What was Omar Thinking? What were we thinking?

Omar should have known better. We all should have known better. Pick up the 7.5 Million dollar option on an outfielder that only played in 87 games in 2007 and 98 games in 2006? Is that at least prorated?

We fell in love with the .392/.524/.341 OBP/SLG/AVG line and thought it was a bargain at seven and a half million. We rationalized that no other outfielder with that kind of production could be picked up for near that price. Even if he plays in 120 games, it’s worth it right?

Alou costs much more than 7.5 million dollars. With Carlos Delgado’s bat slowing, the Mets desperately needed a productive, solid and dependable bat for the middle of the order and they got one…for half the season…maybe.

Back in October the Mets were still reeling in the aftermath of one of the greatest collapses in baseball history. Glavine was leaving (though most fans didn’t mind that so much) and a season full of expectation and promise was left to only look to next year.

I signed off on the deal back then. I gave it a thumbs up and a knowing nod. I convinced that Alou was going to find a fountain of youth and have a healthy season for the first time since he was a Cub. Then I set out on a quest to find a real unicorn. He didn’t and I haven’t. Who knew?

The Mets expect Alou back in the lineup in May after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia. And by expect, they mean hope.

With Castillo now day to day and likely headed to the DL at some point, unless the Mets elect to play with 24 and an emergency player, Angel Pagan will now hit in the two hole. Pagan, a spring training standout, will hit in behind Jose Reyes who apparently has forgotten that not swinging at four balls grants you first base. Wright and Beltran are still solid and then you have Delgado who is still effective middle-in, but vulnerable outside, Ryan Church, Damion Easley and Brian Schneider.

Right now, save for the three and four hole, none of that lineup is Murderer’s Row or even 2006’s offense that gleaned significant production from the entire lineup, one through eight.

Moises Alou should have been an expensive luxury. A fourth outfielder. A DH for inter-league play, possibly a World Series. Moises Alou should have been the Mets answer to Gary Mathews Jr.: a extravagance made feasible by location in the best market in the country, not someone to count on as an everyday outfielder and lineup staple. It would have better served Omar to find a productive and non-injury prone corner outfielder to protect Beltran. The There’s no one better available than Alou notion should have addressed the question as to the availability of a better outfielder on the market than a combination of Angel Pagan, Endy Chavez and Marlon Anderson?

The offensive lag may be a hangover from a spring training shortened by injuries to nearly the entire squad. The Mets may shake off the cobwebs and start producing runs in copious amounts. Alou may return in May and stay healthy for the rest of the season. That may have been a horn on the head of that horse I saw this morning. Watching these first games, I have confidence in scoring chances only when the Mets number three and four hitters are at the plate.

And we should have known better.

This is getting depressing. The fact that this was the last season opener Shea will host is merely a sad footnote. Vintage Oliver Perez today:

Step 1. Cruse through the order
Step 2. Lose the plate
Step 3. ?????????
Step 4. Profit

Though this was disappointing (speculate on your own as to your personal level of devastation), it’s not cause to start the panic. The Mets had what was essentially a shortened spring training due to injury, the sample size on the season is too small to indicate any kind of trend and the Phillies are a legitimate National League contender. The sky isn’t falling. Yet.

That said, Jose Reyes has got to draw more walks to get on base. Again, it’s a small sample size, but one walk in 27 at bats is not confidence inspiring especially when coupled with a .250 OBP. It’s been said many times, by many other Mets bloggers and writers that the as Jose Reyes’ season goes, the Mets season will go with it. That is a fairly obvious statement since Reyes leads off the offense, thus drawing more at bats, Reyes also sets the tone, for what that’s worth.

A six game period is a small sample size, so this is anecdotal at this stage of the season. Six home runs in six games is troublesome though half of those homers were surrendered by pitchers now on the DL (Wise 1 and Pedro 2)

This is depressing me…

Carlos Delgado’s solo shot was a temporary stress release. At this stage in Carlos’ career, those will likely be much like Mike Piazza in his last years in New York: impressive and infrequent.

Sample size aside, this season hasn’t started out as confidence inspiring.

With El Duque having a setback (surprise), tomorrow Mike Pelfrey’s performance can change that.

