Did Collins or Roberts Make the Right Decision?

On June 1, 2012, Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets history with a surgically repaired shoulder. 

The shoulder injury cost Santana the entire 2011 season, and the Mets wanted to be cautious with their ace in 2012. He was in the middle of a six year $137.5 million contract. The Mets certainly wanted to see Santana pitch effectively to the end of the contract. Accordingly on that rainy June night, Santana was supposed to be limited to 110 – 115 pitches. Santana threw his 115th pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. 

Terry Collins checked with Santana each step of the way. Santana was not going to let Collins pull him from the game. Santana fought hard to reach this point and getting this no-hitter was his reward. Finally, on his 134th pitch, Santana became the first ever Met to throw a no-hitter. Instead of jubilation, Collins openly wept in the post game press conference. He admitted he kept thinking about what effect this could have on Santana’s career. He said, “It was without a doubt, the worst night I’ve ever spent in baseball.”

After that fateful night, Santana would made 10 more starts. He went 3-7 with an 8.27 ERA. Batters hit .327/.377/.587 against him. He averaged just under five innings per start. He was shut down in August. He needed a second shoulder surgery in the offseason. He hasn’t thrown another pitch in the majors since then. His career effectively ended one glorious rainy night when he was 33 years old. 

Looking back at the moment five years later, Santana still has no regrets

Last night, in his fifth ever game as a manager, Dave Roberts was in the same position Collins was almost six years ago. Ross Stripling was looking to become the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first ever start since 1892 when Bumpus Jones did it. 

Unlike Jones, Stripling has had Tommy John surgery. This was only his 15th start since the surgery, and the first one this season. Heading into the start, it was determined he would be limited to 100 pitches. He reached the hundredth pitch with one out in the eight inning. He was five outs from history. Dave Roberts came out of the dugout and pulled Striplng from the game. Roberts decided Stripling’s future was worth more than just this one game:

The San Francisco crowd booed. People watching the game on television were in disbelief. Many felt it was karma that the Dodgers lost the no-hitter and the lead when the very next batter homered. About the only person on the planet who agreed with Dave Roberts was Ross Stripling:

It begs the question – who made the right decision?  Collins or Roberts?

Fact is, we’ll never know. If Collins lifts Santana after his 115th pitch, he may still have needed shoulder surgery. If Stripling threw 134 or more pitches last night, he may have felt no ill effects. He might’ve had a long and healthy career. With that said, there could be room for both Collins and Roberts to have been right in the decisions they made. 

Collins let a player who fought so hard to get to this point have his moment of glory. Roberts might’ve robbed a young player of his moment, but he also might’ve made a decision that could allow Stripling to pitch 10 plus years in the majors. 

Admittedly, I wanted Stripling to continue pitching. I wanted to see history be made. However, I will not say I was shocked at the decision. For better or worse, this is the culture of baseball. Everyone pays more attention to pitch counts. Pitch counts are around because organizations look for ways to prevent pitcher injuries. Pitch counts are a part of the game.  

Keep in mind, if you ask any Mets fans how many pitches Santana threw in his no-hitter, they will answer 134 without hesitation. They will do it much in the same way Dodger fans will forever know Stripling threw 100 pitches in his first ever start. 

Better Ways to Spend Your Money than on the 2015 National League Championship Fan Collection 

Shortly after the Mets won the NL East, the Mets sought to cash-in on the opportunity by selling champagne bottles and corks from the team’s celebration. To be fair, other teams did it too, but it feels different when it’s the Mets. 

Now, the Mets and Jostens are taking it to the next level:

First off, I’d like to note how the Mets went with Jostens. If Jostens sounds familiar, they should. They’re the company that made that cheap over-priced high school graduation ring of yours. You know the design. Giant fake stone on top, year on one side, and some design on the other.  I’m happy to see they didn’t stray too far from that pattern here.

A team like the New York Giants went with Tiffany for their championships rings, but I digress. 

Jostens has created a 2015 Mets Championship Fan Collection. Put aside your feelings on whether the collection looks good or not. That’s subjective. Regardless of whether you like it or not, the collection is overpriced, and you can better spend your money elsewhere.  

Note, I don’t go through the Women’s collection because neither my wife nor mother would want any of it. If anyone’s going to buy stuff like this, it’s me. As you’ll see, no, I will not be buying anything from the collection. 

