G-Fafif

The elevation will mile high for this game.

I'd be curious to know what each IGT starter was wearing when starting the IGT, and if that person, upon starting another IGT after a victory, wore the same color scheme or, after a loss, took care to change it.

So the table can be a little wider, how about # of replies generated (with PotG voting end date serving as same for IGT cutoff). It would be a real-time indicator of how absorbing a given game was (or how many of us failed to go outside for three hours)?

If Maine K's The E as well as Gwreck did, we'll be on our way to a good week. As for the hypothetical Tulowitzki for Reyes deal, it seems I've heard it mentioned that Tulowitzki idolized Jeter growing up, therefore if he became a Met, you know the voices in his head would tell he just made a terrible mistake, no matter how Jeter-like Tulowitzki was. So no thanks.

Francoeur 2.0 Jacobs 1.0 Valdes 1.0 Barajas 0.5

Francoeur 1.0 Igarashi 1.0 Mejia 1.0 Blanco 0.5 Tatis 0.5 Perez 0.5

Pelfrey 2.5 Francoeur 2.5 Barajas 2.5 Wright 1.5 Cora 1.0

Ask a question, don't get the answer you think you should...shoot, just make up the rest. Ian O'Connor on ESPN New York does just that with Johan Santana. Too bad Ian didn't ask him on Monday, but then he'd have to have written "Johan Santana couldn't be happier with the choice he made two years ago..." Santana is Flushing away his talent By Ian O'Connor ESPNNewYork.com Johan Santana would give back the $2.5 million, every last cent. If he knew he was cutting a Faustian deal with the Mets, he would have walked out of that negotiating room rather than nickel-and-dime a franchise that would make him live to regret it. In the winter of 2008, the Mets offered Santana $135 million and their blue-chip recruit insisted on $5 million more. Santana walked into the room an ace and left it a closer. He agreed to split the difference and put his golden left arm in the hands of an organization forever leading the league in empty promises and broken hearts. So two seasons and two starts later, after knee and elbow surgeries, after his new team choked in Year 1, collapsed in Year 2 and finished its sixth home game of Year 3 with a lost series to the unworthy Nationals and a 2-4 record, I asked Santana if he regretted doing business with the Mets. Had his water been spiked with truth serum, his answer would've sounded like this: "What do you think?" Dressing alone at his locker, refusing to darken the mood inside the losing Citi Field clubhouse, the serum-free Santana said, "No, it's not my first time. I've been there before, man. I think we're working on it, making some adjustments. We've got the right guys to do it, and we just have to make it happen, be more consistent, start doing the little things." He had surrendered a first-inning grand slam to Josh Willingham a few hours earlier, allowing himself to be outdueled by Livan Hernandez, who looked like he belonged in a Flushing park playing high-arc softball. Johan Santana pitched without his best stuff on Sunday, and it made for an ugly afternoon for the Mets. Santana had positively nothing at the start. His changeup wasn't biting and his fastball was cutting when it wasn't supposed to cut. "I was all over the place," he said. Nyjer Morgan's leadoff triple and a pair of walks preceded Willingham's trip to the plate. Santana threw a flat changeup, Willingham crashed it against the outfield wall, and after a surreal sequence in which Adam Dunn flattened Rod Barajas and Santana executed a Jeter-like flip to the plate to get Willingham, the umps went to the tape and ruled Willingham's shot a grand slam. "And just like that," Santana said, "the whole game changed." So did the whole season, all six games worth. The Mets couldn't afford to lose this Santana start against a wretched opponent, not when they were facing a six-game road trip featuring five games started by Mets not named Johan Santana. [i can't tell if O'Connor is saying "only six games" or he is incapable of irony at his own expense.] But lose it they did, pushing Jerry Manuel closer to the brink, and leaving their home crowd with one highlight to savor (the eighth-inning video of the New York Rangers taking a 1-0 lead in Philly) and one lowlight to cheer (the ninth-inning dustup after Francisco Rodriguez nailed Willie Harris). Yes, Santana has to be wondering what in the world he's gotten himself into. He's only human. That voice in the back of his head is growing louder, moving to the front, telling him he should've put his money on a different horse. He was a frequent playoff participant in Minnesota, and his friend and fellow recruit, Rodriguez, was another October regular who won a World Series with the Angels. [O'Connor has the best ears imaginable to hear the voice inside Santana's head.] "I'm sure [santana] is in the same place I am," K-Rod said. "We came here with the expectation to be part of something special, and that's what we're working on. I think we're going to do it. "I don't regret coming here, and [santana] doesn't either. We've had really tough moments in our career here, but we don't regret anything. I'm extremely happy to be here, and if you ask Johan that question he'll say the same thing." In fact, Rodriguez said, Santana's happiness will manifest itself in a big way. "He's going to win the Cy Young this year," K-Rod predicted. "He's hungry, very hungry. He went down with that injury last year, so he's hungry to win." Told about K-Rod's forecast, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner wouldn't commit to his first in the National League. "It's only two games," Santana said. "I'm going to compete, that's for sure. Time will tell." He said his elbow is fine. But if another Mets season spirals out of his control, Santana will feel more pain in his heart than his arm. He was all set to go to the Yankees, too. That's what everyone in baseball thought, Santana included. And just his luck, the Yankees decided to keep their kid pitchers and wait to pay CC Sabathia the following year. [ian can hear voices in heads, so he must hear thoughts that weren't stated aloud as well.] Against all odds, the Mets landed him for Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra and a contract extension to die for. The Mets received a 72-hour negotiating window to do a deal with Santana; they wouldn't have made the trade with the Twins unless they signed the ace long-term. Those 72 hours weren't enough. After Santana flew into town to join the talks, the Mets asked Minnesota to extend the window. Team and player were at a standoff over 5 million bucks. Finally they reached a 50-50 compromise. Santana decided he could win the championships in New York he couldn't win in Minnesota, and everyone knows the rest. [Johan Santana: the first player to take the money to play somewhere. What a scoop.] In 2008, after Santana pitched a three-hit shutout against Florida on short rest and on a torn meniscus, the Mets couldn't secure a playoff berth the following day. In 2009, before Santana left for elbow surgery, the Mets couldn't put a competent or relevant team on the field. [When you run out of bad stuff to say 'bout the Mets, call them irrelevant. It makes it look like you've got a broader point when, in fact, you have nothing.] In 2010, after the Mets failed to land a legitimate No. 2 starter to complement him, Santana helped his undermanned team fall to 2-4. [so is this Santana's fault for pitching badly Sunday or the Mets' fault for rubbing off on him?] "We have to stay positive," the ace said. "If we stay healthy, we've got a very good chance to do something." Hope. Yes, the Mets always have hope. But given their rich history of betraying expectations, you wouldn't have to play poker for a living to figure this out: If he could give back that $2.5 million today, Johan Santana would surely cash out of Queens. [surely? Oh, absolutely. Ian O'Connor can hear the voices.]

