2006 N.Y. Mets - 103-69 (97-65)

N.Y. Mets Season Wrap-Up

Regular Season Record: 97-65 - 13 Heartbreakers
Playoff Record: 6-4 - 2 Heartbreakers
Overall Record: 103-69

After all was said and done, the Mets battled and left it all on the field. In the game of baseball, the two things you can ask for are opportunities and effort. There were many opportunites that were seized (Oliver Perez, John Maine) and some that weren't (Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran), but the 2006 New York Mets were surely a team to be remembered as one of the best in franchise history. Although there was a sour ending to a beautiful season in New York, lots of positives and memories will remain (National League East dominance, 10 Grand Slams, Reyes' cycle and monster season, Beltran's 41 homers, Wagner's 40 saves, The "double tag", Endy Chavez, etc.) After a long wait, the Mets are once again a team to be feared in the National League. There is tons of faith that Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph will make the necessary adjustments to field a World Series Caliber team for the upcoming season. Here's to a tremendous year of baseball and a successful hot-stove season. Let's Go Mets!

2007 Outlook

Starters

Pedro Martinez - After a 5-0 start, injuries derailed him. Won't be ready 'till mid-07' and health is crucial to Met success.
Tom Glavine - Outstanding year from the crafty left-hander, not much more you could ask for. Should be back.
Orlando Hernandez - Ended the year well but injured calf might have paid his ticket out of town.
Steve Trachsel - 15 wins but high e.r.a. and terrible postseason. Solid Met career but return is unlikely.
John Maine - Tough rookie with a lot of heart. Certainly looked good as a big game pitcher. Definite shot as starter next year.
Oliver Perez - Showed great progress in postseason. Might have pitched his way onto next years pitching staff.
Victor Zambrano - Did not pitch well and injured for most of the season.
Brian Bannister - After solid start in April, torn hamstring pretty much cost him his spot on the roster.
Dave Williams - Kept the rotation together during the dog days of August and September.
Mike Pelfrey - Showed promise during the season and will most likely compete for starting spot on next years rotation.
Philip Humber - Minimal contribution, may compete for role in spring training.

Bullpen

Darren Oliver - Great year from the long-man out of the pen. Kept the Mets in many games and should return next season.
Duaner Sanchez - Didn't allow a run almost the entire first month. Mets best reliever until season ending injury in July.
Roberto Hernandez - Acquired b/c of injury to Sanchez. Was not used much due to strong bullpen and acquisition of Mota.
Pedro Feliciano - Mets situational lefty out of the pen. Rough numbers with inherited runners but great year overall.
Chad Bradford - Right handed part of Met "tag-team." Put together a great year and did the job majority of the time.
Aaron Heilman - A productive season with shaky outings at times. Good reliver but may be traded during the offseason.
Guillermo Mota - Diamond in the rough found by Minaya. Showed great promise and should return next year.
Billy Wagner - Handful number of blown saves but established himself as one of the top closers once again.

Starting Lineup

Jose Reyes - Monster season. Most exciting player in baseball.
Paul Lo Duca - Tremendous hitter. Heart & Soul of team. Fierce competitor.
Carlos Beltran - Outstanding season. Played hurt last 2 months of the season. Tied club record for hr's.
Carlos Delgado - Face of Met offense. Quick start, slumped, but finished strong. Chased high fastballs. Great during playoffs.
David Wright - Amazing first half and All-Star Weekend. Slow second half and playoffs.
Cliff Floyd - Injured most of season and cost Mets big bat in the lineup.
Lastings Milledge - Showed great promise but lots of raw talent. May or may not be traded. Might start in LF in 2007.
Xavier Nady - Great start to season but struggled somewhat thereafter. Although traded in July, big part of team success.
Shawn Green - Decent season (15 hr's) and above average playoff performance. Power is gone. May not return next season.
Anderson Hernandez - Great first week of season (amazing catch) but injury cost him starting role. Below average hitter.
Jose Valentin - After month-long slump, took over starting role and put up nice numbers (18 hr's). Great defense all year.
Endy Chavez - Sensational defensive player and scrappy hitter. Crucial part of Mets success in 2006.

Bench

Ramon Castro - Decent season but injuries cost him much of the year.
Chris Woodward - Played hurt and season not as successful as ones in the past. May not return.
Julio Franco - Professional. Stepped up numerous times during the season. Crucial to success, as well.
Michael Tucker - Late addition to Mets, but good professional ballplayer. Left-handed bat off bench played well.

Management and Coaches

Another outstanding season of managing by Willie Randolph. One of the best managers in baseball. Great coaching all year as well (Acta, Manuel, etc.) Omar Minaya will continue to make big moves and improve team.

