Things I Did During Yesterday's Mets Game

4:15:  Turned on the game, settled into the Lazy Boy with a Beer
4:20:  Tried to calculate David Wright's OBP after another walk in the first inning
4:22:  Shook my head after another Jason Bay strikeout
4:35:  Ordered in some Thai food for delivery
4:41:  Second beer
5:13:  Realized for sure this would be a pitcher's duel, both guys had nasty stuff
5:35:  My Pad Thai and Chicken Satay are delivered, I open my third beer
5:40:  Shake my head as Jason Bay strikes out again
6:15:  Do a happy dance as Angel Pagan breaks up the no-hitter, celebrate with a beer
6:41:  Clap for Johan Santana as Igarashi relieves him...atta boy Johan!
7:12:  We're going to extra innings....beer me
7:34:  Shake my head as Jason Bay strikes out...again
7:39:  Alex Cora dives into the stands to make the play!!!  Wow, amazing!
8:00:  Make a salami sandwich...my wife comes into ask me if I'm ready to watch a Blu-Ray...walks away in disgust as I say, "no, but can you bring me a beer?"
8:12:  Shake my head in disgust as Jason Bay strikes out...again
8:20:  My brother calls me to ask if I'm watching the game...I hang up on him (Yankee fan)
8:41:  Takahashi walks the tight rope...loads the bases and strikes out three...beer!!!
9:10:  Luis Castillo with a great tag...Jonathan Niese is pinch hitting, John Maine is pinch running
9:34:  I have a meltdown with Valdes is thrown out at second....must have a beer now
9:47:  My dog comes in and starts licking my hand...I shoo him away...this is too important!
10:15:  I have another meltdown when Jerry Manuel asks Luis Castillo to bunt against a position player that can't find the strike zone...I stick another pin in my Jerry Manuel voodoo doll and just as I do it, they cut to a picture of Jerry smiling in the dugout
10:20:  I start crying like a baby when Jeff Francoeur hits a sac fly to bring Jose Reyes home with a run!  An actual run!
10:32: Albert Pujols doubles...I have a heart attack...my wife comes in to check on me...I tell her I'm fine and ask her for a beer.
10:37: The Cards tie it, I decide to do 20 pushups and kick my neighbor's cat
10:49: Jose Reyes sac fly to take the lead 2-1...much rejoicing...I hurriedly run to the bathroom and grab a beer on my way back to the chair
11:00:  Pelfrey getting squeezed by the ump, My wife comes in to tell me she's going to bed...I ignore her
11:08:  Grounder to Castillo...it's over!  I yell a little, fall off my chair, and high five my imaginary friends
11:10 Pack up my Lazy Boy and prep it for shipping to the Hall of Fame
11:15 My brother calls to ask why I hung up on him earlier...I hang up on him again
11:30 Pass out

Next day...

8:00:  Wake up and my dog is licking my face...I actually don't mind it...go to the bedroom where my wife is sleeping, I lick her face for a few minutes until she wakes up...she tells me my breath stinks...shower, coffee, blogging.

Good morning Mets Fans!

Chris Carter: Mr Marpril

We know Reggie Jackson was Mr October, and looking at the stats, there is no question that Chris Carter is Mr March and April, or "Mr Marpril".

His Spring numbers the last three years are gaudy...in fact they're downright fantastic.

Two years ago Carter had a very nice spring, finishing with an .893 OPS and hitting .371...at the time I'm sure he was convinced the big leagues were right around the corner.  He did get his September cup of coffee, and he responded well to the challenge, hitting .333 in 18 at-bats.

A year ago Carter came to camp on a mission and slugged to the tune of a 1.038 OPS, which led to him breaking camp with the big club.  Unfortunately, he only lasted 4 games with the Red Sox for a total of 5 at-bats.

Not to be deterred, Carter dutifully went to AAA Pawtucket and put up yet another outstanding year offensively.

Which brings us to 2010--and the Mets--and Spring Training--and Carter--and...

Another amazing spring, only this time it's even better.  Carter is sporting an off-the-charts 1.621 OPS--that's like Pujols on Steroids (figure of speech Albert, don't cry).

