2008 New York Mets season

The 2008 New York Mets season was the franchise's 47th season. The Mets finished the season with an 89–73 record, second place in the National League East, three games behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and one game worse than the wild card winners, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets were eliminated from postseason play on their last day of the regular season by the Florida Marlins for the second straight year.

2008 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record89–73 (.549)
Divisional place2nd
Other information
Owner(s)Fred Wilpon
General manager(s)Omar Minaya
Manager(s)Willie Randolph
Jerry Manuel
Local televisionSportsNet New York
WPIX (CW 11)
Local radioWFAN
WADO (Spanish)
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2008 was the Mets' 45th and final year at Shea Stadium. They moved to Citi Field in 2009.

Offseason

After dropping 12 out of their final 17 games of the 2007 season to lose the National League East to the Philadelphia Phillies on their last day of the regular season, the Mets front office was expected to make big moves in the offseason to give hope for the next season.[1]

Needing to make a decision within five days after the Mets' last game, Tom Glavine declined his $13 million player option. He eventually signed with his former team, the Atlanta Braves, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $8 million on November 18.[2]

On October 31, the Mets took care of two of their own potential free agents. Left fielder Moisés Alou's option year on his contract was picked up for $7.5 million despite Alou only playing in 87 games due to a left quadriceps injury.[1] He did, however, lead the Mets with a .341 batting average and seven outfield assists. Alou also set a franchise record with a 30-game hitting streak after he came off the disabled list. Utility player Damion Easley was re-signed for one year at $950,000. He was on the disabled list two separate times due to a left quadriceps strain on May 11 and a left ankle sprain which ended his season on August 18.[3]

When the free agency period began, the Mets first looked to catcher Yorvit Torrealba to replace 2007 starter Paul Lo Duca. After agreeing to the structure of a three-year contract worth $14.4 million with Torrealba, the Mets suddenly changed their minds on November 17 and retracted the offer, seemingly because of Torrealba's sore shoulder, as the Mets only needed to see the results of Torrealba's physical to officially complete the deal.[4] Lo Duca never appeared to be the first choice for the Mets, so they continued their search for a starter from another team rather than re-sign Lo Duca,[5] who went on to sign with the Nationals.

After the Torrealba deal fell through, the Mets focused on one of their own free agents. On November 18, second baseman Luis Castillo agree to a four-year $25 million contract. The Mets explored the possibility of signing David Eckstein to start at second base, but determined his contract demands were too lofty.[2]

On November 20, the Mets traded relief pitcher Guillermo Mota away to the Milwaukee Brewers for catcher Johnny Estrada. This trade ended up just being a salary dump, as Estrada, who was arbitration-eligible, was not offered a new contract, therefore becoming a free agent.[6] The Mets wanted to be rid of Mota and his $3.2 million salary because he pitched to a 5.72 ERA in 2007 after being suspended for 50 games for steroid use.[7]

In response to the Mets' need for a starting catcher, General Manager Omar Minaya made his first significant trade of the offseason on December 1, acquiring catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church from the Nationals for outfielder Lastings Milledge. Once considered the Mets top prospect, Milledge had fallen out of favor with players and management due to his on- and off-field antics. Minaya made the trade to acquire two players who, in his mind, would be starters for the Mets.[8]

The Mets made a small move on January 5, 2008 to shore up their outfield depth, acquiring Ángel Pagán from the Chicago Cubs for two minor-league players, outfielder Corey Coles and pitcher Ryan Meyers. Pagán was a fourth-round draft pick by the Mets in 1999, and he was sent to the Cubs on January 25, 2006 for cash.[9]

The Mets' biggest trade of the offseason would come on January 29, when they agreed to a trade for two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins. Minaya agreed to trade outfielder Carlos Gómez and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to the Twins.[10] Three days later, to complete the trade, Santana agreed to a contract extension worth $137.5 million over the course of six years, with an option worth an extra $19.5 million for 2014, which can be triggered by performance. This contract is a record amount for a Major League Baseball pitcher.[11]