Let’s start with the $39.00 key ring

 First of all, let’s be honest – $39.00 for a key ring is absurd. It’s even worse when it’s made out of “non-precious metals” (i.e. tin or titanium). If you go Amazon, you can get a Mets keychain that also serves as a bottle opener for $7.53. It not only serves the same purpose, but it’s also more useful. 

In terms of Mets tickets, $39.00 can get you Promenade Infield tickets to a Mets game this weekend. For a dollar more, you can sit in the Field Box for a mid-week game. 

The next item on the list is a $199.00 paperweight:

  
At least this uses Swarovski crystals which have some value. However, why do you need to spend $199.00 to hold papers down on a desk? Is your office located in a wind tunnel?  Are there no rocks available outside that you can use to hold down the papers that are in no threat to go flying off your desk? 

Instead, for that same $199.00 you can sit in the Delta Club when the Mets play the Royals in June. These seats are behind homeplate, and it gives you access to the Delta Sky360 Club. At some point, you may be able to pick up an authentic rock – or paperweight – from Citi Field to hold down your papers. 

Next up are the priced all over the spectrum cuff links:

  
Before discussing price, did you notice something about these cuff links?  They don’t have anything denoting these are the 2015 National League Champions cuff links. In essence, these are really just Mets cuff links with a discolored interlocking NY. However, unlike when you go to a jewelry store to purchase a set of cuff links, you can “customize” these:

  • White Lustrium & Cubic Zirconia – $269.00
  • Silver Elite & Cubic Zirconia – $399.00
  • White Lustrium & Diamonds – $1,369.00
  • Silver Elite & Diamonds – $1,499.00
  • 10K White Gold & Cubic Zirconia – $1,509.00
  • 10K White Gold & Diamonds – $2,609.00

Well, that’s quite a range. You could spend anywhere from $269.00 to $2,609.00 for effectively something that does the same thing – it keeps your shirt sleeves fastened while effectively preventing you from rolling up your sleeves and getting some real work done. 

As we know from the paperweight, you can get tickets to the Delta Club for the price of the White Lustrium (by the way I must’ve missed that metal on the Periodic Table of Elements) and Cubic Zirconium cuff links. If you upgraded to the silver, you could get the Promenade Reserved 20 Game Weekday Plan or a ticket to the Hyundai Club seats for a Mets-Yankee game. The Hyundai club also includes free food for the game. 

Once you start talking diamonds (A WHOLE 0.150 CARATS!), you’re talking some really good season ticket plan options. For the White Lustrium and Diamonds, you can purchase the following:

  • Excelsior Box 20 Game Plan (Sunday, Saturday, or Weekday)
  • Promenade Infield Weekend or Promenade Gold Weekday Half Season Plan
  • Promenade Infield Full Season Plan

As you move up the line towards 10K Gold and Diamonds, you can get the same plans in better seat locations. If you got the “top of the line” cuff links, you can get a full season ticket plan in the Field Reserved. 

Now that we’re at the higher priced options, here’s the Mets Tag necklace:

  

As you have the option to customize it, the price of this varies. By the way, you have to love the gaul it takes to make jewelery in the fashion of an identification for soldiers in the event they die. Who knows the reason why they went in this direction?  Maybe this is a relica of what they give you when you enlist with The 7 Line Army. 

Depending on how you choose to customize this necklace, the cost will be as follows:

  • Silver Elite & Cubic Zirconia – $649.00
  • Silver Elite & Diamonds – $779.00
  • 10K White Gold & Cubic Zirconia – $2,469.00
  • 10K Gold & Diamonds – $2,599.00

They don’t give you the carats for the diamonds because you don’t want to know. By the way, think of the caliber of diamonds they are using if it costs only $130 more than cubic zirconia. 

This necklace is so expensive, we are now in the realm of season ticket plans no matter which option you select. If you do the cheapest necklace route, it’s the equivalent of the Coke Corner 20 game Sunday Plan, a Promenade Infield 20 game Saturday Plan, or a Field Reserved 20 game Weekday Plan. You also could purchase a Promenade Reserved Weekday Half Season Plan. 

