Wait, companies other than Topps made baseball cards too? Here are some of the best Mets

Now that we’ve counted down the Topps top 60 of all time and even added a bunch on to that, I think it’s fair to acknowledge that there are some amazing cards that were, in fact, not produced by Topps.

At the risk of completely beating the baseball card theme to death and then some, I want to point out some of the sweet Mets cards by other companies, all of which have since been banished. And it’s better than reading more about Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo.

This isn’t a countdown and is by no means exhaustive, but just some of the finest work from Topps’ vanquished rivals – part one.

1991 Score Dream Team Frank Viola and 1992 Upper Deck Bret Saberhagen.



Sweet Music Viola and Saberhagen were the two most heralded Mets hurler acquisitions prior to Johan Santana. Viola delivered, by and large, becoming the last Mets pitcher to win 20 games. Saberhagen, arrived in New York with two Cy Young Awards on his mantle, and well, didn’t add a third.



But both posed with big apples to show at least the appearance of devotion to our favorite city. Viola’s a New Yorker by birth and Saberhagen, well, likely did what the photographer told him to do.

True story: When people work for my newspaper for 10 years they are asked to pose for a photo that is used to make a little cutout figure that lines the walls of the cafeteria. I noticed that one employee posed in his Mets jersey with a big apple, a shot that might have been inspired by these cards.


2007 Upper Deck Endy Chavez

Endy’s NLCS Game Seven act of superhuman fielding is possibly the most glorious catch in Mets history, with apologies to Mr. Agee and Mr. Swoboda. Too bad Yadier Bleeping Molina had to go and ruin things. Topps used the photo for one half of a postseason card, but Upper Deck gave the moment the attention it deserves.


1984 Fleer Darryl Strawberry

To their credit, the folks at Fleer knew how to keep a design nice and simple, and not detracting from the photo. Sadly, the photos were often kind of lacking. But this card of a youthful Straw in his first full year is darn near perfect.


1986 Donruss Gary Carter

No design was too busy for Donruss, however. Sometimes it worked well, and the 1986 set was one of the company’s best. For some reason, the photos seemed particularly crisp. I love the lighting on this action shot showing Kid at the tail end of his swing, watching the flight of the ball before chugging down the basepath.

2008 Upper Deck Goudey Tom Seaver

I like retro sets, in theory. But some of the ones that have artwork instead of photos are pretty nasty, almost as if the task was delegated to Mrs. Jackson’s third-graders on finger-paint day.


But when the companies decide to make a set special, and not just something to justify the inserts, the results can be spectacular. This Tom Terrific card from Upper Deck’s Goudey set hits the mark and then some.

2007 Upper Deck Goudey Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado




Upper Deck had a good run with these sets. A year before the Seaver gem, the company used most of the artwork in the backgrounds. The Beltran card recalls the old-school ballparks. The Delgado card goes one step beyond, with the pose, the smile, the sun illuminating his face.

Paulie's metldown and other scary Mets moments

Paul Lo Duca during his meltdown as depicted in pumpkin form.

I’m pretty down on Halloween.

I didn’t mind the cartoon-like ghosts and pumpkins. But decorations have just become too realistic. It would be nice to be able to walk down an aisle of my supermarket without seeing assorted plastic severed heads in states of decay in the spots that previously held Ritz crackers with Rachel Ray on the boxes.

I even had an unpleasant moment in The Store That Has No Faults, otherwise known as Costco. Walking past the snacks I saw one of those life-sized witches holding a ball containing yet another severed head.

I didn’t realize it was one of those robotic things with motion sensors, and jumped so high that I almost dropped my Sweet and Salty granola bar sample. The cashiers were all laughing as I was clutching my chest. I went back for another round of samples because, well, I earned them.

Of course, as Mets fans, we are not strangers to scary moments.

My Halloween pumpkin design each year typically salutes some aspect of the Mets or the Homeland. This confuses the neighbors.

This year’s abrupt end to the season inspired a horrifying design, and that would be catcher Paul Lo Duca’s complete meltdown and ejection after disagreeing with balls and strike calls in a close game.

Paulie in real life.

Paulie’s contorted face showed his rage as Willie tried to drag him back to the dugout. Clearly a Met completely out of control. It probably made the front office to decide to find another catcher for next season. We'll have to see.

Alas, the Mets short history is just full of tales twisted and terrorizing.

Here are the five scariest moments in Mets history, not counting Tom Galvine’s first-inning disaster in the last game, which I’m not over yet.

Watch the video -- if you dare.

Suzyan Waldman’s Tom Seaver tribute.

Look, I like Seaver as much as the next Mets fan. OK, maybe a little more. There’s a chance Seaver would seek a restraining order if he ever saw the shrines – you’ll note the plural – in my baseball room.

But even I was close to hiding under my seat at Shea in 1988 at Tom Seaver Day. At the conclusion of the ceremony where Tom’s No. 41 was forever retired, the team directed our attention to the Jumbotron for a video tribute by Waldman, who at that point was still pretending to be an unbiased sports reporter.

It started with scenes of Shea, then a twinkling piano with Waldman breaking out with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Bad enough, to be sure. But then she started warbling modified lyrics intended to pay tribute but were so grossly over the top that even I was cringing.

I realize there is bad, and then there is Kiss Meets The Phantom of the Park So-Bad-That-it’s-Good bad.

But by the time Waldman got to the 300th win mothers were covering the ears of their crying children to protect them from further trauma. I’m very sure that had there been even one more verse most of the upper deck would have hurled themselves into the box seats.

Scary.

The most frightening moment in Mets history.

Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron collide on Aug. 11, 2005

Nothing funny about this one. A ball fell in between center and right in San Diego and both players dove, striking head-to-head.

Beltran, in his first season with the Mets, slowly rose to his knees, but Cameron barely moved and was removed on a stretcher. He fractured of both cheekbones and broke his nose.

Many baseball observers said it was the worst collision they had ever seen. Luckily, both recovered.

Bad costumes.

