This Decade Has Seen Alot, Including The End of an Era at Shea Stadium

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

The Decade of the 2000’s for the Mets has been filled with up’s and down’s, joy and sadness and one that took us on a roller coaster that began witha National League Championship, dipped through some lean years from 2002-2004, saw a rebirth and an NL East Title in 2005 and 2006, the collapses of 2007-2008, the ending of one era at Shea and a new one at Citi Field and finally an injury filled 2009 season that leaves us wondering whats next. Over the past 10 years, we have seen some great players come and go, and for some, leave a mark that will be remembered forever, good or bad. So in honor of a Decade in Mets history that was nothing short of a Ride of highs and lows, I give to you my All-Decade Team for the New York Mets.

Some Quick Rules, only stats in the years of this current decade were counted, the player must have spent at least one year with the franchise and the success of the franchise during his time with the team will also be in consideration. Off Fied and On Field impact will also be considered when making the decision as well.

Click the link and enjoy my Team of the Decade….

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Does Fernando Tatis earn the honor for the Most Worthless Met? (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the first ever Horrible Awards, which have been inspired by the 2009 Mets. After much deliberation, a panel of judges (or just me) have selected a few special individuals to win certain awards for this disappointing 2009 season. But let’s welcome the host for the 2009 Horrible Awards, former Met reliever Aaron Heilman!
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Building a Team after this Moment has been very hard for the Mets (Courtesy of Boston.com)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

I have heard it said the the Mets mission statement over the last two years was to win Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. That they wanted to eradicate the memory of the loss and somehow change the course of history. I don’t think that’s quite true. I think that was something we the interactive fans and the professional writers inferred upon the team, that that particular game was somehow still winnable.

The Mets, in a wise move, just stuck with the core of a team over the next three years that was thisclose to the World Series in 2006, and are just now feeling the fallout from a long barren run at post-season success. After the outcome of the 2006 season, obviously the Mets, as an organization, felt that essentially standing pat with a team that was so close to the promised land was the right choice, hence the Alou signing as a stopgap to shore up RBI production and keep the train rolling.

Management felt that the veteran presence would assist, and not even a beat would be missed on the march back to October. They were absolutely correct. The 2007 season was going along according to script until…no need for specifics in rehashing at this point, we are all well versed. The team that had steamrolled along all year hit the wall and blew up. It happens. Only once in a blue moon, but strange things can happen in baseball. Ask the Cubs, or the Phillies.

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Aaron Heilman will never be forgiven for giving up Yadier Molina's homer in the 2006 NLCS.

BY GREG BARRA
STACHE WRITER

This entire blog is just about my excitement for this upcoming 2009 season for the New York Mets. They enter the first year of their new stadium, Citi Field (wait is it still Citi Field, I thought Citi Bank went bankrupt?), on a two year streak of collapsing in late September.

If there is one cure for a bad end to a season, it’s the start of a new one. When the season ended last year at the hands of the Marlins, again, I couldn’t wait to see what Omar and Jerry would cook up to improve the team. And if these two gentlemen didn’t make any moves going into the 2009 season, I would have boycotted the Mets. Well, that’s not true but you understand where I’m coming from. They ended up making me a happy fan when they picked up K-Rod and J.J. Putz but the most important move they made was getting rid of Scott Schoenweis.

Schoenweis really wasn’t that bad throughout the season but man when the calendar flipped to September he found a way to blow every game possible. The only pitcher I’ve known of that did this better the Schoenweis was Aaron Heilman.

Heilman was terrible all season and who can forget his antics in game 7 of the NLCS. I’m still bitter. Omar and Jerry came to their senses and gave both of these guys the steel toed boot. Speaking of game 7 of the NLCS the hero of that game on the Mets side, Endy Chavez, also got shown the door out of town. That’s upsetting because in Flushing, Endy Chavez was a folk hero. So, 2009 seems to be a fresh start for the New York Metropolitans and I can’t wait to finally see them in action but if they end up collapsing again I will be beside myself.

