Ex-Mets Come Out On Top At Winter Meetings

Earlier this week in Dallas at the Late Fall Meetings, the Mets came away with three new relief pitchers and a new centerfielder.  They made a trade to acquire centerfielder Andres Torres and reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Giants, and signed free agents Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco to close out games.

The Mets weren't the only team to wheel and deal in Dallas.  In fact, it seemed as if every transaction involved a former Met.  So which former Met left Dallas with the biggest smile on his face?  You may be surprised when you hear the answer.  Let's run through the list of former Mets who were involved in transactions since the beginning of December.  (Players listed alphabetically)

• Rod Barajas (one year, $4 million from Pittsburgh)
• Heath Bell (three years, $27 million from Miami)
• Chris Capuano (two years, $10 million from Los Angeles)
• Octavio Dotel (one year, $3.5 million from Detroit)
• Jose Reyes (six years, $106 million from Miami)

All of those former Mets will be counting their millions all the way to the bank, but none of them has as big a smile on his face as another former Met.  So tell me, my fellow Mets fans, do you remember Jerry DiPoto?

That, my friends, is ex-Met Jerry DiPoto.  Please don't all say "who dat?" at the same time.

Jerry DiPoto came to the Mets in a trade conducted during the 1994-95 players strike.  The Cleveland Indians sent DiPoto, along with fellow pitchers Paul Byrd and Dave Mlicki to the Mets in exchange for outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and pitcher Joe Roa.

DiPoto pitched two seasons for the Mets, going 11-8 with a 3.98 ERA.  His line in 1996 was one of the oddest in baseball, as DiPoto had a sky-high 1.76 WHIP (allowing 136 baserunners in 77.1 innings), yet he finished the season with a 7-2 record.  Of course, that's what happens when the runs you give up belong to somebody else, as DiPoto allowed 18 of 38 inherited baserunners to score, with none of those runs being charged to him.

So why would Jerry DiPoto, a man whose pitching career ended in 2000 at the age of 32, have the biggest smile on his face coming out of this year's Late Fall Meetings?  Perhaps that has something to do with his current job as the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County near Disneyland.

After only four months as a general manager in the major leagues (two and a half months with Arizona in 2010 and six weeks with Los Angeles/Anaheim/Orange County/Disneyland), DiPoto made the biggest splash at the Late Fall Meetings, signing future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols to a ten-year, quarter billion dollar contract and top free agent starting pitcher C.J. Wilson to a five-year, $77.5 million deal.  DiPoto did all this despite being on the job for less time than it took Steve Trachsel to throw a pitch with men on base (men that DiPoto would likely have allowed to score had he been a teammate of Trachsel's on the Mets).

No wonder Jerry DiPoto is smiling.  He just heard that the 1995-96 Mets player reunion was canceled.

Within a matter of 24 hours, the Angels signed the best hitter on the planet (no offense to Val Pascucci, but Pujols has surpassed him at the plate) and took away their division rival's ace starting pitcher.

The Texas Rangers, who had to deal with Pujols for seven games in last October's Fall Classic, will now have to face Pujols a minimum of 18 times per season over the next decade.  And they also won't have C.J. Wilson, who did not allow a hit to Pujols in six World Series plate appearances against him.  Instead, the Rangers will have to face Wilson with Pujols backing up his new teammate at first base.  All this is due to the swift dealings of Jerry DiPoto.

When Jerry DiPoto was a Met in the mid-'90s, he was a vulture on the mound, swooping in to record seven victories in 1996 despite not being adept at keeping runners off the basepaths.  Although he is no longer an active player on the field, DiPoto has become quite active off the field and he clearly still hasn't given up his vulture tendencies.  Just ask the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and especially the Miami Marlins, who thought they had the right offers on the table for Pujols and Wilson until DiPoto swooped in and grabbed them away.

Many ex-Mets have had a December to remember so far.  But Jerry DiPoto has topped them all.  He played for Dallas (Green) when he was a Met in 1995 and 1996, then he went to Dallas (Texas) and played all the other general managers there by scoring the biggest free agent hitter and pitcher on the market.  It's no wonder Jerry DiPoto is the ex-Met with the biggest smile on his face.

World Series Recap: I Blame C.J. Wilson

The Texas Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series in the ninth inning of Game 6.  They blew that lead.  They were one strike away from winning the World Series in the tenth inning as well.  That lead also went poof.  In Game 7, they were 25 outs away from winning the World Series before blowing that lead.

You can say the Rangers lost because David Freese happened.  You can say they lost because the Cardinals had just watched the 1986 World Series DVD as an educational video.  You can say many things about why the Rangers lost.  I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.

