That's Wright, here's the truth

Fatso without Froot Loops is incredibly boring. Maybe because he realizes this, or perhaps because he's just ill-informed and hates the Mets, Mike Francesca has gone on and on about how un-clutch David Wright is, and how the Mets need to possibly trade him to break up the core of the team.

The Large One harps on Wright's performance in the final week of 2008 and uses his postseason stats from 2006 to back up his opinion. Basically, two small samples.

Here's what Mikey either doesn't know or doesn't care to know about David Wright:

2008 Sept/Oct: .340 Avg / .416 OBP / .577 SLG / .993 OPS - 6 HR, 21 RBI. Not bad!

2008 RISP: .243, two outs RISP: .247. OK, not so great.

But...

Late & Close: .286 Avg / .876 OPS
Tie Game: .308 / .937
Within 1 run: .313 / .948
Within 2 runs: .321 / .969
Within 3 runs: .326 / .975
Runner on 3rd, 2 outs: .324 / .958
First and third: .345 / .998

OK, so he was .235 in 2008 with the bases loaded and .167 with runners on second and third, but you get the picture. Wright had some very good numbers in many clutch situations this season.

And 2008 was an abberation in many respects. His career average with RISP is .300. Runner on third, less than 2 outs: .447. Bases loaded: .393. Second and third: .400. Late & Close: .307. Tie game: .318.

But by all means, Mikey, trade Wright now because at age 26 he's never going to get any better, despite the fact that most pros peak between the ages of 27 and 32.

Idiot.

OK, here's the plan

Since Omar Minaya is signing a three-year extension, we at MFC.com thought we'd help him out with a game plan for the offseason. And it's oh-so-simple.

1. Sign Manny. He's a free agent and will demand big bucks. Luckily, the Mets will be one of those teams with plenty of bucks to spend. Last season, the Mets acquired a marquee player in Johan Santana. Next season -- on the heels of missing the playoffs again in a third straight disappointment for fans -- coming into their brand-spanking-new ballpark, the Mets will want to make another splash, and what better way to do it than to let Manny be Manny in Queens?

Omar loves him, always has, and the timing is right. The guy may be 36 but he shows no signs of slowing, and may be the ingredient the Mets need. Maybe instead of leadership they need a guy who just doesn't give a crap about anything but playing ball and having fun. That's Manny. Pay him his money for four years (knowing that you'll only get 2 great years and one so-so year out of him), stick him in left field, bat him third and enjoy the righthanded production.

2. Sign Brian Fuentes. If you're gonna get Manny, you're not going to spend megabucks on a closer like K-Rod, but you definitely need one, and Fuentes is an up-and-coming closer with good credentials. Landing him will allow the Mets to build the bullpen up again from the back. UPDATE: Thanks to Andrew for pointing out that Fuentes is 33 years old, a bit old to be called up-and-coming. If anything, he's a late bloomer. Still works for me.

3. Let Oliver Perez go. He's too mercurial and he has Scott Boras as his agent. Wish him well and let someone else overpay for him.

4. Move Daniel Murphy to second base. He may eventually be best suited for first base, but for one season at least let's see if he can be our Chase Utley. It also fills a need without spending money.

5. Trade for Roy Halladay. Saved the best for last, didn't I? Halladay has two years left on his extension and in 2009 his salary jumps from $10 million to over $14 million per. Despite Toronto's solid season and GM J.P. Ricciardi's denials, the rumors have persisted that the Jays would listen to an offer for Halladay.

And who would the Mets deal? Fernando Martinez.

I know, you wouldn't include him in a deal for Santana, so why would you trade him now? Listen, Carlos Beltran is signed through 2011 and he has been incredibly consistent, plus his salary is so high, he's not going anywhere. Also, a lot has changed in the last year. The Mets failed to make the playoffs again, and so there is pressure to improve the team now.

Martinez is the future and his trade value has never been higher. He's yet to play in AAA and despite his recent injuries, he is the Mets' top prospect -- not counting Wilmer Flores, who is 16 years old. But Flores is the rising star, and while he's a shortstop now, he projects to be an outfielder.

Dealing Martinez while he still has the aura of a phenom can help land a big fish like Halladay, and could you imagine having Santana and Halladay followed by Pelfrey and Maine? Talk about helping your bullpen.

