Hats

Here's how long Mets owner Fred Wilpon conversation should have been with Bud Selig regarding September 11th first responder hats on the 10th anniversary.

WILPON: Mr. Commissioner. We want to wear hats honoring the NYPD, fire department and Port Authority on September 11th.

SELIG: During the game?

WILPON: Yes.

SELIG: Well all the teams are wearing special September 11th hats that day already. We don't like having teams wearing unofficial uniforms during a game.

WILPON: I understand, but we are a New York team and there will no doubt be fire fighters, police officers, rescue workers who were at the Towers that day at CitiField. And also relatives and friends of those who didn't make it. And we'd like to show a sign of solidarity on this 10th anniversary.

SELIG: What if we had every team change their hats on a whim?

WILPON: What other city had a September 11th? If the Nationals wanted to do something, they should. That's up to them. But September 11th was unique and this is the 10th anniversary and we are the only team playing in New York. I think an exception can be made.

SELIG: You aren't going to sell the hats or try any September 11th merchandise, are you?

WILPON: No. Certainly not.

SELIG: And it is JUST for September 11th, not the whole weekend?

WILPON: Just the Sunday night game.

SELIG: Well, I can't see how that's a problem. It's a nice gesture. Go ahead.

WILPON: Thank you Mr. Commissioner.


Boom!

All the bases covered.
That conversation would last, what? A minute? 90 seconds?

The fact that it WASN'T that simple and it has turned into a "He Said... She Said" spat involving rules that may or may not have been enforced, fines the Mets were worried they had to pay and Bud Selig was mad that it became public shows how incompetent the two parties.

Those parties of course being the Mets organization, who took every baseball advantage in the world and ran the team into the ground... and Bud Selig who every day finds new reasons to want to throw him out of office. How could Selig not see this was the right thing to do?

And of course Joe Torre was thrown into the middle of this, trying to destroy whatever good will is left for him in New York.

A simple thoughtful act of wearing a hat to honor the memories of brave men and women instead became a nice barometer of people who have lost perspective.

And frankly it is kind of fascinating.

Mattingly and Collins deserve Manager of the Year consideration

It's obvious that Kirk Gibson is going to win the National League manager of the year. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY was picking the Diamondbacks to win the NL West this year, let alone take an 8 1/2 game lead in early September.

So Gibson will add a Manager of the Year trophy next to his MVP (which will no doubt be the subject of another blog post.)

But take a look at what Don Mattingly and Terry Collins have done. Both are playing for big budgeted fiascos. The Dodgers have had as ugly a season as I can remember with all of the behind the scenes nonsense. The McCourt divorce. The handling of the Brian Stowe beating. The MLB take over. The Bankruptcy. The money being taken out of the team for personal reasons. The fans staying away in droves.

There was every reason in the world for the Dodgers to pack up and not show up. And for a while that is exactly what they were doing.

The Mets were also a mess. I thought they were a 90 loss team waiting to happen. The post Madoff Amazin' Mess was a mismatch of broken down veterans, expensive players who wanted out, young players who weren't ready and a parade of players on the disabled list.

And playing in the same Divison as the Phillies and Braves meant the season was irrelevant in April. And come trading deadline, they were sellers.

90 losses may have been a generous prediction.

Yet here we are on September 10th. The Dodgers are just 1 game under .500.
The Mets are 2 games under .500.

It would not take a Herculean effort for both teams to finish with a winning record.

The Dodgers are aided by the fact that Clayton Kershaw should win the NL Cy Young and there is a case for Matt Kemp to win the MVP.

The Mets don't have that star power, but they are finding unlikely heroes and staying focused in a way that I didn't think they had in them.

So give Don Mattingly and Terry Collins a lot of credit.
Both the Dodgers and Mets are ugly places off of the field and if the on field product reflected that, nobody would have blinked.

But if they could weather the storm of the craziness of 2011 and say "Hey! At least we put a winning product on the field" then THAT is worthy of Manager of the Year consideration.

Color me impressed, Dodger and Met fans.

Why I am standing by my "Mets will lose 90 games" pick

At the beginning of the season, I picked the Mets to lose 90 games... and man oh man Met fans HATED me for saying that.