 You can't hide from us, C.J.  We know it was your fault the Rangers lost the World Series.

Nelson Cruz had hit his record-tying eighth home run in the 2011 postseason, a shot off designated intentional walker Lance Lynn.  That blast gave the Rangers a 6-4 lead in the seventh inning of Game 6.  Cruz later misplayed David Freese's line drive to turn a World Series-clinching out into a World Series-tying two-run triple.  Blame Nelson Cruz all you want.  I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.

The Texas Rangers pitching staff allowed 41 walks over the seven games, breaking the old World Series record of 40 set by the 1997 Florida Marlins.  Alexi Ogando, who was a strong Rookie of the Year candidate until the Mets beat him up in late June, allowed seven of those 41 walks in only 2 2/3 innings.  Despite his erratic arm, Rangers manager Ron Washington brought him into six of the seven games, where he also gave up seven hits in addition to his seven walks.  It would appear as if Alexi Ogando or Ron Washington would be culpable for this.  I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.

The bullpen of Mike Adams, Neftali Feliz, Mike Gonzalez, Scott Feldman, Alexi Ogando, Darren Oliver and Mark Lowe combined to pitch 19 2/3 innings in the World Series.  After an impressive regular season, ALDS and ALCS, the relievers faltered in the World Series, combining to post an 8.24 ERA and 2.34 WHIP.   The lowest ERA of the Sad Seven belonged to Adams, who led the bullpen with a 4.50 ERA in two appearances.  Blame the bullpen coach or any member of the Sad Seven.  I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.

Ron Washington should have continued to pitch batting practice instead of letting his relievers do so during the actual games.

In Game 3, Albert Pujols went 5-for-6 with three home runs and six runs batted in.  In the other six games, he went 1-for-19 with no RBIs.  However, that one hit came in one of his many "this could be his last at-bat for the Cardinals" plate appearances in Game 6.  Pujols' one-out double into the gap in left-center set the stage for Freese's ninth-inning heroics.  Because of Pujols' reputation as the best hitter in the league and that ninth inning double, the Rangers decided to issue one of the aforementioned 41 walks to Pujols in the tenth inning when they were one out away from becoming World Series champions.  Oops.  Lance Berkman followed El Hombre's intentional walk with an RBI single, sending the game into the 11th inning.  Blame pitching coach Mike Maddux or Albert Pujols' aura.  I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.

C.J. Wilson started two games of the World Series.  After an excellent regular season in which he went 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA, Wilson actually had a lower ERA in the World Series.  His 2.92 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance helped keep the Rangers in the series.  It was Wilson's effort in Game 5 (one run allowed in 5 1/3 innings) that set the stage for Mike Napoli's go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning, a hit that propelled the Rangers to a 3-2 series lead.

It looks as if C.J. Wilson did everything he could to help the Rangers win the World Series.  So why am I blaming him for the World Series loss?  Because the seeds for this loss were planted in Arizona in mid-July.

 The Fall Classic was lost during the Midsummer Classic, thanks to C.J. Wilson.

During the Midsummer Classic, the American League led 1-0 when manager Ron Washington (maybe I should blame him too) brought in C.J. Wilson to pitch the fourth inning.  Wilson allowed a leadoff single to then-Met Carlos Beltran, followed by a line drive single to Matt Kemp.  He then allowed a titanic three-run homer to Prince Fielder (see photo above), which gave the National League a 3-1 lead.  The American League would not score again in the NL's 5-1 All-Star Game victory.

Prince Fielder's bomb off C.J. Wilson essentially gave the National League home-field advantage in the World Series.  Hence, that is why the wild card-winning Cardinals were able to play Games 6 and 7 at Busch Stadium instead of having those games played in Arlington, home of the division-winning Rangers.  Had Game 6 been played in Texas, the Cardinals would not have gotten a last chance to tie the game in the ninth and tenth innings and could not have possibly won the game in walk-off fashion.  It might have been the Rangers celebrating a World Series championship instead of the Cardinals celebrating an improbable comeback victory in Game 6.

So blame Ron Washington, Mike Maddux, Nelson Cruz or the entire Texas Rangers bullpen.  They might share in the blame for the Rangers' seven-game World Series loss to the Cardinals, but I'm blaming C.J. Wilson.  Had he been able to keep one ball in the park in July, the Rangers might have been having a ball in their park in October as first-time World Series champions.

Don't drop the ball, C.J.  Oh, wait.  Never mind.  You already did in the All-Star Game.