And with Manny in the fold, I'd be willing to give Pedro a one-year deal just to have the two on the team at the same time. Pedro as your fifth starter? That could work.

There you go, Omar -- a simple plan for rejuvenating the Mets. You're welcome!

Meet the Mutts: Flushing's All-Time Worst

Seeing all those Mets greats and fan favorites take to the field at Shea Stadium for one last time Sunday -- and wondering where players like John Olerud and Bobby Jones were -- got me thinking: What would a roster of all-time Mets disappointments, washouts and busts look like?

Note that strictly in terms of disappointment, such a team should definitely include Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry since they pissed away certain Hall of Fame careers. But because they contributed so much in a short period and won a World Series, they will always be fan favorites, as shown by the crowd reaction at Shea's closing ceremonies.

So, without further ado, the All-Time New York Mutts. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section!

OF: Bobby Bonilla, Juan Samuel, Vince Coleman, George Foster. Talk about a rogue's gallery. All four were flat-out busts and the first three were absolute disgraces. Samuel was here less than a year but it felt like he sucked for a decade, probably because the Mets traded Lenny Dykstra for him (along with Roger McDowell). Foster, by most accounts, is a nice guy, but he was a shadow of himself after coming here from the Reds.

1B: Mo Vaughn. The fact that Vaughn's name is invoked when one wants to describe something that's overrated, overpriced or massively overweight tells you all you need to know about Big Mo, who is certainly the highest-priced bust on this list.

2B: Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga. When the Mets acquired each of these players, the fan reaction was, "Holy sh&t, we got him?!" And then both proceeded to tank miserably. Baerga always looked like he had one too many chimichangas for a guy who was often statistically compared to Rogers Hornsby. Alomar's performance was mind-boggling considering he was considered a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, and probably will still get there. Although Mets fans would strongly disagree; the guy was a dog.

SS: Kaz Matsui. I hesitated a bit with putting Matsui here because I think he's a decent player who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That said, he was a tremendous bust in Flushing, displaying none of the skills he was reported to have, and even defensively he looked like a little leaguer. The fact that the Mets moved Jose Reyes to second base to accommodate Matsui was the height of insanity.

3B: Gregg Jefferies, Jim Fregosi. Did you know that Gregg Jefferies used to practice swinging while standing in a swimming pool to increase his bat speed? Nuggets like that hyped Jefferies to the Nth degree, and he never delivered on the promise. Fregosi, meanwhile, was 30 when the Mets acquired him in a trade for Nolan Ryan. Fregosi lasted less than two seasons at Shea before being traded to Texas, while Ryan... I'm sorry, I can't continue, I'm depressed as it is.

C: Todd Hundley. Yeah, I know, he hit 41 homers in 1996 and 30 the next, but look closer and you'll see a guy who hit .234 for his career and who also struck out a ton. Those two seasons look suspiciously performance-enhanced. Incredibly, Hundley's mindless fans actually used to boo Mike Piazza after his arrival paved Hundley's exit from Shea. Actually, THAT is the height of insanity.

Pitchers:
Bret Saberhagen. Did almost nothing while he was here when he was supposed to be a perennial Cy Young candidate. His batting cage in Babylon did pretty well, I'm told.
Pat Zachary. The guy was traded for Tom Seaver and went 41-46, not quite the phenom he was supposed to be.
Kenny Rogers. Ball four.
Generation 'K' - Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, Paul Wilson. Talk about hype. Pulse was a head case and Wilson was undone by injuries and less-than-terrific talent. Izzy was bust before resurrecting his career as a closer with St. Louis. The trio's utter failure has made the franchise gun-shy on young pitching ever since.
Doug Sisk, Aaron Heilman, Guillermo Mota. At different times represented the pitcher you trusted the least in the bullpen. Mota in particular was awful, but that didn't stop Willie Randolph for calling his name again and again.
Closer: Armando Benitez. He put up some very good numbers and blew a lot of people away, except when the pressure was on, which is when he shriveled up like Barry Bonds' testicles. The antithesis of a big-game pitcher.

Goodbye, in more ways than one

I was going to write about the Mets' loss to the Marlins and the "Shea Goodbye" festivities in separate posts, but I can't.

