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MLB 2008

Lammycat

By Lammycat,
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bjorn_skurj

bjorn_skurj

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As a long suffering Mets/Jets/Knicks fan (insert joke), I have to say that yes, NY fans can be tough and jump to conclusions and boo you the day after you hit a home run. And all of that is over the top and can be perceived by players as an us against them thing. But the truth is, and I believe this, Mets fans (and NY fans in general) just want to see a team that goes out there and leaves everything on the field. Even if they lose.

 

I understand that slamming helmets on the ground when you strike out is not the only way to show passion. But there is just a vibe this team gives off -- and maybe the vibe flows from the laid back manager. Fans don't sense any urgency from this team. And let's face it, after last season's debacle there should be urgency. Even if it's early. Last year showed that an 8 game lead isn't enough, right? This team should have come back and been hungry to build a 20 game lead one month into the season.

 

I understand the team is over .500 and only 2 games out in the loss column and it's early. Mets fans know it too. Mets fans just want to see some passion. And Heilman sucks.

It's not just this year. This team, among the top 5 in payroll, has been playing .500 ball since about the end of May 2007. Is all of that Randolph's fault? No. But if he hasn't fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now, he's never going to address it and the team needs somebody in there who will. Randolph should have been fired immediately after the last game of the season.

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bjorn_skurj

bjorn_skurj

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Maybe the new stadium will change everything!

Perhaps it has the magic power to make Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes give a shit!

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bobbob1313

bobbob1313

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It's not just this year. This team, among the top 5 in payroll, has been playing .500 ball since about the end of May 2007. Is all of that Randolph's fault? No. But if he hasn't fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now, he's never going to address it and the team needs somebody in there who will. Randolph should have been fired immediately after the last game of the season.

 

Or maybe the pitching finally came back down to Earth following some ridiculously flukey performances early last season and the offense isn't nearly as good as ESPN wants you to think it is. Maybe Jose Reyes isn't all that great. Maybe David Wright and Beltran are the only real plus offensive performers and the defense overall isn't that good. Is it Willie Randolph's fault that he just doesn't have a great team? I don't care how much money they spend on it if they don't spend it wisely.

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bjorn_skurj

bjorn_skurj

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Or maybe the pitching finally came back down to Earth following some ridiculously flukey performances early last season and the offense isn't nearly as good as ESPN wants you to think it is. Maybe Jose Reyes isn't all that great. Maybe David Wright and Beltran are the only real plus offensive performers and the defense overall isn't that good. Is it Willie Randolph's fault that he just doesn't have a great team? I don't care how much money they spend on it if they don't spend it wisely.

Delgado is done, in New York at least, and perhaps the entire National League. We should have kept Mike Jacobs. Reyes is talented, but I suspect both he and Oliver Perez both suffer from a case of undiagnosed or undertreated ADHD. If it wasn't for Ryan Church, this team would be where the Tigers are now. Pitching-wise, Santana and John Maine are the real deal, Perez and Pelfrey might be, everything after that is a big fat question mark. I would be surprised, frankly, if either Pedro or El Duque ever win another game for the Mets. The bullpen has quality in it, (Feliciano, Smith, Sanchez and my NEW FAVORITE MET, Billy Wagner) but how many times did you have to trot Sosa out there before you realized he sucks, Willie? Aaron Heilman has become today's version of Doug Sisk. I think it would be a win-win for both him and the Mets to be traded. Schneider and Castro are fine behind the plate. Alou has been hitting well, but you know it's just a matter of time before he and the DL are reunited.

Willie has the tools to better than he is doing, but he's just not the type of guy this particular group of players needs.

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MattZ

MattZ

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Or maybe the pitching finally came back down to Earth following some ridiculously flukey performances early last season and the offense isn't nearly as good as ESPN wants you to think it is. Maybe Jose Reyes isn't all that great. Maybe David Wright and Beltran are the only real plus offensive performers and the defense overall isn't that good. Is it Willie Randolph's fault that he just doesn't have a great team? I don't care how much money they spend on it if they don't spend it wisely.

 

You may be right. I can't really argue with anything you've said. But again, I do think that most of the frustration is that the fans perceive the team as not caring. You may be right that the team isn't that good. But fans don't like it when fans feel like they care more than players do. Even though they probably do.

 

At the same time, and some of this is for Bjornicus, let's not forget that Heilman has blown 3 games and the Mets are 2 back in the loss column. So it's not really even that bad from a pure baseball standpoint.

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bobbob1313

bobbob1313

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I really don't think this team is all that much better than what it has shown. I really thought they would be, but that's because I didn't think Delgado would be as bad as he was last year and this year. I thought he'd come back. Since he hasn't, they are what they are.

 

Santana is a number 1, Maine probably is a number 2, Perez and Pelfrey are borderline 3-4. Their rotation is solid, but not spectacular after Santana, and their pen is ok. But the offense is terribly overrated. The fact that Church has been carrying them does not bode well. Reyes has not improved how I thought he would following 05. He's improved his eye, but every other aspect of his game hasn't improved and has, in some areas, gotten worse.

 

Wright is a stud. A cornerstone to build your franchise around. But the rest of the team is aging and much of their reputation in the media is based on their pasts and not their present or future.

 

I will say I don't think the Marlins are better, but they aren't too far off, and I'd say their future is a lot brighter.

 

As for the fans caring more, that happens with every team, but I understand what you mean. That's one thing people always loved about a guy like Willis. He looks like he cares. Whether he plays well, it doesn't matter.

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bjorn_skurj

bjorn_skurj

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At the same time, and some of this is for Bjornicus, let's not forget that Heilman has blown 3 games and the Mets are 2 back in the loss column. So it's not really even that bad from a pure baseball standpoint.

I gotta agree with Chris. I may be pushing the panic button a little early, but I really don't see them doing much better than they're doing now. I hope they get to a point where they're more than five games above .500 this year, but I don't expect it.

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JerseyMike

JerseyMike

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It's not just this year. This team, among the top 5 in payroll, has been playing .500 ball since about the end of May 2007. Is all of that Randolph's fault? No. But if he hasn't fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now, he's never going to address it and the team needs somebody in there who will. Randolph should have been fired immediately after the last game of the season.

 

I think the blame needs to go to Omar Minaya. He overpaid for Beltran and Pedro, resigned the oft-injured (and older than dirt) Alou, resigned an underwhelming and deteriorating Castillo and did nothing to shore up the bullpen in the offseason.

 

I, for one, am glad I just moved to Austin, sparing me having to watch the Yankees this summer.

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bobbob1313

bobbob1313

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I think the blame needs to go to Omar Minaya. He overpaid for Beltran and Pedro, resigned the oft-injured (and older than dirt) Alou, resigned an underwhelming and deteriorating Castillo and did nothing to shore up the bullpen in the offseason.

 

I, for one, am glad I just moved to Austin, sparing me having to watch the Yankees this summer.

 

Actually, that Delgado move wasn't bad for them. Aren't they only paying about half of his contract? And they didn't give up anyone who has even made the big leagues with the Marlins yet.

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bjorn_skurj

bjorn_skurj

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Delgado was good in '06, a millstone in '07, and looking to be that way again in '08.

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MrRain422

MrRain422

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Right. But he also has 2 career sac bunts. And, since he was batting 7th for some reason, the catcher and pitchers spot in the order are coming up after him. You want him to bunt to move the runner over so that one of those guys, or a bench player pinch hitting, has to drive the winning run in? Also, although Dunn does strikeout and homer a lot, he also walks a lot. He's not exactly an out machine despite the low batting average.

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