The John Delcos New York Mets Report Featuring Mets' commentary, analysis and news.

Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame this weekend. Both players brought a certain electricity to Shea Stadium.

Each player had the ability to grab the crowd by the scruff of the neck.

For Strawberry, it was the sense of anticipation with every at-bat. He was one of the few players who kept you riveted every time he came to the plate because there was the prospect of hitting a mammoth home run like the one he hit off the scoreboard clock in St. Louis.

For Gooden, during the summers of 1985 and 1986 there was a buzz at Shea whenever he took the mound. I remember how the crowd would rise and scream whenever he got two strikes on a hitter. Gooden had electric stuff, the kind that made you wonder if this would be the night he’d throw a no-hitter.

Eventually, he did. But, fittingly in the tormented history of this franchise, he did so for the Yankees.

Is there a special Doc or Straw moment for you?

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he liked Nelson Figueroa, saying he was a staff saver. And, with their miserable rotation he could eat up a lot of innings.

So, naturally, Figueroa didn’t make the final roster cut. Also not making the roster is Bobby Parnell and Kiko Calero, which leaves the final bullpen spot to Sean Green.

* Manuel on Mike Jacobs: “He’s a power guy. He’s a presence on the field. I’ve always liked Jacobs.’’

Nice praise, but that being said, Manuel said Jacobs and Fernando Tatis, who has played all of 43 games during his career at first base, will platoon at the position.

* Darryl Strawberry, who’ll be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame this summer, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Opening Day.

* Francisco Rodriguez will rejoin the team for tomorrow’s workout at Citi Field. He left the team after his brother was involved in a car accident.

Posted under Mets News

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey gets the start today against St. Louis, and Jason Bay, David Wright and Jeff Francoeur will make their spring training debuts, but arguably the most interesting moment of the day could be the appearance of 20-year-old prospect Jennry Mejia, whom manager Jerry Manuel admits is raw, but is also making noises about using him as a reliever.

And, in a comment that will do nothing but add pressure and expectations, Darryl Strawberry said his cutter reminded him of Mariano Rivera. Easy Darryl, easy Darryl.

Mejia has electric stuff, the kind scouts drool over and makes one wonder about future dominance as a starter. Mejia doesn’t have the command or pitch variety to be a starter now, but he could be a one-trick pony out of the pen. However, command is still command, and that’s important in any role and right now he’s more a thrower than a pitcher.

I saw how the Mets rushed Eddie Kunz – who is still struggling – and Bobby Parnell and I don’t want the same thing to happen to Mejia. If Mejia is to make the major league roster, he needs a defined role and a manager with the patience not to yank him out of a role with the first sign of struggle.

It’s easy to get seduced by a high-90s fastball, but most scouts say Mejia is not ready for prime time. Sure, it would be nice to fast forward a year or two, but that’s not realistic.

NOTE: No word yet as to why, but Jose Reyes was scratched from today’s line-up.

Posted under Mets News

Posted under Blog news/Loose Threads

I’ve read in several places where the Mets need a swagger. Sounds nice. Would be a good thing. Where do you get it?

It’s not like there’s a market that sells the stuff. All players have confidence, otherwise they can’t be a professional athlete. But, only a few have that bubbling cockiness, that swagger, that Darryl Strawberry and Ray Knight and Keith Hernandez had with the 86 Mets.

These Mets don’t have an abundance of players with that quality. And, what brings that quality to the surface collectively is winning.

We know the Mets, as a team, don’t have a swagger, and they won’t until they win. It’s great to hear Strawberry talking about the Mets needing a swagger, but it’s all moot until they win.

Posted under Commentary/2010, Mets Commentary

Even the alumni are unhappy with what the Mets did over the winter. Darryl Strawberry, speaking at the 30th Annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner last winter, wasn’t pleased with GM Omar Minaya’s work.

“I’ll put it like this: It could’ve been better,” Strawberry said. “You could’ve put a couple more pieces into that puzzle for them. I know they signed Jason Bay, but the big loss was the (Carlos) Beltran (injury) situation.”

The Mets, believing they’ll get Beltran back sooner than later once the season starts, just used patching.

Strawberry also said the Mets needed more pitching. Minaya did nothing to upgrade their starting rotation. There’s little, if any, quality left on the pitching market. Kind of like the last scraps at a buffet table.

Posted under Mets News, Mets News & Features/2010

STRAWBERRY: Leads four into Mets' Hall.

Cashen was the architect, Johnson the manager and Strawberry and Gooden the hitting and pitching faces from the 1986 team.

Do you agree with the choices? I, for one, am glad to see the Mets honoring their past. There will be a Hall of Fame and team museum in the Rotunda in what used to be the team store.

Strawberry, Gooden, Johnson and Cashen join Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and Mookie Wilson from the 1986 Mets in the team’s Hall of Fame.

In other news:

* Jeff Francoeur avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5 million contract. The Mets and Francoeur aren’t done as they are considering a contract extension. The Mets traditionally avoid arbitration and continue talking with Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green and Angel Pagan.

* NESN.com reported the Red Sox and Jason Bay agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension last June, but it fell through when a MRI showed problems with both knees. The Mets signed Bay to a four-year, $66 million contract with a vesting fifth-year option. Does that give the impression the Mets were truly bidding against themselves?

* Carlos Delgado is batting .280 in winter ball with one extra base hit and two RBI in eight games. Reports are he’s still sluggish running. But, with Carlos Beltran out, there’s need for left-handed power and that enhances the chances of him being re-signed.

Posted under Mets News, Mets News & Features/2010

Cards-Mets defined intense.

On this day in 1985, the teams began a three-game series at Busch Stadium, with the Mets winning the first game, 1-0 in 11 innings on Darryl Strawberry’s monstrous homer off Ken Dayley that broke light bulbs on the scoreboard.

STRAWBERRY: Stirred the drink.

“I get goose bumps when I come back to this stadium and remember the rivalry,’’ Darling said. “I was sitting on the bench and had a good view of that monster shot Darryl hit. I think that in all my career, that was the most excited I’ve ever seen a clubhouse after a game. Guys were crying and hugging and laughing.”

The Cardinals would win that season, but the Mets rolled in 1986.

Strawberry was catalyst of those Mets teams during the 1980s. He is among the few players who made everybody stop and watch when he came to the plate because of his awesome power potential. Few guys have had that ability to make a stadium gasp with one swing, and Strawberry was one of them.

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09