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February 10, 2006
Ten Best Wins of 2005
2005 was enjoyable for a Mets fan. Don’t fool yourself and say it was not. The Mets played meaningful games into the final month of the season despite lacking production from the right side of the infield and a sub par performance from the club’s newest multi-millionaire. They rode a young lineup through August and won some unbelievable games en route to a 12-game improvement over 2004 and the team’s best record since 2000. With pitchers and catchers (!) reporting on Thursday it is just about time to finally put 2005 in cold storage in preparation of a new season. I’ll write the final chapter of 2005 and recap the 10 best Met wins of the season. 1. 8/30/05 - Mets 6, Phillies 4: Ramon Castro does his best Todd Pratt impersonation
I called it the biggest Mets win since October 16, 2000 and the greatest home run since Benny Agbyani’s in the 2000 NLDS. Returning from a 5-2 west coast swing, the Mets played their most meaningful home games in years against the Wild Card-leading Phils. Castro’s home run off of Urbina in the eighth inning clinched the Mets being no further than 1.5 games out of a playoff spot come September 1st. He started the furious Mets comeback in the seventh with a double and later scored on a wild pitch by Ryan Madson. Urbina walked two in front of Castro in the eighth to set up the dramatic home run. Jae Seo started the game, but only made it through five innings. The bullpen pitched four scoreless innings; allowing just one hit. 2. 6/11/05 - Mets 5, Angels 3: Best slide ever This game had it all. A rain delay to start the game, an unearned run scoring on a Doug Mientkiewicz error, a pinch hit, inside-the-park home run to tie the game, a three-run homer in the 10th to win it. Marlon Anderson tied up the game with the fluke inside-the-parker when the ball bounced off of Steve Finley’s (talk about a guy that has trouble in centerfield at Shea) leg and into right field. Manny Acta waved Anderson home and he just barely made it under Bengie Molina’s tag. As a result of the bang-bang play, Anderson’s chin smacked Molina’s helmet and he needed three stitches. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Met since Timo Perez in 2000. After Beltran and Mike Piazza struck out, Cliff Floyd’s homer in the 10th came after Darin Erstad put the Angels ahead after the Mientkiewicz error kept the inning alive. 3. 7/14/05 - Mets 6, Braves 3: The climax of the Mike Piazza Farewell Tour
This was Mike Piazza’s day, but it might as well have been The David Wright Show. Wright hit two solo home runs and made an amazing defensive play in the eighth after committing an error in the seventh that led to two Braves runs. Kelly Johnson tried a suicide squeeze but popped it up and Wright made a leaping grab and tagged third to complete the double play. After a Jose Offerman RBI single tied up the game in the seventh inning, Piazza stepped up against rookie Blaine Boyer with two men on in the eighth. Two minutes later, he gave a curtain call to the Shea faithful after hitting the 388th home run of his career. It was scary how much that home run looked like this game. 4. 4/15/05 - Mets 4, Marlins 0: Aaron Heilman can pitch well It took four years, but the Mets finally got what they saw in Heilman when they drafted him in the first round out of Notre Dame in the 2001 Entry Draft. Heilman, who was starting the game only because Kris Benson began the season on the disabled list, threw a one-hitter against the Marlins. Armed with a brand-new delivery marked by deception, Heilman featured a change-up that devastated the Marlin hitters. He struck out seven and walked just three for a Game Score of 89, the ninth-best in the National League during the 2005 season. The game also marked the first time that Carlos Delgado came to New York after rejecting Omar Minaya’s offseason contract offer. He was booed during every at-bat. 5. 8/23/05-8/24/05 - Mets 14, DBacks 1; Mets 18, DBacks 4: The coming out party OK, so I cheated. This is a span of two days. The Mets outscored Arizona 32-5 in these two critical late-August contests. For some perspective: Castro was 4-for-8 with four runs scored and seven RBI, Wright had seven hits in eight at-bats and Reyes drove in five. But it was all about rookie first baseman Mike Jacobs, who may have not even made the trip out west if Pedro did not campaign to Randolph and Minaya. Jacobs was 6-for-8, scored seven runs, hit three home runs and drove in six. Jacobs’ performance prompted the infamous Fran Healey quote, “That Willie Randolph, he’s not afraid to start the rookies, you know?” The Mets were six over at 66-60. 6. 5/21/05 - Mets 7, Yankees 1: Koo’s Excellent Adventure
