The Mets had a great record in May (18-9 before tonight's rubber game against the Giants). Carlos Delgado and David Wright each broke out of their slumps as well. I have to admit though that even with a great month behind them, I am a little nervous about June.
The Mets are slated to play the Yankees, Tigers, Twins, Dodgers, Phillies and D-backs. I am excluding the lowly Cardinals since they don't justify my point that this is as difficult a schedule as it gets. True the Yankees are squandering, but they're still the Yankees and they can never be underestimated.
Thankfully, Shawn Green and Jose Valentin should be back soon, and Moises Alou will be coming back hopefully as well which are all good things. Before this season I never would have believed that I would be missing Green's bat but he has proved me wrong.
I know I really have no rational reason to be worried since the Metropolitans are sporting the second best record in baseball, but they have trained me well and until they can recondition me, the Mets definitely still worry me from time to time. Hopefully they can just take June day by day and on July 1st I will be wiping my brow and saluting the Mets for how they whooped some of the best teams in the majors. Realistically, I will be content with winning each of the series they play...is that so far-fetched?
A few weeks ago we touched on the need for video replay on questionable HR calls. Buster Olney writes about the same subject in his blog for ESPN. If you aren't an MLB Insider, you can read the article below. more»
RP Guillermo Mota makes his way back to the majors tonight after serving his 50 game steroid suspension.
"Hopefully everybody in this clubhouse learned from [Mota's] mistake," Mets third baseman David Wright said Tuesday, according to the New York Post. "He served his
suspension, took a big financial hit, and we're going to welcome him
back because we need him."
I'm not going to get into whose fault it is that steroids were/are rampant in MLB. The whole system is flawed but Mota admitted his guilt so let's move on.
He did the crime and served the time, now let's hope his success last year wasn't a chemically enhanced fluke.
Now perhaps he can take over the middle relief role that willie has been forced to usethe struggling Scott Schoeneweis in so often.
The Red Sox's Kevin Youkilis now has a new blog to rival that of Curt Schilling's38 Pitches.
It's good to see that blogs are increasingly becoming a mainstream media source if they aren't considered one already. They really are the best social forum for people's opinions for better or worse. It would be funny if someone like Billy Wagner kept us up on his alpaca farm and other musings.
There is a petition circulating around the internet for those who believe interleague play should be abolished.
Petitions like this one rarely work, but I personally don't have a problem with interleague play except for when bigger market teams have a decidedly more difficult interleague schedule than smaller market teams. Chipper Jones recently spoke up about how unfair he felt the interleague schedule was.
I know noone's surprised but the Daily News is reporting that Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi has failed an amphetamines test within the last year.
This is interesting only because Giambi has ironically been vocal lately regarding steroid use in MLB:
“What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players,
ownership, everybody — and said:'We made a mistake.' We should have apologized back then and made sure we
had a rule in place and gone forward...Steroids and all of that was
a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid.
Nobody wanted to talk about it.”
Mr. Comeback Player of the Year (eyes rolling) is obviously trying to deal with his demons, but he could atleast lay off the amphetamines while he does so. The Angels have reportedly been interested in Giambi's services if the Yanks decide to let him go.
The San Francisco Chronicle relays the rumor that former Met and all-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson who is itching to play again, may return to the A's for one game later in the year so he can retire as an Oakland Athletic.
This is probably just Billy Beane's idea, but if Henderson doesn't get signed anywhere, this might be his best option although it a useless one.
Let it go Rickey, let it go...this kind of reminds me of Scottie Pippen's recent attempt at playing again to pay off gambling debts, strange. Is it that hard for you to find a job Rickey?
On ESPN, there is a poll being done regarding which interleague rivalry is the most anticipated. As it stands right now the Mets-Yankees series is in the lead: ESPN definitely does its part to hype the NYC rivalry, but these reults make sense to me considering Yankees & Mets fans seem to be spread out throughout the country. However I definitely figured the Cubs-White Sox matchup would rank higher...there must be a lot of Red Sox fans because I know the Braves fans aren't tilting the scale.
Geographically, the Subway Series is ranked as the most anticipated in the most states as well:
Here's a good take on interleague play by Bob Verdi at ChicagoSports.com.
Jeff Pearlman at ESPN is calling for the head of Joe Torre saying "The New York Yankees need to rid themselves of Joe Torre. Now."
Pearlman also writes:
"...the logical choice is Bobby Valentine --
who's currently managing the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific
League. Those who've had the fortune/misfortune (depending on your
perspective) of covering Valentine speak of a man who is
annoying/passionate/ insensitive/intelligent/self-absorbed/inspiring.
But one thing goes without debate -- he can manage, and he can push
guys to play hard."
As I've written before, Valentine has no wish of returning to coaching in the states. Although I would like to see more of him I don't ever see him returning and leaving his superstar status in Japan.
As for Torre, firing him is not the answer. Who are they going to replace him with, their inexperienced bench coach Don Mattingly? Whenever the mighty Yankees falter, Steinbrenner makes heads roll. Come on now, let Torre stay. I think GM Brian Cashman should head out before I see Torre being fired, but if Cashman goes I think George will pull the double switch and can Torre as well.
