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No, this isn't another thread about Mike Vail's car dealership or Teddy Martinez's baseball camp. This is the thread where we figure out where our 2006 Mets have fallen into the team pantheon.
I've been updating the master ranking list based on our current consensus for 2006, as posted by Frayed Knot. Though it's not final, I needed to move along, and reposition some of the rankings.
Well, I tell you, there's been some movement. (Three guys went backwards!) How much movement? You tell me, by guessing the highest-ranked guy each of these ranked Mets passed this season on the all-time list.
30 - Carlos Beltran. Alpha-Carlos' difficult 2005 left him ranked as the 159th most accomplished Met, just ahead of Tommy Davis. He made huge strides this year. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
29 - Reyes. Baby, though he may be, Jose was the fourth highest ranked Met, at 93rd, going into this season, a little better than Dennis Freakin' Cook. He's moved up. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
28 - Wright. He started the season ranked 85, proving beyond all doubt that he was a better Met than Terry Leach. This season, the fans chanted MVP. The team locked him up for several years. Much ado about nothing? Maybe. You (and history) decide when you tell me whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
27 - Delgado. Beta-Carlos should be climibing into the upper echelons in his second Metly season. Instead, we're measuring where he has debuted. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006? (Hint: he has passed Wilson Delgado to become our highest ranked Delgado.
26 - Tom Glavine. Tom opened the season as our second-highest ranked active Met (61st -- Gregg Jefferies was 62nd), and his good season helped him pass active leader Steve Trachsel sometime this summer. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
25 - LoDuca. It's his first year. You love him. You hate him. All the girlies wanna date him. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
24 - Wagner. Another debut, and it's so hard to rank a closer. But whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
23 - Valentin. Like Delgado, he has passed his namesake Jon to become the highest ranking Delgado Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
22 - Chavez. History will show that he is and will remain the highest ranking Endy ever. But whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
21 - Heilman. If you thought Aaron was a lesser Met than Al Luplow, 2005 put that notion to rest, as Aaron finished that season ranked 213th, a notch ahead of Al. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
20 - Pedro. A glorious debut season in 2005 had Pedro ranked 123rd, surpassing in one season the extended Met legacy of Kevin Elster. This season, the glory was limited to the spring, but whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
19 - Maine. Throw-in, my ass. A sweet Met debut from Vacationland. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
18 - OHernandez. Another debut. Where has his legacy positioned him. Oh, where? Is he our top Cuban pitcher ever? Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
17 - Sanchez. A wonderful partial season is a tough thing to judge for this 2006 debutante. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
16 - Feliciano. The world's only three-time Met opened the season in un-esteemed company, ranked 386th, just ahead of the unpleasant memory of Miguel Cairo. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
15 - Bradford. What a season for the knuckle-scraper, even if it didn't put him on the top of the 2006 rankees in his debut season. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
14 - Nady. Traded. Jaded. Still he left a legacy. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
13 - Oliver. Garbage innings mean contract winnings for yet another debutante. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
12 - Trachsel. A sordid tale here, as Steve Trachsel opened the season as the highest ranked active Met, just ahead of Dave Magadan at 51st, will be unable to leave the team with that title. Still he moved up. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
11 - Floyd. Actually, this is a sadder fuckin' case. Having finished his third injury-shortened season in four Met years, Cliff Floyd --- who opened 2006 ahead of Hall of Fame ballottee Bret Sabehagen in 57th place among Met legacies, becomes the only highly ranked player to move downward on our list in 2006, a remarkable achievement on a 45-year-old team. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
10 - Green. is Shawn is a in a private race with his fellow Jewish Met legacies? I don't know. And after his tepid debut, does it matter? Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
9 - Franco. Julio is not about to become the highest ranking Franco, not unless he plays to 70, but he is the highest ranked 48-year-old Met after an inspired and inspiring debut. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
8 - Mota. Bean Piazza, Do 'roids. Get contract. What a country. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
7 - Perez. Oh, what a season for debutantes. This one may make a bold statement in 2007. But whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
6 - Bannister. One more. But he's gone, Daddy, gone. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
5 - Milledge. Will Lastings be Nextings, and increase his small 2005 ranking, or will he join Terrence Long, Alex Escobar, and Preston Wilson as centerfield prospects who debut with the Mets and establish themselves elsewhere. More importantly, whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
4 - Woodward. A solid 2005 put him as the 358th ranked Met, ahead of 1979's Jerry Morales. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
3 - Soler. A longer journey to the US got less note than El Duque, probably because the lousy Mets publicists won't pull the same overtime as the class Yankee squad. He finally debuted. But where? Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
1.5 - Castro. Speaking of Cubans, here's another case of somebody --- after sitting at 262, a spot ahead of Seaver-bait Charlie Puleo --- going backward while still participating. My word. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
1.5 - R Hernandez. This two-timer put himself at 197th setting up Braden Looper in 2005 (often for failure), ahead of fellow one-year wonder Kevin Mitchell. He returned, but too late to stop his backslide in this fine season. Whom has he positioned himself on top of after 2006?
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