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!