Friday, June 23, 2006
Lightning and Earthquakes
Thank goodness Tom Glavine didn't throw a no-hitter tonight, as Metstradamus predicted, because thunderstorms knocked my DirecTV service out of commission, and I wouldn't have had the historic event for posterity saved on my TiVo. The Mets did win, though, beating the Blue Jays 6-1, and Tommy G became the major league's first 11 game winner. Mets fans will be holding their breath before celebrating David Wright's 3-run homer and Lastings Milledge's solo shot, though, because Dirty Sanchez left the game in the eighth inning with an injury. Jeez Louise.
Hot Foot: David Wright Vs. Alex Rodriguez stats
Remember when it seemed we Mets fans would never get over the Mets failure to sign Alex Rodriguez. And then that failure was rubbed in our faces when he was "traded" to the friggin Junkees of all teams? For the past few years now we have laughed at how he's shriveled in the big moments, and when he actually tried to slap a ball out glove in the ALCS, and waffled back and forth about deciding whether or not to play in the WBC. Still, it's been a nervous laugh, as we marvel at Yankees fans who continue to boo the reigning American League MVP as he racks up astounding stats.
Well Mets fans, Paul Hlavaty of Hot Foot implies that we finally can stop having Hot Corner envy. Paul compares the stats so far this season of our very own golden boy David Wright, with those of the man we admittedly once called Shea-Rod. Unreal, really.
Wright
AVG .338 | HR 17 | RBI 60 | OBP .405 | SLG .601
Rodriguez
AVG .281 | HR 15 | RBI 51 | OBP .395 | SLG .504
By the way, David Wright is earning $374,000 this season, compared to $25,680,727 (and no tents) for Alex.
Well Mets fans, Paul Hlavaty of Hot Foot implies that we finally can stop having Hot Corner envy. Paul compares the stats so far this season of our very own golden boy David Wright, with those of the man we admittedly once called Shea-Rod. Unreal, really.
Wright
AVG .338 | HR 17 | RBI 60 | OBP .405 | SLG .601
Rodriguez
AVG .281 | HR 15 | RBI 51 | OBP .395 | SLG .504
By the way, David Wright is earning $374,000 this season, compared to $25,680,727 (and no tents) for Alex.
Transplanted Mets Blogger Of The Month - Mets Fan In Oklahoma
I want everyone who visits my blog this month to also make a stop over at the Oklahoma City Weatherman's blog - Mets Fan In Oklahoma - at http://okcweatherman.metsblog.com
The OKC weatherman does a great jop of previewing and recapping every Mets game. In honor of deeming him Transplanted Mets Blogger Of The Month, I made up a little Photoshop creation. Hope you like it. I know you'll like his blog!
The OKC weatherman does a great jop of previewing and recapping every Mets game. In honor of deeming him Transplanted Mets Blogger Of The Month, I made up a little Photoshop creation. Hope you like it. I know you'll like his blog!
When Will Mike Pelfrey Pitch?
Had a half day at work today, allowing me to come home and watch the Mets Fast Forward of yesterday's Mets/Reds game on SNY. All the shots of the prep-work construction for the new ballpark gets me very excited about being a Mets fan. The Mets having a great season, and they have a great future on the horizon. In fact, if you're sitting in the stands at Shea, the future is quite literally, on the horizon. See what I'm getting at?
The real reason I'm posting a bonus post is that Matty Cerrone has a post today that says the word on the scene is that Trachsel's back is acting up. Hmmmmm... If Trachsel, who is due to face the Blue Jays on Sunday, has to miss a start, that can only mean one thing. I won't mention any initials, but his name is Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey is 3-1 in 10 starts with a 2.48 ERA for AA Binghampton this season. More telling is his 61 K's in 54 innings against 21 walks. Pelfrey last pitched for Binghamton on Tuesday, allowing just four hits, striking out six, leading the B-Mets to a 7-1 win over the Ohio Whogivesacraps. The point is that five days after Tuesday is Sunday.
You heard it here first. (Or second, depending on what I mean by what you heard).
The real reason I'm posting a bonus post is that Matty Cerrone has a post today that says the word on the scene is that Trachsel's back is acting up. Hmmmmm... If Trachsel, who is due to face the Blue Jays on Sunday, has to miss a start, that can only mean one thing. I won't mention any initials, but his name is Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey is 3-1 in 10 starts with a 2.48 ERA for AA Binghampton this season. More telling is his 61 K's in 54 innings against 21 walks. Pelfrey last pitched for Binghamton on Tuesday, allowing just four hits, striking out six, leading the B-Mets to a 7-1 win over the Ohio Whogivesacraps. The point is that five days after Tuesday is Sunday.
