Fishy Weekend

Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News has a back page article on why the month of June and beyond is going to be particularly exciting for the New York baseball fan. The problem with the article is that it is written from the perspective of being on top of the standings. Mike I know we were practically fielding a split squad team against the Nats...but it was still the Nats. I also get that we went 5-5 on a difficult road trip with a depleated roster, but this team showed some serious holes that don't completely seem to be fixed yet. Despite all of this, New York sports pundits are already composing articles about the view from the top of the standings. It's these kinds of things that makes me fear a weekend like the one we face.

The Mets begin a 3-game weekend series against the Marlins this evening. Those pesky fish always seem to get themselves riled up when the Mets are alomst where they need to be. Such is the case coming into this weekend, and the Marlins are playing pretty well right now themselves. They've taken 3 of their last 4 including a series win over Philadelphia.

If you're thinking to yourself "yeah but we have Big Pelf kicking things off tonight," think again. Mike Pelfrey hasn't had much success against the Marlins in the past. In 5 starts in 2008, Pelf went 0-4 against Hanley and co. while fielding a 7.11 ERA. Ouch. If Pelf falters this evening that puts us on the ropes to press for the rest of the weekend. Then what are they going to be writing about come Monday.

Squeeze Play

Every five days there is a spring in my step that normally isn't there. Why is that? Why because it's Johan Santana Day of course. Every time he takes that mound is a small personal holiday in my mind. Last night was the first time I was able to experience The Johan Santana Show™ in person at Citi Field. As Johan himself told reporters after his victory over the Nationals, "It was crazy, I'm telling you, like the weirdest game ever."

When you see that the opposition was handed 6 walks by the starting pitcher in the box score, one's mind doesn't even drift into Santana territory. Ollie Perez sure, but Santana no. Well an almost Perez-like victory was what Santana achieved last night. From my seats up in Section 506 you don't exactly get the best view of the strike zone, but you get a general idea. That general idea told me he was getting squeezed last night on calls it appeared young Jordan Zimmermann was getting.

I'm thinking in particular to this Ryan Zimmerman at bat which set up a 2 run monster to Adam Dunn, and this walk to Maxwell that caused Santana to lose his composure out there. He even walked in a run in that terrible fourth. I've read that the strike zone looked fine to some, but not to me and clearly not to him. "I felt good," Santana said after the game. "I was throwing my pitches, I was hitting my spots, some missed calls by the ump. Things that you can't control. We weren't getting the calls and all of a sudden it becomes a mess."

Despite the walks he was still able to fan 11 (though can you imagine how many more he would have had if he was getting that inside corner?) throughout his 6.0 IP. Thanks to young Daniel Murhpy's coming out party at the plate, the Mets were able to tack on a few more runs and hand Santana the victory before his official departure. Not the game I thought I was going to see heading into it, but he looked impressive nevertheless. Now the anticipation of the next episode of The Johan Santana Show™ on June 2nd.

In the Trenches

With the Mets more heavily triaged than British forces at Paschendale, the team has showed considerable pluck in sweeping the hapless Nationals and winning five out of six since the atrocities at Chávez Ravine. Keep it up, guys -- this is a part of the schedule where we "fatten up" on struggling teams.

The key to success, as so often is the case, has been consistent, high-quality starting pitching. Suddenly, the Mets have more dependable arms than that magical left limb of Santana's. I would, of course, be remiss if I didn't also single out Mr. Sheffield, 40, for praise. As Brendan noted after yesterday's game, the man is flat-out raking out there!

The baseball season, as everyone knows, is a marathon, not a sprint; it's a war of attrition, not a skirmish. During the course of 162 games, all teams sustain casualties, but only the truly great ones manage to overcome the loss, temporary or permanent, of pivotal contributors. Here's hoping the Mets' latest run is indicative of this elusive quality, and that they maintain their momentum and heroically manage to go over the top.