Starting pitcher Óliver Pérez's arbitration case was settled on February 22 and scored a win for Pérez, as the Mets found out they would have to pay him $6.5 million for the 2008 season. This gave Pérez a raise of over $4 million and was $1.775 million more than the Mets offered to pay him.[12]

Another player signed during the offseason was relief pitcher Duaner Sánchez. Sánchez missed all of 2007 due to a broken bone in his left shoulder suffered during a taxi accident in 2006, but the Mets hoped he could still return to be an important part of the bullpen, signing him to a one-year deal at $850,000.[13]

Players who made it to the Mets in 2008 after being signed to minor-league contracts include pitcher Tony Armas, Jr.,[14] catcher Robinson Cancel,[13] and utility player Fernando Tatís.[13]

Spring training

The Mets entered spring training with questions about their pitching staff due to injury and age. Duaner Sánchez was still recovering from his shoulder injury, and older starters Pedro Martínez and Orlando Hernández were coming off of seasons when they missed significant time due to injury. Martínez made it to Opening Day healthy, but Sánchez and Hernández opened the regular season on the disabled list.

During spring training, the team suffered several injuries to players that they had pegged to play with the Mets when the season opened on March 31. On March 1, Ryan Church collided with Marlon Anderson while trying to catch a fly ball, leaving Church with a concussion and Anderson with a bruised sternum.[15] Ramón Castro aggravated his right hamstring injury on March 16, ending up with a sprain. It was more severe than first thought, keeping Castro out of play through the beginning of the season.[16][17] Carlos Beltrán and Luis Castillo were late to start playing because they were both still recovering from offseason knee surgery, while Moisés Alou was held out of action because of hernia surgery.[18] Other players suffered minor injuries that held them out of many exhibition games, but they returned before the first game that counted.

John Maine had the strongest spring training performance from the pitching staff, leading all National League pitchers with a 1.53 ERA.[19] Maine went 3–1 over 29⅓ innings, with 33 strikeouts and five walks.[20] Ángel Pagán was a surprising force on offense, batting .329 to win the starting left field competition that was open due to Alou's injury.[21]

Coming out of spring training, the Mets set their starting rotation with Johan Santana, Martínez, Maine, Óliver Pérez, and Mike Pelfrey in place of Hernández. The bullpen consisted of Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Matt Wise, and Joe Smith, who beat Brian Stokes for a spot on the roster. Brian Schneider, Carlos Delgado, Castillo, José Reyes, David Wright, Pagán, Beltrán, and Church started in the field.[22]

Anderson, Damion Easley, and Endy Chávez were set as the bench players, joined by Brady Clark and Raul Casanova due to Alou's and Castro's injuries.[23] These decisions caused Rubén Gotay to lose his spot on the roster after playing in 98 games in 2007, so the Mets placed him on waivers, where he was claimed by the Atlanta Braves on March 28.[24]

Regular season

September 27: Fans staying after conclusion of the second-to-last game ever at Shea Stadium (and last Mets win), taking pictures and one last look.

Bullpen problems

The weakest part of the Mets team was their bullpen, which struggled throughout the season.[25] If all the games played by the Mets ended after the 8th inning the team would have won the NL East by 12 games.

Roster changes

Season standings

NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 9270 0.568 48–33 44–37
New York Mets 8973 0.549 3 48–33 41–40
Florida Marlins 8477 0.522 45–36 39–41
Atlanta Braves 7290 0.444 20 43–38 29–52
Washington Nationals 59102 0.366 32½ 34–46 25–56

