It's So Perfect And I Didn't Even Realize

"He sits by the phone. He hopes it'll ring, but it's a sound he won't hear tonight."

That my friends is the opening line of Moodswings and Melodies by Sparky's Flaw.  Because I was just tweeting lyrics to whatever song I was listening, I didn't look for metaphors to the Mets in any of them.  Thankfully, somebody did.

If you haven't figured it out by now, the Mets did not make any significant moves approaching the trade deadline.   And by 'significant' I mean trading Mike Jacobs to the Blue Jays for a PTBNL doesn't count.  Even if I like him.


Let's Go Mets! 

Because He's Awesome

Joe Smith, I mean.  The Indians won 2-1 against the Blue Jays today.  Joe had 1 2/3 perfect innings.  He's been doing well since his call-up and his performance today gives me a reason to share Smitty-info.  Actually, I don't need to justify sharing Smitty-info, but I thought I would this time.

A lot has been said about his name.  Joseph Michael Smith.  It is  a combination of likely the most common names in the USA.  He doesn't play for an exciting team with the Indians.  Perhaps the only unique thing about him is his pitching style.

That's why Joseph Michael Smith of the St. Petersburg Times took the chance to interview Smitty (the Indians, one) when the Rays came to Cleveland.  It's a very amusing piece as they talk about life with the name.

Here's a preview, where Chris Perez interjects with his opinion:

I read where you said something like, "My name is pretty plain, and so is my nickname (Smitty), but at least my throwing motion (sidearm) is unique."

That's the one thing unique about me, I guess, something to get out of the everyday norm. I don't do a whole lot, I'm a pretty simple guy. My name kind of sums me up.

(Turns to fellow Indians reliever Chris Perez) Would you say my name sums me up, Chris?

Perez: Yes. Like, if you saw Joe Smith in a bar, you probably wouldn't remember him. Like the All-American Joe Smith.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Let's Go Smitty!

Please Don't Stereotype Us

The Mets just had the winner of SNY's KidCaster Contest join the booth with Gary, Keith, and Ron.  In a word: terrible.  The winner was a girl about 16 years old.  I have always been one to stick up for female sports fans, especially teenagers that have a harder time proving themselves as fans.

But, this was just bad.  She started off by saying her favorite players are Mike Piazza and David Wright.  Great, nothing special, anybody could guess that.  She then explains her special home run call for David Wright.  David hits a home run and you can hear her hyperventilating.  Her play-by-play is simply reading the scoreboard.  She doesn't say anything special about the players, doesn't mention anything unique.

I understand calling a game is hard.  I get that it's difficult to make any sort of impression when you're in the booth for half an inning.  But, it's not hard to make an impression like the one I just saw.  It was stereotypical, it was boring.

By the time tomorrow's game start it's likely nobody will remember this.  I just want to let you know that we're not all like that.  There are teenage girls out there that don't love David Wright, they won't shriek if they see him hit a home run.  But, if we do like David, don't assume we will shriek if we see him hit a home run.  Personally, I prefer good defensive plays.

I'm simply trying to say, don't stereotype us.  It's rude, annoying, and lazy.

All The Right Moves

Well, maybe not.  Even though the Mets haven't made any trades or fired any coaches, there is definitely news this afternoon.

Jason Bay has a concussion.  Obviously he didn't feel any symptoms over the weekend, or he wouldn't have played.  The signs showed up on the plane home.  Nothing you can do about that.  He'll be reevaluated in a few days.  If he's put on the disabled list it'll likely be Jesus Feliciano getting the call-up.

The Jason Bay injury pretty much cancels any chance of Jeff Francoeur being traded.  The Royals reportedly had no interest in the deal anyway.  And on the Royals end of the deal, the Gil Meche - Oliver Perez part of the deal wouldn't have worked with Meche requiring shoulder surgery.


Let's Go Mets!


Oh yeah.  Jerry Manuel won't be managing the Mets tonight.


No.  He wasn't fired (yet).  He was suspended for arguing with the umpire over a call in Friday night's game.  Replays showed the umpire made the wrong call, but I guess that doesn't matter.

Get Over Yourselves and DFA Him

That is my message to the the Wilpons.  Oliver Perez just got the loss in the Mets game.  I don't care how much money he is making, he is simply terrible.  The Mets can make the choice to pay him to sit at home and not affect the Mets, or they can pay him to blow games while he is with the team.  The money has been spent.  If the Wilpons wanted a winning team they would do whatever is necessary to put a winning team on the field.  That winning team will never include Oliver Perez.

