FIRED UP

I like it when a ballplayer gets good and fired up. I've mentioned a number of times that's something I think this Mets team could use - whether it's a brawl or just someone getting the team to act like they care.

It's not just the Mets - it's all around baseball. Last night, the Marlins lost to the Rockies 18-17. I saw a bit of the seventh inning, when the Marlins led 17-12. Logan Kensing was brought in with two men on, and I think no one out. He had nothing. Absolutely nothing. He walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases for Matt Holliday. Then he grooved one and Holliday hit it out. And then he proceeded to give up another base hit. He just kept grooving it in there. How about going high and tight on someone? No one ever does that anymore.

So I think there needs to be more emotion. Somewhere between Willie Randolph, whose greatest show of emotion was a glare from the dugout, and the likes of Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon, who overdo it a little bit. A happy medium would be nice.

In the past week or so, though, there have been four instances of the type of emotion you would like to see out of a ballplayer, but in the wrong scenarios and for the wrong reasons. Let me break them down for you:

Shawn Chacon - Chacon was released by the Astros after allegedly throwing his general manager to the ground and then almost beating him up. This all apparently happened because Chacon was being summoned into the manager's office...although some reports indicate that while Chacon wasn't in the right, GM Ed Wade didn't necessarily handle himself in the most professional manner. (Speaking of unprofessional - the MLB Players' Union filed a grievance over this....what a joke.)

Regardless, there's no excuse for assaulting your boss. I don't care how unhappy you are with your own performance, or how the club is handling your situation - this is not the place for this kind of behavior.

Manny Ramirez - Manny was "Being Manny" (one of the worst aphorisms [am I using 'aphorism' correctly?] since 'it is what it is') last week, shoving the Red Sox's traveling secretary in a dispute over Ramirez's ticket allotment while the team was in Houston. First of all, is there something in the water in Houston? Secondly, it's like this never happened - there has been a murmur about it, but hardly an uproar. Thirdly, this is the second internal incident of its kind involving Ramirez...but no one seems to be putting two and two together here. Remember in the game where the Sox and Rays fought, there was a dugout incident between Manny and Kevin Youkilis? All reports after that indicated that Youkilis was the one who was at fault, because he threw equipment around or something, and Ramirez asked him to stop. Well, Youkilis isn't the one going around shoving 65-year-olds.

Joe Girardi - Well, at least with this one we're getting closer to some on-the-field action. After exploding for 18 runs on Wednesday, the Yankees were shut out by the Red Sox on Thursday. And Girardi was mad. He was short-tempered with the press, but he wasn't too much of a jerk. He got really mad when one reporter (Joel - I'm not sure who that was) kept asking the same question, trying to find out what Girardi told his team in a players-only meeting, but was pretty responsive to the rest of the questions. Basically, Girardi said, he was mad about losing - no matter who the opponent is.

Jose Reyes - Finally, Jose Reyes and broadcaster Keith Hernandez had a heated argument on the team plane traveling to St. Louis last week. (Let me just say that I first heard about this from my mom - which meant I had to go and check to make sure it really happened. Sometimes she mishears things on the news. And the real story here is that she got this story 94% correct.) (Also parenthetically, the Southern Bureau had a tongue-in-cheek response to this story that's worth reading.)

Apparently, Reyes was upset about what he heard Hernandez had said about him on the air. I didn't see this play, but last week after a throwing error against the Yankees, Reyes threw his glove to the ground. Hernandez said, "Well, he's got to get over that. Enough babying going on now. He's a grown man. He's been around a long enough time. Take off the kid gloves." (That quote is from mets.com.) Reyes's defense is that when you make an error, you're supposed to be upset about it.

OK, fine. But some people interpreted the throwing of the glove as a shot at Carlos Delgado, who I've read could have caught the ball (again, I didn't see it - I was at NASCAR). It wouldn't surprise me if Reyes was showing up Delgado, because Delgado always....and I mean always...shows up Reyes. Dating back to 2006 - if Delgado had to step off the bag for a throw, he would stare down Reyes. I guess they had a good relationship about it - but it was really ridiculous. Anyway, I wouldn't be shocked if Reyes was showing up Delgado.

The bottom line here is that Reyes should be fired up - but not because Keith Hernandez is calling him out. He should be fired up that his team is losing.

There's one thing that all four of these situations have in common. They're not motivated by the right reasons. They're all motivated by selfish reasons, which is a commentary on the people who play the game today. I think the Chacon and Ramirez situations speak for themselves. Though the Girardi situation is very close to being appropriate, the fact that it comes just after he heard from his outspoken boss and comes during the most important series he'll probably face all season (in fourth place, with the Red Sox in town) makes me second-guess the timing and the real reason for his anger.

And the Reyes thing isn't about baseball. It's about his image.

Jose Reyes is the most important player to the Mets. The stats speak for themselves (I'll probably get into it more around the All Star break). But his attitude leaves a lot to be desired. And until he acts like someone who wants to win, Keith Hernandez, a winner, has every right to criticize the way Reyes acts on the field.

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.

WOULD YOU HIRE THIS MAN?

You may or may not have heard that Gary Carter was in the news a lot this week. He sort of started a controversy by offering himself up for Willie Randolph's job - in a very public way - before it was available. His mouth got him in trouble, and that's given people who like to pick on Carter a chance to take shots at their favorite target.

And it's probably set him back in his search for a managing job in Major League Baseball, something I've commented on before....pretty accurately, it seems.

I hate that I have to do this, but I need to explain myself and why I spend so much time writing about Gary Carter. He's my all-time favorite baseball player. During my first little league game, where I was a catcher (because I was....chubby), in between innings I had my chest protector on. The coach folded it down for me, and said, "There. Now you look like Gary Carter." 'Wow,' I thought. 'Whoever that is, I want to be like him.' And it turned out he was pretty good to have as a favorite player.

Now, if I was an adult at the time Gary Carter played, maybe I wouldn't like him. I'm certainly not crazy about some of the things he has been doing recently. But he's still the guy I loved growing up, and he's still the guy who sent me an autographed picture in response to a letter my mom sent for my 16th birthday, and he'll always be given the benefit of the doubt in my eyes.

Still, I don't fire and hire Major League managers. And I suspect none of those folks are giving Carter the benefit of the doubt. He's been unprofessional going about this whole business of becoming a Major League manager. He's a bit full of himself, and it's to the point where I've set aside his book, because it turns out you can't take too much of Gary Carter at once. (I will review the book sometime in the next month, when school is out and I finish it.) And all of his flaws make him an easy target for someone like Jeff Pearlman, who wrote that ESPN article I linked to above.

But I think Gary Carter means well. I don't think he wants Willie Randolph to be fired, I think he just wants to manage the Mets. I know you can't have one without the other, but Gary Carter likes to talk, and when you ask him if he'd take the managing job with the Mets, he's going to tell you what he thinks, whether or not someone already has that job. And I think some of the heat he's catching is a little unfair. Especially from a guy like Keith Hernandez. On the SNY broadcast the weekend this Gary Carter thing came down, Hernandez called Carter "unconscious", meaning he doesn't think much about anything or anyone. That's my interpretation of it anyway - I was in Washington, so I didn't hear it live. But I feel like that's unfair, that Hernandez has this podium, and he's taking shots at someone who can't respond.