The Mets need to get their “Mojo” back from the fighting Phils, who have seemed to have stolen it all after the second collapse. Only time will tell whether 2009 will be a repeat of the last two years or maybe the Mets will bask in the glory of going deep into the playoff like in 2006. Only time will tell.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Although this could sound sick, I think that the injury that injured Mets’ reliever Billy Wagner encountered last season could be a blessing in the long run. Wagner underwent surgery and will be out for the entire 2009 season due to complications with his pitching arm. Although Wagner’s initial time-table for a return was August, he pretty much denounced that possibility, stating that he has “probably payed his last game as a Met.” As much of a blow as it was to the team’s chances last season, a healthy Wagner confirms two things. Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz would probably not be members of the bullpen for 2009.

Why don’t we make a comparison. Who would you rather have? A healthy Billy Wagner who isn’t exactly known for being clutch or two of the most dominant closers in the American League, where the hitting is better? I would rather have the latter. Don’t get me wrong, Wagner was still able to produce, but the fact remains that his time in New York was numbered, and the Mets needed to make a move to prepare for the future. They got one of baseball’s best closers in K-Rod for below market value, and they added J.J. Putz while also dispensing themselves of Aaron Heilman. Billy Wagner’s unavailability was the first domino that needed to fall to lead to the rest.

Wagner was solid for the Mets. Not everyone could amass 101 saves in three years with a club. In fact, in Wagner’s first year with the Mets, he was given six CY Young Award votes, although he fell short in the end. Wagner initially planned to retire at the end of the 2009 season, but he has been quoted on saying he would not end his career this way. Wagner was always a guy who would act as a team spokesman, and it wasn’t always in the best of ways. In the long run, Billy Wagner’s exit from New York was definitely the best course of action for all parties involved.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Sometimes when the news is lacking in the sports world, bloggers scavenger around to find something interesting to talk about, and this is a typical example. As of April 22, 2008, Carlos Delgado was struggling mightily. He was struggling to maintain a .200 batting average and he had only hit one home run, and fans were calling for his head, so to speak. That is when Bart Hubbuch wrote the following on a New York Post blog.

“Can Sammy Sosa play first base? He’s in the crowd here at Wrigley Field watching today’s Cubs-Mets New York Mets game, which got us to wondering. Sure, he’s almost 40 years old. And there was that, um, steroid thing. But he couldn’t be any worse than Carlos Delgado Carlos Delgado , could he?”

I am not sure what Hubbuch was smoking, but Mets fans would have been irate if that had happened. Sosa’s career is tainted because of his alleged involvement in the whole steroid controversy. Remember, it was never proven, and that’s because Sosa pretended that he couldn’t speak English when he was in front of congress. Sosa is the kind of player you bring aboard if you are having trouble filling the seats. a team like the Marlins could’ve had better success with him just because of that fact, but they opted to stay away.

There was not a single player on last year’s team that I would have traded to get Sosa. And yes, that includes Scott Schoenweis, Aaron Heilman and Luis Castillo. All of them has roles for this team, and whether or not we like it, Castillo still has a big one going forward.

I think it is time for Sammy to walk into the sunset where he will most likely be forgotten because of his tainted career.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

It looks like Aaron Heilman is going to finally have his chance to really stick it to the Mets. Today the Mariners dealt him to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Garret Olson.

This wasn’t the best return for the Mariners, as the smarter move would’ve been for them to let Heilman either start or close and rebuild his value. Olson is a decent pitching prospect, but he is not ready for the big leagues yet, and Cedeno is a glorified utility player.

For all of the abuse Heilman took while he was in New York, he was a serviceable pitcher out of the bullpen. In fact, he was better than serviceable. In his three years as a reliever,

Heilman was 16-15 and he had ERAs of 3.17, 3.62 and 3.03. He also only allowed 19 home runs in three years. In 2008, he allowed 10. His ERA was 5.21 and his walks were way up. He also had a problem with getting down on himself, and in a market like New York City, that makes it virtually impossible for him to succeed.

I am happy with the trade to get J.J. Putz, but I am thankful for the good seasons Heilman gave the Mets. I really think the Yadier Molina home run in the playoffs really got to his head. The conversion from reliever to starter may work well for him in Chicago, because he is only 30-years old. He will likely compete with Sean Marshall for a starting spot, with Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster and Harden guaranteed other spots.

I hope he cracks the rotation, because you know there is going to be a big game as Citifield this season in which Heilman will face off with the Mets, and the usual ending for that kind of story is that Heilman will shut the Mets down.

I can root for him, but not in that scenario. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Cubs take the central, but I would mind it if it is at the Mets expense.

Let’s see if Aaron is as good as he thinks he is.