A LAST PLAY AT SHEA PREVIEW

Let me tell you about my weekend:

The Wife and I had a weekend packed to the gills. We went up to Hanover, New Hampshire Friday and Saturday for her 10-year reunion at Dartmouth, but I'm not here to tell you about that. Sunday was more eventful.

Billy Joel is in the midst of about 10 shows at Mohegan Sun, so we drove down there Sunday evening to see him. It was in the works for a while, a Father's Day gift of sorts. As you probably know, I love Billy Joel. There are a handful of pop culture/sports people I put on the proverbial pedestal, and Billy Joel is one of them (along with Hall of Famer Gary Carter, the Mets, the Jets, and the likes of David Wright and Chad Pennington). I certainly see these people's faults (moreso these days than ever), but I will always hold them in high regard.

Anyway, I've seen Billy Joel a bunch of times, and the last few times I've seen him he's been great - really energetic - better than you'd expect.

Sunday night, though, was about what you'd expect...which is to say, still very good, but I guess he's showing his age. He spent less time dancing and running around (though still got up for a few songs in a row), and a lot more time just sitting at the piano. And that was awesome.

But it got me thinking...my brother is still efforting getting me down to the "Last Play at Shea" in mid-July. Last I heard, Billy Joel is doing two shows at Shea - the last concerts there. I'm sure Billy Joel will be awesome there - and since it's such a high profile show, I imagine he'll be even better at Shea Stadium than he was at Mohegan Sun on a Sunday night.

And I thought how sad it is that in their final season at their home of 44 years, the Mets will be outperformed in their last season at Shea by a 59-year-old musician. Because unless the Mets have a dramatic turnaround in the next month, that's what will happen. Not what I expected coming into the 2008 season.

3 More Things:

1) Thanks to the Southern Bureau for the updates over the weekend. The "Willie Watch" was a nice touch - and just so I'm on the record - the Mets are really doing themselves no favors by stringing Willie Randolph along day by day. The "lurking shadow" is not helping matters - obviously they want to get rid of him - just do it already. If Omar Minaya looking over Randolph's shoulder hasn't worked by now, it's not going to work just because he flew out west with the Mets. At the very least fire the coaching staff - do something - we all know it's inevitable anyway.

2) This just isn't fair - but it's the way the schedule goes sometimes. Just two weeks after playing a Sunday night game in New York, then playing in San Francisco on Monday night, the Mets finished up a doubleheader late on Sunday (7-ish) against Texas in New York, then flew out to Los Angeles to play the Angels Monday night. That looked tough enough when the schedule came out, before the day game against the Dodgers became a night game and the Rangers game on Saturday was rained out, forcing the doubleheader. Things like that (along with all the losing) make it seem like it just won't be the Mets' year.

3) Interesting that the Mets will probably be naming their new manager on the west coast, the current residence of one Hall of Famer, Gary Carter. Coincidence? Maybe...maybe not.