Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot
What happened to the mediocre team I knew and loathed?Some of us knew that, despite the flaws in this roster, the Mets had enough talent to compete and even win this division. But this is more than a little absurd. They've not only won nine games in a row, but they've won those games by a combined score of....wait for it....54-19. That's fifty-fucking-four to nine-fucking-teen. Not to mention four shutouts in the past week. Not to mention outhitting the Giants and the Rockies in the past six contests by a combined total of....wait for it again...58-20. Not to mention Mike Pelfrey suddenly looking like Randy Johnson circa 1995, not to mention Carlos Delgado mashing the ball, not to mention Jose Reyes "quietly" putting together an extremely solid season, not to mention Ollie Perez suddenly regaining his sanity, not to mention doing all this despite missing their starting LF, RF, and 2B....I'd say happy days are back at Shea.
My favorite win during this entire streak, without a doubt, was Friday night, when Ollie and Aaron Cook were locked up in a tight, crisply-played 1-1 contest until Damion Easley sent a rocket over the centerfield fence to put the Mets in front in the 8th. Prior to that, I was doing some serious yelling and fist-pumping as I watched AARON HEILMAN (of all people) whiff two consecutive Rockies to get out of a bases-loaded, 1-out jam in the 7th. Just a tremendously exciting game, one of those 1-run games that good teams will win and bad teams will lose (the Mets had lost a shitload of those games in the past 6 months). I made Flitgirl quite cross by refusing to go out to dinner until this one was over.
I'll send you into the All-Star break with the immortal words of Hall of Famer, prophet, seer, and all-around intellectual deity Joe Leonard Morgan, who uttered this timeless classic last night:
"If you pitch well, you hit well, and you play good defense, you'll win."
Everybody got that?
posted by Toasty Joe at 10:10 AM
30 Comments:
I was pretty skeptical of Jerry Manual, and I don't know how long his style will work, but he's pushing all the right buttons at the moment. 9 wins in a row is impressive, even if 6 of them are against SF and Colorado.
2:03 PM
These pase nine games have been shades of that 1986 dominance--here's hoping the all star break doesn't ice 'em.
4:14 PM
Can we talk mid-year Yankee grades>
1. A-Rod: A minus. He would get an A plus if he didn't miss time due to injury.
2. Mussina: A. I thought he was all washed up.
3. Giambi: D-. This guy is making $22 million/year to hit .250, not play the field, not run and barely drive in 50 runs.
4. Jeter: C-. Another guy making $20 million plus for hitting well under .300 with mediocre power numbers and poor defense.
5. Cano: F. .240?
6. Melky: F. .240?
7. Damon: B. Back on the HGH.
8. Pettite: B. Back on the HGH.
9. Rivera: A. Back on the HGH.
10. Posada: D. Injuries have limited him.
11. Farnsworth: A. This hombre is my favorite guy in pinstripes.
12. Girardi: C. Average performance. But he gave an A plus performance for crying when Murcer croaked last week.
13. Hank Steinbrenner: A plus. The apple does not far fall from the tree.
Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio?
5:08 PM
I think I'm going to get struck by lightning for laughing at 12. My only issue is with 13, which I would change to A++++. I heart Hank and his ridiculous, two-bit imitation of his father.
5:40 PM
Pat, weren't you the same one that called Toasty, Sr. "delusional" a few weeks back? I do hope you are enjoying that fine plate of crow.
5:45 PM
The boys are on fire, that's for sure. When Tatis, Delgado, and Easley are all hot at the same time, you're gonna win some games.
7:39 AM
I need to share my favorite Joe Morganism from Sunday night's game, which came after Beltran's 1st-inning bomb: "If you hit 3-run homers early in the game, you have a chance to influence the outcome of the game."
Someone get this man more money.
9:55 AM
Sojo,
I'm a bit confused about your post, but I'm game to respond. I actually agree with most of your grades, though not your (mostly) nonsensical accompanying commentary (how dare you besmirch Mo Rivera?!). Overall, the Yankees and their manager are a solid C/C- this year.
The one that is way off base is Giambi. Yes, his batting average is mediocre, but he's 8th in the AL in OPS (.004 behind Josh Hamilton) and is on pace for 35 HR and 100 RBIs. Plus, he's played a halfway decent 1st base this season (61 games in the field). He's still a cheater and 300% overpaid, but he's at least been a solid B+ as a contributor.
