ONE MORE GO-AROUND

I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed that it's been hard for me lately to keep up with '200 Miles From the Citi'. Part of this has been a busy home life, but I'm not going to lie - the Mets have been less and less inspiring to me as the season has gone on.

I think I'll address that another day. For now, I'm going to build on some feel-good momentum from last night and touch on a few topics that have been on my mind:

Last night, thanks to a class gift, The Wife and I were able to go to the Red Sox-Marlins game at Fenway Park. Despite the fact that the Red Sox missed the boat on building a new facility, there's always something special about watching a game at Fenway, especially at night, with the light towers. (Maybe because of 'Field of Dreams', I don't know).















It also helped that we had good seats, which is always a better viewing experience at Fenway.

As a nice bonus, last night also happened to be the 500th consecutive sellout at Fenway Park, so we received a commemorative baseball (on the way out the door; the Red Sox are not stupid) and other little giveaways throughout the night - we ended up with a free burrito. Rare giveaways at a place that doesn't really need to draw crowds with free items, so that was nice.

It made me think, though, that the Red Sox, while definitely successful between 2003 and 2009, have a bit of an advantage in that a sellout only needs to be 40,000 tickets sold (or less - 38,000+, I think). While that's more than teams like the Marlins and Nationals could dream of, I wonder how many other teams have had 40,000 for six straight years without being sellouts. The Yankees come to mind - even with their well-known troubles selling tickets this year, they are still over 40,000 a game. Just throwing that out there.

Some other things that have been on my mind:

Last night we happened to catch Brad Penny pitching for the Red Sox. With John Smoltz coming back into the Red Sox' plans for their rotation, rumor has it that Penny is expendable. (There are other options, but the Penny ones have caught my interest the most.) One of the teams rumored to be a destination for Penny is the Mets. I can't tell you how angry it would make me if the Mets traded for Brad Penny. They could have had him, on the cheap no less (unlike Oliver Perez and his 9+ ERA, high salary, and overall ineffectiveness), as a free agent. If they trade someone to get Penny, it might be the final straw that breaks the back of my already high level of frustration with the team.

Finally, you may remember a few years ago when I critiqued all of the Major League Baseball broadcasts. I didn't comment much on the Marlins guys, but I did mention that I was not a fan. They have not climbed the ladder too much in my view, and as I watch their 'sideline' reporter on occasion - I believe it's Craig Minnervini - they've dropped further. He creeps me out. One time in Arizona stands out in particular for me, when he leered at all of the girls in their bathing suits in a poolside interview. Well, that stuck with me, and it didn't go unnoticed last night when he made sure to introduce himself to Red Sox sideline reporter/former model Heidi Watney. Something tells me he doesn't go out of his way to make sure he gets to know the other male sideline reporters (which, it occurs to me, is not an extensive list beyond him) in the league.

So hopefully I'm getting back into updating the site more often. For some reason I hit the 5-year anniversary and maybe even a wall at the same time.

Again, I'll get into this more in a future post, but I'm feeling pretty upset with the Mets lately, though my enjoyment of baseball is still at its peak. Part of my issue is that it still feels odd for me watching the Mets play home games - I feel like I don't recognize anything.

Next week brings another trip to Citi Field. We'll see how things go after that trip. I'll have pictures and a new update on the new ballpark for sure by the first of July...but I will be updating before then as well.

WHEN LAST WE MET...

There was one thing about the 2006 season that made the Mets' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS somewhat unsurprising.

No less disappointing...but almost as though, in retrospect, you could see 'it' coming.

The 'it', though, would have been a loss to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, rather than an NLCS Game 7 loss to the Cardinals.

And the 'it' was the fact that the Mets were beatable...nowhere more on display than during their interleague series with the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

That was the last time the Mets were at Fenway, and of course, all things considered, the season was pretty successful after the Mets were swept in an ugly three-game series in Boston. (Relatively, successful, when compared with 2007 and 2008, I guess.)

The Mets' struggles were personified in that series by Lastings Milledge, who looked lost in left field, clueless as to how to play the Green Monster.

I was at the first of those three games, and looking back, I had forgotten that it was started by Alay Soler. So the Mets' starting pitching is somewhat comparable to those days...although, I guess Livan Hernandez is a better bet than Soler.

But the point is that the past two days have been encouraging. It shows that the Mets can hang with the big boys...and the fact that they're doing it undermanned is even more encouraging.

The Mets won with Johan Santana on the mound Friday night...you hope that happens each time he takes the mound. Mike Pelfrey was in his top form on Saturday, and you hope he looks like that if the Mets are fortunate to make it into October...I'll take 2 first inning runs if he settles down like he did on Saturday - that's how he was when he was at his best beginning last July and lasting for the rest of the season. But all of what has happened so far has been without Jose Reyes or Carlos Delgado in the lineup, without Carlos Beltran in center field (he's been DH), and with the likes of Omir Santos making huge contributions.

And today features Tim Redding against Tim Wakefield. Wakefield has been strong so far this season, but the knuckleball is always dicey, so he could be hittable, and anything positive the Mets get out of Redding is huge.

But even more huge would be a sweep in Boston. It'll wipe the struggles in Los Angeles right from the slate...and give these Mets something that the 2006 team didn't have - the confidence they can hang with the best.

RANDOM STAT: I've been holding onto this one, hoping it continues...but running my baseball pool allows me to keep track of random things - like the fact that until yesterday, Detroit hadn't lost on a Saturday or Sunday all season. I'm sad that ended yesterday....but they're still 12-1 on Saturdays and Sundays.

