WEST COASTING

OK, it's only the bottom of the first as I write this, but if things continue like this, the Mets are on their way to a 27-0 win. They're already up, 3-0, after a leadoff homer by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, and then a two-run homer by Carlos Delgado. Delgado has been slumping lately, so a homer in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium (snore) is a good sign.

I would love to see a solid outing from Alay Soler tonight.

This week isn't going to be great, because of the late starts out west...maybe I'll pull out some of my old scorecards and play the ol' "Recap Games I Went to Years Ago" game. Not sure if that was popular when I did it last year. We'll find out, I guess, if I do it again. This year I can add pitcures of some of the old players.

LASTINGS IMPRESSION: Apparently our boy Lastings Milledge is making a bad reputation for himself. Milledge drew the ire of some of the Giants on Sunday after hitting his game-tying homer in the 10th inning, and celebrating a little bit too much. After the Mets finished batting that inning, Milledge slapped hands with some of the front-row fans on his way out to right field. Willie Randolph reportedly talked to him about that after the inning, saying something like, "People will know who you are, you don't have to draw attention to yourself." In his own defense, Milledge said something like, "I was just sharing the excitement of my first major league homer with the fans." I don't think I have a problem with Milledge being enthusiastic with the fans. I haven't seen video of this or anything, but it seems harmless to me. I think it's a good thing that he's establishing himself with the fans. If it comes off as pompous when I see video of it, I may change my mind, though. The Giants seemed to think it was self-serving.

AROUND THE MAJORS: I just saw Carlos Zambrano lose a no-hit bid in the eighth inning at Houston. Too bad. It's been a while since the last no-hitter in the Majors. That was Randy Johnson's perfect game versus Atlanta. It happened on my honeymoon. Best part of being in Hawaii was the time difference - nothing like waking up at 7am and watching a 1pm East Coast baseball game. It was over, and I still had the whole day in front of me. That was a Blue Jays-Twins game - I think the Twins won it in their final at-bat. The perfect game was later in the day.

But speaking of Atlanta - they lost to Washington tonight - their fifth straight loss at home. Tough times for the Braves.

THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie won on Monday, 11-1. The game was called in the seventh inning. Either there's a new mercy rule, or it was raining...or this was a part of a doubleheader I wasn't aware of....but the Mets won...so that's good.

FANTASY UPDATE: Lost two out of three again today. Things are getting bad. I'm a game under .500. Three important games against the Pirates on Tuesday - they're in the wild card hunt too. I have some weaker opponents coming up after that, though - maybe I can make up some ground. I picked Jae Seo up off the waiver wire, and got rid of 4-11 Jerry Koosman. He didn't live up to his good numbers, I'll tell you that.

BEAT THE STREAK: Now we're talking - Carl Crawford got me to a 6-game streak. I have Miguel Tejada on Tuesday, because the Orioles are hitting against a Blue Jays pitcher named Ty Taubenheim. If Tejada doesn't get a hit off Taubenheim, I may just give up on this game forever. I didn't even bother looking at other matchups.