A Different Thought

 

And so it was the Cubs that won the 2016 World Series. Just as everyone told you they would. The team that was foisted on society ended up winning the ultimate prize, beating the Cleveland Indians in a classic and harrowing 7th Game to take home the crown for the first time in 108 years.

And, quite honestly, it made me sick.

People seem to have this impression of the Cubs as these loveable losers, but there wasn't much I found loveable about them or their fans. Sure, the same could be said about the fans of most teams, but rooting for the 2016 Cubs seemed to be about as chic as rooting for that other New York team between 1996-2001. You didn't know why you were supposed to other than it seemed like the "cool thing to do."

So I was hoping that some team would be able to step up and stop the Cubs freight train, but nobody did. The Indians pushed them to the limit, going ahead 3 games to 1 and on Sunday night it certainly looked like they were primed to seal the deal, and I was certainly enjoying that, but their luck ran out. The Cubs got it together, rose up and outwilled the Indians in one of those games where neither team wanted to fade quietly into the night.

But for most of the night, this game was headed the way of most of the rest of the series, which wasn't great on a game-to-game basis. Friday's Game 3 was close and so was Sunday's Game 5. Otherwise, none of the games were particularly dramatic. Neither was Game 7, at least not early. Corey Kluber, who'd been heroic in two starts prior, ran out of gas and got hit hard. At 5-1, it seemed like the Cubs were going to coast home. But Aroldis Chapman, himself overworked, also looked spent and out of nowhere, the Indians managed to fight back, tie the game at 6-6 on a Rajai Davis Home Run, and send the game into Twilight Zone Territory. Rain fell, a tarp was pulled on as the game moved to Extra Innings, and then the whole thing turned into a Buzzfeed article. The 2016 World Series is going to be remembered by everyone as this great, classic series, with the underdog Cubs storming back to win it all. You know, basically ignoring the fact that the Cubs were such enormous favorites going back to Opening Day, and the fact that everyone essentially basically spent the entire season patting them on the back and congratulating them over a World Series Championship that they hadn't won. They'd kind of done this last year too, until the Mets punched them in the mouth and put them in their place.

But, this year, they sealed the deal. And if you want to call me bitter, go right ahead, because, you know what, I am. I believed that the Mets, if they'd been given another shot at the Cubs, would absolutely have taken them out. They stoned them last year, and when they played each other during the regular season, a partially-neutered version of the Mets still took them out. Another Armageddon could have gone one way or another, but as I said about a month ago, I wanted to see the Mets have that chance. But it didn't happen. Instead, we had to sit on our hands and watch as the Cubs managed to finish their deal behind one of the major players that prevented the Mets from reaching the goal last year, and if you weren't sick of Ben Zobrist already, well...

And, you know, seeing the Cubs celebrating, and seeing their fans peeing themselves, and seeing hipster idiots running around New York City today wearing Cubs hats kind of got me thinking. Maybe we've been going about this all wrong. Mets fans have by and large been conditioned to approach the season with the old Crash Davis term of Fear and Arrogance. More Fear than Arrogance, to be sure, but a little arrogance. This hasn't worked, since the Mets are now 30 years removed from their last World Series Championship. But the Cubs, who hadn't won a thing since Teddy Roosevelt was President, spent the entire year with their chests puffed out, celebrating the title they believed they'd already won, and though it was enough to make you laugh at them then, you can't do that anymore because they went and did it.

So, yeah, I think we need to start having a different attitude here. If the Fans believe it, let's make the team believe it to. Perhaps all Mets fans need to start acting like we've already won something. Let's be the arrogant pricks walking around, thumbing our noses at every other team. Let's take over opposing team's ballparks and shit-talk their fans. This isn't so crazy. As it's composed now, the Mets are going to have 5 Starting Pitchers that can pistolwhip an opponent at any given time. Noah Syndergaard's just getting warmed up, Matt Harvey's got his head back on straight, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz are healthy again, Zack Wheeler's gonna be back and that's not even getting to guys like Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo and, of course, Bartolo Colon. Who's going to stop these Mets? The Mets have already proven what they can do when everything clicks, so I think we should just proclaim it now. It's gonna click in 2017. Sing it loud and proud. #MetsIn2017.

Coronation Day

Mike Piazza officially entered the Hall of Fame on Sunday, inducted, of course, in our colors.

I won't try to match the magnitude of the day or of the words he shared in his speech on Sunday afternoon, or the love he spread to all Mets fans, but what I will do here is copy in a blog I wrote back on May 21, 2008, which is the day he announced his retirement. It seems to fit the occasion.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Greatest.

I suppose I should be talking about the Mets letting all of the air out of their weekend triumphs on Tuesday in Atlanta, but I can't.

The real news of the day, for me at least, concerned the retirement of the Greatest Met of my generation, Mike Piazza.

The resumé Piazza boasts as he calls it a career speaks for itself. A .308 career batting average, 427 HRs, 1,335 RBIs are all outstanding accomplishments, considering the number of years he played, almost all of them spent catching for over 120 games a season.

But what Piazza is measured by, particularly in the hearts of Mets fans, goes far deeper than pure statistics. Deeper than being elected to the All-Star team every year (save 2003) he played for the team.

It is one day short of 10 years since the day Piazza came to the Mets, a lazy Friday afternoon in May. Just a week earlier, the Baseball world had been shaken by the Dodgers dealing Piazza to the Marlins, in a cash dump deal that sent a king's ransom to LA in exchange for Piazza and Zeile. The cash-strapped Marlins were sure to deal Piazza. The question was, when and to whom?

The Mets appeared uninterested. They had an All-Star catcher themselves, in Todd Hundley, though he was shelved for most of 1998 following elbow surgery. The Mets, undermanned and unexciting, were muddling through the early part of the season. I had recently returned home after my Freshman year of College. The first games I attended that season, a weeknight Doubleheader against the Reds, saw barely 15,000 people in attendance. Steve Phillips claim that the Mets weren't going to pursue Piazza, was met with widespread anger. On WFAN, Mad Dog Russo was heard screeching, "THESE FANS ARE SCREAMING FOR PIAZZA! YOU GOTTA BRING THIS GUY IN!!!"

That Friday, I was listening to Mike and the Mad Dog, when around 2pm, they immediately broke in with the announcement that the Mets were holding a Press Conference at 4pm. Something big had happened. Mad Dog had his interns searching frantically for information. It was around 2:20 that they broke the news. The deal had been made. Mike Piazza was coming to the Mets. Rejoyce!

