Oh, Rickey

The Mets announced today that they are inviting Rickey Frickin Henderson to Spring Training this year. No, not as a potential outfielder, and no, not to fill out the clubhouse poker tournament either. They want him to teach Jose Reyes how to steal more bases.

Rickey Henderson was fun to have on the club during the 1999 season, even though he was absolutely painful to watch play left field. This guy could not go back on a ball to save his life. A ball that was hit too deep right was automatically extra bases. Meanwhile, Melvin Mora was flat out amazing in center. ((TANGENT ALERT)) If only Rey Ordonez didn't fall apart, causing the Mets to play Mora at short, where he was mediocre at best, maybe we would have had more years of seeing More of Mora play the outfield and develop as a hitter.

This is why I hate Rey Frickin Ordonez. I blame him for everything that went wrong in 2001. Like I said, Melvin Mora was an absolute joy to watch in the outfield. But when Rey Ordonez got hurt in 2000, Melvin was asked to play shortsop and suddenly was viewed as a "utility guy." (This is how I remember it anyway). He was no Ozzie Smith at short, so Steve Phillips shipped him off to Baltimore for Mike Bordick, who turned out to be a pretty big disappointment himself. Last I checked, Melvin Mora was a rather good player.

Meanwhile, Rey Ordonez also is partially to blame for the Mets failure to sign Alex Rodriguez in the 2000/2001 offseason. With Rey Ordonez incapacitated, but with the Mets still on the hook to pay him big bucks for three more seasons, he had absolutely no trade value so The Mets couldn't trade him to free up dollars for the A-Rod tent.

Then, after stinking up Shea for another two seasons, O-Rod called Mets fans stupid. Great guy. Really hope his comeback attempt is successful.

Anyway, back to Rickey Henderson. He hasn't played in the majors in like two years but he still isn't technically retired. He likes to compare himself to active ballplayers and scoff, "if that guy can get a job, why should I be out of baseball?"

Well, I am outta here myself. I'm going on vacation, and will be gone all next week. In the meantime, Pitchers and Catchers report, so hopefully there will be more things to rant about when I get back. Meanwhile, I'll be teaching Costa Rican kids how to hit a curveball. Actually, I don't know how to hit a curveball, so maybe I'll just teach them how to blog.