You heard it here first. (Or second, depending on what I mean by what you heard).
California Bound
As the Mets get set to take on our neighbors to the North, I'm transplanting myself due West to San Diego, where I'll pay a visit to some transplanted ex-Mets, Michaels Piazza and Cameron. Thank goodness PETA has laid back on its boycott of all things PETCO, so I'm free to root for the home team tomorrow night. I may not be able to post this weekend, but I'll do what I can and I will post some pictures when I return.
Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. I was so glad the Mets won, salvaging the split, but the afternoon start time and the presence of bigwigs in the office meant I could only periodically check the goings on via ESPN's Gameday updates. Alas, I missed Petey and his high socks and D-Wright's dingers. What a homestand though, huh? As Metstradamus said, it's quite amazing that the Mets...
Well said.
Oh, Canada!
Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. I was so glad the Mets won, salvaging the split, but the afternoon start time and the presence of bigwigs in the office meant I could only periodically check the goings on via ESPN's Gameday updates. Alas, I missed Petey and his high socks and D-Wright's dingers. What a homestand though, huh? As Metstradamus said, it's quite amazing that the Mets...
have a 3-4 homestand against the bad Orioles and the we're not sure about them yet Reds, and not get hammered for it because a 3-4 homestand actually gains ground in this division.
Well said.
Oh, Canada!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Cancelled: The All Jose Valentin Post
In pennance for all the goofing on- and ranting about- Jose Valentin that I did early on in the season, I intended on dedicating this post to the one-and-only, Mr. Porn Star Mustache, Jose Valentin. One night after getting nailed at the plate trying to stretch a triple into a homer, Jose stayed aggressive, but gotg thrown out again, this time trying to stretch a single into a double. No idea what he was thinking because it wasn't even close, but you gotta tip your cap to a guy who's trying to get as much out of this hot streak as possible. I wanted to acknowledge his leaping defensive grab, and ask the question: Back in April, would you ever have believed me if I told you that Jose Valentin would be intentionally walked for Xavier Nady? I especially wanted to acknowledge the switch hitter's decision to bat lefty against a lefty, and launch teh first pitch he saw over the centerfield wall.
Alas, I do not have the luxury of acknowledging Valentin. I can't even tip my cap to Jose Reyes for hitting the cycle.
Instead I must soak in the defeat, and leave the stand out performance by Heath Bell unacknowledged. The 9th-inning collapse by Billy Wagner against The Cincinnati Reds becomes the focal point of last night's game.
I can, although, applaud the Mets for this: their impeccable timing. Every team in every season must go through a rough stretch at some point. This is unquestionably a slump for the 2006 Mets. They lost two of three from the Baltimore Orioles, and must win this afternoon just to salvage a split with the Reds. After going 9-1 on the road trip, the Mets are just 1 and 4 so far on the homestand. But their hold on first place has not weakened. Apparently the Mets stuck a real dagger into the hearts of the Phillies by sweeping them at home last week. The Phillies lost their second straight game to the Junkees yesterday and so the Mets can rest assured that they have timed their slump perfectly. Now they can get out of it already and resume padding their 9.5 game lead!
After the game, the Mets will head to Towards their most formidable stretch of the season - nine games on the road against the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Junkees. The Mets have been road warriors, but when they return home on July 3rd to face the Pirates, they have a half-season's worth of games against patsys from there on out.
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Kaz Matsui Injured
According to the Colorado Rockies website, Kaz Matsui, who has played at AAA since joining the Rockies in a trade with the Mets on June 9, suffered a back strain while fielding before Monday's game. Matsui has not played since, and the organization has not pinpointed a return date.
Mike Piazza, who trails Paul LoDuca by a wide margin in all star voting, hit the go-ahead homerun yesterday in a 3-2 win over Texas for San Diego. The first-place Padres have won four out of their last five, and
Alas, I do not have the luxury of acknowledging Valentin. I can't even tip my cap to Jose Reyes for hitting the cycle.
Instead I must soak in the defeat, and leave the stand out performance by Heath Bell unacknowledged. The 9th-inning collapse by Billy Wagner against The Cincinnati Reds becomes the focal point of last night's game.