CHECKING IN WITH THE DUCKS
It's been a while since we checked in with Hall of Famer Gary Carter's Long Island Ducks:

The Ducks have lost 7 of their last 10, and stand at 14-13, 2-and-a-half games behind Southern Maryland, in third place in their division. Some guy named Ray Navarrette, who plays third base, leads the team with 6 homers and 19 RBI. He also leads the team with 7 errors, but I guess with how he's been hitting, you keep him in the lineup.

We'll keep you posted.

BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR 2009 - #1

OK. Let's cut the charade. If I picked the divisions again this year, you know who I'd end up picking to win everything. So I'm going outside the box this year with some bold predictions. And I'll stay away from most things involving the Mets.

Also, I'm running out of time to go on the record with any kind of picks...season starts in less than a week, and I can't believe I'm finally writing that.

So, without further ado - my first Bold Prediction for 2009 is: Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees will win the 2009 World Series.

I am aware of the tremendous social risk I take in writing that. Sad as it is, 80% of my readers are Red Sox or Yankees fans (God bless you, Steve in Queens, for knocking down that percentage). But I'm not making the pick to spite you all, or because I hold any sort of grudge that in the 23 seasons since the Mets last won a World Series you all have celebrated 6 world championships and a couple of other league championships, as well as plenty of playoff appearances.

In fact, one of those teams, and quite possibly both, will probably make the playoffs. It will in all probability be the Yankees. But I don't think either team wins the World Series this year. Or even gets there.

It's wrong to base assumptions on the World Baseball Classic, but I think part of the WBC was a harbinger of things to come for the Red Sox. Lots of little tweaks from Kevin Youkilis to Dustin Pedroia...and I feel like it's going to be that type of year in Boston. I feel like someone will be suffering from some kind of nick or bruise most of the year, and they'll never really get to the point where they are as good as they've been the past couple of years. Which means they'll still be good, but not championship-level good.

As for the Yankees, I feel like they have the potential to be this year's version of last year's Tigers. They could be a huge disappointment. Of course, they could get everything to go right and be the best team ever...but these types of spending sprees never seem to go that way, do they?

So I think the age on some of the Yankees will catch up to them (Jeter, Damon, Pettitte, Posada), and that will be a little too much for the new guns to make up for.

I'm not sure who exactly will win the World Series, but I'm feeling pretty confident the AL champ will not come from Boston or New York.

FIRST PLAY AT CITI

This thought occurred to me the other day, so I want to make sure I broadcast it before anyone else does.
I don't think there's a better way to open up Citi Field on April 13th than by having Billy Joel sing the national anthem. He was the 'Last Play at Shea', he should be the 'First Play at Citi'. I checked his touring schedule - it doesn't seem like he's doing anything for the month of April. Maybe he's keeping himself free for just this type of occasion. I hope the Mets get him. And for good measure, I'll say keep that symmetrical theme going...Tom Seaver threw out the last first pitch at Shea...he should also open the new stadium.

Incidentally, it bothers me a little bit that the first game at Citi Field will be a St. John's game...this weekend, I think. I understand the need to have some run-throughs before the stadium opens to fans for good, but aren't next weekend's exhibition games against the Red Sox enough? Other than the disaster that was Frank Viola's years with the Mets, and John Franco's tightrope act, there's never been a St. John's-Mets connection - it's a historic game that will make no sense in the history books.

I'm sort of glad the Red Sox are the team playing the Mets next weekend, too - I'll be able to see the games on NESN here, and get a sneak peek at Citi Field. By the way - the Mets sent my dad tickets to a practice at the new stadium the morning of one of those Red Sox games - concessions will be open. Another test-run...another reason the St. John's game doesn't need to happen first.

FREE AGENCY UPDATE

As I mentioned yesterday, the home computer is on the fritz. It's in and out, shutting down unexpectedly. So I'll try to get these blogs in when I can. It's also a busy time of the school year, so I'm inconsistent with the postings anyway - I'll probably be back to posting more often in a week or so.

But I've been sitting on this e-mail from Justin in NYC for about a week, and it's high time to get to it:

The Rays just signed Pat Burrell. I thought he would have been perfect for the Mets. They're looking for a power hitting left fielder. He is that. Plus, he fits into the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mold. Yet, no one even mentioned it as a possibility. Your thoughts...

First of all, it's great to get an e-mail again. Since the comments section came to the blog, no one e-mails anymore. It's nice. Secondly, thanks for taking the time to write Justin. And thirdly, I'm going to go a step further and list a few other 'perfect fits' for the Mets:
-Brad Penny
-Rocco Baldelli
-John Smoltz
-Takashi Saito

While I agree Burrell seemed like a good fit, I'm also going to give the word of caution that he was one of those Chipper Jones-type Mets killers...while he did damage against the Mets all over the place, he was one of those guys who loved hitting at Shea. So maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't have continued at the new park. But that's a shot-in-the-dark rationalization.

The common denominator with those other guys is that they all ended up being signed by the same team - the Red Sox. And it makes me wonder why the Mets couldn't sign them all. (I haven't even mentioned the likes of A. J. Burnett.)

It's not like the Mets and Red Sox are in the same boat right now. The Red Sox are coming off two world championships in five years, and a loss in Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS. The Mets are coming off back-to-back September collapses that forced them to miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons. However, when it comes down to it, they have the same needs as most everyone else in baseball - pitching depth (and a spare outfielder).
If the Mets were really interested in Burrell (and it was at least mentioned as a possibility in my brain, if not on the site here, Justin...but I'm not sure where else), they should have fallen back on Baldelli. I know he's not an everyday player anymore, but I'm not sure the Mets need an everyday outfielder. They need someone to replace Endy Chavez, coming into games late and providing a spark. Baldelli could have filled that role - and performed even better in it. Or at least platooned with some of the younger guys. Plus he's an easy guy to root for.

