"Being a Mets fan really sucks"

Those words did not come from my mouth, but came to me from my friend's fingers via a text message during the 9th inning of last night's game. For three consecutive innings, the Mets had a prime scoring opportunity only to come away with one run during those three innings. Keep in mind, it was a known fact the Phillies were opening the door for the Mets to close the gap during those chances and that this game was a golden opportunity to even up the loss column.

Of course, we are plagued Met fans damned to never to derive any sort of enjoyment from our favorite professional baseball team. Not us, we are doomed for a lifetime of let downs and not just any old let down. Let downs of enormous proportions. What will it take to reverse these misfortunes? If had those answers, I would certainly present them. However, there is nothing else we can do but grin and bear it.

Missed opportunities were abundant and now the Mets are in a Wild Card tie with the Brewers and in second place. They came into the game with a 72%+ chance of making the playoffs and had a 5-1 lead only to lose by three runs and end up with a 54%+ chance of making the playoffs.

Ticklish? Yeah, I think it would be safe to say things are ticklish and I think it is safe to say I watching the Mets last night was another poor allocation of my time. With Pedro up tonight and the Mets holding an open audition for Saturday's 2nd game, it is not exactly a a rosy outlook with a team that no one really wants to play coming to town this weekend and the team that knocked the Mets out of the playoffs last season.

* * *

The Mets will stay on WFAN and I guess that is good. There are no other stations with any sort of Met fan broadcasters in prominent roles.

Why must the Met fans not be allowed to boo? I am not a big boo person and have only booed for Roger Cedeno, but seriously. Last night I can forgive anyone with a temptation to boo.

"As everyone knows, this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately town and lately we haven't gotten the job done," David Wright said. "There's a lot of frustration. There's frustration with the fans, there's frustration in the stands, there's frustration in the dugout.

I am mostly frustrated because this is the second year in a row I might be giving the Mets a micro-loan for the payment of my playoff tickets that may never get used. If they refunded the money automatically, which they should do, it wouldn't be an issue, but they make it a process to get any money back. Typically that would not be an issue as I just put it towards my next season tickets, but we know that there will probably not be any partial season packages and frankly if they fail to make the playoffs again after a terrible collapse, I probably would not want to get them again.

Short rest for Johan? They don't need it. Some clutch hitting would have be fine and Johan cannot do that. This is on the offense to help this team make the playoffs and not Johan.

Evan Weiner is wrong. The Mets downsized and should have no problems filling their stadium and the Yankees will not have any issues whatsoever.

Ironic that the Twins might actually make the playoffs and the Mets might get left out, no?

It's Monday and We're Mediocre!

For now at least....

I say that thinking maybe, just maybe the Mets are poised to break out. Jose has his OPS+ up to 117 and is looking like an MVP again. Shame on everyone who started to say crazy things like the Mets should have dished him off for Santana and not Gomez (102 OPS+ in the OF...a 117 OPS+ at short is miles more valuable), Mulvey (4.07 ERA and .279 BAA in Rochester), Humber (5.53 ERA and .300 BAA in Rochester), and Guerra (4.23 ERA). I like all those guys and still believe in them long term, but Jose Reyes is worth more than all of them in a trade.

The Mets are now tied with Atlanta who has been in a bit of a free fall and are 3.5 games in back of the Phillies. One game of .500 means the Mets are pretty close to under .500 which is a bad thing for a $140 million team. After going 1-7 from May 14th through May 26th, the Mets have went 5-1 to get over the hump of respectability and need to apply the pressure with San Fran, San Diego, Texas, Seattle, and Colorado in their not so distant future.

Sure I am stating the obvious, but the obvious is not always that obvious. Take Aaron Heilman for example. He is murdering righties to the tune of a .209/.291/.239 while getting murdered by lefties to the tune of a .391/.473/.783 line. And yet he faces way too many lefties. Why is this? I have no idea but he has to be a ROOGY or demoted to figure things out. Those are the two options. I still think he has some skill, but it is not showing itself right now. Enter the problem....Feliciano is playing more like a LOOGY and now the Mets have two ROOGYs.

That is entirely too many guys who have trouble with batters from the opposite side of the plate. Schoeneweis has been great, but still showing a bit of a LOOGY split. This bullpen has the ability to be tremendous, but Feliciano and Heilman need to figure out how they got guys from the opposite side of the plate out in 2007 or else they will be in trouble. Simply too many specialists and bullpen that is not deep enough. If Dirty can actually stick this time, that will be a big boon and I think Vargas should help out in the pen as well, but right now, Heilman should be a ROOGY with Smith and Feliciano picking up more of a role as a non-specialist until something works itself out.

* * *

Keith Law talks draft and it seems as though the Mets might have to rethink their choice of picks.

Brett Lawrie is heavily in Cincinnati's mix at No. 7, while Jason Castro has popped up at No. 8 to the White Sox or perhaps at No. 9 to Washington. If the Reds don't take a college pitcher, then both Houston (Aaron Crow?) and Texas (Shooter Hunt, Christian Friedrich) will likely go in that direction, unless a top player falls to Texas due to signability concerns.

Castro was who the Mets were targeting with one of their two first rounds picks and Law mused that Lawrie might be a fit for the Mets who are looking for more positional depth.

With so many bad managers out there, you would think Wally Backman would get a shot.

"All I need is an interview," Wally Backman said. "If they want the best person to take care of their players, I know I'm the right guy. I'll earn my spot."

Backman wasn't talking about Willie Randolph's job. He was talking about any job in the New York Mets organization or any job in affiliated baseball. Because each major league team has about seven minor league teams, that's about 200 managerial jobs. Backman, a three-time manager of the year award winner, is not good enough for one of those?

What is the harm in giving him a spot in the farm to see how he does?

Mark Prior = D - O - N - E

Jay Bruce? Pretty good. And really, this really shows you a thing or two about drafting. The Mets were down to Pelfrey and Bruce in the 2005 draft and they went with Pelfrey. Not that I could argue all that much at the time because Pelfrey looked special, but their age and perceived 'closeness' to the bigs probably factored in.

Jay Bruce owns a cool 331 OPS+ (albeit in six games) at 21 years old and looks like a super star and Mike Pelfrey owns an 81 ERA+ at 24 (soon to be 25) and is still trying to find his way. Who do you think would help more this season? Draft the top talent on the board and operate in no other fashion. The rest will work itself out and they really need to take note of this for the upcoming draft.

Kunz is in AA with a 3.91 ERA. I would have preferred a high school guy with huge upside than a close to the bigs reliever. Enough with the draft disasters of the past few years and loosen the purse strings and get some fucking talent.

Pedro is more of a character to me these days than a big part of this team's success. It is nice to have him around an all, but I am not expecting much. That is not to say he can not and will not add much, but I think people should temper their expectations on what type of impact he will have on this team. I think he adds to the clubhouse in a big way, but I find it hard to pin the happiness of the team on one guy.

I used to think otherwise, but I have changed my mind. He might help out the bullpen by pushing Vargas out there, but that will remain to be seen as a big help until Vargas starts producing out there.

Pelfrey has been bad, but not bad enough to jettison him back to the minors. How bad would any one of us rip another organization for taking a big league retread like Vargas, who has done well, over a guy who might be a big part of the team's future?

I think Pelfrey needs to stay. Vargas has an ERA+ of 90 vs. Pelfrey's ERA+ of 81. Vargas is 30 going on 31 and Pelfrey is 24 going on 25. Unless Pelfrey blows up, he needs to stay in the rotation and the Mets have to think about what they really want from him because right now the difference is minimal. If they are done with him and think he offers nothing, then move on. If they still think he can offer something, as I do, he 100% needs to stay.

Ryan Church is still playing some insanely good ball. He was concussed and just came back so I get batting him sixth, but he needs to start hitting in the top third of the order. Bat him 2nd or 3rd and adjust accordingly. I would not mind getting Church more RBI opportunities and more protection.

Enter in the problem....Castillo now has an OPS+ of 98 and has become league average. But it is the worst league average you can be with his nine XBHs. Sure he steals a few bases, but with the exception of his recent power surge, does not offer much thump. Give me some thump through the top of order and I'll show you a team that can wear out the opposing starting pitchers quickly.

Tatis has been playing well and the Mets should ride him like a rented mule.

At least Aaron has a good support system... Just so crazy how one of the top relievers in the bigs can go to crap. I still believe he can turn it around, but now you have to wonder if it is more mental than anything else.

BP has some valuable insight into Johan.