I was called stupid, a Boston fan (which I can't deny) and my sexuality was questioned. And I still felt that the team that lost 83 games last year was worse.

Throughout the year, I would e mails from Met fans and some of my friends who are Met fans asking me if I will eat my words about the Mets and if I would admit that I was wrong.

The Mets were playing better and some fans were upset that Beltran was dealt because the Wild Card was in reach.

Calm down everyone.

90 losses remains a real possibility.

For all the talk about the Mets playing better than expected this year, let's keep a few things in mind.

They are a sub .500 team in late August. A $118 million payroll should be a contender. Being above .500 is a given.

They are on pace to lose 85 games this year, making this year a step backwards.

After tonight's loss to the Phillies they are 8 games under .500 with 34 left to play.

Just to reach break even they would have to go 21-14 the rest of the way... a .600 clip.

And with Beltran gone and Reyes injured, the team has no spark.

The Mets have lost 15 of their last 20 games. This is their third 5 game losing streak since July 30th and their next four games are against the Phillies and Braves.

In order to lose 90 games, the Mets would have to go 12-22 the rest of the way.

So nope. I am standing by my pick. Besides, part of my rationale was that they would unload some players at the deadline and the weakened team would play some legit contenders. And that's kinda sorta exactly what happened.

They were last above .500 on August 1.

They are 5-14 since.

Why is Jose Reyes still a Met?

Seriously. What the hell?

Do the Mets think they have a shot at the Wild Card? If so, why did they deal Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran?

They are in rebuilding mode... then REBUILD!

They got a quality chip in exchange for Beltran. Imagine what they could have snagged from the Cardinals for Reyes. From the Angels. From ANY team that needs a spark in the shortstop position.

(I thought the Giants should have packaged for Beltran AND Reyes.)

They could have at least 2 players who if they aren't big leagues ready now, they will be by 2012 or 2013.

And THEN when Reyes hit the open market, out bid everyone for him there. You could even say to him before the trade "No matter what happens this year, nobody is going to out bid us." Wink wink.

They get the prospects AND they get Reyes for next year.

And yet here he is. Still with the Mets. I give the Mets tons of credit for keeping their nose above .500 and if they have a winning season, then color me impressed. There is NO WAY they are passing Atlanta or Philadelphia this year.

But they COULD be building a team for when Philadelphia's age catches up to them (which could be in a year or 2.)

Reyes, Wright and Wheeler would be on that team. But for the love of Sid Fernandez, so could have a few other players!

Someone help me. Someone explain it to me.

I'm at a loss.

The Mets have thrown in the towel

Wow. I had a feeling the Mets fire sale would start soon. But I didn't think it would happen while players were still lingering around Chase Field in Phoenix for post All Star Game festivities.

Beltran and Reyes better get back to Queens fast before they are shipped out!

Francisco Rodriguez is now a Milwaukee Brewer. And while I don't trust him in post season play any further than I can throw him, but he does pile up saves in the regular season and now those late inning leads will go to someone else.

And the domino effect is going to happen in that bullpen and it won't be pretty.
Beltran is next. If they can get a package for Reyes, why not?

When I talked about my lousy predictions for the season, one of my readers pointed out that I didn't mention my prediction that the Mets would lose 90 games.

I'm standing by the prediction. I think this team is about to be dismantled. And they will be essentially fielding an expansion team for August and September... and the mood will get from bad to worse.

Yes I know they are a game over .500 now after their first 91 games.
And to reach 90 losses they'll have to double their loss total in just 71 games.

I've seen teams unravel fast.
They could go 26-45 the rest of the way. 6 of their next 7 games are against the Phillies and Cardinals.

The Mets have series involving the Reds, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Braves and Brewers in August. They also have a bunch of games with the Marlins and Nationals who are playing better.

In other words, losses could pile up fast, especially if morale is bad.

Now keep in mind one thing:
I think the Mets are doing the right thing.
They are dumping bodies off the sinking ship and will have some growing pains with the new crew.

They SHOULD deal Beltran. And if anyone can take Bay do that too.

