HAPPY 4TH

On this Independence Day, I thought I'd share with you a little of the inner workings of my brain. I often wonder how certain historical figures compare with certain athletes. Do they compare?

Admittedly, some of these are forced, but I thought I'd take a look at some of the figures of our independence and pick a Met that shares some of the characteristics of that person. I found myself basically recreating the 1986 team, I guess because I'm pining for some happy Mets memories these days, but I think it works: Every story needs a foil, an enemy, a villain. For the 13 colonies, it was England, represented by King George III (although if you want to get into specifics it was more the ideas represented by the king than the person himself, but for our intents and purposes.....). For the Mets, historically, it's been the Braves, represented in the person of Bobby Cox. So many of the players have come and gone, but the Braves have stood in the Mets' way (not counting last year) since 1995...and Cox has been the constant.
Some call Samuel Adams the "Father of the American Revolution". He was an older guy, with a palsy, and he wasn't very successful at anything he did in life. He failed as a businessman and as a tax collector. But what he could do was stir up trouble. He was sort of the behind-the-scenes orchestrator of the Revolution. Davey Johnson (or any manager, for that matter) fits that role with the Mets - a behind-the-scenes figure who pulled the strings and put people in the place they needed to be to succeed.
Looking for an on-the-scene leader? That would be Keith Hernandez for the Mets - a captain, and the one who took a vocal lead when one was needed. The same way George Washington took charge of an army that wasn't really an army yet and pulled off a great upset. Both commanded the respect of the people around them.
Looking for someone reliable to get a job done? Paul Revere orchestrated an alert system to let the countryside know that the soldiers were on the move. He kept his cool under pressure, even being captured that night. Gary Carter also kept his cool in a pressure situation, keeping the Mets alive in the 1986 World Series when they were down to their last out. Both survived hits to their reputations later in life, and both couldn't have done it without lots of help (Billy Dawes rode ahead of Revere, Carter was a member of a team), but to hear their stories told (Revere by Longfellow, Carter by Carter) you'd have thought they were the only people to ever do what they did.
As Sam Adams was the "Father", John Hancock was the "Money". He financed many different aspects of the Revolution with his healthy inheritance. He was a figurehead, he couldn't go out and fight, but he made his mark, literally, by putting his name on the Declaration of Independence first and largest. He also led the meetings between all of the colonies - an ace of the staff, so to speak. Dwight Gooden was the "Money" pitcher for the Mets in the early-to-mid-1980's, leading up the Mets' pitching staff.
Ray Knight was a veteran presence in his brief tenure with the Mets. He was just a solid pro. Thomas Jefferson was a similar presence among the early American politicians, although I wouldn't classify him as anything close to an MVP. In another interesting connection, Knight married pro golfer Nancy Lopez while Thomas Jefferson looked like he could be a veteran of the LPGA.
I hate to compare Darryl Strawberry to the greatest traitor in American history...but here goes. Benedict Arnold was actually a celebrated member of the Continental Army before he felt underappreciated and decided to gather information for the British side. Darryl Strawberry's story is also one of great promise with a huge downfall. He also went to play for the Dodgers and then the Yankees - sort of traitorous, no?
For many years, John Adams was sort of an overlooked figure in the American Revolution. He played an important role, but his failures were noticed somewhat more than his accomplishments. He was insecure - always worried about his legacy, which turned out OK more than 200 years later. Rafael Santana played an important position - shortstop - for a World Series-winning team. He is overlooked. He should be worried about how history will remember him.
This is one of those that might be a stretch. I felt that Lenny Dykstra had to be included - I sort of tied him to John Paul Jones - naval hero. Both sort of had an all-or-nothing attitude, risking life and limb to achieve their goal.
Patrick Henry was a Virginian who inspired with his words. Wally Backman was an Oregonian who inspired with his play. Hmm. Maybe another stretch.
Finally, you may not have heard of James Otis. He was a powerful speaker who spoke out against the tyrannies of England. His words inspired men like Sam Adams to take action. One day he was accused by British soldiers of being disloyal to the King because of what he had said - he took offense to being called a 'traitor' because he thought he was just speaking the truth - he didn't believe the colonies should separate from England at the time, just work out a better system of taxation. Anyway, the soliders cracked him over the head with a sword, the story goes, and Otis was never the same - slipping slowly into insanity. You ever hear the story about Kevin Mitchell and the cat at a girlfriend's house? That dude was crazy too.

