I know there is August and of course, the scary September for the New York Mets, but July looks like the month that can propel the Mets into contenders.  June was a tough schedule, and there were plenty of down moments, but somehow, someway, these gritty, scrappy, never say die Mets went 15-13.  It’s exactly what I said they had to do to keep a float and they did it.

The Mets have a six game homestand before the All Star break and the end of the first half.  Before I get into these next 6 games and the rest of July, I have to comment on what the Mets have done so far this first half of the season.  This team was written off by at least 80% of the so called baseball “experts.”  They were written off by maybe 60% of their own fans, including me.  Fans still are having a tough time believing in this team, as you can see with David Wright not getting enough votes to beat out a guy who has 6 home runs and nickame is Panda Bear.

David Wright is the National League MVP at the moment.  Yes Kemp, Votto, Braun, McCutchen, Beltran and Ruiz are having fine years.  But David Wright is in the biggest city, on a team branded to be the biggest losers since the 1962 Mets.  He has had a struggling Ike Davis, a inconsistent Duda and a veteran Hairston protecting him all year.  Wright use to have guys like Delgado, and Beltran protecting him.  He was suppose to have Bay helping him out.  But without legit help for most of the year, Wright is hitting .354 with a .447 OBP.  He has 98 hits, 26 doubles and 9 home runs.  Also has 50 RBI, 8 stolen bases, and his strike outs are down.  The guy is flat out raking it.  He is the MVP, without him, the Mets don’t contend, they don’t matter.

R.A Dickey is obviously the first half Cy Young and could contend for MVP if pitchers ever won that award again. Dickey is 12-1, with a 2.15 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  That’s incredible for a guy who has one pitch and has never been this dominant.  He is also second in MLB in strike outs with 116 to Strausburgs 122.  He has three complete games, two of them being shut outs. Their is nobody in the National League or American League that is pitching close to what he’s doing.  I hope he keeps it up and wins the real Cy Young Award.

And if you can see where I am going, Terry Collins is the Manager of the Year so far.  Just remember what I said about the Mets, and where experts and fans had them being.  As much as the credit that Wright and Dickey get, Collins deserves much more.  The guy has been a terrific manager for this ballclub in these rough times.  It’s possible the Mets can falter and become irrelevant.  But with Collins leading the way, I highly doubt that.   They might not make the playoffs, but they will fight till that last day, I can guarantee that.

So July starts with a 6 game homestand, three with the Phillies and three with the Cubbies.  The Mets must go 4-2 and take both series.  Not just one.  They need to take 2 out of 3 from the Phils, and need to take 2 out of 3 from the Cubbies for revenge from last week.  The Mets play 24 games in July, 12 of them against the division.  Six of those twelve, are against the first place nationals.  So if the Mets want to become true contenders, they must go 14-10, 15-9 this month.  It’s a lot to ask for a club with so many apparent flaws.  But they have done great so far, they can continue it.

Remember Mets Fans, Ya Gotta Believe!!

If you read my previous article, I said the New York Mets needed to show some consistency.  We won’t know for another week if Mets will start playing winning baseball consistently, but we do know the Mets just went 4-2 this past week and I said that was the record they needed to prove to themselves they are still in it.

Losing to the Yankees is never fun, mainly because their fans like to rub it in, and start talking about championships that happened during the first World War.  But interleague is over and it’s time for the New York Mets to go on a run here and make up some ground in the division and wild card races.

Forget what Dickey did tonight, he will bounce back, and got Santana leading off a must win series against the Cubs tomorrow night.  Need to take 2 maybe even all 3 to really go on a nice run.  We won’t know until next Sunday if the Mets can build on this week, but I think they can and will.

The losses to the Yankees were tough but inspiring.  They fought to the end.  Collins made some mistakes, the pitchers had their problems and Mets stopped hitting in the clutch.  Tip your hat to the Yankees and forget it, get 4 or 5 wins this week and this subway series means nothing.