Also, one point I've been saving that got lost when Toasty meandered to Brooklyn for a few weeks. Say what you will about Jeter's declining bat, but you would NEVER see him slam down his glove in front of 50,000 fans because his 1B made a bad play but he got charged with the error. Jeter may be coasting on his rep and his "intangibles" at this point in his career, but I still take him over Reyes in a heartbeat, even at 2-3X the salary.
You can keep the 5 extra HRs and 30 extra stolen bases that Reyes brings. The Mets will never win with a selfish, lazy, .205 BA-during-September-collapse "star" as one of their marquis players.
11:01 AM
"You can keep the 5 extra HRs and 30 extra stolen bases that Reyes brings."
What about the 16 extra runs, 15 extra walks, 7 extra triples, 5 extra doubles, 19 extra hits, 18 extra batting average points, 22 extra OBP points, and, for good measure, one extra RBI? You throwing those back too for the guy who makes people swoon over routine plays at SS?
11:12 AM
Lurker - perhaps you did not read the quotes from Jose after that game. He was mad at himself for making the error. But don't let his words get in the way of your mind reading abilities.
I love when Yankee fans, who worship Paul "broken bats" O'Neill, chime in about players who show frustration on the field and how a Yankee would never do that.
It's great.
11:17 AM
Ed, HUGE difference between being annoyed at yourself and throwing a hissy fit because your teammates' play impacted your stats. I don't care what kind of spin Reyes came up with post-game-- Delgado failed to make a fairly routine play, and Reyes showed his opinion of his 1B.
Toasty, if getting your stats were all that mattered, A-Rod would be the most beloved player of our era. You name me one Yankee fan (or Ranger fan, or Mariner fan) over the age of 12 who would've shed a tear if he walked last year.
I'm sitting in my office overlooking 42nd and 6th, waiting for Jeter and A-Rod to come riding down the red carpet. A-Rod's stats are infinitely better than Jeter's. I know who I'll be cheering for.
12:23 PM
Well, I didn't know we were arguing over who was more "beloved." I mean, Scott Brosius was a far more beloved third baseman in the Bronx than A-Rod ever will be. Doesn't mean John Q. Yankee Fan would take Brosius over A-Rod as their starting third baseman (unless, of course, he's completely delusional).
12:31 PM
Lurker - How do you know he wasn't really pissed at himself? Considering the # of errors this year, one more isn't going to hurt him all that much.
We have no idea what was running thru his head when that happened. To say otherwise is amateur psychology.
Now, if you want my opinion on if it was stupid, sure, he should not have done it, even being mad at himself.
The guy is held under a microscope more than any other Met at this time, and in the past 10 years (if not more). He gets the vast majority of the blame for September from media and baseball fans (who all forget the fact that the piching blew several games, and even DW cost the team a game with an error, not to mention anemic hitting from Delgado and others).
And people still bring it up, and still say he is struggling, despite stats so far this year that approach 2006 levels, and even exceed in some areas.
It's total horseshit.
3:19 PM
Pat, weren't you the same one that called Toasty, Sr. "delusional" a few weeks back? I do hope you are enjoying that fine plate of crow.
I needed to SLEEEPPP on those comments...Usually before I comment I SLEEEPPPP on them, but now I needed to change my DECCCISSSION.
4:02 PM
"I'm sitting in my office overlooking 42nd and 6th, waiting for Jeter and A-Rod to come riding down the red carpet. A-Rod's stats are infinitely better than Jeter's. I know who I'll be cheering for."
I would hope both.
But I'm guessing just Captain Intangibles, the man who singlehandedly led the Yankees to all those World Series victories. Odd that he hasn't done so lately though. A great leader such as he should be able to lead the team to more rings no?
Or was he maybe not the reason for all the rings, perhaps he was just a part of the whole.
hmmm.
Oh, and before we go further, i take nothing away from his stats in the postseason. What I do think is that his expoits were overblown. He was surrounded by a lot of great players, as well as some not-so-great players (see brosius, Scott) who had good playoffs.
