Yankee Talk - Rivalry Edition: The Truth Hurts

Face It, Sox are better

NEW YORK - What one would call an over-reaction, I can simply describe it as one looking at the situation realistically.

What you call perspective; I call it the same too. Only problem is that our feelings on what is "perspective" varies.

The Red Sox have sent their opening message in the first five games of the 2009 installment of The Rivalry (where the official score reads both teams tied at 75 wins after 150 games). They have picked their method of victory against the Yankees in each case. Being fair, it does not hurt to channel some of that excessive hubris, come out, and say the following:

Boston is better than New York.

Anyone with two eyes can see this. If you are one of those still in denial, you are either blind, not paying attention, or simply an idiot.

If we really want to delve further into the score, we can see some much deeper numbers:

League Championship Series appearances since the start of 2004:

Boston: 3
New York: 1

World Series appearances:

Boston 2
New York 0

World Series titles:

Boston 2
New York 0

The Red Sox have been an efficiently run operation over this course of time. Meanwhile, the Yankees have put in the position of chase, desperate to gain the upper hand in this elongated battle of chess that sees Boston moving pawns and knights as means of setting up a much larger scheme. Meanwhile, New York finds they need to use their rook and queen in order to make a big splash, but now coming up a few pieces short.

This would be different if it were just one man dominating an entire team.

It is not.

This is a collective effort from a group that when compared to its rival, is a complete team. Their balance, their structure and the way they run business.

It used to be that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were the true "Yankee Killers". That has since moved to guys like Jason Bay, Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia.

One look at their numbers against the Yankees tells an incredible tale. The most shocking is Bay, who was placed in the role of replacing Manny Ramirez and he has become the new terror.

When you go 10 for 18 with three home runs and an on base average of .652, surely he is doing something right.

Do they dig in at the plate against Yankee pitching?

Absolutely.

They have no fear off any Yankee pitcher. Those hitters get in their good swings. Rarely are they made to feel uncomfortable unless Joba Chamberlain wants to use Youkilis' head for target practice.

So you want to make them uncomfortable by putting one of them on their ass, huh?

That's great. But it’s not as if the next guy isn't going to make up for that by getting a big hit.

Want to drill Jacoby Ellsbury? That's fine, because Pedroia will take care of that.

Want to hit Pedroia? Youkilis will get you.

Want to hit Youkilis? Lowell will get you.

Want to drop Lowell now too? No problem. Bay is right there to play long ball or get a big hit.

No Yankee pitcher this year has put the Red Sox on notice that they are there and needs to be accounted for. Whether it’s Chamberlain, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte or Phil Hughes.

The closest thing came last night when Chamberlain hit Bay with the first pitch in the back. This may have drawn their ire, but their approached did not change.

When they need the hit, they get it. If they need a sac fly, they can get that too from the most unlikely of sources.

Hell, even their backup first baseman that was just called up from Triple-A can work a bases loaded walk to add an insurance run.

It’s the way they are now. The Yankees used to be this way what seems like a long time ago.

Those good old days have come and left. While we wonder who is going to get hurt next, strike out in the big spot or fail to get the key hit with runners in scoring position.

For those that say, "Keep perspective", under the ridiculous thinking that this was merely just the teeter-totter balancing on the other side for the moment, either your sunglasses have too much tint, you are clueless or just plain naive.

Are the Yankees missing their best player? Obviously, we all see that. Ramiro Pena should never see the light of day in certain situations. But there is a distinct problem when your entire lineup configuration and success is predicated on one player. The offense has enough good players still around (though short now because Jorge Posada is on the DL) to make for that.

At least one would think.

And how much of a sad commentary is it that the Yankees as an organization has disintegrated its lineup to the point where they cannot wait for his return so he can make guys like Mark Teixeira hit over .200 and avoid consistent booing when he pops up or strikes out looking with men on base.

By the way, a little newsflash here: A-Rod missed a month last year and the offense struggled. His return to the lineup was supposed to mark the end of the Yankees resembling a National League offense. It didn’t. They still had problems hitting with runners on base and he was one of the culprits. The idea that everything is going to magically change is crazy.