One more thing, Wally Mathews, in his game recap, shows he’s a class act:

Granted, the Phillies won, 5-2, but as long as you don’t measure success by the final score, there were plenty of positives to take home.

Rick Astley got some airplay. Jimmy Rollins got hurt. It was sunny. And even though Tuesday felt a lot less like the start of something new than a continuation of something old, you just know it can get only better.

Stay classy Wally!

With all apologies to Fire Joe Morgan (who does this much better and funnier), I couldn’t, in good conscience let this pass with out it’s due mockery…

Well here we are on a Monday and who else to judge the state of sporting world with anecdotal evidence and poorly thought out pronouncements. This one isn’t the worst thing in the world like the last time Pete explored Mets related issues. (Note: The article was removed from the website shortly after I posted it on this site. All other columns are available dating back to January) I probably could have let this go except for the fact it’s completely arbitrary, lacks any direction and I hate people that refer to themselves as “we.” Enjoy:

Monday Morning Quarterback
SPORTS LEAGUES, PLEASE GIVE THESE GUYS A BREAK

The too-long seasons mean more injury problems and a diluted product.
With everything that is going on in professional and college sports, we’re not going to predict the winner of the NCAA basketball final, or whether Tiger will win the Masters, or even if the gods are conspiring against the Rangers because major roadwork on I-30 coincided with the start of baseball season.

Good, because the last thing I wanted to read in the NEWSPAPER was in-depth analysis of both teams in the championship’s strengths and weaknesses as it relates to a head to head match up. Analysis of facts is not why anyone reads this stupid column. Also, how would he “predict” if the gods are conspiring against the Rangers because roadwork on I-30 coincided with the start of the season? I predict that Mookie Wilson hit the ball that went through Buckner’s legs allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run…22 years after it happened.

No, we have assessed this embarrassment of riches and are offering a radical suggestion to sports leagues- call a time out.
We don’t mean during the actual season.

Good because that would be ridiculous.

We understand the business of professional sports dictates that no one is going to shorten the regular season or playoffs, not with all those multi-million dollar salaries to pay. So fans will continue to enjoy a full time calendar of events in September and again in April, when baseball, basketball (college and pro), hockey, golf and auto racing are all in high gear.

I love how Pete takes a resentful tone towards the business of the sports world and then recognizes both college and pro basketball as legitimate enterprises, however college baseball, a non-revenue sport, is not included in Pete’s list of worthwhile April sports. At the Fort Worth Star Telegram, hypocrisy reigns supreme.

But if you’ve taken the time to look at the injury reports, you have to wonder what price is being paid by the athletes and teams and whether fans are getting their money’s worth.
There is an allstar team of pitchers who have recently returned from injury this spring or are on the disabled list – Josh Beckett, Pedro Martinez, John Lackey, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Carpenter, B.J. Ryan, Mike Hampton, Chad Cordero, Mark Moulder, Andy Pettitte, John Smoltz – we could go on.

Yep, a bunch of pitchers, most of them at the end of their careers and histories of injuries. Before I read this, I couldn’t imagine Mike Hampton on the disabled list, what a concept!

Among position players, Eric Chavez, Scott Rolen and Moises Alou would look good in the middle of a lineup.

Chavez is recovering from back surgery, Rolen broke a finger during a spring training drill, and Alou had to have surgery to repair a hernia. I just thought someone might wonder what their injuries were…since this is an article about why they got injured; Pete did not.

NBA players such as Yao Ming, Dwyane Wade, Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry and Shawn marion have had their seasons cut short, while Paul Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry Stackhouse and Dirk Nowitzki (who must have the best recuperative powers in sports) are among the higher profile players who have had to sit out.

Your Dallas Stars lost…

Ok, I wouldn’t make anyone read this. Lets go to the next paragraph after Pete cuts and pastes injury reports from NHL.com

Sure, we know the mantra of injuries are part of the game, but how many of them can be attributed to constant wear and tear and not a freak accident?

Pete is really good at two things; lists and asking questions he has no intention of even answering. I want to try, here goes:
Companies such as Ford, Chevy, Honda and BMW are all automakers. How many more car companies are there? How much do they cost?

