I'm too depressed to write full paragraphs. Here's some quick hits.
Melvin Mora taunts me. He's the Transplanted Ex-Met who's trade I lament the most. Even more than that dude I won't mention.
Did you know that Pat Burrell is 0 for 17 against Pedro Martinez?
The Oakland A's have won their 8th straight game, led by Transplanted Ex-Met Jay Payton and Marco Scutaro and Possibly-Soon-To-Be-Transplanted-Future-Met Barry Zito.
The Mets are having their best season in 18 years and yesterday at dinner a friend encouraged me to watch the World Cup this afternoon. He's a Transplanted Ex-European so I forgive him, but really there is no chance of that happening.
Kris Benson pitches at Shea tonight, and still talks like he's on the team. Maybe he'll stink on purpose?
Unless Cliffy Floyd has to go on the DL, It's just about Milledge Time to return to AAA.
Heilman didn't get into the rotation because he was too effective as a reliever. Now that he stinks, will he be slotted in?
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Friday, June 16, 2006
Spreading The Love
Got some extra traffic today thanks to a link from metsblog (thanks Matt!). Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you like what you see. Once you've nosed around a bit, stop by some of the other blogs on the right side of the page. Gotta spread some love to my fellow bloggers...
Some bloggers working especially hard of late are HotFoot, Metstradamus, Toasty Joe, Dan In Texas and Dave Murray!
Lets Go Mets!
Some bloggers working especially hard of late are HotFoot, Metstradamus, Toasty Joe, Dan In Texas and Dave Murray!
Lets Go Mets!
The Weirdest Feeling
Every year for the past five years, sometime around mid-to-late August, I've had to switch my allegience - from rooting FOR the Mets to rooting AGAINST the Yankees. I had to divert my energies from cheering the Mets to lamenting the Mets failures. But this year is different. This year is amazing. But in some ways, I don't know how to handle it!
I am not complaining. I am really, really, really enjoying this season.
But this is weird.
It almost doesn't feel like being a Mets fan. It's very un-Mets fan like.
The Mets are not just good - they are a great team. MAN!
I have nothing to complain about, nothing to whine about. I don't have to pick up my fellow Mets fans with optimistic predictions of turn-arounds and comebacks.
This is just plain crazy.
If only my fellow North Carolinians would get over this silly hockey obsession and start realizing the greatness of THE FIRST PLACE METS, THE BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL METS, THE M-E-T-S NEW YORK METS, my life would be perfect right now.
I am not complaining. I am really, really, really enjoying this season.
But this is weird.
It almost doesn't feel like being a Mets fan. It's very un-Mets fan like.
The Mets are not just good - they are a great team. MAN!
I have nothing to complain about, nothing to whine about. I don't have to pick up my fellow Mets fans with optimistic predictions of turn-arounds and comebacks.
This is just plain crazy.
If only my fellow North Carolinians would get over this silly hockey obsession and start realizing the greatness of THE FIRST PLACE METS, THE BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL METS, THE M-E-T-S NEW YORK METS, my life would be perfect right now.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Darryl Strawberry's Nicknames
What an education we got watching tonight's Mets game! First of all, of course, the Mets won 9-3, sending the Phils 8 1/2 games back, and the Braves 12 games back. But what was really interesting was the ancillary stuff we learned from commentators Howie Rose, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez.
Firstly, we learned that Gary Cohen will be back in the booth Friday night, fully recovered from his appendectomy. We later learned that Gary is meticulous about keeping scorecards, and all three announcers suspect Cohen will be able to produce perfect scorecards for all the games he missed while recovering at home. I haven't kept a scorecard while at a ballgame since I was 11 years old. I just never had the attention span to stick with it. Amazing to think of Gary Cohen keeping a scorecard while watching TV.
Another thing we learned is Gary's former boothmate, the late great Bob Murphy hated people doing impressions of him. That's a real shame, because some of the ones I used to hear were hilarious. WBAB-FM used to have a Bob Murphy impersonator call in who was so good many listeners were fooled by it.