For the last few years, Boston has found ways to get it done while the Yankees have found ways to screw it up. Sometimes it seems as if the smallest task is too much to handle for the men in pinstripes.

This is exacerbated by the money disparity in the two teams. Don’t think this is not a factor in many of our thinking. For 80 million more spent by New York, one has to wonder where this money is going.

Is it going to the bullpen?

No.

Is it going to the rotation?

Some of it. Though the big contracts of Sabathia and Burnet are offset by the low figures given to Wang, Pettitte and Chamberlain.

Is it going to the bench?

Hell no.

Is it going to the offense?

Too much of it. When you are paying a third baseman, despite how good he is, upwards of 30 million a year and will be paying him at the age of 42 at the same figure, that is bad business.

As much as I like Teixeira, he is no better than Youkilis outside of the fact that he's a switch hitter. Problem is the Yankees are paying him 22 million while Boston is paying nearly 60 percent less for similar production.

Jeter is on the downside of a big contract and is not producing as if this were 1999 or even 2006 and he’s getting paid 20 million. Johnny Damon, who has been able to maintain longevity with the team through his three years is also not producing enough for the position that he plays.

It’s plenty of bad/dead money on some of these guys. Giving Jorge Posada at age 36 a four-year contract was ludicrous at the time knowing that there wouldn’t be a suitable replacement. Now, after missing most of last year, he is hurt again and going to miss a month. The deal is going to get worse before it is over.

Most of these moves were made out of desperation to be competitive and keep a pulse in The Rivalry. And when you do not have quality players to make up for the eventual decline or overpricing of the player, what happens? You have to go out and spend exorbitant dollars in free agency to get those players, and that is what the Yankees have done. They are forced to do this. At the end of this season, if Jason Bay happens to be a free agent, expect Brian Cashman to come with a large checkbook, overpaying for his production out of desperation.

It is a vicious cycle and no way to run a team. This is not rotisserie baseball here.

The Yankees spend big while the Red Sox spend smart and sometimes get a little lucky.

Good teams make their own luck.

The Yankees used to be good, smart and lucky way back when.

Boston is that way now.

That is why they are better.

Yankee Talk – Rivalry Edition: Sawx Have Five on It

Yanks drop to 0-5 vs. Red Sox after another loss

NEW YORK – The first five games of the 2009 installment of The Rivalry for the Yankees and the Red Sox has been like a boxing match that took place in Las Vegas this past weekend.

Boston is playing the role of Manny Pacquiao.

New York is playing the role of Ricky Hatton.

The Yankees have been knocked down repeatedly. Sometimes being knocked senseless and even may have had the ten count administered.

For the fifth time this season, the Red Sox (17-10) took down their archrivals 7-3, sweeping series in both Fenway Park and the new Yankee Stadium, and in the process exposed every conceivable flaw that this current Yankee team possesses.

The starting pitching, while having its occasional moments of brilliance, still shows leaks.

The offense, unable to string together enough hits, and still failing to deliver with runners in scoring position.

The bullpen, as it has all season, showed once again to be the team’s biggest weakness without a doubt.

Anyone clamoring for the return of Brian Bruney or the shifting of Joba Chamberlain to the bullpen will have to wait.

Chamberlain electrified the crowd through his 5 2/3 innings of work, striking out a career high 12.

However, his beginning should get more attention than his ending when he was removed by Joe Girardi, who was serenaded by a stadium full chorus of boos for making the move.

He served what appeared to be batting practice to the first five Red Sox hitters. Lacking velocity and command, he would give up successive singles to Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz continued to find his stroke by driving home Ellsbury on a single to center field.

Chamberlain was throwing an array off-speed pitches and had yet to harness his fastball. On a 2-1 count to Jason Bay, he would use it and Bay would deposit it into the left field seats for a three-run homer. Mike Lowell would then follow with a single.

Certifying himself as a Yankee killer, Bay is 10 for 20 with three homeruns and an on base percentage of .652.

After that point, Chamberlain became a different pitcher. His velocity on the fastball rose, and mixing in his slider, curveball and changeup, he would overpower the Boston lineup from the second inning on. 12 of the remaining 20 hitters he would face struck out, including nine of them looking.

