Bleacher Report - Articles by Max Colten

My Top 10 Baseball Games of the 2009 Season

Max Colten — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:21:49 -0400

First of all, it’s kind of funny that I call this list my Top 10 games, when the majority of them are Yankee wins and Mets losses. My original plan for this slideshow was to give my Top 5 Most Memorable Mets games of the 2009 season. I was going choose 5 of the 18 games I went to that had the most memorable happenings (i.e. Opening Day, the Castillo drop, etc.). However, after Friday night’s Yankees game that I was in attendance for, I’ve decided to do my Top 10 Most Memorable Baseball Games of the 2009 season. I was lucky enough to have attended a total of 21 baseball games between Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, and I will share what I believe are my Top 10. I’d love to hear your opinions if you think some are too high or low, or just don’t belong. So without further adieu, here we go.

Begin Slideshow

The Mets Fan View of Yankees Win Over Joe Nathan: The Devastation

Max Colten — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:57:11 -0400

As a Mets fan, this has been a long, terrible season, and yet, for me personally, it all came together with one blast off the bat of Alex Rodriguez.

I went to see the Mets on opening day, the first time all of the rivals came to Citi Field, and I was fortunate enough to see the team finish the season with a 10-7 record at my games.

One of my friends is a huge Yankees fan, and so I agreed to attend a few Yankee games, as I normally do anyway.

My first trip to the new Stadium was the rainout back on May 3 against the Angels, which was made up in September (a Yankee victory, no less), however, that was the least of my “horrors” at that stadium this season.

I use the word “horrors” because although I am not one of those Yankee-hater Mets fans, it was painful to see some of the wins I saw there this season.

So the first game I saw this season at the new Yankee Stadium was a game against the Minnesota Twins, in which Francisco Liriano pitched effectively, Mauer and Morneau both went deep, and the Twinkies actually had a lead heading into the ninth.

Well I’m sure you all remember the streak of walk-off victories for the Yankees, which was started by a Melky Cabrera walk-off against Joe Nathan and the Twins, and of course, this is the game I am referring to as my first game in that stadium this season.

So ok, you know it was a great game, so I really had no problem with it.

My next game at the Stadium was the Castillo dropped pop-up game.

Enough said. It brings up too many painful memories.

So after that devastating loss for the Mets at the Stadium, I thought I was going to see a Yankee loss at the hands of the Angels in this make-up game. At the very least, I did not want to see another walk-off Yankee win.

So of course, the Yankees won that game, and although not via the walk-off, they scored the go ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth inning so that’s pretty damn close.

Needless to say, I was pretty sick of going to that stadium.

However, as the Brooklyn Cyclones' season ended, followed by the Mets’, I felt the desire to see playoff baseball.

Now the last playoff game I attended was the Yankee Tiger series back in 2006. That game featured the young Justin Verlander facing off against Mike Mussina. The Tigers ended up winning the game to even the series at one game a piece.

So let’s jump to this past Sunday when I found out that the Yankees would be selling playoff tickets for the division series that Monday morning at 10:00 at face value.

Of course I had to jump on that, and was able to buy two standing room tickets for the second game. Needless to say I was happy to be able to see playoff baseball once again in New York.

When the Twins beat the Tigers in the play-in game, I was a little upset since I would not get to see Verlander in game two, however the Twins were on a roll, and who knows, maybe they could pull this huge upset out.

Well, this game was without doubt one of the most exciting games I’ve been to all season. Although I must say I was disappointed with the overall performance of the Yankee crowd, which was much weaker in terms of sound from the game in 2006.

Nick Blackburn had come into the Stadium and was throwing no-hit baseball and A.J. Burnett was pitching well.

The Twins finally scored a run off A.J. in the top of the sixth, and the Twins gave it right back in the bottom of the half of the inning. When the Twins then scored two runs in the top of the eighth, I chuckled to myself, thinking maybe, just maybe my first-ever Yankee loss in the stadium would be the most important game there thus far.

Of course, Joe Nathan had other ideas.

To be perfectly honest, even though Nathan had blown the save in my first game earlier this season, I thought when Mariano Rivera let that inherited runner score to give the Twins the two-run lead; I thought that meant it was the Twins’ night.

I can understand the Nathan was timid to the deal with A-Rod as the tying run in this game, in this stadium, with his rather lackluster career performance against the Yankees.

What I don’t understand, is that why not either just go right after him and say here you go Alex, see if you can hit it, or just outright walk him.

Obviously, the latter doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do, but we’ve all seen how much the mentality of a closer plays in their performance (Brad Lidge, for example).

But enough of that: it was very exciting to be a Yankee fan at that moment, and the place finally erupted into the applause and cheers I had expected from the first pitch on.

Now I’m not going to get into the discussion about Cuzzi’s blown call that kept Mauer from a leadoff double, the fact of the matter is that when the Twins could not score that inning with the bases loaded, you knew the Yankees were walking off in the bottom half of the inning.

I even said to my friend, the only thing that matters now is whether Mark or Alex wanted to do the honors.

Personally, I would’ve thought A-Rod would’ve told Mark to just get on so he could do the honors and really get Yankee fans to love him the way they should, but Tex sent the ball into the stands for the walk-off win, and my season was officially over.

This was a fantastic game to be at. I’m not denying that or trying to downplay it at all. I can’t say I’m happy for Yankee fans because I’m still a Mets fan, and I still hope the Red Sox rally past the Angels and beat the Yankees in the ALCS since I really think the Yankees would actually beat the Angels.

So after four games I’ve seen at Yankee Stadium this season, the Yankees are 4-0, and have walked off three of the four games.

Especially since one of those walk-off wins was against the Mets, I’m just at the breaking point. This game summed up everything that went wrong for me as a Mets fan this season.

Again, this was a fantastic game to have been at, and I really have no regrets about going…

But if any Yankee fan wants me to go to another game there again, they better be paying for me or I ain’t going.

***I know the picture isn't the best quality, I had to bend down and zoom through people to get the video board in the view. Anyone who's interested in more pics from the game, just send me a message!***

Life on the Trail: A Look Inside the Brooklyn Cyclones Grounds Crew

Max Colten — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:42:38 -0400

The vast majority of people often disregard the grounds crew when talking about the fun jobs in baseball.

Let’s face it; most of us only see them when their rolling out the tarp because the game we paid to see is being delayed.

However, there are a lot of tasks that makes the grounds crew so important to Major League Baseball.

So why write about it?

For those of you who did not read my last article, I worked this summer as a member of the grounds crew for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Class A affiliate of the New York Mets.

Now I’m sure if we actually thought about it, we would all realize that the grounds crew does do a lot more than just pull the tarp and set up batting practice.

We even miss most of the work they do during the pregame because we are occupied by various happenings around the stadium.

Now obviously our five-man grounds crew has to do a lot more than major league grounds crews (in terms of individual time) however I’ll go through a typical day on the Brooklyn Cyclones grounds crew.

Let’s assume for a moment that today is Saturday, game time’s at 7:00 P.M.

8:00 A.M.

Yes we are getting to the ballpark that early. Now if you’re me, that means you’re leaving your house at approximately 7:15, meaning you’ve been up probably since 6:30.

So what are we doing at this fine hour in the morning?