When Santana was supposedly heading to the Red Sox or Yankees, there were whispers that his problems with the long ball would be exacerbated there, due to their parks' respective leanings towards aiding offense. When he was eventually dealt to the Mets, these whispers were silenced, thanks to the offense-dampening Shea Stadium. However, what we have seen from Santana in 2008 belies the nature of the stadium, as his HR/9 has climbed from 1.4 to 1.5 per nine. Granted, he's gone from giving up 30 homers per 200 innings to 32 over the same time frame, but the thing that has Mets fans worried is that he was supposed improve, at least superficially, thanks to a league switch and move to a pitcher-friendly haven.

This has not happened for a few reasons. First, Santana has lost additional velocity. He's dipped another half-a-mile per hour on his fastball, which had already dropped from 93.1 to 91.7 mph. He rarely used his cutter in the past, but it's been cut out of the equation entirely at this point. The past two seasons have shown Santana using his fastball more so than in the past, despite its status as an inferior pitch relative to what he was capable of before. It's a bit much to say Santana's lost it—he's still one of the top pitchers in the NL thanks to low walk totals and a still-excellent 7.9 K/9—but this is not the Santana the Mets thought they were trading for, the one they signed to pitch for them through 2013. Though it has not hurt them too much in 2008—the Mets have other problems to focus on outside of Santana's rising homer totals—it's something that's going to become bothersome and problematic in the future if their expensive ace can't figure out a way to pitch his way out of this recent trend.

It is hard to say he has been a complete disappointment, but his drop in velocity and the fact he is not as dominating as expected is worrisome. Pedro was more dominating in his first year as a Met at four years older. While Johan has basically been in line with his 2007 performance, I think we all expected more.

Down, Down, Down....

Ted Berg tried to lay some perspective on us the other day and I said it was really hard to keep perspective with this team and they did not take too long to prove me right. Really right. I have tried to be optimistic for the most part, but right now, that is hard to do.

"It's not acceptable," Randolph said. "This is not the way we want to play baseball. We need to get on a streak and play more consistently. We're better than this. No one's happy with where we are and how we're playing."

It is hard to point fingers at one person or one cause, but this team just does not have it. They have talent, but they do not have it. What is it? Good question. However, it is clear that this team lacks focus and losing to Glavine and three overall to the Braves is utterly ridiculous. The inability for this team to step up is extremely frustrating.

Keeping things in perspective is just not possible because it looks like this team is just losing control. They are almost as close to last place as they are first place and truly a .500 team in every way. You do not need to be a genius to look at their roster and recognize they have talent and you do not need to be a genius to see that this team is simply not playing up to their potential.

With less than 30% of the season played, there is time to turn things around, but time is running out quickly.

* * *

If this goes down, I will be piiiiiiissssed.

18. METS. New York has the financial wherewithal to spend as much as any team does on the draft, but it apparently will stick to slotting once again in 2008, even if Hosmer is still on the table. The Mets need a catcher for the near future, and Castro has convinced scouts he can handle the defensive responsibilities and produce at the plate. New York has checked out Friedrich, but it's unlikely he'd get this far.

I mean really. Who cares about the Commish? He cannot do anything and your farm is pretty barren. After Omar made overtures this past off-season about abandoning slot, I would be very disappointed if they passed up a better player so they do not piss anyone off.

If they pass up Hosmer? Utterly ridiculous and why this team will never get over that next hump. You simply cannot pass up a gift like that and they better step it up on all fronts.

Would Pedro retire to be with his parents? Would Omar give him a Clemens-esque deal to keep him going another year or two?

Just in time for the summer to keep the boys cool.

This sweat-absorbing, friction-fighting wonder powder will keep you gloriously dry and comfortable during everyday manly activities...like chainsaw juggling.

Tim Marchman does a great job making a case for Jose Reyes to not be the scapegoat.

It is true that Reyes's game went into notable decline about a year ago. From last July 1 up to the beginning of last night's game against Atlanta, Reyes hit .268 AVG/.334 OBA/.414 SLG with 61 steals in 81 tries; over the preceding year, he'd hit .322/.383/.510 with 73 steals in 90 tries. Many explanations have been offered for this: that Reyes has been sulking over his contract, that he was ruined by Rickey Henderson's brief stint as the Mets hitting coach, that he lost his mojo after ceding to demands that he stop acting so exuberant on the field, etc.

Pedro's dad is not doing well.

Pablo Jaime, 78, is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, and Martinez said recently that his father does not have long to live.

"His dad's not doing well and had a seizure," Willie Randolph said before the game. "We'll just see what happens when [Pedro] gets back [from the Dominican]. All the other stuff in terms of pitching is on hold."

Pedro should really put baseball on hold and tend to his family. The Mets success does not hinge on him so he needs to do what he feels is right.

Joel Sherman pens a good piece about Willie.

I am not foolish enough to believe race still does not motivate repugnant feelings. But I do think sports have more of a meritocracy than most environments, and that the great divide between love and hate is winning and losing. Again, Willie, look to your Knicks past: The city did not love DeBusschere and Bradley more than Reed and Frazier. The whole team won, and the whole team is remembered fondly. Just like Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill will be from those champion Yankees for which Randolph was a coach.

There is racism out there, but sports to me was always kind of different. If you are winning, no fan gives a shit who is from where or is what color.

Randolph lived these New York moments, and constantly brags he is a New Yorker and understands how things work. But most days it seems he just showed up from Ames, Iowa. His self-awareness is poor, and that is hurting him way more than the color of his skin or what angle SNY cameras are shooting him. He thinks of himself as a tough, been-there, seen-that kind of guy. But his sensitivity and lack of savvy reveal the opposite.

He tried, for example, to backtrack off the critical statements he made about race and SNY by saying he thought he was off the record with the reporter. Even if I believed Randolph (which I don't), he should know reporters grant off-the-record requests to gain the truth, so being off the record would only make you believe Randolph's harshest assessments (not his current spin) most.

Willie just does not get it and should not be managing this team. Especially so after grasping for straws and attacking the fans. Really? The fans?

"If you look at my body of work since I've been here," Randolph said, "I'm proud of that, because prior to that Mets fans were hiding. You couldn't even find them ... The season's just starting and you're booing my guys already? You're booing your team?'"

Mets fans were hiding? Interesting statement. Mets fans are not hiding anymore because of Willie's body of work. Sound logic, right? I am really glad he spouted his mouth off with such madness because it only makes everything I have been saying stronger and he just validated a lot of things that I thought.

I think at times he can be immature and stubborn and these articles truly outline that. If the Mets want Willie to be their leader, so be it. However, it is a mistake.

Torre feels bad for Willie and no one is arguing that this job is not extremely difficult, but not everyone can do it.

Losing Church would be very, very bad. The Mets need him to be healthy and performing.

Random Tidbits 10-30-07

The Yankees are again dominating the news with the never ending drama that is the Yankees. A-Rod is out, Torre is out, Mattingly will be out, and Girardi is in.

Some think that A-Rod is the answer for the Mets, but that has to be one of the more preposterous things that I have read. Him on the team does not guarantee anything and could end up being a hindrance when they really need to open their pockets for something that they actually need, which is not a third baseman. We are not talking about a small amount of money or years. Quite the opposite actually.

On the field, A-Rod would give the Mets a third baseman who can hit 50 home runs a year and actually throw the ball to first base. His presence would allow Carlos Beltran to blend into the scenery - which is how he would like it. It would allow Wright - who would move to first - and Reyes to flourish, while not having the pressure to win solely on them.

I am guessing he is alluding to David Wright not being able to throw to first or something. It is not like I have huge problem with Wright moving to first since he would probably be very good there, but the Mets would be better advised to save all of their bullets for pitching. No matter what you think, the Mets do not have unlimited resources and spending that much on one player is just not a smart move. Is he tempting? Of course. The Mets would have a chance to twist the Yankees proverbial nipples, but it would not be the right thing to do.

But, what do I know?

In fact, early indicators suggest the Mets are leaning toward a full metal jacket courtship of the slugger, pending David Wright's blessing.

This is no small obstacle, since ownership is wary of offending Flushing's most marketable and loyal star. "We already have a third baseman," is what one high-ranking official said on Monday. That's the party line -- for now.

If I could choose a perfect situation, Randolph leaves with Carter getting the nod as the skipper with Rudy becoming the hitting coach and HoJo moving to the first base coach slot. Of course, that will not happen so not hiring Rudy is the right thing to do.

Castillo will probably be back, Alou will be back, and LoDuca is probably gone.

Torre is probably headed to LA with Mattingly as his bench coach. Mattingly might have been gone either way, but they never should have entertained him being the manager. Girardi was the right choice from get go and they might have had a chance to keep both on board if they had done the right thing out of the gate.

The Braves picked up Jair Jurrjens in what is a solid move for them. If they pick up Glavine, they will have a pretty good rotation and should be able to make some serious noise next season.

