BEST WEEK OF THE YEAR

I've decided to postpone my baseball season picks until Sunday. It's not that I haven't finished them...they're done, just waiting to be put out there. It's just that there's something else that's occupying my mind this week.
As far as anticipation goes, nothing beats the first week of the NCAA Tournament. I love it. Tomorrow I'll get into just how much I love it. This week also comes with a warning/pleading: Please don't lose respect for me. You already know I'm a little bit crazy.

The first thing you need to understand is that I'm a creature of habit. And one of my habits is filling out the NCAA bracket in the New York Daily News. So every year at this time, the race is on to find a Daily News near here (in Framingham, Massachusetts) to fill out my bracket. Tonight, on my way home from work (en route to the best corned beef and cabbage in the world courtesy of The Wife - Happy St. Patrick's Day, incidentally), I stopped at a supermarket with lots of different newspapers (no dice), a CVS in Sudbury (no dice), and the CVS right here in Framingham. There, buried beneath about five New York Posts, was Monday's Daily News. Fantastic.

I have one more mission before Thursday (and in recent years this has carried over into Friday and sometimes Saturday) - I need to get my hands on a Sports Illustrated for this week. Ever since I cancelled my subscription, this has been a problem. Used to be I'd get this SI in the mail on Tuesday, well in advance of Thursday's noon tip-off. Now, I have to hunt down the tournament edition. Why, you ask? So I can keep track of the tournament winners and losers, and then I fold the SI pullout section around my picks. (In addition to the original bracket from the Daily News, I usually make myself a shrunken copy of my picks to carry around in my pocket.)

I will join a pool or two - but it's always the same bracket, just in case you were wondering. I'd drive myself nuts if I tried to keep track of more than one.

Now, believe it or not, I don't have a system for picking games. I just pick based on gut instinct. And as you'll see tomorrow, that hasn't brought me a lot of success in the past. So this year, I'm going to develop a system. As soon as I finish this, it's off to the papers to try to figure out a formula for success. And on Wednesday, I'll let you know what we're rooting for, and why.

Tomorrow, you'll lose any remaining respect you have for me.

WHY I PLAY FANTASY SPORTS: As you know, I play fantasy NASCAR (this is my 2nd year), and now fantasy golf (in my first year). I'm not doing very well in either right now, but the reason I'm playing has been accomplished. The NASCAR reason was twofold - to learn more about the sport, and to while away the Sundays between football and baseball. Both have been accomplished.

For golf, it was something I thought I'd be good at (not yet), but it has also allowed me to follow the sport closer than I ever have. And as a result, I witnessed one of the most outstanding sporting events I've ever seen on Sunday. Not unbelievable or the greatest ever, mind you, but just an outstanding performance.

I've been following tournaments closely through the weekend these days - from Thursday all the way through to Sunday. Usually I'm lucky enough to have a rooting interest. Well, this week my rooting interest was to root against Tiger Woods - it was a calculated gamble that I won't get into right now. (And obviously, it didn't pay off.) Woods trailed by nine shots after Thursday (I think), cut into that on Friday, and was a co-leader after Saturday. He took the lead, and was tied on the final hole on Sunday. A par would force a playoff, and a birdie would win the tournament - keeping him undefeated for the season. You just look at Tiger, on a course where people haven't hit their putts all weekend, and you knew he was going to sink it. And it was a tough putt. And sure enough, he sinks it. There is no other athlete in any other sport right now who is that clutch. No one. It was a signature moment. And last year I wouldn't even have noticed it.

WITHOUT A HITCH

Wow. It's official. Johan Santana will be a member of the 2008 New York Mets. The contract was finalized Friday, a couple of hours past the deadline the Twins and Santana agreed to. The physical was passed on Saturday, and there was nothing else standing in the way.

The contract guarantees Santana will be with the Mets through 2013, with an option for 2014. He will be paid $137.5 million over the six guaranteed years. As ridiculous as those numbers are, I sure am glad the Mets are paying it, and not another team.

I don't think we can underestimate in this whole process the role Santana's desire to pitch in New York, as well as the National League, played. It's one of those "which one of these doesn't belong" things - it was Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets. Maybe he would only go to the Mets.

I think the only question that remains is whether or not Santana needs an asterisk. I'm going to go with no, because maybe Omar Minaya acquisitions are immune to that sort of bad luck that we are used to from previous Mets transactions.

I haven't heard anything about an introduction to New York City, but I wouldn't be surprised if a press conference was held on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl - steal some headlines from the Giants. In the meantime, you can go ahead and buy a Johan Santana jersey on mlb.com, which is what you see here.

PLAYOFF BOUND?

10:35am - I've always wanted to try a live blog, and I think today's the day to do it. It's the final day of the regular season, with everything on the line. Also, the Jets are playing the Bills, and with the Patriots playing the Bengals on Monday night, I have the Jets on free TV. So I've set up the regular TV next to the DirecTV, on which I can watch the Mets live, and have the Phillies on the second tuner (meaning I can always rewind to see anything I might miss). That'll cover three pretty big games. Might as well mix in some live-blogging to that.

If you're new to live blogs, first of all, keep checking back throughout the day - I'll try to keep doing this until at least 4 o'clock...I imagine there will be a lot to say today. And also, you're going to have to read from the bottom up...only the newest posts will appear towards the top.

Enjoy the day - I hope I will.

10:40 am - This is a test. Actually, I think I will just keep adding to the same post, so that you don't have to read bottom-to-top. My service to you. This way also won't screw up my total number of blog entries. I would hate to mess with statistics.

11:25am - Bad news - the Mets are not on SNY today. They are on Sun Sports in Florida, so I will be able to watch the game, but I hate the Marlins announcers. They're awful. I guess I could keep the sound down on the baseball, and have sound up on the football.

Sundays are a busy day here at the House sponsored by DirecTV. I have to do the laundry, watch football and baseball, finish up any schoolwork for Monday that I left off until the last minute, and then do the final tallies for the New Baseball Pool. Today, with such important games, only adds to the workload.

Thanks to the Southern Bureau for the comment. Obviously, I welcome your comments all day long to go along with mine.

11:35 am - Almost forgot - Sunday is also garbage day. I might put that off, though, until the games are over. The tricky part with that is making sure I do it after the games, but before it gets dark...you never know what animals might be lurking outside, waiting to attack the garbage. Yep...always have to make sure there's still sunlight when I put together the garbage.

12 noon - One hour away. I'm not taking any chances - I'm wearing what I wore yesterday. If it works today, I'll be wearing this Mets t-shirt and beige pants for the next month. At least it's very comfortable.

I think the last time the Mets faced a last-day scenario like this was in 1999, when they beat the Pirates on the last day of the season, in their final at-bat, on a wild pitch on which Mike Piazza scored from third, and in so doing, forced a playoff with the Cincinnati Reds the next day, in Cincinnati, where the Mets won the wild card. I did a quick search, and I don't think I've ever told this story before - so here goes (if you can't tell, this is the part of Sunday where I have schoolwork to do...and this is the procrastination part):

I came home from Boston on October 2nd for a friend's wedding. I had my suit, and one change of clothes - a gray t-shirt and jeans. At the wedding, a friend and I decided to go to Shea the next day to watch the Mets game - especially after it became clear that the game would decide the playoff appearance. So we showed up at Shea the next day, and waited in line, and got good seats (seats good enough that I was in the background of a couple of TV crowd shots in the bottom of the ninth - I still have the tape). While in line, also, then-Pirates third base coach (and former Met) Richie Hebner's wife was behind us, and if I'm not mistaken, although I've been known to misinterpret these things - she was hitting on me. But I digress.

The Mets won the game, and I became convinced it was my lucky outfit. I had no real demands bringing me back to Boston (I lived with the Southern Bureau at the time - he was then the next-room-over Bureau, and I was....in between jobs. There was an unsuccessful stint at Houlihan's, a possible job interview at True Value Hardware, and only interning at a TV station - I was a month away from working...November 15th, to be exact....until this very day.), so I stayed for the Monday playoff to watch the game with my dad. The Mets won, a great game by Al Leiter - a one-hitter, if I remember correctly, without looking it up. Then my dad had some Rangers tickets for Thursday - so I stayed through Thursday, with the same clothes, and the Mets did well against Arizona. That was a lucky outfit. I wore it until Kenny Rogers threw ball four against Andruw Jones. When I came back to Boston, I watched Todd Pratt hit the game-winning homer against the Diamondbacks at the apartment, while Southern Bureau and our other roommate went to the Red Sox-Indians playoff game...then I ran down to Fenway Park, and met them by like the third inning. What a week, in retrospect. I think I probably watched the Red Sox in my lucky outfit, too. I can't remember how often I laundered it. Probably not often enough.

