The Cut Seen 'Round The World

With a few weeks remaining before pitchers and catchers report to Late Winter Training, I was hoping to catch some baseball news on the MLB Network at 6 PM last night.  After an offseason filled with NL East teams making moves to help their teams (Phillies signed Jonathan Papelbon, Nationals acquired Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson, Marlins picked up a player or twelve), I was hoping to get some Mets news on the baseball cable network.  Instead, I got this:

That's right, Mets fans.  The MLB Network was showing a live broadcast of Jose Reyes getting his hair cut.  Now, granted, he is donating his locks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who will in turn auction them off on eBay, but did we really need to see it on live TV?

Did the MLB Network not have anything else to report?  Were they all out of countdown shows?  Didn't they want to show Hot Stove or Clubhouse Confidential for the umpteenth time?  That's what I was tuning in for.

No.  They thought it would make for good television to have Jose Reyes comply with Marlins' team policy by getting his hair cut.  Other players, such as Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi, have gotten their long locks shorn when they moved to a team that forbade them.  Furthermore, numerous athletes have donated their hair to charitable foundations in the past as well.

But I guess anytime a star athlete takes his talents to Miami, a big television event has to come out of it.  First, it was LeBron James and "The Decision".  Now, it's Jose Reyes and "The Haircut".  What's next?  A guest spot on CSI: Miami?  Will Jose Reyes be the next killer to torment the officers of Miami Metro on Dexter?

Personally, I'm waiting for Reyes to take Guy Fieri on a tour of his favorite new restaurants in Miami, looking for the perfect mofongo or mangú on a special episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Hey, if Don Larsen - the author of the only perfect game in World Series history - could appear on Triple D, why can't Reyes?

Blue background.  Orange cape.  So nice of MLB to remind us that Jose Reyes is no longer a Met.

I commend Jose Reyes on using his hair for a good cause.  That's not the point of my rant.  The point is, why did the MLB Network feel that baseball fans needed to see this on live television?  Did they have a post-cut interview with the guy hired to sweep the floor?  Was there an over-under on how many dreads would be cut?

Those are just some of the silly questions I can think of regarding this live show.  The silliest question of all is probably why the programming directors at MLB thought this would make for compelling television.  The Cut Seen 'Round The World should have been cut from our television sets.  Even the dozens of Marlins fans would have to agree with that.

The Perfect Way For The Mets To Stick It To The Marlins

As all Mets fans know, the Marlins have been a thorn in the team's side since 2007.  First, Tom Glavine was able to retire only one more batter than I did in the 2007 regular season finale, completing the Mets' collapse.  One year later, the Marlins wouldn't get off the field after they once again eliminated the Mets (and Shea Stadium) in Game No. 162.  Three years after that, they stuck it to the Mets again, this time by signing Jose Reyes to a six-year deal worth $106 million, or about $106 million more than Fred Wilpon has stored away in his souvenir Sandy Koufax piggy bank.

In fact, if you really want to get technical about it, the Marlins have been one-upping the Mets since 1997, when they replaced the Mets as the fastest expansion team to win a World Series.  (The Marlins have since been knocked off that perch by the fourth-year Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.)

But other than the Mets celebrating their 2006 NL East title in front of their home fans while the Marlins watched in the road dugout, they haven't really done anything that would be considered negative to the Marlins.  Are they upset that the Mets took Mike Piazza and Carlos Delgado from them?  Did Fred Wilpon insult Marlins' owner Jeffrey Loria's mother because he found out Loria grew up as a Yankee fan during the era in which the Brooklyn Dodgers kept losing to them in the World Series?

The time has come for the Mets to stand up to the Marlins once and for all.  And I know just how they can do it.

Earlier today, it was reported that Bud Selig expects two extra wild-card teams to be in place for this season, rather than the 2013 campaign.  Therefore, with five teams now qualifying for the playoffs in the National League instead of the usual four, the Marlins have reasonable expectations that they will be one of those five teams.