Read this carefully Mets fans:
I think the Mets will be a major contender in a couple of seasons. I trust Sandy Alderson and sometimes it is a good thing to hit rock bottom.

And Met fans, go to a game at CitiField this year. Nobody will ever question your loyalty to your team after this season.

I've got to give the Mets credit...

I've been brutal on the Mets both on my blog and the podcast.

I wondered how a team in New York could be losing money, putting a non contender on the field and be an absolute mess.

And I predicted that they will have a firesale and lose 90 games.

Now I stand by most of those statements.
But I have to give Terry Collins some credit.
He has been handed a crappy hand (and the aftermath of the Omar Minaya years) and has the team over .500.

He doesn't have David Wright nor Johan Santana at his disposal. And the line up and bullpen has been patch work.

Just last night the Mets had Willie Harris at DH, Lucas Duda at first base, Justin Turner at second base and Josh Thole at catcher. That's a lineup you'd expect at a split squad spring training game.

And they throttled Detroit to the tune of 14 runs. And that's not a chump team. That's a first place team they blew out of the water on the road.

I don't know how much longer this will last. I still think Reyes and Beltran and Rodriguez are going to be dealt in a month (and why not? They could get three valuable and cheap building blocks for them.)

And it is unlikely that they will leapfrog five teams for a playoff spot.
But if they split the next few games, they will be at the official half way spot with a winning record... and that's more than I was expecting.

And if I can give the Pirates, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Indians and Mariners all credit for exceeding expectations, then I suppose I should for the Mets as well.

Things could be worse for the Mets. They could be the Dodgers.

Frankie Rodriguez blew a save!

He evidently gets a lot of saves.
According to his Baseball Reference page, he has 19 saves for a Mets team that only has 35 wins.
But every time I see him play, he blows the lead.

I must have bad luck watching him.
(Or good luck when you consider all of his post season losses against the Red Sox.)

Hey Pirates... here's a tip from your pal Sully

If you REALLY want to change the culture of the team and have a .500 record or (God Forbid) a winning season... step one is when you have a 7-0 lead against a dead from the neck up team like the Mets... HOLD ON TO THAT LEAD!

Don't blow it like you did today.

Instead of being just one game under .500, you guys are 3 under.
Ahhh... the Phillies are up next.
Well, at least THEY are an easy team.

Jose Reyes should replace Buster Posey

The Giants lost their young budding superstar catcher Buster Posey to injuries for the rest of the season? Naturally the Mets shortstop should take his place.

I do not literally mean take Posey’s position of course. The Giants need to fill the catcher’s position but that is a short order. Eli Whiteside is a capable catcher and Bengie Molina, the man who Buster Posey made expendable, can be signed as a free agent. Both can split time behind the plate and call a good game. Maybe even Fresno’s Jackson Williams can catch a few games for the parent club.

Getting someone to squat and tell the pitchers what to throw is not an issue. His bat will be sorely missed. A team this offensively challenged can’t afford to simply remove Posey from the lineup. The combination of Molina, Whiteside and Williams can’t make up for his production.

But Jose Reyes can.

The Mets shortstop is healthy and contributing in the lineup. He leads the league in hits and triples. He has 17 steals and his OPS is in the .800s. And he is doing it in a miserable situation. If he could do that in the poisonous Mets culture, imagine how he could flourish in the positive environment of the defending World Champions!

The Mets are imploding, sinking in the standings, infighting with the management and selling off chunks of the team.

When a team is trying to find new investors (or maybe a new owner) and losing tens of millions of dollars, wouldn’t it behoove them to start cutting payroll? Especially when the team is a losing team in an empty stadium. Hell, Wilpon has already said his team stinks. Why not start dumping the bodies?

If the Mets can get two good prospects for Reyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season, then it makes sense for them. Getting two players who have already passed much of the minor league gauntlet might be a surer bet than the two draft picks the Mets would get after Reyes’ inevitable free agent departure. (Why would he want to come back to the Amazin’ Mess.)

