THROWN FOR (AND BY) A LOOPER

Reds 7 (1-0), Mets 6 (0-1)

I don't know what I can't believe more. Here are the options:

1) The way the Mets lost this game.
2) The fact that of all the suspects likely to blow this game, the least likely man was the one who did it.
3) The fact that I screwed up my entire tape-the-game-avoid-all-human-contact-then-watch-the-tape plan.
4) The fact that even after I screwed that up, I still watched the entire game, convinced myself I saw the wrong outcome, and worked myself up when the Mets blew the lead. (I'll tell this story later.)

The first surprise in this game was that Doug Mientkiewicz hit sixth, and future Hall of Famer David Wright hit seventh. Perhaps Mientkiewicz had good career numbers against Paul Wilson (when Wilson was in Tampa Bay).

It's getting into the realm of torturous listening to Joe Morgan. I'm not going to get into why, but for example, at the end of the game, he says, "What's that Yogi Berra saying? It's never over until the game ends?" Or something like that - he butchered it. Along the same lines...Kaz Matsui homers in the top of the first inning, putting the Mets up 1-0. A good color commentator (or me) might say "For the second straight year, Matsui homers in his first at-bat of the season." But Morgan didn't. I am starting to strongly dislike him. (Not just for missing the chance on the Matsui comment - I'm half-joking about that. But I really think he's slipping into Alzheimer's a little. Something's seriously wrong. Listen to him a couple of times and make a case he isn't slipping...I challenge you.)

Bottom of the first, the Reds take the lead off Pedro Martinez*. Adam Dunn capped a rough first inning with a three-run bomb, putting Cincinnati up 3-1.

Carlos Beltran* drew the Mets even with a 2-run homer in the third, making it 3-3. Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez* was striking out everyone and their brother. He struck out the side in the 2nd and 3rd innings, and got the first two guys in the fourth. He didn't allow another hit after Dunn's homer, and finished with 6 innings, 3 ER, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 12 strikeouts. Pedro* threw 103 pitches, and actually left the game with a chance to win. (Red Sox fans are thinking - we've seen this before.) I think I might be able to find it in my heart to root for Pedro*.

On the offensive side, I can't complain. Carlos Beltran* was 3-for-5 with a single, double, and homer. Beltran* and Martinez* are on pace to lose their asterisks by the opening homestand. My only complaint, ironically, comes against future Hall of Famer David Wright. Twice, with two men on, he grounded into double plays. (He did, though, double to the wall in right field.) We need more activity in the clutch from a future Hall of Famer.

Paul Wilson started for the Reds. This allowed for a half-inning or so of talk about "Generation K", the Mets' high hopes for Wilson, Bill Pulsipher, and Jason Isringhausen. Ah, memories.

The Mets took the lead in the seventh. After Jose Reyes, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, led off the inning with a double, and Matsui bunted him to third, Beltran* drove home the go-ahead run with a single to left. Cliff Floyd then homered to make it 6-3 Mets. More good news on offense - first of all, Reyes didn't get hurt. He's still a free swinger, and isn't going to lead the league in walks (ever - he swung at a pitch that hit him in the foot in the eighth inning), but he showed flashes of being THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Monday when he singled to right-center field and stretched that into a double. Great speed. And the other good sign on offense was Cliff Floyd was swinging the bat well. He had a great game - 3-for-4, with the homer (that should have provided the insurance in the win). If Floyd can keep this up, and not show signs of fatigue after the first month of the season (he looks in May like other guys look in October after a full season), the Mets will be in good shape in the outfield.

The Mets' bullpen is not one of their strong points. But Braden Looper is supposed to be the strongest part of it. Ironically, he blew this one, while Manny Aybar and Dae-Sung Koo turned in surprisingly good performances to set him up with the 6-4 lead entering the ninth. But Looper gave up a single, homer, homer to end the game, 7-6 Reds. Mets pitchers struck out 16 Reds. The Reds didn't have a hit between the first and seventh innings. But the Reds still won. Very frustrating.

Here's something else that's frustrating. I managed to make it all the way home from work without hearing how old friend Pedro* did (a tough feat in greater Boston, in my opinion). So when I got home, the VCR was still going (but I had no picture), and for some stupid reason, I turned the channel from ESPN to ESPNEWS. I came back to the TV after the VCR timer stopped, and turned on the TV to rewind the VCR. I tried not to look at the bottom line, but before I changed the channel, I saw that Joe Randa had hit a walk-off homer. My thought process was as follows:

"Hmm. Joe Randa hit a walk-off homer. I shouldn't have read that. It could have had to do with the Mets game. Good thing it was just the Royals game. So the Royals must have won, if Randa hit a walk-off. That's good, I guess. I don't mind seeing the Royals win.............wait a second. Randa doesn't play for the Royals anymore. He plays for - (mind racing) - not the Reds. No, he doesn't play for the Reds. OH YES HE DOES YOU STUPID MORON WHY DID YOU LOOK AT THE TV?!?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST DID THAT. IF RANDA HIT A WALK-OFF, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??!?! IT MEANS THE METS LOST, YOU *!?!$#. "

What a dope I am. And then.....and then, I watched the freakin' game. And then.......and then, when the Mets took a 6-3 lead, yes, I believed they were going to win the game. "There must be another Randa in the majors now, because I can't imagine a scenario where the Mets can lose this one," I think. Then Aybar and Koo get the game to Looper, and I think, "There's no way Randa hits a walk-off here. For that to happen, Looper would have to give up three straight hits, or something bad." Needless to say, I am not happy right now.

I don't feel too confident in Looper. I know I put up a good front, saying he's the strong point of the bullpen, but I feel like if the Mets can get someone to fill that closer spot, i.e. Ugueth Urbina, even though he got roughed up a bit on Monday, I'd feel a bit more comfortable with the Mets' chances. In that same game (Urbina's game), Dmitri Young homered three times. Watching his stats on the bottom line during the Mets game was pretty unbelievable. The more believable thing will be when he finishes with 23 homers or so, and everyone says, remember when he hit three on Opening Day?

In other Mets news, Kris Benson was placed on the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle. Marlon Anderson replaced him on the roster. It'll be interesting to see how the Mets replace Benson when they need a fifth starter...on Saturday they traded away Matt Ginter for a minor leaguer. That would have been Ginter's spot.

A quick mailbagger: (Subject: OPENING DAY SPOILER SPOILER DO NOT READ)

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Hope that subject line was enough to keep you from reading before you'd seen the game.
A question and a comment this opening day....

The question is did you see the look on Looper's face when he gave up the game-winning homer? He looked like a horrible mix of pain and disbelief.

My comment is that Pedro has bad luck on opening day. I can think of 3 instances where the Sox pen blew his win. 12 K in his debut, by the way. Not bad.

Dave"

Dave- I did see the look on Looper's face, and though I was not near a mirror, I'd say your description of "horrible mix of pain and disbelief" would also fit the "I can't believe I just watched that tape knowing full well that Joe Randa was somehow, some way, going to hit a walk off homer to beat the Mets." I'm starting to think right now that this blog might be a little funnier if I started including profanity. I have choice words for Looper. But that's an easy trap to fall into...then all I'd be doing was cursing at the Mets. We don't need to go there.

As for your other comment, I do remember Pedro (no asterisk - we're not talking about him as a Met here) having bad luck on Opening Day, but if I remember correctly, at least one of those games was a 13-10 decision (or possibly no decision) to the Blue Jays in which he actually got rocked.

My hope for the Mets now is to bounce back from this very difficult loss and take two out of three in Cincy. They don't play again until Wednesday.

The blog will hopefully be daily from here on out. I am also going to try to include headlines daily (or at least on game recaps). Some will be hits, some misses. Just giving you fair warning. And because of the move, I never had a chance to do my season predictions. Here they are:

NL Rookie of the Year: Garrett Adkins (even though he just went on the DL)
AL Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Reed
AL Cy Young Award: Randy Johnson (he looked good Sunday night - might not have picked him if I did this before the season)
NL Cy Young Award: Pedro Martinez*
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero (not very original)
NL MVP: Carlos Beltran (not very original)

NL Champion: Mets (not very original....for me, anyway)
AL Champion: Angels

AL East: Yankees
AL Central: White Sox
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: Rangers

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Astros
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Cardinals

Those are just my picks - don't ask for justifications. I will reassess at the All-Star break.

The first posting from the House sponsored by DirecTV. And it's not going to be long - I have to go to bed. Just wanted to let everyone know that the aforementioned house is now connected to the internet, just in time for Opening Day. I'm so psyched that there's actually a baseball game that counts going on right now - even if it is the Red Sox and the Yankees.

Here's the deal - I'm going to be in school when the Mets and Reds play the opener on Monday. So if you have even the slightest thought of calling me during the game and leaving a message on my cell or house phone, please don't. I am going to try to tape the game, then avoid all human contact until I get to watch that tape. Then I'll post my first recap of the season tomorrow night, and maybe check the mailbag - it feels like weeks since I've been online.

So please don't ruin the Mets game on me on Monday. I'll probably have the game watched by 8 o'clock. Enjoy the baseball season.

Lots going on, both with me and with the Mets. I'm going to be out of commission for about the next 10 days, because of the move. So I wanted to check the mailbox and update the Mets' news.

First of all, the Mets traded Jason Phillips to the Dodgers for Kaz Ishii. Ishii will be the number five starter, replacing Steve Trachsel, who will be sidelined until further notice with the back problem we mentioned last week. Ishii has control problems, which have been well documented. But as I've talked about - a lot - Rick Peterson is the best in the business, so I'm looking forward to seeing Ishii work. The positives everyone has been bringing up, opposite the walks Ishii allows, is that he wins games. So the runners might get to first, but Ishii doesn't give up a lot of hits, so the runners don't advance very much. And, personally, I've seen Ishii do well on a winning team, which can't be said for Trachsel. So I think the Mets didn't lose much here, and they might just have ended up with a better pitcher.

The loss of Phillips doesn't hurt very much. Ramon Castro now becomes the backup catcher, and he's good defensively. The Mets probably lose something offensively, but Castro has some pop, evidenced by the fact that he did hit a game-winning homer in Tuesday's spring training game.

The Mets, by the way, have the best winning percentage of any baseball team so far in spring training. This is not encouraging for me, because whenever the Mets do very well in spring training (much like the Jets during the exhibition season), they have an awful regular season. That may change this year, but I don't pay much attention to the fact that they do well in March.

