Another Manic Monday....

...and I have to admit that due to FF (that's family functions, for the uninitiated) over the past weekend, I didn't get to see much of the games, but I do know that we left a ton of men on base, didn't pitch very well (although that ballpark out there doesn't help, for sure), and were just able to squeeze out a split of the four-game series with Cincinnati...BUT, and this is a big BUT (a big ol' but), the Phillies haven't played much better, and we are now tied for first place in the NL East.

I've started to wonder a little bit whether the team's honeymoon with Jerry Manuel is over; I don't think so; I'm just inclined to think that the hangover from the All-Star break affected the team, especially the pitchers, whom we all know are nothing if not creatures of habit, maybe not as much as, say, the Steve Trachsel Uncompromising Schedule of Routines, but basically, pitchers moreso than position players need, no, CRAVE, their routine. And the All-Star break fucks that up, royally, which is, in my mind, another reason to scrap the whole fucking All-Star lollapalooza whoopdedoo, but that's just me, and maybe some of you.

Anyway, we move onto the upcoming series with the Phillies at good ol' Shea Stadium. I'm really starting to feel the end nearing for the old girl. I have to say that I'm so happy they're not blowing her up; I just could not take that. The ol' girl deserves a gentle, more compassionate end such as she is going to get, and I'd love to have even a little piece of her as a keepsake of the treasure of Mets memories I have had for the past 38 or so years.

As for the Phillies, I'd like to see the Mets set the tone for the rest of the year by showing the Phillies that despite their success of last year, and our failure at the end of the year, they are decidedly NOT the team to beat. And speaking of beat, in the immortal words (sort of) of the immortal Ramones (definitely), let's Beat on the Phillies Brats....WITH OUR BASEBALL BATS, and let's go, Mets!

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE DAMN WE'RE GOOD!!!!

Sorry to have been away for so long, but as the 2nd half starts, so returns the Good, Bad, and UGLY for this site!!!

THE GOOD

10 straight wins baby!!!! WOOOOOHOOOO!!!

David Wright coming up big time with the game tying homer!

Delgado continues to mash the ball... Ya know, I'd have NEVER thought this even a month ago, but if Delgado keeps this up, it might be our best option to actually exercise that team option on him for next year...

Keep getting the hits from the role players... Tatis in particular comes up huge again!!!

Muniz with 2 solid innings

Sanchez and Wags solid to close it out...

THE BAD

Jose Reyes with an 0-5 last night...

Endy 0-3...

THE UGLY

Johan with a really rough inning in the 4th... He seems to have taken over Tom Glavine's penchant for giving back the lead right after the Mets get it!!!



Bad news on the injury front, it seems... El Duque hurt in a rehab start... Pagan hurt again in rehab... Church won't be back quite as soon as I'd hoped (though, with Church, they should take their time as much as possible and make sure he's 100%)... Pedro already being pushed back a few days, so who knows what that means?

A Perfect Ten...

...and here I was, all set to post the obligatory Bo Derek picture, and as I'm blog surfing like I generally do every morning, I come across this; for not the first time, somebody else beat me to it! And of course, The Great Mestradamus even added the Mets hat -- nice touch.

Hopefully, y'all like the picture I decided to use instead *snicker.*

Last night's game was a game where Johan Santana, apparently chagrined and upset that the Billy Joel concerts at Shea this week interrupted his throwing schedule, frankly sucked, where the offense was fairly nonexistent the first few innings, where Reds' pitcher Johnny Cueto looked for all the world like Santana was SUPPOSED to look, then - WHAMMO! Delgado pops a two-run homer to break the ice, and the scoring frenzy began in earnest. The Reds tied it up; the Mets went ahead; the Reds went ahead, then, in the top of the ninth, a home run by David Wright and a bloop single by none other than (yikes!) Carlos Delgado put the Mets ahead for good.

So that's TEN IN A ROW, folks, and maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to believe again...if only a little, and if only this week.

Of course, there is other news on the Mets horizon, most of it, not very good. Pedro, who left his last start early with "shoulder tightness," or something like that, got a cortisone shot to his hip the other day; what his hip has to do with his shoulder I'm really not sure, but the bottom line is, he'll miss his next scheduled start. Ryan Church will apparently NOT come off the disabled list when eligible, although it's said that it's just the Mets being cautious more than anything else. Uh, not sure I believe that one, but OK. El Duque left HIS start in Bingo after one inning with "foot soreness;" so it looks as if the return of these three guys falls somewhere between the not-too-distant future, the distant future, the foreseeable future and the tenth of never.

Notice how nicely I worked that "ten" reference in there, huh?

But for right now, you can't argue with success, and success is what the Mets and their fans are currently enjoying. So I'm not going to overly piss on the parade; instead, I'm going to enjoy what I'm supposed to be enjoying, and party on....