The Giants are in a position to trade from strength. It is always risky to deal pitching, but with a rotation of Linecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Sanchez and even Vogelsong, the Giants have depth in the rotation. Wilson, Ramirez, Lopez, Romo and Mota give them the deep bullpen. If ANY team can trade a pitching prospect or two, it is the Giants.

Maybe dealing top prospect Zack Wheeler would be a stretch. And maybe lefty reliever Alex Hinshaw, who has some big league experience, might not be enticing. But first baseman prospect Brandon Belt could be intriguing for the Mets. 23 year old control artist Eric Surkamp could be spared. And slick fielding young shortstop Brandon Crawford won’t be needed. I am sure a package could be slapped together.

And it could even be easier if the Giants ever agreed to take on any more of the Mets payroll. Jason Bay is owed $35 million over the next two years. Johan Santana is owed $50 million. Send one of those contracts to China Basin and the accountants in Queens would be much obliged. Granted, the only stadium worse for Jason Bay’s talents than CitiField is AT&T Park. But imagine if Santana comes back to form? But I digress. This discussion is about Jose Reyes.

And the Giants have a spot waiting for him. Sorry, Miguel Tejada. The experiment to capture lightning in a bottle again after the post season success of Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe simply isn’t happening for the 2011 Giants infield. The bat speed is not there. The power is not there. The range is not there. He is aging the way 37 year olds USED to age.

Replace the lumbering Tejada with the spark plug of Reyes, rejuvenated after his parole from Queens and suddenly the Giants line up is a little more electric. He has gap to gap power and can stretch doubles into triples, making San Francisco the ideal park for his offense.

And playing for a potential post season run could not hurt his free agent prospects.

Deal a little of tomorrow for a chance to repeat today, Giants. You don’t need a catcher who can hit. You need a player who can hit.

Make the call. The Mets are DYING to shed some payroll.

News about the Mets read like Onion Headlines

Seriously, if I were to write a parody about the Mets misfortunes how could I POSSIBLY come up with two more insane headlines than:

"METS STILL OWE BOBBY BONILLA $30 MILLION!"

or

"DAVID WRIGHT DIDN'T REALIZE HE HAD A BROKEN BACK!"

Man oh man.

Better start trading the veterans away now... if for no other reason than for mercy.

It's the flea market series

The Mets and Dodgers are playing in the ballpark that is a shrine to the history and legacy of the Dodgers: CitiField.

The two teams from the two biggest markets are squaring off. And at this point they are both sub .500 teams with outrageous financial issues.

Let me put it this way:
The Mets could lose up to $100 million over the last two seasons and are involved in one of the great financial scandals of our age... and they are the STABLE one of the two teams.

As Frank McCourt is gearing up for a spectacular flame out, the Dodgers might not even reach payroll for June.

So when you have two expensive bad teams, what can you expect to happen later in the year?

SELL SELL SELL!

So take a look at the talent on display. If you want someone, make an offer.
One team could use a lower payroll every 2 weeks and the other team has already thrown good money after bad in the Oliver Perez/Luis Castillo fiasco.

Make your bids. These teams will look a LOT different on August 1 after the trade deadline!

After you... no after you

Was it just me or did neither the Mets nor the Giants seemed interested in winning this game tonight?

The Giants get the go ahead run in scoring position in the 8th... Gotch.
The Mets get the go ahead run in scoring position in the 8th... nada.
The Giants load the bases in the 9th... zilch.
The Mets get a lead off double in the bottom of the 9th... zippo.

FINALLY it took a Huff homer in the 10th and even then Wilson lets the tying run aboard and had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 10th.

The World Champs throw Lincecum tomorrow and they'll be back at .500.
Maybe they'll play with some URGENCY tomorrow.

Albert Pujols will be a Dodger or a Met… and I predict a conspiracy theory

A bizarre and round about series of events and coincidences have made it clear to me that Albert Pujols will almost certainly not be a member of the St. Louis Cardinals next year.

Before Pujols files for free agency, two large market franchises will change ownership and be in position to bid for him, and I believe Bud Selig will be manipulating the whole thing to help preserve his legacy.

That’s right, I am predicting a conspiracy before there are any facts or events to back up my theory. I admit that is no easy trick. But I think I am on to something.