Well, if you’re the head grounds keeper, doing one of the most important and essential jobs on the diamond, mowing the grass.

Now I know it doesn’t seem like a difficult job, just sitting on a machine and riding around the field for an hour or so, but you have to be precise enough and be paying attention to do it correctly every time.

Now the rest of us are working on a variety of other tasks.

The Bullpen mounds need to be fixed. The old worn down clay has to be removed, new clay put down, all of it tamped down on a slope, and then the turface (the dirt that is used) brushed back over it.

Now remember, there are two mounds in each bullpen, and each have at least two areas with holes, the rubber and then the planting area.

Sometimes the pitchers tail off to the side and create holes off from the normal planting area, making for a maximum of 12 areas that must be fixed.

The Cyclones put on fireworks shows after most Friday and Saturday night games, sometimes they are shot off from the outfield warning track.

Who do you think picks up all the debris?

That’s right, I do. Now the debris on the warning track has to be raked into piles and picked up, the debris on the outfield grass gets sucked up using a blower/vacuum.

Again, this doesn’t seem like a really hard job, and it isn’t, however when you’ve had that vacuum on your back for 40 minutes and all you have been doing is looking down at small disks, it can be extremely difficult.

11:00 A.M.

Ok, now that the busy work is out of the way, now it’s time to work on the big stuff, the clay work for the mound and home plate. Essentially the same process as the bullpen mounds, the only real difference is the use of different clay for the mound.

12:00 P.M.

Now that we have done a lot of the more labor intensive parts of the day, it’s time to work on the infield.

One major task for working on the infield is soaking it.

Yes right before the game is not the only time that the grounds crew waters the infield. Since the infield is predominately clay and turface, it’s important to keep it moist so it doesn’t start cracking.

After watering the infield, we have to add turface.

Why add after we water?

Well first of all, the infield is going to be watered again before batting practice. Second, turface is known to many little league dad’s as speedy dry, because it absorbs water from the field.

So by spreading turface after we water, we soak up some of the extra water by putting the turface down.

1:00 P.M.

Next we have to drag the infield to level off the turface we just put down. So while three of us drag the infield with the metal drags and then a brush, another member of the grounds crew drags the warning track.

Now that the infield is set up and warning track is good, we can do some very important jobs, painting.

That logo behind home plate isn’t going to paint itself! Neither is the foul line that is on the grass or the coaches boxes. Now that the warning track has been dragged, we can also chalk the foul lines in the outfield.

2:30 P.M.

Now that a good chunk of the on-field work is done, we can move on to some other things.

Watering the flowers and raking the sand boxes along the outside of the stadium. Now while this is a specific Brooklyn Cyclones thing, it is none the less another task we have to do.

While we water the six large flower pots and rake out the sand, someone else has to spray paint the bases for batting practice. The Flag also has to go up in center field.

3:00 P.M.

We have one hour until batting practice begins. We have to open up both bullpens, which includes raking out around the home plates and spray painting the rubbers and plates.

We also have to bring all of the cages down for batting practice. There are four cages total, as well as the movable mound and L-shaped net.

Now we have to load up the truck with all of the batting practice mats and bring them down to the field.

3:30 P.M.

Now we’ll give the field another water down before batting practice.

3:45 P.M.

At this point, we have to set up for batting practice. Lay down all of the mats and set up the cages.

4:00 P.M.

BREAK TIME! Well not really, this time will be used to eat a quick lunch, but there is still a lot to accomplish.

We still have to clean the padding along the wall separating the field from the stands, as well as clean the bases that will be used in tonight’s game. This is a good time to also make a run to the dumpster with whatever garbage there is

We also have to load up the truck with everything we need for game time, rakes, the stomper, the chalk lines, the now clean bases, etc. We’ll bring it all down and unload it as well.

6:00 P.M.

Now that batting practice is over, the real fun begins.

The crowd is making their way into the stands, most not paying attention to us because of the other happenings around the ball park.

First we pull all of the mats, cages, and bases off of the field.

We rake out the spots around first, second, third, and short, and drag the field with the metal drags and then broom.

All of the excess turface has to be scooped up.

We use a different type of drag, called a coco to drag out the baselines and home plate. We place all of the bases on the grass part of the infield, and bring the hose out behind the mound.

The mound has to be un-tarped, the cleat cleaner put in and the rubber cleaned off, home plate has to be stenciled and then the batter’s boxes must be created using the stomper.

The lines for the foul line have to be rolled out, and two nails have to be placed to make the base runner’s line.

The foul line now has to be chalked, the bases put in, and then the lines have to be picked up.

By this point, it is now approximately 6:45 P.M., and the field is going to be watered down. After that, the hose simply has to be pulled off the field, and home plate has to be cleaned and then Play Ball!!

Now that the game has started, unless there is a chance of rain, the grounds crew doesn’t have much to do. The bases will be changed at one point, the areas around first, second, third, and short will be raked out, and then the field will be dragged once more in the fifth inning.

Let’s now assume that the game has finished at approximately 9:30 P.M.

We have to pull the bases, scoop up the foul lines, tarp the mound, pull down the flag, and bring everything back to the shop. Depending on whether there is another game the following day or not, we may do the bullpen mound clay work. Regardless the bullpens have to be tarped.

Now we are finally ready to leave, and it is about 10:30 P.M. So doing the math, from 8:00 in the morning until 10:30 at night, the grounds crew has been at the ballpark for 14 and one half hours.

Now I’m not going to say this is the everyday schedule. Most often we don’t have to arrive at the ballpark that early, depending on what other events are scheduled or what work is done the previous day.

I’m also not trying to garner any sympathy toward the grounds crews of major league teams, because let’s face it; there are more of them to do about the same number of tasks.

Now there is a lot of fun to be had working on the grounds crew of a minor league team.

First of all, you are on a baseball field essentially the entire day, which is pretty exciting.

Second, you never know what star could be making a rehab start with the team. This season Carlos Beltran will be making an appearance with the Cyclones, David Wright was here taking batting practice, and Paul Lo Duca and Moises Alou have both played with the Cyclones as part of rehab assignments.

Now normally you wouldn’t see these players if you’re on the Major League grounds crew, simply because there is no reason, however in the minor league stadiums, everything’s connected, so you may be walking through the clubhouse with a rake when you see David Wright sitting at a locker!

So, I think by this point you all have a better understanding of what the grounds crew actually does on game day. If you have other questions relating to the grounds crew or to meeting other players, don’t hesitate to ask.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at jobs in baseball, I know I certainly enjoyed experiencing it!

For those interested, this picture is old and is not the current grounds crew at Keyspan Park. The man actually watering the field is still there, that is Kevin Ponte, head grounds keeper at Keyspan Park.

The Mets Fan's Last Hope: That Class A Affiliate in Brooklyn

Max Colten — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:11:22 -0400

It has become extremely difficult to watch these Mets of the last few months. Injury after injury has left this team with essentially a AAA roster, and have played as such throughout much of the season.

But enough about them.

Let’s talk about another exciting baseball team in New York.

The Brooklyn Cyclones.

Yes that often wacky Class A affiliate of the New York Mets which currently resides in first place in the McNamara division of the New York Penn League.

I was fortunate enough to get a job with the Cyclones this summer, working in maintenance and with the grounds crew.

