Well, the Mets finally finished their post All-Star Game trip, going 5-5. Another one, maybe two, wins would have been nice, but it’s not like the team tanked. The results were reasonable. The problem is reasonable isn’t going to get anything done, if 2014 is going to be memorable, a crazy run of baseball is in order. But we know that, and know that the calendar is one more opponent this team is taking on every day. The situation is not a newsflash. There has been some news this weekend though, and I have some thoughts around it all:
* It was Hall of Fame weekend, and former Mets manager Joe Torre was inducted for his managing prowess. Joe, you might remember, had a .405 winning percentage with the Mets. He now joins Casey Stengel as the second Mets manager to be inducted (Yogi Berra was elected based on his playing career.) Stengel, I will remind the younger set, had a .302 winning percentage in his time managing the Metropolitans. No, that is not a typo. Anyway, with all due respect to Mr. Torre, those numbers kind of make me think the players have something to do with how things all shake out. Congratulations anyway, Joe, a Brooklyn kid and a baseball lifer for sure.
* Let me begin this one by getting the obligatory joke out of the way. I missed the Tom Glavine induction ceremony, and not only am I not devastated, I’m not even disappointed. But when I think about Glavine, it is interesting to me how none of us could ever warm up to the guy. He pitched five years for the Mets, and in 2006 he pitched pretty well and the team was great, a Division winner. And I remember so clearly when Jimmy and I were in Chicago on the day he was scheduled to pitch for his 300th win, and neither of us raised a finger to try and change our flights and go see him. We just didn’t care, and that was before the fateful last day of 2007. It was just a bad awkward marriage the entire time, and that is a long time for a bad relationship. I guess that last day of 2007 was poetic justice, that Glavine was the guy who imploded. We didn’t like him anyway.
* The latest on Bartolo Colon is that the Mets would probably toss some cash into a deal if it would help them get rid of the guy. I’ve never had the belief that Colon could net anything too useful back, as most contenders rather rent than buy. But eventually he will either be dealt or not, and I’ve certainly been wrong before. If he stays, hey, he has pitched well, it’s not a disaster by any means. I’ve never fully understood the math of paying Bartolo all this money to potentially save money on our young arms five years from now, if they are productive and healthy, but what is done is done. It could have been worse, Colon could have been terrible, or he could have gotten injured.
* At the same time, I held out some faint hope that maybe Sandy could spin Daisuke Matsuzaka for something. The fact is he pitched well in both a starting and relief role this year, and his salary could have fit easily into any contender’s budget. I will never know now, and it doesn’t sound good for Daisuke. If his time with the Mets is over, his overall production during it has been a pleasant surprise. Someday, when Dice-K looks back at his career and reflects on his time as a Met, he can remember, among other highlights, that I dedicated a full Top Ten List to him last September.
* There was a related positive development to Dice-K’s injury, as Buddy Carlyle is back. Welcome home Buddy!
