Tom Seaver Fan Club

Pedro Martinez took another step closer to getting on the mound.  He threw 32 pitches in from in front of the pitchers mound and while he didn’t throw at full speed, his delivery appeared normal.  There were a couple of times where the trainer had to make adjustments to his new shoe.

Regardless, getting Pedro Martinez on the mound is key to the Mets chances of winning a World Series this year.  We lost Jae Seo and Kris Benson to trades and those both thinned out our rotation.  The difference between Pedro and starter number six (which could be any of a few different people) right now is huge.  Huge. 

In other good news, Mets outfield prospect Lastings Milledge was chosen as the ninth best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.  We got to know Milledge better when he was blogging from the Arizona Fall League.  Milledge had an impressive .330/.402/.574 line in the AFL and he was just as good in AA (.337/.392/.487 in 193 at bats).

The term Willie Randolph used was “special season.”  Honestly, I have to agree with him.  I know the Braves have won the division every season since this year’s highschool freshman weren’t even born yet, but I think they’re living on borrowed time.  Somehow the Braves patched things together last year, but this year it’s time for a changing of the guard.

And the Mets made all the right moves.  The only trade I’m still questioning was the Kris Benson trade.  I thought our pen was solid enough and you’re giving up a known commodity/middle rotation starter.  But this team should hit with the addition of Carlos Delgado.  I’m also expecting Carlos Beltran to get back up close to 30 homeruns this season.

When I start the 1986 Mets diary, I’m hoping for a parallel story to follow with the Mets winning their first World Series in 20 years.  It’d be nice to follow two winners.

Here’s a solid story on Julio Franco.  The last time Franco logged more then 400 at bats, we were all ten years younger but somehow Franco always manages to find a job in the offseason.  Probably because he consistently hits above .275 every year and he does it with some solid plate discipline as well.

In Auguest, Fraco will turn 48.  When Franco homers for the first time this season, he’ll set the record for the oldest major league player to hit a homerun.  The previous record was held by Jack Quinn, who homered at age 46 and 357 days.

Anyone who’s been around this long has two important attributes.  Great conditioning and and an incredible work ethic.  Hopefully both of those will rub off on some of the younger guys.  I’m really looking forward to seeing him on the field and Rickey Henderson helping out this spring.

Not sure if this is good news or bad news.  If Pedro Martinez sits, it’s good because he risks further injury to his toe.  Of course it’s bad if it’s that bad and we’re this late into the off season.  Having a healthy Pedro will be instrumental to the Mets making a run at the World Series this year so hopefully this is more precautionary then anything.

Billy Wagner also had his workouts cut short after queasiness.  He said that his kids had been sick so he probably has a touch of the flu.  Best thing would be for the Mets to give him a couple of days off to get 100% before bringing him back to work out.

Mike Fitzpatrick agrees with me.  The Mets’ aggresiveness in the post season should garner them a playoff spot.  My biggest concern is still the rotation.  I like the idea of getting Aaron Heilman back in there, but letting go of both Seo and Benson digs away at our depth.  Pedro will be Pedro (i.e., automatic) which means we need a solid season from Tom Glavine.

Glavine had a weird year last year.  In more important ways, he declined.  His WHIP went from 1.29 to 1.38 and his batting average against went up to .279.  While it wasn’t as bad of a season as 2003, it was a step back.  Oddly, in 2004 he went 11-14 and last year he actually improved his record to 13-13 despite the declines above.

Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA sees Glavine having a hard time reaching his previous two seasons.  With a VORP of 40.4 in 2004 and 42.4 in 2005, Glavine would have to touch his 75% percentile projection to match what he did last year.  His 50% puts him at a 17.8 VORP, a 1.38 WHIP and a pedestrian 4.16 ERA.

So, we need a really good year from Glavine to shore up the rotation.  He is playing for a contract in 2007, so at least he has some incentive.

SI.com’s John Donovan recently wrote up his NL East preview, and while it looks like nobody wants to ever bet against the Braves, Donovan gives the Mets their due for the offseason acquisitions.

I really, really think this is the Mets year.  The only thing that might fail them is their rotation.  If the Mets aren’t in front of the NL East, I think we’ll be regretting that Kris Benson trade.  We need to protect Pedro Martinez, and fortunately Minaya signed the arms in the pen to help out with that.  The offense is there without a doubt.

Plus it would be fitting for the Mets to win it when I’m commerating the 1986 Mets championship team.  I’ve written up a bunch of the diary entries (go to Tigerblog to see what he did for the 1984 and 1935 Tigers) and I think this will be a fun way to relive a great team on their 20th anniversary.