Anyway, I agree Carter shouldn't have said what he said. I would love to see him manage in the majors someday, because I would love to root for him to do well. But I don't think, after this, that it's going to happen anytime soon. And I don't think it will happen at all with the Mets, especially under current ownership. I just hope people stop taking shots at him so I don't have to be embarrassed and feel that I have to defend my favorite player.

COMING IN JUNE: You may have noticed May was a tough month for the blog. Hopefully, with the Mets back to .500 and seeming to have turned a corner this week, we'll be back to everyday updates in June. (And school ending will help, too.)

LEAP YEAR!!

Today is February 29th, 2008. It's a leap year. With the expectations for the Mets being a World Series championship, it begs the question: How have the Mets performed in leap years?

1964: 53-109 (10th place out of 10)

1968: 73-89 (9th place out of 10)

1972: 83-73 (3rd place out of 6)

1976: 86-76 (3rd place out of 6)

1980: 67-95 (5th place out of 6)

1984: 90-72 (2nd place - 6.5 GB)

1988: 100-60 (lost NLCS in 7 games)

1992: 72-90 (5th place out of 6)

1996: 71-91 (4th place out of 5)

2000: 94-68 (lost World Series in 5 games)

2004: 71-91 (4th place out of 5)

2 out of 11 leap years were pretty good (although when you consider that 1988 was a huge disappointment, maybe not).

The Mets started out in 1962, so let's throw 1964 out the window - and if you do that, you're left with 10 years. Half of those were 65-70 wins, so those would be bad years. 2 more were just mediocre - 3rd place finishes, a little above .500. 1984 was a good year, but the Mets still finished behind the Cubs.

The other two are 1988 and 2000, and you have to hope these 2008 Mets surpass both of those performances. And here's a little insight into my predictions for the year (which will be passed along sometime in the next couple of weeks) - I think it will take about 100 wins to win the National League East this year. This could be a very intense race.

SNY: This space here was supposed to be filled with my quick first reaction to the Mets first televised spring training game against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, I forgot to set the TiVo. (How far we've come in the four years of this blog - where originally there were VCR problems in situations like this.) Well, I just watched the introduction of the late replay, and I have two reactions - number one: Keith Hernandez does not look good. His new hairstyle (or lack thereof - it doesn't look like he's balding at all, but he shaved his head) does not suit him. The second thing is that it's exciting just to have baseball on TV.

Tomorrow's March....and the season will be here before you know it.

STILL LOSING...

My outlook is a little rosier today, despite the Mets losing again to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Perhaps because I made it through the day without crashing a car into anything. Perhaps because another issue we had on Tuesday at the House sponsored by DirecTV was resolved. I forgot to mention it on in Tuesday's posting, but the hot water was out. That was fixed early Wednesday. Perhaps it's because I found the old "Umlauts" standings from 1999 between johnnymets, the Southern Bureau, and Justin in NYC.

"Umlauts" was a game whereby you had to throw a CD (usually played with the "Umlauts" CD, so called because it was only identified by a U with umlauts over it) onto a shelf across a hallway. The shelf was divided up into different squares and rectangles, and you earned more points for getting the "Umlaut" to settle into the smaller areas. It was tougher than it sounds, but by the end of the year, we were experts. The game took place at Boston University's radio station, WTBU. The creation of this game, sadly, may have been among our greater accomplishments during our college years. At least I know it was for me. So, since the parents are cleaning out their house during a renovation, all my old stuff is popping up...and the "Umlauts" standings were a recent find. Very exciting. For the record, Justin finished in first place in the standings.

I think the preceding two paragraphs illustrate the point I was going to make tonight. I've just spent two paragraphs talking about a game I made up 8 years ago...I'm afraid that I'm no longer the true blue Mets fan I've always been. Or...I ask the question, what makes a true blue fan? I used to think I was going to lose my status as "#1 Mets Fan in the World" if I missed one pitch during the course of a game, even if it was the late innings of a blowout. Now I'm lucky if I can stay awake past the seventh inning stretch...let alone the first pitch of a west coast game. Worse still, I might not even care when I see the score in the morning whether the Mets won or lost. What does that say about me?

I've become someone who rationalizes losses - if the Mets lose to the Phillies and Cole Hamels is pitching, for example, I say, "Well, if they were going to lose, at least it's to someone on my fantasy team." I didn't even realize until this morning that the rest of the National League East is right back on the Mets' tails because they've won just one game so far this month (although that may serve more as a commentary on my common sense than anything else). And it didn't make me run down to the computer to issue a call to arms on the blog.

I think steroids has a lot to do with this. I think slowly I'm separating myself from what I've been very close to, so that I'm not as disappointed as I might have been when names I've convinced myself were not involved get released as being involved in the scandal. I know fatherhood has been a major part of this, because I look forward to seeing my daughter every day far more than David Wright or Jose Reyes. But her bedtime is 7pm, just in time for the east coast games, and if something else comes up, I'm not as disappointed about missing the game as I once was.

So I'm having a fan identity crisis. Maybe all I need is the Mets to come back East, play at reasonable times, and get back to playing exciting, winning baseball. Maybe that's this weekend when they're playing the Yankees.

All that said, though, it only makes me more confident that the Mets are going to win it all this year. I wanted this blog to be a running record of the season - with Players of the Game following every game, all year long. I've lost that option, because I've missed so many postings. I missed major events of the season such as the emergence of Carlos Gomez, the surprise contributions of Jorge Sosa, and the Endy Chavez injury. So because of that, based on the way things work out for me, this will be the year the Mets win it, and I will only have a partial history recorded. It will have to suffice, but it could have been much more. Does that make me less of a fan? I don't know. I do know that the johnnymets of a year or two ago would have said that it certainly does.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: Thanks to everyone who commented on the return posting from Tuesday. The Sister even weighed in! FYI, the 'system' she refers to in her comment is her so-called 'system' for the "New Baseball Pool". I'm convinced she picks a random team each week - she claims to have a 'system'. I know people enjoy leaving comments on the site, but also don't forget that you can e-mail at johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com.

AT LEAST HIS NAME'S NOT DICK: I keep forgetting to mention this, but every so often, the guys in the SNY booth will bring up a certain player from the Chicago Cubs who played in the late 70's, whose name happens to be Pete LaCock. Usually Keith Hernandez instigates it. But they'll allude to him, call him Pete or something, but never mention his full name. This has been happening for about a year, about once every other month...not very often. Last week, they did it again, and Gary Cohen, in what I'm guessing was coming through on an off-air bet that he couldn't say the name and keep it together, came right out and said, in response to Keith's hint at the player, "You're talking about Pete LaCock, right?" Well, they all lost it. And Hernandez goes, "Sorry folks."