Naturally, as you move to “Silver Elite” to 10K White Gold, the level of ticket plans you can get is much better. If you selected the White Gold and Diamonds, you could purchase with the same amount of money:

  • Metropolitan Box 20 Game Saturday Plan
  • Metropolitan Silver 20 Game Sunday Plan
  • Metropolitan Silver 20 Game Weekday Plan
  • Baseline Silver Weekend Half Season Plan
  • Field Box Weekday Half Season Plan 
  • Field Reserved Season Tickets 

By the way, how elite is this silver if it’s worth about $2,000 less than white gold?  

Finally, we’re at the piece de resistance:

  
You can get your very own knockoff -sorry replica – National League Champions ring. Before reading, scroll back up to the paperweight. Yes, they look different. It’s understandable. Even though everything else is overpriced, to replicate the actual ring with diamonds or cubic zirconium would’ve been cost prohibitive. Note, they don’t tell you what that big blue stone in the middle is. 

Like some of the other options, you can decide between the metal and the stones. However, unlike the other items, you can personalize the ring with your name or whatever else you decide. Here are the price breakdowns:

  • White Lustrium – $349.00
  • Silver Elite – $799.00
  • 10K White Gold – $4,889.00

There’s no difference in price between ring sizes. It costs the same whether you have fat fingers or slender piano player fingers. Also, it costs nothing extra to have the ring engraved. Based upon what’s already covered, we know based upon these prices you can sit in the Hyundai Club or get full season tickets. 

But hold on one second. The white gold ring costs $4,889.00!  Seriously?  That’s any 20 game plan in the Hyundai Club. Your half season plan is in the Metropolitan Box on weekends and Metroploitan Silver on weekends. Your full season ticket plan is in the Field Box. With that money, you can probably buy a jersey that never should’ve been sold in the first place.

If this doesn’t convince you to buy tickets, or spend your hard earned money otherwise, ask yourself a question: when will you ever wear any of this?  If you’re going to wear the stuff, ignore my sarcasm and snark. Go buy it. However, I really find it hard to believe you will wear a National League Champions ring anywhere. Think about it. When did you last wear your high school graduation ring?  You actually earned that one. 

If the Mets won the World Series, I’d probably buy all of this garbage. I think when the Giants won Super Bowl XLII, I purchased a Super Bowl Champions dog water dish, and I don’t even own a dog (I didn’t). 

With that said, save your money right now. You’re going to need it for World Series tickets this year and the 2016 World Series Champion Fan Collection. 

Wheeler Reminds Us TJ Rehab Doesn’t Always Go Smoothly

Last year, we were all spoiled by Matt Harvey‘s return from Tommy John surgery. Even if it took him almost a full season to find his slider, he pitched well, and he was healthy all year. We forgot that he had major surgery and issues can arise during either the surgery or rehabilitation period. 

We forgot about former Mets like Jason Isringhausen, who had three Tommy John surgeries. We forgot about Jeremy Hefner, who was rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery at the same time as Harvey. During his rehab, something went wrong, and he had to have a second Tommy John surgery. Mets released him, and now he’s working his way back to the majors through the Cardinals’ organization. Harvey made us forget about all that could go wrong. 

Now, there are reports that Zack Wheeler needed to have minor surgery to remove a stitch that didn’t resolve from his Tommy John surgery.  He’s going to need two weeks off to allow the wound to heal. He’s now at least two more weeks further away from pitching in the 2016 season. 

It’s a reminder that while we all look forward to Wheeler toeing the rubber again, it’s far from a foregone conclusion that’ll happen. There’s still every possibility that Wheeler could have another setback on his road back. In reality, until further notice, Bartolo Colon is the Mets’ fifth starter. Overall, anything the Mets get from Wheeler this year is an unexpected bonus. 

We forgot all of that during Harvey’s 2015 season. We’re now reminded of it again. Let’s all wish Wheeler a speedy recovery and wait for the day that he’s once again pitching for the Mets . . . whenever that might be. 

Wishing Murphy Was Here Today

When I woke up this morning and went to my car to head to work, I noticed some droplets of rain on my car. Last night, there was rain that fall from the very heavens where Bob Murphy now resides. 