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie...

...and all that other good shit! Yep, they're ba-ack, as of today, or for Mets fans, tonight, more accurately, when the Mets begin 2008 Part Deux in Cincinnati against the Reds.

A couple of things before Part Deux officially begins.

First, Billy Wagner. Oh, Billy Billy Billy boy...I don't know about you, but to me, it remains to be seen if we can survive a close pennant race with Billy at the ass end of most games. He's proven nothing but that he simply cannot be trusted in key games; I heard some stats on WFAN recently that were, to put it mildly, astounding. He's got something like a 6.50 ERA in key game situations, and has blown a startling percentage of saves, which is no surprise considering that ERA. I don't remember the exact stats, and I'm not a stat geek, but these are close enough, in my view. Plus, as my old friend dunsel always says: "observation is king." And my observations about Billy Wagner over the years tell me that sometimes, I almost long for Armando Benitez in those key situations.

Wait, hold it.....nah, I just can't take it back. That's how truly unreliable Billy Wagner is, and I don't know how we can get past that, as I don't see anyone else on the Mets roster currently that can realistically become the new closer. Not that the Mets would even consider that, although maybe Jerry Manuel might, if he had any real options.

The outfield situation is another concern going into Part Deux. Thankfully, it appears that Church really does just suffer from migraines, and not from ongoing affects of the two concussions he suffered this year. On the flip side of that, Moises as a Met is now history. Sure, we can get by with an outfield of Beltran and Church, but what about left field? I don't think any Mets fan reasonably thinks we can continue to throw out Nick Evans or Marlon Anderson or even the great Endy Chavez (who is my choice, most days, because of his great D), or bring up F Mart who is probably a Not Ready for Prime Time Player. Come to think of it, Nick Evans is probably another member of that troupe. Maybe we could alternate these guys IF we had a power right handed bat in the lineup, but we don't, and I haven't heard any reasonable options for that problem, either.

As for the pitching, Pedro's health is always a concern. Apparently, El Duque is making his way back to Shea, which in whatever capacity he can return, whether it be as a starter or a reliever, would be a serious boon to the staff, as Duque thrives on the big stage in the big game, unlike that other guy whose first name begins with "B" and whose last name ends in "ner." With a big fat "boyIsuck" in the middle. Ollie Perez is still the same enigma; John Maine throws way too many pitches; Johan is indeed Johan, and I think Pelfrey has gone over the hump and can be considered pretty reliable at this point. I think in particular we will see a better second half from both Johan and Pelfrey.

So all things considered, we're not in bad shape, but I will say the same thing as I and many others have said from the beginning of 2008 - Carlos Delgado is key. Until things change on this team, he is key. If he hits, we have options; if he doesn't, well, we're kind of out of options, and it will be that much more difficult to overcome the potent Phillies offense, the scrappiness and desire of the Marlins, and maybe even the consistency of the Atlanta Braves.

But one thing remains -- tonight, I can hardly wait to hear "Play Ball!"

Oh, Willie... I Guess We DID Know Ye....

Did any of you happen to see David Lennon's piece on Willie Randolph posted yesterday? Well, for any of you who hasn't, you can find it, in its entirety, right here.

Apparently, Willie blew off all the reporters within his vicinity at the All-Star Game, without even uttering a "no comment," "how do you do," "have a nice day," or "fuck off." Zero, zip, zilch, nothing....nada. Willie acted like Willie acted during his tenure as Mets manager: aloof, untouchable, protective of self, slightly arrogant and slightly above it all.

Not a smart move, Willie, even if you are smarting. Not a smart move at all. The world of the media and press is indeed a small one, and your "Poor Willie" schtick is rapidly becoming old, if it hasn't already.

I guess some of us DID have it right, or so it would seem.

All Star Observations

I have to confess, I didn't watch much of the game last night; fact is, I would have watched even less if I didn't have almost a half hour to kill between the time my company left, and the time a movie I wanted to watch began.

But of course, I have a few observations to make; I am, after all, a blogger, and a very opinionated one at that, in case any of you hasn't noticed.

Firstly, why does the actual game begin so late? At 8:39 p.m., here on the east coast, Fox announcers were still yakking it up, and the game was still lying in wait somewhere in Yankee Stadium. In other words, it hadn't yet started *snicker*. So why everyone is so upset and surprised that the game ended up going until about 2 a.m. eastern time the following day is totally beyond this blogger. Elementary Basball 101 teaches us that an extra inning game means that the game will be extended by the amount of innings it takes for one team to have the winning score, each team having had the same number of outs. And the Immutable Laws of The Universe 101 teach us that time is expended while this is happening. Adding these things together, if you don't start a game until almost 9 p.m., it's pretty reasonable to assume (taking into account 101 and 101 aforedescribed) that THE FUCKING GAME WILL EXTENDED INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS.