The question for Carter is what will be the outcome of another spring in which he is basically the best hitter in camp?

Right now he seems to the clear "26th man" in the minds of Mets management and destined to shuffle off to Buffalo.  It's a shame, because he certainly has the type of bat that could help the club.

CHRIS CARTER SPRING TRAINING STATS -- LAST THREE SEASONS

	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	GO/AO
2008	BOS	16	35	4	13	18	5	0	0	6	1	0	5	0	0	.371	.378	.514	.893	0.29
2008	CIN	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	2.00
2009	BOS	28	76	15	27	50	5	0	6	11	2	0	12	0	0	.355	.380	.658	1.038	1.38
2010	NYM	9	13	5	5	15	1	0	3	8	2	0	2	0	0	.385	.467	1.154	1.621	0.20

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• Chris Carter Goes Deep Twice -- In The 9th Inning (amazinavenue.com)
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• Chris Carter: virtu and fortuna (amazinavenue.com)

Interesting Baseball Developments

I've been so focused on the Mets woes that I've almost forgotten about the rest of the league.

For instance:

With 175 hits already, Ichiro is on pace for 245....this will mark the 9th consecutive season that he has 200 hits or more, a new baseball record (currently shares the record with Wee Willie Keeler). Pete Rose had the most 200+ hit seasons with 10, and Ichiro is very likely to break that as well in 2 years.

Joe Mauer is making a run at .400. He is currently batting .380 and has raised his average from .353 to .380 in his last 14 games with a stellar .476 batting average in August.

The amazing Albert Pujols is almost on pace for a 50 HR and 150 RBI season. This would be the first 150 RBI season in the National League since Sammy Sosa did it in 2001.

Brian Roberts is on pace for an eye-popping 62 doubles (yes, my eyes just literally popped out of their sockets). The all-time single season doubles record is 67, and we haven't seen a player have 60 in a season since 1936!

The incomparable Tim Lincecum has a good shot at 300 Ks. There have been sixty-three 300 K seasons in baseball history and none since 2004. By the way, Lincecum is making $650K this year.

Of course there are some great pennant races as well, and the Mets can play a spoiler role.

Bottom line is it's past time to remember that we are baseball fans too.

VIDEO: David Wright Gets Brushed Back

Kudos to David Wright for not charging the mound after he was nearly hit in the face by a pitch thrown by Cards reliever Brad Thompson.

From AP: Cardinals reliever Brad Thompson threw a pitch near the head of Mets third baseman David Wright in the sixth inning today, prompting plate umpire Bill Miller to warn both dugouts. An inning earlier, Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa loaded the bases when he hit Cardinals star Albert Pujols near the right elbow.

"You understand it's part of the game but, you know, you do it the right way," Wright said after the Mets' 9-0 win. "You hit a guy in the butt, you hit a guy in the back."

Thompson maintained it wasn't intentional. "I certainly wasn't throwing at him, just trying to back him off the plate," he said.

The Mets took care of it by kicking the Cards' ass.

The video can be seen here.

Feel Good Win on a Feel Bad Day

Chaos tried to reign supreme. Black cats everywhere--ladders positioned so you have to walk under them--broken mirrors all over--horseshoes all hung so the luck runs out.

Carlos Beltran--the man who had played the best of all the Mets in 2009--goes down with injury. His bone bruise had doubled in size, and there was no choice but to put him on the 15-day DL. He'll most likely return after the All-Star break, 3 weeks from now.

But wait, there's more.

Kid Reyes, the guy with the torn hamstring, was on his way to the hospital from treatment when the vehicle he was in was rear-ended by a fire truck driven by Madonna.

OK, it wasn't being driven by Madonna, but it did happen--there were no injuries.

Jerry had decided to give his three primary set-up men the night off.

Thankfully Mets ace Tim Redding was on the mound...doh!

But something funny happened on the way the forum--the Mets decided they wanted to play one of their best team games of the year.

And on they came--Redding pitched a workman-like beauty.

Omir Santos decided no one would get him out this night.

Daniel Murphy shrugged off his pedestrian slugging numbers and hit a homerun.