It reminded me of those days growing up listening to Murphy call a game on the radio as my family was in the car, or when we had a barbeque and listened to the game during those hot summer days and nights. Undoubtedly, when there were clouds in the sky, Murphy would describe the high cumulonimbuses in the sky. On a day like today, he would say, “The sun is shining. The sky is blue. It’s a beautiful day for baseball.”  It always was a beautiful day for baseball when you got to hear Murphy call a game. 

The Mets and their fans were blessed to have Murphy call games beginning in their first season all the way until 2003. 

His retirement would begin a three year stretch with no Murphys in the Mets organization. It lasted until 2006 when Daniel Murphy was drafted by the team. Like his predecessor, he left his own indelible mark on the franchise, but his stay was not as long nor was it as impactful. As the Mets play their home opener today, it’s just strange to think the Mets won’t have a Murphy there at Citi Field. 

However, Bob Murphy’s spirit lives on. He lives in the unparalleled Mets radio and television play-by-play of Gary Cohen and Howie Rose. He lives on with his name on the radio booth at Citi Field. He lives on with every cumulonimbus that hovers over Citi Field during a Mets game.  He lives on after every single Mets win when a fan looks forward to “The Happy Recap.”

2016 Shouldn’t Be a Disappointing Season

Between 1984 – 1990, the Mets finished in second place or better.  Over the course of these seven seasons, the Mets averaged 95 wins.  Without question, this was the best stretch in Mets history.  It’s strange to think that any point in time your team averages 95 wins over the course of five seasons, you are disappointed.  However, as Ron Darling expained to Mike Francesa, he feels “very disappointed” that the Mets didn’t accomplish more.

While Dariling’s feelings are understandable, and many Mets fans would agree with him, there are a number of reasons that we can point to as the reason why the Mets didn’t win more.  Rick Sutcliffe went an amazing 16-1 after the Cubs acquired him helping them win the division in 1984.  The Mets had to contend with a really good Cardinals team year in and year out.  The Mets were snakebit with injuries during the 1987 season.  The Mets ran into Orel Hershiser, who had one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher ever in 1988, in the NLCS.  However, truth be told Davey Johnson managed a horrific series.  In 1989, the team was in transition, and in  1990, the Pittsburgh Pirates were just better and were embarking on their own run.  All of these reasons are valid, but the main reason everyone points to would be the drug problems, namely with Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

There’s another reason why those Mets teams only got one shot at a World Series – the postseason format.  Back in that time frame, the only teams that went to the postseason were the division winners.  In today’s game, it would be unheard of a team winning 98 games not only missing the postseason, but also missing the postseason by three games.  If you apply, the current postseason rules and divisional formats to the 1980’s, the Mets would have had won the NL East for all seven of those seasons.  Its possible that instead of talking about the 1986 World Series, we’re talking about the Mets’ dynasty.  It’s possible the Mets would’ve won multiple World Series during that stretch.  It’s also possible that like the Braves in the 90’s, the Mets would only win one World Series, and we would be left questioning what happened.

Whatever may be the case, it’s apparent that those Mets teams did not get as many chances to reach the postseason as this current Mets team will.  Last year, the Mets won the NL East with 90 wins.  From 1984 – 1990, the Mets only won the NL East in the two seasons they won 100 games.

There is no reason for this Mets team to only go to the postseason twice with their current core group of players.  Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard are under team control until 2019.  Young players like Michael Conforto already contributing,  There are big prospects like Dilson Herrera and Amed Rosario who we should see within the next few seasons at Citi Field contributing to what is already a World Series contending team.  Without being too unreasonable, I believe this Mets team is set to contend for a longer period of time than Ron Darling’s Mets’ teams.  To expect that seems unreasonable, but when you consider the young talent already on the team and in the pipeline, it’s certainly possible.

So before the Mets play their home opener today, they’re going to raise 2015 National League Champions flag.  As we saw again that postseason, there is a lot that can happen along the way that can help you advance in each series.  If not for Daniel Murphy having a game for the ages, and the Dodgers being unable to hit deGrom despite him having nothing, the Mets lose in the NLDS.  The Mets are instead raising at 2015 National League East flag.  So no, the 2016 season is not World Series or bust, nor in retrospect is the Mets only winning one World Series from 1984 – 1990 really disappointing.

