Dan Warthen is My Hero.

Continuing on the headline for my last post, things are, simply put, surreal.

Dan Warthen is our pitching coach. There isn't a single picture of Dan Warthen on the internet, not that I could find, nor does he have a Wikipedia entry. And there he was, in the dugout 2 nights in a row, walking out to the mound and saying something to a couple of pitchers. Whether it was, "work him offspeed on the outer edge" or "hi, I'm Dan, your pitching coach", I'm not sure, but hey. I swear that for whatever reason, my buddy and I laughed hysterically for about 10 straight minutes when SNY kept cutting to him in the dugout, partially because he's a little funny looking, and partially from being punchdrunk by the sudden disappearance of familiarity, replaced with a couple old people.

And where is HoJo in all of this? I swear I haven't heard his named uttered, not once, while meanwhile the entire coaching staff has been uprooted, via firing, promotion of demotion. I haven't seen him, either. Is he hiding?

Wednesday night was iffy, but Wednesday day was iffy, and it just followed. Lackey pitched well, Johan didn't, it is what it is, but they win, and win so improbably I still don't really buy it, on Thursday: a late-inning comeback?! Against K-Rod??!! It truly was a nice win, for a team that has been woefully lacking in comebacks of any sort. Walking into the 9th, while I cursed myself for losing sleep to watch another west coast loss, the Met offense had to face a closer who hadn't blown a save in 25 attempts, whose slider doesn't deserve to be called a slider because it transcends sliding, the same Met offense that has negated my need for a barber, and they got to him, tie ballgame! Then I start thinking, of course, they do this, and they blow it, perfect. But Damion Easley, Mr. 2 Legit 2 Quit himself, steps up and yaks one. I can't believe it.

Oliver Perez needs to invest in some kind of a "get out of inning free" card.

Great to see David Wright start to come around, and can we stop bashing Delgado yet, who has quietly been in '06 form for a little while now?

And with that win they've won a couple series in a row, and have improved to 6-2 against the AL, which regardless of what people were saying about the NL catching up, is clearly still the superior league. Point is, the New York Mets can hang with the best teams in the game when they play their best baseball. Nights like 5 of the last 8 nights reinforce my confidence in that statement, and maybe, just maybe, they're starting to play their best. Is it Jerry Manuel and co? I don't know; maybe they broke out of their hole on Sunday and Willie or no Willie they'll be hot from here on out, or maybe they won't, Willie or no Willie.

I've seen/heard/read a lot of initial similar reactions to the new regime. Seems like a lot of folks want to anoint Jerry Manuel as the savior after one extra-inning win, which is really indicative of how starved we've been, but let's give this thing some time before we judge it one way or another. They're good, and he might be good. If he is good, then there's a chance those characters can get it together and make a run yet. ('03 Marlins, Torbor fired, McKeon comes in, anyone?)

Out to Denver, where thankfully it's only June, not Rocktober.

SEASON PREVIEW PART 1: AL West

IMAGE: ANGELSWINDOTCOM FROM FLICKR


Now that spring training is finally upon us, I figure it's time to start some season previews. I intend to do separate division by division previews with brief comments on each team, with individual team by team previews for the NL East. I'm starting with the AL West, being the division probably farthest from the Met fan's consciousness, although we do play Texas, LAA, and Seattle in June interleague series.

LA Angels of Anaheim
Prediction: 1st Place, 91-71
The Angels get a bat behind Vlad at last. While it ain't Manny Ramirez or another truly elite slugger, Torii Hunter is a fine addition, though he came at a price. They also add Jon Garland, a 2-time 18 game winner that probably doesn't deserve to be a 2-time 18 game winner, while waving goodbye to Bartolo Colon and the OC, Orlando Cabrera. Erick Aybar will start the year in OC's place, but if his bat proves to be as anemic as it seems, former #1 pick and power bat Brandon Wood is waiting in the wings. The big loss for the Angels comes not through trade or free agency, but through injury to Kelvim Escobar, who stood out as a great #2 to Lackey last year. He isn't expected back until at least May. All that aside, the Angels are a perennial playoff team. They have an incredible bench, a great bullpen, a solid staff and a better lineup than in years past. They shouldn't have trouble repeating as AL West champs. Lest I forget, Howie Kendrick is healthy, and I along with many others LOVE Kendrick. He to me is Chase Utley minus some power and plus some average in the making, and a stalwart of my fantasy teams. :)
Fantasy Pick: Kendrick

Seattle Mariners
Projection: 2nd Place, 88-74
The Mariners surprised a lot of folks winning 88 games last year, and while their offseason dealings may hurt them in the long run, it shouldn't affect this year negatively. I would agree that they played somewhat over their heads last season, probably having been a mid to low 80 win team rather than 88, so the improvements this year should equate to a similar finish. The obvious big move is Erik Bedard, who with Felix Hernandez brings in a lethal 1-2, but their lineup is only getting older, with Jose Lopez as the only regular under 30. Carlos Silva gives their rotation more depth, but boy what a contract. I shiver to think what that means for Oliver Perez. Their bullpen remains strong with J.J. Putz in the 9th, but after him it falls off sharply, George Sherill now gone in the Bedard deal. Their rotation can now hang with the Angels, but the rest of the team just got older and weaker. Maybe they catch fire and sneak in to the playoffs. Probably not a bad Vegas bet for the AL pennant, with the big potential payoff, but I doubt it...
Fantasy Pick: Felix Hernandez