Don’t give up Mets fans, and don’t worry about “those” yankee fans.  Let them gloat over regular season games.  You would think a team with 27 World Titles would only be focused on one thing, but when your team celebrates making catches like Nick Swisher, what do you expect!

But that’s enough ribbing on the Yankees, respect their organization and most of their players.  They earned the series victory, but wasn’t easy, the Mets fought and us Met fans can take that as a positive.

So Relax, take a breath, and tune into tomorrow night for Santana vs Cubs.  Will be a dandy!

Two short years ago Robert Allen Dickey was designated for assignment by the New York Mets, he could have asked to be released, but he had nowhere else to go…  Instead, Dickey looked at the demotion as an opportunity, an opportunity to refine his craft.  He would do just that and then some.  After he returned to the Mets in 2011 he was a “quality start guy,” you know, 3 runs or less while pitching 6+ innings.  Since then he has transformed himself into a bonafide number one starter (yes, we know Johan pitches for the Mets).  In 2012 Dickey came to spring training equipped with a Knuckler that dives, dances, changes speeds, rises?, and basically flabbergasts opposing hitters.  R.A. had figured “it” out.

 

As a stud “conventional” pitcher coming out of the University of Tennessee he was robbed of first round draft pick money because he was found, through a physical, to be missing the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his pitching arm.   Dickey has been quoted saying, “Doctors looked at me and said I shouldn’t be able to turn a doorknob without feeling pain, let alone pitch in the major leagues.”  In 2012, pitching pain-free, Dickey has gone on to pitch back to back 1-hitters while amassing a 42 1/2 inning scoreless streak, second only in Mets history to Dwight Gooden’s 49 inning streak.  Not only is Dickey preventing the opposition from scoring, he’s striking out hitters at an alarming rate.  He has seven straight starts with at least 8 strikeouts and has only issued 2 walks over that span.  This string of games matches the modern record, accomplished three times previously by Sandy Koufax (1965), Curt Schilling (1997) and Randy Johnson (2001), some pretty good company as far as I’m concerned.

 

R.A. has hitters consistently shaking their heads as they slowly walk back to the dugout after striking out.  But more  importantly he has transformed his every start into a “must watch” for Mets fans and baseball fans alike.  Even Terry Collins has said, “Every time he takes the mound he has a chance for a no-hitter.”  There isn’t a more humble, likable, down to earth player in the major leagues than R.A. Dickey.  This only fuels his popularity as he Knuckles his way into stardom.

 

Kudos Mr. Dickey! Can’t wait for Sunday night…

 

Mets fans enjoy the show.

 

-Brothers verDorn

 

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Boy it’s not easy following the New York Mets.  This season has given us more than we could of expected.  The Mets are fighting without a true superstar in their lineup.  They have been winning with just one true ace, a solid starter and 3 question marks every night.  Until recently, their number 4 hitter and young first baseman was producing absolutely nothing. But they keep showing resiliency, and now after being swept by the Reds at home, they will have to show it again.

The Mets swept Tampa with such ease, that maybe us Met fans got a little spoiled.  We expected them to compete against the Central Leading Reds, but they couldn’t.  Now the Mets will have to rebound, and it won’t be easy.  This week, they play the American League Wildcard Leading Orioles, followed by the best team and hottest team in baseball New York Yankees.  The team that swept the Mets out of Yankee Stadium a week ago.

The Mets need consistency.  They need to build on the resiliency they keep showing and go on a nice little run here to end out this month.  Their next 12 games, 9 of them are against 3 of the top 4 teams in baseball.  The other 3 are against the Cubs in Wrigley, which no matter how bad the Cubs are, the Mets never fare well in Wrigley.

Not to be negative, but this season, any chance, any life the Mets might have, lies on this week.  They must go 3-3 against the Orioles and the Yankees.  Even if it means sweeping Baltimore and then being swept, 3-3 is imperative.  I don’t care how it happens, but every Mets fan would sign up for that record this week.

So while we applaud the resiliency and the fight this club has given us, and it has been more than expected.  As New Yorkers, we now expect consistency.  Fair or not, we expect them to compete.  Time to show their true metal.  Their season is on the line this week.

10. Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals) 2012
6 years, $100 million. (Average Yearly Salary: 16.7mil.)
18 million team option for 2020, 2 million buyout.
Personal services clause earns him $10 million over 5 years after the contract expires.

How bad?: Obviously the jury is still out, but Ryan Zimmerman doesn’t strike us as a player worthy of such a massive contract. The dude is solid, don’t get us wrong…but making him the second highest paid 3B of all time? Come on. This contract could turn out to be a real black hole for the Nats. That, mixed with the ‘personal services’ clause, lands him at #10 on this list.

What’s interesting: Zimm is currently one of only 6 major leaguers signed through 2019 (Pujols, Tulowitzki, Fielder, Braun, Kemp).

 

9. Adam Eaton (Phillies) 2007
3 years, 24.5 mil (AYS: 7.6 mil)
1 million signing bonus

How bad?: In 2007, Eaton went 10-19 with a 6.29 ERA. It wasn’t much better in ’08 where he tallied a 4-8 record with a 5.80 ERA. If that wasn’t enough, he decided to carry the trend into the minors going 0-5 with a 7.16 ERA between Single A and Triple A. Adam was eventually released with $9 mil remaining on his contract.

What’s interesting: He’s probably the only guy ever to get

 

8. Luis Castillo (Mets) 2007
4 years, 25 mil (AYS: 6 mil)
1 million signing bonus

How bad?: This one may be up for debate. To Castillo’s credit, he hit .270 during the first three years of this contract, but his salary was just too large for the type of player he was– slap hitter with terrible knees. That made expectations unrealistic and as a result, Mets fans developed a healthy hatred for the guy (That against the Yanks didn’t make him any friends either). Castillo was eventually released with one year remaining on the agreement.

What’s interesting: Combined, the contracts of Perez and Castillo had the Mets on the hook for seven years and $61 million. Wow.

 

7. Kenshin Kawakami (Braves) 2009
3 years, 23 mil (AYS: 7.6mil)

How bad?: KK pitched to the tune of a 4.32 career ERA and was sent down to the minors after just 1 and a half seasons with the Braves. He tallied only 8 wins in his American career and returned home to Japan with his tail between his legs, much to the delight of Braves fans.

What’s interesting: At the time of the demotion, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote, “they sent Kawakami all the way down to Double-A because they want to keep the Triple-A rotation open to pitchers who could have an impact in Atlanta this season.” Not exactly a vote of confidence from the front office…

 

6. Oliver Perez (Mets) 2009
3 years, 36 million (AYS: 12mil)

How bad?: Two years into his contract, Ollie had 9 losses and just 3 wins. With one poor start after another, Oliver was boo’d mercilessly by the Mets’ faithful. They even took it upon themselves to initiate a movement to raise money in order to buy him out. In 2011, After refusing to be sent down to Triple A, the team placed Ollie on the DL with a phantom injury. Later that year, Omar and Co. finally cut ties. They ate the entire 12 million for 2012, deciding he was so bad, they would prefer to pay him NOT to pitch. Good choice.

What’s interesting: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Mets offered a four-year, $44MM deal, but Perez and Scott Boras, “Wanted the chance to re-enter the free agent market after three years.” (hahaha)

 

Getting into the top 5 worst contracts in the next post, keep it locked on NL East Chatter.

 

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Nothing.  Absolutely squat.  After the Yankees swept the Mets on Sunday, I say down and realized that the series proved nothing new that I didn’t already know.  The Yankees are better than the Mets? Yup.  The Yankees have better pitching? Of course.  The Yankees play longball? Already Knew it.  Mets are young and inexperienced in high profile games? I could of told you that.

You see, while yes, no Mets fan wants to see the Yankees sweep the Mets, it just wasn’t our weekend.  The Yankees are the hottest team in baseball and the Mets ran into a buzzsaw.  You know what you do?  You go into Tampa and take the series, and unless their is a drastic change tonight, the Mets will be taking game one in about 10 minutes.