And Life 101 teaches us that we must expect the unexpected... so tell me, sports fans, WHY DOESN'T THE FUCKING GAME BEGIN AT A REASONABLE HOUR? I know, I know, you're going to tell me all the pre-game hype and the prime time commercial sales and shit like that, but you know what? There are HOW MANY UMPTEEN GAZILLION DOLLARS IN BASEBALL ALREADY? Make the game more family and kid-friendly, rather than trying to increase fan interest by giving the winning league home field advantage for the World Series (something which truly makes me scratch my head), and maybe you'll find a much larger TV audience and get the desired family viewing you so seem to crave.... *insert eye roll here.*

Second thing. Alex Rodriguez 101 has taught us, over the years, how self-absorbed, narcissistic and vain Mr. Rodriguez is. A friend of mine here at work yesterday joked that Alex probably doesn't even have mirrors in his bedroom; he probably has pictures of himself plastered ceiling to floor, floor to ceiling. But I digress. Anyway, rumor has it that after he played his 4-2/3 innings, he went into the clubhouse, showered, changed and left the Stadium... that's right, he LEFT THE STADIUM, and went places unknown where more Madonna was apparently heard in the background. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera and everyone else hung out until the end, but oh, no, not Mr. Rodriguez. The top vote getter among the fans. He may love himself, but I think that's where the love for A-Rod begins and ends, and rightly so.

Third thing. Dan Uggla's defense really is, well... uggla. I mean, I always knew he was known for his bat and not his glove, but last night really drove that point home, so to speak.

Fourth thing. Surprise, surprise... Billy Wagner choked, once again, in a game situation. Did anyone NOT see that coming like a freight train at 1000 mph? And hey, Billy, just because you tell us you stink, does that mean that takes the sting out of your stinking? Just save a big game once in your life, and shut up. Believe me, we'll notice whether or not you're stinking, all on our own. Without any help from you and your BIG MOUTH!

Final thing. The AL won, a-gain. Is anyone shocked? What's that, the 13th one in a row for the AL? Hmmm... 13.... A-Rod.... it's enough to make one sick!

Some Funny Shit...

...for your perusal during the All-Star break, which I wish wasn't...I really hate the All-Star Game, the whole break, the Home Run Derby, everything, just all of it. To me, it's just an unnecessary season interruption. FCOL, just shut everything down for three days, and play highlights on the MLB Network...oh, I forgot, MLB doesn't yet HAVE a network, silly me....

Anyway, moving forward...

It seems as if A-Rod hosted a party yesterday evening, having bowed out of the Home Run Derby, apparently as unimpressed and bored with it as is this fan, and according to WFAN this morning, Madonna music was heard piping through the sound system all evening long.

Which to me, is really funny shit, considering all the stuff that's been circulating around about A-Rod and Madonna lately. Now, either A-Rod is extending a large finger in the direction of everyone, figuring he's so rich and famous, he can, or he really is just that dumb and oblivious to everything.

Or maybe he's just extending his finger across the pond to his soon-to-be ex, Cynthia, who is off frolicking in Paris with the irrelevant Lenny Kravitz, perhaps in retaliation for A-Rod's "thing" (whatever it is) with Madonna.

Really funny shit, and kind of sad shit at the same time. Sad for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that I can't help wonder, that with all the money and fame and looks that A-Rod's got going for him, he apparently chooses to, ah, "cavort" with MADONNA? Yikes!

But, hey, maybe it ALL is really innocent; maybe A-Rod just wants to learn the ways of Kabbalah from The Learned One, Madonna. And maybe Cynthia and Lenny ARE just friends, and maybe Jason Giambi really WAS in the Home Run Derby last night.

You know what else is some funny shit? The idiots on ESPN. That's funny as in laughable, not funny as in ha-ha. Because boy, to me, these bozos are really laughable. Every year at this time, I'm painfully reminded that Joe Morgan and Jon Miller are NOT the worst of the lot. The All-Star break allows the rest of the world that does not generally tune into ESPN to see, live and in color, the collective stupidity of ALL those associated with ESPN especially Steve "Natty" Phillips and Chris "Been There, Done That, Sick of It" Berman.

Steve Phillips has been irrelevant since before he was relevant, if he ever was. Added to that, if the guy ever had a hair out of place or an unmanicured fingernail, I've not seen it. Just waaaay too vain and self-absorbed for my taste, and I've never found any interest or credence in most everything that comes out of both sides of his mouth. How did he get the Met job, anyway? Someone refresh my memory... nah, I changed my mind...I simply don't care enough.

