Pre-Off Season Thoughts

What explains my light posting? Waking up every day with this image in my mind:

[well there should be an image of a certain light hitting preoperative sex change catcher hitting a certain homerun, but nooooooooooo Blogger doesn't want no pictures tonight! Anyhow Yadier Molina raises the question, just how fast do steroids work?]

I think I've even lost my taste for "HOT STOVE" cooking. At least temporarily. I mean, Omar Minaya already went out and got everything I wanted the last few years. And to some extent, I only really wanted those things because I thought I couldn't have them. It's too soon to tell, but this year? Screw it, find a decent bench, sign Soriano, Lee, and Zito, and trade for Dontrelle, and I'll be charmed.
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Why does Marty Noble have to be such a dick? Not a shitbag of Wallace Matthews proportions, mind you, but...
Assuming those "mailbag" letters are genuine, imagine writing in, your heart bursting with pain, you eyes still a little weepy, writing your letter just so you can get the small satisfaction of having a real Mets beat writer with inside info and years of experience answer your wittle question. Then...BITCH SLAP!!
I guess I kind of like his attitude in a way, but even the most innocuous questions get snappy comebacks. My guess is MLB forces him to do a "mailbag" feature, and he loathes people because it takes away from his eating babies time.

Here's a few gems from his latest column which is comparatively mild:

"You may be free to watch football next October if a proven starter isn't acquired. ...And don't think about Aaron Heilman. "

"But the cost in dollars is their concern, not yours."

"There was no reason to address the situation[Randolph contract extension] in September or until the team's season was over. He's less anxious about it than you seem to be."

"Take a breath, stop listening to drive-time radio ranting, consider Beltran's body of work this year and prepare your retraction."
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Well, he probably missed a few things, but Noble is right when he pinpoints the ways in which the Mets blew the NL pennant:

"Game 7 was lost in the sixth inning when the Mets had the bases loaded with one out and didn't score to take the lead against a pitcher, Jeff Suppan, who had thrown 83 pitches; not in the ninth when they faced a fresh Adam Wainwright trailing, 3-1. The game was lost when the six Mets batters saw merely 15 pitches in the fourth, after Suppan had pitched around Delgado, through the second out of the fifth.
And the series was lost in the seventh inning of the second game when Guillermo Mota shook off the changeup sign from Paul Lo Duca and threw a fastball to Scott Spiezio. Result: a game-tying two-run triple."

Yes, the Mets lost, and thereby opened the flood gates of hell, setting in motion a sequence of events that would lead to the worst possible conclusion--the MVP bestowed on David Eckstein. The "Black Sox" scandal. Bud Selig calling off the All-Star game. The 2006 Yankees. And now, the most annoyingly overrated low talent plugger in baseball has snuck off with the most coveted award. Fire Joe Morgan is on to something about David Eckstein, but I can't quite pinpoint it.

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Major League Baseball is now marketing what is arguably the worst thing to happen to baseball in the modern era (besides David Eckstein of course). Play along at home. Go on, I bet you can do better than Steve Phillips.
What's next, an internet game where fans guess which post-steriodal lunkhead will assume designated hitter duties for which AL team?

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Since I'm quoting sportswriters a lot lately, let's just get into Wallace Matthews a little bit here. Check out how Wally masterfully blends the literary conventions "meanness" with "just plain wrongness" in his account of the Mets' downfall. I ask you, has anyone ever done it better?

That is the way things went for Willie Randolph last night. The Mets manager guessed absolutely wrong on his starting pitcher, Oliver Perez, who gave up a home run on the very next pitch after Randolph had visited him on the mound with one out and a man on first in the sixth inning of a tie game being played for the privilege of some National League team getting swept in the World Series by the Detroit Tigers.
Oh, Perez surrendered a home run to Rolen, all right. The ball was on its way to LaGuardia with a ticket stamped "Visitor's Bullpen," but Chavez, who stands all of 5-9, canceled that ticket when he suddenly became 10 feet tall and pulled the ball back, then fired it to the infield where it turned into an inning-ending double play.
Whether Perez argued Randolph out of pulling him - highly unlikely, given his difficulty with the English language - or Randolph was just going with his trusted gut, the point remains the same. The manager made the absolutely wrong call and it turned out astonishingly right.
...
Ultimately, it wasn't going to matter because if this NLCS demonstrated anything, it is that neither the Mets nor Cardinals stood a chance of beating the Tigers, who are sitting back at home salivating like real tigers awaiting a shipment of young sheep.

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That is all for now. Need to rest up so I can type "Get player X" onto blogs and chatrooms some 3,000 times over the next 5 months.

Broadcaster Accountablity, part II

To take your minds off of recent events...

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes an interesting article that could be the beginning of a movement to restore quality to the national broadcast booth. An updated version is available here. He reaches some different conclusions than I would.
So I wrote him.