It won’t get any easier for the Mets in the next two games against the Rays… even though the Mets will throw their aces out there, the Rays will be doing just the same with Price on Wednesday and Hellickson on Thursday.  Hopefully after scoring 11 runs tonight, the New York Mets will feel a little more comfortable at the plate and give their aces the support they need.

But if your still bothered that the Yankees,( the hottest team in baseball) swept the Mets, you have to get over it.  They are still only 5.5 games out of first and 1.5 out of the wildcard on June 12th.  They are in by far the toughest stretch of the year and it won’t get any better.  They need to make up for being swept, and it could start in Tampa this week by taking two out of three and then coming home for a home trip that can be described as a gauntlet.

The Mets will see the Reds this weekend, followed by the Orioles next week and finishing off with a shot off redemption against the Yankees.  The last two series of the month of June after the Yankees is at Wrigley for the Cubs and at Los Angeles for the Dodgers.  That’s 17 games starting tomorrow that the Mets must try to win 9, but at least 8.  Have to stay over 500 in the next two and a half weeks.  End June with a positive note. 9 wins in the next 17 games would put the Mets at 14-14 for the month of June, every Met fan would sign up for that.

By the way, July has 12 games against divisional opponents.  So the Mets must stay above water right now, and make a push in July.  Especially against the first place Nationals, whom they play six times in the month of July.  Hold onto your seats Mets fans, the season has truly just begun!

Welcome to the third and final installment of NL East Lifers…A list compiled of the players that are mainstays in our great division. We apologize for the hiatus, enjoy…

 

Silver Status — “NL Easters” (2+ NL East teams, minimum 5 years service)

 

-Livan Hernandez (Marlins, Expos, Nats, Mets, Braves)- One team shy of riding the NL East carosel full circle. Livan has seemingly pitched forever, but the half brother to El Duque, has put together a pretty impressive career built upon his easy motion and ability to eat up innings. Now 37, he is in the twilight of his career and is somehow still floating around with the Braves. During his 17 year stint in the bigs, Livan has pitched for 9 different teams, notched 2 all star appearences and won a World Series MVP. What may be most surprising is that he has only 15 career errors.

 

-Jorge Sosa (Braves, Mets, Nats, Marlins)- Jorge Sosa was a guy who had one good year (2005 Braves– 13-3, 2.55 ERA). Outside of that, his defining characteristic was the ability to serve up the long ball. After a promising start with Atlanta, Jorge was shipped off to the Mets during their “suck-something-awful” years and is currently battling for playing time in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons.

 

-Ryan Church (Expos, Nats, Mets, Braves)- Ryan was a Shea favorite for a while, but his career has been plagued by head injuries. He went down as the official last out at Shea Stadium (good trivia question) and his career has basically all but disintegrated. Concussions suck, sorry bro.

 

-Luis Ayala (Expos, Nats, Mets, Marlins) – Mets fans know him as a lackluster fill-in closer, but Luis began his career as a quality set-up man when the Nats were still the ‘Spos. Between 2003-2005 he led the NL in holds, but Tommy John would curtail any chance he had of long term success. After the procedure, Luis found a variety of ways to be left off Major League rosters. He has been traded, designated for assignment, released twice, and sent down to the minors.

 

-Paul LoDuca (Marlins, Mets, Nats)– Paul almost qualifies as a Gold Lifer. Although he started out with the Dodgers, he spent the rest of his career in the NL East with stints on the Marlins (twice), Mets, and Nats. Paul is best remembered as a tremendous contact hitter who played with a true passion for the game. Mets fans loved the fact that he was a Brooklyn boy who didn’t take s*** from anyone.

 

-Jon Rauch (Expos, Nats, Mets)- Rauch is one big mamma jamma. Standing at 6’11″ he qualifies as the tallest pitcher in Major League history. Rauch is a workhorse with solid statistics as a middle reliever and has a 2000 Olympic Gold Medal to his name. He achieves his NLEaster status from spending 4 years with the Nats and now 1 with the Mets.

