Welcome Aboard, Now get to Work

After almost a month of interviews and such, the New York Mets have decided on a new general manager. Sandy Alderson, who has been rumored to be the top choice since the beginning, was named the new general of the Mets organization at a press conference on Friday.

Ok Sandy, let me be one of the first to welcome you to the Mets family. Now enough of the plesantries, get to work. You have quite a work load on your plate right now. I admit your track record is quite impressive. Your work with the Oakland A's is well documented, yes you were the man. Working with the Commissioner's Office means that you know the ins and out of the MLB. Of course all of your experience, and the praise you are receiving from the Wilpons means nothing to me. As a fan I want to see results.

It's time to roll up your sleeves and get dirty Sandy. The Mets need some new support beams and a fresh coat of paint. Mr. Alderson you need to build a team and hire a manager that will work well together and bring results. Also you need to remind the great city of New York that the Mets are a team to be proud of.
So I wish you luck. You are going to need it.

Great Moments in Mets History: The Fightin' Spirit

One thing New Yorkers are known for is not taking any BS from anyone. Especially in 1986.

The New York Mets had a 13 game lead in the National League East, a lead they had held since the third week of the season. With the taste of victory on their lips, the Mets fought for every victory. Figuratively and literally.

In Cincinnati, the Mets were facing the Reds in the second game of a three game series. The game was tied 3-3 at the bottom of the tenth inning. Eric Davis, who was pinch running for Pete Rose, stole second and slid hard into third. After hitting the bag like a car into a telephone pole, Davis got into a fight with Mets third baseman, Ray Knight.The benches emptied and there was a hell of a brawl. Ray Knight emerged from the pile after sixteen minutes of fighting.

After everyone calmed down, the game continued for another four innings. Howard Johnson became the hero of the day with a three run homer, bringing the Mets to victory.

K-Rod & Mets work on repairing relationship

On Tuesday, the Mets and Francisco Rodriguez resolved their grievance over financial issues.

K-Rod forfeited the $3.1 million he was owed for the time missed due to injury at the end of last season. The Mets have taken Rodriguez off the disqualified list and will not turn his contract into a non-guaranteed deal.

The Mets wanted to convert K-Rod's contract to a non-guaranteed deal after he was arrested for attacking his girlfriend's father. He tore a ligament in his right thumb which caused him to miss the end of the season. The Major League Baseball Player's Association got involved shortly after. Now the Mets must now pay Rodriguez 411.5 million in 2011, and will owe him $17.5 million in 2012 if he plays 55 games next season.

Rodriguez is awaiting trial in November where he may face up to 2 years in prison.

Looking for Mister Right

For the past three weeks the New York Mets having been looking for a new general manager to replace Omar Minaya. COO Jeff Wilpon and assistant GM John Ricco have met with a few quality candidates so far. Dodgers assistant GM Logan White, White Sox Gm Rick Hahn, Red Sox assistant to the general manager Allard Baird, and former Diamondbacks Gm Josh Byrnes. Earlier today they met with Blue Jays special assistant to the general manager Dana Brown.

The person who is getting the most buzz is Sandy Alderson, the former Oakland A's general manager. Alderson is well known amongst baseball aficionados for his with the A's during the 1980's. Recently he has been working with the commisioner's office to help clean up steroid use. Alderson is also fighting to end corruption in the Dominican Republic. He most likely will be asked back for the second round of interviews with owner Fred Wilpon and president Saul Katz.

The Mets hope to get permission to speak with Texas rangers GM, and Queens native, Jon Daniels once the postseason is finished. Chuck Greenberg, co-owner of the Rangers, has told reporters that Daniels "isn't going anywhere."

Tribute to Tom Terrific

Today I wanted to talk about one of the greats in Mets history, Tom Seaver. The New York Mets has had many legendary players don the uniform, but Tom stands above them all. As of today Tom Seaver is the only player inducted into the baseball hall of fame who's plaque wears a Mets hat. Also his number, 41, is the only number retired by the New York Mets.

The man is just outstanding. Tom Seaver joined the weak Mets organization in 1967. Despite the team being one of the worst in the National League, Seaver won 16 games, had a 2.76 ERA, 170 strikeouts and won Rookie of the Year. In 1969, Tom was essential to the Mets' greatness. That year he won a record 25 games and his first Cy Young award. During the playoffs and World Series, he pitched close to perfect games. At season's end Sport's Illustrated awarded him "Sportsman of the Year."

A great quote about Tom Seaver is from Reggie Jackson, "Blind men come to the park just to hear him pitch." Since the World Series, Tom Seaver continued to shock and amaze. He tied for the record of a 19 strikeout game with Steve Carlton. For several years Seaver led the National League in strikeouts for five consecutive years from 1970 to 1976. He also won two more Cy Young awards in 1973 and 1975.

In 1985 Tom won his 300th victory while playing for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees.

In 1987 Tom Seaver retired with the New York Mets stating "I have used up all the competitive pitches in my arm." In 1988 The New York Mets retired his number, 41. In 1992 Tom was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage of votes ever.

Tom all I can really say is that you were surely terrific.

K-Rod hopes for plea deal

Thursday was a beautiful autumn day, perfect for bike rides and walks through the park. On Thursday, Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez had spent his afternoon at the Queens Criminal Court House. K-Rod was in court for a hearing for assault and criminal contempt charges for attacking his girlfriends father.