For Josh Beckett, four runs would be enough to carry the day. After struggling his last two starts, the big right-hander grinded through the game not having his best stuff.

In the third inning, he gave up a three-run homer to Johnny Damon that cut the lead to 4-3. After that, he would hold the Yankees scoreless through the final three innings. He was aided by a great defensive relay on a double into the right field corner by Melky Cabrera in the bottom of the fourth inning.

On the play, the ball went into the corner and Cabrera on his way to second base made the decision to go for a triple with one out. J.D Drew found the cutoff man, and Pedroia made a great relay throw to third base to gun down Cabrera for the second out of the inning. This would come back to haunt the team on the very next at bat, Ramiro Pena’s ground ball went under the glove of first baseman Jeff Bailey and trickled into right field, which would have scored Cabrera had he not attempted to take third. Jose Molina would strike out to end the inning.

With the rain pouring in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Yankees mounted their greatest threat of the night. Trailing 4-3, Nick Swisher walked with one out and Cabrera would hit a ground-rule double into left field that one-hopped into the seats. The play was eerily reminiscent of Tony Clark’s double that bounced into the first row at Fenway Park in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.

Beckett was on the ropes. The problem was that the two hitters he was going to faced were Pena and Molina, glorified AAA hitters at best. Pena would strike out on a pitch seven inches out of the zone after being up 2-0 in the count. Molina (playing for Jorge Posada, who was placed on the DL with a hamstring injury) once again though would ground out to end the threat for the second time with a runner in scoring position.

For the series, the Yankees batted just .150 with men in scoring position.

In his six innings, Beckett gave up just those three runs, 10 hits, walking one and striking out five on 108 pitches.

Boston added insurance in the top of the eighth against the struggling bullpen. They loaded the bases with one out against Jonathan Albaladejo with Jason Varitek at the plate. With two strikes, his breaking pitch found too much of the plate and he hit a sac fly to center. This was followed up by an RBI single that Nick Green punched into shallow right.

Game over.

In the ninth, recent call up Mark Melancon came on and walked the bases loaded and had to be removed when he reached a 2-0 count against Lowell. David Robertson came in and struck out Lowell, got Drew to fly out to shallow left, but walked Jeff Bailey on a close 3-2 pitch to give Boston their seventh run.

The bullpen in its 3 1/3 innings were awful giving up three runs (one earned) and five walks utilizing six relievers.

Tomorrow night, AJ Burnett takes the ball for the Yanks as they host the Tampa Bay Rays, facing Andy Sonnanstine.

Yankee Talk – Rivalry Edition: Ump, we have a problem

Strike zone leads to frustration


NEW YORK – I am never one to complain about officiating.

It doesn’t matter what sport, just blaming the men in blue or in stripes has never been my cup of tea as reasons behind a team’s winning or losing.

While I do make jokes about it on occasion, it is always meant in jest and rarely has seriousness.

Last night though at Yankee Stadium was a disgrace.

There is no other way you can spin this. Watching last nights game and seeing the home plate umpiring of Jerry Meals was absolutely awful.

You cant say that he was trying to speed up the game because the game lasted twelve minutes short of four hours.

The strike zone that was put in place by him last night was one of the worst I have ever seen. If Major League Baseball does grading of its umpires for quality assurance, then this guy should be put on probation.

From word “go” last night, pitcher Phil Hughes was attempting to get himself into a groove. There were times when he would miss with a pitch here and there, but then when he would come near the plate with his fastball or a cutter to either get ahead or put a Red Sox hitter away, the home plate umpire apparently did not see the same the game I was watching.

Ok, all umpires are going to miss a call on a pitch on occasion. When the ball is coming between 90 and 100 MPH or a curveball or slider with great movement, you wont get all of them correct. However, when its obvious to the trained eye and it is being blatantly missed, that is a problem.

During the game, the reputation of the umpire was that he was a “hitter’s ump” and had a less generous zone then others in his fraternity.