I attended that night's game, and before I went in the stadium, I bought a ticket for the Saturday game. A line for tickets had already formed. The excitement was in the air before he even arrived. The scoreboard displayed a large announcement, "HE'S COMING TOMORROW!!!" Del DeMontreux even announced the trade over the PA before announcing the Starting Lineups.

And it was that Saturday, May 23rd, 1998, that he arrived. He not only brought his bat, but he brought credibility and excitement, two things that had been sorely lacking at Shea through most of the 90s. With one swing—a ringing RBI double off the right field wall—the Mets had a New Franchise, a New Face that would carry them into the 21st Century.

Sure, it was rocky early on. Piazza struggled to adjust to his new environs. His relationship with the fans was acrimonious and his clutch failures were magnified when the Mets fell a game short of a playoff berth. He could have left. He could have told the fans to screw themselves, taken a big money deal someplace else and departed New York a cowardly villain, along with the likes of Bobby Bonilla.

But he didn't. He decided to stay. He risked the boos and decided that this was where he wanted to be, for good or bad, better or worse. What happened was that Piazza became the Greatest Hero the Mets would ever see. So many times in so many situations, Mike found himself at the plate in a key moment, and so many times, he would deliver that big hit that we knew he was meant to deliver.

It began early in the 1999 season. A walkoff HR against the unhittable Trevor Hoffman. The bat flip HR off the Picnic tent against Ramiro Mendoza. A vengeful HR off Kevin Brown to beat his former Dodger teammates. With a retooled and reloaded offense around him, Piazza would match his career highs in HRs and RBIs in 1999 with 40 and 124, busting his ass for 141 grueling games that left him battered, bruised and running on fumes by season's end. Still, he persevered. Playing with a bruised thumb that forced him from the NLDS, a concussion and a strained forearm, injuries that would have had him on the bench in the regular season, it was he who would come up as the tying run in that fateful 6th game in Atlanta on October 19th, with the Mets having trailed 5-0 and 7-3, and smoke a John Smoltz fastball over the right field fence to tie the game. His stone-faced trot around the plate told you everything you needed to know. His postseason drive through the south told you everything you needed to know about how much it meant to him just to be there, to be in that key spot in the big game, and how much it hurt him to be unable to contribute at the level he wanted to.

With that in mind, a decreased workload in 2000 saw Piazza put forth one of the most dominant seasons of his career. Piazza broke from the gate like a house afire, tearing through pitchers on a frightening basis. On May 21st, he hit a pitch from Randy Johnson halfway up the Mezzanine at Shea. One streak in June saw him drive in a run for 15 straight games. It was the 13th game where Piazza would produce one of the signature moments of his Mets career. With the Mets having fought back from an 8-1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves into an 8-8 tie thanks to a 7-run 8th inning, Piazza stepped to the plate with 2 on and 2 out. Terry Mulholland made the cardinal sin of grooving one to Piazza. Piazza swung and unleashed a vicious line drive that would have sailed clear to Flushing Bay had it not caromed off the retired numbers. The sellout crowd went nuts. The normally stoic Piazza let the moment get the best of him, and wildly pumped his fist as he ran to first. The Mets went on to a 11-8 victory, which seemed to spur them on for the rest of the season, as they coasted into the Playoffs as the Wildcard for the 2nd straight year.

Although Mike struggled in the NLDS against the Giants, he worked Mark Gardner for a key walk in the 1st inning of the final game of that series. Gardner thought ball 3 was strike 3, missed badly with ball 4, and grooved his first pitch to Robin Ventura, which he promptly hit for a 2-run HR, setting up a 4-0 victory behind Bobby Jones' 1-hitter.

It was the NLCS where Piazza took center stage and became, quite literally, a monster. Playing the Cardinals in St. Louis, Piazza came up in the 1st inning of the 1st game against Darryl Kile and smacked a double to left, scoring Timo Perez with the series' first run. In the dugout, Mets coach John Stearns screamed, "THE MONSTER IS OUT OF THE CAGE!" in reference to Piazza, the Monster, needing to get that big hit and get out of the cage. Boy, was he ever out of the cage. In Game 2, Piazza blasted a long HR off Britt reames to aid the Mets to a 6-5 victory. In the 4th game, Piazza smacked a long 2B over J.D. Drew's head and off the wall in right, the 3rd consecutive double the Mets would hit in the 1st inning that night. In the 4th inning of that game, Piazza laid into a slider from Mike James and blasted it deep into the night, over the Cardinals bullpen and out of sight. In the clinching 5th game, Piazza hit a double in the 4th inning that preceded Todd Zeile's 3-run double to ice the game. And when the ball came down in Timo's glove, Piazza raced to the mound and led the team in a victory lap around Shea Stadium. He called it his greatest career accomplishment. And although the Mets fell short in the World Series, Piazza didn't disappoint, becoming the first player in World Series history to hit a HR in both Shea and Yankee Stadiums.

In 2001, Piazza again had his typical Piazza year, replete with big hits and big HRs. But it was one particular HR that would stand out far beyond any other he would ever hit. With the City and the Nation reeling following the attacks of September 11th, it was Piazza who delivered a blow that made us forget, at least for a moment, all the pain and the anxiety that followed that day. It was September 21st, 2001, yet another key game against the Atlanta Braves, and it was Piazza, batting in the 8th inning, with the Mets trailing 2-1 with a man on. And it was Piazza, playing the role of Hero once again, coming up and hitting a long, deep drive that clanged off the camera well in deep center field for a 2-run HR, that gave the Mets the lead, the victory, and helped to begin the healing process. It was, for many Mets fans, the moment when Piazza became more than just an ordinary slugger. You knew it from the tears he shed in the pregame ceremony. You knew it when he emerged from the dugout and pointed to the sky. Piazza wasn't just a Hero. He was Our Hero. He was Our Guy, and he would be forever. No matter what would happen, Piazza had cemented his place with the Mets.

The following seasons brought injuries and inconsistency for Piazza. He still put up lofty numbers for a Catcher, but the years and the strain were beginning to take their toll. He missed a large portion of the 2003 season with a groin injury, and talk began to emerge that he should consider a move to 1st Base to ease his workload and, perhaps, prolong his career. But he didn't want it. He would close in on the record for HRs by a Catcher, and it seemed right and proper that he remain behind the plate until the record was his.

It was a Wednesday night, May 5th, 2004, and I was in attendance for my first Mets game of the season with the San Francisco Giants. Piazza had tied the HR record the previous weekend, and on this night, in the 1st inning, on a 3-2 pitch from Jerome Williams, Piazza swung, and kept his date with destiny. The ball sailed deep and high and out, fittingly over the 371 mark in Right Center field, a spot where so many Piazza HRs sailed previously. All I could do was laugh. Piazza had a knack for always doing something special when I was at a game. And here, he'd done it again.

