Jose Reyes Chant in Greensboro North Carolina

I have just three days left in North Carolina, and a few of us went to the Rock 92 BrewFest to have a good time during our last weekend in Greensboro.  It was a four hour, all you can drink affair, and about three hours into it people were getting a bit drunk.  Spontaneously, an Ole!  Ole Ole Ole! soccer chant breaks out from these three or four college kids.  I chime in, but of course sing it it with "JOSE" instead of "Ole."  I did it really loud too, because otherwise you'd never even notice it, right?  My buddy Dustin joined me in my Jose chant, while the other frat boys continued with the oles, probably unaware that I was pirating their fun. 

I spotted a dude across the room in a Mets cap, eyeing me, wondering if I was a Mets fan, or if I was just some drunk named Jose who was imparting his own name into the song.  Suddenly another guy comes running over and starts singing along with the Jose chant.  At this point it was pretty even between the guys singing Ole and the ones singing JOSE.  I think even one of the guys who had started the Ole chant had changed to Jose, just for the heck of it.  Finally after a while we stopped and I asked the guy who had come over if he was a Mets fan.  He said no, he's a Nationals fan.  "Expos Suck!,"  I screamed.  He said "No, I'm an ASTROS fan."  I said, so what's with the Jose chanting then?  He gave Jose a Reyes some kind of weird backhanded compliment and then called him an illegal immigrant or something.  All righty then.  So then I saw the guy with the Mets cap walking by, the one who was confusedly watching us sing.  "PAUL LO-DU-CA!,"  I yelled.  His face brightened and he gave me a knowing point.

That's the great thing about Mets fans.  You spot a Mets cap in a foreign place and you can bet he's a real Mets fan.  You see a dude in a Yankees cap in Greensboro, and odds are he's just a frat boy.

JOSE!  JOSE JOSE JOSE!  JO-SE!  JO-SE.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Cliff Floyd's Father Passes Away

Zoë Rice posts word about the sad passing of Cliff Floyd's father. Head over to her site for the link to the story and also some very funny commentary about a very strange sighting at RFK.

Last night, in his first game back from the bereavement list, Cliff had the game-winning 2RBI single to lead the Cubs past the Giants.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update

Mike Piazza fell just a double shy of hitting for the cycle for the first time in his career during the A's 8-5 win over the Chicago White Sox Thursday. Piazza also hit his first homer at McAfee Coliseum as an Athletic. He nearly got his double in the seventh inning, but was robbed by a diving catch by the Sox's Jerry Owens.

Roberto Hernandez became the 12th pitcher in major-league history to appear in 1,000 games when he entered last night's game in the ninth inning for the Dodgers.  He gave up two runs, but the Dodgers beat the Astros anyway, 6-2, backed by fellow ex-Met Jeff Kent's three doubles.

Mike Cameron hit his 15th homer of the season, a three-run shot, to kick off the Padres 11-9 win over Colorado.

Sherman: Best of The ex-Mets in 2007

In his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman runs down the five ex-Mets pitchers having the best seasons in 2007:

1. Scott Kazmir, Devil Rays. 2. Brian Bannister, Royals. 3. Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals. 4. Heath Bell, Padres. 5. David Weathers, Reds. For a last-place team in the AL, Kazmir is 9-7 with a 3.44 ERA and 168 strikeouts. And here is something easy to forget: Kazmir is 10 days younger than Mike Pelfrey.

Hat Tip to Matt Cerrone for the link

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: ex-Mets Lead The Way

In last night's game action...

Mike Piazza broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth inning, leading the A's past the Chicago White Sox 3-2.

Jorge Julio pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Kaz Matsui had an RBI single in the ninth during the Rockies 3-0 win in San Diego.

David Weathers pitched a scoreless ninth in the Reds 11-9 win over the Cubs, notching his 24th save in 29 opportunities.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Julio Franco in Minor League Action Tonight

Ex-Met Julio Franco is scheduled to join the Braves' class A club the Rome Braves tonight when the team faces the Greenville Drive at home.

Franco was released by the Mets over the All-Star break, and re-joined with the Braves.  He hit .250 and drove in seven runs in 11 games for the Braves, and was designated for assignment when the Braves aquired Mark Teixeria.

48-year-old Franco was playing in the majors before any of the Rome players were even born.

Tough Transplanted Ex-Mets

On ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick runs down the toughest players in baseball. Toughest ex-Met on the list? Ty Wigginton, who placed #5 on the list:

If Eric Byrnes is known as the Crash Test Dummy, then Wigginton should forever be regarded as the Human Four-Car Pileup. "This guy will run into, over or through anybody or anything," said Washington Nationals reliever Ray King. Just ask catcher Koyie Hill, who suffered a broken ankle while being steamrolled by Wigginton, or Yadier Molina, whose cage was similarly rattled. Wigginton isn't the most skilled or graceful athlete. But he's a grunting, snorting, collision-inducing machine.

Meanwhile, Tom Glavine took 9th place on Crasnick's list, while David Wright, Pedro Martinez and transplanted ex-Mets Mike Cameron and Jeff Kent received honorable mentions.

Wow, what a week for Glavine, huh? First he wins his 300th, and now this? Man, what a prestigious honor!

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update - Jose Offerman

Metstradamus has a post about an embarrassing story about ex-Met Jose Offerman.

Where Have I Been?

When I first met my wife, I promised her that as long as she was with me, life would never be boring. That is one promise I've held true to. The last two months have turned everything up on it's head, but all for the positive.

The first is that I am starting a new job next month, a new job that requires a relocation which also means I'll no longer be a transplanted Mets fan! Unless you consider Central New Jersey to be out of town! Which, growing up on Long island I sure did.

The second piece of big news is that I'm going to be a dad! Scary thought, huh? And I only have months left to plan on how to ensure the kid will be a Mets fan. My dad is a huge Yankees fan and somehow I escaped his efforts to make me a Yankees fan. To make matters worse, I'll be within driving distance of Citizens Bank Park and am worried about The Phillie Phanatic influence! The strategy begins...

SO... With all the big changes I still have to figure out how this blog figures into my new life. I am open to suggestion. One thing I have been toying with is expanding the authorship of this blog to others. So, if there are any out-of-market Mets fans out there who would like to contribute to this site, please post a comment or drop me a line at michaelvcreative-blogwriter@yahoo.com and let me know you're interested. A writing sample or two wouldn't hurt either.

Other than that I still have creative energies flowing and an accompanying Mets passion that makes Mets blogging an interest. How to do it in the midst of a relocation to a new job in New Jersey while tending to a pregnant wife is still a mystery I'm trying to decode. Post your suggestions, please!

Wiphbeaters. Phillies Add Another Jerk To their Pitching Staff

The Phillies have obtained AAA right-handed reliever Julio Mateo from the Mariners for minor league shortstop Jesus Merchan .

This past May, Mateo was charged with third-degree assault after police said that he struck and bit his wife in a Manhattan hotel room.

The Mariners suspended Mateo for 10 days without pay for missing a game without permission the day after he was arrested, then optioned him to Class AAA Tacoma.

Today, Mariners GM Bill Bavasi said that "In discussions with Julio Mateo and his agent we agreed that Julio would be best suited to returning to the Majors in a different city," Bavasi said. "We had been looking for that opportunity for a while now, and were able to accomplish it today."