The 1993 “Wardrobe of Failure”

Even in their darkest days, the Mets could always say they looked good. The classy script Mets across the front of the jerseys was an established and proud look that was virtually unchanged from 1962 even as the team added sleeve stripes and collars, removed and restored buttons and tinkered slightly with the blue in the uniform.

So I nearly went into shock during a 1993 spring training game when I flipped through the program and found a photo of players modeling new uniforms with a thick, floppy tail underlining the team name.

Yup, they were going to discard the style worn by Hodges and Ashburn, Seaver and Mays, and Doc and the Kid and replace it with something that looked like it was rejected by a softball team sponsored by a bar.

Of course the team went into a tailspin and finished in the standings below the expansion Marlins, who, even wearing teal, could say they both played and looked better than our boys.

As the brilliant Metstradamas branded it, the uniforms were the wardrobe of failure. Very scary costumes, indeed.

Vince Coleman hurts kids

Among the bad things to happen during the tailed-uniform era was Vince Coleman, whose everyday play was frightening enough.

But following a game at Dodger Stadium on July 24, 1993, Vince allegedly thought it would be funny to toss a lit firecracker at fans from a car after the game, harming two children and a woman. He was charged with endangerment and sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

The thing I don’t understand is how he found Dodger fans after a game, since everyone knows the stadium empties out after the seventh inning.

Anna, the under-dressed elf

With stores starting to put Christmas decorations on display in mid-October, it’s easy to see how some people might confuse the holidays.

Kris Benson was known as much for his outrageous wife as his mediocre pitching.

And in 2006 the team decided to ask him to play Santa Claus at the annual Christmas party, where little kids are invited to sit on Santa’s lap and bask in the glory of all things Mets.

Anna decided to come to the party to help Kris distribute presents. But she apparently got the whole Christmas party/costume party thing all confused. I’m guessing Anna couldn’t decide whether she wanted to dress up like a naughty stripper or an elf – so she decided to do both.

A lot of kids – and grown-ups, too – had long lists that they wanted to share with Santa and his helper.

But Mets management was so frightened by the stunt that they banished both Bensons to the House of Horrors known as the Orioles before Opening Day.

Someone was a very naughty girl.

Cleaning up yet another Tom Verducci mess

Amazingly, Tom Verducci didn't think any of these guys were worthy of his "best players of today team."

I suppose the only thing more predictable than an outrageous Yankee-lovin’ column from Sports Illustrated hack Tom Verducci is a post from me expressing outrage over Yankee-lovin’ Verducci columns.

So for the sake of consistentcy, let’s dissect Verducci’s recent column where he picks today’s very best players at each position. He also picks the best of all-time and of the next five years and those are equally bad. But we only have so much time and energy to spend on Yankee-hacks.

Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way:

SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees. And Verducci’s rationalization: “His defense is slipping, but he is a consistent offensive force who will march well beyond 3,000 hits.”

His defense is slipping? The wax dummy of Jeter at Madam Tussauds has as much — if not more — range as the real Jeter. And the wax version can at least claim it didn’t (allegedly) give herpes to Jessica Alba, as the L.A. Rag Mag celebrity gossip site reported.

Heck, Jeter couldn’t claim five tools if he walked through Lowe’s with a gift card.

Let’s look at some facts:

Player A: .327 ave., 8 HR, 57 RBI, 75 runs, 12 steals
Player B: .303 ave., 9 HR, 47 RBI, 86 runs, 56 steals

Player A, of course, is the object of Verducci’s man-crush. Player B is our own Jose Reyes, who is clearly the better player. Yes, Jeter has more runs batted in, but he’s the DH league and has an actual batter getting on base ahead of him to drive home, as opposed to the pitcher.

Plus, Reyes is an excellent defender and appears to be disease-free.

Player Verducci should have picked: Reyes, of course.

3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees; “Best ever among a rare breed: a game-changing infielder.”

What Verducci is leaving out is that ARod has tried to change games by slapping the ball out of a first-baseman’s glove and shouting to distract at a third-baseman so he’d drop a pop-up, a move even his manager criticized.

I won’t deny that Arod hits an occasional homer. But the dude has accumulated enough baggage that the Skanks need a cargo jet to follow the team charter on road trips. This season alone we’ve had photos of him leaving adult establishments with ladies who did not appear to be his wife (Stray-Rod), and then his wife wearing t-shirts to Yankee Stadium emblazoned with an F-bomb (F-Rod). Jose Canseco has recently hinted that the source of Arod’s power might not be totally natural (A-Roid).

Then you have the on-going feud with the Blue Jays that led to bench-clearing brawls in a recent series and Roger Clemens getting suspended for throwing at a batter.

Player Verducci should have picked: David Wright. Wright hits for power, hits for average, is fast, is getting better in the field and is squeaky clean.

Closer: Marino Rivera, Yankees “His cutter is among the greatest pitches in history. When he's on, he's a one-pitch pitcher, but hitters still can't hit what they know is coming.”

Maybe, just maybe, this might have been justifiable in, say, 1998. But once people like Marco Scutaro start taking you deep, you can no longer make such claims. But Verducci also listed Rivera as the greatest closer of all time, which makes me think he has never heard of Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, closers who actually have things like Cy Young and MVP awards.

Player Verducci should have selected: Billy Wagner. Imagine, a closer who actually closes games.

C: Joe Mauer, Twins “Only 24, with a .316 lifetime average and .396 on-base percentage.”

You know it just killed Verducci not to pick Jorge Posada. I bet the SI editors forced him to throw some token non-Yankees on there so he could at least pretend he’s not biased. Mauer’s a nice player who probably should have won the AL MVP last year, which went to his teammate. But he seems to lack that fire a team needs in the on-field captain.

Who Verducci should have picked: Paul Lo Duca. Talk about fire! Did you see the absolutely crazed look in Paulie’s eyes when he got tossed back in July!

1B: Albert Pujols, Cardinals “Maybe the greatest start to a career in history: six straight seasons hitting .300 or better, with at least 30 homers, 100 RBIs, 100 runs and a top-four MVP finish.”