Piazza would play out every day of the 7 year contract he signed with the Mets back in 1999. And when that contract began to wind down, the fans began to stand up. It wasn't ever clear that the Mets would or would not bring him back, but the fans stood anyway. He didn't have to do anything great anymore. We would stand and cheer regardless. Our hero, Our Guy, Our Mike Piazza's career was now winding down, and it was time for us to stand and cheer in appreciation and thanks for all the years, and all the big hits and all the great moments he'd given us. I was there once again that final day, October 2nd, 2005, just as I'd been there on that first day and for so many days in between, and I stood and cheered with everyone else. Several videotaped tributes from Piazza played on Diamondvision, and during the 7th inning stretch, Fan Appreciation day became Mike Piazza Appreciation Day.
A 10-minute standing ovation gave way to fans weeping and saying goodbye. But it wasn't goodbye, it was just until we met again.

It was that following August when Piazza returned to Shea, and the ovations and cheers continued. Piazza hit 2 HRs in his 2nd game back. Following his first HR, the fans cheered so loudly that Piazza was prompted to give a curtain call from the visitor's dugout. A return with the Oakland A's in 2007 was short-circuited by an injury. He brought out the lineup card one night and again received a standing ovation. And that was it for Mike as an active player at Shea Stadium. The next time we see him, we'll perhaps be revealing his #31 on the outfield wall, in tribute to all he brought to this franchise. All the hits, all the moments and all the joy he brought us. All he meant to the team when he kept running himself out there, even during times when it appeared there was no hope left at all. He'd certainly be deserving of the honor. Who would be fit to don #31 for the Mets after all that Piazza accomplished wearing it?

And so, on Tuesday, Piazza hung 'em up. In his typical fashion, Piazza handled the situation with humility and stoicism, only releasing a statement through his agent. All the adulation and love he received from Mets fans was mutual. "...I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world," he said. "One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful."

We Love you too, Mike. We always will. We're making our hotel reservations in Cooperstown for Hall of Fame Weekend, 2012. You'll be there. I know you will. For almost 8 seasons, I had the pleasure and the privilege of watching you carry my team on your back, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you for coming, Thank you for staying, Thank you for delivering those hits when we needed them the most. You handled everything with class, dignity and grace. You knew how good you had it here. You appreciated us, and we appreciate you. Maybe Seaver was The Franchise, Maybe Hernandez brought home the Championship, but I never saw a better player or a better person wearing the Orange and Blue.

Thanks, Mike.

That Baseball Mood

Spring Training, at least for me, has been mostly a study in the mundane. I barely know what's going on with the Mets; I don't particularly care whether or not they win or lose, just so long as the players that need to play well do so and there are no significant injuries. The less there is to talk about, the better.

That being said, since it's now merely two weeks until Opening Day, I figure I ought to get back into the swing of things, and there's a spate of new literature for me to go through in preparation for the season. With apologies to Greg Prince, whose book was unavailable during a recent trip to The Strand (hardly a good excuse on my part), my current reading material is the latest offering from our own Ron Darling.

I've always been a fan of Darling's analytical abilities; perhaps I'm biased from having not only watched him in my youth but also having listened to him broadcast the Mets for the last decade. This of course comes forth in his writing, his first book offered up a study of specific games in his career as opposed to a particular memoir. This book is more of a memoir, but condensed into his life approaching, and during, Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.

You'll of course remember the result of the game. Most tend to forget that Darling started for the Mets but was long gone by time things were decided. He's the first to admit that under the harsh glare of the World Series spotlight, he didn't have a very good game, lasting only into the 4th inning and departing down by 3 runs.

But in reading this book (aside from learning the odd fact that Darling lived on 33rd and 3rd, while I, 7 years old at the time, resided at 36th and 3rd and on occasion frequented the same Italian restaurant on 34th Street owned by former Red Sox pitcher Jerry Casale) I kept drawing the parallel between Darling pitching in the 1986 World Series and the crazy ride that we followed the Mets through last season. Probably because I've been carrying it around with me all Winter. Not so much the ride to get to the World Series, but particularly the way it ended, and that final Sunday Night where the bottom fell out so quickly.

The end result is usually what's remembered more than the journey that gets you there, particularly when it comes down to a Championship series, and yes, perhaps even if the Mets had won that final game, they could have just as easily lost the next one and had their season end with the same result. Darling talks about being too much in his own head going into that 7th Game, and feeling out of rhythm, and out of sorts, and those such things can wreck a pitcher's night. It doesn't detract from the fact that he had a generally good career and is remembered fondly among Mets fans, although maybe if that 7th game had ended differently, that might not be the case.

And this is the sort of stuff I've been thinking about all winter, because consider that 5th Game against Kansas City and what ended up happening to Matt Harvey. The prevailing thought, what everyone remembers, is that Hotheaded Matt Harvey demanded to stay in the game for that 9th inning and blew it, and the Mets lost (and they suck and Harvey sucks).

I sometimes have a tendency to over-romanticize games like this but while most of the talk this Winter made a punchline of Harvey, I don't think what happened in that game up to the 9th inning should be overlooked. I've gone over many times about Harvey pitching angry, and how he's at his best when he has that look, and for 8 innings, he had that look. The Royals couldn't touch him. Harvey was pitching with smoke coming out of his ears. You know that's what's going on when he comes charging off the mound screaming at the end of a key inning. By contrast, when you consider the fragility of an athlete's psyche in a big spot, Darling allowed himself to be psyched out. Harvey had no such problems.

But in the end it's the final score that determines everyone's perception of the game. Mets 8, Red Sox 5, and Darling is a footnote. Royals 7, Mets 2 (12), but Harvey shit the bed.

Sometimes the perception of the players can bother you just as much as the end result. Particularly when you're on the losing end of things.

Certified

A date that seems a few years overdue will finally come to pass this Summer when Mike Piazza will indeed be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. For the past few years, I've gotten myself geared up for that January day when they announce the electorate and each time come away feeling kind of jilted, and then wrote some snarky, tongue-in-cheek post about it because Piazza was ultimately being blackballed for the company he kept.

That, however, can no longer be said as Piazza received a robust 83% of votes in his 4th go-around and has finally earned his place among Baseball's elite.

And I get to thinking about Piazza's career and specifically his time with the Mets, and I've probably written more than my share waxing poetic about those years and those great Piazza moments because they're so easy to remember, and that's what made him great. Ask 10 different Mets fans what their favorite Mike Piazza memory is and you might get 10 different answers.