For one, it's almost one in the morning Monday and I'd like to try and get some sleep before heading to work. Also, I don't think you can separate the two, at least not now. Perhaps if the Mets had won, you could, because there would be more baseball to be played. But the season is over. The Brewers are the Wild Card team, the Phillies are the NL East champions for the second straight year, and the Mets will never again play at Shea Stadium.

For the fans, this day will live as one, tremendously melancholy event. So let's treat it as such.

As far as the game is concerned, five runs in three days isn't going to do it. Yes, Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala gave up home runs that gave the Marlins the lead for good, marking another in an unfathomable string of bullpen failures, but two runs? Against Scott Olsen, who the Mets had handled all season? Pre-game, the talk was about how many of the Mets starters had such good numbers against Olsen. Where were those numbers today?

There weren't many blown opportunities because there were few opportunities to blow. Carlos Beltran converted his chance in the bottom of the sixth, connecting on a two-run homer that tied the game at 2-2.

The only other chance came in the bottom of the eighth when Carlos Delgado came up with two outs and runners on first and second. I texted a buddy of mine, "Bunt," and I wasn't kidding. Delgado's numbers against Arthur Rhodes were brutal, and Rhodes has murdered lefties this season.

In the ninth, credit Damion Easley for drawing a walk against a young pitcher (fitting that former Met Matt Lindstrom closed it), to bring up a lefty against the righty. But that lefty, unfortunately, was Ryan Church, who had an awful September. He gave it a ride, and there was hope there for a second or two, but like the team itself, the drive fell short.

Oliver Perez put up zeroes for five innings before faltering in the sixth, but you can't fault his effort on three days' rest. Joe Smith came on with the bases loaded and one out and walked a guy, a major no-no, but he got the next two outs and you felt good about only being down by two. And when Beltran went yard, things were looking up.

They looked fantastic when Endy Chavez made a running stab in left to end the seventh, and everyone thought back to 2006 and his amazing catch against the Cardinals. The Mets lost that game, but they wouldn't lose this one, too, right? Maybe Endy needs to stop making game-saving catches.

For me, that was it -- I couldn't stick around to watch the long goodbye. I DVR'ed basically the whole day and my son was begging me to play outside, so we went onto the front lawn and played some wiffle ball. But not before replacing my snow-white Wright jersey with the Chrebet Jets jersey. Sorry, but the Mets jersey would have invited comments from the neighbors, and all I wanted to do was play ball with my son for a while and clear my head. And it worked.

I didn't watch the closing ceremonies until almost 11, having gone back to watch the "Shea Goodbye" special from the 92nd Street Y before zipping through the pregame stuff.

As for the ceremony, it may have lacked the drama and gravitas of Yankee Stadium's finale, but I was happy to see so many players from my youth -- the seventies and early eighties -- on hand. Because while we want to celebrate the great Mets teams of 1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000, a huge part of being a Mets fan was having to sit through some terrible teams.

So I loved seeing Felix Millan, and Dave Kingman, and Doug Flynn, and Craig Swan, and Ed Kranepool. We cheered for those guys while the Yankees were winning World Series, and it was great to see them one last time.

It was disappointing not to see Mookie Wilson or Davey Johnson there, or Hubie Brooks, or Frank Viola, or John Olerud. But from Cleon Jones and Jerry Koosman and Ron Swoboda to Len Dykstra and Wally Backman and Gary Carter and Jesse Orosco -- I found that seeing the former players back at Shea was incredibly healing. Maybe it was because I waited a few hours, but for me the closing ceremony with all the old Mets -- John Franco, Al Leiter, Robin Ventura , Edgardo Alfonzo -- made me think about what it is to be a Mets fan, and that is you learn to take the good with the bad, and even when it's bad, it's still your team and you're proud of it.

The cheers for Darryl Strawberry were expected. The ovation for Dwight Gooden was incredible, and like Gary Cohen, I got a lump in my throat. Gooden may have thrown his no-hitter for the Yankees, but he will always -- ALWAYS -- be a Met.

And of course the final entrants -- Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver. I miss Piazza. He was the best. And Seaver is Seaver -- The Franchise. Always will be.

