It was a collapse. A collapse that was only supposed to happen once. Only, it didn’t. It happened twice – and in back-to-back seasons. The New York Mets closed out the final season at Shea Stadium by blowing the lead in the National League East and falling in the final game ever at the stadium. But it wasn’t just a loss. It was a loss that meant the team would again miss the playoffs after once being in command of their division.

The entire season for the Mets seemed a little off. General Manager Omar Minaya fired Willie Randolph after a night game on the west coast. Randolph didn’t even have a chance to sleep off the loss to the Los Angeles Angels before he learned he was being let go. He in turn was celebrated as a New York Yankee great during the final game at Yankee Stadium.

After Randolph was fired, bench coach Jerry Manuel took over. Manuel had a shaky time with the club while guiding the team for the remainder of the season. After Johan Santana pitched a shutout on the second to the last game of the season, Manuel described Santana’s performance as “gangsta.” Not exactly the thought I had, but I might have to incorporate that word into my vocabulary more to describe great pitching performances.

But back to the subject of being the “other team” in New York. Was I the only one that thought Yankee Stadium got much more of a goodbye than Shea? ESPN sent their Sunday Night Baseball crew to the Bronx to cover all of the action at the House that Ruth built, but Shea was forced to be sent out on TBS? It doesn’t make sense to me.

Maybe ESPN knew something the rest of us didn’t… Maybe ESPN knew the Mets were going to tank. After all, that’s what the did last season too. But, it didn’t seem right that the Yankees sent their stadium out in a night game and all Shea got was the biggest game of the season and their fans could only see them blow it on TBS.

Next season, the Mets will ring a new era in Citi Field and you have to wonder if that means changes for the club. Will they keep Manuel? Will Carlos Delgado be a contributor again? There’s so many questions that have to be answered, but unfortunately for the Mets, it will have to wait until next year and in a new park.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

The other New York team

Here it is:

Top 10 Worst Major League Baseball Teams of 2008

10. Houston Astros – Sure, many experts didn’t expect the Astros to compete in the National League Central this season. Mainly because of the Astros’ suspect starting pitching rotation. After you get past Roy Oswalt – it was expected that Houston was in trouble. Well – unfortunately, even with Oswalt on the mound this season, Houston is having problems. If it weren’t for Lance Berkman, the ‘Stros could already be in the NL Central cellar. However, Berkman’s offensive numbers have helped keep Houston in the middle of the division so far. Yet, the Astros are falling fast and could drop far enough out of contention before the All-Star break even makes it here.

9. Cincinnati Reds – The Reds are the worst team in the NL Central. Even super rookie Jay Bruce hasn’t been able to right the ship. However, the Reds will not finish in the cellar this season, but don’t expect a playoff run either. The problem with the Reds is plain-and-simple. No pitching. Sure, Edinson Volquez is having a great season, but what about the rest of the staff? How about looking at earned run averages that are all above 4.30. Three of the other four starters have ERA’s above five, including Matt Belisle, who boasts a 7.28 ERA. Combined, the entire Cincinnati staff has a 4.54 ERA.

8. San Diego Padres – If it were not for the great pitching by the Padres, San Diego would be the worst team in baseball. San Diego’s offense is struggling. Coming into Thursday, the Padres had score less runs that everyone in the National League, except the Washington Nationals. At 3.6 runs per game – you are expecting a lot out of your pitching staff. The Padres pitching staff has done a good job this season, keeping this team out of the NL West cellar, however, the entire offense boasts only one hitter with a .300 batting average. As a team, San Diego is batting .243 overall and has struck out 528 times (7.9 per game) this season. If only Jake Peavy could hit like Micah Owings (or any of the offensive player could hit like Ownings for that matter).

7. New York Mets – Surprised? I am. This team should not be on this list. Not with the players they have on their current roster. Sure, if the Mets don’t get into contention anytime soon with the hot Florida Marlins, you can bet Willie Randolph’s days will be numbered. Before we go on and blame this underachieving season on injuries – I will say that the Mets have been playing a little better lately. However, it’s still not good enough to be the team everyone expected them to be before the 2008 season began. Only one .300 hitter (with over 100 at bats) is on the roster (Ryan Church). This team seemed to be lifted by the return of none other than Fernando Tatis, but even he can’t help out that much. The problem is too many players on the offensive end that are just trying to get through another season. Carlos Delgado is getting old. Carlos Beltran is not the big-money player everyone thought he was in the 2005 playoffs. Even David Wright is not putting up the best numbers right now. With the best pitcher in baseball (Johan Santana) and a couple of the best young stars (Wright and Jose Reyes), this team needs to get things together, and quick.

6. Washington Nationals – Do you remember opening night (well, opening night in the United States) this season on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball? The Nationals started Odalis Perez and won the game on a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman. Nats fans were celebrating the opening of their new ballpark with a bang. Well – that’s ages ago (at least it seems like). Now, the Nationals are the worst team in the NL East. The team batting average is .234 and the pitching staff has combined for a 4.56 ERA. Skipper Manny Acta is in for a long season. The Nationals just don’t have the star power to really put up much of a fight this year and most likely will end up with the worst record in the National League.

5. Kansas City Royals – Much like the Nationals, the Royals started out the year looking like a .500 ball club. However, things change fast. Kansas City has slipped to the bottom of the American League Central, even below the woeful Detroit Tigers. The Royals are just too young across the board to even compete. The offense is churning out only 3.7 runs per game, while the pitching staff is allowing 4.8 runs per game. Manager Trey Hillman is in a race, but it’s not for the divisional lead. He’s in a race to keep his job and he seems to be losing. The only question is whether Hillman or Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren gets the ax first.