With that said, I don’t blame Ron Darling for feeling the way he does.  I won’t blame the current Mets players from feeling the same way about 2015.  There is a World Series championship in the Mets clubhouse.  Whether that is in 2016 or later, we do not know yet.  Right now, I will say that as long as this Mets group wins one World Series, I won’t be disappointed because I will have been able to see something that has only happened twice in the Mets 54 year history.  No matter what happens in 2016, it promises to be a special season, and I can’t wait to watch each and every minute of it.

Lets Go Mets.

 

Trivia Friday

Unless his wife goes into laborJacob deGrom is set to start the Mets home opener. Can you name the other Mets pitchers who have started the team’s home opener?  Good luck!


What Are are the Wilpons Waiting For?  Buy Piazza’s 9/11 Jersey Already!

The Wilponzi Era was about as difficult a time as I’ve experienced as a Mets fan. You can argue that after bad trades and bad free agent signings. We can have a real debate about whether or not it was time to break it down and rebuild. However, what the Mets and their fans went through was so much more than that. 

The news of the scandal broke in December 2008 as the Mets closed Shea Stadium and were on their way to open Citi Field. Despite the distraction, the Mets opened the season with a the second highest payroll in baseball at a little over $149 million. The team would suffer injury after injury before falling way out of contention. In 2010, despite payroll dropping about $20 million, they did try to improve the club by signing Jason Bay. As we know neither Bay nor the 2010 season worked out well. 

In subsequent seasons, the Mets made no major free agent acquisitions. How could they?  The Wilpons lost at least $178 million. They were named defendants in the Madoff case and were sued for $1 billion. The Wilpons were forced to do whatever they could do to keep control of the Mets. They initially took out $65 million in loans from Major League Baseball and Bank of America. In total, the Mets borrowed over $980 million. Of that amount, $430 million was borrowed using the Mets as collateral. 

The once $149 million payroll dropped down to $85 million (ranked 21st in the league). The Wilpons were facing a financial crisis, and they were doing everything they could go to go from being bankrupt. They began selling minority stakes in the team. They were trying to keep their main assets, which included the Mets. 

As fans, we believed the most damaging effects of this was in the Win-Loss column. We believed it was the Mets being unable to put a winning, if not at times competitive, team on the field. We were very wrong. 

Thanks to Kevin Kernan we now know what the most damaging effects of the Wilponzi Era was the sale of the jersey Mike Piazza wore when he hit this homerun:

This moment means different things to different people. I know I shed a tear when it happened. In my opinion, it is amongst the top three moments in Mets history along with ’69 and ’86. It may mean something different to you. You may fell differently. That’s fine. We all acknowledge it was a powerful moment in history. 

Here’s the thing. As much as the moment means to everyone, and as much as the jersey means, I don’t blame the Wilpons for selling it. In fact, I think they deserve some credit. 

Being objective, if you’re the Wilpons owning the Mets is much more important than that jersey. If you lose the team, you lose the jersey. Looking at Kernan’s article, they did a private sale, and they arranged to have the jersey displayed in the Mets Hall of Fame. 

The Mets settled the Madoff case for $162 million seemingly around the same time as the Piazza jersey was sold. They got the infusion of cash they needed while still having the ability to share the jersey with the fans.  Remember, the Wilpon’s settlement in the Madoff case called for turn 

However, as we now know, the Mets selling the jersey also meant the Mets lost control over the jersey. It could be sold without their permission, and it can be taken out of the Mets Hall of Fame to someone who wants to do whatever it is they want to do with it. 

If you want to be angry with someone, be angry with Major League Baseball. They are the ones that allowed this to happen. This is the same organization that forced Frank McCourt out. McCourt committed two crimes. The first was he sought a $200 million loan to the Dodgers and a $30 million loan to him personally from Fox.  The second was he wasn’t in good with Bud Selig. The Wilpons were. 

The Wilpons had similar crippling debt and a desperation for money.  In fact, they borrowed more than McCourt ever sought to borrow – over three times the amount. However, the Wilpons went about it the way Major League Baseball wanted. They made sure to keep in Selig’s good graces. 

The Wilpons were empowered by Major a League baseball to cut the payroll nearly in half. Major League Baseball empowered the Wilpons to refuse to sign a free agent of real consequence. Major League Baseball empowered the Wilpons to start selling off memorabilia to stay afloat. The Wilpons were probably doing all they needed to do to keep the Mets. They were just the people ripping the copper wiring out of the walls. 