Then there are the pitchers. Oh, the pitchers. Sure, they've added the likes of Francisco Rodriguez and J. J. Putz....but what of the rotation? (I watched Tim Redding closely last year for a period when he was on my fantasy team - he was not very good for most of the season.) What of the other bullpen depth? I would think if you're the New York Mets, you spend like the Yankees and Red Sox, and take some chances on guys like Penny, Saito, maybe even Smoltz, just to give yourself some arms so that 2008 never happens again.

Which leaves us now with a Derek Lowe and a Ben Sheets. The price on Sheets is supposedly dropping...I say take the chance. If he's healthy (which is the phrase I'm sure all of the contract negotiations on Sheets begin with), Johan Santana-Ben Sheets becomes one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. And then Derek Lowe becomes a number three starter if you sign him as well. Lowe needs to be in a spot during the regular season where everything doesn't depend on him, especially in New York. I just have a bad feeling about him coming to New York City and having a lot on his shoulders - I don't know that his psyche can handle that. Come the post-season, I think he'll step up...but he needs to help the Mets get there first.

I doubt the Mets will sign both of those pitchers. I have serious doubts they'll sign one of them. And I hate to be the skeptical Mets fan...but I have my doubts about the Mets' financial viability right now. They're opening a new stadium - things should be great. They should be spending to beat the band - like the Yankees, opening their new stadium.

It makes me wonder about the Wilpons' involvement (the money they lost, not the bad kind of involvement) in the Madoff scheme. It makes me wonder about the deal with Citi for the park's naming rights. It makes me wonder about the current economic situation. It makes me wonder whether all of these things are causing the Mets to be just that more conservative when it comes to spending money. And if that's the case...it's going to set them back quite a bit.

JOHNNYMETS OFFICIALLY ENDORSES THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

It took me a while to finally decide which bandwagon to hop onto this post-season. While I still love none of the teams involved, I'm going to root for the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

The reason it took me so long to make that decision is I just discovered how it serves me well to root for them - so there's totally a selfish thing going on here.

The Mets clearly aren't responding to any intrinsic motivation season in and season out. So it's time to work some external motivation. What better way to get them motivated then to have to go out and face the World Series champions 18 times in 2009?

That's it. Plain and simple. If the Phillies are waving a World Series champion banner and talking it up next year, maybe it'll light a fire under the Mets.

Of course, just because I'm rooting for Philadelphia doesn't mean they'll win the World Series. They won't. I'll have my World Series pick on Tuesday.

UPDATE ON THE ALCS: OK, so I was wrong on Saturday when I thought the Rays would clinch the ALCS in Game 6. It's still hard to see the Red Sox losing a Game 7, but my original prediction was Rays in 7, so why should I stray from that? I still thought the Rays were pretty loose on Saturday night - I expect they'll be OK Sunday night.

IT ENDS TONIGHT

I haven't been following the ALCS as closely as I would have liked to. I forget if I mentioned this already, but it's probably a good thing for me the Mets didn't make the playoffs...I'd either:
1) Not be able to watch past the third inning,
2) Be way too tired to function during the day, or
3) Be dead, what with all the parenting and working and baseball watching I'd have to do.

I throw that in about the NLCS to make it very clear that I saw none of the Red Sox' dramatic comeback in Game 5. My thought process when I shut the downstairs TV and went up to fall asleep in front of the bedroom TV (while lying in bed, rather than sleeping on the couch) was that I would either wake up during the Rays' celebration (I saw until 7-0) or see what the final score was in the morning.

The Wife got up with the Baby for a feeding, and said to me, "The Red Sox tied it." I thought I was dreaming. When she whispered, "The Red Sox won," I was really confused. I had to see highlights in the morning to convince myself.

Nevertheless, I think I was probably more bothered by the extension of the ALCS to Game 6 than the Rays were. They were going home anyway, their reaction was probably, "Well, I guess we'll win it on Saturday night."

I know it's impossible to count the Red Sox out, when you look at the ALCS deficits they've overcome in recent years (heck, stretch it back to 1986 - their last World Series before '04 - even then they overcame a 3-1 deficit), but this year feels different.

I get the impression the Rays just don't get intimidated. And I think Joe Maddon has a lot to do with their mindset. They could have been crushed by Game 1. They could have been disheartened when the Red Sox kept coming back on them in Game 2. But in both cases they rebounded pretty well. They took the first two at Fenway and darn near swept the Sox in their own park.

Coming home to Tampa just means they'll win it in front of their own crowd. And close out the Red Sox. Because these Rays are a better team than the Cleveland Indians of last year....so they'll do what that team couldn't.

MY LCS PICKS

I nailed a couple of those LDS series. I had the Rays in 4, and the Phillies in 4 (though that series wasn't as tough as I thought it would be). I had the correct number of games in the Dodgers-Cubs series, but I don't think that's a major loss, because did anyone think the Dodgers would sweep the Cubs? And I messed up on the Red Sox...but I'm picking against them again. Here we go:

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
I can't believe the freakin' Phillies are going to the World Series. But here we are.

I just don't think the Dodgers match up well enough with Philadelphia. (Although, of course, I didn't think they matched up too well with the Cubs, either.)

Manny Ramirez will have a huge series - he'll eat up Citizens Bank Park - but overall the Phillies have better pitching, and when you get to this point of the season, that's what it's all about.