Gentlemen, on my command, raise bayonets and charge!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 1997 Marlins

No last night wasn't a time warp. Yes, that Livan Hernandez actually threw a complete game of one run ball. Oh and yes, that Gary Sheffield actually put the game out of reach with a 3-run jack. Who would have thought that 12 years later these two former champions with the Flordia Marlins would reunite off the scrap heap and and be paving the way for a regular season victory?

Not this guy, that's for sure. I'll start off with Mr. Sheffield who I was quick to write off when he first signed on for the major league minimum. So far he hasn't been the brash, cocky, cancer that I thought he was going to be for this team. You know that guy. He yapped a bit here and then went ahead and opened his mouth again here. Those latter comments were never going to fly on a team which is predominantly composed of Latin players. Combine that with past steroid allegations and this just looked like a terrible signing for the Mets.

After losing some off-season weight and getting into shape to play the outfield, that bat speed that has made Gary such a threat at the dish over the years is back. If you had a look at the laser he hit to Left Field last night on a pitch off his shoelaces, you could see it. Since Carlos Delgado was placed on the DL on May 16th, Sheffield is hitting .407 with 3HR, 10 RBI, and an OBP of .515. For a team that is as power starved and injury plagued as the Mets right now, you can't help but root for a guy putting up these kinds of numbers.

And you Livan. Where did you come from? Hernandez has his season ERA below 5.00 which it's only been for 2 games since June 7th of last season. In his last 5 starts including games against LA and Atlanta, Livan is 3-0 in 33.1 IP with 19 K's and an ERA of 2.72. Has he played some soft teams? Sure most people would say Pittsburgh and Washington qualify as such. But who cares? He also threw 7.0 solid against LA too who is arguably the best team in the bigs right now. If Livan can keep putting up the Quality Starts and the offense can keep backing him with run support, he is doing exactly what we signed him to do.

Both of these guys, as unsuspecting as they may be, have been a large part of the Mets success these past few games. Will they keep producing at this rate over the course of the next 117? Extremely doubtful - but that is no reason to sleep on them now. Let's get behind these two while we can.

Apologies for the Hiatus

I apologize for the dearth of posts this past week. Between the busy season at my job which pays the bills and the holiday weekend, it was difficult to find time to sit down and write. To be honest, it was also a much needed mental break.

Please know that starting tomorrow we will be back in full force. In addition if you or anyone you know would like to contribute to my humble blog please contact me (pricedoutoftheciti@gmail.com). Thanks to all that checked in during this down time.

Best,
Brendan

Hump Day with Mets Mike 7: Oh The Humanity

I sucked at baseball as a kid and I never missed a base while running once. My teams never made errors with such careless abundance either. ITS INFURIATING TO WATCH THE METS DO THESE THINGS AS GROWN ASS PROFESSIONAL MILLIONAIRES. Now, they’ve been on a roll all things considered in the month of May, but the L’s they have caught, have come with such pathetic originality, you never know how they will be defeated. Will it be base running? Errors? Miscommunication? Laziness? Terrible managerial decisions? Yes to all so far. This blog will focus on ways I anticipate the Mets to lose. They have found the rarest ways so far, because as a team they’re more unpredictable than my BMs (didn’t see that one coming did you?) but let us ponder the possibilities anyway friends…

1. They forget their gloves and have to forfeit.
2. David Wright forgets there’s a game and goes on a date with Alyssa Milano, and due to this Daniel Murphy is forced to play 3rd base. Despite this being his natural position, the Nationals bunt to 3rd every time and win by a convincing 41 runs.
3. Mike Pelfrey’s tongue falls out early in the game due to excessive hand licking. (Seriously though, does he have to lick his whole hand ALL THE TIME. Yuck bro.)
4. Jerry Manuel reaches his boiling point, and runs in to right field to spear Ryan Church.
5. Jerry Manuel reaches his boiling point, and runs behind the plate to spear Ramon Castro.
6. Johan Santana is in the 8th inning trailing in a 1-0 game and finally, understandably, snaps. He starts to bean every Met in sight, screaming in Spanish a flurry of curse words and demands for run support.
7. Jose Reyes runs so fast he gains flight and we never see him again.
8. K-Rod throws a pitch so violent his arm falls off his body.
9. Carlos Beltran lets his sliding ambivalence seep in to the other facets of his game, to the point he doesn’t even slap his teammate’s butt after a good play.
10. JJ Putz shaves his beard, it’s like Samson’s hair but more fashionable...oh wait he did that already.

