The best of 2009

From 269 other posts in calendar year 2009, I have selected my 10 favorite, chronoligcal order, with a bonus 11th post:

Jan 19 - my trip to the MeiGray Shea Warehouse to pick up my items.
Jan 31 - a 10 post series on my last visit to Shea a few weeks before the last pieces were torn down.
March 1 - the arrival of my Shea seats
April 4 - my first impressions of Citi Field
April 14 - some of my early season impressions on Citi Field and the 2009 Mets
April 26 - my review of Citi Field after my first real game
May 2, May 10 - How I would fix Citi Field and one more idea
July 5 - My take on how MLB might be if it used tennis's replay system and technology
July 19 - A 4 post series on the MeiGray Shea Memorabilia auction
Sept 27-28 - A 4 post series reflecting on my last games at Shea
Oct 6 - My season-ending letter to Fred Wilpon


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How does this decade remember the Mets?

So, the decade of the 2000's, the first of the new millenium comes to a close in about 2 weeks. 10 seasons of New York Mets baseball.

How does this decade remember the Mets?

Without commentary, let me give you a season-by-season statistical recap.
2000: 94-68, 1 game back, 2nd place, Wild Card winners, NLDS winners, NL Champions
2001: 82-80, 6 games back, 3rd place
2002: 75-86, 26 1/2 games back, last/5th place
2003: 66-95, 34 1/2 games back, last/5th place
2004: 71-91, 25 games back, 4th place
2005: 83-79, 7 games back, tied 3rd/4th places
2006: 97-65, Division winners by 12 games, NLDS winners
2007: 88-74, 1 game back, 2nd place
2008: 89-73, 3 games back, 2nd place
2009: 70-92, 23 games back, 4th place

a total record of 815-803 with 6 seasons above .500. 1 Division title, 1 Wild Card, 2 NLDS series victories, and 1 NL championship, in 2 playoff appearances. 4 seasons where they finished over 20 games back of the division lead. And the 2 collapses.

So how do historians and fans look back on the past 10 seasons of New York Mets baseball?
- positively (the above .500 total record and a Division title and an NL pennant in 2 playoff appearances)
- negatively (4 seasons in the toilet and 2 collapses)


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Exclusive - Mets get their Number 2 guy

The Mets have signed Sidd Finch. The 53 year old pitcher hasn't been seen since he announced his retirement on April 8, 1985. Scouts in Port St. Lucie say he has lost a bit of zip on his fastball, only down to 95 mph. He still projects to be the Mets #2 starter in 2010.


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Opinion revisited - A Pattern of Bad Behavior

I'm re-posting this opinion that I shared earlier this year. I wanted to get this out there for discussion before we get too far into the free agency period and Winter Meetings. I've also tweaked some of the wording after sleeping on it for a few months and discussing it with a few people in the meantime.

The Mets are in a bit of a tailspin, and I'm not surprised by it. This fits into a loose pattern, and I can only go by what I lived through as a fan starting with the 1987 season.

• After the Mets lost in the 1988 NLCS to the Dodgers, the team started to slide the next season. It was a series they should have won, and after it, things got really bad for a few seasons. It really wasn't until Bobby Valentine was hired as manager and Steve Phillips came in as GM before things turned around.
• After the Mets lost Game 1 of the 2000 World Series to the Yankees, the team started to slide the next season. They shouldn't have won the series, but they shouldn't have lost that first game either. They really really had a chance to win and let it get away. Then things got bad. It wasn't until Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph came in to save the franchise that things turned around.
• After the Mets lost Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS to the Cardinals, the team started to slide. We all remember the 7 game lead with 17 to play in 2007, and the bullpen collapse of 2008. 2009 was just the next paragraph in that story. 2010 probably will be too.

You can pinpoint moments in 1988 (Kirk Gibson in game 4 of the NLCS), 2000 (mental mistakes that I have partially blocked out of my consciousness in game 1 of the WS), and 2006 (not scoring after the Chavez catch in game 7 of the NLCS).

You can see the parallels and patterns - sliding from 1989 to the "world team money could buy" in 1992 and rebounding around 1995/1996; sliding from 2001 to the Art Howe era ending in 2004 and rebounding in 2005; sliding from September 2007 into 2008 and falling fast in 2009.

By comparison, Atlanta won their division every year from 1991-1993 and 1995-2005. They failed in the playoffs many times, got back up, and were right back the next year. The Phillies have been in 3 years in a row, built up from 2007 to 2008 to win it all. The Mets aren't in the same class as those teams are/were.

Now I know that the players weren't around for all of these slides. Most were only around for one. It's not necessarily them. It's the culture. What they built up with Frank Cashen was great (maybe he's a candidate for the Mets Hall of Fame). But once things started to get away from them, that was it. Even a broken clock it right twice a day. That probably best explains most of their success in the last 20 years.

Looking towards 2010 and the free agent market, I just don't see the Mets making a big move and spending the money, and even if they do, I don't see them being one player away from turning things around. They just weren't good in 2009 and showed a severe lack of depth. That can't be fixed by one player.

It ain't pretty. I can see why Fred & Jeff Wilpon want to ignore this history, but they're doomed to repeat it.

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