The Arizona Fall League's regular season ended on Thursday. On Saturday, MLB Network will air the championship game live (check local listings for time and channel). There is only a single championship game between the two division leaders. This year the Phoenix Desert Dogs and the Peoria Javelinas will play in the championship game. No Mets prospects will be involved since the team they were on, the Surprise Rafters, finished last in the western division. Regardless, it's still live baseball on TV with less than a week till Thanksgiving.

The only baseball from now until spring training is what is taking place in the Caribbean. The Venezuelan, Mexican, Dominican, and Puerto Rican leagues or in full swing. Champions of the four leagues will play in the round robin Caribbean World Series in early February. Last year, the tournament aired on MLB network. It likely will again this year.

Many Mets are competing in the Caribbean. Josh Thole is still leading the Venezuelan League in hitting with a .411 average for Caracas. In thirty games, the young catcher has a .525 on base percentage and a .547 slugging average.

Pitching prospect Toby Stoner is doing a fine job in the Dominican Winter League. He is 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .205 against him.

Carlos Delgado is slated to begin play next month in the Puerto Rican league. The Mets will be watching closely. A healthy Delgado could be just what the Mets need for some of the power production they lost last season. Delgado says he feels great and wants to prove it in the Caribbean.

The Mets have done a lot to embrace their history of late. During the season, they adorned Citi Field with murals and banners reflecting their past.  Perhaps it was reaction to fan outrage that Citi Field did not have enough to embrace the team that plays there but the Mets are making amends now.

Yesterday the Mets hired Wally Backman to manage Brooklyn and shortly prior brought in Tim Teufel to manage at Binghamton. So someone is getting it and it is likely Jeff Wilpon who unlike his dad, grew up a Mets fan. There is also a Met Museum in the works at Citi Field that will likely be announced in December.

While I applaud the Mets for these actions, here’s one more they should consider—Dwight Gooden Day.

Just this past weekend, a story was featured in the New York Daily News written by Wayne Coffey in regards to Gooden. It portrayed an individual who finally may have tamed the demons that thwarted a Hall of Fame career. But as Coffey pointed out, even with all of Gooden’s transgressions which eventually led to a prison sentence, his numbers are still pretty special, especially those with the Mets.

The Mets should honor Gooden with a day and retire his number. I realize he was not Tom Seaver but there was no other player in Mets history, perhaps New York baseball history, who was as electric as Dwight “Doc” Gooden was from 1984 through 1986. During those years, I made plans around when Doc pitched. “Are you kidding, go where? “Not tonight Honey, Gooden’s on the hill. “ –I’m sure was uttered around the tri-state area every five days.

When Doc pitched, attendance was always up. The game was as close to a sure thing as could be when Gooden was standing on the mound. His best year by far was 1985 which followed his Rookie of the Year season. Then just 20 years old, Gooden won the Cy Young award with a 24-4 record and a 1.53 ERA. As a met, only Seaver had won more games in a season with 25 back in 1969.

For three seasons, Doc was simply dominating, perhaps as good as Sandy Koufax in his prime. He pitched a complete game on September 17, 1986 to help the Mets clinch the Eastern Division of the National League. Gooden had sent the Mets to the playoffs for the first time in thirteen years.

The winter after the World Series victory against the Red Sox, Gooden started using cocaine. In 1987, he went into rehab prior to the start of the season. He suffered reoccurring incidents over the years before ending his Mets tenure in 1994 prior to being suspended for one full season. However, overall in eleven seasons with the Mets, Gooden won 157 games and lost 85 with an ERA of 3.11. Also with the Mets he struck out 1,876 batters with a season high of 276 in his rookie season. There are countless pitchers who wish they could have come close to his statistics.

But numbers aside, there was an atmosphere and energy Gooden brought to the Mets we have not seen since those days. Back then the Mets owned New York, the Yankees were an afterthought. Gooden’s image was painted on the side of a building near Times Square. He embodied what the Mets were back then, he made Shea Stadium exciting and where everyone wanted to be.

The fact that he struggled with alcohol and drugs was his and his family’s personal tragedy. Mets fans often feel that he cheated them. I know I felt that way back in the nineties, especially when he ended up with the Yankees. But let’s get real and grow up here. Dwight Gooden is a human being and just because he had all that talent and money was no guarantee he would not succumb to the illness that afflicts so many in our society—drug and alcohol abuse.