And so I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't write anything further that hasn't already been said about Mike. Perhaps the ultimate Badass in Mets History, I think what really needs to be done is for you to watch this series of videos I've shot over the years. When you've been long retired and past your prime and people still tear down the house when you show up, you were probably pretty good.

We'll Always Have Paris...

I can't say I'm especially surprised by today's news that Daniel Murphy signed with the Washington Nationals. I'm not particularly upset by it either. I know you don't want one of your own guys to jump to a division rival like this, but let's be real here before we get too worked up. The moves the Mets have made to this point have made it abundantly clear that Daniel Murphy wasn't part of the future plans here. And that's fine.

We've had 8 seasons with Daniel Murphy. I know there's a lot of sentimentality that comes attached to that, but it wasn't going to get any better with age. Mostly, Daniel Murphy played the kind of Baseball that left a lot of us scratching our heads. Yes, there were times when he was really good, and for those two weeks in October he took his version of "really good" to a whole new level. But that wasn't Daniel Murphy. That was Playoff Chosen Daniel Murphy. Nothing exemplifies Playoff Chosen Daniel Murphy more than that Stolen Base in Los Angeles. If Daniel Murphy tries to pull something like that in the regular season, he probably gets thrown out 100 times out of 100. Playoff Chosen Daniel Murphy was safe. But Playoff Chosen Daniel Murphy was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. Regular Daniel Murphy came back to us in the World Series, sometime around the 8th inning of Game 4.

Unfair as it may seem, that's probably going to be the Daniel Murphy that most of us will remember. The guy who was consistently frighting on defense. The guy who would all too often try to be a hero and end up making a semipro-caliber play. The guy who would go on those raging hot streaks and then spend the next two months grounding out to the 2nd baseman. The guy who exemplified the lost era of the Mets when he led the team in Home Runs...with 12. A few years ago, I was watching a program on MLB Network where Daniel Murphy was ranked 10th among MLB 2nd Basemen and I nearly passed out. Murphy was the sort of player that I would watch and after a few years of his schtick I said to myself, "You know, Daniel Murphy is the kind of ballplayer who only has a job because of the Mets. Only the Mets would have a guy like Murphy on the roster."

I guess there's some people who are upset about this, but I can't. I know he went to a division rival, but my feeling is that now, he's going to get himself so cranked up and out of control when he plays the Mets that he's going to do things like try to score from 1st Base on an infield ground out or try to throw a runner out at 3rd base while overshifted into Right Field. These absurd mistakes that he makes are now the problem of Dusty Baker and the Washington Nationals. While he's totally going to hit .340 in April, I feel like more often than not we'll see the Good Ol' Murphy on highlights and silently chuckle.

The other reason people seem to be annoyed really has less to do with Murphy and more that the Mets aren't making those "Bold" or "Flashy" moves. I know general logic would dictate that the Mets should bring back Cespedes and, sure, that makes sense but again, a lot of it comes from that sentimental feeling that most Mets fans seem to have. I mean, sure. I'd love to have that big-time bat back and sure, it annoys me to see the Cubs and Giants gobbling up every big-ticket Free Agent in sight (and if you thought the Cubs had anointed themselves last season...oy veh...), but outside of Cespedes, or possibly Heyward, who sitting out there were the Mets legitimately going to bring in? The idea isn't to make moves for the purpose of being reactionary, the idea is to make moves to improve the team and under Sandy Alderson, the Mets have continually done that. No, I don't especially like the idea that the Opening Day 2016 roster is going to mostly resemble the Opening Day 2015 roster barring a Cespedes Smokescreen. But top to bottom the Mets are a better team right now than they were on Opening Day last season even without Cespedes. Instead of having absolute junk filling out the roster, there's good, serviceable depth here, which is nice to have. Also, I feel like people are forgetting this Conforto fellow. He might be pretty good.

All besides the point. I sort of want to tip my cap and wish Murphy well and maybe that was supposed to be the general intent of this post. I know I really raked Murphy over the coals quite a bit over the years and, well, most of the time he deserved it, but for all his foibles he was a fine Met and it's always a little wistful when a guy who's been with the team a long time leaves. But, that's the nature of the game. Players always leave town and the cynics always win the day. Murph...It's been real.

To The Rescue!

It's already been a long offseason. In reality, I know it's been less than 2 months since the Mets season ended, and yes, amazingly, they were still playing Baseball on November 1st, but the past 7-8 weeks or so since the season ended has felt like 4 months. Not kidding. The World Series feels like a lifetime ago, and maybe this offseason in particular will feel much longer than most. There is, in spite of what you might read or hear and in spite of the grousing of certain fans, a lot to look forward to for the Mets in 2016.

Generally, as the offseason rolls on, I tend to flip certain things in my head over and over again that pertain to the Mets. I've talked about this before and I'm not sure if it's indicative of some underlying insanity or not, but it's just odd things that came up during the past season. But for whatever reason, the thing that's been popping up the most has been the above clip, featuring our old friend Pedro Martinez expressing his adoration for our relatively new friend, Noah Syndergaard.

I've been thinking about Syndergaard and his place in a stacked rotation, up against Harvey, deGrom, Matz, the returning Wheeler and the ageless Colon. I don't think it particularly crazy to say that Syndergaard has a good chance to be the best of the lot. We knew he was good but he sort of snuck up on us with how much he'd matured over the course of the season. But in the pressure cooker of the playoffs, when, really, everyone among the Big 4 had their moment, Syndergaard seemed to stand taller than most. Perhaps it was because he threw himself into the winner-take-all Game 5 in LA after warming up 3 times. Possibly, it was his World Series performance.

Mostly, though, it was prior to Game 2 of the NLCS, when TBS signed on for their pregame show and Pedro Martinez immediately grabbed a Norse hammer and screamed "THOOOOOOORRRRRR!"

When you're continually drawing the admiration of one of the greatest Badasses in MLB History, you're probably pretty badass yourself. Of all the things I'm looking forward to in 2016, it's to see what this guy can do with a full season and some experience.

But, just so you don't think I'm hung up on one guy here, one other thing that's been flipping around in my head a lot lately is this scene:

I know it didn't end well for Matt Harvey or any of us on that last night, but man. That sound.

Nelson

The final vestiges of a mostly moribund Mets loss north of the border in Toronto was sort of shoved aside by the news that broke just as the game was coming to a close of the passing of Nelson Doubleday.

Nelson Doubleday, of course, was never the face of anything during his 22-year tenure as co-owner of the Mets. It could be said that he probably didn't want to own the team at all. But he was cajoled, partially by his friend John Pickett, who owned the Islanders, and also by an opportunistic ninny named Fred Wilpon, to be the muscle in a group of investors that bought the Mets in 1980.