Greatest start to a career? Did he forget about Mike Vail’s 23-game hitting streak? All I know is that when the All-Star Game was on the line, Pujols’ own manager sent Aaron Rowland to the plate instead of Albert.

Who Verducci should have picked: Carlos Delgado. You know that if LaRussa had Delgado on the bench at the All-Star Game he would have called Rowland back. Carlos doesn’t even need to swing the bat to win a game. Remember his walk-off walk? That’s how good he is!


2B: Chase Utley, Phillies. “He's clearly the best second baseman in the game and getting better. His batting average has gone up four consecutive years.”

First of all, the dude’s name sounds like he would be in Neidermier’s frat in “Animal House,” and the last thing we need on the best-of-today team is some uptight preppy with easily breakable hands.

Who Verducci should have picked: Luis Castillo. How good is Castillo? In 2003, a Cubs fan had to make a choice. He could let Moises Alou catch a ball and send his beloved team to the World Series. Or, he could have a glorious piece of memorabilia, a foul ball hit by Luis Castillo. As we know, Mr. Bartman wanted that ball. And that speaks volumes about Luis Castillo.

OF: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox: “His power numbers may be down slightly this year, but he's still as pure a hitter as they come.”

Hey, we all know Manny is a hitting savant. But the guy is just plain nuts – look at the hair! – and fields even worse than Jeter. If the guy is so good, why did the Sox try to dump him to anyone who would pay his salary a few years ago. And take note, no one took him!

Who Verducci should have picked: Moises Alou. I’m not saying Alou isn’t somewhat injury prone. He misses a game or two or 30. But dude’s been a monster since returning from the DL.

OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: “A hit machine, his graceful, gliding style at bat, and in the field, is a pleasure to watch.”

Ichiro might be the luckiest All-Star Game MVP in history, reaping the rewards of the ball taking a funky hop off the outfield wall and rolling away from Ken Griffey Jr.

Who Verducci should have picked: Carlos Beltran. Beltran, when he does swing, also is a hit machine with a graceful, gliding style and is a pleasure to watch on the field. But unlike Ichiro, Beltran actually hits homers, setting the Mets franchise record last year.

OF: Vlad Guerrero, Angels: “He's the most dangerous offensive force in the game because he can hit absolutely anything and hit it hard. Guerrero is a great combination of power and hand-eye coordination.”

I guess Vlad is OK, But there must be a reason the Mets passed on him when he was a free agent.

Who Verducci should have picked: Matt Holliday, Rockies. You thought I was going to pick Shawn Green, didn’t you? Not a chance! Blindly picking players from my favorite team would make me no better than Verducci!

Rotation: Johan Santana, Twins; Roy Hallady, Blue Jays; Roy Oswalt, Astros; Jake Peavy, Padres; Justin Verlander, Tigers.

The Yankees rotation is so horrible that not even Verducci could justify picking one, though I bet his first draft had Clemens in the mix. Some of those guys are decent.

Who Verducci should have picked: I’ll grant him Santana as a decent pick. But he forgot Tom Glavine – you don’t pile up 300 wins stinking up the field – John Maine, Oliver Perez and El Duque.

Now that’s the best team of today! How Verducci draws a paycheck is a total mystery.

Unlike me, Ortiz is welcome in Hallmark.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy — or unwelcome — in a Hallmark.

The greeting card company unveiled its 2007 Christmas ornaments on Saturday, and I slipped into the store after snagging my wife’s Starbucks, worried that I’d find David Wright or Jose Reyes in boxes along with the other ornaments.

Because, as you know, there is a Hallmark Curse. Ask ARod.

So I was looking through the display and saw a football player, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers. Yes, that’s the guy who was in the motorcycle accident last year, making me wonder if the curse is expanding to other sports.

But there were no baseball players to be found.

It was actually hard to squeeze in to get close. There were people with checklists filling baskets with the ornaments, which I have to say are not cheap. The days of me spending $14.95 to hang Luke Skywaker on my son’s little Christmas tree have long passed.

But I digress.

Sometimes the baseball guys aren’t out early because Hallmark tends to release them in the fall. But there’s usually a photo of the player-to-be-cursed hanging in the spot where the ornament will go.

Finally a clerk came over and asked if I was looking for some thing in particular. I told her that I saw the football player, but couldn’t find the baseball player. She pulled out a catalog intended for people who take this very seriously.

Another customer, who was kind of a busy body, was listening to our conversation and paused from filling her basket.

"There’s one in there, I saw a picture," she said.

"But do you know who it is?" I asked.

"Beats me," she said. I don’t think she likes the sports ornaments.

Finally the clerk found the page, and showed me a photo of a chubby Red Sox player.

"Here it is, some guy named David Ortiz," she said. "But it won’t go on sale until October."

"Yes!" I said, pumping my fist.

"You like him?" she asked.

"Oh, he’s OK," I replied, truthfully.

"If you give them your name and address, they’ll put you on a list and call you when they come in," the nosy shopper said.

"Oh no, that’s OK," I replied nicely.

"You might not remember, and it’s good to have that little call to let you know to come in," she said, persistently.

Now, I’m in that strip mall just about every day — especially since the Starbucks opened — and I’m in that Hallmark frequently as my daughter looks for the elusive back kitty Webkinz.

But truth be told, I have no intention of buying a David Ortiz ornament since I’m rapidly running out of tree-space and limit new acquisitions to Mets items.

But I didn’t want to get into this in the middle of Hallmark with a busy body and a clerk who has no doubt suffered greatly already on Ornament Premiere Day even thought it was only 9:30 a.m.

"You’re not going to remember, let her put you on the list," the shopper again insisted.

Finally, I let the cat out of the bag.

"Ma’am, I just wanted to make sure the baseball ornament wasn’t a Met because who ever Hallmark picks is cursed and I want the Mets to win and I don’t want David Wright, Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran dealing with a curse. They’re having enough issues right now."

At this point all activity surrounding the ornaments stopped and I noticed heads turned my way.

"A curse?" the clerk said, trying not to look alarmed.

