Unhealthy Reflections

I often reflect. It is not uncommon for me to zone off while on the subway, waiting on a line, reading, or sitting in traffic. While some may consider this a form of ADD, I consider it a type of healthy meditation. It can be quite relaxing to mentally find yourself at some other place and time. Lately, however, I find myself reflecting on the events that transpired in September of 2007. And this is not relaxing. 7 with 17 to play. . . 7 with 17 to play. . . 7 with 17 to play. It is a time and place that I have involuntary- and inexplicably- found myself going back to over and over again. What makes the situation even more disturbing is that I have been exhibiting emotional responses through physical reaction that can be dangerous. Have you ever sat on a subway and have some rambling nut next to you? What is your reaction? You might stand next to him ignoring him, awkwardly acting as if everything is normal. You might move to another part of the car, where others who have already seen this individual are concentrated. Or you may get off at the next stop and get on another car. So, as I sit on the A train, listening to music, and inadvertently think of a meltdown of unimaginable proportions by a team that has made the playoffs only ONCE in consecutive years, I exhibit unacceptable behavior. Involuntarily, I shake my head and randomly shout out “dammit”, “you gotta be kidding”, or drop an F- bomb. In other words, the Mets and all their ineptitude have entered such a deep part of my subconscious that it has turned me into “that guy”- the one who people become weary of and who mother’s shield their children from.

Just Like Old Times

This year was turning out to be fun. Mind you, I had no illusions or expectations of a deep playoff run, but I actually enjoyed watching this group. I enjoyed watching their resilliency. I enjoyed watching there grit. I enjoyed watching their cohesive play. Simply put, I felt something that I haven't felt watching this team since the 2006 NLDS: enjoyment. (I enjoyed nothing about the 2006 NLCS, which is the first of 3 straight collapses).

Weren't we just having a blast? The Mets were playing an overachieving brand of baseball that was the exact opposite of everything the Omar Mets had been. While I, admittedly, did not think it possible at the season's outset, I was feeling as if this group was allowing me to finally put the past- and all the despair that came with it- behind me. They were allowing me to finally move on. And then he came back.

When healthy Carlos Beltran may the best centerfielder in baseball. He is as graceful in the outfield as he is on the bases. He is what so many prospects are touted as but never prove to be: the ultimate five tool player. And over the offseason the Mets must do whatever it takes to trade him.

I'm not putting the Mets poor play all on Beltran's shoulders; in fact, I believe he still makes their line up much better. The reality, however, is that with his return comes not only a reminder of what has transpired over the past 5 years, but an aura that has taken hold of the team. It is dark and brooding aura that has seemingly sucked the life out of all of Beltran's teammates, who before his return was announced were playing with a spirit not seen in Flushing for a very long time. And now that spirit is broken.

With Delgado gone, Beltran is now the poster child of the most under achieving group of players the Mets have ever fielded. While he may not be the clubhouse cancer that Delgado was, his make up- one forever stigmatized by softness and failure- is just as poisonous to the rest of the team. For all of us, its just time to move on.

Deconstructing Omar

The following is an in depth analysis of Omar Minaya's Trade History. It was researched and written by huge Met fan and Angry Met Fan reader Dan Brodsky and is a MUST Read for Met fans everywhere

So, I was just sitting around thinking about Oswalt, or Lilly, or someone who could help us out. What have I found? Well, short answer is- We’re fucked. Omar has shown a complete inability to pull off a BIG in-season trade. Now, you’ll look and see that he can make deals in the off-season. But let’s discount those for right now. A deal for Andre Ethier in January of 2011 can’t help us save our season.

So let’s look:
- 2005 – Nothing of note. Minor deals-minor players. The team wasn’t ready yet, so I’ll give Omar a pass this year;

- 2006 – A LOT of movement. Perhaps the one year we did NOT need to make a lot of moves(Remember? We were fucking AWESOME that year. Ran away with the division) Omar was a man of action that year. Traded for Duque early, was insanely quick to react to the Duaner Sanchez injury, and brought in Shawn Green when he had to give away Nady. Again, a lot of motion, but nothing big.(in Omar’s defense, maybe nothing was necessary. After all, we won the World Series that year, right? I shut the TV off after Endy’s catch).

-2007- Collapse, Part 1. Two deals worth noting. The man who gave us co-starters Jose Valentin and Damion Easley (combined age- 74!)decided that the best way to solve that problem was to go out and get Luis Castillo. If this was 2001, this would have been a great move, invalidating my point. But Castillo drops pop-ups, so fuck him. The other deal worth noting is the decision to bring in Jeff Conine at the waiver deadline. This was Omar’s “leadership” guy, to help the youngsters know how to handle a pennant race/success. That worked out well. Phillies.

- 2008- Collapse, Part 2 (or, according to the Mets the not collapse). We traded for Trot Nixon, and Luis Ayala. We gave 1396 plate appearances to: Brian Schneider, Fernando Tatis, Ryan Church, and Damion Easley. Omar show’s his inability to build, and maintain a bullpen. Phillies.

- 2009- Again, motion, without actually doing anything. Church for Francoer, Castro for Broadway, Wagner for the animal. Yes, everyone was hurt. Yes, Church is garbage, and Castro is a rapist. But the Red Sox got the 20th AND the 39th pick in this years draft for offering Wagner arbitration. We have a journeyman OF named Animal.

I ask you. Who thinks we are trading for Oswalt? Who thinks that there is some secret deal in the pipeline?


Omar Minaya's TRADE HISTORY with the New York Mets .