I’ll get to more of the specifics of my job in a little while. First I want to talk about the team.

These Cyclones, unlike the big club has played with a certain zeal this season, always having fun and fooling around (since they are kids not much older than myself), but always getting down to business learning this game and doing quite well.

Their 38-21 record is tied for the best in the league, and puts them a comfortable 4.5 game lead over the hated Staten Island Yankees who had lost three straight heading into Friday night.

The Brooklyn Pitchers have really led the way posting a 3.02 ERA, good for fourth in the league, and a league leading WHIP of 1.13.

So why talk about the Cyclones?

Well this exciting team from Coney Island is a real joy to watch, playing in front of large crowds almost every home game, offering fan friendly promotions constantly, not to mention in game entertainment which takes on many forms (Condiment Races and the Beach Bum dances to name a couple).

And of course who can forget the Post-Game Firework's shows on most Friday and Saturday nights that have led to some added excitement!

The team also recently hosted Tommy Lasorda day, honoring the great manager, and in doing so brought in Joan Hodges (widow to Dodger great Gil Hodges) in the process.

So now that your better aquatinted with the Cyclones, lets get a little into my job with the team.

I work as part of both the maintenance crew, as well as the grounds crew led by Head Ground’s Keeper Kevin Ponte.

My job is pretty simple while with maintenance, keep the grounds clean. I make sure that there is no left over debris from previous games or events in the stands, or anything floating around outside the stadium.

With the grounds crew, there’s a lot more variety of things to do.

Whether it’s watering the flowers outside the stadium, cleaning bases, or setting up batting practice, the grounds crew gets it all done.

One of the greatest parts of this job is getting to be on the field for essentially the entire day, including right up to the first pitch, and of course staying during the game for all the fun in game necessities.

It is a lot of hard work, and I really have to credit the entire grounds crew at Keyspan Park who really do work hard all day everyday, getting the field ready for a team that is playing very well.

I’ll soon release an article that goes more in depth about the grounds crew at Keyspan Park, as well as the Maintenance crew that does do a lot of the “less fun” jobs to get the stadium ready for game days.

There Is No Way to Describe It: The Mets Lose a Tough One to The Yankees

Max Colten — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:43:06 -0400

To say this loss was a tough one is a huge understatement, this picture says it all.

The day started off with such promise, I got to the ballpark in the Bronx almost three and a half hours before the game, was the first one into the stadium at Gate 6, and was able to sit in the most comfortable seats in right field (for batting practice at least).

My friend (although a Yankees fan), caught one of two balls thrown up by the Ryan Church before security kicked everyone out who didn't have seats on field level.

I was able to go into Monument Park for the first time ever (I had never been in the old one across the street) and saw plaques of the only Yankees players that I can honestly say I like.

I was going to see two pitchers in Livan Hernandez and Joba Chamberlain that I had never seen pitch live before.

Then the game started.

After not allowing a hit to the first four batters, Robinson Cano hit a long homerun to right field, 1-0. It was homerun No. 6 that I have seen at the New Yankee Stadium (through 11 innings at that point).

Ok, so we're down one run, going in not expecting to win, I could deal with a one run deficit.

Then, there was hope.

Chamberlain forgot where the plate was, and the Mets scored 2 runs in the top of the third without getting a hit.

How short lived that lead was.

The very next half inning, Mark Teixeira destroyed the offering from Livan for a long 2-run homerun to right field (Number 7).

The fourth inning had no scoring by either side, one of only two full innings of no scoring by either team.

Down 3-2, ok, we can deal with that, we're in it.

Then the fifth, what better way to get the maybe 10,000 Mets fans rocking, then a homerun by the ex-Yankee Gary Sheffield. The Mets added two more runs in the inning, knocking out Brett Tomko along the way.

6-3, could we pull this off? Can the Mets use their anger over losing two straight to the Phillies and overtake the Yankees?

Not if the Yankee Captain had anything to say about it.

Bottom 5, Jeter went yard (No. 9) with one out to pull the Yankees within two.

And then the Mets wripped our hearts out again, with help from Jon Switzer, a 30-year-old lefty that could not get the job done as Hideki Matsui, on his 35th birthday, went deep for a three run jack (No. 10), and those damn Yankees regained the lead at 7-6.

Good G-d, who the hell is this guy?

A former Tampa Bay Ray, Switzer is a lifetime 2-4 with an ERA of over 6 in 67 innings pitched.

However, Jon got two outs in the inning, and we went to the seventh inning.

Sheff led off the seventh inning with a double, and then Daniel Murphy (who was left in the game to play first and made two beautiful diving stops) singled putting runners on the corners with nobody out.

Now we're cooking.

Faint chants of Let's Go Mets began to pop up throughout the stadium, as every Mets fan was trying to will this team to tie the game.

And who better to do it, then Fernando Tatis, pinch hitting for Brian Schneider.

Well, he got the job done, sort of at least, grounding into a double play, Sheffield scoring the tying run but two outs now in the inning. Castillo grounded out to the end the inning.

TIE BALL GAME BABY!!!

Then Jerry tried to give us all heart attacks.

Now pitching for the New York Mets, No. 50, Sean Green...

ARE YOU F$&**% KIDDING ME??? With Jeter coming up, Sean Green?

Well Jeter grounded out, ok, one out. Then Swisher and Teixeira walk, holy crap... this is not happening, not happening, we tie the game and Sean Green is going to give up an A-Bomb to A-Rod.

Well apparently the G-ds were on the Mets' side for that inning, because Green struck out A-Rod, and got Cano to ground out.

Ok, deep breaths, game's still tied, top of the order coming up.

Well just as expected, Cora and Fernando Martinez each were retired for the first two outs, and then...

The Music.

That deafening music that Mets fans do not want to hear at Yankee Stadium, Enter the Sandman, Mariano Rivera.

That's it, we're done.

Then Beltran walks, a little hope? Can David Wright pull off this big hit?

DAMN WRIGHT HE CAN!!!!

David Doubles of Rivera, Carlos scores and the METS TAKE THE LEAD!!!!!! The House is rockin, but not by Yankee fans, but those outnumbered Mets fans.

Then Green came out to start the bottom of the 8th. He got Posada to ground out, one down. Coming into this inning, there was only one thing on my mind, get the first two outs, do NOT let Melky Cabrera have a shot at hitting a go ahead homerun.

So in comes No. 25, Pedro Feliciano to face the birthday boy Matsui. Is there enough left to get out one big lefty?

I guess so because Pedro got Matsui to fly out to left.

Alright, now we're cooking, Melky can not beat us. And he didn't. Melky grounded out to Murphy, and we're heading to the ninth, winning by one.

Sheffield struck out looking, upset at all the called strikes inside throughout the game. Daniel Murphy grounded out, and Omir flied out to Swisher.

Bottom of the ninth coming up.

Now pitching for the Mets, No. 75, Francisco Rodriquez.

Now, we know that K-Rod likes to make saves interesting, so after getting Gardner out, why not give up a single to Derek Jeter?

Ok, it's alright, we can do this. Pinch hitting for Nick Swisher, Johnny Damon.

Oh crap, forgot he didn't start this game.

Well K-Rod got em, strikeout, but Jeter advanced to second.