These go to my theory that most umpiring in Major League Baseball is usually inept at best and corrupt at worst. The fact that Fenway Park has by all accounts the smallest strike zone when it comes to opposing pitchers is ridiculous.

To be fair, Yankee Stadium is also the same way and that too is ridiculous, despite the advantageous benefit it offers.

However, where the problem exists is in the umpires themselves. For whatever reason, each man has its own interpretation of what the “uniform” strike zone is.

How is this possible?

The fact some umpires will call the high or low strike, or give a few inches on each corner of the plate, while others will shrink their strike their zone causes mass confusion at times.

Let us be real for a moment, the zone is not a thought process where you may or not think a certain pitch is a strike. The borders have been established. Follow them. We’re not here to see you, or your interpretation of what you think is correct. Otherwise, why don’t we have “Questec” take over?

Case in point: Last night

There were several 2-2 pitches thrown by Hughes that were borderline/strikes and even others through the course of the game. Unfortunately, none of them was given to the right-hander. The bench complained, Manager Joe Girardi complained as well as the fans.

All of this came to a head in the fifth inning when Derek Jeter was at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning against Jon Lester with the Yankees trailing 4-0. On a 1-1 pitch, Lester’s pitch was called a strike on a distinctly similar pitch that Hughes had been getting squeezed on about three occasions during his four innings of work when the gave up four runs.

Jeter looked at the home plate umpire shaking his head. Girardi had a perplexed and angered look as well. When Jeter went on to strikeout two pitches later, he showed his displeasure with Meals. Seeing that he might have his star shortstop thrown out, Girardi came out to protect him and in the process got himself ejected from the game for arguing about the inconsistent zone.

Jeter obviously would have had the best look considering that he has the best view of the game from right behind Hughes’ shoulder. He rarely argues about calls, so I believe him when he felt there was a problem with how the game was being called.

With all of this in play, it had to be in Hughes’ psyche out on the mound. If my only way of getting a strike call is to throw the ball right down the middle to a great hitting lineup, I am going to get killed!

Instead, he tries to hope for the best with a zone the size of an aspirin and he still gets killed.
In many ways, it was a “no chance” situation for him last night.

That is not sour grapes when it comes to blaming the umps.

Yet, those guys put themselves in a position where they can become MVP for a night.

And that's not how it should be.

Yankee Talk – Rivalry Edition: Sawx Still Rain

Long day at yard ends with Sox beating Yanks again


NEW YORK - The game did not end until 1:10 AM Eastern time after waiting out a two hour and 14 minute rain delay and then taking in another near four hour game (3:48).

In the end though, the result was another familiar theme the Yankees (13-12) have seen this season when it came to beating their blood rival.

The Red Sox (16-12) had come out on top again.

Boston has been victorious in each of its four meetings with New York. This one, a 6-4 Red Sox victory, came in the first meeting between the two teams at the new Yankee Stadium. It saw the Red Sox jump out early, see a Yankees rally in the middle, Boston pulling away late, and finally a conclusion that only The Rivalry could bring.

Robinson Cano was up at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, trailing by two runs against closer Jon Papelbon. A base hit would have tied the game and an extra base hit would have won the game.

It appeared the Yankees had Papelbon on the ropes. The first two hitters in the inning had reached base via Brett Gardner’s infield single and Derek Jeter hit by a pitch. With no one out, Johnny Damon flew out to J.D Drew in right field. Mark Teixeira, who had homered twice, would be blown away by a 2-2 fastball for the second out.

With Cano up, he quickly got behind 1-2 in the count. Papelbon would then blow a 96 MPH fastball by Cano’s hot early season bat to end the game as the Red Sox closer pumped his fist in triumph.

Early on, it appeared as if Boston would run away and hide against starter Phil Hughes. Unlike his start in Detroit, he would not have the same success against the patient Red Sox lineup (aided by a miniature-sized strike zone by home plate umpire Jerry Meals). The young right-hander was clearly frustrated and it played a role in his ineffectiveness.

Hughes’ (1-1) night only lasted four innings as he was forced to throw 94 pitches, thus shortening his outing. Despite showing good control (56 strikes), he never got a call on the edge, leading the Red Sox to get single runs in each of his four innings. He gave up seven hits and four runs (three earned), while walking four and striking out two.

