Archive for the ‘Billy Wagner’ Category

Cut The Man Some Slack

BY RANDY SHEMANSKI
STACHE WRITER

On the nearly three-hour drive to Citi Field on Friday afternoon, my friend and I talked about what kind of reception Billy Wagner would get if he pitched that night. We both agreed that he’d be received positively. Apparently we felt that way only because we planned to cheer if he came in from the pen.

When Wagner sprinted in to pitch the bottom of the ninth with the Braves ahead, 4-2, my friend and I stood to clap for him while seemingly everyone else in attendance rained boos on the hard-throwing lefty. I looked around and didn’t see anyone else clapping, but there had to be someone else in the building not wearing a Braves jersey who showed their appreciation for Wagner, right?

Look, we’ll all remember Game 2 of the 2006 NLCS when Wagner gave up three runs in the top of the ninth for a 9-6 loss that turned out to be huge later in the series. And there were other moments in his Mets career – back spasms that sidelined him late in 2007 being one of them – that leave a sour taste in our mouths.
Read the rest of this entry »

Will Billy Wagner remain this dominant? I think not. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

During Billy Wagner’s time with the Mets, his numbers looked good. His 101 saves in three years were excellent, and he will always be remembered in baseball as the “original” sandman. Remember, he had the Enter Sandman theme in Houston before Mariano Rivera adopted it in the Bronx.

Last night, I had the “privilege” of being in attendance at Citi Field as Wagner made the Mets look like they never had a chance. Wagner disposed of Cora, Barajas and Pagan in just nine pitches to lock up the save, but we all know what happens when it comes to the pressure situation with Billly.

Let’s fast forward a little bit, shall we? The Braves are playing the Phillies with a three run lead, and Wagner is called in for the save. Things have been going well for the Braves, and Wagner has been nearly unhittable. All it takes is one meltdown to begin a downward spiral.

Let’s say it’s Ryan Howard who ties the game with one of his vintage opposite field, “just over the wall” shots, and Wagner is distraught. The Phillies end up winning the game, and Wagner keeps that in the back of his mind. Have we seen this somewhere before?
Read the rest of this entry »

Ike Davis as an Atlanta Brave??? Oh the Horror

BY KEVIN KEARNS
STACHE WRITER

One of the many fallout effects of the epic collapse of ’07 was Tom Glavine’s subsequent decision to leave Flushing for Atlanta. Glavine’s decision, to end his career where it all began, is still affecting the N.L. East to this day, as the Mets inherited the number 18 pick in the 2008 Draft from the Braves.

The Mets turned the number 18 pick into Ike Davis. Davis, who has been a major part of the Mets success this season, easily could have been chosen by the Braves had Glavine not headed home. Had this happened, it would be Braves fans wearing t-shirts and holding up “I Like Ike” signs.
Read the rest of this entry »

This Guy Wants Nothing More Then To Be A Free Agent

BY REGGIE BORGES
STACHE WRITER

As news filters in of the New York Mets inquiring about Cliff Lee, it’s become clear, for better or worse, that this management team at Citi Field will have some challenging choices to make come trading deadline time.

It’s a bittersweet occurrence if you are a Mets fan: Great that this team is finally putting it together on the road (albeit against less than stellar competition); Scary that this Minaya/Manuel ticket is now asked to make decisions that will impact this team both in the short and long term.

To be fair, while recent history (Perez,Escobar, GMJ) has not been kind to Omar Minaya, he has proven to be a fabulous recruiter: It was he who sold Pedro (with dollars) and Beltran (with promise of the stage) to come to New York.

His in-season trading history is a bit more checkered, filled with giveaways (Wagner) or ho hum trades. His last major deal that surrounded a possible playoff push netted the Mets Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez.
Read the rest of this entry »

Billy Wagner will now call Atlanta his home for the 2010 season. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When Billy Wagner returned from injury last season, I didn’t think the Mets were going to have much use for him. I was actually at Citi Field when he made his return, and the crowd was clearly excited to see him. He returned with a vengeance and he pitched so well that the Mets were able to trade him for two players to be named later.

Although he only pitched in 15.2 innings during the 2009 season, he was valuable in limited work. He had a phenomenal 1.72 ERA and he struck out an astonishing 26 hitters during that span. Now he is reaping the rewards. Wagner inked a one-year pact today worth $7 million to be the closer for the rival Braves.

Boy doesn’t that make for an interesting storyline.
Read the rest of this entry »

I don't know why we lose to Boston but it won't happen anymore!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Welcome to the playoffs folks. To keep our minds off the 2009 MESS season Ganci dispatched his fearless writers to cover the playoffs for the Stache. I got Angels/Red Sox. A very entertaining series, between the ambiance of the Green Monster to the frenetic offense of the Angels this promises to be a very good, compettive series.