Many believe he should have just made the choice to be good and toe the line. How easy is it for us to say that not having walked a mile in his shoes? America has come a long way but being black and successful in this country was still a heavy burden in the 1980s, especially when 20 years old. I do not defend Gooden’s poor behavior and choices that led him to a prison sentence. But he no longer does either. It’s time he is forgiven and given the day he deserves.

The Mets do not have the history other teams have. They are not the Yankees or the Red Sox. They are not the Dodgers or Cardinals. But they have had their moments and they have had their stars. The Mets must continue to embrace their accomplishments regardless of how they are compared to other organizations. True Mets fans do not care how their history stacks up to others. They care about what is theirs. That’s why I feel it is high time the Mets recognize what Gooden meant to this franchise.

There were others that wore the number but 16 has become synonymous with Gooden.  Doc deserves to have his number retired and to be remembered in Mets lore for all time.

During the first week of play at Citi Field last season, the San Diego Padres complained to Major League baseball that it was almost impossible to see the field from the visitors’ bullpen.

The visitors’ pen was behind the Mets bullpen. The Mets pen was at field level right up against the glass paneled outfield fence. In addition, the Mets added two while tarpaulins above the pen to protect the pitchers from the elements. The visiting pitchers were protected by the bridge that is right over their bullpen. The bridge and tarpaulins made visiting pitchers feel as if they were in a cave.  

Nothing could be done about the problem during the season except to install TV screens to see the action.  However, this off season, the Mets have already gutted the entire bullpen including the higher tier.

The bullpens will be revamped so that the visitor and home bullpens are side by side giving both clubs the ability to see out to the entire playing field. Pitchers will now throw toward the playing field instead of parallel. On bad weather days, both club’s pitchers will be protected from the elements by sitting under the bridge making the white tarpaulins unnecessary. This will give fans over the bridge and surrounding area a bird’s eye view into the bullpens.

Also of note, a friend of mine, a devout Yankees fan, traveled to Citizen’s Bank Park to see game three of the World Series. He sat in the upper level in right field. Remember the home run A-Rod hit that was first challenged? If you recall, it hit the camera above the railing. Well, my friend could not see that play. In fact, as the right fielder moved back on the ball, any ball for that matter, he disappeared from view. Sound familiar?

I had written about this phenomenon early in the season when many Mets fans complained in regards to not seeing parts of the outfield from the higher outfield grandstand seats. I even included illustrations supporting the notion that this was not uncommon in many new parks with lots of outfield seating. I recall a fan complaining on talk radio saying that the Phillies ballpark had no such obstructions. Apparently he was wrong.

Give the Mets credit for listening to the complaints and taking action. Mid way through the season, the Mets installed a video board in the right field corner for anyone in the left filed grand stand to see. Plus, when balls are put into play, the action on the three video screens including the new one in right field is live. By contrast, Citizen’s Bank Park showed hardly any action on their video board according to my friend.

Most Mets who complained were simply not use to the idea that in the outfield, some areas of the playing field are out of view. This is also true in Yankee Stadium. Earlier in the season, I sat in the right field stands in the second level. Every time Nick Swisher went back on the ball, he disappeared.

At the Mets season finale, I sat in the left field corner in the Promenade boxes. I could not see the left field corner. However, my view of the diamond and the majority of the outfield was still spectacular. Plus I did not have to pay a king’s ransom for the tickets. The equivalent seat at Shea Stadium would have had me pushed much further back from the majority of the action. It’s a tradeoff I am willing to accept considering I am closer to the action and the seats are fairly affordable.

I guess the point I am trying to make here is while our team may need some overhauling to get to where it needs to be, our ballpark is second to none.

I haven’t written much lately on the state of the Mets. Frankly I’m not sure what to say. What is the point of me rehashing the same hot stove material you can read on Metsblog.com or any of the New York newspaper web sites?

At this point, I’m willing to hang around and wait to see what develops. One thing is for sure. The Mets are desperate to sell tickets for next season. Their public relations are at an all time low. The Mets will surely be doing something perhaps as soon as the winter meetings next month.