 

-Wes Helms (Braves, Marlins, Phillies)- To be honest, we don’t have much to say about good ol’ Wes. All we know is that he has spent 9 of his 12 Major League years in the NLE. He must like it here…

 

-Mike Stanton (Braves, Mets, Nats)- Gasoline Mike. Stanton was pretty good with the Yanks, but during his time in the NLE (specifically with the Mets) he had a knack for fueling the fire in the late innings. He liked to keep the game interesting by walking the bases loaded, giving up game tying hits, throwing a million pitches… you know, that sort of thing. But when it was all said and done, Mike had a great career, pitching in 1178 games and winning the WS three times.

 

-Javier Vasquez (Expos, Braves, Marlins)- Javy had an up-and-down career bouncing around 6 different teams during his 13 years. He had two contracts that the Yankees would like to forget, but had good track records with the Expos and Braves. In 2010, he became one of three active pitchers to beat all 30 MLB teams. Javy has not yet retired, but it’s hard to see him back in the majors. He will most likely pitch for his native Puerto Rico in the next WBC.

 

-Willie Harris (Braves, Nats, Mets) — Slick Willie tallied a stint in the NLE for three different teams between 2007 and 2011. Harris was a speedy player that could play basically any position. His career numbers were pretty average, but his moment to remember came when he scored the decisive run in the 2005 WS with the ChiSox.

 

-Greg Dobbs (Braves, Phillies, Marlins) — Greg Dobbs and Wes Helms seem like the same player. Mostly, it’s because there is not much to write about either one. Outside of his three year stint with the Brew Crew, he is a true NLE Lifer, spending a whopping 11 years (both minors and majors) between the Braves, Phillies and Marlins.

 

-Austin Kearns (Nats, Marlins) — Rat boy as we like to call him (you gotta admit..he looks kinda like a rat), barely makes the list with 5 years combined between the Nats and Marlins. The Reds had high hopes for Rat Boy drafting him 9th overall in the 1998 first year player draft, but he turned into not much more than a fill-in outfielder. His most notable record is being hit three times in a game as a Cleveland Indian…a meaningless achievement he shares with Manny Ramirez.

 

-Scott Olsen (Marlins, Nats) — Being an ace in his own mind, didn’t exactly translate to reality. Scott is probably best known for getting a black eye from teammate Randy Messenger, calling out Miggy Cabrera for doggin’ a grounder, and getting tasered after fleeing police in a failed attempt to avoid a DUI. His off the field antics and his erratic performances have him struggling for a spot in the White Sox Triple A rotation.

 

-Luis Castillo (Marlins, Mets)- Luis was an Infield single master and a prototypical #2 hitter. The dude never struck out and could make contact with the best of ‘em. He followed a productive career with the Marlins and Twins with some forgettable years with the Mets and a pop up vs. the Yankees he will NEVER forget.

 

-Julio Franco (Phillies, Braves, Mets) – It’s hard to say the old man is an NLE Lifer when he started his professional career in 1982 and played for 8 ML teams. In any case, he meets the criteria and deserves the recognition. Julio has had many notable career moments, but we remember him as a great pinch hitter and an unofficial bench coach for both the Braves and Mets. He set many records with his age serving as the sole criteria, but what’s really cool is that he went 24 years between official starts as a 3rd basemen. Julio currently manages the Mets rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League.

 

-Cliff Floyd (Expos, Marlins, Mets)- The current host of a fantasy baseball program on XM Radio played his way into the hearts of Shea faithful by hitting some monster home runs and catching the division clinching out in 2006. However, his career was hampered by injuries and never quite lived up to his full potential.

 

-Billy Wagner (Phillies, Mets, Braves)- Billy the kid. Wags can probably still throw gas, but his pin-straight fastball proved to be ineffective after he lost a few MPHs in 2010. Billy saw most of his success with the Astros and Braves but showed he could still dial it up when he notched his 300th career save with Mets in 2006. Billy never reached the WS promiseland, but achieved All-Star status an impressive total of 7 times.