Follow me…

Bud Selig is retiring in 2012. With the steroid era evidently behind him and if baseball avoids a work stoppage (and the NFL and NBA have one) then he will be able to claim that he left the game clean and thriving with labor peace.

But there are four gigantic messes he needs to clean up before riding off into the sunset.

Two won’t be covered here, but I will mention them: The Rays and the A’s stadium disasters. Neither team can last in their current dumps and nor have a viable solution for survival, especially if the Giants can block the A’s move to San Jose. But that is another post.

The big BIG mess is the state of the Mets and Dodgers, two of the flagship franchises of the National League. According to USA Today, only the Yankees and Red Sox are worth more than the Dodgers and those teams plus the Cubs are the only ones worth more than the Mets.

I don’t think it is stretch to call New York and Los Angeles big markets. And guess what? They are both in financial chaos.

The Dodgers have been mismanaged to the point where MLB had to take the unprecedented steps of essentially removing the owner from power. (We’ll see if Frank McCourt surrenders the power of the team.)

And the Mets should be on notice. If the twisted finances of the McCourt divorce can make Selig and company take over the Dodgers, then being swindled by Bernie Madoff (and not being sure what they knew in advance) should be even a greater cause for MLB to step in and take the car keys away from the Wilpons.

In the very least, the Mets should be forced to sell.

So that would mean the Mets and Dodgers would have new ownership going into the 2012 season. And also have a disillusioned fan base, declining attendance and a natural division rival playing well (the Phillies for the Mets and the Giants for the Dodgers.)

Whomever is going to run the Mets and the Dodgers will need to assure their paying customers (and TV viewers and sponsors) that not only are the bad days behind them but glamorous superstar days are ahead.

The Giants were in a similar boat when Peter Magowan took over the team in the wake of the proposed move to Tampa Bay. He found the quickest way to get the fan base energized: He signed the best player in baseball, Barry Bonds.

Which brings us to Albert Pujols. He’s a free agent to be. He has nothing left to prove in St. Louis when he finishes this, his 11th season. He has given the Cardinals a championship, post season heroics, MVPs and done so with class and a flair for the dramatic. And, as I said in a previous video, Cardinal fans can NEVER boo him.

Pujols could need a new challenge in his life, the biggest contract in baseball history and a chance to be a hero in a brand new market.

(See Rose, Pete. See Jackson, Reggie. And Albert is better than both of them!)

And if just so happens that the Dodgers have an opening at first base. I may not be 100% sure how VORP works, but I can guess that Albert Pujols replacing James Loney is an improvement.

And the Mets have Ike Davis, who is a nice player. When you have the chance to get one of the great offensive players of all time, you might think about sacrificing a nice player or two!

Both the Dodgers and the Mets will have new owners, money to spend and a city to impress. And they will BOTH bid on Albert Pujols.

Why do I say that with such certainty? Because Selig will make sure of it. Captain Bud will not let an owner take over the Dodgers nor the Mets unless they were intending on trying to sign Pujols.

It makes sense for the Dodgers to win back their fans and show there is a new era in Chavez Ravine.

It makes sense for the Mets to turn the page on the Wilpon fiasco (and no doubt Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins would welcome Albert’s arrival.)

It makes sense for labor peace as players making big contracts is always looked on fondly by the Players Association.

And it makes sense for Selig as he leave the game with franchises other than the Yankees and Red Sox bidding over the biggest free agents.

And which ever team can’t land Pujols will have a nice consolation prize in Prince Fielder.

Think Selig is above this sort of backroom dealings? Or perhaps not clever enough?

PUH-lease. I am not going to even go into the whole “Used Car Salesman” past of Mr. Selig.

This was the guy who maneuvered the ownership of the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox around so his hand picked successor would take over in Boston instead of the McCourts.

This was the guy who claimed to have no clue about the steroid culture, even though allegations were made public as far back as 1988, when Peter Ueberroth was commissioner.

This was the guy who was part of the owners group that ousted Fay Vincent for not doing their bidding and installing himself as owner/commissioner. It was supposed to be temporary. That was 1992.