Texas Rangers
Projection: 76-86, 3rd Place
Things always seem to change yet stay the same in Texas. Nolan Ryan's on board as team prez, which is nice, but he can't pitch anymore. I like the fact that they appear to be building something up, with the acquisition of Saltalamacchia last year and Josh Hamilton over the winter, but the rotation is the same old hodge-podge of discarded starters from elsewhere, this year's edition being Jason Jennings. You just can't find a starter that wants to pitch for a bad team in a bandbox. They should have a fun lineup to watch, with Salty, Hamilton, Kinsler and Young, and having brought on Hamilton and Milton Bradley they may escape the endless OF merry-go-round they've been on, but maybe not. It's football country, and until the Rangers get a pitcher who can hang with their new team president, it will remain football country. How bout them Cowboys? Ha.
Fantasy Pick: Ian Kinsler

Oakland Athletics
Projection: 4th Place, 70-92
The A's will have a new ballpark in 2 years, and that's probably how long it will take for them to be relevant again. Billy Beane has gone all out with rebuilding, and Joe Blanton is likely the next one to go. The direction of the team is probably the right one, as they weren't going anywhere even with Swisher, Haren and Blanton, but again, it will take time. This is another team with interesting raw players in Denorfia, Barton, Buck and Cust, but it stops at interesting. Keith Foulke's back for another round. Expect surliness. Personally, I'll be glad to see them out of contention; they've bored the hell out of me since the early 90's and then you had to hate them. See you in a few years, A's.
Fantasy Pick: Daric Barton

So there you have it for the west. No big upset picks here, although I'd like to be wrong about the Angels/Mariners. I'm not the biggest fan of the Seattle the place, but they have good fans, and you gotta root against Orange County.

In Mets news, Duaner Sanchez pitched successfully today, which is great to see; I really expect a strong bullpen this year, which would give us no major weaknesses anywhere if all goes well.

The Citi Field logo has been released, and while I don't hate it as much as Brooklyn Met Fan, it doesn't do much for me. What can you expect from a bank?

PS- Happy to see that the Blog got a hit from Port St. Lucie! It's almost baseball.

Three Game 1's

IMAGE: BAUMIES FROM FLICKR

So the glaringly Metless postseason kicks off today at 3:00pm. I'm really having to push myself to get wrapped up in the NL side of the bracket, but that SD-COL game certainly didn't hurt.

Game 1: Rockies at Phillies (C. Hamels v. J. Francis), 3pm ET
I have to pencil this one in for the Candy-Stripers. I don't know which way this series will end up; I can see the Rockies pulling it off, but this is a game Philly has to win and does win. Outside of Hamels, who is coming off of an 8-inning, 13 strikeout shutout last Friday, the Phillies can not rely on anyone in that rotation. Kendrick is the next guy you would go to, but he doesn't go deep into games, and has 121 career MLB innings pitched. Give me Moyer on Sunday (5.1 ip, 0 er), I'll give you Moyer 5 days earlier vs. the Braves (5.1 ip, 6 er). Point is the Fightins need Hamels to win every single time he pitches in the postseason, and as much as he makes me ill, to this point he has done nothing but follow through.
Francis, on the other end, has been a solid and consistent if not dominant "ace" for Colorado. He's certainly a good pitcher, but ideally he's a #2 guy somewhere. He finished the year on a fine note, really not getting touched up at all for the final two months, with one notable exception: September 13, 3.1 IP, 8H, 8ER, 4BB, 2K, in Philadelphia.
These are two offenses on absurd highs, with the talent to back justify every run plated. The only way someone falls off here is by running into lights-out pitching. I take Philly, 6-2 in game one, but I'll take Colorado in 5 for the series.

Game 1: Angels at Red Sox (J. Lackey v. J. Beckett), 6:30pm ET
Lackey's career numbers vs. the Red Sox are so outlandishly bad (1-6, 6.27 ERA), and even worse at Fenway (0-2, 8.38 ERA, that you almost figure that something's gotta give. But the Red Sox are certainly aware of his history, and therein gain major edge before a pitch is thrown. They know Lackey well, they've crushed him, and they have the Cy Young winner on the hill. Playoff butterflies can bury lineups in game 1's, but their history with Lackey can allow Boston's bats to stay loose and let Beckett deal. Red Sox, 8-3 in game one, and they win in 4.

Game 1: Cubs at Diamondbacks (C. Zambrano v. B. Webb), 10pm ET
Rarely has a playoff team been sold so short as the Arizona Diamondbacks are right now. You would think that the Cubs had won 108 games and were facing a lowly wild card. The Cubs have the ESPN.com front page all to themselves, and in about 5 different polls I've seen ranking the playoff teams, the D'Backs are consistently dead last. Is it the new unis? Yes, the D'Backs have a startlingly low team BA for a division winner (.250), and they haven't scored a lot of runs, but they are the NL's only 90-game winner.
As far as tonight goes, I don't trust Carlos Zambrano in a big game anymore than I trust Victor Zambrano, and Brandon Webb can decimate any lineup any time. You keep hearing about the Rockies closing the season winning 13 out of 14, but who won that 14th game? Webb. He has Peavy's numbers without Peavy's propensity to put out lilliputian efforts when it counts. Soriano strikes out swinging. I take the D'Backs in game one, 4-1, and they take the series in 4.