WEEKEND THOUGHTS

The Mets split their first two spring training games with the Cardinals. Saturday, they played the Nationals, and for what it's worth, Aaron Heilman, Brian Bannister, Chad Bradford, and Duaner Sanchez all pitched effectively (I think, according to the pitching schedule). Mike Venafro, who I like to watch, but I'm not sure will make the Major League team, (he's formerly of the Oakland A's) gave up three runs in the sixth....again, I think.

The eventful news from Friday night's game is that Steve Schmoll blew an 8-7 lead in the 9th inning - as the Mets lost 11-8. Good thing we now have Billy Wagner.

I imagine, since Wagner didn't pitch Saturday, we'll probably see him on Sunday in the ESPN-televised game against the Puerto Rican WBC team. Although, now that I've written that, he could be pitching in the other split squad game, meaning we wouldn't see him.

The other thing from spring training is that it seems if Kaz Matsui makes an error or doesn't get a hit, it's a big deal. If he does OK, it's not worth mentioning. I know Matsui is making a lot of money, and he hasn't performed well yet - but I really hope he wins the job, and plays well. He's got a lot going against him right now...I want to see him do well. Incidentally, I never mentioned how the Bret Boone retirement affects Matsui - it doesn't guarantee him a job, that's for sure. Anderson Hernandez (who had three hits and three runs on Saturday) is getting a real shot, and Jeff Keppinger has been cleared by doctors to start playing again. So it's still wide open.

2 NOTES FROM 'WALDENBOOKS': I was out shopping with the wife on Friday night, and we stopped into Waldenbooks. As I am wont to do, I went straight to the sports section. I saw a prospects report, and picked that up to read - I think it was from Baseball America. A couple of things caught my interest. No surprise that Lastings Milledge was rated the best prospect in the Mets' system - but I didn't realize he has a sketchy past - accusations of sexual misconduct in high school. Apparently he's been a model citizen in the Mets' organization, so that's good news. And I know Cliff Floyd has set a good example when they've been together in spring training situations, so that's good. I was a bit surprised that 2B Anderson Hernandez was only the fifth-highest ranked prospect in the organization. He's apparently all-glove, no-hit...which was pretty much the case during his 1-for-18 September call-up last year. Finally, I went to the Orioles page to look up John Maine, the prospect the Mets got in the Kris Benson trade. He wasn't ranked very high in their organization, and his numbers haven't been great in a couple of years at the Major League level. Here's the thing I'm haning my hat on with Maine, though - he now gets to work with Rick Peterson. I have yet to see Peterson fail (we'll see what Victor Zambrano looks like this year), and maybe Maine lives up to his potential by working with Peterson this spring.

The other note from Waldenbooks is that they are selling a coffe table-type book on the history of the World Series. It's basically a photo book, with pictures from every World Series. (For some reason, though, the most recent World Series have only a couple of pictures, as opposed to 10 or so from the others. Not sure why.) It's on clearance for about 15 bucks - even though it includes last year's World Series. Here's my problems with books like this, though. They're full of errors. As I usually do with books like this, I turned to the 1986 World Series page, and in one of the captions it says something like, "Mookie Wilson dodges wild pitch....he would later hit the game-winning single that forced Game 7." Game-winning single?!?!?!?! The whole premise of that World Series is that Bill Buckner made an ERROR!!!!!! My problem with books like that is if I can find an error on the one page I looked carefully at - how many other pages in the book have mistakes?! There is another case like this - a big Baseball Encyclopedia-like book, which I don't remember what it's called...but I'll find out. It noted year-by-year, day-by-day events in baseball. I looked at the October 25, 1986 entry, and it said something like the error by Buckner came in the bottom of the 9th inning (it was really the 10th). So factual errors like that in these big ol' books make me believe the authors are trying to make a quick buck, without getting all of their facts straight.

PLUG FOR NO REASON: I'm not too big on giving other people plugs, because there's no way they would ever link to my site, but I think I may have found the Saint Louis Cardinals fan version of me. I was going through some other blogs, and came across a Cardinals one: bellyitcher.blogspot.com. (I'm not making it a link - you're going to have to go through the effort of putting it in your browser if you're going to check it out.) Apparently the guy is in downtown Saint Louis, because he has pictures from his window of the new stadium - it actually looks great. Worth a trip to Saint Louis (like I wasn't going to go anyway...). He loses a bit of credibility, though, with that lineup for Saturday's game - he doesn't know who Kit Pellow is? Did he not see a Colorado Rockies game at all last year? I thought Cardinals fans were supposed to be knowledgeble about baseball. (Upon further review - Pellow was with the Rockies in 2004 - in the Mariners organization last year. My bad. But he still should have heard of him.)

That's all for today - tomorrow I'll update after the game on ESPN.

LET THE GAMES (THAT DON'T COUNT) BEGIN

The Mets opened their Grapefruit League exhibition season Thursday afternoon with a 12-7 win over the Cardinals. I know the games don't count, and I'll get real tired of them real soon, but it's nice to see actual scores of actual baseball games.

Supposedly at this point, the pitchers are supposed to be ahead of the hitters. Rare was the pitcher ahead of the hitter in this game. Steve Trachsel pitched poorly, Billy Wagner pitched well. The good news out of this game was Xavier Nady's four hits, with 6 RBI, including a grand slam. Carlos Delgado was 3-for-3.

MAILBAG/PEDRO* UPDATE:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Just a quick email to say 'JohnnyMets called it.' Pedro pulled out of the World Baseball Classic. I guess the toe just proved too much.

Dave in Brighton"

Thanks Dave...although I'm not really sure I called it. I really thought Pedro* would pitch in the World Baseball Classic at some point. Turns out, the Dominicans didn't want to waste a roster spot on Pedro*, if he wasn't going to be available until possibly the final round, and it would have wasted Pedro*'s spring for the Mets. I didn't realize this, but Major League teams aren't allowed to use a guy in spring training if he's on a WBC roster (which I guess makes sense in all cases except for a guy who is somewhat injured like Martinez*). I'm cool with this whole thing, though, because now Pedro* can focus on the regular season, and get ready for the games that count, as far as I'm concerned.

DARREN DAULTON: Yesterday I promised more from Darren Daulton....so here it is. Turns out, the date he mentioned as the end of the world, as I'm sure you've heard somewhere by now, is the end of the Mayan calendar. But I already mentioned all of that - the new development is that yesterday I heard Daulton on Dan Patrick's show on ESPN Radio. Nearly all of the callers I heard at the end of the show called to support Daulton and tell him how brave he was to come forward with something like this, because he was subjecting himself to ridicule. Well, he sure is. I'm not buying it. I'm willing to take the risk that there will be egg on my face when the world ends in 2012.

SCHEDULING STUFF: I just discovered that Sunday afternoon, the Mets' split-squad game against the Puerto Rican WBC team (featuring Carloses Beltran* and Delgado) will be on ESPN. Monday's game will be too (against Cleveland), but I'll be working...maybe I'll TiVo that. Also, it seems I do not have ESPN Deportes, so hopefully a lot of these games in North America for the WBC will be on regular ESPN and ESPN2 so I can watch them.

I'm determined not to screw up this year on Opening Day. The Mets open up Monday, April 3, against Washington, at 1pm. I'm going to try to avoid human contact, TiVo the game (last year I had to rely on the old-fashioned VCR), and not set the TV to ESPNEWS before I watch the game on delay. See last year's April blog entry to see how I messed up on Opening Day. The good news about this year is that I have a shorter commute to watch the game.

SNY UPDATE: I don't want to have to write a letter to SNY, but there is no e-mail contact on their website (which is up and running), and I really want to be the official blogging partner of the station. Also, it doesn't appear that I have SNY on my DirecTV package...at least yet. This won't affect my ability to watch the Mets games, because I'll still get them through the baseball package - but I do want to watch all of the Mets programming (and Jets programming) the station will feature when it's not showing baseball.

This was a fast week. TGIF. I'll be updating all weekend - especially postgame Sunday. Also coming within the next week - the promised fantasy baseball updates (maybe that will be within the next couple of weeks) and some insight from the wife about our newest addition, coming World Series time. The newest addition is coming World Series time - the insight from the wife is coming in the next week. Think baby names, a la Shea Jones, offspring of Chipper.

BILLY, BARRY, AND BOONE....AND MUCH MORE

Leading off, good news leading up to the World Baseball Classic - Billy Wagner is not participating. Wagner withdrew from the WBC on Wednesday, saying he didn't think he'd be effective enough this early on. He says he's not a good pitcher in March, and didn't want to bring down the U.S. team. I'm glad he won't be suffering a season-ending injury during the WBC, but part of me was hoping Wagner got that "bad pitching early on" out of the way in the tournament, and was ready to go by the time the Mets' season started.

Secondly, 2B Bret Boone retired Wednesday, saying he just didn't have the motivation to play anymore. Boone's numbers have fallen off dramatically the past couple of seasons...just saying....I don't think he was going to give the Mets those types of huge numbers this year. Actually, I'm willing to bet he wouldn't produce anything close to those numbers. And he was probably thinking the same thing.

Lastly (in my opening remarks, anyway), one day of Barry Bonds dressed like a woman for 'Giants Idol' was amusing. Day Two, on Wednesday, was borderling disturbing. Also, take note, ESPN - Pedro Gomez isn't suited to doing anything that isn't remotely serious. He looked pained trying to smile in his stand-up (on-camera piece) in his 'Giants Idol' report from Arizona.