2010:
01/22/10 Trade d Brian Stokes to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr and $20M

2009:
08/25/09 Traded Billy Wagner to the Red Sox for Chris Carter and Eddie Lora
08/08/09 Traded cash or PTBN to the Cubs for Jason Dubois
08/06/09 Traded Greg Veloz to the Nationals for Anderson Hernandez
07/10/09 Traded Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur
05/30/09 Traded Ramon Castro to the White Sox for Lance Broadw

2008:
12/10/08 Traded Aaron Heilman , Endy Chavez , Jason Vargas, Mike Carp , Ezequiel Carrera and Maikel Cleto to the Mariners for J.J. Putz , Sean Green , and Jeremy Reed .
12/12/08 Traded Scoot Schoeneweis and cash to the Diamondbacks for Conner Roberton
08/17/08 Traded Anderson Hernandez to the Nationals for Luis Ayala
06/13/08 Traded cash to the Diamondbacks for Trot Nixon
02/02/08 Traded Carlos Gomez , Deolis Guerra , Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey to the Twins for Johan Santana
01/05/08 Traded Corey Coles and Ryan Meyers to the Cubs for Angel Pagan

2007:
11/30/07 Traded Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider
11/28/07 Traded cash to the Rays for Brian Stokes
11/20/07 Traded Guillermo Mota to the Brewers for Johnny Estrada
08/20/07 Traded Jose Castro and Sean Henry to the Reds for Jeff Conine
08/17/07 Traded cash or PTBN to the Pirates for Luis Matos
08/06/07 Traded cash or PTBN to the Marlins for Chad Hermanson
07/30/07 Traded Dustin Martin and Drew Butera to the Twins for Luis Castillo

2006:
12/06/06 Traded Brian Bannister to the Royals for Ambiorix Burgos
11/20/06 Traded Henry Owners and Matt Lidnstrom to the Marlins for Adam Bostick and Jason Vargas
11/15/06 Traded Health Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson
08/30/06 Traded Victor Diaz to the Rangers for Mike Nickeas
08/22/06 Traded Evan Maclane to the Diamondbacks for Shawn Green and cash
08/20/06 Traded cash or PTBN to the Indians for Guillermo Mota
07/31/06 Traded Xavier Nady to the Pirates for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez
07/19/06 Traded Jeff Keppinger to the Royals for Ruben Gotay
06/09/06 Traded Kazuo Matsui and cash to the Rockies for Eli Marrero
05/26/06 Traded Geremi Gonzalez to the Brewers for Mike Adams
05/25/06 Traded Robert Manuel to the Reds for David Williams and cash
05/24/06 Traded Jorge Julio to the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hernandez
01/25/06 Traded Angel Pagan to the Cubs for Cash
01/22/06 Traded Kris Benson to the Orioles for Jorgo Julio and John Maine
01/04/06 Traded Jae Wong Seo and Tim Hamulack to the Dodgers for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll

2005:
12/05/05 Traded Gaby Hernandez and Dante Brinkley to the Marlins for Paul Lo Duca
11/28/05 Traded Cash to the Pirates for Tike Redman
11/24/05 Traded Mike Jacobs , Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Posmas to the Marlins for Carlos Delgado and Cash
11/18/05 Traded Mike Cameron to the Padres for Xzvier Nady
05/20/05 Traded Jed Hansen to the Giants for Cash
04/02/05 Traded Matt Ginter to the Tigers for Steve Colyer
04/01/05 Traded Andy Dominique to the Blue Jays for Cash
03/31/05 Traded Pat Mahomes to the Dodgers for Cash pr PTBN
03/28/05 Traded Cash to the Mariners for Benji Gil
03/24/05 Traded Cash to the Indians for Fernando Lunar
03/20/05 Traded Jason Phillips to the Dodgers for Kazuhisa Ishii
01/27/05 Traded Ian Bladergroen to the Red Sox for Doug Mientkiewicz and Cash
01/05/05 Traded Vance Wilson to the Tigers for Anderson Hernandez

Also, this is what happens when Omar gets nervous:


7/28/02: Acquired RHP Bartolo Colon and minor league RHP Tim Drew from Cleveland in exchange for 1B Lee Stevens, minor league SS Brandon Phillips, minor league LHP Cliff Lee and minor league OF Grady Sizemore.

Enjoy your lunch

Reflections of A True Legend

As the Mets have lost 7 of 9 I can’t help but wonder if this is it. Is this the start of a second half collapse, or more aptly labeled, fade away? Is this the harsh reality that we have quietly been expecting all year? Or, will these Mets, like they have all year long- and very much unlike the past few years- show a resiliency and bounce back. I am not too sure one way or another. The fact is that the final series before the break against the Braves felt all too familiar. I, admittedly, had no confidence at all that they would close the gap against the NL East leaders before entering the break. C’mon, the Mets take advantage of an opportunity?

But I am ashamed of myself for even being concerned with something as trivial as Mets wins and losses right now. For this post, is not about the Mets team, but about their public address announcer, Alex Anthony. Mr. Anthony provides a sense of comfort to my life and to all my fellow Met fans that can only be described as heaven like. If not for him, and all that he has brought to not only the Mets, but to all of Major League Baseball, then what would the state of the game be today. That ineffable, almost mystifying, experience he graces each and every one of us with when he announces the afternoon’s line up, a player coming up to bat, a pinch hitter or a pitching change has become something of legend. Why else come to the ballpark? With his voice he brings a sense of professionalism and respect that can only be admired by other PA announcers around the league. In fact, I pity all fans of other teams who are not witness to the one true voice of not only baseball, but life in general on an everyday basis. I am not a religious person by any means, but I do believe in some force in the universe that is greater than us. And it is to this force that I pray every night, giving thanks to having been placed in a world where I can experience day in and day out the one true voice of greatness.