As for Chris Berman, his shtick is really getting old and tiresome. Another no-talent few skills guy hanging around the fringes of the game attempting to live off past glory and reputation, a fading relic of the past that most could live without, easily.

Of course, I think the purpose of ESPN is jock sucking up, and that being the case, they probably have their lips right on the, er... well, let's just say they're good at it, and leave it at that.

Maybe the best part of the whole All-Star thing will be the parade today. I like parades; they're accessible to most everyone; kids love 'em; they don't seem overly contrived or desperate; and usually they have a lot of music.

And not even any Madonna, I'd bet!

Big Pelf Named NL Player of the Week...

...according to Mets Blog.

Talk about a huge turnaround for Big Pelf, huh? A scant few weeks ago, we were writing stuff like this, and like this, and this, and this......

And now, pitching as if his very life depended on it, he wins the NL Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. And somehow, I don't think it will be for the LAST time in his career!

Congrats, Mike!

Eight Is Enough...But Nine Is Fine......

...and as much as the show was cheesy and kind of heartwarming at the same time, it certainly was one of my guilty pleasures way back when...

And the Mets, having decided Eight Is Definitely NOT Enough, got their ninth win in a row yesterday evening at Shea against the Rockies, who look as unchampionship-like as is possible. The Mets actually are beginning to steamroll over teams, and as I post the daily scores, the amount of zeroes I'm putting up for the opposition are growing exponentially, or so it seems...

Everyone's contributing. The pitching has settled down, the offense is clicking, the D is pretty great, and considering what Mets fans have gone through the last year or so, it feels pretty good to once again have hope, to once again watch a team play with heart and drive and effort, and to once again be in thick of things.

The only negative last night is having to listen, once again, to Jon and Joe, they of ESPN, whom I seriously cannot stomach. How do these two keep their jobs? And can Jon Miller dress any worse? (Insert eye roll here.)

So now, we're officially in the All-Star break, and I just want it to be over. For that, we'll have to wait until Thursday evening, when hopefully, the Mets winning ways will continue.

Bobby Murcer Loses His Fight With Cancer Today...

....it was announced this afternoon that beloved Yankee icon, Bobby Murcer, has lost his courageous and painful fight with cancer this afternoon, having passed away today at the young age of 62.

What a gentleman this guy was, even for a Yankee (I think that, wherever you are now, Bobby, you might appreciate that last phrase). It seemed as if everyone loved him; the guy exuded warmth and class and taste and charm and it doesn't seem as if anyone who came into contact with him, whether by meeting him personally, talking with him over the telephone, listening into one of his broadcasts or otherwise, came away any the less for it; in fact, I think the opposite was true. To hear some of the Yankees speak about him, such as a clearly shaken and emotional Mariano Rivera, a broken up Joe Girardi, and a Michael Kay openly sobbing on the phone with the YES Network, you get the feeling that here's a guy who made his little corner of the world much happier, brighter and joyful just by his mere presence and force.

Well, Bobby, may the force be with you now. May you have eternal peace and take with you on your journey the love and affection of all those whom you touched in your short time here. Godspeed, Mr. Murcer.

Seven Come Eleven?.....

...and last night, the Mets won their seventh in a row.... as they say in Vegas, and in AC, and in Connecticut, and Monte Carlo, and Reno, and, well, you know the rest -- give us the big "yo", and c'monnnnnn eleven!

This afternoon at Shea, in a game which the Mets are currently leading by a score of 3-0 against the Rockies, Pedro Martinez had to leave the game early with shoulder tightness, and that's certainly not good news. I guess we'll find out more during the All-Star Break, but it would appear that the Mets' Old Man Brigade certainly isn't faring too well these days.

Speaking of the All-Star Break, happily for David Wright, he won't get one, having been selected by NL manager Clint Hurdle to fill the spot vacated by injured Alfonso Soriano. Nice going, David; you deserve it!

Mets Get A Six Pack......

...as they win their sixth straight game yesterday afternoon at Shea against the hapless and pretty hopeless-looking San Francisco Giants.

Considering the present state of the Giants, my buddies at the Mets Police, who have been seen to be criping lately about the Giants being memoralized and recognized at Citifield, shouldn't wonder why they're not.

The Mets seem to be firing on all cylinders, which leads me to my next subject -- Billy Wagner's mouth, and his recent comments when asked about the difference in the team under J Man and The Big W. According to Dan Graziano of The Star Ledger, Billy lays the credit for the resurgence of the Mets upon the new, relaxed atmosphere in the clubhouse and on the field under new manager Jerry Manuel. While saying he didn't want to speak badly of Willie, he gave high points to J Man, saying this about J Man: "I think he's kind of loosened the reins a little bit and allowed us to relax and play...His first meeting with us, the message was 'Play fearless. Don't worry about one bad game or one bad at-bat.'"