Record vs. opponents

2008 National League Records

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona3–52–42–415–32–74–28–102–53–33–44–310–811–73–44–26–9
Atlanta5–30–63–34–310–83–34–23–611–74–142–55–12–52–56–128–7
Chicago4–26–08–75–14–38–95–29–74–23–414–45–24–39–63–36–9
Cincinnati4–23–37–81–56–23–121–710–83–43–56–94–35–15–104–39–6
Colorado3–153–41–55–15–33–38–104–33–60–55–29–911–73–44–37–8
Florida7–28–103–42–63–54–23–45–18–1010–83–24–23–32–514–35–10
Houston2–43–39–812–33–32–44–37–85–23–48–83–37–17–84–27–11
Los Angeles10–82–42–57–110–84–33–44–23–44–45–211–79–92–43–35–10
Milwaukee5–26–37–98–103–41–58–72–42–41–514–14–36–010–56–27–8
New York3–37–112–44–36–310–82–54–34–211–74–32–55–14–312–69–6
Philadelphia4–314–44–35–35–08–104–34–45–17–114–24–23–35–412–64–11
Pittsburgh3–45–24–149–62–52–38–82–51–143–42–43–44–210–73–46–9
San Diego8–101–52–53–49–92–43–37–113–45–22–44–35–131–65–13–15
San Francisco7–115–23–41–57–113–31–79–90–61–53–32–413–54–37–06–12
St. Louis4–35–26–910–54–35–28–74–25–103–44–57–106–13–45–17–8
Washington2–412–63–33–43–43–142–43–32–66–126–124–31–50–71–58–10

Roster

2008 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

Legend
Mets Win Mets Loss Game Postponed
2008 Game Log

Player stats

Batting

Player G AB H BA OBP HR RBI R SB
Chris Aguila8122.167.2860000
Moisés Alou154917.347.3890941
Marlon Anderson8713829.210.255110162
Tony Armas, Jr.330.000.0000000
Carlos Beltrán161606172.284.3762711211625
Robinson Cancel274912.245.2881551
Raul Casanova205515.273.3441650
Luis Castillo8729873.245.3553284617
Ramón Castro5214335.245.312724150
Endy Chávez13327072.267.308112306
Ryan Church9031988.276.3461249542
Brady Clark782.250.4000101
Carlos Delgado159598162.271.35338115961
Damion Easley11331685.269.322644330
Nick Evans5010928.257.30329180
Nelson Figueroa16121.083.2140000
Aaron Heilman7510.000.0000000
Brandon Knight430.000.0000000
John Maine26465.109.2120330
Pedro Martínez20396.154.1540430
Ramón Martínez7164.250.3330030
Gustavo Molina271.143.2500000
Daniel Murphy4913141.313.397217240
Jon Niese361.167.1670000
Trot Nixon11356.171.2931121
Abraham Núñez220.000.0000000
Ángel Pagán319125.275.346013124
Mike Pelfrey30595.085.1560240
Óliver Pérez32566.107.1670321
Andy Phillips451.200.2000010
Argenis Reyes4911024.218.25913132
José Reyes159688204.297.358166811356
Johan Santana327811.141.1730150
Brian Schneider11033586.257.339938300
Scott Schoeneweis7110.000.0000000
Joe Smith8210.000.0000000
Jorge Sosa2010.000.5000000
Brian Stokes2432.667.6670000
Fernando Tatís9227381.297.3691147333
Claudio Vargas1080.000.0000010
David Wright160626189.302.3903312411515

Legend: G = games played; AB = at-bats; H = hits; BA = batting average; OBP = on-base percentage; HR = home runs; RBI = runs batted in; R = runs scored; SB = stolen bases; bold = league leader

Pitching

Player G GS IP W L S ERA H SO BB
Luis Ayala190181295.5023142
Tony Armas, Jr.318 ⅓1007.561161
Pedro Feliciano86053 ⅓3424.05575026
Nelson Figueroa16645 ⅓3304.57483626
Aaron Heilman780763835.21758046
Brandon Knight42121005.2514107
Eddie Kunz402 ⅔00013.50511
John Maine252514010804.1812212267
Pedro Martínez20201095605.611278744
Carlos Muñiz18023 ⅓1105.4024167
Jon Niese33141107.0720118
Bobby Parnell6050005.40332
Mike Pelfrey3232200 ⅔131103.7220911064
Óliver Pérez343419410704.22167180105
Ricardo Rincón8040004.50431
Duaner Sánchez66058 ⅓5104.32544423
Johan Santana3434234 ⅓16702.5320620653
Scott Schoeneweis73056 ⅔2613.34553423
Joe Smith82063 ⅓6303.55515231
Jorge Sosa20021 ⅔4107.06301211
Brian Stokes24133 ⅓1013.5135268
Claudio Vargas114373204.62332011
Billy Wagner4504701272.30325210
Matt Wise8070106.431063

