FANTASY? MORE LIKE A NIGHTMARE

I hate to bore you with an update on my fantasy baseball season, but it's the day after the All Star Game, and this is the only game in town.

I am not a good fantasy baseball player. I play with my heart, not with my head. I have mentioned this a few times. I've also mentioned that the past few years, I have been in a different type of league, where there are only 4 players, and the baseball players can only come from the NL and AL Eastern divisions. So that narrows down the player universe a little bit, and allows me to go more with my head than heart. (It does not eliminate the Mets, however, but I try to limit the number of Mets on the team.) We also use some non-traditional stats, like walks allowed by pitchers.

This year I also did another league with the boys, but there was an automatic draft, I quickly fell into the bottom third of the standings, and I've been less invested in it (the goal now is to try to get as many guys to appear on my 'team log' as I can - I might as well shake up the team since it's done so poorly).

Anyway, I'm doing very well in the first league I mentioned, "East Coast Bias". So well, in fact, that my team (General Mills) has been in first place, fairly comfortably, since the opening weeks of the season - say, mid-April. But I'm not happy about it. Usually I'll jump out to a lead, get surpassed quickly, and then try to play catch-up all year. I've held out longer this year...and it's just stretching out the inevitable. This year, I wake up every morning with a sense of dread, ready to check the standings with the understanding that "Today is the day I'm no longer in first place." I fear that day will come soon, especially since the players right behind me, let's call them, I don't know, Justin in NYC and the Southern Bureau, have shaken up their rosters and are gaining ground.


I am not giving up hope. I'm going to fight tooth and nail to win this league. I have an ace in the hole, quite literally, in the person of Pedro Martinez*, who might help propel me to victory in the final month. I just hope I'm still in it by then. There's a lot at stake:


Last year I had a last-chance desperate push on the final day of the season, where I needed about 7 pitchers to have complete game shutout wins in order to catapult into first (instead, I dropped from second to third. Needless to say, I didn't get the shutouts.). I can't wait until the last day of this season. If for no other reason than the fact that I need a good night's sleep.

ALL STAR GAME NOTES: Of all the luck. Yesterday I hoped Tony LaRussa would be able to use Billy Wagner in a save situation...he went with him in the 8th, and Wagner gave up a 2-run homer that proved to be the difference in the game. I just hope that doesn't come back to haunt the Mets.

I went to bed right after the homer Wagner gave up (in fairness to Wagner, I have been watching a good deal of the Indians lately, and Victor Martinez has been 1) clutch, and 2) hot...so that's a tough matchup). The National League, apparently, threatened in the bottom of the 9th, scoring two to make it a one-run game, then loading the bases (all with two out) before the final out was recorded. Too bad.

-To bring this conversation full-circle, I'll go back to fantasy sports, but incorporate the All Star Game. I always thought that it would be neat if you were rewarded somehow for having the most All Stars on your fantasy team in your league. I don't know what would happen - maybe an extra point in the standings - but I always like watching the All Star Game and pointing out which guys were on my fantasy team.

BASEBALL BACK THURSDAY: Each year it seems like more and more teams are off the day following the All Star break. Slowly that break is becoming four days instead of three. There is just one National League game on Thursday, and thankfully, it's the Mets. The Mets host the Reds at Shea for four games coming out of the break...and the Mets need to get on track and just blow away these National League teams in the second half.

-FYI - I haven't mentioned this on the site - Carlos Gomez broke his hand when the Mets were in Colorado...he's out until September. So the revolving door in left field swings once more - and Lastings Milledge might finally be healthy enough to rejoin the team. It'll be interesting to see if he earns himself a job, or showcases his talent just in time for a trade deadline deal.

-Remember you can always get the latest Mets news by going to the feed on the right, which has the 5 latest Mets articles from mets.com.