Apparently, Willie's businesslike non-facial hair Yankee ways didn't sit too well with the blue collar side of town a/k/a The Mets, and now that the team is free from the shackles of Yankeeitis... well, we're apparently seeing the results. I'm not yet convinced, but as each day comes and goes, it is becoming more and more apparent that there is a huge change in attitude, maybe due to the change in lattitude vis a vis J Man.

And a Jimmy Buffet image thrown in here for good measure, case any of you missed the reference.

Of course, the news came down yesterday that Moises Alou has torn a hamstring, which may require surgery, but will at the very least finish him for the year. Shocked, huh? Yeah, me too. Not. VERY not.

So the question is, where will the Mets look for outfield help, now that Moises is down and out, and Church is, well, who knows? Sex For The Mets (look below)?

Sex For The Mets?....

....relax, relax.... I'm talking, of course, about the brandidy-new released Richie Sexon, he late of the Mariners.

And before we talk hither and fro about whether or not the Mets ought to take a flyer on him, perhaps a review of his statistics would be in order, and I have thus provided the info necessary, or at least, a piece of it.

OK, now that THAT'S done, let's talk. I remember the Richie of a scant few years ago as being the only legitimate player the Milwaukee Brewers possessed. I remember his power and his star quality, and I remember wondering what the hell he was doing hiding out in Milwaukee of all places... Then of course, Richie signed the big contract with Seattle in 2004, and actually did okay for a few years, and then rapidly declined last year, which decline continued, and mightily, into this year, leading to his release. Have we heard this story before, folks? Another victim of the lack of Juice in the clubhouse coffee?

Anyway, there are other Richie Sexson issues, involving brawling, character issues, and the like, but none of these, in my opinion, are really relevant, since a lot of major leaguers have found themselves in similar situations, and short of having a criminal record, a myriad of incidents, a couple of arrests and hitting the women in their lives, I have to kind of discount this type of stuff.

So back to the main issue -- should the Mets consider signing him?

Well, he is a right handed bat, and a legitimate power threat. Heaven knows we need one of those in our lineup. He might benefit from coming out from under the relative obscurity of many of the places where he's played, and who knows, he might bloom in New York. Some guys just cannot properly toil relegated to obscurity, and an underachieving team. He has had some good years.

Of course, in my opinion, the most pressing need the Mets have right now is another outfielder, but that still wouldn't preclude the Sexson signing....

So what's the bottom line? If I were the Mets, and I wanted to spend, say, $7 million dollars (half of what's left on his 2008 contract of $14 million) to get a legitimate power threat from the right side, I'd consider him. Hell, there are worse options out there, but far cheaper ones. If I thought Sexson would make a significant difference, maybe I'd do it. But I just don't think he will, and with the recent resurgence (not to mention the money we're paying him) of Carlos Delgado, I just don't see that Sexson fits here overly well.

Still, it is an intriguing possibility.... opinions?

New York's New "Take Five" Game.....

...or the Mets' version of it, anyway, by extending their winning streak to five in a row by blanking the Giants at Shea.

And the burning question is... is .500 or sub-.500 ball for the Mets finally in the rear view mirror, permanently? We shall see...right now, it looks as if the team is finally clicking on all cylinders; pitching, defense, offense. I still don't believe that the Mets can go too far with this current roster, as I said yesterday, but, hey, let's take it one game, one series at a time. Hopefully, Omar (more about him later in this post) will pick up a bat or two, Ollie and Pelfrey will continue pitching the way they've been pitching, and the bullpen (with the exception of Billy Wagner, who is doing his absolute best to make Mets fans look back wistfully and nostalgically at The Reign of Benitez) will continue performing well in its newly-defined roles.

And it certainly looks as if the Willie firing has made a difference in the team. But more importantly, it looks as if the PETERSON firing has been huge for the pitching staff, or at least for Ollie and Pelfrey. I guess some guys just don't respond to such famous zen chantings as the Moring Bell Chant; the Evening Bell Chant; the Homage to the Three Jewels Chant; the Heart Sutra in Korean or English; The Great Dharani Chant; the Kwanseum Bosal Chant; or finally (and mercifully) the Thousand Hands and Eyes Sutra Chant.

Om.... Om..... OK, then, moving on....