Mucho congratulations MGIM!

Benny Agbayani, per the Snooze, enjoying retirement in Hawaii. Found this nugget intriguing: He played in 119 games for the Mets' 2000 World Series team, batting .289 with 15 homers and 60 RBI. That season, Agbayani hit an 11th-inning grand slam to beat the Cubs in Tokyo in the second game of the year and he homered in the 13th inning of Game 3 of the division series against the Giants. He cherishes a photo of his teammates throwing him into the air afterward. He also helped the Mets to their lone win in the World Series, doubling in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of Game 3. "I can't believe it's been 10 years already," says Agbayani, who adds that he'll be at Citi Field sometime this season with other members of the team that lost in five games to the Yankees. "The Subway Series, it couldn't get any better than that, just the intensity of the fans, the intensity of the atmosphere, of the games themselves. We had an unbelievable team - great atmosphere in the clubhouse." Haven't seen any mention of a tenth anniversary commemoration, but that would be sweet (ending of 2000 postseason notwithstanding).

Didn't notice if Bruney came after Frankie during the mini-ruckus. Money and mouth and all that.

Good health is the most heartening prospect. Here's hoping Valdes's stay makes him hard to send back -- and a speedy recovery to Sean.

Edgy DC wrote: The guy did perfectly well last year. Only within the confines of willful revisionism or kneejerk contrarianism did Sean Green (105 baserunners in 69.2 relief innings, including 9 hit batters) do perfectly well last year. He may not deserve the Schleprock treatment in which dark clouds automatically form over our heads at the first mention of him but he was quite streaky across 2009, the opposite of consistently good.

Ashie62 wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Bottom of the ninth, bases getting loaded, down one run, yet if it weren't for DiamondVision, most Mets fans would remain mute. A long-developing disturbing trend manifested itself Saturday afternoon, observed here. You couldn't really tell on television (having watched the replay) just how dead it was when we weren't being electronically stirred up. Whatever became of self-generated LET'S GO METS or taunting the opposition in hopes of distracting them? Whatever happened to baseball as the leading topic of conversation at baseball games? I may have officially crossed the line into codger territory today, not fully getting why things, in this realm, aren't the way they used to be. 'ala" Dana Carvey many years ago on SNL "In my day we sat on our hands in 40 degree weather, watched every pitch and WE LIKED IT!" Why would anyone go into McFadden's at Citi and watch the gave on the same LCD TV I have at home? We had an owner whose two daughters let a mule run around wherever it wanted -- and a third baseman who didn't want to be here and gave us the two-armed salute -- and a team that lost 99 games -- AND WE LOVED IT! In our way.

