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 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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Luis Castillo is playing like it's 1997, but some of his teammates haven't got the memo. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

So I hear the NFC East is gonna be a real dogfight this year.

I have figured out how to blow up Mike Lupica’s head. We tell him that Michael Vick shot those dogs up with steroids, he then paid for their abortions, and got them drunk and made them run over people. This trifecta of evil ripped from the headlines is sure to send him into a maniacal rage which will end in his death, ala David Carradine.
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Some Mets fans still have their Heads in the Clouds

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

This might have been funny, if there was a punch line. Oh wait, at this point “Mets” is a punchline. Bleh. Another beating at the hands of one of our fellow second division friends. At least we all now will be able to appreciate the plights of the Third World fans located in such exotic locales as the Repulic of Pittsburgh, the sunny tropical island of Kansas City, and that lovable military junta on Washington, D.C.

Thank God beer is sold by the case. Too bad Budweiser hasn’t started putting morphine in there, too. This has passed brutal and gone into unimagined territory. The 2009 season for the New York Metropolitians is officially over. Oh, I know several of you old fashioned fans will look to your calendars and say, “Hey, dumbass, there’s still a month and a half left of games.” I’ll counter with a witty rejoinder, such as “Well, DUH!!!”, or some such statement expressing my disgust at your bourgeois thinking.

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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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Do you think Jon Niese would become a star in a Blue Jays Uniform? (Courtesy of NY Daily News)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

I’m left somewhat confused about this proposed trade that was rejected with a “resounding” no by Omar Minaya. I’m hoping for the Jon Heyman SI.com story to be one of two things. Either it was incomplete, in regards to information or it was a lie. Because if this really happened I don’t know a person alive other than fellow Stache write Aaron who wouldn’t do this deal.

To have the opportunity to trade 4 prospects, none of which are in the Top 25 for a guy like Roy Halladay is what I would call divine intervention. It’s like God is a Met fan and is just been toying with us the past 3 years, just to test our strength. Then he delivers Halladay and they win 5 straight World Series. I mean if pitching wins championships and you have the best two pitchers in the game, does that not help your chances of winning?

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Jerry is thinking of gretting creative with his lineup due to the Injuries. (Courtesy of the NY Post)

BY DANIEL SIEGEL
STACHE WRITER

We joke many times when a team is going badly that maybe us fans should go try out and step on the field. At the rate injuries are coming to the Mets, with Gary Sheffield and Fernando Nieve going down this past week, maybe some fans actually thought they had a realistic shot of stepping on the field with the injuries piling up. However, the Mets are no ordinary team as history has shown and these circumstances are no different.

Jerry Manuel recently told reporters that if he ran out of options, he would use Livan Hernandez as a pinch hitter OR at a corner infield spot. Livan Hernandez, the starting pitcher tonight, is going to be used at one of the hot corners? I get the whole pinch hitting idea, I mean look at Micah Owings who is used as a pinch hitter on more than a regular basis for Cincinnati, and Livan does have a good career batting average.

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One Reason Nats fans are excited about the future is the Pitching of Jordan Zimmermann (Courtesy of Fedeal Baseball)

BY: MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

Hello again and welcome to another installment of “Interview with a Blogger” where we aim to get a look at the teams coming up on Mets schedule, from the people who know them best, Their Fans.

In advance of tonight’s first game of three against the team trying to break our 1962 record setting season of 120 losses, the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, I did an Interview with Ed Chigliak of Federal Baseball.

Matthew Falkenbury: 1. What has been the reaction of Nationals Fans about the firing of Manny Acta and what can Jim Riggleman do in the 2nd half to improve the ballclub?