I don't know what to make of this. First of all, I laugh every time they hint at his name...it makes me think of my old internship (the same internship for Southern Bureau and Justin in NYC), where the executive producer had LaCock's baseball card prominently posted in the office. But I also cringe, because Hernandez probably got Cohen in trouble for the whole thing. I like to think that Cohen is a little more professional than he gets when Hernandez is around. Again, I'm going to apologize for devaluing Ron Darling when he first came to SNY from Washington. He has been one of the best analysts I've ever seen/heard. I can take or leave Hernandez these days.

BEAT THE STREAK: I'm still playing, haven't really threatened Joe DiMaggio. I'll post this again when I get past 8 games, maybe.

UGH-LY

Phillies 11, Mets 4 (NYM: 71-47, PHI: 58-60)


Blow the Mets out once, good for you. Blow the Mets out twice in a row, shame on them.

The Phillies have now outscored the Mets 24-4 in the first two games of this four-game series, and the Mets are inching dangerously close to being compared to the St. Louis Cardinals - owners of the title "Worst Team to Lead a Division This Late in the Season". The Cardinals, you may remember, have been blown out a bunch of times this year - giving up lots of double-digit run totals, and tallying losing streaks of 8 games a couple of times this year. The Mets aren't there yet - but they're inching closer. Two wins in a row in the final two games of this series will go a long way to helping people forget about these first two games.

The Mets, again, fell victim to their starter getting torched early. Orlando Hernandez gave up four runs in the first, on two homers, and a total of 11 earned runs in 4 innings. The bright side from the pitching perspective? 4 scoreless innings by the bullpen (Pedro Feliciano, Roberto Hernandez, and Aaron Heilman).

The other bright side came on the hitting side. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, was the entire Mets offense. He homered on the first pitch of the game, homered in his second at-bat, was walked, then in his fourth at-bat, hit a 2-run homer, becoming the seventh Met ever to hit 3 homers in a game (among others, Hall of Famer Gary Carter accomplished this feat). Reyes does not need to be swinging for the fences all the time, but it's nice to see him flex his muscles on a night where it really didn't matter what he did - the Mets weren't going to win.

Wednesday night the Mets will turn to Tom Glavine to stop the bleeding - he goes against Jon Lieber.



MAGIC NUMBER: Again, no change. The Mets can still knock four games off the magic number with wins in the final two games of this series. It'd be nice to lower it a little bit before the Mets come back home this weekend.

METS MEDIA: Keith Hernandez was back in the booth Monday, after 10 days off (not sure if that was a vacation, scheduled time for Ron Darling, or some sort of punishment). I'll be honest, I'm not missing him too much when he is gone. I was off-base at the beginning of the year with my critique of Darling, and comparing him to Hernandez. Darling is head and shoulders above Hernandez in the broadcast booth...and I think SNY is starting to realize that.

Don't get me wrong - occasionally, Hernandez has a nugget or two of insight to offer. But Darling is on from the first pitch through the final out. Hernandez gets into a little of the "I'm a bit bored by this" schtick, which I hate. The other thing about Hernandez is that in the past, he was a treat - offering much-needed relief from the team of Ted Robinson and Fran Healy. Now, it's Hernandez who I often need a break from. I think part of my apprehension regarding Darling back in March/April was the fact that he wasn't exciting as part of the Nationals' telecasts last year. In retrospect, the Nationals weren't exciting to watch, and that's going to wear on a broadcaster. Also, who knows if Darling had an inkling that at the end of the year, he'd be going back to New York, to work on the Mets' new station? That could be a distraction as well. Either way, I'm glad he's on SNY, and I hope he's the voice of the Mets for as long as David Wright and Jose Reyes are manning the left side of the infield.

MY UPCOMING WEEKEND: This weekend is the one I've been waiting for for about 4 months now - Saturday morning I'll have my fantasy football draft, and then I'll be going to the Mets game that night. The Mets are playing the Rockies, but the important part is the before-the-game ceremony that will honor the 1986 Mets - a 20th anniversary reunion. I received my 20th anniversary shirt from the game my parents attended (thanks mom and dad!), so I'll be wearing that, and I'll be getting a 1986 pack of TOPPS baseball cards (thanks, Hyundai!).

The only thing I don't understand is why this is happening against the Rockies. There are 81 home games in a season - the Mets couldn't pick a game against a team that actually existed 20 years ago? Maybe the Astros, who they beat in the playoffs? I'd like an explainer on that. Supposedly the seats my dad and I will be in aren't too good - but I'll try to have some pictures, especially of a certain Hall of Fame catcher.

THE KID'S KIDS: Daytona lost, but St. Lucie also lost, so no change in the standings - the Mets are still a half-game back. Palm Beach also lost, so they stay a game behind St. Lucie.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: A 1-0 win by Norfolk - they only had one hit off Ryan Vogelsong, but it was a Chris Basak homer, the only hit the Tides would need. Edgardo Alfonzo did not play, but Brian Bannister pitched 8 innings for the Tides, giving up just 3 hits, and striking out 7. Quite a turnaround from his last outing.

METS 12-7, 1st Place, NL East, 3 gms. up

The Giants beat the Mets 6-2 in the first game of their 3-game series in San Francisco Monday night.

As you know, the wife and I saw the A's in Oakland, but we did swing by AT&T Park (formerly SBC and PacBell Park) in San Francisco. It looks very nice:

So we'll be going back to San Fran to check out that park...probably three more name changes later. And they'll probably be playing the:



Big picture there from outside the right field gate - guess the grounds crew was getting ready for the Giants' next opponent - our New York Mets.

BELTRAN*: Carlos Beltran* has a strained hamstring. He's not going to play during the Giants series. This is why the asterisk has yet to be removed from his name.

HERNANDEZ: The latest on the Keith Hernandez flap/debacle. Suzyn Waldman, who is a Yankees broadcaster (the only woman play-by-play person in the majors, actually), has been a New York sports radio personality for years. She's a woman. Anyway, she says she expects as much from Hernandez, because he was apparently always surly to her in the clubhouse. I believe it. Here's a guy who's been around guys since before high school, at a time when women weren't around sports like they are now. He's from a different time. I'm not defending him, because he's gotta keep his dumb opinions to himself. I enjoy Hernandez's outspoken baseball opinions - but he should keep those opinions limited to baseball.

As I'm writing this, I'm remembering a game at Shea last year where the cameras caught an overweight guy eating ice cream in the stands. Hernandez made an inappropriate comment then. He needs to filter things a little more - and I expect he'll be more careful commenting on non-baseball issues from now on.

WHAT IF......?: There's a new addiction brewing inside of me. It'll take off in just a few days. Whatifsports.com. You may have heard of it - it's a site where you can compile fantasy teams using any player from any year in the history of baseball. A friend of mine knows a guy who's starting a "What If" league, in which 24 people will join, each being a separate team. These 24 people will be divided into six divisions, and there will be 6 division champions, 2 wild cards, and a full playoff and World Series following a 162-game regular season. I think it'll start Wednesday, and I hear 3 games are played a day, so I'll be checking this site constantly. It could be dangerous.

