By the Way, Since You Asked

Well, maybe you didn't ask, but I'm answering anyway. Mets2Moon covered the National League predictions, but I'm going to weigh in with my picks, just to go on record:

NL EAST
Mets
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Nationals

NL CENTRAL
Brewers
Cardinals
Astros
Cubs
Reds
Pirates

NL WEST
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Padres
Giants
Rockies

The Piano Has Been Drinking, Not Me

I continue to believe in, and evangelize for, the idea that the Mets' pitching is in better shape than many believe. And it's not through some SNY-infused state of blind, obedient optimism either. On the morning of John Maine's first start, that is, the shore of the allegedly murky waters that exist beyond the top, 40-year-old-plus part of the rotation, it seems an appropriate time to investigate whether or not I'm crazy. So it's comforting to know that in insisting on my sanity I have an ally: Peter Gammons (ESPN Insider required to view the link).

Glavine is a given, constantly adjusting. El Duque, not so much for the six-month haul because of physical questions. But Randolph and Peterson believe John Maine (6-2, 2.93 in his last dozen starts) will be a front-liner, and Peterson insists that Oliver Perez has his delivery straightened out to where it was in 2004, when he led the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (230 K's, 198 IP) and had a 2.98 ERA. Remember, during the 2002 World Series, Barry Bonds said that the then-Padre had "the best stuff of any left-hander in the game." They love Mike Pelfrey and his power sinker, although some of his Binghamton stats (especially dominance of left-handed hitters and better than 2/1 groundball to strikeout ratio) were very good, there is concern that until he develops more consistent breaking stuff, he may lack a put-away, swing-and-miss pitch.

I think what may be more important to consider, and I hinted at this in an earlier post, is that this rotation is really not that much rockier than last season's. Straight from the Mets' ESPN.com team page, here are last season's starting pitchers by total starts:

Tom Glavine (32)
Steve Trachsel (30)
Pedro Martinez (23),
Orlando Hernandez (20)
John Maine (15)
Alay Soler (8)
Oliver Perez (7)
Brian Bannister (6)
Dave Williams (5)
Victor Zambrano (5)
Jose Lima (4)
Mike Pelfrey (4)
Geremi Gonzalez (3)

The team, as you might recollect, won 97 games.

It's worth pointing out two things as cautionary notes. One, they won a lot of one-run games last season, which means they were officially a "lucky" team. Two, the division, not to mention the rest of the league, has caught up with them a little (or maybe more than a little). But for all you panicked FAN callers out there (if there are any; I haven't really been listening), this is unlikely to be a crash-and-burn situation. For the record, here's the official line, again from Gammons:

"Look, we were willing to go to five years on Barry Zito. We bid high on Daisuke Matsuzaka [$42M], but we liked what we have enough to only go after certain guys," says GM Omar Minaya.

"I'm telling you," says pitching coach Rick Peterson, "we're going to be a lot better than people think. You don't think we scrambled last year?"

"We will be fine," says rock-steady manager Willie Randolph.

Ring This
We can't turn back the clock to October, so if the only avenue of revenge available to the Mets at the moment is to fuck up a perfectly good ring ceremony, banner-raising, et al, then I'm thrilled they're getting the job done. Get out your brooms, fellas.

That Cardinal outfield is in really terrible shape, and that's just an objective observation, not gloating. Poor Skip Schumaker and So Taguchi look lost, Preston Wilson is way past it, and they'll probably be running Scott Speizio out there before too long. If they don't make a trade, they'll be seriously hurting. Of course, with what can politely be called a lack of surplus starting pitching, I'm not sure how they make that deal.

And We're Off...

We convened at a convivial East Village bar to take in last night's opener. Miller and Morgan mercifully muted, the game unfolded pretty much as well as any Met fan could have hoped. Four double plays helped out a nice start from Glavine. It was good to see Joe Smith get in there, even if it was sort of a rocky appearance, and curious that Feliciano started that eighth, that Willie didn't just go straight to Heilman for that inning, but you can't complain.

Here's a fun random note from Elias Sports Bureau about Paul LoDuca:

It was the fourth consecutive season in which Lo Duca recorded a multiple-hit game on Opening Day -- the longest current streak in the majors, pending Pat Burrell's results on Monday.

Very gratifying to see the Cardinals looking so shitty. Yadier Molina batting fifth? Preston Wilson batting second coming off a .307 OBP year? Kip Wells getting the next start? Uh . . . good luck, guys.

I decided to invest in the mlb.tv video/audio package again, so I probably won't be leaving the house this summer, except to go to Shea Stadium. In a couple hours the rest of the league gets going with their openers, and I'll be flipping around among the radio broadcasts and not getting much work done. I've said it before: I am very, very ready for baseball season.

Turn The Page...

"It was probably for about 10-15 minutes last night that I was basically unable to speak. I stood, walked around and listened to other people at 11th Street, but I didn't speak at all. After the Cardinals took the lead, and after living the last week on a horrible, twisted roller coaster of frayed nerves and torn emotions, I just couldn't muster up the energy to say anything anymore.