This was one of the many owners found guilty of collusion in the 1980s.

Shady wheeling and dealing are right in Bud Selig’s wheelhouse.

So a nudge here and there and making sure the new owners come with an aggressive eye on Albert is not as outlandish as colluding, kicking the commissioner out and not noticing that the players all were bigger than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

You heard it here first on Sully Baseball.

I am declaring it a conspiracy before it actually happens.

Colluding is and always will be part of Bud Selig’s legacy.

Carlos Delgado and the missed chance to be a legend in New York - My Latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at the solid and dignified career of Carlos Delgado.

But I also wonder what could have been. If the Mets won the 2006 NLCS, he would have been a post season immortal in New York, which means a special place in baseball history. Just ask career journeyman Don Larsen.

You can read the article HERE.

The Mets are 10% of the way towards making me look right

I took a lot of heat from Mets fans when I predicted their team would lose 90 games.
I have nothing against the Mets, but they weren't good last year and they are older and have the financial stink of the Madoff scandal hanging over the team.

They might dismantle at any moment.

Well, I was called all sorts of names... my sexual preferences were questioned... my weight was pointed out... my IQ was mocked...

And as a Red Sox fan, I really shouldn't be throwing stones about bad starts. But STILL!
After the Mets dropped 4 games at home to the Rockies, the first 3 by one run, the Mets are at 9 losses.

8% of the way through the season and they are 10% of the way towards 90 losses.
That means they can improve their rate of play and still hit 90.

Yeah, I know the Red Sox have 9 losses as well. There's a difference between a bad start and a bad team.

90 losses.
They are 10% of the way there before our taxes are filed.

Spiderman... Mets fan

I bet you didn't know Spiderman was a Mets fan.
It makes sense. I think Peter Parker was from Queens and he had that unlucky Mets quality to his non superhero life.

In this clip from The Electric Company, he takes a break from crime fighting to catch a game at Shea. There he meets up with the super villain "The Wall", whose diabolical plot seems to be to create cheap home runs for the other team.

So Spiderman comes down to the field to help the Mets and is berated by Morgan Freeman.

Folks, that was the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of mankind.


You'd think the Mets would try to make a clearer link to Spiderman.

Maybe instead of constantly honoring the Brooklyn Dodgers, they could have a Spiderman day or have wall for kids to climb up.

If Spiderman were real, no doubt they could sign him. The Mets could pay him more than the Daily Bugle.

But they'd probably find a way to mess it up and they'd have to eat HIS salary too.

I wonder what "Gumbo" Grace Ivy would be making today. (No doubt the "Tom" he is referring to on the mound is Mr. Seaver.)

Enjoy.

I admire this young Met fan in Miami

It's going to be a long season, Met fans.
I said it... 90 losses.

89 left after today. It's going to be a year where players like Josh Johnson are in your division. And the Phillies had a great comeback that will be "Standard Operating Procedure" for the Mets' biggest tormentors.

But this kid clearly cares. He clearly WANTS to the Mets to be good. And he has no memory of 1986. I doubt he remembers the 2000 World Series. Heck, he is young enough that maybe the 2006 might be vague. His only clear memories of the Mets could very well be the collapses of 2007 and 2008 and the non factors of 2009 and 2010.

He is being brought up in the post Madoff mess and still cares.
Folks, THIS is a great sports fan. Keep this ticket stub, pal. Show people "I was THERE when things looked bad for the Mets."

Someday the Mets will be damn good again and you can smile knowing you logged in the pain before the pleasure.

This my dear readers is a GOOD fan!

Is Mike Hampton the least popular New York baseball post season hero ever?

Usually post season glory in New York means immortality and a permanent place in the hearts of a passionate fanbase. Somehow that has eluded Mike Hampton.

He retired today. Yeah, it's the same Mike Hampton. This isn't like Mike Stanton where one retired and the Marlins got another one.

This isn't a Steve Ontiveros situation where somehow two people named Steve Ontiveros made it to the majors.

And it isn't the Mike Hampton who played in the Reds farm system in the 1990s.

