I Would Be Okay With Half Of This

The prospect of the Mets trading somebody to the Red Sox for Jacoby Ellsbury first came up last Spring when somebody thought the Mets could base a trade around Jose Reyes for Jacoby and Jed Lowrie. Now there is somebody saying the Mets should trade Carlos Beltran for Ellsbury and prospects and then turn around and trade Ellsbury and prospects for Carl Crawford. If the initial trade were to ever happen I would stop there. Jacoby has great defense and can hit at either the top or bottom of the lineup and steal as many bases as could possibly be imagined. In Citi Field the Mets aren't going to have a power hitting lineup no matter who they trade for or sign. I would have a lot of fun watching Jacoby play center field for the Mets.

This is just a suggestion by another blogger. It isn't even a rumor. Simply something I found interesting and wanted to share.

Let's Go Mets!

Josh Thole Update

I finally figured out how to get the box scores from the various Caribbean Winter Leagues. Josh Thole is leading the Venezuelan league in batting average and Lance Broadway is leading in ERA. Lance Broadway didn't play yesterday but Josh Thole did. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI and is batting .403. He also caught 2 runners trying to steal 2nd base.

During his time in Venezuela he has 3 home runs and 24 RBIs. Not bad for kid people say has no power. I find it funny calling him a kid when every professional athlete is older than I am.

Josh is scheduled to return home a week from Tuesday. Hopefully he'll still be leading the league in hitting when he comes home.

Let's Go Mets!

Because I've Been Listening to Backstreet Boys and I Can't Think Straight

First I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! I know Thanksgiving is tomorrow but I don't think I'll be able to post.

Now, about the Mets "new" uniforms. I liked the throwbacks the Mets had for the 1969 celebration but if they really wanted to honor their history they should have just used those for their uniforms next year. I know they would have to get then as Cool-Base jerseys but that shouldn't be too hard. There is no need for the black shadowing on a throwback uniform if that isn't how the uniform actually was. Get it right, or forget it. That's my motto on throwbacks.

And about the title of the post. I got the new BSB CD yesterday (This is Us). It's really good. And totally distracting when you're trying to think enough to write a post.

Let's Go Mets!

Some Links and Really Good Music

First link is a rumor about Xavier Nady possibly talking to the Mets. If he signed with the Mets or Indians (or Red Sox) I would smile for days.

The second is an interesting feud going on between the baseball collectors of the world and some random blogger who called them out. I'm on team ballhawk.

And last, I have some really good music. All of it is by All Time Low and some of the lyrics are really amusing.











Let's Go Mets!

Josh Thole Update

I wanted to post. But then I got distracted and couldn't figure out what to post. Then I realized I got distracted because of a Josh Thole picture. And that's how I decided to get to this post.

Despite the worries about Josh's situation in Venezuela he is still there and is still dominating the league. Now he is hitting .407 and this week he went 6-for-17 with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts.

Wow. Josh is really amazing. I don't actually have anything else to say.

Let's Go Mets!

I'm Not Completely Sure Of What This Is...

...but it had predictions for Mike Nickeas.

I'm not an expert on any of the prediction stuff and don't really know which ones to trust. But I do know David Wright is going to hit about .300 so this is at least wrong about his predicted batting average.

Half the guys here aren't anywhere near being on a Mets roster and Mike Nickeas is one of them, but it's been floating around the Mets web.

Let's Go Mets!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I'm bored without baseball, as you could probably tell from my last post. If you didn't figure that out from my last post you deserve to be slapped upside right. And I don't even know what that means.

So, anyways, I decided to give you a bunch of links to my favorite songs by the Backstreet Boys. Only because I totally watch their music videos on Youtube when I'm bored.

Bigger (my favorite part is Brian starting at 1:52)
Straight Through My Heart
Shape of My Heart
As Long As You Love Me
The One
The Answer To Our Life
I Still...

Let's Go Mets!
...or BSB! Or whatever...

I Miss Baseball

The regular baseball season has been over for barely over a month and the postseason ended a couple weeks ago. Why does it feel like it's been an eternity? I miss baseball. If teams aren't going to make trades or sign players then they should just start the season now. I want to know who is going to be on the Mets roster and whether or not I should have any hope at all going into the new season. Right now, the roster is almost exactly the same. A few players are free agents but the roster is big enough to field a team. A mediocre team, but it's something. Barely anything has started and I'm already sick of the rumors. I want something real to happen. The proposed trades to come true, the rumored contracts to be signed and the preseason predictions to take shape. I want the excitement of seeing new players in Mets uniforms and watching how old players are in other uniforms. It seems small, but just knowing what number the new players are going to be wearing is somewhat exciting. Replace the everyday rumors with the everyday games and constant trade analysis with constant performance analysis. No more questioning what the lineup is going to be, just put one out there to play.

