It’s snowing and I miss baseball. And since I am currently a poor student, I don’t get the MLB Network.

Anyways… The Mets reportedly offered Oliver Perez a 3 year deal for around $30 million. I’m going to put myself out there on this one. I support this move with enthusiasm. Ollie is going to have some good years up here. Here’s why

1) He’s a lefty. Mets sign Lowe (an exceptional right handed pitcher, certainly) then the Mets have Santana and 4 RHP’s in lowe, pelfrey, maine, and redding. Lefty Neise when he’s ready. Also, one lefty in the bullpen in Pedro Feliciano. I’d rather the mets have another lefty arm.

2) He’s younger than Lowe. Lowe obviously wants to be payed MORE than $12 million a year when he’s 39 years old. Sure, next year Lowe will probably have a better year next season than Ollie. But in the long run…Ollie will have just turned 31 at the end of a 3 year contract. And who knows…maybe Ollie will repeat his 07 numbers. 15-10 and a 3.94 ERA.

3) Ollie thrives in New York. He’s quirky and odd and he’s incredibly fun to watch. Lowe obviously is not that interested in starting at CitiField in 09.

4) Ollie is seemingly durable. Has he been on the DL since being with the mets? Also, working with Warthen…I think Ollie will start pitching 200 innings per season. He was almost there last year with 194.

5) When he’s on, he’s on. He needs to keep it on and the mets need to stay young. They’ve got some good young arms, so sign Perez instead of Lowe. I also think Perez is a better fit than Wolf, who i believe also wants a 3 year deal.

I hope this happens. 

One game! The difference for the Mets to make the postseason the last two years has been one freaking game. It kills me. It kills us all. I’m am so pissed that we even have to address next year already when the Division Series start today. We ended 3 games behind the Phillies. AND 1 behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

I think of Daniel Murphy being stranded at third in the bottom of the ninth inning with 0 outs against the Cubs. ZERO OUTS!!! Getting swept by the San Diego Padres in a 4 game series! The little things like that. The Mets took care of business against the Phillies, for the most part, this season. Johan IS THE MAN that everyone says he is even in New York. Have no doubts. His performance last Saturday was spectacular. Beautiful! It is shameful that the bullpen gave up 2 solo back-to-back in the 8th the next day. Emphasis on solo. Give them something they can maybe, MAYBE put into play. That’s understandable and just getting beat by the hitter. But to give them something they can CRUSH when the Mets need to win. Come on. Solo HRs. On the last game of the season… (Not to mention the fact that the Mets scored 5 runs in a weekend when they HAD TO WIN.)

What should the Mets do? I don’t know. Sures the hell can’t bring Pedro back. Even though I love him and admire his career…in Boston. He costs way too much for what he is providing the Mets (5-6, 5.61 ERA). I like Jon Neise and Eddie Kunz. Are they ready for next year? Probably not. But I really look forward to seeing a developed Eddie Kunz. I think we have to re-sign Ollie, but it will be very interesting to see his asking price. Im sure its going to be ridiculous. Pitching is our obvious question mark. My mind is still blown away by the Castillo deal, so I’d assume we’re stuck, but its pitching that I’m worried about. We have NO ONE to rely on in that bullpen. Maine will have to start. (I predict a better year in ’09). So the Mets pure and simple have to rebuild there. I don’t know how, but one or two guys need to appear by way of a miracle this offseason.

One game…one.  

I would just like to thank the New York Mets bullpen for really stepping up in the midst of this push for the playoffs. People said the Mets bullpen couldn’t do it without Wagner…and they were right.
Heilman sucks.
Joe Smith sucks.
Schoeneweis sucks.
Figueroa sucks
Sanchez sucks.
Ayala and Stokes play with more heart but they pretty much suck too.
There is not a single reliever who the Mets can count on a daily or even weekly basis. They look for ways to f*** up. The starters come in on their day and give it their all, just for the bullpen to give up the lead. The starters consistently keep them in the game, but if the Mets don’t score 7+ runs then they’re done. “Mediocre” is even overstating the Mets’ bullpen. They are horrible. Wretched. I am absolutely disgusted right now.
And for good measures…
Luis Castillo sucks.