I thought having them all touch home plate "one last time" was corny, but the players seemed to like it. Having Seaver throw Shea's last pitch to Piazza was a great move, unfortunately Seaver bounced it. Piazza's defensive skills were always underrated.

And having the two of them walk out through centerfield and close the place was also a nice touch, and it was then that the heaviness of the day and the disappointment hit me again.

It wasn't supposed to end this way. But, then again, these are the Mets. You learn to take the bad with the good.

I've been clear that if New York City allowed Shea Stadium to be imploded, I'd be first on line to press the plunger. That's not to say I don't have tons of memories of the place, from my first game seeing the Mets play the Pirates and shaking hands with John Candelaria, to watching Doc and Darryl, to the title in 1986, beating the D-Backs in 1999, the grand slam single, to Game 7 against the Cardinals.

Those are memories that will live inside us all. Thankfully, in gathering future memories, we won't have to endure congested concourses, narrow escalators, overflowing toilets and tiny seats facing the wrong way. The Mets will once again have a park worthy of the emotion their fans put into the team.

And maybe Citi Field will bring a change of luck. This team really needs it.

Santana pitches a game for the ages

I was only a couple of months old when Tom Seaver threw 8 1/3 innings of a perfect game, and just a year old when he struck out 19. I remember well the dominance of Doc Gooden, who threw consecutive September complete-game shutouts in 1985 (getting no-decisions in both!), and of course John Maine's 13-strikeout, no-hit bid in the second-to-last game of 2007, in a must-win game at Shea, is still fresh in the mind.

But Johan Santana's effort today, in the second-to-last game of the season, in the second-to-last regular-season game ever at Shea Stadium, in a game the Mets needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive -- all on three days' rest after throwing a career-high 125 pitches -- was easily one of the greatest pitching performances I have ever seen.

It was certainly the most clutch under the circumstances outlined above. Throw in a Mets bullpen that has already blown almost 30 games this season, including enough Santana starts to prevent him from being a shoe-in for the Cy Young award, and it was clear that despite the short rest, the Mets needed Santana to dominate, and go long.

He did. And how. He cruised through the seventh and eighth innings and came out for the ninth having thrown 104 pitches, like that mattered. A one-out double didn't faze him, and the next three batters went down in order, the final out a flyout to left that gave an initial scare before Endy Chavez settled under it.

Three hits, three walks and nine strikeouts is an outstanding line, and while there have surely been better one-game numbers posted in baseball history, for Mets fans, this one stands out, in bold letters. Was Santana worth the players they dealt? Worth that lengthy contract for all that money? Is he the best pitcher in baseball today?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Give Jerry Manuel credit for shaking up the lineup, although it didn't exactly produce a landslide. The Mets got early runs against pesky Ricky Nolasco -- maybe he's better than pesky, at this point -- and you wonder if there will be a statue for Ramon Martinez at Citi Field someday, the way he has played this last week.

As I write this, the Cubs lead the Brewers, 4-0, and John Lannan is keeping the Phillies in check in a scoreless game. Regardless of those outcomes (and of course we're hoping for losses), Sunday's Shea finale will be a meaningful September game on an extremely meaningful day for the franchise.

Oliver Perez will get his chance at throwing on three days' rest, and he's the kind of pitcher who is probably helped by little fatigue mixed with adrenaline. The last time he went on three days' rest, Perez went six sharp innings in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against the Cardinals.

We know what happened then. But Shea Stadium doesn't want the Mets to leave just yet. It's having too much fun.

Mets players from the past 46 years will be on hand Sunday to say goodbye, but the festivities begin after the game. Yankee Stadium can have its ghosts. Shea Stadium will have history on hand in the flesh in a game that is the definition of must-win.

That's gotta count for something.

You gotta believe.

Drenched by disappointment

Not much to say about Friday night's loss. The offense let early opportunities pass it by, the bullpen allowed the Marlins to tack on runs, and it seemed like the Mets used up all their fight the night before.

And, of course, the Phillies and the Brewers both won, which means the Mets' destiny is no longer solely in their hands. They need other teams' losses, too, with two games left to play.

And now Johan Santana is going to pitch on three days' rest, which doesn't sound promising, even if it is Johan, because it means the bullpen is going to have to play a significant role, barring a miracle. And even if they win, they'll need Oliver Perez to go on short rest Sunday, which in his case may actually be a good thing.