Met Related Post

Well, there is not much Met news these days as they are being pretty quiet. After Willie got that boost of confidence from the front office, things have been hush hush with the exception of a Rudy Jamarillo rumor which seems to be just that at this point.

Where do the Mets go from here? Well, the big problem is there is not much they can do to improve their team this off-season with what is on the market. It is actually even more of a skimpy crop than last year, which is scary to even think about. It is so bad, the Mets would actually have to think about bringing Glavine back with the unknowns on their team.

The Mets really have one thing to concentrate on this off-season and that is pitching. More offense is nice, but I think Delgado will contribute more in '08, Castillo seems destined to be back, they might actually be ready to give Lastings a chance, Alou is a no brainer to bring back, and there are lackluster catching choices. What else is there aside from pitching for them?

Then you look and see the rotation has 3 for 4 slots already taken with Pelfrey and Humber in the mix and there is not much worth doing there. Steven Trachsel? No thanks. Kris Benson? Not so much. The Paul Byrds of the world would be utilitarian for sure, but not worth throwing our youth aside for another year. Sure Omar might be able to get creative this off-season, but the Mets farm system is dangerously close to being barren. Any big deals would likely liquidate half of the impact talent that is close to the bigs and possibly set the Mets back long term.

The only big area that the Mets have an opportunity to make some inroads on the market is in the bullpen. Jeremy Affeldt is a guy that I have liked for years now. He is a hard throwing left hander that just seemed to have problems putting it all together. He had a nice season for my new favorite team and would be a welcome addition to the Mets as a guy who can start or head to the bullpen. The Mets can have him fight it out in the spring or just send him into the bullpen to see if he can be transformed into a dependable set-up man.

Then there are some decent guys like David Riske, Scott Linebrink, etc. and some unknown Japanese guys that might work as well. I do think Omar can add some quality arms, but nothing really spectacular and at least Affeldt has upside. On top of that, it is imperative that either Humber or Pelfrey gets to be in the bullpen mix from day one so they can start putting their young arms to use. Omar has one focus this off-season and he should try and not get to cute like he did last off-season which backfired on him in magnificent fashion. Also, it would be nice if the Mets could hold onto their first round pick this year so they can add a high impact player into a farm system that direly needs it.

* * *

Speaking of draft picks, Tampa will pick first for the third time in six years.

After this season is over, Mitchell might name names and an ex-Met trainer is going to have played a big part in it.

Baseball investigator George Mitchell has received an extensive paper trail documenting performance-enhancing drugs sent to players by former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, a person familiar with the probe said Monday.

What is crazy about all this is that the Player's Union has brought this on themselves. They have probably caused some serious damage to the game by not agreeing to random blood testing.

"You would have thought by this time this wouldn't be, but they've put us to the sword again," said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.). "We want them to police themselves the way they're supposed to. We want them to obey the law."

When all of this first came down, instead of protecting the 'privacy' of the players, they could have taken a hard line stance and all this would have gone away. The government would have been satisfied and baseball probably could have gotten away with having some big names named, which is probably going to happen.

"There are two simple steps that could close the gaping loophole in Major League Baseball's drug testing policy," Waxman said in a statement. "Baseball could either begin random blood testing or it could store current urine samples so that they could be available when testing methods are improved. Storing samples would be an effective deterrent and would make players think twice about using HGH."

The Government has no incentive to not tell all, but baseball did have incentive to keep things quiet. Imagine if steroids was more widespread than originally thought? It was already believed to be rather widespread and this could spread it to living legends and other players who were not previously implicated in this steroids mess.

This all could have been avoided, but methinks this is going to get ugly. Baseball is riding high right now with record attendence and it would truly be a shame for public opinion to worsen and have people driven away from the game.

Adam Dun is back and that certainly re-crowds the Cincinnati outfield. They finally were looking like they had things freed up a bit, but they brought back Dunn. Not that I don't agree with it, but they better be looking to trade off Griffey or Hamilton. If they think Hamilton's first season in the bigs was a fluke, then they should deal him while he has some worth. If they really think he is the real deal, Griffey needs to finally be dealt for something useful and so they can save some cash.

A-Rod vs. Boras....

The main topic for Rodriguez to decide on is if he will opt out of the final three years of his contract and leave $91 million on the table. He has until 10 days following the World Series to opt out and become a free agent; Boras said last week a 12-year deal worth $360 million isn't out of the question. The Yankees have said if Rodriguez opts out, they won't chase him as a free agent since they would lose the $23.1 million over the next three years the Rangers are paying on Rodriguez's contract. However, that could change.

You have to think that A-Rod wants to stay a Yankee and does not want to compromise that. Afterall, he will still get mega-bucks after this contract is up and he already has more money than he can ever spend. However, you do not have Scott Boras as your agent if you are not trying to maximize your money at any cost which leads me to believe A-Rod will be surely opting out and we will all see if Cashman is willing to back up his big talk.

I still think they would be involved as long as they get to save face a bit which is predicated upon not many teams getting involved into the bidding. However, A-Rod's production is going to be tempting to other teams no matter what they are saying now and the Yankees know they simply cannot replace that in any fashion this off-season.

Is Being A Met Fan More Fun?

I have to tell you, this is making a lot of sense to me.

"Back then, you never knew whether the Yanks would make the World Series or finish third," he says. "Sure, I wanted them to win every game. But the truth is, I love not knowing what's going to happen in baseball. There's something fun about entering a season and not being sure how your team will do."

Would it be better for the Mets to be in the playoffs for the next ten years or to have years like '07 only to come back in '08 and '09 and be treated to trips to the playoffs and even the World Series perhaps. If the Mets made it in this year and continued to do so over the next five years, it would be nice for sure, but would it be as exciting as true pennant races and the unknown?

One of the early economic principles I learned in college was the theory of marginal utility.

UTILITY: Economist-speak for a good thing; a measure of satisfaction. Underlying most economic theory is the assumption that people do things because doing so gives them utility. People want as much utility as they can get. However, the more they have, the less difference an additional unit of utility will make – there is diminishing MARGINAL utility. Utility is not the same as utilitarianism, a political philosophy based on achieving the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

One triple cheesebuger is great, but two? If one was good, two should be twice as good, right? Not so much. Your stomach, your significant other, and possibly your ass would have something to say about that. Could this be applicable to baseball? It sure seems like Braves fans had become indifferent after not even selling out playoff games. Of course, there has to be some reward at some point. Us Met fans endure a lot, but if the Mets can win something in the next few years, the disaster that was 2007 will be distant memory and it will taste that much sweeter.

When did a baseball season in New York become solely about the finish line, and not about the journey? How can a team that clawed its way out of a 14½-game hole be deemed a failure for falling to a team -- the Cleveland Indians -- that features two of the league's top five starting pitchers? Do the memories of Alex Rodriguez's 54 home runs and Chien-Ming Wang's 19 wins and Derek Jeter's steely determination and Joba Chamberlain's meteoric rise fade to ashes without a diamond-studded ring?

So buck up...if the Mets were the Yankees, you wouldn't even care right now. At least the Mets have something to look forward to while the Yankees are destined for another season of 'failure' in 2008.

* * *

Schuerholz is stepping down as the GM and moving up to second in command of the Braves with Frank Wren sliding into his spot. Will it matter? Who cares. This next decade is all about the Mets and they are their own worst enemy.

Prediction....Frank Wren's big first move? Tom Glavine back to Atlanta and what a joyful occasion that will be. Also, how does Tom feel about Atlanta even though his child and wife were unable to attend his first games as a Met in Atlanta?

Is A-Rod bluffing? I hope not. He is the lynchpin for me in regards to the Yankees having a shot at the playoffs next season. If he returns, they are in. If he skips town, they are out.

The Phillies are willing to spend more money on next year's club. That is all well and fine if there was something to spend it on. Also, with a team that has so many holes in the bullpen and the rotation, they would not have enough to band-aid those ouchies. I know I'm probably jinxing the Mets, but they should run away with the division with a few smart moves. In reality, the '06 season covered up some of their blemishes and the '07 season put them to the forefront. The '08 season should be the reality.

The Rockies kick ass. Everyone should be fearful of the machine that is the Rockies.

Sufficient Amounts of Ass Kicking

Three series and four sweeps. What an amazing first week of playoffs and the Rockies just keep on laying waste to whomever is in their way and you can be sure that a Troy Tulowitzki t-shirt jersey will be ordered and be on my body when I head to Shea next year. I'm officially on the Colorado bandwagon and they have been ridiculously fun to watch so far in the playoffs. As for the Indians, they will forever own a little piece of real estate in my heart if they can dispatch the New York Yankees so I can turn on the radio and not hear about their greatness any more.

Speaking of the Yankees, George's comments about Torre were hysterical.