IN PRAISE OF.....CHIPPER JONES?

Early this year, I threw caution to the wind. I lifted my strict no-Braves policy in favor of a fantasy baseball win-at-all-costs measure and drafted none other than Mets-Killer Chipper Jones. It was a move that made me feel a little dirty for a while after, but I kept turning back to the reason I drafted him - he's an on-base machine, and that would pay off with our new category this year being on-base percentage.

I haven't regretted the move one bit. In fact, I find myself rooting for Jones not just to get on base, but to get hits. And I bet I'm not the only one.

Chipper is batting .421 as of this moment (through Friday night's game), and his on-base percentage is .504 (!!). But let's focus on that first number.

Major League Baseball has to be thrilled with a .400 chase. The deeper we get into the season, and the more exposure this gets, provided Jones keeps his current pace, is all good news for MLB.

No one has hit .400 in a season since Ted Williams' .406 in 1941. There have been chases, flirtations - most notably George Brett in 1980 (.390) and Tony Gwynn in the strike-shortened 1994 season (.394) (but also the likes of Paul Molitor, John Olerud, Larry Walker, and Nomar Garciaparra - most of which faded very quickly) - but lately it's been the power categories that get the hot pursuit...and, we now know for sure, much of that was artificial.

There's nothing artificial about a batting average. There's even less artificial about it when it's a guy like Jones, who isn't legging out bunt singles. He's just a pure hitter, and because he's a switch-hitter, he's out there most everyday, no matter who's on the mound.

This has the potential to be a feel-good summer for Major League Baseball. It's like Cal Ripken pursuing Lou Gehrig, pulling baseball out of the shadow of the strike. For baseball to talk about the likes of Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, and George Sisler rather than Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and the now-defunct records of Roger Maris/Babe Ruth, and to have a die-hard Mets fan singing the praises of an Atlanta Brave - looks like baseball has turned the page on the Mitchell Report.

A LOOK AT CHIPPER'S NUMBERS
.421 AVG., .504 OBP, 14 HR, 39 RBI (played in 57 of team's 62 games)
vs. LHP: .450 AVG., .516 OBP, 1 HR, 8 RBI (36 games)
vs. RHP: .404 AVG., .497 OBP, 13 HR, 31 RBI
Home: .462 AVG., .538 OBP, 8 HR, 26 RBI (32 games)
Away: .371 AVG., .460 OBP, 6 HR, 13 RBI (25 games)

There are some holes in his statistics, which should be noted. First of all, that's a pretty low RBI total. Secondly, though .371 is an awesome average, it pales in comparison to how he's hitting at Turner Field. The Braves as a team really struggle on the road - 7-21 versus 25-9 at home. So I guess there's evidence to suggest Jones won't keep this up all year (not to mention whether or not he can stay healthy), but I'll be rooting for him. (I can't believe I just said that.)

For a look at Chipper Jones' career (he hit his 400th career homer this week) and place in history, check out Justin from NYC's article on sportscracklepop.com.

NOT HOW, BUT HOW MANY?

The question on everyone's mind this weekend is not "How will the Patriots beat the Jets?", but "How many points will they score?" I'm here to tell you that I think the question should be, "How can the Jets beat the Patriots?", because they can, and they will, hand New England their first loss on Sunday afternoon.

And I'm Johnnymets' common sense, and I'm here to tell you the way it's really going to be this weekend.