2007 Outlook

Barry Zito - Top starter on the market. Mets will be a contender but agent Scott Boras may break the bank.
Jason Schmidt - Great arm, free agent during offseason. Will Minaya make the move?
Alfonso Soriano - One of top players in baseball. After rejecting $70M offer, will he be next years starter at 2B?
Carlos Lee - Bad defense, good hitter.
Mets will need to add starting pitching, maybe a hitter or two. Minaya will do the job.

Game 141: Mets vs. Marlins @ Shea Stadium*

How sweet it is, how sweet it is. For the first time since 1988, the Mets are once again the champions of the National League East. In a season so reminiscent of 1986, the Mets finally got it done after being swept by the Pirates over the weekend. While the Phillies managed to keep winning, it left the Mets the opportunity to clinch in their own hands. Steve Trachsel, currently the longest tenured Met, would take the mound tonight and would put forth a stellar effort. Pitching six plus innings for his team-leading 15th win, Trachsel would get it done once more. However, it would be a relatively new Met who would do much of the damage tonight. Jose Valentin, continuing his great comeback season, would give the hyped fans at Shea something to cheer about in the third inning. With Shawn Green on base, Valentin would hit a lined shot over the right field wall to send the crowd into a frenzy. He would do the same in the bottom of the fifth to collect his 17th home run of the season and put the Mets up 3-0. Cliff Floyd would deliver the final Met run by hitting an rbi single to right field to score Carlos Beltran. Guillermo Mota and Aaron Heilman would pitch the seventh and eight innings, respectively. As they have done so many times this season, they kept the Marlins at bay by throwing scoreless inning. Then, Met shareholders everywhere began to sit at the edge of their seats. With just three more outs needed to take back the division from the rival Braves, Billy Wagner would come on to try and get the save. Wagner would quickly induce two fly balls outs to right field. Then, Josh Willingham would hit a fly ball to left field directly to Cliff Floyd. Bring on the champagne! Wagner and Paul Lo Duca would embrace each other in front of the mound and the party would begin. Floyd would jump in excitement as the entire Met team would celebrate on the field. The 2006 New York Mets had finally done it. Through hard-work, grit, determination and exciting baseball, they had clinched the National League East and are now on their way to the post-season. Here's to good luck, good baseball, and most of all a World Series Championship. Let's Go Mets!
Final Score: Mets 4, Marlins 0. Record: 88-53. Magic Number: 0 - National League East Champions!

Notes: Guillermo Mota has now lowered his e.r.a to .68. During the seventh inning, Pedro Martinez was shown wearing swimming goggles in preparation for the post-game champagne celebration. Carlos Delgado's career drought of not going to the playoffs came to an end tonight. He will relish his first playoff game since he entered the league in 1992. Acknowledging this fact, he smoked a cigar during the post game celebration. The Mets would come out to celebrate on the field once again after their clubhouse hysteria. Highlighted by David Wright celebrating with fans near the front row, the Mets definitely seemed to relish this opportunity to celebrate with their fans.

Game 143: Mets vs. Marlins @ Dolphin Stadium

Tonight was definitely one of those nights to forget for the New York Mets. Shotty defense and terrible pitching made it hard to stay in the game, even for their high powered offense. Dave Williams was hammered, giving up 9 runs, and Anibal Sanchez pitched a solid seven innings a week after his no-hitter. The lone bright spot for the Mets occurred when Cliff Floyd homered to deep right field in the second inning, ending speculation of his declining skills and lack of playing time. Furthermore, Carlos Beltran saluted those lost on September 11th by hitting his 40th home run of the season. It sure feels good to be able to play baseball in America.
Final score: Mets 5, Marlins 16. Record: 88-55. Magic Number:4.

Notes: Cody Ross homered three times tonight. Jose Reyes made his 14th error, joining Shawn Green as the other Mets starter to make a rare blunder in the field. Jose Valentin's streak of errorless games ended tonight as he earned his fifth error on a throw. Lastings Milledge doubled while pinch hitting and later scored on a Delgado single.

Game 142: Mets vs. Dodgers @ Shea Stadium

A day before the fifth anniversary of September 11th, the Mets looked to take the four game series from the L.A. Dodgers. Boy, did they fail miserable. It was a terrible game all around. The Mets couldn't buy a hit and the Dodgers couldn't afford an out. Steve Trachsel and Brian Bannister both failed to pitched well. The game was pretty much over after Kenny Lofton cleared the bases with a double in the top of the third inning. Nomar Garciaparra also had a big day at the plate with four rbi. The only highlight of the day for the Mets came on Jose Reyes' 19th home run of the season to left center field. Aside from that, the Mets are glad to have seen the last of the Dodgers during the regular season.
Final Score: 9-1. Record: 88-54. Magic Number: 4.