"His job is on the line," the Yankees' owner said in a phone interview. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series."

Why should any manager get $7 million? While some think a manager's salary should be comeasurate with the team's salary, I think it is a colossal waste of money. Unless the manager is reinventing the game of baseball, you are better advised to spend that elsewhere or just keep building up a warchest. Of course the door is open since he said he does not 'think' he will taking him back, you would have to wonder if both sides would really want to continue a relationship after this season.

Even more ridiculous, Mike Francesa was speaking about Steinbrenner's statements and said it is OK when he does something like that because it is expected, but it is not OK when Jeff Wilpon does it because he is not Steinbrenner. While one is surely known for it, it certainly does not give him carte blanche to continually act like an ass. It could have been a motivational tactic to get Torre's players to step up, but I am not sure that is the point. What if Jeff was just trying to serve up a healthy plate of motivation? It was plain to see they needed it.

So if you are keeping score at home, the Mets cannot do anything without getting criticized because they 'haven't done anything' and the Yankees can do whatever they want which includes Joba 'showing up' the other team every time he is mound. Chalk up the Mets celebratory habits in the column of something they are not allowed to do because they have not done anything. It was also said that Tom Glavine would sit in the dugout and shake his head when the Mets youthful exuberance would be on display.

To that I say my Tom Glavine jersey will be getting torched this week. Hopefully by Wednesday I will be able light it up, but I have to borrow a camera. Mine conveniently broke while I was in Africa and I need to send it in. But once I get one, goodbye Glavine jersey and hello extra space for one more shirt in my closet.

* * *

Would getting rid of Torre have anything to do with Mariano and Jorge returning the Yankees? I would say no and it does not matter how much they publicly might allude to it mattering. In the end, they will probably be in the Bronx next season and I would assume two year contracts would be the contract length of choice in each for the Yankees with maybe a third option year.

Joel Sherman is huffing more than his fair share of spray paint. Here is what he believes the Mets need:

1. More Passion
So the Mets should look seriously at free agents Aaron Rowand to play center field and David Eckstein to play second base, and/or see if they could pry someone such as the Angels' jack-in-the-box Chone Figgins to be their jack-of-all-trades.

Eckstein is cute in all, but I might rip my eyes out if I had to see him in a Mets uniform everyday. I would not mind Figgins for what he could bring to this team, but the Angels would be hard pressed to part with a guy who can basically fill in anywhere for them and steals a ton of bases. Also, I doubt Eckstein is the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of chemistry for this team.

If you buy all of that, Eckstein's peskiness and seriousness about winning would enliven the Mets.

Seriousness about winning? Who does not need more of that?

By signing Rowand, the Mets would rob the NL East champ Phillies of a big piece. Putting Carlos Beltran in right field might diminish his leg injuries. Having Rowand and Beltran would allow the Mets to more comfortably play the limited range of Moises Alou (yes, pick up his option) in left field and also liberate the Mets to more aggressively use one or two pieces of their strength, high-end, young outfielders (Carlos Gomez, Lastings Milledge, Fernando Martinez), to pursue pitching.

More grinders? Yes! If the Mets can get Rowand and Eckstein that will have the grinding-est bunch of grinders who have every grinded...or ground. Really though, I think the Mets already played that game of moving gold glove caliber center fielders to right field. The Mets have a wealth of outfield talent and they should use it balance out a high payroll and help them maintain some flexibility.

2. EVERYONE WANTS JOHAN SANTANA, BUT ...
And anyone who suggests the Mets should trade Jose Reyes for Santana is a fool. You might not like how the season ended, but Reyes is 24 and one of the majors' 25 best players. You build around that, you do not trade that. Better to keep Reyes and be the high bidder for Santana a year from now if the lefty gets to the free-agent market.

Nothing to add here. I agree that Santana is nice, but it will not happen. I also like the fact he called Buster Olney a fool.

3. SO HOW DO YOU FIND PITCHING?
I would seriously consider giving Aaron Heilman another rotation shot. He has the stuff for it and it is where his heart is. And if St. Louis' Braden Looper can win 12 games and throw 175 innings in his first year converted from the 'pen, Heilman can do at least that.

I like thinking outside of the box, but I think that would be a bad idea. I think the Mets will roll with The Duque again and Humber and Pelfrey will battle it out for the fifth spot. Really, The Duque's disappearance at the end of '06 and '07 was horrible, but he will be counted on less if the Mets can have a full year of Pedro and get decent starts from Humber or Pelfrey. There might not be much depth, but you need to get those young guys going at some point and the Mets are deep enough with veterans to let them take some lumps and get up to speed. They need to be an integral part of the plan next season and whomever is not in the rotation needs to get shifted into the bullpen.

So if the White Sox want to get rid of the $20 million left on Jose Contreras' pact enough that they would take the steroid twins, Guillermo Mota and Scott Schoeneweis, the Mets should seriously consider it. Workhorse types including Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo, Oakland's Joe Blanton, the White Sox's Jon Garland, Texas' Kevin Millwood, Detroit's Nate Robertson and Florida's Dontrelle Willis are likely to be on the trade market. The Mets should determine the one or two they like the best and see if there is a deal to be made.

I would condone this with the exception of Dontrelle. I would also only condone this if The Duque was going to be headed to the bullpen as I truly believe that the Mets need to start working in their top pitching prospects in some fashion. They can never become veterans unless you give them some chances to actually pitch.

The Mets believe in their scouting acumen and in Peterson. Therefore, they should be very active in the Rule 5 draft, minor league free agency, and the Japanese market to provide as many 'pen possibilities to churn through next year as possible, because spending big on marginal guys such as Mota and Schoeneweis is foolhardy.

Getting a hard thrower in the Rule 5 or some foreign import is a great low risk/high rewark move that I fully support.

Genetically altered gnats that were trained to only attack players wearing Yankee uniforms? While bugs are annoying, I do believe suspending play would have been a ridiculous decision to make in the playoffs.

But with his team teetering on the brink of a knockout, the old Steinbrenner came out swinging on Saturday night, putting Torre on immediate notice and ripping into umpire Bruce Froemming, the veteran crew chief from Friday night's Game 2 who declined to stop play despite an infestation of Lake Erie gnats.

"The umpire was full of [expletive]," Steinbrenner said of the retiring Froemming. "He won't umpire our games anymore."

In the wake of that Game 2 defeat, Steinbrenner said the Yankees had complained to baseball commissioner Bud Selig about the decision to play on. "[Selig] just said, 'That's in the umpires' hands,' " Steinbrenner said. "But Jesus Christ, it was terrible. It messed up the whole team, [Derek] Jeter, all of them."

Oh, Jeter as well? Then the game 110% (coincidently the effort Jeter is magically able to give while other mere mortals can give only 100%) should have been called. I had no idea Captain Jetes was adversely affected as well. Either way, both teams had to deal with it and champions persevere, right?

Billy Beane lays down some common sense on the topic.

"I have, but I'm trying to remember where it happened. That situation was not unlike cold weather or wind -- part of the elements that both teams deal with. I've actually seen bugs much worse than that; remember I spent too much time in minor leagues. Unless you forgot, I was not a good player! Remember, the bugs were bothering hitters, too. A zero sum situation."

John Delcos is kind enough to offer up some free advice.

1. Fix Jose Reyes:
I wholeheartedly agree that Jose Reyes' perceived attitude issues need to get dealt with, but how do you do that exactly? If Willie was also a contributing factor, it would be of paramount concern and other players should be gauged as to their feelings about the skipper.

2. Re-sign Tom Glavine:
I realize he has been pretty good over the years and did give the Mets 200 innings, but it is clear he has nothing left in the tank. Without the homeplate umps help, he is exposed and likely to get rocked. I would rather use the season to see if some youth can step up and help this rotation. If you need anything else to help sway your mind, check this out. Sure it was a team effort, but Glavine just needs to move on and his perceived indifference about his last start was just one more reason I did not need to formulate my opinion on the topic.

3. Release Guillermo Mota:
I would wait until the spring. However, if he is flat in the spring again and someone steps up, then release him before Willie has the chance to call his number daily.

4. Go after Chad Cordero:
I would love Cordero, but not at the expense of Humber which is to say he will not be available. No way the Nats let him go for nothing and I think Humber could contribute to the bullpen positively if given the chance making any deal for Cordero nebulous.

5. Figure out a temporary plan for Pelfrey and Humber:
As stated above, one should get a rotation spot and another a legit spot in the bullpen.

6. Be prepared to lose Aaron Heilman:
I am not against dealing him for someone that will help the team, but he was the Mets second best reliever in the second half and I hardly think now is the time to start dealing away whatever useful bullpen arms the Mets have. He can buck up and wait for his chance to leave the Mets when his six years of service time is up.