I can, although, applaud the Mets for this: their impeccable timing. Every team in every season must go through a rough stretch at some point. This is unquestionably a slump for the 2006 Mets. They lost two of three from the Baltimore Orioles, and must win this afternoon just to salvage a split with the Reds. After going 9-1 on the road trip, the Mets are just 1 and 4 so far on the homestand. But their hold on first place has not weakened. Apparently the Mets stuck a real dagger into the hearts of the Phillies by sweeping them at home last week. The Phillies lost their second straight game to the Junkees yesterday and so the Mets can rest assured that they have timed their slump perfectly. Now they can get out of it already and resume padding their 9.5 game lead!
After the game, the Mets will head to Towards their most formidable stretch of the season - nine games on the road against the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Junkees. The Mets have been road warriors, but when they return home on July 3rd to face the Pirates, they have a half-season's worth of games against patsys from there on out.
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Kaz Matsui Injured
According to the Colorado Rockies website, Kaz Matsui, who has played at AAA since joining the Rockies in a trade with the Mets on June 9, suffered a back strain while fielding before Monday's game. Matsui has not played since, and the organization has not pinpointed a return date.
Mike Piazza, who trails Paul LoDuca by a wide margin in all star voting, hit the go-ahead homerun yesterday in a 3-2 win over Texas for San Diego. The first-place Padres have won four out of their last five, and
The X-Man Cometh
The Mets gave the hometown crowd a real nice show last night. Besides Xavier Nady crushing two dingers, and making a leaping catch at the wall, there was a bunch of memorable moments wrapped up in the 9-2 win over the Reds as well. For instance...
Jose Valentin provided some laughs as he tried to stretch a triple into an inside the park homerun but was nailed at the plate, being tagged out by his brother. "Windmill Willie" couldn't be too mad at Manny Acta with as many runners he sent to their doom as 3rd base coach for the Junkees.
Pedro Martinez was caught on camera entertaining himself with a wiffle bat and a gum wrapper or something, and then mocking Carlos Delgado's batting stance. Delgado had a homer earlier in the game, so maybe Petey was just trying to pick up some pointers?
Lastings Milledge, whose days in the majors might be numbered as Cliff Floyd makes his way back from the DL, did his best to show off his talents by throwing out Freel attempting to strecth a single into a double.
Stevie Trachsel smacked a homer of his own, making him the first Mets pitcher to hit a homerun since Shawn Estes did it in the game when he was unable to bean Roger Clemens.
Speaking of Trachsel, the back end of the rotation is making it awfully hard for the front office to find a slot for Miek Pelfrey. Seriously, where would you put him? Trachsel has now won three straight decisions, and El Duque and Soler have both thrown complete games recently. I'm certain that we will need a spot starter at some point due to a rainout or something, but the only way he's coming up for good is if there's an injury. So let's hope we don't see Pelfrey in the rotation till next Spring.
Do the Mets lead the league in scoring exactly 9 runs in a game or what?
Jose Valentin provided some laughs as he tried to stretch a triple into an inside the park homerun but was nailed at the plate, being tagged out by his brother. "Windmill Willie" couldn't be too mad at Manny Acta with as many runners he sent to their doom as 3rd base coach for the Junkees.
Pedro Martinez was caught on camera entertaining himself with a wiffle bat and a gum wrapper or something, and then mocking Carlos Delgado's batting stance. Delgado had a homer earlier in the game, so maybe Petey was just trying to pick up some pointers?
Lastings Milledge, whose days in the majors might be numbered as Cliff Floyd makes his way back from the DL, did his best to show off his talents by throwing out Freel attempting to strecth a single into a double.
Stevie Trachsel smacked a homer of his own, making him the first Mets pitcher to hit a homerun since Shawn Estes did it in the game when he was unable to bean Roger Clemens.
Speaking of Trachsel, the back end of the rotation is making it awfully hard for the front office to find a slot for Miek Pelfrey. Seriously, where would you put him? Trachsel has now won three straight decisions, and El Duque and Soler have both thrown complete games recently. I'm certain that we will need a spot starter at some point due to a rainout or something, but the only way he's coming up for good is if there's an injury. So let's hope we don't see Pelfrey in the rotation till next Spring.
Do the Mets lead the league in scoring exactly 9 runs in a game or what?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The Plight Of Transplanted Baseball Fans
Jeff Passan has a column on Yahoo! Sports about how transplanted baseball fans around the country are screwed over by MLB's blackout restrictions. He brings up all the ridiculous rules that prevent baseball fans from seeing their favorite team's games on television. Even though MLB.com promises that for $79.95 you'll never miss another game, the reality is that fans get blacked out all the time based on outdated rules on how local markets are drawn up. It's a must-read for all transplanted baseball fans. Check out the territorial map too!