The Phillies are the perfect spot for this jerk. Mateo should get along great with fellow spouse-assaulting teammate Brett Myers, who is currently rehabbing from a shoulder injury. Fortunately that shoulder injury isn't from beating his wife, but unfortunately it's not from getting beat up by somebody, either.

A Pep Talk For Mets Fans

In today's papers, Wallace Matthews (who must get paid by the anti-Met word) in Newsday, but also John Harper in the Daily News write that the 2007 Mets don't feel quite as magical as the 2006 Mets.

They suggest that 2006 was our season, and 2007 must be another team's.

In response I have one word: 1999.

I think we can all agree that the 1999 Mets team felt way more "magical" than the 2000 squad. However, it was the 2000 team that made it to the Fall Classic, and the 199 team who fell to teh Braves. So, if we can capture a pennant (or more) this year, I'll happily trade in the 2006 magic. Wouldn't you?

Besides, the 2006 Cardinals made the regular season pretty much meaningless. That team barely made it into the playoffs, yet they won it all. The Mets were magic all year but their
mojo was useless against St. Louis.

Maybe, just maybe, we're saving our magic for October, when it counts?

Transplated Ex-Met Update: Ty Wigginton Traded For Dan Wheeler

In an exchange of ex-Mets, The Devil Rays have traded ex-Mets third baseman Ty Wigginton to the Houston Astros for ex-Mets righty reliever Dan Wheeler.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Mile High Ex-Mets

Kaz Matsui broke a string of 15 hitless at-bats with a single in the sixth inning last night during the Rockies' 6-3 loss to the Padres in Colorado.  The Rockies were behind early after Mike Cameron's three-run homer in the first inning.  Mike has hit eight homers in his last 31 games.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Mike Piazza Homers In A's Win

Mike Piazza, playing in the DH spot, hit a three-run homer and an RBI double for the Oakland A's in their 12 - 6 win over the Angels last night.

Julio Franco was in the starting lineup for the fourth time in five games since Atlanta signed him last week. He doubled high off the wall in right in the fourth inning and went 2-4 overall during the Braves' 4-2 win over the Giants.

Now This Is A Rivaly. Mustache Throws Julio Franco Under The Bus

John Delcos of The Journal News has by far the best of the Major Media blogs. Tonight he quotes Willie Randolph and Jose Valentin as saying Julio Franco's clubhouse leadership as being vastly overstated by the public:

“If you play, you have to produce. That clubhouse stuff is overrated,’’ manager Willie Randolph said.

Jose Valentin offered up that Franco was a less than eager participant in the club’s pre-game stretching. He also said Franco wouldn’t hesitate to get in the face of some of the younger players about doing their jobs even though he was hitting .200.

“To be a leader for me, it’s not enough to talk all the time,’’ Valentin said. “You have to go out and do it yourself.’’

Now I'm really looking forward to the August series against Atlanta.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Ty Wigginton is on FIRE!!!

Ex-Met Ty Wigginton has eight hits in his last eight plate appearances, matching Aubrey Huff's 2004 Devil Rays team record (The major league record is 12). Wigginton had one hit in his previous 21 at-bats at Tropicana Field. "I've been doing the same thing I've been doing all year," Wigginton said.

En Fuego!!

Consistency On The Left Side Of The Mets' Infield? Wow!

Wright and Reyes, each 24, started their 396th game together last night in San Diego. It's the most by any third base-shortstop combination in club history. The old mark was 394 by 3B Howard Johnson and SS Kevin Elster.

Tansplanted Ex-Mets Update: Julio Franco A Brave, Again

The Braves have picked up Julio Franco... I guess they are looking for some mojo or something because this guy was completely useless in a Mets uniform, save for sending Carlos Beltran out for a curtain call fourteen months ago. Matt Cerrone is confident Franco is going to beat us in a big spot sometime this season but I just don't see it. As far as I'm concerned, let Franco continue to set the record for Oldest Position Player To Ground Out To Second Base In A Road Game, in any other uniform other than the Mets.

I Get To Watch The Mets Win on SNY

Well, that was fun. El Duque was inspiring, Beltran was a hitter, LoDuca and Valentin were clutch... well worth staying u until almost 1 AM for. Mets win, 7-0, defeating Jake Peavy to move 3 games up in the loss column over the Bravos, who fell again to Cincy.

There were quite a few odd sights tonight, not the least of which was El Duque with a straight steal of second base, but the weirdest thing to me was briefly seeing some Mets fan wandering around the stands directly behind homeplate wearing a pristine #44 Jay Payton jersey. Remember when he was the next big thing for the Mets? Speaking of which, Lastings Milledge had an 0-4 with a sacfly RBI tonight. Will Milledge really be the next Darryl Strawberry? Or the next Jay Payton?

Transplanted Ex-Mets Quote: Gary Carter on Barry Bonds

From an article on ESPN.com:

Carter, an 11-time All-Star who hit 324 homers, said Bonds has had "a great career," but questions if he could have gotten so big without performance-enhancing drugs.

"I saw him when he first broke in. He was a scrawny, skinny, 185-pound guy that had great talent. And then he turned himself into a freakin' power hitter with, what, 245, 250 pounds, and his head got twice the size. So, you know, you figure it out," he said.

"I know he likes to go to the gym. We all like to go to the gym. You just don't get that big," he said.

Stupid Schedule

My life has started to calm down (a little), but of course I couldn't watch any games with WPIX being unavailable on my DirecTV, and of course now the Metropolitans head west for 10:00 games.  Ugh.  Well, at least they're winning now, right?

What I'm most thrilled about is the performance of our youngsters.  Whatever the standings at the end of the year, we have to be thrilled about our future considering the performances of Lastings Milledge, Oliver Perez et al.  I happen to think there's no chance in hell of Omar unloading Lastings.  His rap career might bug the old white suits in the front office, but no way is Omar unloading a kid with this much potential whose contract is under control for the next several years.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets on The Mend

Mike Piazza has begun his rehab assignment for the A's. The plan for him to work on his catching, now that he's lost his hold on the everyday DH job, has been scrapped because he couldn't get his shoulder into throwing shape. Now, he's back to working on his swing, and once he's ready he'll either join the A's big league team or Billy Beane has agreed to trade him to a team he's willing to go to.

Melvin Mora is headed to the disabled list after spraining a ligament in his leg sliding into home plate on July 1st.

I'm Still Here!

The last six weeks have turned pretty much every facet of my life completely on it's head. I've had to pare down my life a bit for a while, but I will be back blogging, hopefully soon. In the meantime, an enormous 'Thank You' goes out to all the bloggers on the right side of the page for keeping me abreast of Mets news. I hope you all, who've enjoyed this blog over the past two seasons, will welcome me back into your daily routine once things settle down.

As Always, Lets Go Mets!

Photos of Mets at Tigers

On Friday I transplanted myself up to Detroit. Aside from cruising 8 mile, the highlight of the day was seeing the Mets play the Tigers at Comerica. The Mets won, 3-0, thanks to homeruns by Wright and Delgado, but mostly thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by Jorge Sosa. The game was a brisk 2 hours and 15 minutes, on a perfect evening in Motown. Here are some photos. Click on them for larger views, and then on this link for the full slideshow of the Mets vs Tigers in Detroit.