IN OTHER 'BALLPLAYERS I DISLIKE' NEWS: Roger Clemens is pitching for Team USA in the WBC. With the Astros the past couple of years, and now with the U.S., I've decided I am tired of rooting for the team Clemens plays for, while rooting against him. I don't want to root for him to pitch poorly, get knocked out in the second inning, and then root for the Astros/Americans to come back and win. So despite my like of the Astros (in other words, they're a team I usually don't mind rooting for), I will root for no further Astros success until Roger Clemens is no longer on that team....unless they call up his son Koby. And speaking of Koby....are you kidding me that he homered off his dad the other day? And then Clemens brushes him back? Yeah, how long have they been planning that media coup? For 18 years, probably.

AND NOW TO 'BALLPLAYERS I LIKE': Al Leiter is entering the rotation of Team USA - replacing C.C. Sabathia, who withdrew from the team along with Wagner. That'll be fun to watch - I like rooting for Leiter still.

HE'S NUMBER ONE: The talk out of the Atlanta Braves' camp on Tuesday was that Tim Hudson will be the team's Opening Day starter, taking over the number one role from John Smoltz. Smoltz said he's fine with it - he's just happy to be starting and healthy entering the year. You may remember Smoltz' arm almost fell off at the end of last year's playoffs. (Hopefully the Mets will give Smoltz plenty of time to rest this year, with a nice October off.) Meanwhile, I was surprised to read that Hudson will be the Braves' sixth Opening Day starting pitcher in the past six years. I thought there'd been more stability there recently.

COMMENTS ON THE 'COMMENTS': It's only fitting that Kevin would be the first to comment - he's done so much for this site out of the Southern Bureau (also, the publicity he has given the site is unmatched - both on the web and over the airwaves). More on him later. As for The Wife, I'm anticipating many a comment from her, and yes, I do feel very bad for Mrs. Wilk. But this is a Mets site, darn it, not a 'Scrubs' blog.

AS PROMISED, MORE FROM KEVIN/MAILBAG/'86 METS ROUNDUP: Three topics in one shot here - first, the e-mail:

"Johnny...

You going to see this movie??

http://www.game6film.com

Before you get all excited - watch the trailer. I think its a Red Sox love story. Ugh.

kevin
JMDBSDC Southern Chief."

Well, I watched the trailer. If you're going to do the same, I recommend you treat yourself to the "Large Trailer". Why would you choose the small one, that's what I want to know. Go ahead - check it out....I'll wait.........

As you might expect, I have lots of thoughts on this movie. First of all, it's a brilliant concept. I love the idea - "What were you doing that night?" It's great. But I think it's all wrong here. First of all, the game seems to serve as something of a backdrop (I have no basis for this, but that's what it seems like to me), and I feel like it would be torture for me to see the movie (which, of course, I'm probably going to do anyway). I think I'll be sitting there with my antennae up looking for any clues as to what it was really like to be a Red Sox fan at that moment - or looking for factual errors....or trying to re-live that night. It's an obsession for me. So I think I will be disappointed. But I have to check it out anyway.

Next, if you explore that site (how long did it take you to even figure out where the links were? I dragged my mouse across the screen about ten times before I realized those words on the newspaper were the links...but that's just me. I thought it was a big screen that was just promoting the "Where Were You?" contest.), you'll see that you can read other people's submissions about where they were. This is another obsession of mine - I like hearing about the champagne and T-shirts being hurried away from the Red Sox clubhouse after the Mets tied it up....Keith Hernandez in the clubhouse after making the second out....Ron Darling's yet-to-be-told on johnnymets.blogspot.com story about that night.

I skimmed through the stories about where people were, and I came across one that particularly struck my fancy - a guy who was a freshman at BU, from New York, living in Warren Towers (a dorm at Boston University where I and every one of my readers has lived...unless my readership increases dramatically soon), surrounded by Red Sox fans (both true blue and wannabe). He has a good story going, and answers my question about what it would be like had the Mets been any good when I was in college in Boston...but he loses me when he insists that Ray Knight was on third base after the wild pitch to Mookie Wilson. The wild pitch advanced Knight to second, not third, and he scored when the ball went through Buckner's legs. Now, the other fact that disappoints me about this guy is that he insists that Wilson would have beaten Buckner to the bag (which I agree with) had Buckner caught the ball. But he says that would have won the game for the Mets. All that ensures is that Knight would have gone to third, and Wilson would have been at first for, I think, Howard Johnson. So at best HoJo wins the game - at worst it's extra innings. I hope that guy doesn't win the contest - because he needs to get his facts straight.

Speaking of getting facts straight - I have a very poor long-term memory, unfortunately. I know people who can remember things from when they were 2 or 3 years old. I have trouble remembering much about when I was younger. So, sadly, I'm not sure where I was the night of Game 6. Chances are, I was at home, or at my friend Steven's house. I know we watched some of the World Series at Steven's. I feel like those were Games 1 and 2, though. Either way, I need to talk to my dad and try to remember about the night of Game 6. I can't believe this hasn't come up before - but I DON'T know where I was. I sure do remember the game, though - perhaps all of my future watchings of Game 6, on ESPN Classic and on tape, etc. - have diminished my original memory of the event. But that's probably a topic for the day I appear on Dr. Phil, with my wife and future child - as to why my obsession with the '86 Mets makes me an awful husband/father.

Oh - one more thing about that movie - seeing Bebe Neuwirth in the movie would probably also confuse me, because while the guy Michael Keaton plays is cheating on his wife with Neuwirth, I'm going to be thinking that Neuwirth is cheating on Frasier. Because if that movie is taking place in '86, she's Lilith, darn it.

I need to go to bed - it's too late for a school night - but coming tomorrow, I'm going to try to touch on Wednesday's Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, on which I heard Dan talk to Darren Daulton for a little bit. And callers came to Daulton's defense!

A quick post tonight, because I want to go into the other room and watch 'Scrubs'.

I'll start with something I've been forgetting to mention the past few days. What with the new look of the site and all, I've added a new feature. There is a spot to comment on my daily postings, at the end of each days posting. You just click where it says "comments" and write what you're thinking. You don't have to, and I still hope people e-mail the site, but if something strikes you immediately and you want a say, go for it. You should know, if it's something inappropriate, I do have the power to override comments. Also, if the comments thing doesn't take off, I'll get rid of it. It's something I thought I'd try....for some reason, I opted not to do that when I first started the site...we'll see how long it lasts.

As for e-mail, don't forget that once a week we dive into the e-mail-bag (sometimes more than once a week!). The e-mail address is johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com

WEST COAST UPDATE

A couple of things struck me, out of spring training in Arizona:

GIANTS IDOL: The San Francisco Giants held a "Giants Idol" at their spring training complex Tuesday morning. From what I could tell, it was Giants team members competing in a singing competition in front of judges. Among the judges, Barry Bonds dressed in drag, as Paula Abdul. Now, I dislike Barry Bonds. Strongly. But for him to come out in a tube top and wig, and to play the part with some humor - it bodes well for Giants' team chemistry. He earned my respect for a minute, at least....probably a little longer with his teammates. Still, to hear his teammates talk about how good it was for Bonds to participate in something like this, it gives you the impression of what a bad teammate he usually is.

PADRE PIAZZA: I also saw an ESPNEWS feature on new San Diego Padres catcher Mike Piazza. I'm glad he's not in the East, because I love rooting for him - I hope he does well out in San Diego. I don't expect he'll put up big power numbers, but I hope he's able to bring his average back up and drive in some runs. The ESPN piece didn't mention this, but it sprang to my mind while watching - Funny that the Padres, managed by Bruce Bochy, are the team that took the gamble on Piazza, allowing him to be an everyday catcher. Bochy, a former catcher, probably is able to relate to Piazza. Hopefully for him, it's not living vicariously through Piazza for some unachieved dreams.

I think that's it for tonight - nothing else major came out of Port Saint Lucie today, anyway. Time for 'Scrubs' - I love that show.

WBC FEARS

Yesterday I wrote how I was getting pretty excited to see some baseball, in the form of the World Baseball Classic - of course if there is high quality baseball on, I'm going to watch it (I need to check my listings to see if I get ESPN Deportes). But lately, I've been thinking about the wrench it could throw into my dream Mets 2006 season.

I've talked many times about Pedro* and his toe, and how I think the toe problem is a good thing as far as Pedro*'s participation in the WBC is concerned. The likes of the WBC is the whole reason Pedro* has an asterisk next to his name - and I don't want to jinx anything, but last year made me believe we could have dropped the asterisk this year.

Not so with Carlos Beltran*. He proved he was very worthy of an asterisk...but a successful season this year could result in dropping the mark. But what if Beltran* gets hurt while playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic? That's on the Mets' dime...and it would be quite fitting, with their history of free agent signings.

I haven't touched much on the Carlos Delgado signing. I'll get more into it down the road, but I'm not expecting huge things out of Delgado this year. That's why he hasn't even merited getting an asterisk to this point. Delgado will put up good numbers, I think, but they won't be typical Delgado numbers. I expect a dip in his batting average, and I'd be very surprised to see more than 30 homers out of him this year. All that said, it would be just the Mets' luck if Delgado got hurt in the WBC and wasn't effective for the duration of his contract.

Those are some big names - but what about the youngsters? THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, has already dealt with his share of injuries. Last season was a joy to see what it would be like with Reyes playing healthy. We all wanted to see more of that. But isn't his participation in the WBC (for the Dominican Republic) playing with fire? Seems that way to me.

And David Wright plays every game hard. You better believe, if he ends up replacing Chipper Jones on the U.S. squad, he's going all out for his country, if he gets to play behind A-Rod. We don't need him risking his body in any games but the Mets' games.

I guess I agree with all the WBC naysayers - the tournament is a cool concept...but the timing is poor. The ideal time for the tournament would be after the season - not instead of spring training. By the way, there are more Mets than the ones I mentioned above participating in the WBC - among them, pitchers Juan Padilla, and closer Billy Wagner (see free-agent signing Delgado, above). And as for the players I mentioned above, I'm not entirely sure what their playing status is with their countries (whether or not they're starting, etc.) The information around all that is vague...and perhaps it's because some of these players still haven't given their official commitment. I just hope everyone gets out healthy.