Another WFANer has a famous fan. We learned that Ron Darling is a huge fan of WFAN personality Steve Sommers. Ron said during the game that Sommers keeps him entertained while he drives home to Sag Harbor at night. I really miss Captain Midnight. I used to love listening to him. The great thing about him is how he doesn't take himself too seriously. Polar opposite of Schmuck Francesa.
We learned what makes Willie Randolph mad. Lastings Milledge cost Julio Franco an RBI when he failed to run hard on Franco's double when there were two outs, and got nailed at the plate. Milledge should have been running hard on contact, but instead he was watching to see if the ball was caught before turning on the jets. Willie was PISSED and was seen giving Milledge an earful in the dugout. I tell you what, as much as I love Bobby V, I remember a game when Benny Agbayani forgot how many outs there were in an inning and flipped a caught fly ball, which was actually the second out, into the stands as if the inning were over. I don't remember hearing about Benny getting chewed out. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is what Willie demands.
Finally, the most hilarious thing we learned was a couple nicknames that Darryl Strawberry earned when Darling and Hernandez were teammates of Strawberry. As fans, we only knew him as "Straw," but apparently Kevin Mitchell dubbed him "Pulled Muscle Face" because of Strawberry's lack of body fat. "Pulled Muscle Face"
Even more hysterical was an anecdote about Darryl challenging Doc Gooden, telling him that he could throw just as fast as him. So Darryl stepped up to the mound, as Darling tells it, and threw ten pitches, none of which cracked 82 mph on the radar gun. The episode put Strawberry on the bench with a sore shoulder, and earned him the inexplicable nickname...
..."Knuckleface."
These are things you can only learn by watching SNY.
Gotta love being in first.
Firstly, we learned that Gary Cohen will be back in the booth Friday night, fully recovered from his appendectomy. We later learned that Gary is meticulous about keeping scorecards, and all three announcers suspect Cohen will be able to produce perfect scorecards for all the games he missed while recovering at home. I haven't kept a scorecard while at a ballgame since I was 11 years old. I just never had the attention span to stick with it. Amazing to think of Gary Cohen keeping a scorecard while watching TV.
Another thing we learned is Gary's former boothmate, the late great Bob Murphy hated people doing impressions of him. That's a real shame, because some of the ones I used to hear were hilarious. WBAB-FM used to have a Bob Murphy impersonator call in who was so good many listeners were fooled by it.
Another WFANer has a famous fan. We learned that Ron Darling is a huge fan of WFAN personality Steve Sommers. Ron said during the game that Sommers keeps him entertained while he drives home to Sag Harbor at night. I really miss Captain Midnight. I used to love listening to him. The great thing about him is how he doesn't take himself too seriously. Polar opposite of Schmuck Francesa.
We learned what makes Willie Randolph mad. Lastings Milledge cost Julio Franco an RBI when he failed to run hard on Franco's double when there were two outs, and got nailed at the plate. Milledge should have been running hard on contact, but instead he was watching to see if the ball was caught before turning on the jets. Willie was PISSED and was seen giving Milledge an earful in the dugout. I tell you what, as much as I love Bobby V, I remember a game when Benny Agbayani forgot how many outs there were in an inning and flipped a caught fly ball, which was actually the second out, into the stands as if the inning were over. I don't remember hearing about Benny getting chewed out. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is what Willie demands.
Finally, the most hilarious thing we learned was a couple nicknames that Darryl Strawberry earned when Darling and Hernandez were teammates of Strawberry. As fans, we only knew him as "Straw," but apparently Kevin Mitchell dubbed him "Pulled Muscle Face" because of Strawberry's lack of body fat. "Pulled Muscle Face"
Even more hysterical was an anecdote about Darryl challenging Doc Gooden, telling him that he could throw just as fast as him. So Darryl stepped up to the mound, as Darling tells it, and threw ten pitches, none of which cracked 82 mph on the radar gun. The episode put Strawberry on the bench with a sore shoulder, and earned him the inexplicable nickname...
..."Knuckleface."
These are things you can only learn by watching SNY.
Gotta love being in first.