More than likely, the Phillies will win the NL East for the sixth consecutive season.  But the Atlanta Braves are coming off an epic late-season collapse.  The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers both lost their top power hitters (Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder) to free agency.  With all those windows being opened in the National League, the Miami Marlins are poised to break through and crash the playoff party for the first time since Art Howe was supposedly managing the Mets.

Like many other teams competing for the wild card spots, the Marlins might not play a potential clinching game until the final series of the season.  And who, pray tell, will the Marlins be playing on October 1, 2 and 3 in front of their dozens of fans at their brand spanking-new ballpark?

The New York Mets.

Wouldn't it be something if the Marlins needed to win their final series of the season and the newly-signed (and former Met) Heath Bell blew a save or two to the Mets?  Or how about if Jose Reyes, representing the tying run in the bottom of the ninth was caught stealing to end a game?  What if the Marlins' new ace, Mark Buehrle, only lasted a third of an inning in the regular season finale, as the Mets battered him for run after run in the opening frame?  Would that be devastating to them?

It's been too long since the Marlins have been a thorn in the Mets' side.  Ever since Steve Trachsel's arm and Jose Valentin's bat took them down in the 2006 division clincher, the artists formerly known as the Florida Marlins have been giving the Mets and their fans recurring nightmares.

Hey, we all know the Marlins are just one poor finish away from conducting their once-a-decade fire sale.  Why not speed up the inevitable and give them a chance to do it this year?  The Marlins have been sticking it to the Mets every chance they've gotten since 2007.  It's time for the Mets to stick it right back to them in 2012.  Ya gotta believe.

Miami Unsound Machine: Carlos Zambrano Is A Marlin

The Miami Marlins are at it again.  Earlier today, the Marlins traded starting pitcher Chris Volstad to the Chicago Cubs for the human geyser, Carlos Zambrano.  Zambrano will etch his name on the long list of new players who will be calling South Beach home until the Marlins conduct their latest fire sale.

Chicago will eat $15.5 million of Zambrano's salary in 2012, leaving the Marlins to foot the bill for the remaining $2.5 million.  The Marlins needed the Cubs to take on most of his salary so they can use the savings to make repairs to all parts of their new stadium that Zambrano will eventually destroy after his first meltdown.

At first glance, it appears to be a good deal for the Marlins.  They were able to unload Chris Volstad, who was 5-13 for the team formerly known as Florida in 2011.  It was a disappointing season for Volstad, especially on the heels of a 12-9 season in 2010.  The 25-year-old has been in the major leagues since 2008 but has never pitched more than 175 innings in a season.  The same cannot be said for Zambrano.

Carlos Zambrano has had a winning record in each of the last nine seasons, going 120-71 (.628 winning percentage) since 2003.  Over those nine seasons, El Toro has averaged 190 innings pitched per year, surpassing 200 innings five times.  In 2011, Zambrano only pitched 145.2 innings, but that was mostly due to the fact that the Cubs suspended him for the final month of the season.

So why will this deal fall apart for Miami?  Because Carlos Zambrano makes Dennis Rodman look sane.

Other than fellow new acquisition Mark Buehrle, most of the Marlins' pitching staff is young and easily impressionable.  Is Carlos Zambrano going to be a mentor or just mental to them?  Do the Marlins have a long reliever for the games in which Zambrano loses his control on the mound (Big Z has led the league in walks twice and hit batsmen once) and then loses his control in the dugout (he famously confronted several of his teammates there in 2010)?

Also, who's going to replace Jose Reyes in the lineup when Zambrano blindly throws a Gatorade cooler in a fit of anger and hits the former Met in his fragile hamstrings?  Zambrano may be good friends with his new manager (fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen), but can the Marlins handle making excuses for both of them when they lose their cool?

 Carlos Zambrano shows off his best smile for the camera.