PERSONAL THOUGHT: I am so glad I write this thing. It really keeps my excitement for the baseball season in check. I had a conversation with a friend the other day about how the Winter Olympics really did a nice job of helping us get through the down time of winter - after football season and before baseball season starts up. This year, the New York Rangers are doing very well, so there will be some meaningful hockey to watch down the stretch, as well as some meaningful college hockey, with my B.U. Terriers hoping to do well in the post-season. There's also the NCAA Tournament. But none of that can quell my excitement for the baseball season. Writing this helps a lot, though. After each posting, I know I'm one day closer to Opening Day, and all the great things that come with it.

SNY NEWS: The New York Daily News is reporting SNY is very close to a deal with Cablevision, so it doesn't seem like SNY is heading towards the same impasse that the YES Network dealt with. Every time I read about SNY, though, I never hear about DirecTV. I'm still hoping there's no problem there. Also, I wish I could break the big news of an SNY deal - as the official blogging partner of the Mets' new network. I suppose there's still hope - I've gotta get in touch with them somehow!

COMING THIS WEEK: There are a few interesting fantasy baseball-related events/topics that I want to address with my readership. I will try to post those sometime this week.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM!

Good news, as far as I'm concerned, from mets.com Sunday. There was a big article about Cliff Floyd, and how he's convinced he will be hitting sixth this season. The reasoning: Carlos Delgado is hitting fourth, in the cleanup spot. That's pretty much as definite as things get this season. Floyd says Randolph won't hit the two lefties in a row, so that eliminates the third and fifth spots in the order, and Floyd says he definitely isn't hitting second. So he's hitting sixth. The big deal, though, is that it isn't a big deal.

I have seen a lot of maturity out of Floyd in his years with the Mets. It's not that he was ever a selfish player - I've always liked him. But he was injury-plagued, and the Mets had some very unsuccessful seasons during his tenure, so he had nothing to pursue but individual accomplishments. Last year, during the first half of the season, Floyd carried this team...and he did it because he sensed they could do special things. Now, he knows this season can be even more special...and I think he knows that his time is running short. So Floyd (and, it seems, everyone else on the team) is really playing up the "if we're going to win a championship, we're going to do it as a team". He says even though he was the cleanup guy last year, he will hit sixth if that's what it's going to take for the team to win. The "we" and "team" aspects of the article on mets.com were very good to see - and the number of players who feel this way is also very encouraging. I think a big clubhouse guy this year is going to be Julio Franco - and I think his influence is already starting to show in the way the Mets are acting.

2B UPDATE: Jeff Keppinger will be in New York Monday to have his back checked. He apparently tweaked it doing some jumping exercises...I may have to take back what I said about Keppinger taking over 2B for the Mets. This injury, combined with Kaz Matsui's conditioning really point towards Matsui winning back his job.

WBC: I was looking for some information on the World Baseball Classic today, and found the World Baseball Classic Website. It's pretty thorough, and looking through that website a bit will get you psyched for the tournament. It starts Thursday, by the way, with games in Japan. I figured out why it hasn't been talked up that much here yet (at least the games - the players who won't be playing have certainly been talked about plenty) - it's because there are opening round games in Japan, then North America. From what I can tell, the Japanese games start first, so that by the time the North American games end, the teams that come out of Japan will be able to travel, and won't be at a disadvantage when they have to head this way. The North American games, by the way, start a week from Tuesday - around March 7th.

'86 METS ROUNDUP: A couple of bits of information here - I was driving back from upstate New York early Sunday morning, and caught some WFAN programming. I was listening to a little of Ed Randall's 'Talking Baseball', live from Shea Stadium with members of the 1986 Mets (who were greeting fans buying tickets at Shea). Unfortunately, I could only hear one complete interview, but it was a good one. I heard Ron Darling talk about a few things - among them growing up a Red Sox fan, and his experience the night of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (a good story, which I will relate in a future '86 Mets roundup). And I have to apologize - the other day I wrote that Ron Darling wasn't as good an analyst as Keith Hernandez. He's a captivating speaker, at least he was on the radio Sunday morning. And I thought about his work for the Nationals, and I am realizing that the Nationals played a very boring brand of baseball. So I'm not going to hold that against him. I'm looking forward to Darling's analysis this season.

Also in '86 Mets news: Darryl Strawberry will be at the Mets' Spring Training Complex all next week in many different capacities. Strawberry is apparently a huge draw still for fans and for players. He will serve as an advisor for players, and a P.R. draw for the rest of the organization.

SNY UPDATE: I am working very hard to make sure that the Mets' new network, Sports Net New York, is going to be carried on DirecTV. I've been looking forward to this Mets' new network ever since I got the dish, and I would be heartbroken if they don't end up carrying the network. This week, time permitting, I am also going to step up a new effort: I want to be the official blog of SNY. Think about it - I can link to their website - they can link to mine! (I might benefit from that relationship a little more than them, but still....) This has some very good potential. I went looking for some information about the new network, and I will say this - right now my website is in much better shape than theirs. But that means nothing - I still want this partnership to work!

DAY TWO OF CAMP

I guess the most important thing to note from Day Two of camp was the lack of Pedro Martinez*. He had some "personal business" to attend to, and left camp, but will be back on Saturday. Willie Randolph said Martinez* was still in Florida, within two or three hours of Tradition Field. Martinez* has been a good soldier so far, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that this was something important, and not Pedro* up to his old tricks (read: pulling a Manny).

Speaking of Pedro*, and Manny, the big news in the Friday papers was that Manny would not be participating in the World Baseball Classic, and it looked "very doubtful" that Pedro* would be participating too. Well, I don't know what's up with Manny, but I said here on Thursday that Pedro* would probably play, just not in the first round (based on what I could glean from various reports). On Friday, a date was set for Pedro*'s participation - he's scheduled to pitch in a second-round game in the Classic on March 13th. I like getting one over on the papers.

There's some good stuff in the Friday papers too. It might be too late by the time many of you read this, but John Harper had an excellent article in Friday's New York Daily News basically outlining why it's impossible not to like David Wright. In case you can't get to it in the Daily News archives, Harper told how there was a photo shoot on Thursday for ESPN The Magazine, on which Wright is supposed to be the baseball cover boy in a couple of weeks, and how Wright also has an endorsement deal with Wilson, the glove manufacturer. He quoted Wright as saying these types of things bring attention to him, which means he only has to perform better. The article also talks about Wright's friendship with Cliff Floyd, and how he has stayed well grounded despite his growing fame. (I just hope he stays that way throughout his career - I would hate to see him change into the cocky athlete that has come to typify Major League Baseball.)

Here's the best thing about Wright - which is touched on in the article. He talks about how much he wants to win - and how much he wants to win for the fans of New York. He says there was a game last year, when the Mets were chasing the Phillies, and were just a game out, where Shea Stadium was sold out, and was rocking because it was so loud (say what you will about Shea, it's a dump, good riddance when they get a new stadium.......but when that place is packed and gets loud, it's an awesome place to be). He says he wants there to be 50,000 cheering like that all summer. Here's a point that comes up a lot - and in most cases I believe it. I heard this argument last on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPNRadio. The argument: fans care more about the results on the field, in some cases, than the athletes playing the games. Athletes say they have to put losses behind them because they have to turn around the next day (or in the case of pro football, the next week) and get ready for another game. For the fans, the loss sits with them until the next win. And there's no reward, really, for being a fan. The athletes get paid, we pay lots of money - on merchandise, tickets, etc. So, in most cases, I believe a fan cares more about a game than certain athletes do. But it's players like David Wright (at this stage in his career...and hopefully, throughout his career) that appreciate the fans, and want to win as much as the fans want a win, that make it worth rooting for. So a good article on Wright by John Harper in the Daily News, with some editorializing by me.

By the way - it's that desire to win that has David Wright diving all over the field for ground balls hit by a coach during Day Two of spring training workouts,

SPECIAL: In his address to the players on Day One of Spring Training Thursday, Willie Randolph told the players that they needed to "get ready for a special season". This is going to be a fun season - I just hope everyone can stay healthy.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Kaz Matsui has reported to camp in incredible shape. He's been working with his own personal trainer - a former teammate from Japan. (In accordance to club policy, the trainer won't be able to go into the clubhouse, either at home or on the road, but Matsui is welcome to work out with him on his own time.) Matsui's condition has been drawing raves. And on Thursday, in opening workouts, Matsui hit a homer off of flamethrower Billy Wagner. Might not want to read into that too much, though - don't forget that Matsui has homered on the first pitch he's seen each of the past two seasons - so the first day of spring training is no different. Willie Randolph had a funny comment about it too - first he complimented Matsui because at this point of spring training, everyone says the pitchers are way ahead of the hitters, so for Kaz to get a homer was a good sign. But Randolph went on to say that Matsui probably got lucky, and just stepped into one. I'm going to say this one more time - and it might not be the last one. I really have always liked Kaz Matsui, from the beginning. He's started to wear out his welcome, but if he earns the starting second base job, and performs well this year, I'll be thrilled. He has been a great clutch hitter, so I can see him contributing. I would love to see Matsui at second, and let Keppinger have another year at Triple-A, and if that happens, I will be leading the "Comeback Player of the Year" charge for Kaz Matsui.

RESPECT FOR RANDOLPH: I think part of the reason Pedro Martinez* has been such a good soldier for the Mets has been the fact that he has a lot of respect for Willie Randolph, being a former player. There was a throwaway line in one of the papers about Randolph, and how the players respect him since he played the game - among the players mentioned were Martinez* and Cliff Floyd. I'm thinking back to Pedro*'s past managers - Felipe Alou, with the Expos, where he didn't act up - I'm sure he respected Alou. And breaking in with the Dodgers, he would have had to have been crazy to disrespect Tommy Lasorda. With the Red Sox, Pedro* played for Jimy Williams/Joe Kerrigan/Grady Little/Terry Francona. I don't think he necessarily DIS-respected any of those guys, I just think he has more respect for a former player (Randolph) than he did for any of the above. Just a thought.