In other Mets-related spring training news, Joe McEwing was released. He had no chance of making the team, and I guess the Mets got no interest in a trade. The Astros and Cardinals were said to be interested in McEwing - he ended up getting signed to a minor league contract with the Royals on Wednesday. The bench is now shaping up like this: Chris Woodward, Marlon Anderson, Miguel Cairo, Kerry Robinson. Andres Gallaraga looks like he'll start the season in the minors - despite a recent hot streak. The Mets figure their subs can all split time at first base. (I feel like I'm missing another big bench name.) Victor Diaz will be the starting right fielder if Mike Cameron does not make it back in time...but it's looking more and more like Cameron's wrist will be ready by Opening Day. If that's the case, Diaz will start the season in the minors, because Willie Randolph's priority is getting Diaz plenty of playing time and at-bats. So he'd rather Diaz play every day at Triple-A than sit on the bench in the bigs.

That about catches us up on the spring training news. Oh, one more thing - I read today that Aaron Heilman has gone back to his college windup, rather than the windup he had adopted with the Mets, and he's on a pretty good streak right now - four scoreless innings Sunday, and a good bullpen session. That bodes well, if someone else in the rotation gets hurt.

Now it's time to look at the mailbag, a couple of days late:

"Hey JohnnyMets-

Let's take a look at who's on the 2005 Mets this year ... Pedro Martinez*, Doug Mientkewicz, Cliff Floyd, Brian Daubach .. is it time we start calling the team the AAA Flushing Red Sox??

-Your Wife"

Wow, cheap shot from the co-inhabitant of The House sponsored by DirecTV. It'd be nice if she checked the spelling of Mientkiewicz.

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Kaz Ishii doesn't seem like a bad No. 5. He averages about 160 innings.

He's gone 36-25 in his 3-year ML career, with a 4.30 ERA. Though his K-BB ratio fell to almost 1-1 last year, which could be a cause for concern.

Are you pleased with the trade? Do you miss Jason Phillips already? Who will back up Piazza? How will Ishii's stats translate from Dodger Stadium to Shea?

Dave in Brighton"

Dave, good questions. I addressed some of them above, when I talked about the trade. But I do like it. Phillips proved to be streaky, if nothing else. You don't know if you're getting the guy who hit .290 a couple of years ago, or the one who hit .200 most of last year. Ishii will be solid. I do think his stats will transfer from Dodger Stadium to Shea quite well - they're both notorious pitcher's parks....and Ishii has a great defense behind him with the Mets.

One more thing I remembered as I wrote about Ishii, and thought about Trachsel's back. Kaz Matsui's back has been bothering him recently - he's sat out a few games. Hopefully he gets better - it'd be a shame if the Mets' middle infield starts the season injured, like it did last year.

OK - I have to go, quite possibly for a few days. Thanks for reading - and when I write next, Opening Day will be right around the corner.

Sorry for not posting anything in a while, folks. It's been a rough couple of days. Here's what went on in Florida while I was in bed with a 101-degree fever (pause for sympathy):

Good news and bad news:

We'll start with the good news. On back to back days, I believe those days were Saturday and Sunday, Tom Glavine and Kris Benson pitched very well. Glavine pitched four perfect innings before he left his game, and Benson went three perfect before giving up a couple of hits and a run or two in his game. I'm starting to get a good feeling about Kris Benson this year.

The bad news is that Pedro Martinez's* start was rained out on Monday. Again. It's his second straight start that's been rained out...and I think it might be three out of four. The Mets have been keeping him on a schedule so that he would be pitching every five days up to and including Opening Day, so it remains to be seen whether or not they keep doing that to keep him on schedule, or to get him to face some real game action.

The really bad news is that Steve Trachsel has a bad back, and likely will start the season on the disabled list. Trachsel has had this problem nagging at him, apparently, all spring, and finally had it checked out the past couple of days. No official word yet, but it doesn't look good that he'll be ready in April. The Mets won't need a fifth starter until midway through April, and right now it looks like Matt Ginter is the front-runner for that spot. Ginter played pretty well for the Mets in his spot starts last season - if I remember correctly, he was often the victim of a lack of run support (story of the 2004 Mets), but I remember him pitching well...I think he was the starter in one of the games during the Mets' sweep of the Yankees. But I also remember him throwing a couple of clunkers, so let's hope the good Ginter heads north.

Let's check the mail:

"Two quick Q's...

1 - The Mets developing a new network....would it be called MESS?? Mets Entertainment Sports Station?? METS ON MESS!!!

2 - The Mets signed Brian Daubach. Why? Don't they know he's horrible??

kevin
JMDBSDC Southern Bureau"

Kevin-long time since we heard from you. Not funny about the MESS. I'd say they call it the Mets Entertainment Television Station. METS.

And the Mets do have Daubach in their system right now, as well as former Red Sox backup to the backup's backup catcher Andy Dominique (who was horribly mis-named in an article in the Daily News, I think, when Pedro Martinez* first pitched...I wish I could remember what he was called - it was hilarious....but I guess you had to be there). Anyway, quick thing about Daubach (aka SCAB). (Speaking of scabs - it is such a shame that these ballplayers are so cold to the replacement players - do you know that Kevin Millar is still not in MLB 2005?!?! It just doesn't seem fair. The MLB Players' Union is a bunch of selfish pigs. If I had the chance to make some money as a major league ballplayer, albeit a replacement player, I would have taken that chance too. That's the only thing I sympathize with Daubach about. Now I will continue to rail on him.) Daubach is the only player in baseball who still acts like he's in Little League when he gets a 3-0 count. On the fourth pitch, no matter where it is - even if it's right down the pipe - he will start walking down to first. This has to piss umpires off. Because he never, ever, ever as long as I watched him play, ever got a close 3-1 pitch called in his favor. I think the umpires told him to cool it off a couple of years ago, because his last year with the Red Sox he didn't do it as much. But, man, that always annoyed me.

Not much going on down in Florida. The Mets had their spring training game rained out on Wednesday, and scheduled starter Pedro Martinez* threw a simulated game instead.

Steve Trachsel will start in Fort Lauderdale against the Orioles. He's reportedly added a slider to his repertoire this year, and plans on unveiling it in that game.

The only other noteworthy thing is that Mike Cameron has come out and said he doesn't want to be traded. Well, thanks for finally coming around, Mike. This upsets me a wee bit. Here's why. Cameron is all whiny and unhappy about moving to right field because the Mets added someone who is considerably better than him (and almost all other major league baseball players) with the glove and the bat at his position. So Cameron raises a stink, says I'm not happy about switching positions, I want a trade. He hangs around until he sees what the Mets have on the field, and realizes, hey, this isn't so bad...we're actually a decent team. I think I want to hang around here. So he tells his agent to tell the Mets, if you're looking to trade me because you think I want to be traded, then forget it. I don't want to be traded. It's just the epitome of the spoiled ballplayer.

I think Cameron realized a couple of things: 1) He does not like playing center field at Shea Stadium (evidenced by his pathetic performance there last season....maybe not pathetic, I should probably say disappointing). 2) There was a good amount of pressure on him to relieve the Mets' defensive woes last season, and he didn't exactly meet those expectations (remember missing the cutoff man against Minnesota when the Mets were swept? That still sticks in my craw.). I bet Cameron sees himself having a big season because he's in a very low-pressure slot - batting seventh and playing right field. (At least I see him having a big year.) And 3) Cameron and Cliff Floyd are really, really good friends, and Floyd probably convinced him to lay off the trade talk, because he needs Cameron to be a good right fielder so other teams don't notice that Cliff Floyd is the only defensive weak link on the team (outside of maybe catcher).

Anyway, that's about all I have for today. 25 days until Opening Day.

To be quite honest, in case you were wondering, I've had enough of this snow. I don't even want a snow day on Wednesday...I just want the snow to stop. I want the temperature to stay above 40 degrees...I'll even take 35 degrees at this point. Even 30. Baseball season can't get here soon enough.

Sorry about the lack of postings the past couple of days. School. So the Mets won their spring training game Tuesday night. Kris Benson pitched 3 innings (41 pitches), gave up one earned run, and 3 hits.

A lot has been going on since I've last written. Cablevision is in a fight with Time Warner Cable (I think, I'm not even really sure how this thing works - I try to pay attention, but it either makes me really mad or bored and I stop reading the articles about it). Basically, it means MSG Network and Fox Sports New York will be dropped from Time Warner Cable. That means most Mets games (and all Knicks games, but who really cares about that...come on) will not be seen on TV for Time Warner subscribers. That means the House, sponsored by DirecTV, in Framingham, Massachusetts, can get Mets games, but Joe Schmo in Queens, right down the street from Shea Stadium, can't watch the Mets on TV. (Of course, I'd tell Joe to get off his fat butt and go to the game, but I'm 200 miles north of him, so I guess he can do whatever he pleases.) Anyway, this happened last year around Opening Day (I think), but the two arguing sides reached a deal before the blackout happened. Now, the blackout has happened, and the channels have been replaced on the cable outlet, so I'm not sure there's any turning back. Now I've written a whole paragraph on something I don't care about...and both of my readers have probably already tuned out.

FYI - the Mets are rumored to be developing their own television network for next season. The Mets network would try to rival YES, the Yankees network...but nothing's decided on that, I don't think. The Mets' contract with MSG/FSNY doesn't go beyond this season.

So, back to the on-the-field stuff. Jason Phillips is lighting it up so far in spring training - he even legged out an infield hit on Monday. However, he had two poor throws from behind the plate in that game. He will probably make the team as the backup catcher...and he doesn't figure to get much time at first base this season...so he'd better work on the behind-the-plate stuff and keep his focus there.

The Mets' bench is shaping up this way: Miguel Cairo and Chris Woodward look like they'll be backup infielders, along with Marlon Anderson, who can also play outfield. Phillips will be the backup catcher (remember, Vance Wilson was traded to the Tigers in the off-season), and he doesn't figure to get much time at first because Andres Galarraga looks like he's going to make the team. Galaragga is one home run shy of 400 career homers, but the Mets think he has more than just one homer still in his bat.

So who does that leave out? Well, for one, Joe McEwing. McEwing is a nice guy to have around a team (he has been the biggest mentor to future Hall of Famer David Wright since Wright joined the major league team last summer), but let's face it - McEwing's production has gone down. The last time I remember him being effective was 2000-2001. Look for McEwing to be traded before the Mets come north - rumor has it the Cardinals (where McEwing is still a fan favorite) and the Astros are interested in McEwing's services.

In other trade rumor news, Aaron Heilman has given up three homers in three appearances so far this spring, and overall has been pretty disappointing as a New York Met. But other teams have interest, namely the Pirates, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. So don't be surprised to see a deal involving Heilman before the year's up.