Everyone's talking about how fired up the Patriots are going to be this weekend because of the Jets, and how they "wronged" the Patriots by revealing them as cheaters to the outside world. Eric Mangini broke some unwritten rule about betraying trust, so the Patriots are going to show the Jets what's what and who's who and all that. I say, the Jets will be fired up! You're 3-10. You have a chance to re-write the history books this weekend. If there's ever a game you're going to want to go out and prove yourselves in, this is the one!! How can you not be fired up?! You didn't disrespect the Patriots by breaking an unwritten rule - they're disrespecting you with all this talk about running up the score on you!!!!!

The Patriots never said they were going to run up the score. It's been the media and fans who are talking about the Patriots putting up 70 points on the Jets. The Patriots have just gone about their business. You'd better believe, though, that they have had this game circled on their calendars for a long time. They feel like the Jets disrespected them. And no team is better at turning disrespect into a beating on the field than the Patriots.

What about the running game? When was the last time the Patriots ran the ball well? October? And they couldn't stop Willis McGahee a couple of weeks ago. Thomas Jones will run up and down on that team. They've been exposed the past couple of weeks, and that works to the Jets advantage.

hahahaha. Thomas Jones? What has he done this year? One rushing touchdown??? That's only one more than I have. The Jets haven't had as ineffective a red zone runner since Blair Thomas. And the Patriots will be just fine running the ball against the joke that is the Jets' defense. Even if they don't....they seem to be doing OK throwing the ball.

My only hope is that the Jets don't open their mouths this week. Sure, you might say this trash-talking stuff means nothing once the game starts, but the Jets don't need to give the Patriots any incentives. They need to treat this week like business as usual, and then let their actions on the field Sunday speak for them.

The Jets don't need to say anything else to get the Patriots fired up. They did their damage in Week 1 - which, by the way, the Patriots won, 38-14. Pretty handily, I'd say. I suspect the only thing the Jets' actions will be saying on Sunday is "We are an inferior football team".

Finally, I need this Jets win. It's tough enough as it is living here in New England as a Jets fan, while the Jets are awful, without the Patriots going undefeated. I don't need that to continue. Plus, my fantasy football season is over...I need this game to give me one highlight of this football season.

Maybe if you used me once in a while when you made your picks, you wouldn't be having such an awful football season. You keep using that stupid heart of yours. Nice work drafting Matt Leinart in the fantasy league this year, by the way. How has that worked out? Marvin Harrison too?

This isn't about my fantasy league. We don't need to drag that out now.

OK. Right. So I shouldn't mention that I knew you were going to lose to your brother, even though he doesn't even care, barely checks his team, and beat you soundly in a must-win situation for you, when he was already out of playoff contention.

There's no need to mention that.

What do you care? It's not like anyone reads the blog anyway.

OK. Stop it. I pick the Jets to pull off the upset of the decade this weekend, and beat the Patriots, 13-10. (There might be some weather to contend with on Sunday, too.)

Yeah, 'whether' or not the Patriots will get to 100 points. I say Patriots 52, Jets 10.

THE DOLPHINS ARE REALLY BAD

JETS 40, DOLPHINS 13

I can't say I was rooting for the Jets this week...but I am glad that they didn't become the one win on the Dolphins' record.

It's hard to remember now, because of how poorly the Dolphins have played in recent years, but there's no one in football I hate more than the Dolphins. I would love for them to be the team that matched Tampa Bay's mark of futility by going winless for an entire season.

And when you see a team give up 40 points to the Jets, you have to figure they're not going to beat anyone the rest of the way. Thomas Jones hadn't been able to get in the end zone all season...he did against the Dolphins.

In 12 games, the Jets have now scored more than 30 points just three times. Once was against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have an awful defense, and still managed to find a way to stop the Jets and win the game. The other time (besides Sunday) was the other time the Jets played the Dolphins, a 31-28 Jets win.

The Dolphins could win a game this year. They still have to play Buffalo, Baltimore, New England, and Cincinnati. Desperate teams sometimes accomplish major upsets...I don't think Miami will beat the Patriots, but they could upset the Bills or Ravens. The other side of that, though, is no one wants to be that team that loses to the Dolphins...exhibit A was Sunday in Miami. If the Jets can do it, and put up 40 in doing so, the Dolphins don't have a chance against anyone else.