Alex Cora, who has earned the hearts and minds of Mets fans everywhere, drove in two runs.

Beleaguered Luis Castillo went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored twice.

Brian Stokes--the man who sat for 9 straight days recently--the guy who is often mistaken for a hot dog vendor by his own manager--the guy who ticket takers ask for a ticket--the guy that Johan Santana calls "my friend Freddy, the best bullpen catcher in the game"--that guy--all he did was come up at the most crucial time in the game and get Albert Pujols, the greatest hitter in the game, to hit into a double play.

After Stokes grabbed the ball and fired to second to start the double play, he cooly walked off the field to a well-deserved standing ovation.

Met fans love when a player has his "Met moment", and Stokes had his...it was also one of the biggest pitches of the year.

"I try not to think about who I'm facing," Stokes said. "I just try to make quality pitches, and it just worked out for the best tonight. I knew who it was I was facing, but I wasn't going to give in. "

It was that kind of game.

Who knows if there will be any carry-over effect from the big win, but let me say this--it was a big win, on a crazy day, and very much a shot in the arm for this team.

Great job guys....go get them again tonight.

David "Double" Wright

I was going through some baseball records this morning; specifically, the doubles and triples records, and something caught my eye.

As we all know, David Wright just had his fourth consecutive season with 40 or more doubles.

From what I can gather, the major league record for consecutive 40 or more doubles in a season is seven.

Wade Boggs had 40 or more doubles in a season from 1985 to 1991.

Joe Medwick, one of the games all-time great hitters, also had seven in a row from 1933 to 1939.

Todd Helton had five in a row from 2003 to 2007.

David Wright is next at four, and he is the only one with an active streak of more than two seasons.

Multiple Seasons with 50 Doubles

Player	Seasons	Seasons & Teams
Tris Speaker[4]	5	1912 Boston (AL); 20-21, 23, 26 Cleveland
Paul Waner[5]	3	1928, 32, 36 Pittsburgh
Stan Musial[6]	3	1944, 46, 53 St. Louis (NL)
George H. Burns[7]	2	1926-27 Cleveland
Chuck Klein[8]	2	1930, 32 Philadelphia (NL)
Charlie Gehringer[9]	2	1934, 36 Detroit
Billy Herman[10]	2	1935-36 Chicago (NL)
Joe Medwick[11]	2	1936-37 St. Louis (NL)
Hank Greenberg[12]	2	1934, 40 Detroit
Edgar Martínez[13]	2	1995-96 Seattle
Craig Biggio[14]	2	1998-99 Houston
Todd Helton[15]	2	2000-01 Colorado
Nomar Garciaparra[16]	2	2000, 02 Boston (AL)
Albert Pujols[17]	2	2003-04 St. Louis (NL)

Seven Seasons with 40 Doubles

Player	Seasons	Seasons & Teams
Tris Speaker	10	1912, 14 Boston (AL); 16-17, 20-23, 26 Cleveland; 27 Washington (AL)
Stan Musial	9	1943-44, 46, 48-50, 52-54 St. Louis (NL)
Harry Heilmann[18]	8	1919-21, 23-27, 29 Detroit; 30 Cincinnati
Wade Boggs[19]	8	1983, 85-91 Boston (AL)
Napoleon Lajoie[20]	7	1897-98 Philadelphia (NL); 1901 Philadelphia (AL); 03-04, 06, 10 Cleveland
Rogers Hornsby[21]	7	1920-22, 24-25 St. Louis (NL); 28 Boston (NL); 29 Chicago (NL)
Lou Gehrig[22]	7	1926-28, 30, 32-34 New York (AL)
Charlie Gehringer	7	1929-30, 32-34, 36-37 Detroit
Joe Medwick	7	1933-39 St. Louis (NL)
Pete Rose[23]	7	1968, 74-76, 78 Cincinnati; 79-80 Philadelphia (NL)
Craig Biggio	7	1993-94, 98-99, 2003-05 Houston
Todd Helton	7	2000-01, 03-07 Colorado

The Golden Age....of the Strikeout?

Today is September 12, 2008--there are about 17 games left in the regular season.

