Mets Fans Forever

Q & A With the Tomahawk Dudes, David Cutler and Casey Morris

Author: Will Sommer

The other day Andrew Vazzano of The Ropolitans linked to a video titled “I Hate the Mets Most” it was a nice song with a catchy tune. Actually it was a very good video even though I hate their title the most. Anyway I e-mailed David Cutler and Casey Morris who  go by the name "Tomahawk Dudes" a couple of questions, and they were nice enough to respond. (Editors note: Braves Fans are actually nice people, unlike the fans from a certain city named Philadelphia.)

Blogger Roundtable

Author: Will Sommer

I recently asked Andrew Vazzano of The Ropolitans, Michael Baron of MetsBlog, Joe Janish of Mets Today, and Joe D. of Mets Merized a question concerning the big free agents and whether they think the Mets will sign any of them. Here were their responses.

Joe Janish: I think the "biggest" free agents the Mets will sign will be Bengie Molina and one of either Jason Marquis or Randy Wolf. Ho-hum, I know.  If they find a way to rid themselves of Luis Castillo, add Orlando Hudson to the list. Of course, none of those four will make the Mets a significantly better team in 2010, but neither would the signing of Matt Holliday or John Lackey (though, signing both Holliday and Lackey MIGHT improve the club).

  The Mets have too many holes to address, and this year's free agent class is lacking in talent and depth. There are a number of "under the radar" free agents that can plug some of those holes, but to find them and land them requires a sharp eye, willingness to gamble, and shrewd negotiation skills. Based on the recent signings of Alex Cora, Elmer Dessens, and Chris Coste, I have little faith that the Mets front office meets any of those requirements.

Andrew Vazzano: I think the Mets will make a hard push for Matt Holliday. He is not a perfect fit, but he's the premier free agent on the market. If the team is willing to hand out a big contract worth a ton of money, I think they're more set to use it on a position player over a pitcher, like John Lackey.

Q & A With Josh Thole, Catcher of the Binghamton Mets

Author: Will Sommer

After the game in Binghamton I had the chance to interview Josh Thole, who is expected to get the call up to the majors when rosters expand September 1st. Thole has struggled with the bat in August but still has a .324 batting average, with 32 XBH. Even though he lacks power, my belief while watching him take his AB's, is that he will be a quality everyday catcher in the majors.

Will Sommer: Have any coaches in Binghamton told you that you will indeed be called up to the majors September 1st?

Josh Thole: No, nothing I'm just trying to finish the season strong with Binghamton, and that's all I'm focused on.

Will Sommer: So as to Adam Rubin's report you haven't heard anything about you getting the call?

Josh Thole: Nothing, I'm just trying to win here in Binghamton. And that's all I'm focused on.

Q & A With Mako Oliveras, Manager of the Binghamton Mets

Author: Will Sommer

While on my trip to Binghamton I had the chance to interview Mako Oliveras manager of the B-Mets. He was a great guy to talk to,  and based on what players have to say about him he's a great manager.

Will Sommer: How did you begin your coaching career in minor league baseball?

Mako Oliveras: I signed in 1968 with the Red Sox and ever since then I've been in baseball

Will Sommer: For how many years have you been coaching with the Mets organization?

Mako Oliveras: This is my 3rd year. I have been the manager of the B-Mets since 2007.

Will Sommer: What are your thoughts on how the season has gone so far?

Mako Oliveras: Well you know record-wise it's not what we'd like to have but with developing players we've done a good job.  (Jonathan) Malo, Tejada, Holt, Mejias, (Emmanuel) Garcia are guys who are al ot better now than when they started the season.

Will Sommer: Ruben Tejada is 19 years old and struggled somewhat last year in advanced A ball, how do you think he's held up this year physically and mentally?

Mako Oliveras:  I think with better players he's turned it up a notch. He's been doing outstanding. He's hitting close to .280, and he's been a very solid player all year.

Q & A with Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the chance to e-mail Toby Hyde a couple of questions about the Mets farm system.

Will Sommer: How would you rate the Mets farm system?

Toby Hyde: In some ways it's like the Mets MLB roster: there's some talent at the top, but there's not a lot of depth. 

