "Face" Of The Mets?

This question was posed recently to a group of panelists over at ESPN. It was a simple question - Who is the face of each MLB franchise? Here's the criteria that was used by the panel:

We took into consideration skill, popularity, historical and future impact and a host of intangibles to determine which current player, manager, executive, mascot or symbol best represented each of Major League Baseball's 30 franchises.

So who did they chooses as the face of the Mets? Well 4 out of 5 panelists picked Jose Reyes. The only dissenter was Matt Cerrone over at Metsblog.com who went with Willie Randolph.

Click here to see the results for the Mets.

Here are the complete results for every MLB team.

So what do I think? Without a doubt, Jose Reyes is the face of the Mets. If you ask the average baseball fan this question they will say Reyes. Why?

Well for one, he gets all of the hype and praise on Baseball Tonight and every other baseball show that exists. He's billed as the most exciting player in baseball and was even thought of as a possible top fantasy player and MVP before this season. Plus his smile is infectious, he shows personality on the field and is widely regarded as the gasoline for the the engine that is the Mets offense.

So as you can tell from that glowing (biased?) review I just gave to Jose "Hovito" Reyes, I agree with the 4 panelists.

Now while I love Willie Randolph, I think Matt Cerrone is doing some wishful thinking when they say Randolph is the face of the Mets. Sure behind the scenes, he's the one that runs the ship. But when the bright lights are on, it's Reyes who attracts the spotlight. As a matter of fact, the only managers I can think of that can be considered the face of their teams are Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella and Joe Torre. And Sweet Lou has some serious comp with Carlos Zambrano and Derrek Lee as does Joe Torre with Mr. Perfect, Derek Jeter. So sorry Willie, J-Rabbit got you beat here.

(On a side note, the guy who chose Andy Pettitte as the face of the Yankees needs to lose his right to analyze anything for the nest 2 years. Andy Pettitte? Over Torre, A-Rod, Jeter and Steinbrenner? Please.)

It's funny... if you would have asked me this question 2 or 3 years ago I would have said David Wright without question. Goes to show you how things can change in a hurry. Holla back.

Staying Positive

So I take another little hiatus from blogging... (hey it's the summertime, a brother got to get his Will Smith on!) and when I come back, guess what? The Mets have INCREASED their lead in the NL East. That's what's up, and, it's not entirely unexpected.

Here's the proof. For one, the Mets have the best road record IN ALL OF BASEBALL. Yes, better than the Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees (a mediocre road team), Diamondbacks... you name it. And the key to being an elite team in any sport is how well you are able to perform on the road.

Also the Mets are 23-10 against the Central Division this year. They beat up on the scrubs and hold their own against any team not named Atlanta. Pittsburgh and Washington were exactly the remedy this team needed to make a final push towards the playoffs. With a 5-game lead and only 35 games left in the season, the Mets pretty much control their own Destiny.

So my goal from now until the end of September is to remain positive and optimistic about the team. I want the good vibes to continue and maybe, just maybe, some good karma will rub off on this squad.

Here are a few positives I see going into the stretch run:

• The starting pitching staff is actually performing pretty well at the moment. Tommy Glavine and his 83 mph fastball is still producing results and El Duque has been outstanding. Add a (hopefully) effective Pedro Martinez to the mix and the Mets are looking pretty good going into September. Also, Jorge Sosa has really adapted to the bullpen well and Billy Wagner has been great all season.



• The bench has gotten much better since the departure of Julio Franco and once Endy Chavez returns, the bench will be great. The loss of Damian Easley will hurt, but hopefully Endy can make up for much of that. Milledge and Green will probably platoon once Delgado is back, leaving Marlon Anderson in the Julio Franco position of veteran bat off the bench.



• Beltran is heating up. We've seen this before. When Beltran heats up, he can carry a team all by himself. With Delgado struggling, having a hot Beltran and Alou in the middle of the lineup will be key to the Mets success offensively and in general. Let's hope they both can keep it up.



• The inconsistency of both the Braves and Phillies is what will really determine the Mets fate. While they should definitely make the wild card at least, it's not entirely out of reason that both the Philthies and the Bravos make late season runs. Getting Utley and Victorino back will definitely be a boost to Philly, and we have already seen the effect Texeira has had on the Braves lineup. The Mets need to protect their cushion at all costs.



• The schedule. While the next stretch of games will be key to the Mets season (7 against the Phillies, 6 against the Braves), even if they stumble, the last 2 weeks of the season are insanely easy. All of the last 14 games are against either the Marlins or the Nationals (with a makeup game against the Cardinals being the only exception). So even if the Mets are a game or so out, they stand to gain ground at the end of the year as long as they take care of these cupcake teams

So I'm being positive. I certainly think they will make the playoffs and I certainly think they will go at least as far as they did last year. But the goal is the World Series. It's time to go get it. Holla back.