12:35 pm - Lunch break. I had to run down to Riley's Roast Beef (The Wife and I decided earlier we would do that today - I forgot I had to be the one to go)...It's beautiful outside. The shame of all of these sports going on today is that I don't get to go out and enjoy the nice weather. Maybe The Baby (almost 'The 1-Year-Old) and I will go for a walk later...or I'll rake the leaves or something. It will be good therapy, win or lose.

12:57 pm - Sun Sports has much better video of Miguel Olivo going after Jose Reyes (and throwing a punch at him) than SNY, which is what ESPN has been showing. I just saw it on their pre-game.

Final note on what I have going on in my head today - fantasy baseball. I have one starter going - Jason Hammel of the Devil Rays, along with a host of relievers - Aaron Heilman, Jon Lester, Chad Cordero, Jeremy Accardo, Joba Chamberlain, and possibly Kei Igawa, who I thought was getting the start for the Yankees. I have an outside shot at passing the Southern Bureau in wins, but I need to maintain my strikeout lead, and I pretty much wrap up the season. I'm nervous about this, too, though. I have frittered away as much as the Mets have...though, like you have to give the Phillies credit, I have to give the Southern Bureau (and Justin from NYC, too, who is in the hunt but may come up just short) credit for keeping it close. I'm rooting against A.J. Burnett, Jamie Moyer (for two reasons), Jason Bergmann (getting K's, at least), and Brian Burres.

Phillies-Nationals, by the way, are a 1:35 start. I would love it if the Nats jumped all over Moyer in the first inning...and if the Mets did the same to Dontrelle Willis.

There's also fantasy football and NASCAR to worry about - but today they'll take a back seat to baseball.

1:07 pm - Jets have already had a defensive stand before the Mets have thrown the first pitch. Jets looked good against the Bills' backup quarterback.

1:15 pm - Both games are underway. I have better reception on the Jets than it looks like here:

1:30 pm - Wow. Not even through the top of the first yet, and it's 5-0. Tom Glavine's out, and now our hopes rest on Jorge Sosa. Not exactly the way I drew it up.

I let The Wife use the computer for 10 minutes, and this is what happens.

Jets are looking good - recovering a Bills fumble, and driving...

Unless Glavine gets a chance to pitch in the playoffs, and get the bad taste out of Mets fans' mouths, he is not going to be remembered well. There is a huge difference - Hall of Fame versus wine conneisseuir, but I'm thinking Steve Trachsel.

The Marlins announcers are already driving me nuts. The color guy actually said, after the 4th run scored, "How about some 'Let's Go Mets' cheers now?!' There's no place for that in a broadcast booth.

1:39 pm - Finally, the top of the first inning is over. 7-0 Marlins. How ugly was it? Glavine couldn't get two outs. He hit the opposing pitcher (albeit a good hitter, but still) with a pitch with the bases loaded. Tom Glavine, this is, not Oliver Perez. He made the error that scored another run, throwing the ball into left field like a little leaguer.

The Mets are still capable of scoring enough runs to win this game, unless they play like they've been playing the past couple of weeks.

And I'm going to say it again...if the Mets are lucky enough to win, and make the post-season, or lose and have the Phillies lose, and play their way in tomorrow - there better not be a drop of champagne. And I don't want to hear, 'this is sweeter than last year because of all the adversity'. You caused this. And you haven't accomplished a thing until you either win the NLCS or World Series. Making the playoffs was expected...and you produced a disastrous end of September.

1:52 pm - Carlos Delgado was just hit by a pitch, looks serious - he may have to leave the game. It loads the bases, though, with 2 outs - and the Mets already have one back, it's 7-1. No score in the first in Philadelphia.

No score on the Jets yet either. Brett Favre has thrown a touchdown pass, though, so he's knocked Marino off the top spot on TD passes. Love that.

1:54 pm - Argh. Ramon Castro just missed hitting a grand slam. It looked like he had it. 7-1 Marlins after one.

2:02 pm - Things are looking up a bit. Sosa strikes out the side, and the Jets got an interception inside of 2 minutes to go in the half. Phillies, though, lead 1-0.

2:11 pm - Jets are going to the half scoreless after a great drive ended in a missed field goal - off the upright. Speaking of Dan Marino, Chad Pennington executed a great fake spike.

My fantasy stuff is not going well - Southern Bureau is racking up a bunch of strikeouts. I haven't been following my NFL picks too closely with everything else going on, but I love the fact that Cleveland is up on Baltimore 28-3 right now...I know I didn't pick that, though.

Dontrelle Willis has 2 outs in the second, but he looks very beatable today. Anything less than 7 runs would have been wonderful today, Glavine.

2:35 pm - Willis walked the bases loaded in the third, with 2 outs, and he's been lifted. I'm not sure that's a great thing - the Mets would have gotten to him. So it's the bullpen now - the Mets need to capitalize with the bases loaded.

The Phillies did - Ryan Howard came through with a 2-run single with the bases loaded, and it's 3-0 Phillies.

2:40 pm - Paul LoDuca, pinch-hitting, on a 3-2 count, rolled a check-swinger to the pitcher. No runs. It's still early, but it's not looking good.

Marshawn Lynch ran 10 yards right through the Jets for a touchdown to make it 7-0, Bills. The Jets can not lose that game.

2:50 pm - Pennington has responded - a touchdown pass to Coles. The Mets have not. The Jets are tied, the Mets are down 7-1 through 4. Phillies are still up 3-1 through 3-and-2-thirds.

The fantasy stuff isn't looking too good either - my relievers better rack up the K's.

3:10 pm - Through 4-and-a-half: Phillies 3, Nationals 1. Marlins 8, Mets 1...after an RBI double by De Aza. About halfway through the 4th, and after a Bills field goal, it's 10-7 Buffalo.

3:20 pm - Through 5 - no changes.

The Jets, though, came up with a big 3rd down stop, and appeared to force a field goal. After a time out, the Bills went for it, and scored. Ugh. What a day.

The good news: Jon Lester is in for the Red Sox, as scheduled. Hope he gets a handful of K's.

3:30 pm - Jets got a quick strike - down 17-14. Southern Bureau - I'm well aware of the irony between the Moyer-Glavine starts. Moyer's day is done, so are the Soutern Bureau's fantasy pitchers. I need to tally and figure out how many K's I need from hopefully a few bullpen appearances.

3:45 pm - The Jets game ended with a bad interception thrown by Pennington. Bills 17, Jets 14. Now I'm not only going to have to live with the Mets choke (down 8-1 through 6), but tons of undeserved crap being dumped on Pennington as the fans call for Kellen Clemens. Oh, right, Phillies are also up 4-1 now.

4:07 pm - The Mets played a pretty crisp top of the 8th. A little ironic that the Mets bullpen has pitched so well today after putting them in this hole to begin with...also ironic that the Mets had to rely so heavily on their bullpen in their most important game of the year - getting only a third of an inning from their starter. 5-1 in Philly, 8-1 in New York- neither score is good for the Mets. They need 8 runs in the 8th.

4:20 pm - 3 more outs. At least Aaron Heilman is pitching the 9th - I need two K's from him...or Chad Cordero - hopefully he comes in against the Phillies. This day has been a disaster.

4:31 pm - The Mets are done - losers, 8-1, to Florida.

4:35 pm - The Mets are now officially done, as the Phillies beat the Nationals, 6-1. Unreal. I'm more pissed off than I thought I'd be...perhaps because it seems like I care more than the Mets. Or perhaps it's because my NFL picks were awful, and my fantasy players are going to come up one strikeout short...unless Kei Igawa makes a ninth inning appearance. I think all of those failures stem from the concentration I've been giving to the Mets...undeservedly so.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

There's really nothing to be afraid of, if you're a Mets fan, on a day like Friday the 13th. Superstition doesn't usually work against the Mets, usually it works in their favor.

