Author: Dave Doyle

Frequently disappointed Mets fan

Kyle Lohse and How Omar Minaya Missed The Boat

The biggest question mark for the New York Mets is starting pitching. There’s no denying that. Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, Mike Pelfrey, and the substitute starters are all sources of concern for fans, and I would guess the front office as well.

I’m sure that Nelson Figueroa is a good guy and obviously dedicated to the sport to move around the world in search of pitching jobs. But having to give him a start this early in the season is somewhat disconcerting for Mets fans. I hope he does a great job on Friday, needless to say.

That being said, Omar Minaya missed the boat with Kyle Lohse. This passage is from Sean Deveney of the Sporting News from today:

Any front office executives kicking themselves over the nice work turned in thus far by Cardinals RHP Kyle Lohse? Lohse threw five shutout innings in his first start, allowing just three hits, then followed that up with seven shutout innings Sunday against the Nationals. The Cardinals signed Lohse late in spring training for the low price of one year and $4.25 million. Don’t blame the Phillies, for whom Lohse pitched over the final two months of the 2007 season. They offered Lohse three years and $21 million early in the offseason, which he turned down. . . .

How badly could we use that kind of pitching right now? Lohse is one of those guys with good stuff that should be more successful than he is. His combined numbers between the Cincinnatti Reds and Philadelphia Phillies from last year are:

9-12 4.45ERA 192.2 innings 32 starts 2 CG 1 SHO 122 K’s 57 BB’s

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Good Riddance To Shea!

As we embark upon the last season of New York Mets games at William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, the mainstream media is filled with fond remembrances of concerts, games, and the like that occurred inside those rounded walls. It’s starting to be tedious but I surmise that I’ll be able to suffer through it. As a matter of fact, I respect the opinion of those that harbor good memories of family, friends and good times had there. I too have fond memories of games and concerts at Shea.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: david owen

As the sun begins to set on Shea, I wanted to get my feelings on paper (in code, I mean). I’m wondering if my feelings will change between now and the end of the season when the reality starts to hit that I won’t be going back there anymore. Right now, I don’t think that I’ll be bidding on an orange field level seat or a chunk of sod when the Mets and the City of New York start taking the stadium down, piece by piece, and selling it off. I won’t miss Shea one bit.

I think that my feelings come from an inner belief that the future will be better than today. That belief, transferred to the Mets baseball franchise, leads me to think that my time at Citi Field will be better than times at Shea. I’m an optimist. The games, concerts, and other events that I attend there will be better than the ones that I enjoyed before. Heck, I don’t even mind that the Mets sold the name of the stadium to a corporate entity. If it helps generate revenue for the Mets, I don’t even mind if it’s called “Blackwater Field” or “Arthur Anderson Stadium”. What’s in a name anyway?

You may be thinking that I’m bereft of a baseball soul. To refute that notion I started thinking about some of the important events that I remember about Shea:

  • The top of my list is the first game after Sept. 11, 2001. I was watching on TV on Sept. 21, 2007 when baseball brought a small sense of normalcy back to us even though we knew things would never be the same. I’ll never forget that game.
  • My first major league baseball game was at Shea in 1984 with my friends from high school. I had been to minor league games before that but my first major league game was at Shea. The major league experience has had a profound impact on my life.
  • My first World Series game was game 1 of the 1986 series. I went with my dad and we got tickets outside the stadium before the game. Awesome experience, there’s nothing like being at a World Series game.
  • The October 1989 Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour. That was a massive show by real rock stars.

I’m too young to remember the ’69 and ’73 teams, as well as the Beatles in ’65. Although I’ve heard a lot about those teams and read quite a bit as well, I wasn’t there to see them. But as you can see there are some important and impactful experiences I’ve had that involve Shea. Even still, I’m of the belief that games and events at Citi Field will be terrific. If you read this blog regularly you know that I was in Miami last week for the Mets opening day game against the Florida Marlins. Dolphin Stadium is a venue that the Marlins have been trying to get out of for years. And it’s much nicer than Shea!