I'm cautious about Brad Lidge - yes, he had an extraordinary regular season, and he has shown zero indication that he is getting tired or will be any less automatic in the post-season....but this is still the guy who disaster befell this time of year in 2005. I just don't think that goes away.

Still, the Phillies survive. They do better than survive. Phillies in five.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The ALCS is going to be where you get the bang for your buck. I hope I'm not building up this series too much - but I think it will be great.

Again, I don't love that I'm picking against Boston - they have shown time and time again that they know how to win in October...but I just didn't see it happening for them this year, and I'm having a hard time picturing them repeating as champions. (Not quite as hard a time as Tampa Bay winning it all...but there is no other option.)

That reasoning is lame, but there is some evidence to support my cause:

The Rays always give the Red Sox fits. Even when they were awful, they played the Red Sox tooth and nail (what does that mean?) and even when they were beaten it wasn't an easy win for Boston. They continued to play the Sox tough this year, when they were good, and won the season series, 10-8.

Home field was huge throughout the year between these two teams as well, and the Rays earned home field advantage, and that could be the difference. (I think I saw, and am too lazy to look it up and make sure I'm right, that the home team in the series won 15 of the 18 head-to-head games this year. That might be an indication of how this ALCS goes.)

The magical ride for Tampa continues. Rays in seven.

WHERE I STAND

Here's where I stand through one round of the playoffs:

First of all, I think this is going to be a fantastic ALCS. I think it will have everything you want in a playoff series - it will be intense, it will be dramatic, it will be good baseball. The Red Sox and Rays are very familiar with one another - this will be just like Yankees-Red Sox of 2003 or 2004. There will probably be a brawl, and I think it might go 7 games. But I'll make my picks tomorrow.

The NLCS does nothing for me. I made a list of matchups that intrigued me before the playoffs started - that will never appear because many of the matchups included the Mets. But the Rays-Red Sox was one of the matchups. Dodgers-Phillies was not.

As for the playoffs as a whole, I'm not too thrilled. I have no one who I feel very attached to, and no one I want to tie my cart to. I liked the Twins, I thought I might be interested in rooting for the Cubs...but now I'm left with teams that I can't really see myself pulling too strongly for.

Here are the strikes against them - it's pretty obvious, I think, in the National League - I hold grudges in sports, and the Dodgers represent 1988...a disappointing year for the Mets. I also don't much care for Manny Ramirez...which you may have picked up over the years. The Phillies are the Phillies. If they go to the World Series (very likely), I'll be pretty angry about it.

In the AL, I've written before that though I like certain players on the Rays, overall I think they're a bunch of punks. And I bet that shows through during this ALCS. But I have to root for them for this simple reason - in 1915, the Red Sox played Philadelphia in the World Series. In 1916, they played the Dodgers. And Tampa Bay has never played either team in the World Series. So I think it's pretty clear what I need to happen.

I'll have my picks tomorrow.

MY PLAYOFF PICKS

Since I'm so good at making baseball predictions, I figure I have to pick these series. Here's what I think:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston Red Sox versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

It's very hard to pick against the Red Sox. They continue to win, year after year, and when they get into the playoffs, they go deep into the playoffs. But I feel like this year is going to catch up to them.

The Sox have had all kinds of injuries this year, which they've survived, but things keep cropping up - like this Josh Beckett injury. And I also feel like Daisuke Matsuzaka is going to run out of luck. He's been the worst "good" pitcher this year that I've ever seen. He pitches incredibly with runners on base - but he's allowed way too many baserunners this season. I think that'll catch up with him in the post-season - you just don't get away with that at this point in the year. This isn't here nor there, but I also worry about Jonathan Papelbon. He's had a history of breaking down at the end of seasons - and he didn't really have an extended time off this year, as he's had the past couple of years. He didn't look as effective late in September, and I wonder if he'll be hittable in the post-season.

The Angels have had a very good season, and although I can see them folding, especially against the Red Sox in round one, I'm picking them to advance. Angels in five

Chicago White Sox versus Tampa Bay Rays

The White Sox are going to enter this series tired. They've had a crazy week - losing their lead in the Central by getting swept by the Twins, then rebounding, winning their must-win makeup game Monday, then the one-game playoff Tuesday. But I would have picked the Rays even without all of that going on.

The Rays have something special going on - I wouldn't be surprised if they make it to the World Series. But we'll start small - their starting pitching is better than the White Sox'. That's about all they're going to need to get through this series.

I'm going Rays in four.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Los Angeles Dodgers versus Chicago Cubs

I'm starting to believe the Cubs hype - at least for them to win the National League. They have a good team, they were able to clinch early enough that they could be all lined up and rested for the playoffs, and they drew the Dodgers in round one.

With the Mets not standing in their way, I might as well root for the Cubs to break their 100-year drought. I'm not committed yet - I'll have to see how I feel watching the games - but they're certainly going to start out on the right track.

Manny Ramirez won't be able to do all of this by himself. Cubs in three.

Milwaukee Brewers versus Philadelphia Phillies

CC Sabathia can't pitch every game of this series, and that will cook the Brewers. The Phillies should have been better than they were this season - they were very inconsistent.

I think they're better than the Brewers, but now that the Brewers are in, I wonder if there's some pressure off of them. They might push the Phillies farther than the Phillies would like to be pushed in this round.

I think the Phillies survive, but it's going to be a lot rougher against Milwaukee than they expect. Phillies in a very tough four games, avoiding Sabathia in Game 5

BOSTON: FENWAY PARK

It occurred to me recently that when I write about the new stadiums that I visit, there are a bunch I have been to before the blog existed that I've never written about. Part of the reason is because there's really no reason to review the ballparks, since they've been around for many years....but it's also not fair to them (as though they had feelings).