Case in point, the picture at the left, where the cursed Cubs began a tailspin from their perch atop the NL East in 1969, and the Miracle Mets overtook them, though they were as far back as 9-and-a-half games in August. The reason for the Cubs fall? The black cat, which ran out onto the field at Shea Stadium, and crossed the Cubs' path, circling Ron Santo.

Another instance would be the fact that even though the Mets were down to their last strike against the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, facing elimination, they were still able to come back and win the game, and the series.

Now, none of this happened on a Friday the 13th - but they're evidence that when it comes to superstition, don't mess with the Mets.

That's a big heads-up for the Mets' opponent on Friday the 13th, the Cincinnati Reds...right now the Reds have a 7-1 lead on the Mets...but it's still early. And it's Friday the 13th...unluckily for Cincinnati.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: An anonymous comment, but a thoughtful and well-written one, has appeared on my post about Erik Bedard from a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to anonymous for reading, and contributing. But please don't be anonymous - throw your name on there...or an alias or something. Since you chose to be anonymous, though, and you wrote that you are also a fan of Erik Bedard, you leave me no choice but to assume that you were indeed Erik Bedard. So thanks for reading, and posting a comment Erik! Hope you come back and read some more.

STILL WAITING ON TWO WINS IN A ROW...

I've been a little slow the past week or so. I keep thinking of things I a) wanted to write about or b) should have written about in my postings within 24 hours or so after I publish them. I guess I'm only just getting back into the swing of everyday blogging. Regardless, since I'll be long asleep before Monday night's Mets-Twins tilt ends, I'll go back and do what I should have done on Sunday.

I kind of breezed past the fact that the Mets are on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and I made a passing reference to the fact that it jinxed them...but I didn't go into it in depth. Well, here we go (click the picture for the writing to be bigger):


The mystery of the Mets' recent struggles is over - it has to be since they took this picture. The magazine was delivered to subscribers last week, so I'm sure the picture was taken at the beginning of June...just about the time the Mets started their slip. Just about the time John Maine went from 5-0 to 6-4. Just about the time Endy Chavez got hurt. The magazine comes out and El Duque has one of the worst starts he's had as a Met. I'm just waiting to see what happens the next time Oliver Perez pitches.

And I didn't notice this the first time I looked at the cover...but I just noticed an inset over Orlando Hernandez's shoulder...I've blown it up for you below:

LINKS:

• Dave in Brighton, the Southern Bureau, Justin in NYC, and I had our first radio show Monday night. Not sure what the regular schedule will be for the show, but we have kicked it off, and we will continue it. It's about 23 minutes, so if you feel like giving it a listen, we'd appreciate it, and your feedback. Dave, Justin, and Kevin all do a great job - the show would be better if I just let them talk the whole time. Catch the show here at www.blogtalkradio.com/eastcoastbias
• Also, naturalbl0g.blogspot.com occasionally does a "Separated at Birth", where he finds people who resemble each other and puts their pictures together. Totally original and hilarious! But you'll never believe why Endy Chavez made an appearance on Monday.

GLAVINE GETS ROCKED

Yankees 11, Mets 8 (NYM: 37-29, NYY: 34-32)

I feel like I have a lot on my mind this evening, first and foremost, that I hope my students don't view me as a "rakish nerd". (See comments from yesterday.) Or, for that matter, a rakish anything. (Actually...just looked up 'rakish' - I've been called worse.)

Right behind that, though, is Tom Glavine. Everything I read mentions the fact that "Glavine is still stuck on 295 wins", "Glavine is still searching for win number 296", "Glavine has his second consecutive rocky start". I feel like we're missing the bigger picture - how about the fact that Tom Glavine is just 5-5 with a 4.67 ERA. That's more than just Saturday's start against the Yankees, and last week's start against Detroit. Sure, Glavine has had a couple of starts this year where he should have gotten a win, but either the team couldn't score runs or the bullpen hurt him (the same situation he's faced throughout his Mets career), but he's also hurt this team. Saturday's game was a typical Tom Glavine loss - he gives up a bunch of runs, but the Mets keep coming back and putting him in a position to win....but he keeps giving the lead right back. You pretty much see this pattern developing by the third inning when he has games like this. (OK, perhaps I'm overreacting - I'm looking at Glavine's last 10 starts, and the numbers aren't bad....but he seems to have had more bad starts than just the past two against the Yankees and Detroit.)

Now, not far behind Glavine in my mind is the fact that this game was one of those 1pm Saturday games, so I had no chance of watching it. I still don't understand the TV rights on Saturdays...and it's not fair to people like me that they play 1pm games on Saturday if they're not going to allow those games to be put on the 'Extra Innings' package.

The Mets lost this game despite taking separate leads into the bottom of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings, but Glavine gave all of those leads back. The Mets have now lost 8 out of 10...but they are still high achievers. I was switching channels before bed on Friday night, and caught the Mets on 20/20 on ABC. Of course, I stopped. They were doing a report on luck/superstition, and mentioned the Mets' shaved heads from their trip out to San Francisco. The reporter said that people who have such superstitions usually have a higher intelligence, and are usually high achievers. Consider my worries about the 2007 season over. It would be nice, though, for the Mets to take this series.

David Wright extended his hitting streak to 17 games in the loss. I only half-caught it during Friday night's game, but there's something about this hitting streak being the third 15-game hitting streak of Wright's in a certain amount of time, and he's the only guy in history to do that. But I'm not sure what he did/is doing. Also, I think David Wright is a better hitter when he's not on a hitting streak. When he's on a streak, he gets a dinky hit once a game to continue it. When he's not on a streak, sure, he'll have an 0-fer, but he's more consistent, if that makes sense. I won't be sorry when this hitting streak comes to an end.

Finally, on Saturday's game, I'm mad at Carlos Beltran. The Mets rallied in the 9th against Mariano Rivera. They loaded the bases, scored twice, the second run coming on a 2-out single by Jose Reyes, batting right-handed against the righty Rivera (Reyes also stole 2 more bases). Beltran, representing the go-ahead run, popped up to end the game. Wonderful.

Ray's Pizza johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: A-Rod had a homer, but Derek Jeter hit the go-ahead homer and was 4-for-5, so I give the honor to him. Jeter was 4-for-5 with 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and he stole a base. Jeter's homer came in the 4th inning, with the Mets ahead, 5-4. He put the Yankees ahead to stay, at 6-5.


ONE MORE NEGATIVE NOTE: I feel like it's been one negative thing after another this week - no hot water, the car crash, the Mets losing...and I'm usually a positive person. But one last (probably) negative thing before I get back to positive things, with the winning streak the Mets are about to go on beginning Sunday night. The tie clip I mentioned in the Friday posting, which I have clearly been wearing incorrectly for the past three years, has been misplaced. I think I lost it on the last day of school, when I changed clothes at school and was cleaning up the classroom. I have no idea where it ended up. I'd be sad if I can't recover it.

CUBS FIGHTING AGAIN: I don't know if I've ever weighed in on baseball brawls before. The Cubs-Padres fight got me a little riled up on Saturday, so I'll weigh in now. Yes, they're exciting, they get the blood pumping, like all fights usually do. The Wife absolutely loves them. But in the end, they make me sad. I think this dates back to a fight between the Mets and Cubs in the early 90's, when Rico Brogna got tossed into the brick wall behind home plate by (Cub) Turk Wendell. Brogna went on the DL with a shoulder injury shortly thereafter, and was never the same when he came back. I always blamed it on the fight. So I get a little upset when I see them now.

I also think most of the fights are silly and contradictory. I feel like the players of today have no business defending the 'honor' of the game. With so many of them tied up in steroids, and I'm sure so many more looking the other way, that's the first thing. Secondly, supposedly this brawl started because a couple of guys had a problem with Alfonso Soriano looking too long after a homer he had hit. I just think it's hypocritical to throw at someone for that these days - are you going to throw at every single batter? Everyone poses after they hit something...even if it doesn't leave the park. Everyone shows someone else up throughout the game. It's disheartening, but if you're going to get upset at one person for it...get upset at everyone who does it.

GOOD OLIVER

Mets 7, Braves 2 (NYM: 11-5, ATL: 11-6...Mets 1/2 game up)


If Oliver Perez can stay under control this season, I maintain he will be a valuable member of the rotation. Perez bounced back from his 7-walk performance in his last outing to shut down the Braves (again), improving his record to 2-1.