Notes: Prior to the game, Cliff Floyd had a meeting with Willie Randolph before being scratched from the lineup. The message was clear: "Play now or say hello to the bench in October." David Wright had a steller defensive stop early in the game. Jose Reyes' 19th home run drove in his 75th rbi of the season. Steve Trachsel pitched dreadfully once again to balloon his e.r.a. even higher over the 5 run threshold. Julio Franco was inserted into third base during the eighth inning. It was his first game there since he played third base on October 2, 1982. The ball immediately found Franco as he started a near double play by getting the force out at second. He also recorded the last out of the inning by throwing to second for the force once again. Shawn Green played first base and Anderson Hernandez played shortstop after the eighth inning. The Mets take on Anibal Sanchez tomorrow night (see Johnny Vander Meer).

Game 141: Mets vs. Dodgers @ Shea Stadium

Today's Saturday matinee would pit Orlando Hernandez against 300 game winner Greg Maddux. Both pitchers would start off strong in th first couple of innings. El Duque allowing only a leadoff double to Rafael Furcal and Maddux allowing consecutive hits to the Mets Carlos Delgado (a line drive home run to right - his 37th) and David Wright (a seeing eye single to right). Hernandez would then retire 15 consecutive batters before allowing two runs in the sixth inning. Jose Valentin would deliver a double in the bottom of the sixth and Beltran would be walked, ending Maddux's day. Brett Tomko would come on later in the inning and David Wright would come through with a two-out, two rbi single to put the Mets ahead 3-2. After stranding a few runners for a couple of innings, Billy Wagner would come on and make it interesting. However, he would strike out Olmedo Saenz for the second out and Kelly Stinnett would gun out the runner on first to end the game.
Final Score: Mets 3, Dodgers 2. Record: 88-53. Magic Number: 5.

Notes: Prior to today's game, Pedro Martinez threw a four inning simulated game. Kelly Stinnett got his first hit for the Mets since 1995. Jose Reyes was given an error on what was obviously a hit in the sixth inning. While being caught in a run down between third and home, Maddux would shove El Duque during the tag. It was probably in return for El Duque stopping in the middle of the baseline in order to make Maddux throw during a sac bunt earlier. Lastings Milledge would reach on a Jeff Kent error in the seventh inning and immediately get picked off.

Game 140: Mets vs. Dodgers @ Shea Stadium

After a short three game winning streak, it would be a different story for the Mets tonight. Taking on a rookie pitcher, the Mets looked lost at the plate through the first six innings. Held to only three hits by the opposing starter, Hong-Chih Kuo, it seemed as if they would hit into a double play whenever a rally started brewing. The Mets didn't hit the ball well until the bullpen doors opened in the seventh inning, and even those were outs. The Dodgers, on the other hand, continued to take on runs to take a 5-0 lead. John Maine would be ineffective tonight and would give up a few more home runs against the surprisingly powerful Dodgers. They also did not play particularly solid defense, enduring errors from David Wright and Shawn Green, another ingredient to their loss tonight. Great outing by the Dodger rookie - give credit where credit is due.
Final Score: Mets 0, Dodgers 5. Record: 87-53 Magic Number: 7.

Notes: Shawn Green had a few solid swings tonight. Tonight's loss would end the Mets 8 game winning streak in games that Maine has started. Heath Bell looked sharp in his relief innings. Exactly eight years ago to the day that Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run of his record breaking season, Ryan Howard collected his 55th and 56th home runs of the season tonight.

Game 139: Mets vs. Dodgers @ Shea Stadium.

As much as everyone wants to believe that Carlos Beltran, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols are the only MVP candidates in the National League, Jose Reyes begs to differ. Reyes would add another good game to what has already been a monster season for the Met leadoff hitter. However, it would be Carlos Beltran who would drive him in to start the scoring in the first inning. The run would bring their team record to a total of 122 first inning runs. David Wright would then hit a sac fly to center to score Beltran for his 107th rbi of the season. The second best comeback player of the year for the Mets, Jose Valentin, would hit his 15th home run to deep right field in the second. He would also drive in another run in the sixth inning on a fielder's choice. Then, when everything seemed to have calmed down, Jose Reyes would bring the excitement as only he knows how to bring it. Reyes would drive a ball to deep center field that would elude the Dodger center fielder. He would then sprint around the bases for his first career inside the park home-run. The three runs all but sealed the game for the Mets. Tom Glavine would get his 13th win and would lower his e.r.a. below 4. The win would be his first in over a month. Guillermo Mota, Roberto Hernandez and Aaron Heilman would all pitch scoreless innings to seal the win. Mets keep rolling.
Final Score: Mets 7, Dodgers 0. Record: 87-52. Magic Number: 7