Of course, if I'm going to venture into something like this, I'm not going without the Mets. So here's the squad (with the help of my article last year of the "greatest offensive seasons by Mets"):

The Lineup
2005 Jose Reyes - SS (hopefully he'll get on base enough)
1988 Wally Backman - 2B (good number 2 hitter)
1985 Gary Carter - C (expensive but non-negotiable that he be on the team)
1999 Mike Piazza - DH (same)
1999 Robin Venture - 3B (Last year's David Wright was too expensive)
1976 Dave Kingman - LF (Couldn't afford Strawberry, so I'll take Kingman's 37 HR's)
1975 Rusty Staub - RF (Solid outfield numbers)
1976 Ed Kranepool - 1B (I needed to save some money at first)
1985 Lenny Dykstra - CF (Speed at the top, speed at the bottom)

The Bench
1995 Tim Bogar (He had a good year in a down year for the Mets)
1999 Shawon Dunston (Hopefully a good pinch-hitting option)
2001 Joe McEwing (Flexibility to play a lot of positions)
1999 Todd Pratt (Needed a good, cheap backup catcher)
1980 Mookie Wilson (Some late inning speed for the basepaths)
2004 David Wright (Couldn't leave him off the team! Not as good as '05, but still good)

The Pitchers
1972 Tom Seaver (Had to compromise, take a cheaper season - his best year cost $13 Mil)
1984 Dwight Gooden (Not his best season either, but still better than most in history)
2005 Pedro Martinez* (His numbers were among the best in team history last year)
1988 David Cone (20-3 record - how could I not)
1970 Jerry Koosman (Had to have a lefty - but not Koosman's best season)
1969 Tug McGraw
1985 Jesse Orosco
1989 Randy Myers
1989 Roger McDowell (Not a bad foursome out of the 'pen)
1962 Vinegar Bend Mizell (He's awful, but I had to fill a roster spot cheap - he's programmed to only go in for mop-up duty when I'm losing)

So that's the squad I'll hopefully win it all with. You only get $100 million to work with, and I spent a lot of that on pitching. I hope pitching truly does win championships. My offense isn't too bad, though - I can use Hall of Famer Gary Carter along with Mike Piazza, since we can use DH in this league. Needless to say, I can't wait for the games to get underway. And you better believe I'll be giving updates.

THE KID'S KIDS: I haven't gotten a final from Tuesday night, but the St. Lucie Mets' win over the first place Manatees Monday has them at 11-6, 1.5 games back. They're in second place, a half-game ahead of Palm Beach.

BEAT THE STREAK: Alfonso Soriano got a hit, so I'm working on a 4-gamer. Gotta get this one to 10, at least. For Wednesday, it's David Wright, a career .600 hitter against Giants starter Jason Schmidt. (He's 3-for-5.)

The Mets are a 3:30 game tomorrow in San Francisco, before heading for a very important road series in Atlanta. And lucky me - tomorrow is a half-day of school. I'll have a full game posting Wednesday evening. Right now, it's time to go to bed and try to stay up for a Steve Trachsel start. That'll be quite a task.

The Mets are taking on the Giants in San Francisco as I write this...I'll try to do next-day updates of the West Coast games.

TRIP PIC: I was going to end with this, but I'm afraid what I've spent most of my time writing about (venting about) is boring, and I didn't want you to miss it - in case it's worthy of a Pulitzer. So here's one of the pictures from the trip out West (a possible semi-regular feature, until I'm out of pictures):

I love this picture. This is from our trip to McAfee Coliseum, and the A's-Rangers game. It was Huston Street Bobblehead Doll Day. Unlike the Mets, who only give bobbleheads to kids, the A's give them to everyone. So I got a bobblehead. But that's beside the point. The A's took a 3-1 lead into the 9th, and Street comes in to nail it down. I'm telling the wife and the other two women we went to the game with how everyone always does very well on their Bobblehead Doll day. Well, Street proceeds to give up 4 runs, including a single and homer to the first two batters to tie it. I saw this kid waving the bobblehead, with Street in the background, and said, I should take a picture of that. I did. It was on the pitch that Street gave up the homer to Mark Teixeira. Glad I snapped it when I did - this was the last time the kid waved the bobblehead. I think if you click on the picture you'll get a large version of it - I love that the players are all following the ball as it heads over the fence. Walter Iooss, eat your heart out. Crap, I just realized I should have tried to sell this picture to SI.

I read in the Sunday paper that Street was the first player to blow a save on his bobblehead day, or something like that. I forget the actual stat.

And now these messages:
I need to throw the gloves down. I'm really disappointed in SportsNet New York (SNY)'s non-baseball coverage. (And to be honest, the jury's still out on the Mets games - I love Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, but my sample size of seeing these games is very, very small.)

To the point, 'Daily News Live' is awful. (Maybe if SNY would have made me the official blogging partner, and had a show called "johnnymetslive", we could have avoided all this.) I've mentioned this show before - hosted by Gary Apple. He is brutal, and the show is bad. It's a roundtable featuring some guests, Apple, and three writers from the New York Daily News who have no business being on TV. (I have been anti-newspaper people on TV for a long time here in Boston, and now it's happening a lot in New York. It just doesn't work for me, outside of a select few who appear on ESPN. I just can't believe the egos on some of these newspaper writers.) Anyway, the main thing that has me fuming from Monday is an interview I saw on 'Daily News Live'.

The interview focused on Mets announcer Keith Hernandez, and a female trainer for the Padres. If you missed this story, here it is (I didn't see this happen live because I was flying back from California): Mike Piazza homered off Pedro Martinez*. The SNY cameras showed Piazza slapping hands in the dugout with teammates, and then a woman. Hernandez, on the air, said something to the effect of, "Whoa, what's she doing in the dugout? Players, personnel, and staff only! She doesn't belong there. I'm not going to say she belongs in the kitchen, but get her out of the dugout." Now, later in the broadcast, the Mets found out she was a trainer on the Giants staff, and Hernandez rescinded his comment a bit, making sure as long as she belonged there, it was OK for her to be there. On Sunday, on the air, Hernandez apologized to anyone he might have offended with his "inappropriate" comment.

So it's a big non-story, pretty much. Hernandez even called the trainer to apologize. So 'Daily News Live" does a big live interview with the trainer, with Gary Apple and the News writers asking her questions. What does she do for the team? She's a massage therapist. Does she belong in the dugout? Absolutely, she says. What exactly does her role with the team entail? She is a massage therapist, and a personal trainer...but not an athletic trainer. Not licensed as an athletic trainer.

OK. Dud interview. Then Bill Madden gets on, and he comes off like an absolute idiot. Let me paraphrase some of their exchange:

Bill Madden: So let me get this straight, you're a masseuse?
Trainer: I'm a massage therapist....
BM:(Cutting her off) yeah, a masseuse. So you give the guys massages?
Trainer: If that's what the player needs that day, that's what I'll do. But it depends on the situation - if I need to work a guy out...........(she continues, explaining her job)
BM: And you think it's perfectly OK for you to be in the dugout during a game?
Trainer: Absolutely.
BM: Now, do you usually wear that hideous camouflage uniform when you're in the dugout?
Trainer: (explains the Padres were wearing the camouflage uniform to pay tribute to the military on "Military Opening Night", then says if you think those uniforms are hideous, that's your opinion, but we were wearing them along with the team with good intentions).