7. Re-sign catcher Paul Lo Duca:
I've stated my opinion on this one time and time again so I will not repeat it.

8. Bring back Moises Alou:
No brainer. He needs to come back.

9. Bring back Luis Castillo and Damion Easley:
I am OK with this as long it is not for longer than two years and not much more than he made in 2007, but I would like to see Gotay get groomed to be a super sub that gets a sizeable amount of at-bats. As for Easley, he is welcome back in 2008.

10. Sign Adam Dunn:
Only if he is on first base and Delgado is magically traded, but I want Lastings to start in right field because I think he could be a true impact player next year.

Thanks to John for sending this one to me.....

Meltown? Or Right In Line With Expectations?

By way of Rob Neyer's blog, MGL from The Baseball Think Factory shares his thoughts.

The Mets were expected to have 84 wins given the personnel they put on the field and their actual playing time this year, based on each player's pre-season projection and their schedule. Their pythag wins were 86, which means that they overperformed a little as compared to what they "should" have done (again, given each player's per-season projection). The actually won 88 games, so they outperformed their pythag and their underlying performance projection.

Th ere is nothing "wrong" with the team. They were never as good as many people thought and they actually outperformed a little this year. Teams (and fans) are really dumb when it comes to evaluating themselves. If they do nothing, they are expected to win around 85 games next year, barring major injuries. If they upgrade they will be expected to win more. If the D-Backs do nothing and don't have any major injuries or transactions, they will be expected to win 81 games or so (I doubt they think that way). That's the way it works. The concept that the Mets (or Pads) did "something wrong" is ridiculous. Sometimes you win or lose more than your share at the beginning of the season, sometimes in the middle, and sometimes in the end. Sometimes you win or lose lots of games in a row. That can occur at any time as well. If the losing happens at the end of the season, we call it a "choke." If the winning happens at the end of the season, we call it destiny, heart, character, chemistry, or momentum. It is all B.S.

While the Mets were not all that far off of their expected win total, it is hard to argue their last two weeks were not horrific. No first place team should have one stretch of that ilk much less two, which might actually prove MGL's theory that the Mets were not all that better (if any better at all) than any other of the 'top' NL teams. The thing that will stand out the most for me about this 2007 season will inconsistency. Everyone has their ups and downs, but this team in every facet had major ups and downs.

With that said, there is some negative sentiment towards the Phillies with Met fans not wanting to root for them. Me? I am rooting for the Phillies just as much as I am rooting for the Rockies. The Phillies did their part to get into the playoffs and came to play everyday and backed up what they said which was in stark contrast to the Mets. There are no ill feelings between the Mets and the Phillies and I see no reason why any Met fan would want to root against them because their team could not finish things off. Now as for the fans, that is a completely different story. They embody what is is to be a douchebag, but that has little to do with the actual team.

My prediction for the World Series is the Indians against the Rockies. The Rockies are too much of a feel good story to not root for and I have family out there and absolutely love going there. As for the Indians, I like the fact they have a legit one two punch, Hafner has woken up, and their best two relievers are not closing games and free to come in for high leverage situations leaving hopefully less critical innings to Borowski.

* * *

Boo-hoo...

It is astonishing that the Mets' front office has left manager Willie Randolph hanging out on a limb even for a day in the wake of their collapse. Even if general manager Omar Minaya announces today that Randolph will be back in 2008, the delay has served to shift blame in Randolph's direction. For a day, or maybe longer, Randolph has already become the handy-dandy scapegoat for a breakdown that extended from the top of the lineup, in Jose Reyes, to the manager to the general manager. "What, was that one game [on Sunday] going to make a difference in whether they keep him?" asked a rival executive, incredulously. "So if they had won Sunday, they would've kept him? What a joke."

Minaya and the Mets' ownership should've had a conversation about Randolph's situation before Sunday's game. To leave him twisting in the wake of the brutal finish is unfair and cruel. The Mets must decide whether Randolph is the manager best-suited to lead the team going forward, writes Mike Vaccaro.

The Mets' season got away from them long before Sunday's debacle, writes John Harper. Jose Reyes was booed off the field repeatedly on Sunday. Paul Lo Duca may have played his final game with the Mets.

Randolph is on notice. Tell him to jot that down and start actually....you know...making sound in game decisions. Also, let us not confuse the situation. The Mets losing is not a reflection on Willie's desire to win....

"My passion, my will to win, you guys have no idea what's inside of me and where I come from," Randolph said. "I'm a New Yorker. I'm passionate. I feel what these people feel and I live and die for this team, every day."

...I believe he wants to win, but I fully do not think he is the right manager for this team.

I'm sure everyone has seen this... and this....

ESPN muses about Glavine possibly going to the Nationals.

National interest?
Oct 1 - It remains to be seen if Tom Glavine will play another season. But one person close to Glavine told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that the pitcher's poor performance against Florida on Sunday makes it more likely that he'll pitch again in 2008, because he doesn't want to go out on such a bad note.

The question is, where? Glavine has a $13 million player option with the Mets, and could decline to exercise it to either retire or become a free agent.

One potential suitor is the Nationals. Team president Stan Kasten is close to Glavine from their days together in Atlanta. And the Nationals could use a veteran starter to anchor their young staff as the team moves into a new ballpark. Glavine is also likely to require only a one-year commitment, which could make him more appealing to Washington ownership.

Glavine's former Atlanta teammate, John Smoltz, recently lobbied for him to return to the Braves.

"He can still pitch,'' Smoltz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He can still win baseball games. And, this is where he belongs."

Chances of that happening? Zero. Also, he better not be on the Mets. He did some good things for the Mets, but really, I had enough. And if he thinks going out on that note would be bad, I can say without fear of contradiction, it could end up worse in 2008 with him getting smacked around the entire year for a bottom feeding team.

LoDuca wants to come back to Shea in '08 and I say that is fine if he agrees to play in about 60 to 80 games. If he is OK with that and will not make any waves, great. I want some insurance in case Castro cannot hack a full season, but at this point, I want Castro to get a chance to show something.

Some people are thinking irrationally when it comes to Andruw. If it is for a one year deal to prove he can play, sure. But for a long term Boras contract? Me thinks that might a Zito-like mistake.

Ridiculous item of the day? Buster proposes a Santana trade that includes Bartlett and Santana heading to the Mets and Reyes, Pelfrey, and Gomez to the Twins. While many might not see that as very uneven, it would be tough to give up Reyes and more talent in any deal. At some point you are giving too much for anything to make sense and that is one of those deals. The Mets need pitching, but that is at too much of a cost to pay creating more potential holes.

Limp

Asked if his team smells that finish line now, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replied: "Yeah. Of course we smell it. And we want it. Matter of fact, we might want it bad enough where we've got to take it easy, just relax and just play."

And there you have it. The tail of two teams. You have a team that needed to do spectacular things to make it happen in the Phillies and a team that just need to be a notch below mediocre to solidify things up.

The fans have been criticized about their non-participation in the games, but last night they showed up and guess what? The Mets fell flat again. Can we please dispel any notion the fans are somehow tied to this slide or are not doing their part? They want to cheer, but have been given little reason to lately.

This rest squarely on the Mets shoulders and now instead of controlling their own destiny, they are relying (ironically enough) on the Nationals. The Wild Card is seemingly unlikely being the Padres magic number is now one. This utterly collapse by the Mets is mind boggling and though it is not over, these Met games are starting to feel strikingly similar to a funeral.

With the Mets playing before the Phillies today, let us see if they can step up and put some pressure on Philadelphia to win tonight.

The Opposite of Swell

Wow...this is a great vibe. It's like Daddy just hit Mommy at the dinner table and we are all trying to eat still.

Mommy: "Just eat honey, Mommy's OK. Daddy just got a little angry"
Child: "I don't wanta eat."
Mommy: "Mommy's fine, Daddy just got a little crazy and Mommy's fine."
Child: "Do I have to eat?"
Mommy: "Yes you have to eat."

There are a lot of people enjoying this. Every Yankee fan and every fan of every other team not the Mets are really enjoying this. I was 100% sure the Yankees were going to miss the playoffs while the Mets would slide right in. Then it appeared the Yankees were going to make it, but who cares? The Mets were going to not only make it, but finish in first while the Yankees had to settle for the Wild Card.

Now, the Yankees pulled off a truly amazing run to not only get into the playoffs, but finish with more wins and clinch before the Mets did. It seems unthinkable to me that the Mets could miss the playoffs altogether, but that is a very real possibility. At best, they could be tied for first place in the NL East and tied for the Wild Card at the same time after all the games are played today. At worst, they could be tied for first in the NL East and one game back off the Wild Card lead.