After a 12-0 shutout against the Washington Nationals, it sort of feels like all is well for the New York Mets. Maine pitched 5 shutout innings with one hit against him. Not bad upon returning from the DL. Stokes also pitched well.

If Stokes can continue to perform like this then the Mets might really have a bright immediate future for their relief. Iffy though it stands with Wagner’s rehab schedule in place, the Mets might be okay. Stokes really adds some flexibility to the Mets and he’s a heck of a lot better than Muniz.

Now lets see if the Mets can continue to do work during this soft spot in the schedule.

A 5-1 lead at the top of 7. The Mets needed 9 outs. The Mets relievers couldn’t even throw strikes (*Today Duaner Sanchez was effective). I am absolutely blown away because

The Mets suck against below .500 teams.

Joe Smith can’t get anyone out these days.

Heilman can’t close… I’m pretty sure that he’s never wanted to.

Feliciano is a lefty-specialist who can’t get lefties out…let alone RH batters.

I personally would have let Kunz pitch the 7th. 5-1 lead against the Pirates, that’s not what I call a stressful situation. He needs to get some work in if he’s going to contribute at all this season.  And he should get a shot for the reasons above.

Have John Maine close/provide late relief until Wags is back? Sounds good to me. We need to win. Especially with a lead late in the ballgame. Maine could probably succeed in that role.
I believe we kept Stokes around…so perhaps the Mets proceed to use him in Maine’s rotation slot? Not saying he’s better than Maine as a starter…but the Mets are a little desperate for relief. I’m desperate to watch some better-than-mediocre relief. Minaya should be kicking himself in the teeth. Seriously…he should be.

That was therapeutic. 

Daniel Murphy is really proving to the Mets world that he is a legitimate hitter. He is hitting the ball well and getting the job done. I think his performance is contagious and motivating Nick Evans. I also am really enjoying the Argenis Reyes and Damion Easley tandem. I like how some of these veterans like Easley and Carlos Beltran are stepping up and helping these young players out.

That being said…our veteran players need to start hitting. Our hero, Mr. Wright, had a much MUCH better day at the plate. (We can just forget that defensive error and base running mistake now can’t we?) Now if we could get both Carlos hitting and Reyes to keep doing what he does best then our offense could really catch fire.

The bullpen is still in dire need of some order. We all know that.

Our Ace is in dire need of a win. Come on, guys!!!

Attribute the silence of my blog to the fact that I have been busy holding my breath. The New York Mets got swept by the Houston Astros (53-57). What? umm…okay. They lost those games just like they were a little over a month ago. It happens. It’s frustrating, but it happens.
Now we must move on. The Mets made a statement at the Trade Deadline. They do not want to part with their top prospects. I don’t claim to have an educated opinion. I am just a guy from Illinois who watches the Mets via internet and listens to educated opinions from Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez and reads mets.com articles religiously. But I am glad that they did so.
Last year didn’t work out for us so well. Omar’s made some moves and brought us our Pedros, Beltrans, Delgados, Santanas, etc and put together what he considers a championship caliber team. We have some damn fine talent. But our beloved players did not come through last year. All I’m saying is that we have this team and now it is probably time to go in a new direction. Most New York fans probably disagree. I know my brother-in-law (the person who more or less forced me to be a NYM fan) disagrees. But I’m okay with looking from within now.
Wagner’s hurting and Maine went to the DL. More blows during a crappy week for Mets fans. Now I agree. Lets see what Kunz can do. Let him get some big league experience and see if he is our closer for the future. If he is…we could have our closer for the next 6-7 years. That beats spending millions and prospects. That excites me. He might not be ready to close now, but he has a ways to go and we need bullpen help. Lets see what he can do.
Murphy is supposedly the Mets most polished hitting prospect in their minor league system. I agree with bringing him up. Let F. Martinez stay where he can play everyday. Hopefully Murphy can contribute more than Nick Evans. No offense, but he just does not look comfortable in left or at the plate yet.
It is time for the Mets to prove themselves as they are. I like this team and I believe in them. I just don’t want to give up on the future.
Now I’m going to try to forget about the Houston series. 