I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas
Doesn't it feel like Christmas today? A seven and a half game lead on the Phillies, an eleven game lead on the Braves, and an offense that just can't stop scoring. The Mets beat the Phillies 9-7 at Citizens Bank Bandbox, thanks to homers by Delgado, Beltran and Wright, some terrific defense by the Mets, some terrible defense by the Phils, and another great pitching performance by Chad Bradford.
Sure, there are things to be concerned about for the nitpickers - Glavine had his second iffy outing in a row, Heilman was extremely shaky, and even Wagner had to be bailed out by his defense - but a win tonight or tomorrow will have me clearing off my October calendar for a trip up North.
Hey, is it just me or was Howie Rose off his game last night? He didn't know how many outs there were in an inning at one point, and he was pretty shaky on a few other calls as well. When's Gary Cohen due back, anyway? Xavier Nady is back from his appendectomy, playing games in AAA. Cohen just has to talk!
Transplanted Ex-Met Update - Armando Benitez Freaks Out
Thanks Metstradamus for this link. Benitez went off the deep end after yesterday's game, ranting against the media, his teammates, the fans, and basically asking to be traded. Some choice quotes:
On the media:
On his teammates:
On the fans:
But here was the best evidence he's lost his mind:
Uh, Armando, do you really want to bring up your performances in the playoffs?
Sure, there are things to be concerned about for the nitpickers - Glavine had his second iffy outing in a row, Heilman was extremely shaky, and even Wagner had to be bailed out by his defense - but a win tonight or tomorrow will have me clearing off my October calendar for a trip up North.
Hey, is it just me or was Howie Rose off his game last night? He didn't know how many outs there were in an inning at one point, and he was pretty shaky on a few other calls as well. When's Gary Cohen due back, anyway? Xavier Nady is back from his appendectomy, playing games in AAA. Cohen just has to talk!
Transplanted Ex-Met Update - Armando Benitez Freaks Out
Thanks Metstradamus for this link. Benitez went off the deep end after yesterday's game, ranting against the media, his teammates, the fans, and basically asking to be traded. Some choice quotes:
On the media:
"It's like we never do something right. They only want to put you down on the ground, make you feel dirty and make you feel bad.... Jon Miller, all the people who work for the Giants, work on TV, say a lot of (stuff), say the bullpen is terrible, and then they come to the clubhouse like nothing (happened). I say put on a uniform and play. I bet you get your ass kicked."
On his teammates:
"I don't give a damn if guys in here have confidence in me," Benitez said. "I know what I can do."
On the fans:
"I want to put this in the paper: All the guys who boo me, I want you to go do my job. You go warm up four times in the bullpen, sit down, come back, warm up again in the rain and the cold and go in the game, and try to do your best."
But here was the best evidence he's lost his mind:
"You don't respect me, it's a big mistake - a big mistake. Because I've been in the playoffs more than anybody here. I've (played for) better teams than this."
Uh, Armando, do you really want to bring up your performances in the playoffs?
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
I Should Be Nervous...
In some ways, this is the biggest series of the season so far. Even though getting swept would still leave the Mets with a solid 3.5 game lead on the Phils, this is a BIG series. The reason is apparent to most Mets fans. I know I'm not the only Mets fan who feels like whenever expectations have been at their highest, the Mets have faltered. This is the year, the series, to prove that this year is different. That this TRULY is our team, our time, regardless of how hideous the theme song with that name is.I'm too much of a true blue (and orange) Mets fan to not BELIEVE that the Mets will win it all, but another part of being a true Mets fan is having had your heart broken so often that it is really hard to lay your heart down again without fear of it being stepped on.
Of course, as all true Mets fans also know, it is impossible to truly love something without loving it completely, so tonight, I will LOVE the Mets. I will BELIEVE! I will sit in front of the television tonight KNOWING that THE METS WILL WIN. I will put my faith in Tom Glavine and put my bravado on the line and predict THE METS WILL WIN ALL THREE GAMES AGAINST PHILADELPHIA. After all, I've still got my broom handy from the Arizona series - I won't put it away until I need to.
LETS GO METS!!!
Monday, June 12, 2006
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update - End Of The Road For Edgardo Alfonzo?