Tools For Transplanted Mets Fans

One of the best/worst things about being away from the NY Metro area is also being outside the broadcast area of WFAN. Thank goodness for the internet, this actually works out in the favor of us out-of-market baseball fans. Why? Because if we really have a hankering for Schmuck and His Lap Dog, we can listen to the simulcast on wfan.com. But if we just want the highlights, such as the Willie Randolph Report, WFAN posts those clips online too for downloading. What I like to do is tune into the simulcast at my desk at work occasionally, and download some clips onto my iPod for my commute in the car. One bit that's definitely worth a weekly download is teh Paul LoDuca report. LoDuca is surprisingly candid, and gives a nice perspective on the viewpoint from the clubhouse as well as from behind the plate. Best of all, the interview is conducted by Beningo and Roberts, so the interview is a Francesca Free Zone. Go here to get all of Joe and Evans interviews.

Here's another tool from a guy who's not a tool. Visit my friend and fellow transplanted Mets fan Dave's blog, Mets Guy In Michigan. Oh, and check out his new banner, created by Yours Truly!

Lets Go Mets!

Mota's Back. Boo Him, Too

The columnists are right. We Mets fans are hypocrites if we don't boo Guillermo Mota when he returns tonight, a day after we booed our brains out at Barry Bonds. True, we booed Bonds even before he became the focus of a steroid controversy, but I'd like to see someone look me eye and with a straight face say that last night's boo-fest was not steroid-related.

We made fun of Giambi and Sheffield and howled when Rocket and Pettite were on the front cover of the Times for steroid-related news. Just because Mota is wearing orange and blue does not exonerate him from his actions. And it's all well and good that he apologized, but he still cheated.

I expect a mixed reaction tonight if he pitches. I don't think he'll get a standing ovation or anything like that, but I also don't think he'll get booed very much, if at all. More telling will be a month down the road, and how the crowd reacts to his performance.

Personally I'd like to see him run out of town, along with Ramon Castro.

Who Let The Dogs Out (Reprise)

How do you top a three game sweep of the Fish? How do you overshadow the arrival of Barry Bonds as the story of the game? How do you chase A-Rod's cheating ways from the back covers of the sports pages?

With an amazing, Amazin' win in teh 12th inning. Down by a run, Jose Reyes redefined teh meaning of a manufactured run by drawing a walk, drawing a balk over to second, getting sacrificed to third and then drawing another balk to score the tying run... off Armando freakin Benitez! How is that night the highlight of the game on Sportscenter? Because Carlos Delgado immediately followed Reyes' balk job with a long homerun into right-center field... his second of the game... off Armando freakin Benitez. Good things come in twos, off transplanted ex-Mets. How sweet it is!

Things I Learned From Yesterday's Broadcast

-Carlos Delgado is "The Puerto Rican Mr. T" and Paul LoDuca is "Eddie Munster."

-When you can't think of a good nickname for a player you call them "Hitman," i.e. Derek Jeter, Damion Easley and Josh Phelps.

-"It's only a matter of time" before the necklaces some players wear during games get caught on a spike and cause an injury.

- After looking at their website, I still don't know what Universal Express is, but according to Tim McCarver it was "appropriate" that David Wright hit his homerun over their sign.

-Endy Chavez is God.

Mets Win, 10-7. Lets Break Out Those Brooms!

Who Are These Guys Calling Themselves The Yankees?

Wow. Even though I knew they were having a bad year, when Ron Darling read off the starting lineup for the Yankees I thought to myself, "Boy, this is a tough offense." Then the game started and from the very first play we saw what makes our Mets special. Johnny Damon rips what should have been an easy double down the left field line but our man ENDY races over picks up the ball spins and fires to Easley in time to nail Damon sliding into second. Oliver Perez, who looked very excited in that first inning, barreled down to throw 7 1/3 beautiful innings, marred only by a Hideki Matsui two run shot into the loge seats in right. But of course the Metropolitans had a homer of their own to match it - not by Beltran, Delgado or Wright, but how about ENDY! ENDY! ENDY! Billy The Real Sandman Wagner comes in to close the door in the ninth and how sweet it is.

But my favorite play of all, perhaps the most telling for me, was when Jose Reyes pretended to drop a line drive in order to try and turn a double play. In fast motion I have to admit it fooled me, but on the slow mo replay it was the funniest thing I've seen on a baseball field in a long time. Jose Reyes places teh ball on the ground, lifts up his hand, and then reaches down and grabs it again. You HAVE to scour the internets for a clip of this. Man, I love this team. They are so loose, and yet so professional too, and they win. Can you imagine that happening on even the Mets teams of 1999 and 2000? Those teams always pressed against the Yankees and Braves. Wow, I am really excited for game two today at 3:55 on FOX!

Mets Win, 3-2. Met of the Game: ENDY!

Are You Ready For Ridiculousness?

Well, it's that time of year again, when the New York media goes batshit over a three day span when our beloved Metropolitans face the Evil Highlanders. This is a time period where I really miss being part of the energy of baseball. Interleague play has its critics, and it's hard to argue with them, but when it comes to playing your geographic rival, it really is what baseball is supposed to be about - fun. Perhaps teh coolest twist this year is the the Empire State Building is going to light its crown in honor of the Mets and Yankees this weekend, and then the winner of the series will have it all to themselves for a few more days. Here's your pitching matchup, folks:

Tonight: Andy Pettitte vs. Oliver Perez
Tomorrow afternoon 3:55 (on FOX):Darrell Rasner vs. Tom Glavine
Sunday night 8:05 PM (on ESPN): Tyler Clippard vs. John Maine

This is pretty good timing for some craziness, because life has gotten pretty crazy in the world of New York baseball this past week. As a nod to our crosstown rivals, you should be aware that:

Junkees reliever Kyle Farnsworth says that Roger Clemens shouldn't be allowed to leave the team during road trips when he's not pitching. "As far as a teammate and a player, I think everybody should be here whether they're pitching or not," he said. "You don't see guys who are hurt not sit on the bench. They're always there."

Juicin Giambi finally admits publicly that he took steroids, and that baseball as a whole should apologize to the fans for its drug problem, but that "That stuff didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball." Ooooookee Dokey...

Now, back to the Mets. We'll work from the negative stuff first. The Mets have had some bad, bad publicity lately. There was a cover story in ESPN magazine about how the Shea Stadium clubhouse has basically been a free-for-all for drug runners. Transplanted ex-Mets outfielder Brian McRae (my favorite Irish Met) said that he couldn't believe how open the Shea Stadium clubhouse was compared to other parks around the league. Some Mets fans are annoyed that the Mets are singled out just because an ex-employee of theirs is in the middle of the latest steroid scandal. Well, it's awfully hard for the Mets to refute any steroid allegations, when we've had Guillermo Mota, Jorge Reyes, and now Lino Urdaneta, all suspended for steroid use. In fact, the Mets as an organization have had 10 suspensions levied against their players. According to the Times,

The only team with more positive tests is the Seattle Mariners (13). The Texas Rangers have had 10; the Colorado Rockies, the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics have had 8.

So, this is not good, obviously.

