One Season Wonders: The 2006 Mets

After their improbable run to the 2000 World Series, it seemed like the Mets were always one player away from taking it all.  By 2002, with deals made for Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar and Jeromy Burnitz, it seemed as though then-GM Steve Phillips was serious about making the Mets legitimate. By then, however, Mike Piazza had started to show signs of wear and tear for a catcher, and fan-favorite manager Bobby Valentine had shown signs of wearing out his welcome in New York.

The Mets needed a philosophy change, desperately.  Then came 2004 and the "Black Friday" deal of trading Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, and it was decided that enough was enough.  Then-GM Jim Duquette and then-manager Art Howe were no longer lighting up the room, and something needed to be done.

Former Montreal Expos General Manager, Omar Teodoro Antonio Minaya y Sánchez, was hired to be the autonomous General Manager of the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club.  One of the first things he did was hire rookie manager Willie Randolph to head up his team, under the philosophy of "pitching, speed and defense."  With Minaya on board for his first full season, he made it clear that losing was not going to be an option in 2005.  And what better way to show fans he was being serious about it than by bringing in Pedro Martinez, perhaps the most sought after free-agent pitcher on the market and starter for the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.  Add Carlos Beltran to this mix of New Mets and the team improved from 71-91 in 2004 to 83-79 in 2005.  The seeds for success had been planted in 2005.  One year later, the team was ready to bloom.

Going into the 2006 season, the Mets still had some holes to fill.  After Mike Piazza hit a career-low .251 in 2005, it was clear that the Mets needed to go in a different direction behind the plate.  Enter Paul Lo Duca, who was an All-Star for the Florida Marlins in 2005.  At first base, the Mets turned to Carlos Delgado, the slugger who had spurned the Mets one year earlier for playing the Latino card in their attempt to sign him.  In right field, Xavier Nady was signed to replace Mike Cameron, whose 2005 season ended abruptly when the former centerfielder butted heads with the current centerfielder (literally) on the field in San Diego.

Finally, the team needed a dependable closer to replace Braden Looper, who was absolutely awful during the final two months of the 2005 season (0-3, 6-for-10 in save opportunities, 6.35 ERA, 1.65 WHIP over his final 18 appearances).  Enter Billy Wagner, the Sandman who gave opposing batters nightmares.

Once the Mets added a few role players who weren't expected to produce much for the team (Jose Valentin, Endy Chavez and Duaner Sanchez, to name a few), the team was ready for Opening Day.  After losing their first five games to start the 2005 season, the Mets needed to get off to a quick start in 2006.  They responded by getting off to one of the best starts in franchise history.

After splitting their first two games of the 2006 season, the Mets tallied seven consecutive victories, sweeping a pair of series against the Marlins and Nationals by a combined score of 35-11.  By April 17, the Mets were 10-2 and became the first team to lead its division by five games after the 12-game mark.  After a victory over the Atlanta Braves on April 29, the Mets' lead in the NL East had grown to seven games, but they had already suffered their first casualty on the mound.  It would become a recurring theme throughout the season.

Brian Bannister was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2003 amateur draft and made a quick ascent through the Mets' minor league system.  After a sensational 2005 campaign split between AA-Binghamton and AAA-Norfolk (13-5, 2.74 ERA), Bannister joined the major league squad out of spring training in 2006 and made his first start in the second game of the season.  In his first month in the major leagues, Bannister did not disappoint, going 2-0 with a sensational 2.89 ERA, never giving up more than three runs in any of his five April starts.

However, in his fifth start on April 26, Bannister injured his right hamstring while attempting to score on Kaz Matsui's double.  Although the rookie pitcher did score the run, it would be his final appearance until August, as he spent the next four months on the disabled list.

Bannister's injury would lead to the first start made by a pitcher who wasn't one of the original five starters.  On May 2, John Maine became the first pitcher other than Bannister, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel and Victor Zambrano to make a start.  Other injuries would beset the team during the season and other starters were brought in to replace the injured starters in the rotation.  Some fared well in their unexpected roles (Maine, Orlando Hernandez), while others did not (Geremi Gonzalez, Jose Lima, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Alay Soler and Dave Williams, all of whom made at least three starts for the 2006 Mets).

Only Maine and Glavine had a sub-4.00 ERA of the 13 pitchers who started at least one game for the Mets in 2006, while seven of the unlucky 13 had ERAs north of 5.00 (Steve Trachsel just missed becoming the eighth member of the mile-high ERA club, finishing the year with a 4.97 ERA despite winning 15 games).  The team's 4.14 ERA was its fifth-highest mark since the Gil Hodges era began in 1968.  Despite their makeshift, lackluster pitching staff, the 2006 Mets found a way to win 97 games.  Needless to say, it was the offense that carried the team to victory more often than not.

Newcomers Paul Lo Duca, Carlos Delgado and Xavier Nady all became major contributors in the Mets' offense.  Lo Duca finished seventh in the National League with his .318 batting average, picking up 163 hits and 39 doubles along the way.  Both of Lo Duca's totals in base hits and doubles represent franchise records for a catcher, breaking Mike Piazza's team records in both categories.

Carlos Delgado did not disappoint with his power production.  His subpar batting average (.265) was barely noticed after he rocketed 38 HR and drove in 114 runs for the Mets in 2006.  Only Darryl Strawberry (39 HR in 1987 and 1988) and Robin Ventura (120 RBI in 1999) had surpassed Delgado's totals in both categories for left-handed hitters in team history.

Xavier Nady was a quiet contributor on the 2006 Mets.  After making his major league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2000, Nady never became a constant presence in their lineup, collecting only 775 at-bats during his tenure in San Diego.  But given the everyday rightfielder's job in New York, Nady blossomed, hitting .310 with 14 extra-base hits (seven doubles, seven home runs) in his first 26 games as a Met.  By late July, Nady was quietly producing the best season of his career.  Then fellow newcomer Duaner Sanchez got the midnight munchies in Miami and Xavier Nady was no more.

By not getting a food plate delivered, Duaner Sanchez could not deliver to the plate after July 30.