Dae-Sung Koo against Randy Johnson — an at-bat that will go down in history. Simply unfathomable. How is it that the 6-foot 1-inch, 187 pound Koo, a left-handed batter against the most dominant lefty pitcher in the history of the game, rocked a double over Bernie Williams’ head? Just a few games earlier, Koo “stepped up” to the plate late in a blowout. Hardly in the batter’s box, Koo watched three strikes sail by. The double was only half of it. Reyes sacrificed Koo to third, but he didn’t stop there. Realizing that no one was covering the plate, Koo dashed for home, dove headfirst underneath Jorge Posada’s tag and scored to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. Unbelievable. 7. 4/10/05 - Mets 6, Braves 1: Hey, they won! Pedro outdueled John Smoltz to deliver the Mets’ first win of the season after a five-game losing streak. Martinez pitched a two-hitter, but spent the majority of the game trailing the Braves. Beltran smacked a two-run homer in the eighth to put the Mets ahead for good. Floyd followed with a solo shot and Wright then added another two with his second home run of the year to cap off a five-run eighth. Pedro struck out nine and walked just one. He finished the game instead of yielding to the bullpen, which cost him the win on Opening Day. 8. 8/6/05 - Mets 2, Cubs 0: Seo Strikes Back
Three months removed from his last major league start, Jae Seo shutout Chicago for 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking one. Seo returned to the rotation after the Mets demoted Kaz Ishii. He would not leave it again. 9. 8/2/05 - Mets 9, Brewers 8: Walk-off Walking The quintessential back-and-forth game. The Brewers blew a four-run lead, then a one-run lead and eventually lost to the Mets in 11 innings. Piazza, a pinch-hitter, drew a walk-off bases-loaded walk to end the game. Victor Zambrano started and lasted 1 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs. Geoff Jenkins hit a home run off of Roberto Hernandez in the ninth to give Milwaukee a lead, but Mike Cameron homered off of Derrick Turnbow with one out in the bottom of the ninth to re-tie it. 10. 4/16/05 - Mets 4, Marlins 3: Sheadro In a game attended by numerous Geeks, Pedro made his Shea Stadium debut in front of 55,351. Surprisingly he was matched by Marlins starter Al Leiter for seven innings. The Marlins held a 2-0 lead when Pedro left the game, but the Mets rallied for three in the eighth and took the lead on a Piazza ground rule double that knocked in two. However, closer Braden Looper blew his second save of the season, both coming in game started by Martinez. In the bottom of the ninth, Victor Diaz hit a two-out double off of Guillermo Mota and Castro knocked him in with a single to win the game, 4-3. Pedro struck out nine, walked one and allowed three hits. Matt Gelb, a journalism student at Syracuse University, infrequently writes columns for Metsgeek.com. He can be reached by e-mail at magelb@syr.edu. 83 Responses to “Ten Best Wins of 2005”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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Or simply titled - the why fire willie hates VFZ!
Nice recap…gets me Jonesin’ for ST and opening day and a damn, damn fine season!
I was at that VZ game it was excellent I really felt deflated going into the 2nd, haha. That Willie line always gets to me though. You HAVE to second guess yourself sometimes. Especially if you’re losing more than you should and come under scrutiny for poor decisions. If this were school and Willie said that on his tests I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t get a perfect score everytime. Ugh he’s an idiot but as long as I see Beltran batting second this season I’ll be happy. But according to ESPN’s projected lineup they see that man to be Lo Duca which is just terrible in my eyes. Still less than 2 months to go though so we’ll see.
Is there any solid ST Mets coverage from an unusual source anyone has been high on in the past? I can’t remember that far back (my short term memory keeps getting shorter). Anyone here going to FLA, or in FLA and checking out any games or practices (if practices are open to public). I went a long time ago, met Hojo and Cone, and I think Cerrone(?).
Loved the Heilman one hitter (damn Cairo). If the Mets would have won in LA, the Pedro game, that would have been one too (damn Gerald Williams). Also loved the Floyd walkoff where he crushed one foul right before the HR (IIRC* ~ see memory issues). Other early season games when Floyd was robbing HRs and winning games, the crowd chanting MVP, those were exciting too.