The good news is this list is far fetched, (except 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 10) so these things probably won’t happen. The bad news is even crazier shit definitely will. This is the Mets we’re talkin’ about here.

Five. Five Error. Five Error Night Loss.

The Mets loss last night went back and forth in likeness between a Wes Craven movie and Wes Anderson flick. Tim Redding was serviceable providing a quality start while receiving the usual team welcoming gift - a lack of run support. This can't be completely blamed on the offense though. Normally when I hear a player say in the post game "the ball just seemed to find the other team's gloves," I think bull. Not the case last night. The Dodgers seemed to have more than seven defenders behind Randy Wolf the entire game. But this post isn't about the offense or the Dodgers defense.

This post is about something pointed out in this blog post by Mackie post-game Sunday:
"This latest mental miscue by a Mets player is somewhat symptomatic of a general tendency for embarrassing ineptitude, which I've blogged about before, leaving the team ever-vulnerable to meltdowns of all sorts. Make no mistake, folks, the Phillies will not be bested if this persists."

The Dodger's were lacking their big bopper in Manny Ramirez and we were lacking ours in Carlos Delgado. Granted we were also missing Jose Reyes, but this was a game that could have been had by playing good defense and sound fundamentals. Despite 3 errors this team somehow hung in there to play some free baseball. And then it happened.

I've never seen a player miss the bag rounding 3rd base. Never. Neither had Jerry Manuel apparently. At that point the black cloud came out. If you were watching you saw it. It was hovering over you and the visitors dugout at 1000 Elysian Park Avenue. There was no chance in hell this game was going to go in our favor. What ensued was just par for the course.

With all of these mental gaffes in the field ("yo la tengo!") and on the base paths, this roster needs to be brought into question. If Reyes is to miss significant time and Cora is to have surgery, what is to be done with the SS position - a platoon of Ramon Martinez (2 errors last night) and Fernando Tatis? How about the game of musical chairs that is First Base until after the All Star Break (and that's a generous diagnosis)? What about "keeping guys fresh" with the occasional day off for David and the mandatory days off Castillo needs? That's just the infield!

There just seems to be way too much in flux for anyone to get comfortable, especially those guys playing out of position. I'm not necessarily pushing the panic button yet, but if you compound the mental errors with the fabric of this roster (less the "core") and we could be looking at trouble. After a torrid start to this road trip, we have subsequently dropped two games that could have been won had we avoided errors. Where are those Phillies right now?

Look Who's Balking

Mike Pelfrey got called for three balks tonight, two of which resulted in runs for the opposition, costing the Mets the game, albeit also due to a futile night with men in scoring position. Three balks in one game by the same pitcher last occurred in 1994, when future Met standout Al Leiter did it while playing for the Blue Jays (after that game, Al acquired his famously ineffective, safety-first move to first, namely, an awkward, herky-jerky motion that involved standing on one leg like a flamingo).

Alas, this latest mental miscue by a Mets player is somewhat symptomatic of a general tendency for embarrassing ineptitude, which I've blogged about before, leaving the team ever-vulnerable to meltdowns of all sorts. Make no mistake, folks, the Phillies will not be bested if this persists.

Much has been made lately about Omar Minaya's recent comments regarding the Mets' supposed lack of edge. The results that followed were undeniably gaudy: 11-3 in a stretch that included six road games. However, the question is whether this was the baseball equivalent of a bear-market rally, as the boys from Queens -- much like the financial markets -- still aren't quite operating in a fundamentally sound fashion. Add poor baserunning (Reyes has already been lost on the basepaths six (!) times -- and that's not counting getting caught stealing) to the growing litany of substandard areas of play and you've got a lot for Jerry Manuel & Co. to work on.