It kills me that the trash-talking Marlins, who talk a lot of sh*t for a team that's out of the race, can come into Shea, in its final days, and do what they did last year. That is as infuriating as anything else.

It's been a draining week, and now it looks like Sunday's finale could very well mean nothing but a sad goodbye. But we're staying positive... kinda...

The magic... is it back?

A buddy of mine texted me before Thursday night's game, noting that Ramon Martinez was starting, along with Robinson Cancel, adding, "Why not?" I texted back, "Ramon's playing third?"

Gallows humor is the calling card of any Mets fan, and it was in abundance yesterday as we waited for what was surely the most critical game of the season -- until the next one. What we got was a rollercoaster ride that saw the Mets go from seemingly certain defeat to walk-off victory, in the middle of a downpour that initially mirrored the Mets' fortunes but ended up incapable of washing away their spirit.

Maybe it was Lenny Dykstra's appearance in centerfield, turning the countdown to 4, that infused Shea Stadium with '86-like vibes. It certainly felt like it.

Start with Pedro, making possibly his last regular-season start for the Mets. Of course, he let up two runs in the first inning and three in the first three, but again, he settled down and ended up with a season-high nine strikeouts. An awakening Ryan Church doubled in two runs to tie the score at 3-3, and when Pedro walked off the mound with two on and none out in the seventh, he received a standing ovation, and it was well-deserved. Unlike Ollie Perez, he gave the Mets his best effort on a night when they needed it, and he deserves recognition for what he's given the team in the past.

The fans weren't even seated when Micah Hoffpauir homered on the first pitch from Ricardo Rincon to put the Cubs ahead, 6-3. Once again, like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects when the Mets bullpen will implode, or who will be on the mound when it happens. Keeps it spicy!

(And for anyone mad at Lou Piniella for starting some bench players in the game, note that it was one of those bench players who almost single-handedly killed the Mets. But who can blame Lou for wanting to play the Mets in the first round? With this bullpen?)

The rain was falling harder, and things looked mighty grim, although Cancel perked things up a bit by doubling in the seventh and scoring on a Jose Reyes groundout. And after Scott Schoeneweis navigated through a scoreless eighth, David Wright led off the eighth with a single, only to see Carlos Delgado ground into a double play. We've seen this before.

And then, in Game-Six-like fashion, Beltran singled, and then Church singled, and then Beltran stole third off Bobby Howry. And who was at the plate? Ramon Martinez, who was 0-for-3.

What does it say about Luis Castillo (or Endy Chavez, for that matter) that Jerry Manuel stuck with the righty Martinez against the righty Howry with the game on the line? Not much. But Ramon came through with a single to cut the gap to one, and then Cancel singled to right.

Kosuke Fukudome, with a gun, charged the ball. Third-base coach Luis Aguayo -- perhaps responding to criticism for not sending Delgado home the night before -- waves Church home and he is out by a mile. Except... Church avoids the tag by a lunging Koyie Hill, misses the plate, but scrambles back to touch it to tie the score. Cray-Zee.

Pedro Feliciano opened the ninth to face a lefty and promptly allows a single. Ugh. But Joe Smith got out of the inning, getting Daryl Ward to ground out with two down and runners on second and third.

More madness in the bottom of the ninth. Reyes led off with a single, but with two strikes and Reyes stealing second, Daniel Murphy fouled off a third bunt attempt for strike three. Manuel said later that he was not supposed to bunt, and you wonder if Murphy -- a smart hitter -- missed a sign or was given the wrong sign. Either way, not a good sign for the Mets.

But this is an '86 game, remember? Wright struck out as Reyes stole second, and an intentional walk to Delgado brought up Beltran, who lined the ball off the glove of a diving Hoffpauir -- can you imagine if he capped his game with a web gem? Yikes -- to score Reyes with the winner, sending the brave and soaked faithful into a frenzy.

This team ain't dead yet, just a game behind Philly with three to go.

Of course, The Freakin Brewers won in the 10th on a walk-off grand slam, but they get the Cubbies next, while the Mets host the hated Marlins. When those games will be played is anyone's guess with all the wet weather, but we know one thing: We won't know what to expect.

It's like that at Shea.