Matt, you made my day! This was a nice reminder that I will never have to endure a Mets game interrupted by Fran Healey’s blathering ever again. If Fred Wilpon made the call to leave Healey off SNY, then I forgive him for Art Howe.
MetsGeek Day at Shea is ranked tenth?!
That was my third or fourth favorite game of the year — and also the first baseball game my girlfriend ever attended. She got to see the wrath of Mets fans after Looper blew another freakin’ save.
I know all Mets relievers look far better when they’re out of uniform, but I must admit — I’m kinda glad to see Loop go.
Did y’all sit together? I’d be afraid to get jumped. My lady’s 1st and only game was VZ getting booed every inning until WR mercifully pulled him (WR got some boos for waiting so f’in long). The ladies must go when the boobirds are out?
April 19th - Mets hit franchise record 7 Home Runs vs the Phillies. Jose Reyes and Victor Diaz hit 2 each. David Wright smashes a Grand Slam. Mike Piazza crushed a 471 foot shot to centerfield and Mientkiewicz added one for good measure. Mets win 16-4. Previous record was 6 HRs set by the ‘88 and ‘99 Mets.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to go to a lot of Met games this season. Based on a variety of free tickets (friends seats, box seats from people’s parents or companies, and free picnic area… I never pay) I was able to get out to something like 8-10 games in 2005, and I have to agree - I loved it. 2005 was an amazing season.
I also can say I was privileged to witness the #3 and #9 games on this list in person, and a couple of the others at memorable events.
About #3
The Wright/Floyd/Piazza game was the single geatest sporting event I have ever witnessed in person, and I was also at Bobby Jones’ game against the Giants in the playoffs. Why no love for the Floyd catch? I was over on the first base side, and television doesn’t do that play any justice. He doesn’t look like he can motor since he’s so tall, but trust me, he covered a RIDICULOUS amount of ground to get to that ball.
About #9
And yes, despite seeing VZ totally ruin that game, I don’t hate him. Go figure. Tom was there with me, he knows I was pretty pissed at the time. Maybe I was a little distracted by the fact that I was able to walk down to the front row of the field level after everyone had left in the 7-9th innings to yell at Mientkiewicz. I think he was sick that day.
Third most memorable game of the season for me was August 31st .. in the picnic area. Radar gun doesn’t lie, by the way.
Despite the fact that the Phillie game meant we were on fire i nSeptember, to me nothing matches that Angels game. That game truely did have EVERYTHING. It was deffinitly my favorite game of the season.
Nothing is better than jumping up and down yelling “GO, GO, GO!!!” at like 1am.
That was probably the moment I was most excited and hyped about the Mets. I went to Sundays game JUST because of Saturday’s game. It was just… the best.
Will always have a fondness in my heart for that series. Best pitching in a 4 game series I’ve seen in a long time. Glavine in game 1, VZ *chokes* started and finished game two of that series (14-1 game), seo in game three and Pedro struggle with throwing strikes and the nastiest I have ever seen a major league pitcher pitch Roberto Hernandez despite giving up a line drive homerun to Chad Tracy. (over 125 spring, regular season and post season games The best was the 2 run rbi ball in VZ’s game. It was early in the game, I had great seats and the season ticket holders all left in disgust at BOB after that play (now known as CHase)
Just to think, VZ started two games and won that ended in a combined score of 30-5. April 19th in Philly and August 23rd in Phoenix
MR J, couldn’t aggree with you more. As Fran Healy would say, “MR J, Pick it Wilson.”
Comic Book Guy: Best Game EVER!
1. Beltran Robs Molina of HR.
2. Kennedy’s sick diving stop robbing Jose Reyes
3. Anderson’s dash around the bases
4. Cliff’s foul HR
5. Cliff’s FAIR HR!!!
Seriously, it’s a game for the long-term memory. Just like the 10-run inning game against the Braves in June of 2000, being down 8-1, and winning 11-8. Just like the comeback from a 4-run deficit against Curt Schilling (after 8 innings of dominant ball) in the 9th inning in May of 1999. Just like Piazza’s 2-run blast off Trevor Hoffman in April of 1999. All CLASSIC regular season games.