With a key member of the lineup like Carlos Delgado on the DL, doing the little things right becomes even more paramount. Avoiding careless, costly mistakes, too, makes a huge difference in the long run. In other words, Mr. Minaya, it's time to call into question your players' concentration level and ability to make correct decisions in pressure situations.

I'm Keith Hernandez

Edge Means Stealing Third

Want a come from behind victory in the 9th inning or later? Then come on down to Carlos Beltran's Funhouse! We have everything you need to make your stolen base attempt successful. Good jumps, acceleration, smoke, mirrors, and even Chipper Jones! You name it!

In all seriousness, our 2 major late inning comeback victories in a week have come off of a rally started by Mr. Beltran swiping the third base bag. It's an amazing formula really. Carlos XBH + Borderline call on a steal at 3rd = W. I was at Citi Field on Tuesday for the first of his "questionable" steals. I knew in that moment he was going to steal third base. He's Carlos Beltran and that's what Carlos Beltran's do (comparable to Tiggers and bouncing). He went, McCann made a good throw, he was called safe. The new ballpark has a penchant for not showing replays that matter on those fancy big boards they have in the outfield, so I had no reason to believe otherwise. From my view in section 506, row 13, he was safe. Mets tie and eventually win the game on ensuing plays.

Last night after newly anointed set-up man Bobby Parnell allowed the tying runs to score in the bottom of the 8th, Carlos Beltran again decided he was going to put the team on his back and run them over to third base. Decent jump, good speed, good throw by a Molina brother, called safe. This time I had DVR to help me with this call. You know what? I didn't use it. The one replay they showed was good enough for me. Close call? Yes. Correct call? I think so. Does my opinion on this matter? No, but the umps does and he was called safe. End of story. On the ensuing plays David Wright continued his hot streak and hit an opposite field single that would score Beltran and put the Mets ahead for good. After the game Carlos told reporters that "Sometimes you're going to have to steal bases to win games. I'm trying to pick up the spot and David got the big hit."

There you have it folks! Proof positive that if you're team is lacking an "edge" in late inning situations, you need to come on down to Carlos Beltran's Funhouse! We are the Tri-state areas largest retailer and purveyor of stolen goods.

Hump Day with Mets Mike 6: Five Too Many

I want to do a music themed blog again. I haven't been to Citi Field yet, which is completely ridiculous. But I always thought a cool part of the experience of going to live baseball games was to hear what music the players choose while coming to bat or entering from the bullpen. It gives you a small insight in their personality, and can sometimes really amp you up if the song is particularly badass. So since I haven't been to Citi Field, and haven't the slightest idea what songs the Mets are choosing nowadays, I'm going to just put what songs I think would be appropriate. I'm just doing some of the players, because I don't have the time nor creativity to do the whole team, but I'll add some fancy youtube links so you all can boogie with me.

Jose Reyes- Yakety Sax
When he's running for a triple I play this song in my head and it works. Simple as that.

David Wright- Sean Michaels Theme Song
David Wright has a reputation as a bachelor that drives the chicas wild, so HBK's theme song fits. (Editor's Note- I never really paid attention to the lyrics all the way through until right now, and it is an extremely weird song. Sean Michaels calls himself "a sexy boy" at least a dozen times, but at the same time makes sure you know for certain that he's "not your boytoy." Wright really isn't this big a fruit and doesn't deserve this song, but I already linked it, sorry man).

K-Rod- P. Diddy & The Fam (Who U Kno do It Betta)- Victory
His appearance has so far meant a victory each time he came in with a lead. (9 for 9 in save opps.) Plus this song is STRAIGHT UP HEATROCK. I was twurkin to this in middle school and will be doing the same at whatever senior living center my basterd kids place me in. I'm 2 levels above you baby!