If you happened to miss any major New York City periodical or live under a rock for the past couple of months, allow me to explain to you the details of the case. In early August K-Rod punched his girlfriend's father, 53 year old Carlos Pena, pinned him against a wall, and a few security guards had to restrain him. All of this occurred after a game at Citi Field. So K-Rod was charged with assault and harassment. The judge also gave him a restraining order barring him from contacting his girlfriend, Daian Pena, and her father. Daian is the mother of Rodriguez's twins.

Apparently Rodriguez didn't quite understand the meaning of no contact. K-Rod sent his girlfriend 56 text messages in seven days, with messages ranging from:

"Baby I Love You" to

"Thank you for sinking me turning your back, take good care of my children... and now I see that your were with me because of the money to see that you family..."

Rodriguez's attorney is trying to claim that K-Rod is naive and didn't know he wasn't supposed to text her. Whatever dude, obviously you have some serious issues if you text someone 56 times in seven days. I would have given up at 25. The judge charged Rodriguez with seven counts of contempt, one charge for every day of texting.

So now K-Rod and his attorney are trying to work out a plea deal for when he returns to court in November. Personally I hope K-Rod does some time and not just a slap on the wrist. He brings a bad vibe the Mets and society just doesn't need right now. You can't just go flipping out on your loved ones and expect to get away with that.

2011 Hopes & Dreams

Now that the season is over, it's time to concentrate on 2011. With the search for a new GM and a new manager, getting everyone healthy, and fine tweaking the machine that is the NY Mets, it is going to be a long winter.

On Monday, when the Mets organization announced they were releasing Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, they already had a list a mile long of possible replacements. Assistant GM John Ricco, who is taking the reigns of GM until they fill the position, and ownership are hoping to start interviewing as soon as this week. Unsure of the type of person they are looking for, the Mets have a tough job ahead of them.

"I think we'll learn going through the process what's going to fit best here, and what kind of culture they want to bring that fits best for our organization," said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon.

The Mets hope to fill the General Manager position by the end of October. After that they will begin the search for a new manager.

Another difficult task the Mets owners must overcome with is a talented roster that is dealing with injuries and low esteem. At least eight players are under expensive contracts, limiting the Mets' ability to shop the open market. So they must hope and pray that Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran,Jason Bay and Jose Reyes will start next season healthy and ready to kick ass. David Wright will also need to continue to hold the team together. His positive winning attitude is key to help motivate his teammates. Of course if everything works out, the Mets could be the dynamic super team we all want them to be.

That is a ton of uncertainty to deal with in the off-season. The Mets owners won't be getting any rest anytime soon. Luckily it's still early, and there is plenty of time to make the necessary moves on the chess board.

NY Mets to Manuel and Minaya, "You're Fired!"

On Monday, October 4th, the Mets organization released Manager Jerry Manuel and General Manager Omar Minaya. It is the first step in restructuring the team in hopes of not repeating the past sad three years.

COO Jeff Wilpon and CEO Fred Wilpon expressed their disappointment with the direction the team had gone in a press conference.

"Our family has owned the New York Mets for a very long time. We've had a lot of good years and too many poor years," said Fred Wilpon. "I must say that the last four years have been the most painful to me."

It's about time in my opinion. Personally I am tired of rooting for a team that just can't seem to get the job done. Sure Omar Minaya brought in great players Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, and Johan Santana, but you have to be more than a one trick pony. You have to do more than just bring awesome players to the franchise, Minaya you needed to make better decisions with how the Mets were run. We fell in love with Jerry Manuel's up front, in your face attitude. Oh he entertained us with his philosophical way of dealing with things. But you made too many stupid mistakes, and that is unforgivable.

So now the New Yrok Mets are in search for their replacements. There are plenty names in the hat, some look promising. Like you, I will watching the Wilpon's closely over the next couple of months. This is their time to shine, so they better not let us down.

Another Disappointing Season Is Over

What can I say? That I'm surprised the New York Mets lost their last game of the season to the Washington Nationals in a disgusting fashion? That I'm feeling frustrated at my team having the potential to be MLB champions, yet ending up being jokes? Or that I'm glad that I don't have to go to bed mad anymore until next spring?

I could rant and rave about how the Mets should have been playoff contenders. That the management have made poor decisions. That they should have had a .500 season. That the Mets could have at least beat the Nationals in the last game of the season. But I won't, because I am a civil individual. I won't sit here and scream to God to bring my team some sense.

All I will say is that the New York Mets should spend the off-season wisely. Get healthy, fire who you need to fire, start practicing in December, whatever. Just do what you are supposed to do in 2011, WIN.

Mets Rally for Tenth Inning Win

The past couple of days have been rough for the Mets. With three losses in two days to the Milwaukee Brewers, The Mets were unable to reach their goal of having a .500 record for the season. Then on Friday Morning rumors started to fly around stating that GM Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel are on their way out.

It seems the NY Mets management and the fans are ready to start worry about 2011. Except the NY Mets players. To them there is a season to finish to the best of their ability.

Luckily for them the last three games of the season are against the Washington Nationals. Last night the team was able to pull together and come out with a tenth inning victory. Pat Misch pitched an excellent game, with ten strikeouts in ten innings. Hisanori Takahashi became the first player since 2006 to earn ten wins and eight saves in a season.

Rookie Ike Davis also made some noise last night. With a solo home run in the fourth inning, Davis' has 19 homers for the season and ties Ron Swoboda for second on the team's all-time rookie list. Davis also hit in his 71st run, tying Ty Wigginton for second on that all-time rookie list. Darryl Strawberry is first on both rookie lists.

In the tenth inning, Josh Thole knocked one out of the park for the win. It was Thole's first game winning home run of his career. "First time," Thole said, laughing. "I didn't know what to do when I got to home plate. It was exciting."