With that said, their free pass on this issue ends right now. 

According to Kernan’s article, it is anticipated that Piazza’s jersey will sell for north of $300,000. The good news for the Mets is they released Ruben Tejada. In doing so, the Mets saved approximately $2.5 million. There is plenty of money to allocate from those savings to permit the Mets from re-acquiring a jersey they should never have been in a position to sell in the first place. There’s no excuse this time. 

Despite all of this, the Wilpons are not moving heaven and Earth to get that jersey back. According to Kevin Kernan’s latest article, the seller, Goldin Auctions, will make the jersey available for sale before the auction due to the significance of the jersey. It is something the seller has never done before, but it acknowledges the importance of not only the jersey, but also where the jersey belongs. The seller believes the jersey belongs at the 9/11 Memorial. Mets fans believe it belongs in the Mets Hall of Fame, but certainly wouldn’t object to it being placed at the 9/11 Memorial.

Despite this, the Wilpins have yet to make an offer for the jersey despite having an extra $2.5 million in their coffers from Tejada’s release. They are merely monitoring the situation gauging fan reaction. This sounds just like the Wilpons’ behavior when Piazza was a Marlin on the trading block. Don’t spend the money until the fan backlash is too fervent for you not to make the move. Well, the stakes are higher this time. It’s time for the Wilpons to stop waiting around. It’s time for action.

The Wilpons need to make sure they do everything they can to bring that jersey back to the Mets Hall of Fame where it belongs. 

Jacob deGrom Should Skip Opening Day

During his Mets career, Jon Niese was seemingly an excuse a minute. If anything went wrong, he fell to pieces. If he had a poor start, there had to be another reason why other than the fact that he pitched poorly. 

There was one-time in his career that he had a valid excuse. On July 24, 2015, Niese took the mound against the Dodgers. In three innings of work, he allowed six runs on eight hits. It was a horrendous start. A huge reason why was his head was somewhere else. While he was toeing the rubber at Citi Field, his wife was in labor in Ohio. He had to rush to the dugout to get on FaceTime to see his son being born. Niese claimed this day messed up his entire season

Up until that point, Niese had a 3.36 ERA. He would finish the year with a 4.13 ERA. Being a parent is hard.  Being a pitcher is hard. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to this Niese excuse. 

With that in mind, the Mets should just skip Jacob deGrom‘s start and fly him down to his home in Florida. His wife’s due date has come and gone. If his wife goes into labor, he has a two hour flight. This doesn’t include getting to the airport, landing, and going to the hospital. Long story short – if his wife goes into labor, and he’s in New York, he’s missing the birth. 

It’s not worth it. There’s nothing I would’ve traded to be there when my son was born. Every parent feels the same. He should be there now. His wife needs him, and his team doesn’t need him yet. 

Due to baseball’s inane scheduling, the Mets have plenty of options to pitch on Opening Day. Matt Harvey can pitch on full rest as can Bartolo ColonSteven Matz hasn’t pitched in over a week now and could move his start up one day.  Also, the Mets could turn to the long man in the bullpen, Logan Verrett, and let him make a spot start like he did so well last year. That’s four pitchers the Mets can reasonably use to pitch on Opening Day. 

If the Mets slide Verrett into the rotation temporarily, the Mets will not need deGrom until his wife has given birth. The Mets can even call-up another pitcher like Erik Goeddel or Sean Gilmartin, who can also make a spot start, due to Major League Baseball’s paternity leave

It’s important for deGrom to be in the right mindset whenever he takes the mound. No one wants him up there pitching while his mind is somewhere else. Also, what do you do if he gets the call while he’s on the mound in the second or third inning?  No one is warming up. You can’t just pull him off the mound. You also can’t keep the news from him while someone warms up in the bullpen. It’s a dilemma. 

It can be best resolved by not pitching him. Let him go home and see his son get born. Let him take the mound when he can focus on baseball instead of peeking in the dugout to see if his wife has called. 

Starting a game when his wife was in labor led to an awful start from Niese.  As he will tell you, that start caused him to pitch poorly the rest of the year. There’s no reason to risk deGrom to the same fate. The Mets should skip deGrom on Opening Day. Jacob deGrom should be home with his wife right now. 

