Jose Reyes hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to help the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in 20 innings on Saturday night, 6 hours and 53 minutes after the first pitch was thrown.  The teams used a combined 19 pitchers, including two St. Louis position players: IF Felipe Lopez (IP, 0 R) and OF Joe Mather (L, 2 IP, 2 R).  There have now been a total of 42 games of 20 innings or more in MLB history with 5 of them ending in ties.  The longest being the legendary 26-inning 1-1 deadlock between the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins (soon to be Dodgers) on May 1, 1920.  The Mets and Cardinals were also up against each in other in 1974, when they played for 25 innings, a 4-3 Cardinal win, the longest game not to end in a tie.  The longest professional baseball game is listed as a 33-inning minor league marathon between AAA International teams The Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings in 1981.  At 4:07 AM, at the end of the 32nd inning, the game was stopped.  At this point, there were 19 fans left in the seats, all of whom were given season passes to McCoy Stadium.  The game was completed on June 23rd, the next time the Red Wings were in town.

Mark Buehrle turned in the most memorable defensive play from opening day since 1996 when Rey Ordonez threw out St. Louis Cardinal Royce Clayton at home plate from his knees in left field.  Buehrle fielded a ball that was hit off Cleveland Lou Marson's bat, off Buehrle's foot, into foul territory, into Buehrle's glove, through his legs as he's tumbling ass end over band box, and into first baseman Konerko's bare hand for the out.

Happiness is here.  The league is now full.  All 20 managers have registered at Kafenatid.net...  And the draft is underway!

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during the registration process.  It has been a pleasant few weeks for me getting back in touch with and having a chance to talk to all of you.  I am happy to report that we have 14 returning managers and 6 new managers.

Veterans

Andy Biter
Ray / Mark Breta
Sean Burke
Clifford Cherico
Mike Chislow
Brian Davis
Arthur Ecklund
James Hickey
Josh Kaye
Chris Leung
Jason Nadolsky
Ryan Prugar
Tim Robine
Amit Simha

Rookies

Ryan Hoover
Eric Spiker
Jason Bradley
Jim Nadolsky
Alex Najemy
Jim Gaida

Baseball itself is now officially here my friends!  Happy Baseball that is!  Its that time of year!  You can feel it in the air!  Happy Baseball to all of you!  Happy Baseball everyone!

Peace,
Brian Davis

 

The annual equipment pilgrimage from Flushing, N.Y., to Port St. Lucie, Fla., began late Tuesday morning, when the skies gave no indication of what was to come.

With an assist from Mr. Met, the mascot of moving, workers loaded all sorts of Spring Training paraphernalia onto a 10-wheeler and sent it on its way to the club's training camp headquarters on the East Coast of Florida.  The truck, depending on the snow, is likely to arrive at Port St. Lucie before the weekend.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Seattle Mariners who all open camp on the 17th.  No word yet on which early bird gets the worm and the recognition of being the first team to actually open its doors.

Starters

Johan Santana (the best pitcher in all of baseball)
Mike Pelfrey (headcase)
John Maine (Rick Reed)
Oliver Perez (batshit insane)
Fernando Nieve (placeholder)
 
Relief Pitchers

Jon Niese  (L)
Pat Misch (L)
Nelson Figueroa (R)
Brian Stokes (R)
Sean Green (R)
Elmer Dessens (R)
Tobi Stoner (R)

Setup Men

Kelvim Escobar (R)
Royta Igarashi (R)
Pedro Feliciano (L)
Bobby Parnell (R)

Closers

Francisco Rodriguez (R)

Here's what we thought we were going to have:

SS Jose Reyes
2B Orlando Hudson
CF Carlos Beltran
LF Jason Bay
3B David Wright
1B Carlos Delgado
RF Jeff Francoeur
C  Bengie Molina

Here's what we actually ended up with:

SS Jose Reyes
1B Daniel Murphy
3B David Wright
LF Jason Bay
RF Jeff Francoeur
2B Luis Castilo
CF Gary Mathews Jr.
C  Henry Blanco

Do you think the Mets were smart in saving money and not signing Molina, Hudson, and Delgado?  Weigh in below in the comments section!

Andre Dawson was the only player who received the necessary 75% to be elected into the HOF this year.  Congratulations to "The Hawk!"  Unfortunately, Bert Blyleven missed by 5 votes and Roberto Alomar missed by 8 votes.  Here's to hoping they get in next year!

