Mets Crowned NL East Champs!

I'd like to congratulate the New York Mets and their entire staff on winning the National League Eastern Division title. Since starting BDD, I've become more of a baseball generalist, opting to follow all teams and developing relationships with many different players. I've obviously become close with teams like the Braves, Brewers, Giants, Nationals, and Devil Rays.

But deep down inside, the kid in me will always root for the Mets. I guess that's what drove me to the game tonight. And for a variety of reasons, I'm glad I went.

What makes baseball so great is that anything can happen on any given day. Sure, the analysts will tell you that things average out over time...the good players will be good, and the bad will be bad. But nobody can tell me that the emotion and electricity of a game like tonight doesn't affect players one way or the other. Do I have physical evidence for that? Of course not. But then again, how exactly do you measure emotion, excitement, and adrenaline? All I know is that the last two players I expected to be tonight’s heroes were Jose Valentin and Steve Trachsel.

Watching this Mets team tonight conjures up memories of the 1986 club. Sure, the pitching isn't as good, but the '86 team never had this kind of lineup either. But both teams seemed to always find ways to win. One thing is for sure, this is definitely the best Mets ball club I have seen in 20 years.

So many things came to mind watching tonight's game that I thought I'd share some with you...

• Steve Trachsel actually worked quickly tonight and was extremely effective. Anytime a Trachsel pitched game ends in under 2 ½ hours, you’ve seen a bit of history! I've only seen Trachsel pitch this way in person on three occasions, and every time he works at a faster pace, he appears to be successful. Note to Rick Peterson!
• This Florida Marlins are going to be a damn good team if they add a solid centerfielder and a few good relievers. It will be an absolute shame if money winds up tearing this team apart again.
• Hanley Ramirez has really stepped up. This was the first game I've seen Hanley in person since last year's Futures Game in Detroit. He's like a different person altogether. He reminds me of...you guessed it, Jose Reyes. He's strong, flashy, has incredible bat speed and a developing body. He’s really matured all around. After a called third strike tonight, Ramirez questioned the pitch and had a few words with home plate umpire Dana DeMuth. Hanley kept his cool though and walked calmly back to the dugout. The Hanley Ramirez of a few years ago would have more than likely exploded and been tossed from the game.
• Dan Uggla has a real nice swing, Josh Willingham may hit 40 homers one day, and Miguel Cabrera is just plain awesome. He works the count so well and will foul off pitch after pitch until he gets one he likes. It's almost as though he controls where he fouls the ball off.
• Getting back to the Mets...watching Jose Reyes run the bases has become the single most exciting thing for me to see when I take in a Mets game.
• I still think the Mets will have trouble with left-handed pitchers. I'm also starting to wonder if it may not be better playing Lastings Milledge in RF instead of Shawn Green. Something is missing with Green. He's just a shadow of his former self. He's still a fairly good defender though so if he's the lone weak spot in the batting order, the Mets will be fine.
• Every time I see Guillermo Mota pitch, I think of Mike Piazza. I really wish Mike were here for this little run. But I'm also pretty damn impressed at how Mota has pitched since coming over from Cleveland. It wouldn't be safe to have Mota on the team with Piazza around anyway!
• If the Mets and Yankees meet in the World Series this year, it will be an absolute war. You can already start to sense it.
• There's only one event that came to mind as Cliff Floyd caught the final out in the 9th inning, and the crowd went wild. I should say...only one name came to mind... Matteau, Matteau, Stephane Matteau! New York Rangers fans will indeed remember that moment. I had the pleasure of being at Madison Square Garden that night as well when the Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils in double OT to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The emotion that night and the emotion tonight at Shea Stadium were eerily similar for me.

Just like that night in 1994, the electricity in the air after the game tonight proved why the Big Apple remains the "city that never sleeps."

And as Bob Murphy would say…”That, my friends, is the happy recap!”


*** A Few Quick Notes***

To read more about the Mets, check out our latest interview with Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com right here: Meet the Mets: Interview with Metsblog.com's Matt Cerrone

I’ll be making a few announcements tomorrow. They’ll be more information on simulation league openings, and I’ll be discussing the addition of new writers to the BDD staff.

I’m also going to talk a little bit about networking and growth of the site.

The regular newsletter will be back in full force tomorrow evening.

Thanks everybody!