The optimist might see some positives to take out of this being the Mets are still where they are despite playing so badly. However, with three games left, you would have to think the hot hands have a huge advantage here. I am not going to say this team does not care. I do not think I'm in a position to say that and I do see some frustration with this team, but something has been drastically off with this team for a bit.

I think a lot was taken for granted. I do know that a lot of Met fans had turned a blind eye and thought everything would be fine despite how poorly they had played at times and despite the gaping holes that presented themselves. This is for real and the Mets are in danger of completely the biggest and most embarrassing collapse in baseball history to end the season.

The Phillies have Hamels, Eaton, and Moyer on tap and the Mets have Perez, Maine, and Glavine. The Padres have Maddux, Young, and Peavy rounding out the season and I'm thinking it does not even matter who the Rockies have on the mound.There is a very real possibility there will be two one game playoffs needed to decide this thing in the end. However, if there is going to be any October baseball for the Mets, Perez needs to step up and give seven sparkling innings with the offense getting some early runs on the board to end this free for all. I thought this last Sunday game coming up was going to be a nice relaxing day at the park to throw some beers back, but it looks like it might be a tremendously important game. Who would of thought that two weeks ago?

* * *

This just outlines this bizzaro world that upon us.

The Mets' pitching is so bad, general manager Omar Minaya is ready to put out an all-points bulletin for Steve Trachsel. Since a three-game series with Philadelphia at Shea in mid-September, here are some Mets ERAs: Jorge Sosa (10.80), John Maine (10.61), Mike Pelfrey (7.59), Guillermo Mota (7.50), Billy Wagner (6.75), Tom Glavine (6.11) and Pedro Feliciano (5.68). Amazingly enough, New York's team ERA of 5.09 in September is still better than Philadelphia's 5.15 staff ERA this month. But Mets manager Willie Randolph sure looks a lot more stressed than Philadelphia counterpart Charlie Manuel these days.

Stevie....he was your last first round draft pick!

Owen (Washington, DC): How do you see the NL East playing out? Right now it seems that no one wants to make a statement.

SportsNation Steve Phillips: I think that the Mets will limp to the NL East title, and will have major questions about what they are, headed into the playoffs, because of their starting rotation and struggling bullpen. The Phillies and Braves will finish a close second and third. Tonight is a key game for the Mets. The Mets need this game, and need a good start out of Umber.

Wow.

Luke (Miami): Reyes or Rollins?

SportsNation Jim Callis: Rollins.

My, my, my. Jose has not made many fans in the second half. He went from being the MVP and best player in the universe to being below Rollins. Of course Jimbo is having a tremendous year so it could speak more towards how good Rollins has been vs. how bad Reyes has struggled, but I tend to think this is more of byproduct of Reyes' struggles.

After a 4 for 4 night, I'm not so sure Micah Owings should be pitching. He has an OPS over 1.000 with four homers in 59 at-bats. He could stand to walk a bit more, but I would really be nitpicking if I got on a pitcher for not walking more.

The Mets playoff chances should now be under 80%. If not, it will be really close to it with the possibility of a tie extremely large.

Moises wants to come back in 2008 and the Mets would be foolish to not bring him back.

The Pirates should trade Jason Bay and the Twins should trade Joe Nathan. While they are at it, the Twins should trade Johan if they are not going to sign him this off season.

Mark Ecko's little stunt was an expenseive one, but very amusing as well. If you pay that much for a baseball, you should certainly be allowed to do whatever you want with it and to any asshole who said that dude who caught the ball should give the ball to Bonds, please punch yourself in the face. Twice...and onces in the balls for good measure.

Back In Business

I'm back, but I have not had time to chime in about the Mets. And really though, why would I? I leave for a bit and have to come back to this putrid display of baseball? To recap, the Yankees have three more wins than the Mets will in all likelihood clinch before the Mets do. The Nationals, who are not horrible, but certainly should be a team the Mets are capable of beating are absolutely owning the Mets. I did mention previously that this Nationals team is nothing to sneeze at and have not played all that much worse than the Mets since June 1st, but this is silly.

The Mets were at about 99.4% certain to make the playoffs when I left. Now, they are down to 97.9% which is still good, but not the right direction. Sure the Cardinals stumbled last year only to win it all and the Yankees had stumbled relatively recently at the end of the season only to win it all as well, but the Mets have big issues. The Duque's foot problem is persisting, Pedro needs extra rest, Maine's ERA is now comfortably north of 4.00, and Glavine still scares me.

No team is afraid of facing the New York Mets at this point. They still might have the most talent, but they are not the best team.

* * *

The Mets need for pitching help was plain to see way before I left.

It's madness, really, asking someone with no experience to reverse one of the worst finishes in recent team history. What's worse, selecting Humber tonight exposes the flaw of using Brian Lawrence last Monday in D.C.

Why wasn't Humber chosen then? The answer is as obvious as it is damning: the Mets are operating without a late-September blueprint. No one saw this collapse coming, and no one has a way to end it. Randolph's closed-door speeches haven't worked. Players-only meetings have accomplished nothing. Coming off the road hasn't made a difference in the Mets' play, either.

Now it's down to guesswork, Humber and tightly crossed fingers. Not even the eternally optimistic Minaya could muster a strong defense of the rookie's enlistment.

"He's the best option available," is how the GM put it. "In a perfect world, you'd rather have a proven guy out there."

The Mets handling of their talent down the stretch is reprehensible. While it was clear they had a need, they failed to try some guys out and now it is probably too late. Nothing short of back to back no hitters would get Humber a serious look at contributing to this team but he should have been playing a large factor in the bullpen weeks ago. Now, he has three big league innings and has not pitched since the 11th and today is obviously the 26th. The last time he started a game was on August 27th. To me, that is not setting your guys up for success.

The Duque is inching his way back.

After throwing "50, 60" pitches in a bullpen session Tuesday to test how the bunion on his right foot has healed, Orlando Hernandez said if no problems arise today, he expects to throw a simulated game Thursday.

What can reasonably be expect from him health wise? His first start back might be in the playoffs and that certainly does not give me the warm and fuzzies.

There was some talk on the radio on with Joe Beningo on the Mike and the Mad Dog show about Willie feeling underappreciated. I'm sorry, but did I miss where he proved himself to be a manager who deftly navigates his way through the game and makes great decisions all the time? He is appreciated too much in this town in my opinion and a detriment to this team.

They also spoke about Willie not being allowed to pick one of his coaches. Sure, Omar might be giving him praise now, but nothing speaks more volumes than that. They fired the only guy he was allowed to hire and replaced the open spot on the staff with Ricky Henderson. If this Mets front office truly though Willie was cats meow, he would have some semblance of control and he is far from having control.

Moises continues to do what he always does. Just hit the shit out of the ball.

Some Africa pics to wet your whistles. I have not had the chance to go through them all and can post more later, but here are a few.

We were lucky enough to see two lionesses with seven cubs. Our guide said he has never seen more than three at a time so we were definitely fortunate. The best part was after the mothers did this woofing typing thing in a territorial manner, the little cubs would proceed to do what sounded a notch above a house cat's loudest meow in an attempt to be tough.


Nothing to add about the warthog except they look tasty. Bush bacon anyone?


It never gets old seeing one of these goofy bastards running around looking ridiculous.


Sweet.


Definitely not a common occurrence to see a cheetah this close. We saw one a few times under a tree in the distance, but seeing one sitting on the side of the road was rather fortunate. None of the big cats gave a shit about anything. If they were chilling out, you could get really close since they have nothing to worry about.


Baby elephant? Awesome.


The Serengeti had flat out the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I have way more pictures than any man should own. I'll go put my mini skirt on now.


They vote for the creepiest animal had to be the hyena. They oozed creepiness with little effort. For two nights, we actually camped on the Serengeti and it was just my friend an I with some beers and a bottle of Jamison. We were continually checking for eyes staring back at us with head lamps. One time, while checking our back, I saw two eyes staring back.

I called my friend over to confirm what I was seeing and once he did, I ran to the tent. unable to get the zipper open more than five inches, I tried shove myself through. I couldn't fit and got shoved in with some help from behind. Feeling like girls, we went back out to check the scene and another pair was there. At that point, we called it a night. The camp people said it was most likely hyenas, but that was not exactly a gamble I was willing to take.


This was one of the lionesses with the seven cubs. Check her neck out as she has some gnarly looking wound on it.

All in all, it was an amazing, albeit very dusty and dirty, trip. We saw every animal but the Rhino and ate plenty of unidentifiable meats. I'll try and get some more complete pictures up in the next week or so for those of you who are interested in seeing more pics.