Fenway Park is one of those parks that I've gone to for years without singing its praises. I'm very lucky to be able to go every once in a while - every time I'm there I get a little bit of the same thrill that I got the first time I went.
Sure, the seats are small, it can be uncomfortable to sit for long stretches there, and it would have been nice to live so close to a new ballpark had they not chosen to renovate, but it still is a special place.
Friday night I had the opportunity to go with Justin From NYC, Dave in Brighton, and the Southern Bureau (thanks to the Southern Bureau's dad), and decided I'd take pictures to show on the blog. There's another thing about Fenway - from certain places in the park, it's impossible to take a bad picture. The other neat thing about Friday night's game was that it was the first for Jason Bay in a Red Sox uniform (the Red Sox acquired him at the deadline Thursday in exchange for Manny Ramirez plus much more). He got a huge standing ovation, which you can see below.
The one thing I couldn't capture in picture is how awesome the view is coming out of the tunnel to get to your seats at Fenway. I remember getting chills the first time I did, seeing the Green Monster in person for the first time, thinking about Gary Carter hitting two home runs into the screen in Game 4 of the 1986 World Series. I tried to recapture that feeling, but when I came out of the tunnel on Friday, it was way too crowded, and all I got was this:
The first time I went to Fenway was 1995. We drove up to see Red Sox-Twins. It came a few months after we saw the second-to-last regular season game at Boston Garden, which was on Patriot's Day in 1995. We drove up to see Celtics-Nets, and on the way we went on a tour of Boston University, which turned out to be my future college. Since BU was so close to Fenway, we stopped by the ticket office and bought tickets for later that summer. The Red Sox game was very hot and pretty uncomfortable, but I was so psyched to be there that I didn't notice much. I've been many times since - definitely more to Fenway in the past decade than to Shea or Yankee Stadium combined - and the same is true now as it was then - even though it has its faults (which in a ballpark that is pushing 100 years old makes it 'charming', I guess), Fenway is a great place to see a baseball game.

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.

ANALYSIS THROUGH TWELVE WEEKS

I guess with the collision of the end of school and the tenth week of the season, I plum forgot about this bi-weekly entry. But it's back, probably through the end of the season. "Impressive" is a loose term these days with the Mets.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: How about the fact that the Mets were able to pick up Trot Nixon - a heretofore unmentioned fact on the blog, other than in the comments by the Southern Bureau when I was away last weekend. Nixon was tearing it up in Triple-A for the Diamondbacks, and although he's hitting just .190 so far with the Mets, it's a very good pickup - the Mets need more of his type of player on their team.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The fact that the Mets are just 3 and a half games out, and at an even .500 right now is pretty surprising. It gives some hope for the rest of the season - almost like they have a chance to start fresh from this point on.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE/BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The whole organization gets a demerit in this analysis - both as least impressive and biggest disappointment. The firing of Willie Randolph was a disaster, it turned the Mets into a laughing stock...they were already losing, they didn't need insult added to injury...but that's what happened. I've gone into plenty about how the firing was botched, so I'll leave it where it is.

*This didn't get much play over the weekend, but it might get mentioned more today (Monday) as the weekend recaps are done on the talk shows - the Mets hired Wayne Krivsky as assistant to the GM, or some title like that. That officially puts the heat on Omar Minaya. Krivsky was fired earlier this year by the Cincinnati Reds - but he didn't do a terrible job building up that team...so I think the Mets fully expect their next GM to be Wayne Krivsky...unless Minaya does something to save his job.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: Home dominance by the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. The best teams in baseball win at home. The Cubs are 32-8, the Sox are 29-9.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Somewhat surprisingly, even though they are nowhere near as dominant at home (22-18 at home, 24-12 on the road), the Los Angeles Angels have the second-best winning percentage in baseball (barely better than Boston), and lead the American League West.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: The Arizona Diamondbacks specifically, but the National League West in general, have been pretty terrible. The Diamondbacks, after starting the season 20-8, are now just two games over .500, at 39-37. That means they're barely better than the Mets (although you've heard a lot less negativity surrounding the D-Backs), but the second-best team in their division is the Dodgers, at 35-40.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I didn't pick them to win the division, as a lot of folks did, but I did expect better from the Seattle Mariners this year. They fired their manager last week after a season in which all they've done is be the worst team in baseball so far. The Mets host Seattle for three beginning Monday night. This would be a good time for a Mets sweep.

COCO GOES COO-COO

There was a time that I lived for a baseball fight. It was how the game policed itself, and it wasn't frivolous. Guys hated each other, so they fought, or guys were legitimately wronged (usually), so they fought.

Lately, though, these fights seem to have started over less-than-valid reasons. I mean, to not throw one at guys like Manny Ramirez for posing after a home run, but to do it because a pitcher unintentionally hit your star player, or whatever, it seems less valid. (The other reason I hate to see fights now is because of an incident in 1995 or 1996. Mets-Cubs at Wrigley, a huge fight breaks out, somehow two guys uninvolved in the original incident end up tussling, and Turk Wendell of the Cubs ended up swinging Rico Brogna of the Mets into the brick wall behind the plate, and Brogna hurt his shoulder and was never the same. I really liked Brogna, and I always traced his future difficulties back to this fight.) If this all sounds familiar, that's because this is something I feel strongly about, and I've written about it before.