USING THEIR HEAD: The Mets are among a few teams (I've heard the Angels mentioned as another) that will be using a new form of aerodynamic helmet this season. The helmets are supposed to help cool the head, but also provide better protection. They have air holes in them, and the Mets have one style that will actually be two-tone. Should be neat.

I'm away for the weekend, and school resumes next week, so though I will try my best to keep updating during spring training, I can't promise everyday updates. Please check back often - I'll get into regular updates during the regular season.

SCOUTING COMBINE UPDATE

Mike Tannenbaum appeared at the podium Thursday during the NFL Network's coverage of the Scouting Combine weekend.

Here are a couple of observations - not counting the fact that I've decided I don't really like Adam Schefter of the NFL Network very much.

On Chad Pennington: Tannenbaum says the Jets are actively involved in negotiations with Pennington, and they are working towards a resolution.

Pennington is due a 3-million-dollar bonus on March 3, and the Jets are trying to get him to decline the bonus and restructure his contract.

On "the plan": The Jets are comfortable with what their plan is, says Tannenbaum. He says the Jets will be where they need to be by next Thursday.

The Jets need to be under the salary cap by next Thursay - right now, they are over the cap - but not nearly as much as they were yesterday, before cutting Fiedler, Law, Fabini, and Sowell, and restructuring Curtis Martin's contract. The Jets slapped the franchise tag on John Abraham, which, if he agrees to that deal, would require more maneuvering by the Jets. By the way - teams always "slap" the franchise tag on someone. That gives it such a negative connotation. Maybe John Abraham (who is going to be traded, by the way) wouldn't be so upset with the franchise tag if the Jets "gently placed" the franchise tag on him.

On next season: Tannenbaum says the Jets will play the best players who give the Jets the best chances to win.

That's pretty obvious.

On the draft/combine: Tannenbaum says the Jets will be evaluating all players at all positions.

Eric Mangini is scheduled to be on Total Access tonight on the NFL Network - I'll see if I can catch that and add to this.

In wrapping up Tannenbaum's news conference, Jim Mora, an analyst on the NFL Network, says the Jets need to pick the best football player available with their fourth pick in the draft. They can't worry about position, since they have so many needs - they just need to pick the best player available.

Maybe a Mangini update later tonight/tomorrow....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There's a lot to update on the state of the Jets. I don't have time for all that now...time to focus on the Mets. But I didn't want to completely ignore the latest developments.

First, personally, I am mad at Herman Edwards. The Jets knew they were heading for a tough off-season, what with the salary cap problems, and the big contracts that would need to be restructured or released. I think Edwards is part coward, because he had a chance to escape all of these tough decisions by taking the job in Kansas City.

Today, the Jets released Ty Law, Jay Fiedler, Jerald Sowell, and Jason Fabini. None are huge surprises, especially Law and Fiedler. Sowell and Fabini were long-time Jets, so these moves sort of go along with the change of regime. Things are going to look a lot different on the field next year. Look for B.J. Askew to be a big factor at fullback.

Curtis Martin had his contract restructured, so it looks like he's a part of Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum's plans. Mangini says he really respects Martin, and since Martin is such a good veteran influence, he will be THE guy in the lockerroom.

The big question still surrounds Chad Pennington. He didn't get cut today, so that's a good thing. March 3, I think, is the deadline for these decisions to be made...and there's still a significant possibility that he will be cut. I just can't see it. Sure, he's being overpaid right now, because he's been injured. But what he has done for this organization has earned him the right to at least compete for his job over the summer, and I think, given that chance, he will show that he is still capable of leading the offense. I know, I'm an optimist - maybe unrealistic. But he's had full healing time, and he's a competitor (not to mention a winner) - and people don't believe in him right now, so I think all of that points to a better Chad Pennington this season. Cutting him, I think, would be a mistake. As for the anonymous Jets player who compared Pennington to an "egg" in the pocket - it was probably an offensive lineman, whose fault it is that Pennington has taken the hits that have contributed to him being injured.

That's where I'll leave it for now - there's going to be lots to talk about this off-season, and if I'm not absorbed in baseball, I'll devote some time to the Jets.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

I'm going to try to spice up the blog a bit this year, since we all expect 2006 to be THE YEAR, and traffic will probably hit an all-time high. So I'm starting with the look of the blog, and there will be different features that I will be letting you know about as the season draws closer. (I'm very excited about the METS-FAN-O-METER, which is still an idea in my head, but will appear in some form by the beginning of the season - it may also have a different name by then...not the blog - the METS-FAN-O-METER). I've also decided that blogs with pictures and clever links are the wave of the future (is it 'way of the future' or 'wave of the future'?). So that's where we're headed.

Also, the wife is expecting, and I don't want my child to think I'm running a rinky-dink site here. Yep, big news of the personal variety - due date is September 30 - hopefully just in time for the World Series Championship.

Mets' camp is kind of quiet these days - there's lots going on in Jets camp, but that's a story for another site.

That just leaves me with a couple of comments. Earlier in the offseason, word was that Willie Randolph was very resistant to a lineup with Carlos Beltran* in the 2-spot - he really wanted Beltran* to stay number three in the lineup. Today, though, it sounds like he's willing to consider moving Beltran* - the Daily News has a report where Randolph says he'd rather have Beltran* steal 40 bases than hit 25 homers this season.

I'm going to go on record, today, February 22, 2006, and say Beltran* will hit .316, with 21 homers, and 93 RBI, stealing 37 bases for the year. I would be more than happy with that, and I bet a lot of Mets fans would. I also bet Beltran* is hitting in the two spot for the majority of the season - it was one of the moves Randolph made last year that worked perfectly. Boy, those numbers look really good. I can't WAIT for baseball season!

I mentioned yesterday the big '86 Mets Reunion August 19 at Shea. I hope to be there - and I'll try to get pictures for johnnymets.blogspot.com. I'm not sure how many Mets home games I'll be going to this year, but I do know I will see them at least twice on the road. I'm taking a trip to California in April, and in addition to seeing an A's game and a Dodgers game, the wife and I will be seeing the Mets play the Padres in San Diego. I'm psyched about that. I'm also excited about seeing the Mets at Fenway in June - we're going to the Tuesday night game. Hopefully I'll be able to somehow score tickets for the rest of that three-game series. My goal is to see as many Mets games as possible this season. Hopefully I'll be taking some trips to New York.

This isn't an '86 Mets Roundup...just a "Former Baseball Player Update": Did you hear this comment from Darren Daulton? I'm not sure what the source is - I heard it yesterday on Jim Rome's radio show - apparently Daulton has become a bit, well, religious, and says God has spoken to him, and Daulton says (via God, I guess) the world is going to end on December 21, 2012, (12/21/12) at 11 am. I think it was 11am - the point is, it wasn't 12! And my question is, why not? If someone is going to go through the trouble to end the world on a cool date like 12/21/12, why would it happen at a weird hour? Why not 12 o'clock - or 9pm (21 o'clock in military time)? And I guess the more important question is, what has Darren Daulton been doing since retirement?

Being a teacher in my non-blogging life, I am on vacation - February break. The beauty of February break is twofold. One, I don't have to go to work. Two, it coincides with the very beginning of spring training, so it is the perfect time for me to start up the ol' Mets site, and start talking baseball.

Clearly, Omar Minaya reads the blog (Hi Omar!), as he did not trade for Manny Ramirez, and had the good sense not to throw his hat into the Sammy Sosa ring (OK, maybe it didn't take that much sense, considering Sosa is a disaster waiting to happen on some unsuspecting team [read: Nationals], but if Minaya really did have a predisposition towards Latino ballplayers, at least he only picks the ones who don't stink, and who don't cheat, and who are actually pretty good.). I may not have addressed the Sammy Sosa thing, but I was pretty adamant that he not acquire Ramirez, so it is clear that not only Minaya reads the blog, but also that he can read my mind.

Where to start....where to start.....how about the mailbag?

"Dear JohnnyMets,

I think that this is the year for the Mets. I don't necessarily think they'll win it all this year, but I think this is their best chance. Young talent coming into its own, finally a stable bullpen, and a starting rotation that realizes it has just one more chance.

Thoughts?

Dave in Brighton"

Ah, good old Dave, e-mailing in the dead of winter. Yes, this appears to be the year for the Mets. Let's take a look at the position players, and the rotation, to consider my thoughts, and leave the middle relief for another day, because that's still sort of a mess.

C: Paul LoDuca
1B: Carlos Delgado
2B: Kaz Matsui for now, with Bret Boone invited to spring training, and watch out for Jeff Keppinger!
SS: THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes
3B: Future Hall of Famer David Wright
OF: Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran*, and Victor Diaz/Xavier Nady

P: Pedro Martinez*, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, Victor Zambrano, Aaron Heilman
Closer: Billy Wagner

Second base is wide-open right now - and I think Keppinger stands a very good shot at making the major league roster, and even unseating Matsui. Here's why. At the end of the 2004 season, Keppinger played very well in the call-up playing time he got. He hit .284, even popped 3 HR's, in 116 at-bats. He was off to a very good start in Triple-A last year, but got taken out at second on what was called a "dirty slide" by either manager Ken Oberkfell or hitting coach Howard Johnson while trying to turn a double play. It messed up his knee, and he missed the rest of the year. Well, I think we will be keeping a close eye on Keppinger this spring, here on johnnymets.blogspot.com, because I think he could be the Mets' second baseman.