Prior to the trade deadline, the Mets were not looking to make a deal for a set-up man.  After all, Duaner Sanchez had performed very well in that role, going 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA.  But when Sanchez was involved in a traffic accident while looking for late-night grub, the Mets needed to find a replacement fast.  As a result of Sanchez's taxicab collision, the Mets were forced to part ways with Xavier Nady in order to acquire set-up man Roberto Hernandez and throw-in Oliver Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With Nady no longer in right field, Lastings Milledge became the everyday rightfielder.  But Milledge was not ready to become a full-time player in the major leagues, hitting .189 with nine strikeouts in his first 12 starts after the trade.  Three weeks after becoming the everyday rightfielder, Milledge was back on the bench, with newly-acquired veteran Shawn Green replacing him.

Despite the Mets opening up a double-digit lead in the division (due mostly to an impressive 9-1 road trip in June), there was something missing from the team, and that was the team itself.  Due to injuries and poor performances by those enlisted to replace the injured players, the Mets had no consistency in their everyday lineup and starting rotation.

In addition to the 13 pitchers who made at least one start for the Mets in 2006, a total of 15 position players started at least 20 games at a position.  The fact that Paul Lo Duca (117 starts) and Ramon Castro (32 starts) were part of this list is not unexpected, as teams usually use their backup catchers often to give their No. 1 catcher at least one day off per week.  Also not unexpected were David Wright (153 starts at third base) and Jose Reyes (148 starts at shortstop) taking their positions almost every day.  But the other five positions on the field saw 11 different players make at least 20 starts.

Did anyone expect Julio Franco to start 20 games at first base in 2006, especially with Carlos Delgado having a monster year?  He did.  What about Chris Woodward making 33 starts at second base despite Kaz Matsui being the team's everyday second sacker to start the season and Jose Valentin ending the year there?  Woodward got to see more double play balls than he expected.  The oft-injured Cliff Floyd allowed Endy Chavez to start 22 games in left field.  But Chavez actually started more games in center (25 starts) and right (32 starts) than he did in left.

Clearly, there was no consistency to the team, especially in their starting lineup.  That lack of consistency would become more noticeable as the team entered the final month of the season.

The two Mets teams that followed the 2006 squad would be known for what they did over their final 17 games.  But the roots of those late-season collapses may have been traced back to 2006.  After 145 games, the 2006 Mets were proud owners of a 90-55 record and a 16-game lead in the division.  Their fourth 100-win season was within reach, as was their fifth division title.  But with the Mets needing one win against lowly Pittsburgh, the team's play became lackadaisical.  The Mets were swept in Pittsburgh and returned home to face the Florida Marlins.  The Mets did defeat the Marlins on September 18 to clinch their first National League East crown in 18 years, but it was one of their few victories over the final three weeks of the season.

Did Jose Reyes borrow those goggles from Duaner Sanchez?

After their 90-55 start, the Mets lost 10 of their next 13 games (with one of their three victories being the division clincher), before recovering to win their final four games of the regular season.  Although the team struggled to the finish line, they did finish a National League-best 97-65, with no other team in the league winning more than 88 games.  It was on to the NLDS against the wild card-winning Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Mets were going into that series missing a few key pieces.

Original Game 1 starter Pedro Martinez was scratched due to a pair of injuries in his shoulder and calf.  When word came down that Martinez's replacement, Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez, was also unable to make the Game 1 start due to a calf injury, the Mets went with plan C, John Maine.  The first man to make a start for an injured player during the regular season was now being called upon to do the same in the postseason.  But just as the offense had picked up the beleaguered staff during the regular season, they came through again in the NLDS.

Carlos Delgado, who had never taken part in a playoff game prior to 2006, made quite a splash in his postseason debut, going 4-for-5 with a home run.  Also coming through with their bats were Cliff Floyd, who followed Delgado's blast with a homer of his own, and David Wright, who collected a pair of doubles and drove in three runs.  But the Mets might not have won the game had it not been for an odd play involving Paul Lo Duca at the plate.

With the game scoreless in the top of the second inning, the Dodgers had Jeff Kent at second base and J.D. Drew at first with no outs.  Russell Martin then drove a ball off the right field wall that should have scored at least one run.  However, Kent was slow getting around the bases and was thrown out at home.  Meanwhile, Drew, who never stopped running, was just a few feet behind Kent.  After an alert Lo Duca turned around to see Drew headed toward the plate, he made a quick tag of Drew to complete the unusual double play.  Almost forgotten in the aftermath of the play was that the Dodgers did eventually score a run in that inning to take a 1-0 lead, but it could have been much worse if not for the Dodgers' poor baserunning and the cat-like reflexes of Paul Lo Duca.  That play proved to be the difference in the Mets' 6-5 victory.

 Ernie Banks might have said "let's play two", but Paul Lo Duca said "let's tag two".

Compared to Game 1, the Mets had a relatively easy time with the Dodgers in Game 2, with Tom Glavine pitching beautifully in the team's 4-1 victory, but things got a little dicey in Game 3 with Steve Trachsel on the mound.

After the Mets spotted the longest-tenured Met with a four-run lead in Game 3, Trachsel gave it all back and then some.  By the time the Mets came to bat in the sixth inning, a 4-0 lead had turned into a 5-4 deficit.  But the Mets strung together four hits and a walk to score three runs in the sixth to retake the lead.  They added two insurance runs in the eighth inning before Billy Wagner came into the game in the ninth and got pinch-hitter Ramon Martinez to fly out to former Dodger Shawn Green to end the game, giving the Mets a 9-5 victory and a series sweep.  The Mets had advanced to the NLCS, with the 83-win St. Louis Cardinals standing in the way of their fifth National League pennant.  It looked as if the Mets were going to have an easy ride to the World Series.  But that did not end up being the case.

In a hard-fought Game 1 of the NLCS, the Mets defeated the Cardinals, 2-0, with all the runs scoring on a sixth inning home run by Carlos Beltran.  But in Game 2, the Mets failed to hold a late-inning lead, allowing the Cardinals to score two runs in the seventh to tie the game and three runs in the ninth to win it.  The big blow came off the bat of the light-hitting So Taguchi, who gave the Cards a 7-6 lead with a home run of Billy Wagner in the ninth.  St. Louis added two more runs off Wagner en route to a 9-6 series-tying victory.  The devastating Game 2 loss might still have been on the minds of the Mets as they traveled to St. Louis.  Either that or they lost their bats at the airport, as Jeff Suppan stymied the Mets' high-powered offense, holding them to three hits over eight innings.  Suppan also provided an unexpected blow, hitting a home run off Steve Trachsel to lead off the second inning.  Three batters later, Trachsel threw his final pitch as a Met.  The Mets lost Game 3, 5-0, and were now trailing the series, two games to one.