One last point about the Jets before we get back to the hot stove talk the rest of the week: One positive thing out of this season has been the different throwback uniforms teams have worn. While some have been misses (the Eagles come to mind), the Jets have been a hit, wearing the gold and blue of the New York Titans (the name the Jets had before they became the Jets). (On a personal note, and in the interest of full disclosure, yellow and blue are also my favorite colors.) Each team wore the throwbacks a couple of times this year - I think the Jets are done, because they also wore the Titans uniforms against the Giants in October. I noticed last week the Browns had numbers on their helmets - I think that was their throwback edition. Anyway, I love those types of things. Here's a look at the highlight of the Jets' 2007 season - the uniform of a team that no longer even exists (it's my blog, so I choose to show a picture of Kellen Clemens getting sacked. Petty? Yes.):

Congratulations to Tom Glavine on career win number 300. It was a really nice moment to witness as a Mets fan, and as a baseball fan. It was nice to see Glavine smiling at the end of the game in the dugout - it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders - and certainly this was a long time coming. Figure in his Mets career he's easily had 10 wins taken from him, certainly more, by the bullpen, or lack of offense. His last start, even. So he should be sitting at around 310 or more right now. But it's nice that he finally got to 300, and now the Mets can shift their focus to the march towards the post-season.

300 wins is a significant accomplishment. You need to be durable, which Glavine certainly has been, you need to be a little bit lucky, you need to be very good in order to take advantage of the luck, and you have to stick around for a long time. You don't back your way into 300 wins. There are some great names among the 23 300-game winners. But what's more significant is the names that aren't on the list - showing just how exclusive this club is.

It's very hard to be a dominant young pitcher and have the staying power to win 300 games. To wit: Dwight Gooden - no less than 15 wins in each of his first 5 seasons...but a total of 192 career wins (of course there were other distractions in his career - but that's another pitfall of early success, and another impediment on the way to 300).

You can be a good pitcher throughout your career, and still not come close to 300 - see: Orel Hershiser - 204 career wins.

How about being one of the most dominant pitchers of any era? Sandy Koufax, maybe? A short career resulting in just 165 wins. Bob Gibson? A longer career, netting 251.

All this to say, this is a very difficult thing to achieve, and it's even tougher to achieve in Glavine's era - with 5-man rotations and excessive use of the bullpen. And there's the question: Will anyone else reach 300 career wins? Randy Johnson is 16 wins away, but he's very hurt and he's 43 years old. To enter the club, you need to average 15 wins, if you play for 20 years (Glavine's in his 21st). That's ridiculous consistency. I'm not sure if any of the young pitchers playing now have that type of consistency in them....and I don't think many of them are able to stay healthy for as long as they need to in order to reach 300.

Barry Bonds will pass Hank Aaron - but he'll be passed some day. What we saw Sunday night out of Tom Glavine might not happen again in our lifetimes. It was a special achievement. One with a touch more history than I think we're all realizing right now.

MAGIC NUMBER: I don't think it's too early. We're looking at a magic number of 47 (that's Mets wins combined with losses by, right now, the Phillies and Braves), with 51 games remaining in the season.

SLOWNESS: While The Wife and I were watching our chances in the 'New Baseball Pool' slip away this weekend (a Cardinals sweep by the Nationals), we saw Dmitri Young get nailed at the plate by a good ten feet on an excellent throw from the outfield...but also a poor decision by the third base coach. The Wife's take? "Man, I'm faster than him." The Wife, it should be noted, is one of the slowest people I know.

MATCHUP: The Mets play the Braves at Shea starting Tuesday night - Oliver Perez owns the Braves, he pitches Tuesday against '60's folk artist Buddy Carlyle (really - that's the Braves' pitcher's name).

Considering it's the quietest day in sports, I sure have a lot to get to. First, as promised, the statistical piece I've been working on:

CLIFF FLOYD'S 2005 SEASON

In the Mets’ 43-year history, their best hitters have either been right-handed or switch-hitting batters. It’s rare that a left-handed batter wearing a Mets uniform has put up solid numbers over a full season.