Perez didn't dominate - he gave up 9 hits over 6-and-two-thirds innings, but he only gave up 2 earned runs, and here's the important part - 9 strikeouts, 0 walks. We'll need to watch his control all year long.

Perez also benefitted from a comfortable lead. After being shut down by Tim Hudson on Friday night, the Mets' bats woke up again, pounding out 11 hits (10 against starter Chuck James), and scoring 7 runs. Carlos Beltran was 4-for-5, missing a chance at his first career 5-hit game, and Jose Reyes was 3-for-5. Reyes also stole his 9th base of the year. I just hope we don't ever take Jose Reyes for granted - he is THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED.

David Wright hit 2nd, as Paul Lo Duca is still mending, and was 0-for-4 (guess I still have the magic 'Beat the Streak' touch/jinx, killing people's real-life streaks - the 26-game streak came to an end Friday). Damion Easley started at second base, and homered. Ramon Castro homered again in relief of Lo Duca. Everyone is contributing - and the guys who aren't contributing will very soon. (Neither Carlos Delgado nor David Wright have a home run yet this season. Wright, at least, is hitting, albeit not for power. Delgado is hitting just .209.) (A secondary parenthetical thought - "projected stats" are a little ridiculous. It's funny to see that Alex Rodriguez, based on his stats to this point, is "projected" to hit 122 home runs. But it's silly to see that Delgado is "projected" to hit 0.)


MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN JOHNNYMETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: It could very easily have been an offensive player, but you want Carlos Beltran? Check espn.com. My 'Player of the Game' honor goes to Joe Smith. His line? One-third of an inning, 1 strikeout. Why does that merit an honor? With the Mets up, 7-2, and after Scott Schoeneweis had just walked Chipper Jones to load the bases, Smith was brought in to face Andruw Jones. Smith was described on WFAN as "cool as a cucumber", never changing his expression, and he struck out Jones to end the inning and the threat. Looking at the bigger picture, Smith's ERA is 0.00 in 10 appearances. And Mets relievers have allowed just 4 out of about 30 inherited runners to score. I think Inherited Runners-Scored is just about the most accurate and worthwhile stat to judge relievers by, and the Mets are doing awesome in that category right now.

FRIDAY NIGHT

The Braves beat the Mets on Friday night, 7-3, in a dominant outing by Tim Hudson, who earned johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game honors. Hudson has been great so far this year. Hudson's numbers on Friday night: 8 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K's, 0 ER. His ERA on the year is 0.62, and he is 3-0 on the season.


The Mets and Braves play the rubber game on Sunday - John Smoltz against Tom Glavine. I get the game on TBS, not on DirecTV. I'd rather a few channels before I watch the Braves broadcast, but watching the Braves broadcast is preferable to no game at all.

OTHER DOMINANT PITCHERS: Cole Hamels of the Phillies is very impressive. Last year he was very good, then had a pop in his elbow, if I remember correctly, and was shut down for a while. He's off to a good start in 2007, and on Saturday against the Reds, he pitched a complete game, striking out 15 in the Phillies win. He's a very good young pitcher who I like watching, even though he plays for the Phillies. I just hope he's able to stay healthy...especially in light of the Mariners' Felix Hernandez leaving with an elbow injury on Thursday night.

OVER THE AIRWAVES: So the rescheduled weekend in New York became a Friday overnight in Connecticut to attend a funeral. The TV in the Marriott Residence Inn had YES, but did not have SNY, so we watched the Red Sox-Yankees, while listening to the Mets-Braves. I had to play with the clock radio for a while, though, before I could tune in the Mets. What I stumbled across before finally finding WFAN:
1. Reds-Phillies (Phillies broadcast...I think)
2. Yankees-Red Sox (on one FM station, and a few AM stations)
3. Blue Jays-Orioles (Baltimore broadcast...I think)
4. Indians-Devil Rays (Cleveland broadcast...I think)
5. Finally, Mets-Braves on WFAN.

I never realized so many stations could come through on a little clock radio in a hotel room. I need to experiment with my radios around here and see if any of those can come through all the way to Massachusetts.

BEAT THE STREAK: My David Wright jinx continues until Sunday.

A SMALL STEP BACKWARD

The headline refers not to the direction the Jets are headed (although it is very hard for me to stay positive right now, an hour after the game has ended), but to the turning point of this football game. I can't argue the play - like Phill Simms said on the telecast - Chad Pennington wasn't throwing the ball forward, so it was either a lateral or a backward pass. Credit the Patriots for picking the ball up, and turning that into a huge play that helped put the Jets away.

I should have known the direction this game was headed right off the bat, when the Patriots scored on their first drive. The Wife had some work to do, so I had The Baby, and the Patriots scored just as The Baby spit up on my lucky sweatshirt. I should have acted right then and there to change shirts, but, silly me, I thought the spit up may have been lucky.

The Jets fell behind 7-0 quickly, then had a couple of ineffective possessions. They did force a Corey Dillon fumble deep in New England territory, and I was thinking that they needed a touchdown, but settled for a field goal. At the time, I thought they wasted an opportunity - they did, but I forgot about it quickly, because at the beginning of the second quarter, Chad Pennington hit Jerricho Cotchery for a 77-yard touchdown pass, and the Jets were suddenly up, 10-7.

On the ensuing Patriots drive, the Jets blew another opportunity - Jonathan Vilma had Tom Brady for a sack and a chance to force the Patriots to punt, but he swiped at the ball, missed, and Brady picked up first down yardage. That resulted in a Pats' game-tying field goal (after a Jets' goal line stand). What bothered me more than Vilma missing Brady was the Jets gently putting Brady on the floor after he didn't slide - they had a chance to hit a quarterback and didn't do it.

The Jets then let the Patriots drive down the field before halftime, and gave up a touchdown instead of a field goal, letting New England take a 17-10 lead at the half. I didn't feel good about that deficit, because the Jets had the lead, and had chances to have a bigger lead - I didn't feel comfortable with anything less than a two-score Jets lead...so I never felt comfortable in this game.

The Jets and Patriots traded field goals in the third quarter, then came the key play I mentioned above. Pennington tried a screen pass, with the Jets down 7, at midfield, and the pass was knocked down. Unfortunately, it was a live ball, and Vince Wilfork picked it up and moved 31 yards down the field, setting up another New England field goal, and giving the Patriots a 23-13 lead.

The Jets still had a chance, especially after cutting it to 23-16 early in the 4th, but the defense couldn't stop the run, and the Patriots blew it open from there, scoring an offensive touchdown, and then adding an interception return for a touchdown.

The Jets gave up 158 yards on the ground - not a recipe for success in the regular season, let alone the post-season.

So another season comes to a close - and it's hard to think rationally right now, but it was a successful season. Even this playoff game was a positive in that the young guys can only grow from this experience. The Jets weren't supposed to be this good - but they were. They can only improve through the draft, and maybe free agency. Personally, it stinks that the Jets lost to the Patriots, with me living in New England, but that's some motivation for next year, too. Hopefully the Jets can pick up now where they left off two years ago - realizing it's not good to take to the road in the playoffs - so go out and win the division. The thing that would make me even more mad than I am right now is if they go out next year and have a sub-.500 season, if they don't show improvement. There's no reason to think it will happen (unless Pennington gets hurt), but this team is on the upswing, and that needs to continue.

THOUGHTS: I really was psyched this morning when I saw the headline of the Boston Globe sports section - a big article on how Asante Samuel wants to get his due this off-season, but knows he won't get it from the Patriots. I thought, "That could be a huge distraction..." It wasn't. He just increased his value for other teams.....

Really strange seeing a playoff game in New England in such nice weather.

The Patriots look good right now. I really don't buy into the Chargers and the Ravens...I can't see another AFC team beating them...unless the Patriots play a sloppy game like they did a lot during the regular season.

SUPER BOWL MATCHUPS: The Giants-Eagles game is still going on, but I'm going to start writing this anyway, not sure when I'll have time this week:

We're rooting against the Ravens and Giants.
We're rooting against the Patriots and Bears or Eagles.
We're rooting for the Colts or Chargers against anyone from the NFC.
We're rooting for the Saints against anyone from the AFC.