After feeling good about themselves following their Game 1 victory, the Mets were now one loss away from playing an elimination game.  The Mets had to win Game 4 to prevent that game from happening in front of the raucous Busch Stadium crowd and to guarantee a trip back to New York.  Oliver Perez, who had not pitched in two weeks and had only won one game in seven starts since being traded to the Mets at the trade deadline, was called upon to end the Mets' misfortunes in Missouri.  Needless to say, many people weren't very optimistic about the Mets' chances with Perez on the mound.  Perez didn't pitch very well, allowing five runs on nine hits in 5⅔ innings, but the offense bailed him out.  The Mets' 3 through 7 hitters combined to go 10-for-20 with two doubles and four homers (including two by Carlos Beltran).  They also drove in all of the runs in the Mets' 12-5 win.  With the Mets now assured of making a trip back to Shea Stadium, all they needed to do was win Game 5 in St. Louis and a pennant would be within reach.  That was easier said than done.

Similar to the Mets using Oliver Perez in Game 4, the Cardinals turned to a pitcher they had acquired in July who had underperformed in the regular season.  Jeff Weaver was awful for both the Angels and Cardinals, finishing the 2006 regular season with a combined 8-14 record and a 5.76 ERA.  But despite his poor season, the Cardinals gave him the ball in Game 5.  Weaver shocked the Mets by holding them to two runs in six innings of work, while his counterpart on the mound, Tom Glavine was knocked out of the game before he had recorded an out in the fifth inning.  The Cardinals went on to defeat the Mets, 4-2, to put them within one win of the World Series.  If the 1973 Mets could reach the World Series after only winning 82 regular season games, then the 2006 Cardinals figured they could do the same with 83 victories.  But the 1973 Mets also taught us that "ya gotta believe", and the 2006 version of the team was trying to do just that as they returned to Shea Stadium for Game 6.

With the Mets down three games to two, it was up to rookie John Maine to force a seventh game.  Maine was brilliant for the Mets, pitching into the sixth inning while keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard, allowing only two hits along the way.  All the tension felt by the fans prior to the game was lifted after only one batter, when Jose Reyes led off the game with a home run.  The Mets added one run in the fourth and two runs off former Met Braden Looper in the seventh to take a 4-0 lead.  Despite another shaky outing by Billy Wagner in the ninth, giving up a two-run double to his NLCS nemesis, So Taguchi, the Mets escaped with a 4-2 victory and were on to their first Game 7 at Shea Stadium since the 1986 World Series.  But because of their lack of starting pitching depth, the Mets had to give the ball to Oliver Perez on only three days rest.  Perez would be facing Jeff Suppan, who had toyed with the Mets with his arm and his bat in Game 3.  One team was about to win the National League pennant, but it was two long fly balls that became the story of the game.

After not fooling the Cardinals in Game 4, Oliver Perez pitched very well in the biggest game of his life, allowing one run through the first five innings.  But after a one-out walk to Jim Edmonds in the sixth, Scott Rolen stepped up to the plate.  Rolen was a .450 career hitter (9-for-20) against Perez with five doubles.  However, he had never hit a home run off the Mets' lefty.  It looked as if that was about to change after only one pitch.  But Endy Chavez had something to say about that.  On Perez's first pitch to the Cardinals' third baseman, Rolen lifted a high fly ball that appeared to be headed for the Cards' bullpen.  But Chavez had the speed and the strength to be there, timing his leap perfectly to rob Rolen of a tiebreaking two-run homer.  After checking to see that the snowconed ball was in his glove, Chavez quickly threw the ball to second baseman Jose Valentin, who fired the ball to Carlos Delgado to double off Jim Edmonds for an inning-ending double play.  Shea Stadium was rocking like it had never rocked before with the Mets seemingly taking the momentum away from the Cardinals.  But they could not capitalize on Chavez's catch for the ages.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets loaded the bases with one out, with two participants in the previous half-inning's double play, Valentin and Chavez, coming up.  Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa could have taken starting pitcher Jeff Suppan out of the game at that moment, but chose to leave him in.  It was perhaps the most important managerial decision made in the series.  On a 1-2 pitch, Suppan struck out Jose Valentin, then got Endy Chavez to hit a routine fly ball to center to end the inning.  Neither team threatened in the seventh or eighth innings.  It was on to the ninth inning with the game still tied at one apiece.  Aaron Heilman, who had pitched the eighth inning for the Mets, was allowed to start the ninth.  Before long, his name would permanently become a part of Mets history, but not in the way he intended.

Billy Wagner had not fared very well in the ninth inning during the NLCS, giving up three runs in Game 2 and two more runs in Game 6.  Perhaps that factored into manager Willie Randolph's mind when he left Heilman in the game for the ninth inning.  The move appeared to be a good one after Heilman struck out Jim Edmonds to lead off the ninth.  But then Scott Rolen grounded a single to left to bring up Yadier Molina.  Doing his best Mike Scioscia impression, Molina lifted a long fly ball that carried out of the ballpark, far away from Endy Chavez's glove for a two-run homer.  The light-hitting Molina, who had only hit six home runs during the regular season brought back painful memories of Scioscia, another light-hitting catcher who in 1988 hit a two-run ninth-inning home run in the NLCS at Shea Stadium.  But Scioscia's home run came in Game 4 and only tied the game.  Molina's home run was in Game 7 and gave the Cardinals a two-run lead.

The Mets were now down 3-1 as they came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, three outs away from elimination.  Rookie closer Adam Wainwright was called upon to pitch the Cardinals into the World Series.  But he struggled early, allowing back-to-back singles to Jose Valentin and Endy Chavez to lead off the inning.  With the tying runs on base, Cliff Floyd was not called upon to bunt the runners over.  The move ended up being costly, as Floyd struck out on six pitches.  After Jose Reyes lined out to centerfielder Jim Edmonds, Paul Lo Duca, doing his best Gary Carter impersonation, refused to be the final out at Shea Stadium.  Lo Duca walked on five pitches to load the bases and bring up Carlos Beltran.  Wainwright threw two strikes to Beltran to go ahead in the count.  Then this happened...