Pitchers and catchers reported today.  Baseball’s back :-).

This is a pretty solid move.  Rickey Henderson is the greatest lead off hitter ever.  If he can turn Jose Reyes into a “true” leadoff hitter, i.e. a player who draws more then 27 walks in a season, it would be a huge boost to the team.

It’ll also give the Mets a chance to see what Henderson can still do.  He keeps himself in phenomonal shape and I could see him filling in as a fifth outfielder/pinch hitter for the team.  Plus it’d be cool to see both he and Julio Franco on the field at the same time.

Vince Gennaro has been writing an excellent series at the Hardball Times about player value.  His latest installment deals with teams who feel their on the cusp of making the playoffs who then go out and sign the last piece to the puzzle.  One of his primary examples is the Mets signing Billy Wagner.  It’s a great read.

While 1972 looked like small step back for Tom Seaver, 1973 put him right back on track for stardom.  His WHIP dropped from 1.12 in 1972 back below 1.00 in 1973 (0.976).  His ERA also went down by almost a full run compared to 1972’s career high.  He also set a career best in Runs Saved Above Average with 50, he notched 290 innings for only the second time in his career and won the Cy Young after a four year drought.  Seaver finished second in wins with 19, but his ERA (2.08) and his strikeouts (251) both led the league.  He also led the league in WHIP (0.976), strikeout to walk ratio (3.92) and complete games (18).

Most importantly, he helped lead the Mets to a National League East title and World Series appearance.  While many argue that they benefited from a weak division (82-79 led the NL East), they edged the Big Red Machine in the NLCS but lost to the Athletics in the World Series.

Tom Seaver had quite a few memorable games in 1973.  On May 12, 1973, he threw a two hit shutout.  Oddly, he only struck out three batters in that game.  He struck out 16 batters on May 29th.  On Augst 1, he threw a four hit shutout and struck out eleven.  And if it weren’t for two rough outings at the end of the season, Seaver would have finished with an ERA below two.

In the NLCS, he finished 1-1, but his loss might have been the better start.  He lost game one but gave up only two runs and struck out thirteen.  In his win, he walked five batters but benefited from seven runs by the Mets offense.  In the World Series, Seaver had two solid starts but ended up with a no decision in a 3-2 extra inning win by the A’s and then lost the second start when the A’s edged the Mets 3-1.

Here’s a look at Seaver’s 1973 season statistics

Wins 19
Losses 10
Games 36
Games Started 36
Complete Games 18
Innings Pitched 290
Hits 219
Runs 74
Earned Runs 67
Walks 64
Strikeouts 251
ERA 2.08
Runs Saved Above Average 50
Shutouts 3
H/9 6.80
BR/9 8.91
SO/9 7.79
BB/9 1.99
SO/BB 3.92
Neutral Wins 21
Neutral Losses 8

Everyone who is anyone is gearing up for the 2006 MLB season. My first step is going to be purchasing my New York Mets Opening Day ticketsNew York Mets Opening Day tickets. It is a tradition in my family for us all to take the day off of school or work to head down to Shea Stadium for the Mets Openinng Day. The Mets have had better years than they have had lately, but still they are a New York team so I still buy tickets and take the family out to support our local boys and the sport we enjoy so much.

This year’s spring schedule looks exciting with the Mets meeting the St. Louis Cardinals six times. The New York Mets regular season home opener will be April 3, 2006 against the Washington Nationals. April’s schedule starts with six Mets home games versus Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins baseball teams. Hopefully there will be some May flowers blooming when I use my Atlanta Braves versus New York Mets tickets. Come July, I will be wishing I had bought Mets box seats as the weather heats up and we host the Pittsburgh Pirates from the 3rd to the 6th.

All things considered we have a pretty great schedule and Pedro Martinez is returning and has worked hard to overcome injury trouble to return strong. Kazuo Matsui, Anderson Hernandez, Carlos Betran and David Wright are just a few of our infielders and outfielders that will be seen on the field this year under the management of Willie Randolph. Our pitching core is the biggest reason I am so excited to buy my New York Mets tickets this year.

In New York there are plenty of sports teams to keep a baseball fan busy in the off season. But, going to New York Giants home games or watching New York Knicks basketball and Rangers hockey games on TV, really never compares to watching my favorite baseball team try to make it to the World Series year after year. Mets baseball games are a part of my history and of my future. I bought World Series tickets in 2000 when the New York Mets battled the New York Yankees. Hopefully the Mets will win their San Diego Padres games, Houston Astros games and Boston Red Sox games for a spectacular 2006 season.