Missing The Mets
Despite living 556 miles from Shea Stadium, I've managed to make it to three Mets games this season (Two at home, one at RFK). My "record" is 3-0, and it hurts really, really bad right now to not be able to go see them. They've lost 3 out of 4 at and I wish I could go try and Show Up with my positive mojo To Shea. My brother-in-law went last night and saw them go down, and my buddy Tubby is attending tonight's contest. This stinks!!!
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Tick Tock Tick Tock
Hear that? It's the sound of the Phillies season running out. The Mets drop two in a row and the Phillies still fail to make up any ground. The Mets won today, showing off the offensive prowess they'd flexed so much on the road trip, and negating the Phillies win today. The margin between first and second remains at 9.5 games. Wright hits a grand salami, Glavine becomes the major's first ten-game winner and Pedro Martinez must be getting jealous. Not to worry, Petey. You'll get your wins in October. Tick Tock Tick Tock.
Jon Stewart did a very funny interview during the game. Chris Cotter was way overmatched here. I can't rip on him too badly though. I have actually had the opportunity to interview Jon Stewart myself and he is just too funny on his feet. When I was in college my buddy and I had a TV show on the school's closed-circuit station. I interviewed Jon and accused him of stealing the idea for his MTV show, "The Jon Stewart Show" from our show. He was just too damned funny. Jon is a HUGE Mets fan. A few years after my interview with him, I got to spend about ten hours with him over the course of two days when he was promoting his hilarious book Naked Pictures Of Famous People. He was interviewed over the phone by radio stations around the country from the studio I worked at. I engineered the calls, and in between stations (and smoking breaks) we talked a lot of Mets baseball. If you want to see Chis Cotter's interview, it's available online at UPDATE 6/21: You tube.
Some commercials that annoy me:
On the radio, the commercial that really burns me up is the one for UPS. They have a 60 second spot about how boring baseball is. This is the commercial they run during baseball games, with an audience of baseball fans. I guess this is why I always use FedEx and the good old U.S. Postal Service for me shipping needs.
This really shouldn't get under my skin, but the television spots for Verizon are really stupid. It's a bunch of guys supposedly filming a documentary about Verizon customers. They stop people on the street, or invade their home, and ask them how they like Verizon. This would actually be a funny idea, if it wasn't completely, and utterly obviously, fake. Why does this annoy me so much??? It's not even an original concept. I remember radio ads for some other company that did man-on-the-street interviews. I remember they were much more realistic, but since I can't remember what the commercials were supposed to be advertising, it goes to show how innefective the ads are. Lame.
Can you believe they are still running ads for Craftmatic adjustable beds after all these years? The ads I remember best are when they gave away a free camera just for trying a Craftmatic. remember the old people saying, "I got my free camera!"
Jon Stewart did a very funny interview during the game. Chris Cotter was way overmatched here. I can't rip on him too badly though. I have actually had the opportunity to interview Jon Stewart myself and he is just too funny on his feet. When I was in college my buddy and I had a TV show on the school's closed-circuit station. I interviewed Jon and accused him of stealing the idea for his MTV show, "The Jon Stewart Show" from our show. He was just too damned funny. Jon is a HUGE Mets fan. A few years after my interview with him, I got to spend about ten hours with him over the course of two days when he was promoting his hilarious book Naked Pictures Of Famous People. He was interviewed over the phone by radio stations around the country from the studio I worked at. I engineered the calls, and in between stations (and smoking breaks) we talked a lot of Mets baseball. If you want to see Chis Cotter's interview, it's available online at UPDATE 6/21: You tube.
Some commercials that annoy me:
On the radio, the commercial that really burns me up is the one for UPS. They have a 60 second spot about how boring baseball is. This is the commercial they run during baseball games, with an audience of baseball fans. I guess this is why I always use FedEx and the good old U.S. Postal Service for me shipping needs.
This really shouldn't get under my skin, but the television spots for Verizon are really stupid. It's a bunch of guys supposedly filming a documentary about Verizon customers. They stop people on the street, or invade their home, and ask them how they like Verizon. This would actually be a funny idea, if it wasn't completely, and utterly obviously, fake. Why does this annoy me so much??? It's not even an original concept. I remember radio ads for some other company that did man-on-the-street interviews. I remember they were much more realistic, but since I can't remember what the commercials were supposed to be advertising, it goes to show how innefective the ads are. Lame.
Can you believe they are still running ads for Craftmatic adjustable beds after all these years? The ads I remember best are when they gave away a free camera just for trying a Craftmatic. remember the old people saying, "I got my free camera!"
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