Original Post 3/25...

During today's loss to the Astros, Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen were discussing some type of cartoon that may be a parody of the two plus fellow commentator Ron Darling.  One can only imagine what this might mean but Cohen said that the mystery will be revealed by Opening Day.

Stay tuned for an update on this breaking news.

Update...

Here's a link to one, here's another..definitely prefer the moustache one. There's another one out there where the 3 mesh together, kind of disturbing.  Go to SNY for all these and perhaps future commercial spots.

It seems that almost every year some unlucky chap bears the brunt of the Boo Birds' bashing. 3 years ago, Braden Looper was booed almost religiously. Before that it was Armando Benitez. 2 years ago it was sickening to hear Carlos Beltran being booed.  Last year actually wasn't too bad because the fans very rarely had a reason to be unhappy. This year however, I think Shawn Green will win by a landslide.

Matthew Cerrone at Metsblog recently asked us guest bloggers if we could ever see David Wright being booed. The answer was a rather resounding "No". I don't boo anyone unless they are being lazy like when Aaron Heilman dogged it to first base last year only to get beat to the bag by the hustling baserunner. I think Mets fans should almost never boo a player on the team we say we support.

Back to Shawn Green.  As horrible as this is to say I think many Mets fans do not want Green to succeed.  For these fans, with the high-celing prospect Lastings Milledge waiting in the wings, the sooner Green is replaced the better.  I never want a player to fail, and I'm all for giving Green a chance to prove his worth. But when the boos start raining down after every strikeout or error as I fully expect to happen, Willie and Omar will be listening, and somewhere Lastings may be smiling.

Who do you think it will be?

For more opinions on the subject of booing, check out Blog Critics and Athletics Nation.

The Associated Press is reporting that former pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday for the attempted murder of five workers on his family's ranch.

Wow, wasn't his mom kidnapped also? He's fallen a long way from my 2004 fantasy team.

In a post for ESPN.com, Tim Kurkjian tries to explain why front offices and fans of baseball obsess over stats more than any other sport.

Kurkjian wirites:


Although I'm not huge into predictions and that sort of thing, numbers are a huge part of in-game strategy, drafting players and Hall of Fame elections. Finding out which stats are the best predictors of major league success will continue to be  debated. OBPS vs AVG. and so on. Baseball fans also do their part to take it to another level, sometimes at the expense of enjoying the game which I definitely can't relate to.

Newsday's David Lennon is reporting Duaner Sanchez has a hairline fracture of the coracoid, a small bone in the front of the shoulder.  According to the article...

The team's medical staff recommends that the fractured bone be surgically repaired with a small screw, and Omar Minaya said he expects Sanchez to have the procedure in a week. The reliever has yet to give the green light, but he's leaning in that direction.

"Based upon our doctors, he needs surgery," Minaya said. "The fact of the matter is our doctors say surgery is the best option. It's rare. We're in uncharted waters."

Rumor has it Sanchez could be out until August.  That even may be a more optimistic projection.  The Mets are starting to look beat up in the bullpen.  With Sanchez out and Mota out for 50 games, it is going to be interesting who will be in the bullpen come opening day.

Dayn Perry at FOX Sports breaks down why he thinks the Yankees haven't won the World Series since winning 4 from 1996-2000.

Perry writes:

It's interesting how when the Yankees fail to win a World Series for 6 years, everyone wonders how that is possible. You don't see many articles breaking down why the Mets haven't won in 20 years which to me illustrates the nation's higher expectations for our cross-town compadres. 

This is possibly because the Mets with their 2 championships have never been labeled a dynasty.  That being said, I greatly dislike when my Yankees fans friends rub in my face the fact that they far outnumber the Mets in World Series Championships...true, but we gave them a 59 year headstart.

Barbara Barker at Newsday tells the unbelievable story of Moises Alou's reluctant return to New York.

I will leave you with this quote and you can read the article to find out the details:

This is an intense story for sure and I definitely have more respect for Alou and his decision to play in NY.