Given the money invested in athletes, teams are more demanding than ever about what players do with their so called “down time” during the offseason. The NFL is just one minicamp after another, while baseball players are expected to stay in top condition, and also do some throwing and hitting, which is easier for many teams in sunbelt cities. Many Latin players take part in winter ball.

Many writers took an English class after middle school and are expected to craft thoughts together to form valid points and logical opinions. Others work for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
I assume that Pete is talking about Dominican Winter League Baseball, The Mexican Pacific League, the Puerto Rico PBL and the Venezuelan PBL etc. Winter ball is for young players that need to develop. Latin heritage is not required to participate. None of those injured pitchers played winter baseball, nor did Alou, Chavez or Rolen. Next

Demands are made on the NBA to provide stars for international competition, and not just in an Olympic year. Imagine the angst in the front office of the Houston Rockets, where team officials are wondering whether Yao will risk returning too soon from foot surgery to represent China in the Beijing Olympics.

For that matter, how many NBA players can resist the siren call of a pick-up game during the summer?

53 NBA Players can resist the siren call of a pick up game during the summer. Not 52. Not 54. Exactly 53 players.
.
If you believe that athletes – like cars – have only so many miles on them no matter how much regular maintenance they receive, the perhaps we should encourage them to give it a rest during the offseason. We’re not advocating that they become couch potatoes with a severe case of the muchies, but what’s the bid deal if they report to camp several pounds over their playing weight and easily winded?

Is this a joke? Is he actually asking why professional athletes shouldn’t maintain good physical health?

We know this is Heresy. Fitness experts will say that athletes are at a greater risk for injury if they are out of shape. But that wouldn’t be true if team trainers and coaches allowed players time to gradually build up their strength and stamina.

I hope Pete thinks heresy means ridiculous.
(Editor’s Note: Pete would have asked a fitness expert to go on the record to provide credible testimony as to positive and negative aspects of a player falling out of shape and then the aspects involved with that said player working to get back in shape, but he doesn’t know how a phone works. Also, he made up the occupation of “Fitness expert”)

Would a pitcher, for example, have a better chance of avoiding rotator cuff or Tommy John surgery- or at least delay it – if he didn’t pick up a baseball until January at the earliest?

Do you think Bill Belichick can survive with one less minicamp and more time to kick back with Bon Jovi CDs?

Didn’t he just advocate players reporting to their respective camps out of shape and then be given more time to get into shape?

It’s just getting harder to get enthused about the start of the season – any season- when the fans aren’t the only spectators.
Pete Alfano, 817-390-7985 palfano@star-telegram.com

It’s just getting harder to get enthused about reading a column – any column- when the author is also a spectator.

As per usual when reading a Pete Alfano op-ed piece, I’m never quite sure if he is making a point or if he is trying to express that there is no solution or that he wrote this in 2 minutes. Feel free to call his office or shoot him an email. He should change it to either, “More Questions than Answers” or “What’s your point, Pete?”

I’m not even going to rant about today’s loss to Atlanta. Yuck.

Never blog angry.

However, it never fails to amaze me how a few months of winter can make me forget how terrible the FOX broadcast team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are at their chosen profession. During the top of the ninth, McCarver contrasted Rafael Soriano’s cool demeanor to Jose Reyes’, and I’m quoting this, “zest for life.”

I know.

What the hell does that mean? Is Jose some kind of pro life extremest roaming the streets of New York City and other Major League cities exacting retribution on abortion doctors and blowing up planned parenthood clinics?

Maybe Jose should start a hip hop boy band called Zest 4 Lyfe. Jose could get a giant tattoo with the band’s name across his chest, David Wright could be the shy one, Ryan Church could be the gay, er, I mean, artistic one and Joe Smith could be the bad boy. I smell a sitcom.

Great offensive output from the Mets tonight. Carlos Beltran and David Wright were robbed of home runs. Carlos robbed by to a blown call by the umpires and David due to the fact that the Marlins play in a ridiculous football stadium with a 600 foot deep centerfield fence. Carlos getting screwed doesn’t change my belief that instant replay is unnecessary for Major League Baseball. Would instant replay have given Beltran a homerun instead of his third double? For those of you who say yes, ask an Oklahoma Sooner fan about the game against Oregon. When baseball is dragged reluctantly into adopting something new, I doubt they embrace it with open arms. The umpires get it right so often that when they blow a call, it’s a glaring error.