Looking Good....Feeling Good

The big news in Met-land is Pedro. If you are going to tell me I am a bit late on that one, I would agree with you, but I would be remiss not to discuss the triumphant return of our fearless leader. He started off the game with an 82 mph and gave up two runs in the first inning. It certainly did not seem like a storybook game was going to take place, but Pedro settled down and put forth one encouraging start.

"If I'm sitting in [the Mets'] dugout, I'm more than pleased with what I saw today," Brantley said. "His changeup was around 74-75 mph, but he had six pitches that were 88-89. I can tell you right now, if Pedro can throw 88-89, he's going to be highly competitive for the times that he goes out there."

He then struck out Aaron Harang in the second inning for his 3,000th strikeout and cruised through the rest of the game without command or feel of his curveball. With Pedro limited to 75 pitches, it was going to be difficult for him to win a game in which he was expected to be rusty, but he did. He went five innings and got the win and everyone rightfully has reason to be really excited and Jeff Brantley is 100% on point.

The Mets are fielding an excellent rotation right now when you include The Duque and things are finally settling in. He still has a ways to go as do the Mets, but these are certainly positive signs and certainly something that should energize a Met team that has been all to lethargic at times. In the midst of a season in which the Mets were sometimes too complacent, Pedro could serve as a shining example of why you simply can never get complacent no matter how far in first you are or how much better than the other team you think you are.

"I had to just think about some of the people who never stood a chance, who never had the opportunity [to come back]," Martinez said. "I see my family and all the people who have hope that I'm going to come back and have me as a role model ...

"A lot of people don't understand. The better you are, the bigger your responsibility is."

The Mets are on pace for 91 wins and have the fourth best overall record in the Major Leagues. They are 28-25 within the NL East for a .528 winning %, 17-18 against the NL West for a .486 winning %, 8-7 against the AL for .533 winning % and 25-11 against the NL central for a .694 winning %. Obviously they have been feasting against the Central and thankfully so. Against everyone not in the NL Central, they own a .515 winning # in 103 games.

Is that cause for concern? It probably is since they really failed to excel in what was a weak National League this year. Overall, the Mets have only been firing on all cylinders for a few weeks at a time. Every time they look like they are going to run away with it or are in a commanding position, they seem to fall back down to earth.

Of course they look comfortable right now, but we have been here before haven't we? Twenty three games and five games out is seemingly insurmountable as long as the Mets play above .500 ball, but I am reluctant to declare anything at this point.

* * *

Amy K. Nelsom from ESPN wrote a nice piece on Pedro.

The Duque is going to miss his start this week and there is certainly no need to push him. Mike Pelfrey earned himself another start for the first time all year and we shall see if he can build off of his extremely encouraging performance. Also, going against Houston in Queens should certainly helps things a bit. But needless to say, if he can build upon that performance he could certainly be a force out of the bullpen for the Mets down the stretch with the ability to locate his fastball better, his improved slider, and the balls to attack hitters.

Wright's MVP candacy is gaining momentum daily.

Jose Reyes seemed to be anointed early as the Mets' designated MVP candidate. But we think Wright has passed his favorite shortstop, with a season that gets better as it rolls along. Sheez, this man has a .477 on-base percentage (best in the big leagues) and .366 batting average since the All-Star break, with 44 runs scored (second only to Jimmy Rollins) and a .593 slugging percentage (better than A-Rod, Magglio or Prince Fielder). Wright also has a shot to be a 30-homer, 30-steal, 100-run, 100-RBI, .300-hitting on-base machine. And Baseball Prospectus ranks him atop every player on an NL contender (and behind only Hanley Ramirez) in VORP. So as much fun as Reyes can be on any given trip around the bases, it's the guy playing next to him who is really the Mets' MVP.

Utley's name has been the sexy name the last few months despite the time spent on the disabled list, but the same thing that perhaps hampered Beltran last year will play a role in Wright getting it this year. With Howard and Rollins set to get a good number of votes, they could actually steal some from Utley. In fact, Reyes' recent struggles down the stretch after such a great start actually put the focus on Wright as the MVP of this Met team and perhaps the entire league. It sure does not hurt to play in New York City and man the hot corner while batting third as well.

From Rob Neyer:

As David O'Brien notes today, in their last 250 games, the Braves are 122-128. And while they've played pretty well this season, it's worth noting that their best pitcher is 40 and their best hitter is 35. Well, I suppose their best hitter is actually Mark Teixeira, who's only 27. But you look at this team, about to lose their best fielder to free agency, with two starting pitchers better than average, and you wonder how they're going to compete with the Mets over the next few years.

I don't have to wonder. They have golden boy Jeff Franceour. How can they not compete?

Joel Sherman is rather sick of Clemens' act. Anyone else really happy the Yankees plunked down the equivalent of one third Kiribati's GDP to watch Clemens be a Princess?

Just an aside....the Astros are in big trouble. Any shot that they make another play for Clemens for simply a PR move? Maybe they will let Roger pitch in home games only?

By way of Rob Neyer's blog, a must read.

Johnny Baseball continues to pitch himself out of the playoff rotation and could just be flat out gassed. His is very close to the most innings he has ever logged and while that is a nice little excuse wrapped up with a swelltastic bow, we are not sure if anything else is going on. Whatever the reason for his second half struggles are, his pitching woes march on.

With the B-team going, it was tough to really expect a sweep anyway. Willie gave some of the elders a bit of rest since it was a day game after a night game. However, after not playing an entire game on Tuesday, Delgado injured, having an off day anyway following the game, and being on fire over the last week, his exclusion of Alou is curious. Seems like Alou should have enough gas in the tank to play a day game after a night game with a day off following, but I'm not going to complain if it got Milledge a rare start these days.

Collazo and Humber came in and ate up some innings and did an admirable job not letting the Reds pile on some runs.

In Jim Callis' chat he said he'd take Ian Kennedy over Mike Pelfrey. That's Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy over Pelfrey for those of you keeping score at home. Just one man's opinion, but worth noting.

It is a good thing I only use my tires as lawn ornaments.

Chinese-made products have been under scrutiny recently after several high-profile recalls including toys made with lead paint, pet food that contained dangerous additives and tires that could allegedly come apart under use.

Notes:

Triple-A New Orleans clinched a Pacific Coast League playoff spot with a 10-2 win against Round Rock on Sunday night. Kevin Mulvey, the Mets' top pick in the '06 draft, threw six scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut. Joe Smith, who had dealt with biceps tendinitis, made his first relief appearance in two weeks with a scoreless frame. Smith is not expected to be immediately promoted, although he should rejoin the Mets this month. New Orleans opens a best-of-5 series against Nashville tomorrow.

1) Good for the Zephyrs.
2) Good for Mulvey.
3) Good news on Smitty.

Joe Sheehan pens a sniffle worthy piece on Pedro.

I’m kidding, of course. Pedro Martinez’s return to the mound Monday afternoon in Cincinnati was a terrific baseball moment. No matter who your team is, you have to enjoy watching one of the all-time greats on the mound. At his peak, Martinez wasn’t just a fantastic pitcher, he was an entertaining one. He dominated games with power and precision—no member of the 3,000-strikeout club has fewer career walks allowed and just one a better K/BB. He was a showman as well, firing up crowds by wearing his heart on his sleeve, by being openly competitive, and by showing as much love for the game as the people in the seats. Watching Pedro Martinez pitch is a treat in a different way than watching his peers in greatness, Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux, is.

Go ahead....cry. You know you want to. He also lays some rare love from the media on the Mets rotation.

What is going to be interesting is seeing how the Mets use him, not so much in September—you can always go to a six-man rotation—but in October. As big a concern as the Mets’ rotation was at the start of the season, it has been an absolute strength in 2007, arguably the reason this team has the best record in the NL, a five-game lead in the NL East and a 98 percent shot at making the playoffs, which is just two percent shy of the random strike zone’s chance of appearing in October.

I for one feel just fine about the Met starting pitching.

Awakening

Has rock bottom been hit? After such a horrific series on Philadelphia, have the Mets woken up out of some funk? Perhaps. You cannot get too knee jerk because the red hot Phillies are within striking distance to say the least, but there have been encouraging signs.

As Keith stated the other day, Delgado had four really good and productive at bats on Friday and he followed that up with another solid game on Saturday. Might they all be coming around? It is certainly worth keeping an eye on Delgado to see if he still utilizes the left part of the ball field it will be a positive.

As for Pelfrey, I did not watch the game for a myriad of reasons, but it's a good thing we are covered.

Emad:

Poor fifth inning. Lost all command from the stretch after hitting Francoeur.

Flashed a plus slider and a decent change. Definitely the most impressive slider i've ever seen Pelfrey throw. Nasty bite, great tilt.