It's been a very good season for a variety of reasons. Statistically, nothing really stands out--let me re-phrase that--there is one thing, and we'll get to it in a second.

There's been good slugging, but no one chasing 50+ home runs and 150 RBIs. Ryan Howard leads MLB with 43 HRs, and about a half dozen guys are in the mid-30s.

Good hitting? Sure, but no one is making a run at .400 or even .380. The top hitters for average are Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols, both at about .360, and the next highest guy is Matt Holliday at .329.

Pitching-wise it's been business as usual...there is one 20-game winner, Cliff Lee, and 2 or 3 other guys that might win 20.

So what is different about this year?

It's the strikeout.

Two players have a very good chance at striking out 200+ times on the year: Ryan Howard and Mark Reynolds. A third, Jack Cust, will get up to 190.

To put that in perspective, no one, in the entire history of major league baseball, has ever struck out 200 or more times in a season.

Ryan Howard is at 189 and will easily eclipse his record of 199 Ks, which was set just last year.

Mark Reynolds is at 183 and has already Kd 13 times this month.

Jack Cust is "only" at 174, but he's a sure bet to add at least 10-12 more Ks to his total.

In 2005 only 60 players had 100 or more Ks. In 2006, 74 players reached that figure. In 2007, that number rose to 89. If 2008 continues to form, we could see that number topped to over 90 players with 100 or more Ks.

Mets fans should actually take heart--the team has the fewest Ks in the National league and is 3rd in walks. When looking at the K leaders, you have to go all the way down to 41st to find a Met.

So to what do we attribute this continuing rise in Ks over the last few years? Better pitching? A wider strike zone? Technology? I will say: no, no and no. There seems to be another reason, though only a freakenomist would make the connection.

You have to ask--are steroids, or more specifically, a lack of steroids, part of this trend?

I think so. Bats and reflexes are slower, and those "big swings" are still there. The trend in increased Ks began in earnest when the testing and punishment for steroids came into play.

Homerun totals are down, strikeout numbers are up--the variables are the same, the game is the same, the strike zone is the same--in fact, nothing else has really changed at all these past few year--except steroid use.

Welcome to the new era of the "non chemical aided" free swinger....it's not a pretty sight.

Sortable Batting
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Ryan Howard	PHI	560	91	136	25	2	43	129	1	1	72	189	.243	.330	.525	.855
2	Mark Reynolds	ARI	487	84	118	25	3	27	92	10	1	56	183	.242	.321	.472	.794
3	Jack Cust	OAK	434	66	99	16	0	28	66	0	0	96	176	.228	.368	.459	.826
4	Dan Uggla	FLA	478	88	125	37	1	30	84	5	5	65	152	.262	.357	.531	.889
5	Chris Young	ARI	569	76	140	41	6	19	74	12	5	53	151	.246	.309	.439	.749
6	Carlos Pena	TAM	442	70	109	21	2	28	88	1	1	83	148	.247	.374	.493	.867
7	Adam Dunn	CIN/ARI	459	72	110	20	0	36	89	2	1	109	146	.240	.389	.519	.907
8	Matt Kemp	LAD	544	83	155	36	4	16	69	33	9	42	141	.285	.336	.454	.790
9	Jeremy Hermida	FLA	480	70	119	22	3	16	58	6	0	46	131	.248	.322	.406	.728
10	Jim Thome	CHW	448	82	111	26	0	31	84	1	0	80	130	.248	.364	.513	.878

More Hips! Jose Reyes Cracks Me Up!

Batting Stats
Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2003	NYM	69	274	47	84	5	32	13	36	13	3	.334	.434	.307
2004	NYM	53	220	33	56	2	14	5	31	19	2	.271	.373	.255
2005	NYM	161	696	99	190	7	58	27	78	60	15	.300	.386	.273
2006	NYM	153	647	122	194	19	81	53	81	64	17	.354	.487	.300
2007	NYM	160	681	119	191	12	57	77	78	78	21	.354	.421	.280
2008	NYM	52	220	34	62	7	25	23	33	17	5	.346	.477	.282
Total		648	2738	454	777	52	267	198	337	251	63	.332	.430	.284