Anyway, there's also these unwritten rules in baseball, which I'll write about in depth some other time, but CoCo Crisp felt that on Wednesday night he was wronged by a violation of an unwritten rule - You never put your knee down, as a defender, to block a base, when the runner is going in headfirst.

Now, I'll admit it - one of the big reasons I don't like these unwritten rules is because I would probably be a dirty player in baseball. Your goal as the runner is to get to second base. My goal as the shortstop/second baseman would be to tag you out. You want to slide headfirst, that's your choice, but I'm putting my knee down and blocking that bag to achieve my goal. I'd probably do it if you went feet first, too, at my own peril. So that's my rationalization.

So here's the scene-set. Crisp tries to steal second, Jason Bartlett puts his knee down, Crisp hurts his thumb, they exchange words, though it seems good-natured - Bartlett doesn't look like he knows Crisp is upset at him. Then the next time on base, Crisp tries to steal second, he is out by a mile, but goes tumbling into Iwamura, who's covering the bag, in a hard slide, for retaliation. He ends up jawing with the Rays manager, Joe Maddon.

Now, Thursday, Crisp leads off the second inning, and James Shields throws at his knees. Everyone saw it coming, the announcers were talking about it. So what does Crisp do? After saying the night before he hopes they don't throw at anyone else but him (I think meaning he didn't want them to take out his actions on someone else), he charges the mound, dodges a punch by Shields, proceeds to get pummeled by about four Rays, Jonny Gomes (punk #1 in the majors in my book) and Carl Crawford included. Maybe Crisp had it coming - if he was so concerned he was going to settle this situation, why didn't he go after Iwamura or Bartlett instead of Shields? I guess part of the problem in baseball is that there is no eye for an eye, especially when American League pitchers are involved.

These fights get me fired up. I don't like seeing them. It's been a long time, too, since the Mets were involved in something like this. Last year, there was the dust-up at third base on the second-to-last day of the season against the Marlins, but that was a mere dust-up. As much as I hate the brawls, a big brouhaha might get the Mets really going.

JOHNNYMETS EXCLUSIVE: Thursday was the MLB Draft. The Mets, with the 33rd overall pick, took RHP Bradley Holt out of UNC-Wilmington. That's right in the heart of the Southern Bureau. As a result, the Southern Bureau is going to have a full preview of Holt, complete with video. Here's a taste:

He’s a tall right handed pitcher that throws hard. His fastball was clocked in the high 90s - and he is a big strikeout guy. He finished 11-1 this season, an ERA of 3.18.

A full report is coming tomorrow on 200 Miles From the Citi.

ANALYSIS THROUGH EIGHT WEEKS

I'm done with the most difficult part of the end-of-school stuff, and although it is still busy, I should be able to write more often. I'm also back from a Memorial Day weekend trip to Washington, D.C., and I have a lot to write about that. So I'll spend most of the rest of the week writing about the Nationals, unless the Mets pull a total 180 and fire Willie Randolph. I'll address that situation within this bi-weekly analysis:

MOST IMPRESSIVE: It's too bad when I have to spend more time thinking about the impressive feats of the past two weeks than the disappointments - because there have been more of the latter than the former. As a result, this space gets a big N/A. Lots of negatives, nothing impressive.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Still not positive - Thought the Mets were past their difficulties with Atlanta, and in Atlanta. But a 4-game sweep to start the week was a surprise, and took away anything good the Mets took by winning 2-out-of-2 in the Bronx.


LEAST IMPRESSIVE: How about the fundamentals? I've never seen so many people get picked off the basepaths on a team. Carlos Beltran doubled off third to end a game (against Washington, I think) after a line drive by Carlos Delgado to first. Jose Reyes getting picked off the bases three times in a little more than a week. David Wright getting doubled off first last week against Atlanta. It's disgusting. And in Washington on Sunday, in the game I went to, Lastings Milledge was on second base, and tried to go to third on a grounder to short. He was thrown out easily. A guy in front of me started cursing the team's discipline. Sadly, I thought it was typical of a Mets farmhand.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Willie Randolph. The above story shows that it's not all Randolph - because maybe there are some fundamentals missing at the minor league level. But you're starting to realize as a Mets fan that maybe Randolph is not the guy for this group of guys. I don't know who is (I don't know that I would want to see Gary Carter get thrown into that mess, but I sure would be excited if he was), but whoever it was would probably think twice before they bring up race. Now, I'm not going to pretend to think it's a perfect world and that everyone is treated equally, because I'm sure Randolph has faced situations where he's been treated differently because of the color of his skin. And by differently I mean awfully. But I think when it comes to managing (or coaching) in New York, it doesn't matter what color your skin is - it matters if you win or lose. And for the past year, he's lost more than he has won. So bring up Herman Edwards and Isiah Thomas all you want, just note that the common denominator, past skin color, is that they lost (one much more than the other). And make sure you also bring up Dallas Green, Jeff Torborg, Bobby Valentine (who did a lot of winning that was overshadowed by losing), and Art Howe when you talk about being treated badly. They all were. Because they all lost. The only difference is the Mets didn't own a television station at the time.

MOST IMPRESSIVE: I have a soft spot in my heart for Jon Lester. Part of it is because his story is a good one, and The Wife and I were part of his comeback, when it was announced upon our arrival in Cleveland that he was starting the game we were going to - his first game back from his cancer battle. He also hasn't done anything to turn me off of him, as so many other ballplayers have done. But his no-hitter last Monday outshines his losing effort Sunday as the best thing that happened in baseball the past two weeks. Plus, he's on my fantasy team.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The Marlins and Rays still get mentioned here, because they're both in first place. But I'm going to stick with the Red Sox once more and say the effectiveness of Bartolo Colon was pretty surprising. It was against the Royals (see below), and tonight is against Seattle, so you can argue that he hasn't been tested yet, but I'm buying into what people are saying, that he's got a bit of a hunger (no pun intended) to prove himself again, and the fact that he's not that far removed from being dominant.

