An Optimistic Look at Getting to .500

The Mets are coming home 7 games under .500 - but fret not Mets faithful!!!

They're starting a 7 game homestand against the two worst teams in the league.  All they need to do is sweep the Rockies and Astros and they're back to mediocrity!

Wait - what happened when the Cubs came to town?

Cheap Yankees Red Sox Tickets

Gotta love the 8pm ESPN games if you're on the east coast.  Tickets can be had for less than $10 on Stubhub.  Granted, after fees you're paying face value - but still...

Upcoming Hats and Bobbleheads

Orioles - Sept 30 - JJ Hardy

Yankees - Sept 19 - Snoopy

Rays - Sept 23 - Matt Joyce

Blue Jays - Aug 19 - Ricky Romero

White Sox - Sept 7 - Green Hat

Tigers - Aug 21 - Prince Fielder

Royals - Sept 15 - Camo Hat

Rangers - Aug 25 - Ron Washington

Marlins - Aug 29 - Giancarlo Stanton
               Sept 19 - Jose Reyes

Mets - Aug 25 - Mike Piazza

Phillies - Aug 21 - Hunter Pence

Nationals - Sept 8 - Ryan Zimmerman

Cubs - Aug 24 - Truckers Cap
            Aug 27 - Runners Cap

Astros - Sept 1 - Jeff Kent
              Sept 2 - Milo Hamilton
              Sept 26 - JR Richard

Brewers - Sept 16 - Aramis Ramirez

Diamondbacks - Sept 15 - Matt Williams

Dodgers - Aug 12 - Fernando Valenzuela
                 Aug 30 - Vin Scully

Giants - Aug 26 - Pablo Sandoval

If the Astros

Run the table, they'll eek out a .500 record.

The Quest for .500

At 7 games under .500 - it's going to take a strong last 6 weeks to finish the season at .500

Trading Bad Contracts? Bay for Figgins?

I hate these stupid "how about this trade proposal" talks that will never happen, but how about this one...

The Mets have an albatross of a contract Jason Bay.  He's owed a little over $18 million for next season.

The Mariners have a bust in a contract in Chone Figgins.  He's also in the last year of his contract for next season and is owed $8.5 million.

Jason Bay has stunk up the joint and looks like he's washed up.

Chone Figgins hasn't crossed the Mendoza Line since 2010 and looks like he's washed up.

Why not swap two players who both look like they're washed up and need a change of scenery?  What's the worst that would happen?

Sure, Bay's contract is for $10 million more than Figgins.  How about trading Bay for Figgins with the Mets making up the $10 million difference in the contracts? 

If each team is just going to eat the respective contracts - why not trade bad contract for bad contract and see if one can catch a little lightning in a bottle?  Figgins can play in left, and if he can't - cut him.  

The Mariners aren't getting anything out of anyone in the lineup, so if they get anything out of Bay, it's an upgrade.  It's not like Figgins is even playing right now.  

It's not much of a risk for either team at this point. 

Why Bay is Playing

Jason Bay is not a major league player at this point.  We all know that.

So why is he playing?  Well, duh... it's his contract.

But let's delve just a little bit deeper...

The team is out of it this season.  Thus Bay is playing.

No one is picking him up this trade deadline.  He has no trade value.  The Mets have approximately 60 games to see if he can get anything back that would give him some kind of value this offseason.  Even is the Mets have to eat 90% of his contract next season to get someone to take him off their hands for the last season of his contract next year, that's still a 10% savings on what's already going to be out the door next season anyway.

And if he doesn't show anything over the next two months... he'll get released in Spring Training like Ollie P and Castillo did last season.

So since the season is lost anyway, try to recoup some of next years's losses by playing Bay now.

The Eight National League Contenders

While the Mets aren't officially on the Dead List yet, they're toast in 2012.

So who are the contenders remaining in the National League?

There are 8 teams that are competing for the 5 playoff spots.

Nationals
Braves
Reds
Pirates
Cardinals
Giants
Dodgers
Diamondbacks

The Nationals, Reds, and Giants are the division leaders.
The Pirates and the Braves are leading the wildcard chase.

The Dodgers, Cardinals and Diamondbacks are the remaining contenders that are on the outside looking in.