Theo Epstein made a great deal today for the Cubs, ridding the team of its clubhouse cancer by finding the one club who was willing to take him off their hands.  The Marlins are signing and trading for anyone with a pulse right now and when Zambrano gets steamed, no one has a higher pulse rate.

Perhaps Zambrano will be a perfect fit in Miami (doubt it).  Perhaps this deal will even help the Mets in the long run.  After all, Volstad is now out of the NL East after posting a 3.35 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets, while having an ERA over 4.00 against every other team he's made a minimum of five starts against.

Miami already has volatile weather practically every afternoon during the summer.  Now they'll be experiencing a different kind of storm every fifth day when Carlos Zambrano takes the mound.  Hide your kids, hide your $106 million shortstop, because Carlos Zambrano is taking out everybody who gets in his way.  Let the countdown begin to his first Miami meltdown.

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.

Joey's Soapbox: My Connection To Jose Reyes

Greetings, Mets fans.  This is Joey Beartran reporting, although I have to say that I am too distraught to get up on my soapbox today.  As you already know, Jose Reyes has traded in his orange and blue duds for a Miami Marlins' Skittles-colored jersey.  It's a day I never expected to see, and one that I'm having a tough time accepting.

It's not because I'm upset that Reyes remained in the NL East, where the Mets will see him for 18 games per season.  It's also not because the Mets lost their leadoff hitter and shortstop, replacing him at those positions with Angel Pagan and Ruben Tejada, respectively.

My tough time accepting the loss of Jose Reyes goes back to the day I was born.  Please allow me to explain.

I'll always be connected to Jose, and not just through an internet connection.

On June 20, 2004, my future colleague at Studious Metsimus saw me sitting up on a display in the Mets Team Store located behind home plate at Shea Stadium.  I was dressed in the gray Mets hoodie you're used to seeing me in, surrounded by... nothing ... I was the last Mets bear of my kind in the Team Store.  From my vantage point, I could see outside the windows of the store, but I couldn't see the field, even with my proximity to home plate.  Therefore, I had yet to see Jose Reyes play.

It was Father's Day and my future colleague decided I should come out from behind the window and see my first Mets game in person.  So he paid $25 for the right to take me off the display (I don't come cheap) and we went up to our seats in the mezzanine.

That weekend was special for other reasons in addition to it being my first Mets game after my "birth".  On Friday, June 18, the Mets held a ceremony to honor Mike Piazza for becoming the all-time leader in home runs by a catcher.  The following night, June 19, was Jose Reyes' first appearance for the Mets after spending the first two-plus months of the season on the disabled list.  I wanted to see Reyes so badly, being that I was not "alive" for his rookie season in 2003.

Do you know how much of a fan of Reyes I was?  I told my colleague once we left the Team Store on June 20 that my name was Jose (even though we all know it's Joey).  Reyes did not lead off for the Mets that day.  That honor went to Kaz Matsui, who was also playing shortstop for the Mets at the time, with Reyes manning second base.

The game between the Mets and the Tigers was scoreless through three and a half innings.  Jeremy Bonderman was pitching beautifully for the Tigers, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth.  Then Jose Reyes came to bat to lead off the inning and everything changed, both for me and the Mets.

Reyes worked a seven-pitch walk to start the inning.  After Bonderman struck out Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd, he faced the dangerous Richard Hidalgo.  Hidalgo had just been acquired by the Mets from the Astros prior to the weekend series against Detroit and was familiarizing himself with Shea Stadium.  Prior to his fourth inning at-bat, Hidalgo had gotten off to an 0-for-8 start as a Met.  But in none of those eight at-bats did Hidalgo come up with Reyes on base.  That was not the case in this at-bat.