One more out, please, one more out.

Mark Teixeira, the guy who hit a mammoth two-run homerun is up, with the tying run on second base. So K-Rod walks him after falling behind 3-0.

Ok, so two on, two out, and A-Rod's at the plate.

Can we get anymore reason to have a heart attack? Standing in section 415, row 9, seat 21, I stood, holding my hat in my hands, praying we get this final out.

Come on, A-Rod never comes through in these situations.

Ball One. Ok, that's alright.

Ball two. Oh for crying out loud, come on K-Rod!!

Ball three. Holy s*#t K-Rod, please throw a strike.

Strike one. Alright, now we have to be careful hear.

At this point, everyone one of the 47,900 in attendance were on their feet, some rooting for the homerun, others like me, asking for a ground ball.

Fastball and Popped Up!!! Holding my hands in the air to point for someone to get under it, I said "PLEASE CASTILLO CATCH THE F#$*@& BALL!!!"

And then it happened.

I saw the ball bounce off the glove, and fall to the ground, and stood there, with my hand still in the air, as I saw Mark Teixeira score to give the Yankees a win.

What the hell happened?

I don't know, I just stood there, and that music came on, New York New York, and the Yankees fans celebrated, and many of us Mets fans stood there, in absolute disbelief for what just happened.

The game was over, we won, A-Rod popped up to Castillo, a three time Gold Glove winner, K-Rod did his job, how didn't we win?

That game will sit in my mind for a while, as much as I'm trying to get it out of my mind.

This is what makes baseball great, but didn't my team win? They won, they had to.

It was an extremely long train ride home back to Oceanside Long Island, just trying to think of a rational explanation for how this happened.

This is baseball, errors happen, sometimes at the worst possible times, this could have still ended, Jeter or Teixeira could have come out of the baseline, but of course they ran like they were supposed to.

K-Rod did what he was supposed to, everything was working the way it was supposed to, but Castillo dropped the ball.

If you are a Mets fan and are still reading this article, I give you credit.

Enough of this talk, now what I want to focus on, is the insanity of Yankee Stadium.

I have seen two games at the new Yankee Stadium, I have seen Francisco Liriano, Phil Hughes, Livan Hernandez, and Java Chamberlain start games.

I have seen two walk off wins for the Yankees, off of arguably two of the best closers in baseball in Joe Nathan and Francisco Rodriquez.

I have seen a combined 28 runs in those two games by the four teams.

I have seen TEN HOMERUNS in TWO games in this stadium, five in each game.

Now for a little comparison, I have been to 8 regular season Mets games.

I have seen Ten homeruns in those Eight games at Citi Field.

I have not seen a walkoff by the Mets in any of those games, the only game that went into extras resulted in an extra inning loss to the Atlanta Braves (thank's Martin Prado).

The amount of offense I have seen at the Stadium in these two games is ridiculous. I've seen doubles and triples and homeruns and inside the park homeruns and dropped popup errors and diving catches and have witnessed first hand how much of a wind tunnel this stadium has.

Every flyball hit to right field goes to the warning track or out. It is crazy. It makes for great baseball games but is crazy.

To my fellow Mets fans, we have to move on from this game. We can not dwell on this. As much as we want to beat the Yankees, that can not be our only goal.

Leave Castillo alone, he's going to feel like crap for a while, and if by some chance, we miss the playoffs by a game, knock on wood, he is going to feel even worse.

This was not K-Rod's fault, yes he walked Teixeira but he got A-Rod out, he got him to pop up a 3-1 fastball.

This game shows us that Yogi Berra was and has always been right,

"It Ain't Over Till It's Over."

Mets Finally Clicking: Rise Into First Place With Sixth Straight Win

Max Colten — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:12:33 -0400

When Mike Gonzalez retired Ryan Howard for the final out of the Braves vs. Phillies game, it represented an exciting moment for Mets' fans everywhere; rising to first place.

Yes first place; the Mets have finally pulled themselves into the top spot in the National League East.

The Mets this afternoon defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1 for their sixth straight win, and impressive one in that eclipsing their highs in runs and hits.

The Mets were given a great start by John Maine whose only mistake was an inside fastball that Pirates' pitcher Paul Maholm hit over the Modell's sign in right field.

I'm sure that Jerry Manuel enjoyed watching his team win by a considerable margin without him in the dugout (probably asking why his team can't score that many runs for him).

The Mets offense was impressive with each starter having a multi-hit game except for Ramon Castro who left the game and is listed day-to-day.

Regardless, the Mets are finally in first place, ahead of the Phillies and Marlins by a half game.

So what does this win mean for the Mets?

For one, the Mets are finally showing signs of being able to slam the door on the lesser teams by scoring early and often against these Pirates. They will go for the sweep tomorrow and their seventh straight win.

Second, the Mets received another great outing from the new 40-year-old wonder Ken Takahashi, and saw John Maine throw six solid innings, his third consecutive quality start and win.

Third, every starting position player in the lineup had a multi-hit game except for Ramon Castro.

Fourth, today was Autism Awareness Day at Citi Field, a tradition that has continued from Shea Stadium. This day is set aside to continue to increase awareness about the disease and try to help people who want to help get the necessary information.

Finally, the Mets are in first place. This is probably one of the most important things for the Mets simply because everything is starting to click together and the Mets are winning ball games.

We, as Mets' fans, just have to hope that the team continues to work game to game and look to win series after series, especially against teams that are struggling like the Pirates.

So Mets fans, things are finally starting to brighten up for these Mets and lets hope they keep it up. Let's go mets!

Dom DiMaggio, Dead at 92: A Sad Day for the Baseball World

Max Colten — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:37:45 -0400

Red Sox Nation and the rest of the Baseball World has lost a dear friend today.

Former MLB Centerfielder, Dom DiMaggio, younger brother of Yankee Legend Joe DiMaggio, has passed away at the age of 92.

DiMaggio was a seven-time All-Star for the Red Sox who was known as the "Little Professor" for those dorky looking eyeglasses.

Dom played 11 years for the Sox missing three seasons serving for the Navy in World War II.

DiMaggio also had a few hitting streaks that could have propelled him above his bi brother, if not for Joe catching a liner on August 9, 1949.

Regardless Dom DiMaggio was a well liked and well respected member of the baseball community that will be greatly missed.

The Red Sox will be honoring DiMaggio with a moment of silence before Friday night's game.

Opening Day at Citi Field: New York Mets vs. San Diego Padres

Max Colten — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:05:15 -0400

Well baseball fans, here is the third installment of my adventures at Citi Field. We began at the St. John's vs. Georgetown game, followed by the first exhibition game against the Red Sox, and here we culminate it with the Official Opening Day at Citi Field, where the Mets took on the Padres in front of approximatley 41,000 fans. Although the Mets lost the game, and saw Padres take many of the firsts, there was an atmosphere before and during the game that just seemed surreal. For those of us that walked through the turnstiles yesterday had the memories of a lifetime. I hope you enjoy these 30 pictures which take you through some of the firsts at Citi Field, and some of the infrastucture as well. Enjoy!!!!

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Hey Mets Fans, Shouldn't History Matter More Than a Sunday in April?

Max Colten — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:10:44 -0400

Mets fans, here is yet another screw up by the Mets brass in the face of history.