Sometimes I need a refreshing reminder on why I spend so much of my time completely engaged in Mets baseball. I could not watch last nights’ game because I had to work. I was going to watch it after I went and had beers with one of my buddies (thank you mlb.tv archives). However upon entering the bar, I saw Wags and Schneider congratulating each other after Wags got the save. I missed the game, but they won so absolutely no complaints.
Then I was treated to an Oliver Perez gem this early afternoon. Gotta love “Big Game” Ollie. 12 Ks through 7 2/3s. Nice. It was an unnerving 8th for him, but major props to Mr. Heilman for getting the final out of the inning. Which leads me to my next point…CARLOS DELGADO! Thank you thank you thank you. I was hungry and ready to get some lunch, and you provided a 2 out, 2 RBI double to avoid extra innings. Enter: Wagner. Save. Game. Series.
That makes the Amazins, what,  9 and 4 against the Phillies this year? And oh…the sole team in first place in the NL East. I applaud the Mets for a great series agains the Phillies. Good work, and lets keep this momentum up while the Cards come into Shea.
I’m really looking forward to Pelfrey and Boggs tommorrow. Lets go Mets!

Did our bullpen really just give up 6 runs in the ninth inning against our primary rival of this season? Did that really happen last night? I am absolutely stunned. I’m not trying to be a hater, because I really appreciate Duaner’s work this year. But come on…does this have to happen against the phillies? I know it was not all Duaner’s fault and it sure the hell was not Joe Smith’s fault either. It was certainly a team effort between the bullpen and Jose in the ninth.
Okay…it’s out of the system. I am stunned today, but I will work through it and hope for better tonight. But seriously, what does Johan have to do to win?
Thanks metsmainman for the update and I could totally see that situation as being the most logical move for this point in the season. I truly believe that Church will be back at least by August. I hope. I pray. That will definitely help out our outfield and offense. Last night’s game has showen that we do need some bullpen/pitching help. Our at least could use. I still like our bullpen, but we really need Wagner. Wags has blown his share this year, but…he’s our man in the 9th. Plain and simple. We need him in the 9th. (That and two of my fantasy closers are day-to-day this week. Kerry Wood and Wags.)

The last time that I complained here about the Mets only getting one player to the All-Star Game, the league selected David Wright to take Soriano’s spot on the NL Roster. So I’m going to try to get luck here again. Mets.com informed us last week that Pagan’s season is over and that Church would not be ready for the Phillies’ series at Shea. We don’t really know if Church is going to be ready at all this year. Pedro is being bothered by his shoulder and now Billie Wagner is getting checked out today for his “tightness” (which he attributes to age) in his left shoulder. I’ll just hope Wags is alright before I start throwing around explicatives.
I do not know how well we are going to be able to compete if we do not make a move to get a corner outfielder. I am fairly positive that we we won’t be able to compete if we don’t get a LFer AND Church does not come back. I’d say that in this position  now…we have to make a move since there is so much uncertainty with Church. It’s tricky with a concussion and I wish that the Mets organization would have realized this before they put him on the plane to Colorado. That, however, is in the past and is besides the point now.
I do find it funny that Omar told the press that Pagan would be back soon and two days later mets.com reported that he is done. That plan did not work so well and Church still is not back. Our bench players are doing very, very well and I am not downplaying their roles, but they are still bench players and tend to require more days off to perform. I would love to add a corner outfielder or get some bullpen help, but if health is what the Mets need to compete, then I will take health.