In that period of time, to call the Mets a laughingstock would have been kind.

Nelson was never the rah-rah type and he never wanted to be. All he did was put the right personnel in place to set the team up to succeed. By bringing in someone with the savvy of Frank Cashen to rebuild the team from the ashes and giving him the proper financial backing, the Mets got it back together, built up their farm system, produced players like Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Ron Darling and Len Dykstra, shrewdly traded parts away to acquire flashy, established stars like Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, and by 1986 they were winners once again.

Of the two heads at the top, it was always Nelson who was more focused on ensuring that there was a winning team on the field, much more than Wilpon, the schmuck, who seemed more concerned with image. This created plenty of friction between the two. When the Mets were going through a down period in 1998, Fred Wilpon's focus was on building his dream stadium, an Ebbets Field replica, in the Shea Stadium parking lot. Nelson was interested in acquiring an All Star Catcher named Mike Piazza who had suddenly become available. Nelson got his way and two seasons later, the Mets won a pennant.

Ultimately, Nelson would be bought out by Wilpon in 2002, in a rather contentious divorce that in retrospect might be where things started to go haywire for the Mets. Again, Nelson wanted to keep a winning team on the field regardless of cost. Wilpon seemed to be more interested in shoving his rubber-faced weasel of a son in our faces to talk about all the great pet projects they had going, like the new stadium and the Minor League team in Brooklyn. Shea Stadium closed down in 2008, the Wilpons got duped by Bernie Madoff and the Mets still haven't recovered. And even when that does happen, you can't help but think that the team's success is and will be in spite of the Wilpons, not because of them. When Nelson was around, you always had the feeling that the team was succeeding for him just as much as they did for the rest of us.

It makes you think...What if Nelson had stayed? Surely, the sting of the Madoff case would have been far less damaging. Surely, the Mets wouldn't have gone through 6 seasons of abject hell in an era bad enough to rival the late 1970s. Would Citi Field have been so reviled and anti-Mets history when it opened? Would it have been built at all?

We should all be thankful that we had Nelson in charge of our team when we did. He was at the top when the Mets were the kings in this town and he did everything he could to keep it that way.

Tip your caps for Nelson. He took good care of us.

Hail (Again)!

So, as I promised, here's the 3rd part of the Mike Piazza ceremony video, but as I mentioned, I ran out of battery just as he started speaking, so that's kind of a buzzkill. But, enjoy what's here anyway.

Hail!

I was thinking that Sunday's induction of Mike Piazza into the Mets Hall of Fame was the first time I'd ever attended such a ceremony. That's not true, I was at the induction of Mookie Wilson in 1996, but this was the first time I'd made it a specific point to be there to see a specific player. Mike Piazza should have been inducted into the real Hall of Fame this year, and his day may come soon, but if there was ever a player worthy of the Mets Hall of Fame, it's Mike Piazza.

I've written many gushing, glowing posts about Mike Piazza, who I still maintain is the greatest Met I've ever had the pleasure of seeing in person. I pretty much devoured every moment of his Mets career. I was there on Day 1, I was there on the last day, I was there when he came back in 2006 as a Padre and hit two Home Runs off Pedro Martinez and became the first, last and only visiting player to get a Curtain Call at Shea Stadium.

Mike liked that particular day too. The love the Mets fans gained for Piazza over his 7 2/3 seasons with the Mets felt deeper than the simple adulation of a sports hero. Mike Piazza was more than simply a great ballplayer. He understood his place as The Guy on the Mets. He knew he'd be counted on more than most to get the big hit, to carry the team, and so many times he rose to the occasion. Mets fans treated Mike Piazza like a King, and deservedly so. But unlike many high-priced superstars, Mike not only recognized how good he had it, but he appreciated the fans for it. I keep thinking back to 1998 and the fans being hard on him through the middle of the season, and how Piazza, a Free Agent to be, didn't need to stay. But he did. He knew even then that the reward was worth the risk. He stuck around and became Met Royalty and even now never forgot the love he received (and continues to receive) from Mets fans.

I know everyone has their favorite Piazza memories, and, sure, a lot of fans come back to the Home Run on September 21, 2001 or the 10-run inning against Atlanta, but I've got several of my own, separate from that. I saw Mike Piazza hit 27 Home Runs as a Met (so that doesn't include the 2 with the Padres), which is more than any other player I've ever seen by a fairly significant margin (David Wright is second, with 21), but it wasn't always a Home Run that was memorable. I witnessed key doubles, key hits, key defensive plays, hell, I even saw him steal a base that proved important. The time he spent here was truly something special, and I'll always love Piazza for providing so many great memories. So, how could I possibly have missed being there on his day?

Here's some video of the ceremony, as an added bonus (Part 3 forthcoming). Sadly, my batteries died just as Piazza was about to begin speaking, so I don't have the most important part of it. Had I know, of course, I might have cut off John Franco and Al Leiter. But you can always watch the whole thing here.

50 Years in Cards: The Future

What is it: 2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects #BDPP14, Travis d'Arnaud

What makes it interesting: The period of time between 1978 and 1982 has been mostly known as the Black Hole of Mets Baseball. There hasn't been much debate about it being the worst era in Mets History. That period of time was so hopeless that the Mets often closed the Upper Deck at Shea Stadium because it just wasn't worth it.

The period of time between 2009 and the present day could rival that era as far as dreariness and hopelessness. The Mets opened a brand new ballpark and immediately fell flat on their faces, as ownership and management bumbled their way through an endless string of injuries and financial issues. They never did close the Promenade Level at Citi Field, although there were multiple occasions where they probably wouldn't have been blamed for doing so (rather than shutter the level completely, they often simply shuttered the concession stands and let fans sit there and starve). I'm restating the obvious, but it's been a difficult few years to be a Mets fan. It's gotten to the point where the high hopes of Opening Day have basically been non-existent; everyone knows that the best the Mets can hope for in 2013 is probably a .500 record and a 4th place finish.