Marlon Anderson tied up the game with the fluke inside-the-parker when the ball bounced off of Steve Finley’s (talk about a guy that has trouble in centerfield at Shea) leg and into right field. Manny Acta waved Anderson home and he just barely made it under Bengie Molina’s tag.
Um..that block quote worked a little backwards on me…
Being that I moved i didnt see as many game as I liked but the ones i went to were quite memorable
1) The koo game against the yankees
2) The game in pittsburgh where looper came in and messed things up big time
3) Dominic night at shea (which was just insane)
4) Two games in RFK towards the end of the season
5 games……..hopefully i can do more next yr. Im used to seeing bout 20-25.
The 9/16 pedro-smoltz game (Pedro 9 innings, CG SHO, 10 K, Mike Jacobs HR, Mets win 4-0) was pretty awesome as well. Quickest baseball game i’ve ever seen… Pedro just shut down the Braves’ entire lineup.
I’ve been excited since about Thanksgiving, now I’m basically salivating for this season to start.
LET’S GO METS!!!
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the 3-1 win by Mets against houston early on inthe season.
Martinez gave up a homer and a single in the 7th for a 2-hitter, and never looked remotely like conceding a hit in the resdt of the game.
Struck out the side in the 9th, and was absolutely dominating; far and away the best pitching I’ve ever seen live… this game made me a believer.
Speaking of Fran Healy. Did anybody watch the games where he said that MLB might have to increase the distance b/t bases b/c Reyes was so fast? He was serious. Healy was crazy and often tough to listen to, but I will miss him some.
garrybl—Good call on that Pedro game vs Houston…I remember getting goosebumps listening on the radio cuz i thought (for a moment) Pedro might actually get the no-no.
The Foul then Fair HR by Cliffy and the Castro HR against the Phils get me giddy just thinkihng about ‘em still to this day.
Is there a metsgeek day at shea this year? I really didn’t find this site till the offseason. That sounds like a blast…this group on this site are some of the smartest most interesting baseball/METS! fans I’ve ever talked to.
Greta list. The only thing is that your #10 game was on 4/16, not 4/14
You guys should have heard the chants at
You guys should have heard the chants of Lets go Mets or Omar, Omar at Quite Frankly. With so many die hard Met fans in such a small place it was deafening.
When is that episode gonna air? I had taped it wednesday night and I woke up thrusday to see that
1) Omar wasnt on. It was richard jefferson i think
2) The baseketball game before that went over time so it cut half of quite frankly out.
The night omar is on, ill have to just stay up and watch……..not counting on the record thing to work since ESPN games always go off the time alotment
I will be going down fw - from late Feb to early March.
Will keep you posted.
That SUnday game was the first time I got scared about WIllie Randolph’s managing style. I gave him a pass on the bad double switch but watching Mike Piazza get thrown out of the game for argueing balls and strikes and not sticking up for mike was ridiculus. Even though we had Pedro pitching and were winning most of the game, I think the momentum from the previous nights game was gone when Willie didnt defend Mike in the first inning. LEt’s play, “you are Willie, you make the call?”
SO your catcher, a guy who is rarely upset and is as cool, calm and collective as you are just gets thrown out of a game by a rookie manager for complaining from the dugout about your ace pitcher not getting the same calls as the angels hurler. Do you
A.Defend your pitcher & Catcher and put up a fight
B.You join your All Star Catcher in the clubhouse after being thrown out too
c.You continue on the bench and pull a Bobby Cox and question every call he makes until he just concedes and expands his strike zone or throws you out
D. None of the above
I choose D!!!
What happened to the Mets after that game? we lost 5 of 6 against two teams that were struggling at the time. Heck, the A’s caught fire after our series and the M’s had no business winning three games. I believe in Momentum and that momentum after the sat. night game with the ANgels was squashed after Willie’s lack of reaction to his catcher getting thrown out for argueing balls and strikes. He did offer up this quote at the end of the game. “When you don’t get calls, then you don’t [get] pitches where you want them to be,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “But overall he pitched pretty well.” It did a whole lot good than willie.
Sweet, have fun Nails.
Yo Slew, remember our Andy Wilson talk the other day? He did just switch to catcher like you said. RG and I argued about it in Oct; I said he was playing elsewhere enough to be a utlity guy and RG said he was a C through and through. They talk about him starting in B’ton, which would seem right, of course. I think tis just a matter of how much PT he gets at C there, that’d be the important part of all this.