Also not good was the latest drama surrounding Lastings Milledge. Just days after I said I felt bad for him that his ill-timed injury allowed Carlos Gomez to get a call-up that he should have gotten, news breaks that he's the founder of a record label that's set to release a rap record called Bend Ya Knees with lyrics using the same language, and worse, that got Don Imus fired. The Mets are not happy. And the way that Carlos Gomez has started, I don't think it's a big stretch to say I expect the Lastings Milledge era to end, via a trade, before he's called up to the majors again. This could actually be good. He has shown his baseball talents are real, and the mets might be able to get someone really good for him.


Now for the good stuff, and there's a whole lot of good stuff. After completing a 3-1 series win over the Cubbies, punctuated buy an amazing come from behind victory in the fourth game when Carols Delgado and the Mets scored 5 runs in the ninth inning with their "A minus" team for a walkoff victory, the Mets now have a record of 26-14, and a game and a half lead over Atlanta, who just lost a four game series to the Expos. Jorge Sosa looks like the real deal, Jose Reyes hammy scare looks like no big deal, and Omar Minaya made a minor deal. Easley, Gotay and Gomez have all stepped up to make the most of their playing time due to the injuries of Valentin and Alou. El Duque's and Pedro Martinez's rehabs seem to be going well... what can we really complain about?

Lets Go Mets!

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Jorge Julio Traded Again

Less than two months after acquiring him from Arizona for former Mets prospect Yusmeiro Petit, the Marlins traded Jorge Julio to the Colorado Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim.

Julio's record with the Fish was0-2 with a 12.54 ERA, including two blown saves, in 10 games.

You may recall that the Mets acquired Jorge Julio (along with throw-in John Maine!) from Baltimore before the 2006 season for Kris Benson. The Jorge Julio era didn't even last two months, as he was traded to the Diamondbacks in May of last season for El Duque.

Transplanted Mets Fans: Watch The Mets on ESPN Tonight

Sure you'll have to hear Joe Morgan at best, or Steve Phillips at worst, but at least you'll get to see the Mets live and in color tonight. If you don't have the Extra Innings package, this is your first chance in awhile to see the Mets on TV if you're an out-of-market fan. A real nice pitching matchup too, as Jason Marquis (5-1, 1.70) takes on Tom Glavine at Shea. Gametime is 7:10 on ESPN.

The next national TV game is this Saturday, Yankees at Mets on FOX at 3:55pm. Then, Sunday night on ESPN at 8:05 is the Subway Series finale at Shea. This hopefully will be a fun weekend - the Braves are playing the Red Sox, so we can hopefully, simultaneously, build a lead against Atlanta while the Yankees get further buried behind The Sawx in the AL East.

But first, it's a four game set against the Cubs beginning tonight on ESPN. Welcome back, Cliffy!

A Good Time To Be A Mets Fan

So our team took three of four from the Diamondbacks, two of three from the Giants, and now two of three from the Brewers. That's a pretty sweet roll. David Wright is finally back to his old self, and even Carlos Delgado doesn't look like an automatic out anymore. We lost Jose Valentin to injury, but Damion Easley is beating the crap out of the ball. Moises Alou is down, but the Carlos Gomez era has begun and it looks pretty damn good one game in!

Ya gotta feel for Lasting Milledge right now. The guy silenced all the critics in Spring Training to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster but couldn't get a start because Green and Alou were both hitting over .400. So he goes back to The Big easy to "work on what he'll be for the Mets for the next 15 years." He hits well down there but goes down with a leg injury and is on the DL the first time there's an opportunity for a call up.

Now, of course this is highly unlikely, but what will the Mets do if indeed it does seem as though F-Mart, Carlos Gomez and Lastings Milledge all are the real deal? There's just three outfield positions, and it would kill you to trade any of them, or Carlos Beltran. These are nice problems to have, folks.

Transplanted ex-Met Cliff Floyd returns to Shea tonight. I'm sure he'll get a real nice ovation.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Rickey Henderson

Head over to MetsBlog for a funny story about Rickey Henderson.

I'm sure he can still hit, but the last time I saw him play the outfield at Shea he looked terrible. I guess making up for the doubles he'd hit that he turned into triple with his speed, suddenly his lousy defense turned opposing hitters singles into doubles. But he was a funny guy, so you couldn't hate him too much. Except, of course, when he picked a lousy time to play cards in the clubhouse.

Most Valuable Transplanted Ex-Mets Prospects Who Got Away

According to Baseball Prospectus, Scott Kazmir is the most valuable ex-Mets prospect in the MLB (ranked #33 on the list of most valuable players overall), while Jason Bay comes in at second most valuable ex-Mets prospect (or #35 overall, depending on what matters to you). 

What is really great about this list is that there are no true ex-Mets on the list at all, and not even any ex-Mets prospects who rank higher than Jose Reyes (#7), David Wright (#8) or Carlos Beltran (#12).  Now, I'm not sure how much stock I put in these rankings, but it's still interesting.

A little.

I'm Done

I'm Done trying to stay up till a million o'clock trying to watch West Coast Mets games.  I tried last night and only managed to flutter in and out of consciousness for a few innings before zonking out entirely.  Then I woke up exhausted and miserable at 7:30AM, knowing the last image I saw before dreamland was a 9-3 deficit.  Forget it.  SNY runs a Mets FastForward at 6AM daily.  Sign me up for that tomorrow morning.  I'd rather go to bed at a decent hour and wake up early, easing into the day than the alternative.  And tomorrow is a day game (3:35 East Coast time) so I'll be good for some Gameday Audio then.  But I won't forget this strategy the second week of June when the Mets head to LA, or in July at San Diego.  By the way, why the hell did the schedule makers break up the west Coast trips like that?  Conspiracy, I tell ya!  Conspiracy!

Friggin Barry Zito.  Friggin' catchers named Molina.  Friggin Keith Hernandez talking about how great San Francisco is.  Friggin friggin.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: ex Mets Around The Majors

As part of Tampa Bay's 3-2 win over Toronto on Saturday, ex-Mets 3B Ty Wigginton hit two game-tying homers. Hissecond homerun, to lead off the ninth, tied the score against Oakland closer Huston Street, who had converted eight of his previous nine save chances. It was the first home run allowed by Street in 52 games, dating back to last June 24. Starter Scott Kazmir allowed one run and five hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking three during a 105-pitch outing.

Heath Bell has an ERA of 0.46 for San Diego, and has allowed no runs and only one hit over his last 8 1/3 innings. Bell has allowed just one run on seven hits in 19 2/3 innings over 15 appearances. In November, Omar traded Bell and Royce Ring for Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins, neither of which made the big league team. Ben Johnson is on the 40 man roster, and may get a look if Moises Alou has to go on the DL.

Braden Looper allowed one run in six innings, helping the Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jason Isringhausen earned his eighth save of the season, and the 257th of his career. Wow. Seemed like just yesterday he was pitching for the Mercury Mets.

David Weathers leads the Cincinnati Reds with six saves. Relievers just hang around forever, don't they?

Ex-Mets on The Mend:

Marlon Anderson was placed on the Dodgers' 15-day disabled list Sunday with irritation in his right elbow.

Rick White is scheduled to to come off the Astros' disabled list Wednesday. Relievers just hang around forever, don't they?

