As far as Brian Schneider goes, it's good riddance to bad rubbish. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY ANDREW CAVAGNARO
STACHE WRITER

Brian Schneider and his inept bat and bland personality have finally packed up and left. Now if Carlos Delgado and his smug persona take a hike, it will be an early Christmas for may.

Schneider came to New York to replace a over-the-hill Paul Lo Duca, who replaced legendary Mike Piazza. This past season Schneider hit .218 with three home runs, along with mediocre defense. His play allowed little known Omir Santos the ability to gain some playing along the way.

Obviously it’s tough to replicate the numbers of Piazza and Lo Duca, but give me a break with the .292 OBP. This guy might as well close his eyes and hope he walks.
Read More…

The clock on Brian Schneider's career as a Met seems to be up. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

It is no secret that Brian Schneider’s team has been less than impressive. Some people have been impressed at how easily he has taken to being a tutor of sorts for Josh Thole. He may know how to work with the pitchers, but he has an awful bat. But now Schneider has come to terms with the fact that he will not be a Met next season.

“I won’t be back…I’m okay with that.,” said Schneider. “I’ll easily get a job next year. I’m not worried about it. I’ll get a job and just move on. Guys do that.” It’s nice to know that Schneider is tough on himself. He has been like the opposite of David Wright. He doesn’t put enough pressure on himself. He seems content with being a mediocre baseball player, and that just will not do.
Read More…

Guys like Nelson Figueroa shouldn't be a part of the Mets' long-term future. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

I don’t know if you have noticed the past couple of weeks, but I am starting to get a bit fed up with the team. I understand how people can get a bit excited over the performance that we saw from Nelson Figueroa, but it is quite another thing to start discussing him as a part of the future. I saw an article this morning regarding whether it has finally “come together” for Nelson, and it would be a nice story considering.

But I think it’s not going to happen. The Mets need to be focused on guys who have hope. Investing their already limited resources in an aging 35-year old career minor leaguer would be a big mistake.
Read More…

Jeff Francoeur has fit in as a New York guy a lot more than initially expected. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Well, it’s one of those mornings. We wake up and take a look at the standings, and you know it’s sad when the two teams that the Mets’ record most closely resembles reside in San Diego and Pittsburgh. Oh brother. Well this seems like a perfect time to look around the blogosphere and see what people are talking about on this beautiful Tuesday morning.

The boys over at 213 Miles From Shea are lobbying for people who want to be umpires. “Seriously, you might have no umpiring experience and no baseball experience, and you might still do a better job than the umpires have done this year.” Ouch. I definitely agree that there have been some things that have made me sick regarding the umpires. Amazingly for the Mets, Angel Hernandez has had nothing to do with them. Go figure.

Read More…

Brian Schneider's time in New York is coming to an end soon. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

When the Mets traded Lastings Milledge to the Nationals prior to last season for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church, I wasn’t so sure what to think. I was a fan of Milledge. He was a guy with upside, but his ego has gotten the best of him so far in his career. It got him shipped out of New York and Washington, and now he resides in the slumps of Pittsburgh.
Read More…

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!
Read More…

Only The Mets Could Pass On Getting Something for a 40 Yr Old With A Bad Hammy

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

Yesterday we talked about how the Mets put Gary Sheffield and Pedro Feliciano on waivers in an effort to salvage something from the last remaining useful parts of the 2009 season. Now it turns out that both players have been pulled back by the Mets, meaning they cannot be traded for the rest of the year.

The keeping of Feliciano makes sense: He has one year of arbitration left, is making less than $2 million, and will be a useful left handed reliever on what should be a contender in 2010. However, I don’t see what the Mets hope to gain by not trading Gary Sheffield.

Are they convinced that by letting him stay on this year he will be more likely to sign for 2010 (and for a reasonable price)? Even if Sheffield wanted to stay with the Mets and not with an AL contender that could guarantee him more at bats, I think it would be difficult to get your 2009 franchise home run leader to sign for a reasonable amount.

Read More…

Lets see the Kids, especially this guy, Ruben Tejada (Courtesy of NY Future Stars)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Hey Omar, bring up the kids.

Let me see Ruben Tejada now. Reyes is out for the year. This is now obvious. Alex Cora is not an everyday player. We’ve seen Anderson Hernandez and he’ll be playing 2B anyway.

Also, bring up Josh Thole. Heard the kid can rake. Let him catch one day a week. Schneider is not going to be a Met next year anyway. What about Ike Davis? He’s looking studly. Give the fans a glimpse into the future, keep them interested going into the next year and beyond.

Making the playoffs is a real stretch of the imagination at this point. I think we’d all agree on that. Why not show the fans the players you refused to trade away? Instead of calling up Elmer Dessens what was wrong with calling up a Brad Holt or Dillion Gee. Forget September call ups.

Read More…

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.

Read More…

The Mets need to make a splash and bring in this guy (Courtesy of MopUpDuty.com)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

Baseball’s version of Christmas Eve, July 31st, is almost upon us. This is the final day during the season a team can make a trade without having to clear waivers with the players. Many moves have already been made, with more to come throughout the league. The Mets, still tentative on which side of the ledger they should be on, need to decide quickly.

A New York team, in all honesty, should NBS, Never Be Sellin’. This is the largest market in America. Finances should never be considered a detriment, due to all the revenue streams, and waving a white flag mid-season would have dire consequences with the fanbase. The Mets need to pick up one more impact type player, a pitcher or fielder.

Read More…