2008 Met of the Year: Elite 8 voting, Sweet 16 results

Inching closer and closer to the crowning of the 2008 Met of the Year.Click HERE for an large bracket.

Today we move into the first of two days of Elite 8 voting. The matchups will come coupled from the Orange and White Brackets (today) and the Black and Blue Brackets (tomorrow).

Here are today's matchups: 1. Santana vs. 4. Beltran and (oh boy) 2. Wright vs. 3. Reyes. Here are the polls:

Voting closed.

May the best Met win.

My prediction: Santana takes a 70-30 victory over Beltran, Wright squeaks out a win over Reyes.

Will Omar finally get Sammy Sosa?

Sammy Sosa has long been on Omar Minaya's wish list. Two years out of baseball, Sosa claims he's ready to play. Will Omar finally get his wish and bring Sammy to the Mets?

I sure hope not.

Sosa is still all about him. Instead of getting proactive and marketing himself for teams, he claims "I still don't have an offer, and I shouldn't be looking for offers out there. Any team who wants to sign me should have the initiative and make an offer." At least he's confident?

Though, with Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy looking to split time in left field, the Mets may be a bit under the average if one, or both, fail to perform. I doubt this happens, but I could see reason enough for Omar to bring Sammy into spring training, at the very least as a favor to his fellow Dominican.

Sosa, now 40 years old, will play in the World Baseball Classic for the Domincan Republic beginning in March.

2008 Met of the Year: Blue Bracket Sweet 16 voting

Here is the final set of matchups in the Sweet 16 round.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you have time to get to the polls today.

Today's TWO matchups:



Voting ends at MIDNIGHT.

May the best Met win.

Happy Holidays, all!

Thank you for reading my blog.

I means a lot to me and it's been another
record setting year.
I am forever in debt to you, the readers.

Thank you.

And as always, let's go Mets!

Report: Mets, Lowe close on three- or four-year deal

According to Major League sources, the Mets and free agent pitcher Derek Lowe may be very close to coming to term to a contract. The deal is rumored to be either for four years or three with a vesting option.

Boy, that vesting option sure is getting a lot of use these days.

The money could reach around $14-16 million per year.

Doing a little computing, that comes to (on the Lowe-end (get it?)) three years, $42 million and could reach all the way up to four years and $64 million. I'm guessing it will fall somewhere in between.

First of all, I think this would be a good signing for the Mets. They need this kind of grit and hard-nosed attitude in the rotation, and Lowe would bring that to the team. Secondly, I don't think I'll ever tire of all the time I will be able to use "Lowe" in puns and headlines.

Outfield assist to Ian from SOX & Dawgs.

2008 Met of the Year: Black Bracket Sweet 16 voting

I'm out and about right now, but I will post the results from yesterday's polls when I get in.

Today and tomorrow's votes will be pretty low, I'm guessing, but some of you will still find time to make it over here and get the vote out.

Here are today's TWO matchups (#1 Delgado vs. #9 Tatis and #4 Wagner vs. #12 Murphy):



Voting ends at MIDNIGHT.

May the best Met win.

Mets not giving up on Lowe

As the team across town is celebrating their latest acquisition, the Mets are trying to fill a void of their own.

According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets and Derek Lowe are "deep in negotiatons" [sic].

The Mets have consistently remarked that Lowe is "out of their price range" but most with a keen eye knew that was all just a ploy. The team has money to spend, and they need to land an above average starter to help even out the starting rotation -- Lowe would be that man.

If the Mets do sign Lowe, Oliver Perez is easily forgotten.

Yanks sign another

The Yankees have now signed Mark Teixeira. That makes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Teixeira in the last two weeks.

For continuing updates, check out Scott Proctor's Arm.

Happy Mets Festivus

Today, Dec. 23, marks the celebration of Festivus. Today, we will go through the many rituals of Festivus, of course dealing with the Mets, so why don't we just call this "Metstivus."