Well, it's Wednesday, so it's time to check the e-mail-bag:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

After a week (or so) of spring training, here's how they stand in the NL East

Team W-L GB

Atlanta 5-0 --
Washington 4-1 1
New York 3-3 2.5
Philadelphia 1-4 4
Florida 1-6 5

Is that how you pick 'em to finish?

Dave in Brighton"

Well. Dave, I certainly don't expect the Braves to go undefeated, I think the Mets will be better than .500, and I don't think the Marlins will finish in last place. I will probably make predictions right before the season starts, so I'll hold off on that for now...but I will say a couple of things.

First of all, as loyal readers of my site will remember, I think the Phillies are a bunch of chokers, always have been, always will be. And with the improvement of all the teams in the NL East, I think the Phillies have last place written all over them. And I've said it before, I'll say it again, you can't discount the Braves until they actually do NOT win a division title. Hopefully this will be the year that happens, but until it happens, I don't know how you can pick against it (although when I make my picks, I almost certainly will pick it to happen).

Anyway, thanks for the e-mail - again, I will make predictions later in the month.

The Mets had their Thursday night spring training game with the Cardinals rained out.

I will just make a few comments about the Wednesday game before I go to bed:

-Kaz Matsui reportedly played a good second base...as Dave aptly pointed out. It seems his only miscue was the ball that fell in between he and THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes.

-Another good note about Matsui - he plays up the middle, or at least further up the middle than Doug Mientkiewicz expected. This is a good thing, says Mientkiewicz, because Mientkiewicz can range far to his right. So he says it gives the Mets maximum coverage on the right side of the infield with Matsui positioning himself where he does.

The Mets have a really good infield right now - I'm can't wait to see them play for real. That's all I got for tonight. Enjoy the weekend.

I'm not feeling too well right now, so it's a good thing Dave from Brighton did all the work today. Without further ado, here is Dave's summary of the Mets' first spring training game (I have italicized his entry, just so it's clear we're reading his thoughts):

I almost missed the start of the game because I had to shovel snow out of my spot on the street. Lousy Smarch weather. In contrast, it’s beautiful and sunny and breezy at Space Coast Stadium (cap. 8,100) near Viera, Fla., spring home of the DC Nationals, who beat the Mets 5-3 the first spring training game for both teams.

ESPN was kind enough to open this afternoon’s coverage with the final out of the 2004 World Series, accompanied by the WEEI radio call. It’s nice to have baseball back on TV, and I’m celebrating with two hot dogs and a Bud Light.

Some of the Mets regulars did not make the one-plus hour trip. Most notably, Mike Piazza remained in Port St. Lucie. This means Jason Phillips did the catching and Doug Mientkiewicz hit cleanup. I know JohnnyMets isn’t a Mientkiewicz fan, but “Eyechart,” as he’s called on the Sons of Sam Horn board, will always have a place in my heart. Even if he is a ballhog.

In case you were wondering, Jeff Brantley says moving Piazza back to catcher full-time is a good move. The rest of the broadcast crew is Dan Shulman on play-by-play, Sam Ryan on the field, and former Mets GM Steve Phillips to do color. This is like having John Kerry do color at the State of the Union address.

The Mets Lineup
SS Reyes
2B Matsui
CF Beltran
1B Mientkiewicz
C Phillips
3B Wright
RF Diaz
LF Valent
P Glavine

Pitchers tend to be ahead of batters early in spring training, and the top of the first confirmed that. Though Nationals starter Tony Armas, Jr. had a little trouble finding the strike zone initially, going 3-0 on Jose Reyes (I’ll leave out Reyes’ usual moniker), he ended up with a 1-2-3 inning, getting Carlos Beltran* looking to end the inning. Beltran* made up for this later with a rocket up the middle.

Tom Glavine started for the Mets. I’ve always liked Glavine and thought that one day he’d pitch with Pedro Martinez*. Of course, I thought they’d both be on the Red Sox when it happened, so I guess I was only half right.

Glavine turns 39 this month, with a 262-171 lifetime record over 18 seasons. Had he stayed with the Braves, he might have hit 300 wins, but he’ll need a pair of 19 win seasons to get there by age 40. I’d take the under, for entertainment purposes.

Glavine had a 3.60 ERA in 200+ innings last year, but went 11-14 because of the Mets anemic offense and troublesome infield defense.

One of the keys to the Mets’ success will be how that defense improves, with Reyes playing short and Kaz Matsui at second. They looked good in the first, turning a 4-6-3 double play, a play sometimes described as nifty.

Reyes’ throw was a little low and off target, but Mientkiewicz dug it out, something Red Sox fans came to expect last year. On a high, weak bouncer in the second it looked like Matsui and Reyes both waited for the other to commit to the ball, resulting in an infield single. But in the third Matsui made two good-looking charging plays, one of them barehanded.

The Nationals are basically last year’s Expos, with a few additions. They brought in veteran Vinny Castilla at third, Cristian Guzman to play short, and Estaban Loaiza for the rotation. They also took a risk on hothead Jose Guillen in the outfield.

Steve Phillips on the Nationals: “They’ve done a great job with the uniforms. The colors look great.”

Glavine looked good for his first outing of the spring. Some rust, including a 58-foot curve in the first and a HBP in the second (which he erased with a pickoff throw when the runner was going). 24 pitches in 2 innings work. Braden Looper relieved him, getting some work against the Nationals starters.

Reyes delivered the Mets’ first hit of the spring with 2 down in the third but did not try to steal. Reyes was thrown out twice in an intra-squad game earlier this week. Naturally, JohnnyMets took this as a good sign. Other bloggers might say that if you can’t steal off the Mets battery in spring training, you’re in trouble.

Nationals Double-A righty Michael Hinckley had some control trouble in the fourth, leading to a pair of Mets runs. Beltran scored on a Jason Phillips single, and Mientkiewicz scored on an error.

The Nationals tied it in the bottom of the fourth with a 2-run homer from Guillen. It came off righty Aaron Heilman. He went 1-3 in 5 starts for the Mets last year, with a 5.46 ERA. Jeff Brantley and Steve Phillips say Heilman has good stuff, but sometimes has trouble with command or situational pitching. He recovered nicely after the homer, working away with offspeed stuff for a strikeout then getting a 3-1 grounder to end the inning.

Against the tallest pitcher to ever play in the majors, the Nationals’ 6”11’ Jon Rauch, Matusi managed to drive the ball about 360 feet to left-center and have it bounce off Endy Chavez’s glove for a two-base error. He scored on another two-base error when Jeffrey Hammonds misjudged a Jason Phillips fly ball to left. Phillips accomplished this despite his creepy glasses.

The Nationals again answered the Mets in the bottom of the inning, on a homer from non-roster invitee Keith Osik. Again off Heilman. Again he recovered nicely after the home run.

The bottom of the 6th was for former Yankees, with Felix Heredia on the mound and Cairo replacing David Wright at third.

Steve Phillips on Wright: “He has that twinkle in his eye.”

Another replacement in the field: Andres Gallaraga at first. He’s one of my favorite players. I hope he makes the Mets 25-man roster, because he needs just one more homer to reach 400 for his career.

One of the major problems facing the Mets this year middle-relief and set-up work. As I mentioned earlier, Glavine is getting old and Martinez’s* struggles beyond 100 pitches are well documented by the Fox Television Network, meaning reliable 7th and 8th inning work could make or break the Mets’ season. So the late innings of spring training games are a great time to assess the team’s options for relief.

In the 6th, Heredia picked up right where he left off in the 2004 postseason, throwing some light BP and giving up a run. Of course, there were 2 errors in the infield behind him, one by Cairo and another by Danny Garcia at second.

And in the 8th, lefty Mike Matthews was unable to pitch around 2 more errors, both from Garcia. He gave up one run.

Heredia’s and Matthews’ games were the difference in the game, the Mets losing 5-3.

So the 2005 Mets are 0-1. I suppose that doesn’t mean much, since it’s spring, except that New York has never won a game when John doesn’t write the summary, all but guaranteeing this is the first and last guest write-up on JNYMDBSDC.

Dave in Brighton

Before I get to the mailbag, I want to make one more comment on the rotation. It doesn't effect the rotation this year, but it's something to keep an eye on down the road.

Mets first round draft pick Philip Humber is having a good spring so far. People like the way he throws, and he says he's learning a ton from guys like Pedro Martinez*. It also can't hurt that Humber gets to hang around Rick Peterson. Peterson took a bunch of pitchers to Alabama to have their motions recorded on some high-tech computer thing - Humber was among the pitchers who went. So we'll keep an eye on Humber throughout the season.

Also, good news from the Mets' first intrasquad game. Jose Reyes was picked off twice by Mets' minor league pitchers. This is good news because he was rarin' to go. He has shown in this one game that he is again THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. He just needs to stay healthy, because I want to keep writing that.

Funny note - apparently, future Hall of Famer David Wright got hit by a pitch in the game, and the pitch was a very slow change up, but Wright let out a girlish yelp right before he got hit. His teammates let him hear about that one.

OK. Now to the e-mails:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

While doing preparatory work for my stint at the helm of THE GREATEST
BLOG THAT EVER LIVED, I read today that Mike Cameron's hand is hurt
and that he might miss opening day.

What did he do? Punch a wall when they signed Beltran*?

Dave in Brighton"

Good one. Actually, I feel bad for not reporting this - Cameron's hand has been hurting him since the end of last year - he had surgery during the off-season, and should be back in April, but it might not be Opening Day. He says he thinks he will be back by the opener, Willie Randolph isn't saying anything. Cameron took some swings the other day against soft tosses, and has felt no ill effects, so that's good news...things are progressing. In the meantime, Victor Diaz took Cameron's place in right field in Monday's intrasquad game.

Dave will be writing in this space Wednesday night for Thursday's blog...recapping the Mets' first Grapefruit League spring training game (hence the preparatory work he was doing). Thanks, Dave.

The snow gods were kind to me, giving me a snow day on Tuesday. Now I need to respond in kind and get to bed, so I am refreshed when the school gods take over on Wednesday. Enjoy Mets spring training baseball!! (1:05pm, ESPN)

The rotation. This is going to be one of the Mets' strengths this year. It's really outstanding. Before I comment further on the '05 Mets pitching staff, I turn to an e-mail from Dave in Brighton, which has been sitting in the johnnymetsmailbox for more than a month:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

NESN is replaying the 1986 World Series this week (after broadcasting the '75 Series last week, and before they show the '04 ALCS and WS starting next week).

Seeing Ron Darling on the mound prompted me to wonder:
Which was/is the stronger rotation...'86 Mets or '05 Mets?