Jorge Julio came off the Marlins' disabled list Friday. Before his DL stint he had compiled the outstanding record of 0-2, with 19.06 ERA. "I feel right now like a new Julio," he said. The Fish will be the judge of that, and Henry Owens will remain the closer until the new Julio really shows up.

Cliff Floyd did not start for the Cubs yesterday due to back discomfort. He drew a pinch hit walk in the ninth, and was immediately pinch-run for, in the Cubs 4-3 win over the Expos. Cliffy is hitting .292 with two homers and 13 RBIs on the season. He's started 17 of the Cubs 29 games this season, 12 games in left and five in right.

###

Speaking of the Expos, here's a picture of the frat boy they have running around RFK between innings to play trivia games with fans. I'm guessing the hardest part of his job is finding people in the stands who aren't there to see the opposition, or who hadn't shown up thinking there was a soccer game.

How Many Logos Do The Arizona Diamondbacks Need, Already?

I might be the only one stunned by the news that Roger Clemens is going back to the friggin Junkees. I know he's a friggin Yankees lover and all, that he wants to go into the hall as a 'Skank and all that but still, please.

Here's a chance to write a storybook ending to your career, go back to the team where you had the most success, the team with the best chance of going to the series. With the seasons Beckett and Schilling and even DiceK are having, you could throw five decent innings every fifth day and still be a hero in Boston. Instead, you head to a last place team where you need to be a savior and there's a gd circus going on every day. Stupid jackass.

Thanks a lot, Willie, for trotting out your B-Squad on a day when you have your fifth starter throwing who could seriously use some run support. Plus, it would have been really cool to sweep a four game set in the desert for the third straight year. But, nooo. Now we have to head to that clusterf*** in the Bay. I can't wait.

Here's the real problem with the Diamondbacks. Their graphic design people are working on overdrive. Seriously, how many logos does a team need? It's getting to be re-god-damn-diculous. They should trade a graphic artist for a corner outfielder. Maybe they would be more successful then.




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How I Feel About Tom Glavine

I have an odd mix of feelings towards Tom Glavine:

On one hand, I am glad he is on the team, feel confident that the Mets will win when he pitches, and I'm definitely glad he's not on the Braves. I also think he gives us a better chance of winning postseason series if he gets starts.

On the other hand, I don't care if he gets to 300 wins, I don't care when he doesn't get credit for the win in a particular game, and I don't really like him all that much. His waffling about possibly returning back to the Braves whenever the subject comes up irks me, and his creature of habit tendencies annoy me too. I don't think I'll ever consider him a "true Met."

This is my dream:

The Mets win the large majority of Tom Glavine's starts this season, yet he finishes with just nine wins, one short of 300. The Mets win the division, and go on to win the World Series with Tom earning the MVP in either teh NLCS or World Series. In 2008, Glavine goes back to the Braves and gets his win. That win #300 happens in a Braves uniform, but on the road with little fanfare. The Braves finish in last place in 2008. Glavine retires at year's end and us Mets fans can say to Braves fans: "Yeah, your guy Tom Glavine... He was quite a pitcher, but he had to come to the Mets to get a Championship."

Mets beat Snakes 9-4, thanks to the bats of Damion Easley and David Wright, and an error by transplanted ex-Met Tony Clark.

News: Chan Ho Park Experiment Over, For Now

The big league staff has seen enough of Chan Ho Park for now, and has transplanted him back to The Big Easy. In his place, meet the newest Met: Lino Urdaneta

According to the press release announcing the move, Urdaneta is a 27 year old righthander and he went 1-0 with six saves and a 5.84 ERA in 10 games in relief with The Zephyrs this season. In 12.1 innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight runs, earned, with two walks and two strikeouts.

Urdaneta was a non-roster invitee this spring. In his only major league appearance, in 2004 with the Tigers, he allowed six runs without recording an out. So, he's especially hopeful to see some big league action just so his ERA can be reduced from infinity!

Still to be seen is who will take Park's spot in the rotation. Jorge Sosa and Jason Vargas are the most likely candidates, as well as Aaron Sele. Phil Humber is the longshot.

A Couple Blogs Of Note

I try to keep my blogroll to a manageable number, just because I think that it carries more impact with just a handful of listings compared to a giant list of links to blogs that have various levels of commitments to them. with that being said, I'd like to give a tip of the cap to a couple blogs that I think are worth noting:

First of all, please have a stop by to MetsCentric, if you haven't already. This Mets blog is maintained by long time Mets fan, and fellow North Carolinian Transplant Barry Duchan. Barry's been a Mets fan since the days of the Polo Grounds, and he gives special attention to the forgotten Mets players of yore. Today he says he hopes that the new Citi Field will serve as a shrine to every player who has had the privilege of donning a Mets uniform.

Next, is a new blog that takes a unique approach to sports reporting. Intentional Foul is a Mets/Broncos/Utah Jazz blog, but it's also kind of a blog version of SNL's Weekend Update. Essentially, Len posts news stories, and then expands upon them in a satirical rant. You have to read a few posts to understand what I mean.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets On The Mound

Victor Zambrano has cracked the Blue Jays rotation, graduating from the 'pen to replace Josh Towers as Toronto's fifth starter, and was kept to a 65 pitch pitch count in his first start yesterday. In 2 and 2/3 innings against the Indians, he allowed two runs on four hits, walked three and struck out one.

Jae Seo had a nice outing for the Devil Rays, allowing two runs off seven hits and a walk, while striking out three in six innings against Minnesota. Seo wound up with a no-decision in the 10 inning, 4-3 win over the Twins. Ty Wigginton drove in the Rays first run with a fielders choice in the fifth. Then, down by a run in the ninth, Wiggy put the game into extra innings with a single off Joe Nathan.

Reds pitcher Mike Stanton came into the eighth inning against the Astros on Wednesday night and managed to finish the inning without a pitch. He picked Hunter Pence off first base, as part of a 3-1 loss to Houston and Roy Oswalt.

Giants reliever Armando Benitez was unavailable to pitch yesterday against the Rockies due to soreness in his right knee, though he may be available today. "It's all right," said Benitez, who also said he was hurt last week. "It's not too serious."

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets in Baltimore

The Orioles got help from three ex-Mets, but it still was not enough as the Mini-Mets fell to the Tigers, 3-2. Stephen Christopher Trachsel became the first Orioles starter to complete seven innings in three weeks. He allowed three runs on eight hits, but trailed 3-2 when he was removed after seven innings. The O's two runs scored on a Jay Payton double and a bases-loaded walk to Melvin Mora.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Mike Piazza Out 4 to 6 Weeks With A Bum Shoulder

Former Met and current A's Designated Hitter Mike Piazza strained his right shoulder last night diving into third base in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid being tagged. He's now headed to the DL and is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks.

Piazza hadn't exactly been tearing up the AL with his hitting. After a hot start, he's hitting .282 with just 1 homer and 8 RBIs.

Piazza is the 7th player on the Oakland roster who are on the disabled list. Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia, and Bobby Kietley are all on the A's shelf as well.

The A's come to Shea on June 22nd for a three game set. Piazza may be back by then, but since he hasn't caught at all this season, he probably won't see any action anyway, other than perhaps as a pinch hitter.

Mike's ex-Met teammate Marco Scutaro is hitting just .139 this season, but of course he did have that three-run, walk-off, homer off Mariano Rivera on April 17th so I'd say he's having a good season.