Break out your aluminum poles, and let us begin with the Airing of Grievances:

Luis Castillo: Your albatross of a contract has weighed on the team since the day you signed. You may have been a necessity to get Johan Santana to sign long-term, but if you backed up the money you're being played with "decent" play, I think people would look the other way. Instead, you miss tons of time with your bum knees and slap your way into double plays. You are the biggest waste of money on the Mets and since Aaron Heilman is the newest resident of Seattle, you will become the fans new personal scapegoat.

Left field: Yes, I'm airing my grievances toward the entire position. It seems to be cursed. Let's start with 2008. Endy Chavez saw the most games in LF -- he's now a Seattle Mariner. Follower up by Fernando Tatis -- he missed the end of the season with a shoulder injury. Daniel Murphy seemed to escape the curse, as did his rookie counterpart Nick Evans. After them was Marlon Anderson, who struggled mightily at the plate all season long. Then Angel Pagan, who lost most of the season to a shoulder injury. Behind him was Moises Alou, who only appeared in 14 games for the Mets in '08.

Looking to 2007, Alou led the list, and again missed lots of time to injuries. Chavez was behind him, and also lost time to a hamstring injury. In third on that list was Carlos Gomez, who was traded in the off season to the Minnesota Twins.

Now to 2006 and Cliff Floyd, who suffered many injuries throughout the year, none more memorable or heartbreaking as in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Floyd held his own from 2003-2005. 2004 featured Roger Cedeno as the almost everyday left fielder, with Timo Perez a distant second. Let me just list some left fielders the Mets have had "recently" (these are the players who saw the most games in LF that year): 1995 - Joe Orsulak, 1994 - Kevin McReynolds, 1993 - Vince Coleman, 1992 - Daryl Boston.

Maybe -- hopefully -- the move to Citi Field rids LF of it's apparent curse. Only few have escaped it since the early '90s.

Ryan Church: Stop running into things.

Luis Aguayo: Good riddance!

Willie Randolph: See: above.

Aaron Heilman: See: above.

Scott Schoeneweis: See: above.

Ambiorix Burgos: Get a safe, get a chauffeur, get anger management and get a lawyer. Also, see: above.

On to the Festivus Miracles!

It's a Metstivus miracle Omar Minaya signed Francisco Rodriguez for that price. Sign of the economy or just good dealings by Omar?

It's a Metstivus miracle he also helped sure up the 8th inning when he dealt the embattled Heilman and others away to land J.J. Putz.

It's a Metstivus miracle what Carlos Delgado did in the second half of the season.

It's a Metstivus miracle the Mets got Johan Santana earlier this year. (That was this year?! Geez.)

And finally, the Feats of Strength.

The Mets newest feat of strength will be when they flex their power in the 8th and 9th innings next season. I'm truly excited to see the day when Santana pitches seven strong innings and then has no fear or regrets as Putz shuts them down in the 8th and K-Rod comes in for the 9th. "Santana to Putz to K-Rod, the first Mets perfect game!" OK, I'm dreaming a little here, but still.

Another feat of strength, which also made last year's Festivus celebration was Shea Stadium. Holding up all those years, especially after Game 6 in 1986, is truly a feat of strength. You will be miss, Shea.

And finally, the fans. After having to put up with two heartbreaking collapses in two seasons, the fans will come flocking back to the team like nothing ever happened. With a renewed attitude and vigor, anxiously awaiting the chance to wash away the past two years and watch their team play baseball again. I can tell you I am among these fans. Spring training can't start soon enough.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Let's go Mets!

Please go check out Scott Proctor's Arm for a Yankee Festivus (featuring appearances by yours truly!)

2008 Met of the Year Award: White Bracket Sweet 16 voting

Moving into the White Bracket (which, if what looks like will happen does come true, will be the most hotly debated matchup yet) as the second set of Sweet 16 votes gets underway.

Remember, voting is based on whatever you choose. Stats, cuteness, clutch-ness or anything else -- it's up to you.

Here are today's TWO sets of matchups:



Polls close at MIDNIGHT.

Enjoy and may the best Met win.