That's all I have to say right now.

Speaking of Catching

I can't say I've seen a better defensively played game by any team as a whole than I did last night.  The Mets had great catches my all members of the outfield.

The first, and most impressive, of the plays came from Jason Bay.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the second inning Jamey Carroll hit a ball that looked like it would be a double off the left field bullpen fence.  But wait, Jason Bay was running as hard as he could and looked like he might be able to catch the fly ball.  Jason did make the catch as his body slammed into the bullpen, and his face seemingly smashed into the one part of the perimeter of the fence that wasn't padded.  It looked painful.  I guess it was just his luck that he had to make the longest walk back to the first base dugout, all the way from left field.  Alas, Jason Bay seems to be okay.  He stayed in the game and got a huge 3-RBI double in the eighth inning.

In right field, Angel Pagan made 2 impressive catches.  The first one came leading off the fourth inning.  It was a shallow fly ball of the bat of Matt Kemp.  It was falling fast but Angel Pagan was running fast.  He made a sliding catch to rob Kemp of a base hit.  There was no wall involved in this play.  However, in Angel Pagan's second catch, coming on the next batter, there was a wall involved.  A Casey Blake popup had Angel Pagan, Ike Davis and Luis Castillo all running towards shallow right field.  If anybody was going to get there it would be Pagan.  Angel had to slide but he ultimately made the catch in fair territory.  It may have been in fair territory but he was awfully close to wall when he began to slide, and ultimately crashed into the wall.

And finally, as we were all busy 'blaming Beltran' on Twitter, Carlos still hadn't joined the defense party.  On a catch that made Kevin Burkhardt exclaim, "Holy cow defense amazing!" Carlos Beltran made a sliding catch.  Andre Ethier was at bat with one out in the sixth inning and hit a shallow pop fly to center field.  It looked like it was going to fall in for a single, but that would only happen if Beltran failed to exist.  It was a great play that ended with a somersault from Carlos.

It was a fun game to watch as the Mets finally got a win.  And by a win, I mean a game they actually won on their own and not with the help of a screwy call by an umpire.

Let's Go Mets!


BTW, Jason Bay went towards the left field wall in foul territory in an attempt to make another catch.  He didn't make the catch but he did crash into the wall.

Catching On

Tonight the 1955 World Series Champion Dodgers are being celebrated at the Mets - Dodgers game in Los Angeles.  If there is one team I would've loved to watch, it has to be the Boys Of Summer.  I read that book and really didn't want it to end.  Not only did that book introduce me to one of the most entertaining teams ever, it introduced my to my favorite player that I never got to watch.

Roy Campanella was the catcher for the Dodgers of the 1950s.  His playing career was cut short due to an automobile accident that left him paralyzed below his shoulders.  He played his last season in 1957, never having the chance to play in Los Angeles.  He is in the Hall of Fame due to a career that included eight All Star selections, three National League MVP awards, and the one World Series championship in 1955.  He had his #39 retired by the Dodgers in 1972.

I don't know what it was about Roy Campanella that caught my attention.  The easy answer would be that he was the catcher, but it really was more than that.  His career came in an era of strong racial prejudice.  He persevered through all of it, while playing a position that required authority.  Even after the accident he worked hard to teach himself how to feed himself, and use his hands to gesture.  He simply was one of the strongest people in baseball.

He was truly thankful for everything he had.  He died in 1993, but he left an amazing legacy.  I loved reading about him and just wanted to let everybody know about the book he wrote.  It was originally published a year after the accident.  That in itself makes it pretty amazing.  It was impossible for me to stop reading this, and I got to make a really cool school project based on it as well.  Most of you won't be reading it for a project, but I would've enjoyed it just as much on its own.

The title says it all, It's Good To Be Alive.

What Were The Real Expectations?

The Mets have had a rollercoaster of a season.  That includes the team as a whole, and the players individually.

David Wright is back where he belongs, hitting enough home runs and keeping his batting average up.  Jose Reyes has been up and down with his health, but when he's healthy he's been performing.  Ike Davis was a surprise and anything the rookie does this year is above expectations.  Nobody could've asked for anything more from Angel Pagan.  2nd base has been a game of musical chairs and there isn't much that could be said about any one player.  And Carlos Beltran hasn't played long enough to know anything.

