Author Archive

We are going to be having our first ever Fantasy league this year.  This is a FREE Yahoo league and speaking from experience, its a whole lot of fun. If you are interested in joining, please send an email to dirtysanchez@nleastchatter.com by 3/9/10.

Photos:

Alex Cora signing autographs for the kids

Would have come in handy for 2009

A Jose Reyes Action Figure...cant get any cooler than that

Me, MRose and Jeff "Frenchy" Francoeur

Dirtysanchez:

Just got back from Port St Lucie and it was great. It has been unseasonably cold here in Florida but today was just beautiful. We got there at about mid day and walking up to the park, we saw Alex Cora (and his BMW) signing some autographs for the kids. Me and Matt didn’t have anything for Alex to sign so we just waved and he waved back. We decided to get something for the players to sign if we saw another one. At the Fanshop, it was honestly more difficult in showing restraint than anything. I could have bought half the store if I had my way (and a crap load of money), I mean who could resist a Jose Reyes action figure or a Mets Flask? After getting at least a baseball and sharpies, we went back to the parking lot and chatted it up with some other Mets fans.

The security guard was pretty good at letting us know who was coming out. We caught a glimpse of Jason Bay as he rode off, apparently he had to be somewhere fast but he was pretty apologetic as you could see him mouth “I’m sorry guys” while he made his turn up the ramp and out of the complex. Jeff was the next one up out of the complex and let me say, Jeff is a BIG guy…like TV does not do him justice. He actually was VERY cool and stopped on his way out and signed every fans ball that was there (including ours). He was smiling the whole time and didn’t mind taking a picture with whoever asked him too…Jeff was just really cool and definitely jumped up in my personal favorite Mets group. The last guy we saw was David Wright, but like Jason Bay he was in a rush to get somewhere (in a very nice Audi). Everyone there was waving to catch his attention but David just waved back and drove off. All in all it was a very nice trip and I would recommend that everyone should visit that place at least once. Even though there wasnt a game that day, you can still feel the vibe that baseball is seriously right around the corner.

MRose

I don’t have much to add from Dirty’s post, he covered most of the feeling.  I will add that David Wright must have had somewhere to be, as there was a girl there that had a picture from a “night out with David Wright” she had won, and he took a look, waved and kept on goin!  I have read in the past that he is typically very good about interviews, so I’ll give him a pass.  I also completely agree about Frenchy climbing up my list of favorite Mets.  When I said to him “Jeff, we are looking forward to what you can do for the Mets in a full year”, he responded with “Yea, me too! We have to stay healthy though!”.  Also, if you notice in the picture with him, before we shot it, he looked at Dirty, then looked back at me to make sure he wasn’t blocking either of us, and that we would all be in the picture.  He seemed genuinely happy to be there and be talking to fans.  I know there are a lot of people hes not too popular with, but I’m 100% pulling for him now.

I did catch on pretty quickly that Jason Bay was driving a rental car.  I believe it was some middle of the road small SUV, with Florida plates.  Being I’ve read his offseason home is Seattle, he is originally from Canada and the only teams he has played for are the Pirates and Red Sox, that was pretty obvious.  It also doesn’t help that all the other players we saw come out were driving much nicer vehicles, he must have just not shipped his down like the others.

All in all, we did not get to see a whole lot, but we got our feet wet with the Port St. Lucie area, and found it is just under 2 hours for us to get there.  I will be likely making a trip down in a couple weeks to see some games, which Dirty is welcome to join for or we may go to the Wide World of Sports and see them play the Bravos at some point as well.  Worst case, we did decide that this is a definite yearly trip and next year will be done with more planning and we hope that some of our readers or other authors can make a plan to join us as well!

Lets not forget Duffy’s.  We went to Duffy’s for a late lunch, even though it was fairly empty it had a great atmosphere.  It appears that it gets pretty packed at night, or after game days.  Next time, we will plan that portion better as well.  Good beer prices, great food.

Enjoy the pictures (additional small pics @nleastchatter on twitter), hopefully we will have better ones in the future and hopefully we can get a TRDMB Bandwagon in ‘11 worked out.

Lets go Mets! Its almost time!

Our friends over at AmazinAvenue.com have come out with their annual book. In it, they go over some player profiles, prospect reports, statistical analysis and so much more. A very good read to get you going for 2010 so check it out…(and its free)! Its available here

The name is Davis...Ike Davis

Ike hit a Grand Slam in todays game to put the Mets up 17-10

You can check out the recap here

“There’s no question that the Phillies are a great team.  They have, I think, arguably one of the best offenses in baseball, they’ve upgraded their starting pitching, and they play like winners.  They play like they expect to win.  So no one ever said it’s going to be easy, but we have to find a way to de-throne those guys… and it’s not just the Phillies.  I think the Braves have made some good additions.  I think the Nationals have had a tremendous offseason with some of the signings they’ve had.  And then you’ve got the Marlins, who go out there and play that loose, dangerous style of baseball.  I think we’re in one of the best divisions in baseball, but I don’t think, by any means, should anybody be counting us out before spring training starts.” -David Wright

And people wonder why this kid is the face of the franchise. David has been putting out the best PR for the Mets this off season and I think he is poised for a big season. Ialso think with a year under their belt playing at Citi, the Mets can now treat this place as a “home field advantage”. I also think pundits and overly pessimistic Met fans truly underestimate the impact a guy like Jason Bay and a returning star like Jose Reyes do to a team. I can understand being jaded from the 09 season but ladies and gents…we have a hellova team for 2010.