With Reyes bouncing back and forth off first base, Bonderman started to become frazzled.  He threw several times to first baseman Carlos Peña with Reyes getting back safely each time.  Finally, after throwing a strike to Hidalgo, Bonderman grooved a pitch that Hidalgo hit over the fence for his first home run as a Met.  Without question, it was Reyes' nerve-jangling dance off first base that caused Bonderman to change his approach on the mound.  I had just seen firsthand what a dynamic player Reyes was, how he could change a game by getting into the mind of the opposing pitcher.

 I idolized Jose Reyes so much that I'd slide into second base head-first like he would.

It was the beginning of a love affair with Jose Reyes that took me to the highest highs (the 2006 playoffs) and the lowest lows (any of his ten million trips to the disabled list).  Ever since Father's Day 2004, I followed everything Reyes did.  I cheered when he moved back to shortstop after Art Howe's ill-advised decision to move him to second base in 2004 failed miserably.  I cringed when Jerry Manuel tried to bat him third in the lineup in April and May 2010.  I was confused when Jose took himself out of the lineup after collecting a bunt base hit in the team's final game of the 2011 season, then elated when he won the batting title later that night.

But alas, that bunt hit was the last time I'd see him in a Mets uniform.  It would be the last time anyone would see him wearing the only major league uniform he had ever worn.

Jose Reyes is now a Miami Marlin.  It doesn't seem right, does it?  I didn't know who the Mets' shortstop was before Reyes played his first game in 2003 or who wore No. 7 last before it became synonymous with Reyes.  It didn't matter to me that Rey Sanchez manned the position prior to Jose's debut or that Jason Phillips wore No. 7 for 11 games in 2002.  It was all about Jose Reyes for me.

Now he's gone.

I named myself Jose after my "birth" because I wanted to be like No. 7 on the Mets.  He was the future of the team but he was right there in front of me in the present.  He was flashy, energetic and he played with such a love of the game, it was hard not to love him.

I will still be a fan of Jose Reyes.  After all, it's hard to give up on something once you've had a connection with it for your entire lifetime.  But that connection will never be the same for me.  It won't be the same when I see Ruben Tejada start a double play.  Whenever Angel Pagan wipes dirt off his pants after stealing a base or legging out a triple, no one will start singing "Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose".

It'll be quite difficult for me at Citi Field in 2012.  As always, I'll root for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the one on the back.  But when the Marlins come to town and I see the name "REYES" on the back of their leadoff hitter's jersey, a mountain of memories will flood my mind.

Jose Reyes and I will always have a special bond, going back to the day we first met on June 20, 2004.  The Mets won that game against the Tigers, but I feel like I won by getting to see him play for as long as I did.  Guess that's a connection that'll never break.

Broken News: The Two Hours Before Midnight Massacre

Welcome to the latest edition of Broken News, where someone else breaks the news and then we break it some more.  Broken News might be the perfect title for what I'm about to say because fans of Jose Reyes feel like their hearts have been broken this morning.

A little over two hours before midnight, it was revealed that Jose Reyes decided to accept the Marlins' latest contract offer of six years and $106 million to leave the only team he'd ever known.  I'll let that sink in before I continue...

 Sigh...

...I know.  It'll never sink in.  Soon he will take his physical, pass it and appear before the Miami media (which probably outnumber the true Marlins fans in South Florida - the ones who still proudly wear their Charlie Hough Marlins jerseys to games).

Gone will be the legs that produced 1,300 hits, 99 triples, 370 stolen bases and the only batting title in franchise history.  Replacing him at shortstop will be Ruben Tejada, who shows promise defensively and is very good at working the count.  That being said, this is the equivalent of replacing Tom Seaver in the rotation with Pat Zachry, who was also a promising young player in 1977 coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign with the Reds.  Pat Zachry was no Tom Seaver.  He was barely better than Nino Espinosa, but Nino rocked his afro better.  Ruben Tejada might not be able to rock anything, other than an occasional double or two that might hit the moved-in walls at Citi Field on three hops.

