New Mets autograph collection additions
I was able to add a pair of autographs to my Mets collection last night at the Newark Bears home opener.
Newark’s new manager for 2013 is Garry Templeton, who finished his major league playing career with the 1991 New York Mets. He was much better known as a St. Louis Cardinal (where he was a two-time All-Star) and a San Diego Padre (where he played for 10 seasons and made his final All-Star appearance in 1985.)
The Rockland Boulders’ new pitching coach is Bobby M. Jones, the left-handed reliever who played for the New York Mets in 2000 and 2002. Jones also appeared in three early-season games for the 2004 Boston Red Sox, but spent most of his major league playing career with the Colorado Rockies.
(Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
The Bears lost the game 3-1, with their batters striking out 16 times. It seemed like the team was practicing the same hitting batting philosophy as the Mets do these days – run up the opponents’ pitch count in expectation of it leading to better scoring chances. Continue reading →
Do these Mets losses even matter?
Citi Field during a recent Mets loss (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
The New York Mets lost their 21st game of the season Monday night, falling seven games below the .500 mark for the first time.
Only the most wildly optimistic fans expected the team to contend this year, and many felt the team would finish with a losing record for a fifth straight year. So it’s really not a surprise that the Mets are losing more often than they win.
The Mets will never use the term “rebuilding,” but everyone knew that 2013 was supposed to be a transition year. The last of the big Omar Minaya-era contracts are ending, the prospects we’ve been hearing about are here or arriving soon… it should seem like there’s a bright new future on the way.
And yet, on a day that Sandy Alderson signed 33-year-old journeyman outfielder Rick Ankiel to address one of the team’s glaring black holes, that future seems to be miles away.
Rick Ankiel is the newest Met…
Rick Ankiel’s 2000 Upper Deck SP Authentic Chirography autographed rookie card from my collection
Outfielder Rick Ankiel is Sandy Alderson‘s latest reclamation project. The 33-year-old former pitcher will become the 954th player in Mets history tonight, and the eighth to wear number 16 since Dwight Gooden left.
Keeping in mind the dangers of looking at a small sample size, Ankiel does offer an advantage over the Mets’ other center field options, especially considering his defense:
|
Age |
OBP |
SLG |
AVG |
AB |
HR |
|
|
Rick Ankiel |
33 |
.231 |
.484 |
.194 |
62 |
5 |
|
Juan Lagares |
24 |
.200 |
.182 |
.152 |
33 |
0 |
|
J. Valdespin |
25 |
.292 |
.433 |
.239 |
67 |
3 |
|
Collin Cowgill |
26 |
.173 |
.294 |
.157 |
51 |
2 |
|
Kirk Nieuwenhuis |
25 |
.176 |
.178 |
.125 |
16 |
0 |
But considering the little fact that the 2013 Mets are a fourth-place team going nowhere, they’d probably be better served by running Jordany Valdespin out there against right-handed pitching instead of Ankiel. (And I say this as someone who is not very fond of JV1′s showboating.) Maybe he would show that he can hit well enough to be a fourth outfielder or a utility player on a good team.
Instead, we’ll get to see Ankiel try to hang on a little longer. Maybe we’ll at least get to enjoy some highlight-worthy defensive plays.
At least Juan Lagares will still get to play against lefties… until Terry Collins changes his mind.
Photos from Mets Banner Day 2013
Well, the less said about this weekend’s Mets games, the better. But I do want to share photos of some of my favorite Banner Day entries:
This was the winning entry in the Banner Day contest. It’s a simple, well-crafted and well-executed idea – the home run apple even raises and lowers – but I thought that the other finalists (and some that didn’t make it to that stage) showed more cleverness.
Almost Perfect
And this is why it’s worth watching, even in a frustrating season.
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Odds & ends: Portland Sea Dogs pics and an Adam Greenberg autograph
Autographed Adam Greenberg 2013 Topps baseball card from my collection
I’m still around, but when I’ve had the time to write, I haven’t had much of an inclination.
Aside from Matt Harvey and David Wright, there’s precious little reason to watch the Mets these days. Sure, they’ll surprise you in a good way every so often – but they will find new ways to frustrate more often than not. Even Mother Nature doesn’t seem to want to see them play.
I have not added any new Mets autographs to my collection lately, though I will be able to add the card Andrew Brown signed for me via mail during spring training to my Mets binder now. But I have picked up a few more signed cards at various non-major league games. One of the highlights was getting Adam Greenberg to sign his 2013 Topps baseball card last week.
And I had fun in Trenton last weekend watching the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Trenton Thunder with my friend Bart. I’d have to double check my scorecards, but I think it was the first time I ever saw the Sea Dogs win.
Here are some photos from the game:
Boston Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts is out at second base on the front end of a double play (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Mark Ellis is not my favorite person
Another evening, another frustrating Mets loss.
Newly-minted Met Killer Mark Ellis in a 2013 spring training game (Photo credit: Feelin’ Kinda Blue)
Tuesday night, it was all Mark Ellis‘ fault.
Ellis hit a ball back up the middle that went off Jonathon Niese‘s leg for an infield hit in the third inning, knocking the Mets’ starter out of the game. On the bright side, Niese didn’t break anything. Now we just have to wait until he sees how he feels in the morning
In the fifth inning, Ellis hit his 100th career home run off of Robert Carson to tie the game at 2-2.
In the seventh inning, Ellis hit career homer #101, a three-run shot off of Brandon Lyon to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead.
In the ninth inning, Jeurys Familia accomplished what no other Mets pitcher could do – he got Ellis to strike out. But by then, the Dodgers were winning 7-2 and it really didn’t matter any more.
Before tonight, I never really paid any attention to Ellis. The Ultimate Mets Database tells me he played in eight prior games against the Mets, going 9-for-31 with a double and two RBI in three interleague series when he played for Oakland and two games last year with the Dodgers. Can’t say I recall his performances.
I think I’ll remember Ellis now – especially if Niese ends up missing any significant time.