As David already said, the improvements made by the other NL east teams have to be taken into consideration as they all have gotten better. That being said, the Mets also have improved and gotten better…even if some of that improvement comes from returning health. In my opinion the biggest improvement of all is the fact that the Mets are no longer the favorites to win anything. I know David and Johan play it down significantly but what has made teams like the Marlins so dangerous is the “underdog” perception.

While your waiting on you turn here at the barbershop, lets get so to some real Mets talk

1. Reyes will have a better season than Jimmy Rollins.

Its all in the hips

2. Johan will throw a no hitter. Hes just got that look man…its on

Reporter: "Who is the best pitcher in the division" Johan: "Santana"

3. Oliver Perez will emerge as our #2 pitcher.

Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink...Ollie agrees

4. Krod will continue to give us gray hairs…but will get the job done. He will finish with over 40 saves and get into a on field brawl…

Iron K for Knockout!

5. David Wright will hit 40 home runs. When you look like this at spring training….

Your Welcome Ladies

Your either getting a gig at Chip & Dales or your going to hit 40 home runs…maybe in David’s case he might do both.

6. Jeff Francoeur will make the difference in getting this team to the offseason. Check this article out to see why.

Why So Serious.....

7.  Murphy will grow out a stache in honor of his mentor and will make another highlight play at 1b

Hey Murph...Nice game pretty boy

8. The Mets will retire Mike Piazza’s number

Time to put the Monster back in its cage...For all time

9. Jerry Manuel will make 1 really shrewd play to win a game

Im praying this one goes better than the Omir from the bullpen move

And last but not least..

10. Citi field will erect a statue in honor of GKR

Because i mean...who wouldn't...They are awesome

So there ya have it, a couple of statements for this upcoming year. Even if half this stuff doesnt comes to pass, it should be a very exciting year…LGM!

Sphere: Related Content

Stone Cold Stunner of Optimism

Ok…I am officially sick and tired of the negativity surrounding this upcoming season. While im sure some see their negativity as “realism” (that the mets are a last place team),  I would like to take a look back at the optimism going into the 2009 season from some of our members and authors on Metsblog:

khmustache April 6, 2009 at 1:00 pm

OPENING DAY!!!!!!!!!! I THINK I’M GONNA PEE MY PANTS!!!!!!!

TheDirtySanchez April 6, 2009 at 3:31 pm

imo, santana is the leader of the mets. Im glad that he is pumped to get the season started….SO AM I GUYS!!! LETS PLAY BALL!!!

brock kingman April 6, 2009 at 5:22 pm

A-FRIGIN-men to that!

Omar for Exec of the Year!

OK, a little early, but I have been waiting almost four long months to see this new pen in action, and even without JJ’s best stuff, it looked AWESOME.

KRod actually looks even better than in the past.

If you can remember, 2009 had just as many question marks if not more than 2010. I understand that the 2009 season beat us to the brink of insanity but those feelings should remain with that season. I know its much easier said than done(people are still hung up on the collapse) but we must try. At the start of the 2009 season NO ONE predicted the season to unfold the way it did… so how can we pretend to have a clue as to the way the 2010 season will unfold.  I want you to take a look at the lineup that will most likely start the 2010 season(barring some super hot performance in ST)

Jose "The most electrifying player in MLB" Reyes

Luis "Mr. Slappy" Castillo

David "The Golden Boy" Wright

Jason "The Masher" Bay (still working on this one)

Dan "The Iron Man" Murphy

Jeff "Frenchie" Francoeur

Gary "Matthews" Jr

Omir "The guy who hit that home run off Papelbon in Boston" Santos

Im sure we can have a food fight of stats to go either way with the potential performance of this group but I believe we would be hard pressed to find someone that thinks this group cannot be at the very least competitive. I also believe that a season like 2009 is unprecedented and a similar string of injuries can happen to any team, including the Phillies. We have to try and separate the negativity and pessimism we feel toward the front office from the team on the field. Yes the office is a mess but until the realize the embarrassment they are causing to themselves and the organization, things will not begin to change. Pitchers and catchers are going to report in a few weeks, a prelude to the sport that will dominate about 7 months of our lives. We need to realize and accept that the  2009  season was an extremely unprecedented event that the odds of it happening back to back im sure is lower than one winning the lottery…

"Oh....you didnt win?"

Im sure everyone has heard this 100 times by now “baseball is a marathon, not a sprint” and that couldn’t be more true. While it is important how you start but it is more important how you finish. We know not what the 2010 season has in store for us and given that, we should give this year a fair shake. I am not saying to forget the past but rather lets look for optimism going into the future. Yes, Omar did not acquire a multitude of potential FA that would have helped the club but so didn’t many other clubs in MLB. Omar however, did retain our prospects in the system. This move could prove to be a shrewd move come the trade deadline. Fact is no one can control what will happen over the 2010 season but what we can control is what we as fans bring to the table. Lets stand behind the crew of guys to take this team that we love so much as far as they can take it, Let us remember that we have a true #1 ace in Johan that has stood strong for us in the past and will do so again, Lets root for the success of Oliver “Headcase” Perez and John “Crosswords” Maine, Lets root for our new guy Jason Bay to help us get the job done, Lets…

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

root for a rebound season from Reyes and Wright, Lets  root for the New York Mets!

Heres to a brand new season...

LGM!