Thanks for that David, not sure how I screwed that up.
That was game number 11 on my list and barely missed the cut.
Hey thanks for the info! I will be curious to see what happens with this guy — the only reason i could even imagine him being in St Lucie last year was that he was learning to catch, I mean, the guy tore the cover off the ball. I can’t wait to see what he does in ST and early this year. I doubt he will be much more than a back-up catcher and a utility infielder - but one with pretty damn good power. I bet he can hit better the Phillips!
Marlon’s inside-the-park HR/Cliff’s walk-off HR against the Angels gets my vote for #1.
I agree 100%. Of the last few yrs.
Yeah, I’d rather have him (type) as a backup 1st, 3rd, OF and 3rd C than Julio Franco (obviously not this yr). A guy who can play C as an emergency seems more valuable, eps if he can rake, than a guy that is strictly a ph/1b (when you have a 1b to play hopefully 160 games). Anyway, I look forward to seeing him in ST.
I was thinking the same thing two days ago when I saw that Washington just signed Matt Lecroy. I would much rather have him than Franco - that way we could use Castro without worrying about getting causght with noone to catch.
I agree with you FW that a more versatile player would be more useful than Julio Franco on our bench, but still love that old man’s bat.
But if it’s the 9th inning, we’re facing a nasty closer and we need a pinch hit to get something going or tie the game who do you want up Andy Wilson or Julio Franco?
420, thats why I said, “(obviously not this yr)”. But that type of player would be more useful, but we have to deal w some old man for another 2 yrs, and I sure hope that come March 3 we aren’t signing GW to another minor deal.
Another move to help Diaz put it together. Maybe even Castro too. This is a solid move, I fully expect alot of 7 card stud games and no limit games to accompany the other tutelage. Can this make Reyes even a better basestealer? Wright, Beltran and Floyd? Pretty cool.
Check out the Willie quote about the clubhouse presence. Is that the funniest damn thing ever?
I got ya FW…my bad.
Who’s the GW you reference to in #35?
That clubhouse comment is funny as hell….He’ll bring enthusiasm to card games like never before seen.
At least if we make the playoffs the youngsters will learn of what else they can do in the clubhouse besides watching the games.
duh…the iceman but of course….oh the brain being slow on fridays :)
GeriatricGerald “Ice” Williams.The best extra-inning game would have to have been Angles @ Mets. What with Marlon Anderson’s inside-the-park homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth and Piazza and Cameron striking out on some nasty pitches before Floyd got up. I love inside-the-parkers because several things have to happen for one to occur:
#1) The RF with possibly the best arm in the league has to overrun the ball,
#2) The ball has to ricochet into the corner off of the five-time Gold Glover’s shin,
#3) The throw to the relay man has to bounce twice before reaching him,
#4) The relay man’s throw from behind first base has to bounce before reaching home and
#5) The unappreciated utility man off of the bench has to risk his health when sliding into home plate.
I have to say, outside of Piazza’s homer after 9/11, this season’s game have been the best I’ve ever seen. The combination of personalities, hustle, and playoff drive for the first time in a while, are perfect.
I was out at a club for Floyd’s home run, and for some reason the game was on the projector on the wall. After he knocked it out, it was pure pandemonium. One of the craziest feelings ever. Between that, Wright’s diving DP on the bunt, Floyd flipping over the wall, and Piazza’s homer against Boyer… wow.
Even Piazza’s walk off walk was incredible because it was so soon after the homer against Boyer that you KNEW the Mets had won that game. He pinch hit that at bat didn’t he?
Thats one of the best willie randolphism I have ever heard about Rickey. Willie will call anyone from his past yankee life a good clubhouse guy. and it doesnt matter the yankee either. it could be Steve Howe or Ruben Rivera and he would annoit them as good clubhouse guys.
One of the best games was when Seo one-hit the Phils! The place was rockin’! Also, Pedro’s masterpieces. It’s so sad that Seo got traded! Now we’re left with WW (the wicked witch - VZ, the resemblance is uncanny) as a starter. I’m not looking forward to seeing WW pitch!
This is the minorleague ball blurb on Wilson that fw linked to earlier. just for you guys who are too lazy to click the links!