But to listen to many Yankee fans, and the media, he all but won those rings by his lonesome.
4:11 PM
For the last time: Jeter's a good player, but he doesn't have 4 rings because "he's a winner." He has 4 rings because of Clemens, Cone, El Duque, Key, Wells, Pettitte, Nelson, Stanton, Wetteland, and Rivera. It's really not that complicated. If Barry Larkin played in NYC behind that kind of a pitching staff, he'd be legendary.
4:22 PM
Toasty and I are in agreement on Jeter.
4:28 PM
Here's my question - who would you want - Jeter in his prime or Reyes?
4:32 PM
Here's my question - who would you "want - Jeter in his prime or Reyes?"
I'll let you know when Reyes enters his prime, you dope.
Reyes will compare very favorable to captain intangibles when all is said and done.
4:47 PM
First of all, let's get this straight. Jeter's nickname around baseball is "Captain Herpes", not "Captain Intangibles" (unless you consider crotch rot an intangible).
Secondly, Jeter is no leader. He holds grudges, pouts and cheats on his taxes.
Thirdly, the guy is a punch and judy hitter with average speed, no pop and limited range in the field. There are 20 shortstops I would rather have on my team right now than him (let alone Reyes, who would be in the top 4). The fact that he hit 2nd in the lineup last night was a joke.
Fourthly, Jeter looks like he is the offspring of ET and Kid from Kid n Play.
Finally, I am glad he is a Yankee. I hope that Hank keeps paying him $25 million/year to underachieve. Mark my words, Lurker - the Yankees will never win anything again with Jeter as their shortstop.
7:39 AM
Luis, you left out the most aggrevating part about Jeter: his douchebag habits when he's at the plate. Has anyone ever seen a player crowd the plate like Jeter does then stick their ass out at the last moment when the pitch hits the catcher's mitt? That's some bush league psych out bullshit man...
And the less said about his fielding circus act the better.
8:03 AM
Rickey - how about that annoying Chrysler commercial where he pretends to be a mild mannered car salesman (aka Clark Kent)? I love when he underhand tosses the car keys.
9:25 AM
Sojo, if you look at Jeter's career numbers, the punch & judy claim is just silly. His career slugging percentage is 25 points higher than Reyes to date, and he's averaged 4 more homers per year. It's not surprising that his 34 year-old self doesn't have as many home runs as his 26 year-old self-- that's how baseball supposed to play out. And Reyes' numbers are skewed by 2006, which I think will be an aberration when all is said and done.
New topic? When Dave Winfield (one of my childhood heroes) quickly held up a Yankee hat and then put his Padres cap back on, I was flabbergasted. Ten minutes later, Gary Carter did the exact same thing with his Expos cap. Did you guys have the same visceral reaction? I know that both guys had some of their best seasons outside of NY, but how do you not pay homage to all of the NY fans who have been screaming themselves hoarse all day?
10:23 AM
Ummm, you do know Reyes is on pace to meet or exceed his 2006 totals in just about every category, right? What I'm most excited about is he's going to destroy his BB total from 2006, which shows me he's learning how to have better at-bats.
I missed the Gary Carter thing, but he's pretty much dead to me after the whole "fire Willie, hire me!" debacle.
10:38 AM
Carter is a fat douchebag and Winfield never should have left San Diego.
And Lurker - I was merely claiming that Jeter is a punch and judy hitter NOW (and has been for the last several years). Back when the entire Yankee team was on HGH, he may have been able to hit with some measure of power, but now he settles for the little dunkers to right field (and Tim McCarver still drools over his ability to hit the ball the other way - wake up Tim - the guy can't get around on a fastball anymore!!).
10:52 AM
Lurker,
Do you work for HBO or Bank of America?
2:41 PM
I'm a shameless HBO pimp. Log onto HBO.com now and submit your questions for Bob Costas' live baseball town hall event tonight at 9 pm!
3:09 PM
I work across the street at the new BOFA building
3:18 PM
Small world. Hey, can you guys see into our offices through the tint, or are we blacked out completely? Always wondered if people across the street could see my computer screen. You know, in case I'm reviewing a Real Sex segment or some such.
3:24 PM
"Reviewing", very nicely worded. As far as I can tell, we can't see into your offices.
7:26 AM
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