Boo.

If you were to look at the big picture of the Mets in the last decade, 2006 was the blip on the radar, not the other way around.  Overall, 2006 was no different in how the Mets operated in years past, namely with injuries, bad contracts and reliance upon out-of-their-prime veterans and not-so-ready-for-prime-time rookies.  They were just more successful on paper than previous and post years.   

In fact, if you were to look at how the Mets started to slowly unravel at the end of the 2006 season, it was clear we all were just willing to overlook their shortcomings simply because of how good they did that year.  Most certainly Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph and Fred Wilpon did.  It is true, then, that winning makes you forget about these things.  Now that the Mets haven't won in a few years, we're able to look at 2006 more objectively, as being the one season wonder, the year that maybe shouldn't have been.  

Look at Steve Trachsel, who was an underrated and under-appreciated pitcher for the Mets in his years, winning 15 games that year but under the guise getting great run support.

Look at Jose Valentin and Chris Woodward, starting all those games at second base when they were supposed to be at best super utility players.  Who besides the Mets would give Julio Franco that much playing time, as a 48-year-old man?

Xavier Nady is seen to this day as a cult hero in Mets lore.  The fact that a middle reliever's injury caused so much of a domino effect on the dynamic of the team is a testament to not only how valuable Duaner Sanchez was to the bullpen, but conversely how that team was just one player short of imploding.  

Paul Lo Duca and Billy Wagner had great seasons in 2006, never to be replicated again in a Mets uniform.  

Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado fed off of each others production, and paved the way for future leaders of the team Jose Reyes and David Wright.  Now, Reyes is playing for the NL East rival Miami Marlins, and Wright has yet to take that leap to making the Mets his team. 

Lastly, trotting out 13 different starting pitchers, including Jose Lima, and they still won?  Chances are, this was not a formula for success but how lucky are you feeling, punk?   When your postseason hopes are foisted upon the likes of John Maine, Oliver Perez and Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez, it's evident the 2006 Mets were just lucky to be there.

Prior to 2006, the Mets had made the playoffs six times.  Each of the six trips could be separated into pairs.  The 1969 and 1973 Mets were represented by many of the same players.  The 1986 and 1988 Mets could also be paired off, as the majority of the team in 1986 was still intact in 1988.  And of course, the 1999 and 2000 Mets were practically the same, save for John Olerud and Mike Hampton.  But the 2006 Mets have no postseason cousins.  They're simply a standalone team, a one season wonder on their own.

Studious Metsimus would like to thank Taryn "The Coop" Cooper for her contributions to this piece.  Not only was it her idea for the entire 2006 Mets team to receive the One Season Wonders spotlight, but she also wrote 10½ paragraphs for the piece.  You guess which ones.  For more examples of her writing on the Mets and on her other sports loves, please check out her site, A Gal For All Seasons.


Note: One Season Wonders was a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York. (And on occasion, it wasn't just an individual player that was a One Season Wonder.)  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey
January 9, 2012: Terry Leach 
January 16, 2012: George Stone
January 23, 2012: Roger Cedeño
January 30, 2012: Frank Viola
February 6, 2012: Joe Christopher 
February 13, 2012: Dave Magadan 
February 20, 2012: Pedro Martinez
February 27, 2012: Bret Saberhagen 
March 5, 2012: Robin Ventura 
March 12, 2012: Willie Montañez
March 19, 2012: Lance Johnson 

One Season Wonders: Pedro Martinez

In 2004, the Mets finished below .500 for the third consecutive season.  Attendance at Shea Stadium, which had averaged 2.7 million from 1999-2002, had plummeted to an average of 2.2 million in 2003 and 2004.  With the Yankees winning six American League pennants and four World Series championships in less than a decade, baseball fans in New York were not exactly lining up to buy tickets to see the Mets.

The Mets needed to make a change for the better and they needed to do it fast if they wanted to remain relevant in their own city.  To effect this change, Mets' owner Fred Wilpon gave full autonomy to new general manager Omar Minaya.  It was up to the Queens-raised Minaya to turn the Mets into kings of the National League East.  Realizing he had just gotten the keys to the castle, Minaya wasted no time in his efforts to make the Mets matter again.

First, he hired Willie Randolph to take over for the dismissed Art Howe.  Then came the hard part.  In Randolph, the Mets had a leader in the dugout.  But they needed a leader on the field.  Jose Reyes and David Wright were still soiling their baseball diapers at the time, so they were not viable candidates.  Instead, Omar Minaya set his sights on one player.  He was looking for a respected veteran presence on the team who could also serve as their Pied Piper, leading other talent out of their cities and into Shea Stadium.

Just before the Winter Meetings, Minaya boarded a plane for the Dominican Republic, spending his Thanksgiving in Santo Domingo.  Soon after, Mets fans were the ones giving thanks.

With Pedro Martinez on board, the Mets were hoping to hitch a ride to first place.

Less than three weeks after spending his Thanksgiving in the Dominican Republic, Omar Minaya gave Mets fans an early Christmas gift, signing Pedro Martinez to a four-year, $53 million deal.  Martinez, who had just led the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years, would immediately give the Mets credibility, as well as a reason for other free agents to come to New York.

Martinez spent seven years in Boston, dominating opposing batters in a way not seen since the days of Sandy Koufax.  From 1998-2004, Martinez went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA.  He also averaged 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings, leading the league in whiffs in four of his seven seasons with the Red Sox.  Despite his dominance, the Red Sox did not want to guarantee a fourth year to Pedro due to his injury history.  The Mets were not as timid.

With a bonafide ace to lead the pitching staff, the Mets expected the 2005 season to be different than their previous three campaigns.  But things didn't start off so well for Martinez in his first Opening Day assignment for the Mets, as Cincinnati's Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Reds the early lead.  Dunn's blast might have rattled an ordinary pitcher, but Pedro Martinez was no ordinary pitcher.  In fact, after the home run, the Mets got a taste of vintage Pedro, and what a fine vintage it was.

