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On January 9th of this year, the class of 2013 was announced to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, and for the first time since 1996, no player was elected. Some of the players on the list include, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, Jack Morris, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, and former Met Mike Piazza. Back in 2008, after Piazza announced his retirement, our very own Mike Peters wrote an article stating that Piazza should be put in to the Hall. However Piazza fell well short of the 75% needed to gain entry with 57.8% of the vote, 93 votes short.

It appears that the main reason why Piazza was not elected is the suspicion of his steroid use. Unlike Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, and Clemens, there has been no concrete evidence ever linking Piazza to performance enhancing drugs. Piazza was not named by Jose Canseco, nor was his name listed in the Mitchell Report. The closest link between Piazza and steroids was the rumor of back acne. Piazza's numbers alone should have warranted election to the Hall of Fame, with 396 homeruns as a catcher out of 427, 1335 career RBI's, a .306 career batting average, .377 on base percentage, and .545 slugging percentage. Piazza beats out Johnny Bench, who is considered by many to be the greatest catcher ever, in every category but RBI's, in two seasons less than Bench. However, many writers simply have stated that they wish to see what Piazza's book (which comes out in February) has to say about his potential usage of steroids.


If there is no new revelations about Piazza and potential steroids in between now and next year's vote, then there should be no argument that Piazza should be voted in as a Hall of Famer. Thus leaving the only argument whether or not he goes in as a Dodger, or as a Met.

UPDATE:
For the second year in a row Piazza was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 62.2% of the vote. Read More...

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This past season was truly a historic one with Johan Santana throwing the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history, and R.A. Dickey winning the National League Cy Young Award. There were some other bright-spots this past season, like David Wright returning to form after struggling since the opening of Citi Field in 2009, the blazing debut of pitching prospect Matt Harvey, the resurgent second half for Ike Davis, Jon Niese's successful first complete season.

There were also many spots where the Mets had trouble thus leaving voids needing to be filled. The bullpen once again was about as leaky as a Swiss Cheese sandwich. After a horrible start to his season, Frank Francisco seemed to have righted the ship until injury struck. After his return Francisco reverted back to the level of performance he opened the season with until ultimately being shut down in mid-September. The bench was a bright spot for the first half of the season but with the ineffective play of the starting outfield, the bench became worn out.

This off-season there are three things that are necessary to improve this team.

Priority #1: Re-sign Wright & Dickey

R.A. Dickey going for win #20

With two of the Mets biggest stars contracts about to expire (both had options picked up at the end of the season) it is a priority that both  David Wright and R.A. Dickey receive extensions of their contracts, Dickey more than Wright. Many have argued that Dickey should be traded for prospects to help further rebuild the farm system left depleted by Omar Minaya, but despite everything that Dickey has done for this team, he is one of the few players that has more value to the Mets than he does for anyone else. What other team out there would be willing to give up a top pitching prospect for a 38 year old pitcher? Granted this pitcher is now the reigning NL Cy Young winner but in reality the chances of receiving a bounty are slim to none.

Wright is also a player of tremendous value but that value isn't an exclusive feature to the Mets organization. With top hitting prospect Wilmer Flores waiting in the wings, Wright is potentially expendable. While Flores is nowhere near as fleet of foot nor good defensively as Wright, Flores has the potential to fill in for the offensive void that would be left by Wright if he were traded. I do not wish this to happen and I want both players to stay. I believe that would be the best thing for the fans and the organization going forward.
(It should be noted that both Wright and Dickey have reportedly received contract offers from the Mets of 6 years $100 million and 2 years $27 million with a mutual option respectively)

Priority #2: Fix the outfield

Grady Sizemore back in 2009

Due to the release of Jason Bay and ineffective play of Andres Torres and Lucas Duda, the outfield is now completely barren. Duda is likely to stay but Torres may now be a player off the bench depending on who the Mets sign. Prior to the completion of the postseason I had suggested the signing of Delmon Young, though with his successful play in the postseason Young has likely priced himself outside of the Mets range. It looks again unfortunately that the team will be bargain basement shopping. That unfortunately means no BJ Upton, Michael Bourn, Josh Hamilton (who despite everything he's done on the field I wouldn't touch with a 10 pole). That however does not rule out a big piece coming in via trade (read Justin Upton [BJ's younger brother]). That option seems unlikely though given the current financial situation. My suggestion would be to look at Grady Sizemore. Having not played all of last season and not having played a full season since 2008 due to injury he likely fits the bill of what the Mets would be looking for. When healthy Sizemore can be a good addition to the team, unfortunately that has not been the case since the 2009 season. The other spots can starting spot will likely be fought out between prospect Matt Den Dekker, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who after a strong start to the 2012 season hit the rookie wall and hit it hard, eventually being sent back down to AAA Buffalo in favor of Matt Harvey.