Yet with Spring Training officially underway for 2013 today, I can't help but feel somewhat optimistic about the Mets. Not because of the present, but because of the future. Much like the down years of the late 70s and early 80s gave way to a run of success, it's not outlandish to believe that these Mets are on a similar course. The Mets won't turn any corners in 2013, and I don't think anyone believes otherwise. But a number of calculated trades and high draft picks are beginning to take over the team, and the Mets are banking on them to lead the Mets back to respectability. Travis d'Arnaud is one such prospect. Though the Mets acquired d'Arnaud in a mostly unpopular trade for R.A. Dickey, the motives of the trade couldn't be questioned. The Mets, in 2013, will still be shedding some bad contracts and dead weight. R.A. Dickey, though an undeniable Fan Favorite, was also unfortunately the Mets most marketable commodity: A Cy Young Award winner at the top of his game. The Mets could have kept Dickey, but it wouldn't have done them any good in 2013. Dickey won 20 games in 2012, but that didn't translate to team-wide success. Instead, he helped the Mets by proving himself valuable enough for the Blue Jays to part with d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, another prospect who, though still a couple of years off, also holds a bit of upside.

d'Arnaud, to this point, has only distinguished himself by twice being dealt for Cy Young winners. A 2007 draft pick of the Phillies, d'Arnaud went to Toronto in the Roy Halladay trade in 2010. He's had multiple seasons derailed by injuries, but when healthy, he's managed to hit for both average and power, and proven himself a capable Catcher. This has been enough for MLB.com to name him the #6 prospect in Baseball. It has been enough for d'Arnaud's arrival in Port St. Lucie to be met with more than just a little fanfare. It's not what may happen this year that has fans excited. It's what's about to happen. It's the feeling that after so many lousy years, the Mets may finally be ready to turn the corner. The era of Jason Bays, Manny Acostas, Pat Mischs and Josh Tholes are done. The era of go-nowhere kids like Jeremy Hefner and Collin McHugh are going. It will be players like d'Arnaud, along with Zach Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Syndergaard who hold the future for the Mets.

Though d'Arnaud may not begin the season with the Mets, he's probably going to be in New York before too long. What happens from there is anyone's guess. But if the calculated gamble Sandy Alderson took in acquiring him pays off, he should be here for quite some time. It may not work, but for now, it's something worth getting a little excited about. Optimism isn't a feeling that's existed for the Mets in several years.

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50 Years in Cards: 2012

And One more for Good Measure!

What is it: 2012 Topps #279, R.A. Dickey

What makes it interesting: It's the best design we've seen out of Topps in several years. It's simple, which I've already said is what works.

R.A. Dickey was probably the most unlikely hero in Mets History. His story, already well-documented, led him all over the country before he landed with the Mets in 2010. Summoned to the Majors in Mid-May, nobody expected to see much out of him, which is why it was so jarring when, after a no-decision in his first start, Dickey reeled off 6 consecutive victories. Out of a career in tatters, a star was born. Dickey's success that first year, coupled with his outspoken, offbeat personality that seemed to befit the Knuckleball he threw, endeared him instantly to Mets fans, who embraced him almost immediately. Dickey won 11 games that year, including a pair of masterful complete games, a 1-hitter against the Phillies and another solid game against Pittsburgh, but he also won over legions of fans. Dickey regressed somewhat in 2011, injuries and some inconsistency with his knuckleball played a part, but after a lousy start, he had a fine second half, despite his record ending up at 8-13. He finished his season on a high note; in spite of a no-decision, he carried a perfect game against the Phillies into the 7th inning in a game the Mets eventually won.

But nobody expected what was to come in 2012, when R.A. Dickey went from a good story to a National Phenomenon, an All Star, and a Cy Young Award Winner. He was already off to a pretty good start, 7-1 at the end of May, when June began and things really took off. Dickey and Johan Santana had pretty much been carrying the Mets to that point, and the night after Johan Santana's No Hitter, Dickey followed with a 7-hit Shutout of the Cardinals. On the heels of that game, Dickey salvaged a game in Washington with 7.1 shutout innings in a winning effort. Next, an outing in Tampa against their ace, David Price. And Dickey responded with a tremendous effort, out-pitching Price and ending up with a 1-hitter, striking out 12 and only losing his shutout in the 9th inning on an unearned run. And if we thought that was his peak, he outdid himself the next time out, throwing another 1-hitter in a shutout of the Orioles, with 13 strikeouts.Watching Dickey pitch had become akin to watching a symphony orchestra. Dickey had become a master of his craft, the Knuckleball, and he was now displaying just how good he could be. Soon, the accolades would begin to come his way, beginning with a selection to the All Star Game, and a scoreless inning in Kansas City. Dickey continued to win games in spite of the Mets falling apart in the second half, and by September, the chance for him to become the first Mets pitcher in over 20 years to win 20 games was well within reach. Dickey got that 20th win in the Mets final home game of the season, amid a raucous crowd that came out and rallied behind him all game. Dickey's final numbers for the year were outstanding by any measure. His 20-6 record was built on a 2.73 ERA, good for 2nd in the NL, with a league-leading 233.2 Innings Pitched, 230 Strikeouts, 5 Complete Games and 3 Shutouts. Dickey's season was justly noticed and rewarded when he took home the National League Cy Young Award, only the 3rd pitcher in Mets History to do so, the first since Dwight Gooden in 1985.

It was impossible to be a Mets fan and not like Dickey. Even when he struggled, fans seemed to support him. That's why the ending of the Dickey Story is so bittersweet. Despite the Mets attempting to work out a contract extension with Dickey, he became a valuable trade commodity. The Mets sorely wanted to keep him, and he sorely wanted to remain a Met. But with the team strapped in so many different areas, and the opportunity to improve those areas at the expense of Dickey available, the Mets traded Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays for an impressive haul of prospects. It was sad to see him go. But from the standpoint of management, it had to be done. Dickey understood that just as much as anyone. A classy, genuine individual, Dickey wrote a farewell column to Mets fans in the Daily News following the trade. He's a Blue Jay now, and we wish him well in Toronto. But we'll always have those three wonderful seasons here with the Mets, when he was truly a bright spot in a down era of Mets Baseball.

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50 Years in Cards: 2011

Part 50 of our 50-year Landsman...

What is it: 2011 Topps #290, Ike Davis

What makes it interesting: The design is OK. But just OK. The current era of Topps cards really isn't very special anymore. They appear to use the same design for Baseball and Football cards, take it or leave it. At least the design doesn't overpower the player photo.

Like David Wright, the jury is still out on Ike Davis. The son of bespectacled former American League Pitcher Ron Davis, Ike was a #1 Draft Pick by the Mets in 2008 and projected to be a slugger. After an ill-fated experiment involving Mike Jacobs at 1st Base, Ike arrived with the Mets in Late April. Debuting in #42 for Jackie Robinson night, rather than his regular #29, Ike singled in his first At Bat and later drove home a run. Mets fans were immediately enamored. Later, Ike showed that he was one of the few Mets on the roster who would have no trouble with Citi Field's spacious dimensions when he blasted his first Major League Home Run almost to the Shea Bridge. As it became more and more evident that Ike was a Bona Fide power threat, he was installed as the cleanup hitter by Jerry Manuel despite having only a month's experience in the Major Leagues. This didn't faze him; he made his hits count and by season's end had put together a very respectable rookie season, hitting .264 with 19 Home Runs and 71 RBI, good enough to finish 7th in Rookie of the Year Balloting.