Ed Chigliak: From what I heard/read it was split 50/50 between people who thought that Manny Acta had been given more than enough time to get something going and those who thought that he never had a chance with the rosters he was given. Personally, I thought firing Manny Acta was a big mistake that’s going to set the franchise back significantly. Acta was hired because of his patience and ability to teach and develop young talent, and just as the first wave of prospects the team had drafted and acquired was showing up in the majors in a significant way they cut Acta loose. I think Jim Riggleman’s going to find himself in a lose-lose situation as well, as he almost certainly will preside over a 100-loss team, and one that could possibly erase the 1962 Mets from the record books. How do you bring him back after that?

MF: 2. How much pressure is the franchise feeling to make sure that Stephen Strasburg is signed and is pitching for the Nats in the near future?

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Livan Hernandez is pitching better than he has in years.

BY ANDREW CAVAGNARO
STACHE WRITER

When the Mets signed Livan Hernandez to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, I laughed and thought this would be another back of the rotation bust. I predicted that Livan would pitch to an ERA above 5.00 and that opposing batters would salivate at the thought of hitting one of his watered down fastballs. Well, I can safely say I was completely wrong.

Aside from Johan Santana, Livan has been one of the Mets most dependable starters. He consistently battles and instead of doing an Oliver Perez implosion during a rough inning, Livan perseveres while keeping his team in the game.

Last night’s Subway Series game was an example of overcoming a sticky situation and allowing his team to have a fighting chance. During the first inning Daniel Murphy made sure that Livan was tested, with an ill advised throw to third and a dropped ball from a double play relay.

Hernandez could have easily imploded and allowed the game to become another laugher in an already difficult week for the Mets. Instead, Hernandez did not allow another Yankee to cross home plate over the next six innings.

Obviously, we all know that Livan Hernandez will not win a CY Young or notch 20 wins. However, his 5-3 record along with a 4.04 ERA is absolutely an example of getting a great bang for your buck.

Signed to a minor league contract this winter, there were few who thought that he would improve upon last season’s 6.05 ERA. I certainly was one the the doubters. He has helped alleviate the pressure on an already gassed bullpen, with his 93.2 innings pitched thus far this season.

Livan’s value continues to go up exponentially by start. There is no measurement to describe how important it is to have a gamer who will throw 200 plus innings and keep their team within striking distance. Now when I view his starts, I intently watch and try to learn more about how a professional conducts his business. Let’s Go Mets.

Livan Hernandez was good, but Pineiro was just much better tonight.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Mets were beaten by Joel Pineiro and the Cardinals tonight by the score of 3-0. Livan Hernandez pitched well once again, allowing just three runs in seven innings, but Pineiro was just better. He pitched to contact, and he sinker was working with perfection. The Mets just simply had nothing to answer him with.

The first run of the game came when Daniel Murphy made a less than stellar throw to second in the top of the third to score Joel Pineiro. By the way, Pineiro had two hits on the evening, including a double off of Livan that short hopped the wall.

The next two runs came when Livan Hernandez allowed a two-run single to Albert Pujols with the bases loaded. That wasn’t the worst that could’ve happened, considering the ridiculous fact that in four at-bats with the bases loaded prior, King Albert had hit three homers. That is just mind boggling.

That was all Joel Pineiro would need, as he allowed 18 ground balls through eight innings. Only Luis Castillo recorded a hit against him to that point, and the Mets just looked like they didn’t have an answer.

Jeremy Reed would give the Mets their second hit while pinch hitting for Dessens, but Alex Cora grounded out to second, and Daniel Murphy did the same to end it.

Speaking of guys without a clue, Fernando Tatis hit into another double play on the night, which is a category he is not proud to lead the team in. He just has been downright atrocious recently. I never thought I would miss Gary Sheffield so much.

On the positive note, it was nice to see Fernando Martinez in center field tonight. He covered ground, and he didn’t make any mistakes. It was kind of funny to see Razor Shines positioning him from the dugout.

Elmer Dessens sure made his case to stay around tonight with two scoreless innings after Livan Hernandez exited. I don’t miss Ken Takahashi anymore.

Tomorrow, the Mets will try to take game three of the series as they will send Fernando Nieve to the hill to battle Brad Thompson.