MetsTalk.com

After using Gary Matthews Jr. to pinch-hit in almost every single game, despite a .190 batting average and 1 measly RBI, the Mets finally got rid of him. Only 3 months too late on this one, guys…

Jose Reyes is the fastest player in Mets history to get to 1000 hits.* JOSE! JOSE! JOSE!

*Coincidentally, he is probably also the fastest player in Mets history.

The Mets have agreed to sign All-Star outfielder Jason Bay to a four-year, $66 million contract, pending a physical, improving their chances of making the playoffs in 2010.

Now while I could go into the next moves the team needs to make to get back to World Series shape, I’d much rather share something I found in the comments section of MLB.com… a poem from a Mets fan (different, right?):

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE METS’ NEXT SEASON

Twas the night before new years / and all through the town / a slight smile was forming / from an uncomfortable frown /

The Mets and J Bay have come come up with a deal / hopefully jumpstarting the teams offseason wheel /

But there is still “quite” an opening / on the teams starting rotation / With an emphasis on quite / which i have in quotation /

There is plenty of room / for the arm of Piniero / But his agent and him / want too much dinero /

We don’t need an ace / we need an arm with no cuts / a starter with heart / some brains and some guts /

How about Brett Myers from Philly / his teams lookin full / maybe Bedard, Smoltz or Pedro / one or two would be cool /

So on David, on Carlos, on Jose, and John Maine / On Luis, and on Frenchy / I’m not tryin to complain /

You guys need some help / and some Vitamin C / To contend in the East / with the team from Philly /

So rest up this winter / and get ready for Spring /

And keep your fingers crossed / for a World Series Ring

[Originally written and posted on MLB.com by user hudge36. I added the title and formatting for better readability.]

While I definitely don’t agree that John Smoltz or Pedro Martinez are viable options for the Mets future, I do like the effort put into that Mets poetry.

Hopefully the Mets will make the necessary moves and the 2010 season will flow just as smoothly as the above prose, getting our Metsies to the playoffs.

Wrigley Field

I’m a diehard lifelong Mets fan. However, I’ve always been partial to the Chicago Cubs.

Allow me to explain.

When you think about it, the Cubs are similar to the Mets in a number of ways.

As I watch the Mets play the Cubs at Wrigley Field, I am watching two teams that came into the 2009 season with great expectations, but which are both now far out of playoff contention.

The fans in Chicago are definitely upset with how the team has performed, but they’re still there in the stands. Mets fans are the same way, even if this year’s arrival of Citi Field means Blue Smoke ribs and Shake Shackburgers as an extra bonus for filling the seats.

And both teams are traditionally viewed as underdogs in a big city setting. As a New Yorker, I could see myself living a similar lifestyle in Chicago, purchasing a partial ticket plan as I have at Citi Field to watch the Cubs play at Wrigley.

Citi Field

And they are both underdog teams, which means that as a fan it becomes a super-exciting event when our teams make it to the playoffs. Unlike other teams that seemingly make it to the playoffs year after year where it is just part of the routine, I’d like to point out.

Both Cubs and Mets fans are shameless in expressing their dissatisfaction with underperforming players. Cubs fans today are booing their own outfielder Milton Bradley who has been very outspoken in letting everyone know he wants out of Chicago, despite having two years left on his contract. Then he commited the additonal sin of dropping a routine fly ball in rightfield. Fans in Chicago booed him just as loudly as us fans booed Luis Castillo’s dropped pop up that cost us the game against the Yankees earlier in the season. I could see myself continuing the booing in Chicago. Well, at least until the players get the team to the playoffs.

There’s just the same amount of cheering in both stadiums, as there should be. But the unapologetic booing is really what sets Cubs and Mets fans apart.

Mets were Amazin' in 1985

And then there’s the team colors. The Cubs have a very familiar shade of blue… called Cubbie Blue in Chicago. But I’m pretty sure its Mets blue in disguise. It looks very much like the blue I’ve been rooting on my whole life. And while its true that the Cubs other color isn’t orange, red happens to be my favorite color.

And I guess history has something to do with it too. The very first Mets game I attended back in 1985 when I was just a little kid was way up in the red seats at Shea Stadium against the Chicago Cubs. I watched Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez play Chicago that day. Mets won, by the way.

So I’m partial to the Cubbies. And that doesn’t mean I don’t love my Metsies any less. It just means that as a Mets fan, I also follow what’s going on in Wrigleyville, whereas I really have no idea what’s going on in, say, Houston or Pittsburgh these days.

But then again, who really does?

The government now owns 39% of CitiGroup, but that won’t affect Citi Field’s name, according to the troubled financial company and the Mets.

Should Citi Field be renamed Taxpayer Stadium?

When the Wall Street Journal looked into the stability of the naming deal after CitiGroup was bailed out for the third time in 5 months, the companies had this to say, according to Newsday:

“Citi signed a legally binding agreement with the New York Mets in 2006,” a Citigroup spokesman said. “No TARP capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes.”

The Mets issued the following statement: “As it relates to the Mets’ partnership with Citi, nothing has changed.”

And the issue with most fans doesn’t seem to be so much the connection between the troubled company and the Mets, but moreso that Mets fans just don’t want the team to play in what could end up being the next Enron Field.

Not to mention that the new Yankee Stadium escaped just this situation by being called the new Yankee Stadium.

Why couldn’t this be the new Shea Stadium, or better yet, since it has a rotundra devoted to and of the same name, Jackie Robinson Field?

That would pay great tribute to one of baseball’s legends and be a field fans could be proud of.

Are you ready for a new season, a new stadium, and new shot at the World Series? Here we go…

Well, that was a fun ride to above .500, wasn’t it? It’s definitely nice to see the Mets win 6 in a row. When was the last time they did that?

Nice to see a sold out 55,000+ crowd at Shea today! The cheers were loud and proud!

The Mets are definitely the hottest team in the National League at the moment. And with most teams hovering around .500 more or less, the odds sure look good for the team.

Not to mention how exciting the games have been. What a ride!

And it seems that Pedro Martinez forsees only good things at Shea this season:

“It’s nice to see that Shea Stadium was filled today with 55,000 people just wanting to see me, that it wasn’t just at Yankee Stadium,” Martinez said. “Seeing those people come over here is a good sign for the team, for management, and I hope I can continue to do that. I hope I can continue to be a ticket every time I come out for those fans. Now the Latin population is coming in, and you’re starting to see some Dominican flags and stuff like that. Everything is probably going to change.”

RELATED:

— Mets display a sixth sense [Daily News]

The Mets beat the Nationals again in Spring Training, 4-3, after a ninth inning Mets rally. Miguel Cairo tied the game at 3 and Luis Garcia won the game with solo homeruns.

Amazin’ magic clips Nationals:

The Mets used a bullpen by committee starting with Mike Matthews, who gave up a run in two innings. The run was scored in the bottom of the second inning, when Brad Wilkerson hit a solo home run.

The “bullpen by committee” approach worked well enough for the Mets, but none of the pitchers really seemed to stand out as exceptional.