The Stopper

Last time I posted I wrote about Johan Santana. The Mets were coming off a victory against the Cardinals and we needed Johan to power us to consecutive wins for only the second time in June.

"When we think of the role and importance of an ace, we often think of his position as the team's 'stopper', the guy who doesn't let a 3-game losing streak turn into four games," I wrote. "When Johan Santana goes to the mound today, he'll assume a different mantle. His role will be to act as the team's extender, not their stopper."

Sure enough, Johan did his job that day, pitching 7 innings and guiding the Mets to a 3-2 victory. The win was the Mets' third in four games against St. Louis, a good team. You liked what you saw.

But then you watched what happened over the weekend and you watched what happened last night and all the positive vibes vanished. Talk of a renaissance disappeared. The question on SNY last night was whether it was time to push the panic button.

I was speaking with the newly-engaged Lister (congrats man) last night, and he made an excellent point. The Phillies being a deeply flawed team, the Mets could find themselves in a position where two hot weeks toward the end of the season are enough to propel them to a division title.

Now, we don't have a great track record of producing hot weeks in Septemeber, but the point stands. The Mets aren't buried yet. So long as they're not, it's not time to hit the panic button.

They just need to stay afloat. They've played piss poor baseball, that's for sure, but they're still in the thick of the division race.

In order to stay there we need Johan to step up today. We need him to act in that traditional ace role, we need him to be the stopper. We need him to halt this 4-game losing streak right where it is, clean the slate and get the team pointed back in a positive direction.

It's a heavy burden but that's why they pay him the big bucks. Let's do it.

- A.F.O.M.G.

The Extender

When we think of the role and importance of an ace, we often think of his position as the team's "stopper", the guy who doesn't let a 3-game losing streak turn into four games.

When Johan Santana goes to the mound today, he'll assume a different mantle. His role will be to act as the team's extender, not their stopper.

The Mets have won consecutive games only once in the month of June. On it's face it's a pretty remarkable stat, but when you consider how badly the Mets have played this month, it becomes a lot easier to believe.

The Mets desperately need some positive momentum. For the past month all the talk has been of injuries and losses, one day the story is Johan getting shelled at Yankee Stadium, the next it's Carlos Beltran going down with an injury.

We hear soundbites from Alex Cora that kind of encourage you, then you hear others from Jerry Manuel that are a bit more realistic.

We've been hearing all season about this difficult stretch of games, with only one opponent with a sub-.500 record. To post a series win against St. Louis, a first place team, would be a real shot in the arm going into the weekend set against the Yankees (who incidentally have been playing pretty poorly themselves).

Yesterday's game was great. We haven't seen the Mets pull off an 11-0 stomping in what feels like an extraordinarily long time. Honestly, I can't remember the last time the Mets cruised to a victory the way they did last night.

Coupled with the Phillies' latest loss, the Mets are still in the thick of things at only 1.5 games out of first. During this stretch of injuries and tough opponents, the goal was to stay in the thick of things, and, more by luck than by skill, they've done that to this point.

A win today though would be a big sigh of relief for everyone. It'd show that we can still win series', that we can still play with some of the big dogs, that we can defend our home field. We've got our ace on the mound in the role of extender. Let's make it happen.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Jerry Manuel: A Year in the Life

On the one year anniversary of his appointment, I think the man said it best himself: "I feel like I've been here for 10 years," Jerry Manuel said before the game yesterday.

He was kidding, of course, adding quickly that "time flies when you're having as much fun as I am."

A lot of people are buzzing about David Wright's talking to with Mike Pelfrey, but the real leadership story today is Manuel. Since taking over for Willie Randolph, Manuel has led the Mets to an 88-67 record.

If you're anything like me, the first time you read that stat in the Daily News you had to jump over to the Post to make sure it was accurate. 21 games over .500 since Manuel started?

Between all the bullpen meltdowns last year and the injuries and careless losses this year, it sure feels like the Mets shouldn't be 21 games over .500 for their last 155 games, but sure enough they are.

A lot of people are critical of Uncle Jerry. They don't like his bullpen management or other in-game decisions. I myself have asked where the blame belongs for our mental error-prone team.

But at the end of the day I like Jerry; certainly, I'm a lot happier with him than I was with Willie Randolph (even if I feel that ultimate responsibility for this club's failings sits in the General Manager's office).

Willie was just too defensive for my taste; it wasn't a problem when the Mets were "running roughshod over the National League," but after the collapse in 2007 and the poor start in 2008, there was simply no room for his "I've always been a winner so don't doubt me" demeanor.

The problem was, Willie was never a winner with the Mets. When his teams blew it in 2006 and again in 2007, he still called himself a winner, as if nothing had ever happened. It was completely unrealistic for one thing, but more importantly it was completely incongruous with where the fan base's head was at.

In my opinion we needed a guy like Jerry who challenged his team to consider its failures and try to overcome them. It didn't quite work out in 2008, but here's hoping about 2009.

So here's to Jerry. Criticize his methods all you want but the team's .567 winning percentage during his tenure is pretty shiny, and rather impressive when you consider its shortcomings across 2008 and 2009. Apply it over a 162-game season and you're talking about a 92-win ballclub; I think we'd all take that in 2009.

Now let's go make it 89-67 tonight.

- A.F.O.M.G.

The Kinds of Losses that Doom Playoff Runs

So yesterday was pretty unbearable, but provided there's nothing wrong with Johan Santana, that's not the game from this past week that we're going to remember.

Games like yesterday happen. Sometimes you get blown out, sometimes you blow the other guys out. What matters is what you do with the swing games, and this past week the Mets pissed away three of them.

What more can you say about Friday night's debacle that hasn't already been said? I'm not going to kill Luis Castillo for it. It's a play he should have made (god knows) and it's a game we should have won, but, you know, it happened. In making himself available to the media Luis did everything right (after the play that is) on his end, and the team responded nicely on Saturday.

I had mostly moved on from Friday after we won that middle game 6-2, but as I watched yesterday I couldn't help but recall that this shouldn't have been a rubber game, that we should have had our two wins in the bag already.

From there I couldn't help but recall the game in LA where Church missed third or the game in St. Louis where Beltran didn't slide or the game in Pittsburgh we were leading 5-1. Those three games and Friday's are four losses we'll never get back. Right now we're 32-29, 3 games over .500 and 4 games out of first. If we'd won those four games like we should have, we'd be 36-25, 11 games over .500 and tied for first.

It's a dramatic difference. It's the difference between a middling season and an inspiring one. And those were just the gimme games I could think of off the top of my head. You want to throw at least one of those Phillies losses in there (i.e., Beltran's missed catch, Wright's defensive error) and then were' 13 games over and in first place.

We're not good enough to give wins away. I remember 2006 when Billy Wagner came in with a 4-0 lead against the Yankees at Shea and proceeded to completely melt down. We came out the next day and we were back on track; that charmed team could get away with the occasional crippling loss.

Not this team. We're just not good enough on the whole, so we need to be better on the margins. Unfortunately, that's exactly where we've struggled.

If we're going to make the playoffs, we can't keep giving games away. Simple as that.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, Didn't

All Mets early, all Phillies late. Where have we seen this story before?

* * * * *

Like so many other series' against the Phillies the past couple years, this one felt like a missed opportunity. After stranding 16 runners and blowing a 4-1 lead in an extra innings loss on Wednesday, the Mets blew a 3-1 lead and lost in extra innings on Thursday.

The makeshift Mets played the Phillies close this weekend, and in a lot of ways the teams seem evenly matched. From everything we've seen, there's little reason to think this season won't come down to the wire the same way the last two have.

The difference between the teams is power. The Phillies have a tremendous amount of it and the Mets have an embarrassing shortage of it. When Mets-Phillies games go into extras, the Phillies have a decided advantage.

* * * * *

I don't know what the answer is. I don't know whether the Mets have the chips to trade for a middle of the order slugger; after losing John Maine to the DL, they might not even consider that their top priority, reasoning that the return of Delgado and Reyes will provide all the boost thye need. And I mean, jeez, our rotation now features Johan, Pelf, Livan, Tim Redding, and Nelson Figueroa/Jon Niese. That's not a playoff rotation any way you slice it.

That's getting ahead of ourselves though. For now, the Mets are still in second place, still within striking distance of first and the Wild Card.

But the Mets are at a show-me kind of moment. The season's not young any more, and there are 44 games until the trade deadline. The Mets, bruised and battered as they are, need to find a way to win games like the last two. They had their chances to step up against the Phillies. They coulda won this or they shoulda won that... well, they didn't. And here we are now, losers of 2 out of 3, 4 games out of first.

We just need to do better.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Mets Games Like They Used to Be

It's funny the things you can get used to. I don't typically get home until 8pm or so, so each morning before I leave for work I DVR that night's Mets game. When I get home I watch the good stuff, cruise through the commercials, and zip through the occasional inning if I'm really tight on time.

Last night it was the same routine only my DVR was slightly on the fritz. The recording happened, but for whatever reason I wasn't able to fast forward or rewind.

I still watch many games in real time, so it's not like I'd completely forgotten what it's like to watch a game the old fashioned way. But man, when you're teathered to time like that it really magnifies the drama of the game.

It also magnifies the agony, and last night was pretty tough to stomach. It wasn't just that we blew a 4-1 lead in the 7th, the two misplays that let those runs score were pretty agonizing. It would have been a great catch by Beltran, no question, but that drive to center was still a ball he should have caught, and I imagine he'd be the first to tell you that. More than Wright's miscue, that's the play that kills me from last night.

On the other side of the diamond the Phillies made the plays they had to. Off the bat I could have sworn Wright had won it the 10th, but there was Jayson Werth laying out to make a terrific diving catach to send the game to the 11th. From there, well, Chase Utley has a way of making Citi Field play rather small, doesn't he?

Tonight we turn to Tim Redding (sigh...) in what feels like a really important rubber game. This has been an incredibly hard fought series, and it'd be a real boost going into the weekend if we could get the series win. It'd also be really nice to move 2 games back in the division, rather than 4.

I'll be watching tonight, probably on DVR. As great as it was to watch last night's game in my version of real time, I hope my fast forward button works tonight. I don't know if I can handle the commercials on top of that kind of tension two nights in a row.

Let's get this done. I mean, come on, it's Jamie Moyer.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Bobby V's Fake Mustache... 10 Years Ago?!?

They just announced on the SNY broadcast of tonight's Mets-Phillies game that today, June 9, 2009, is the 10-year anniversary of Bobby Valentine's famed fake mustache.

Is it even possible that it's been 10 years? I feel like me and my friends talk about that fake mustache like it was yesterday.

As a great man once said, "We're not that young."

- A.F.O.M.G.

PS -- You know who would have argued that ridiculously bad call on Tatis at home plate? Bobby Valentine.

Johnny Damon: Juicer?

One of the many regrettable aspects of the Steriod Era is that it forces you to look twice any time a player undergoes an extraordinary change in career trajectory.

Take David Ortiz, one of the most lovable stars the game has. At the age of 33, Ortiz's production has completely fallen off a cliff. On its face, it's strange but not completely unprecedented. But when you couple it with the near instantaneous career makeover he experienced upon arriving in Boston, and, not for nothing, the known steroid use of his former bash brother Manny Ramirez, it makes you ask questions.

Which leads us to Johnny Damon, and the question no one seems to be asking. After all those years when journalists allowed themselves to be awed by incongruous home run production, and after all the lessons they supposedly learned, I haven't seen the question raised once about Damon and steroids.

Consider the stats. Through June 9, at the ripe young age of 35, Damon has 12 home runs and 14 doubles. The former figure puts him on pace to hit 36 home runs, well more than he's ever hit in a single season (his former personal best was 24 in 2006). This is Johnny Damon we're talking about; for context, 36 home runs is more than Carlos Beltran has ever hit in a season except one.

The latter figure puts him on pace for 42 doubles which would match the career high he set in 2000 when he was 26 years old. Consequently, Damon's slugging percentage, .551, easily tops his previous best of .482.

It's a nice little career renaissance Damon is experiencing, isn't it?

It's true that there are mitigating factors. The new Yankee Stadium is a complete joke; Damon's pop up turned home run last night is perhaps the best evidence of that. And it's true that Damon's home-road splits show that he's hit more home runs at home (9) than on the road (3). At the same time, Damon's also hit more of his doubles on the road (8-6), so it's not that he's only driving the ball in the Bronx.

Nevertheless, it's a question that should be asked. Reporters don't want to ask it because it's "not fair" to turn the steroid question into a witch hunt. But that's completely ridiculous. The players invite this scrutiny by routinely voting down proposals to toughen up baseball's drug policy, and, you know, by using steroids.

His defection from the Red Sox to the Yankees aside, I have no problem with Johnny Damon. He seems like a good enough guy, and for years I wanted him on the Mets.

But come on, he's 35 years old and he's having the power season of his life and we're all just along for the ride. I hope he's clean, I really do. I hope it's just the new ballpark. But you gotta wonder.

* * * * *

As I write this it's pouring rain, and tonight's opener against the Phillies looks like a total long shot.

A lot of Mets fans seem to be dreading this series, but I look at it as an opportunity. We have our ace on the mound in game 1, and any time we can say that Johan Santana is pitching in a series we should feel that we have a chance to take 2-of-3.

Down 3 games in the division, this is a good opportunity to make a statement to the Phillies; bruised and battered as we are, it's an opportunity to remind the Phillies that we're still competitive with anybody in the league. We don't have to fold because Reyes went down or Delgado got hurt.

And when it's all over, hell, if we get three games in, the Mets could find themselves tied for first place. Now that's someting worth hoping for.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe for now we should just hope it ever stops raining.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Giveaway Games

"The reality is, coming here to Pittsburgh and getting swept, for me, I feel embarrassed… We need to find a way to play better and to focus more on what we need to accomplish… I mean, we have to take this personally. It can’t happen… I know the Pirates are a big-league team, but we’re better than them. We’re better than them, and we know we’re better than them... We have to do something about it" -- Carlos Beltran

Though certain to go over poorly in the Pirates clubhouse, Beltran's words needed to be said. The past three games against the Pirates were embarrassing.

First we lost a game we were leading 5-0. Then we lost a Johan start. The capper came yesterday when Mike Pelfrey got bombed and the Mets got blown out.

In SNY's pregame show leading into this series, Gary Cohen noted that the Mets had played poorly against the Pirates in recent years, getting swept by the team in late September '06 and suffering improbable, backbreaking losses in '07 and '08. Either of those improbable losses the past two years, Cohen noted, would have been enough to get the Mets into the playoffs.

You don't get these games back. You lose them in June and they kill you in September. In order to avoid the same fate as the past two seasons, the Mets need to start playing better.

Fortunately for them they have the league's beset invigorating tonic in the Washington Nationals this weekend. Sure we've got Tim Redding going for us tonight, but like Lou Brown calling on Rick Vaughn to face Clu Haywood with the game on the line, I've got a hunch Redding's due.

Personally I'm pissed at myself becuase I'd circled this series on the calendar as one I was going to get down to. I'd love to see the Nationals' new ballpark and I have a bunch of friends in DC so this is a bit of a missed opportunity, but oh well. Let's hope it doesn't turn into a missed opportunity for our Metsies as well.

- A.F.O.M.G.

... And We're Back!

Seriously, what a trip. The Glass Man had never been to Spain, and hadn't been to Europe at all since the summer of 2003.

That all changed over the last 10 days as me and my girlfriend hopped from Barcelona and Ibiza before spending five days in Paris.

Although I wasn't able to watch any Mets games during that time -- strangely, they don't have Mets bars in Spain and France -- the trip wasn't without sport. Last Saturday we saw FC Barcelona in their final tune-up before their Euro Cup showdown with Manchester United (which Barca won 2-0).

The match we saw at Barca's massive, 110,000-person stadium, was only an exhibition, but it also served as a celebration for the team's having won... something.

After the game, the players did a march around the field to such American superhits as "Eye of the Tiger" (sung by a woman for some reason) saluting the fans and basking in their affection. Afterward the players and coach all gave speeches, fireworks were presented, and the key centerpiece of the celebration, a sign in the middle of the field that spelled some Spanish word, failed to light.

It was awesome to be there for the celebration, but honestly I felt a bit guilty. I pictured some random tourist at the game when the Mets celebrate winning the World Series while I sat at home, unable to get a ticket, and thought of how pissed off I'd have been. So there was some guilt there, but hey, you only live once and it was an awesome experience. Everything you've heard about the intensity of European soccer matches is true.

When we got to France we spent Thursday at Versailles but Friday was all about Roland Garros. We saw a pre-upset Rafa Nadal destroy Lleyton Hewitt; we also saw Maria Sharapova and a really bratty 16-year-old from, I think, Portugal, who inspired a piece in The New York Times the next day devoted to her annoyingness.

The French Open was amazing. We had perfect weather for tennis and great seats -- it was one of the real highlights of the trip, and now I can't wait to go to the US Open again this year.

Now, I might not have been able to watch the Metsies while on vacation, but that didn't keep me from checking in on them during my trip. WiFi access in Barcelona, Ibiza, and Paris was better than anything I've ever received in the US, so I was able to follow all the games and read all the recaps.

More than anything, I'm struck by how much changed in the 11 days I was gone. In the last game before I left, a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, Jose Reyes led off, Ryan Church manned right field, and Ramon Castro did the catching.

Each day of the trip it seemed like something new had happened. Reyes and Church were DL'ed, Castro was traded, Carlos Beltran's stomach exploded (I know how you feel, bud).

But through it all, a few things stayed constant. People kept getting hurt but the Mets kept winning games; then I returned and the Mets lost a game they were winning 5-0 early and 5-3 in the 8th. Gotta love this team.

And it's nice being home, at least in a way. I mean, Paris is incredible and I could've spent another few days there easily, but it's nice coming home to all the little routines, including the Mets and, you know, updating the site. I know we were light on the posts in May but I'm going to try to ramp things up again in June. It's a nice thought at least.

Beyond all that, if I missed any really major Mets-related developments in the past 11 days I want to hear all about it on the comment board.

- A.F.O.M.G.