Other than second base, the only unsettled position is right field. Victor Diaz played well last year, getting his first extended Major League action, but the Mets traded Mike Cameron for Xavier Nady, and you better believe it's Nady's position to lose. Diaz's defense is questionable, and he has options left, so he faces an uphill battle to win the spot - where Willie Randolph says he'd rather not use a platoon.

The pitching rotation is solid.....but not deep. I've said it before, I really wish Aaron Heilman could keep coming out of the bullpen, because he was so reliable in that role last year. But the trade of Jae Seo (see posting below) means Heilman is all but assured of the number five spot in the rotation, and the trade of Kris Benson means there isn't much depth. This is something I will talk about more as the season goes on, but the last thing I want to say is I do NOT think Pedro Martinez*'s toe is something to get upset about. He's been drumming it up for a while, and while he says he wants to play in the World Baseball Classic, I don't think he really does, and I don't think the Mets want him to. So there is a legit problem with the toe, but I think it will be OK for him to pitch, and pitch effectively, come April.

As spring training progresses, I'll talk more about the Mets' roster and the players fighting for roster spots. For now, I'll give spring training updates:

--The Mets have their first full-squad workout on Thursday.
--David Wright has lightened his workload this year, so hopefully he won't go stumbling into the All-Star break like he did last year - fatigue was blamed for his slump in early July. He's taking less grounders after team workouts, and not as much batting practice. This should pay off, especially when you consider Wright should be making the All-Star team this year, instead of getting that time off (the secret's out - Wright's a star).
--By the way, Chipper Jones' son, Shea, is sick, and in the hospital, so there's a chance he might not play in the World Baseball Classic. If it turns out he does not play, Wright will be taking over Jones' spot, and that means he could be facing an even longer season of competitive ball.

The final note for today is that 2006 is the 20th anniversary of the 1986 World Champion Mets. The Mets have a nice patch that I think they'll be wearing on their sleeves commemorating the anniversary, and they also have different events throughout the year celebrating the '86 team. The celebrations culminate with an August 19th matchup with the Colorado Rockies where the entire team (hopefully, for my sake) will reunite. Some players will be easy to find - especially Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who was promoted from his successful Gulf Coast Mets stint (37-16 in his first year) to the Florida State League, still in the Mets' organization. He replaces fellow '86 Met Tim Teufel, who says he's taking a year off from baseball.

Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez will be in the Mets' broadcast booth - both will divide time as color analysts on the Mets' new network, SNY (which better be picked up by DirecTV). Also, Roger McDowell replaces Leo Mazzone as the Atlanta Braves' pitching coach this year - he will probably be unavailable for the reunion.

Needless to say, along with this year's Wright Watch and Kid's Kids features, there will be an '86 Mets Roundup on johnnymets.blogspot.com, and I'll try to keep you posted on as many of the '86 Mets as I can keep track of.

SUPER BOWL XL

SUPER BOWL XL

It's been a forgettable NFL season for me, about the only good thing to come out of it is a brand new Super Bowl matchup. So I can cross Seattle-Pittsburgh off my list (yes, there is a list...actually a spreadsheet) and hope that next year the Jets are the ones involved in another new Super Bowl matchup. (For those of you unfamiliar with my obsession, I want every NFL team to face every other NFL team, in their respective conferences, in the Super Bowl. Same goes for the World Series.)

I know there's a lot for me to weigh in on, what with the Jets' coaching debacles...I mean, changes...but I just want to put this season behind me for a bit. So I'm here to make a Super Bowl prediction, and then move onto johnnymets.blogspot.com for a while.

Back at the beginning of the post-season, I trashed Shaun Alexander as an MVP and said he'd probably cost his team a playoff game due to a fumble. I guess that hasn't happened, but he did fumble against Washington when he got knocked out...it just didn't cost the team the game (but shouldn't an MVP being knocked out of a playoff game cost your team the game...maybe he's not so V. Just a thought.)

That said, hopefully Alexander will NOT fumble and cost his team this game, because I am picking the Seattle Seahawks to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. It's been a long road for the Steelers. I know they have a lot of emotion going into this game, what with Jerome Bettis and all, and there are going to be a lot of Steelers fans in Detroit. I know that. I didn't think the Steelers would be able to win in Indy...and then I did not think they'd be able to win in Denver. But the road's gotta catch up to them eventually. This is where it will.

Seattle is on the road too, which isn't the greatest thing. But this is a different Seattle team than the one that stunk on the road last year. Granted they weren't great away from Qwest this year, but they're a very good team. I can't believe Seattle is actually the underdog. I would take Seattle getting the points in this one easy.

I think the quarterbacks in this game are pretty evenly matched - but the edge might actually go to Pittsburgh because Ben Roethlisberger has a better set of receivers, I think, than Matt Hasselbeck. I think Seattle's got a better running game (Bettis isn't a threat until the Steelers are inside the 20), and I think people are going to be surprised by how well the Seattle defense plays tomorrow night.

I'm going with Seattle, 27-21.

I'm rooting, in a player pool that I'm in, for Jerome Bettis to score two more touchdowns than Shaun Alexander. I also need neither of the quarterbacks to throw a touchdown. I'm not sure how my pick will happen, with me still winning the pool...so I have a couple of different rooting interests in this game. I can root for the kickers to have good games. 9 field goals for the Seahawks, 3 touchdowns for Bettis.

I find it funny (or pathetic) that the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl this year as a 6 seed when, at the beginning of the year, filled with naive hope, I wrote that the Jets would need to win the division, because it's near impossible for a team to make the Super Bowl without playing a post-season home game (or even without home field advantage throughout). This was after the Jets lost in Pittsburgh, after winning in San Diego in last year's playoffs. So the Steelers have accomplished a lot already, just by getting to the big game. But I think, sad for them, it's all over tomorrow night. Let the record show that I think, at this point, I am rooting for the Steelers to win. But I'm picking the Seahawks to beat them. See you in baseball season.

One note I forgot yesterday, and another new note. First, the new one.

ESPN.com today came out with a "Misery Index", ranking NFL franchises/cities in order of most miserable to least, taking into consideration such factors as long-term pain and recent pain, historic despair and recent despair, and intangibles.

It's hard to argue with Cleveland as number one (despite the team's tremendous successes in the 1950's), what with its AFC Championship horrors and not much else in terms of wins, then the whole losing a franchise thing, and having it replaced with an expansion team.

But speaking as a lifelong Jets fan, it's hard to justify the Jets as a 15...right in the middle of the pack. For crying out loud - the Jets play in GIANTS STADIUM!!! IN NEW JERSEY!! Arizona and Seattle are ahead of the Jets - no one even cares about those teams. That eliminates all potential for misery. San Diego? They live in San Diego - if the Chargers stink, all they have to do is look at their weather. Buffalo?!! Oh, wait, yeah, Buffalo deserves it. The Bills are all they have. I'm not sure Minnesota belongs ahead of the Jets - sure, they're 0-for-4 in the Super Bowl, but they've been to the Super Bowl 4 times!! They're a pretty successful franchise, recent history notwithstanding. Same thing with Philly - recent history withstanding. So that alone puts the Jets in the top ten. The Jets are pretty miserable - and if they continue to head in the direction they're heading, it'll get even more miserable.

Last thing - I forgot to update yesterday where we stand on the "Matchups That Have Already Happened In The Super Bowl, And Which We Need To Root Against This Year". Right now, all we're left with in this department are:
Redskins vs. Broncos - Super Bowl XXII. We won't have to worry about this one after this weekend - see ya, Redskins.
And Patriots vs. Panthers - Super Bowl XXXVIII. This could be alive another week - Panthers could well beat the Bears, and the Patriots could well beat the Broncos.

Last week we said good-bye to the Broncos-Giants Super Bowl XXI re-match, as well as the possibility of Jacksonville getting its first ever appearance. I maintain the biggest waste of a Super Bowl repeat was the Bengals- 49ers in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. If Cincinnati is making two Super Bowls, at least give them a different opponent.

Just thought I'd weigh in on the weekend of playoff football:

• Jacksonville IS the worst 12-4 team of all time.
• The Giants are awful. What a disaster. I truly think that had I picked the Panthers to win that game, the Giants would have found a way to win. I have nothing against the Giants, I root for them. I don't root for them over the Jets, but I still root for the Giants. I don't like Tom Coughlin, but I really like Tiki Barber, and I root for them. But they clearly hate me, and are out to get me.
• It's a shame about Carson Palmer. Definitely not a dirty hit. To have it happen on Palmer's first post-season pass...maybe there is a more snake-bitten franchise than the Jets. But they've still been to two Super Bowls.
• Washington played disgusting football. There is no way they beat the Seahawks in Seattle. No way.
• The NFL's announcers obviously read johnnyjets.blogspot.com. The use of the word "unbelievable" was definitely curbed this weekend - although it reared its head a few times. Incidentally - this is related to the fact that the best broadcast teams were working these games this weekend - the ESPN Broadcast crew (though Mike Patrick's game in recent weeks has admittedly suffered), Maddens-Michaels, Simms-Nantz (though I don't like Nantz), and Buck-Aikman. The further down the broadcasting depth chart you go, the more the word "unbelievable" appears as a crutch for stupid analysts.
• In a related story, we're going to have to suffer through Enberg-Dierdorf one more time this season during this coming weekend's games, and it's most likely going to be during the Steelers-Colts game, unless CBS decides the Colts are the prime game, and sends Enberg to Denver. (I will miss the live telecast of the Patriots-Broncos game to attend a BU hockey game with the Brighton, Wilmington, and Upper East Side Bureau Chiefs of JJDBSDC, so I sincerely hope CBS sends Simms and Nantz to Indy.)

Finally, in a new feature, which I will try to get Dave in Brighton to participate in (oops - on the phone with him now, he already looked at the spreads, so he won't participate) -

JOHNNYJETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PICKS THE SPREADS FOR THE WEEK!!