From here on, the questions just got silly and irrelevant, and as the wife says, made Hernandez's comments look tame compared to what they were saying to her.

Hernandez was then interviewed by Apple, and he was clearly steamed that this had taken on new life. He said, look guys, I apologized for an inappropriate comment, the issue isn't that she was in the dugout, it was what I said. He was starting to call out the guys in the studio for trying to crucify the woman for being in the dugout. It was just awful, and I think I've wasted too much space trying to recount it here. I need the Mets to get off the West Coast.

Bottom line: it made the New York writers look like a bunch of ignorant jerks, with nothing better to write about. What a disgrace.

By the way, the Mets are already down 3-0 after an Alou first inning homer. Also by the way: despite his comments, the wife is still a fan of Keith Hernandez.

THE KID'S KIDS: After my lengthy time away from the site, the St. Lucie Mets are now 10-6. They're actually in third place in their division. I'm not sure if the record includes the Mets' 5-4 win on Monday night, though - over the first place Brevard County Manatees.

BEAT THE STREAK: Back to taking it seriously, after vacation. I'm on a modest 3-gamer, after a Jimmy Rollins hit tonight (actually, 2 hits, I think). I took Alfonso Soriano for Tuesday, against Dave Williams of the Reds (formerly with the Pirates). He is bad.

No news out of the Mets' first spring workout, which took place Thursday morning at 9 o'clock. No news is definitely good news - we don't need to be hearing about injuries or camp mishaps on Day 1.

That said, I'll spend a little bit of time today talking about the future of the Mets.

2B Anderson Hernandez and OF Lastings Milledge are the two big Mets prospects to keep an eye on this year. Both seem to have made it through the off-season without being traded (though I wouldn't put it past Omar Minaya to trade Milledge for whatever pitchers might become available...I hope he doesn't). Both Hernandez and Milledge will be in Triple-A this season. (Milledge has yet to make it to the majors, Hernandez was 1-for-18 in his September call-up last year - but is better known for his fielding.) But I'm thinking ahead - to 2007. Cliff Floyd is playing his last season under his current contract. Negotiations with the Mets won't happen until after this season. But if Floyd doesn't re-up with the Mets, Milledge could get his shot in 2007. And the big question mark at second base could be filled by Hernandez in 2007 (providing Jeff Keppinger doesn't take it over this year and not give it up). Point is, the Mets, offensively and defensively, could be set for quite a while, considering the relative youth at all the other positions (Wright, Reyes, Beltran*, Nady/Diaz) - only Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca are on the wrong side of 30.

BUT - I'm not sure the Mets are built for too far into the future - because their pitching staff is getting very old. The trades of Jae Seo and Kris Benson really hurt this year's depth in the rotation, but did some damage to the rotation of the future as well. It's realistic to think that Victor Zambrano and Aaron Heilman could be around for a while, but Pedro Martinez*, Tom Glavine, and Steve Trachsel are all up there in age (35, 40, 36 this season), and could contribute MAYBE one more season after this one (depending on how successful even this year is). Billy Wagner, even, is on a 4-year-deal, which will be his last one in the majors, he says. And the rest of the bullpen isn't the greatest in baseball this year - let alone in years to come - but more on that as spring training progresses.

There's not much help in the minors - the number one pitching prospect, Yusmeiro Petit, was traded to the Marlins in the Delgado deal, and none of the other minor leaguers are sure-fire prospects. So that's one area the Mets really need to work on. There's plenty of hope for a championship the way the team is constituted this year...but I'm looking for more than just one year of glory. And for that to happen, the Mets are going to need to bolster certain areas. The good news is, the core is there - some pieces are in place - but there's lots to go to make this a team to dominate for years to come.

PEDRO'S TOE: It seems like Pedro* will not pitch in the first round of the World Baseball Classic. I had mentioned that I didn't think the toe was that big a deal, in other words - it wouldn't cost Pedro* time with the Mets, and it wouldn't stop him from being effective this year. I still believe that. But I also mentioned I think it's Pedro*'s way (along with the Mets) of not having to do something extra-curricular, i.e. the World Baseball Classic. He doesn't like stuff like that. But I do think he really does want to pitch for his country - so I think Pedro* and the Mets are reaching a compromise, where Pedro* will pitch later in the Classic, when he works up his arm strength, and when he would be more intense during spring training anyway. I think that's where we're headed, and I'm thrilled about it - because I could easily see the Mets' hopes for 2006 going down the drain with a Pedro Martinez* injury from the World Baseball Classic.

FIGHTING WORDS: Andruw Jones told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he isn't worried about other teams (i.e. the Mets) unseating the Braves atop the NL East. He says every year they hear about different teams coming in ready to take over the division, and they never do it (citing the Mets last year and the Phillies the year before). He says the Braves have been there each and every year, and know what to expect, and know how to win, and the other teams are still learning how. He's right of course...but the Mets can use that as bulletin board fodder.

Another interesting point, Braves-related: Julio Franco talked the other day about how the Braves don't get up for any particular opponent. They treat every game the same, no matter what uniform the other team is wearing. This would be well-received advice, if he shares it with his new Mets teammates. The Mets tend to get a little more riled for games with the Braves, though those games have met with very limited success in recent years.

UNBELIEVABLE: I'm still on my mission to stop this word from being so overused. I've written about it before, both here and on johnnyjets.blogspot.com. It's especially overused in the sports domain, mostly by broadcasters. It's a crutch, when there's nothing else to say, to throw this word in to describe an event. (I've noticed it a heck of a lot in the Winter Olympics - especially in those sports where very new people are being used to broadcast - i.e. A.J. Mleczko doing women's hockey - she described everything that happened as "unbelievable"...and certain people as "unbelievable talents". They're in the Olympics - I believe they are talented.)

Anyway, it bothers me, and I'm hoping the Mets' new sports network, which I know monitors this site, will make sure their broadcasters avoid overusing the word (I must say, baseball is the sport where the word is used the least - football is the more guilty culprit). Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez are the new color men, and I'm sure Hernandez won't be using the word - he's been awesome when he's done Mets games. Darling I'm not so sure about - he was doing Washington Nationals telecasts last season, and while his analysis was good, he wasn't very exciting to listen to - I can see him slipping into "unbelievable" territory this season. I'm going to be watching for the overuse of "unbelievable" this year - and hopefully eliminate it from my own vocabulary - unless something truly "unbelievable" happens. (In case you're wondering what would be a proper use of "unbelievable", I mentioned the Cardinals' comeback/Albert Pujols' home run in the Game 5 of last year's NLCS. That is a truly "unbelievable" event - because no one saw it coming. We need to save the word for those types of situations!)