The Dodgers are 1 game back in the West and 1.5 out of the wildcard.
The Cardinals are 6 games back in the Central and 2 out of the wildcard.
The Diamondbacks are 5 games back in the West and 5.5 out of the wildcard.

So there are 8 contenders.  The Diamondbacks are the closest to becoming irrelevant.  Good thing for them they're playing the Mets right now.

On the Verge of the DEAD LIST!!

It's almost official.  The Mets are 7 games out of a playoff spot.  One more game, and it's the Dead List for you!!

Taking on Water

Put a fork in it, Mets fans...  another loss and it's three games below sea level with Strasburg coming up tomorrow and the brutal 11 game west coast trip coming up.

They're 10.5 out of first place in the East.  The East is officially out of reach.  OBI Kenobi, their only hope is the wildcard... and they're 6 games out on that end.  Slide another two, and they're officially on the DEAD LIST.

But who are we kidding - they're toast.

Sure, Ike is playing.  Murphy is on a hot streak.  Tejada is proving he's a player.  David is being David plus one.

But then there's the outfield.  We have Bay in Left.  He of the Slider Bat Speed.  We have the platoon in center.  We have the platoon in right.  These days with the 7 to 8 man bullpens, a platoon is just another way of saying "We don't have one guy who's good enough for the full time job." Oh... and the platoons are better than the lone full-time guy.

The rotation is falling apart.

And let's not forget the brightest of bright spots... the bullpen.  Why is it a bright spot?  When you pour gasoline on a fire, it burns pretty bright...

All that being said, I'm still going to head back to the park multiple times this season - enough to drive my wife nuts....

Buyers? I Think Not

The Mets have slipped back to .500.  They should not be buyers at this time.  There will not be another Zambrano for Kazmir trade.

Back to .500

Panic time for Mets fans has set in.   Not like this comes as a surprise.

Now Johan is on the DL.  Dickey has come back to Earth.

We're back to where we were expecting.

Upcoming Hats and Bobbles in the Majors

For the rest of July and through August...

Orioles - July 27 - floppy hat

Yankees - August 4 - hat

Rays - July 22 - Matt Moore
           Aug 5 - DJ Kitty

Blue Jays - Aug 12 - hat
                   Aug 19 - Ricky Romero

White Sox - Aug 4 - Beer Vendor bobblehead

Indians - Aug 12 - Gaylord Perry

Tigers - Aug 21 - Prince Fielder

Royals - July 21 - Buck O'Neil
              Aug 18 - Eric Hosmer

Angels - July 24 - cadet hat

A's - Aug 18 - Scott Hatteberg

Mariners - July 28 - Randy Johnson & Dan Wilson

Texas Rangers - Aug 12 - Ian Kinsler
                           Aug 25 - Ron Washington

Braves - Aug 16 - Chipper Jones

Marlins - Aug 29 - Giancarlo Stanton

Mets - July 21 - Alfonso Soriano
           Aug 25 - Mike Piazza

Phillies - Aug 21 - Hunter Pence

Nationals - Aug 5 - Michael Morse
                 Aug 17 - Hat

Cubs - Aug 14 - hat
            Aug 24 - trucker hat
            Aug 27 - runner cap

Reds - Aug 4 - Johnny Cueto
           Aug 18 - hat

Astros - July 27 - hat
             July 28 - Chris Burke
             Aug 17 - hat
              Aug 18 - Jeff Bagwell

Brewers - July 26 - camo hat
                July 29 - Bob Uecker

Cardinals - Aug 3 - Bruce Sutter

Diamondbacks - July 21 - hat
                          July 28 - Justin Upton
                        Aug 11 - Gerardo Parra

Dodgers - July 31 - Kirk Gibson
                 Aug 5 - hat
                 Aug 7 - Sandy Koufax
                 Aug 21 - Fernando Valenzuela
                 Aug 30 - Vin Scully

Giants - Aug 26 - Pablo Sandoval

How Close are the Mets to the Dead List?

Now that we're in the 2nd half of the season and time is getting shorter... the Dead List candidates qualify from being 10 games out to 8.   8 games means you're more than 1 full week of games out.

So where do the Mets stand?

They're 4.5 out of the Wildcard and 7 out in the division.  They're 3.5 games from oblivion.   That's half a week potentially.