First, let’s get history out of the way. In short, the Red Sox own the Angels. Since winning the World Series in 2002 the Angels have played the Sox three times in the post season and lost all three series. And I mean lost. Like got manhandled. They only won one game out of ten. Those are some solid numbers to chew on but this year’s team is certainly different than any of those teams. Namely the Angels offense. Ranked 2nd in the bigs in runs scored and beat the Sox 5-4 in the regular sets. In which they scored 47 times in 9 games so there is some positive signs for the Angels.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dont We All Wish The Mets Would Have More Of This?

BY ZACHARY SCHULMAN
STACHE WRITER

So the Mets have become cheap. Granted, we don’t know and probably never will know the extent that the Madoff scheme negatively effected the Wilpons bank account. It is clear that the Mets have become stingy.

The Billy Wagner trade is the most recent example. In a situation where the Mets had a player of value, instead of trying to improve their ailing team and farm system, they settled for a AAA player without a position and another player that probably will never end up helping the team.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Mets Doctors See Nothing Wrong With Mr. Met, I Beg To Differ

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

If I were Mr. Met, I do believe that I would conduct all business electronically for the forseeable future. It’s not a good time to be wearing blue and orange in public. If you step on a crack, you send a Met to the DL. So maybe there is something to all this talk of a citifield curse. Johan is now done for the year, Francoeur could possibly follow. Anybody else?

This latest addition to the Mets roster Disabled List brings the sum total to 19 different players for the year. Somehow, the Reds have the same number on the year. I would bet the sheer number of lost games is staggering in the Mets favor, for lack of a better word. Delgado alone is around 100 games lost. Think his stick might have been worth 3 or 4 games? Reyes is within shouting distance, playing a whopping 10 more games than Delgado. Let’s not even bring up the rest of the list.

Read the rest of this entry »

I cringe at the thought of Daniel Murphy in the outfield once again. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Has this been the worse NY Mets season? Let’s review the TOP 25 Moments.

1. Our owner lost 750MM in a Ponzi Scheme.
2. Daniel Murphy in Left Field.
3. Mets lose the first game in Citifield. (On a balk, no less)
4. Oliver Perez to the DL with a strained “I SUCK” injury.
5. Mike Pelfrey falls off the mound a couple of times and balks three times in one game. (Damn balks)
6. Delgado legged out a triple then never played a game again because it lead to a labrum tear in his hip.
7. Ryan Church misses third, Dodgers win in extra innings, after some dropped fly balls.
8. Jose Reyes strains his vagina then later tears it “re-habbing” in a minor league game.
9. JJ Putz keeps getting lit up yet continues to pitch ultimately leading to elbow surgery.
10. Everyone wearing a Met jersey can’t homer in CitiField. Ironically everyone wearing a Phillies jersey CAN homer and promptly do so.
11. John Maine’s boobies hurt. He is put on the DL.
12. Mets backup catcher Ramon Castro traded for sticks and light bulbs then catches a no hitter in Chicago.
13. Luis Castillo drops a routine pop-up that would have ended the game, off the bat of super clutch A-Rod, the game tying and WINNING run score and the Mets lose.
14. Beltran’s bone bruise finally gets the best of him, never heard from again.
15. Mets fire Bernazard for his bare chested fight challenge to the “B” Mets team. Then Omar blames a Daily News beat writer for doing his job but hints that the beat writer’s motivation in writing such a story was for his own benefit. The beat writer took offense and they had a pillow fight resulting in nothing.
16. Fernando Martinez, the Mets only “known” commodity tears his meniscus and misses the rest of the year.
17. Trade deadline comes and goes with the Mets making no major moves. “The reinforcements will arrive shortly”, Met fans are told.
18. Castillo falls down the dugout stairs and injures his ankle.
19. Alex Cora, the then starting SS, tears a ligament in this thumb.
20. Pujols, Reynolds treat CitiField like the 1994 version of Coors field.
21. No one covered first base on a slow grounder. No seriously.
22. David Wright took some 94mph cheese off his noggin.
23. Jeff Franceour, a man who was never injured during his years in Atlanta, tears a ligament in his thumb that will require surgery.
24. Mets lose to the Phillies on a unassisted triple play. Eric Bruntlett laughs his ass off.
25. Johan Santana experiences elbow discomfort and may need season ending surgery to correct it.

I’d certainly say so.

Nobody seems quite sure about what the future holds for Billy Wagner. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY ANDREW CAVAGNARO
STACHE WRITER

Billy Wagner is displaying his true colors in full force this week. SinCe he has been claimed on waivers by the Red Sox, quotes like “I don’t want to set up(Newsday)” and “I don’t want to finish my career as a setup guy. That’s not in my best interests, that’s for sure. (NY Daily News)”

For a guy who hasn’t won a World Series with the Astros, Phillies or Mets its remarkable he is taking a stance like this. The Red Sox have a great chance of returning to the post season and giving Wagner a chance to put a ring on his finger.
Read the rest of this entry »