The guys at Mets Merized Online have taken a closer look at some of the numbers we have seen and can expect to see from the 2007 Mets.  I like their take on Ambiorix Burgos:

According to David Lennon at Newsday, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa gave the cold shoulder to the media today when they inquired about his recent DUI arrest (here's a mugshot). I was kind of surprised, especially since he's friends with the likes of Bobby Knight who always took the opportunity to rip into the media when he felt threatened.  LaRussa however has always been much more low-key.

Here's why I posted this.  I'm asking Mets fans to not chant the "D-U-I" chant when the Cards come to town in June like I know they are going to do.  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but I just know that someone will start it...it's very chantable (and yes, I know that's not a word). Also, I know that by asking this, it will just make people want to do it even more since you can't hold a good Mets fan down, especially when (s)he wants to berate the opponent.  Hey, I'm right there with you, but let's not be completely tasteless now.  This is what seperates us from the fans in the Bronx ~zing~.

I don't find anything funny about a DUI, and have lost a friend because of a drunk driver as many other people have.  Thoroughly depressed yet? Good...don't do the chant. Maybe I'm being a little sensitive, but whatever. "Looper sucks!" is much better anyways.

Matthew Cerrone at Metsblog is reporting that our boy Keith Hernandez is throwing out the first pitch at the Mets Home Opener on April 9th.  Too bad I won't be there due to the new lottery system and my refusal to pay more to buy them from some ticket site. Ok, I'm letting it go now.

Here is the official Mets press release.

Glad to see he's playing a part in the Mets organization these days...if not, how would we be able to add more Keithisms?!

In other news, we got our bleacher tickets today to see the Mets play the Cubs at Wrigley on August 4th, Woo Hoo!

Mets Walkoffs tells us to all relax regarding the Mets poor spring training record.

I have added another Keithism to the site thanks to Pick Me Up Some Mets.

Andrew at The 'Ropolitans informs us of upcoming screenings for the mockumentary "I'm Keith Hernandez".

Mets Merized Online says the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation is over.  There is also a nifty Q&A with David Wright from about a year ago.

Ryan McConnell at Always Amazin' points out that Carlos Beltran didn't like Rickey's suggestion to run more.

Them Mets misses Dave Williams and says we all forgot about him.

Yankees 2000 (anti-Yankees blog) previews the NL Central.

And always go to Metsblog and Hot Foot for pretty much everything.

In an article for the Philadelphia Daily News, Bill Conlin says Phillies fans shouldn't crown them World Series Champions just yet.

Conlin writes:

"What if Ryan Howard's 2007 home run output suffers a 25 percent drop from 58 to 44? What if he goes from a club record to a total that would merely be the fifth best in the 124-year history of the franchise?"

"Will the phans phreak out? Will the media maul the big guy?"

Conlin feels the Phils bullpen will be their demise after the 7th inning.

For those who don't know, Wagner had this to say about the fans in Philly:


I agree with Conlin and it's refreshing to hear an objective viewpoint come out of Philly.  A wild card spot is well within reach for them, but I still pick them to finish 2nd to the Mets IF they can hold off the Braves who will be scrapping to get back to the top.

I think the Phillies themselves are more cocky than the fans are based on what a few of them have been saying.  Maybe they're the ones who should be targeted in this article.

Baseball Prospectus writes in their Hope & Faith series how the Phillies can win the World Series.  They touch on how the Phillies may be the team to beat in the NL East but that a break or two could mean the difference between a division title and a playoff miss. Membership needed to read it unfortunately.

For a starting pitcher to throw a complete game (CG) is now a rarity. Once upon a time however it was almost a standard. In their careers, Roger Clemens (active leader) has thrown 118 complete games, and Pedro Martinez 46. Cy Young threw 749 complete games! The feat was accomplished much more often for about 80% of major league baseball's 104 year history, but in the 1980's there was a noticeable decline. This begs the question, why the dramatic change?   more »

Every year Baseball America rates each team's top 10 prospects based on "projections of a player's long term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel." How do these professionals project a player's long term worth? Probably some combo of qualitative and quantitative observations, but no one knows the exact science (assuming there is one).    more »