Martinez struck out nine of the next ten batters he faced, with only a third-inning walk to D'Angelo Jimenez on a 3-2 pitch preventing Pedro from tying Tom Seaver's major league record of ten consecutive strikeouts in one game.  But each strikeout made Martinez's pitch count rise near the triple digit mark.  By the end of the sixth inning, Martinez had fanned a dozen Cincinnati Reds, but had reached 103 pitches.  However, the Mets scored three runs in the seventh inning to take a 6-3 lead on the strength of Carlos Beltran's RBI single off former Met David Weathers (who was pitching in relief of another former Met, Paul Wilson) and Cliff Floyd's two-run homer off Kent Mercker.

With the Mets enjoying a three-run lead at the seventh inning stretch, manager Willie Randolph removed Pedro Martinez from the game, fully expecting his ace to come away with the victory.  But second-year closer Braden Looper blew the save in the ninth inning, allowing back-to-back homers to Adam Dunn and Joe Randa, with the latter blast coming in walk-off fashion.

Braden Looper had nowhere to hide after costing Pedro Martinez his first win as a Met.

Pedro Martinez was credited with a no-decision in his Opening Day start, a common occurrence throughout his first month and a half as a Met.  Over his first nine starts in 2005, Martinez was credited with four no-decisions, despite not allowing more than five hits in any of them.  Through May 22, Martinez was holding opposing hitters to a microscopic .155 batting average, but only had four wins to show for it.  That all changed in Pedro's next start.

On May 27, the Mets were once again hitting the snooze button instead of the baseball.  Brian Moehler started for the Florida Marlins against Pedro and the Mets that day.  This is the same Brian Moehler who was pitching for his fourth team in four years and had only won three games in the major leagues during his time as a baseball nomad.  Yet despite his recent lack of success, Moehler retired the first 11 batters he faced before allowing back-to-back doubles to Mike Cameron and Cliff Floyd.  Moehler then proceeded to retire 13 of the next 15 batters after the Mets had taken their 1-0 lead.  Faced with the daunting task of having to put up zeroes against the Marlins, Martinez accepted the challenge and put his teammates on his back, pitching eight shutout innings while striking out ten and walking no one.  This time, Braden Looper held the lead for Pedro and the Mets came away with a 1-0 victory.

Pedro's performance against the Marlins began a stretch in which he earned eight victories in 11 starts.  From May 27 to July 23, Martinez went 8-2 with a 2.51 ERA, striking out 74 batters and walking only 14.  During this two-month period, Martinez was selected for the National League All-Star team.  However, he did not play in the Midsummer Classic because he had pitched seven strong innings for the Mets in the last game before the break, a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After July 23, the combination of poor relief work and a sputtering offense contributed to another stretch where wins were scarce for Pedro Martinez.  In an eight-start stretch from late July to early September, Martinez held opposing batters to a .226 batting average and .283 on-base percentage.  He also allowed three runs or less in six of the eight starts, but was the winning pitcher in only one of those starts.  During that eight-start period, one game stood out in particular.  It was a game in which Pedro was on teetering on the edge of Mets' immortality, only to fall off with one swing of the bat.

On August 14, the Mets were playing the Dodgers in the rubber game of a three-game series.  Only three days earlier, Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron were involved in a horrific outfield collision at Petco Park, ending Cameron's season and taking Beltran out of action for a week.  As a result, Gerald Williams was starting for Beltran in center field for Pedro's start at Dodger Stadium.  This would come into play late in the game.

The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Williams.  Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez was nearly perfect, allowing a first-inning walk to Milton Bradley before retiring the next 20 batters to face him.  Up came Antonio Perez, who had amassed 97 career hits in three major league seasons prior to his eighth inning at-bat against Pedro.  Three pitches later, that total had gone up to 98.

On a 1-1 count, Perez drilled a triple to deep center.  It was the first hit for the Dodgers and the only hit Perez would ever record off Martinez.  The ball might have been catchable, but with Gerald Williams playing center instead of Carlos Beltran, it became an easy triple for Perez.  Interestingly enough, almost five years to the day before Williams failed to catch Perez's fly ball, he was involved in an on-field altercation with Pedro Martinez.

Did Gerald Williams remember this moment when he was "chasing" after Antonio Perez's fly ball?

Martinez, then with the Red Sox, hit Gerald Williams with a pitch in the first inning, causing him to charge the mound.  Williams and several of his Devil Ray teammates were ejected from the game, a game in which Pedro threw (you guessed it) a one-hit shutout.  Five years later, Gerald Williams was once again instrumental in a Pedro Martinez-pitched game that had become a one-hit shutout.  Unfortunately, the game would not end that way.  One batter after the no-hitter was gone, the shutout and the lead were also no more, as Jayson Werth (yes, THAT Jayson Werth) hit a two-run homer off Martinez to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.  The Mets, despite outhitting the Dodgers, 10-2, lost the game and the series, with Pedro Martinez picking up the hard-luck loss.

After the disappointing loss to the Dodgers, Martinez did not give up a run in each of his next two starts.  But just like in his Opening Day start, the bullpen failed to help Pedro get a win.  On August 20, Martinez left his start against the Washington Nationals with a seemingly insurmountable 8-0 lead.  But the bullpen coughed up the lead, allowing the Nats to tie the game at 8.  The Mets eventually won the game in extra innings, but Pedro once again failed to get a win.  He did get the win in his next start, throwing six shutout innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  But in his final August start, Martinez had one of his few poor performances of the 2005 season.

On August 31, Pedro Martinez took the hill against the Phillies with a chance to pitch the Mets into the wild card lead.  Just one night before, the Mets had pulled to within half a game of the wild card on a late home run by Ramon Castro.  But with the Mets holding on to a slim 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, it wasn't the bullpen that cost Pedro the win.  It was Pedro himself, as the Phillies took the right-hander deep four times en route to an 8-2 victory at Shea Stadium.

Although the Mets failed to make a run at the wild card in September, Pedro Martinez continued to chug along.  After allowing four home runs to the Phillies in his final August start, Martinez did not allow a single home run in the month of September, recording a 2.25 ERA during the season's final month, a month that featured a complete-game, ten-strikeout gem against the division champion Braves on September 16 for his 15th and final win of the season.

Pedro Martinez helped bring other winners to New York, but had difficulty getting wins of his own.