2010 HOF Voting Results
------------------------------------
Andre Dawson 420 (77.9%)
------------------------------------
(Retains eligibility)
Bert Blyleven 400 (74.2%)
Roberto Alomar 397 (73.7%)
Jack Morris 282 (52.3%)
Barry Larkin 278 (51.6%)
Lee Smith 255 (47.3%)
Edgar Martinez 195 (36.2%)
Tim Raines 164 (30.4%)
Mark McGwire 128 (23.7%)
Alan Trammell 121 (22.4%)
Fred McGriff 116 (21.5%)
Don Mattingly 87 (16.1%)
Dave Parker 82 (15.2%)
Dale Murphy 63 (11.7%)
Harold Baines 33 (6.1%)
---------------------------------
(Does not retain eligibility)
Andres Galarraga 22 (4.1%)
Robin Ventura 7 (1.3%)
Ellis Burks 2 (0.4%)
Eric Karros 2 (0.4%)
Kevin Appier 1 (0.2%)
Pat Hentgen 1 (0.2%)
David Segui 1 (0.2%)
Mike Jackson 0
Ray Lankford 0
Shane Reynolds 0
Todd Zeile 0

And looking ahead....

Players who will be eligible for the first time in 2011: Wilson Alvarez, Carlos Baerga, Jeff Bagwell, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, Cal Eldred, John Franco, Juan González, Marquis Grissom, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Al Leiter, Tino Martinez, Raúl Mondesí, José Offerman, John Olerud, Rafael Palmeiro, Paul Quantrill, Steve Reed, Kirk Rueter, Rey Sánchez, Benito Santiago, B. J. Surhoff, Ugueth Urbina, Ismael Valdez, Larry Walker, and Dan Wilson.

For the third consecutive year in a row, I've successfully predicted which player the Mets were "really" after at the Winter Meetings.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets have offered Jason Bay a 4 year contract worth $65 million. 

I called this one a long time ago...

In recent years it seems the Mets have taken to a strategy of putting out false information in the weeks prior to the winter meetings:

2007 - "We're not really going after any big name starting pitchers."
2008 - "We won't be bidding on any of the top closers this year."
2009 - "We only have $20 million to spend this winter."

Really?  This is New York City we're talking about.  The capital of the universe.  And you don't have any money?  That seemed to me like the biggest fish tale I had ever heard.  And the "financial crisis" nature of the rumor tipped off alarms to me, a clear indication that the Mets indeed did have money, and were coming to spend it.

Next if you understand Omar's strategy that has been openly displayed in previous seasons, things begin to add up a bit.  He is only ever really interested in players who are the #1 guy in all of baseball at their respective positions.  And these players who are usually coming off of career years directly at or slightly past their peak age at the time. 

2004 - Pedro Martinez - Wins World Series breaks Boston's curse
2004 - Carlos Beltran - Hits record 8 post-season HR
2005 - Billy Wagner - Career best 1.51 ERA
2007 - Johan Santana - 2 Cy Young awards in 4 years
2008 - Francisco Rodriguez - Sets single-season saves record

The only question this time around was, who did Omar consider to be that type of #1 caliber player?  A quick look at this years board shows that the man who led all of baseball in RBIs at the All-Star break in 2009 is available.  If it were me, I'd want Jason Bay.  And it appears they did too.

It is almost a smart move for the Mets to get involved at this point in negotiations.  After turning down an initial $60 million offer from the Red Sox, the Mets are essentially the first non-incumbent team to bid on Jason as a free agent.  If Bay wants to get this done quickly, things could move fast.  If the bidding gets too high later on, the Mets can always choose to go another direction.  But as the opening bidder, the hope would be that if Bay gets another offer, he might come back to check in with the Mets one last time before accepting another deal.  And that essentially puts the Mets in the drivers seat against all of the other teams.  Right where they want to be.

Minaya, Bay, and the Mets also have a history together.  Minaya was General Manager in Montreal in 2002, shortly after Bay was drafted.  It was Minaya who as a GM traded Bay to the Mets in 2002 for Lou Collier.  The Mets then traded bay to San Diego, who sent Bay along with Oliver Perez and Cory Stewart to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brian Giles.  Pittsburgh then moved Bay to Boston in a three-team deal with the Dodgers.

I'm beginning to think that Omar used to play a good bit of fantasy baseball back in his day.  He thinks like a fantasy manager would, investing in super-stud long-term keepers, hoarding relief pitchers and catchers, and buying low/selling high (when you can) as in the case of Ryan Church -> Jeff Francoeur.

Well Omar, let's get this one signed, sealed, and delivered.  Please be sure to do everything you can to make Mr. Bay happy.  I watched him play in Pittsburgh for years and have seen what a great ballplayer and exciting personality he is.  Jason, glad that you are entertaining offers from the Metropolitans!  Hope to see you in the Big Apple next season!  JAY BAY!!!  JAY BAY!!!  JAY BAY!!!

Congratulations to Kansas City Royal Zach Greinke and San Francisco Giant Tim Lincecum who take home this year's awards.  Greinke dominated all season long and was far and away the AL's best pitcher despite being provided with a low win total from the Royals.  Weed smoking Lincecum became a two-time winner, and the NL's first repeat winner since Randy Johnson.