I have SEA - 8.5 over Washington, with the over/under at (48.5)

DEN - 2.5 over New England (only because it's in Denver), with the over/under at (46.5)

IND -4.5 over Pittsburgh, over/under at (52.5)

CHI -1.5 over Carolina, over/under at (27.5)

Much to my surprise, I learned that the Indy/Pittsburgh spread is 9 right now. That's something.

Finally, thanks to big Jets fan cousin Eddie for letting me know that Terry Bradway was on Mike & The Mad Dog this afternoon, to say the Jets interviewed Jim Haslett (Booooo), will interview Mike Tice (are you kidding me - (I forgot to mention this yesterday - but he is the only thing on this planet that could happen to the Jets that would be worse than Haslett), and apparently will meet with Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini this week about their head coaching position. Not much conversation about Mike Sherman....yet. But the Mangini thing is sure to make news up here in the Boston area - I'll keep my ear close to the ground.

A lot has happened since my last posting, so I will see if I can offer a full recap and some opinion. I will start with an opinion, on the off chance Omar Minaya sees this and takes it under consideration.

DO NOT ACQUIRE MANNY RAMIREZ!!!!! PLEASE!!

I can't believe pro athletes and what they say anymore (see johnnyjets.blogspot.com) but Ramirez tells ESPNdeportes that he no longer wants to be traded, and wants to stay in Boston where he has many friends, especially David Ortiz. (Ortiz has to feel very special to be singled out like that, by the way.) This guy is clearly a head case, who swings a very good bat, but can't be a good influence on the fine core the Mets have built themselves. Do not get Manny. Stop your obsession with him. Let the Sox keep him...or trade him to Baltimore. But don't get involved. Please.

Now, on to what the Mets have done. Miguel Cairo has signed with the Yankees (again), so the Mets have lost another valuable utility man (Marlon Anderson went to the Nationals earlier this offseason). In an attempt to make up for these losses, the Mets signed Bret Boone to a minor league contract. I say this move is worth the risk. Boone, a few years back, was a power-hitting second baseman the likes of which has never before been seen in baseball. Then the steroid scandal hit, and Boone's power numbers dropped like a stone. I'm not implying anything here, I'm just giving you a frame of reference, as far as timing. When the Mariners released him last year (come to think of it, the entire Mariners offense stopped producing when the steroids scandal began - no one notices what goes on in the Pacific Northwest, I guess), I thought it would be a good idea for the Mets to try to pick up Boone. The Twins did, and Boone was brutal with them. So I guess in retrospect it's good the Mets didn't get him then. Now, Boone has another chance to prove he's valuable to a Major League team, and I would love for him to be serviceable at second base.

The Mets made another deal, trading Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll. I like that Steve Schmoll's last name is Schmoll, but it's too bad the Mets had to get rid of Seo. He is a very good pitcher, but the Mets never really seemed to want him in their plans. I think it's because of his admitted stubbornness a couple of years ago, which the Mets (and in particular, I think, Rick Peterson) could never get over. In Sanchez, though, the Mets are getting a guy who, along with Aaron Heilman, could be a bridge to Billy Wagner. So that move goes a long way to shoring up the Mets bullpen. Schmoll and Hamulack are a wash, basically. Schmoll's numbers weren't too impressive last year, but I do remember him picking up a couple of saves back when Eric Gagne got hurt, in a couple of good outings, then seeing things turn sour. He may have appeared on my fantasy league roster after those saves (the good outings), just in time for all the succeeding miserable outings.

The Mets' rotation will not suffer from the loss of Seo - and it looks like Kris Benson will be sticking around (much to the relief of our good friends at naturalbl0g.blogspot.com). The rotation will be made up of:
Pedro Martinez*
Tom Glavine
Kris Benson
Steve Trachsel
Victor Zambrano

The plans for Heilman are to keep him in the bullpen, which I am happy with. I would not be happy if he is traded to Tampa Bay for either Danys Baez or Julio Lugo. I like Lugo's numbers, and he could be a long-term solution at second base, but I'm not crazy about the Mets giving up Heilman. If the Mets traded Heilman for Baez, it wouldn't be much of an upgrade. I'll leave it at that. I have my doubts about Baez's ability to pitch for a winning team in pressure spots (he would be setting up Wagner, which by the way, he doesn't want to do). We know what we have in Heilman.

One thing about Pedro Martinez*. He's been complaining about his toe, which acted up on him late last year. My thoughts are that Pedro* will be fine for the regular season. If his past with the Red Sox is any indication, I think Pedro* is talking up the toe problem as a reason he will not have to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, and then he'll come back for spring training, and be ready to pitch for the Mets. Pedro* doesn't like to do the extra-curricular stuff.

5 weeks until spring training!

Welcome back to 1992. Or 1993. Or 1995. Or any other hopeless time in the history of the Jets. Because that's where we're again headed.

I don't know why I trust sports figures. Not just athletes now, but coaches as well. I believed Herman Edwards when he said he wanted to be head coach of the Jets for the next 10 years - way back at the beginning of the season when the Edwards-to-K.C. rumors first started swirling. I believed him again at the end of the season, when Dick Vermeil had announced his retirement, and the rumors kicked up again, and Edwards said he didn't plan on going anywhere. But money speaks loud, very loud, I suppose. And despite Terry Bradway's claims that he wanted Edwards back, lately, he didn't. So Herman Edwards is gone, and all the Jets have in his place is a fourth-round draft pick.

The departure of Edwards isn't the only shoe to drop. No, so many shoes will be dropping in the Jets' offices it will be like an earthquake hit a shoe store. First of all, the players had a very good rapport with Edwards. I'm willing to bet 75% of the players who would have come back to the Jets while Edwards was still head coach will now look elsewhere (some of them may very well consider joining the Kansas City Chiefs). Those who are left behind will toil under a new head coach they will not like nearly as much, and will have to adjust to a new system.

Speaking of new systems, the coaches aren't going to be the same. Remember Mike Heimerdinger's one-year-stint as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets? Yeah, I doubt he'll be back for a new coach...he might, but I doubt it. It actually depends on who the new coach is - more on that later - but if it's an insecure guy who wants his own people in there, Heimerdinger's gone. If it's someone who's comfortable enough in what he does, maybe he'll keep Heimerdinger on, realizing that it would kill the Jets to have to learn another new offense.

Then there's defense. Donnie Henderson is probably not going to get the head coaching position, and I don't imagine he'll be sticking around for another coach. If he goes anywhere else as an assistant, he'll probably re-join Edwards in K.C. He's also being considered for head coaching positions elsewhere.

This is probably a good time to insert the current mailbag - featuring one relevant e-mail (OK, one e-mail at all):

"Johnny...

Obviously the playoff picks are important, but the Herm Edwards era is OVER in New York. I know earlier in a BLOG you said you liked him (when I questioned him), but now that he's leaving....thoughts?? How could this happen?? Are you upset?? What sort of coach should be the next coach?? Any specific names??

kevin
JJDBSDC Southern Bureau Chief"

Well, I did like Herman Edwards a lot. I really did. Yes, now that it's over, it's easier to see his flaws (get ready for clock management issues, Kansas City), but he was a great motivator, and you could see his players loved playing (and winning) for him. I liked rooting for him. He seemed honest with the media, wearing his heart on his sleeve....until recently. Clearly, I think you can tell I'm upset by this, because the Jets are spiraling into a bad time...because the Jets being the Jets, they will probably make the wrong choice for the next head coach.

The right choice for the next head coach of the New York Jets would be Mike Sherman. The former Green Bay head coach is no-nonsense, and might restore some credibility to a franchise that was heading in the right direction, but has just come crashing back to where it was 15 years ago. I also think he got a raw deal being fired in Green Bay, and it would be a steal for the Jets to be able to scoop him up.

The absolute WRONG choice for the Jets would be Jim Haslett. Here's why. The Jets under Jim Haslett:
2006: 6-10
2007: 7-9
2008: 7-9
2009: 7-9 (fired at the end of the season)
Welcome to mediocrity - or whatever lies just below mediocrity.

The right choice for the Jets would involve someone who doesn't underachieve (*cough* Haslett *cough*), and someone who can make the Jets believe they can win again. And I know I've beaten this drum before, but it has to be someone who believes in Chad Pennington's ability to bounce back and again be a good quarterback. This is probably an entry for a different day, but I saw a post-season interview with Pennington, and he said he's on track for his recovery. 32 weeks after his first surgery, he said, was opening day in Kansas City. 32 weeks after this most recent surgery, he says, will be mini-camp. So this time, he says, time will not be an issue. He's going to go out and compete with whoever else the Jets bring in to challenge him at quarterback, and I believe he's going to win out, and do well again as Jets' quarterback (there I go again, believing what an athlete tells the media). But I am shying away from the thinking that Chad Pennington's career is over.

How about this for an ideal situation, that I just thought up...Mike Sherman is hired as head coach. Pennington comes back, and wins the starting job over new backup....Brett Favre, who retired from Green Bay, but announced he was coming back to play for his old coach (I think he really liked Sherman), and agreed to back up Pennington if Pennington earned the starting job, which he did. That would be something.