Bust out the brooms Mets fans, and let's sweep the Yanks back to the Bronx tomorrow.
Here is a video game style re-enactment of Endy Chavez's NLCS catch. Some nerd had way too much time on his hands but I'm glad he did: Thanks to D.J. Short for the tip!
I was riding the subway today and saw a guy with a Braves hat sitting
next to a guy with a Yankees hat. I found this interesting considering
the Mets are opening up a series with the Yankees tomorrow, then go to
Atlanta to face the Braves. Both are teams which I despise, but which
do I hate more?
Rationally, I should hate the Braves more
because they are the Mets perennial rival. Their 14 straight division
titles irks me and their renewed confidence makes them a very tough foe
this year. Plus the Yankees are after all from New York so shouldn't I
like them more? I dislike the Yankees because I have to hear Yankee
fans (mostly my friends) make fun of the Mets and hang their 26
championships over my head so perhaps it's really the fans I hate. Not the rational ones, just the arrogant, irrational ones. In the Mets' defense (and yes I'm being defensive), the Yankees were
around for about 60 years longer than the Mets so who knows how many
they would have won in that time.
I
know that I dislike both teams but as I scanned back and forth from
logo to logo I couldn't figure out which I liked less. Perhaps this is
extreme but I've decided to put my psychology background to use and
implement the scientific method to help determine which team bothers me
the most. This is hardly valid, but I tried to be as genuine as
possible, and yes I am very bored today.
Observation:
When
New York Yankees or Atlanta Braves stimuli are visible alone or
together, I have an averse reaction and become slightly angry and
nauseous. Hypothesis:
I
will react with a stronger negative reaction to Braves stimuli than I
will to Yankees stimuli. I will have no reaction to Royals stimuli. Experiment: Sample Size: 1 I I
presented myself with the following logos for 10 seconds each and rated
on a scale of 1 (no negative feeling) to 10 (extreme hatred) how I felt
when viewing them. I presented the Yankees logo by itself, the Braves
logo by itself and then simultaneously. The Kansas City Royals are my
control. II I visited the websites of the Yankees, Braves and Royals and rated how I felt while browsing on a scale of 1 to 10. Results:
I Yankees Logo: 8 An onslaught of Jeter walk off memories and negative energy flooded my entire being. Braves Logo: 7 More anger than with the Yankees but was a little more indifferent. I thought the "A" was boring. Royals Logo: 1 Absolutely no effect Yankees/Braves Logo Together: 9 I
couldn't rate it a 10 because that would mean I would have jumped out
the window of my office, but I couldn't even leave the logos on my
screen for the full 10 seconds. Similar feeling to when I smell
Absolut Citron.
II Yankees Website: 9 I felt as if I was checking out porn sites at work, neither of which I should ever be doing...I was scared of getting caught. Braves Website: 7 Although
seeing Chipper and Smoltz made me sick, I wanted to find out what was
going on with them since I try to keep my enemies close. Royals Website: 2 Who are these guys? Like the karaoke bar I was at last night, I really have no reason to be there. Discussion: I was fully expecting to find that I hate the Braves more than the Yankees but the gut reaction results don't lie. I really should
dislike the Braves more than the Yankees but I guess my feelings toward
our cross-town rivals are more negative than I thought. Either way it
looks like the upcoming week is going to be a stressful one.
In
retrospect it kind of makes sense. I feel a guilty pleasure when the
Yanks lose to the Red Sox, especially during their 2004 collapse.
Although I still hate the Braves and want to see them fail, I think
seeing the Yankees win sometimes bothers me more.
Damion Easley jacked his 6th homer in 63 at bats yesterday, adding to his torrid pace. He has done a very nice job filling in for the injured Jose Valentin, but is it enough to stay in the lineup when Valentin is healthy again? It is somewhat narrow minded to compare the two based solely on this year's performance, but Easley (63) and Valentin (68) have roughly the same amout of at bats so for argument's sake, let's see how they stack up.
Valentin was batting .279 with 2 HRs, 13 RBI and 12 strikeouts. Easley is batting .286, with 6 HRs, 13 RBI and 11 strikeouts. Easley is also beating out Valentin in slugging percentage, .603 - .471. It's also important to note that several of Easley's hits/HRs have come when he was pinch hitting which is even more of a challenge. Advantage: Easley
In the field however, Valentin has played 30 more innings and has had 20 more chances than Easley but has commited only one error to Easley's 2. Easley could have been charged with a few more as well such as the botched play with him and Green the other day. Advantage: Valentin
I know some feel that Easley may take over full-time for Valentin similarly to how Valentin took over for an inured Kaz Matsui and never looked back. However, I don't see this happening unless a 37 yr old Valentin can't return to form which is entirely possible. Plus, Kaz's fate as a Met was doomed from early on. Also, if Easley's performance tapers off the young Ruben Gotay is anxiously waiting in the wings. Regardless, Easley is doing a fantastic job, as is the entire Mets bench this year.
In 1966, the Mets chose not to select Reggie Jackson with the first overall pick. Instead, they took Steve Chilcott, a catcher who would never make it to the Major Leagues.
