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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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The Mets September Call Ups Are Coming! EXCELLENT!

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

For those of you that were missing me, here I am, back with them old school rhymes fo yo ass!

I had to put myself into a brief hiatus due to some personal issues, but I am back to serenade you with more witticisms and gripping thoughts about our favorite team, the New York Mets.

Ok, so that’s not quite the case. I got nothin’. I think Oscar Wilde would be struck speechless at the ineptness of this team. Good Lord! Can things get any worse for our heroes?

From where I last chronicled, the Iron Met, Davis Wright, was knocked from the starting lineup, Omar Minaya was given the full backing of Darth Wilpon, somehow the worst lineup ever was able to set an offensive record, Livan was cut, Francoeur is day-to-day (Aren’t we all), a game ended on the wrong side of an unassisted triple play(!), and the Fillies trashed the joint. Did I miss anything? Is there anything in this interminable season that would change the horrible fortunes of the team?

Psst. Give ya a hint. The answer only has two letters, and those two little letters ain’t F and U.

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Billy Wagner provides an attitude that could give this team a lift. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY ZACHARY SCHULMAN
STACHE WRITER

Don’t you just love when the Mets get a subpar starting pitching performance and out of the bullpen comes Elmer Dessens, Tim Redding, and then Nelson Figueroa? This has happened a little too much this season and again last night. And while the unfortunate circumstance of the games at Citi Field taking a back seat to off the field happenings like updates on David Wright’s concussion, there was a big story in Flushing last night…..Billy Wagner.
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All The Injured Mets Stars, About 5 Players Too Many This Season (Courtesy of Weretheteamtobeat.com)

BY ZACHARY SCHULMAN
STACHE WRITER

The Mets continue to get injured. When it is thought to not get any worse, Murphy’s Law kicks in. Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez’s injuries were only two of the many that happened to Mets young players.

The Mets have not had much luck in recent years, with the exception of Wright and Reyes, in developing a lot of useful talent in their minor league system. This year I have paid much more attention to the Mets minor league affiliates. I was curious to see if the Mets really lacked the talent that everyone claimed they did. While the Buffalo BIsons are a lost cause for this year and probably the short term future, the AA level and below has a lot of promise.

With Delgado getting hurt in a walk year, it all but finalized his career with the Mets. Daniel Murphy has been a very pleasant surprise defensively at first and is showing some signs that he might break out hitting wise.

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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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