I need to vent about something, now a little bit off topic. It's the word "unbelievable". This word has taken over the sports lexicon. Watch any analyst, sports broadcast, or even news show (it's snuck its way into the news lexicon to a point), and chances are you will hear this word used to describe something or someone. I've found lately that nothing is unbelievable, because so many crazy things happen in sports, you just have to believe what you see. But there people are, describing Vince Young's performance in the Rose Bowl as "unbelievable". Or Shaun Alexander's season as "unbelievable" (Oh, by the way - another rant - people are all over Alexander these days, as 'the best player you've never heard of'. No, I've heard of him. He's still the most selfish player in the NFL. He's not an MVP. Remember, last year, Alexander got mad at Mike Holmgren for keeping him out of a one-yard run situation when he could have scored a touchdown, and then he ended up missing the NFL rushing title by a yard? Well, this year he won the rushing title and set a touchdown record, and there's peace and harmony in Seattle. I was watching the Colts-Seahawks game, when Alexander was approaching the record, and he's running in from the sidelines in a goal-line situation to get his touchdown, when Holmgren is calling him back, because he doesn't want him in on that particular play. You might say that's a guy who's excited about playing, I say, based on his track record, that's a selfish player more concerned about individual statistics than team performance. By the way - the reason Holmgren wouldn't want him in in a goal-line situation? Shaun Alexander is a fumbler. And I think he'll cost Seattle a playoff game with his fumbles this year. So there.) Anyway, I get mad at myself whenever I use the word "unbelievable" - I wish others would try to curb their use of the word.

Playoff picks: I really like Washington to beat Tampa Bay today. Tampa is giving 2, but I think Washington will beat them outright. I just think Joe Gibbs has it together there, and can beat Chris Simms in his first playoff start. Also, Washington is probably looking for revenge from Tampa's dramatic comeback win over the Redskins in the regular season. I'll say Washington, 31-10.

I don't want New England to beat the Jaguars tonight. I definitely don't. But I have a feeling they will. Jacksonville claims to be underappreciated this year - I've been calling them the worst 12-4 team ever. They'll earn my respect if they come out and beat a good team. This is a team, mind you, that could only muster 10 points against the 49ers and eke out a 10-9 win. I think Jacksonville keeps it closer than the 7-and-a-half-points in the spread, but New England (disrespected? please give me a break) wins, maybe 23-17.

On Sunday, the Giants-Panthers game is a tough call. Eli Manning is making his first playoff start against a Panthers team that is similar to the one that went to the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, but I think the Giants will win. Maybe it's because they're home, maybe because they've been playing well lately. I say Giants will cover the 2-and-a-half, and win, 27-20.

Then the Steelers visiting the Bengals. This one has Steelers written all over it. The Bengals have been struggling the past few weeks, they've reached the high of making the playoffs. I think Cincinnati will be dangerous next year, but look for Jerome Bettis to score a couple of touchdowns, and the Steelers to easily beat the Bengals, and cover the 3-point spread. I say Pittsburgh, 24-14.

My NFL New Year's Resolution - to cut down on my use of the word 'unbelievable', and realize that all sports figures, head coaches who I trust included, are not to be believed...dare I say, they are 'unbelievable'.

SUNDAY PICKS

OK - so here's the rest of the info - it's all but official - barring an 0-for-16 weekend, the wife will wrap up the regular season title this weekend. She's 125-108-7 overall (8-7-1 last week), I'm looking to get above .500 - at 112-121-7 (8-7-1 last week), and Dave has 106-111-7 (9-6-1 last week).

For this Sunday (see way below for the Saturday games):

Indianapolis is a 6.5-point favorite over Arizona. They're going to want to be going into the playoffs on a winning note - I take Indy. So do the other two.

Baltimore is a 3-point favorite over Cleveland, in Cleveland. I already wrote down my picks, and for some reason I chose the Browns. I don't know why. Looking at this now, I think I'd pick the Ravens. But I can't change a pick once it's written down. Oh well. Browns it is. Dave takes Baltimore, the wife takes Cleveland.

The Jets end the season at home, 1.5-point underdogs to the Bills. I've been brutal at picking the Jets all year, as well as the Bills. I'll just take the Jets. So does the wife. So does Dave, who says he's 1-14 picking the Jets so far this year. Let's just take a look: He's actually 4-9-1. (Winning the Atlanta game, Denver, the second Pats game, the second Miami game, and tying San Diego...he didn't make the week one picks...so that's why the total is only 14.)

Carolina is giving 4 to Atlanta. One last time I'll root for Atlanta this season. I take the Falcons, so does Dave, the wife takes Carolina.

Minnesota is a 4.5-point favorite over Chicago. Not sure why...and again, I'm not sure why I picked the Vikings. They'll probably fold with nothing to play for. Oh well, can't change the pick now. I take Minnesota, so does Dave, the wife takes Chicago.

The Bengals are 7.5-point underdogs to the Chiefs. The Chiefs need to win, although San Diego winning on Saturday could eliminate them. I still think the Chiefs will show up and win over a Bengals team that probably won't go full speed Sunday, but not by more than a touchdown. I take the Bengals plus the points, so does Dave and the wife.

Pittsburgh clinches with a win, and they're playing Detroit. The Steelers are a 13-and-a-half-point favorite. I take the Steelers to win and cover easy. Dave also takes the Steelers, the wife takes Detroit.

New England is a 5.5-point favorite over the Dolphins. I take the Pats, still looking for a third seed, to win by more than that. The wife takes the Pats too, Dave takes Miami to cover.

Tampa Bay is giving 13.5 to the Saints. Part of me thinks the Saints will wrap up this miserable season with a big upset win, but the part of me that made the pick thinks Tampa will blow out the Saints. I take the Bucs. So does Dave, the wife takes the Saints.

Houston is giving 2 to San Francisco. It's been a rough season for the 49ers, but they've shown more of an ability to win than the Texans. I'm taking the Niners. Dave also takes the 49ers, the wife takes Houston.

Jacksonville is a 3-point favorite over the Titans. The Jaguars will win, and be the worst 12-4 team ever. I take the Jags, so does Dave and the wife.

Green Bay is a 4.5-point favorite over the Seahawks. Not sure what will happen in this one - I'll just go with the better team - Seattle, plus the points. Dave and the wife also take the Seahawks.

Washington, with a chance to win and get into the playoffs, is at Philly, and is favored by seven-and-a-half. I think Washington wins, but it won't be easy. I take Philly plus the points. The wife and Dave both take the Redskins.

Dallas is home to the Rams, and is favored by 12.5. I think the Rams put up a fight. I take Saint Louis with the points. So does Dave and the wife.

Maybe this continues with a playoff pool next week - I'll let you know. Happy New Year, and here's to more than 3 wins for the Jets in '06.

SATURDAY PICKS

I'll hopefully get the Sunday picks in before Saturday afternoon, but I wanted to make sure I listed the Saturday picks:

The Chargers are 11-point favorites over Denver, in San Diego. Denver has already clinched, so they don't have anything to play for, and San Diego is eliminated, so they really don't have anything to play for. But the Chargers can have an effect on the Chiefs...still not enough to justify an 11-point spread for me. I take the Broncos plus the points, so does the wife, and so does Dave.

Saturday night, the Giants are 9-point favorites in Oakland. The Giants will win, clinching the NFC East, but they won't win by more than 9. I take Oakland to cover. The wife and Dave both take the Giants.

The wife has followed up a 10-4 week with a 13-3 - pretty much wrapping up a title this year. There's still two weeks left......but I'm not hopeful.

I was 6-10 last week, 104-114-6 overall. Dave went 8-8, 97-105-6 overall. The wife's 13-3 put her at 117-101-6.

For this week - I think Cincinnati beats Buffalo by two touchdowns, covering the 13.5. The wife takes the Bengals, Dave takes Buffalo.

Pittsburgh is a 7-point favorite in Cleveland - all three of us take the Steelers.

Kansas City is a Pick'em against San Diego. They're pretty unbeatable in K.C. in December. I take the Chiefs, so does Dave. The wife takes the Chargers.

Miami is home to Tennessee, and is favored by 5.5. I have no real reasoning, but I take the Dolphins. So does Dave. The wife takes the Titans.

Jacksonville is a 6-point favorite over Houston. Seems like the Jaguars can cover six points...but you never know. We all three take Jacksonville.

New Orleans is a 3-point favorite over Detroit. We all three take the Lions.

Carolina is a 5-point favorite over the Cowboys, in Carolina. We all three take the Panthers.

The Redskins are 3-point favorites over the Giants in Washington. I take the 'Skins - they have more to play for. The wife also takes Washington, Dave takes the Giants.

Tampa Bay is a 3-point favorite over the Falcons. Because I'm rooting for Mike Vick, I take Atlanta. Dave and the wife take Tampa Bay.

Saint Louis gives 9.5 to San Francisco. I take the Rams, so does Dave - the wife takes the 49ers.

Arizona is a 1-point favorite over the Eagles. I don't understand how - it's in Arizona, but that shouldn't matter. We all three take the Eagles.

Seattle is a 9-point favorite over Indianapolis. Indy's either going to be inspired or fold up. All three of us are taking Indy, but Dave says he stands by his pick of Seattle a few weeks back to beat the Colts.

Denver, at home, is giving 13 to the Raiders. We all three take Denver.

Chicago is giving 6.5 to Green Bay. The Bears should win this one, even though it's in Green Bay. I take the Bears, so does Dave, the wife takes the Packers.

The Ravens come off last Monday night's blowout to play the Vikings, and are favored by 3. I think flash in the pan, and the Vikings not only cover but win, despite the game being in Baltimore. Dave takes Minnesota. The wife takes Baltimore.

Monday night, the Patriots are 5.5-point favorites over the Jets. I can't even come close to predicting what the Jets will do anymore. I take them, though, this week, for some reason. Dave and the wife both take the Patriots.

Have a Merry Christmas, and a great weekend!

Way to follow up a 13-3 week - a big ol' 4-10-2. Back to six games behind the wife - she's at 104-98-6, I'm at 98-104-6, and Dave is 89-97-6. (Last week - wife: 10-4-2, Dave: 5-9-2.)

Maybe the Saturday games will bring me better luck.

In the Saturday games, I'm taking Tampa Bay getting four-and-a-half in New England, Kansas City getting 3 in New York, and Denver giving eight-and-a-half in Buffalo. The wife takes the Patriots, Giants, and Broncos, and Dave takes Tampa, Giants, and the Broncos.

