The World Series has not ended yet, and already we’re coming out with off-season wish lists.
We want Reyes, we don’t want Reyes, pay CJ Wilson whatever he wants, let Wilson go to the Yankees. Get a closer, trade Wright, keep your draft picks, hire Omar, fire Sandy, hire Riggleman, move the walls in. As they say in Seinfeld, yada, yada, yada.
Now I’m not saying I don’t find these conversations valuable. I do, I like intelligent discussion about the possibilities of the future of this franchise.
What I am incredibly tired of as a Mets fan is this constant, and I mean constant debate and argument about the front office and how they evaluate talent.
If you as a fan want to discredit Sandy Alderson and his methods, that’s fine. Why is it that whenever anybody speaks about the man, they seem to have nothing but the utmost respect for the way he operates? Why is it that you never heard a bad word about the man? If everything he does is worth complaining about, how come nobody who has ever …

One last look at 1986, no seriously I mean it.
One of our former writers, Mikey J, actually passed along this YouTube video a few years ago and every year around this time, I get a kick out of watching it again.

In this clip, as the Mets get ready to take on the Red Sox in the World Series, Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell make a 10 minute stop at MTV Studios where they get interviewed by vee-jay Martha Quinn who is rocking her bright orange Mets t-shirt,
The video also features the video “Let’s Go Mets Go” about half way through, but hearing these guys talk is by far the best part.
Lenny Dykstra even gives early indications of what his post-playing career might be like and admits “I even like cheating a little sometimes if that’s what it takes.”  That comes in the second half the clip, long after he puts his moves and works his charm on Martha Quinn.
Roger McDowell is as goofy as ever and he just cracks me up whenever I see this clip.
Anyway, en…

  Ahh don’t you love off season.  Nothing but time to think and tinker with what the Mets will have on the field in 2012.  Of course it would be a lot better watching the Mets play the Rangers then La Russo’s Cards and his 400 pitching changes but what can you do. 
The  Mets will be looking to hopefully resign Jose Reyes at Short soon but what should they do with his partner in crime David

The New York Mets have struggled in recent years, only making two postseason appearances since 2000. Several large-ticket free agent signings led to the promise of better things to come, but several of those signings didn’t pan out according to plan (Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay, to name a few).
However, the Mets have had stars who have shined in the spotlight of the big city since the beginning of the 21st century, and still more are attempting to blossom now as well.
Here are the top six players who have starred thus far for the Mets since the beginning of the new millennium.
6. Johan Santana: 2008-Present
Since the trade that brought starting pitcher Johan Santana over from the Minnesota Twins for four players in February, 2008, Santana hasn’t quite replicated the success that saw him win two AL Cy Young Awards in four seasons, however he also hasn’t been bad, either.
In three seasons, Santana is 40-25 with a 2.85 ERA for the Mets. Santana underwent shoulder surge…

Ray Stubblebine/A.P. PhotoTim Teufel, now a Mets coach, took the heat for the Mets loss in Game 1 of the 1986 World Series.

Over the next three weeks, Mark Simon will reminisce here about the 1986 postseason. The 1986 Mets won the World Series in an exhilarating fashion. Here’s a capsule look at Game 1 of the 1986 World Series, played on this date, 25 years ago.

Game 1, 1986 World Series: Red Sox 1, Mets 0

After the Red Sox and Mets had two days off following draining wins in their respective League Championship Series, the two teams convened at Shea Stadium for the Fall Classic, in a great game with an unfortunate ending.



Those who like pitcher’s duels would have loved this contest, a matchup of Red Sox lefty Bruce Hurst and Mets right-hander Ron Darling.



Hurst gave the Mets the same kind of troubles that Astros lefty Bob Knepper did in the early part of Game 3 and Game 6 of the NLCS. Though Hurst walked four and allowed four hits, he was able to sidestep trouble when he needed to do so.



Darling, who was very shaky and fortunate to get a no-decision in Game 3 of the NLCS, pitched very well in his World Series debut. He would allow just one run and three hits, but would be hurt by his own doing.

With the score tied in the top of the seventh, Darling walked Jim Rice, and allowed him to advance to second base on a wild pitch. Darling got Dwight Evans to ground out, but having a runner in scoring position proved painful when Rich Gedman’s grounder to the right side went through the legs of Tim Teufel. Rice scored for the only run the Red Sox would need.