I feel confident the Mets will be aggressive once free agents are eligible to negotiate with any team starting on November 20. And later in December, teams will not tender players adding many more to the free agent list. The belief this off season is there will be a lot of non tenders due to the economy and most teams wanting to trim payroll.

The Mets have said all along that the Madoff scandal has not affected Met related business operations. If that’s the case, now is the time for the Mets to delve into the free agent market.  We hear through the blogs that the Mets farm system just can’t compete with the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins. If that’s true, the Mets can always out spend these other clubs while their young prospects develop.

Frankly, who cares whether players come through the farm or not. Once a player comes to the Mets and puts on the uniform, it really doesn’t matter. For all the talent the Marlins have brought up the last few seasons, they have nothing to show for it either. Sure I would love to see the Mets bring up their own players. But why can’t they do both?

The one thing that I really find perturbing is the media’s lack of understanding at just what the injuries did to the Mets this past season. Here is an unbelievable statistic. In 2009, the Mets had players on the DL for 1451 days, the most of any team in the Major Leagues. San Diego was next with 1401 followed by Oakland at 1154. But here is the difference. While you could make the argument that there were other teams with over a thousand days on the DL, no one had the all star talent the Mets did on the shelf. The Mets had 43.73 million on the disabled list, a percentage of 34.9. The Padres had 30 percent of their payroll DLed but that was out of 52 million in total payroll compared to the Mets 149.3 million payroll.

From 2006 through 2008, the Mets were predominantly healthy. During those three years the Mets averaged 91 wins. Forget the collapse, I’m just talking wins and losses. The point is, with virtually the same players, the Mets were in contention for three consecutive seasons. In ’09, the injuries hit and the Mets suffered. If the Mets come back healthy, and there is every reason to believe they will, they should compete again and that’s before any new acquisitions are made this off season. And don’t forget, we have yet to see what Francisco Rodriguez will mean to this club if everyone is healthy.

Perhaps I have rose colored glasses. Maybe I will eat my words. It wouldn’t be the first time.  But I think the Mets will be much better next year than many are predicting. Don’t forget, last March, before the injury brigade, many picked the Mets to get to the post season. Sports Illustrated was bold enough to predict them to win the World Series. Well at least they got the city correct.

Today, the paradigm is to write the story in terms of “what have you done for me lately”. If that’s the case then the doom and gloom prose will continue to flow.

I know it’s no fun being a Mets fan right now. But I would rather try and stay upbeat then be depressed all winter.

Mets history might be so different if only…

While watching SNY’s first installment of Yearbook, Whitey Herzog was seen in full Mets regalia working with young players within the system. If only the Mets had realized what a great mind Herzog had.

Last night’s installment of Yearbook focused on the 1971 season. These films were produced after the season as propaganda for prospective advertisers. Much of the film was seen by the general public for the very first time last evening. Next week’s edition focuses on 1984. The Mets produced these films between 1962 and 1988. SNY will air five films within the coming weeks.

It was really interesting to see some of the footage from so long ago. Broadcaster and Hall of Fame player Ralph Kiner is seen wearing a Mets uniform helping out a young Ken Singleton with his batting stance. It was Herzog who recognized the talent in Singleton and did not want to trade him.  The film also touted young first baseman Mike Jorgenson. Singleton, Jorgenson, and Tim Foli, also mentioned in the film, were traded to Montreal for Rusty Staub on April 6th, 1972.

At the time it was hard to argue the trade considering all three Met prospects were an unknown and Staub was an established hitter with power, something the Mets lacked at the time. Of course Singleton went on to have an outstanding career elsewhere.

Staub started out hot in 1972. At the end of May the Mets were 29-11 in first place by four games over Pittsburgh. But Staub got injured shortly after and because of it the Mets were not able to continue the torrid pace they enjoyed the first two months of the season. They finished the strike shortened ’72 season 83-73 in third place, 13.5 games behind Pittsburgh.

Staub paid dividends in 1973 when the Mets went to the seventh game of the World Series losing to Oakland. Staub was eventually traded to Detroit for Mickey Lolich after the ’75 season. Later, Staub came back to the Mets as pinch hitter extraordinaire ending his playing career after the 1985 season when the Mets lost the division by three games to the Cardinals.