The Mets finished the 2005 season with an 83-79 record, a 12-win improvement over their 2004 campaign.  Pedro Martinez's first year in New York was an overwhelming success, as the right-hander went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA and 208 strikeouts.  The following year, Pedro started the season by winning each of his first five starts, giving fans hope that the best was yet to come.  Although the Mets had a memorable season in 2006, this time Pedro Martinez had very little to do with it.  In fact, he had very little to do with anything over the final three years of his four-year deal.

Following his 5-0 start to the 2006 season, Martinez won a total of 12 games for the Mets until his contract expired following the 2008 campaign.  This was mostly due to the ever-present injury bug; the same bug that scared Boston away from offering him a fourth year.  Because of this bug, Pedro was not able to pitch for the Mets in the 2006 playoffs, as well as most of the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  His 12-15 record and 5.00 ERA following the first month of the 2006 season was hardly what the Mets expected from the former Cy Young Award winner, and certainly not worthy of the tens of millions of dollars he was being paid by the team.  Upon the completion of the 2008 season, Martinez was not re-signed by the Mets and did not pitch again in the major leagues until the second half of the 2009 season, when the Phillies took a chance on him.  Naturally, Pedro went 5-1 for the defending World Series champions and helped them win a second consecutive National League pennant.

Pedro Martinez came to the Mets in 2005 with a big contract and a history of success in the major leagues.  In his first year in New York, he helped the Mets end a streak of three consecutive losing seasons, giving them hope that better days were still to come.  Although the Mets did win the division title in 2006 and narrowly missed the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, their success was due more to the players that followed Pedro to New York and not Pedro himself.

In 2005, the Mets paid Pedro Martinez $53 million to be a four-year wonder.  Instead, they got a one-year wonder and a total of 17 wins over the remaining three years.  Pedro was supposed to lead the Mets to a World Series title.  Instead, his former team accomplished the feat during the third year of his contract with the Mets.  With most one-season wonders, the Mets would be very happy with what they got.  Unfortunately, with Pedro Martinez, the Mets felt like they were short-changed.  There's nothing wonderful about that.


Note: One Season Wonders is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey
January 9, 2012: Terry Leach 
January 16, 2012: George Stone
January 23, 2012: Roger Cedeño
January 30, 2012: Frank Viola
February 6, 2012: Joe Christopher 
February 13, 2012: Dave Magadan

Never Mind Santana's Arm; The Mets Need His Bat!

Here's a bit of trivia for you.  There are six pitchers in Mets history who hit at least 10 doubles during their tenure in Flushing.  Can you name them?

Well, five of the six had long careers in New York.  The club's all-time leader in doubles by a pitcher is Ron Darling, who collected 20 two-base hits in nine seasons as a Met (but somehow, all he remembers are his home runs in back-to-back games in 1989).  Next up are Tom Seaver (17 doubles in 12 seasons), Dwight Gooden (15 doubles in 11 seasons), Sid Fernandez (14 doubles in 10 seasons) and Jerry Koosman (12 doubles in 12 seasons).  But right behind all of them with 11 two-baggers is a guy who's only been a Met for four seasons and one of them was spent entirely on the disabled list.

From 2008 to 2010, Johan Santana collected 11 doubles in 182 at-bats, am impressive feat for a player who had spent his entire career in the American League prior to joining the Mets in 2008.  That's as many doubles as Willie Randolph hit as a Met in 286 at-bats.  Even Jason Bay, who is paid to be a big-time hitter, needed 360 at-bats to reach 11 doubles in 2011.

Santana has averaged a double every 16.5 at bats as a Met.  Let's compare that to the top ten doubles leaders in Mets history:

• David Wright: 281 doubles in 4,161 at-bats (14.8 AB/double)
• Ed Kranepool: 225 doubles in 5,436 at-bats (24.2 AB/double)
• Jose Reyes: 222 doubles in 4,453 at-bats (20.1 AB/double)
• Howard Johnson: 214 doubles in 3,968 at-bats (18.5 AB/double)
• Edgardo Alfonzo: 212 doubles in 3,897 at-bats (18.4 AB/double)
• Carlos Beltran: 208 doubles in 3,133 at-bats (15.1 AB/double)
• Mike Piazza: 193 doubles in 3,478 at-bats (18.0 AB/double)
• Darryl Strawberry: 187 doubles in 3,903 at-bats (20.9 AB/double)
• Cleon Jones: 182 doubles in 4,223 at-bats (23.2 AB/double)
• Mookie Wilson : 170 doubles in 4,027 at-bats (23.7 AB/double)

As you can see, only David Wright and Carlos Beltran had a better doubles per at-bat ratio than Johan Santana, and their ratio isn't that much better than Santana's.

There are two Hall of Famers who hit fewer doubles while they were on the Mets than John Santana.  Duke Snider hit eight doubles as a Met in 354 at-bats and Richie Ashburn hit seven doubles in 389 at-bats.  Did I mention that both Snider and Ashburn were All-Stars as Mets despite their lack of two-base hits?

Mike Hampton was considered by many to be one of the best hitting pitchers of his generation.  But in his one season as a Met, he did not collect a single extra-base hit, despite his .274 batting average.

Johan Santana spent the entire 2011 season on the disabled list.  Obviously, the Mets missed him on the mound.  But looking at his career numbers, they might have missed him more at the plate.  Without question, Johan Santana not being available is double trouble for the Mets.  And I do mean double.

A Lesson In Mediocrity: The New York Mets Over The Years

It's a slow news day on the Mets front, so I decided to see if I could find something of interest to write about. I didn't want it to be boring, but I couldn't think of anything exciting to write about either. Basically, I was left with writing something mediocre. And that's when it hit me like an off-kilter slider by Jesse Orosco (47-47 as a Met) or a wayward fastball by Oliver Perez (29-29 as a Met).



This year's Mets team, especially since the All-Star Break, has been hovering at or around the break-even point. A .500 team is usually the definition of mediocrity. So are the 2011 Mets the most mediocre team in Mets history?

Don't worry, Mr. Met. Every team wins some and loses some. Of course, the Mets are experts at both.

The Mets were so bad in their first few seasons that they didn't reach the .500 mark for the first time until their fifth season. Compare that to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who won the World Series in only their fourth season of existence. And it's not like the Mets reached the .500 mark late in the season. They reached .500 exactly twice in 1966, when they were 1-1 and 2-2. (Their first above-.500 mark came after three games, when they were 2-1.)



