Sports Betting Tips and Game Handicapping Picks » New York Mets

A Year to Forget for the New York Mets

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:14:34 +0000

The New York Mets are not the worst team in baseball.

They are not even the most incompetently run franchise in their own division. Yet, their campaign this 2009 MLB baseball season may have forever redefined the concept of losing.

Nothing has gone right for the poor New York Mets in this calendar year. From the ownership down to the bat boys, the entire organization has been beset by financial issues, management missteps, injuries, errors, poor timing, and just plain bad luck. Every week seemed to bring a new crisis or terrible disaster and through it all, they constantly found inventive and entertaining ways to squander victory. And there’s still a month left!

Let’s take a look at this disgruntled franchise on what has gone wrong this year. Actually, it started in the offseason when the Mets first gave Francisco Rodriguez a three year, $37 million contract. This was the biggest buyers market in years and no other big market teams were in the mix for a closer, and yet they still gave him premium money. Frankie finishes 55 games in 2010, 100 games between 2010 and 2011, and is deemed healthy after the 2011 season, his fourth year option vests for $17.5 million. The bad news is, Frankie has been declining the past four seasons and the decline has continued this season.

Then the injuries.

The first set of injuries came within a few days of each other in May. Carlos Delgado got injured in a game against the Pirates on May 10th, yet doesn’t go on the disabled list until May 16th, despite requiring hip surgery. Jose Reyes injures his calf in a game against the Braves on May 13th but was placed on the disabled list on the 26th, almost two weeks after the initial injury. Reyes has not been seen since, and apparently everybody thinks he’s a wuss for making sure he is completely healthy before returning to the field.

The Mets lost their last remaining star when...

Betting on the 2009 MLB All-Star Game

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:04:22 +0000

The Midsummer Classic is here.

That’s right, the 2009 MLB All-Star Game is set this Tuesday as the players fans voted in to play will hope they can make an even bigger name for themselves and increase their dollars.

So who made the cut? Let’s start with the 2009 MLB National League All-Star starters. The NL team consists of catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and top vote-getter Albert Pujols at first base.

And since Pujols was the leading vote-getter in balloting for the Midsummer Classic, he became the very first Cardinal to start an All-Star game in his home ballpark. ‘’It feels great to be there and represent the organization and the city you play in,'’ Albert Pujols said.

Albert Pujols is well on his way to another amazing year, leading the majors with 31 homers and 82 RBIs. He collected 5,397,374 votes to finish with the second-highest total in Major League history, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr.’s six million votes in 1994. Pujols has made the NL team eight times in nine seasons and will be making his sixth start.

The rest of the National League all star infield consists of Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, and Mets third baseman David Wright. Manning the outfield would be Brewers Ryan Braun, Mets Carlos Beltran, and Phillie’s Raul Ibanez.

The injury-riddled Mets lead the NL with...

How good will the National League be in the 2008 MLB Season?

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:33:50 +0000

The National League has always played second fiddle to the stronger American League.

That’s the way things have been the last couple of years, and in this 2008 MLB baseball season, nothing has changed. Why? Probably has something to do with the way this team from the AL East defeated the National League’s representative during last season’s World Series.

In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies lead the East, the Chicago Cubs lead the Central and the Arizona Diamondbacks lead the West. And although they may be regarded as the ‘’weaker conference'’ in baseball, don’t expect that to stop them from proving why people should start thinking otherwise.

The Philadelphia Phillies lead the Eastern division with a 41-29 record, also having the best road record in the National conference with 20-16. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, we all saw how impressive this Phillies team can be after the Phillies won with a whopping 20-2 blast. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and the Phillies added nine runs in the fourth to win the opener of a three-game series Friday at Busch Stadium.

In the Central, division leader Chicago Cubs got a slight bump to end their four game winning streak with a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite that setback, the Cubs are still holding a record of 44-25 win-loss mark, still enough to hold the top spot of the group.

Lastly, the Arizona Diamondbacks won their third consecutive extra-inning game, earning a franchise record with a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals to further solidify their spot in the NL West. Chad Tracy hit his first career walk-of home run. His homer was his third of the season and made a winner of reliever...

MLB season early MVP performers

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 12:24:55 +0000

The 2007 MLB season is less then a week old, but already there are a few players putting up some solid numbers. Here are three pitchers and three hitters that have started off the year in midseason form. Ben Sheets – The Brewers’ ace showed what’s ahead for Milwaukee baseball fans as long as he [...]

Asian fever hits 2007 MLB season opener

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:20:50 +0000

The Asian armada has arrived in MLB. As the 2007 MLB baseball season begins, no change in the game is so stark, no trend so significant than the Asian invasion of the major leagues. Almost every team has at least one Asian player, and the most talented among them are no longer just pitchers. Through [...]

Bad news for New Yor Mets: El Duque has arthritis

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:32:44 +0000

Ever since Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez defected from Cuba, there have been whisperings that he is a few years older than what has been presented to the baseball public. Those rumors probably aren’t going to ebb after Thursday’s news. Hernandez was diagnosed with arthritis in his neck. Arthritis? What, is this guy 85 years old? [...]

New pitching rules will speed up MLB games

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 06:24:30 +0000

Think you had a bad day on Friday? At least you’re not Kenny Rogers. Unless you are. Major League Baseball has updated the rulebook for the first time since 1996. The most substantial changes target slow-working, resourceful moundsmen like the Tigers’ 42-year-old lefty. Starting this season, any pitcher caught scuffing the ball is immediately ejected [...]

Red Sox, Yankees take storied rivalry to Asia

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:08:36 +0000

After shelling out a combined $77.1 million (9.3 billion yen) for the rights to simply negotiate with two Japanese pitchers this offseason, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have brought their heated rivalry to Asia. Daisuke Matsuzaka signed a US$52 million, six-year contract with the Red Sox in December after they bid US$51 [...]

Brandon Webb earns NL Cy Young Award

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 02:58:28 +0000

Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks won a wide-open race for the NL Cy Young Award, beating out San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman on Tuesday. One of six pitchers who tied for the league lead with a pedestrian total of 16 wins, Webb received 15 of 32 first-place votes and 103 points in balloting by [...]

Cardinals appease ghosts of World Series past

Jeffdstuff — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 10:14:52 +0000

The St. Louis circle is unbroken. This was the classic Fall Classic get-even for what happened in 2004. The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, overlooked, underestimated, beat up and put down, are the World Series champions. Maybe everything does even out over time. Maybe it only takes two years for everything to even out. The Cardinals [...]