 

Thanks for reading, be back soon with a new post about the 10 most ridiculous contracts of the 2000s in the NLE.

 

Be well.

 

The Brothers verDorn

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With inter-league play just around the corner the NL East standings are dealing with division match ups. How did it all play out tonight?

 

New York Mets : 3

 

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Washington Nationals : 5

 

Nats’ Take : The Nationals are now on the verge of sweeping the Mets after taking the first two games of the series. When you think about the resiliency of the Nats after the myriad injuries they have faced, it’s hard not to be impressed. Edwin Jackson tossed a nice game going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 ER) and striking out six. He got an early boost when Adam LaRoche hit a 3 run HR in the bottom half of the 1st. The Nats have one more game against the Mets before heading up to Bean Town to face the Red Sawx.

 

Mets’ Take : The Mets have now lost three straight and they probably would like to snap that losing streak before heading back to New York to take on their cross town rivals; the Yankees in the new House that Ruth Built. The Mets only had three hits tonight, but one belonged to the struggling Ike Davis who also recorded two walks, at least that’s a positive. Other than that there weren’t too many good things to say. If the Mets can win the final game with the Nats at least that would provide some momentum for the weekend series with the Yankees.

 

 

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You may have noticed I missed the 2nd and 3rd and I sincerely apologize for that. I was celebrating my 22nd birthday! I am back now, however, and ready to recap all that happened yesterday in the NL East. The Nats, Marlins and Braves were off Sunday leaving only the Mets and Phillies with games.

 

St. Louis Cardinals : 5

 

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New York Mets : 4

 

The Mets took three out of four from the defending world champion Cardinals. This series really highlighted just how good the Mets starting pitching staff is. Dillon Gee went 7 innings allowing just 2 ER. The Mets bullpen did surrender two more runs in the 8th and that turned out to be the difference in the game. Despite the loss yesterday the Mets are still a hot team as they head to the nations capitol to take on the Division leading Nationals.

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The month of June will undoubtedly break or make the Mets season.  25 games against teams with winning records.  Six of them against their rival Yankees.  Coming off a great May that ended with them losing 2 out of 3 to the Phillies.  The Mets needed to make a quick statement.  Well with Johans No-Hitter, they got that and more.

June 1st, 2012 will never ever be forgotten by any living Mets fan.  All these years without a no-hitter or perfect game.  Trading away Nolan Ryan who became Mr. No No.  It was a curse that seemed like it would live forever.  But on a Friday night in June, Santana broke the curse and made history.  He also possibly delivered a brighter future for the Mets and their fans.

So far, this June, the Mets are 2-0.  Early? sure, but if they can take this 4 game series from the Cardinals and win 2 out of 3 from the Nationals.  They would go into the weekend series with the Yankees as the better team and quite possibly in first place.  No Mets fan could of predicted this, no expert saw this and even the Wilpons probably can’t believe it.

Johan not only delivered a no hitter to the Mets, he made a statement.  A statement R.A. Dickey remade today with his 9 inning shutout of the Cardinals.  That is, the Mets are for real.  They have two legit aces, they have a legit star in David Wright, they have legit hitters in Murphy, Davis(will come around) and Thole.  They have the role players that every winning team needs, especially a guy Like Mike Baxter, who was diagnosed with a displacement of his right collarbone on his no hitter saving catch Friday night.

This team will play hard all year, but if they can continue to make statements this June, especially to their crosstown rivals, the Mets won’t just be playing hard all year, they will be in contention all year.  Their pitching staff can only get better with two top prospects itching to come up.  With another prospect ready to take a bullpen role.  Hey, maybe they will find a way to get Bay to produce.

There is something going on with this team.  They think they are good.  They don’t quit, they don’t pout and they just keep fighting.  No matter what the score, they give you good at bats, their pitching tries even if being blown out.  If they can go 15-13 or better this June, there is absolutely no reason to think that this team will fold at any time.

One thing Santana did, he brought back the statement Mets fans have lived on for years.

Ya Gotta Believe!