Darling ---------- Martinez
Gooden --------- Glavine
Fernandez ----- Anna Benson's husband
Ojeda ------------ Zambrano
Aguilera --------- Trachsel

And a follow-up question. If you think this team is stronger, and since pitching wins championships, do you think the Mets are World Series bound this fall?

Dave in Brighton"

This, I think, is one of my favorite e-mails ever on the site. I never get tired of talking about the 1986 Mets. I'm going to re-match-up the rotations here, for comparison's sake.

Gooden was the '86 ace - he started Game 1 of the NLCS - if the Mets are in the postseason this year (maybe when??), you better believe Pedro Martinez* is out there.
So #1 - Gooden-----------Martinez*

Let's make #2 - Ojeda---------Glavine

Then #3 - Darling------------Benson

And #4 - Fernandez----------Zambrano

Then #5 - Aguilera---------Trachsel

Besides the obvious differences (ages, like the youth of the '86 Mets' staff, and the relative age of the '05 staff [average age = 33]), I think this is a fair matchup.

I think Gooden in 1986 was more dominant than Pedro Martinez* will be in 2005. That said, Gooden never pitched too well in that post-season, and Martinez* has had some of his greatest performances in the playoffs. So with the goal being a World Series championship, this matchup is a tie.

Bobby Ojeda and Tom Glavine are similar in that they don't overpower hitters - but they are both effective lefthanded pitchers. Let's take a look at the career numbers:

Ojeda - 15 yrs., 115-98, 3.65 ERA, 1128 K's
Glavine - 18 yrs., 262-171, 3.44, 2145 K's

Ojeda's season-high in strikeouts was 148, Glavine's was 181. I'm giving Glavine the edge here, because in his 18th season, he showed he still had something left. Also, he's a potential Hall of Famer, Ojeda was just a solid pitcher.

I think Ron Darling has the edge over Kris Benson now, but I'm looking forward to a full season of Benson with a good team. If he still produces a .500 record and an ERA over 4.20, then I'll believe he's an average to below-average pitcher.

Sid Fernandez and Victor Zambrano is a tough one, because there's not much to go on with Zambrano, and El Sid was actually pretty tough to beat in '86 through '89. I think Zambrano will be better this season than he's been in his career to this point (he's supposed to have a lot better control this season), but Zambrano's health issues give the edge to Fernandez here. (Come to think of it, this wasn't a tough one...it was actually pretty easy to call.)

Finally, Rick Aguilera and Steve Trachsel. Aguilera was never the most effective starter (hence the move to the bullpen after he was traded to Minnesota), and Trachsel hasn't had the most impressive career. But if you look at pitching careers with the Mets, you have to give the edge to Trachsel - if the Mets weren't so bad the past couple of years, Trachsel could have had one or two 20-win seasons. I give the edge to Trachsel here. (In the interest of full disclosure, a friend of mine and I have our doubts as to whether Trachsel would have pitched as well as he has the past few years if the Mets were competitive. We think he isn't a pressure pitcher. I guess we'll find out this year).

So if you break down my breakdowns, it's 2-2-1. A tie. Wow that worked out well. I seriously did not try to fix it that way. I do honestly think these pitching staffs match up very well. Whether that leads to a world championship for the '05 Mets or not remains to be seen (although it's all I got to root for this year), but here's the X-factor. Let's look at pitching coach.

Mel Stottlemyre was the Mets' pitching coach in 1986. He's been one of the best in that position in the majors for a couple of decades now. But the '05 Mets have one of the greatest pitching coaches of all time - Rick Peterson. This guy is unbelievable. This is one of the reasons I feel so strongly about the Mets' pitchers this year. He firmly believes he can fix Victor Zambrano's problems on the mound, and I have no reason to doubt him. I also think Peterson, having a full season to work with Benson, will make Benson a much better pitcher. And he sure can't hurt Martinez*. So maybe the presence of Peterson puts the '05 Mets over the top.

I do believe this year's pitching staff can take the Mets far. And if the hitters support the pitchers (the lack of which was the major reason for last year's disaster), getting them to the playoffs, imagine what kind of staff the Mets can throw out there in a short post-season series, and how much stronger the bullpen gets when at least one of the starters turns into a reliever. The bullpen as it stands could be a potential problem....I'll try to give an update on that later in the week.

Wednesday is e-mail day....so Tuesday night is the deadline to get your e-mails in. One more thing - the reference to Anna Benson's husband...and maybe this is a personal note to Dave in Brighton. Since you wrote that more than a month ago, I wonder, since Mike Piazza has gotten married now, if they announce the battery on days Benson pitches as:

"Anna Benson's husband throwing to Alicia Rickter's husband". Or is that just how you announce it?

Oh, another one more thing...bashing Dave has just reminded me that he will be filing a report for Thursday's blog on Wednesday's televised spring training opener. Thanks, Dave, for being a team player! We'll save you a spot at the DirecTV-sponsored bar when the DirecTV kicks in (end of March).

Here's hoping there's no school tomorrow...........

Man, if I was psyched about baseball before, I sure as heck am now.

I must start by saying that I did not meet Hall of Famer Gary Carter on Sunday. The situation wasn't right. I will meet him someday, and it will be without a bunch of other Mets fans pushing around me as we wait to buy tickets for the 2005 season. So instead of going to Shea Stadium Sunday morning, I sat at home, and received a call from James from Bayside. (OK, full disclosure, my mom received the call, and relayed the message.) The members of the 1986 Mets who were at Shea Stadium were on WFAN, on "Talking Baseball with Ed Randall". Great interviews. I heard the end of Gary Carter's, heard Tim Tueffel, Sid Fernandez, and a little bit of Ron Darling. Good stuff. It really got me psyched for this season.

A couple of other things - Hall of Famer Gary Carter is managing the Gulf Coast Mets this season. I think I heard that announcement at the end of last season - but it might have come after the blog closed down for the season. Needless to say, the Carter Count will be this year's version of the Wright Watch, and we'll track Gary Carter's path back to the majors...this time as a future Hall of Fame manager. FYI, the Gulf Coast Mets finished in first place last year in their division, and lost a playoff game to the Red Sox. It's a 60-game season, which I think starts in June....maybe even July. I'll keep you posted.

In other former Mets news, Mookie Wilson will be managing the Brooklyn Cyclones this year.

As for the '05 edition of the Mets, future Hall of Famer David Wright and Jose Reyes (possibly THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED) have been invited by Carlos Beltran* to join him working out at night at the Gold's Gym in Port St. Lucie. Wright has already taken Beltran* up on the offer, but didn't tell Beltran* that he had already been working out at the gym at night separately by himself. Reyes, I think, has yet to join them. Beltran* says he asked them because he sees the talent there and he wants them to be the best they possibly can be.

There's going to be an uproar developing about revelations by Carlos Delgado's agent that Al Leiter helped Delgado choose the Marlins over the Mets by badmouthing New York. I think the only reason this might become an uproar is because Leiter badmouthed the New York media, and they hate to be badmouthed (see: Chad Pennington). Again, in this situation, I don't disagree with anything Leiter said - stuff along the lines of, slumps are prolonged in NYC because 7 or 8 newspaper writers are asking you about it, and the talk radio stations are talking about it, and it influences fans negatively. He said it better, though...I don't like the way I just wrote it. Anyway, this might be an interesting side story for the Mets/Marlins matchups this year.

The Mets' first spring training game is on Wednesday at 1:05pm, and it will be on ESPN. Tom Glavine will pitch against the Washington Nationals. I will not be able to watch, because first of all, I will be in school, and second of all, I no longer have cable, as I get ready to move into the House, brought to you by DirecTV. I will try to find someway to catch highlights, at least.

I would love to preview pitching tomorrow, but tomorrow also happens to be closing on said house. Hopefully I'll find the chance to write.

Next week I'll delve into the Mets' pitching staff and bench players (hopefully - there's a lot going on with the move into the new DirecTV-sponsored home, plus I'm back in school next week). But today, before I head to New York for the weekend (more on that later), I thought I'd take on some of the e-mails that have been sitting in my inbox most of the winter (some also arrived yesterday):

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Welcome back. Might I request johnnycollegebasketball.blogspot.com to
pass the long weeks between the Super Bowl and Spring Training. Felt
like years.

Right off the top, I want to get you on the record on an "Around the
Majors" type question ...
What date do you pick for the annual Ken-Griffey-Jr.-season-ending injury?
I ask this now because spring training dates are still on the board.

I say June 11.

Second up...some online casinos are offering 12-1 odds on the Mets
winning the World Series, same as the Twins and a little bit better
than the 25-2 Marlins. I know you're not interested in such things,
but do those sound like good odds to you?

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"

Dave, thanks for the e-mail(s). The college basketball thing isn't a bad idea...but don't you enjoy just attending college basketball games with me and hearing me talk about them there? You don't really want me to write about the BU Terriers and how they just don't show up against teams like the Northeastern Huskies....do you?

Anyway, I think Griffey makes it through the entire year without a season-ending injury. But I'll go with 3 separate stints on the disabled list for various injuries. For entertainment purposes only, of course.

As for the Mets' odds....I'd say 12-1 is pretty fair. If I had a friend going to Vegas this year around March Madness time, I'd definitely give that friend some money to put on the Mets. Some of you may remember that last year, I had such a friend, and I gave him 20 dollars to put on the Mets to win the World Series. The odds then were 30-1. So I'd say they improved enough since this time last year to merit a 12-1 odd. I'm a little surprised they rate better than the Marlins...but glad. I'm glad they're getting a little respect, because, dare I say it, I think the Mets will be pretty good this year*. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...prediction time is in a month from now.

Another e-mail from Dave:

"'And one other thing that I just realized - at the end of last year, I took the GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED designation away from Reyes because of the injuries, but I did NOT give it to David Wright. I referred to Wright as future Hall of Famer. I forgot, my bad.'

No sweat. This is why they hold spring training."

For those of you who can't follow quotation marks, Dave quoted my posting from Thursday first, then the last line is his. Thanks, Dave, for overlooking my error.

Oh, look, another e-mail from Dave (from February 9th):

"Dear JohnnyJets, er, I mean Mets,

Did you read Kevin Kernan's fawning column in the Post today about
Pedro's early arrival.
I hope he digs that out in July, two weeks into Pedro's NY media blackout and as he's leaving early for his All-Star vacation. He'll get a real kick out of the line "He smiled. He is
comfortable here."
Of course the flaw in my thinking is that Pedro will be on the NL All-Star team this year, fighting for the starter's spot with Clemens, as they battle for the Cy Young. (Or Cy Old, in Clemens' case.)
Dave in Brighton"

I hadn't actually read that column, and saw Dave's e-mail about it a couple of days later. But I'm a little torn on how to react. Part of me thinks Pedro will keep up this model citizen act all season long and never tick anyone off in New York, and he'll win that Cy Young Award as he leads the Mets to the world championship. But the other part of me thinks we'll see the scenario Dave has laid out for us above.