None of this is Ruben Tejada's fault and fans should not expect him to replace Jose Reyes' production on the field.  Similarly, no one should boo Angel Pagan if he's not the leadoff hitter Reyes was.  However, those two players will probably be heckled when they go through a slump, prompting the 7 Line to create "Bring Back Reyes" T-shirts and placards for display at an empty Citi Field.  (Note to the 7 Line:  If you do create "Bring Back Reyes" shirts, can I have one for free for giving you the idea?)

The Marlins are giving Jose Reyes $106 million for the next six years.  That's more than the Mets are willing to commit to every player on their roster in 2012.  The average annual value of nearly $18 million is more than the $15 million the Marlins spent on their entire 25-man roster in 2006, which coincidentally was the last (and only) time Jose Reyes played in the postseason.

 Double sigh...

You might say that $106 million is too much to pay for a player who'd been on the disabled list in each of the last three seasons.  You might also say that six years is too much for a player whose game depends on his legs, especially one who will still be earning $18 million annually when he's in his mid-thirties.

But one thing is for sure.  Jose Reyes was a dynamic player, one who could change a game like no other player on the Mets could.  The Marlins noticed that and were willing to take a risk, one that might bite then in the end, but for now makes them a far better team than the one that finished in last place in the NL East in 2011.

The Mets never had a chance.  And the way things look now, they're not going to have a chance in the NL East for years to come.  Last night, the current generation of Mets fans lived through their version of the Midnight Massacre.  If the Marlins ripped the fans' hearts out in 2007 and 2008, then they took their souls last night when they acquired Jose Reyes.

It's always been hard to be a Mets fan in this town.  It just became harder.

Song Parody: The Reyes Connection

Greetings, Mets fans!  We hope you're enjoying your long Thanksgiving weekend, even with the lack of Mets news.  The cast and crew of Studious Metsimus has been enjoying their Thanksgiving weekend.  We attended the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Thursday morning and followed that up by catching a matinee showing of The Muppets.

While sitting through the endless amount of previews and the Toy Story short film, I couldn't help but think of the ongoing Jose Reyes contract situation.  I wasn't just thinking about whether or not the Mets should re-sign him, but why fans love him so much.

As I was daydreaming about this topic, the film finally started (approximately 25 minutes after the scheduled starting time - there must have been a rain delay in the projection booth) and the first song was sung.  Of course, at that point my thoughts of Reyes started to take melodic form and a song parody was born.

Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict with Kermit the Frog (and his demand for lots of cash - I don't understand his obsession with having as much green as possible) denied us the opportunity to have him sing this song parody for you.  For now, you'll have to use your imagination as I give you a parody of Kermit's famous song, "The Rainbow Connection".  Here is the Studious Metsimus version, entitled "The Reyes Connection" (followed by a clip of the original version of the song as seen in The Muppet Movie).  Enjoy!

Why are there so many thoughts about Reyes
On whether or not he'll sign?
Mets fans have visions
But they're all illusions
If Reyes waves us goodbye

So we've been warned about him truly leaving
I hope they're wrong; we'll just see

Sandy should buy into
The Reyes Connection
The shortstop, the fanbase and me

If Alderson heard my wish
I'd expect an answer
That he'd re-sign our All-Star
Wish he had thought of that
And that he believed it
So Reyes wouldn't play so far

Jose's Amazin'
He keeps Mets fans praisin'
That's what Reyes does to me

Sandy should buy into
The Reyes Connection
The shortstop, the fanbase and me

All Mets fans under his spell
We know Jose Reyes is magic

Have the Mets been asleep
To the Marlins' voices
I've heard them courting Jose
It was a sweet sound
That followed three-base hits
He'd run to the Hall of Fame

I've heard the cheers; Jose just can't ignore 'em
Citi Field's where he should be

I'll always buy into
The Reyes Connection
The shortstop, the fanbase and me

La-da-da-de-da-da-doo
La-da-da-Jose-we-love-you