The same guy who was a stud for the Astros in the 1990s hung up his spikes today. Last September I was stunned to see Hampton was still cashing a check as a member of the Diamondbacks.

So a big league career that began in 1993 with the Mariners ended in the Diamondbacks spring training camp today.

Of course he had incredible injury issues that forced him to miss two entire seasons and he famously (and expensively) flopped in Colorado. But he had a good solid career with a few terrific seasons sprinkled in there.

Along the way, he made a cameo with the 2000 Mets. The Mets sent Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel packing to the Astros after the 1999 season to get Hampton, who finished second to Randy Johnson in the Cy Young vote and won the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award.

He was no slouch with the bat either, batting .311 with a .806 OPS for the Astros in 1999.

He was a free agent to be, but the Mets had a World Series run on their mind and adding Hampton to the rotation could have been just what the doctor ordered to catch the Braves.

He may not have been a Cy Young contender in 2000, but he won 15, pitched 217 2/3 innings and let up the fewest home runs per nine innings in the league.

He out pitched Andy Pettitte in a July 9th win against the Yankees.

The Mets finished a game behind Atlanta but made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. They defeated the Giants and advanced to the NLCS with revenge on their mind for their heartbreaking 1999 loss to the Braves. There would be no rematch as the Cardinals unseated the Braves.

Hampton pitched 7 shutout innings to win Game 1. Then, with the Mets up 3-1 in the series, took the ball for Game 5. The bullpen took the night off as once again, St. Louis couldn't score off of Hampton.

He went all 9 innings and the Mets won the pennant.



The image of Mike Hampton being lifted off the ground in triumph should be a cherished moment in Mets history.

Mike Hampton was awarded the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award for 2000.

He is the ONLY Mets player to win that award. (They didn't have an MVP for the 1969 and 1973 NLCS and Astros Mike Scott won the award in a losing effort for 1986.)

So he is a beloved Met, right?

At least a Met you'd give a standing ovation to, right?

When I wrote my Home Grown Vs. Acquired series a few years ago, I put Hampton on the All Time Acquired Mets Team. My rationale was I tended to honor players who had post season glory. And I didn't expect to get much flak from Met fans about honoring a guy who pitched the team into the World Series.

It was almost unanimous that I was dead wrong.
While the name calling didn't get as bad as this week's barrage from Met fans, they couldn't understand why I was heaping such praise on Mike Hampton.

"He won two games. Big deal!" One guy wrote to me.
Um, the clinching game of the League Championship Series IS a big deal! Or so I thought.

Most people thought I should have included Johan Santana based on his then one season with the Mets. (I wonder how many would still include him.)

But I have yet to hear from a Met fan who shares my praise of their lone NLCS MVP.

Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he beat the Cardinals and not the Braves that made his achievement lack any resonating emotion. (Beating Whitey Herzog's Cardinals in the 1980s would have been bigger.

Maybe it is because he pitched poorly against the Yankees in the World Series that any enthusiasm for his LCS triumph was muted.

Of course he made no friends in New York by leaving after one season and claiming his desire to go to Colorado had more to do with their school system than the fact that he got the biggest contract for any pitcher at that time in history. ($14 million a year should pay for tuition at a good private school.)

Either way it is unfortunate. For one season he pitched well for the Mets and joined a very short list of pitchers who clinched a pennant for the Mets:

Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw, Jesse Orosco and Mike Hampton.

That should be worth some love.

As for Mike Hampton, I salute you.
16 big league seasons, a Cy Young runner up, 148 wins, 2 All Star Game appearances, a Gold Glove, a 20 win season in 1999, 5 Silver Sluggers, a post season MVP and the experience of being the pitcher who gets mobbed after a clinching game are all things to admire.

$124 million in cashed checks is something we would ALL want.

Money might not be able to buy you love from Met fans... but we here at Sully Baseball will show your greatest highlight.

Sorry Met fans... I am writing another post about your team

I've not made many Met fan friends recently... partially based on the passing around of my "Better use of $18 million" post. But forgive me, I need to write something else.

I said the Mets are going to lose 90 games.
From the responses by Met fans, you would have thought I said "The Lakers are going to miss the playoffs."