Gary Sheffield- Cam'ron ft. JR Writer- Shake
Opening line, "Who wanna mess with me, or can mess with me?" Not deep, or witty, but I don't wanna mess with Gary Sheffield NO MATTER WHAT. Plus he shakes his bat. Double whammy with that one y'all.

Carlos Beltran- R. Kellzz- The World's Greatest
He is a mountain
He is a tall tree
He is a lion
He fields so greatly
He is a marching band
He is an eagle
He hates sliding
But he's still a beast yo
If anybody asks you who he is
Just stand up tall, look em in the face and say
He's the apple of our eye
He makes the apple rise up high
Hey the Mets made it
Their center fielder is the world's greatest

Jeremy Reed- A Metronome at 76 BPM
This sums him up to me pretty good.

JJ Putz- Gangstarr- Itz a Set Up
Get it? Anyhow its sick, and I just want to see a burly huge white guy with a red beard running to the mound to a DJ Premier track. I think it would be fun.

Carlos Delgado- Tower of Power- What is Hip
More like, what is wrong with his hip?! Seriously though, this oldie is great. Wait, the song or Delgado?! woooomp woooooomp (Editor's Note again- I like Delagado, he aint THAT old, the bum hip just makes it easy)

I think this is good enough, the rest of the team can come out to Lifehouse for all I care, as long as these JAMZ are gonna be played I'll be good. Look at this, I can't even stop posting hot urban joints from yesteryear IF I WANTED TO. After typing out all this, I just gotta go dance....see ya!

Big Pelf - So Far So Good

-- Post From My iPhone

Typical

"The offense and pitching can't stop tonight, though it wouldn't fault you to assume one would. The fact that the Mets offense has only put up 10 runs while Santana is on the mound in his 39.1 IP should be a sign of which one might squeak to a halt. Add in the bad karma of the Braves in our house and the fact that we're facing the top of the line starter we passed over this off season, and the pessimistic Mets fan in all of us can see this as a recipe for disaster."

I was hoping to be proved wrong with the way I closed yesterday's post, but to no avail. Johan Santana lowered his ERA to 0.78 last night and now also leads the majors with 60 K's. Despite a superb effort in which he kept his team in the game without his best stuff, the Mets failed to eek out more than one run. To add insult to injury, the left side of the infield was responsible for 2 errors that led to 5 unearned runs which gave Johan a loss.

After the game David Wright said "He's facing aces. It seems like every year, no matter what team, there's always that one guy that you fight for, you go out there and try to give him good run support and you just can't do it. I think it's a combination this year of he's kind of been unlucky in that way, but also he's going against some pretty good pitchers, too. Just off the top of my head, it's Josh Johnson twice, it's Gallardo, it's Derek Lowe, Chan Ho when he threw a great game. So it's a combination of both being unlucky and going up against some pretty good pitchers." I can't believe he had the nerve to mention Chan Ho Park.

This loss isn't just on the offense though. Jerry should have never left Feliciano in there to face Diaz. There is no reason to leave a LOOGY in the game to face a righty after the bases were just loaded on an error. To top it off, it had been mentioned throughout the broadcast that Diaz rakes off of lefties. I'm sure they had a copy of the scouting report somewhere in the dugout right? Where was Stokes then? After that hit plated two I shut the game off in disgust.

This kind of loss can be deflating to the psyche. It makes the fan forget about the 7 straight just rattled off. It makes you say "oh but it was just the Pirates." Let's hope these guys pick it back up for Pelfrey tonight. Last night was just disgraceful.

Photo by Corey Sipkin - NY Daily News

Don't Stop

The Mets are on cruise control right now having won seven games in a row. Short sweeps of the Braves in Atlanta and the Phillies at home prompted a trouncing of the Pittsburgh Pinatas over the weekend. It all begins with the starting pitching which has been stellar since Oliver Perez's last start. The Mets starting staff has rattled off 7 straight Quality Starts, combining for an ERA of 2.44 over 44 1/3 innings averaging 7.7 K/9. The offense has also exploded averaging a fine 6 RPG over the streak. Then there's that thing we fixed over the off season. The bullpen has been lights out (with the exception of Sean Green who has been relegated to mop up duty) with a 1.92 ERA and 4 saves in the past seven games. It seems this is the team we've been waiting for. The one that fires on all cylinders.