Just an update. Oh, and if you haven't already, go look below at what I predicted for the Cowboys-Seahawks game, and then look at the final score of the game!

BACK TO NEW YORK, BACKS TO THE WALL

Cardinals 4, Mets 2 (STL leads series, 3-2)

There is no way I ever thought the Mets would be facing an elimination game this entire season. I never saw it coming. The Cardinals were nowhere near as good as the Mets this season - but their pitchers right now are making the Mets look silly at the plate.

It started right out of the gate - the Mets had a chance to jump out to a first inning lead and failed. With men on first and third, David Wright struck out on a bad pitch (actually, a good pitch - but a bad pitch to swing at). He redeemed himself with a big double later, in the 8th inning, but was left stranded, with Carlos Delgado on third, after a Shawn Green pop to center and a Jose Valentin strikeout (looking). There's about 10 other guys on the Mets' roster I'd rather see up in a clutch situation than Valentin, by the way.

It wasn't all bad for Valentin - he had the only 2 RBI for the Mets on the night, driving home the first two runs of the game in the 4th. Tom Glavine, though, uncharacteristically gave the lead right back - giving up a solo homer to Albert Pujols, then another run before getting out of the 4th tied at 2.

Glavine got into a huge jam in the fifth, (aided by Chad Bradford), but Bradford and Feliciano got out of it with the Mets trailing just 3-2. Feliciano gave up a bad homer to pinch-hitter Chris Duncan in the sixth making it 4-2.

The Cardinals have done in this series what made the Mets so successful all year long - whenever the Mets scored, St. Louis has answered right back. And some uncharacteristic events have surrounded the Mets - swinging at bad pitches, Tom Glavine throwing half his pitches out of the strike zone (80 pitches - 40 ball, 40 strikes), and Jose Reyes reverting to his old, non-getting-on-base self. He needs to start setting the table back home to get the Mets offense working.

The Mets have their work cut out for them as they return to Shea - now having to face Chris Carpenter in an elimination game. Hopefully they can get to him like they did Friday night.

I'll admit it - I'm very nervous. John Maine hasn't given me any reason to believe he'll fail, but it's different from him starting Game 1 of the playoffs - one bad pitch now and the season is over. I'm really nervous. And should there be a Game 7 (fingers crossed), it's looking like Darren Oliver might get the start. I know how great Oliver's been all season, but Willie Randolph has been reluctant to mess with his bullpen and people's roles all season - it makes me nervous that things would go topsy-turvy in the season's biggest game. But there's a ways to go before that.

MORE CARDINALS PRAISE: Man, the St. Louis defense has been outstanding. David Eckstein by himself has saved about 5 base hits that could have changed this series (either leading off an inning or with men on base) by diving around the field. Everyone else has been solid too - they're not making any mistakes in the field. (We'll see if Eckstein's hand getting in the way of his bunt late in the game Tuesday night affects the way he's playing defense - he looked like he really hurt his hand.)

Tony LaRussa even had the good sense to not find a spot in the lineup for Scott Speizio Tuesday night, even with his hot bat. He was awful in left field Sunday night, and LaRussa went with a stronger defense, which was a good move. (Although I didn't know that Scott Rolen isn't speaking with LaRussa because he started Speizio over Rolen in Game 2.)

Also, the stat that amazed me Tuesday night was that the Cardinals bullpen has made the opposition go 0-for-31 now in the post-season with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. That's incredible. They have some young arms in that bullpen that are better than I've been giving them credit for. And I think they're in the Mets heads now too. If Jose Reyes swings at another off-speed pitch in the dirt I'll cry.

SUPERSTITION: I really did all I could here. I wore the right hat - I even changed pants late in the game because I thought the ones I was wearing weren't working. I'm out of ideas. I don't know what I'll do Wednesday night.

These games are absolutely killing me on school nights.

POWER SURGE

Mets 12, Cardinals 5 (Series tied, 2-2)

A single by Reyes. A hit and run by LoDuca. Reyes goes from first to third. A big inning for the Mets. That's the type of production from the top of the lineup that made the Mets successful all season long. And it's been sorely lacking in this NLCS. Until the 6th inning of Game 4.

That's when the Mets went from up 5-3 to 11-3, and it all started with a base hit by Jose Reyes, and Paul LoDuca doing what he does best. Josh Hancock also walked Carlos Beltran, then gave up a Carlos Delgado ground-rule double, followed by a David Wright walk, a Shawn Green RBI single, and a bases-clearing double by Jose Valentin. The result - 6 runs, and an infinite ERA for Hancock. It all started with a Jose Reyes single, moved along the basepaths by Paul LoDuca.

And Oliver Perez was just what the doctor ordered in Game 4. His final line reads 5.2 IP, 5 ER, but those 5 runs are misleading. He came out to pitch the sixth only after the Mets had blown the game open, and he really gave up just 3 runs - those final two were bombs because he was just out there throwing strikes trying to get outs. Thank you Oliver Perez for doing what Steve Trachsel could not - pitching a good game, and keeping the Mets in it.

I look at this game as the Mets proving they are the better team than St. Louis (something they should have proven by now). For starters, the Mets' 4th-best starter was a lot better than the Cardinals' 4-th best starter. Oliver Perez seemed confident from the start. Anthony Reyes was wild, and couldn't put the Mets away in any inning. Even after getting 2 quick outs, he'd go and walk someone and give the Mets a chance to rally. Everyone makes a big deal out of Perez's 3-13 record - let's not forget he played for an awful team. He was 2-10 with the Pirates, 1-3 with the Mets. His high ERA doesn't help my argument any, but I don't think it's fair to single him out as the worst pitcher to start a post-season game (or put him in the same category as an Albie Lopez - pitchers with records of 10 games below .500).

Also, the Mets drilled the Cardinals' bullpen. They had the chance to bury them, and did. The Cardinals had a chance to bury the Mets in Game 3, and though they stopped the Mets' bats cold, they didn't blow them away. So that's reason number 2 the Mets established themselves as the better team.

Speaking of the Cards' bullpen - they had some impressive numbers this post-season, but they never really scared me as a Mets fan. The Mets proved why tonight - and during the regular season. They beat up on Cards' relievers a couple of times.

I was ready to kill (figuratively, in the written sense, not literally) Jose Valentin in the fourth inning, when he missed the tag on a sliding Ronnie Belliard in what should have been a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play. Then he comes right back on the next batter and makes a tough play on a grounder to his right, backhanding it, then throwing a strike to Delgado to end the inning. He got a reprieve. Then his bat finally woke up, and he iced the game with a bases-loaded double in the six-run sixth, and all has been forgiven.

Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado have to be giving the Cardinals and their fans nightmares right now.

Speaking of the Cardinals fans, I'm going to again insult the "greatest baseball fans in America". Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but these have to be the "quietest baseball fans in America". They cheer when something good happens, but they quiet down right away. Am I misinterpreting this, or are other people seeing this? It can't be a very intimidating place to play. The loudest cheer (and I'm not just talking Game 4 when the Cards were getting blown out - I'm including Game 3 in this too) might have come as a mock cheer, when Cardinals pitchers finally got someone out in the sixth inning. Very odd. I guess I had a different impression of Cardinals fans - and they did seem more rabid in 2000. Maybe they are just taking this NLCS for granted, since they're in it every year.

SUPERSTITION: Just so happens I changed the Mets hat I wear during the games, since it wasn't lucky during Games 2 and 3. Looks like I have a new hat to wear the rest of the post-season.

COMMENTS: Don't forget to check the comments (or leave your own comments or e-mails, by the way - johnnymetsmail@yahoo.com). The Southern Bureau feels very strongly about the Detroit Tigers killing the Mets if they make the World Series. I'm pretty confident the other way - especially after a layoff. We might have to do something to make it interesting, if the Mets make the World Series (because he'll be right if the Cardinals make it - 4 and out). I haven't talked to him about this yet - but maybe winner gets a posting on the other's blog. Southern Bureau, let's talk.

DRAMA: I was thinking the other day, as I was going through some 1986 Mets-related materials, how there hasn't been any drama this post-season, whereas that one was filled with wins in final at-bats, etc. And I've decided I'll take 12-5 wins any day over drama-filled wins. As long as the Mets win.