LEAST IMPRESSIVE: The Kansas City Royals are back to being unimpressive. They just completed an 0-7 week, and lost again today, so they're on an 8-game losing streak. From mediocrity to much less than mediocre...all in a little more than a week.


BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I mentioned Andruw Jones and the horrible season he's having. Now he's having surgery and will be out for a while - 4 weeks, I think. He continues to stink it up.

Check back the rest of the week - you might think you dialed up johnnynats.blogspot.com, but you'll be in the right place. I'll just be telling you about Washington, D.C. and Nationals Park.

A PREVIEW OF SORTS

I could have been part of a World Series preview tonight, and I thought it was important that I let you know.

The preview I am talking about did not involve the "Red" team versus the "Gray" team of the Boston Softball League (or the BSCC, I think), of which Dave in Brighton and Mrs. Dave in Brighton are team members. (Although I thank them for thinking of me as a fill-in. I like to think that even though I played pretty poorly I helped the team win because they didn't have to forfeit. The recap - Mrs. Dave in Brighton pitched brilliantly, overcame my two errors, and the 'Gray' team won.)

The preview I was privy to was a Mets-Red Sox preview. And it didn't involve the teams on the field - it involved their battle over the airwaves.

On the way back home from the game, which took me through about 63 Massachusetts towns (I still don't understand Massachusetts geography), I tuned into the Mets, on SportsRadio 660am - WFAN, of course. And fighting the Mets' reception was the Red Sox game, which tonight was on 680am, WRKO. Uh-oh, I thought. No chance of getting the Mets tonight.

Mid at-bat the reception would switch from one game to the next. This was quite different from when the Red Sox were on their flagship - 850am. But I held fast to WFAN, and caught most of an inning of the Mets-Nationals game.

In the end, the Mets pulled through. Clear as a bell from a certain point until I got home. It really was the underdog pulling through when things looked the bleakest.

I don't think the Mets would be outmatched by that much in October, if the baseball gods allowed a 1986 rematch. But it's nice to know that if they were, they would stand a chance.

WEEKEND IN REVIEW

I should have written more this weekend, but I guess since it was the start of vacation, I took advantage of it. But I can't not comment on the great week the Mets had last week, so I'll start with that:

Sure, it would have been nice had the Mets swept the Phillies and won on Sunday night. But even in losing, they sent the Phillies a message, I think. The way the Mets and Phillies were playing each other at the end of last year, had the Phillies gone up 4-0 like they did Sunday night, the game would have been over. The fact that the Mets came back to tie Sunday night's game at 4, before losing 5-4, was a good sign, I think. And the Mets had created some pad for themselves, so a loss wasn't the worst thing, by winning five games in a row leading up to Sunday night.

Again, a sweep would have been great...but the positive thing to come out of that weekend series in Philadelphia is that the Phillies don't scare me (again - after scaring me for a couple of months last year).

MEANWHILE: When the Texas Rangers look back on the disappointment that will turn out to be the 2008 season, all they need to look back at is this four-game series in Boston as to where everything fell apart. It didn't fall apart for them so much as it came together for the Red Sox - but it certainly was at the Rangers' expense.

Boston bookended the four-game series with two whoopings - an 11-3 win on Friday, and an 8-3 win on Monday. It was the two middle games that did the most damage, though:

In innings 1-7 of both games, the Rangers trailed for only a half-inning. Then in both games, in the 8th, the Red Sox torched the Rangers bullpen and ended up winning.

Yes, the Red Sox are the better team, and should have won the games...but the way they won them will kill the Rangers' season.

One more thing about the Sox - I didn't see the Kyle Farnsworth incident last week, where he threw behind Manny Ramirez's head, but allow me this comment...not even on the pitch, really. But kind of related. Of all the years to throw behind Ramirez, this seems like an odd choice - sure, he's been beating teams with his bat, but he hasn't been showboating. I haven't ever seen Ramirez run as fast as he's run around the bases this year (instead of home run trots, started off by watching every second of the ball's flight). Then there was a pure hustle triple a couple of weeks ago. He's playing hard. And to top it off - when asked about the Farnsworth suspension, he was quite coherent, actually saying something to the effect of, "He's just doing his job." What have the Red Sox done with Ramirez?

IMPRESSIVE

This is one of those rare instances where I have something nice to say about a member of the Red Sox (and it's not just because he's on my fantasy team this year...although he is).

I want to draw your attention to the fact that Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox is working on a 198-consecutive-games-errorless streak at first base. I think, as of game 2 or 3 of this season, he set the record, and is adding to it each time he plays first base (more on that in a minute).

To me, this is impressive on a number of fronts:

1) First base is, obviously, a high-traffic area. There's a lot that could go wrong - throws from the infield, fielding grounders, pickoff throws, pop-ups in fair or foul territory, throwing the ball all over the diamond, etc.

2) There are a lot of first basemen who have trouble with the above skills. Most common for errors, I would say, are throwing the ball to second to turn the 3-6-3 DP, or, over the course of the season, losing focus for a play or two, and dropping some throws, or letting some get by. That hasn't happened to Youkilis in a long time.

3) This one might be most impressive, and it's what I hinted at above - I said the streak will continue when Youkilis plays first base. The reason that needs to be clarified is because right now, he's filling in for Mike Lowell at third base, since Lowell has been placed on the DL. That's a special first baseman there - how many others around the league have the versatility to pick up and go to the hot corner, without losing much? (Incidentally, the Red Sox don't suffer defensively at first, as the sure-handed Sean Casey steps right in there.)