Photos From Mets Opening Day 2007

Took me long enough to post them, but here they are nonetheless...

I'm back. Where are the bats?

I'm FINALLY ready to resume my regularly schedule blogging activities.  Last Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to final exams, and then (very) early morning I headed up to D.C. and Baltimore for work (and of course a weekend at RFK!) 

First of all, what a dump RFK is.  I've been there before, and said this before, but it honestly makes Shea look like the Taj Majal.  Luckily for Expos fans, this is the last season at the stadium, with the new park opening next season.  Yes, somehow, even though construction for both parks began last year, DC's new, as yet unnamed, stadium will be ready a full year before Citi Field. 

I originally didn't think I'd be able to make Sunday's game, but my cousin who lives in the area told me last month that I had to make sure I was there because I had to be there to see the sweep completed.  well, halfway through Saturday's affair I turned to him and reminded him that we might indeed see a sweep though not the one he predicted! 

Friday's game was a mess.  O'Perez pitched well enough, especially after Austin Kearns hit a homerun in the first to give some lucky brat an autographed baseball.  Unfortunately the Mets have completely forgotten how to score runs.  It doesn't help that three members of the Mets lineup (LoDuca Wright Delgado) are automatic outs.  Thank God for Beltran Feivel and Reyes! Despite the Mets recent loss of hitting ability, Randolph oddly allowed Perez to bat for himself in the 6th inning down by a run and bases loaded with one out.  Perez struck out and Reyes grounded out to end the inning.  The ninth inning was a little fun.  Chad "the Chief" Cordero was brought in to preserve a one-run lead. Reyes and LoDuca were quickly retired, and Cordero threw a strike to Beltran.  Catcher Schneider tossed the ball back to Cordero, who didn't wait for Beltran to settle in before firing a second strike in.  Beltran argued that time had been called, but the umpire didn't budge.  Beltran screamed and yelled and got in his face.  Give credit to the ump - it's the most I've ever seen anyone argue without getting bounced.  Beltran stepped back into the box and popped out to second.  Mets lose 4-3.

Saturday, the Mets made some punk named Jerome Williams look awesome.  The guy came into the game with a 7.77 ERA but he had a no-hitter going for 5 innings.  The Expos had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, but Old Man Franco scored Endy Chavez with a pinch-hit single.  The Mets wound up winning the game in the 12th scoring runs off of a two run double by Beltran and a Wright two run single.  The real story was the first base umpire, Tony Randazzo, previously known as Friday night's homeplate umpire (see above) who was absolutely horrible calling the plays at first.  The Mets were robbed three times on calls down there, which finally prompted Willie Randolph to come out and argue, getting himself ejected.  He put up a decent spectacle, but probably could have been even more vehement.  Also notable in the game was in the fourth inning, Jose Valentin suddenly walked off the field.  Turns out he's got a bum knee and was off to teh DL.  Great.  One of the few guys hitting.  Mets win 6-4.

Sunday, Beltran scored the only run of the game for either  team, hitting a solo homerun in the 6th.  John Maine was awesome, and it was a gorgeous day to sit in the ugly stadium.  Still too bad the Mets suddenly can't hit.  Transplanted ex-Met Jesus Flores got a second straight start behind the plate.  At the plate, he attempted a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, but Julio Franco made like Keith Hernandez, charging the ball and throwing to third for the forceout.  By the way, here's a non sequitor, albeit a true one: Ronnie Belliard is a fat bastard.  Mets win, 1-0. On the whole, it was a good weekend in DC. 

Some notes:  The Expos have this idiot running around the ballpark playing trivia games or shooting T-Shirts between innings on the scoreboard.  The guy is a total frat-boy and inning after inning the guy's voice wears on you like a parasite.  I don't know who this schmuck is but he needs to shut up.  29 innings of him over a 3 day span was just too much.  Another thing RFK could do to enhance the fan experience is to ask the players to pick some more songs to come to the plate to.   Austin Kearns comes up to some country song that sings something along the lines of "some girls from my hometown have no teeth in their mouth but Some Girls Do.  Some Girls Do," Ryan Church i think came up to "Crazy Train," and Ryan Zimmerman struts up to a diddy with the lyrics "This is why I'm Hot This is Why I'm Hot I'm Hot Cause I'm Fly You Ain't Cause You Not This Is Why I'm Hot."  Over and Over again for 29 innings.  Pretty bold for a guy hitting .230.  Why does the team have a giant chicken (or is it a seagull?) for a mascot?  With attendance as poor as it is, why were there no giveaways all weekend.  You'd think sponsors would want to put their name on a tchotchke the weekend the Mets are in town, the one chance they have to get in front of some fans!  The one promotion, if you could call it that, was a pre-game concert Friday night by a Bobby Montez or something like that.  A dude singing melodramatically while playing keyboard.  Music to do heroin to, or something. 

Monday night I hoped to be home early, but due to flight delays I had to watch Monday night's debacle at a dive in the Charlotte Airport called the Fox Sports Zone.  I didn't get home until 11:30, complete with heartburn from the nachos.  Regardless, that should be the end of the Chan Ho Park Project.  Mets lose to Miami, 9-6.

Last night I was so friggin exhausted I slept right through the Mets 5-2 loss to the Fish. Missed David Wright's first homer of the season!

Today I listened to the 6-3 win on Gameday Audio, at my desk.  O'Perez continues to look good, but Wright, who although he had another RBI, made two errors, one in the ninth that allowed two runs to score.  Mets Win, 6-3.

Stay tuned to this spot for Transplanted ex-Mets updates and more of what you usually can expect here. 

Lets Go Mets!

MLB Entrance Music

When I was a kid I was a big fan of WWF wrestling, and part of the deal with a wrestler's personality was what music was played when he walked to the ring. My favorite wrestler, Macho Man, came to the ring to Pomp and Circumstance. Junk Yard Dog came to the ring to Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." That is, until, WWF created The Wrestling Album. After that he came to the ring to Grab Them Cakes. That's also around the time Hulk Hogan picked up on "Real American" by the legendary Derringer.

My reason for this tangent is to put some perspective on the topic of music for baseball players, which I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to until last year's "controversy" with Billy Wagner and Metallica, though I do remember being annoyed when John Franco gave up on "Johnny B. Goode" in favor of "Boy From New York City". During Spring Training this year, David Wright let MLB.com voters choose the music played when he comes to the plate this season (Blame MetsGrrl for that one). Meanwhile, Jose Reyes composes some of his own entrance music.

Over in the comments section of Metsblog, MouserDZ posted a link to a website that lists a bunch of MLB players and the song played when they come to bat or are introduced into the game as a pitcher. Have a gander if you're interested. The only thing I really found interesting is that according to the site Armando Benitez has finally gotten over "Who Let The Dogs Out" and has moved on to "Big Pimpin'" and "Big Poppa"

So there you go.

Too Annoyed Not To Post

Grad school obligations have forced me to take a week off from blogging, but yesterday's affair is eating at me too much not to post. I was feeling pretty damn good headed into yesterday. Pelfrey's failure didn't bug me too much Friday, and O'Perez's effort had me pretty jazzed up on Saturday, so with the beautiful weather and the Junkees dropping the first two to the Sawx life was looking good.