There are three players I want to focus on: Jeff Francoeur, Jason Bay, and Rod Barajas.

When the Mets acquired Jeff Francoeur in the middle of last season he was better than ever could've been imagined.  I think that contributed to the higher expectations coming into this season.  His stats are down but he's the kind of player he was towards the end of his time with the Braves.  Nobody can say Frenchy hasn't done this before.  It's fair to say he's below expectations but he's not the only one.

Jason Bay stands out more than anybody else when thinking about expectations.  His home runs, RBIs, batting average, and OBP are all down.  He's being paid a ton of money for his offense and it simply isn't there.  A lot of Mets fans want to believe he will perform eventually.  It would suck if he became a total bust, but it happens.  If Jason Bay is going to start hitting like he has in the past I don't think it will happen this year. I hate it, but Jason Bay isn't going to be Jason Bay until 2011.

Finally, Rod Barajas may surprise you.  Right now Rod is doing better than both last year and his career averages.  It seemed like he didn't get a hit in the month of June, but he had a hot start to the year.  The recent lack of offense from the rest of the team, combined with the fact that Josh Thole has gotten hits as a catcher has magnified Rod's recent struggles.  If there is anybody to go after for not producing, you can't go after Rod unless you expected him to have a major career year in 2010.

Most of the Mets have been fine this year.  The team is falling fast and people are looking for a scapegoat.  Jeff Francoeur has become that scapegoat.  He is performing below what people expected after the second half of 2009 and he isn't paid a ridiculous amount of money.  Coming into the season Jeff wasn't supposed to be as big a part of the offense as Jason Bay.  With both of them under-performing I honestly think Jason Bay deserves more blame.  And if you take the time to look at the stats from Rod Barajas this season you will see why he isn't even included in this discussion. 

Let's Go Mets! 

The List Can Only Keep Growing

It is definitely known that I have a lot of players on other teams that I follow.  It is also known that some of those players are former Mets.  Right now, that list started with Mike Jacobs (2005), and also includes Xavier Nady (2006), and Joe Smith (2008).

One name I do not want to add to the list:
Jeff Francoeur (2010).

The Mets are trying to trade Frenchy, possibly before the Mets get out their weekend series with the Dodgers.  First of all, who in the world wants Frenchy?  Second, just, really, why??  What would the Mets be getting back for him?  Sadly, I probably won't know any answers until he's traded.

The Mets are in a free-fall right now.  I don't really see how trading Frenchy will change that.  It just always seems the Mets are trading players I've liked.

I won't say Let's Go Mets because I really don't want them to do anything.

P.S.
Omar Minaya also traded Grady Sizemore, from the Expos to the Indians.

Six Years Ago

On July 21, 2004 both David Wright and Grady Sizemore debuted for the New York Mets and Cleveland Indians, respectively.


David Wright went 0-for-4 in the Mets 5-4 win over the Expos.
Grady Sizemore played the ninth inning of the Indians 14-0 loss to the White Sox and went 0-for-1.

Both of them have had great careers.  David Wright has continued his success this year, while Grady Sizemore has had an injury-riddled couple of years.  They have both become the face of their franchises.  At 27 years old there is plenty of time for their continued success.

Congrats David and Grady on 6 years in the big leagues!

Let's Go Mets and Indians!

It Should Be Called Hardball

This story from ESPN has inspired a few thoughts from me.  First, I want to say I love what Chelsea Baker is doing.  I also want to say I'm not surprised by it.  There is no reason for a girl to be unable to dominate Little League the way any boy would expect to.  But, I'm not completely happy with the article.

At one point they ask when she's going to move to softball.  It's as if softball is the easier sport.  Softball is where girls play because they're not good enough for baseball.  There are so many things wrong with that it's ridiculous.  Softball may have the same basic rules as baseball, but it's unique.  The most noticeable is the pitching.  Moving from baseball to softball doesn't mean the former baseball player is going to automatically succeed.  Not only will former baseball pitchers hoping to continue to pitch for softball have to learn a completely different style, it affects the hitters as well.  Softball batters have to adjust to violent underhand motions, mostly windmill pitching.  The pitchers are closer to the batters, making any movement on any pitches happen quickly.  Seeing the pitches come from a different angle is logically going to take time as an adjustment.