"Yup. Something bad happens to every baseball player you guys pick. Look at Ortiz, it’s not even out yet, and he announced last night he has a torn meniscus. It’s not good."

"Well, if that gets out, nobody will want to be on an ornament," the clerk said, matter-of-factly.

"If they want to make Yankee ornaments, that’s OK with me," I said.

The nosy lady was too horrified to speak. It got pretty uncomfortable.

"Hey, is that a new Webkinz?" I said, then quickly made my way to the door.

Sometimes people don’t need to know the truth.

Pausing to reflect and give thanks -- and take note of the turkeys

I think it’s a shame that Thanksgiving has become something of an afterthought for many people, lost in the crush of shopping and football.

I’ve always liked it. I’m thankful the Lord has blessed me in many, many ways and I don’t say “thank you” enough. I have my health, my family, a career I enjoy, a wonderful church, friends, blogger buddies and, of course, the Mets.

So let’s take a moment one again to reflect on all that was good this year – as well as the turkeys who get in the way.

I’m thankful: That we all got to enjoy a monumentally exciting 2006 baseball season with the Mets finishing in first place for only the fifth time. Wow, was that fun! And I think we’re the favorites to finish on top again in 2007.

Turkeys: Baseball writers who deemed Carlos Beltran only the fourth most-valuable player in the National League. I realize that writers are infatuated with homers for batters and wins for pitchers, and typically just look to the leader board in those categories to cast their votes. But fourth? Excellent blogger Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing posted on the Crane Pool Forum that he wonders if anyone has ever:
*Won a Gold Glove
*Won a Silver Slugger
*Started in the All-Star Game
*Tied his franchise's record for home runs in a season
*Broke his franchise's record for runs scored in a season
*Played on the team with the sport's best record
...and finished as low as fourth in the MVP voting. Alas, like the no-hitter, and MVP award continues to be elusive for Mets, even when they deserve it. And I’m also angry that Willie Randolph was denied the manager of the year award, too.

I’m thankful for: Costco. Or to be specific, the warehouse store’s liberal returns policy. As you might remember, my beloved 20-gig iPod went muerto last April, plunging me into depression and desperation and without the receipt demanded by Hewlett Packard to use the warranty. My clever Mom told me to go to Costco and see if they could produce the needed document. Once I arrived, the clerks said the just return the dead iPod to them and they would give me store credit to buy a new one. Needless to say, I’m the proud owner of a new 30-gig pod and sing the praises of Costco whenever appropriate – and sometimes when it’s not!

Turkey: Yankee hack Tom Verducci. Speaking of being plunged into depression, Verducci couldn’t believe that his beloved Yankees were unceremoniously dumped from the postseason by the Tigers. Verducci then wrote that “baseball is giving us an October with almost no drama, no moments for posterity and no storyline.” And worse, “If the 2006 baseball playoffs were a sitcom or talk show --- hate to break it to you, folks, but we're sitting through the Arsenio Hall of postseasons -- it would have been cancelled long ago." Apparently, if the Yankees are not involved, Tommy declares the postseason boring.

I’m thankful for: My pastor, the Rev. Paul Krupinski. Paul is a magnificent spiritual leader and has a knack for knowing when I’m down and knowing exactly what to do or say. But check this out – he’s a huge baseball fan! He’s a Cubs guy, which is OK since they’re not exactly a threat to anyone. But he formed a computer fantasy league what plays games based on stats from the previous year and a couple Hall-of-Famers we can add to the rosters. One Sunday before the service, Pastor Paul came over and said the next round of stats was available and on his desk. “I’ll get them after church,” I promised. “If you get them now, you can look at them during the service,” he responded. I’m never going to find a better pastor than that!

Turkey: Kenny “Bleeping” Rogers. We Mets fans know that Rogers can do spectacularly horrific things in the postseason. So it sure seemed suspicious when The Gambler started moving down Yankees and Athletics in the Division Series and ALCS like he was the second coming of Christy Mathewson. Then a Fox camera picked captured the image of a mysterious smudge on his palm during Game Two of the World Series, and ESPN produced photos from other games with similar smudges. Manager Jim Leyland didn’t want to send Rogers back out in front of the Busch Stadium fans – not exactly known for being bullies – and the Tigers didn’t win another game.

I’m thankful for: Speaking of the World Series, my folks presented me with an awesome early Christmas present, a ticket to Game One at Comerica Park. Sure, it would have been better to have the Mets there. But attending a World Series game – any World Series game – is a treat of a lifetime. I’ve been blessed to see Game Six in 1997, too.

Turkey: Guillermo Mota. It’s one thing when Yankees are accused of taking steroids. We expect such things. But it’s another when an active Met gets a 50-day unpaid vacation for testing positive. Now we lose the moral high ground as well as a decent pitcher for the first month and a half of the season

I’m thankful: That I had the opportunity to meet Buck O’Neil at the Negro Leagues Museum during a business trip to Kansas City in February. Buck, as everybody knows, passed away in October and was a beloved ambassador for baseball. O’Neil fell one vote shy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, yet still made it to Cooperstown for the induction ceremony in August.

Turkey: Braden “Bleeping” Looper. Looper’s lucked into two World Series rings, and Mike Piazza has none. That’s fair. Loops lost his closer’s job to Ugeth Urbina when pitching for the Fish in 2003. This year, he was caught on camera mocking the Jose Reyes chant in the Cardinals’ post-game celebration after the birds got past the Mets in the NLCS. One might suggest to Looper that perhaps the Mets would have been in the postseason last year when Looper was on the team had he not blown eight saves.

I’m thankful for: Audio Adrenaline. My favorite Christian rock band is disbanding this year because singer Mark Stuart is having vocal problems. But I salute the band for helping me grow in my faith since I discovered its music in 2001. The song “Hands and Feet” has been an inspiration for me as I try to spread His word, and time and again I was able to use Audio A songs to illustrate lessons for the middle school youth group I lead.

I’m especially thankful for: You! And other readers who find this corner of the blogosphere. I’m humbled that people come to check out this space. I appreciate all the people who read and post comments. I hope to make it worth your while. I’m grateful to the other bloggers who include me in their links.