Ike's 2011 season appeared to be off to a blazing start. By early May, he was hitting over .300 and leading the team with 7 Home Runs, many of which were of the tape measure variety, something he had made a regular occurrence. However, misfortune struck in Colorado when he collided with David Wright on a popup, injuring his ankle. Though the Mets medical staff, as they are wont to do, said he'd be back in a couple of weeks, Davis frustratingly ended up missing the remainder of the season with constant setbacks. How good could he have been? We'd have to wait until 2012.

2012 came, and Ike, despite being diagnosed with the mysterious Valley Fever, had a fine Spring Training. But once the season began, he didn't hit anything. For two months, we watched as Ike flailed away at pitches, rarely making solid contact and hitting well below .200. The hot word was that he needed to be sent back to the Minors to figure it out, but many teammates, and his manager came to his defense. Ultimately, they would be rewarded, as Ike found himself in June, and, although he wasn't able to pull his average up to a respectable level, managed to end the year, his first full one in the Majors, with a team-leading 32 Home Runs and 90 RBI. Consider that the majority of his power numbers came after June 1st, and it looks even more impressive. Included in his season were key Home Runs against the Yankees, Orioles and Astros, and a 3-Home Run game in Arizona.

The prevailing thought on Ike is that he's going to be a Dave Kingman-type, who can hit a ton of Home Runs while batting .220. I don't believe this to be true. Given that Ike basically missed an entire season, and then was sick all of Spring Training, it probably made some kind of sense that he'd start slowly. That doesn't make it good, but at least it's sensible. I think Ike Davis is, behind David Wright, probably the best hitter the Mets have in their lineup right now, and it's going to be interesting to see what he can do when he's healthy for a full season. I've said it multiple times, but Ike Davis is the kind of player that the Mets need most: a masher who can hit Home Runs in any ballpark at any moment, even if it's in Citi Field. And, most importantly, Ike is currently the Mets lone Jewish player, the first on the team since Scott Schoeneweis.

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50 Years in Cards: 2010

Part 49 of our 50-year Face of the Franchise...

What is it: 2010 Topps #60, David Wright

What makes it interesting: 2010 marked the year that MLB decided to only license Topps to produce Baseball Cards. Once again the only game in town, Topps' effort improved, if only slightly, with the '10s. There's a little too much design at work here, with the color circle sweeping across the edge of the card, which takes away the emphasis on the player photo. But at least you always know the team the player is on.

The book isn't yet closed on David Wright's career. But if anything is certain, it's that David Wright will become the most meaningful offensive player ever produced by the organization.

It seems as though Wright was warranted to be a Met from day one. A Norfolk, Virginia boy, David was raised on the Mets AAA team and grew up as a Mets fan. Selected as a compensatory pick in 2001 after the Mets lost Mike Hampton, Wright was heralded as a future star all the way up the ladder before making his Major League debut in 2004. Immediately handed the 3rd Base job on a full-time basis, Wright has never relinquished his hold on the position. He arrived on the scene with a professional attitude and the polish befitting a veteran, knocking out 14 Home Runs and driving home 40 that first half-season and only going up from there. He proved himself a star in his first full year in the Majors, batting .306 and driving in 102 runs along with 27 Home Runs. A hot start in 2006 earned him the first of currently 6 All Star Game appearances, and his defense developed to the point where he earned a pair of Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, Wright hit a then-career high 30 Home Runs to go along with his career high of 34 stolen bases, becoming the first Met since Howard Johnson to post a 30-30 season. Though injuries and a depleted lineup led to a down year in 2009, Wright hit the first Mets Home Run in Citi Field. By 2012, Wright began to make his mark on the franchise record books. Already the team leader in Doubles, Wright claimed Mets records for RBIs in April, Runs Scored in June, and with a scratch single on September 26th, passed Ed Kranepool with his 1,419th hit. His new 7-year contract almost ensures that he'll own basically every meaningful offensive record in Mets history by time he's through.

That's not to say that Wright has been perfect in his years here. He's come under fire for several instances where he's failed in the clutch. His failures, in particular down the stretch in 2008, and over the course of the season in 2009, have stood out because of the circumstances surrounding them. But Wright has had quite a few great clutch performances. A consummate team player, Wright has often had to bear the burden of carrying the team on his back, and it's caused him to press a bit more than he should. As he's grown, he's begun to learn to avoid this. The result was that in 2012, he got off to one of the best starts of his career. A bad slump in the second half dragged his numbers down, but considering that nobody around him was hitting, many pitchers were either pitching around him, or simply not giving him anything to hit. Wright's best years were when he had Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran surrounding him in the lineup. Early in 2012, he had people like Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy getting on base ahead of him, and allowing him to see good pitches to hit. When he's had good protection, he's had success. It's cliche, but it's also true.

I've mentioned before that it's tough to find Wright's real place in Mets history just yet, because it's a story that's still in progress. The numbers he's put up over his first 9 seasons have assured him a place in Mets History. The personal results are great, but ultimately, the Mets haven't reached the team goal that he and everyone watching would like to see. Wright's career has already placed him among the lofty heights of such Met luminaries as Hernandez and Piazza. A few more really good years and he could be considered among the real greats like Gooden and Strawberry. It's a long way from calling it a possibility right now, but should the Mets finally return to the Postseason and bring home a World Series Championship with Wright in the mix, it's quite possible that he could be considered among Tom Seaver as the very best to wear a Mets uniform. Time will tell.

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50 Years in Cards: 2009

Part 48 of our 50-year Ace...

What is it: 2009 Topps #310, Johan Santana

What makes it interesting: The design is a marked improvement of the kiddie crap that Topps rolled out in '07 and '08. It's not a vast improvement, but for a contemporary baseball card design, I suppose it's OK. But this set is also full of errors and variations, which left me with the impression that Topps sort of half-assed this one.

Johan Santana arrived with the Mets as a savior. He'll leave an Immortal.

In between, though the Mets as a team never achieved the greatness we'd hoped, Santana continually took the mound, often hurting, often in hopeless situations and pitched his heart out each and every time.