So Youkilis shores things up at third, and then when Lowell is back, he'll head back over to first. And all the while, he continues to be a hitting/on-base machine (.324 avg., .415 OBP). That's impressive.

STARTING TO SHEA GOODBYE

It's really too bad the Mets couldn't beat the Phillies on Tuesday in their final home opener at Shea Stadium. But I'm not too upset about it, because this picture is friggin' awesome, and I can't wait until next year already:I can't wait to go to that stadium.

And, all right, I'll be honest, it bothers me a little that the Mets lost. There's something a little upsetting about the fact that this was the home opener, a big game, against a team that beat out the Mets for the division title last year...and the Mets still lost.

I didn't see any of the game, so I can't comment on whether or not there was a lack of fire or desire or anything, but it seems like the Mets would have done anything they could to avoid losing this game. They didn't.

I guess Oliver Perez pitched well...but he only lasted 5-and-two-thirds innings, which means Scott Schoeneweis had to come into the game. He gave up 3 runs, only one of which was earned (apparently Carlos Delgado had a costly error). But I don't care what he gives up - earned or unearned - he loaded the bases, and hit a batter in the process - he is the most worthless reliever in baseball right now.

The Mets need to take 2 of the remaining 3 against Philadelphia and send a message. Then they have to beat Milwaukee this weekend (I made a mistake yesterday - I said the Mets were playing the Braves over the weekend - I don't know what I was thinking about - they play the Braves in a couple of weekends.).

I'm all for a more balanced season - I'm OK with the Mets not jumping out to a huge lead in the division right away in early April, so long as they're on top in September....but being in last place, losing three in a row - this has to stop.

WRIGHT WATCH: You knew it had to come back in some form, right? The new Wright Watch, after his fourth double of the season in the home opener, will focus on the all-time doubles record...so it will continue for a number of years. I'm going to see if I can format this so that it will automatically update somehow whenever David Wright doubles. I'll let you know how that goes (I have no idea how to do that - I'm just imagining that would be cool).

2008 SEASON: 4
WRIGHT'S CAREER TOTAL: 145
ALL-TIME RECORD: 792

(Worth noting, by the way, is that Carlos Beltran already has 7 doubles this year.)

A NOTE ON YESTERDAY'S POSTING: I forgot to mention this when I was panning the "New York Magazine" article on the Mets. It lost credibility with me because the writer/editor didn't know how to refer to a bullpen. It alternated bull pen (two words) with (hyphenated) bull-pen. It's neither. It's a bullpen.

CLASSY?: By now I'm sure you're aware that the Red Sox included Bill Buckner in their Opening Day banner-raising celebration. (He hooked in a sort-of-curve for a strike when he threw out the first pitch.)

It is not the fault of the Red Sox that Buckner hasn't been back in this type of situation - I think he's been invited, but has declined mostly. It's because of the fans, and the treatment he was afraid he would receive.

So it was nice that he received a standing ovation on Tuesday...but it's about 20 years too late. Red Sox fans should have forgiven and forgotten long ago. Take it from me, like I did with Tom Glavine and his season-ending performance last year. Or Armando Benitez and Game 1 of the 2000 World Series. Or Kenny Rogers and the 1999 NLCS. Or Kevin McReynolds in 1988. Or Art Howe.........

BIRTHDAY WISHES: Happy Birthday (in no particular order) to Dave in Brighton, Dave in Miami (a once-in-a-blue-moon-when-there's-a-really-good-post-and-the-Southern-Bureau-tells-him-he-should-read reader), and Hall of Famer Gary Carter. April 8th is a busy one.

Due to the birthday relevance, I'll update Carter - the Orange County Flyers' first game is May 23rd. The Flyers are also promoting the heck out of having a Hall of Famer as their manager. They're doing a Gary Carter bobblehead giveaway. I need to find my way out there for it. When's the giveaway for number 8? Why, 8/8/08, of course!

I LOVE L.A. (EXHIBITION BASEBALL)

Perhaps it's the whole idea of baseball getting underway in March, but I can't quite convince my body that baseball will count in just a couple of days. I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that there have already been 2 games that have counted, actually. But I think this weekend I'm most excited about a game that doesn't count.

The Red Sox are back in the United States, and they continue their long road trip with a west coast swing before heading back east. They're playing a few games in Los Angeles against the Dodgers before going to Oakland to finish up with the A's, then they go to Toronto before coming back to Boston. The game Saturday night against the Dodgers, though, will be special - as part of the Dodgers commemorating 50 years in Los Angeles, they will host the Red Sox in an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
I think what intrigues me most is the quirkiness of the park. (You see the old games at the left, and the stadium being set up for Saturday below.) The Coliseum is a football stadium. But it hosted baseball for four years before the Dodgers moved into Dodger Stadium in 1962. As a football stadium primarily, it has weird dimensions - a very short left-field fence, to be specific. The fence for Saturday night's game will be about 192 feet away in left, shorter than what they had in 1958.

What bums me out is that they're installing a tall net (about 40 feet, I think) above the wall, to prevent balls from flying out of the park. Who cares? It's exhibition. Get players to do something other than fly to left - and if they get one up in the air in left field, it will be exciting. I'm going to try to watch, net or not. There are also going to be more than 100,000 people in attendance. That should be quite a spectacle. If it's a spectacle, and it's in a Coliseum - I'll be watching. I'm glad NESN is airing the game.