Have a wondeful, wonderful holiday!

I'm Carlos Beltran and I approve this message

Tomorrow we can concentrate on the next most important elections – the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards.

Can you imagine if the players were allowed to campaign for these things?

Cue the ad….

A black and white photo of Albert Pujols caught with a bad expression with gloom and doom music playing in the background.

“Albert Pujols claims he’s the most valuable player in the league. But where was he when his team was tanking in the last few weeks of the season?”

Then show Ryan Howard looking dejected on the bench.

“Ryan Howard’s Phillies had a shot at the wild card, but fell short when he stopped hitting home runs.”

Then a swooshing sound followed by mocked up newspaper headline slapped at the bottom of the screen: Howard – No leadership.

Then show a nice color photo of Carlos Beltran, maybe even the video of him hitting the homer against the Cardinals in Game One of the NLCS, all while happy, bouncy piano music plays.

Carlos Beltran, right for New York, right for America. Make him your most valuable player

Then a head shot of Beltran from the right side, so the big mole isn’t there.

“I’m Carlos Beltran, and I approve this message.”

Maybe that’s not a good idea, because I’m sick of the attack ads.

I have a love/hate relationship with Election Day.

I’ve been a political junkie since I was a kid. My folks used to allow me to go with them into the voting booth at Hawthorn Elementary and pull the levers, with their direction.

I do the same thing with my kids today. But these new optical scan ballots aren’t as much fun as those huge old machines.

I took my 9-year-old to our balloting place this morning, and there were four round tables set up with cardboard desk dividers where you had to sit down and fill in small ovals with a pen that had a plastic flower taped to it, presumably so you wouldn’t accidentally walk away with it.

“This is like taking the MEAP test in school,” the fourth-grader said as she got busy coloring in the ovals I pointed to.

She made one mistake, and I didn’t want to ask for a new ballot. If Congress swings either way because of one vote in one district in Michigan, you can blame Caroline.

I dropped her off at school after we deposited our ballot in the computer and took our “I voted” stickers, but I think she’s already had the most important lesson of the day.

I vote in every election, even the dull school board contests where people are running unopposed. I think it’s one of the things that make us special as a nation. People have given their lives to preserve this right, and I don’t think there are too many valid excuses for skipping the opportunity.

It’s also true that I’d love to be able to run for something one day. But there are three factors that automatically rule it out.

1) My job. Reporters are supposed to be neutral observers. It’s tough to even keep the appearance of being unbiased it we’re sitting up there on the board or commission. But here’s a little trade secret. Every reporter sits in the audience at these meetings imagining that we could do a better job than the people sitting up there.

2) My politics. I’m too moderate for either party to want me. Which I suppose helps with No. 1. I can understand arguments from both sides.

3) My wife. She says I’m forbidden. I’m even banned from running for a church council after the last experience ended poorly.

So I’m banished to the sidelines. I might be allowed to manage Caroline’s campaign for student council next year. If she lets me. I joked about potential attack ads and she got upset.

Of course, the attack ads are one of the reasons I’m very ready for this day to be over. Michigan has spectacular fall views – if you can see the colors between the political yard signs and billboards.

But I can’t wait to turn on the television tomorrow and not have to endure the endless procession of name-calling, half-truths and untruths. Ever notice that it’s the same man’s voice in all the ads – for both sides? There must be only a handful of companies that produce these dreadful things. Can you imagine the little bitter world of hate those people live in?

Oh, and I'm not even talking about the sportwriters who vote on the MVP and other awards.

What drama is left for September?

With Labor Day in the rear view window and the Mets’ lead around 15 games, it’s safe to say the only drama for September will be around individual accomplishments.

I was curious to see if any of the season records will be in reach for our slugging Metropolitians with just 27 games to go (and we’re playing the Braves as I type this to make it 26).

Let’s see:

Batting:

Batting average: John Olerud, 1999, .356
2006: Paul LoDuca, .317

Olerud’s record is safe. And since we’re talking about Lo Duca, I think we can say that all those predictions of him fading horribly I the second half were way off.

On-base percentage: John Olerud, 1998, .447
2006: Carlos Beltran, .386

I’d forgotten just how good Olerud was, this mark seems safe, too.

Slugging: Mike Piazza, .614, 2000
2006: Carlos Beltran, .626

Looks like Beltran is ahead of Piazza! He’ll have to keep up his torrid pace for the last month – and stop running into fences -- which might be tough.

On-base plus slugging: Mike Piazza, 1.024, 1998
2006: Carlos Beltran, 1.013

Carlos has a chance to take this one, provided the extra-base hits keep coming.

Games: Felix Millan in 1975, Olerud in 1999, 162
2006: David Wright, 131

Wright’s already missed a couple games, so there’s no chance to tie this record. And truthfully, we’d rather have him get some rest.

Hits: Lance Johnson, 1996, 227
2006: Jose Reyes, 166

“1-Dog” had an awesome year in 1996. Even if Reyes gets a hit a game for the rest of the year he’d still fall about 30 knocks short of Johnson.

Doubles: Bernard Gilkey, 1996, 44
2006: Carlos Beltran, 36

Eight doubles in a month would be impressive, so Gilkey is probably safe. Wright finished 2 shy last year, and his slump probably put it on out of reach this season.

Triples: Lance Johnson, 1996, 21
2006: Jose Reyes, 16

Reyes is one away from his 2005 total, but asking him to hit five in a month is a tall order. But I think it’s safe to say Jose will lock this one up at some point in his career.

Home runs: Todd Hundley, 1996, 41
2006: Carlos Beltran, 39

This one could be over by sometime this week! Beltran’s 2006 total is already the third-best in team history – Strawberry did it in 1987 and 1988 – and is one behind Mike Piazza’s 40 from 1999.

Base on balls: John Olerud, 1999, 125
2006: Carlos Beltran, 75

Freaking Olerud! How did we let this guy go to Seattle?

RBI: Mike Piazza, 1999, 124
2006: Carlos Beltran, 112

Beltran should take this one with the homer record by the end of next week, too.