From the first time he took the mound in Florida on Opening Day of 2008, we knew we had something special with Johan. His resume, which featured a pair of Cy Young Awards with the Minnesota Twins, was impressive, which is why the Mets gave up a boatload of prospects and a boatload of money in order to get him. Though it took him a few games to hit his stride, once he got going, Johan proved himself worth every penny. Santana didn't lose a game after July 1st that season, going 9-0 and missing out on several other wins because the bullpen kept blowing his leads. So, he started pitching deeper into games. In that 2008 season, Santana was not just the Mets Ace, he was a horse. He led the league in Games Started, Innings Pitched and ERA, throwing 3 complete games and 2 shutouts, the latter of which came on the second to last day of the season, on three days' rest and a torn meniscus, in a game where he demanded the ball. That game right there showed everyone what kind of person Santana was. He put it all on the line in order to help the team.

Though injuries marred every other season he's been with the Mets, including wiping out his entire 2011 season, Santana  still provided several other moments of glory, including wins on Opening Day in 2009 and 2010, a big victory over the Yankees on a Sunday Night in 2010, and the night he not only shut out the Cincinnati Reds, but he also hit his first, and to this point only Major League Home Run.

But no game will ever stand out for him, for the Mets or for their fans more than the game he pitched on the night of June 1, 2012. That night, Johan Santana did the one thing no Mets pitcher could do for, to that point, 8,019 games in the 50 year History of the Mets. Only a handful of starts removed from major shoulder surgery that had cost him all of the 2011 season, Johan Santana went out and threw the first No Hitter in Mets History against the St. Louis Cardinals. He did it on a stamina-testing 134 pitches, something his manager would agonize over, but there was no way Santana was ever giving up the ball that night. Not when he worked through inning after inning without allowing a hit. Not with history so close. It was the same kind of determination we saw out of him on that final Saturday at Shea Stadium. Nothing was getting Johan Santana to give up the ball until he finished the job he started. And he did, with a flourish, striking out David Freese and pumping his fist before his teammates and a bizarre interloper in a Gary Carter jersey stormed him at the mound.

There couldn't possibly have been a better pitcher or a better person to hold the honor.

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50 Years in Cards: 2008

Part 47 of our 50-year Pitching Prospect...

What is it: 2008 Topps #171, John Maine

What makes it interesting: Now this is just ridiculous. Topps didn't do well with color splotches scattered on the '07 cards, so damned if they don't come back with the same hair-brained idea in '08 by placing the team name in hideous color balloons along a pasty white border. Some team names (ie Diamondbacks) were so long that Topps instead abbreviated the name rather than having a line of tiny bubbles. Ish.

John Maine ultimately turned into one of the bigger flash-in-the-pans in Mets history, although for several seasons, many of us held out hope that that wouldn't be the case. After arriving with the Mets prior to the 2006 season as an afterthought, a throw-in in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles that rid the Mets of Kris Benson and his trashy bride, Maine surprised everyone by ascending to the Major Leagues in July and immediately hopping into the Mets starting rotation. Though he struggled early, Maine found himself on a July night against the Astros, pitching a 4-hit shutout that eventually turned into a 26-inning scoreless streak. Though he would come back to earth a bit late in the season, Maine clearly proved he belonged, and would be vital in the postseason once Pedro Martinez went down with an injury. Maine figured to throw in relief in the playoffs, but when Orlando Hernandez also got hurt, Maine suddenly found himself shoved into the spotlight and handed the ball for a Game 1 start in the NLDS against the Dodgers. A lesser rookie might have wilted under the pressure, but Maine showed his fortitude by pitching 4.1 solid innings, not enough to win, but good enough to keep the Mets afloat. His start in Game 2 of the NLCS vs. St. Louis wasn't so hot, but come Game 6, with the Mets needing a victory to keep their season alive, Maine responded with an excellent outing, giving up 1 hit and no runs in 5.1 innings and picking up a crucial victory.

Given Maine's solid performance in '06, it was widely believed that he would develop further in the 2007 season. Expectations on him were high enough that he was the #1 Key Met on this Blog for 2007, in the first post by your author. Early on, Maine didn't disappoint, starting the '07 season red hot. He kicked off the season by throwing 7 shutout innings against the Cardinals, and later had a No Hitter into the 7th inning against the Marlins. By April's end, Maine was 4-0 with an ERA of 1.35, good enough to be named NL Pitcher of the Month. Maine fell back to earth rather sharply in May, but by late June had righted himself enough to garner All Star consideration, if not a selection. His second half was somewhat more of the same. Though he was a bit inconsistent, he was great when he was good, including an outing where he hit his first, and only, Major League Home Run against the Pirates, and a crucial victory in a game in Atlanta at the beginning of September. But his signature game came on the next to last day of the season. With the Mets collapsing and ill feelings all over the place, Maine stopped a 5-game losing streak and nearly No Hit the Marlins, taking a gem into the 8th inning and striking out a career high 13 in a blowout victory. But we know how the season turned out, and the good vibes generated from Maine's outing went for naught. Nonetheless, Maine's 2007 season was an undeniable success, as he went 15-10, with a 3.91 ERA and 180 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, Maine wouldn't ever build on that. In fact, Maine spent the remainder of his Mets career struggling to get back to that level. Though he had flashes of brilliance in 2008, including a near-shutout of the Dodgers, he struggled with high pitch counts and rarely went deep into games. Too often, Maine would get 2 strikes on a batter, but be unable to put him away. The result was that Maine would spend more time moping around the mound, generally frustrated with himself rather than getting things accomplished. But clearly, something wasn't right. He left a start in Philadelphia in July with shoulder problems, and eventually it was revealed that Maine was pitching with a bone spur in his shoulder. Maine went on the disabled list following a miserable outing against the Astros in August, and although he tried to come back, his season was ultimately over, finishing with a disappointing 10-8 record and 4.15 ERA.

Counted on to rebound in '09, Maine instead had a season that mirrored '08, where he would have tantalizing moments that would lead you to believe he was going to make The Leap, but then regressing. Another shoulder injury forced him to the DL in June, and there he stayed before returning in September to make a few token starts, but by then the season was long gone and Maine was simply trying to prove he could still get the job done. Given one final shot in 2010, Maine did nothing to inspire anyone, and eventually ended up embarrassing himself in the process. After one start where he opened up by throwing 12 consecutive balls, Maine was pulled from a game in Washington after 1 batter because Jerry Manuel thought he didn't look right. Maine protested and argued with his manager, but Manuel was right. Not only was Maine headed for the DL again, but that would prove to be his final outing with the Mets.

Whether it was injuries or inconsistency, John Maine could have had a brilliant career under a different set of circumstances. A quiet, generally likeable kid, Maine's strong start to his career endeared him to a lot of Mets fans, who generally rooted for him to succeed rather than bashing him for his failures. I include myself in this group. Since leaving the Mets, Maine hasn't resurfaced in the Majors, bouncing through the systems of the Rockies, Red Sox, Yankees and now Marlins. Hopefully, he'll find himself someday.

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