'86 METS ROUNDUP: In the season's first installment of the '86 Mets Roundup, Darling, Sid Fernandez, Howard Johnson, Tim Tuefel, and Mookie Wilson will all be at Shea Stadium Sunday morning at 9am, when individual game tickets go on sale.

ONE MORE THING: This afternoon I was watching some of the NFL Network's coverage of this weekend's scouting combine (more on that here), and I was thinking that if there was an MLB Network, I would never change the channel. Imagine - coverage of all the different spring training sites this time of year....non-stop coverage of the hot stove...classic baseball games to fill the gaps...get going on this Bud Selig!

Today, November 9th, might just live on in my memory as one of the greatest days in Mets fan history. Gary Cohen, voice of the Mets on WFAN radio (and Number 2 man overall next to Bob Murphy for about 15 years prior to becoming #1), will take over as the play-by-play man on Mets telecasts on the Mets' new television network beginning next season. Ted Robinson, to coin one of Cohen's calls, "IS OUTTA HERE!" The Mets wanted someone who was exclusive to the Mets as their voice on the new network, and Ted Robinson (for some reason) is in high demand, what with all the tennis, college football, and other sports he covers elsewhere for other companies. The Mets made a great move. I wonder if Howie Rose will take over the number one spot on the radio, with Ed Coleman moving from pre-and-post-game coverage to the booth. That would be OK...but the radio won't be the same without Cohen. I'll live with listening to others on car rides to NYC, though, having Cohen for the majority of the games when I watch on TV. (There's still no word on a color commentator, but the Mets would be very wise to snatch up Keith Hernandez, who has done fabulous work in a limited role with the Mets until now. I don't mind seeing the harmless but dopey Fran Healy take a hike. And the Mets have to keep Ralph Kiner on in some capacity.)

What will a baseball season be without me complaining about the broadcasters? I can't wait...and there will actually be good baseball to watch!

A Hot Stove Update: Word out of the meetings in California is that the Mets are talking to the Devil Rays about a deal that would get them Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez. The Mets would have to give up some combination of Aaron Heilman, Yesmiro Petit, and others. Both Baez and Huff are entering the final years of their contracts. That would be OK, because Huff would fill a need opposite Mike Jacobs at first base, but I think the Mets would be better off not dealing Heilman. Too many times they've gotten rid of someone who's gone on to star with another team, and I think this might happen with him. He found his niche last year, and I would love to see him become their closer, a la Jason Isringhausen with Oakland. (Unsuccessful young starter, turned successful closer.) Baez has Armando Benitez written all over him - he just hasn't shown he can shut the door in key situations.

I should note here that it doesn't look like Braden Looper will be brought back. Also, Doug Mientkiewicz will not come back. The Mets have brought back Steve Trachsel.

One more thing - apparently, even though he says he doesn't want to come to the Mets, the Mets are still interested in working out a deal for Manny Ramirez (he has veto power). The Mets think if the Angels get Paul Konerko, they won't be interested in Ramirez (nor could they afford him), and they might be able to get back in the picture. Then they would be able to deal Baez and/or Huff to Boston as part of the Ramirez deal. This is BAD news. The best news to come out of Boston in 20 years was that Manny didn't want to go to the Mets. Leave it be.

I owe my fans a final update on the events they followed this whole (second half) of the baseball season.

ELTRAN*'S: The final numbers on Carlos Beltran*'s second half, needless to say, were disappointing. 266 AB, 71 hits - .267 AVG. 45 HR, 6 HR (he hit 8 in the previous postseason!!! - this is the second half of an entire season!!), 34 RBI. 13 SB. It better be a good year next year. For those of you dying to know, over the full season, Beltran* was:
.266, 16 HR, 78 RBI, 83 Runs, 17 SB. Whoopee.

WRIGHT WATCH: It's never too late to run a Wright Watch. David Wright finished the season with 42 doubles, 2 shy of the club record. A shame. But he'll re-write (re-WRIGHT?) the Mets' record books before he's done. FYI - he dwarfed Beltran*'s numbers, catching fire over the final weeks of the season. Here's Wright's final numbers:
.306, 27 HR, 102 RBI, 99 Runs, 17 SB. That's up there in "Greatest Mets seasons ever" territory.

Speaking of which, Cliff Floyd, after that torrid start, slowed waaay down...finishing with 34 HR and 98 RBI and a .273 AVG.

I'll see if I can do periodic Hot Stove Updates throughout the off-season.

MARLON'S FLORIDA

Mets 7, Marlins 6 (NYM: 40-39, 8 GB; FLA: 40-37)

This was one exciting game. Fireworks night at Shea - packed house, Tom Glavine vs. A.J. Burnett, fat Tony Gwynn throwing out the first pitch...35-minute rain delay.

Here are a couple of sidelines to the action - some of which I had no idea about:
-Luis Castillo entered the game with a 28-game hitting streak at Shea Stadium - the longest ever at Shea. The streak began in September of 2001, and continues today: Castillo was 3-for-5.
-Carlos Delgado owns Tom Glavine - he entered the game 10-for-14 lifetime against Glavine - that's a .714 average. He went 0-for-3 on Friday night.

The Mets and Marlins are developing a nice little rivalry. First of all, they're very competitive. The Mets have come out on top 7 out of 10 games so far this year against Florida, but they've been close games, for the most part. I also remember the first time they met this year, there were some words exchanged when Al Leiter hit Cliff Floyd with a pitch - there were a bunch of hit batters on Friday night - including a couple that I thought were intentional:

-In the 5th, when A.J. Burnett started to lose his head (more on that later), he had a runner on third - I think he plunked Floyd intentionally (in the knee, no less), so Floyd wouldn't hit him.

-In the 6th, with Aaron Heilman squaring around to bunt, Nate Bump threw right at Heilman's head. I'm not saying that was very intentional....but keep in mind Heilman did throw a one-hitter at Florida in April.

-In the 8th, Heilman threw one under Paul LoDuca's chin. Fran Healy said there was no way that was intentional...but I think Heilman was exacting some revenge on the opposing catcher.

OK. Now let's look at the game. The Marlins took a 1-0 lead, the Mets took a 2-1 lead, then Glavine handed those 2 runs right back in the top of the fifth, making it 3-2 Marlins. In the bottom of the fifth, the Mets broke things open...for a little while.

Mike Lowell made two throwing errors on three plays (sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt). That set up an RBI double by Mike Cameron, tying the game at 3. A.J. Burnett looked like he was getting rattled, mostly by the errors, then he uncorked a wild pitch. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes ran from third, and a slid head first into home. His hand just got under the tag by Burnett, and Burnett was very upset with the home plate umpire's call. He went on to hit Floyd, then walked future Hall of Famer David Wright, forcing in a run. That was all for Burnett, and the Marlins bullpen held the score at Mets 5, Marlins 3, until Mike Cameron's solo homer in the 7th.