"That's a lesson for all you kids out there!"

Bottom of the ninth, bases getting loaded, down one run, yet if it weren't for DiamondVision, most Mets fans would remain mute. A long-developing disturbing trend manifested itself Saturday afternoon, observed here. You couldn't really tell on television (having watched the replay) just how dead it was when we weren't being electronically stirred up. Whatever became of self-generated LET'S GO METS or taunting the opposition in hopes of distracting them? Whatever happened to baseball as the leading topic of conversation at baseball games? I may have officially crossed the line into codger territory today, not fully getting why things, in this realm, aren't the way they used to be.

Julia Stiles throwing out the first pitch was clearly the highlight. That and the scarves they gave out, which came in handy in this Bob Seger of a day, sitting against the wind. Lots of inane fans in my Prom section, the dumbest of them being the douche who started a Ruben Tejada chant when Reyes made his error and did it every time he came up. Same fucker blurted "ANOTHER ALOMAR" for Bay in the ninth. I like a good early panic as much as the next fan, but come on.

The Mets-Nats communication channels are crystal clear. The Nats Blog got a world exclusive with Faith and Fear on their current opponent, the Mets here. Interestingly, per the flexible allegiances of the Nats chix, the father of the Nats blogger is a Mets fan.

I see Fred's already moved the shrine to Carl Erskine to one of his other homes.

Luis Castillo has a barking calf, says Adam Rubin. Second baseman Luis Castillo, who stayed reasonably healthy while appearing in 142 games and batting .302 for the Mets last season, needs to sit out Friday�s series opener against the Washington Nationals. Castillo said he felt a �pull� in his right calf muscle while stealing second base in the third inning on Opening Day, although he remained in that game. Manager Jerry Manuel indicated he planned to use Ruben Tejada at shortstop and Alex Cora at second base when right-hander Mike Pelfrey faces Nats right-hander Garrett Mock. �I�ve been feeling it for a couple of days,� Castillo said. �I need a day. � It�s not a big deal." Castillo also slid headfirst into first base Thursday to avoid a tag and pick up an infield single, stinging his left hand in the process. But the second baseman said that is a non-issue. �I hit my hand a little bit, but I�m OK,� he said.

Ceetar wrote: Interesting correlation would be, who was the last Met born before there was Mets? Billy Beane was born March 29, 1962, 13 days before the franchise drew breath (not counting paperwork, spring training and such), 17 days after Darryl Strawberry. The first future Met born after the birth of the franchise was Joe Orsulak, May 31, 1962; the Mets lost at home to the Dodgers, 6-3. The first Met to play for the Mets who was born after the Mets were born was Jose Oquendo, born July 4, 1963. The Mets were swept a doubleheader at Wrigley that day, dropping them to 29-52; talk about being born under a bad sign. Julio Franco was the last Met who was born before the franchise to remain active. You can't go wrong with Julio Franco as an answer when it comes to this sort of thing.

Niese 2.5 Francouer 1.5 Bay 1.0 Pagan 1.0 Igarashi 0.5 Takahashi 0.5

I noticed there are no 1960s-born Mets on the current roster, which will happen when decades become 40+ years in the past. Also, Ruben Tejada was born not ten weeks from the 1990s. So we're getting closer to having one of those babies. Here's how the decade action breaks down by first and lasts: First Met born in the 1920s, Richie Ashburn (leadoff hitter, 4/11/1962) First Met born in the 1930s, Felix Mantilla (second hitter, 4/11/1962) First Met born in the 1940s, Ed Kranepool (9/22/1962) First Met born in the 1950s, Tim Foli (9/11/1970) First Met born in the 1960s, Brian Giles (9/12/1981) First Met born in the 1970s, Joe Vitko (9/18/1992) First Met born in the 1980s, Pat Strange (9/13/2002) Last Met born in the 1920s, Warren Spahn (7/10/1965) Last Met born in the 1930s, Jim Beauchamp (10/21/1973, five days later than Willie Mays) Last Met born in the 1940s, George Foster (8/6/1986; Seaver's 1987 comeback fell short) Last Met born in the 1950s, Julio Franco (7/7/2007) Last Met born in the 1960s, Gary Sheffield (9/30/2009, five days later than Ken Takahashi) There are no 1990s-born Mets listed on the roster of Buffalo or Binghamton. The only 1990s-born Met listed at St. Lucie is RHP Kyle Allen.

Garrett Jones called and said he approves of the hijack.

2006 reliever: Chad Bradford