I don't get the CW on my set, but I do get to hear the Braves broadcasts on AM 790. So I had to listen to the clowns the Braves have hired to do their radio broadcasts. I don't know which guy is which, but when Bobby Cox got ejected one of them said that he felt bad for Bobby because he was sent down to the bowels "of this rat-infested stadium." Now hold on there, pal. Shea may not be the Taj Majal of stadiums, and I am the first one to admit that, but rat-infested is going a little too far. Despite that, I thought the game was in the bag when Reyes hit that bases-load triple, followed by an RBI by Lo Duca. I happily headed into my class meeting at that point. When I came out an hour later I was shocked to hear teh game still playing, and when they said Sele was being brought into the game, for some reason I had a feeling of dread in my stomach. Sure enough, the Mets 6-3 lead had become a 9-6 deficit. The bottom of the ninth came and went without a rally and we even had to suffer the indignity of Transplanted ex Mets pitcher Tyler Yates getting the win.

Willie is getting raked over the coals today for his bullpen management. This is the first game of the season where Willie is getting blamed for a loss. I think we fans tend to get a little too worked up over the manager. OK, maybe he did lose the game, but really how many games over the course of a season can you attribute a particular win or loss to a manager? I would venture to say the difference between a brilliant strategic manager and an awful strategic manager, is 4 or 5 games over the course of a season. Meaning the brilliant guy wins a couple games because of smart moves and the idiot loses 2 or 3 due to stupid maneuvers. Is Bobby Cox brilliant and Willie an idiot to those degrees? Doubt it. And you still have to take into account a manager's motivational abilities and his ability to maintain control over a clubhouse. Bobby V is a brilliant manager but he had to get axed because he lost control of his team, with players whining to Wilpon about stuff and whispering anonymous quotes to the media. Art Howe could light up a room but he couldn't light a fire under his team. Willie is right for this team, even if he is a stubborn guy who follows his gut when he should follow his head. His players respect him and play hard. He deserves heat today, but let's let it go at game time.

Speaking of heat, Shawn Green is hitting .338 and went 3-4 yesterday but he still is getting tons of grief over his misplay. And it's not because it was against the Braves. It's because of this guy. Milledge is hitting .342 down in The Big Easy with 5 stolen bases and a .447 Slugging Percentage. It's almost as though the Shea Faithful would rather see Milledge find his way than see Green flourish. But at this point Green is going to have to get hurt or have a solid six week slump before Milledge gets a call-up.

The Rockies come in to town tonight. John Maine will face Taylor Buchholz. Buchholz is making his first start of the year. Last year we saw Buchholz as a member of the Astros and the Mets roughed him up for six runs in 5 innings, with homers by Valentin and Delgado. What's up with the Rockies? They currently reside in the NL West cellar, with an 8-11 record. Kaz Matsui won't be making the trip to Shea, as he's rehabbing a bad back. However, we will get to see three time Met Clint Hurdle, who is the Rockies manager. The Rockies have God on their side but that's about the only thing they can brag about, except for Matt Holliday, who is leading the league in hitting.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Roberto Hernandez

At MetsBlog, Anthony DeRosa provides a link and an excerpt of an article about former Met and current Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez, who apparently grew up as a Mets fan.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Wally Backman

Newsday has a story in today's paper about 1986 Mets second baseman Wally Backman, who's taking his first step back into the game since being fired before he was hired as manager of the D'Backs two and a half years ago. He'll be manager of the independent minor league squad, the South Georgia Peanuts. The team is part of a new league called the South Coast League. It's a nice story about a guy whose name invokes nice memories from all of us who remember the 1986 World Champion Mets.

SNY has a story about Backman's return to baseball as well.

Goldfingers Delivers!

Toasty Joe, Jason, Dan at Hot Foot and of course the incomparable MetsBlog all do great jobs at capturing the Mets 8-1 conquest over the last place Phillies. Goldfingers hit two bombs, Wright extended his hitting streak, and Mr. Glavine reached win #29something. More newsworthy was Charlie Manuel's meltdown after the game. This guy has to get his psyche together, man. Not good. Not good at all. More telling to me was Aaron Rowand's post game quote. In less than a month, the team has gone from a player proclaiming themselves the team to beat, to another player saying he guarantees they'll be better than the 1997 Phillies, who went 68-94.

Mets (8-4) Over Phillies (3-9), score: 8-1
ESPN Recap
Mike V's Met Of The Game: Moises Alou

Tonight we'll see John Maine face the Florida team that plays in Dolphin Stadium. Unfortunately he'll have to match Dontrelle Willis pitch for pitch if he wants to get a win. Willis is on fire, looking to tie Babe Ruth's all-time April record tonight.

Transplanted ex-Mets to watch out for: Mike Jacobs, Jorge Julio, Henry Owens.

Options for out-of-market fans: Unless you live in Flordia, you're pretty much screwed for this two-game series. I don't have XM Radio, which boasts "every team, every game" in their ads, but ESPN's schedule says neither game is carried. Can someone out there shed some light on this? Try channel 185. If you have Extra Innings on DirecTV, tonight's game is carried on channel 740. Tomorrow night's affair is also on 740, and in HD on channel 741. If you don't have access to Extra Innings, you'll have to stick with Gameday Audio or MLB TV on the internets.

Back To What Matters - Actual Game Tonight! (Maybe)

Those of us hoping to see an O'Perez vs. Adam Eaton rematch won't get our wish, due to the back to back rainouts, and instead tonight's matchup is Mr. Thomas Glavine against the 2007 debut of Freddy Garcia. Garcia, who was 17-9 for the White Sox last season, was acquired over the winter in a trade, but found himself on the DL with bicep tendinitis before his season could get started. Depending on how healthy Garcia is, tonight could be a good matchup of pitchers. However, the game is being played in Citizens Bandbox Park, so hopefully the Mets can find their homerun stroke, get Garcia out early, and have a crack against the Wiphbeaters pitipful 'pen.

Of course there's still the minor issue of rain once again. Please oh please get this game in tonight! Debating the merits and history of Neil Diamond has gotten old...

The Red Sox "Stole" Sweet Caroline From A Canadian Beer Ad!

Beautiful Girls came out in 1996.

Wedding DJ's conducted Bum Bum Bum sing-a-longs as early as 1997.

This beer commercial is from 2001.

The Red Sox started playing the song nightly in 2002.

The Mets, as do the Rangers, have every right to play it, for the simple reason that it's fun, as pointed out by Fafif's Greg in the comments section.

I Was Going To Go With The Theory That His Quotes Were Probably Taken Out Of Context...

...but now I'm just going to pretend I didn't read this.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: DL Comings and Goings

You just knew it would happen. Off to a hot start with the Rockies, hitting .361 with 5 stolen bases in 11 games, Kaz Matsui is headed to the disabled list with back spasms.

Over in the American League, Jim Duquette's attempt to re-form the 2001 Mets takes a step forward as Jay Payton may be ready to join the Orioles lineup as soon as Friday. Payton had been out with a strained hamstring.

Hot Foot: Transplanted ex-Mets Update

Over at Hot Foot, Devon Edwards posts an update on the whereabouts of nine members of the 2003 Mets, including Timo Perez, Vance Wilson, and Jason Phillips.

