A Change of Pace

Alright, the Tom Seaver Fan Club now has it's own URL. If you want the latest news on the Mets as well as a indepth look at the 20th anniversary of the New York Mets, be sure to check out the Tom Seaver Fan Club at

http://www.tomseaverfan.com

My new RSS feed is

http://www.tomseaverfan.com/?feed=rss2

Also, be sure to check out these great blogs

Tigerblog
Reds Cutting Edge
Black Sox Blog
Baseball's Savior
Gas House Gang
Dem Bums
Liberty Ball
Angel Blog
Wrigley Field Curse
Earl Weaver Rules
Metrodome Memories
Fenway Fables
Braves Baseball Blog
Pirates Journal
Indians Journal

Mets Sign Ramon Castro

This is old news, but the Mets signed backup catcher Ramon Castro to a one year contract. Castro looked pretty good in an extended stint last year when Mike Piazza went down. He hit only .244 but he had eight homeruns and he was pretty good behind the plate (three fielding runs above average).

Castro will be backing up the newly acquired Paul Lo Duca.

That leaves Chris Woodward and Victor Zambrano who haven't been signed yet and both filed for arbitration this past week.

Mets Sign Mike Pelfrey

The Mets came to terms with their first round draft pick last week. Mike Pelfrey signed a four year deal, which includes a $3.5 million signing bonus. If he makes the big league squad, higher salaries will kick in, but no details were provided.

Pelfrey is a highly touted prospect. If you preordered John Sickel's Baseball Prospect Book, he sent you a list of the top 50 pitching prospects (as well as the top 50 position players). While it wouldn't be fair to give his exact position, he is in the top 20. I expect to see him get a cup of coffee this September and then maybe make the big league team mid year 2007.

Mets Lineup Shaping Up Nicely for 2006

ESPN.com has posted projected starting lineups for all of the teams. While none of this is really a surprise, the Mets lineup is looking good. Here's what I expect the batting order to look like

1) Jose Reyes SS
2) Kaz Matsui 2b
3) Carlos Beltran CF
4) Carlos Delgado 1b
5) Cliff Floyd LF
6) David Wright 3b
7) Paul Lo Duca C
8) Victor Diaz/Xavier Nady RF

It would still be nice if the Mets could somehow land Manny Ramirez and it would be equally good to see Willie Randolph go unconventional and hit Carlos Beltran in the number two spot. As always, wait and see.

Mets Sign Bret Boone, Trade Jae Seo

The Mets signed Bret Boone to a minor league contract today. After a career year in 2001 and a great season in 2003, Boone has been on the decline and hit rock bottom last year. The Mariners released him and while he was picked up by the Twins, he didn't last too long there either. It'll be interesting to see if the 36 year old four time gold glove second baseman has anything left in the tank. Kaz Matsui has hardly been stellar, so I have a feeling this spring training will include a good old fashioned position battle to see who ends up the starting second baseman.

The Mets also dealt Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack to the Dodgers for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll. Seo was solid in twelve starts for the Mets last year so it's a questionable move. Adding Sanchez to the pen pretty much makes the Mets four deep and makes it rock solid so the logic may have been that Seo had a career year and it was time to get something while the gettings good.

Now, we just need to complete the deal for Manny Ramirez and then throw a bunch of money at Roger Clemens. A guy can wish.

Mets Player Retrospective - Tom Seaver 1972

It's hard to call any season that Tom Seaver has an off season, especially one in which he wins 21 games, but 1972 might have been it. Seaver put up some decent numbers, like the 21 wins and the 249 strikeouts in 262 innings, but he also allowed 10.20 baserunners per nine innings and he lost 12 games. On a support neutral basis, Tom Seaver would have been an unimpressive (for him) 18-15.

The Mets had their fourth winning season in a row but they fell well short of winning their division. The Pittsburgh Pirates dominated the National League East with a 96-59 record in the strike shortened season and the Mets finished 13 1/3 games off the mark despite finishing 10 games above .500. Ironically, they'd win the division the next year despite having one less win.

Despite the down season, Seaver did have some great moments during the season. Pitching in the front end of an Independence Day double header, Seaver pitched a one hit shutout in which he struck out 11 and walked walked four. That one hit didn't come until one out in the top of the ninth. On September 20, he gave up one run on five hits, but he struck out a season high fifteen batters. Nine days later, on September 29, he threw a two hitter in which he struck out thirteen.

Here's the numbers....

Wins 21
Losses 12
Games 35
Games Started 35
Complete Games 13
Innings Pitched 262
Hits 215
Runs 92
Earned Runs 85
Walks 77
Strikeouts 249
ERA 2.92
Runs Saved Above Average 10
Shutouts 3
H/9 7.39
BR/9 10.20
SO/9 8.55
BB/9 2.65
SO/BB 3.23
Neutral Wins 18
Neutral Losses 15