Kuzul

There appear to be two factors in the Mets’ home success and road failure.

First, they just aren’t scoring runs on the road (47 percent fewer runs).

Second, Mets pitchers are giving up 58 percent fewer home runs at Citi Field than on the road.

As a result of allowing fewer home runs, the Mets are also allowing 30 percent fewer RBI at Citi Field (135 away, 95 home).  

One could argue that other factors, including the number of hits (singles, doubles, and triples) and walks could account for this, but statistics suggest otherwise.

Mets pitchers are giving up an equal number of hits both home and away.  They are actually giving up fewer walks on the road.  This means it comes down to the home run.

I guess when you aren’t at all afraid of giving up a punishing home run, you are more daring with your pitching.

Mets pitchers are getting 32 percent more strikeouts at Citi Field, as well as issuing 29 percent more walks.  But the base-on balls don’t hurt as much at Citi Field, where home runs don’t happen.

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I’m hoping that Ollie Perez decides to walk (pun intended) away from baseball to open a hair salon so he can carve fancy lightening bolts in my sideburns, like he does with his.

He could charge $36 million dollars for a haircut.  And the same way he struggles repeating his delivery, he’d also forget how to cut hair in the middle of each cut, upon which a back-up barber would come in to finish the job.

And every time you ask Ollie the Barber to make an adjustment, like make the top shorter or the mullet longer, his phone would ring.  The man on the line is his agent Scott Boras, and the answer is no—he won’t do it.  

Ollie the Sideburn Architect doesn’t do a lot of things.  He doesn’t throw strikes.  He doesn’t care about his team.  He doesn’t care that the man who made him a multimillionaire would like him to go to the minors.  

Sideburns.  He does care about them.

So I’m hoping that Ollie takes his $36 million dollars of the Mets’ money, “walks” from baseball and opens up a hair salon.  I’m suggesting that he names it…

Cut From the Team Salon.

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Remember how the Phillies got caught spying on the Rockies catcher with binoculars? Well, that’s nothing compared to the apparent “home version” of how they cheat at Citizens Bank Park.

In 2007, it came to the Mets’ attention through several former Phillies players then playing with the Mets that the Phillies use a complex form of cheating at Citizens Bank Park involving a center field camera.  The camera is used to steal signs, which are then relayed to the hitter while he’s in the batter’s box.

After a 2007 formal complaint on this matter, the league concluded that there is in fact a camera in Philly’s center field, but that it does not provide a live feed into the dugout.

That is not how the scheme works, according to a NY Daily News article from 2007 which states:

“Allegedly, the camera in center field provides footage to a video room. A coach stationed in the corner of the Phillies’ dugout has a buzzer in his pocket. Based on the signal he receives from the video room, he then yells a code to the batter – such as his first name – to relay what pitch is coming.”  http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/09/02/2007-09-02_mets_claim_phillies_cheated_by_stealing_.html

Imagine you are the buzzer man in the dug out. It buzzes twice. You yell out to your hitter, “good eye out there.” He knows it’s a breaking pitch while the pitcher goes into his motion.  It’s a very fast scheme and it would also allow the Phillies to quickly adjust a change in sign calling.  Impressive.

More proof that the Phillies do this occurred during a 2007 Mets series when one Phillies player casually remarked to a Met during the game, “What’s up with the sophisticated signs?” The Mets had just employed a sign change mid-game. It was this incident which prompted the Mets to issue a formal complaint based on what they’d heard from their own former Phillies players.

Now that you know how Philly may cheat at home, doesn’t it make the binocular incident more interesting? After all, it is essentially the “road version” of the scheme that they employ at Criminals Bank Park.

If all this is true, it really puts a spin on Johan’s last outing in Philly. It was the worst performance of his career. Do you remember that, after the game, it was reported that the Mets felt he was tipping his pitches, or Philadelphia knew which pitches were coming?  Sounds like a polite way of saying “we know what you’re up to.”

It turns out Charlie Manuel has a long history of being accused of cheating, going back to 1999 when he was with the Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox have complained twice, the Dodgers once, and the Mets twice.  Last year, during a World Series game in Philadelphia, the casual fan had no idea why the Yankees catcher took an unprecedented number of trips to the mound.  It has been speculated that this was either to change signs or go sign-less.

