Mets Hope to Slap a Padre Around

The Padres play in Pet-ophile park. Hmm.

Trial by Fire Begins tonight

Tonight, the Mets send John Maine to the hill to try to keep their winning ways alive. Maine has been struggling in my mind, and it would be nice to see him step up with a great performance to begin this pivitol homestand (and the Dodgers and Br*ves are up next). The Br*ves won last night while the Phils and Mets relaxed, so the pressure of the standings and the knowledge that the Mets are so-so at home adds to the tension. The Pads will be throwing some tough pitchers our way, including a confident Chris Young tonight, and Jake Peavy later in the series. Young is coming off four or so games of scoreless baseball. Sounds to me like he's due to give up a bunch tonight. My dream would be that Carlos Delga'doh comes back tonight, his head cleared by a few days on the bench alone with his notebooks, and reverts to the offensive monster I had grown to admire.

Looking at the standings, I wonder if a sweep of the Padres is technically in the Mets best interests. See, looking at the Wild Card standings, the Pads sit a game or two in front of Phils (who I would love to see in the playoffs), and the Br*ves (who I would love to see miss the playoffs). And then the Dodgers are right behind these guys, and I would love to see them in the playoffs, mostly because I live in Los Angeles, and like watching the Dodgers lay down for the Mets in person.

I have no real comment on the Mets acquisition of 41 years young Jeff Conine. One thing Omar has done with a high rate of success is to find part time role players who perform when called upon, so I expect Conine will be no different, if Willie uses him right.

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Metsblog is reporting that the Mets fan who caught Barroid Bonds record breaking homer is also trying to cash in by selling the Jose Reyes Mets jersey he wore that night, ketchup stains and all, to the highest bidder on ebay. I'll be monitoring this sale closely to determine the market for my slightly vomit-stained Timo Perez jersey, worn by me during the 2000 Subway Series.

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MLB.com has a hard-hitting piece on batters bucking the trend by not wearing batting gloves. They each have their reasons. Gloves distract Vlad Guerrero, for instance, from swinging like a mad butcher at pitches no matter where they are. The story wisely stays away from Moises Alou, who is known to urinate on his hands for toughness. Jorge Posada is also said to cover his hands in a bodily fluid nightly, and he explained his preferences in the article:

"I use a lot of dirt, a lot of rosin, a lot of pine tar," Posada said. "It's a feel thing. I don't use a certain amount of anything, though. I like the feel [of bare hands]. I like the stickiness of it and the dirt on the bat. I like to feel the bat in my hands. I don't like having it be too bulky..."
Arod was unavailable for comment.

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Non-future Met pitcher Carlos Zambrano is tired. He is most likely exhausted from being up all night counting all his money.