What my head (not heart) really thinks is that there will be a little bit of both. I think this season, whenever Pedro does something that would set off the Boston media the past few years, the New York media this year will give a "That's just Pedro being Pedro"-type response, and not make a huge issue out of it (in coming years, there will be many a firework). I do expect Pedro to pull a lot of his n0t-so-charming antics this season, but I don't think they'll be blown up in the papers quite yet. And I don't think there will be a media blackout....again, just this year.

By the way, Pedro must be getting comfy in his Mets surroundings. Today he shagged flies wearing a dummy head on his hat, being the clown Pedro you always used to see in the Red Sox dugout. On the other hand, the other day, a fan yelled something like, "Who's your daddy?" to Pedro, and he turned around and grabbed his crotch at the guy (can you grab your crotch AT someone? But I think that's what he did.) That antic was just a blurb in the Daily News, FYI, not back-page material.

Anyway, there's plenty more e-mail to come...and if you want to send me e-mails, the address is johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com, and I'll post responses on Wednesdays.

This weekend, I'm going to New York to see the family. Also, on Sunday, Mets single game tickets go on sale. Now, Saturday, season ticket and game plan packs go on sale, and people who buy those at Shea Stadium get to meet Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Darryl Strawberry. And a while back I heard that on Sunday, for the single game tickets, Gary Carter was going to be among the Mets greeting ticket buyers. But I haven't heard anything about that since. I wonder if the Saturday players event replaces the Sunday one. I'll update you next week, but there is a chance that on Sunday I will accomplish my life's goal of meeting Gary Carter. I hope he's nice.

Today I'm going to take a look at the probable Mets' lineup for 2005.

1. Jose Reyes - SS
2. Kaz Matsui - 2B
3. Carlos Beltran - CF
4. Mike Piazza - C
5. Cliff Floyd - LF
6. David Wright - 3B
7. Mike Cameron - RF
8. Doug Mientkiewicz - 1B
9. (Pitcher)

I'm seeing lineups where Matsui is the leadoff hitter and where Reyes is the leadoff hitter. I think Reyes will end up the leadoff hitter (where he finished last season), and Matsui number two, where he is better suited. I really like those two setting the table for Beltran*.

After Beltran, I'm worried. The way it looks right now, Piazza-Floyd could be the weakest 4-5 in the majors. Piazza says he will pace himself more this year, since he will be catching all the time, and try to give himself more rest. He says he knows that he has more pop in his bat when he's rested. Unfortunately, that was the idea when he was moved to first base last year (to rest him), and he didn't light it up at the plate at all. Floyd looked awful at the plate for most of last year. Hopefully he has the injuries beat, and he starts hitting. But right now, I'm not too psyched about the Mets' 4-5 hitters. (FYI - Last year - Piazza: .266, 20 HR, 54 RBI...Floyd: .260, 18 HR, 63 RBI)

I am very psyched about 6-8. I don't think THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, David Wright, will be hitting in the sixth spot for very long. As he gets more comfortable at the major league level, I see him moving at least to the fifth spot, perhaps even higher. As for Cameron and Mientkiewicz, I hope, first of all, that they don't pout, and realize that 7 and 8 are the best spots for them in this lineup (that goes mainly for you, Mientkiewicz, you big mouth). I think Cameron will benefit most, because he will be pressure-free in the 7 spot, and I think he will thrive there. Mientkiewicz I expect a high average from, but not much production elsewhere.

Then there's the pitcher, which I will comment on probably tomorrow (their pitching, not their hitting).

And one other thing that I just realized - at the end of last year, I took the GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED designation away from Reyes because of the injuries, but I did NOT give it to David Wright. I referred to Wright as future Hall of Famer. I forgot, my bad. It's not that I disrespect Wright, it's just that Reyes has the speed, which gives him all the tools to be THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. Now he's just got to show me that he's healthy enough to earn back the title. So scratch the two references to Wright as THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED from your memories...and if you need to, replace them with the precursor "Future Hall of Famer". I promise to correct the errors in the future.

Helloooooooo, Wilmington, North Carolina!!

Baseball season is around the corner, and johnnymets.blogspot.com is back for another season. I've overcome my winter sadness over the acquisition of Pedro Martinez, and am now really psyched about the Mets' upcoming year.

Since I've last written, the Mets have parted ways with the likes of Vance Wilson, Richard Hidalgo, Al Leiter, John Franco, and Art Howe. They've replaced, and upgraded, in all of those spots.

Willie Randolph is the new Mets manager, and he's bringing some Yankee style discipline to the team. Randolph allows only mustaches, so all of the Mets will look clean-shaven this year - no more Mike Piazza beards...or fu manchus. And Randolph has outlawed music in the clubhouse, a Mike Cameron favorite. Players are only allowed to listen to music on headphones. Cameron says he's going to fight this rule.

Cameron isn't a new player this year, but he's playing a new position. Cameron moves to right field to accomodate the big prize - centerfielder Carlos Beltran. I expect Beltran's power numbers to decline a bit with the Mets, but there's no reason for his average or stolen base output to go down. I'm psyched about watching Beltran play*. I just hope he adjusts to center field at Shea Stadium better than Cameron did last year, and that Cameron now makes a smooth transition to right. (* - see Pedro Martinez below)

Pedro Martinez. I've decided that there are worse things in the world than your baseball team adding a potential Cy Young Award winner to their pitching rotation* (an already-strong rotation, incidentally). (* - here's where the asterisks come in. As a Mets fan, you have to be leery of any free agent acquisitions, especially when the players have had huge success before coming to New York. In this case, I think the additions of Martinez and Beltran make the Mets a whole lot better, I really do, but it's just so hard to trust any players in New York until you see them succeed in a Mets uniform with your own eyes. So until they can prove that they are the same Martinez and Beltran that have played for other teams, all references to Martinez and Beltran from here on out will be marked with an asterisk, referring to this footnote.)

I am giving Pedro a chance, starting now. He seems to respect Willie Randolph, which gets him off to a good start. His first bullpen session was strong, he was throwing the ball with "zip". He seems to have a good rapport with the young Latin ballplayers....and there are Red Sox players right now who say they really miss Pedro. Perhaps he isn't a clubhouse cancer. Maybe he'll be a good influence on other Mets. So, Pedro, you're getting a chance to prove yourself to me. Don't blow it.

One other new addition I want to mention is Pedro Martinez' former Red Sox teammate, Doug Mientkiewicz. Mientkiewicz has a big mouth. He's already been talking about that World Series ball controversy, and in Sunday's (or Monday's) New York Daily News he started talking about how the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry didn't quite match up to the Twins-White Sox rivalry. Give me a break, Doug. He's done a lot of talking for just the first two days of camp. I hope he doesn't start rubbing people the wrong way, because he's a legitimate first baseman, something the Mets haven't had in five years.

Other things to look for this year include: the Jose Reyes-Kaz Matsui swap that never had to be, but is taking place this year....the continued emergence of THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, David Wright (Reyes lost that title last year, some of you may remember, due to excessive injury)....Mike Piazza's adjustment back to catcher....who's in the bullpen.....who's on the bench.....and just how good are the Mets going to be this year?

There's a lot of spring training left...I can't promise I'll write every day, but I can promise that beginning next week, Wednesday will continue to be the regular e-mail day, and I will respond to e-mails as long as you get them to me by early Tuesday. Then, once the regular season begins, there will hopefully be daily updates, with Wednesday remaining e-mail day.

Thanks for reading - I hope you had a restful winter - and get ready for BASEBALL SEASON!!

Earlier this week, I promised surprising comments from an unlikely Jet. The comments came from unrestricted free agent tight end Anthony Becht, who went off (sort of) on Monday or Tuesday when the team was cleaning out its lockers.

Becht said something to the effect of he feels he was underutilized with the Jets, and feels he'll be used better somewhere else. He says the only reason other tight ends have been having better careers is the way they are used. He acknowledges he's not as fast as some of those other guys, but says he could match their production if he was given the ball more. He wrapped up by saying when all is said and done, people are going to say Anthony Becht had a great career.

I think Becht was waaay underused with the Jets. When the Jets made their run to the playoffs in 2001, he was one of their clutch guys - catching game-winning touchdown passes against Cincinnati and Indianapolis (and a key 2-point conversion along the way). Lately he has become known for his drops, and he only saw one pass thrown his way (if any) in most games this season. I think his final numbers were 13 catches for 100 yards in the regular season. Becht saw his production increase a bit in the post-season, but nowhere near the elite tight ends of the NFL. The Jets started to use Chris Baker a lot more this season, but he showed a tendency to fumble, and did not have more reliable hands catching the ball than Becht did. Becht was also very valuable blocking in the running game.

So, long story short, Becht will most likely be playing for another team next year. Whether he will have a "great" career when it's all said and done, I doubt...but I wish him well. He was one of my all-time favorite Jets (a list that includes tight end Mickey Shuler, who, by the way, Becht compared himself to).

As for Sunday's AFC and NFC Championship games (for entertainment purposes only):

I really like the Falcons. I can't tell you why...perhaps it's because I've been saying since Terrell Owens went down that the Eagles wouldn't go to the Super Bowl. Perhaps it's because Michael Vick beat the Packers in the playoffs in 2002, and can win in cold Philly this year. Perhaps it's just because I'm an idiot, and the Eagles are going to win, but I'm picking Atlanta. I don't know. But I pick Atlanta, at least to cover. Their defense is bad, but I think they can outscore Philadelphia, if it's just going to be a cold day, and the running game takes over, I think Atlanta matches up quite well.

In the AFC, I can't go against the Patriots. The Steelers played poorly last week, and I think Ben Roethlisberger's success runs out before Tom Brady's. The Patriots are just too good....and the Steelers are too flawed. The only stat I was going to hang my hat on in this matchup was Tom Brady's lack of success against Pittsburgh. I was basing this on the fact that Brady lost in Pittsburgh this season, and was injured in the AFC Championship in 2001. Brady left that game ahead 7-3, but hadn't done much on offense (the touchdown was a punt return). But Brady did light up Pittsburgh in the 2002 season opener (at Gillette Stadium), so this stat is worthless. Unless you want to believe that Brady can't win in Pittsburgh. We'll find out on Sunday. But my pick is the Patriots, because you can't pick against them until they show you they can't win. I give up on picking against them (at least for this season).