NL Cy Young Award Voting

AL Cy Young Award Voting

No congratulations to the two Happy Baseball Fantasy League managers who AUTODRAFTED these players.

2009 NL ROY Voting

2009 AL ROY Voting

Congratulations to the Munson Mobsters' Brian Davis and Team Robine's Tim Robine who had these players on their fantasy teams.  Good job!

Congratulations to Da Bomb Squad's Scott Sternberg on achieving his second career Happy Baseball Fantasy League championship crown with a runaway score of 153.5 points.

Amit Simha, a perenial top contender, finished 2nd this year with 138.5 points.  Brian Davis and Tim Robine tied for 3rd place with 135 points.  Close behind were 5th place finisher Andy Biter and 6th place finisher Ray Breta.

This season was a highly competitive contest as 2nd place and 6th place were separated by only 6.5 points.  Full standings can be found here.

Thanks to all the managers involved.  You are what make this long-standing 20-team league so great!  See all of you again next season!  (You better start preparing now.)

McCutchen ended the day with two singles, an RBI, and a stolen base in four at bats.



...and My dad and I were there to watch!

According to New York Newsday, the Mets are showing interest in Ben Sheets.  Finally.

Seriously, why did it take the Mets so long to figure this out?  This seemed like a no-brainer to me from the beginning.  Ben Sheets was the best free agent starter on the entire market this winter.  Sheets is better than Dempster, better than Lowe, better than AJ, and better than CC.  Yes I said it.

The Mets sat back and watched all the big money clients go off the board and then gave Derek Lowe a luke-warm offer of $12 million, laughed at Ollie's request of a 5-year-deal, and signed Tim Redding for $2.25 million.  Yawn.  There has been absolutely no panic in Flushing for starting pitching because there were always several options available.

I didn't understand the fascination with Derek Lowe at all.  When has he ever been amazing?  Sure he might be a consistent innings-eater, but eventually those innings catch up with you.  Since 2002, Sheets has 200 more strikeouts than Lowe in 200 less innings.  I'll take the 30-year-old with less mileage on his arm than the 35-year-old who has been used on a full schedule for the last 7 years, every time.

But why weren't the Mets listing Sheets as a candidate from Day 1?  Sheets is absolutely dominant when he's on his game.  He's a great fit, doesn't require a long-term contract, and can probably be signed to an incentive-laden deal.  He's been tagged as an injury risk?  So what?  Since when are Ollie, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland really anything more than mediocre?

I just hope this has been one big ruse by Omar.  And that maybe the Mets had actually spoken to Sheets much earlier this winter, perhaps even struck some kind of unspoken handshake to hold off for a while before signing elsewhere.  Because Ben truly would have been the only pitcher all along, I would have been worried about missing out on.

Where were you on the first day of ESPN?  What shows were on the schedule?  Who were the announcers?  Were you there?

MLB Network launched on January 1, 2009, to approximately 50 million homes, the largest network debut in cable history.  The website went live on December 16th, 2008.

Its lead show for the winter is called "Hot Stove".  There is an afternoon show at 1pm called MLB Live where you can contact them on AIM at mlbcomlive. There is also "Prime 9" a countdown show featuring the all-time Top 9 lists.  During the season, the main program for the channel will be called "MLB Tonight".

The MLB Network studio is located in Secaucus NJ and has two studios named to honor Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth, "Studio 3" and "Studio 42" total 15,200 square feet, including 9,600 square feet for Studio 42 alone.

Studio 3 will be the primary home of the live nightly studio show, MLB Tonight.  Measuring 5,600 square feet, Studio 3 features 62 video displays, including a 30x7-foot rear projection screen, 108" and 103" monitors, as well as a Perceptive Pixel touch screen display, which will allow MLB Network personalities to interact with and change graphics and images on-screen.

Studio 42 is designed to be a replica baseball field, featuring a half-scale infield made of field tur, a replica outfield wall, complete with padding, brick designs, three different seating areas that can hold up to 173 people, and an out-of-town scoreboard.

Currently, they do not stream the channel online, but you can find video clips of the day's highlights at http://mlb.mlb.com/network/

HappyBaseball.com is continuing to grow as we strive to bring to you new and exciting content.  With that in mind, we like to set goals for ourselves.  The staff of Happy Baseball would like to organize a trip to the MLB 2009 Winter Meetings!  With continued support from our readers, our writers, and baseball fans everywhere, a year from now, we hope to take a road trip to Indianapolis and cover the event live!  If you'd like to get involved, we are looking for new baseball writers to contribute to the site for the upcoming season.  If you would like to blog for HappyBaseball.com please send your name, which MLB teams you would most like to cover, and three writing samples via the contact form at the top right hand side of the page.