The first run of the game on a passed ball by catcher Jose Molina, which rolled to the backstop and allowed Dustin Pedroia to come home.

In the second inning, third baseman Mike Lowell jumped on a first pitch fastball from Hughes to send it into the left field seats to make it 2-0. Lowell would then make it 3-0 when he lofted an outside pitch into shallow right that dropped in front of Nick Swisher for a run scoring single.

David Ortiz would break out of his hitting slump in the fourth inning, lacing a double into the right field corner to score Jacoby Ellsbury as the Red Sox were seeking to build a picket fence.

The plan was to pitch Ortiz inside based on his early season struggles. However, they continued to go inside and not mix up pitch selection to have him thinking about anything else. Knowing this plan, Ortiz (who had been cheating at the plate by starting his swing early) would recognize the sequence, jump on the pitch, and hit it hard, much as he did back in the first inning when he took a similar offering and hammered it.

In between, Hughes would find himself in deep counts. Seven of the 22 hitters he saw found themselves in 2-2 or 3-2 counts aided by Meals’ incredible shrinking zone.

These problems were not given to Jon Lester who was tremendous for seven innings. He struck out the side in the first inning and that set the tone for his performance on the night.

Five of his first six outs came via strikeout and Yankee hitters were confused by the game being called by catcher Jason Varitek and the pitching of Lester.

His only hiccup came in the fifth when Derek Jeter struck out swinging in the bottom half. Two pitches prior, Meals called a strike on a pitch that Hughes had been getting called a ball on several occasions. This incensed both Jeter and Girardi, who showed their frustration. Girardi took the bullet for his player, ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes.

On the very next pitch, Johnny Damon cut the 4-0 lead in half by hitting a two-run homer to right. This was followed up by Teixeira cranked out a homerun to left center to make the lead 4-3.

Lester would rebound and take the ball through the seventh. In his seven innings, he allowed only those three runs on six hits, walking two and striking out 10.

The deficit would remain that way until new Yankee-killer Jason Bay hammered a drive down the left field line that hit off the foul pole for a two-run homerun to extend Boston’s lead to 6-3. Teixeira would get one back in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4.

After Cano drew a walk from reliever Ramon Ramirez, manager Terry Francona brought on Papelbon, who would need 32 pitches to get the final five outs of the game.

The weather for Tuesday night’s game is iffy. If they do play, Joba Chamberlain will get the start for the Yankees and Josh Beckett will take the ball for the Red Sox.

Yankee Talk - Rivalry Edition: Expanded Coverage

More wall-to-wall coverage beginning Monday

The Red Sox are in town to face the Yankees in the second installment of The Rivalry at the new Yankee Stadium and The World of C is going to have complete coverage once again.

After each of the two games, I'll have a game story and a thought or two on the proceedings.

Time to get some revenge.

Yankee Talk: Bouncing Up and Down

Random thoughts range from happy, angry and happy again

Carl has been running through some different thoughts while Yankee games over the last few weeks. Though never going over the edge, he is doing his best to keep the emotions in check.

So the Yankees decided to “discount” some of their ticket prices last week. If you thought the seat for $2,500, you can get it for only $1,250.

Anyone have $1,250 in loose change hanging around under a mattress or inside a sofa? The answer is probably no.

That must mean that they are too expensive.

And for those that will be getting additional seats as part of the team’s essential “giveaway” of tickets, how are they going to be used? Are they going to try to sell them for face value?

No. If that were the case, the Yankees would have given them to you in the first place.

And what do I get for all that money?

Free food? Plasma TV in the seat? Compact toilet next to me? Rain protection?

If the answer is “no”, then no deal.

Listen, if you tell me you are a slow starter and then I give you $161 and $180 million to you, do you mind finding ways not to struggle early in the season.

For the money being spent, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have not been performing up to anything. They have been early season flops.

Teixeira finally got my goat on Thursday night when he hit into a seventh inning double play and followed up that gem by striking out looking with the bases loaded the next inning.

This brought out the boos. Well deserved.