The following year, the Mets once again reached the .500 mark exactly twice, registering a 1-1 record after the first two games of 1967 and a 4-4 mark after eight games.



The Mets showed "progress" in 1968, the first year of Gil Hodges' much-too-short tenure as Mets manager, reaching the .500 mark three times. Unfortunately, all three times occurred within the first six games of the season, when the Mets were 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3.



That all changed in 1969.



In that miraculous season, the Mets continued their early season .500 trend, going 1-1 and 2-2. They also went above .500 for only the second time in team history, when they were 2-1 after three games. But this time, they decided that mediocrity in April wasn't good enough. On May 21, the Mets reached the .500 mark for the first time after the sixth game of the season, when they improved to 18-18. They reached .500 again ten games later (23-23), then went above .500 to stay on June 3, remaining above the break-even point all the way to the World Series championship.



Unfortunately, the Mets returned to a life of mediocrity in the 1970s, never more so than the early part of the 1970 season, when the Mets reached the .500 mark 13 times in the first 28 games. In fact, the Mets were a .500 team after every even-numbered game of the first 28 contests except after Game 20. (They were 11-9 after 20 games, but were 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, all the way up to 13-13 and 14-14.) Overall, the Mets reached the .500 mark on 20 separate occasions in 1970.



That trend continued throughout the disco decade, as the Mets reached .500 seven times in 1971, twice in 1972, six times in their pennant-winning 1973 season, twice in 1974, seven times in 1975 and 15 times in 1976. Then came the Dark Ages (no, not the continued growth of disco).



From 1977-1983, the Mets reached the .500 mark a total of 28 times, with a high of eight during the strike-shortened 1981 season. (Note: The Mets were .500 on three separate occasions during the first half of the '81 season. When they returned from the strike, it was decided by Major League Baseball that each team would play a split season, meaning that every team would begin at 0-0 once play resumed. During the second half of the '81 season, the Mets reached the .500 mark five more times, giving them a total of eight for the entire season.) Other than 1981, no Mets team over a full season reached .500 more than five times during those post-Midnight Massacre campaigns.



Not including the wacky 1981 split season, the only time the Mets climbed their way up to .500 after the All-Star Break was in 1980, when the magic came back at 42-42 and 43-43. However, the team lost their next game on both occasions when they made it to .500.



From 1984-1990, the Mets finished with winning records every year, not stopping for long at the .500 mark in any of those campaigns. Over those seven seasons, the Mets were a .500 team on 29 occasions, and were never at or below .500 after June 13 in any of those seasons. (They were 30-30 on June 13, 1989 and 28-28 after the first game of a doubleheader on June 13, 1990.) Also, the Mets were above .500 throughout the entire 1985 season, which marked the first time since 1965 that they never had a .500 record after any game and the first time ever that they had a winning record after every game.



The next six seasons (1991-1996) were lean years for the Mets, as they finished below .500 every year. In 1991, the Mets resembled the 1985 team, staying above .500 for most of the season. That changed on August 15, when the team dropped to .500 (57-57) for the first time all year. That would be the only time the Mets were at .500 all season, as they lost their next game to drop to 57-58 and never climbed back to the break-even mark.



That trend continued in 1992 (six times at .500, reaching the mark for the final time at 48-48), 1993 (five times at .500, but not after they were 8-8), 1994 (11 times at .500, all in the first 52 games), 1995 (only reached .500 once, at 2-2) and 1996 (reached .500 twice, but only at 1-1 and 2-2).



In 1997, the Mets experienced another renaissance. After hitting the .500 mark for the second time on May 16, the Mets didn't drop below .500 again until 1999. They were at .500 on three occasions during the 1998 season but always won the following game. The 1999 Mets were exactly a .500 team on four occasions, while the 2000 Mets were at .500 on six occasions on the way to their fourth National League pennant. The 2001 squad spent most of the season below .500 before finishing barely above the mark, stopping at .500 three times along the way.



The 2002 Mets tied the 1970 team by being at .500 on 20 separate occasions. Unfortunately, the 20th time they hit .500 was during their season-changing 12-game losing streak in August. The following year, the Mets reached .500 four times in their first eight games, but dropped below .500 after their ninth game and did not return to the break-even point again in 2003. For the first half of the 2004 season, the Mets flirted with .500 many times, hitting the mark 16 times, before an 11-game losing streak late in the season ended all chances of reaching it for a 17th time.



In 2005, the Mets brought in manager Willie Randolph to guide the New Mets of Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. That team reached new non-heights and non-depths in mediocrity, breaking the 35-year-old franchise record for most times at .500, achieving that so-so feat before the All-Star Break. When the Mets won their final game before the Midsummer Classic to improve to 44-44, it marked the 21st time they found themselves at exactly .500. At year's end, the Mets found themselves one exit north of mediocrity, four games over .500 at 83-79, but not before hitting the mark 27 times during the regular season.



The 2006 Mets were 1-1 after two games. After improving to 2-1 the next day, the Mets didn't see the .500 mark again until the second game of the 2008 season, when once again, the Mets stood at 1-1. The 2007 team become the second squad in franchise history to have a winning record after every game, tying the mark set by the 1985 Mets. The 2008 team spent so much time around .500 (14 times) that ownership felt Jerry Manuel would do a better job than Willie Randolph. Of course, Manuel didn't do as well in 2009 and 2010. The 2009 team spent most of the season below .500 (hitting the .500 mark seven times), while the 2010 model was the second-most mediocre Mets team of all-time, reaching .500 on 23 separate occasions.



That brings us to the 2011 Mets.



The Mets lost the final game of their four-game series to the Padres today, dropping them to 58-59. Entering the game, the Mets' record stood at 58-58. It was the 17th time this year the Mets found themselves at .500. Only four other Mets teams have been at the .500 mark more times during the regular season than the 2011 team (1970, 2002, 2005 and 2010).



This year's Mets stand a good chance to break the 2005 team's record for mediocrity in a single season (27 times at .500). Despite the Mets' recent ability to excel in mediocrity, no Mets team has ever finished at exactly .500 (81-81). The 1975 and 2001 Mets came closest to accomplishing the feat, with both teams finishing their respective seasons with identical 82-80 records. Only the 1975 team went into the final game with a chance to finish at exactly .500. (They entered the season finale with an 81-80 record, but won their final game to avoid the .500 mark.)



