New York Mets

By all accounts, New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is one of the nicest guys around. That combined with his sick knuckleball and incredible life story account for why he's such a fan favorite.

But now is not the time for Dickey to be Mr. Nice Guy. Now is the time for him to bare his teeth and stomp his feet, and he needs to do these things where his employers can see him. 

Matt Harvey's line of duty in 2012 has come to an end following a strong outing a couple of nights ago against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

It's hard to complain about Harvey's performance in his rookie season. In fact, he was one of the Mets' few bright spots in the second half. 

In the majors, Harvey is 3-5 in 10 starts with a 2.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. 

Harvey's stats alone tell you a story about the pitcher.

There's a famous proverb that goes a little something like this:

"Every cloud has a silver lining." 

I argue that the strongest testament to this quote is the New York Mets of the 2012 season. Well, it could just as easily be applied to any Mets team since 2007, but I prefer to not dwell on the dark days of the past of my team and focus more on the dark days of the present!

This Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, Matt Harvey will look to end his rookie season on a good note. 

The flame-throwing righty is 3-5 in nine games started with a 2.92 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and 63 strikeouts. 

Harvey won't be able to finish his season with a .500 record, as the New York Mets look to rebound after a 3-1 loss last night to the Phillies.

Players come and players go; that is the nature of baseball. For many fans, however, when a player leaves their favorite team—in this case, the New York Mets—that player is gone forever. He may still be active, yes, but they lose interest in him.

Well today, in 2012, lots of former Mets are still kicking around—from Endy Chavez to Oliver Perez to Jeff Keppinger. Some have forged pretty good careers since leaving the team, while others have fizzled.

The New York Mets showed up as an utter failure in the MLB Trade Deadline of this season.

It’s funny how well your sports team can act as a perfect mirror image of your life at some points. The relationship of your favorite sports team and your role as a fan is entirely abstracted in that you essentially make of it what you wish.

When Mets' third baseman David Wright first got promoted to the major leagues in 2004, he was a highly touted prospect and was expected to be a great player for years to come.

However, his hype was in a way offset by the veteran presences of Mike Piazza, Al Leiter, John Franco and Tom Glavine. They all helped groom him into the superstar player he is today as he learned the ropes of the game at its highest level.

Last weekend, I went to Citi Field and saw Johan Santana pitch a masterpiece. Santana dominated the San Diego Padres over nine innings. The Mets won 9-0 and Santana had his first shutout since 2010. The lefty struck out eight batters, walked none and threw 74 of his 96 total pitches for strikes.

After 51 years, two months, and one day, the wait ended for the New York Mets. Johan Santana gave Mets fans what they so desperately craved: a no-hitter. 

It's time to place your Mets (bets).

The New York Mets finally have their first no-hitter in franchise history. And it only took 51 years, 8,020 games and three ballparks to do it.