Also, throwing a red flag on the field is effeminate and demeaning for both the manager and umpire crew.

Regardless of the blown call, I can’t imagine why the crew reversed the initial homerun ruling. Rick Reed is a great umpire and crew chief. If Carlos would have sold it more, he would have picked up the first Mets home run of 2008.

BTW, if Carlos hits 73 more homeruns this year, will he get an asterisk (in a good way) home run king title?

David Wright is just raking at the plate. David’s off-season work we’ve heard about paid off, for the first three games anyway. The Mets need a big season out of Wright this year to supplement Delgado’ decline. That diving stop at third was a gem and more surprisingly, David didn’t airmail the throw over Delgado to a hotdog vender on the concourse area. When David hits his prime, it’s going to be scary.

Castillo is growing on me. Luis is a tough out. If he can stay healthy, the Mets may finally have the one-two table setters they thought they had with Kaz Matsui and Jose Reyes.

Castillo could be the Mets answer to Dan Uggla. That guy scares the crap out of me. They have a lot of hitters that scare the crap out of me. The Florida Marlins are afraid of success. If they wouldn’t have run Joe Girardi out of town, the NL East could be better than the NL West this year.

Bottom line, great cathartic win after Pedro’s injury and walk-off loss last night. This season might not be a total disaster after all.

Around the National League East

In case you missed it, Scott Spiezio has been given a minor league contract with Atlanta. Braves general manager Frank Wren was quoted as saying, “Well ya know, a big part of our fan base are douche bags. With Andruw [Jones] going to LA, we felt that took a lot away from our appeal. With Chipper [Larry Jones] and of course Tommy [Glavine] coming back, we felt we were one player away from a complete team of douche bags. Scott brings a heavy douchbagginess factor to our organization that we feel will restore the Atlanta Braves to the franchise of douchiness excellence we’ve established over the past two decades.”

Excuse the absence for the last two days; I was attending the National Grammar Rodeo in Canada. I’m not sure if I’ll be returning next year, it’s just not about the grammar anymore.

That’s what she said…

cred·i·ble adjective
1. capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement.
2. worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness.

Remember how most fans scoffed at the allegations made in Jose Canseco’s book Juiced? He really was a prophet of the baseball future telling truths fans didn’t want to hear. I wonder what he’s doing now with his new found credibility…

Jose Canseco says in his new book that he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids distributor and that A-Rod was trying to sleep with Canseco’s wife, according to the web site of freelance writer Joe Lavin, who says he obtained Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball on Monday from a bookstore in Cambridge, Mass. The book is due to be released Tuesday. A-Rod on the claims: “I really, absolutely, have no reaction,” and “I don’t know how to answer that.” Associated Press

That credibility must have really been burning a hole in his pocket; he had it for about a month. I wonder what else he’s got in store…

Canseco is rumored to be already working on a third book entitled Here’s Some More Shit I Just Made up and other Axes I have to Grind in which Canseco recounts introducing Cal Ripken to an ecstasy dealer and Cal’s failed repeated attempts to seduce Canseco’s mailman and the ensuing graphic sexual assault that followed. The book is expected to be released Mid-July in time to try and exploit the All Star Break. –Lonestar Mets

I guess Jose blew all his money from Juiced on hookers and blow and needs loose cash again. Again, Canseco may be a willing dupe of the A-Rod media machine. This comes on the heels of another A-Rod story. Painting A-Rod in a victim role to make him more likable may work based on the fact that nothing else has.

If you’re just too content with the way your life turned out or if you’re contemplating suicide but lack the perfect motivation, there’s good news. The 1988 Dodgers World Series DVD Collectors set comes out on March 25 on DVD. It contains seven discs that include Game Four of the 1988 NLCS and Game Seven of the 1988 NLCS or as I call it; October 12 1988, “the day that ruined my childhood.”