It's only November and I can't take it anymore!
141 days until Opening Day.

Let's Go Mets!

Best. Tweet. Ever.

"According to a source, multiple MLB GMs are looking at David Wright this offseason, but only because he's so easy on the eye."

For once, I agree with MLB GMs.

Let's Go Mets!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XAVIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Xavier Clifford Nady turns 31 years old.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY XAVIER!!!!!

Josh Thole Before Homework

With the recent kidnapping (and luckily, safe return) of Victor Zambrano's mother and basic unstableness of Venezuela, the Mets are looking into the safety of Josh Thole. They are considering asking him to return home from winter ball early. He is scheduled to return around December 8.

I don't have much to say about this. Obviously I want Josh to be as safe as possible and if he has to miss the last month of winter ball, so be it. I miss him and just want him to be safe. Whatever has to be done to assure him of his safety is okay in my book. I don't want anything happening to him in the last month. And he probably needs the rest anyway. Catching is not easy.

Let's Go Mets!

And please don't put the title in the form of a 'to-do' list. My dirty mind just caught up with me.

What I Want The Mets To Do and What I Think They Should Do

My regular Twitter is back, so just keep the other one in case Twitter hates me again.

Now, about the Mets. What I want them to do and what I think would be best for them this offseason are very different.

My plan:
The Mets say they need a catcher but they have Josh Thole. Let me enjoy some part of the season and let him play.

They need a left fielder who can hit and Xavier Nady is a free agent. Bring back some 2006 magic and sign him.

Jon Garland and Jarrod Washburn are both free agents. Sign them so Mike Pelfrey can be the only pitcher in the starting rotation with a name starting with the letter J. (Johan Santana, Jarrod Washburn, Jon Garland, John Maine)

Trade Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran to the Indians for Joe Smith, Justin Masterson, and Grady Sizemore. Further increasing the percentage of Mets with names starting with the letter J.

Hmm... I guess this means they need a second baseman.

Throw Asdrubal Cabrera in the deal with the Indians and move him to 2nd base.

The more realistic plan:
I don't know specifics because I'm not a general manager and don't pretend to play one on TV.

The Mets need somebody to catch for a year before Josh Thole will really be ready to take over. Yorvit Torrealba is a free agent but I don't see anything working out between him and the Mets after what happened a few years ago. Ramon Hernandez is an intriguing name. The Mets have previously had interest in him and he could be a mentor to Thole later in the season.

My left field suggestion is probably the most reasonable of them all. Xavier Nady is a Scott Boras client but spent the season injured and will be coming off a 2nd Tommy John surgery. He would be much cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, leaving the Mets with money to spend elsewhere.

The starting rotation is trickier. The pitchers on the market are expensive because they either have Scott Boras as their agent (Jarrod Washburn) or are a free agent that would require a compensatory draft pick (Randy Wolf). Jon Garland would require a draft pick but not to the same level as Randy Wolf. I have wanted the Mets to sign or trade for Garland in the past and nothing has happened. Despite his success he has never been very expensive for anybody to sign. And I don't necessarily want the Mets trading the farm for Roy Halladay.

I don't want the Mets trading Luis Castillo unless they know they will definitely sign Orlando Hudson. Castillo did everything possible NOT to be traded during the 2009 season. He wasn't on the disabled list despite the fact that it feels like he is always on the DL. Trading Luis Castillo while his value his high would be a good idea but that means being 100% positive there is somebody to play second base.

That's all I have to say for now. Everybody is saying the offseason has to be productive for the Mets. But isn't every offseason supposed to be productive? There is so much room for improvement that a worse year in 2010 would be a failure of all failures.

Let's Go Mets!

New Twitter Account!!!!!

Apparently Twitter decided to be stupid and thought I was hacking into my own account when I changed my password. So, if you have a twitter and were previously following @NYMetsGrrl94, please follow @MetsGrrl1994.

Let's Go Mets!

My Case For Xavier Nady

I came across Nick Cafardo's column for Boston.com. I read it because I saw the name Xavier Nady.

Of course I want Xavier Nady on the Mets next year but I honestly think he could be helpful. Even as a fourth outfielder he is well liked in the clubhouse and is a fan-favorite. Xavier has everything to prove next year, especially if he is only signed on a 1 year deal. And why not give him an incentive-laden 1 year deal? He has proved he can play in New York and he enjoyed playing here. With short term contract he would be playing for his next deal and to prove he isn't as injury prone as he seems. Xavier is a good player and can play any outfield position as well as 1st base and he has previously played 3rd base. He is coming off a 2nd Tommy John surgery and I know injuries are the last thing the Mets want to deal with, but really. There is nothing to lose in signing him.