Meanwhile Ken Singleton went to Montreal and eventually to Baltimore where he spent the majority of his fine career. Singleton was not a Hall of Famer but he was an outstanding ballplayer who from 1972 through 1983 never batted less than 500 times in a season with over 2000 hits, 1000 RBI, 246 homers, and a lifetime batting average of .282. Singleton was also an outstanding fielder, a three time All Star, and made the playoffs and World Series twice in 1979 and 1983 with the Orioles. How would the Mets have fared if they had listened to Herzog and kept Singleton, the home grown product.

Last night’s film also exposed one of the worst trades in Mets history. It was almost comical in hindsight to listen to the great Bob Murphy wax poetic about Jim Fregosi coming to the Mets for the ’72 season as Nolan Ryan went to California. Another Mets home grown product, Ryan, sent away against the opinion of Whitey Herzog.

After the tragic death of Gil Hodges in the spring of 1972, Yogi Berra was made manager. Many in the organization felt Herzog should have gotten the nod. Herzog himself felt he should have been given the chance to manage the Mets. Not trying to disparage Yogi, (God forbid), I can only wonder what the Mets fortunes would have been had Herzog been given the reigns. His eye for talent and his apparent leadership may have served the Mets well for many years. We will never know.

Of course Herzog got his vengeance in the 1980s as skipper of the Cardinals. Twice, his St. Louis club beat out the Mets for the division, thwarting the possibility of a Mets dynasty.

Regardless of what could have been, the film was very interesting and enjoyable to watch. I applaud SNY for finding these rare treasures and airing them.  But I wonder… If Whitey Herzog had become the Mets manager back then, would he have let George Stone pitch game six and save Seaver for game seven?

The Puerto Rican Winter League begins action tonight. The 42 game season includes six teams and will run to January 13th followed by playoffs. Carlos Delgado is slated to play in the PR League but has yet to be added to a roster. I am republishing this list of Mets players currently on winter league rosters. Each player links to their statistics so you can see how some of the prospects and others are doing.

Player	Position	WL Team	Winter League	2009 Last Team
Jenrry Mejia	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Scott Moviel	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Eric Neisen	Pitcher L/L	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Josh Stinson	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Nick Evans	Outfielder	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	New York NL
Ike Davis	First Baseman	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Reese Havens	SS/2nd Base	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Ruben Tejada	Shortstop	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Lucas Duda	Outfielder	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Francisco Pena	Catcher	Aguilas Cibaenus	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Fernando Tatis	Left Field	Estrellas de Oriente	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Rhiner Cruz	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Julio De La Cruz	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Jeurys Familia	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
German Marte	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Elvin Ramirez	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Jose Reyes	Shortstop	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Wilson Valdez	Shortstop	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Rafael Fernandez	Center Field	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Raul Reyes	Right Field	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Tobi Stoner	Pitcher R/R	Leones del Escogido	Dominican Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Argenis Reyes	2nd Base	Leones del Escogido	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Jenrry Mejia	Pitcher R/R	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Salvador Paniagua	Catcher	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Richard Pena	Right Field	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Jefry Marte	3rd Base	Tores del Este	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Auturo Lopez	Pitcher L/L	Caneros Del Los Mochis	Mexico Pacific Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Matias Carrillo Jr.	Pitcher L/L	Tomateros de Culiacan	Mexico Pacific Winter League	Brooklyn ssA
Jose De La Torre	Pitcher R/R	Criollos de Caguas	Puerto Rican League	Binghamton AA
Omir Santos	Catcher	Criollos de Caguas	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Alex Cora	Shortstop	Criollos de Caguas	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Hecto Pellot	Second Baseman	Criollos de Caguas	Puerto Rican League	St. Lucie A
Juan Centeno	Catcher	Gigantes de Carolina	Puerto Rican League	Brooklyn ssA
Roy Merritt	Pitcher L/L	Indios de Mayaguez	Puerto Rican League	Binghamton AA
Luis Rivera	Outfielder	Indios de Mayaguez	Puerto Rican League	Brooklyn ssA
Pedro Feliciano	Pitcher L/L	Leones de Ponce	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Robinson Cancel	Catcher	Leones de Ponce	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Ramon Martinez	Second Baseman	Leones de Ponce	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Angel Pagan	Outfielder	Leones de Ponce	Puerto Rican League	New York NL
Javier Rodriguez	Outfielder	Leones de Ponce	Puerto Rican League	GCL Rookie
Kyle Snyder	Pitcher S/R	Lobos de Arecibo	Puerto Rican League	Buffalo AAA
Rene Rivera	Catcher	Lobos de Arecibo	Puerto Rican League	Buffalo AAA
Michel Abreu	First Baseman	Lobos de Arecibo	Puerto Rican League	Buffalo AAA
Eddie Camacho	Pitcher L/L	Lobos de Arecibo	Puerto Rican League	Binghamton AA
Jesus Feliciano	Outfielder	Lobos de Arecibo	Puerto Rican League	Buffalo AAA
Manual Olivares	Pitcher R/R	Aguilas del Zulia	Venezuelan Winter League	Binghamton AA
Wilmer Flores	Shortstop	Bravos de Mararita	Venezuelan Winter League	Savannah a
Fernando Nieve	Pitcher R/R	Caribes de Anzoategui	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Jose Coronado	Second Baseman	Caribes de Anzoategui	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Lance Broadway	Pitcher R/R	Leones del Caracas	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Josh Thole	Catcher	Leones del Caracas	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Edgar Alfonso	Pitcher L/L	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Binghamton AA
Manual Alvarez	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	St. Lucie A
Angel Colero	Pitcher L/L	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	St. Lucie A
Phillips Orta	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Savannah a
Jose Sanchez	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Adam Bostick	Pitcher L/L	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Junior Guerra	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Chris Mason	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Francisco Rodriguez	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Chris Carter	Outfielder	Tigres de Aragua	Venezuelan Winter League	Pawtucket AAA