Hey, did any of you hear Omar on WFAN this morning with Boomer and Carton? I have to tell y'all, I'm less and less impressed with Omar every time I hear him speak. For example, this morning, between his use of double negatives, his ad nauseum uttering of "you know what I'm saying," when he was asked about D.W. and the All-Star Game, and what he wants to tell Mets fans, he says that Wright is batting "about .270, .280, and has about 70 RBI" only some of which is correct. Last I looked yesterday evening, ol' D.W.'s average was closer to .290 than it was to .270 or even .280; I don't know, to me, you would think that especially in view of the fact that D.W. is in the news as a potential All-Star, you would think that Omar would have a better working knowledge of the guy's stats, fcol... sometimes I wonder if Omar even watches the games. Because if he had watched last night, well, you know... he would have been more accurate and would have sounded a lot less like the fairly illiterate uninformed boob he might be turning out to be.

Just an opinion, of course. But I'm thinking that Omar should be the next thing on this team to take the proverbial hike.

Hopefully, the winning at Shea will continue this afternoon.

Om..... Om..... Om.....

That's Four In A Row, Just In Case You're Not Counting...

...and what Mets fan among us would NOT be counting, anyway, I ask you?

Before I get to the good stuff, and lately, there's plenty of it, I first want to address what I consider to be a semi-crisis in baseball, and that's the umpiring. And that's just what I'm seeing from only the Mets games, which if it is even a small statistical sampling representative of what's going on in the entire baseball world, is a disgrace. Umpires getting overruled by umpires with the least best vantage point, or no vantage point at all; umpires getting overruled by managers and players; umpires who clearly have not even a working familiarity with the baseball rule book; umpires who provoke confrontations with players and managers; and basically just bad and inconsistent umpiring all over the place.

Take, for example, last night's first inning play, you know the one. Where the opposing player CLEARLY ran out of the baseline trying to avoid Easley's tag near second base... and he was called... SAFE? If somebody out there in blogreadersland knows under what baseball rule the safe call was a good one, please feel free, in fact, I URGE you to enter the information in the Comments section of this entry, thank you! And how about the home run that wasn't a home run over the weekend in the Phillies series...you know, the "fan interference that wasn't interference, but judged by the umpires to be a home run" ball?

I'm telling you, if MLB doesn't do something about the lousy and inconsistent umpiring soon, it's going to get out of hand. I remember the good old days when the umpires just did their jobs, and did not try to become part of the circus that is sometimes a major league baseball game. Fahcrissakes, these days, it's as if the umpires actually believe their active participation in The Show is part of The Show. Do your jobs, do 'em right, and that's all she wrote. On that subject, at least.

Now, uh, where was I? Oh yes, the Magnificent Pelfrey Show which was yesterday evening, complemented by the Mets Showing Off Their Offense Show. All of which resulted in a 7-0 win over the sadly Ungigantic Offense Show. And The Tim Lincecum Show was preemptorily cancelled....

Gotta say, I was as down on this particular Mets team as I've ever been prior to the Phillies series. I'm still not a believer in this team as presently constructed; at least, not right now, and probably not for the forseeable future. Still, I think J Man is doing as much and as good a job with the players he has as is possible, and for that, I am very thankful. It's such a pleasure to tune in a game where the players haven't tuned out after, say, five innings or so. Win or lose, the Mets are at the very least entertaining these days, and are making a real race of it.

And lastly, go and vote for David Wright for the All Star Game, already! I just did, and many times. I have to confess, I did not vote before today, because frankly, I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to do so. But since the Mets have rewarded us with four straight wins, and some very positive signs, I figured, what the hey, lemme return the favor.

Oh, and I also voted for The Big G (Jason Giambi's third person rendering, a la Rickey Henderson), because, well...since the Little Rod bowed out, and The Big G has expressed his desire to be in the home run hitting contest, I'd like to see him and his mustache compete in the last All Star Game ever to be played at the Old Yankee Stadium. As opposed to the New Yankee Stadium, which is pretty much a replica of the Old Yankee Stadium, but that's for another post.

Was Last Night Crazy Nuts, Or What?....

...and of course, yrs truly, having figured out in my own mind (no comments, please!) that 10-1 lead surely meant a notch in the ol' Mets win colum, went to bed...only to find out later that the game got wild and crazy, with the bullpen combo of Armas/Heilman/Wagner (whom I'm starting to truly hate, that last guy, the W one) giving up eight runs, including home runs, helped by a bad throw from Beltran, bringing the Phillies to within one run of tying the game. Only this time, the Mets did not fold; they held the lead, albeit barely, and won the game.

Lately, I've heard rumblings in Metsland that Billy Wagner is really Armando Benitez in full costume. I don't believe that's true -- as much as I truly disliked Armando, he looks good by comparison to Wagner.

And you know what? I may hate Wagner, but this guy really is hating on Beltran today, and rightfully so, in this blogger's opinion. So here's to you, Mr. Janish... you've laid out your case far better than I certainly could have, so I'll leave it at that.

No Church On Sunday....

...or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, either. For the rest of the year, or at least until further notice, I'm thinking.

Now before some of you fine churchgoing people starting a-bitching, of course, I'm talking about RYAN Church, who complained of a migraine headache during Saturday's game, causing J Man to rest him yesterday, as a precaution. As you all further now realize, the Mets totally botched the handling of the Church Concussion #2, failing to DL him when they should have, and basically allowing him to call the shots, which turned out to be a very bad call on the Mets' part.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, here, but this team isn't going anywhere this year. If I were the Mets, I would seriously consider shutting Ryan down for at least the entire month of July, and then re-evaluate him after that. Maybe he ought to be shut down for the entire season, but we can take it one DL stint at a time.

I know Church is once again making noise that the migraine was not a concussion-related issue, but I would submit: how the hell does he know? Is he a doctor? I know he's suffered from migraines before, but hells bells, people, isn't that even a better reason to sit his ass down for awhile?

I mean... yikes!

Hey, Can I Take That Award Back And Give It To...

...Billy Wagner? You know which award I'm talking about...just look down!

Anyway, for the sixth time this season, with each time seemingly coming in a very important game/situation, Billy "The Choke" Wagner blew the save yet again, leading me to wonder, and seriously, whether or not any closer not named Mariano Rivera is truly worth the price paid. I don't know folks; the more I watch today's game, and the more closers I see, the more I think that closers are the most overpaid and overrated players in the game today. And considering some of the paid and rated players in the game today, that's saying a lot.

But hey, the Mets have won the first two of three from the Phillies, leaving them with the ability, at least theoretically, to take the series tonight with a win.

And just an observation or two or three about J Man, our new manager. First, he certainly is no Willie, which is a very good thing. How anyone could have advertised him as similar to Willie is beyond me, but that's for another post and time. He actually seems to equate performance with playing time... imagine that. A blast from the baseball past, when guys actually had to eaaaaaaarrrrrrn their money and their playing time. He has added some needed stability and drive to the team; he seems to be a straight shooter, candid and honest and open; he doesn't hesitate to go out there and fight for his players, but also doesn't hesitate to correct his players when he thinks they need correcting.

In short, if J Man had a few less players (Delgado) and a few more players (anybody under 30 with a pulse), he just might have something. As good as he's been so far, anyone who's watched the Mets for the last few years knows that the current franchise malaise isn't because of Willie, although heaven knows, Willie wasn't the greatest baseball mind, and certainly didn't help the situation, but the problem with the Mets is their overly old roster, their personality mix (if you can call what this team has "personality"), and the fact that in Metsland, just winning enough is acceptable; winning everything or anything is just optional.

And in other news, Mrs. A-Rod is apparently initiating divorce proceedings this morning, citing Madonna as the final straw in the drink of her marriage. Of course, Mrs. A-Rod says this while in France with rocker Lenny Kravitz, so.... you want my opinion? Of course you do, that's why you're reading this! My opinion is, they're both fucked up, and are probably pretty equally responsible for the decline of the marriage, as is the case in most every marriage that fails.

So, fuck Billy Wagner, let's go Mets and J Man, and the thought of A-Rod and Madonna together, and I mean, together in the most biblical sense is... well, revolting.

The Friday Go Fuck Yourself Award For This Week Goes To....

...Jose Reyes, for this, and this and this, and, oh yeah, for this, too.

I really hate giving this award to Jose, because I think he's one of the most exciting and talented players out there. But his seeming lapses of concentration on and off the field, his steadfast refusal to understand the type of hitter he is and to maximize the use of his speed totally leave me scratching my....uh, head, more often than not.

And this off-the-field stuff is, well... concerning, because it just seems as if Jose is a little confused at what constitutes appropriate behavior, and doesn't seem to understand that everyone connected to the Mets is NOT his enemy.

I just don't know what goes on, or doesn't go on, in Jose's head sometimes, and I suspect neither does he.

So here's to you, Jose; hopefully, you will not be a repeat winner!

SNY's Next New Reality Series: Friday Night Fights...With Keith Hernandez and Jose Reyes!

On the heels of its successful inaugural reality series, Knife Fight, with Jerry Manuel and Jose Reyes, SNY has announced its spinoff reality series, Friday Night Fights, with Keith Hernandez and Jose Reyes.

Notice the common theme there? That's right, Jose Reyes.

The incident apparently occured on the team charters, when it seems that Mr. Reyes got a liiiiiitle upset with Mr. Hernandez, and the two almost came to blows before the intervention of a few guys kept it from really getting wild. We hear that Mr. Reyes just did not like some of the things Mr. Hernandez had been saying about him on the air, or it seems, and decided to take matters into his own hands...literally. It's funny, though; the remark that really set Reyes off was the one Keith made about Reyes being "babied" by the team, so how does Reyes deal with that? Well, by fighting wike a w'il baby, of course. Insert big eye roll here. Yikes...

Still, it seems that neither of the two are any the worse for wear, and life on the Mets bus goes on...

...and anyway, what did you expect from a bunch of gangstas, rubber biscuits?

And now the Mets and the Friday Night Fighters move on to Philadelphia to play a series that is as important as any the Mets have played since last year. This weekend could well determine if the Mets will be players or watchers.

This Just In....Mets Open Carousel Ride in Queens

Flushing, N.Y. - Today, Omar Minaya and the New York Mets have announced the Grand Opening of the New York Mets Carousel Ride in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Mr. Minaya, speaking for the Mets, told this reporter: "Hey, we've been practicing for the opening of this ride for some time now. What do you think the Nelson Figueroa, Andy Phillips and Trot Nixon moves were all about, huh? I mean, you couldn't have really thought they were to help the team, now, could you have? Any thinking person would have realized that OF COURSE these moves were practice for today's opening."

Noticing the stunned but resigned look on this reporter's face, Mr. Minaya continued on: "And how about the Carlos Muniz thing, huh? We brought him up from New Orleans, pitched him in one inning, and promptly sent him back down. Now if that's not the king of carousel moves, I don't know what is."

The Mets have announced that the carousel, now in full swing, will be unveiled when the Mets return home next week. By that time, Mr. Minaya says, "we should have a couple more practice moves in place, and by the time we formally open the carousel, it'll be a ride envied by all other clubs."

An anonymous fan commented, "So they're finally announcing it formally, huh? Sheesh, the fucking Shea Carousel's been going on for years now; nice of them to finally make it a formality. My only question is -- how much is it going to cost to ride the damn thing? I'm already throwing away enough of my money going over to Shea, so I hope they keep the cost down."

Mr. Minaya, having heard the question, was seen snickering and singing a few skewed verses of "here we go round the mulberry bush..." as he exited the room.

And Another Thing...

...you know what I really HATE? I hate having others define for me, you or anyone the manner of our fandom.

For example, I'm on a message board today talking about why I am so down on this current Mets team, and what I get is (from someone I'm not even talking to, mind you), anyway, what I get is "those are not good reasons."

Well la de da, like I care. Look, I don't mean to be rude or mean or anything, but you know what? I don't need or want anyone's approval or disapproval or whatever when it comes to how I will exercise my fandom, thank you very much. I've been a Mets fan for 38+ years now, and you know what? I think I am entitled to be whatever kind of fan I want to be, whether or not anyone likes it.

And you know what, folks? I think you are too.

I'm sick and tired of seeing, on blogs and message boards all over, people being told by others that if they don't rah rah rah root root root for their team at all costs, avoiding negative comments or negative expressions, booyah booyah sis boom bah let's go team rah rah rah, that that person is somehow deficient in his or her fandom. May I ask, politely, who died and left them boss, huh?

You know what I think? I think blindly rooting for a team that has shown pretty consistently over the past year that it's fairly disinterested, lackadaisical, lazy, has umpteen clubhouse issues, is as interesting to watch as is grass growing, is not entertaining and otherwise pretty much says "fuck you" to the fan on a daily basis is, well....illustrated in the picture opposite this post.

THAT'S what I think.

Look, you wanna be a rah rah sis boom bah go team go blindly manic positive fan, that's fine, you go for it. That's your right. But it's my right, and anybody's right, to go the other way, so to speak.

So can it, willya?

That's all. Carry on.....

I Don't Even Know What To Say Anymore....

...and if any of you out there has an answer or knows what to say about this team, please feel free to submit your entry to me via email...

You know what struck me watching the game last night against the Cardinals? What struck me was how intelligently and thoughtfully Cardinal management and coaches seem to approach the game. And you could feel that confidence in the approach extend down to the ballplayers. The Cardinals are nothing if not a well coached bunch, with the great Albert Pujols right smack in the middle of everything.

And look at the Rick Ankiel thing. I mean, a couple of years ago, this guy was A PITCHER in the major leagues. A PITCHER. Think about that for a moment; the Cardinals organization was able to convert A PITCHER to A PRODUCTIVE AND GOLD-GLOVE CALIBER outfielder. Just think about that, and I submit, you know all you need to know about the Cardinal organization.

And then think about Braden Looper, and his conversion by the Cardinals into a successful starting pitcher. And think about the other Dave Duncan success stories...

And tell me the last time anything remotely of the caliber of the things I've described above has ever happened in the Mets organization.

I'll betcha if Aaron Heilman became a Cardinal, he'd be converted into a successful starter by Dave Duncan & Co.

Kinda makes you think, and wonder, what is really going on in the Mets organization. There's just so much wrong, I can't even begin to begin talking about it.