"Dear Richard,
Your fine article identifies a problem in recent baseball broadcasts, but doesn’t quite ask the right question. It breaks my heart to listen to McCarver, once a brilliant original baseball analyst, only occasionally provide insight amidst the egotistical and occasionally oblivious banter that passes for analysis these days. It has gotten bad, and if we accept the quality of broadcasting we are given lately, it might get worse. For example, viewers of last night’s spectacular Endy Chavez catch had their experiences sullied by McCarver’s inane reference to the advertising on the outfield wall: “strength to be there” or something to that effect. Occasional errors—misidentifying pitchers, not knowing how many outs there are, misidentifying pitches—are to be expected, but sitting through a Fox telecast leaves one unable to shake the conviction that Fox is all about advertising and uninterested in helping us understand the game (think about how many pitches were missed—missed!—for advertising or stupid in-game interviews) while ESPN’s coverage is so vacuous, so insulting to viewers’ intelligence I don’t know where to begin. McCarver and internet public enemy number one Joe Morgan prefer to develop canned themes whether or not they fly in the face of facts the viewers are seeing on their screens. If McCarver is continually telling me a 94 mile and hour pitch is a change-up, then where is the producer or skilled analyst to step in explain to me how this is possible? And if they don’t go on the internet, as is dubiously claimed by Buck for example, how will we pressure them to deliver a better product?

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What is the right question? I think I have an idea, and I posted it on my blog itsmetsforme (http://itsmetsforme.blogspot.com/2006/10/reflections-on-nlds.html) some time ago:

“RE: National Baseball Broadcast Teams

Listening to Fox broadcaster Thom Brenneman's game 3 apology to the sight-impaired guy with the special glasses while I watched the taped version of the game (thank god for VCRs) marked a sad occasion. Anyone listening to the game two broadcast, where "Psycho" Steve Lyons and made fun of this guy, Met fan Stephen Teitelbaum, already realized the depths to which national broadcasting has sunk. We ask for insight and we get insensitive. It's bad folks, and even though its sometimes amusing to listen to dumb (Miller) and dumber (Morgan) on ESPN, I start to suspect there is something more insidious going on when the producers at the world wide leader let Morgan's banal theme, "This is a different Kenny Rogers," dominate their entire coverage, from color to field reporting, to interviews. Then they make a ridiculous show of shuttling this Hall of Fame air head between games, supposedly for our benefit. Stunts like this make the Sports Center "Hot Seat" (sponsor name omitted) look like "Masterpiece Theater."

It goes beyond my irritation with the cable giants' Yankee-centrism or Jeter worship. Even if you are partial to one broadcaster or another, the question must be asked, how hard is it to find anyone with real insight to do the play by play or color duties for baseball? Often the choice of ESPN or Fox's broadcasters seems to come down to the lessor of two evils. Is no one qualified for this job? These national cable broadcasters are not even trying to give us a quality product. In fact, it seems that they don't even know how. This is how you end up with Chris Berman, who, when you can hear him, sucks big ass now--he should stick to making up funny middle names and saying back back back. This is how you get Tim Robbins in the booth during crunch time. This, I note with deep regret, is how Steve Phillips happens.

Can't anyone add something to this game anymore?

This problem has already been duly noted with internet "tributes" to Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver. Some of it is just age. Exhibit #1, McCarver, who for my money was once the best announcer in baseball, now brings very little to the game, leading many viewers to see him only as a pompous windbag. Listening to Vin Scully mix up "ball" and "bat" (among other things) on the radio at Dodgers Stadium last night made me realize that an era is sadly coming to a close. But Yankee homer Joe Buck or the aforementioned Lyons have no such excuse. What dumbed baseball broadcasting down? Was it the steroids era, or the Yankees era (which are closely related)? Perhaps the cable era is to blame?

And we complained about irritating, but ultimately harmless shill Fran Healy! In any event, if SNY doesn't mess it up and Keith Hernandez can avoid offending half the audience, we Mets fans have a great broadcast team to look forward to when the World Champion Mets open the 2007 season.”
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The set up of your our article (this refers to an earlier version than the one linked to above) raises another question in my mind, one about the effect of blogs and internet on journalistic practices. I read many sports blogs and dailies and you can clearly see the coincidence of themes, to my mind one not incidental or solely due to the unfolding of events. It seems to me journalists are reaping the benefits of a golden age of sorts, an age where blogs and other websites can be plundered for the purposes of feeling out a “market” for a story, and more dangerously, for the purposes of coming up with story ideas. At what point does this move away from inspiration and into the realm of plagiarism? I ask not to accuse, but because as an academic in my other, non-Metsfan life, I can’t help but wonder if in the future, as norms develop, today’s practices won’t be viewed with distaste. It is particularly relevant in light of the recent history of the New York Times.

I would make no claims that blogs like my small novelty website is a citable authority. Nor would I claim that the ranting or tongue in cheek commentary that makes internet blogs so entertaining is a viable basis for a story. But what are the criteria for attribution in this new age? And when are you guys going to start telling us where your ideas are coming from, when they do come from these types of sources? That would make an interesting story in and of itself."

the aftermath

WOW.

This hurt a lot more than it should have. The team just turned it around this year, finally took out the Br*ves, and will most likely improve with a solid base for the future. Not like 2000 when it was clear the team had some aging parts that would not be delivering any repeat performances. Getting through the first round of the playoffs is a good start, right?

So why does it hurt so much? Maybe we have the bends, this team has skipped the rebuilding and jumped right into contention, from laughingstocks to laughing Reyes. Maybe it's the way the team overcame the almost complete decimation of its starting rotation, the barely concealed antimosity of the Fox broadcast team, or the threatening rain, less than an hour away from Shea, according to Cardinal fan Joe Buck.

In my opinion, I think it hurts so bad because this is the first team in a while we can love. That's why.Yeah, they were talented, loose, confident and resiliant. But mainly it hurts 'cause it would've been so sweet to see these guys--this particular bunch-- go all the way.

Yeah, I'm wondering where the offence went. Yeah, I'm questioning William Randolph's decisions. Yeah the Cardinals are not the better team. And, yeah, I'll admit it, I am not satisfied with the umpiring. (I used to think I knew what the strike zone was but now I'm not so sure. I saw things, such as the half called strike, that I never saw before.) But this is the most satisfying depression in recent memory. We'll be back.

And you know what? Not a bad year. Not bad at all.

Take it away, Mr. Met!

The future's so bright...

Top Ten Reasons the Cardinals serve Coffee in the Dugout

Another day at the office: Fredbird molests some children.

10) Keep Carlos Delgado awake
9) Carafe actually contains Pujols’ steroid-laced bug juice
8) Because David Eckstein is a scrappy barista
7) St. Louis is fucking boring
6) Keeps Mookie Wilson awake
5) Mets bat boy called in muffin order, forgot coffee order
4) Because Derek Jeter sucks
3) Heard Trachsel was pitching
2) That coffee isn’t for drinking, that’s for Scott Spiezio’s coffee enema!
1) Years of having to listen to the Buck family drone on

Ollie, by Golly, You did it!

I had to believe. So I did.

Believe that the Mets could get into the World Series with no starting pitching staff to speak of. Believe that the true, sucky Cardinals we love would reveal themselves, and would start making errors and giving up homeruns like the Mets hope they do. Yes!!

Let's revel in the details a bit:

To paraphrase Chris Rock (I think), looking around at the creepy Ned Flanders Redbird fans in the stands last night, I haven't seen that many white people dissappointed since M*A*S*H went off the air.

5th inning,
Green hits. Even Valentin gets on. Something's up here. That second baseman Belliard has the look of a guy that’s gonna be involved in some errors, and tonight he doesn’t disappoint.

Willie in a nutshell: Lets Ollie bat for himself with runners that need to be cashed in. I don’t know whether this comes off as confidence, or if Ollie gets lit up during the next half inning, arrogant incompetence.

Ollie in a nut-shell: Gives up a HR to Eckstein, strikes out Pujols. I flash forward to years of ripping my own hair out at “Ollie Time.” What are we gonna do with this guy?

6th inning, after the great Buntran works a key walk, Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan visits the mound to do The Jacket one better: no shoulder touch here, he puts his entire arm around his shell-shocked hurler. What’s next for these touchy guys? At the Pitching Coach 2007 Expo I heard you will be able to visit a booth devoted to tongue kissing, hair brushing and thigh massage.

Loopy’s 7th inning love note to Mets fans goes screaming off Beltran’s bat into the stands. Nice to have you back, Goofy Loopy. Hope to see you again soon.

Anyone else think its time for Willie to hold a little “Making leaping catchs at the wall to Steal Homeruns” practice? Maybe it’s unfair to say that Green, Beltran, and Endy should have caught some of those barely-out-of-here bombs, but there are two many balls bouncing off the top of the wall, ala Todd Zeile, for my tastes. Chalk it up to bad luck, but shouldn’t one or two of them been caught? Maybe the Mets need to break out that practice outfield wall they used in the Boys and Girls Club MLB commercials.

Endy not looking to good against lefties.Who looked worse at the plate tonight, Endy or Oliver Perez? Too close to call.

Favorite game moment. About-to-be-left-for-dead Stash makes it 11-3 in the 6th, giving TIMMY McCarver the opportunity to recite his canned line: “St. Louis Blues in a NY minute.” Joe Buck, depressed at his receding hairline, beloved Cardinals’ performance or both, doesn’t even fake laughter.

Memo to pitching staff: Keep hitting Eckstein. When you go 3-0, 3-1 on him, just hit him, preferably in the lower body. You know why.

Memo to Willie: Have a Game 7? Darrin Oliver or loose a fan.

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For anyone interested, I have just added Steve Trachsel's name to those that cannot be spoken (typed). He can never be named again.

From now on, he is Tr*chsel.

It's a big moment for me, as I have always enjoyed riffing on his name, ala Trash-on-the-hill, or Trash-hell, or just plane Trashy. I know it's juvenile, but its fun.

For those keeping score, the list of unmentionables is thus:
Br*ves
K*zmir
Tr*chsel

Thank you for your support.

Gotta think about something else, Gotta...

What do you do after a loss like this? I'm cautiously optimistic right now, that the Mets can eke out a win tomorrow and right the ship. I have no more words to say about a certain crappy ass 4th or 5th starter that picked a fine time for the most momentous failure of his shitty career--Omar, you know what to do. What do I do to get my mind off of this?

Think of England?

Lets talk about Psycho Steve Lyons getting shitcanned by Fox for making apparently racially insensitve comments. Even after reading the transcripted parts, I don't really understand what he said, so I have trouble seeing the offensive angle. Did Fox read my post about the crisis in baseball broadcasting and react? Why not just fire him for being an utter complete moron with nothing to add to the game? He once made some confusingly dumb remarks about Shawn Green too.

That reminds me, let's talk about why Shawn Green can't catch or make a decent decision in right field. No, wait, that's Mets baseball and we don't want to talk about that.

Ah fuck it. Here's Ollie Perez' game plan for tomorrow--I think I've isolated a theme from his comments to the press:

"I think the most important thing in the playoffs is don't get too nervous," said Perez, who was 2-10 for the Pirates this year, 1-3 for the Mets with ERAs in excess of six runs per game for both teams. "It's the same baseball, just a little more pressure. You just have to play baseball and don't think about it."
... "Right now, I feel good because there's a lot of veteran guys around me," Perez said. "It's my first time being with a lot of veterans, like Glavine and Pedro, and they help me a lot. They just tell me, 'Be relaxed in the game and don't think too much. Just play baseball.'"

Here's hoping "relaxing and not thinking" are the keys to keeping the Mets in the series tomorrow night.
Pray for rain.

Special: In-game rant

you asshole. you really suck. turn in your major league uniform

Yes I turned away from what i think may the worst playoff start ever to give the world an insight to what I was thinking as the-man-who-I-never-want-to-see-again shit bombed his own team, making the world series an uphill climb. I have waited 20 years for a WS title you shit.


what was going through my head, for better or worse:

Steve Trachsel...ahhggrrhrhrhghg...WILLIE YOU DUMB FUCK HES NOT HURT HE SUCKS TAKE HIM OUT OH SWEET JESUS HE SUCKS HE JUST GAVE UP A DONG TO THE FUCKING PITCHER THE RED STATES WIN AGAIN IM MOVING TO CANADA DO THEY HAVE BASEBALL UP THERE WHO CARES I DONT WANT TO WATCH THIS GAME EVER AGAIN THIS IS SO AMAZING HE IS A CAREER LOOSER WILLIE HES NOT HURT HE SUCKS OH MY SWEET JESUS AHH YOU MEDIOCRE PIECE OF SHIT COULDNT EVEN GIVE IT A TRY WHY COULDNT THAT BASEBALL HAVE HIT HIM BETWEEN THE EYES THAT SUCK BAG I DONT CARE IF ITS GAME 7 OF THE WORLD SERIES I REFUSE TO WATCH THIS SACK OF SHIT EVER AGAIN NOT THAT I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT STEVE YOU PIECE OF CATSHIT YOU SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF THE DEFENSE AND THE OFFENSE AND THE WHOLE TEAM NAY THE WHOLE NATION IS TOTALLY DEMORALIZED ALL BECAUSE YOU CONTINUE TO DRAW A PAYCHECK AS A MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER I PISS ON YOUR WIFE AND KIDS STEVE I EAT YOU PETS I HATE HATE HATE HATE YOU TRASHHHHHELLLLLL...

ah maybe we'll come back. go mets.

Keys to Game 3

Keys to the Game

I am trying to avoid thinking about what transpired last night. Macho middlemen, muddled manangement, crocky closers, botched batting. I hates when failures in key situations and errors lead to the loss of winnable games. Ugh, I'm not ready to go back to the mid early 2000s just yet. I need something to distract me from the realization that this House of Cards isn't just going to blow over...

Listening to TIMMY McCarver last night or the other night or whatever (your humble blogger's memory is overcome by last night's painful events) reiterating those idiotic "analytic" pre-game keys (things like "keep X off the basepaths" or "score more runs than the other guys") made me realize, hey, I can do that.

Key #1: Bean Eckstein--I'm sick of this little shit running down to first base. It's just annoying, not so much to the players he's trying to aggravate, but to me, the fan. I say if yer gonna put him on there, make it difficult for him to FIND first base, if you know what I'm saying. Should the pitchers fail to hit him, and still walk him, I believe beaning him on the way to first should be strongly considered. I don't know if this will help the Mets win, but it'll make me feel better.

Key #2: Mets must win the game--I really need them to win tonight. For whatever reason (maybe cause the Mets are the favorites for the first time in a long time), I am not enjoying these tense, close contests. I need the Orange and Blue to blow the doors off the sucka tonight. Preferably in the first inning. Last night was promising, with Reyes' bat waking up, and Delgado's MVP trophy taking another step towards getting engraved (bad writing alert). But I need more. The Mets should try very hard to win this game, or else I'll be in a world of pain, and from my perspective, that's unacceptable.

Key #3: Play dirty. Hit the ball in the air to Rolen's bad shoulder side. Keep doing it. Upon being inserted in the game last night, Rolen looked like he was a man on a mission and it scares me a little that the Cards' aging superstars are starting to come around. Hit King Albert where he holds his scepter. The Mets blew an opportunity to dim the lights at Shea--LaRussa wears shades and ya can't be a genius manager when ya can't see, right? They must began the psy ops immediately.

Let's Go Mets.

Top 10 Things Br*ves and their fans are doing in the off-season

At this time of great sucess, let's not forget the bastards we overcame to get here.

Top 10 Ways Br*ves and their fans are spending the off-season


10. Beating their wives/sisters (at least Bobby Cox is)
9. Put on their klan hoods
8. Cheating on their wives/sisters (at least Chipper is)
7. Two words: "Livestock Love"
6. Learn'un to read
5. Spreading the good word about English
4. Paying Mike Hampton
3. Insulting the team's second baseman
2. Who cares?
1. Not even coming close to playing in the Post-Season!!!



haha.

Pre-Game One Roundup

Take a break from battling (House of) Cards fans on their blogs, and join me for some quick odds and ends.

What we know:
Darryl Strawberry is throwing out the first pitch on Wednesday. Insert your own joke here.

It might rain, and there are St. Louis fans who are praying for this.

St. Louis, it turns out, is in Missouri.

People actually think paying some $30 million just to talk to Matsuzaka is a good idea for the Mets. I wonder how they feel about resigning Rodger (fly ball dodger) Cedeno?

Beltran has a stomach injury.

Minaya might have questions about Willies' on-field decisions.

Uncle "Glass" Cliffy has what must now be admitted is the best...Mets player blog...ever. Or at least most candid. About his treatment: "I’ll just rub some champagne on it and see, or I’ll have a few beers. Maybe a few more, and by the time I get to Wednesday, I’ll be good to go."

24 hours to Loopy time!! Proof that there is a god!!





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Let's Go Mets!

Holy Shit!

This phot-shopped image from the "Speak English" website makes it look as though Rocker actally got a person of color to stand near him

Is that him? Am I last to see this? Tell me it must be fake, I thought. No, no, it sounds real.

It turns out that John Rocker is finally giving something back to American civil society, with his "Speak English" campaign.

Some highlights:

"It is this heritage that I and so many others who have had a hand in it’s creation and fulfillment, would like to see protected and supported so that future generations of immigrants can continue to realize their dreams of living in the greatest country on earth."

This campaign is in no way intended to degrade or demean the cultures or heritages of others' nationalities or races. There is never an excuse to show disrespect to anyone based simply on the diversity of his or her culture. However, this is a two way street. When immigrants vote with their feet and come to this country with the intent to live, work, raise a family and enjoy all of the incredible advantages that America has to offer, but make no attempt to learn the language, observe the customs, or celebrate the holidays, these immigrants are showing a tremendous amount of disrespect to their hosts. They are showing a tremendous lack of respect as well to the men and women who over the course of history have sacrificed much to make this country great.
In my own personal experiences, I have lived abroad for over a year of my life, three different times in Puerto Rico and once in Venezuela. During my time in these countries, I did my best to speak their language even though my Spanish is barely adequate. I attempted to speak the language whenever the situation presented itself and worked to learn the language better in order to avoid the ‘ugly American’ stereotype. I went to numerous local holiday celebrations such as parties that centered on the Puerto Rican holiday “Three Kings Day”, as well as numerous other festivals and gatherings. My life during my time abroad was certainly much easier trying to conform to local society rather than trying to make local society conform to me.

Rocker sums it up:
"I love this country and I will use my voice to help make it a better place for all of us to live. It’s time to stop feeling guilty for living in the greatest nation on earth, and start standing up for America."

We don't feel guilty for living in America, John, we feel guilty for having produced you and letting you live here.

Send your hate mail for an autograph to:
Debi Curzio at PO Box 670927, Marietta, GA 30066

Reflections on the NLDS

I like the Dodgers. Really I do. They have history, a funny mascot (named Tommy Lasorda), a criminally underrated ballpark, and good hotdogs. Also, (certain things that happened in 1988 excepted) in my lifetime they usually can be trusted to give it up to the Metsies.

Given the Mets last minute injuries, before the series these two teams could plausibly be said to be even steven. I have to admit that the Dodgers scared me the most out of all the potential NL matchups, a fact that goes a long way towards explaining my current confidence in a World Series date with destiny. Though the Mets relentless offensive attack, adequate pitching, and team chemistry could be said to be the difference in the series, could the Metropolitans have won the series without the Dodgers mental errors? “The Play,” Furcal not charging Franco-stein’s double-play grounder, Betemit throwing away that ball last night. When the going gets tough, the Dodgers start playing sloppy, at least since the late 90s. That's what turned this park into the NLDS "No luck (for) Dodgers Stadium."

While the Dodgers seemed to go flat after rallying to tie and go ahead courtesy of Jeff Kent and Pedro Feliciano, the Mets started to look like a team of destiny. I mean, the Mets’ other Pedro walked in the go-ahead run in the 5th, one of the most demoralizing plays in baseball, and yet I felt smugly confident. This team just has destiny on its side right now. In this playoff so far, they play confident no-panic baseball, and seem to take advantage of every opponent error, which are really really good signs.

Destiny also seems to have plans for Uncle Cliff Floyd. If Green’s home coming blast doesn’t bounce off the top of the left field wall, does Floyd injure himself running around third? No, he just does the Sanford and Son trot, and all is good. Dammit. Cliff was starting to look comfy at the plate, and while Endy brings his own set of skills to the line-up, it would be nice to get Floyd back in there, if only as a DH should the Mets go all the way. He deserves to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaking of injuries, where were the trainers when Jose Reyes got banged up by a runner at second (I think Furcal)? I really don’t care if Reyes waved them away; of course a guy who wants to stay out there is going to do that. Run your ass out there if your star shortstop is limping around the infield, to check on him AND to buy some time for him to catch his breath. How was Reyes going to limp after a ball hit in the hole on the next play? Especially given Reyes injury history, I was flabbergasted that no one attended to him. With the ridiculous amount of calf injuries and other problems the players have suffered this year, I would think the training staff would be on their best behavior.

Who would the Mets match up better with in the NLCS? Well, the Padres seem the less-dangerous team, if only because they are Pujols-less, and I wouldn’t mind a bit of revenge on Trevor Hoffman, who lost NL home advantage and nearly gave me a heart attack on the last day of the season. But who wants to be haunted by the Mikes, or deal with Pad’s pitching either? In the end, to be frank, neither the “House of” Cards, nor a team named after Friars strikes that much fear in my heart. I could get carried away with how much easier the Mets’ path to WS victory just got yesterday, but the good news is that the Mets won’t; they remain even keeled, taking nothing for granted, and saying all the right things. In the playoffs, anything can happen. All I know is, from here on in, it won’t be New York’s corporate team that will be takin’ care of business.
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Sorry to keep discussing them, but ESPN's the New York Yankees are a car crash, and I just can’t look away. ESPN has now started to eat its own, running stories like this one. I guess you can't really call a TV network hypocritical. Anyhow, besides what looks very much like an 80s-style changing of the guard in NY and the dawning of an era of Met ascendance, there are two things to note. First is the impact of yet another demoralizing loss on the upcoming free agent market. What will Ca$hman be looking for and how will it affect Omar’s work with the Mets rotation, which basically needs to be entirely rebuilt? Pedro and Glavine are no sure thing for different reasons, and while the Mets can be hopeful for contributions from the likes of Perez, Bannister, Pelfrey, Humber, and Maine, they can’t bank on them. There is a small scenario where Trashy would be resigned, but Omar is too smart for that, I keep telling myself. Omar will most likely pursue a top tier starter and rely on his strategy of “numbers,” that is, balancing the old and fragile with quantity of pitchers plucked from the discard pile. Second, now that the Bronx team are established chokers, we are hearing that“the Yanks are the new Br*ves.” Well not really. See, as much as I hate to say it, the Br*ves were all and all a classy franchise—that’s what made loosing to them so frustrating. Though they had a high payroll, no one would contest the fact that they were a well-run club from top to bottom. While the Br*ves took each postseason defeat with what passes for grace and dignity, the Spankers take every opportunity to throw each other under the bus. As one Yankers fan noted, how is it that Jeter can take credit for being a leader in good times, and escape blame year after year while never doing what it takes to unify this millionaires’ club in the playoffs? (At this point, one can only jokingly sugest that Jeter's lack of leadership is the problem.) Though it felt good to Mets fans, each inevitable Br*ves postseason exit could not fairly be said to be “good for baseball.” In contrast, if you follow my thinking, the humbling of successive “best line-up ever” and, more importantly, the failure of the strategy of assembling All-Stars no matter how they mesh as a team, and despite what character problems they bring (see Giambi, Sheffield, Randy Johnson), this failure is most certainly “good for baseball.”

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RE: National Baseball Broadcast Teams

Listening to Fox broadcaster Thom Brenneman's game 3 apology to the sight-impaired guy with the special glasses while I watched the taped version of the game (thank god for VCRs) marked a sad occasion. Anyone listening to the game two broadcast, where "Psycho" Steve Lyons and made fun of this guy, Met fan Stephen Teitelbaum, already realized the depths to which national broadcasting has sunk. We ask for insight and we get insensitive. It's bad folks, and even though its sometimes amusing to listen to dumb (Miller) and dumber (Morgan) on ESPN, I start to suspect there is something more insidious going on when the producers at the world wide leader let Morgan's banal theme, "This is a different Kenny Rogers," dominate their entire coverage, from color to field reporting, to interviews. Then they make a ridiculous show of shuttling this Hall of Fame air head between games, supposedly for our benefit. Stunts like this make the Sports Center "Hot Seat" (sponsor name omitted) look like "Masterpiece Theater."

It goes beyond my irritation with the cable giants' Yankee-centrism or Jeter worship. Even if you are partial to one broadcaster or another, the question must be asked, how hard is it to find anyone with real insight to do the play by play or color duties for baseball? Often the choice of ESPN or Fox's broadcasters seems to come down to the lessor of two evils. Is no one qualified for this job? These national cable broadcasters are not even trying to give us a quality product. In fact, it seems that they don't even know how. This is how you end up with Chris Berman, who, when you can hear him, sucks big ass now--he should stick to making up funny middle names and saying back back back. This is how you get Tim Robbins in the booth during crunch time. This, I note with deep regret, is how Steve Phillips happens.

Can't anyone add something to this game anymore?

This problem has already been duly noted with internet "tributes" to Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver. Some of it is just age. Exhibit #1, McCarver, who for my money was once the best announcer in baseball, now brings very little to the game, leading many viewers to see him only as a pompous windbag. Listening to Vin Scully mix up "ball" and "bat" (among other things) on the radio at Dodgers Stadium last night made me realize that an era is sadly coming to a close. But Yankee homer Joe Buck or the aforementioned Lyons have no such excuse. What dumbed baseball broadcasting down? Was it the steroids era, or the Yankers era (which are closely related)? Perhaps the cable era is to blame?

And we complained about irritating, but ultimately harmless shill Fran Healy! In any event, if SNY doesn't mess it up and Keith Hernandez can avoid offending half the audience, we Mets fans have a great broadcast team to look forward to when the World Champion Mets open the 2007 season.

yes.

Man, my camera's zoom stinks, but here's what the celebration looked like from the nosebleeds at Dodger Stadium last night.

The Curse of Mr. Met

from http://www.larry.org/category/baseball/

Before attending to the really exciting news, I thought I'd just mention something that the media is too afraid to contemplate. As everyone knows by now, ESPN's The New York Yankees have choked again, beaten to a pulp by a team now best known for being Magnum PI's favs, the Detroit Tigers. A-Rod admits what everyone already knows, and there are even rumors that Joe "I just stand here and try not to expire" Torre may be forced out. I offer these links before the revisionist historians at the Worldwide Leader take them down and shoot those responsible.
You see, the thing is, Steinbrenner's minions have not won a title since they tangled with Armando Benetiz, Timo Perez and the rest of the Mets. Yes, the Yankers won that World Series, though barely scoring more runs than the Mets, but there was a price to pay. Mr. Met's hex insured, by the name of Mookie, the NY Yankers would never win a world series again. And that, children, is how it still stands today.

Pictures of tonight's victory in the morning...

Pre-game 3 Nonsense

I don't want to jinx it, but lets just say that The Gambler's heroic shut down of ESPN's The NY Yankees (tm). last night has my blue and orange heart all a flutter. The A's are downright nasty, but the Yankmes always seem to gain strength with every playoff series victory. So I've got no problem with seeing the Spankee's eliminated today--I'd be lying if I said this wouldn't ease the Metsies route to World Series glory. A Yankers exit will do nothing to cut down various national broadcast team's usage of the word "Jeter," but at least every Yankme-worshiping story will bring a smile to my face when I realize that Bernie Williams is watching somewhere on a couch much like my own.

So off I go to Dodger Stadium to watch The Human All-Star Break try to pitch on too much rest after a family related distraction (marriage problems?). Going to see the game live, I figure, will spare me the pain of listening to ESPN or Fox's national team of village idiots; Joe "This is a different Kenny Rogers" Morgan especially. We can't forget the Sept. 10 Shea Stadium beating the Dodgers gave Trachsel for 2 2/3 innings, but maybe the pitcher we love to hate can pull out some rare magic, or maybe the Mets will score 6-8 runs to offset the inevitable 5 Trax will give up. If Trashy can't get it done, tomorrow never knows--word is that either Ollie (Golly) or the MainMan will take the mound, and it could get dicey. These Dodgers have been streaky all year, and Kent can still get it done, so we can't get ahead of ourselves--the Mets must not let these guys off the mat.

Besides Drew's mad dash into the catcher's glove and Furcal's wait-and-see attitude on Franco's double-play ball, the difference in this series has been the teams' ability to overcome injuries. The Mets thus far have been able to overcome their crushing rotational injuries while the Dodgers have been hurt badly by theirs. Add Nomar to the Blue pile today. Lying Left hand specialist Joe Beimel's antics can't help the atmosphere in a clubhouse that is already filled with felons and jerks. But anything can happen.

Go Mets!!

Dodgers Game 1 Mets Win!

"What, I gotta tag dis guy out too?" *

The Mets sent a message to the LA Dodgers tonight: we can hit the cutoff man. Just like a couple a dopey Yankmes in
1985, when Bobby Meacham and Dale Berra did the putout conga on Rickey Henderson's single in Yankme Stadium, the unloved Jeff Kent and the fragile J.D. Drew ran themselves and their team right out of the game. Was that Manny Acta over there in the LA third base coaches box, or just someone trying to wrest the title of "MLB's Worst 3rd Base Coach" away from Flushing's own human windmill.

I love winning. I heart Delgado, Maine, Green hitting the cutoff man. And its good to see that Wright and the middle of the lineup aren't getting off to a cold start. And Uncle Cliffy, well, what can you say about that blast? Proper. However, some things that made me raise an eyebrow include:

Mota showboating after shutting LA down, then giving up the lead.
William leaving Mota in, letting him bat for himself.
Reyes not too hot.
Stash with a rare miscue.
Wagner making me sweat John Franco sweat, but with better stuff.

ESPN sent me a message tonight by having the accursed Steve Phillips do the color "commentary". They just have no respect. None for the Mets. None for Mets fans. None for anyone. Except the NY Yankees. Where would national broadcasters on ESPN and Fox be without the Yankee ass-kissing to kill airtime? During every damn game, it seems, we are subjected to Yank-worship. Or a lecture on the greatness of Jeter. And where would they be without Derek Jeter, without this unappealing twit to fawn over? Could a broadcaster get through a single f**ing game without spewing this unoriginal garbage at us? America is sick of the Yankmes, ESPN, get it through your tiny little head.

I guess if you were born in the NY area, parents forced you to support the Yankers, grew up a Yankme fan, have never left town, and have no experience with the outside world, and no sense of fair play. And root for the bully when you watch a teen movie, than I can see why you might root for the NY Yankmes.

Advertisers, America is over the “No World Series titles in a half a decade, not a single compelling personallity and we buy all the best players and a good number of our players cheat by using steroids” Yankees. Really.

I just hate Jeter. How can anyone who loves the game root for this guy to win? I’ll never understand it. He’s had everything handed to him his whole career, faced nothing but the adulation of fans, and been backed by a supporting cast of $100-200 million worth of superstars just about every year. Which reminds me, this payroll crap has got to stop. Yes the Mets have a relatively high payroll, but to compare them with the Spankers is preposterous. If you can add the payrolls of 1 to 3 Major League franchises to a club’s salary, and still not equal the Spunkies, how can you compare? The Yanksees are goliath. And if Joe Buck and Tim McCarver could loosen their lips from the pinstriped ass for just a minute, they too would realize this. How does Goliath-boosterism it add drama to a broadcast? Buck and McCarver, or Morgan and Jon Miller. How to decide which option is worse?

When I say "no personality" here's what I mean:
R. Johnson. Surly Asswipe
J. Damon. Traitor mercenary with no sense of the game
A-Rod. Well, everyone knows about him.
Mussina. A bore.
Giambi. Get off your high horse, roidy.
Sheffield. A Dick. Look it up.
Matsui. Good, but absolutely no personality whatsoever.
Etc.

This is the team ESPN has put all its chips on?

Whoa, went off on an anti-Spankmes rant there. That all said, they are looking a little bit unstoppable against Detroit. Anyhow, goooo Detroit. Gooo A's!

P.S. Someone forgot to tell Frank Thomas to stop using steroids; have you seen this guy? He's as big as Sosa and McGwire put together!

Tonight's broadcast brought up some other interesting questions. Is John McEnroe trolling for man love dressed like? When will they stop interviewing the managers during the game? It hurts the game like Jeter worship. When will MLB managers, particularly ones vulnerable to the criticism that they just stand there or take naps, realize that the fact that they make time during the game to talk to Joe Buck makes it just a bit harder to take them seriously. In game interviews: Just say no.

On to game two. This ain't gonna be easy, but we can do it.

Let's go Mets. This time I mean it.

*picture lifted from MLB site