4. New York Yankees – Yes, I know the Yankees are .500 now. Congratulations. It seems that the order of the universe is almost restored, Hank. Except, it’s not. New York is at the bottom of the AL East, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. They are chasing the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Never thought you would hear that one, right? The Yankees seem to be that team that just can’t catch a break this year. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada have all caught the injury bug at one time or another this year. And the pitching staff is in shambles. Joba Chamberlain was supposed to be inserted into the rotation to help stop the bleeding, but he hasn’t really taken off in that role. I doubt anyone in New York would have guessed that Mike Mussina would be the owner of the best ERA in the starting rotation (3.82). Now – if the Yanks want to catch the Red Sox or even the Rays, they need to start clicking right now. They can’t wait until after the All-Star break. They need to get momentum going into the All-Star break and begin putting together 4-5 game win streaks regularly.

3. Detroit Tigers – Like the Yankees, the Tigers had high expectations. Many thought they would see a Tigers-Yankees AL championship series. However, that idea is in danger. The Tigers acquired Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera prior to the season with hopes of having one of the best offensive lineups in the league. Yet, Cabrera hasn’t produced and Willis has been shipped down to the minors. The entire pitching staff is having problems this season. Justin Verlander hasn’t been dominating and his velocity has slipped. The Tigers’ best pitcher was brought up to take Willis’ spot in the rotation early on in the season (Armando Galarraga). Yes, Detroit has had many injuries. But, give me a good reason why they are just above the AL Central cellar. I don’t think anyone can really explain it.

2. Seattle Mariners – The Mariners recognize that they are not doing well this year. However, they are playing the blame game. The pitching staff is complaining that catcher Kenji Johjima’s pitch selection is leading to the sixth-worst ERA in the majors this season. Management decided to blame hitting coach Jeff Pentland for the fourth-worst batting average in the majors (.247) and fired him. How does the acquisition of Erik Bedard look now? Bedard is 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA. Not exactly ace-like numbers. On the offensive side of things, not one player (not even Ichiro) is hitting over the .300 mark. Skipper John McLaren better pack his bags and keep them packed. He’s the next to go.

Matt Holliday and the entire Colorado Rockies team are heading for the worst record in baseball if things don’t change quick. Photo: Newscom

1. Colorado Rockies – How do you go from winning the NL pennant a year ago to being the worst team in the NL the very next season? I’m not sure how it happened, but things are not looking up for the Rockies. Now – looking at the Rockies stats, they aren’t the worst in the league. However, they aren’t the best either. Colorado is near the bottom in ERA (4.74) and close to the middle in batting average (.256). It’s been the slow starts by many of the offensive players that have really hampered the Rockies. Matt Holliday is hitting .314 but only has eight home runs. Todd Helton is hitting .294 and Troy Tulowitzki has been really slow to get going this season with a .193 average. No one has expected the Rockies pitching staff to ever be the best in the league, especially pitching in the thin air. However, outside of Aaron Cook (9-2), no Rockies pitcher has over two wins. I think it’s safe to say that there will not be a repeat appearance in the World Series for the Rockies this season.

Post from: EveryJoe

Thursday 10 – Worst Major League Baseball teams of 2008

New York Mets manager Willie Randolph takes a break from watching his team. The Mets have been underachievers this entire season even after just breaking the .500 mark.

Since we are now two months into the Major League Baseball season, we should start hearing from fans, the press and even players that a manager has worn out his welcome and needs to go. However, Mike Vaccaro wrote a piece for the New York Post, which talks about how firing a manager midseason is rarely the answer that teams are looking for. Yet, some jobs seem to always be changing managers, which is why Jason Whitlock wrote in the Kansas City Star that managing the Royals can be a crazy job.

I see pros and cons of firing a manager in midseason. Some think that it may spark the team and they might win more games or at least begin playing better, while others think that firing a manager during the season can cause drama and the team might just mail the rest of the season in. I am of the thought process that you need to make other changes in coaching personnel before actually firing the manager. Take a look at the pitching coach and the hitting coach well before firing that manager, it could save his job. Sure, many managers bring in guys they want to be pitching and hitting coaches, but if they aren’t getting it done, the owner/general manager/team president needs to step in and go in a different direction.

And while I’m on the subject of firing managers midseason, there are a few managers this season that could be let go well before the All-Star game. Guys like Trey Hillman (Kansas City Royals – shocker?), Willie Randolph, Clint Hurdle (Colorado Rockies) and the Seattle Mariners’ John McLaren. I wouldn’t bet on Jim Leyland’s job being completely safe either, especially if the Tigers sink into the cellar just after the All-Star break.

If I were a GM for any of these teams, I would immediately fire Randolph and McLaren. Hillman has less to work with and his team was actually off to a good start to begin the season. Now, they are just playing like the roster of young guys that they actually are. However, the Mets and Mariners are veteran-laden teams and there is no excuse for the pathetic starts to their seasons. Randolph can use the excuse of not having a healthy Pedro Martinez all he wants. He still has David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and the best pitcher in the game in Johan Santana. And no, Fernando Tatis is not the answer for the Mets. McLaren should have one of the best pitching 1-2 punches in baseball with Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez. He also has one of the most exciting players to watch in Ichiro Suzuki, yet the Mariners are the worst team in the American League.

I would give Hurdle a free pass since he had his team in the World Series last year after they made an amazing run in the second half of the season just to make the postseason. Yet, it still doesn’t look good that the Rockies have the worst record in all of baseball. It seems the thin air of Denver is deflating any hopes of the playoffs early on this season.

Is there a manager that I didn’t list that you think should be fired before the All-Star break? Let me know about it.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

So you wanna be a manager…?