Beltran

In 2007 I attended an event where Ron Darling was the keynote speaker. Darling spoke a lot about how different today's game is compared to when he played. To emphasize this he told an amusing fact: At the beginning of every season every broadcast team in baseball is given a pocket-dictionary sized book listing all the injuries every MLB player suffered from the previous season. In that book are ailments that he was shocked qualified as "injuries." An upper left tight quad? A contusion of the calf? A bruised toe? "You have to be kidding me," said Darling. In his playing days these injuries were known as "hurting your leg," and to treat it you would take some aspirin and play. Its almost as if this book was written for Carlos Beltran.

Carlos Beltran is the best center fielder in baseball; and arguably the most complete player in the game. He is also far and away the softest. When he does play he constantly goes out of his way to remind us that he is not at full strength. He loves to report his health in percentages. Some days he feels 30% in one part of his body. Others 65% in another. And sometimes, if we're lucky , he is 80% close to full health. Jesus! Just shut the fuck up and play!

Amazingly there is a contingent of Beltran defenders who claim he is misunderstood and is actually a tough player. Their argument is grounded in a belief that he often plays through injuries we don't know about. Even if this were true, the reality is that what Beltran considers an "injury" is nothing more than every day aches and pains that naturally come through the course of a 162 game season. And when he does play through those "injuries", he eventually winds up on an extended DL stint anyway. The guy is a joke.

There are now rumblings that Beltran may not be back before the All Star Break, and may even miss the season. Whenever he returns, it is time for the Mets to move on. Once he can show he is healthy- whether it be before the trading deadline or at some point next season- it is time to ship him out. For the first time in years I am starting to actually like the make up of this team, believing they may be a different animal than Omar's traditional Mets, who have been defined by failure and frustration; emotions that Beltran is a constant reminder of.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning of last night's game Jeff Francoeur ran down a deep fly ball to right center field off the bat of Raul Ibanez. In making the catch he ran full speed into the gated portion of the wall. The training staff was on their way out to tend to him, but he waived them off. Could you imagine if it was Beltran who ran into the wall? No need to contemplate too long.

Schneider: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

With the shocking turn of events over the past ten days comes a renewed enthusiasm, which will be on display this weekend in Philadelphia. And as we get pumped for this series, we will all appropriately focus an intense animosity toward the usual suspects: Utley, Howard, Werth, Victorino, and that vile cesspool of humanity known as the Philadelphia sports fan. But let us not forget the role players in this rivalry. And let us specifically remember Phillies catcher Brian Schneider, one of the worst players I have ever seen play the game.

The Mets brought Schneider in after growing tired of Paul LoDuca's off the field antics and, what they thought, was his too intense personality. And boy did they get what they wanted. Schneider wasn't just useless, he represented everything that the Mets of the last few years were: he was an antiseptic personality, who couldn't hit, couldn't field, and couldn't catch- and I mean he literally couldn't catch the ball. By the end of 2008 just looking at Schneider was a constant reminder of what the Mets had become: a soft and gutless baseball team. And by 2009 just plain bad was added to the mix.

So, as we desperately look for reasons to think that these Mets are different than the embarassment that they have become- and as we have been given just a LITTLE hope that that may be the case- let us not forget our recent past. Let us not forget the losers that dared wear and disgrace the great New York Met Uniform. And lets not let those losers forget what they really are and the ramifications their patheticness has had on all of us. Listen to the Bell Schneider, It Tolls for Thee.

Who was that masked man?

Who was that on the mound today at a windy Citi Field? The uniform said Maine and physically he looked like John Maine, but that couldn't have really been John Maine. I know this because I can't handle watching John Maine pitch. I can't handle the sweating. I can't handle the laboring through every single pitch. I can't handle the look of frustration which usually comes over his face after throwing his 56th pitch to load the bases in the first. And I can't handle the inability to ever put a batter away. Today, however, I was able to handle that guy on the mound. Hell, I was actually ENJOYING watching him pitch. I do hope to see him again. Whoever he was.

Too Much Bullpen

Don't get me wrong. I am excited about the recent run and the way they are playing. Even before this home stand, when things were looking bleak, I was liking the make up of this team better than I have for a while. I saw more hustle, more fundamentals, and just a better overall personality. The replacement of Brian Schneider- the WORST and most USELESS everyday player in baseball- by Blanco and Barajas alone was enough of a change. And I do think Jerry Manual has actually done a decent job so far; he has not only made some good moves, but kept this team from falling apart amid the early turmoil.

With that said, I still can not comprehend why Jerry feels the need to use as many relievers as possible during the course of a game. Last night was the perfect time to let Mejia get a couple of innings in. Was there any reason to have Valdes pitch the ninth? Aside from it further begging the question as to what he hell Mejia is doing up here, in what has been a limited role, these reliever's innings pile up.

The Mets have been an organization of excuses for the past five years and for the entire 2007 and 2008 off season those excuses were centered around the bullpen's exhaustion by season's end. If Jerry keeps rolling relievers out there when its not necessary, those all too familiar excuses are bound to resurface at some point this season. This is especially true when clowns like Maine and Perez can't get through 5 innings without throwing an absurd amounts of pitches.

Retire 17

This is the first in a series of articles demanding the retirement of Keith Hernandez's Number 17. The series will continue until the Mets do the right thing.

On June 15, 1983 Mets General Manager Frank Cashen received one of the most important phone calls in the history of the New York Mets. The call came from Cardinals GM Joe McDonald who asked Cashen if he “ever thought about trading Neil Allen?'” Taken aback by the unexpected phone call, Cashen asked, “Why would I want to trade him?” Little did McDonald know that his answer would spawn one of the most defining moments in New York Mets history because ten minutes after his phone call Keith Hernandez was their new first baseman.

While rumors of Hernandez being devastated over the trade have been overblown, the fact is that he was disappointed; and understandably so. After all, he had been traded from a franchise where he had won an MVP and World Series to the lowly Mets. But he was able to take solace in the fact that he was a free agent after the season and could walk away from what seemed to be a hopeless situation. But with some guidance from Rusty Staub and his father, the insightful Hernandez would soon learn that things were not what they initially seemed.

From La Grande Orange Hernandez learned about New York City and all its cultural offerings. And from his father, who would watch Mets minor league games, he learned about what appeared to be a bright future in the the organization. This, coupled with a little nudging from Cashen, convinced Hernandez to stay. And thank goodness he did.

Hernandez would go on to be the heart and soul of the greatest era in New York Mets history. It was an era where they ruled New York City and made Shea Stadium the only place to be night after night.

And why did New Yorkers love their Mets? Well, simply for all the reasons that everyone else hated them: their in your face brash attitude, which they backed up by not only winning, but by doing it with a style all their own. They were superbly talented and went out of their way to let the world know it. In other words, they were a reflection of their first baseman, whose rare mixture of confidence, intensity, talent, and intellect made him their undisputed leader.

Yet despite Hernandez’s place in Mets history, his number 17 does not sit next to 37, 14 and 41. And to add further insult to injury, it is recklessly handed out year after year to the likes of Jeff McKnight, David Newhan, and Fernando Tatis.

It is time to put an end to the nonsense. It is time that the Mets honor the leader of their most successful era.