It was the top of the eighth that the Mets blew it. Heilman couldn't get a batter, leaving with a runner on 2nd, and allowing 2 runs, making it 6-5. Roberto Hernandez got a sac fly, then a strikeout, and almost escaped the inning, but gave up a dribbler up the middle that got the tying run home. A nice outing by Hernandez - he deserved to pick up the win.

The win became his when Marlon Anderson led off the bottom of the eighth with a double over Juan Pierre's head. After a Ramon Castro sac bunt, Chris Woodward singled to center to make it 7-6 Mets. Braden Looper gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Delgado, but got Alex Gonzalez to line to Anderson (whose performance merited headlines on this site...although there were many heroes in this game) to end the game.

Very exciting stuff. A couple of excellent points by Keith Hernandez tonight - first of all, after TGBWEL, Jose Reyes, flew out in the eighth, Hernandez said if Reyes starts to line the ball, he will raise his average by about 40 points. "The fly ball is a big out for him," says Keith. He's right. Also, Hernandez pointed out that the Marlins have good averages hitting with runners in scoring position, but they can't get that clutch hit in the late innings of games....like this one.

On to other matters: The All-Star Game. I'm not sure where I saw this, I think it may have been the Daily News, but Pedro Martinez* now says he would love to represent the Mets in the game. Apparently, which I missed, Pedro* had said he might not accept an invitation to play in the game, but has since thought better of it...he now says based on the investment Omar Minaya and the Mets made in him, he feels he needs to go, if Tony LaRussa names him to the team. This is just a sign of things to come from Pedro* in future years. I guarantee, if we're lucky enough to have Martinez* representing the Mets in the All-Star Game in the future, there will be a year where he doesn't go, or opts out of playing, or something he pulled while he was with the Red Sox.

Carlos Beltran*, meanwhile, will be voted in by the fans, so he'll definitely be there. I am not as down on Beltran* as I might seem, saying he hasn't given us what we've expected. While this is true, I think he's going to start coming on strong. First of all, people say he's a big second-half player. That would be good, if true. Secondly, he wasn't playing at 100% until this past week...and he's showing that by running the bases now. Beltran* stole two bases on Thursday, and another Friday night. He's running well, and feels confident his legs are 100%.

Which leads me to another point - the Mets are so exciting to watch on the basepaths. They gave the Marlins a bit of their own medicine Friday night - the Marlins always run on Mike Piazza (who had the night off), because he can't throw them out, so the Mets ran like crazy on Paul LoDuca, who is struggling with his arm. Beltran* and future Hall of Famer Wright stole bases Friday. And the Mets have been very aggressive on the basepaths lately - they lead the NL in stolen bases.

My arch-nemesis, Kenny Rogers, got a 20-game suspension for his actions on Wednesday. I am happy with the suspension, but he's appealing, and some games will probably get knocked off. I need to clear a couple of things up, though. I said Rogers threw a fit after a bad outing, when he broke his pinky finger. He actually threw a fit because he was pulled from an outing where he was doing well, and that's when he broke the finger (on his non-pitching hand). He actually had the bad outing his time out before that, getting roughed up by the Angels. That led to speculation that he was missing his next start not because of a broken pinky finger on his non-throwing hand, but because he didn't want to face the Angels again and have them affect his statistics negatively (lending more credence to my 1999 NLCS belief). I don't know if this negative speculation fueled Rogers' cameraman attack...but it probably didn't help.

THE KID'S KIDS: The name of the CARTER COUNT has changed, because I like this name better. The best information I could glean from the web tonight is that the Gulf Coast Mets got rained out again. Every other score is out there except Mets-Dodgers. So it looks like The Kid's Kids are still 5-1.

DOING FINE AT 39-39

Mets 5, Phillies 3 (PHI: 40-39; NYM: 39-39, 8 GB)

Despite the ups and downs so far this season (and there really have been a bunch), the Mets are at .500 through June. They went 11-13 in April, 15-13 in May, and finished June 13-13. The Mets have 27 games in July, so a 13-loss month would leave them at 53-52 heading into August. I'd take it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I just find it interesting that the Mets have lost 13 games in each month so far...if they're going to catch the Nationals, they're going to have to have a better-than-one-game-over-.500 July. I'm not starting to believe in Washington, they've just jumped out to a big enough lead that if they start struggling right now, the Mets still need to play very good ball to catch them.

The Phillies are vanishing...fast. The Mets took 2 out of 3 from Philadelphia, 8 out of 12 so far this season, and will probably pass the Phillies in the standings this weekend. In so doing, the Mets would be beating up on the Marlins, which I believe they can do, and can thus be in third place for next week's 4-game series in Washington, beginning on the 4th of July. Then the Mets go to Pittsburgh (as does johnnymets.blogspot.com - ROAD TRIP!!), before the All-Star Break.

Pedro Martinez*(asterisk could be gone after the All-Star break) earned the win in the 5-3 win over Philly on Thursday. Pedro* was good, not great, throwing too many pitches in the first couple of innings, so he only lasted six, giving up 2 ER, and striking out 6. He's now 9-2. A decent job by the Mets' relievers, pitching out of jams - Heath Bell, Royce Ring, and Roberto Hernandez, got the Mets to Braden Looper in the ninth, for a very uncharacteristic 1-2-3 inning.

After the Phillies took a 1-0 lead on a Jimmy Rollins homer, Chris Woodward hit a 2-run single to give the Mets the lead in the second inning. In the fourth, the Mets got the rest of their runs. After another Woodward hit, this time a double, the Mets had runners on second and third, and THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, lined a triple to the wall in center, making it 4-1, then Mike Cameron singled Reyes home, making it 5-1.

Interesting lineups in this one. The Phillies had Kenny Lofton leading off, and Jimmy Rollins hit fifth! for the Phillies. I found that strange. The Mets continue to keep David Wright in the 6th or 7th spot in the order. I just don't understand it. Marlon Anderson hit sixth on Thursday, and Wright 7th! I don't get it. I know Willie Randolph must have a reason he's keeping Wright low in the order, I just haven't heard it yet. Maybe I missed it. But it can't be to take the pressure off Wright anymore...he's such a good hitter. He should be hitting second, in my opinion. Heck - he's producing more than Carlos Beltran* - maybe he should be moved down to 7th in the order.

Interesting note for me. I just realized, as I watched Heath Bell give way to Royce Ring, that the Mets have a young righty-lefty combo coming out of the bullpen with great names - "Ring Bell", "Bell Ring". I call dibs on marketing rights.

A bonus for this game: Ted Robinson wasn't doing the TV coverage. I haven't been watching Wimbledon, and unfortunately I haven't watched much of the Mets lately: I wonder if Robinson is on assignment. Anyway, it was just Fran Healy and Keith Hernandez in the booth. Healy was his usual dopey self, but Hernandez was ON. He was great. First of all, Healy and Hernandez called out Sammy Sosa, saying they were glad the Mets didn't make the Sosa-for-Floyd trade that had been talked about last year. Then they started talking about how thin Sammy Sosa looked...then they mentioned Ivan Rodriguez (hadn't noticed his physical difference), and Ryan Klesko ("like night and day", they said, and I agree) all losing weight. Hernandez said - "You're seeing it all over baseball - it's pretty clear what's going on." Talk about saying it, without really saying it. But there was more from Hernandez: a crowd shot showed a little kid with ice cream all over his face, and they were making fun of the kid, and then at the top of the screen, some dude with a tattoo on his arm walked through the shot, and Hernandez started talking about how ugly the tattoo was. Not as entertaining as I write this. Hernandez also said he loved when fans did the wave at Shea. I must admit, when that place is packed, like it used to be, the wave did look cool. I always thought the players wouldn't like it...but it's nice to hear Hernandez did. I feel like I contributed to something by taking part all those years ago.