Sommer: In your opinion, what is Brad Holt doing to attribute to his recent struggles? Why do people compare him to Mike Pelfrey?

Hyde: Holt's fastball command has not been good enough at AA.  It's that simple.  Of course, he doesn't have the faith in his secondary pitches, nor are they strong enough to survive that he can rely on them when he struggles to locate his heaters. 

    Holt gets compared to Pelfrey because they're both RHP who stand 6'3" or above with fastballs at 93-94 mph, drafted out of college.  I don't like the comparison.  Their fastballs have different actions.  Holt has shown a better breaking ball than Pelfrey did in the minors.  Even if you do like the comparison, it's not really that flattering.  Pelfrey has been a below average MLB starter for most of his career. 

Sommer: Who has the higher ceiling, Holt or Mejia?

Hyde: Mejia

Q & A With Julie Alexandria of Mets Weekly

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the pleasure to e-mail a couple of questions to Julie Alexandria. Julie if you remember was the host of Beer Money for the first season, but now is host of Mets Weekly which premieres every Sunday at noon. If you haven't watched MW, be sure you do.

Will Sommer: Have you been a Mets fan your whole life?

Julie Alexandria: I grew up in a Mets fan household, my Dad was a die-hard Brooklyn Dodger fan - turned Mets fan; and my mom was a Mets fan who listened to the '69 series on a transistor radio between classes at Mount Saint Vincent. We were the kind of family who would watch the VHS tape of the '86 series on a saturday night. So yeah, I would say I was brought up around the Mets, pretty much making me a fan at a very early age. Gary "the kid" Carter was my favorite.

Sommer: How did you get the gig for Beer Money?

Alexandria: They actually approached me! I had done some web series, and they thought my personality and heckling of strangers on the street would work well for the show. We taped the pilot in November, and by January of '08 we had started filming the first season.

Sommer: How does Mets Weekly compare to Beer Money?

Alexandria: It’s a whole different approach. On beer money - it was all about spunk and sass - I could give bar patrons a hard time for not knowing how long the NY Marathon is.  But with Mets Weekly, you are dealing with professional personnel, on and off the field, and that attitude would not be appropriate. I try to keep my claws in check.

Q & A With Former Met Art Shamsky

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the pleasure to interview former Met Art Shamsky. For those of you who don't remember Shamsky was part of the 1969 "Miracle Mets" Be sure to check out his site www.ArtShamsky.com. Also if you want to read a great book about the 1969 Mets, Jets, & Knicks Click Here.

Will Sommer

What inspired you to write your book “The Magnificent Seasons?"

Art Shamsky

Well the book is really about three special teams. I realized about 20 years after we had won that there was so much interest in the ’69 Mets. And it was a year where all three of the teams, the Jets, the Mets and the Knicks, or that period of time, all were underdogs and had never won before. If you look back in the history of New York professional sports, the Jets had never won before and the Knicks had never won a championship before and, of course, the Mets had never won one before, so I saw  how people were still, 20 years later, were still coming out to see the ’69 Mets, and I realized that it was a very, very special team, and knew that the Jets and the Knicks were also very special teams and that each team had its own set of characters. Of course, the Jets had Joe Namath and were really huge underdogs, as we were; and the Knicks had an array of stars, including Willis Reed and Bill Bradley and Dave Deboucher and Dick Barnett, and Walt Frazier; and even though they weren’t as big as underdogs as we were, they were still not favored to win because they were playing in the championship against a Los Angeles Laker team that had Will Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. So it was an exciting time for New York sports.

It was a terrible time for New Yorkers and many people around the country and the world because of the war in Vietnam and a lot of things that were going on. And so I just thought it was really a book that I think people would enjoy learning about these teams and learning about how three of us were underdogs and won. And then I put it in the backdrop of what was going on in the city and the country and the world at the time, using some timeline events to show how important these teams were, particularly to New Yorkers, but people all over the country who followed the exploits of these teams and really followed them as underdogs. And then I think it really made people look at everything in perspective. If we could win, things could get better for them, too; and I think that’s really why I wanted to write it.

Will Sommer

When did you realize that all three teams were underdogs, and all three teams upset a Baltimore team at one point?