I'm feeling pretty good about the Mets the rest of the way. Tom Glavine goes in Game 5 Monday night. (Rain is forecast, according to Joe Buck. Uh-oh.) Jeff Weaver goes for the Cardinals - I have a hard time believing he'll string together another great outing.
P.S. My dad has tickets to (now-necessary) Game 6 of the NLCS on Wednesday. There's no way I could go...but that could be the game that sends the Mets to the World Series. That would be neat. Back to work for me on Monday - I'm going to miss my little girl...and it's back to early mornings after late night baseball games.

CHALK THIS ONE UP TO THE JOHNNYMETS MERCHANDISE JINX

The Norfolk Tides have ended their affiliation with the New York Mets, and the Mets will now have the New Orleans Zephyrs as their Triple-A affiliate. There's only one reasonable conclusion as to why this happened:

From johnnyjets.blogspot.com, September 16, 2005
I'm going to let you in on one of my dirty little secrets: I owned an Anthony Becht jersey. I know, I know, it was a stupid purchase. But I really thought he was going to be the next Mickey Schuler (I know, I know, that's not even a whole heck of a lot, but for a Jets fan, that's the comparison). But really, I thought he was going to be great. I still do think it was the wrong system at the wrong time - and if he was still around, it might have been him having a 100-yard receiving day last Sunday. Instead, he caught one pass for 7 yards in his Tampa Bay debut. But I digress. The point is, I had an Anthony Becht jersey (still do, as a matter of fact). It's my fault he didn't succeed as a Jet.

This is a curse. It's a curse I must live with. It dates back to about 1994. I read a great article in Sports Illustrated about Boomer Esiason and his son Gunnar, and I said, "I want a Boomer Esiason jersey. He will be my favorite Jet." (I was at a crossroads at this point about who my favorite Jet would be - among the candidates was Aaron Glenn.) Well, I buy the Boomer jersey - I remember it like it was yesterday - I went to Modell's on Steinway Street in Astoria, bought the jersey, wore the heck out of it, and was wearing it the night of Dan Marino's fake spike at the Meadowlands, when the Jets blew their big halftime lead, and their chance at first place, and lost every game the rest of the way to finish 6-10 and oh by the way who got burned on that fake spike - oh yes the other candidate for my jersey purchasing Aaron Glenn.

I didn't buy another jersey after Boomer for a little while. But then 1998 came. The Jets had a steal in the draft, I was convinced, when they took Boston College's Glenn Foley in the sixth round. He earned the starting job, and went 0-2, losing to San Francisco in Week One on Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown run in overtime (remember that?). Anyway, after he lost in Week Two, he also hurt his ribs. Of course, we all know Vinny Testaverde took over, played for about 4 more years, and Glenn Foley took about 8 snaps with Seattle before retiring to a bar somewhere...being seen only on the free agent lists in John Madden football games (where I would sometimes sign him as a backup for old time's sake.)

So along comes the 2000 draft, and I say no to Shaun Ellis, no to John Abraham, no to Chad Pennington, I want the tight end's jersey. So I custom ordered from NFL.com an Anthony Becht #88 jersey. He's going to be a star! I convince myself. Well, it looks good for a while. When the Jets make their playoff run in 2001 he's a key part - catching touchdown passes and two-point conversions late in games versus Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Testaverde found him a reliable target. But he never matched those numbers (not even very impressive numbers, anyway) again. He even developed a big case of the dropsies. I think the one that sealed it was an October Monday Night Football game where he dropped a pass that would have given the Jets big yardage, and incurred the wrath of the home fans. Well, sorry, Anthony - little did you know it was probably my fault.

Anyway, after Becht was gone, I said I'm never going to get another Jets jersey. Why put anyone through what I put poor Glenn Foley and Anthony Becht through? Then, I had a better idea. Why not get a sure thing? What's more of a sure thing than Chad Pennington? And I had a string of bad luck with green jerseys - how about a white Chad Pennington jersey!? Foolproof. So for my birthday, good old mom got me a Pennington jersey. Well, we're 0-1. Sorry Chad.

Chad Pennington, of course, went on to win the next game, then in the third game of the season went down with a career-threatening injury and nearly lost his job as starting quarterback of the New York Jets.

As you may or may not know, for my birthday this past summer, The Wife bought me a Norfolk Tides hat. So the aforementioned jersey jinx has apparently now extended to all sports merchandise.

ON THE SUBJECT OF SPORTS MERCHANDISE: My mom, bless her, sent me a package in the mail today. I opened it up, and inside was my New York Mets Division Champions shirt. What a lady.

But the shirt isn't a t-shirt - it's got three-quarters sleeves. I know it's been a long time since the Mets won a division...but how long have they been going with these? They're not the most comfortable shirts in the world. I hope the World Series shirts are more wearable. And I hope the fact that I now own one of these shirts doesn't put an end to the possibility of me owning a World Series champions shirt. I keep tempting fate.

There IS a game tonight - the Mets are trailing Washington 3-1 in the seventh. But the loss by St. Louis on Thursday night clinched home-field advantage for the Mets through the playoffs, so there's not much left to play for but 100 wins.

Still no baby, by the way.

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.

In case anyone still checks this site, a new posting for you.

The Mets are 73-76, so they're going to finish with a better record than last year. David Wright is at 40 doubles with 13 games left to play. He needs five to break the team record.

As for the rest of the Majors, there are some very interesting races shaping up, which are well worth watching, despite the lack of Mets involvement.

First of all, I think I said a long time ago here that the White Sox wouldn't go far in the playoffs. At the time, it was a "when" they make the playoffs...but since the Indians don't lose anymore, that's become a big "IF" they make the playoffs. The Indians have cut the White Sox' Central Division lead to 3-and-a-half, and as I write this they are beating Chicago in the first of six remaining head-to-head games. The Indians could pass and then eliminate Chicago all by themselves - and they still have three games against the Royals mixed in. Chicago can't beat anyone. We're seeing one of the biggest collapses by anyone ever.

The Red Sox and Yankees are at it again. The White Sox collapse could overshadow the fact that the Red Sox have fallen apart lately, and the Yankees are within a game-and-a-half of first place in the East. The Sox are losing at the moment to Tampa and the Yankees are tied with the Orioles - and these teams have three head-to-head games to close out the season - so watch out for those. At the very least, they are going to mean something, when the Sox could have been setting up their post-season pitching rotation the way things were going coming into September. An interesting note here is that this is the reverse of what we've seen for so many years - the Yankees are putting pressure on the Sox. The Sox are usually the ones a game and a half out at this point in the season...this time they actually control their own destiny.

The A's and Angels are within two games of each other out West, and the AL Wild Card will come down to the loser in the East or Central, it looks like. And the way it looks right now, the White Sox will fall out of everything, so it looks like both East teams may end up in the playoffs.

In the NL, the West is the Padres', the Central is the Cardinals', and the East is most likely the Braves' (five game lead there). But the Wild Card is still a toss-up between the Marlins, Astros, Phillies, and Nationals (four back). It does look like, though, what people have been saying all along is going to come true - that the Astros will benefit from the teams in the NL East beating each other up. Look for Houston to come through in the end.

Finally, here are the match-ups I want, considering I look for teams who have never before faced each other in the World Series:

The Angels versus anyone. Or the Astros versus anyone.

The Red Sox versus Houston or Florida or San Diego.

The Yankees versus Houston.

The Braves versus the A's.

The Indians can't play the Braves or the Marlins...maybe not the Cardinals. They can play San Diego.

I think that covers everyone. To make it easier, I will be rooting against the Cardinals and Yankees - they've played too many teams. But the races will be good - enjoy them. And keep your eye on the Wright Watch.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS

OK, maybe a little dramatic...but if the Jets don't win Sunday, I'm pushing the panic button. I'm going to let you in on one of my dirty little secrets: I owned an Anthony Becht jersey. I know, I know, it was a stupid purchase. But I really thought he was going to be the next Mickey Schuler (I know, I know, that's not even a whole heck of a lot, but for a Jets fan, that's the comparison). But really, I thought he was going to be great. I still do think it was the wrong system at the wrong time - and if he was still around, it might have been him having a 100-yard receiving day last Sunday. Instead, he caught one pass for 7 yards in his Tampa Bay debut. But I digress. The point is, I had an Anthony Becht jersey (still do, as a matter of fact). It's my fault he didn't succeed as a Jet.