Tomorrow night at 7:10, a New York Met will toe the rubber and fire the first ever regular season pitch to the Padres' leadoff hitter. Wouldn't you think that the $157 million arm of Johan Santana should be making that pitch?

Well, he isn't.

No, the Mets pitched Johan today against the Marlins and will have Mike Pelfrey make his second start of the year tomorrow at the home opener. Now, don't get me wrong, it is an honor for Mike and I'm happy for him, but should Johan start that game?

Today's Mets-Marlins finale was a fantastic game to watch—two excellent pitchers dueling it out, one striking out 13 batters, the other pitching the first complete game of the 2009 season (in case you didn't know, the Marlins beat the Mets 2-1 today).

Johan Santana was vintage Johan Santana, and Josh Johnson was the Josh Johnson that everyone is expecting to lead the Marlins staff to the playoffs. Today's date is April 12, yes April 12. A gorgeous Sunday in the month of April.

So why was Johan pitching when he could make history tomorrow?

Why is it that the Mets' Ace is not going to be the guy to make the first pitch/strikeout/win? by a Met at Citi Field. A question that, quite honestly, should not have be a question.

While I too am high on Mike Pelfrey, and think he will be a force to be reckoned with along with Santana, why is he pitching in this historic game? This will make him a Met for life, but I mean, come on, passing on Johan Santana, so that he can pitch against the Marlins, which has resulted in a loss anyway, despite an excellent performance?

Of course, I can say this now that the Mets lost today, but regardless, when it was announced during Saturday's game that Johan Santana would face off against Josh Johnson, I thought two things—great matchup, and I have the wrong pitcher's jersey prepared to wear to the opener.

Look, the Mets really didn't have anyone else to start in this game beside Johan, so I don't have a problem with that, but wouldn't one think that if the Mets knew they had this historic game, why not start Santana the second game of the season instead? Or why not let Brian Stokes start today's game and consider the April game a wash (I know he pitched a couple innings on Friday but stay with me)?

Why is it that one of the most historic games in Mets history, one in which Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver will come to the new ballpark, that Johan Santana is not starting? Absolutely crazy if you ask me.

Again, I like Mike Pelfrey, and he certainly pitched well every time I saw him at Shea last year (4-0 in five starts, pitching six to eight scoreless innings in each win), but why isn't Johan, who struck out 13 Marlins today, pitching?

I'd like to hear all of your opinions, Mets fan or not. I mean, come on, historic game and Johan's not pitching?

Breaking News: Angels Pitching Prospect Killed in Crash

Max Colten — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:10:35 -0400

When the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels yesterday, it marked a historic night for young pitcher Nick Adenhart who earned a no decision. Adenhart pitched extremely well going six innings giving up seven hits, striking out five batters.

This morning, Adenhart was killed in a car crash in Fullerton, California when a driver of a red minivan blew a red light and hit a Mitsubishi carrying four people.

Three people were killed including Adenhart along with one person listed as seriously injured at a local area hospital.

Adenhart, 22 years of age, was coming off his fourth start in the Major Leagues. Adenhart was a highly touted prospect after being drafted right out of high school.

As of 12:00 EST, no decision had been made as to whether or not tonight's game between the Angels and Athletics will be postponed or not.

It is truly a shame that a 22-year-old kid is gone after just pitching the night before and this tragic event just goes to show us all how cruel life can really be.

The First Official Major League Baseball Game at Citi Field: NY Mets vs. Boston Red Sox

Max Colten — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:51:56 -0400

So as promised, I took pictures of the first exhibition game from Friday April 3rd when the Mets took on the Red Sox at Citi Field. The game had many firsts, including the first rain delay in Citi Field history, but was a most enjoyable to all Mets fans who saw the 4-3 win. While trying to decide which pictures to share with everyone, I ran into a lot of trouble, since I had taken about 300 pictures. However I have narrowed it down to about 30 pictures to share to give everyone a taste of Citi Field, and the 2009 New York Mets and Boston Red Sox!

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Theo-Logy: Alright Red Sox Fans, Here's What Makes Your Team So Good

Max Colten — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:33:34 -0400

While I know Bleacher Report is not really for full length books, I thought I'd review a baseball book I just read, entitled Theology: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land.

Red Sox fans, this is your kind of book. Not only does it go into detail on Theo Epstein's early life right up to the present, but it does this in a way that everyone can understand.

The book begins by talking about that Halloween night in 2005, when a man in a gorilla suit ran away from Fenway Park (the man being Theo Epstein escaping from reporters). The book then goes into Theo's early life (you know, he was born in New York) and the reasons why he loves the game of baseball so much.

The novel then goes into details in "Climbing the Ladder," "Methods, Strategies... Secrets," and "Reviving a Franchise."

These chapters essentially describe how Theo became Theo, how he used the "Yale Card" to get an internship and job with the Baltimore Orioles, then making friends and moving to the San Diego Padres (picking up a law degree on the way), and building a name for himself to be hired as the youngest General Manager ever.

The novel also talks a lot about how Theo has a slightly different way of looking at the game and the parts that many of us would consider essential to the game, like stolen bases and bunts.

Red Sox fans will enjoy this book because it truly gives you a clear understanding of why Theo left the Red Sox only to return a few months later.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the book (and perhaps also the most controversial part) is the end of the book. where it goes through Theo's Best Five and Worst Five moves since being with the Red Sox. Without trying to spoil it, Hanley Ramirez may not be on the list you think he would be on!

Now, the author, John Frascella, Jr., is a Red Sox fan, so you do hear some of the Red Sox bias (or anti-Yankees, whatever you want to call it), but the book is very well written and easy to understand.

Overall, Theo-logy is an exciting book that details the inner workings of why and how Theo Epstein became Theo Epstein. I highly recommend it as both an avid reader and a baseball enthusiast. And so Red Sox fans, let's play ball!

The Official Opening of Citi Field: St. John's Vs. Georgetown

Max Colten — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:47:13 -0400

Well Met's Fans, Citi Field opened for business today when the St. John's Red Storm took on the Georgetown Hoyas. I was one of the many who were able to go to Citi Field for this historic game. As I'm sure many of you can guess, I took many pictures and chose some to give everyone a taste of Citi Field. Please understand, I took these pictures so they aren't the greatest ever so don't shoot me for unperfect pictures. Enjoy!!!

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Well Boys, It's Official: Girls Can Play Baseball After All

Max Colten — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:37:03 -0400

Well, it's official, a member of the female population has played in a professional baseball game.

Yes you heard right, Japanese schoolgirl Eri Yoshida made her pro debut for the Kobe 9 Cruise of the newly formed Kansai Independent League.

Now before everyone starts with "it's not Major League Baseball, not even Japanese League Baseball," yes we understand that, however this sidearming 17 year old has pitched to two batters in a professional baseball game.

Eri faced two, walking the first on four pitches, and then striking out the next before being taken out en-route to a 5-0 win for the Cruise.

Yoshida is said to emulate Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield adding a deceiving sidearm delivery as well.

This is great news in my opinion. I know many of us usually say softball was created for women, however we are seeing more young girls choose to play little league baseball instead of softball, and who knows, maybe we are only a few years away from getting a girl in the MLB.