At these prices, everyone is fair game. Hitting .182 is going to get it done here despite taking his share of walks.

I’m not going to put with this much longer.

For Sabathia, he may have his good stuff for several innings, but then something happens. His only good start of the year took place in Kansas City. Everything else after that has been either not good or pedestrian at best.

What could be the reason for this? Adjustment? Conditioning? Weather?

Please, help me out with this.

How about the start of the season for Jorge Posada? His hitting stroke is back even though his arm behind the plate has yet to catch up.

This is fine. I’ll take the .953 OPS (through Sunday) and a noodle arm taking my chances.

I am a amazed that Robinson Cano has continued his hot hitting.

Serious professional ballplayer man love for Ramiro Pena. Keep this man on the roster.

This bullpen is flammable. Even when Brian Bruney was pitching well, this pen is questionable.

Jose Veras, please leave immediately.

Damaso Marte, don’t use the disabled list as an excuse for your awfulness.

Phil Coke is still my guy and Mark Melancon should come along nicely along with Bruney when he (hopefully) returns from injury in front of Rivera.

How long will they be able to fight that fight effectively? Who knows?

Who is Anthony Clagett and what is he doing on the Yankees?

No more Angel Berroa please. No more.

Seeing Berroa made me long to see Cody Ransom back in the lineup. How sad is that?

Hideki Matsui seems to be getting healthy. He is not running like he is 80 years old. He is going to the opposite field with his hits and is showing some power.

Making progress and producing at the same time. Just the way I like it.

But I’m still angry at Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home plate in that game against the Red Sox. How embarrassing was that? Now I have to deal with watching replays of that for the next year.

No more A-Rod stories I beg you. I can’t take anymore. You could tell me he was an axe murderer and I would believe it and still wouldn’t care as long as he hit his 35 homers and drove in 110 runs.

Nick Swisher for the All-Star team if he keeps this up. I have to see if they have a spot for him on the ballot. They may not have put him on to begin with.

The great centerfield experiment of Brett Gardner lasted less than a month. Brett Butler he was not. He of the .222 average and .556 OPS was not going to cut it for any long period.

Time was up.

And it allowed Melky Cabrera (aka – Senor Leche) to step up and he has been great. Of course, he started out last season hitting well before finding the abyss. So consider me happy, but unconvinced.

I always say that until 40 games are played, you cannot make a legitimate or even a reasonable conclusion about your team.

Now, if you are the Washington Nationals, this is a different matter. Your season is over. But I look at the standings and that only two losses that separate the Yankees from first place.

Here’s how we treat games now:

Three game losing streak: The sky is falling.

Three game winning streak: We’re going to the World Series

I wouldn’t want this any other way.

MLB Talk: Same Old Script

Mets writing same story from years past


If I slip up one time, I would expect to get a mulligan.

If I slip up a second time, chances are I would not be so lucky.

But what happens if I slip up a third time?

Perhaps the problem is not with anyone else, but rather me and only me.

This brings us to the story of the New York Mets.

Early in 2009, the team that believed it only needed a tune-up to its car finds itself with a blown tire and soon may be facing a complete engine failure.

Sports Illustrated picked them to win the World Series this year and even the most intelligent of baseball fans had to scratch their heads when they saw the cover. Was this team, a squad with good talent, but questionable makeup and sensitive personalities, as good as some thought? Or, were they just pretty enough to tease you into thinking that it is?

After over two years of seeing some of the same results, it is hard not to ask that question. The author, GM Omar Minaya thought after 2007, he only needed a top-flight pitcher. This turned in getting more bullpen help after 2008. Somehow, throughout all this, a belief existed that the everyday players were not a problem. It was as if they were suggesting that not one of them seemed to be the problem.

Even now, after all of this time, perhaps Minaya and his brass are finding out what their rivals and even their own fans have been saying for a long time as they stare at a 10-13 record going into a two game series in Atlanta.

Perhaps they are “soft”.

That then brings up this: He created this team and brought in all of these personalities. No one else but him should take the fall if in the end, this seemingly incompatible brand of misfits cannot get the job done.