So who is on the Dead List?

American League:

Royals
Mariners
Twins

National League:

Phillies
Padres
Cubs
Rockies
Astros

The official list is 8.  The Brewers and Marlins are on the brink.

Mets Got Chopped

It's that time of year again!  Pretty soon Craig Carton will be opening the Church of Mets Fans for Yankees.  He'll probably be talking about it on WFAN tomorrow.

But now they're only 3 over .500 - it's after the All-Star break.  Their next 9 games are against the Nationals and Dodgers.  3-6 over this stretch puts them right back at .500 before an 11 game western road trip.

I don't think they're going to be buyers.  We're going to see Bautista down the stretch and now that Schwinden was re-acquired, maybe we'll see him back on the 40 man roster and in the rotation in September.  If they're out of race, no reason to push Harvey this year (even though he'll probably be pitching on Saturday).

Has the Swoon Begun?

After another terrible loss today - any Mets fan worth their salt is asking this question.... is this the beginning of the end?

They're now 6 games back in the division.  While even while they were playing well, the division was never really anything that was realistically in sight.  The thought was really the wonder if this team could be one of the two wildcards.

But now they're beginning to make a slide in the wildcard standings as well.  With today's loss, they're 2.5 out of the 2nd wildcard.  They're tied with St. Louis and still have San Francisco ahead of them.  The surprising Pirates hold one of the spots, and if they lose again to the Braves, they'll be further back of that one as well.

People may start giving away more tickets come the end of next month...

AA Bobbles - Eastern League

Akron Aeros - Aug 19 - Don Plusquellic

Bowie Baysox - July 19 - Al Bumbry
                           August 15 - Matt Wieters

Harrisburg Senators - July 21 - Bryce Harper

New Hampshire Fisher Cats - Aug 19 - Carlton Fisk

Portland SeaDogs - July 2 - Dustin Pedroia

Reading Phillies - July 23 - Jimmie Rollins
                             Aug 27 - Harry Kalas

Richmond Flying Squirrels - July 31 - Justin Verlander

Trenton Thunder - July 6 - David Robertson
                              July 27 - Ivan Nova
                              Aug 17 - Robinson Cano
                              Aug 29 - Andy Pettitte
                              May 11 - Manny Banuelos
                              May 21 - Francisco Cervelli
                              May 22 - Jesus Montero
                              May 23 - Austin Romine

Phillies Make the Dead List

Happy Day Indeed!

The Phillies have become the 6th team on the Dead List.  Heading into the All-Star break, they are 10 games out of the closest playoff spot - making them part of the Walking Dead for the second half.

Will they stay?  Will they be like Jason and Freddie Kruger and keep on coming back?

But for now, they're on the List, which is good enough for me.

FU Philly!  Craig Carton will be proud.

Dead List - July 7th Edition

Last weekend before the All-Star break.  Non-Waiver trading deadline later this month.  What teams are on the Dead List?

In the American League - there's only 1 - the Seattle Mariners.  (Although the Twins are knocking on Death's Door and are 9 games out of the Wildcard.  One more, and they can be back on the list).

In the National League - there are 4:

San Diego Padres

Colorado Rockies

Chicago Cubs

Houston Astros

The Philadelphia Phillies are close - they can be on the list shortly, just like the Twins.  They're also 9 out of the Wildcard.  

More Minor League Bobblehead Dates

Pacific Coast League

Albuquerque Isotopes - Aug 19th - Green Chile Pepper Bobblehead

Colorado Springs Sky Sox - July 21 - Jim Thome
                                             July 28 - Carlos Gonzalez
                                             Aug 11 - Charlie Manuel
                                             June 9 - Todd Helton

Fresno Grizzlies - Sept 1 - Brandon Belt

Iowa Cubs - Aug 18th - Andy Garman

Las Vegas 51s - July 21st - Cosmo

Memphis Redbirds - Aug 10th - Elvis

Nashville Sounds - July 24 - Corey Hart
                               July 19 - Richard Sterban

New Orleans Zephyrs - July 21st - Bobble TBD

Oklahoma City Redhawks - August 17 - Bobble TBD

Reno Aces - July 14 - Bobble TBD

Tucson Padres - Aug 10th - Trevor Hoffman