But what we are witnessing so far this season from Cliff Floyd could be the best offensive season ever for a Mets left-handed hitter, if not any Mets hitter. What follows is a list of the top seasons I could find for what I believe to be the best left-handed hitters to ever wear a Mets uniform (the fact that Mo Vaughn makes this list shows how thin that area really is), then right-handed hitters, then switch hitters. Since Cliff Floyd is a power hitter, who can steal a couple of bases, steals are included, and only comparable batters are included (for example – you aren’t going to find seasons like Buddy Harrelson’s or Lenny Dykstra’s listed here – just players who hit a lot of homers – which, relative to Mets history, would be more than 25 or so…and in some cases, less):

LEFTIES

Jeromy Burnitz, 2003: 65 games, 64-234 (.274 AVG./.344 OBP./.581 SLG.) 18 HR, 45 RBI, 1 SB, 38 RUNS (Traded mid-season to the Los Angeles Dodgers)

Ed Kranepool, 1971: 122 games, 118-421 (.280 AVG./.340 OBP./.447 SLG.) 14 HR, 58 RBI, 0 SB, 61 RUNS (Kranepool had a season where he hit 16 homers, but this was his best overall year)

Keith Hernandez, 1986: 149 games, 171-551 (.310 AVG./.413 OBP./.446 SLG.) 13 HR, 83 RBI, 2 SB, 94 RUNS (1986 was not Hernandez’s biggest power year, but his best stats year)

John Olerud, 1997-1999: About 159 games, 524-1662 (.315 AVG./.425 OBP./.495 SLG.) 21 HR, 97 RBI, 1.6 SB, 96 RUNS (These are three-year averages, since Olerud put up excellent, consistent numbers his three years with the Mets – the batting average, on-base-percentage, and slugging averages are all approximate).

Rusty Staub, 1975: 155 games, 162-574 (.282 AVG./.371 OBP./.448 SLG.) 19 HR, 105 RBI, 2 SB, 93 RUNS

Darryl Strawberry, 1987: 154 games, 151-532 (.284 AVG./.398 OBP./.583 SLG.) 39 HR, 104 RBI, 36 SB, 108 RUNS (252 career homers as a Met from 1983-1990 leads the all-time Mets homer category, also leads in RBI – he had the same HR total in 1988, but wasn’t as good everywhere else)

Mo Vaughn, 2002: 139 games, 126-487 (.259 AVG./.349 OBP./.456 SLG.) 26 HR, 72 RBI, 0 SB, 67 RUNS

Robin Ventura, 1999: 161 games, 177-588 (.301 AVG./.379 OBP./.529 SLG.) 32 HR, 120 RBI, 1 SB, 88 RUNS (As far as I can remember, Ventura had incredible numbers at the All Star break, and then faded big-time in the second half)

RIGHTIES

Mike Piazza, 1999: 141 games, 162-534 (.303 AVG./.361 OBP/.575 SLG.) 40 HR, 124 RBI, 2 SB, 100 RUNS

Tommie Agee, 1970: 153 games, 182-636 (.286 AVG./.344 OBP./.469 SLG.) 24 HR, 75 RBI, 31 SB, 107 RUNS

Edgardo Alfonzo, 1999: 158 games, 191-628 (.304 AVG./385 OBP./.502 SLG.) 27 HR, 108 RBI, 9 SB, 123 RUNS

Gary Carter, 1985: 149 games, 156-555 (.281 AVG./.365 OBP./.488 SLG.) 32 HR, 100 RBI, 1 SB, 83 RUNS

Bernard Gilkey, 1996: 153 games, 181-571 (.317 AVG./.393 OBP./.562 SLG.) 30 HR, 117 RBI, 17 SB, 108 RUNS

SWITCH-HITTERS

Howard Johnson, 1989: 153 games, 164-571 (.287 AVG./.369 OBP./.559 SLG.) 36 HR, 101 RBI, 41 SB, 104 RUNS

Todd Hundley, 1996: 153 games, 140-540 (.259 AVG./.356 OBP./.550 SLG.) 41 HR, 112 RBI, 1 SB, 85 RUNS

These are, for the most part, the greatest offensive seasons by individual Mets in the team’s history. Yes, power is stressed, but the overall stats are pretty good too – for example, Edgardo Alfonzo in 1999 scored a team-record 123 runs to go with his 27 homers and 108 RBI. And not all huge power seasons are included. A guy like Dave Kingman, for example, isn’t included, because while he may have hit more than 30 homers, he didn’t do much else at the plate.