Stolen bases: Roger Cedeno, 1999, 66
2006: Jose Reyes, 55

I expect Jose to purge Mr. Cedeno from the record books by the end of the season.

Pitching:

ERA: Dwight Gooden, 1985, 1.53
2006: Pedro's at 3.84, Glavine's at 4.13

A-freakin’-mazing. Safe to say, that record’s safe.

Wins: Tom Seaver, 1969, 25
2006: Steve Trachsel, 14

Since Trachsel has six starts max, we can say this one won’t be touched. And I’m OK with that, because I don’t we want to see Steve Trachsel ousting Tom Seaver from the record books. Actually, with people saying that 15 wins in the new 20, I’d even go far as saying this one’s safe forever. By the way, Seaver, like all Mets, got screwed out of the MVP Award that season.

Losses: Roger Craig in 1962, Jack Fisher in 1965, 24
2006: Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez, 6

Considering that most manager throw a pitcher on the shelf when he gets close to 20 losses, it’s possible we won’t see the likes of anyone with 24 losses again – at least we hope not.

Games: Mike Stanton, 2004, 83
2006: Aaron Heilman, 64

This seems safe. Even if Heilman pitches in half the remaining games, we’re looking at the upper 70s. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

Innings pitched: Tom Seaver, 290.7 in 1970, 290 in 1973
2006: Tom Glavine, 165

This is another one that’s probably on the shelf forever. Can you imagine the uproar if Willie dragged 300 innings out of a young arm like Pelfrey’s or a tender vet’s wing, like on Pedro.

Complete games: Tom Seaver, 1971, 21
2006: Trachsel, John Maine, El Duque, Alay Soler with 1

Seaver was a monster in 1971. But the game has changed so much that you’ll never see any starting pitcher throw so many complete games again.


Saves: Armando Benitez, 2001, 43
2006: Billy Wagner, 34

I’d love to see Armando purged from the record book. Can Billy Wags do it? Nine saves in a month is possible, but pretty tough. I suspect he’ll come close.

So it looks like the pitching records are safe, which is not surprising when you consider that they’re held my one of the best pitchers ever and a guy who had an amazingly dominant season.

But Carlos Beltran’s run at a number of the hitting marks demonstrate what a fantastic season he’s having – a most valuable season, one might say!

The real reason we got swept.

Mets fans, we have to reveal an ugly reality: We threw the Red Sox series.

I’m convinced. And here’s why.

Our division is wrapped up. We’re up by 11 games, the Phils are throwing in the towel, the Marlins are kids, the Braves finally suck and the Nationals remembered that they used to be the Expos.

The second half of the season is going to be like spring training, where everybody plays to keep from getting rusty but avoids getting hurt. Except for David Wright and Carlos Beltran, who have to pad their stats for the MVP battle.

Meanwhile, the Yanks are in second place, four games out. And until midnight strikes for the Tigers or Ozzie Guillen talks his team into the tank, the wild card is coming from the Central Division. That means the Yanks finish in second place. And if they are in second, they’re not going to the playoffs.

We all know that a best-case scenario is the Mets in the playoffs, and Yankees sitting outside weeping on the curb with Mystique and Aura working the corners for new suitors.

A Yankee-free postseason would be a beautiful thing. Tim McCarver won’t be able to prattle on about Derek F. Jeter and his "intangibles." And think of how we’ll be sparing the casts of all those Fox sitcoms from having to make a trip to the Bronx to be seen in the front row for those thinly-masked promos.

What can we do to make this reality? Two things.

One is to beat the stuffing out of the Yanks this weekend at the their dumpy stadium in the Bronx. Considering that we were a Billy Wagner meltdown away from sweeping their sorry and saggy asses the last time we played them, I’m reasonably confident this will happen.

The other? That would be helping the team ahead of them in the standings.

The Skanks were playing the demoralized Braves, starting Tuesday at 3.5 games behind the Red Sox. Since the Braves are sitting around trying to figure out who will be their one shamed representative at the All-Star Game, the Yankees figured to take the series, which they did, winning two of three.

If we had swept the Sox — which we were fully capable of doing — we would have let the Yanks pick up two games. The only possible alternative was to hand the Chowds all three games.

Frankly, I was worried we were making it too obvious, especially Pedro on Wednesday. And Lastings must have been miffed after Willie told him to botch those balls hit to the outfield.

I figure we took one for the team. Sure, it stings for a while. But it’s better in the long run for everyone.

Use strategy when casting your All-Star ballot

One of our precious rights as Americans is to stand up and vote for people to represent us in important places like government and the All-Star Game. We must exercise that right.

Don’t go listening to whining sportswriters who say that fans should be stripped of their vote because they don’t know enough about the game. That’s elitist nonsense.

And besides, sportswriters are the ones who gave ARod the MVP last year, and who denied Tom Seaver of at least two Cy Youngs that should be hanging on his wall.

Great thought must go into filling out your All-Star ballot. It’s not something simple, like, I don’t know, picking players with the best stats.

No, there is great strategy at work. And there are two goals that override all others. First and foremost, elect as many Mets as possible. Second, keep Yankees off team.

This means that occasionally we have to cast a defensive vote and elect someone who might not be especially worthy. I didn't say this would be easy.

So here’s my ballot.

American League
First base: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

Might as well start with a controversial one. Ortiz is a designated hitter. I don’t know the last time he played in the field. I don’t know if he even has a glove. The shame of it is that a deserving player like Paul Konerko of the White Sox can’t get our vote. But Ortiz is leading in the balloting, and Yankee Jason Giambi is right behind him. Explain to me how Bonds is booed and Jason Grimsley is banished, yet Giambi — who spoke of steroid use in leaked grand jury testimony — could be the starting first baseman in the All-Star Game. Not if we have anything to say about it.

Second base: Mark Loretta, Boston Red Sox

In a just world, Robinson Cano would be dodging "Dizzy Bat Race" contestants between innings at Columbus Clippers games. But because he plays in the Bronx, misguided people think he should be the starting second baseman in the All-Star Game. I’m not saying Mark Loretta is going to make anyone forget Ryne Sandberg. But he’s second in the balloting right now, and is our best chance to purge this Yankee.