I know personally that my brother and I continuously push our younger sister to play baseball and not softball because we know she can play, and there are girls out there who probably could compete with the boys of summer.

While only time will tell if a woman actually appears in a Major League Baseball game but this is a start.

What do you think?

Fantasy Baseball: So Many Players, So Little Time

Max Colten — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:06:34 -0500

One of the first things I like to do when Fantasy Baseball opens on Yahoo is to set up 2-4 teams for a live draft, and use my own auto draft and watch what everyone else is doing.

Crazy, right?

To most, probably, but this is all about planning ahead for the teams that count. I will by no means claim to be a drafting wizard or know how to make the best fantasy teams, but by studying how people like to draft.

So, what to do; take pitchers, big bats, speedsters, regulars, so many choices.

My personal philosophy has always been to work on my pitching staff and one big bat in the first few rounds, and then go for my sleeper picks. One of my drafts went my direction.

His first three picks were Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, and C.C. Sabathia. While I think that taking Roy Halladay with the number 3 pick is a little extreme even for me, to get Johan and C.C. with the next two certainly isn’t so bad.

Now your probably thinking he has zero offense, right? Actually, while he did not get what we usually consider a big bat, he did draft Aramis Ramirez, Brian McCann, and Chipper Jones with his next three picks, not bad for the scoring of a normal Yahoo Fantasy League.

He also picked up a few other players that can yield high rewards in Robinson Cano, Raul Ibanez, Andre Ethier, and Billy Butler, while also finishing his pitching staff with Zack Greinke, Brian Fuentes, Johnny Cueto, and Oliver Perez (with the 238^th pick might I add).

In another league, a manager went completely pitching first, and did not end up with that great an offense, although it may not be too bad.

This manager drafted Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, John Lackey, and Joakim Soria and Trevor Hoffman for the bullpen. That’s a lot of wins right there.

Now as I said, his offense is not filled with any big name guys, mostly young guys who may be able to give him some wins. Joey Votto, Chris Young, Alex Gordon, Adam Jones, Howie Kendrick, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jeff Francoeur were all drafted.

Not absolutely horrible as all of them have had about a year of MLB experience to work off of, and with that pitching staff, he can trade one starter for that big name bat.

So, I’ve shown you what you can get when you go for pitching first, now how about offense.

What if I told you that you could draft Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, and Manny Ramirez, not to mention Chipper Jones, J.J. Hardy, and Alexi Rios, and still possibly draft Roy Oswalt and Edinson Volquez.

Now, while the manager I’m talking about chose Franciso Liriano over Oswalt (for a reason I can’t think of) he still did draft all the afore mentioned players as well as a few possible high yield players in Justin Verlander, Brian Fuentes, Johnny Cueto, and Max Scherzer.

Not too shabby if I may say so.

This next team doesn’t have that 40 homerun guy but still has a nice array of offense. How about Jose Reyes, Evan Longoria, Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, Geovany Soto, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carlos Pena with the number 127^th pick.

Not bad, and this team has some pretty good pitching with Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Javier Vazquez, Erik Bedard (not too big a risk in the thirteenth round), Ted Lilly, and with the 247^thpick, Fausto Carmona (not a risk at all with your last one).

So what if speed is your game? Not to worry, there are ways to get a lot of speed with good pitching.

How about 126 stolen bases between three players? Not bad considering that none of them was his first pick (Ryan Braun was with the 10^thoverall pick). Jimmy Rollins, Ichiro Suzuki, and Shane Victorino are the three speedsters, all of whom give you high averages (don’t worry Victorino had a down year last season), and Rollins of course gives you a fair amount of dingers to go along with Braun.

So I promised pitching with this correct? Well here you go, Dan Haren, Joakim Soria, Jon Lester, Ryan Dempster, and Brett Myers. Not the best staff, but certainly one that can compete.

If you liked this team, then how about switching Victorino for Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury, and still keeping Ichiro and Rollins? That is definitely a quick team that combined with Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Doumit, Adrian Beltre, and Pat Burrell can supply a strong offense.

Now this team does lack a little on the pitching front relying on the health of A.J. Burnett, Justin Verlander, and Francisco Rodriguez (not that he is a health risk, but he certainly did pitch a lot last season).

This team also was able to pick up Justin Duchscherer, Adam LaRoche, and Edgar Renteria with its last three picks so there is definitely possibilities there. I also have to point out that this team took Burnett instead of Jon Lester or Dice-K, which is a very questionable pick at best.

Nevertheless, this team has a good outlook for this fantasy season.

Let’s look at one more team for speed, my team. Again, this was on auto draft don’t yell at me for some of the selections.

With the number two pick, I selected Hanley Ramirez, and combined with B.J. Upton, and Curtis Granderson, that is a nice bit of speed. This team also has Lance Berkman, David Ortiz, Victor Martinez, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Overall pretty good; by the way, the computer selected Miguel Tejada at number 194 (which is good if he isn’t in prison by the start of the season), Jim Thome at 215, and Paul Konerko at pick 239.

Pitching wise my team is pretty average with John Lackey, Adam Wainwright, Zack Greinke, and Josh Johnson as starters, and Carlos Marmol and Heath Bell for relief. Not great but I could probably work out a deal for an Edinson Volquez type player.

So hopefully I still have your attention and you aren’t completely bored. As I said earlier, I don’t want to force-feed you what I think you should all do, I simply want to show what you can get even when you focus on specific statistics.

I want to take some time now and give you a few players who are likely to be overlooked who can be great assets to your team.

First, Chien-Ming Wan, SP, New York Yankees: In Yahoo fantasy drafts, Wang has been taken on average in the fifteenth round with an average pick of 178.5.

Do people just not realize that this guy won 19 games in 2006 and 2007 and won 8 games last season in only 15 starts? Not to mention that his WHIP was no higher than 1.32 in those three seasons and keeping a relatively low ERA at 3.63 and 3.70. What concerns many is his lack of strikeouts but from 06-07, Wang increased them by 28 and was on pace to increase them again in 08 if not for his injury. My advice: if you see him hanging around in he 12^th or 13^th round, take him.

Next, Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins: While Uggla is not unknown; he certainly is not seeing the love with an average pick of 70.5 in the sixth round. In his last three seasons, Uggla has hit 90 homeruns, driven in 270 runs, as well as 112 doubles and a respectable .262 average. My advice: if you can get this guy with the seventieth pick, don’t waste your time with Kinsler or Utley, take Uggla in the fifth round and draft a pitcher higher.

Raul Ibanez, OF, Philadelphia Phillies: Again, not an unknown player; but none the less, a decent player who can fall pretty low. While Ibanez’s homerun totals have fallen the last two years, to draft him as your third outfielder in the eleventh round is not too shabby.

My advice: I’ve seen him fall to as low as the thirteenth round, if you see him in the eleventh or twelfth round, take a guy going to play in Citizen’s Bank Park.

J.J. Putz, RP, New York Mets: Yes I’m a Mets fan, I have to throw one in. Everyone is afraid because he is not the closer for the Mets and thus will not have the saves numbers you want. People, he is still going to set up almost every save that K-Rod gets and will probably get some save opportunities when K-Rod has the night off.