So now let’s look at Cliff Floyd so far this season:

Cliff Floyd, 2005: 80 games, 86-300 (.287 AVG./.360 OBP./.543 SLG.) 22 HR, 55 RBI, 7 SB, 51 RUNS

Floyd missed about 8 games with an injury, so the numbers could be even better – and he has tailed off a bit lately. If he keeps up the pace he’s on now, though, he will challenge Hundley’s Mets record of 41 homers in a season, and become just the third Met to reach the 40-homer plateau. It’s almost embarrassing to print these numbers…the Mets have not had a very good history offensively.

So as far as comparisons go, right away we can throw out Vaughn, Kranepool, and Agee, because Floyd’s All-Star break numbers nearly match what those guys did in full seasons. If the Mets were sellers as the trading deadline approached, they could get more for Floyd than they did for Burnitz – who had very comparable numbers in just 45 games before he was traded a couple of years ago.

Floyd will definitely finish ahead of Hernandez’s ’86 season, barring injury. Hernandez was a very good offensive player, but Floyd should be able to best Hernandez’s best season (as a Met).

Staub and Alfonzo had similar seasons in that they didn’t hit an outrageous number of homers (though Alfonzo’s 27 was a high number), but they were very, very productive. Floyd probably won’t get to Alfonzo’s club-record 123 runs, but he’s already almost surpassed the homer total.

Olerud didn’t have one outstanding season, but he was so consistent. So he beats out Floyd if you compare Mets careers, but Floyd is on his way to a better individual season.

That leaves, in descending order, the greatest offensive seasons in Mets history:

Mike Piazza, 1999
Darryl Strawberry, 1987
Howard Johnson, 1989
Bernard Gilkey, 1996
Todd Hundley, 1996
Robin Ventura, 1999
Gary Carter, 1985

Hall of Famer Carter had a great season for 1985 – but it wouldn’t be as great these days. Floyd will probably better Carter, especially since he can steal a few bases and he’ll probably score more runs. But Carter’s in the Hall.

Ventura tailed so much in 1999 that we probably could have had this discussion about his 1999 season at that year’s All Star break (and we could have included Alfonzo, Piazza, and Olerud – and the list of greatest Mets seasons would have been a lot thinner) and said that Ventura was having the greatest Mets season ever. If I remember correctly, he had unbelievable numbers at the break, and slumped a lot over the last part of the season – if I remember right, he was lucky to finish with a batting average over .300. So if Floyd tails off, the comparisons to lefty-hitting Ventura will be appropriate – otherwise, I think Floyd moves ahead of Ventura. (But Ventura did hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Mets post-season history, with the grand slam single against the Braves in the NLCS. I’d love to see Floyd in a position to try to match that.)

Hundley had a great season, and the team-record homers merits a high rank on the list. But he only hit .259, and Floyd should score more runs than Hundley, while giving that home run record a run for its money. Gilkey goes higher than Hundley because while Hundley hit more homers that year, Gilkey was better everywhere else – including a team-record 44 doubles. I don’t know that Floyd will beat the average, runs, and RBI totals of Gilkey, but he will be close enough that hitting more homers will put him ahead of Gilkey on the list. (Incidentally – Floyd isn’t anywhere near Gilkey’s doubles total – but future Hall of Famer David Wright has 22 doubles at the break – it’ll be worth watching to see if he gets near Gilkey’s total.)