Shortstop: Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles

The fact that Yankee fans think Derek Jeter is a great player proves they are silly. The fact that they’ve convinced other voters that this stiff is going to Cooperstown makes them dangerous. Jeter’s atop the balloting, and it’s going to be tough to topple him. About the best we can hope for is that he’ll get the start and expose himself as a fraud on a national stage. Either that, or he’ll catch a routine infield fly, run thirty feet, dive into the cast of The OC sitting in the front row and have Joe Buck carry on for the remainder of the game about his "intangibles." Is it just me, or does anyone else think it’s a little strange that the casts of all these Fox shows just happen to be hanging out together at all these big games that Fox broadcasts? If enough of us vote for Tejada, a worthy candidate in second place, we can avoid this whole nightmare.

Third base: Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox

Stinking ARod’s way ahead of him, so we need to rally around the resurgent Mike Lowell. After years of toiling for the Marlins, Lowell is discovering what it’s like to appear in games where fans out-number empty seats. ARod and his weak-ass .277 stick is, at best, the fourth-best third baseman in his division, and Met castoff Ty Wiggington is gaining on him. Look it up.

Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez

It appears that the Red Sox fans hate the Yankees nearly as much as we do, because Jason Varitek is leading in the balloting right now. But Pudge Rodriguez is gaining, and the Tigers deserve at least some respect. Both are ahead of chinless Jorge Posada, which is my main concern.

Outfield: Vlad Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels; Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox; Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners

Geurrero and Suzuki are certainly worthy. Ramirez is great pick because, remember, we’re pulling for the National League so we can get home-field advantage in the World Series. ManRam barely concentrates in games that mean something. In an All-Star Game he’ll be more interested in chatting with the cast of That ‘70s Show, conveniently sitting in the first row, and our boys can slap hit after hit to left until Ozzie Guillen goes nuts and pulls him. Vlad and Manny are up in the voting. Sadly, the traitor Damon is third, for now.

Speaking of Ozzie, isn’t it nice that he’ll have a say in picking the reserves. Torre clearly abused this responsibility, taking every Yankee middle reliever, fourth outfielder and pretzel vendor with him to past All-Star Games.

Now for the good guys.

National League

First base: Carlos Delgado, New York Mets

Look, it’s not our fault that Albert Pujols can’t stay healthy. I would have voted for him, I swear. But since he’s on the shelf, Delgado is the best man for the job. Carlos, thanks to Al Leiter and a knucklehead agent, spent last year as Lowell’s teammate in Miami. Can you imagine his reaction on Opening Day in New York?

Carlos: "Hey, check it out! There are people in the seats."
Willie Randolph: "Yeah, they bought tickets and everything."
Carlos Beltran: "Sometimes they boo."
Kaz Matsui: "Sometimes they boo a lot."


Second base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

Speaking of Kaz, we no longer have a dog in this fight. The guy we have listed on the ballot is now in Colorado Springs. Look at this as an opportunity. When some baseball snob looks down his nose and says "All you do is vote for Mets." You can say, "That is so wrong," point to your ballot and show your vote for Utley. The guy seems to kill the Mets every time, so he must be good.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes, New York Mets

Cardinal fans are well-meaning and very nice folks. But they’re loyal to a fault. David Eckstein is leading in the balloting. He’s a nice player and all. But he’s blocking Jose Reyes, clearly the best player. Did you know Jose has already walked as many times this year as he did all of last year? And he’s leading the majors in stolen bases.

Third base: David Wright, New York Mets

In the future, Wright for third base will be such an automatic selection that it won’t even appear on the ballot. Why waste all that time counting meaningless ballots? Our man overtook Scott Rolen to take the lead, and he’s not letting go until he retires.

Catcher: Paul Lo Duca, New York Mets

I love Mike Piazza. We all do. But Mike’s start in last year’s All-Star Game in Detroit was his curtain call. he even got to play drums with Alter Bridge before the Home Run Derby. Lo Duca has followed Piazza with the Dodgers, Marlins and the Mets, and now it’s time for him to assume Mike’s mantle as starting catcher in the All-Star Game

Outfield: Carlos Beltran, New York Mets; Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates; Lastings Milledge, New York Mets (write-in)

Beltran started last year, and his recent march toward the MVP award makes his selection a no-brainer. He’s among the three leaders so far.

But I have issues with the others. We know for a fact that Andruw Jones would rather take a walk than swing at the ball, and in an All-Star Game I want to see some action. Ken Griffey Jr. is next, but do we really expect him to not be on the disabled list by early July? And Alfonso Soriano, who is in fourth, doesn’t even want to play in the outfield, as we all know from his little poutfest during spring training.

So nix those guys. Pittsburgh is the host. Throw them a bone and vote for Jason Bay, a former Mets farmhand who is recovering from his embarrassment in last year's Home Run Derby. And Lastings Milledge arrived too late to make the ballot, but he’s deserving. Or at least he has the potential to someday be deserving. I'm not going to split hairs. Besides there is always the chance that fans looking to get a high-five as he runs out to the field will trample the cast of Prison Break, conveniently sitting in the front row.

You are allowed to vote 25 times per e-mail address. Don’t be a slacker. You don’t want to be the one responsible if Jeter is out there basking in glory because he beat Tejada by 25 votes.

In other words...

My wife was watching the end of Wednesday's Mets-Phillies game and commented that she liked the hair in the new outfielder and asked who he was. Then I showed her this site, and now she proclaims Lastings Milledge to be her new favorite player.

Time stand still

”Time Stand Still” is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, Rush.

It was leaping from the iPod on my way home yesterday, and I had not realized how long it has been since I last heard it.

The message is perfect:

"Time stand still
I'm not looking back
But I want to look around me now
Time stand still
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away"

Neil Peart isn’t saying he wants to go back and fix the mistakes of the past, and he’s not saying he can’t wait for tomorrow. He’s saying look at what we have today. Enjoy it, appreciate it, be thankful for it and celebrate it.