Art Shamsky

Well, we were the second team to win. The Jets won January 12, 1969, and then we had all spring and summer to see how exciting that was for them. And then when we won in October (I think we won October 16, 1969.) it was the Knicks’ turn. And quite honestly, I think even the New York Rangers had a chance to win also. I think they went to the finals that year, which would have been incredible for four teams to win; but I think after we won, the Knicks kind of didn’t feel any pressure, but I think they just saw that there was an opportunity for them because, heck, if the Jets could win and we could win, so could they. And they certainly had, of the three teams on paper, they had the best chance to win. We were really underdogs to the Baltimore Orioles, and the Jets were underdogs to the Baltimore Colts, and I think the Knicks beat the Baltimore Bullets in the quarter finals. As good as it was for New York’s sports, it was tough for Baltimore sports teams because they had lost to all of us.

Will Sommer

During the ‘69 season, Did the Mets have a sense that it wasn’t just about baseball because so many of your fans either had relatives or friends fighting in the Viet nam War - - did you have a greater sense of pride?

Art Shamsky

You know, it’s interesting, I talked to everybody who was part of those winning teams and asked them if they knew what was going on, and obviously they knew. They knew that the world was going through some really tough times. Remember now, in 1968 when the Jet season started, you had two assassinations in this country and all sorts of social unrest with the Democratic Convention in Chicago was turned into all sorts of problems and  then we got into ’69 with the war in Viet Nam really going through people’s minds. And then in ’70 when the Knicks won, just to use a timeline event, I think they won in May 7th or 8th, and two days before they one, or three days before they won, they had the shootings at Kent State University where five students were killed by the National Guard, and nine were injured; so it was just really difficult times, and I think… I don’t want to say “coincidence,” I think it was really something very special as after the Jets won, then we won, and the Knicks, that you had these three teams really doing some incredible things and really, if you stop and think about it. You weren’t there, but I’m sure you’ve read about all these things, but if you look at those teams when Joe Namath running off the field after they won Super Bowl 3 with his finger pointed up to the sky, and then when Cleon Jones catches the last out of the ’69 World Series and basically goes down to one knee; and then Willis Reed running on the court, game 7 against the Lakers when nobody thought he was even going to play, those are icon moments in the history of sports, particularly in New York City. So I think those three things are just symbolic of what it meant to the City of New York, and again, people in the country who followed these teams, because I know Mets fans are all over the United States. Some of the transplanted New Yorkers are moved to other places, so even back in the late sixties, so we were being followed by many people all over the country, and I just think it was a situation where… You may never see again in professional sports, where a city has three championship teams, and  particularly teams that never won before.

Q & A With Joe D. Of MetsMerizedOnline.com

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the chance to e-mail Joe D. of  Mets Merized Online a couple of questions about his blog, and what it has become. Joe D. was the one that did Mets Fans Forever redesign and without him I would still have the same old blog. I want to thank Joe for doing a great job on MFF. When I started this blog I wanted to have a design that stood out. Well today I do believe I have one of those blogs.

Will Sommer: How did you start MetsMerizedOnline.com?

 Joe D: I've had some ongoing health issues for the last five years, and in late 2005 my girlfriend told me I should blog about the Mets being I spent so much time on Mets forums all day when I was home and not working. I started a blog at myspace.com/metsmerized that I still have today. After six months, thanks to the urging of my friends and followers, I took the plunge and registered the domain MetsMerizedOnline.com. I was originally going to go with Get Metsmerized, but I wanted to pay homage to MetsOnline.net by Bryan Hoch who ran the first Mets blog I ever followed religiously. 

WS: When you started MMO, did you ever imagine this blog becoming as big as it is today?

 JD: I was kind of lucky because when I first went on the web, I had a big head start because I had over 10,0000 friends on Myspace between Metsmerized and Mr. Met. It allowed me to hit the road running because I did a lot of cross marketing between myspace and the new site. As my health took a turn for the worse, a few of those myspace friends helped the site along and continued posting in my absence. Soon after, we all thought the concept of having several opinions on the same topic was a good thing, and I credit that diversity for the continued growth and success.

WS: Did you have any inspiration to start MMO?

 JD: My inspiration was the intense passion I had for the Mets, and sharing my very strong opinions with other Mets fans. But if it wasn't for the push I got from those closest to me, there may never have been a Mets Merized Online.