HoJo and Strawberry were so similar stats-wise because of the fact that they stole so many bases. Both were 40-40 threats. Strawberry gets the nod ahead of HoJo because of the then-record home run total. But it’s very close between the two.

And Mike Piazza gets the all-time best season because he did what Hundley did, and then some. Piazza hit 40 homers, only the second Met to do so, and he drove in 124 runs and scored another 100. To top it all off, he hit .303, all while catching. That’s tough – another position, and who knows how many homers he would have hit. And while I didn’t factor defense in with everyone, it merits consideration here. (Floyd, by the way, is having a great defensive season – for him, anyway. He had that one awful play that cost the Mets Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh, but his defense has been very good.)

So if Floyd sets a team-record for home runs, I think he zooms to the top of this list…because the RBI and run totals, I’m sure, will increase along with the homers. If he fizzles out, it would have to be a bad second half for him to fall off this list completely – 30 homers would still put him in the Carter range. An average second half would throw Floyd somewhere around where Gilkey is on the list…a very good season, but not the best. Of course, the most important thing about a huge second half by Floyd (coupled with the ever-hopeful huge second half from Carlos Beltran*) would be the fact that it helps propel the Mets to a post-season berth.

Now, a check of the mail bag finds an e-mail from Dave:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

An All-Star roundup for you.

--What did you think of A-Rod's white shoes? According to the Daily News, he did it as a shout out to Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter also used to wear white shoes during the ASG.

--Terry Francona wears No. 47. This is notable because I've never seen him before without that Belichick-wannabe warmup jacket, even when its 95 and humid at Fenway.

--Kenny Rogers. I'll set, you spike. Do those 2 ER count against his season stats?

--And now an open ended question... How has the NY media treated Pedro's all star snub? Is he still in the honeymoon period? I accurately predicted he would skip (see the JMBSDC Feb. 24 mailbag), but I also said he would have stopped talking to the press by now. And just for bookkeeping purposes, I'm 1-3 on predictions this year, since I said picked June 11th for the Ken Griffey Jr season-ending-injury date. (Same mailbag, you can look it up).

Dave"

Wow. Dave crediting himself for his accurate predictions. I'm not much on following up on my predictions - I just like to throw them out there willy nilly and if I'm right, and I remember that I predicted it, then I'll try to get some kind of credit (i.e. - Mets go 74-and-0 in the second half, cruising to a World Series win!!! - I'll remember that in October. And I do remember that I picked Houston to make the playoffs - their recent run is making me look good.). Anyway, good for Dave for following up on himself.

Let's take this one-by-one. I did not notice A-Rod's white shoes. Interesting parallel there, with Hernandez/Carter and the white shoes. I don't know what to make of that.

Funny you should mention Francona and his jersey number. As he came out when he was introduced, I said to the wife, "Hmm. Francona's wearing number 47 tonight. I wonder who he gave up his number to for the game." I didn't even realize that this was his everyday number until you mentioned it...and I now realize I never knew what number he wore. And it's because he's always wearing that jacket...it didn't even occur to me. Thanks for piecing that together.

All I have to say about the Kenny Rogers situation (and which I forgot to mention yesterday) is that Kevin Kennedy has to get off the Kenny Rogers bandwagon. You're looking more and more like a fool, Kevin...Rogers isn't the victim here.

Finally, the New York media seems to forget that Pedro* does this every year. They seem to think the Mets organization convinced Pedro* not to go, because he pitched on Sunday. If that's the case, then it was because Pedro* himself brought it up. You're right - he was never going to the Game - even before the season started. But the New York media is so caught up in the fact that they're getting along with Martinez*, I think, that it's all goodies and gumdrops between the two...so Pedro* can do no wrong right now. As far as I'm concerned, he should have gone, honor the selection like everyone else....but let's move on.

THE KID'S KIDS: It looks like rain struck Florida again - Still 12-3, atop the division. I don't know what color Gary Carter's shoes were.

Coming tomorrow: Back to baseball!! Atlanta vs. the Mets in New York. Hopefully I'll be able to watch the game on TBS at work.