And look at our Mets.

After a four-game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, we have the best record in the National League, and are one win shy of the best record in baseball.

Two weeks ago the back end of our rotation was a patchworked disaster. This weekend new acquisition Orlando Hernandez tossed a three-hitter. And not to be outdone, fellow Cuban defector Alay Soler threw a two-hitter.

At the front of the rotation, Tom Glavine’s nine wins are tied for tops in baseball, and Pedro on Sunday finally got some support – 15 runs worth.

Leadoff hitter Jose Reyes is tied for the major league lead in stolen bases.

Third baseman David Wright is third in the league in batting average -- and is just two points behind the leader – and seems to thrive in clutch situations. If he’s not starting the All-Star Game, it’s because Cardinals fans are stuffing the ballot.

Centerfielder Carlos Beltran is playing like the guy we thought we were getting when we signed him to that massive contract last year, and is among the league leaders in runs batted in and home runs.

Carlos Delgado, who carried the club in April and May, came out of his June funk by seemingly using Diamondback pitchers for batting practice.

Lastings Milledge appears intent on proving that not trading him was the best decision the Mets made last winter. It seems like he’s getting extra-base hits in every game.

We sit six games atop in the standings. The Braves, who always seem to break our hearts, are 10 games back.

Heck, even the Yankees are slumping, getting swept by Oakland this weekend and trailing the Red Sox in the standings and have the Blue Jays charging up behind them. And, of course, one of the players on their 1999 and 2000 championship teams is talking to the feds about alleged use of human growth hormone and has named names. Yes, he was on the team that beat us in the 2000 World Series.

"Summer's going fast, nights growing colder
Children growing up, old friends growing older
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each impression a little bit stronger."

All of the things I just listed are true today. Tomorrow, I’m not so sure. We’ve been through rough times. Today is a good day. Revel in it. Enjoy it.

Forget Kazmir, I'd rather have Pedro, Delgado and first place

I'm going to say something loud and bold: I'm glad the Mets traded Scott Kazmir.

I firmly believe that the much-maligned deal is the reason the Mets are in first place today.

And stories like this one by Lee Jenkins of the New York Times send me right over the edge. Here's a sampling:

Kazmir Deal Is a Debt the Mets Still Owe

"Four out of every five days, the Mets are a resurgent franchise, flush with charismatic leaders and bankable stars, hailed for their progressive thinking and bold strategy.

"But on the fifth day, when Scott Kazmir takes the mound for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, everything the Mets have accomplished comes temporarily undone. No longer are they the team that leads the National League East. They are only the team that traded Kazmir for damaged goods named Víctor Zambrano.

"The trade was bad enough, with Kazmir possibly bound for the All-Star Game and Zambrano out for the season because of elbow surgery. But add to the package all the teasing, tweaking and public flogging the Mets have endured, and maybe it really was their worst deal since they sent Nolan Ryan to the Angels for Jim Fregosi in 1971."

Jenkins makes some good points later in the story, but I absolutely reject the scenario he lays out here.

Nothing becomes undone and the team is still in first place. And why are they in first place? That's easy. It's because Jim Duquette traded fireballing prospect Scott Kazmir to the Devil Rays for sore-armed starter Victor Zambrano.

Follow me here. It was a horrible trade. Potentially the Ryan-esque blunder to which Jenkins makes reference. A certain "What in the heck were you thinking?" deal.

And that's the key. It made people like owner Fred Wilpon, or whoever helps him call the shots, wonder what exactly were they thinking, and who is making that kind of decision. It was a wake-up call, showing that something was seriously wrong with the Mets organization.

You have to know that something is wrong before you can get help from the doctor.

As soon as the season was over, Wilpon hired Omar Minaya away from the soon-to-be-moving Expos to be general manager and put him in control of baseball decisions.

Once Omar took the helm, he made some key decisions:

1) Allowing old but popular pitchers John Franco and Al Leiter to walk, and both moves were heavily criticized. The fact that neither lasted the season with their new teams proves Omar knew what he was doing. But also, it came out later that each of these guys had the ear of people making decisions and had a hand in decisions to send certain players and even a manager packing. There's no way to prove it, but I think if the Duke was still around, so would be Leiter and Franco, aging and ineffective.

2) Signing Pedro Martinez. It was openly assumed that Pedro would be returning to the Red Sox. But much was made of Omar's speaking Spanish and recruiting right in Pedro's living room It didn't hurt that the Wilpons opened the coffers to exceed any other offer, but think it is safe to say that without Omar, there would be no Pedro at Shea.

3) Signing Carlos Beltran. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had Beltran ticketed for the Bronx. But after Pedro came on board, people started taking the Mets more seriously. Again, a seven-year deal worth more than $100 million brings a lot of seriousness. But we also hear about Omar's passionate recruiting trips to Beltran's home in Puerto Rico. I think we can say that without signing Pedro, the Mets would have had no chance at Beltran.

4) Omar went hard after Carlos Delgado, and would likely had got him had Delgado's agent not been a goofball and then-new-Marlin Leiter not have dispensed some bad and bitter advice to avoid the Apple. But because Omar had made the big signings that year, he was able to hold on to prospects that he was able to dangle in front of the fire-selling Fish and finally get Delgado at Shea this year, and later catcher Paul Lo Duca.

Omar doesn't get credit for David Wright or Jose Reyes -- or the blame for Kazuo Matsui -- but I'm pretty comfortable in giving him all the props for Pedro, Beltran and Delgado. And without that trio, I think we're still looking up at the Phillies and the Braves.

So that's the trade: Prospect Scott Kazmir -- and a lot of cash-- for Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. I'd make that trade all day, every day.

And Kazmir's in Tampa Bay, where he'll never hurt us. And in four more years he'll reach free agency and will flee Tropicana Field for a deep-pocketed team -- like the Mets!

And by the way, Nolan Ryan would never have become a mega-star in New York. And we went to the World Series without him in 1973 and beat him in the playoffs in 1986.