After many comments about my weight, intelligence and sexual orientation, the consensus was that I am an idiot for thinking a team that lost 83 games last year will lose 90 in 2011.

Mainly because some of their players MIGHT come back and some others COULD have comeback years.

Now I have already covered the facts that the Mets improvements are cosmetic and that the Phillies, Braves and Marlins all have better starting staffs... but folks, I saw an article today that made me think "Oh boy... this is going to be a worse year than I thought for the Mets."

REPORT: METS LOST $50M IN 2010; 2011 MAY BE SAME

Yup. The Mets who play in New York and have a brand spanking new stadium and their own TV network could lose a combined $100 million bucks in two seasons.

Revenues are down and so is attendance.

And with the Madoff scandal hovering over the team (sorry folks, that elephant will be there until the team is sold) the Wilpons are almost certainly be forced to sell the team at one point.

So what do teams do that are on the verge of financial ruin, tangled in national scandal and will be forced to sell?

Do they make improvements to the team?
Do they acquire players to help them win the pennant?
Or do they start chucking bodies overboard?

Guess what?
If Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez, Taylor Buchholz, Chris Capuano or D. J. Carrasco are healthy and productive in 2011, they will be shipped off for minor leaguers and smaller price tags.

Think David Wright won't be traded?

It's not probable, but we are currently treading in uncharted financial waters.

You can't look at this team like a typical rebuilding process. A New York team should never be in "Tampa Bay mode" and looking to shed its stars because of lack of revenue. But that is what we are looking at with this team.

Any player a Met fan is looking at as hope for improvement will probably be used to relieve debt.

It is not going to be a pretty year, Met fans.
Go to the games. Prove your loyalty.

And in 5 years when Donald Trump owns the team and they are contenders again, you can point to all the bandwagon Met fans and say "Hey! Were YOU at CitiField when they were crumbling under the Madoff scandal?"

My wife made a Schindler's List analogy with my blog tonight

My wife compared me to a Nazi running a concentration camp tonight. It's not often that happens. I will explain why.

I was about to write a long post where I respond to many of my new readers. My post yesterday about the Mets and their wasted $18 million brought in literally thousands of readers and many comments.

And very few of the comments were “Hey, I thought your post was funny. I am looking forward to more of your wit and humor in the future.”

A reader named Dave wrote "your just dumb" and sadly will never know how ironic that is. (When I corrected him, he called me a dick and said it was a typo. Sorry Dave, it isn't a typo when you think you typed it correctly.)

An anonymous reader told me to "suck a fat cock u negative fool."
A fellow named Stephen called me a "complete idiot" and there were others.

My assertion that the Mets would lose 90 games got the most flak.
The team lost 83 games last year and their only improvements seem to be role players and getting rid of bad players.

Meanwhile the Phillies added Cliff Lee. The Braves added Dan Uggla. The Marlins pitching staff is deep and they play those three teams 54 times this year.

Throw in the fact that they have a manager who hasn't managed in a decade and was HATED in Houston and with the Angels.

And oh yeah, the Mets won't have Santana and have the specter of the Madoff scandal hanging over their head which could mean a fire sale at mid season.

And even the most optimistic appraisals of the team have them at .500.

But 90 losses is an outrageous prediction?

So I was cracking my knuckles tonight, ready to give it to all of them. Besides, they are all Met fans. Between 1986 and 2003, I don't recall getting any sympathy from them! Living in New York, all I heard from Met fans was "Buckner" (or "Schraldi" from smart Met fans.)

And my wife didn't approve.

WIFE: Show them some mercy.
ME: Why? They called your husband bad names.
WIFE: Remember that scene in Schindler's List?
ME: There was a baseball scene in Schindler's List?
WIFE: No. Liam Neeson told Ralph Finnes to show mercy and that was more powerful. Don't give them power. You know they are wrong. So show mercy.

I paused.

ME: So in this analogy the Met fans are in a concentration camp?
WIFE: Don't over think it.
ME: And in this analogy I am a Nazi commandant?
WIFE: I'm going to bed.

Some martial advice for you all... always go to bed with your spouse comparing you to a Nazi.