Legend: G = games pitched; GS = games started; IP = innings pitched; W = wins; L = losses; ERA = earned run average; H = hits allowed; SO = strikeouts; BB = walks; S = saves; bold = league leader

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA New Orleans Zephyrs Pacific Coast League Ken Oberkfell and Marty Scott
AA Binghamton Mets Eastern League Mako Oliveras
A St. Lucie Mets Florida State League Tim Teufel
A Savannah Sand Gnats South Atlantic League Donovan Mitchell
A-Short Season Brooklyn Cyclones New York–Penn League Edgar Alfonzo
Rookie Kingsport Mets Appalachian League Nick Leyva and Pedro López
Rookie GCL Mets Gulf Coast League Juan López

References

  1. "Mets pick up Alou's option, re-sign Easley". Associated Press. October 31, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  2. Rubin, Adam (November 19, 2007). "Mets, Luis Castillo agree; Tom Glavine returns to Atlanta Braves". Daily News. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  3. "Mets pick up option on outfielder Moises Alou; Re-sign Damion Easley" (Press release). New York Mets. October 31, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  4. Shpigel, Ben (November 18, 2007). "Torrealba Out of Mets' Picture". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  5. Rubin, Adam (November 17, 2007). "Mets' deal with Yorvit Torrealba is dead". Daily News. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  6. Ladson, Bill (January 29, 2008). "Nationals to sign catcher Estrada". MLB.com. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  7. Puma, Mike (November 21, 2007). "Mota Motive". New York Post. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  8. Rubin, Roger (December 1, 2007). "Mets trade Lastings Milledge for Brian Schneider, Ryan Church". Daily News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  9. "Mets get Pagan from Cubs, send OF Coles and P Meyers". Associated Press. January 5, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  10. Nightengale, Bob (January 29, 2008). "Talks start as Mets try to nail down Santana". USA Today. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  11. Rubin, Roger; Madden, Bill; Rubin, Adam (February 2, 2008). "Mets, Johan Santana agree to record seven-year, $151 million contract". Daily News. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  12. "Perez wins arbitration with Mets, gets $4 million-plus raise". Associated Press. February 22, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  13. "Mets secure bullpen help, sign Sanchez to one-year deal". Associated Press. January 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  14. "Mets sign right-handed pitcher Tony Armas Jr" (Press release). New York Mets. February 11, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  15. Rubin, Adam (March 1, 2008). "Marlon Anderson, Ryan Church collide; Carlos Delgado sent home". Daily News. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  16. Rubin, Adam (March 17, 2008). "Broken bat makes mess of Carlos Delgado". Daily News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  17. Rubin, Adam (March 26, 2008). "Raul Casanova ready to catch on". Daily News. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  18. Hubbuch, Bart (March 12, 2008). "Alou Who?". New York Post. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  19. Willis, George (April 6, 2008). "Spring In Maine's Step Is Gone". New York Post. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  20. Bontemps, Tim (April 4, 2008). "Mets, Braves In Maine Event". New York Post. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  21. Hale, Mark (April 11, 2008). "Pagan Enjoying An Amazin' Start". New York Post. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  22. Noble, Marty (March 28, 2008). "Mets Opening Day outlook". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  23. Noble, Marty (March 30, 2008). "Mets finalize Opening Day roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  24. "Braves claim infielder Ruben Gotay off waivers" (Press release). Atlanta Braves. March 28, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  25. Donovan, John (September 22, 2008). "Daily Windup: Mets and their struggling bullpen limp to finish". SI.com. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  26. "Mets name Manuel interim manager". Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
Preceded by
2007
New York Mets seasons
2008
Succeeded by
2009
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