Complaining Again...

While listening to Boomer and Carton this morning on WFAN in New York, I heard a fan call in and complain because the Mets had the audacity to send a 2010 season ticket invoice letter. Perhaps there is some rule the Mets were unaware of requiring them to wait a significantly longer period of time since they had a losing season. What date might that be? January 2nd, February 1st?

Sometimes when I hear certain Mets fans calling in talk shows complaining, I just shake my head. Now if Mets fans want to gripe about player moves, what have you, fine, I have no problem with that. But moaning and groaning about the fact you received your invoice is incredibly ridiculous.

Here’s an idea. If you are really pissed off at the Mets and don’t think they will field a winning team next season, why not throw out the season ticket letter and not buy tickets. That will express your anger in more ways than calling a sports talk show. If you are angry and can’t get yourself to not spend the money, then the whole situation says more about you than it does the Mets.  

It’s Hot Stove Time...

Tonight MLB Network begins broadcasting MLB Hot Stove beginning at 6:00PM Eastern. The show is repeated right after then later in the evening as well as several times tomorrow morning.  Each evening, MLB Network will have some form of Hot Stove news.

Meanwhile, SNY will begin their Mets Hot Stove Thursday evening at 7:00PM. It too will be repeated often during the week with the first run occurring on Thursday evenings. After Mets Hot Stove, SNY will be airing Mets specials from the archives. This week, the 1971 Year Book film will be showed. These films were produced prior to each season for many years and are worth watching simply for their history content. Next week’s Year Book film covers 1984, Davey Johnson’s first season as manager.

On Thanksgiving Day, SNY will air the entire 1969 World Series including game one in which they lost. Both games in Baltimore are in black and white. The final three at Shea were in color. Program your DVRs, Tivo, DVD recorders, or VCRs now.

The General Managers meetings have begun. Last year, all sorts of rumors began in terms of who might be traded here and there. This winter I am taking a different approach to rumors. I am not paying attention to them. Oh sure, I will read about them but take them seriously, no way. As a Met fan, we have to be careful here.

The Mets always have great off seasons. It’s their nature. What we really need is to have a great season. For that to happen, the Mets must do one thing. Spend like the Yankees.