Good for Jim Henderson

As a 26th round draft pick by the Montreal Expos in the 2003 draft, Jim Henderson faced a steep uphill climb to make it to the majors. 

He stuck around long enough to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in 2006. He was selected by the Cubs, but he didn’t make the major league roster. The Washington Nationals didn’t want him back, so he pitched two years in the Cubs minor league system before getting released. He then hooked on with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He then had to pitch another two and a half years in the minors. 

He was 29 when he finally made it to the majors. It’s a plot for a family movie about preserving and accomplishing your dreams. It’s not an indication that you’re going to have any kind of success in the majors. 

Yet, Henderson quickly became the Brewers’ closer. In 2013, he recorded 28 saves with a 2.70 ERA. Finally, at 30 years of age, Henderson’s career seemed to be taking off. Unfortunately, disaster struck. Henderson needed shoulder surgery. His 2014 season was over. He only got to pitch 35 innings in the minors in 2015. He was now heading into free agency after not pitching in close to two and a half years. 

At that point, he was hoping just to pitch anywhere. Even at 33 years of age, he was willing to pitch anywhere just to get another shot in the majors. He decided to sign a minor league contract with the Mets, who thought fairly highly of him

He seized the opportunity. During Spring Training, Henderson had a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Despite yet another steep uphill climb, Henderson proved himself. He made the Mets Opening Day roster. Better yet, he would become a prime set-up man with the Mets. 

Terry Collins tabbed Henderson to pitch in the seventh inning to preserve a 2-0 lead against a Royals team that beat up on the Mets team in the World Series. Henderson’s first pitch in the majors after a two and a half year absence was a 97 MPH fastball for a called strike. He would strike out his first batter, Alex Gordon. Henderson pitched a 1-2-3 inning, recording a hold, with two strikeouts. 

After all he’s been through, Jim Henderson is not just back in the majors, he’s back to dominate at the back end of the Mets bullpen. 

Editor’s Note: this article also appeared on metsmerizedonline.com

Murphy Fans Want Walker to Succeed

Slowly but surely, Daniel Murphy became my favorite player on the Mets. He was a clutch player at the start. He played the game hard. Yes, he had some gaffes here and there, but they were the result of someone who was going all out all the time. He was never going to admit he couldn’t make a play. As a result, we sometimes got to see him do something spectacular. Other times, you just shook your head. 

His being my favorite player was cemented when I met him. When I met him, he came and talked to me about my wife expecting. He signed a few things for my son, and he gave my son a baseball to learn how to play baseball with. Him becoming my son’s favorite player further cemented it. 

After the postseason, there should not be one Mets fan who doesn’t love and respect this guy. Without him, the Mets lose in the NLDS. 

Despite all that, the Mets didn’t want Murphy back. Instead, they made a bad trade to replace him with Neil Walker. Murphy then went to the Nationals to help them win the NL East. Admittedly, it was difficult watching Walker go 0-4 with a strikeout and an RBI ground out that helped kill a Mets eighth inning rally in an Opening Day loss. It was more difficult seeing that Murphy went 2-3 with two walks, a homerun, and a 10th inning go-ahead RBI double to help the Nationals secure an Opening Day win. 

However, that does not mean I’m not rooting for Neil Walker. If you remember, I actually suggested the Mets trade for Walker if they were going to just jettison Murphy. I like Walker as a player. I just think the Mets made a bad decision letting Murphy go, and they made matters worse by making a bad trade.  I hope Walker has s huge year. Trust me when I tell you I enjoyed this moment just as much as every other Mets fan, perhaps more:

I’m undoubtedly rooting for Neil Walker. He’s a good baseball player. He looks to be a great guy too. Just because I love Murphy and hated a trade, it doesn’t mean I’m not rooting for the guy.  I am rooting for him. I want to write glowing things about him. I want to implore the Mets to keep him for more than just this year (they won’t). I want to see more big homeruns. I want to see more of the guy that Pirates fans were depressed to see go. 

I’ll always be a Mets fan first. I’m going to root for Neil Walker to succeed.  I’ll root for whoever’s next, whether that is Dilson Herrera or whoever else or might be. Keep in mind, I rooted for Luis Castillo for FOUR YEARS. I think I can handle rooting for a good player and a good guy like Neil Walker.