But, there are also plenty of other adjustments.  I've always loved playing softball.  I love the hustle of softball.  Running to first base on a walk, hustling to steal a base knowing you can't leave the base until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, knowing the plays in the field have to be a split-second faster because the field is smaller.  I haven't played baseball so I don't know what it feels like.  But, watching on TV, I definitely see more hustle in softball.

It's just a small part of the article that I disagreed with.  I just needed to let it be known that "switching to softball" wouldn't necessarily be easy.  I've played for most of my life and it's still challenging, as anything would be.  Softball is not the dumbed down version of baseball, meant for girls to play.  It's also not the game middle aged men play during the summer.  At least, not fast-pitch.

That's what I have to say.  You won't find a bigger supporter of softball, and I truly believe it deserves more respect than what it gets.

P.S.
Since, we're talking about softball, I should mention Jennie Finch is retiring.  If you haven't heard of her, I just lost a lot of respect for you.

[Something Witty]

There are so many things wrong with the Mets right now and there are so many wrong ways the team is trying to fix the problems.  Some solutions are really so obvious I begin to wonder how the Mets don't think of them on their own.

First, it looks like Josh Thole will be sent down after his start on Tuesday.  He will have briefly been the personal catcher for R.A. Dickey.  Joshy is batting over .500 in the majors this season.  Obviously, he won't keep up that pace, but if he's still hitting there's no reason to demote him.  The Mets offense sucks right now, and Josh is only going to help.

Speaking of the offense, it also looks like Jeff Francoeur will soon become the fourth outfielder.  Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur have both had terrible offensive seasons.  But, unlike Bay, Francoeur has shown flashes of offense this season.  I understand Jason Bay is making an absurd amount of money, but he should really be splitting playing time with Jeff Francoeur.  And, oh yeah, Jeff Francoeur can prevent more runs with his defense than Jason Bay.

Now to the pitching.  The Mets seem to be looking for a starting pitcher better than R.A. Dickey.  One of the pitchers rumored to be on the Mets' radar is Brett Myers.  I don't have much to say about Myers except, I really don't want him.  The last person I want the Mets to bring in is a wife-beater.  I also really don't have any confidence in him succeeding on the Mets.  If the Mets were really serious about acquiring a pitcher they would find a way to get Ted Lilly or Roy Oswalt without having to trade Josh Thole.

The Mets have so many bad contracts right now.  They have to realize there is nothing they can do about them.  If they keep giving Oliver Perez chances to pitch and Rod Barajas at bats, they're going to continue to lose games.  Pat Misch and Josh Thole deserve playing time.  Why Pat Misch, the lone Bisons All-Star, has gotten zero consideration is beyond me.


Let's Go Mets!

Welcoming Back "Ask The Carlos"

On Thursday, Carlos Beltran will return to the Mets lineup, batting cleanup and playing centerfield.  This will also mark the return of my "Ask the Carlos" bobblehead watching the game.

In 2005 the Mets had a Carlos Beltran bobblehead giveaway.  In 2006 I decided to have him around while watching some games.  I got into the habit of asking random yes-or-no questions and it seemed to get every answer correct.  It predicted correctly things such as the Mets pitcher getting out of a jam, or even David Wright hitting a home run.  I thought it was pretty amazing at the time.

Thursday will show if Ask The Carlos still has his old magic.  Hopefully both Ask The Carlos and the player he's modeled after can perform the way they did in 2006.

Let's Go Mets!

Congrats Mike!

Today, Mike Nickeas was added to the Double-A Eastern League All Star roster.  He's on the team as a replacement for Nick Evans.

I gave him a small All Star shout-out on the blog earlier but didn't expect him to actually make the team.  It's fun seeing the Mets have great catchers in the minors, as well as Josh Thole as the future currently in the majors.

This year Mike is batting .312 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI.  It's his best offensive season with the Mets organization.

YAY!  Congrats Mike!

Let's Go Mets!

"I See Nothing Wrong With Taking Advantage Of The Stupid"

"... That's why we have stupid people!"

First, Cliff Lee is going to the Rangers.  The Mets will have to look elsewhere for pitching help.  I'm hoping they go for Ted Lilly.  He's a fly-ball pitcher that has obviously been victimized by playing at Wrigley.  I'm not sure what exactly the Cubs would want for Lilly, but it can't be too much.  He's owed $6 million for the rest of the season so his contract would mean the Cubs can't ask for too many high prospects in return.  Considering his performance may improve pitching in Citi Field, where so many fly-balls stay in the park, this really doesn't seem too bad for the Mets.

In other Mets news, Jose Reyes is batting second tonight.  Angel Pagan is leading off.  (And Josh Thole is catching.) Reyes is still only batting righty, but today's MRI on his side/oblique came back clean.  It's really just how much he can tolerate the discomfort at this point.  Oh yeah, he's still planning on playing in the All Star Game.

Also, if you're going to any of the games this weekend be on the lookout.  Tonight 10 autographed David Wright jerseys are being given away.  Tomorrow, the same with Jose Reyes drawstring bags.  Finally, when I go on Sunday 10 autographed Jason Bay bobbleheads as well as 25 game used jerseys will be given out.  Please don't make me too jealous when you get something really awesome.  I'll find some way to make you jealous of my Pedro Feliciano/Chris Carter/Hisanori Takahashi autographed baseball and you'll regret it.


That's about it for now.
Let's Go Mets!

4 Years of Mikey P.

On July 8, 2006 Mike Pelfrey made his MLB debut.

So, it's been approximately 4 years since I figured out somebody on the Mets shares a birthday with me, and 4 years since my obsession began.

I remember where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with when it happened, but I won't bore you with those details.  I cannot for the life of me figure out why I remember that day, of all days of my life to remember.  I had no clue how special Pelf would become when it happened.  I guess, I just sorta knew.

Congrats, Big Pelf!

In Other News, I'm Going To Seattle

It is very clear that Cliff Lee is on the way out of Seattle.  The Mariners are having a pretty terrible season and Cliff Lee is going to be a free agent after this season.  The Mets want Cliff Lee.  It's that simple.

But's it's not that simple.  If the Mets were to trade for Cliff Lee it would require at least one of their best prospects.  It would also require Josh Thole, as the Mariners are looking for a catcher in any trade.  Not only because the Mets would be losing Josh Thole, but for other reasons too, I would not make a trade for Clifton Phifer Lee.

Making a trade for Cliff Lee would mean renting him for less than half a season.  He has already said he wants to be a free agent, so he wouldn't negotiate a deal with any team.  The only hope for the Mets would be seeing him enjoy playing here and considering their offer over others when he hits the market.  The only reason for the Mets to be satisfied with half a season of Cliff Lee would be with a World Series title.

The Mets would be trading not only their catcher of the future, but it's also likely the Mariners would want Wilmer Flores, and they could even ask for Jenrry Mejia or another pitcher.  The Mets farm system has been criticized for years already, and trading the high points for a rental player would not be helpful.  They simply cannot afford to lose players that will help not only next year but in seasons even after that.

A team like the Twins are in better shape to acquire Cliff Lee.  They have the prospects it takes to trade for him, but they also have enough to have a future for their own team.

If the Mets want Cliff Lee so badly they should wait until he's a free agents and pay him.  They'll have him at the same time as they would ave all the prospects they would have to give up to rent him.

Let's Go Mets!

How Ya Been?

It's been a while since I've given updates on my non-Mets favorites.  So, let's do that now.

Mike Nickeas has spent the season with the B-Mets.  With Omir Santos injured he's been the everyday catcher.  He had the night off yesterday but for the season is batting .314, with 2 home runs, 21 RBIs, and 1 stolen base.  It's really nice to see he has finally had a good season with the bat, as he always has been know for his defense.

Joe Smith recently came back from AAA and has been doing well.  Since returning on June 22 he has only had 1 rough outing, when he gave up 3 runs against the Reds.  Seven of his appearances since his call-up have been spotless.  In his last outing on Monday night he earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings in which he had 3 strikeouts.

Xavier Nady hasn't gotten much playing time now that the Cubs aren't playing in AL parks with the DH.  Grady Sizemore had micro-fracture knee surgery and is out for the season.  Jacoby Ellsbury had his ribs broken by Adrian Beltre and his still on the DL.

There isn't too much going on.

This Is Cool

I don't know how many of you have access to Newsday.com now that you have to subscribe.  I have it on my iPod.  This morning I saw there was a story about Josh Thole.  Hmm, I like Josh Thole, maybe I'll read it.  So, I did.  The article referenced a Youtube video about Josh.  Guess what!  That video is one of the videos I made!

The article is here.  And the quote:

If he did, the Mets’ 23-year-old catcher would find, among other things, a YouTube video set to music featuring the words, “A tribute to the promising future of Josh Thole as catcher for the Mets.”

And the video:



Let's Go Mets!

What Is The Proper Translation For 'Johan'?

The man?  That sounds about right.  Yesterday, he did it all.  There had been tons of talk about Johan Santana and his lack of success.  Coming into the game yesterday his stats showed him as a .500 pitcher.  But in his past two starts he's shown exactly why he's more than that.  Yesterday he finally got the run-support that gave him the elusive 6th win.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Johan was batting with 2 outs and nobody on base.  On SNY, Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were talking about Johan's hitting ability and Gary was sure he would hit a home run one day.  Gary even went as far to say he could sneak a homer into the right field corner of Citi Field.  A 12 pitch at-bat ensued.  On the last pitch Johan proved Gary right.  He pulled a fly ball to the right field corner and off the foul pole, a home run.

With one swing of his own bat Johan Santana had a 1-0 lead.  That's all he would need as he pitched a complete game shutout.  The strong hitting Reds were held to only 3 hits.

Johan proved to everybody that he was still the pitcher that dominated baseball for years.  Two runners reached base in the 9th inning, bringing Jerry Manuel out to the mound.  With Francisco Rodriguez warming up in the bullpen and the 3-0 lead bringing a save opportunity it looked like Johan's night was done.  Not more than 15 seconds after he left the dugout, Jerry was back in the dugout and Johan was still on the mound, finishing what he started.

There had been talk of Johan tipping his pitches.  There was none of that last night.  There was talk of Johan losing his velocity.  There was none of the that last night.  There used to be talk of Johan losing control of his pitches.  There was none of that last night.

Johan Santana is back, and that is very good news for the New York Mets.

Let's Go Mets!

All Star Snub: The Mike Pelfrey Story (And So Many Others)

10-2.  2.93 ERA.  Looks like All Star numbers to me.  Well, I guess they didn't for Charlie Manuel.  Those are just two of the many impressive stats from Mike Pelfrey this season.  Today the All Star rosters were announced.  For me, there were two noticeable snubs.  Mikey P. of course, and Joey Votto of the Reds.  Coming into today Votto had a .313 AVG, .414 OBP, and .988 OPS.  Oh yeah, he also has 19 home runs.  Charlie's excuse for keeping those numbers off the team: he wanted to go with "his guy" so he took Ryan Howard instead.

There are plenty of worthy members of the National League roster.  But, there are also plenty that clearly don't deserve to be there.  I truly believe Tim Lincecum and Chris Carpenter made the team based on reputation.  And the team has 2 setup-men relief pitchers this year with Evan Meek of the Pirates and Arthur Rhodes of the Reds.  Oh yeah, we can't forget about the fact that Omar Infante is an All Star.

We also can't forget about one of the biggest snubs that took away most players from an entire team.  The San Diego Padres have the best record in the National League thanks in large part to their pitching staff.  But, if you look at the ASG roster, there are no members of the San Diego Padres pitching staff present.  Of course, you can vote for Heath Bell on the Final Vote ballot, but then you'd be taking away just-as-well-deserved votes from Joey Votto, who is also on the ballot.

The roster is a mess.  Other than David Wright starting at third base, and Jose Reyes making the team, I'm pretty upset.

Let's Go National League! (I guess?)

Nicknaming The Mets

First off, Happy 4th of July!
Now to the post:

If anybody likes to call baseball players by silly names, it's me.  I love thinking of ways to make the players more playful.  It also adds a personal touch when you're watching the games.  So, these are some of my favorite nicknames for the Mets.  They're not all originally by me, so if you recognize any of your own and want credit, let me know =)

David Wright: David (I tend to be on a first name basis when referring to him), Davey, D-Wright
Mike Pelfrey: Mikey P., Pelf, Big Pelf
Bobby Parnell: B-Parnz, My Favorite
Josh Thole: T-Hole, Joshy, JT
Jeff Francoeur: Frenchy, FranHeart, Frenchy-Face
Ryota Igarashi: Igatushy
Jason Bay: JayBayBay
Chris Carter: The Animal
Henry Blanco: Hank White
Jon Niese: The Nose
Ike Davis: Isaac Benjamin

And that's what I have right now.  If any of you have one, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list.

Let's Go Mets!