The mere glimpse at the sets cover, filled me with an instant ache, a repressed memory pushed away by my subconscious only to materialize out of the blue. For an eleven year old Lonestar Met, the 1988 NLCS was Game Seven of 2006 and the last day of 2007 rolled into one excruciating series. I had followed the team all year via the box scores in my local sports paper and watching live on WGN, TBS and the precious times they were a national game. I even ended up down in Houston for a game, catching David Cone pitch in the Astrodome. The Mets looked to win their second World Series of the decade and begin their anticipated National League dynasty.

To this day I’ve never watched one second of film from that series. It still hurts too much. I remember being forced to bed during game six (a school night), after watching the Mets fall behind early and getting nothing going on the board, I left for my bedroom with the Mets trailing six to nothing. I cunningly and subtly switched on my clock radio and found the broadcast, hoping, nay, praying the Mets had one more miracle left over from 1986. Even down to the last out, I stood on my bed, still dressed in my complete Mets outfit, my fingers crossed up against my Mets pennant. Unfortunately, Hershiser was untouchable and there was no two out hit to keep the inning alive, much less anything equivalent to a little roller up along first, and the Mets season was finished.

I think at that moment my baseball heart was crushed. I was still a Mets fan, though not nearly as fanatical. Nothing remained as great as it was on October 12 when the Mets looked to be a dynasty in the making. Instead, the Mets went dormant for the next eleven years, putting lousy teams filled with quick fix free agents and unexciting players until 1999 when, unexpectedly, I would make my peace with the same man that tormented my team eleven years earlier would join the Mets mid season and make one of the most exciting playoff runs imaginable.

I haven’t watched the DVD set, nor do I want to, but since it was one of the most disturbing memories in my young life and it’s seared into my brain, I can review it for you:

Put that on the box.

I’ve always wondered why the 1988 NLCS isn’t more of a scrutinized moment in the lexicon of Mets history the way Rogers’ Ball Four, Carlos’s looking KO and even Glavine’s soiling of the mattress are viewed as watershed moments in franchise history. Was it that after 99, the Mets would make the Series the next year? Is it still to painful to recount the 1988 NLCS; the last moment in the sun, an abrupt and unwanted goodbye to the heroes of 86 and a steady and all too rapid decline into a decade of mediocre to pathetic baseball? Is its lack of notoriety stem from being committed against an usual group of villains, ones not clad in pinstripes or wielding tomahawks?

Eleven Days until Opening Day and we see our boys back on a Major League field facing Major League opponents and the outcomes finally matter.

A couple random Mets topics:

What to expect of Delgado? He won’t be the Delgado of years past. Like many aging players, I predict he would be reminiscent of Mike Piazza in his last years as a Met. A shadow of what he was, but still a rather looming shadow. I would hope Delgado will put up similar numbers as last year, but I expect to see slumps interrupted by commanding blasts reminiscent of what he once was, and an aching reminder to leave us pining for what he no longer is. He’ll win a few games, carry the team on his back in a few but unable to contribute drastically on a daily and consistent basis. Don’t worry, the man on the other infield corner should be ready to shoulder the load.

The Trade that never came. Apparently the imminent and essential trade for a corner outfielder speculated to include everyone from Coco Crisp to Barry Bonds is now neither imminent nor essential.

In case you were wondering, Sidney Ponson’s promising spring results for the Rangers, along with a general lack of common sense, have kept Nelson Cruz in a Rangers uniform. The hard on is over, there’s no outfield help on the way [Editor’s note: I have no idea why I just wrote that.]

The Mets are likely going with some combination of Damian Easley, Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson and Angel Pagan. Don’t pencil in Pagan as the April and May everyday leftfielder just yet. He is having a promising spring, but on March 31 the minor leaguers go back down and Pagan comes back to earth. Not to mention Willie doesn’t like to play young talent over veteran players, even at gunpoint.

[Editors Note: Anyone who writes the headline “Angel in the Outfield” will be sodomized with a pipe wrench and set on fire. Twice.]

Reserve your Blue and Orange BP Jersey today. We got the All-Star Game in 2013. First of all, I am not ready to let go of Shea just yet to be jazzed about this. Secondly, I put Mets fans in attendance at around 35%. The coolest thing about this will be the All-Star Batting practice jerseys in blue and orange. I’ve already decided to buy one. There’s no way to tell who’ll be representing the Mets five years from now, I just hope the Mets have more than one to choose from.