Enjoy the games.

Steelers 20, Jets 17 OT

I probably should have written this entry Saturday night, when the emotion was still running strong. But even now, three days later, I'm struggling (or as Joe Namath would say, "strug-a-ling") to write anything except &$*#!!(#()DougBrien(!#####. (Those punctuation marks are supposed to be curse words, but it doesn't look angry enough to convey how I feel).

Right off the bat I should have known the Jets were in trouble, when I realized that CBS's number two broadcasting team was Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf. This is the second-best CBS has to offer? Come on.

The Steelers jumped to a 3-0 lead, then 10-0 after a Troy Polamalu interception off a badly thrown ball by Chad Pennington set up a Jerome Bettis touchdown. The Jets came back with an ugly-looking field goal by Doug Brien, making it 10-3 in the second quarter. Early in the game it looked like the Jets were afraid to throw the ball. Pittsburgh wasn't afraid to throw, but they should have been - Ben Roethlisberger looked horrible.

Late in the second quarter, all my dreams started to come through. Santana Moss returns a punt 75 yards for the touchdown!!! The game was tied at 10! Halftime. For the first time I see an NFL commercial featuring an actress instead of an actor...but they're going to have to do a little better than Rene Russo for my tastes. (But it is a step in the right direction, NFL.)

Anyway, third quarter, not much happens, when all of a sudden - HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE REGGIE TONGUE JUST PICKED OFF ANOTHER PASS AND OH MY GOD I THINK HE'S GOING ALL THE WAY - 86 yards for the touchdown. 1 7-10, Jets. I get all kinds of congratulatory calls, even from Patriots fans who are telling me they're rooting for the Jets so the Pats can host the AFC Championship Game....and I'm telling these people, just one more score. I can't believe what the Jets are doing here - they just need one more score and it's all over!

They never got that one more score.

All day long I was waiting for Pittsburgh to pull off one of their fancy offensive plays (direct snap, option, something), and they finally did it on second and goal from the four yard line with 6:00 left in the game. Hines Ward takes the shovel pass from Ben Roethlisberger to tie the game at 17.

But I'm thinking, OK, this is good, 6 minutes - that's plenty of time for Pennington. The Jets started at their own 23, and looked good, moving the ball down the field. They attempt a 47-yard field goal with 2:03 left in the game and it HITS THE FRIGGIN' CROSSBAR - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? So the Steelers take over after the 2 minute warning and HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT DAVID BARRETT JUST INTERCEPTED ROETHLISBERGER AGAIN AND I THINK HE'S GOING TO TAKE IT ALL THE WAY...nope he's down at the 37-yard line.

OK. Wow. This is great. The Jets are going to win - all they have to do is move the ball down the field a little bit....the Jets get to the 25. Then they stop moving the ball. And here's where many people have many different opinions about what should have happened. The Jets only ended up gaining an extra yard or so, going way conservative in the final 40 seconds, not wanting to turn the ball over and lose the chance to win the game. I think the Jets would have benefitted from a couple of extra running plays - throw LaMont Jordan at the D a couple of more times, see if he can break one. But I wasn't unhappy when Brien came out for the 43-yard attempt. I said to myself, he missed one before, he can't miss one now. Of course, we all know he missed it. I've defended Doug Brien this whole season, for reasons I can't quite think of right now. I'll never have confidence in a kicker again. I've learned my lesson - if I'm ever coaching a team, I'll go for the touchdown, not a lousy kick. I didn't learn my lesson from San Diego - it took a Jets heartbreak for me. I hope Herman Edwards learned the same thing.

In overtime, the Jets won the toss, did nothing, and on third and ten, threw a 2-yard pass to Wayne Chrebet. Come on. This is the play being called at this juncture?!??!? Pittsburgh won on a 33-yard field goal. There's the recap. I'm too angry to write more about this game.

Let's talk about the future. I take small consolation in the fact that Paul Hackett will be fired. If the Jets would have made it to the AFC Championship Game, it would have been harder to make a case to fire him, but now there's no excuses. He's gone. So now I'm excited to see what Chad Pennington can do when he's not so restricted. Now we'll see what kind of quarterback Pennington is. The Jets have a bunch of free agents this year, and one of them is talking big....and it's a very unlikely suspect. I'll write about that later this week - tomorrow if there's time.

For now, I need to take a look at the mailbag (untouched since the end of Saturday night's game...I'm afraid of what I'll find):

"Johnny....

Now that the Jets are eliminated, I'll ask the biggest question that's been bothering me with the Jets this season...

What the hell is Curtis Martin wearing in the post game press conferences?? Why does he look like one of those things old women have in their front yard....the lawn jockeys. Does he look in the mirror and think....yes...this looks good.

He looks like an idiot.

kevin
Wilmington, NC"

Kevin- Interestingly enough, I think Curtis Martin always makes those "best-dressed players in the NFL" lists...what are those guys thinking? I agree - he does look like an idiot. Actually, less like an idiot, more like a clown.

Also, after the game, Martin talked about how disappointed he was with the loss, and how he had postponed all his business meetings until after the Pro Bowl, because he was sure the Jets were going all the way. What kind of business meeting does Curtis Martin have to attend? And does he dress like that in the boardroom?

"Dear JohnnyJets,

I should first say that I was rooting for a Jets upset Saturday, not only because I like the Jets but also because I wanted Pats to host the AFC Championship game instead of going on the road.

As I watched the Steelers move down the field in the fourth quarter against an exhausted Jets defense for the game-tying score, I had a familiar feeling rising in my throat -- worry followed by anger followed by resignation. It was my Red Sox feeling. The same one I get when I see the Sox faltering and I know, I just know, that they're going to blow it.

Of course, the Red Sox banished this feeling (forever?) this season. Do you think the Jets will follow the Sox lead and stock up on pitching in the offseason?

Dave in Brighton."

The inevitable comparison to the Red Sox. I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind. I need to write an off-season entry comparing the two fandoms. It was tough to be a Red Sox fan for so long...but it's also tough to be a Jets fan. My cousin, who has an 8-month-old son, and I were talking after the game Saturday, and lamenting how bad it was, and how at least our fathers saw a Jets championship. He said his son might be 32 before the Jets get this far in the playoffs again (not a stretch...although I do think the franchise is on the upswing for the first time ever), and he thinks he should raise his son to root for another team. He won't though...because we're stupid Jets fans.

I need to mention this - I'm not sure if it's funny or not, but it's my form of therapy (besides watching tapes of Jets' old playoff wins...the Jacksonville game from '99 and the Indy game from '03...yes, I'm sick). I was at the gym on Sunday, and there's this guy wearing Steelers garb from head to toe. I got so mad I imagined going up to him and kicking his ass. Even in my imagination, my kick was wide left. Thanks a lot, you've been a great crowd. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

A correction: Yesterday I think I wrote something to the effect of "the Steelers' game in Miami during the NFL's opening weekend", referring to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's article on the Steelers' bonding at the team hotel during Hurricane Jeanne. It was actually the weekend of September 26th. The Dolphins opened up against the Titans. The Steelers opened up against Oakland. My bad.

I don't know how much I'll be able to write the rest of the week due to a family issue. So I will predict Jets 17, Steelers 10. And I'll pick things up recapping the game on Sunday and previewing the AFC Championship Game.

If I was a New England Patriots fan, I'd be pretty worried about the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. As it is, though, I'm a New York Jets fan, and I'm pretty worried about the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, so I've got my own problems.

The Steelers are clearly better than the Chargers. Even their newspaper writers are better. After just reading through the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's sports pages for the first time, they put Southern California's papers to shame. (Good article on how the Steelers bonded during Hurricane Jeanne at a Miami hotel during the season's opening weekend.)

My concerns include: the Jets playing two straight overtime games - and not overtime games where you take the overtime-opening kickoff and kick a field goal to win the game. Two straight pretty greuling overtime games. And Saturday's win over the Chargers came just six days after the game against the Rams. At least the Jets now have a week before they play Pittsburgh.

Also, the Steelers, obviously, are coming off a bye week, and Ben Roethlisberger has now had two straight weeks of rest. Maybe, just maybe, that could work in the Jets' favor. But I'm not counting on that. More on that throughout the week.

Let's go to the mailbag:

Dear JohnnyJets,

The latest odds are PIT -9, Atlanta -7, Philly -9.5, and NE -2. Aside from the Pats, do you think the league is really that imbalanced? How can a league with such parity have 9 point favorites in the second round of the playoffs?

Around the league...Favre threw 4 INTs against 1 TD, for a 55 QB rating against the Vikings yesterday. Has he jumped the shark?

The last time the Patriots lost to the Colts was Oct. 22, 2000. Don't the Colts have to win one eventually? What were you doing Oct. 22, 2000?

Dave in Brighton"

Dave - I love the fact that the Jets are 9-point underdogs. Philly and Minnesota will probably be closer than 9-and-a-half points as well. I do think the league is imbalanced...but not with the teams remaining in the playoffs. I think the Rams will play the Falcons tight in the dome, the Jets have a real shot at upsetting Pittsburgh (more on that throughout the week...and come on, did you think I would think any differently), and the Vikings, if they can beat the Packers in Green Bay, can beat the Eagles in Philly. I might go on a limb and say they will beat the Eagles. I don't like the Vikes, but the Eagles are weak. They won't win the NFC Championship Game, I'll say that for sure - and I'm not sure they'll even make it past this week.

Brett Favre is a tough read. The past few seasons he's good enough to get the Packers into the playoffs, but then their season comes to an end because he plays an absolutely horrid game. I think he probably could play a couple of more playoff-caliber seasons (based on the people around him - receivers, backs, etc.), but I don't think he'll win any more Super Bowls.

As for the Colts, I do think they are bound to win one against the Patriots. And I think they catch the Pats at a time prime for the beating. I think it'll come this week. And I do believe on October 22, 2000, if it was a Sunday, I was watching Game 2 of the Subway Series. That's a total guess. If it was a Monday-nighter, I was waiting anxiously for Game 3. And I was working at Channel 7.

Speaking of Channel 7 - former sports intern Kevin weighs in:

"JJDBSDC....

Is football season over yet?? It is for my Panthers (no Super Bowl for me this year), so lets switch to baseball for a bit....

As a Mets fan...when they make big free agent signings, do you have early 90s flashbacks? Beltran = Bonilla?? Pedro = Gooden?? Koo = Franco?? (Koo??)

I know you are distracted with the Jets, but deep down you're a baseball guy, and I'm sure you've thought about these things.