Fastball command was okay. Definitely mediocre. He seems to have the same disease Maine does, only worse. His fastball moves more than Maine's and being that tall only exacerbates the issue.

ube:

I got blacked out today (thanks FOX), but the radio guys were raving about him. Sounded like he lost control once or twice, but went right after guys otherwise. Set down first 11, mostly on broken bat grounders. 7 K's, 3BB's, 1 H in 6 IP is pretty darn good...

DG:

Wow Pelf. We hardly knew ye! Surprising performance as he was aggressive and threw the change even though he knew maybe 30% of them would be strikes. Braves are a strikeout team, but it was still nice to see 7 k's. And best of all, when Francoeur got all hippity about being him, Pelfrey walked towards him like he wasn't going to back down if it came to that. All in all, the most satisfying stuff I've ever seen from him. Not perfect but really workable. Is it a game comparable to Johnny Maine in last year's playoffs or Ollie's sudden appearance in the same? This could realistically change what we may come to expect from Pelf (as it was for the other two mentioned).

Two-by-Four:

I’m not sure of the Fox guns accuracy but Pelfrey touched 97 at times and 95 more than a few times. The movement on the fastball was good and although it makes it tougher to command his pitches I don’t want him to reign in that movement or ease up on the velocity. It caused all the broken bats and ground balls.

I was most impressed with his slider or slurve that he threw in a couple of critical points in the game to left handed hitters in fastball counts that made the Braves hitters look inept.

All good and encouraging stuff and if he can build some sort of consistency, he could be extremely useful out of the pen to say the least with his propensity to get groundballs off of his fastball.

Definitely great to see those two wins after that horrific Philly series with Philly losing one yesterday to drop three back. However, it simply cannot be overlooked how fast things could deteriorate and how just vulnerable the Mets lead could be. And it cannot be stressed enough that the division will be won in the head to head matchups within the division.

I know many just expect the Mets to roll over non-Brave and Philly opponents and think it is irrelevant what happens when they play the Braves or Phillies, but I think it is clear the Mets need to wake up and start playing better and more consistent balls. I have no idea if there is a big complacency issue in the clubhouse, but it sure explains a lot.

If there is, hopefully they have been given a reality check on what they have to do for the rest of the season so the can manage to stay on track.

* * *

Rob Neyer has a nice blog on the Clay Buchholz no hitter and it is nice to see him simply silence (for now) Yankee fans who are insistent on comparing him to Chamberlain and Hughes. Let it go....they are all good and just be happy about that.

I'm sure a lot of the talk of the day centers around Buchholz being the sandwich pick the Red Sox got from the Mets signing Pedro. I do not want anyone to confuse that with that pick really having anything to do with the Mets. They had already picked Pelfrey ninth overall and only gave up their second rounder for signing Pedro.

Even if it was a pick they did surrender, you have to give up something to get Pedro. Congrats to Clay and congrats to the Red Sox fans for having a young kid with a tremendous curveball, tremendous change-up which already might be one of the best in the bigs, and apparently has a big set of cojones to watch for a long long time. It should be exciting to watch the Red Sox and the Yankees over the next few years with all the homegrown talent doing battle.

Maddon had A-Rod's bat confiscated after Torre had Iwamura's bat confiscated.

"It's just retaliation. There's nothing wrong with Alex Rodriguez. He's a great player. It was tit-for-tat entirely," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I said, 'It's an illegal bat.' I said, 'I can't see inside it, but there might be something inside that bat. I don't have X-ray vision. He's got 45 home runs, it's Sept. 1.' That was my argument."

Some people think Maddon was being out of line and immature by retaliating that way, but I do not see it that way. It was just a response to a ridiculous move by Torre, who did the immature and ridiculous thing in the first place.

The Yankees apparently think Mussina showed up out of shape and just didn't have it. It seems he will get another shot in '08, but the best place for him is on the Cardinals or something if you ask me.

Also from the above link:

Talk about a sign of the times: Former Met Julio Franco, having signed with the Braves and called up by the major league team Saturday, wandered into the visitors' clubhouse to say hello to his ex-teammates.

Not only did Franco's visit violate the unwritten rule of fraternization among players, it clearly irked some Mets, including Willie Randolph and Tom Glavine.

The manager said, "That wouldn't go over too well in the clubhouses I grew up in."

Added Glavine: "You play long enough, I guess you see everything."

Turns out the great Franco might not be so great after all. Of course it could have been him taking at jab at the Mets outright disrespecting them, but whater it was, I am glad he is not on the Mets.

My how quickly things can change.

Another hit, and who knows, maybe the Braves would've started peeling away layers of Pelfrey's psychological flesh. Maybe they uncover the self-doubting rookie who, until Saturday, had been winless in the big leagues, sporting an embarrassing 0-7 record.

All that might've unfolded – had Pelfrey actually thrown a fastball. Instead, he delivered the kind of slider that lights up the major leagues' gossip network. It won't be long before scouts are talking about the downward trajectory of Pelfrey's slider, how it handcuffs hitters who already are defending against his 95 mph fastball.

Johnson? Never had a chance. He swung right over the slider, ending the Braves' rally and all but ending their season, too. The Mets' 5-1 win at Turner Field ensured a series triumph against their toughest opponent this year, putting them 6½ games ahead of the Braves and three games up on the Phillies, who lost to the Marlins in a night game.

And don't just take Klap's word for it.

"I don't know if he was well-rested or what, but the ball came out of his hand really well," said Teixeira, the Braves' first baseman. "He got it up to 97 mph, he was sitting at 95. And the way his ball moves, he really didn't give us much to hit over the plate."

"His ball just bores in on you," said Bobby Cox. "When he throws that breaking ball, it's hard to lay off."

Hitting Frenchy on top of it and jawing back at him certainly earns tons of bonus points.

Pedro is on a 75 pitch limit. They could have given him one more rehab start and used Humber here, but at least the Mets will be deep enough in the bullpen to pick up the slack and I do not put it past him to go five complete innings.

Hernandez might have to skip a start and that is fine. Let him rest up, the Mets have kids ready to step in.

A dig at Torre?

Minaya did say Pelfrey might be used in relief this month. But he said, unlike the Joba Rules, there would be no restrictions enforced from above. "I don't believe in locking yourself into rules," Minaya said. "You try to use common sense as far as being careful with things like back-to-back situations."

Hmmm....

There have been rumblings of dissatisfaction for Randolph both in the front office and in the clubhouse. Four different major-league sources said Mets upper management has expressed concerns about Randolph both tactically and in failing to get his team to play with consistent passion this year. Two agents with players on the Mets both said their clients have conveyed the sense of a clubhouse that is more consistently second-guessing managerial strategy.

Vindication is mine...sort of. How many people defended Willie to the ends of the earth when anyone said anything negative about his lack of skills? A lot. Some here, but not as much as on other pages. Also, from 2005 and on he has showed a lack of ability to get it done tactically and I for one think that playing in the majors and coaching there for 30+ years should have prepared him better and if doesn't know now, what can we reasonably expect from him in the future?

I'm still pulling for a miracle and that would entail Gary Carter or Ken Oberkfell. Sorry to the Willie lovers, but he is simply to inconsistent for my tastes, but of course, he just got extended. Good times....

Nevertheless, while voicing displeasure about the inconsistency of both the play and emotion of his team, Jeff Wilpon said, "Not at all," when asked if his manager was in trouble. "There have been no conversations at all about Willie Randolph."

Omar Minaya said, "With all the injuries we have had, Willie has done a very good job. We are very happy to have Willie Randolph as our manager. That (his removal) has not even been a topic of discussion."

What else would they say? I do not think he is close to getting fired, but I can see this ending when his contract is up and not in the most pleasant of manners with animosity in the clubhouse in the way there was between the players and Art Howe a few years ago. For me, he is just Art Howe with more of a personality.

Glavine is still undecided on playing in '08. I do think the Mets should walk away from him either way, but I would not mind see him giving a go at it for someone else to pile up some wins.

Huh?

MLB.com reported that the contract of Rudy Jaramillo, the Rangers' highly regarded hitting coach, expires on the last day of Texas' season. That is unusual, as coaches' contracts more often run until November or December.

The Rangers are working to re-sign Jaramillo, but if they can't agree to terms, he figures to be in demand. Mets general manager Omar Minaya has such a good relationship with Jaramillo that he interviewed him as a managerial candidate in 2004.

Just how would he fit on the Mets? With HoJo as the hitting coach, jerry manual on the bench coach, Willie as the manager...I'm not seeing it. Not that I would mind, but I'm not seeing it.

Peavy was insanely good again yesterday and he is easily the Cy Young for me right now. 2.10 ERA, 1.03 WHP, 1st in the NL in wins, 1st in K's, 1st, in WHIP, 5th in IP, 1st in ERA, 1st in ass kicking.