The Mets got the leadoff man on base in the seventh inning against Hurst and in the ninth inning against Red Sox closer Calvin Schiraldi, but failed to score both times. The Red Sox won 1-0 and led in the series by that same margin.



Turning Point

In the third inning, the Mets had two on and one out for Keith Hernandez. But Hernandez flied out and Gary Carter grounded out to end that scoring threat. They’d put two on with nobody out in the home sixth, but their rally was killed by a Darryl Strawberry strikeout and a Ray Knight double play grounder.



The Mets would finish the game 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.



The Red Sox would also make a couple of key defensive plays. Third baseman Wade Boggs made a diving stop to thwart one late rally and first baseman Dave Stapleton, inserted as a late-game replacement for Bill Buckner, got a force play on Knight’s bunt attempt in the ninth inning to stymie another Mets comeback bid.



What They Wrote

“Game 1 of a World Series is like the first clash of two great heavyweights, the first spotting of an iceberg by a ship captain, the first across-the-room sighting of a woman by a man.



Who knows what majesty or tragedy might ensue?



The Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets met Saturday night at Shea Stadium for the first time in a game that counted, and the mixture was intoxicating to the point of causing hallucinations.

– Kevin Modesti, Los Angeles Daily News



“It was a Little League error. No, worse than that.It was the sort of play your Uncle Ralph makes in the softball game at the family reunion after he`s had a few too many beers. The groundball rolls out to him at second base, and Uncle Ralph draws a crafty bead on it, slyly puts down his glove and . . .”

–Mark Purdy, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Quote of the Day

“The ball just scooted on me. I didn’t get my glove down. It took a big hop just before a small one and I didn’t have the glove down low enough. Do I feel terrible? Yes.”



– Tim Teufel

Rusty Kennedy/A.P. PhotoThe Mets could not solve Bruce Hurst in Game 1.

“It reminds me of the Yankee infield,” he said. “The dirt gets loose quick and causes bad hops. It doesn’t look level.”

– Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett on Shea Stadium’s infield



Further Reading

The Society for Baseball Research is in the midst of its Bioproject, attemping to provide a biography for every major league player. Here’s a very thorough look at the life and baseball career of Teufel.



Stats To Remember

1– The 1986 Mets are the only team in postseason history to lose multiple series openers by a 1-0 score. They also lost Game 1 of the NLCS, 1-0.



2– This was the Red Sox first 1-0 win since May 3, 1984 against Jack Morris and the Detroit Tigers. The winning pitcher that day? The Mets Game 3 starter, Bob Ojeda.



3– This was the first postseason game in which the losing team lost 1-0 on an unearned run in 65 years. The last prior to this was Game 8 of the 1921 World Series (a best-of-9) in which the Giants defeated the Yankees, 1-0.



The Mets are the only team with two postseason 1-0 losses on unearned runs. The other such defeat came against the Braves in Game 3 of the 1999 NLCS.



And talk about hard-luck losers: Darling allowed one run and three hits in seven innings. Starting pitchers who allow one run or fewer, and three hits or fewer in seven-or-more innings are 129-11 all-time in the postseason.

When Mike Piazza was drafted as a favor in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, not many people thought that 23 years later, we would be having the discussion of which hat he would be wearing when he gets elected into the baseball hall of fame.
Of course, as Mets fans, our gut says that Piazza should be wearing a Mets jersey when he is enshrined into the hall. If that s the case, he will join only Tom “Terrific” Seaver as the only players to dawn a Mets hat in Cooperstown.
Now, Piazza led the Mets to the World Series, which is something he never did for the Dodgers. With arguments like this, though, I feel like using numbers to tell the story and make the best assessment of the situation. So here’s the lowdown.
Dodgers Stats
Homers- 177
RBI- 563
Average- .329 BA
Marlins Stats
Homers- 0
RBI- 5
Average- .278
Mets Stats
Homers- 220
RBI- 655
Average- .295
I don’t think there’s any question that Piazza should be wearing a Mets hat when he enters the hall of fame, but it should definitely be interesting to see how much consideration the Dodgers truly get.
What do you think?