Also...good comments on the Samuel L Jackson intros. They're obnoxious.

kevin
Wilmington, NC"

Kevin - I'm saving my baseball stuff for our sister station, johnnymets.blogspot.com, but I will comment real quick. Gooden was never a Mets' free agent, so I equate Pedro more to a Saberhagen or a Viola. I do cringe, though, whenever they make a free agent signing. But I do always give new management (in this case, Omar Minaya), the benefit of the doubt.

Sorry about your Panthers. Let me know if they send you to Jacksonville to cover this year's game. Or if the Jets make it, and you want to do a great feature story on an excited Jets fan and his dad who make the trip to sunny Florida for the event of a lifetime.....

Jets 20, Chargers 17 OT

That was either the most exciting Jets game I've ever seen in my life, or the most frustrating. Parts of it made me want to run down the street screaming at the top of my lungs, and other parts made me want to roll up into a ball and cry.

It got off on the wrong foot, courtesy of Doug Brien's foot. On the opening drive, the Jets moved the ball right down the field, only to have Brien miss a 33-yard field goal.

The defense played well, holding San Diego scoreless in the first quarter - the Chargers defense was able to do the same to the Jets offense.

The Chargers got on the board first when Drew Brees hit Keenan McCardell with a bomb for a 7-0 lead. I'm not convinced, after seeing a few replays, that McCardell didn't bobble that ball. The original camera angle showed the ball juggling around, I'm sure of it. ABC kept showing the reverse angle, which showed McCardell's feet were clearly in bounds, but there was never a non-reverse angle close-up to see whether McCardell had control of the ball. Nevertheless, 7-0 San Diego.

The Jets answered later in the second. After Jon McGraw came within inches of blocking a San Diego punt (he came within inches of blocking a couple of other punts Saturday night), Marty Schottenheimer charged onto the field to yell at the refs. That gave the Jets 15 extra penalty yards, and the Jets made Marty pay. Chad Pennington called an audible from the 13-yard line, and hit Anthony Becht for a touchdown. Becht was so wide open he walked into the end zone...but geez, Anthony, act like you been there before. (Most likely for Becht, he'll never be there again...as a Jet.) Becht - I knew they were saving him as a big secret playoff weapon.

The score was 7-7 at halftime, and the Jets blew a couple of chances to get at least three before the break. At halftime, Steve Young talked about how the Jets owned the third quarter - scoring nearly three times as many points in the third quarter as their opponents. This game was no different. It started on a 47-yard bomb by Pennington to Santana Moss for a 14-7 Jets lead.

Allow me to say a few words here on Pennington. He looked amazing. He was throwing the ball about as good as he has all season - long, on the 47-yarder to Moss, and short, on screens to Curtis Martin. He was also making great decisions - no turnovers, and the great audible call to Becht for the touchdown. If Pennington plays like this all post-season, the Jets will be hard to beat.

The defense played well too - although there were times when they made you scratch your head. First of all, only the Jets defense falls for the hard count on 4th and 1 in the Chargers' own territory. Dewayne Robertson was the guilty party on Saturday. And only the Jets would have 10 guys on the field - FOR CONSECUTIVE PLAYS - late in the game. Come on guys. Robertson, by the way, made up for jumping offsides with a great play on the next play, driving LaDainian Tomlinson backwards for a loss. The penalty wasn't costly, but Robertson could have been the goat. More on possible goats later.

It was in the third quarter, on the drive where the Jets ended up kicking a field goal to go up 17-7, that Herman Edwards and running backs coach Bishop Harris got into an animated argument on the sideline. Edwards says it was a "family argument", and stays in the family. The Jets won, so it isn't an issue...but those guys better not crack the deeper they get into the playoffs.

The Jets held a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter, and things are looking good, right? Wrong. The Chargers kick a field goal to make it 17-10, and then the Jets have a chance to put the game away late. They get the biggest gift ever - a Jets-like 12-men on the field penalty on a Jets punt by the Chargers!! - gives the Jets the first down. They can run out the clock...........no they can't. The Jets can't run out the clock ever. And they're too far out for a field goal. So they kick it back to the Chargers, who proceed to go 78 yards to the Jets 2. The Jets defense has been really good this year inside the 5-yard line, so I legitimately thought the Jets would stop the Chargers and win the game. Until Eric Barton threw an elbow at Drew Brees' head on a fourth down incomplete pass to allow the Chargers another set of downs to tie the game at 17. Barton. Leave it to a former Raider to try to cheat. Unreal. Another possible goat saved by his teammates.

The Jets called heads for the overtime coin toss...of course, it's tails. The Chargers get the ball back, it looks like there's no way the Jets can get it back together and win. They stop the Chargers. Then the Jets go three and out. Again, no way the Jets stop San Diego. Until the Chargers get down near the Jets' 25, and run three straight plays, going nowhere. And then Nate Kaeding misses!!!!!!! the 40-ish yard field goal. I made promises to God before that field goal that I'm never going to be able to keep.

The Jets finally, finally capitalized. They drove right down the field, thanks to a great catch by Santana Moss to get it across the 50, then some great runs by LaMont Jordan to get the Jets to the 9 yard line. Ironic that the (lately) inconsistent foot of Doug Brien now controlled the Jets' destiny. And it was only fitting that Schottenheimer called a timeout right before the snap, essentially making Brien kick the field goal twice. But Brien did it, and the Jets are advancing. This is the type of game the Jets usually lose. I wish they'd just win a blowup so I can enjoy a playoff game without feeling like I'm going to throw up for four quarters and overtime.

A couple of other personal notes. I hate when ABC shows stats such as: Curtis Martin has fumbled the fewest times per carry of any NFL back ever (minimum however many carries). I feel like they're just setting him up to drop the ball at the 1-yard line.

I wonder how much it costs ABC to pay Samuel L. Jackson to do their intro and spots during the game. Probably way too much. And I saw FOX doing the same on Sunday with Keifer Sutherland. I'm getting tired of these actors...including the guy from the Practics (I think) and Don Cheadle (I think) doing the playoffs commercials. Great, we get it. You guys are actors AND you like sports. Wonderful. I don't want to see any more of those...unless they start using hot actresses.

I love when everyone picks against the Jets. It makes me feel like they're going to win. I don't know why, that's just the way the Jets operate (and the way my mind operates).

So the Jets are headed to the Divisional Round. And thanks to the Indianapolis Colts' win today over the Denver Broncos, I better learn how to spell Roethlisberger. More on the Jets preps for Pittsburgh throughout the week. E-mails tomorrow.

I'll write a recap on Sunday in the afternoon. I can't do it right now - I'm too emotionally "Charged". No pun intended. Yes, actually, pun intended.

Jets at Chargers, Saturday, 8pm (5pm Pacific)

Playoff time!! It looks like it'll be raining on Saturday night when the Jets and Chargers face off. Actually, I think it will be raining a lot, and the field will be quite muddy. I like the Jets' chances in the rain and muck.

Curtis Martin is going to plow ahead no matter what the conditions. The wet weather could work against LaDanian Tomlinson, since he relies more on his speed. (Just my speculation - there are no facts to back these statements up.)

The Jets will have Santana Moss back to return punts...a hamstring problem kept him from doing that the past few weeks. That's good, because Justin McCareins makes me nervous every time he goes back for a punt return.

It's looking less and less likely John Abraham or Wayne Chrebet will play - which means we'll see more of Bryan Thomas and Jerricho Cotchery. Not great, but two guys who have been playing well of late.

Jonathan Vilma was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year - well-deserved honor. He's been playing great -the Jets need the rest of the defense to play like Vilma's been playing, or else they are toast.

I think we see a return of the dominant Jets' defense of the middle (not the end) of the season, and I think Curtis Martin does most of the work to get the Jets to Pittsburgh. Jets, 24-14.

Here's the rest of my picks:

Indianapolis, 34-17
Green Bay, 20-13
Seattle, 3-0 (which is to say, I have no idea, nor do I care about this game)

GO JETS!!!

By the time my readers read this, the Jets will be in San Diego, and Friday's practice will be the last before the game. I'm getting pretty excited.

A wrap-around of Jets/Chargers news:

Herman Edwards says Chad Pennington was throwing the ball really well in practice on Wednesday (Thursday was the travel day). That comment was met with skepticism by the New York media (but what aren't they skeptical about). Pennington himself says his shoulder is improving, and feeling better. Whatever. I'm buying what they're selling - just win, Jets. Apparently neither John Abraham or Wayne Chrebet are the sure bets to play they were the other day. I expect we'll see a little of Abraham...I don't know about Chrebet - concussions are tricky.

The San Diego papers aren't even really worth reading. In Chargers news, though - Drew Brees was named Comeback Player of the Year. There wasn't much competition there, I'm sure. I think tomorrow I'll do a breakdown by key position as a last-day preview.

For now, though, a couple of e-mails to address:

Dear JohnnyJets,
I worry that you're going to watch the game in your home, where theJets have just a .571 winning percentage.

It's ultimately your decision. But are you willing to accept responsibility for the Jets losing?

Maybe you could break down the Jets record, on games watched at your home, when Kathy was there and when she wasn't there.

That would be a helpful stat.

Dave"

Dave, you're absolutely right, I can't believe I let that stat slip through the cracks. The games I watched at home were:

CIN (W), MIA (W), BAL (L), NE (L), BUF (L), CLE (W), SEA (W)

I remember Kathy being in and out for the Cincinnati game (but out more than in), and the same with Baltimore (perhaps in more than out). The others, I think she was there for most of, although I sometimes get so absorbed in the games I lose track of the wife. I'll say she was there for all of the Miami game (Monday night), the New England game, the Buffalo game, and the Cleveland game. But I've been wrong before. So the winning percentage with her in full attendance is 2-2, without, it's 2-1. So I guess it's a .667 winning percentage at home without Kathy versus a .750 winning percentage at the bar without her. I like staying at home, so I'll take that chance.

One more from Dave:

"JohnnyJets,

For entertainment purposes, what was your regular season recordagainst the spread? Kathy's?

Dave in Brighton"

I was going to put this in, but I was waiting until I had Kathy's numbers at my disposal. This was a weak year for me, in all honesty. I went 8-7-1 in the final week, but I threw out my paperwork last night, so I'm not sure what my overall record was. I think I finished at .500 (for entertainment purposes only). Kathy finished 115 overall in the ESPN pool - out of 60,000 people. Not bad. But I don't have her numbers at my disposal right now. I'll try to get them tomorrow. Then I'll pick the other playoff games (for entertainment purposes only), and preview the Jets/Chargers game. I can't wait.

