Emergence of the Tampa Bay Rays, Closing of Yankee Stadium, Mets Collapse and More!

As the meetings conclude this evening, I have two main take-a-ways:

Forget Santa, this year I am writing my Christmas wish list to the General Manager of the New York Mets Omar Minaya. Omar if your listening, all I want for Christmas is Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Brian Fuentes. For the past four years as the Mets GM Omar, you have always seem to come through and put a present under my tree.

Whether its been Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner or Johan Santana you have always given me reason for hope in the new year. But this year I am not only asking for a present under the tree, I need a ribbon on top of the present and a little stocking stuffer as well.

For the last two years, Mets fans have watched the offense disappear in September. Solution - Manny Ramirez. I know there is the baggage that comes along with Manny but after being put through complete agony the last two years, I don’t care. Go to Manny with a 4 year, $18 million per year deal, put him in left field and let Manny be Manny.

With Pedro gone and Oliver Perez up in the air, the Mets are in desperate need of a starting pitcher that eats up innings. Forget about CC Sabathia (let the Yankees overpay) and AJ Burnett. Go get me Derek Lowe. Lowe is a good steady winning pitcher who will eat up 200+ IP.

The Mets are also in need of a closer. The obvious choice would be Francisco Rodriguez. With all due respect for to the 62 saves he had last year, I don’t want him. I can’t shake the image of him blowing playoff games to the RedSox’s the last two seasons. We need a stop gap, steady type of closer until we figure out what to do long term. I’d spend my money on Brian Fuentes. A professional closer who can come in without a lot of media stir and do the job.

What say you Mets fans? Am I asking for too much?

Was the signing of Pedro Martinez by the New York Mets a good one? That is the question that I have debated with friends every since Pedro signed a 4 year, $53 million deal back in 2005. My response to the question is YES, Pedro was a good signing and here is why:

During Pedro’s four year career with the Mets, he went 32-23 with 3.80 ERA. In all actuality Pedro only really had one effective year, that was in 2005 when he was 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA. The Mets made the playoffs once during the Pedro era and they did not won a World Series.

So you ask, how can his signing be a good one? Well I think with Pedro you have to look at more then just the numbers. I think you have to look at the entire Mets organization, where they were in 2004 compared to where they are now. They Mets finished twenty games under .500 in 2004, they were fresh off of trading Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay and they were a down right embarassment to Major League Baseball.

I said it then, and I’ll say it now. They Mets did overpay for Pedro BUT they needed to do it. The Mets needed to sign Pedro Martinez to energize their fans and bring some credibility back to their organization. In 2004, one year before Pedro, the Mets sold 2.3 million tickets. During the first year of Pedro in New York, the Mets sold an additional 400,00 tickets (2.7 million). So in the first year of Pedro the fans saw that the Mets were starting to turn it around and more came out to the park to show their support.

I also feel that Pedro’s signing lead to other free agents coming to the Mets. A year after Pedro signed, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran, they also ended up signing others like Billy Wagner and convincing Carlos Delgado to waive his no trade clause and come to the Mets. Even though they have not made the playoffs the last two years, they sold over 4 million tickets this year for the first time in team history. I think it’s safe to say they Mets are relevant again and you can look back to the signing of Pedro Martinez as a key milestone in helping the organization turn it around.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Rookie of The Year: Alexei Ramirez 2B

• When I saw Ramirez play for the Cuban Team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, I said to myself “The Mets have got to get this guy”. Oh do I wish someone was listening to me then. In his first year in the big leagues, Ramirez batted: .290, 22 2b, 21 HR and 77 RBI’s while helping the Chicago Whitesox win the AL Central.

Cy Young: Cliff Lee P

• No Question here. 22-3, 2.54 ERA, 170 Ks. Enough Said.

MVP: Kevin Youkilis 1B

• I’ll go with Youkilis here. The Boston Redsox are one of the toughest teams in baseball and through all the injuries this year, and dealing with the mess that is Manny Ramirez, there has been one constant keeping the ship steady and that is Kevin Youkilis. .321 Avg, 29 HRs,  115 RBI’s, 43 2B.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Rookie of The Year: Geovany Soto C

• One the new young exciting catchers in baseball. Soto helped the Chicago Cubs get off to a fast start in the division and they never looked back. 285 Avg, 23 HRs, 86 RBIs while catching in 141 games. Not bad.

Cy Young: Johan Santana P

• I am sure I will be called a homer for this pick but let’s look at the numbers. 16-7, 2.53 ERA, 206 Ks. Plus Santana had 13 quality starts this year where he either got the loss or no decision. With all due respect to Tim Lincecum and others if Santana had a bullpen he could have easily won 22/23 games. Let’s also not forget while all of Santana’s teammates were choking down the stretch, there was Santana in the month of September going 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA. 

MVP: Ryan Howard 1B

• I’ll be totally honest. I searched long and hard to find someone else to pick. As a Mets fan, the last thing I want to see is any Phillies win any award. With that said, forget the .251 AVG. When it counted coming down the stretch, Howard put his team on his back and carried them to the finish line. 48 HRs, 146 RBIs while leading his team to their second straight NL East title.