Here's part of why Fran Healy is a dink (but a harmless dink - like I've said, I'll take him any day over Robinson). During Wednesday night's game, Cliff Floyd sent a hard grounder through the first/second base hole, but since the Phillies had the shift on, it wasn't a base hit - it was a groundout. Healy says, "That should be illegal!" No it shouldn't, Fran. If you're a good hitter (and not stubborn, like Ted Williams), spray the ball the other way, and get yourself a base hit. Thursday, Floyd dropped a bunt down the third base line against the shift, and got a base hit. Healy didn't talk about how the shift should be illegal when it was exploited.

Also mentioned during the game on Thursday - Mets PR man Jay Horwitz celebrated his 4,000th game with the Mets. That's something. He's awesome...and very funny. He told Matt Laughlin he spilt his 3,400th Coke during the game. The Elias Sports Bureau said Horwitz had seen 2,010 wins, 1988 losses, and 2 ties (I guess games called due to rain and never made up?). Horwitz has had some low times when he's had to represent the Mets to the media (I'm thinking 1993 with Vince Coleman's firecracker, Bret Saberhagen's chloride, and more recently, with Grant Roberts' pot, but there have been many more), but he's also been with them for some good ones. Hernandez said the 1986 Mets all voted to take a cut of their Championship checks to give something to Jay because he wouldn't get a World Series check. I hope Horwitz is around for a while more...he's a Mets establishment.

CARTER COUNT: The minor league baseball website doesn't do the Gulf Coast League much justice...but so far as I can tell, the undefeated season in Hall of Famer Gary Carter's mangerial debut is over. The Gulf Coast Mets are now 5-1, so I can only assume they split their doubleheader with the Nationals today. Still, the Hall of Fame managerial career of Carter is off to a great start.

***We're not going to do a running commentary on whether or not Mike Piazza deserves the starting nod at catcher in the All-Star Game, but I just wanted to point out, first of all, that Piazza got another hit (and was robbed of a second by Kenny Lofton) on Thursday, going 1-for-4. Secondly, I don't think my numbers on Piazza added up to his current numbers. The homers are what I'm talking about...but the average, runs and RBI should be right. I think I confused my doubles and home run columns when I was looking up his stats. The bottom line is that since May 26th, Piazza has been playing very well, and is much more deserving of an All-Star nod than his numbers would indicate. Now, whether or not he deserves that nod over, say, Paul LoDuca or Ramon Hernandez is debatable. But he still has more power than LoDuca, and Hernandez is hurt. So there. Beltran* is another story - he'll be starting in the All-Star Game undeservedly, but I still think he'll finish the year with some good stats. "He's a great second-half player", so they say....

Twins 3, Mets 2 15 innings (28-31, 5.5 GB)

Thursday, June 10, 2004

You sure do think about a lot of stuff during the course of a 15 inning game.
Things like, When is Mike Cameron going to break out of his slump? When is Jason Phillips going to break out of his slump? Why does Cliff Floyd get hurt so much? Is Jose Reyes trapped in the body of an 87-year-old? Why does Fran Healy always sound so excited about concession stands? John Franco's ERA is over 5?!? How much longer is this game going to go on? Why can't the Mets score with the bases loaded? Is this game going to end before I have to go to work? And just when I think that, it ends. And not in a good way.

Giving the Minnesota Twins the chance to win in their last at-bat this year is like playing with fire. They have that magical win-in-their-last-at-bat vibe going on. Going into extra innings just makes that feeling linger even longer, and makes it more painful when it happens.

The Mets should do some kind of DNA test and make sure they really signed Mike Cameron as a free agent and not his handicapped brother (if indeed Mike Cameron has a handicapped brother, I am very sorry for that previous comment). What's going on here? Yes, the guy strikes out a lot. But he doesn't hit below .200! Why can't he make contact? (And, by the way, it doesn't help that when he does make good contact, and blasts one to right center field, it dies in Torii Hunter's glove.) But the lack of offense would be tolerable if he didn't look lost sometimes in center. He plays well most of the time, but when he plays poorly, he looks like a lost little leaguer. The Mets should have won last night's game (again)! If Cameron throws to a cut-off man, Matthew LeCroy is nailed. He'd be out 60 feet from home plate (home plate is 90 feet from third base, just to explain the exaggeration)! I wonder if his offensive struggles are affecting his defensive play.

The Mets blew a lot of chances in the extra innings too. They left the bases loaded in the 11th inning, and the man who strikes out looking to end the inning is none other than one Karim Garcia. Earlier that inning, after a Shane Spencer walk and steal of second, Kaz Matsui bunts him to third. I love Matsui in clutch situations, and twice last night he bunted when I would have liked to see him swing away.

Another rally died in the fifteenth inning when Torii Hunter made two outstanding catches. First, he makes a running and jumping catch on an absolute BOMB by Jason Phillips. It wouldn't have been a home run, but it would have been a double. And then he ended the inning by chasing down a Todd Zeile fly ball. Those catches were probably the difference in the game. (Hmm...just occurred to me...those both looked good off the bat - maybe they do pump the air conditioning in when the opponent is at bat in the Metrodome.)

Another great start by Matt Ginter was wasted. But he looked great, and the bullpen pitched great, for the most part. Braden Looper got screwed on the missed cut-off man, and Ricky Bottalico ended up with the loss. Tough break for him...I can give or take Bottalico. Not sure what that means, but I think I mean to say, I don't love him, but I don't hate him the way I hate Karim Garcia or Gerald Williams. (I think this is one of the first times in my life where I downright hate some Mets...wait, that's not true. Most of the 1993 Mets...and Armando Benitez towards the end of his tenure. Never mind.)

This was a bad loss. But let's remember this - everytime this team seems dead, they come back strong. There was the 3-game sweep by the Pirates, Cubs, Cardinals, then the Marlins, and now the Twins. Let's see how the Mets bounce back, with games against the Royals, Indians, and Tigers. Dare I say, 7-2?

Oh, one more thing: I really like Keith Hernandez in the booth. He's very honest, and his criticism is good, informative criticism. (Unlike the second-and-first guessing of the likes of Ted Robinson.) But it makes me wonder, how does Hernandez put up with Robinson and Fran Healy? He's so critical of the action on the field, I wish he'd be that critical of his broadcast partners. I would love to hear him just turn to one of them one night and just say, "Will you just shut up? SHUT UP! Just Shut the Hell UP!" That would make my night.