After being one win way from going to the World Series in 2006, the Mets choked away a seven game lead with 17 games remaining to the Philadelphia Phillies and ended out of the playoffs.

Last season, the team got off to a struggling start, bringing back the exact same team under the thinking that it was nothing more than a bad two and a half week stretch looked at as nothing more than an aberration.

In June, nothing was going right. Jose Reyes mysteriously couldn’t get on base. Carlos Delgado appeared to be an old man who had seen his better days. Worst of all, their newly acquired ace Johan Santana, was not given any support in terms of runs by his offense, or his bullpen, that had blown numerous games that turned into losses.

The blame unfairly was put on manager Willie Randolph, who was forced to take the fall for these shortcomings. Mets management was under the false belief that a new leader could change all of the problems. Unfortunately, this was like a faucet that was leaking in all directions. Covering up one hole always seemed to open up another.

Jerry Manuel took the reigns and though the team improved over the second half of the season, it seemed like fools gold.

Mysteriously, and by coincidence, Reyes and Delgado learned how to hit again. Oliver Perez figured out where the strike zone was, and Johan Santana threw like the best pitcher in baseball.

The bullpen was terrible and their 29 blown saves (9-20 in those games) were going to come back to haunt. The time bomb had exploded and the Mets could do nothing to protect themselves from it. Shuffling relievers and mixing in new ones from all walks of life were not going to do the trick when no one of legitimate quality was available in July. With Billy Wagner (who had done his part to light the match to this fire in the first three months of the season) out in need of Tommy John Surgery and Bobby Ayala replacing him, it was a recipe for impending disaster that would eventually takes it toll on the entire roster.

In September, holding a five game lead, they saw it slip away in combination of bad pitching and poor hitting in high-leverage situations.

On the last day of the season, they closed out Shea Stadium with a whimper, losing for the second year in a row to the Florida Marlins to end their season. It was not the fault of one, rather a collective failure from a team always talking the big game at the card table while always seeming to come up short when it is time to go “All in”.

Randolph oversaw it in 2007, now Manuel would oversee it in 2008. After two successive breakdowns, perhaps it was not the manager’s fault as some knuckleheads wanted to declare as such several months prior.

What was the solution this time? Get better bullpen arms. Hell, the offense was not so bad (it was second in the National League – which is dubious at best when you watched the games) unless you watched closely and noticed that there was a front running nature to the way they scored. It would get out in front early with runs and then take the equivalent of a nap for the remaining innings of the game.

And when it became time for its best players to get big hits when the game is on the line, they were nowhere to be found. This becomes magnified when their division rival Phillies come back, catch them and eventually pass them. Last year they did it and went on to become World Champions.

But now at the start of 2009, they have the look and feel of team that has no real direction. They do not have a surplus of youth that they can infuse and they do not have quality pitching reinforcements to offset the current awfulness of a rotation outside of Johan Santana.

The face of that collapse is Oliver Perez, who in many ways encapsulates the Mets as a team. A terrific talent who can mesmerize you with his incredible gifts as long as it’s harnessed properly, yet consistently unreliable when you most need it.

It’s like a 1967 Mustang not kept in tip-top shape. Pretty to look at, but ready to break your heart at a moments notice by having a complete breakdown.

Santana continues to pitch as the best in the league. The rest? Well, cover your eyes and hope for the best.

The offense is hitting, but just not enough. David Wright’s at bats have a similar theme: strikeouts and/or booing.

They have five outfielders for three spots and do not know how to best utilize playing time. They sit their best defensive right fielder (Ryan Church) in place of a terrible defender (Gary Sheffield) who could not hit enough at the age of 40 to where the Detroit Tigers were willing to pay him $14 million to NOT be on the team.

When runners are in scoring position, just change the channel. You can write down a list of negative outcomes, pick one of them out of a hat, and the percentage chance of you being correct is highly probable.

This year looks somewhat like last year, which looks a little different from the year before. Yet, the same familiar script is being writer. Some of the characters may have changed, but the stars of the show still exist.

Soon, if the Mets do not make the playoffs for the third straight year, perhaps the Mets front office might want to seek out a completely new cast.

And at the same time, completely rewrite the script.