This is a curse. It's a curse I must live with. It dates back to about 1994. I read a great article in Sports Illustrated about Boomer Esiason and his son Gunnar, and I said, "I want a Boomer Esiason jersey. He will be my favorite Jet." (I was at a crossroads at this point about who my favorite Jet would be - among the candidates was Aaron Glenn.) Well, I buy the Boomer jersey - I remember it like it was yesterday - I went to Modell's on Steinway Street in Astoria, bought the jersey, wore the heck out of it, and was wearing it the night of Dan Marino's fake spike at the Meadowlands, when the Jets blew their big halftime lead, and their chance at first place, and lost every game the rest of the way to finish 6-10 and oh by the way who got burned on that fake spike - oh yes the other candidate for my jersey purchasing Aaron Glenn.

I didn't buy another jersey after Boomer for a little while. But then 1998 came. The Jets had a steal in the draft, I was convinced, when they took Boston College's Glenn Foley in the sixth round. He earned the starting job, and went 0-2, losing to San Francisco in Week One on Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown run in overtime (remember that?). Anyway, after he lost in Week Two, he also hurt his ribs. Of course, we all know Vinny Testaverde took over, played for about 4 more years, and Glenn Foley took about 8 snaps with Seattle before retiring to a bar somewhere...being seen only on the free agent lists in John Madden football games (where I would sometimes sign him as a backup for old time's sake.)

So along comes the 2000 draft, and I say no to Shaun Ellis, no to John Abraham, no to Chad Pennington, I want the tight end's jersey. So I custom ordered from NFL.com an Anthony Becht #88 jersey. He's going to be a star! I convince myself. Well, it looks good for a while. When the Jets make their playoff run in 2001 he's a key part - catching touchdown passes and two-point conversions late in games versus Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Testaverde found him a reliable target. But he never matched those numbers (not even very impressive numbers, anyway) again. He even developed a big case of the dropsies. I think the one that sealed it was an October Monday Night Football game where he dropped a pass that would have given the Jets big yardage, and incurred the wrath of the home fans. Well, sorry, Anthony - little did you know it was probably my fault.

Anyway, after Becht was gone, I said I'm never going to get another Jets jersey. Why put anyone through what I put poor Glenn Foley and Anthony Becht through? Then, I had a better idea. Why not get a sure thing? What's more of a sure thing than Chad Pennington? And I had a string of bad luck with green jerseys - how about a white Chad Pennington jersey!? Foolproof. So for my birthday, good old mom got me a Pennington jersey. Well, we're 0-1. Sorry Chad.

But the jersey jinx is going to end this week. Pennington said it himself this week - "It's just one game. People are going crazy over one game." The Kansas City game was just one game. (One horrid, horrid game.) So it can all be put behind us this weekend. One more aside - I love Mike and Mike in the morning. Mike Greenberg is me on a national stage, basically. On Friday morning, during the segment of their show they call "Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks", where they pick a couple of NFL games each against the spread, Greenberg says he never picks the Jets because he doesn't want to jinx them, and he sure doesn't want to pick against them (a sentiment I share - I just can't do it. If you want an unbiased pick there are plenty of other places to look. If you want someone to convince you the Jets have a shot at winning on any week, turn to me.). But this week, after last week's debacle, he has to do it, because if they don't win this weekend, he doesn't know what he'll do. So Mike Greenberg is picking the Jets, -6. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Here's my breakdown. I can't believe the Gus Frerotte-led Dolphins beat the Broncos last weekend. I just can't believe it. There's no way they are going to be 2-0. That's first of all. Secondly, this is the Dolphins. The Jets can beat the Dolphins. And they can beat them bad. Thirdly, when all was said and done last week, the Jets had many opportunities, as poorly as they played through two and a half quarters, to get back into that game. The fumbles and dropped passes hurt so much because after Kansas City scored their quick 17 points to go up 17-0, the Jets just couldn't get the ball into the end zone. And they were tantalizingly close. So if the Jets can play that poorly and not get their doors blown off (this is subject to your opinion, but really, that game could have been a lot worse than 27-7), they really are a better team than they showed.

Here are some things that need to happen on Sunday: 1) Kevin Mawae needs to get the ball to Chad Pennington on the snaps cleanly. 2) Chad Pennington needs to field the snaps from Kevin Mawae cleanly. 3) Curtis Martin needs some running room. 4) Chad Pennington needs some time in the pocket. 5) The receivers need to catch the ball. 6) Gus Frerotte needs to hit the turf - often. 7) The Jets need to win.

I think most of the above will happen - especially number 7. Remember, the last time the Jets faced the Dolphins, both Martin and LaMont Jordan ran for more than 100 yards the same night. That might not happen again, but the margin of victory could be similar. I say the Jets cover the six-point spread, and beat the Dolphins, 31-10. (The wife picks the Jets as well.)

No picks from Dave yet, but I'm sure he's keeping track. He'll be back by kickoff on Sunday. What follows are my picks, followed by the wife's in parentheses. I am out of the eliminator pool, thanks to the Vikings. I am not going to continue with that, because I now hate eliminator pools.

Baltimore is 3-and-a-half favorites in Tennessee. Come on. The Titans are bad, but the Ravens can't possibly beat them without their starting quarterback....could they? I hope not. TEN +3.5 (same for the wife).

I think the Steelers are better than the Texans, and can beat the Texans by a touchdown, even if the game is in Houston. I take Pit -6 (the wife doesn't like that Roethlisberger is questionable, she takes HOU +6).

The Colts are nine-point favorites over the Jaguars in Indy. I like Jacksonville to keep it close, though the Colts will most likely win. JAX +9 (wife takes IND -9)

Detroit is a one-point favorite in Chicago. I didn't think the Lions could beat the Packers last week - I was wrong. They have to be able to beat the Bears. DET -1 (wife - CHI +1)

Minnesota is looking to bounce back from my elimination in the elimination pool as three-point underdogs in Cincinnati. Despite my anger, I take MIN +3 (same for the wife).

No line on Philly-San Fran because of McNabb's status. The Eagles should be able to beat the 49ers with me at quarterback - and I can't throw a spiral. PHI. (same for the wife)

Tampa Bay is 2-and-a-half point favorites over Buffalo in Tampa. Not sure why. Buffalo played real well last week. I take the Bills + 2.5 as underdogs, despite Anthony Becht's imposing presence. (the wife takes TB - 2.5)

The Patriots are -3 in Carolina. I think the Pats win by 3. This is a push. But because I don't want to pick the Pats, I'll take CAR, +3. (the wife, of course, takes NE - 3)

In Seattle, the Falcons and Seahawks are pick 'em. I don't know why, but I'm picking Atlanta. Probably because I'll be rooting for them - I like Vick. (wife also takes the Falcons)

In Arizona it's a pick 'em between the Cardinals and Rams. I don't know why, after last week's awful loss to the 49ers, but I wrote down the Rams. Why did I do that? Who knows. (wife also takes the Rams)

In Green Bay, the Browns are six-and-a-half point underdogs. Green Bay might win, but 6.5 seems like a lot. I feel like it's a field goal squeaker. (wife takes the Browns too)

In Denver, the Broncos are giving three to San Diego. I don't buy the Chargers. I have said that many times. I feel like last year was a fluke. Antonio Gates is back, but I don't think that makes a difference. DEN -3. (wife also takes Denver)

The Sunday night game is Kansas City at Oakland, with the Chiefs giving one. I take the Chiefs, because of what they did to the Jets last week. KC -1. (The wife also takes KC)

Monday night there are two games - the original is the Cowboys hosting Washington, with the 'Boys giving six. I take Dallas - I think they're going to have a good year. (wife takes Dallas too)

The other Monday nighter is the Saints, playing a home game at the Giants. The Giants are 3-point home/road favorites. I take the Giants -3, even though they always screw me. (the wife takes NO).

Remember, these picks are for entertainment purposes only. Last week, I was 7-9. The wife was 10-6. Next week Dave from Brighton will be on board.

This weekend also marks the first time I get to watch the NFL on the Sunday Ticket in the privacy of my own home. Think of me on Sunday as the happiest person on earth...until the Jets game. When I'll be the most nervous person on earth. And probably hoarse.