One more thing - I'm not going to say I'm happy the Jets lost going into the playoffs, but I'm just so darn happy the Jets are in the playoffs. It doesn't happen much, and hasn't happened much in my lifetime. This is an unprecedented streak they are on right now, believe it or not (three playoff appearances in four years). Now, don't get me wrong - I'll be disappointed if they don't win a couple of games (namely, four). But to say I'm disappointed with them finishing at 10-6 when they could have been 11-5 or even 12-4...I'd be lying. 10-6 is fine with me. If they had won 2 more games...they'd be right where they are now - at San Diego, in the first wild card spot. And I'd be disappointed with that.

The San Diego papers focused on Marty Schottenheimer's failures in the post-season - his career post-season record is 5-11. and he's lost 4 straight games in the post-season.

The New York papers focused on Herman Edwards' positive attitude. Nothing ground-breaking.

A couple of new developments - Wayne Chrebet will probably play on Saturday night, after his "mild" concussion suffered on Sunday. John Abraham will also play, back from his knee injury. I forgot to mention yesterday that Curtis Martin won the rushing title over Shaun Alexander by a yard, with 1,697 rushing yards. Nice job by him and the offensive line. That offensive line, though, allowed Chad Pennington to be sacked a career-high six times last Sunday - they better shape up before Saturday night.

Another note, just because I was talking about career playoff records. Herman Edwards (who I think has a relationship with Schottenheimer from their Kansas City days) is 1-2 in the playoffs. Chad Pennington is 1-1. Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, among other key Chargers - never played in the playoffs. That's got to work in the Jets favor nerves-wise.

I'm going to touch on a personal note, and tomorrow I'll get back to the real playoff scenarios.
The wife will not be here on Saturday night, and that is a very good thing. She claims she hasn't seen the Jets win all year...and I think she's right. I remember her sitting and watching with me parts of 5 of the 6 Jets' losses this year. So it's a good thing I won't be watching the playoff game with her. I've also broken down my record as a Jets watcher.
Sunday was my first loss watching the Jets at John Brewer's Pub - this year's place to watch my out-of-town Jets games. So:

John Brewer's: 3-1
In Person: 2-1
At Work: 1-0
At Cousin Eddie's house: 0-1
On TV at home: 4-3

So I'm taking a risk by staying at home and watching this playoff game winning-percentage-wise, but it is the site they've accumulated the most wins. At least the wife won't be around to jinx them.

Congratulations to the Jets on the playoffs, and congratulations to both of my readers for being 2 of the 27% of all Americans who read blogs. That's up from 17% - the increase all in the past year. Maybe next year at this time I'll have a 10% increase in readership.

The San Diego papers are talking tough. Actually, I only read one article in the San Diego Union-Tribune. It says the Jets backed in to the playoffs, and the Chargers are a much different team than the team the Jets faced in Week 2. That may be true, but the article also mentions the fact that of the Chargers' 12 wins, none came against playoff teams. Their four losses came to the Jets, Falcons, Colts, and Broncos - playoff teams all. So let's get on the Chargers' back for building up wins against weak teams. They played the NFC South, including such powerhouses as the aforementioned Falcons, and the Buccaneers, the Panthers, and the Saints (and the Saints and the Panthers came when those teams were playing their worst football of the season). Then, factor in the fact that the Chargers play in the AFC West, where they went 5-1 against the Broncos, Raiders, and Chiefs. The Jets got their 10 wins against some bad teams, but the Chargers also have been bottom-feeders. At least the Jets have a shot in an East coast city in the second round. The Chargers don't stand a chance.

Another thing about San Diego. It's been a special place for the Jets the past few years. In 2002, the Jets went to San Diego with a 1-4 record, and many expected them to be blown out of the water. The Jets proceeded to win, 44-10 (I think...I'm sure we'll hear about that game this week, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now), and turned their season around, advancing to the playoffs behind the right arm of one Chad Pennington. This year, in Week 2, in what was then considered to be a big test for the Jets, the Jets won again in San Diego, 34-28. Perhaps this weekend we'll see another turnaround. The Jets have been struggling lately. Chad Pennington says he's searching for a rhythm. Perhaps he'll find it in San Diego, and lead the Jets on the four-game winning streak to end all four-game winning streaks.

I need to get to bed (it's late here on the East coast, the chilly East coast, where the real football teams play), but I have an e-mail to address:

"Dear JohnnyJets,

How much do you think the early-season win over San Diego is playing
in the minds of the Jets (and the Chargers, for that matter)? Do you
think it makes the Jets more likely to win Saturday's game because
they know they can beat SD, or do you think it doesn't really matter
because both teams have warmed up/matured/weathered the season since
then?

Can you feel the vibes from Patriots fans who want the Jets to win so
New England doesn't have to play Indy?

I tuned into the last 2 minutes of regulation yesterday, just enough
time to hear Deirdorf (sp?) say Pennington looked hurt on the final
drive. Did you see anything that made you think that?

Also, do you think CBS was trying to jinx Pennington by putting up
that graphic that said he'd never thrown an INT in the red zone in his
career? (He almost threw 2 immediately following.)

Dave in Brighton"

Last things first, Dave, I don't think CBS was trying to jinx Pennington, but for that reason, I'm always afraid to mention that stat. It's one of my favorite stats in the history of football...and it's come close to being broken many times over the past two seasons. Last year, Pennington threw one of his five interceptions against the Patriots from just outside the 20 yard line, keeping the streak alive. So I will never mention it in writing...and hope CBS refrains from showing the stat during the playoffs (and ABC and hopefully Fox, home of the Super Bowl, for that matter).

I couldn't hear Dierdorf towards the end of the game, and I intentionally tried not to listen, since they were so bad. But I must apologize (to my readers, not to Dierdorf), and correct an error from yesterday's posting. I said something to the effect of Dierdorf's bias to his Rams...he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, and still lives in the St. Louis area, and was clearly biased to the Saint Louis football team, not the Rams...sorry for the error. I got my former St. Louis Cardinals mixed up with my former Los Angeles Rams...My bad.

As for your first comment, as I mentioned above, I think the early season meeting only serves to boost the Jets' confidence. I don't think it affects the Chargers too much, but I do think it helps the Jets to know that they can go into San Diego and win.

And since you mention the Patriots fans...I should throw this out there. Here are the possibilities for Round 2:

Jets win, Colts win: Jets play the Steelers, Patriots play the Colts
Jets win, Broncos win: Jets play Patriots, Broncos play Steelers
Chargers win, Colts win: Patriots play Colts, Steelers play Chargers
Chargers win, Broncos win: Patriots play Chargers, Steelers play Broncos.

Since the Steelers had the better record, they always play the lowest seed remaining. So I'm sorry to inform you Dave, when the Jets win, the Patriots (and their fans) need to root real hard for the Broncos to avoid the Colts.

Rams 32, Jets 29 OT

So the Jets lost. So they lost a long and torturous game. I don't really care - they're going to THE PLAYOFFS!!!

I'm psyched. Let's make one thing clear, because I can sense a negative vibe uprising. The Jets did not back into the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings backed into the playoffs. The Jets MADE the playoffs. They won 10 games, they played a good (not VERY good, but a good) game against the Rams, and they deserve to be one of 12 teams with a shot at the Super Bowl.

The Jets should have won this game in regulation. It would have been nice for the Jets to punch it into the end zone on their final drive and stick it to the Rams, eliminating them from the post-season. But Chad Pennington didn't look too sharp, and the Jets settled for the game-tying field goal. Then, I think, the Jets knew they were already in the playoffs when overtime came around, and their defense played pretty well for most of OT, but I think the Jets knowing they were in the playoffs had an effect on some of the gameplan in OT. For example, I don't think the Jets would have settled for a 53-yard field goal if they had to win the game to get into the playoffs. They just left the Rams in such good field position after missing the field goal that it wouldn't have been a smart play. I guess what I'm saying is, overall, I'm happy with the loss...but boy, would it be nice someday for the Jets to be in a position where they had a playoff spot wrapped up in the final week.

Curtis Martin and LaMont Jordan had nice warm-ups going into the playoffs. Pennington didn't play too well, and got lucky when a big interception was dropped at the end of the game, and he still couldn't throw the ball long, but he's shown he can win in San Diego, so I'm not too worried about him....right now. I am worried about the defense. They played pretty bad for most of the game - in particular, the secondary. Granted, the Rams came out a lot more fired up then I thought they would, but the secondary let those guys get way too open - especially on the touchdown passes. Erik Coleman and Jon McGraw had decent games, but David Barrett, Donnie Abraham, and Terrell Buckley did not play well. (McGraw also dropped a key INT late.) The receivers had good games, and it looked like the Jets wanted to work the tight ends into the offensive game plan a lot more, which is a good sign heading into the playoffs. That might open up the wide receivers a bit more. I don't think the coaches had a good game. The Jets should have run out the clock more in regulation, but had two very quick three-and-outs at the beginning of the fourth quarter, after the second of which, the Rams scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Jerricho Cotchery is showing he might be a weapon on kick returns (although the Rams special teams were very bad). Wayne Chrebet doesn't look like he'll be a factor - he suffered a minor concussion. The talk this week was that he wanted to come back next year - I hope he re-evaluates now, and decides to retire.

A word or two on the announcers. According to Dick Enberg:

"Curtis Martin is on his way to his fifth straight Super Bowl." (meaning 5th Pro Bowl)

After the Jets kicked the tying field goal with :03 seconds left on the clock, they were getting ready for the ensuing kickoff and Enberg says, "The Rams have won the toss and elected to receive." Good call, Dick.

And Dan Dierdorf was so blatantly biased towards his (L.A.) Rams that it was ridiculous. Just ridiculous. Too many examples to mention. Let's hope Dick hangs 'em up like Wayne, and Dan never does another Jets game ever.

So it's Jets-Chargers, Saturday night at 8pm. I'll do my best to preview this all week. Remember, though - the Jets beat the Chargers in Week 2, 34-28. Erik Coleman had a big game, intercepting Drew Brees on the final drive, and also chasing LaDanian Tomlinson down from behind on a big run and stripping him of the ball.

The 34 points the Jets scored in that game reminds me of something. The Jets seem able to score when they want to (I guess I should qualify that by throwing in - 'against certain teams'...and the Chargers should be one of those teams). My problem is, if they can drive right down the field when they need to play catch-up, as they did when they were trailing the Rams on Sunday, why can't they just jump out to a big lead on teams like the Rams and then bury them? The answer to that is Paul Hackett's play-calling, and that's why he deserves to be fired.

One last note for today - the 49ers scored first on the Patriots on Sunday, ending their consecutive-game scoring first streak. I really would have loved for the Jets to do that last week.

Oh well. On to San Diego. I'll try to read the San Diego papers this week and keep you up on all that's going on on both coasts.