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Creative Commons License photo credit: nautical2k

Shea doesn’t have character like the old classic parks Wrigley and Fenway. Those stadiums should exist until they start crumbling under the fans feet. They’re that good. Shea is a cookie-cutter, multi-purpose monstrosity. There’s basically no redeeming value in modern baseball for William A. Shea Municipal Stadium. There are newer stadiums around the league that are designed for baseball only in San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Diego, Texas, St. Louis,  and even Baltimore (although not “new” anymore). Why shouldn’t Mets fans enjoy one of the best stadiums in baseball? The Nationals/Expos have never won anything and they have a great new stadium. Sure, they moved to a new city to get it, but it’s a new stadium nonetheless.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: nautical2k

I thought that writing this might generate some negative sentiment. That’s not my intention. I’m simply stating that the new stadium will be much, much better than what we have now. I’m more focused on that than I am on any sentiment for days gone by in Flushing.

I started searching for any recent baseball stadium reviews. I couldn’t find many, but ESPN and Sports Illustrated have done some stories over the past few years on the topic. Each had Shea listed at, or near, the bottom of the list of existing stadiums at the time. I have to agree with those assessments wholeheartedly. We have the worst stadium in the sport. That hurts. We’re the best fans and we deserve better.

I may change my tune when September 28, 2008 starts to near. The last regular season game on a Sunday afternoon in Flushing may bring more emotion than it does now. Hopefully, Shea will get to see several more post-season series’. The last game may be in the World Series! That would be a fitting way to say goodbye to this old, outdated architectural blight.

Opening Day Photos- Redux

Now that I’m back from Florida I’m able to upload the higher resolution version of my photos. The hotel Internet connection just didn’t have the bandwidth to do that in a reasonable amount of time. Once again, here are my photos from March 31, 2008 at Dolphin Stadium.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Braves Sweep Mets With 3-1 Win

Atlanta- Despite a solid performance by Johan Santana, the Mets lose 3-1 to the Braves in Atlanta today. John Smoltz pitched very well giving up only two hits and two walks in five innings. Santana was almost as good only giving up one run over seven innings.The Mets offense was stifled by Braves pitching with Santana having the Mets only extra base hit, a double. The Mets had only five hits in the game.

Aaron Heilman was the goat of this game, walking Chipper Jones in the eighth and Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer to right field.

The Mets made a comeback attempt in the ninth inning but it was too little too late. Teixeira snagged a shot by Brian Schneider down the first base line to end the game. See the box score here.

Yesterday the Mets pitching let them down and today the offense couldn’t generate anything against the Braves pitching. The Mets have the day off tomorrow and return to New York for the home opener on Tuesday at Shea Stadium.

View ESPN video highlights.

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Agent: David Wells Waiting For Mets

Picture I took on 5-10-07 08:11, 14 May 2007 . . Chrisjnelson . . 153×252 (82,109 bytes)Image from WikipediaThe Boston Globe reports that David Wells’ agent, Gregg Clifton, is waiting for a call from the D-Backs or Mets. He believes those are the two teams that he could most likely place Wells.

The terrible news of Doug Davis’ thyroid cancer has created an opening in the D-Backs rotation. Pedro Martinez’ hamstring injury has the Mets searching for an answer as well.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Wells come in if he would do a minor league contract with incentives for major league starts. In my mind, he could certainly compete with Tony Armas, Nelson Figueroa, El Duque, and Mike Pelfrey. I haven’t seen anything from the players currently under contract with the Mets that solidifies their position as a replacement for Pedro.

Sure, Wells will be 45 next month and he doesn’t exactly have the greatest workout regimen. I’m making that statement based on my eyesight, not any knowledge of his workout program (if such a program exists). I’d rather see Wells than some of the recent Mets substitute starters like Jose Lima and Brian Lawrence. Both were hit more than a piñata.

It sounds like the Mets are willing to give Nelson Figueroa a shot this coming Friday against the Brewers and I’m fine with that. But if it doesn’t go well, it may be time to give Gregg Clifton a call.