SO FAR, SEO GOOD

Mets 10, Nationals 5 (WAS: 9-9, NYM: 10-8, 1 GB)

This game turned out to be the best-case scenario for the Mets. Ed Coleman brought up a valid point on WFAN Friday, saying that a rain out might be the best possible thing for the Mets on Saturday, after it was revealed Kaz Ishii was going to miss the start and be placed on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his side. The Mets did one better than the rain out, playing the game, and winning quite handily, 10-5.

I didn't get to watch this one, but I tuned in for a half-inning on the radio as I drove to work. By that point, the Mets were already up 10-0. The Mets beat up Tomo Ohka and Joe Horgan. Jae Seo was called up to make the start on Saturday, after pitching 4 and a third innings for Norfolk on Tuesday - so that was short rest for him. He was very good - going 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, no walks, just one run, and striking out 4 to pick up the win. Seo has been very inconsistent at the major league level, but sometimes he just pitches brilliantly, like he did today. He was starting to get knocked around a bit in the fifth inning (I heard on the radio that Carlos Beltran made an outstanding catch, diving headfirst into the gap to rob a hit, after Seo started to tire), but the Mets probably won't need him to be the answer to their pitching woes...for a while at least.

Here's the deal with the Mets' rotation. Thursday is an off day, so the Mets can skip the five spot. Then the following week, they can get away with skipping number five again. So the Mets won't need a fifth starter until the second week in May, and by then, Kris Benson is expected back. So a bullet might have been dodged today by a great outing from Jae Seo.

Notes from this game: Cliff Floyd went 2-for-4, he now has a 10-game hitting streak. He NEEDS to stay healthy....Future Hall of Famer David Wright went 2-for-4 - is he breaking out of his slump?....Carlos Beltran* was 2-for-2, which is great, but Mike Piazza was 0-for-4, which is not great.

Two points that I want to get into further. First is the asterisks following the names of Beltran* and Pedro Martinez*. If you don't know why they're there, go back to the end of spring training in my archives and see if you can find the article where they started. The point here, though, is that I feel like I should get rid of them, because these guys are doing awesome, and aren't like those free agents of the past who shy away from the Mets uniform. The problem, though, is that these guys have been doing great with the asterisks attached to their names, so I'm afraid if I take the asterisks away, one of them will get hurt or something. So I'm going to keep asterisking, although it might not be relevant any longer...now it's superstition.

Secondly, Victor Diaz. Diaz went 4-for-4 on Saturday, with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI. He's sixth in the National League with a .362 batting average. When Mike Cameron gets back from the DL, Willie Randolph wants to send Diaz back down to Triple-A to get him regular at-bats, rather than sitting on the bench at the major league level. I understand Randolph's point there, but the Mets need to keep Diaz's bat in their lineup. I think at this point, Diaz is better than Cameron. Cameron showed he wasn't as great a center fielder at Shea Stadium as he might have been anywhere else last year...he's the reason Beltran* and Martinez* have asterisks after their names! He also showed he wasn't willing to move to right field for a clearly better player, and it wasn't until he realized the Mets' potential with Beltran in center that he agreed to move to right. The Mets don't need Cameron over Diaz. I say trade Cameron as soon as he shows he's back and healthy, and give Victor Diaz right field at Shea.

Speaking of Shea, the Mets are now 7-1 at home, and they've won 10 of 13. A big test comes on Sunday, against Livan Hernandez. Victor Zambrano will try to outduel him. The Mets have shown they can beat up the lesser pitchers...I'd love to see them get 10 runs off a quality pitcher (Livan Hernandez would qualify...I'm not so sure about Al Leiter). After the Nationals leave town, the Mets will host the Braves.

THE WIFE, PART II

OK - so upper management of JMDBSDC has told me that I am NOT allowed to turn this into a Red Sox blog for the week. I must discuss the Mets. Hmm ... that's a toughie. So I'll turn to JohnnyMets himself (since that's why you read anyway) and get his thoughts.

1) John says he's going to be really p.o.'ed if he can't watch the Mets tonight. As you recall, John hasn't seen the last two Mets games, which they've won. As you may also recall, the House Sponsored by DirecTV needs a working phone line to get full reception, which we don't have right now. However, John insists that we can get some of the games, and hopefully the Mets will be one of them. I'd better hope so, else I have one grumpy husband tonight.

2) The Mets square off tonight against Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros. This should be one exciting game, which is why it's even more important that we receive the game tonight. Will there be a beaning? A fight? Tune in to JMDBSDC tomorrow for details...

3) And here's John's insight at its best. He thinks that in the first week and a half of this season, there have been more blown saves than there have been in some entire seasons. Latest victim: Armando Benitez, who blew a 3-run lead last night. Funny, I wasn't even watching that game. For those of you who don't know the story, I am the official Armando Benitez jinx, and he blows every game I watch him play. As you can imagine, that was not a good thing when he played with the Mets. Dave from Brighton, I expect you'll do some numbers-crunching on John's theory and get back to us on that.

OK - now for the mail bag:

"Dear KathyMets,

That's too bad about the sadly misnamed House brought to you by
DirecTV. One of the most frightening perils of homeownership is being
responsible for fixing problems like that one. I hope you take good
care of the 'blog. Maybe you can spice it up with some vitriolic
anti-Mets views. Or some pictures.

Since you specifically requested some "Around the League" Sox talk...

--Is it too early to say "Renteria, gimme a break." They should change
his number to 643.

--I say Wells ends up with a 5.35 ERA. Do you take the over or under
for entertainment purposes?

--And on the Sox WS rings... Not enough bling, too much, or just right?

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"


Dave-

You raise several points. I hope I can address all of them. First of all, I am not going to fill this space with vitriolic anti-Mets views. You see, marriage is all about supporting your spouse, even if you think they're going to be disappointed every year by the teams they root for. I'll leave it at that, because if I say more, John is going to get mad. Not good for the marriage.

I'm looking into the picture thing. I'm just getting used to this blog thing, so pictures are asking for a lot. But I'll try.

RE: Renteria. It's probably a bad thing to sign the player who makes the last out for the opposing team, letting you win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. But I'm willing to give him a chance. It's only April. Early May, I'll reassess.

RE: Wells. I was vehemently opposed to signing him in the first place. What kind of drugs did Theo take after that Championship?? Signing on an overweight, 41-year-old, drunken man who gets into bar fights is not cool. I say he ends up with OVER a 5.35 and at least one barstool thrown in his face.

RE: rings. Beauties. I love 'em. Just enough bling for me.

OK - our next writer:

"John/Kathy....

Seeing the ring ceremony yesterday was great. It was good to see Lowe and Roberts come back...because they were such key parts of last year.

But a player who was a key part of the franchise is set to get a ring too, and I wonder if they'll do a ring ceremony for him...or give it to him in private. I'm talking about Nomar.

Nomar is the one that brought the fans back to Fenway when the team wasn't very good. He was the one who all the kids bought jerseys of. He's the one that made the Red Sox cool again....remember...for a long time...they were bad...and that stadium was far from sold out.

Then he got hurt...the media soured on him....then skewered him...then traded him....and you know the rest.

Fact is...he still gets a ring because he was on the 2004 team. Question for the house....should the Red Sox have a ceremony for Nomar at Fenway before a game?? Or...should they give him the ring in June when they play each other at Wrigley in front of the Cub fans?? Or....just ship it FedEx??

I would like to see the Fenway faithful get to say "thank you"....but I don't think that will happen.

kevin
JMDBSDC Southern Bureau Chief"

Kevin-

I sadly don't think that will happen either. I think the situation with Nomar and the Red Sox is just too bitter right now. It would be cool for the Sox to give the ring to him at Wrigley, but I think it will really come via DHL sometime this week. (Yes, not FedEx. The Sox made a big point during the telecast that the rings were shipped via DHL.)

Also, my final comment for the day: I used to be a Pedro* fan. I cheered him when he knocked Zim to the ground and threatened to pop Posada in the head. However, the fact that he says he doesn't even want his ring makes me mad. Just friggin' take it and be happy that you won the World Series! Pedro*'s whole shenanigans make me hope he stinks with the Mets. (Sorry, John)

That's it for the day - hope you're enjoying the blog this week. (Though I also hope you're looking forward to the return of JohnnyMets next week.)

THROWN FOR (AND BY) A LOOPER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Dear JohnnyMets,

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

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

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

Dave"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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