Priority #3: Rebuild the Bullpen 

Broxton pitching for Cincinatti

The bullpen once again proved to be the undoing of the Mets season in 2012. The hot and cold mentality of Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch combined with the ineffective performance of Frank Francisco and Ramon Ramirez along with the season ending injury to the lone consistent pitcher in Tim Byrdak destroyed any chances of playoff contention for the Mets. However with the infusion of prospects Elvin Ramirez, Josh Edgin and Robert Carson plus the possible additions of either Jenrry Mejia or Jeurys Familia should help sure up a weak spot last season. One player who I personally believe would be a benefit to the back end of the bullpen is Jonathan Broxton. After receiving a one year contract last year and some success splitting time between Kansas City and Cincinnati Broxton should receive a similar type contract this offseason.

While the Mets unfortunately likely won't be in the hunt for a playoff spot look for the team to be much improved from last season. Read More...

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R.A. Dickey accomplished what every pitcher dreams about by winning the 2012 National League Cy Young Award, making him the first knuckleballer to win the prestigious award. While the Mets season fell off the rails, Dickey's season was nothing short of amazin'.

When the Mets signed Dickey in the 2009 offseason, he was nothing but an after thought (to quote our very own king of sarcasm, Matt Kaufman, "R.A. Dickey= CHAMPIONSHIP!"). Since then he has been anything but. Dickey was signed on a minor league invite to Spring Training for the 2010 season and was the first player cut coming into camp. On April 29th, while pitching for Buffalo, Dickey allowed a leadoff single to start off the game, then proceeded to retire the next 27 batters in consecutive order. This caught the attention of the Mets front office and on May 19th, Dickey's contract was purchased from Buffalo and he made his Mets debut against Washington that same evening pitching.

Once considered to be a top pitching prospect, Dickey spent most of his career as a journeyman; spending time in Texas, Minnesota, and Seattle. After his May 19th call-up, Dickey hasn't seen the minors since. Dickey provided a shot in the arm to the Mets fanbase becoming a beloved figure, even the subject of local memorabilia.

This season was one for the ages, for Dickey. He was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career, became a best selling author, subject of a critically acclaimed documentary, and now can add Cy Young winner to what has become quite an extensive resume. This not only legitimizes him, but also legitimize the knuckleball whom many have said is a circus pitch. So to the few doubters left, it is time to fear the knuckler. Read More...

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#NotTonightBoss- @MetsWFAN (Chris Madjkowski)

Those words were tweeted out by the Mets radio producer for the past 3 1/2 seasons. But tonight, June 1st, 2012, that all came to an end. For the first 8,019 games in the history of the New York Mets, the team had never thrown a no hitter. On 8,020 the streak finally came to end with Johan Santana throwing the first no-hitter in team history.

This is especially meaningful considering the man who threw it. Coming off major shoulder surgery, who would have even imagined Johan throwing another pitch in the major leagues, let alone a no-hitter. The torn labrum has ruined the careers of many once great pitchers so him reaching this point only icing on the cake. Before the game manager Terry Collins told the media that Johan would be on a 115 pitch count. At 95 pitches at the end of 6 with his pitch count only rising, there was a lot of doubt among the announcers and fans and players alike wondering if Terry would allow Johan to finish this game. With 107 pitches heading into the 8th inning there was a serious debate raging among fans about whether or not to take him out. Under any normal circumstance there wouldn't be any question but due to the shoulder surgery it would have been understandable. With a walk in the 8th inning, Terry did come out with many fans thinking that this would be the end. But in the end history was made.

This game wasn't without it's controversy. In the 6th inning, Carlos Beltran in his return to Flushing since being traded, hit a ball that was called foul but upon further review appeared to hit the chalk (and thus a fair ball). The call was argued but (obviously) to no avail.

Also continuing the tradition in no-hitters, Mike Baxter made a spectacular running catch in the 7th inning, ramming into the wall (and subsequently leaving the game) to preserve the historic occassion

So enjoy it Met fans. The curse is over. We have a no-hitter. Hopefully it won't take 50 more years for the next one to come.

With that there is only one thing to say. TONIGHT BOSS! LGM



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