Some teams underachieved on their way to mediocrity (see the 2001 Mets), while others rode their mediocrity all the way to the World Series ("Ya Gotta Believe" that I'm talking about the 1973 Mets). The 2011 Mets are somewhere between those teams (which I guess makes them the most mediocre of the mediocre teams), with role players playing above their heads filling in for the injury-plagued starters, while other players have performed below expectations (Jason Bay, Angel Pagan and Mike Pelfrey, to name a few).



For 50 seasons, the Mets have experienced extended periods of success, while also going through various periods of disappointment. The 2011 Mets don't really fall into either category. With 11 more games at the .500 mark, they will officially become the most mediocre Mets team of all-time. But if you've seen this team day in and day out this season, you probably knew that already.

Joey's Soapbox: Farewell To Jerry Sloan

I wasn't supposed to writing an edition of Joey's Soapbox today, but my colleague has been quite distraught over the news that long-time Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan has resigned after nearly 23 years on the job.

You see, he has been a fan of Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz since John Stockton was backing up Rickey Green and Frank Layden was coaching the team. Needless to say, the news came as quite a shock to my colleague.

Before submitting his resignation last night, Sloan was the longest tenured coach/manager in professional sports, leading the Jazz since becoming their head coach on December 9, 1988. With Sloan no longer coaching the Jazz, the title of longest tenured coach/manager now belongs to Tony La Russa, who will be entering his 16th season as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.

Under Sloan's guidance, the Jazz made a whopping 19 trips to the playoffs, winning seven division titles, reaching the Western Conference Finals six times and making two appearances in the NBA Finals. Compare that to the Mets, who have only reached the postseason seven times in 49 years, and you can see just how great of a coach Sloan was.

Before you say "why are you talking about basketball in a Studious Metsimus blog?", allow me to share this tidbit of information. Four different managers (Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine) have led the Mets to the World Series. Hodges managed the team for four seasons (1968-1971). After his untimely death, Berra took the helm for 3½ years (1972-August 1975). Johnson became the most successful manager in Mets history in his nearly 6½ years with the team (1984-May 1990), while Valentine (August 1996-2002) was right behind Davey when it came to winning ballgames during his six-plus years managing the Mets.

Along with Willie Randolph, who was the only other manager to lead the Mets into the postseason, Hodges, Berra, Johnson and Valentine have been the best managers in franchise history. However, that quartet combined to manage the Mets for 19 seasons and parts of three others. That total is still less than the number of years Jerry Sloan served as the head coach in Utah. In other words, the best the Mets have had to offer over the course of nearly half a century does not compare to the efforts of one man in Salt Lake City.

I can understand why my colleague is so bent out of shape over the sudden resignation of Jerry Sloan. The NBA (and perhaps all of the other major sports) might never see a coach/manager like Sloan again. In today's "what have you done for me lately?" world of professional sports, Sloan never had to worry about losing his job. In nearly 23 years as head coach, his Jazz teams only finished below .500 once, and that was due to an assortment of injuries to key players during the '04-'05 season (sound familiar, Mets fans?).

Terry Collins has quite a while to go before he can catch up to Jerry Sloan's mark. Considering that no Mets manager has been able to hold his job for even one-third of the time Sloan did in Utah, it goes to show just what a special job Sloan did for the Jazz.

The Studious Metsimus staff (especially my colleague) would like to thank Jerry Sloan for proving that a little consistency can go a long way in the sports world. Sloan will be missed in Utah, but his legacy will last forever.

The Worst Team Money Could Buy: The Sequel

Back in 1992, the Mets added four new faces to the team in the hopes that they could recapture the glory days of the recently concluded 1980s. In new manager Jeff Torborg, first baseman Eddie Murray, outfielder Bobby Bonilla and pitcher Bret Saberhagen, the Mets thought they could knock off the two-time NL East champion Pittsburgh Pirates from their perch atop the division.

Not only did they not dethrone the Pirates, they completely fell apart, finishing the 1992 season with a 72-90 record. That was good for a fifth place finish in the NL East, 24 games behind the three-peating Bucs.

The 1992 Mets employed many high-priced players and fading veterans. They also had quite a bit of turmoil in the clubhouse. That combination of poor play and off-the-field distractions served as the impetus for the book by Bob Klapisch and John Harper called "The Worst Team Money Could Buy: The Collapse of The New York Mets".

So why is this relevant now in 2010? Because the last Mets team to begin their season with a 2-6 record was the 1992 Mets. That start has now been duplicated by the 2010 Mets.

Jeff Torborg was never the right man for the job in 1992. The 1992 Mets had to deal with injuries and players bouncing in and out of the lineup. Only Eddie Murray, Bobby Bonilla and Dick Schofield (yes, he was actually the Mets' shortstop that year, forming a double play combo with Willie Randolph!) collected over 400 at-bats in 1992. Sound familiar?

Now we're in 2010. Jerry Manuel's leadership skills are being questioned and the Mets are playing musical chairs with their lineup on a daily basis. There appears to be no continuity from game to game and the Mets have not established anything other than their position in last place.

The team appears lost and is allowing pitchers like Greg Smith and Tyler Clippard to do their best Cy Young impersonations against the high-priced bats the Mets send up to the plate day in and day out.

Although the "it's still early" mantra can still be used, the Mets are showing no sign of wanting to get out of their early season funk. There is no fire burning in the eyes of the players and they're running out of excuses. They can't use the "when we get healthy" excuse because the Phillies have Joe Blanton, J.C. Romero, Brad Lidge and now Jimmy Rollins all on the disabled list, yet they're still sitting pretty atop the division with a 7-1 record.

The Mets are only eight games into the 2010 season and they're already five games behind the first place Phillies. I don't want to give up on the season so early, but the Mets have not shown me anything that could give me even a sliver of hope that they're going to turn this sinking ship around. To borrow the team slogan, I'd like to believe the team will come back this year, but for now, it's beginning to look a lot like 1992. The 2010 Mets are probably not the worst team money could buy, but they sure aren't doing much to play like the best.