Behind the Plate. Ramon Castro and Brian Schneider are both experiencing hamstring problems. Doug Mirabelli is available. Sure he hit .202 in 114 at bats last year, but that’s .198 than Mike DeFelice’s lifetime average. There’s Mike Nickeas, remember him? We got him and a broken bat for Victor Diaz. It’s him, Robinson Cancel, Raul Casanova Salomon Mariquez and Gustavo Molina. Since all those names annoy me, I choose Nickeas. That was easy. Mirabelli would be an inexpensive insurance policy and less unproductive than Mike DeFelice.

Good God, I hope Mike Pelfrey is the real deal. I think El Duque’s done. Marty should have called this article they know who did it but they just can’t figure out why.

On an unrelated note, No Country for Old Men was one of the best movies I’ve seen in the past 5 years. If you haven’t seen it, buy it. It’s a modern classic. I bought it, sight unseen, on Blu-Ray (yeah, I’ve got that kind of money) and have already watched it several times. I went to college in West Texas and the accents of the characters made me feel like I was back in the Llano Estacado.

Sorry if this blog has turned into a “bash the Rangers with a Met related angle” lately, but I couldn’t hold off on this one. John Heyman on a deal that almost was with Johan Santana and the Texas Rangers:

Indications are that Texas’ trade discussions with the Twins progressed to the point where there was either agreement or near agreement on the young players going back to Minnesota. At that point, executives involved in the talks believed that the trade was very likely to be consummated if only Santana gave a more enthusiastic response when Twins higher ups quizzed him about whether he’d accept a trade to the Rangers. However, a diplomatic Santana is believed to have told the Twins only that he’d “consider” going to Texas, an answer that was seen as less than enthusiastic.
It was shortly after receiving Santana’s lukewarm response that the Twins stopped pursuing the trade with Texas. People familiar with the talks say they believe Minnesota wanted to avoid agreeing to a trade proposal that could eventually be rejected by Santana, whose full no-trade clause put the power in his hands. Such a scenario could have hurt their leverage in future trade talks.
Word is, Santana actually thought about the Rangers long enough to have quizzed his long-time Twins teammate Torii Hunter, a free agent, about his own intentions. But it appears that when Hunter, a resident of Prosper, Texas, and close friend of Rangers manager Ron Washington, was noncommittal about whether he’d sign with the Rangers (he eventually signed with the Angels), Santana appears to have followed Hunter’s lead.

I’m taking a day off work to attend the “We almost had Santana and Hunter Parade” scheduled in downtown Arlington. Tom Hicks is scheduled to ride the main float posed with his pockets turned out, shrugging his shoulders and sporting a perplexed look on his face.

Tom Hicks also shot and killed Jose Canseco for his role in bringing steroids into the Ranger clubhouse. Hicks didn’t have a gun and Canseco isn’t dead, but Hicks shot him dead just the same. That’s a true story.

Whatever, this is obvious spin out of The Ballpark in Arlington. Every year, the Rangers were hours away from signing or trading for the year’s biggest free agent until some selfish player queered the deal. The Ranger organization never had any intention to put a competitive offer in front of Torii Hunter, let alone trade prospects [read: low-priced talent] and sign Santana to the six to seven year, hundred and fifty-ish million dollar deal required for Santana to waive his no trade clause.

Every year, how do they seem to be in the running, without ever being in the running, for the year’s top free agent? Yet the team that touts its bronze medal in the Zito and Dice K sweepstakes still cries foul over “big market teams” pricing out the poor Rangers? Never mind Dallas Fort Worth is a top five market and the Cowboys and Mavericks seem to have no problem competing for top tier talent. Why the Ranger front office leaks hand-wringing stories of lament like this year after year in a pathetic and feeble attempt to appease an already unreceptive and resentful fan base goes beyond reason. As if Texans sweating out an August day game, watching a last place ball club will take solace that they could have had Santana and Hunter if it wasn’t for those damn Angels and Mets.

Furthermore, the Rangers supposed focus on developing young talent and fortifying the farm system runs counteractive toward trading high ceiling talent in order to sign a high priced free agent and diminishes the organization’s already dismal credibility with both fans and prospective players and trading partners.