I don’t know about the knock on his catching abilities. I doesn’t make sense — I mean when does anyone move a good hitter behind the plate? Isn’t it usually the other way around? Also, IIRC, at one point her was 4-8 in nailing runners in the winter leagues. That suggest good footwork; which suggests he will be decent behind the plate.
Besides, if he hits like Posada, I’d take so-so behind the plate defense.
Maybe the mets view him as a possible heir apparent to the catching job with the big club, thus the forced position change.
They probably like harper better at 1B, so why not try him at catching…we like his bat!!!!
rickey henderson is coming to camp to teach the kids. They should give him a shot at the roster. Why not have two 47 year olds on the bench? Maybe Omar can give him two years.
Did Rickey have a .275 avg, .348 obp, and .451 Slugging last year?
Did Rickey bat .360 with men on base and 2 outs last year?
Did Rickey bat .417 with runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs last year
Its so lame that still so many ppl practice age discrimination.
Why don’t you go look at some stats…they are numbers too just like age…get past it man, you can do it. This guy can flat out hit, has a clutch bat, and we stole him from a division rival. Who cares how old he is?
I realize that this is off topic, but was anyone else at the Latin Night game? Pedro pitched a sweet five innings, we were up 8-0…and then Willie went to the pen (presumably to rest Pedro). Promptly, the wheels came off (inevitably). The Nats came roaring back and got even on a long double off Looper by Brian Schnieder (honestly, I’ll never know how that ball stayed in the park).
Ultimately, the Mets won it in the 11th on Woodward’s GW single.
Anyway, the reason I remember this game so well is that it’s the only time I’ve ever seen a walk-off win for the Mets at Shea and still felt depressed. The crowd half-heartedly cheered the hit, but walking out you absolutely would’ve thought we lost. In a season full of low-lights from Looper, et al, this was the rock bottom game.
(Also, the game featured Kaz Mat successfully lobbying for 1B after a ball had skipped off his foot — basically, a re-run of the shoe shine incident.)
No, but he did have a .270 avg, .456 OBP and .403 slugging, with 52 runs scored in just 229 at bats. Of course that was for the Sand Diego Surf Dogs of the “Golden Baseball League”
hahahahahhaha very funny ….you know i was gonna add “in the MLB” to all my posts cuz i knew someone was gonna come back at me with surf dog stats!!!!
Good one man…thnx for the chuckle.
hey maybe julio and rickey can teach pedro there diet and lifestyle so he can play at least three more years
It took me awhile to find, I thought he was still playing for the Newark Bears.
Maybe in return Pedro can loan his “special shoe” to rickey or Julio.
Tim Raines would’ve loved that special shoe to hide his crack in.
You mean “Rock” Raines? The best tongue in cheek nickname ever!
don’t ya mean “pipe-in-mouth” nickname ;-)
great article Matt.
I was at the Houston game when Pedro bidded for a no-no into the 7th.
The crowd was just friggin electtric that nite.
And Pedro was such a perfomer, if he wasn’t playing baseball he’d be a rock star.
I’d rather have Rickey over Endy probably.
That Pedro game was the shiz. I wonder if Pedro or Heilman will lead the staff in k’s this year. I think Heilman will be huge this year, and this time next year, alot of the top ten will be great performances of his.
No doubt. Wonder if OM was reading my earlier rants about the team needing to learn to take a walk. Can’t believe Rickey was just brought in to teach base running.
Well there were alot of stupid moves on base last yr, from Diaz, Castro, and I think he could help guys learn to steal more effectively like Wright Cliff and Jose. Alot of that was due to Acta being a terrible 3rd base coach, but some of it was the runners too.
Tell me about it. I was at a game in late september and that bum jose offerman (thank god he aint on the team now)was on 1st and a ball is hit up the middle and the guy waits a good 6 seconds to run to second and the centerfielder throws him out.I think rickey will only help guys like reyes and hopefully hel get the chance to help Ahern.
Man FW I really hope you are right. I know alot of people here are huge Heilman fans, I like the kid but I am not sold yet. I do believe in some of the views that people will figure him out the 2nd and 3rd time seeing him through,,,but I hope I’m wrong and I hope you’re right.
I hope your right too man FW…Heilman is the key to having a better just ok rotation…can he pitch like a 3 or better this year is the question…
There would be nothing better than watching him keeping hitters off-balance with his change for 8 and wagner blowing them away in the 9th with the cheese
i cant believe pedro is almost certainly gonna play in the WBC. He should not risk it with that toe.