Let's Go Mets!

...and speaking of Xavier Nady, I think I might react a little differently if I found him on my couch

Picture Post

It's been a long week and I need some cheering up.

Let's Go Mets!

My Ultimate Team

I'm bored so I decided I would come up with a 25-man roster of all my favorite players. The only requirement is that they have to have had a Major League appearance. That means no Mike Nickeas.

P-Mike Pelfrey
P-Joe Smith
P-Bobby Parnell
P-Mark Buehrle
P-Johan Santana
P-Justin Verlander
P-Scott Baker
P-Jonathan Papelbon
P-Justin Masterson
P-Adam Wainwright
P-Jake Peavy
P-Barry Zito

C-Josh Thole
C-Joe Mauer

1B-Daniel Murphy
2B-Ian Kinsler
3B-David Wright
SS-Troy Tulowitzki

LF-Jacoby Ellsbury
CF-Grady Sizemore
RF-Xavier Nady

INF-Michael Cuddyer
INF-Mike Jacobs
OF-Seth Smith
OF-Jeff Francoeur

Random Defense Rant

This is going to sound really random, but I'm bored and this caused me to think of it.

Any player can lose the ball in the lights, right? And when they do, they tend to cover their heads and wait for the ball to land. Every fan is going to laugh at that, including me. But if we were in that situation we would do the same thing. If there was a baseball falling out of the sky and we had no idea where it was going to land, we would also cover our head and wait for it to land. There's nothing wrong with that and we would defend ourselves if we were the ones to look like that.

Now, tripping over your own 2 feet and missing a fly ball is another story. I have no problem laughing at that.

Let's Go Mets!

I'll Be Thinking Of Him

As I day dream in math I might actually be thinking about Jeff Francoeur.

He is scheduled to have surgery on his left thumb tomorrow morning. If he has the surgery during math I'll know. I will all of a sudden start thinking about him and not the cube-root of 365. He was good even after the injury. He hurt his thumb on August 23 making a diving catch and actually didn't go on the disabled list (I think). When he came over to the Mets he hit over .300 and learned how to take a few walks. Having him healthy will be fun because he was hitting the stuffing out of the ball with the torn thumb ligament.

Semi-Random Side Note: This morning I was looking at my Mets calender and noticed Ryan Church is the player for December. I honestly didn't remember Churchie isn't on the Mets anymore. Oops.

Let's Go Mets!

Thanks to Adam Rubin at the Daily News for the heads up on the surgery.

"Boyfriend" Update

If you scroll down on the sidebar you will find a new picture of who I call my baseball "boyfriend". It's a picture of Josh Thole.

Now for an update of how he is doing for Venezuela in Winter Leagues. As of Friday he is batting .389 with a .404 on base percentage in 54 at bats. Wow.
UPDATE: He went 2 for 3 yesterday and is now batting .400

A lot of people have said Josh Thole should start the season at AAA next year. My head agrees with that logic but my heart says the Mets should give him a chance to start the year in the Majors. If he impresses in Spring Training and is hitting off Major League pitchers then they really should give him a chance to start the season in New York. I understand he needs to work on his defense as a catcher. Trust me, I know how important defense is as a catcher, at any level of the game. But Winter Leagues and Spring Training are a lot of time to work on defense. Also, if the Mets don't have a primary catching instructor in AAA then they really should have Josh with them and with a strong catching instructor. I'm not sure of the instructor situation in the Mets organization and there very well might be one in AAA, but wherever there is one, he needs to work with Josh.

I think there is a lot fear within the fan base that Josh is just another over-hyped semi-prospect and people want to keep him in the minors for as long as possible. But I say, give him a chance. If he really is as good as advertised he'll become a solid Major Leaguer.

Let's Go Josh!

David Wright Deprived No More!

Well, I'm still a little deprived. But thanks to my boredom and Getty Images I found 10 new pictures of David Allen Wright. Okay, they aren't all new, some are from the People Magazine shoot in 2006, but they're new to me. The others are from about a week ago. And I found these just as I was feeling really empty without and David for almost a month. I'm so glad he's letting his hair grow again. I was so sick of the buzz cut!

Some of them have the watermark covering his face but that's only fair. I can't do anything about. I just love my David!

Let's Go Mets!

OH NO! This Birthday Post Is Late and I'm Sorry!!!!!

On Friday, October 30, Michael James Jacobs turned 29 years old!
HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!!!