I know, I know. The Mets have the second highest payroll next to the Yankees. Well guess what? In this town, that’s not good enough. The fact is, and we all know this, in a bidding war, the Yankees always win. If the recently crowned world champions decide they want Matt Holiday, Jason Bay, or John Lackey, they will get them. They will always outbid the Mets. The reason Carlos Beltran is a Met and not a Yankee is simple, the Yankees didn’t want him.

It’s probably a foolish idea to think the Mets will suddenly have a payroll like the Yankees soaring in the 200 million dollar range. But as long as the Mets do not compete with their cross town rivals, they will always be second fiddle in New York.

The Yankees spent 450 million last off season on three players that made all the difference. It was that investment that caused the Yankees to win the World Series last week. I don’t want to hear anyone crying that the Yankees bought the championship. So be it. They played by the rules. And it wasn’t as if the Yankees had no other players contributing.

There is a similarity between the Yankees of 2008 and the Mets right now.  If we take the injuries out of the picture, the Mets would have had a far better season. I’m not suggesting they would have won the World Series or even have made the playoffs. But they would have competed as they had in 2006 through 2008. The Mets have a lot of talent. But that talent needs the same type of support the Yankees provided their club last off season.

The Mets need a couple more starting pitchers and a left fielder with power.  Although this year’s free agent list is not as stellar as in previous years, the needed players are out there. Matt Holiday fits the bill for left field. But if the Yankees decide they want him what will the Mets do? Will they cower in the shadow of the mighty spending Yankees and concede again or will they step up and spend the money they say they have?

The Mets could play it conservative by bringing back Mike Cameron to play left. They could sign Brad Penny and Randy Wolf for the rotation. These are not bad moves and they would make the Mets better but will it get the job done? Getting Holiday and Jon Lackey would probably be better moves. They certainly would be more expensive.

The Mets are in a position where they must act boldly. In fact, Omar Minaya’s job depends on it. So does ticket sales. I do not want the Mets to make moves for the sake of tabloid headlines. But Minaya needs to do what he did back in 2004 when he signed Carlos Beltran. But this time, if the Yankees target the same free agent, he will have to step up bigger or the Mets will never get out of the shadow of the Yankees.

Now that the World Series is over, we can get on with the Hot Stove League. But for those of you who can’t go cold turkey over the winter, and need baseball games to watch, here’s what you can do. You will have the opportunity to watch Classic Mets games on SNY. Also, the MLB Network will air classic games as well, and some will likely include the Mets.

If you have the MLB.TV package, you can access the archive during the Winter. Here, I offer a guide to Mets games from 2009 worth watching. One guarantee is the Mets will win every one of these 15 games.

Here’s the breakdown…

Games for the winter…

1-      April 6 Cincinnati - Mets win on opening day 2-1 with Santana on the mound.

2-      April 15 at Citi against SD – Mets win their first at Citi Field by a score of 7-2. You don’t really want to watch the home opener when Pelfrey gave up a leadoff home run then later fell off the mound do you? Here’s an idea. Watch the introductions from the Citi Field opener on April 13 then watch the game from the 15th.

3-      April 18 at Citi against Milwaukee – The Mets shutout the Brewers 1-0 with Santana going 7 innings, Rodriguez with the save.

4-      May 1 at Philadelphia – The Mets win their first meeting of the season against the 2008 defending world champions.  Pelfrey gets the win to go 3-0 on the season.  Putz and Rodriguez close it out.

5-      May 12 at Citi against Atlanta – The Mets trailed 3-2 heading to the ninth. Beltran doubled and eventually stole third. Castillo drove him home with a sac fly to tie the game. The Mets won it in the 10th. Check this one out to see how they did it. (With bases loaded, run was walked in)

6-      May 23 at Boston – Another pitcher’s duel involving Mike Pelfrey. Burkett started for the Red Sox. The Mets trailed the Sox 2-1. Then in the ninth, an unlikely hero saved the day. It took about 10 minutes to evaluate the ball hit off the top of the Green Monster by Omir Santos. But hold on to your hat as the Mets needed some stellar defense to pull this one out.

7-      June 13 at Yankee Stadium – The Mets defeat the Yankees for the only time during 2009. What, you want to watch Castillo drop the popup again? This game was a solid effort from Mets pitcher Fernando Nieve against Andy Pettitte. It’s always nice to see the Mets beat the Yankees, even if only once this season.