This is the quietist I have ever seen this site.
I’m guessing 1 out of 4 things happened
a) Many of you looked out your door; an Icicle fell and went through your heart
b) Many of you are having anxiety about the pressure of this years team and had panic attacks
c) Many of you are watching the Olympics (say it ain’t so geeks!)
d) There’s really just one geek with 100 Aliases like SweetLew, Emad, Argon Gelb, Hint, FW, JRRM, 71 and that person fell down and can’t get up.
One word: Escorts
I love this site and all the hard work the geeks put into it but jesus christ already i’m DYING for some MET BASEBALL!
- waiting not so patiently for spring training
Very good, Nails! LOL….
maybe we all are just ONE person?!
But I like Emad’s “escort excuse” better.
We’re all watching the Olympics.
Whoa are the Mets good enough that we dont have any dilemas to talk about?
i wish
Cyril Morong over at Beyond the Boxscore did an incredible analysis of the mathematical value of OBP and SLG as it pertains to position in a batting order. I’ll let it speak for itself.
So for those of you thinking an OBP of .340 for Reyes seals the East for us.. guess that’s a little off base.
I need some baseball, jeez.
I remember watching ESPN the night of the Heilman game at a pub in Portland, something else was playing and I was watching the ticker on the bottom of the screen. It showed the score and I thought, hmmm, Beckett V. Heilman, 4-0, must be a misprint. And having concluded that I was proud of Heilman for giving up only four runs. Litte did I know…
do we have like a backup topic or something if nothing is going on with the mets.You know like 24geek or Dr.Philgeek.Because unlike some on this site Curling really doesn’t do it for me and womens figure skating isn’t on yet(one of them im not sure wich is hot)
MetsGeek Fantasy Baseball anyone?
Maybe now would be a good time to discuss what other baseball websites are good reads… not only Met sites, but ones in general.
I really really enjoy Management By Baseball over at cmdr-scott.blogspot.com. The guy is a genius, and the way he ties baseball into business is amazing. Sometimes it makes you wonder why you didn’t think of those things before.
Otherwise, I am just really bored at work now in my downtime. I need something to entertain me.
Well, if you believe that article, a .340 OBP over his .300 would mean we’d have scored about 741 runs instead of 722. Run diff of +93 instead of +74. Houston and Philly were +84 and +81. The Braves were +95.
Also, we lost 24 games by 1 run.
I bet it would’ve made a difference.
(Not sure how I feel about the “10 runs = 1 win” wisdom; anyone who particularly buys that, feel free to explain.)
P.S. All this is without factoring in that Reyes’s % scoring when reaching base was among the highest in the NL.
Okay. With my first pick I select MetsFanSince71 and plug him in at closer. He doesn’t have particularly nasty stuff, but he’s unrattled by confrontational situations and keeps his cool.
I plan to take Nails as my catcher, as he’ll be excellent at jawin’ with the umpire, but we’ll see if he’s still out there when it’s my pick again…
LOL, thanks Argon! My fastball has been clocked at 96 on a good night, really it has!! :) But my slider is my out pitch.
My 1st Geek draft pick is Andrew Hintz at 1B. He’s the captain on my team, settles down the infield. A true combination of Olerud and Hernandez: great glove, hits for average and power, runs over when necessary to tell me “if I throw a fastball again….” Leader, and a steady influence not afraid to tell you like it is. Plus, you just can’t wait to have a few Michelobs and talk baseball with him in the clubhouse after the game.
Thanks 71, I appreciate that. :-D
Just as a heads up to everybody, due to an illness on Alex’s part and a family illness on my own, we were both unable to have content for you all the past couple days. I apologize for that — we should be resuming with the site tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting!
Seriously? That’s awesome.
Not really, JRRM, just within this fantasy. Hell, if I had a 96 MPH fastball, I think I would even get a ST invite from Omar!!! BUT, I did throw a palmball in LL and then HS. Trouble was, only half the time I actually knew where it was headed (or at whose head!)
Awww, too bad, haha. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a couple real ballers who posted here. I play in some wooden bat leagues but yeah, if I threw 96 I doubt I’d be sitting around by the phone still haha