On Sunday:

I'm taking Pittsburgh over Minnesota in Minnesota - Pittsburgh is favored by 3. 4 Vikings facing charges for the boat scandal a few months back - this is the final nail in the Minnesota coffin, the one that ends their current run and makes them miss the playoffs. Dave takes Minnesota, the wife takes Pittsburgh.

Indianapolis looks to go to 14-0 against the Chargers - I take the Colts giving 7-and-a-half. The Chargers will miss the playoffs - I thought they would do a lot worse than they did this season, but at least I'll be right about them not making the post-season. (One of the few things I would have been right about all year.) Dave takes Indy, the wife takes San Diego.

Jacksonville is giving 16 to the 49ers in Jacksonville. San Francisco was just awful last week, but I don't know that the Jaguars should ever be 16-point favorites. I take San Fran, so does Dave and the wife.

Seattle is on a roll - they're giving 7 to the Titans in Tennessee. All three of us take Seattle.

Arizona is the latest team to come into Houston and somehow steal a victory from the Texans. I take Arizona by a point-and-a-half, Dave and the wife think Houston will somehow pull out a win, or cover the point-and-a-half spread.

In Miami, the Dolphins are 9-point favorites over the Jets. I think the Dolphins win by 10 - and don't look now, but a Dolphins win coupled with a Patriots' loss leaves Miami only a game back with 2 to go - and a head-to-head matchup still to come. Dave and the wife both take the Jets.

Carolina is an 8-point favorite at New Orleans, where Todd Bouman will start. Carolina easy. Dave and the wife also take the Panthers.

In Washington, it's the Redskins favored by 2-and-a-half over the Cowboys. I think Dallas stays alive, Washington is done after this weekend. I take Dallas. So does Dave. The wife takes the Redskins.

Cincinnati is an 8-point-favorite in Detroit. Detroit doesn't have anything close to a home field advantage - they'd be better off playing on the road. How does Matt Millen still have a job? All three of us take Cincinnati.

Oakland is a 3-point favorite over Cleveland in Oakland. A few factors here - Kerry Collins is back after a one-game benching, Cleveland isn't very good, and the game is in Oakland. Also, Oakland had an embarrassing loss to the Jets last week. I'd make this game my lock of the week - I can't believe Oakland won't win this game. I take the Raiders. Dave does too, the wife takes the Browns.

Saint Louis is a 3-point favorite against Philadelphia. I don't know - I guess I take the Rams, since they're home. Dave takes Saint Louis, the wife takes Philly.

Sunday night is a good one - Atlanta, favored by 3, in Chicago. I'm torn on this one. The Bears have been playing so well...and their defense could shut down Atlanta. I'm taking the Bears +3. Not sure who will win, though. Probably Chicago. Dave takes the Bears, the wife takes the Falcons.

Monday night, Green Bay is a 3-and-a-half point favorite over Baltimore. Green Bay has to win this game. Baltimore's awful. All three of us take Green Bay.

Just two more weeks after this one - Indy's going undefeated.

My pick for the Jets-Raiders game on Sunday - find something else to do. This is when DirecTV's Sunday Ticket comes in handy - the local offering is Patriots-Bills, which does nothing for me. The Jets-Raiders game will be my permanent switchback, just to keep tabs on what's going on, but I can watch the Colts go for 13-0, and the Steelers-Bears game instead of the other games...without leaving home.

So last week, a pretty good week all around for picks - the wife was 8-8, Dave was 11-5, and I pulled off a 13-3. Dave now stands 4 below .500 at 84-88-4, the wife is 94-94-4, and I pulled exactly even with her last week after the 13 wins. So for this week:

I have Carolina, at home, -5 against the Buccaneers - so does the wife.

I have New England, -4, at Buffalo - so does the wife.

I have Minnesota giving 6 and-a-half against the Rams, in Minnesota, the wife has Saint Louis.

In Pittsburgh, the Steelers are giving 5-and-a-half to Chicago - I take the Bears plus the points. The wife takes the Steelers.

The Raiders are 3-point-favorites over the Jets - I take Oakland, the wife takes the Jets.

Indianapolis is giving 8-and-a-half to the Jaguars - I take Indy, the wife takes Jacksonville.

In Tennessee, it's the Titans minus-6-and-a-half. I take Tennessee, the wife takes Houston...again.

Cincinnati is giving 11-and-half to Cleveland. I take the Bengals, the wife takes Cleveland.

Washington is a 4-point favorite over the Cardinals in Arizona. Both me and the wife take the Redskins.

The Giants are 9-point favorites in Philly. Both me and the wife take New York.

Some big spreads ahead:

I take Seattle giving 16 at home to San Francisco. The wife takes the 49ers.

I take San Diego giving 13 to the Dolphins. The wife takes Miami.

I take Denver giving 14-and-a-half to Baltimore. The wife takes the Ravens.

In Dallas, the Cowboys are three-point-favorites over the Chiefs. The Chiefs should win outright - I take K.C. The wife takes Dallas.

Sunday night, the Packers are 6-point favorites over the Lions, in Green Bay. I take Green Bay, the wife takes the Lions.

Monday night, the Falcons are 10-and-a-half point favorites over the Saints, in Atlanta. I take the Falcons, so does the wife.

Where are Dave's picks this week, you ask? They weren't worth printing - he's taking all favorites. So go back and figure out where his picks differ from the wife and I's. I took a lot of favorites - but I didn't take all of them.

The Jets game at the Meadowlands against the Patriots later this month will not mean much - by then, most of the Jets will have their eyes on the off-season, with just one more regular season game left to play in a disastrous season. So I submit to you that today's game in Foxboro against the Patriots is the last game this season the Jets will get up for collectively, and there is a CHANCE...just a chance....that they'll pick up their final win of the season.

I can't really justify this - call it a gut feeling, or a dislike of the Patriots clouding my judgment, or stupidity - but I think the Jets might win today. Brooks Bollinger is coming off a very encouraging start last Sunday night against the Saints (and really, is the Patriots' defense at this point much better than the Saints'?). He wants a win. The Jets don't want a seven-game losing streak. It's their rivals. This is the Jets' Super Bowl this season (although when I wrote about Super Bowl aspirations back in August/September, this is NOT what I meant).

The one bad thing coming into the game for the Jets is the situation the Patriots find themselves in. First of all, Tom Brady is coming off an awful start, so the chances of him throwing something like 4 interceptions again are very slim. Also, a loss would drop the Patriots to 6-6. They'd still be in first place, but with the Bills playing the Dolphins today, someone is going to be 5-7, and a game back, so the Patriots really, really need a win, and must think they can get it against the Jets.

I just hope it keeps snowing through the game - and maybe cancels school tomorrow. And I really hope the Jets win. But I think they'll at least cover. I take the Jets, getting 10. Believe it or not, Dave in Brighton also takes the Jets, and the wife takes the Patriots -10.

Last week I finally had a good week, 10-6, getting back within 10 games of .500. I really need a killer week this week. Dave was 9-7, the wife was 8-8. So overall it's:

Wife - 86-86-4
Me: 81-91-4
Dave: 73-83-4

For this week:
All three of us pick Buffalo plus 4.5 at Miami. I can't figure out these two teams - they are both pretty bad, but I think Buffalo is better. Miami must be favored because they're home. Who knows.

I think Cincinnati will beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, after the Steelers beat them earlier this year. I take Cincy plus 3. The wife and Dave both take Pittsburgh.

Baltimore is an 8-and-a-half-point favorite over the Texans. All three of us figure Baltimore probably can't beat the Texans by 8-and-a-half...if they can beat them at all. We all take Houston.

We also all take Indianapolis, at home, by 15 over Tennessee.

Jacksonville is without Byron Leftwich, but David Garrard isn't bad. Especially considering the Jags are playing the Browns. I take Jacksonville, -3. So does Dave, the wife takes Cleveland.

The Giants look to rebound from last week's heartbreak against Seattle against the Cowboys today in New York. I take the Giants -3, the wife and Dave both take the Cowboys getting the points. (This could easily be a push.)

Chicago is a 7-point favorite over Green Bay, in Chicago. We all take the Bears. Dave submits he had a dream that the Bears won 42-7. If that happens, that would be very weird.

Minnesota is a 2-point favorite over the Lions. I guarantee the Vikings will make a run to get to the final week with a chance at winning and getting a playoff spot, then going out and laying an egg with it all on the line. But today I take the Vikings, -2. Dave and the wife both take the Lions.

Carolina is at home, and is favored by 3 over Atlanta. But Atlanta dominates the Panthers. I take Atlanta, getting 3. So does the wife. Dave takes Carolina.

All three of us like Tampa Bay by three-and-a-half over the Saints, in Baton Rouge.

Arizona is a 3-point favorite over the 49ers. Dave and I like the Cardinals. The wife picks San Francisco.

Washington is a 3-point favorite over the Rams. Today we will find out if the Redskins are a true playoff team or not. They should win this game, especially with their defense. If they lose, forget their chances. I take Washington, -3, so does the wife. Dave takes the Rams plus 3.

Denver is a one-point favorite over Kansas City. Two things working for me here - I like the way Kansas City played last week, and I think Denver is far better at home than on the road. This one's in Kansas City. I take the Chiefs, +1. So does Dave. The wife takes the Broncos.

Tonight, San Diego is giving 11, at home, to Oakland. That seems like an awfully big spread. I take the Raiders getting the points. So does the wife. Dave takes the Chargers.

Monday night, it's Seattle giving 4 at Philadelphia. All three of us take Seattle. What I didn't realize is that at halftime the Eagles are retiring Reggie White's number, posthumously. It'll be emotional. But I still think Seattle will win.

Enjoy Week 13!