Chapter 83.5: Meaningful Games in 2011?

My Mets are so done they're using the lines from the grill as their pinstripes.

Remember April? Back then, this Mets team was supposed to be the one that fans would look back on and say, "Remember that '09 club? Johan, Cy Young Award. Reyes, MVP. Wright, a Gold Glove and the solid gold leader of the team. Gary Sheffield came in and hit his 500th homer in April and then Carlos Delgado did the same in September, like Hall of Fame bookends. Even Billy Wagner, expected to be gone for the entire year, came back in August to solidify the bullpen with the best late-inning one-two punch the game had seen in a decade. That was the final ingredient that perfected the recipe. New York Mets, World Champs of 2009."

But no. Not even close. The Mets haven't had a meaningful game since before the All-Star break. Every single one of their so-called "core players" went on the disabled list: Reyes, Wright, Delgado, Beltran, Santana. Add to them Brian Schneider and Angel Pagan, John Maine and Oliver Perez. (Don't get me started about Perez!) Hell, even Alex Cora was lost for the season!

Abysmal. Thank God for the Washington Nationals.

Back in March, I had meant to do my annual season predictions. I had expected the Mets to come in second behind the Phillies, win the wild card, and advance to the World Series. But I didn't write it. There just wasn't enough time. I'm glad. It's bad enough that I'll admit that I thought this was going to be a good team. What's worse, Omar Minaya was signed to a three-year contract extension that hasn't even begun yet. This team is bad. The mechanic hasn't proven he can be fully trusted after several years under the hood. What's a fan to do?

Chapter 80.4: World Champion Phillies

No one picked them in my poll. None of my friends thought they'd win. I thought it was possible, but I expected the Rays pitching to dominate. But no, the Phillies are the World Champions.

Congratulations, Phils. But next year, we're going to be gunning for you.

Let's Go Mets! Let's Go Mets! Let's Go Mets!

Chapter 79.4: Mets Continue to Struggle

The Mets keep on struggling, but at least they finally beat the woeful Washington Nationals.

Yet, despite the awful way they completed last season, I don't have the same sense of dread that I felt then. The 2007 team broke my heart. Of course, so did the 2006 team, when I watched Carlos Beltran follow a breaking pitch into the catcher's mitt for an embarassing third strike in the NL Championship Series. Somehow, I don't think Jerry Manuel — my new favorite manager ;-) — will allow them to quit on themselves like the 2007 squad did.

I'm sure this club could end up frustrating me just as much as the previous two teams, but for some reason I don't think it'll happen. For one thing, they have two legitimate shots at making the playoffs — though in both the division and the wild card, they have close competition. The Phillies are the defending division champs and they must be respected, while the Brewers have CC Sabathia, who may just be the best pitcher in the National League right now.

So, I'll use the Mets as a way to introduce a new gadget on my blog: a poll question. What do you think, will they make the playoffs (and, if so, how do you think they will they get there), or will they be playing ping pong with the Yankees?

Vote early and vote often.

Chapter 78.5: My, How Things Have Changed

Not so long ago, the next three Mets games would have been an electric series of games. The Braves are coming to town to play my beloved Mets. Alas, these are not the same Braves that won division titles every completed year from 1991 to 2005. (I still think the Expos would have won in 1994, but the strike killed baseball and essentially pulled the plug on that unfortunate franchise.)

One of the remaining stalwarts of those excellent teams from Atlanta that led the National League East for more than a decade is Larry Jones — better known as Chipper. In my opinion, he's a likely Hall of Famer, albeit not a surefire, first ballot honoree.

In an interview with the New York Times, he reflected on those heady days of 1999, when Bobby Valentine managed the Mets and Chipper was one of the most dominant bats in the NL. After taking two of three in a summer series, Jones commented about how Mets fans "can go home and put on their Yankees jerseys." While he was apparently inspired by some yo-yo who wore one of those split Mets/Yankees shirts, Jones was clearly not aware of how deep the divide can be between Mets and Yankees fans.

I suspect it's just as prominent between Cubs and White Sox fans, and maybe even between Dodgers and Angels fans.

Of course, the Braves can still hurt the Mets, who hold a tenuous 1.5 game lead over our latest chief rival, the Phillies. Losing the series to the Braves wouldn't destroy the Mets, but if they damage them in these dog days of August, the Mets could find themselves unable to shake off the inevitable questions about last year's epic, infamous demise.

We'll see what happens. For some reason, I think this could be an exciting season, regardless of how mediocre the Braves have become.

Chapter 69.4: Simmering Hot Stove

Ouch! That's hot! No, not a Paris Hilton reference, I'm talking about something much more important. The World Series wasn't even over and the off-season had already begun. Of course, Mr. Premature Exclamation and his sidekick Money Boy (aka, Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez) decided to finally get a hit during the World Series -- since A-Rod can't get there by any other means.

In an effort to extract himself from The Curse of A-Rod, Money Boy has decided to forego roughly $75 million over the next three years with the expectation that he can earn all that and more. He's probably right, though I actually believe the Yankees won't sign him. They'll have enough problems of their own trying to salvage their franchise. With Joe Girardi annointed as the manager, I suspect the exodus of big names will continue. Rumors abound that catcher Jorge Posada doesn't like his former backup, so perhaps he'll find his money elsewhere. I've predicted that Mariano Rivera will take his Hall of Fame career down the NJ Turnpike to Philadelphia, where he'd turn the Phillies into instant favorites to win the National League East -- if they weren't already.

Then today we hear about Joe Torre's reported conversations with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- and subsequently, Grady Little quits as their manager. Of course, Torre and Don Mattingly, whose son is playing in the Dodgers' farm system, are saying the right things; no one seems to be commenting on the requirement that a minority candidate be considered for the job.

Will this stream of hot stove baseball news stop before Spring Training? Already, the free agent declarations are being filed. The Astros just signed Brad Ausmus for another year. (But who cares, it's just a one-year, $2 million contract.) And we've not even learned who will win all the accolades for their successes during 2007. Then there'll be the general managers' meetings... It goes on and on. My wife was just starting to enjoy the off-season.

Chapter 68.6: Philly Phlop!

Yes, the Mets could have done just as bad as this -- perhaps even worse. In fact, the way they ended the year, they did perform even worse. But I didn't expect the Rockies to sweep the Phillies. And with the Diamondbacks doing the same to the Cubs (any team can have a bad century!), we are facing baseball's first All-Mountain Time Zone championship series.

The Red Sox have just a couple outs to go before their sweep. And, God willing, we'll have a clean sweep after tonight.

Funny, I thought I wouldn't really enjoy this post-season.

Chapter 68: Playoff Predictions

Not much time this morning, so I'll be quick:

Red Sox vs. Angels: From what I've read, the Angels have lost their center fielder, Gary Matthews, for the playoffs as well as Bartolo Colon -- who really wasn't much of a factor this year, so I don't think that's too significant. More important are the question marks about Vladimir Guererro. If he's out or not up to snuff, the Angels are done already. The Red Sox have too much talent to lose in the short series. My prediction: Red Sox in 4.

Indians vs. Yankees: I hate to say it, but I think the Yankees will advance to the ALCS. They've dominated the Indians this year (6-0) and in the short series, they have a distinct advantage. But the Indians have a strong 1-2 punch, so the Yankee hater in me has hope. I think this will be a hard-fought series, but if the Indians can't win with Cy Young candidate C.C. Sabathia, they've got little hope. My prediction: Yankees in 5.

Rockies vs. Phillies: This could be the most exciting series of the early round. The Rockies went 14-1 over the last few weeks of the season and won an exciting playoff game against the Padres to qualify for their second-ever post-season berth. While the Phils' pitching is decidedly mediocre, they've been doing well lately. I think some folks will be surprised to see more scoring in Philadelphia's stadium than in Coors Field, which may actually give the Rockies a slight advantage. I'd love to be wishy-washy and call this a pick 'em series, but I'll go out on a limb. My prediction: Rockies in 5.

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs: I'd love to see the Cubs advance, and they very well might. But this team had the worst record of all post-season qualifiers. While the Diamondbacks scored relatively few runs (less than they allowed -- not a good sign, especially when you have a stud like reigning Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb), their pitching staff includes battle-tested Livan Hernandez. Again, this is a tough series to gauge. My prediction: Cubs in 5.

Chapter 67.25: Thanks, John!

I'm amazed at how much calmer I feel right now. John Maine pitched the best game of any Mets pitcher all year -- allowing only one hit in 7 and two-thirds innings. He struck out 14 batters and the one hit was a dinker. Had Maine gotten him out, he'd have faced bedlam in the ninth, since no pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter for the Mets.

As I type, the Nationals and Phillies are playing. The Phils already removed their starting pitcher, who'd allowed half of the batters he faced to get on base. The Nationals should have scored more than they did.

Whether the Phillies lose today remains to be seen, but regardless, the Mets must win tomorrow in order to have any chance to make the playoffs. Lets Go Mets!

Chapter 67.15: Why We'll Advance to the Playoffs

Ok, I have to remain positive. The Mets haven't been eliminated -- we're not the Braves, after all. I've got a few reasons to list why the Mets will take the National League East division.

* They're 10-5 against this weekend's competition, the Florida Marlins, who looked awful last weekend against a truly miserable Mets team (Whoops, I said I'd be positive.)

* The Phillies are playing the Nationals, who have been quite scrappy in the second half and have started to gel under manager Manny Acta (who was a Mets coach last year -- a little karma thing going, you see?)

* The Mets have Oliver Perez (pictured on right), John Maine, and Tom Glavine going in these final three games. Perez has become a big-game pitcher, one of those guys who seems to do better when there's a lot of pressure on him. This may explain why he was awful in Pittsburgh. Maine's been sketchy at best during the second half, but these are the Marlins. (I know, not a strong argument at all.) And Tom Glavine has been strong most of the year and in what could be his final game ever, he's not going to stink up Shea and earn the wrath of fans who have finally started to warm to him.

* I've already spent nearly $300 on playoff tickets for a game that might not take place, regardless of whether the Mets are in the post-season. (Perhaps this last point is a bit personal, and it may even point to why they won't make the playoffs.)

I'm a frustrated Mets fan, and I know enough of the team's history to realize that this will be an interesting and excruciating weekend. I've not been this nervous since Kenny Rogers was on the mound during the 1999 NLCS.

Chapter 67.1: Jeez, They Suck!

What's going on with the Mets? No, no. I can't watch. Please tell me they'll sweep the next three and the Nationals will take care of the Phillies. Good God! I'm praying that Washington can come through for me!