Jesse “The Body” Ventura, a legendary professional wrestling bad guy, spoke on behalf of all sports villains when he’d recite his wrestling character’s motto, “Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.”

Charlie “The Body” Manuel.

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It’s difficult to get excited about the Mets these days, and I’m not going to take the bait of a single great night of baseball and build it into a fantasy about how good this team may be. But after tonight’s win against the Yankees, it’s cerainly seems possible to get really excited about what we saw from Mike Pelfrey, Mejia, and KRod.

Pelfrey

Mike Pelfrey’s performance tonight was massive.  We’ve already seen some great outings from him this year, but tonight he put it all together and dominated a lineup that only the best can.  He put on a demonstration in control, using breaking pitches for strike outs, and controlling the at bats.

Did you see what he did to Swisher who crowds the plate when he hits?  He spun him around.  That is how you pitch against a team as lethal as the Yankees.

Mejia

Tell me your heart didn’t drop when Jerry brought Mejia out in the seventh inning.  Here’s our best prospect who hasn’t been given the time to develop his breaking pitches.  After giving up a hit and a walk, it felt like Jerry was feeding the Mets future to the lions. 

Instead, Mejia delivers an electric performance striking out Teixeira and A-Rod.  He’d slain the lions.  I can’t wait for this guy to be ready.

K-Rod

I’ve been waiting for this guy to blow a huge game since he came onto the team last year. It has been hard to believe this guy is in control of the ball that comes out of his hand while he’s tumbling off into the dugout.  It seems every appearance involves guys getting on base and walks.  I have stood in amazement that this guy made his debut just before the 2002 World Series, where he dominated in the biggest game in baseball.

He was incredible.  Tonight, I see that K-Rod likes the big game.  He rises to the occasion. 

These three pitchers combined to give us one of the best Mets pitching performances I’ve ever seen.  Tough season, incredible game.

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There appear to be four factors impacting David Wright’s hitting: his “pressing,” Citi Field, getting beaned, and his uppercut swing.

The first thing that I think needs to be considered is the impact of losing both Beltran and Delgado on Wright (and Reyes.)

We all keep expecting to see the 2006 Mets offense out there eating up teams in the first inning.  This is a mistake on our part.  It is not the same offense without two of its most powerful hitters, Beltran and Delgado.  Bay was supposed to replace Delgado’s power, but so far he hasn’t.

To understand the impact of losing these hitters on a lineup, imagine if the Yankees lost A-Rod and Teixeira for a year and didn’t replace their power.  Imagine the pressure it places on Cano and Jeter to make up for the lost production.  They will begin to “press,” and “pressing” means bad hitting and lower production.

Second, David Wright moved into a new stadium last year that attacks all power hitting, but his especially with its deep right center field.  It’s a much harder home run for David at Citi Field.  No more cheers.  He’s not going to be the hero as often, unless he changes his approach looking to drive the ball in the gaps.  So right there, he’s lost power and had to change his approach.  Not good.

Third, this year, pitchers seem to be taking advantage of last year’s beaning, pitching him high and inside, and then low and away where a hole seems to have opened up in his swing.  Until he makes the proper adjustments, this is another hurdle he’s facing.

Last, I get the feeling that he liked hitting home runs in ’06, ’07, and ’08 because he’s developed a huge uppercut.  This is Keith Hernandez’s big issue with Wright’s swing, and I can see why it’s interfering with his production.  My only question is did he always have this huge uppercut swing?

Should we trade him?  I’m a Mets fan.  I know how easy it is to get swept away in disbelief with this team or the performance of it’s players, but David Wright is a phenomenally athletic and talented hitter.  Soon enough Beltran will return, Bay will hit for power, and Wright will make the adjustments he needs to make to get back to being the All Star that he truly is.

We are some of the most passionate baseball fans on earth.  Let’s give this guy a break for a little while.  Give him the time he needs to figure it out, without getting on his case.  Considering the years he’s already given us, I think he deserves this.

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