Say, Here’s Something New! An Angered Mets Fan Ranting!

Heading into this post, let me just make it clear that I realize how stereotypical a piece of writing this is going to wind up being. It seems as though there are more rants on the internet about the God-awful Mets than there is eye make-up in Rihanna’s purse. However, after tonight’s game, a horrendous miscarriage of a 2 hour and 25 minute “sporting event,” an angry rant is really called for. So sit back and relax (or just leave now; the mood won’t improve much from here) as I type angry Mets-related things just as quickly as my pudgy little hands can type.

Ramon Castro: I really hate Ramon Castro. With a deep, burning passion. He’s an adequate defensive catcher, but his defining feature as a baseball player is his ability to hit and hit with power, a rare trait among reserve catchers. Including his unimpressive 1-3 showing at the plate last night, Ramon’s started the year hitting .174. I can’t be the only Mets fan to notice what a dramatic amount of bat speed Castro’s lost over the off-season. If a pitch is thrown over 90 MPH, it’s a foregone conclusion that Ramon won’t have a shot at it. Castro being a number one catcher for any period of time is a thought that makes cringe. Start Omir Santos and at least see what we have with this 27 year old AAAA player.

But hey, on the lighter side: at least Brian Schneider’s only on the 15 day DL! Mets fans can rest easy knowing we have Schneider and his mighty bat to look forward to.

Starting Pitchers And The 36 Million Dollar Oliver Perez Extravaganza: As it currently stands, three pitchers in the Mets five man rotations have ERA’s above seven. Let me repeat that: three pitchers in the Mets five man rotations have ERA’s above seven. It’s terrible performances like these that force managers to do stupid things like releasing a promising relief pitcher in favor of a terrible 34 year old journeyman. Thank goodness it hasn’t gotten to that point yet. Oh, wait.

Gary Sheffield: I’m starting to like this signing less and less. Sheff has impressed in exactly one of his plate appearances this year, and we all know what a poor defender he is. Given that Fernando Tatis provides right handed pop off the bench and plays better defense, why bother having Sheff on the team? On a normal bench, the Mets have two guys who have the ability to run: Alex Cora and Jeremy Reed. Reed has to be used in late innings on defense, which really makes Cora the only fast guy off the bench. We only signed Sheffield for 400,00 dollars. Just thank him for what he’s done for the team, acknowledge that he doesn’t really make sense for the roster, and let him go to another team. Earlier in the off-season the name Ryan Raburn was being tossed around as a trade candidate: if he’s at all available I’d love to see the Mets acquire him. The Mets would have more position flexibility off the bench and have another pinch running option late in games.

Part Deux Of The Oliver Perez 36 Million Dollar Festival: I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, so I’ll go ahead and remind everyone that we’re paying Oliver Perez THIRTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS.

Bunting: In the first game of this three game set, we saw Jerry Manuel have Ryan Church bunt in a spot with nobody out and a runner on first. This is extremely stupid, and borderline sociopathic. Here’s why:

– Ryan Church is a very good hitter. Perhaps he’s a bit overrated because he plays in a big market and he over performed last season, but Church is an above average Major League hitter. With no outs and a runner on first, why bunt?! You’re giving up an out in a crucial spot and giving the pitcher the option to not face Ryan Church (.947 OPS in this young season).

– While Church executed a successful bunt, it’s just as likely that he could have popped the ball up, and then it’s runner on first with one out. With this in mind, why not risk the double play and have Church swing away. The latter of the two options has a vastly greater upside.

– Bunting is stupid. Seriously, just backwards thinking. You don’t see football players running the “statue of liberty play,” or basketball players using an underhanded shot on free throws, because those are old, stupid, useless things to do. So is bunting. Bunting is called for in one spot: with a weak hitting pitcher up and a runner on first. THAT’S IT. These are Major League hitters. So what if they happen to hit into a double play, let them swing the damn bat.

Alex Cora: Why did we sign this guy again? He cost 2,000,000 dollars and isn’t doing much of anything for the team. Prior to tonight’s game he’d received a grand total of six at-bats so far in the season. If we hadn’t signed him we could have just given Argenis Reyes that same amount of time, received similar results and kept about 1,500,000 dollars. But no, why would Omar Minaya do that? That would make sense, by gum! And Omar Minaya was not raised in the school of making sensible decisions. He was raised in the school of loony, unwarranted expensive contracts school. Speaking of which…

WE’RE PAYING OLIVER PEREZ THIRTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!