So a guy who has almost always kept a sub 1.00 WHIP and averages about 12-15 more strikeouts than innings pitched, why not. By the way, he is typically drafted in the seventeenth round. My advice: TAKE HIM!!!!!

Finally, Ty Wigginton, 3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles: Another former Met that I personally enjoyed watching. Look, this guy his pretty much a guarantee to amass 115 hits, 25-30 doubles, 22-28 homeruns, and drive in around 65 runs. What is wrong with taking the infielder/outfielder in the eighteenth round?

I see absolutely no reason why someone would pass up taking him as a backup who plays a position in 3B of which, if you lose your starter, good luck getting a good replacement. My advice: take him with one of your last two picks.

Hopefully you have found this article interesting and somewhat helpful. I’ve said this a few times but I’ll say it again anyway, please don’t attack me for things that you don’t agree with. I’m offering different combinations of players that can get you as good a fantasy as possible. I am not a fantasy guru and I won’t try to be, I’m just a baseball fan.

Alex Rodriguez's Press Conference a Success

Max Colten — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:50:59 -0500

"I was young and stupid..."

A phase that was repeated throughout Alex Rodriguez's press conference that to many does not seem like a good enough defense for ARod.

By constantly talking about not going to college and saying he should have to grow up, ARod has answered to the best he can, all the questions the media has.

I refuse to sit and debate the validity of what Rodriguez said and whether that was enough for me personally to accept the apology. What everyone must understand is that ARod is an extremely sensitive person and found it very difficult to come before everyone and just talk freely about steroids, which he did during the Q and A.

ARod choking up when first trying to address the teammates that came to support him can seem staged, but the fact that he did get to talk to them when asked about it shows he really is sincere in causing the problems he knows have arisen from all of this.

What really impressed me about his speech (of which I wish he would have memorized it a little more and look around more), was that he told us what he took, where he got it from, and most importantly, how it was administered.

ARod not saying the name of his cousin who injected him with the bole tells us that he is trying not to get anyone else in trouble in this mess and is trying to just own up to what he did and get passed it (hinting this would be a very big year for the New York Yankees).

The fact that ARod also mentioned another drug he was taking during his Mariners years was very important for him to say because he is making sure that there is nothing else that will come out and hurt him in the next few years.

Now, here is my prediction for Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees. ARod will hit around .325, slug 45 home runs and drive in 152 RBI's and most importantly, will bat a respectable .305 with five home runs in the playoffs leading the Yankees to a World Series. Not necessarily to a title, but to the series nonetheless.

In summary, Alex Rodriquez's press conference was a success because he hit pretty much all of the major points that anyone really had in terms of the questions asked. He did not directly say that he cheated but that he feels very bad, and at the very least, did something wrong.

The Unfortunate Turn Baseball Has Taken

Max Colten — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:45:19 -0500

Numbers define Baseball.

All of you sports history buffs like me, lets face it, were obsessed with numbers, the statistics from all the greats is what drives us to love the game. We may love the sights and sounds of the game of baseball but the numbers gives us all that feeling, that feeling of greatness.

Forty-two, Jackie Robinson’s number, 714, Babe Ruth’s home run total, $252,000,000, Alex Rodriquez’s first record setting contract total.

Numbers allow us to see the game in all its beauty by seeing record after record set, and then broken, and then broken again (as we all hope Bonds’ home run record will be).

1955, the year the Brooklyn Dodgers finally won a championship, 8, the number of “Black Sox” members who threw the 1919 World Series, 7, Mickey Mantle’s number.

The recent revelations of the Steroid Era have both shocked and angered Baseball enthusiasts that the players who have broken records and were the best players of the error cheated.

What we all must remember is that one of the reasons for the rise of steroids was to put on a show along with competitive advantage. Athletes since the beginning of time have always looked for an edge to put themselves higher than others.

What we must realize, is that the “love affair” with the home run did not help matters in the late 1980’s, 90’s to the present.

One of the greatest records in sports is the all-time home run record now held by Barry Bonds (I use his name because unless action is taken, he is the home run champion).

But why was Babe Ruth so much fun to watch? It certainly was not his speed or fielding ability or his looks, so what was it? The home run. That is what defined the Bambino.

Pitching lost its lust during the late 1970’s and early 80’s and the game needed something to fill the void, the answer, offense.

That is not to say many don’t still enjoy a good pitchers duel (as I certainly do) but everyone loves the long ball. So while we may now hate Canseco, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmerio, possibly Rodriquez depending on whom you talk to.

But if there was never any mention of steroids, didn’t you enjoy it? I know I did.

When McGwire broke the single season home run record didn’t we all cheer? When Bonds then broke McGwire’s record did we not clap? Did no one enjoy watching Sosa and McGwire embrace after McGwire’s historic home run ending the race?

We all did to some degree, and we the fans do have a lot of the blame as these players in causing this entire mess. While I am not saying we told these men to take performance enhancing drugs, we really did.

The home run made baseball exciting again and if these players had to take the drugs to do it, we didn’t know or care as long as the balls flew out of the yard.

Everyone has to understand that this era of massive home runs was a lot of fun, and it is just a shame that the players took drugs in order to make it happen but is anyone really upset by it. If you stop thinking of it as cheating, didn’t you enjoy it?

Piazza’s go ahead home run against the Braves just 2 weeks after September 11^th. Ventura’s Grand Slam single, while these are two examples from the Mets every team has a few during this period.

So let’s just stop talking about steroids and performance enhancing drugs. We know it happened, we know it many of the greatest players of the era used them, but let’s get passed it. Let’s look at the history of the greatest game and put our effort into a clean future.

Let’s focus on the numbers.

Don't Look to the Diamondbacks for Offense This Fantasy Season

Max Colten — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:04:10 -0500

With the signings of Bobby Abreu by the Angels and Adam Dunn by the Nationals, the Diamondbacks' lineup is at a serious disadvantage without one of those bats in the middle of their order. The Diamondbacks could be ok if, and only if, a few players stay healthy and find their forms.

The middle of the Diamondbacks lineup is going to be reliant on one very important factor if they intend to compete, the health of Eric Byrnes. Eric only played 52 games in an injury-ravaged 2008 season, much to the dismay of many fantasy owners who likely drafted him high.

Chris Young, in his second full season with the team, put up the best numbers of any of the Diamondbacks’ outfielders. He hit 22 homers and drove in 85 runs, while amassing 155 hits; not bad as your third or fourth outfielder.

Justin Upton, in his rookie season, was able to hit 15 home runs in 108 games, but batted a mere .250, and doesn’t seem like a viable fantasy option.

This is where signing Adam Dunn would have helped the Diamondbacks. Inserting a guy who hits 40 home runs every season would take a lot of pressure off of the middle of the order. It could also help improve both Young’s and Upton’s averages and hitting statistics.

Without signing Dunn, the Diamondbacks will have to hope that Byrnes can return to his 2006 and 2007 form. In those years he batted .267 and .286 respectively, hit a combined 46 home runs, drove in a total of 162 runs, and stole 75 bases—while only being caught 10 times.

These numbers may not seem like fantastic, fantasy numbers, but had the Diamondbacks been able to sign Adam Dunn, his bat presence would have definitely improved both Young’s and Byrnes’ numbers significantly.

The current first baseman, Chad Tracy, showed very little offensive prowess, hitting only .267, with eight home runs and 39 RBIs in 88 games. In Dunn’s 44 games with the team in 2008, he matched Tracy’s home run total—at a time when the Diamondbacks' season was slipping away despite an exceptional start to the season.

In short, while Dunn’s strikeout totals are rather large (to put it nicely), putting his bat into the Diamondbacks’ lineup for a full season could have improved everyone’s power numbers.

In summary, when Adam Dunn signed with the lowly Washington Nationals, it resulted in a Diamondbacks lineup that will not have that one, big bat to take pressure off everyone else. Even if the Diamondbacks had pursued Abreu, that would have only given them a good number-three hitter, but still not the name.

Say It Ain't So, Mike Piazza

Max Colten — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:42:14 -0500

When Alex Rodriquez admitted to using performance enhancing drugs while with the Texas Rangers, a certain former Met comes to mind of whom as a Mets fan, we all hope is not on that list of 103 players who failed a drug test.

First, the catcher, No. 31, Mike Piazza. The All-time home run leader for catchers and perhaps the greatest hitter in Mets history (Willie Mays does not count because he was at the end of his career) may have taken performance enhancing drugs.

Now as a Mets fan and personally, a huge Piazza fanatic, I hope that he did not use them. However, when Piazza was drafted in 1988, we all have to remember he was drafted by Tommy Lasorda in the 62nd round as a “favor” to Piazza’s father.

Piazza was originally a first baseman and when told he would have no shot at making the majors as one because he couldn’t hit that well, he switched to catcher.

I want to state again that I truly hope that my favorite player did not use performance enhancing drugs but on the other hand, I truly didn’t think A-Rod used but once again, I was wrong.

As a rookie in 1992, Piazza hit just one home run in 21 games with the Dodgers, he then proceeded to hit over 30 home runs in nine of the next 10 seasons, including hitting 40 twice and hitting 38 another year.

The more important fact is that after 2003 (although dealing with several injuries) Piazza never again hit higher than 22 home runs.

That, along with a drastic drop in games played, RBI’s, and slugging all present the possibility that the great catcher may have stopped taking the drugs after '03.

Now it is possible and my hope that this large drop in numbers was as a result of overall body deterioration after 10 seasons of catching and his age, but it is extremely peculiar that the numbers drop off at the same time as this survey testing.

Mike Piazza is without doubt one of the greatest hitters to ever put on a New York Mets uniform.

It is my hope and the hope of every young Mets fan, that he did not use performance enhancing drugs, however, with A-Rod’s admission and the statistical analysis, there is mounting evidence that Michael Joseph Piazza may have used performance enhancing drugs.

The Top Five Questions for the 2009 NY Mets

Max Colten — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:30:19 -0500

After the debacle that was the 2007 and 2008 Mets seasons, 2009 offers hope for Mets fans. In this article we examine the Top 5 Questions that face the New York Mets for this upcoming 2009 Season. We will look at everything from the lineup to the bullpen and everything in between, so here we go and remember, Lets Go Mets!

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Are the New York Yankees Wasting Their Money?

Max Colten — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:16:21 -0500

Okay Yankee fans, congratulations, you have Mark Teixeira.

Now that we have witnessed yet another monster Yankee contract, have we finally seen the Steinbrenner family spend too much?

Not at all.

What everyone must understand is that the Yankees are the Yankees, and as long as a Steinbrenner is at the helm, they will spend money to create the best team possible.

Now, this is not to say the Yankees overspent on Mark Teixeira. In fact, they probably got a pretty good deal. A Gold Glove-winning first baseman, a power hitter from both sides of the plate, and not to mention the guy can hit for average too.

Eight years and $180 million doesn't sound too bad to me for a player like that.

Now, some people will say that the combination of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira is not that great for the $400 million plus New York has spent on these three guys.

But let's face it, the Yankees are replacing Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano with C.C. and A.J., as well as replacing Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi for Mark Teixeira. Not too bad by my standards (and I'm a diehard Mets fan).

This actually brings up the most important part of this discussion: expectations. While the Yankees will spend less money on contracts than last year, there will be only one goal on the minds of Hank and Hal: a World Series title.

This tends to happen when you spend so much money on just a couple of players. After all, the Yankees have brought in three of the top five free agents (KROD and Manny being the other two) in this year's class.

It had been my belief that the Yankees would finish second in the AL East behind Boston. However, that was assuming the Red Sox would sign Teixeira. Now that the Yankees have signed him, I'm not even sure if the Red Sox will make the playoffs this year.

But calm down Yankee fans, there is always the chance Manny goes back home! (Actually, that's very unlikely, but we'll save that discussion for another day.)

Finally, let's talk New York media. Will Mark Teixeira be able to handle the pressure-cooker that is New York after spending his entire career with the Texas Rangers, the non-competitive Atlanta Braves, and a half year with a contending Angels?

The simple answer is, YES! As long as Alex Rodriquez plays in the Bronx and doesn't perform in the postseason, Mark will have nothing to worry about.

It isn't like he hasn't played in the much tougher American League before. Don't worry, he won't have a problem. If worst comes to worst, you all can send him over to Flushing!

Just think Yankees fans: "Now batting, number twenty-five, Mark Teixeira."

What Can Omar Do to Assure a Mets Playoff Birth

Max Colten — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:29:00 -0400

So Mets fans, Omar Minaya admitted it right before the All-Star break that the Mets need help.

That’s not to say that this team doesn't have the talent to win the division for the second time in three years, but lets face it, they need a true power hitter in the middle of that lineup— and both a starter and reliever to sure up the pitching staff.

Lets talk pop.

Adam Dunn is certainty an option, but who wants an outfielder that takes home run or strike out to a whole new level?

Some rumblings have surfaced that say the Mets could go after long time Met Killer Pat Burrell, but the Phillies are in no way, shape or form going to trade a bat to a rival.

Let me just clarify that Barry Bonds is not and option either.

He carries too much baggage and would likely disrupt the chemistry in the Mets clubhouse, which is the last thing they need.

The most likely outcome is that the Mets will continue to use the platoon of Endy Chavez, Fernando Tatis, and Damian Easley with supplements of Marlon Anderson, at least until Ryan Church returns.

Now, for starters.

Santana, Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey are definite members of the rotation through the end of the season.

Perez becomes a free agent and will likely leave looking for one or two starter money, but he won't get it from the Mets.

Pelfrey has certainly become a nice trading chip especially with winning his last two starts by pitching seven, then eight shutout innings and only allowing eight hits between the two starts.

The Mets could deal him, however it is very unlikely.

With the trading of C.C. Sabathia and Rich Harden in the weeks before the All-Star break, there is very little pitching left for the Mets to look for.

Joe Blanton is a possibility, Cliff Lee if the Indians completely shut down for this season, even a Brad Penny.

Look forward to seeing Johan, Maine, Mike, and Oliver to head the rotation with Pedro, El Duque and Claudio Vargas filling in.

Finally the bullpen.

Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, and Scott Schoenweiss will probably stick around.

The Mets could go after such a reliever like Brian Fuentes from Colorado or even an attempt at Jonathan Broxton, if the Dodgers fall out of the race.

Most likely, Omar will try a trade in this department, but it truly remains a mystery as to what he can get.