Q & A With Adam Rubin Of The New York Daily News

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the chance to e-mail Adam Rubin of the Daily News a couple of questions about the Mets recent struggles, and what teams are saying around the majors. Enjoy

Will Sommer: Are the Mets the laughing stock around the majors?

Adam Rubin: Laughing stock? That's a bit harsh. I'm sure Willie Randolph may be privately smirking though in the Brewers dugout. I'm sure no one feels bad about a big-market team that throws around a lot of dollars struggling.

WS: How come the Mets have no baseball sense, and play such lousy defense?

AR:If you're referring to a play like Daniel Murphy throwing late across the diamond in the first inning and asetting the Mets up for a big inning, that's just inexperience at the position. If you're referring to Fernando Martinez falling in the outfield, that's just a bad break. I'm not sure there's a rhyme or reason. People noted that before the really poorly played game against the Yankees, the Mets took infield practice at Citi Field that afternoon.

WS: Are the Mets going to be buyers or sellers?

AR: I have a feeling neither, though they'll shop for now.

WS: If Oliver Perez does poorly in AAA what's next?

AR: Another Triple-A start. But assuming his performance is passable, Jerry Manuel has said he likely plans to piggyback Perez on Tim Redding's start next week.

WS: Is Johan Santana at his boiling point?

AR: I'm sure he can't be thrilled, but something tells me $137.5 million makes it a little easier to swallow.

WS: What's the word around the press box?

AR: It's not going to be a fun few days of travel with day game in Milwaukee on Wednesday, day game in Pittsburgh on Thursday and game in Philadelphia on Friday. Not exactly major hubs.

Q & A With Regis Courtemanche

Author: Will Sommer

I recently had the chance to e-mail Regis Courtemanche of Mets Blog a couple of questions. Enjoy.

Will Sommer: With Carlos Beltran on the DL, do you think the Mets should make a trade for a bat, or see if the young players can do something and try to contend in 2010, or '11?

Regis Courtemanche: Well, with him, Delgado, Reyes, Putz, Maine, and some guy named Perez on the DL, I hate to say that they may have to rethink their "win now" strategy. However,  if they still ascribe to that mentality, then yes, they will have to trade for someone such as Adam Dunn or maybe even Matt Holliday. In my opinion though, I would just sit on what they have and see how it pans out. The rest of the NL East has kept the Mets in the hunt, and if they continue to do so it would be unfortunate to have lost the likes of Niese, F-Mart or Parnell. Plus, if the Mets are still in it when they all return, they have a chance to really make a run.

WS: What player on the DL has been the biggest blow to the Mets?

RC: I actually did a Metsblog roundtable on this topic, and think that the lack of Carlos Delgado's presence in the lineup has been the most detrimental. If it weren't for Gary Sheffield, opponents wouldn't really need to pitch around anyone in this lineup, and missing that power threat has hurt them more than anything else I think. A close second would be Jose Reyes, but again, the Mets need a bat right now.

WS: Do you believe at all what Omar Minaya says about injuries?

RC: Ha, well I understand his need to be diplomatic, but as soon as I hear that someone is aching, sore, fatigued, or getting an MRI, I would be a fool to not think the worst at this point. I really have never seen anything like it, and the fact that they are just 1.5 games behind the Phillies right now is shocking to me.

WS: What is your take on the struggling 'pen?

RC: It has been an interesting situation, but I really wouldn't say they are struggling. After I labeled him Aaron Heilman 2.0, Sean Green has really stepped up for the most part. The decline of Bobby Parnell has been mystifying, but I think he just needs to adjust to his first big league slump. Feliciano has been overworked, and the other guys need to help him out. Everything between the starter leaving, and K-Rod entering has become increasingly confusing, but after last season, I will reserve the word "struggling" for more extreme circumstances.

WS: Do you have anything optimistic to say to Met fans out there?

RC: I think as a Mets fan, you always have to find the positives, no matter how murky the waters. They are playing in what I have been calling the NL Least. After being one of the best divisions last year, a decimated Mets team is just out of first place, unreal. If they can get healthy again, and it needs to be pretty soon, then they might be able to squeak into the postseason.