Boston Doesn't Own Neil Diamond

A lot has been made around the blogosphere about the Mets "ripping off" the Red Sox "tradition" of having a Sweet Caroline sing-a-long late in the game. Matt Cerrone is embarrassed by it. Mets Grrl created a banner to protest it. Brooklyn Met Fan says it's horrendous.

Personally, I think this is much ado about nothing.

First of all, the Red Sox did not invent this tradition. Yes, it was made a little bit more famous in the movie Fever Pitch, but they only started playing the song at Fenway in 1998, so it's not like this is something Ted Williams used to lead the crowd in between innings or something. In fact, it's only since 2002 that playing the song became a nightly affair. I really think the craze of screaming BUMP BUMP BUM SO GOOD! SO GOOD! became really popular after the 1996 movie Beautiful Girls. That's when wedding DJ's around the country started playing it during parties. My buddy and I used to have a DJ business in the late 90's and we played that song all the time. So maybe the Red Sox ripped off me and Tubby !

Look I wish the Mets would bring back Curly Shuffle too. I'm permanently scarred from any music that reminds me of my wedding DJ days, so I don't care if I ever hear Sweet Caroline ever again, or the Electric Slide or the Macarena or the god-forsaken Chicken Dance for that matter.

But to worry about which team came up with the idea of playing a song from 1969 by Neil Friggin Diamond in a stadium is just silly. And by the way, Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. So there. Don't fret for a minute about taking the Jackie Robinson Expressway up to Shea and singing Sweet Caroline to your heart's content, OK? But if you want to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light, I'll catch you in the parking lot.

Unacceptable

I enjoyed busting the chops of my Braves fan co-worker about his team losing to the horrible Nationals just yesterday, and after today I'll have to endure the same abuse on Monday. What is with all the walks? And why can only the opposing team hit homeruns at Shea this season? Oh, and I loved hearing how facing Paul LoDuca was the biggest fear that Shawn Hill had about pitching against the Mets, and instead Castro the indecent assaulter got the start. I don't need to hear that.

More importantly, I'm also sick of hearing Gary Cohen speak so admirably about Dmitri Young and how he's come back from so much adversity in his life to get back to the big leagues. I love you Gary, but just because the Nationals found a place for him on their pitiful roster does not mean he's done anything to make up for his domestic violence offense. We have a real problem in this country when it comes to our tolerance to violence against women. We need to stop downplaying this.

OK, I'm off my soapbox for now.
Mets (7-4) fall to Nationals (3-9), by a score of 6-2
ESPN Game Recap

El Duque gets the loss, allowing all six runs on 8 hits, including 3 homeruns in five innings. Burgos, Schoeneweis and Joe Smith combined for four-no-hit innings following his departure in the sixth, when he was ejected for hitting Shawn Hill with no outs.

Mike V's Met of The Game: No one, but my wife came up with a new nickname for Shawn Green. She says he looks like Fievel from American Tale. I've never seen the movie, but after googling the mouse's image, I have to agree:

Mets Beat Expos 3-2

Despite the nice home crowd I think the Mets still would have rather they'd played up in heated Olympic Stadium instead of the freezing cold temperatures at Shea last night. But even though there was yet another night of control problems from their starter (Mike Pelfrey), the Mets prevailed, thanks to another night of stellar defense by the Metropolitan infielders. With the game tied at two in the seventh, the go-ahead run was scored on a pinch-hit single by Julio Franco. Julio Franco is now the oldest man to hit a pinch hit single up the middle to drive in a go-ahead run in April at Shea Stadium against a team from Washington managed by a former Mets Coach. All hail Franco!

The Mets bullpen was pretty damned good once again. Heilman got the win for his 1/3 of an inning of work, The Show recorded a hold (they still track those?) and Billy Wagner shut the door with a perfect ninth for his third save.

Mets (7-3) over Nationals (2-9) by a score of 3-2
ESPN Game Recap
Mike V's Met of The Game: Jose Reyes for scoring two runs and turning three double plays.

Transplanted ex-Mets: Jesus Flores went 0-1 as a pinch hitter, making the final out of the game.

Todayt: The Mets and Nationals play game 2, which will probably be the finale with a storm due in tomorrow. El Duque gets the start.

Moises Alou... Be Thou "Goldfingers"!

Major props to Toasty Joe for coming up with the first great nickname of the 2007 season:

Moises Alou shall hereafter be known in this space as... Goldfingers.

Well done, well done...

What's Wrong With This Photo?

Is it just me or does Alyssa Milano appear to have a GIANT HEAD in this picture? No way this isn't photoshopped.



Metstradamus coulda done better.

Alyssa Milano, because we are about the same age, is one of those girls who've always been hot...

Mets Bats Overcome Rollins Revenge

The performance last night by Public Enemy#1 Jimmy Rollins was the polar opposite of his Opening Day showing. He had two homeruns, accounting for all three of the Wiphbeaters runs for the night. Glavine didn't have his best stuff, but had enough to hand the bullpen a lead after six innings. Smith, Schoeneweis and Wagner pitched scoreless frames to close out the series winning game. Mets win 5-3, mostly on the strength of Jose Reyes (2 RBI's) and Moises Alou (3 hits, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI).

Lastings Milledge got a really nice reception by the Shea Faithful when he was announced as a pinch hitter. You can tell how badly the home crowd want to see this kid succeed. We've been looking for Green or Alou to fail. Just read between the lines or the lines themselves of blogposts of my pals on the right side of the page over the past week or so. Nothing wrong with it - we want to see our homegrown talent blossom! Wright and Reyes are the most popular players on the team, even though Beltran puts up gaudier numbers.

Gary Cohen was responsible for the two funniest moments of the night. First was when they were talking about the last time the Mets faced Jamie Moyer, back in 1986, and how it appeared Keith Hernandez had ducked the lefty. Gary couldn't razz Keith in person because he'd apparently had a car accident on his way to the ballpark. he's apparently OK, and Gary insinuated that Mex took the opportunity to stretch a three day weekend. The other funny part was, even though the ad had been plastered behind the batters box for the entire game, Gary was absolutely perplexed as to what he was looking at when the logo for madpackers was shown on screen close up. Gary was so confused, and those of us watching at home were wondering how he'd missed the ad right behind home plate! Well, it was funny to me...


Mets (6-3) defeat Phillies (2-7), by a score of 5-3
CBS Sportsline Game Recap
Mike V's Met of the Game: Jose Reyes
Tonight:

The Expos roll into town tonight, serving as a nice welcome mat for Michael Pelfrey to make his 2007 debut He'll face John Patterson tonight, he of the 0-2 record and ERA over 9.

Transplanted ex-Mets watch: Manny Acta's new team beat the Braves last night, 2-0 and will try and show that they can be competitive. Former Mets prospect Jesus Flores may see some action this weekend, but Alex Escobar is on the DL with continuing shoulder problems.

Options for out-of-market fans: This weekend, if you live in the mid-Atlantic region of the country you can catch the game on MASN. Otherwise you're stuck with XM Radio, Gameday Audio, or MLB.tv. Your next opportunity to Meet The Mets on national TV is Monday night against the Phillies on ESPN.

Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Richard Hidalgo

Dan over at Hot Foot reports that Richard Hidalgo has joined Edgardo Alfonzo on the roster of the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks.