I Just Don't Know

I don't know if that title really fits this post.  Perhaps I should have chosen a line from 'Not Over You' by Gavin DeGraw, it's what I'm listening to right now, but that would have surely been too melodramatic.  Either way, the title is not the important part.  The content is what I have been harping over for hours, figuring out how to put my thoughts and feelings into appropriate words.

I know how I feel about Mike Nickeas being demoted.  Ugh, I hate using that word.  Demoted.

I know how I feel about Mike Nickeas being sent to AAA.  That only sounds slightly better.

No matter how I want to phrase the fact, I feel pretty crappy.  My favorite player isn't going to be playing for my favorite team tomorrow.  He will not be on the bench for my favorite team.  He will once again be with one of their minor league affiliates.  Just as the season is falling apart the team takes away one of my reasons to watch.  I am probably the only person on the face of the earth with this reasoning, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.  And it doesn't mean I won't feel weird watching tomorrow's game.

I wanted to see him play again.  I basically have one month before I leave for school and I was looking forward to watching him catch at Citi Field.

But is there really a reason for me to be this upset?  I'd like to believe he knows who I am.  I mean, he acknowledged me at games, but maybe I'm just fooling myself.  Why would a major leaguer care who I am?  I'm just some fan and this is his life.  It definitely doesn't matter to him if one specific fan is watching.  I really shouldn't care this much.

Yet, even after telling myself that, I still care.  This still stinks.

Maybe it won't be so bad, though.  I'll still get to watch him play now that I have MiLB.tv.  And the Bisons now have him to play with Zach Lutz, Josh Satin, and Matt den Dekker.  Maybe they are my favorite team.  Within the next week or so they could also have Zack Wheeler and Mike would be there to help him adjust to AAA.  Once again he could contribute to the Mets without being on the big league roster.  And goodness knows he'll be working his butt off to get back onto that roster.

I've rambled for long enough and I don't have the energy or guts to say anything else.  I still can't think of a proper title for this so I'll leave it as is.  Hopefully the content speaks for itself.

Not Being A Buyer Or A Seller

A week ago the Mets still looked like they could be buyers at the trade deadline.  Oh, how one week can change things.  The Mets are now playing with only two members of their Opening Day starting rotation and also without their closer.  All of sudden the Mets are not looking like contenders this season but instead it may be time to look towards the future.

For some teams looking towards the future could mean selling.  However, Sandy Alderson said if the Mets weren't buyers they would not be sellers either.  Call me crazy, but I think standing pat is the right move for the Mets.  The first half of the season demonstrated that a lot their current players can are valuable.  David Wright should ultimately be locked up.  Daniel Murphy has put in a ton of work to become a second baseman and is definitely a hitter the Mets shouldn't want to lose.  Ruben Tejada has been everything the Mets could have asked for and then some.  Jon Niese is one of the most reliable pitchers this season and Bobby Parnell has also shown tremendous growth this year.

Every year the trade deadline brings out certain fans that want a move simply to see a move.  The constant rotation of players is what keeps some interested.  But for the sake of the Mets and being future contenders it isn't what the team needs.  Trading a starter to make a splash just creates a hole in the lineup and development of the team.

Scott Hairston, Tim Byrdak, and maybe Lucas Duda are the only players that the Mets should entertain moving.  And this is only if the slide of this week continues through the next week and a half.  We did just see how fast fortunes can turn.

I just don't want to see the Mets sacrifice their future for the reason of simply being a part of a trade.  It wouldn't make sense.

Let's Go Mets!

I Miss This

If you tuned into SNY tonight you didn't turn on a Mets game, you turned on a Buffalo Bisons game.  And if you knowingly turned on the Bisons you probably did so to see Matt Harvey.  I turned on the Bisons to see Matt Harvey but not to see only Matt Harvey.  I also wanted to watch Zach Lutz and Josh Satin and Matt den Dekker.  And although he is no Gary Cohen, listening to Ben Wagner call a game is never bad.

There have only been a few Bisons games on SNY this year.  Each time one is on I find myself wondering why I haven't watched more games.  Last season I subscribed to MiLB.tv and watched almost every Bisons game.  I saw Zach Lutz and the gang play almost everyday.  I didn't get it this season and with each game SNY shows, I find myself missing it more.  Whenever the Mets would call up a random reliever or middle infielder last year I would recognize the player.  I knew how they had been playing and what to expect.

I also just got to see some of my favorite players on a regular basis.  By now you know I am the queen of liking irrelevant players.  You also probably know Zach Lutz and Josh Satin are two of those players.  I have been well aware that I'm missing them play but I was not aware of how much I really miss seeing them play.  There's something about seeing Lutz drive a ball to right field (it was only a sacrifice fly) or Josh Satin lace a double down the line (he hasn't done that tonight) that I just realized I was really longing to see again.

I may find myself down $30 before the day is over, but I know it'll be worth it.

Let's Go Bisons!

House Of Horrors

The Mets have now opened the second half of the season by getting swept by the Braves.  It isn't the start anybody wanted but when you consider where the Mets are playing you can't really be surprised.  Just this season the Mets have seen Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey give up 12 and 13 runs, respectively, in two games each and even though they have averaged 4.6 runs per game in Atlanta, the poor starting pitching has contributed to the 1-5 record.  Unfortunately, that kind of bad luck is not limited to this season.

Turner Field is where Ryan Church was concussed as a runner during a game-ending double play.  It is also where Johan Santana made his last start in 2010 before having surgery that lead to his absence for over a year.  And we cannot forget that it is the former home of Willie Harris and current home of Chipper Jones.

The Mets are 44-87 at Turner Field since it opened in 1997.  It has never been particularly friendly to the Mets, even when it looks like the Mets are playing well.  I know these games count as much as any others but there is something about being in Atlanta that makes me want to throw them away.  I'm not lying when I want to discount losses in that ballpark.

On the bright side, the Mets are out of there now.

By the way, Johan Santana won that game before the surgery.  Even when the Mets literally win, they lose.

The Best Part Of This Team

This post was originally going to be The Best Part Of This Season.  It was originally going to highlight all the different times a random unknown player contributed.  I would mention names like Mike Nickeas, Jeremy Hefner, and Jordany Valdespin and remember the times they helped the Mets win games or series they weren't supposed to win.  Then I realized the best part of this season is not one moment or a series of moments.

The best part of this season is the team that is playing.  From the beginning this team has had faith in themselves and every other player.  It started during Spring Training when Ike Davis wondered why everybody had already decided the Mets would stink.  And it continued once the season began.  Ike had an abysmal start to the season yet every player still wanted him out there, they wanted him to work out of his slump in the big leagues, not with the Bisons as some fans were calling for.  Even without his bat, the Mets still knew they needed Ike Davis to be out on the field fighting with them.

But it is way more than just the support of Ike Davis.  It's the way David Wright talks about this team.  David has been around for longer than any other Met and he talks about this team like it's his family.  I remember listening to an interview that was seemingly about anything but how the Mets were playing.  David ended up talking about what the team does off the field and he wasn't just saying things about himself and Ike Davis and other big name players.  He talked about Mike Nickeas and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, guys that he wouldn't care to hang out with if the clubhouse wasn't so close.

It is also the way this team doesn't want to change.  The trade deadline is coming up and if the Mets seriously want to contend they may need to make a few moves.  The bullpen could change.  They could have a new backup catcher.  But on this team the pitchers want to keep throwing to Mike Nickeas.

This team has a special bond.  They are just as happy when someone else gets a big hit as they are when they get one.  They want to see each other succeed sometimes even more than they want to succeed on their own.  It is the way every team should function yet some teams are so far away from it.

The Mets love each other this year and that is why I love these Mets.

Let's Go Mets!

When Life Gives You Lemons

It's summer.  It's supposed to be the fun time of year when kids don't have to worry about responsibilities or doing work or anything other than enjoying themselves.  Well, for me it has been anything but what I just described.  The combination of working and not having a computer easily accessible has pushed writing too far back.  And now that I finally have a laptop I just don't know what to say.  Whenever I think of something to say I'm in the middle of doing someone's lanyard or handing out pretzels.

I have basically just been exhausted.

Work is tiring.  Coming home and wanting to write but napping instead.  Making sure I'm up in time to have dinner and watch the Mets game.  Not being tired enough to go to bed right after the game and instead watching an hour of MLB Network before going upstairs.  Getting in bed and realizing that I just spent so much time doing nothing, AKA not writing.

Oh, and realizing a good amount of what I do want to write revolves around feeling like the only that still has faith in my favorite player.  Living out the tagline of this very blog, "Somebody has to like Mike Nickeas" more than I ever thought possible.  Thinking of other things to write but still being lead back to the same place, the same player.  Being paranoid that said player will see everything that is in fact written and then being even more paranoid about him judging you and then feeling stupid for thinking an actual professional athlete might care about what I write.

And realizing I might only be going to one Mets game all summer.  I might see the Mets in person only once and not only do I not know if my favorite player will be on the team at that point, I don't know if I'll get to see batting practice at this one game because of work.  And speaking of being alone in support, reading more and more people trash one of my favorite bands that will be performing after the game and finding it hard to stay excited to finally see them.

It isn't a fun cycle.  There are a lot of lemons in front of me, but I'm going to make lemonade.

Let's Go Mets!

Rumor Has It

Every year there are obviously trade rumors. And every year one of my favorite players has seemingly been involved in the rumors in some way. Xavier Nady going to the Pirates was the first of the summer heartbreak. Joe Smith wasn't traded until December but the trade still hurt. Throughout the years various writers have written the names of Mike Pelfrey and Bobby Parnell as trade bait. Yet, this year it is not about who will be traded. It's about how the team would change after the trade.

It is no secret that the Mets are disappointed in the offense they have gotten from their catchers this season, particularly Mike Nickeas. Now, according to Joel Sherman they are looking to trade for a right handed catcher. Some names mentioned were Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Olivo, and Kelly Shoppach.

The Mets have every right to look for a different backup catcher. They are looking for any way to improve the team and this could be one improvement. But I'm not going to lie and say this improvement would excite me. My heart is with their current backup catcher and that takes my head in that direction too.

If they really want a backup catcher they should first find out what happens when they use their current 2nd catcher as an actual backup. Terry Collins has done quite a bit of platooning this season. That platooning leads to more playing time for the perceived "backups" and puts them in situations they might not simply be up to.

However, if the Mets are looking for a right handed power bat for the bench, catcher is not really the ideal position. Since the beginning of time the backup catcher has been the last man off the bench because there's just so much risk in the position. Players can substitute in other positions in an emergency without much trouble but there are usually only two players on a team that can actually catch. If a team wants to use their backup catcher as a regular pinch hitter they are leaving themselves vulnerable if the starter needs to leave the game.

The biggest thing with this seems to be the Mets desire not to have a textbook backup catcher but have a platoon partner for Josh Thole. Personally, I'd rather see the Mike Nickeas figure things out than watch Ramon Hernandez and his .215 batting average. One of the biggest things this year has been the clubhouse. Most will probably laugh when I say taking out Mike Nickeas could hit the clubhouse hard but don't discount that.

I also fully believe the bullpen has hurt the team more than the backup catcher position and the Mets should be looking to improve there as much as possible.

But this is all just how my brain works. I am probably the only person looking to save Mike Nickeas. I just would really like to see my favorite player get a full season in the big leagues. The Mets can tear my heart out and shred it into millions of pieces after the season.