I didn't want to talk about the game and I told several people as much. And if I was perceived as somehow being rude, well, I'm not sorry.

Funny how things can turn in Baseball. One pitch. A move made. A move not made. A ball caught. A ball not caught.

And something that looked so easy can slip away so quick.

And after 20 seasons of watching this team, and immersing myself in them for the last 7 months, using them as my escape, still, it seems like it's always destined to end up breaking my heart and making me wonder why I continue to put myself through this. Why do I root?

Why do I root?

A move? A non-move? No. I cannot and will not blame Heilman. He has been the man all season, and he deserved to pitch the 9th inning.

You can't win if you don't hit.

A pitch? Maybe. A couple in game 2, and another last night.

You can't win if you don't hit.

A ball caught? Can a defensive play spur a team on to victory? One of the greatest catches you'll ever see?

You can't win if you don't hit.

That about says it all.

I feel like I've died about 50 times in the last week. I'm not even sure if I'm making any sense right now, because functionally, I'm dead. The Mets have made me completely insane. I don't know if I've slept more than 3 hours on any given night in the last week. El Guapo, Shirts And Blouses and I spent most of the game making up nonsense words because none of us have slept. And none of us could sit still.

Until it was over.

And I could no longer speak.

I'm sure, someday, I'll look back on this season and think about how great it was, and what a wild ride it was, and all the great games I went to, and how great the playoff run was. But I can't do that right now. I just can't do that right now.

Someday, I will..."

-Mets2Moon, October 20, 2006

That was how it ended last year. I suppose we've all been carrying that feeling around all winter, waiting for today. Last season was a wild ride indeed. It was a team and a season unlike any other, roaring away from the gate like no Mets team I'd ever been around to witness. Waltzing through the regular season and running away with the title. Sure, the road had its bumps, and yes, we were shorthanded going into the Postseason, but still, you couldn't help but feel confident.



And we wiped away LA in three. But the Cardinals would be a different matter. The series was totally neck and neck, back and forth the whole way through. Neither team could grab a toehold, and if they did, the other team was there to take the momentum right back. A sterling effort in the 6th game put the Mets in position in Game 7, ready to take it at home.

And that one evening that still haunts me. Nerves. A pitcher who, a few weeks ago , I didn't want to see anywhere near the playoffs. Scraping for an early run, only to have the Cardinals come back. A miracle, streaming into the air out of nowhere as Endy seemed to grow wings to pull the ball back in. Still, no momentum gained. And coming down to the wire, I still felt confident. And just when it seemed like everything was

And suddenly, there was no more. No next chapter. A story unfinished.

But tonight, it starts again. The new chapter begins.

Hopefully, it ends the right way this time.

"Here I am, on the road again.

There I am, up on the stage.

Here I go, playing star again.

There I go, turn the page."

-Bob Seger

Opening Day

I know, I know, I missed the Big Blog Roundup on Friday. Between being legitimately busy at work, wanting to leave the previews up high for another day, and gathering my thoughts for tonight's opener, I knew you guys would forgive me.

In Ballclub news there's two pieces of business to take care of. First, we got a new template for the site, as you can see. Second, we posted our 2007 previews this week. Mets2Moon took care of the National League on Tuesday and I followed up with the American League Thursday.

Here's a few scattered thoughts for the best day of the year:

BP
To warm up for tonight's opener, catch the SNY Mets Classic at 3:00: it's the September 18 division-clincher against Florida, which was a very thoughtful birthday present to me from the team. Thanks, guys!

Pregame Jitters
Amazin' Avenue has the opening day lineup and, for all the fretters out there, reviews the biggest question marks going into last season. ("Pedro Feliciano? Really? Darren Oliver? Really?"). It's a good point. There are always things that make you nervous going into a season. And it's never what you worry about that sinks you, and sometimes of course nothing sinks you, and you win! Remember the starting rotation going into last season:

• Pedro Martinez
• Tom Glavine
• Steve Trachsel
• Victor Zambrano
• Brian Bannister

Do you feel more nervous or less nervous about this year's five? Personally, I'm fractionally more nervous, but that's about it. Mike Pelfrey got knocked around yesterday, which is a good sign. You don't want him to start out too comfortable.

The Eddie Kranepool Society also gives their take on the final roster.

Memories of Mediocrity
The Mets Are Better than Sex has an enjoyable occasional feature called In Memoriam, where they revisit some not-so-notable Mets of years past. You know, in case you wanted a reminder of the unique charms of Butch Huskey and Doug Sisk.

In 1990 an 18-year-old Butch Huskey signed a 11-year-old El Guapo's glove after a Kingsport Mets game in which the K-Mets pitcher (whose name is lost to history) pitched a no-hitter. (El Guapo is Southern by birth, a Brooklynite by the grace of God.) The glove, like Butch, is long gone.

* * *

And in conclusion, let's not forget that besides being opening day, April 1 is also April Fool's Day, and as such is the anniversary of George Plimpton's Sports Illustrated hoax The Curious Case of Sidd Finch. Where's that guy now? We could use another righty for the bullpen.

All right everyone, play ball!