8-      June 24 at Citi against St. Louis – Blow out. For those of you who don’t like pressure, this is a nice 11-0 blowout of the Cardinals. Sit back and dream about next year sipping a hot chocolate with the snow falling as the Mets pummel St. Louis.

9-      July 1 at Milwaukee  - Mets shut out Brewers 1-0 again. I don’t know about you but I love these low scoring defensive games.

10-   July 2 at Pittsburgh – K-Rod blows 2 run lead in 9th but Mets come back in 10th. It’s a wild one along the river in Pittsburgh.

11-   July 11 at Citi against Cincinnati – Santana and the bullpen shut out the Reds 4-0. For all the Mets went through, you can’t blame Santana who turned in another gem, even with bone chips in his elbow.

12-   August 18 at Citi against Atlanta – Trailing 4-0, the Mets sent 13 to bat in the fourth, scored 8 runs on 10 hits. Mets win 9-4.

13-   September 12 at Philadelphia – Mets score 4 in first but Pelfrey has bad outing eventually blowing the lead. Trailing 9-5 late, Wright hits a two run homer to pull the Mets within two. In ninth with two out, Pagan legs out hit, Wright hits second 2 run homer of game. K-Rod closes it out.

14-   September 27 at Florida  - The first complete game shutout of the season from an unlikely source, left hand pitcher Pat Misch. Not as pretty as Santana’s from the end of 2008 but a nice win for the Mets.

15-   October 4 at Citi Field vs. Houston. Nelson Figueroa closes out the season with the game of his life, shutting out the Astros 4-0. The win was the 70th of the season in the most disappointing of years.

Spring training is just three short months away.

As painful as it is to admit, the Yankees are quite a franchise. While watching the clinching game, I found myself wondering if Yankee fans count their lucky stars every day. I can’t imagine what it would be like to root for a team that has the history of the New York Yankees.

Think about this. With the win Wednesday night, the Yankees won their 27th World Series. There have been 105 World Series played since 1903. That means the New York Yankees have won 26 percent of all World Series ever played. That is staggering. A quarter of the time, every four years on average, the Yankees win the World Series. The next closest team is the St. Louis Cardinals that have won ten World Series which rounds to 10 percent.

As a Mets fan, it’s tough to swallow. In forty-eight years of history, the Mets have won the World Series just twice. That’s four percent of the fall classics that have occurred since their inception. That’s pretty weak considering the Mets share the same metropolitan area as the Yankees do.

Another startling fact to consider is the Yankees won their fifth World Series in the past 14 seasons. They were in two others when they lost to Arizona and Florida and they made the playoffs in every year of this stretch except last. It is quite a run and really should put to rest any attempt by a Mets fan to start a “Yankees Suck” cheer at Citi Field next season.

While I admire the Yankees accomplishments, all I could think while watching the Bombers celebrate is how much I hope Mets management is as embarrassed and angry as I am. Frankly, there is not much I can do about the disparity between the two clubs but certainly the Wilpons can.

They can continue to spend like a big market club should. Look what the Yankees did last off season. They spent a whopping 405 million dollars on three players that made all the difference in the world. If not for CC Sabathia, J.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees do not win the World Series in 2009. Teixeira gave A-Rod the protection he long sought since joining the Yankees. And the two pitchers stabilized the starting rotation that was the primary reason the Yanks did not make the playoffs in ’08.

The Mets are in a similar situation now. Their rotation needs fortification. But the Mets don’t need a Sabathia, they have Johan Santana. However, they do need a quality number two starter to help support Santana. Plus they need to provide a situation where Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, and Niese must fight for a couple of spots. That kind of competition will determine who has the talent and guts to step up.

The Mets also need a Teixeira type player. Matt Holiday could be that guy. Perhaps he’s not at the exact level of the Yankees first baseman but he’s pretty close and he could offer Wright and Beltran the type of protection that A-Rod has benefited from.

The young fans, the ones who are just discovering baseball, we’ll be asking for Yankee caps this holiday season. Can the Mets afford to stand by and watch another generation of fans go over to the pinstripes? The Mets and their fans know what must be done. Now it’s time to act so that some day soon, the scene we saw at new Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night will play out at Citi Field.