ICYMI: The Week In Review

Something big happened Friday night. You may have heard about it. JOHAN SANTANA THREW A NO-HITTER. For the first time in the franchise's history, that's 8,020 games played, a Mets pitcher threw a no-hitter. 

R.A. Dickey followed with a gem of his own on Saturday afternoon, throwing a complete game shut out. I guess that's one way to not have to worry about your bullpen imploding every day. Dickey was also named the National League Player of the Week. 

Banner Day returned last Sunday. The winning banner payed homage to Mike Piazza's home run on Sept. 21, 2001, and read, "The home run that helped heal NY...God Bless America! Let's Go Mets!" 

The Mets finally gave Manny Acosta the boot. He was put on waivers, but cleared and has since joined Triple-A Buffalo.

In his first major league hit, pitcher Jeremy Hefner hit a home run. 

David Wright told WFAN that he will not discuss a contract while the season is going on. 

The Mets optioned catcher Rob Johnson to Triple-A Buffalo, called up reliever Elvin Ramirez, and designated pitcher Chris Schwinden for assignment. Schwinden was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays.

John Franco will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame prior to today's game against the Cardinals.

On the injury front...

Justin Turner went down with an ankle sprain after making an attempt to get back to first base. Omar Quintanilla was called up from Buffalo and has taken over at shortstop. Piece of trivia for you. Quintanilla is the first player in Mets history to have a last name that begins with the letter Q. 

The Mets placed Ronny Cedeno on the disabled list with a calf injury. Jordany Valdespin was called up from Buffalo. 

On Thursday, Chris Young pitched six scoreless innings in Buffalo. He walked three and gave up two hits in 87 pitches. He also hit 84 MPH on the radar gun. According to ESPN New York, Young will join the Mets rotation as soon as Tuesday.

Josh Thole returned to the Mets after spending nearly three weeks on the disabled list with a concussion. Thole got the concussion after taking an elbow to the head as Philadelphia's Ty Wigginton went into home plate. 

Mike Baxter suffered a displaced right collar bone after making a spectacular catch to preserve the no-hitter. Ramon Ramirez has a hamstring injury thanks to the no-hitter celebration. Baxter and Ramirez have been placed on the disabled list.

Jason Bay made a rehab start in St. Lucie on Saturday. He went 0-3 with two strike outs.

Miguel Batista is eligible to return from the disabled list on Monday. Pedro Beato may return today.

Thank You, Johan Santana

Mark it down. June 1, 2012. The Mets finally threw their first no-hitter in franchise history.

I don't even know what to say right now, so here's Howie Rose's call, courtesy of Deadspin.

Congratulations, Johan Santana!

To Boo, Or Not To Boo? The Beltran "Debate"

I haven't quite figured out yet if there is a serious debate among fans as to whether or not they will boo Carlos Beltran tonight, or if a lot of it is media driven.

Either way, it's dumb.

The former Mets outfielder returns to Citi Field as the Cardinals take on the Mets in a four game series starting tonight.

If I asked ten random fans why they would consider booing Beltran, I would venture a guess that probably eight out of those ten would base their reasoning on something involving a strikeout in 2006.

Yes, Beltran stood there and watched strike three which ended the Mets hopes of reaching the World Series. It's been six years. Let's move on.

This goes for the media as well. It doesn't need to be mentioned in every article you write about him. We all saw it. We all remember it. We don't need to be reminded.

Stop judging a player based on ONE moment in his career.

If you're one of the fans who notes his major contract and injuries, well that describes most  of the Mets players. Highly over-paid and often times injured. Why pick on one guy in particular for it?

Beltran talked about the moment with WFAN, saying:

“If they want to remember that moment, that’s fine with me,” Beltran said. “For me, that was my best year in baseball. I don’t look at that moment as defining my career or defining my season.”

Neither should fans. Beltran went on to say:

“There were times I felt like, ‘What do I have to do in order to be one of their favorites?’...Fans choose who they want to cheer for. I’m a quiet player. You’re never going to see me out there showing a lot of emotion. I am who I am. When you try to be someone else then you’re being fake to yourself, and I don’t like to do that. I don’t know how it’s going to be (tonight). They’ll decide if they want to cheer or boo.”

Leader is defined as the following: a person who rules, guides, or inspires others.

Beltran took a lot of grief from the fans and the media about not being a leader. No where in the definition does it say that a leader must be vocal or in-your-face.

When Beltran steps to the plate for the first time tonight, take a moment to remember the good times, and cheer for the guy.

He may have ended the Mets run at the World Series in 2006 with that one strike out, but if it weren't for him, the Mets may not have been there in the first place.

He was an important part of the Mets. Cheer him on before that first at bat, then move on. 

For Baxter, College Is Just As Important As Baseball

A little over a week ago, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, wrote an article about the rarity of college graduates playing Major League Baseball.

Through a survey conducted by Fox Sports, of the 917 players who have appeared in a game in the 2012 season, only 39 of them had a four-year degree.

That number is up from back in 2009 when the Wall Street Journal reported that only 26 players and managers had obtained their four-year degree.

This got me thinking. How many Mets players would be included on this list of college graduates.

The answer. Not many.

When I asked the Mets media relations staff, I was given one name. Mike Baxter.

During my recent trip to Pittsburgh, I had the chance to talk with Baxter about his decision to complete his degree.

You started at Columbia and then transferred to Vanderbilt. Was that for baseball reasons or academic reasons?

It was just baseball. When I was at Columbia I loved it there. I thought it was a really great school, but an opportunity kind of presented itself where Vanderbilt was transitioning and I decided it would probably be a better fit for me, both academically and athletically.

Conference Call With Rusty Staub

On Wednesday night, Mets bloggers had the opportunity to speak with Rusty Staub.

I decided to ask him about the upcoming Banner Day and how he, as one of this year's judges, would go about picking a winning banner.

“I think to pre-determine what I am looking for is crazy. I’ve seen banner day before. Some of the stuff has been very heartfelt, some of it has been very elaborate. To try and figure out which is going to look better than the other right now, I have no chance. I do think it’s a great thing the Mets are bringing this back. It was something that was a big day for the fans, and there is not a question there’s a lot of interest by a lot of the fans. I am looking forward to it myself. I think we’re all going to have a good day.”

Thanks to the guys over at Metsblog for transcribing the conference call. For more quotes from the conference call, click here.

Slideshow: Mets vs. Pirates

PNC Park in Pittsburgh is, by far, the nicest MLB ballpark I've visited so far. One of the perks to the park is that it was an easy walk over from the hotel. There was no need to worry about parking! It is also very fan friendly. Here is a slideshow of my trip to PNC Park.

Buffalo Pictures

I went to see the Bisons play Monday night in Buffalo. Below are some pictures from the game. They lost to the Indianapolis Indians by a score of 8-6.