Posts Tagged ‘mets’

Murph stopped by the bar near the end of August, he told Kid that he was going to have to shut the bar down for awhile, starting about the first week of September. There was that leaky pipe in the ceiling, and he wanted to do a little remodeling. Murph had been collecting some nautical stuff and these hideous swan replicas; he wanted to get it out of his garage. Since the Mets caved in before September this year, business was down anyway, so Murph thought it would be good to spruce the place up a little, maybe bring in a better “clientele” for the winter months.

He told Kid to use his 2 weeks vacation, the work should be done then and he could come back. Turns out the work took about 7 weeks, and here Kid was turning the key in the lock on Nov. 1, his bank account down to $78.

The place looked good though. Murph had the plaster ceiling removed and the exposed beams shellacked. Hung up the swans, they didn’t look to bad, and his framed jersey. They sanded down the bar, re-varnished it, 4 coats, it looked good, still smelled a little though. Oh, and three new HD TV’s, Vizio, 42 inch. “I gotta ask for a raise”, thought Kid as he cleared the taps, ready for the night crowd to come in.

“What the hell did you guys do in here, birds flying around the joint now?” Walt walked in at 7:45, as usual, like riding a bike. Kid placed the beer down, in front of his regular spot on the bar, before Walt sat down. “How you been Walt? Welcome back, to the new Murph’s Corner Bar.”

“Is a glass of beer still the same price?” Walt asked, Kid leaned in and whispered “For you Walt, yeah”

“Thanks Kid, do any of these TV’s get MSG, I want to see the Knicks”

“Of course” said Kid reaching for the clicker, “they all do. Since when do you like basketball Walt?”

“I always liked basketball, just haven’t seen any in New York for about 10 years, since they shipped off Ewing”

“Wow, Walt I never knew, what brought you back”

“Kept hearing on the radio that the team was winning again. Checked a game out a few weeks ago. I was a little shocked to tell you the truth. There was a new team, actually passing the ball, not standing around waiting for a one-on-one show. They looked confident, working it, got a job to do and getting it done. Reminded me of my, Knicks, the Reed, DeBusschere, Bradley, Frazier and Monroe Knicks, with a dose of Jerry Lucas and Phil Jackson, Henry Bibby, Dean Meminger.

I had hope for Isaiah, until he revealed himself as an idiot. That Marberry starberry guy turned my stomach. Gettin’ all that money and not even trying. Spending all his time in the Tattoo parlor, instead of practicing his jump shot. Ugh, I don’t want to talk about that, it made me sick. Paying for MSG every month and never watching it.

But this team, I think they got something. That Amary, what, Amarie, you know Stottlemeyer like the Yankee pitcher, Met coach, he’s something, finally a guy who’s worth the money.

But the team, the way they’re helping each other, the way they’re playing defense, it’s great. I’m reliving my youth here, this is how I liked to play, my buddies liked to play. I can still hear Marv Albert in my head, ‘Frazier to the forecourt, to DeBusschere on the wing, Bradely in the corner, Yes!’ or ‘Rebound Reed’ 20 times a game, every game. Team ball, just the best.”

“Hate to correct you Walt, that’s ‘Amar’e Stoudemire’, I read that he’s Jewish” Kid said, as he pushed the peanut bowl over next to Walt.

“Really, Jewish guy with a name that sounds like Hail Mary? Ain’t he something?”

It appears the Danny Drama is back again. Young Daniel has been trying to work through some intense growing pains this year… and he continues to get very little help from his manager.

Take Murphy’s 5 RBI game. Sure to get him in the lineup the next game right? Nope.

How about 2 nights ago, Murph has 2 doubles and makes a move that hasn’t been seen since Ron Jeremy’s 1996 thriller Yin Yang Oriental Love Bang, guarenteeing him a start the next night right?  Nope.

After months of fans wanting Murphy’s head on a platter for his struggles, it seems that he may be gaining his support back at the expense of Jerry Manuel.

Granted, the Mets are only 24-31 when Murphy starts but here are some stats you may not have been aware of…

Murphy is:

1. Batting 1.000 against Lefties when he gets a hit
2. Has gotten on base after every walk
3. Tied for first in the National League with no errors committed on July 8th

These numbers are nothing short of delicious.

We can however, expect Murphy to be in the lineup tonight against the Reds, how do we know this?  Because Jerry said so.

The first three calendar months of the 2009 baseball season are now in the books, marking the worst month the Mets have played since the dark days of September 2003. With Mets fans seeking out the nearest bridge, we here at OhMurph would like to give our bretheren a bit of perspective.

After posting a winning 2005 season that signaled that the franchise had turned a corner, the Mets have essentially remained a competitive club since. Sure, three consecutive tough finishes were tought to swallow.  Some signings in the past couple of seasons may have seemed questionable (two-year extension for Guillermo Mota?), and some acquisitions may not have totally panned out as planned (Ambiorix Burgos comes to mind). Injuries to older players have taken their tool (Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou) and lack of executing the fundamentals has also been a problem. You get the point. But riddle me this: how many teams were immune from some, or all, of the above? Looking at the bigger picture, the Mets have been there to the end the last three years. 

You could be a Pirates fan, due for a 17th consecutive losing season.  Some other small-market teams like the Minnesota Twins and more recently the Tampa Bay Rays have been able to use smart drafting and trades to be competitve. Big-market teams, like the Yankees, patch over problems with money. Other teams like the Dodgers and Red Sox try to do both. And what about the Mets? Lets see what a Mets lineup would look like if they were a small-market team:

Alex Cora, SS – a lifetime .246 hitter who hasn’t had a full time role since 2004

Luis Castillo, 2B – gimpy slap hitter fast approaching his mid-30s on a bloated contract

David Wright, 3B – the new Franchise, fan favorite homegrown talent shouldering the offensive and leadership burden

Ryan Church, RF – part of an unpopular trade, has battled injuries and still awaiting a breakout season at age 30

Nick Evans, LF – promising Mets rookie with some pop and who also plays 1B; exactly the type of trade bait an injury-ravaged team dangles at the deadline

Daniel Murphy, 1B – see above, minus the rookie status

Fernando Martinez, CF – gem of the farm system being pressed to produce as a 20-year old at the big league level, hitting .180, or just 20 points higher than Mike Pelfrey

Brian Schneider, C – defensively average backstop who just barely escapes ‘black hole’ status at the bottom of the lineup

Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, Jeremy Reed, Omir Santos, Argenis Reyes, bench – a collection of has-beens and never-weres who, aside from Santos, might hit a little or field a little, but never both

There you have it – one cornerstone player, a couple of servicable guys, a few farm talents who may never see a future with the team, and a bunch of warm bodies. Does it look familiar? That’s the lineup Jerry Manuel ran out against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday. 

A contending team will have some shortcomings, but take all the division leaders and stick three of their four most productive bats on the DL for dozens of games combined and see if they can stay within two games of first place. Fortunately for the Mets, their big guns have a chance to come back and produce with lots of season left to play. For teams like the Pirates, however, this type of lineup has been a way of life for years now.

So while dropped pop ups and bad baserunning has no place on any major league team, keep things in perspective – it really could be a lot worse. The division remains up for grabs in the short term, and the front office remains committed to fielding a competitive team in the long term. If the end is nigh, well, there’s plenty of room for you at PNC Park.