As the Phillies come into town, Adam Rubin at his blog for the Daily News has a funny picture of Shane Victorino's bobblehead, hula skirt and all.

Also make sure to listen to Rick Peterson on Mike and the Mad Dog today here for info on the Mets pitching staff including the progress of Pedro Martinez.

Four Mets are still leading the way in NL All-Star voting.

Paul LoDuca, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright continue to be the top vote getters thus far for their respective positions.

          2007 MLB NL ALL-STAR VOTING

1st Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	NL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Pujols, A.	Cardinals	486,983
2.	Fielder, P.	Brewers	399,315
3.	Garciaparra, N.	Dodgers	356,871
4.	Lee, D.	Cubs	284,596
5.	Delgado, C.	Mets	282,701
2nd Base
1.	Utley, C.	Phillies	448,277
2.	Biggio, C.	Astros	303,389
3.	Weeks, R.	Brewers	280,879
4.	Kent, J.	Dodgers	278,125
5.	Valentin, J.	Mets	223,699
Shortstop
1.	Reyes, J.	Mets	563,944
2.	Hardy, J.J.	Brewers	380,772
3.	Rollins, J.	Phillies	268,383
4.	Renteria, E.	Braves	235,540
5.	Furcal, R.	Dodgers	224,766
3rd Base
1.	Wright, D.	Mets	550,862
2.	Cabrera, M.	Marlins	401,169
3.	Jones, C.	Braves	384,215
4.	Ramirez, A.	Cubs	248,964
5.	Rolen, S.	Cardinals	247,313
Catcher
1.	Lo Duca, P.	Mets	447,153
2.	McCann, B.	Braves	357,659
3.	Martin, R.	Dodgers	353,212
4.	Estrada, J.	Brewers	313,923
5.	Molina, Y.	Cardinals	237,491
Outfield
1.	Beltran, C.	Mets	758,457
2.	Griffey Jr., K.	Reds	499,132
3.	Bonds, B.	Giants	489,931
4.	Soriano, A.	Cubs	486,032
5.	Jones, A.	Braves	435,456
6.	Lee, C.	Astros	315,235
7.	Alou, M.	Mets	294,302
8.	Francoeur, J.	Braves	267,784
9.	Jenkins, G.	Brewers	258,112
10.	Hall, B.	Brewers	252,174
11.	Green, S.	Mets	229,115

Go here to cast your votes until June 28th.

If at least Billy Wagner doesn't make it from the pitching staff, we'll have issues.

One thing that has always bothered me about being a Mets fan is the way many of my fellow Metropolitan supporters can only view the ballclub’s success and/or failure in relation to the fortunes of those pinstriped fellows up in the Bronx.  Despite the fact that the Yankees and Mets are not natural rivals, play in separate leagues and until 1997 never faced each other as opponents, there isn’t a day that goes by here in the New York Tri-State area in which some inferiority complex-addled Mets devotee won’t call up a sports radio talk-show to badmouth the Yankees, bitch about their payroll to a friend at the bar, talk shit around the water cooler at work or, even worse, begin an obnoxious chant at the ballpark.

Just last week, when Barry Bonds was in town, I witnessed the ugly side of this phenomenon.  It was the second game in the series against the Giants and Bonds had not started the previous night’s game.  Therefore, there was a larger than average turnout that Wednesday night as fans swarmed Shea to either see, cheer, boo, or just plain experience the wild, coast-to-coast traveling freakshow that Barrymania has become.

So I’m sitting there in the mezzanine with my old man, and it’s the sixth inning.  The Giants are batting, up by three runs, and what do I hear being shouted with great intensity from behind me?

 “Yankees suck! Yankees suck!”

Now, I’m not about to debate the accuracy of that statement.  The Yankees surely and most definitely do suck, and at the time of the chant they were 13 games behind Boston in the American League East standings. Yet at the time the chant originated, the Yankees were in Toronto, visiting the Blue Jays.  They weren’t on the field in front of me, or even in the same city.  So why did so many of my fellow Mets fans decide to join in the rowdy chorus?

Because Mets fans are insecure.  There, I said it. 

No matter what our Mets do, they’ll always be New York’s other team. When compared to the Yankees rich and storied history they’ll always be the annoying little brother starving for attention, as the local papers continue to view Yankee losses as preferable back page material to Mets victories.  And as Mets fans there’s little we can do about this besides vent and call the Yankees names.

So when thousands of fans decide to chant “Yankees suck! Yankees suck!” at a Mets/Giants game, what they’re really shouting is “I’m insecure and resent the Yankees' success historically in comparison to my own team’s lack thereof!”  That’s quite a mouthful, though, and doesn’t lend itself to the natural rhythms of a chant.  So until one of us is able to express this point succinctly, we’re stuck with “Yankees suck!”  It’s a shame.

It’s a shame because when I head out to Shea to see the Mets take on the Giants--when it’s likely Barry Bonds’ farewell series in New York and he’s chasing the most hallowed record in the history of the game, I don’t want to have to think about the Yankees.  In fact, if it weren’t for their appearance on the out-of-town scoreboard, I’m fairly certain that I could go the whole game without thinking of them even once. But this isn’t possible when those chants get going. And personally, I want to let you all know that I’m sick of them. 

I mean, sure, the Yanks and Mets play six games against each other each season now.  It makes for good sports radio and newspaper fodder and gives the fans a chance to earn some “bragging rights,” I guess.  But make no mistake, Mets Heads. These teams are not natural rivals.  For the Mets, the Braves are a rival. The Phillies, maybe. Maybe. But not the Yankees.  The Yankee rivalry exists only in the minds of instigating sportswriters and us fans.

So please, I beg of you, Mets fans.  Let the chants rest.  We’re the New York Mets, and despite our mere two championships and spotty forty-five-year history, that’s just going to have to be good enough for us. The Yankees are in Chicago anyway, and they can’t hear your chant no matter how loud you yell.