The Toronto Blue Jays released Edgardo Alfonzo today. After being released by the Angels in May, Alfonzo hit just .162 in eight games with Toronto. His best game was his last game - He went 2 for 4 on Sunday with an RBI double, but it was too little, too late as the Jays decided to promote Russ Adams as their everyday second baseman. A sad day for Alfonzo, and a sad day for Mets fans. Alfonzo was one of the classiest guys ever to play for the Mets.
Sale On Brooms - This Weekend!
Today 's a day I miss being in New York. It would be great to harass some Yankees fans. The Mets sweep the first place Diamondbacks while the Yankees get swept at home by the A's. The best I can do is remind my co-worker who's a Braves fan that Atlanta is now 10 full games back of first place. If the Mets can take two out of three from the Phillies in the series starting tomorrow, it might just be enough to put away the division.
On the flip side of missing New York is that I will get to miss the anticipated hysteria today over the news that Pedro's toe is acting up. Not to diminish Martinez's role on this club, but honestly if he has to miss a couple starts it would not be the end of the world for the Mets. In fact, I'd rather him rest his arm for a week or two in June and have his stamina preserved for September (and hopefully October). The Mets have built the best record in the National League by only getting two wins in a Pedro martinez start in the last six weeks. Just imagine if Pedro was on his A-game with stamina.
On the flip side of missing New York is that I will get to miss the anticipated hysteria today over the news that Pedro's toe is acting up. Not to diminish Martinez's role on this club, but honestly if he has to miss a couple starts it would not be the end of the world for the Mets. In fact, I'd rather him rest his arm for a week or two in June and have his stamina preserved for September (and hopefully October). The Mets have built the best record in the National League by only getting two wins in a Pedro martinez start in the last six weeks. Just imagine if Pedro was on his A-game with stamina.
Sale On Brooms - This Weekend!
Today 's a day I miss being in New York. It would be great to harass some Yankees fans. The Mets sweep the first place Diamondbacks while the Yankees get swept at home by the A's. The best I can do is remind my co-worker who's a Braves fan that Atlanta is now 10 full games back of first place. If the Mets can take two out of three from the Phillies in the series starting tomorrow, it might just be enough to put away the division.
On the flip side of missing New York is that I will get to miss the anticipated hysteria today over the news that Pedro's toe is acting up. Not to diminish Martinez's role on this club, but honestly if he has to miss a couple starts it would not be the end of the world for the Mets. In fact, I'd rather him rest his arm for a week or two in June and have his stamina preserved for September (and hopefully October). The Mets have built the best record in the National League by only getting two wins in a Pedro martinez start in the last six weeks. Just imagine if Pedro was on his A-game with stamina.
On the flip side of missing New York is that I will get to miss the anticipated hysteria today over the news that Pedro's toe is acting up. Not to diminish Martinez's role on this club, but honestly if he has to miss a couple starts it would not be the end of the world for the Mets. In fact, I'd rather him rest his arm for a week or two in June and have his stamina preserved for September (and hopefully October). The Mets have built the best record in the National League by only getting two wins in a Pedro martinez start in the last six weeks. Just imagine if Pedro was on his A-game with stamina.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
We Need Some More Cubans In This Rotation
I know Mike Pelfrey is dominating down in AA, and everyone's clamoring for a promotion to the big leagues, but don't we have any more Cuban defectors in the organization?
I don't have a lot to post today - I missed Soler's gem in favor of a party - but the next time Metsblog runs a confidence poll you're a true cynic if you vote anything short of a nine. Between Lastings Milledge, Beltran's resurgence, Alay Soler's back-to-back pitching gems, the best record in the National League, and anything else you want to throw in there, and Mr. Mets's head must be at an all time size.
Lets Go Mets!
I don't have a lot to post today - I missed Soler's gem in favor of a party - but the next time Metsblog runs a confidence poll you're a true cynic if you vote anything short of a nine. Between Lastings Milledge, Beltran's resurgence, Alay Soler's back-to-back pitching gems, the best record in the National League, and anything else you want to throw in there, and Mr. Mets's head must be at an all time size.
Lets Go Mets!
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