Now here come the Braves. Atlanta has been on a bit of a tear since the Met's took two at Turner Field. They followed that up taking two from Florida and two of three from the Phillies. Brian McCann is back in the 4 spot in the line-up for Atlanta, providing a bit more protection for Larry than Casey Kotchman has.

Tonight they throw Derek "what's $2 million a year more between friends" Lowe on the mound. He'll square off against Mr. Johan Santana and his 0.91 ERA. The offense and pitching can't stop tonight, though it wouldn't fault you to assume one would. The fact that the Mets offense has only put up 10 runs while Santana is on the mound in his 39.1 IP should be a sign of which one might squeak to a halt. Add in the bad karma of the Braves in our house and the fact that we're facing the top of the line starter we passed over this off season, and the pessimistic Mets fan in all of us can see this as a recipe for disaster. Suppress the negativity folks. Johan is pitching. Only good things can come of that.

The 21 Train

Every time he steps on the mound he casts spells on hitters with a mix of fastball sorcery and magic change-ups. Johan Santana is The Wiz. He is a force to be reckoned with, and every New York paper will tell you as much this morning. And yet somehow, despite how energized and electrified the house his wonder is displayed in gets, the Mets still fail to score him runs.

Cerrone (of Metsblog.com fame) and I had a little back and forth about this here and here. I get that he faces the aces of the other staff due to respective places in the rotation. But last night he faced Chan Ho Park. You know who else he has faced so far? Carlos Villanueva, Scott Olsen, and Aaron Harang (yes I know he's their "ace", but the guy lost 17 games last year and is under .500 this year on a better Cincinati team). It is inexcusable at this point for the offense to have only averaged 2 runs per game in Santana starts.

On a side note as Werth clutched, and clutched, and clutched some more before making that throw, how many of you were hoping for the Carlos Express to knock Ruiz into Nassau County? I'm not afraid to admit I did. I'm glad he slid and scored without landing too hard on that hip, but man would that have brought this rivalry up a notch or what? I can see the ball rolling out of the catcher's hand now as Delgado jumps up in jubilation while Ruiz is searching for a mix of his mask and his dignity. Who's going to tonight's game?

Hump Day with Mets Mike 5th Edition: Hall of Fandom

This week's edition...it will be about us. We deserve this people. This team is frustrating beyond belief, but us chumps keep on rooting like we're getting paid for it. Why? Because stand up people who follow sports teams follow the shit out of them, and decide not to front run, or go across town where the grass may or may not be greener. We chose the Mets, our grass is dried out and patchy. We're two decades in to a championship drought, but we keep on keepin' on. That is why I will be opening the Mets Fan Hall of Fame. I'm not rich, so there will be no physical hall of fame or ceremony, just me typing about my favorite Mets fans on the couch while my girlfriend watches Dancing with the Stars. What a momentous occasion for all of us. Let us Begin...

METS FAN HALL OF FAME- INAUGURAL CLASS OF 2009

Jerry Seinfeld

Pretty obvious. He's extremely successful, rich, respected, and funny, making him a good representative of the average Met fan. His wife is also smokin' if memory serves me right. (editors note, just checked, nah not really. but still hittable like Chien Ming Wang's 4 seam. "OH!"- Andrew Dice Clay)

Jon Stewart

Funny Jews love the Mets, and we love them right back. He gives the Mets both props and good old fashioned ribbings on the Daily Show; which shows the nation that loves watching his show something every Met fan learned before walking; have a sense of humor about the Mets. (But don't take your jokes to the blogs, that's my lane, stay out of it.)

Tim Robbins

He's said several times, most recently being opening day at Citi Field, that he attended both the '69 and '86 series victories. That's serious credentials. Plus, Shawshank Redemption is the best. Props Robbins...props.

Chuck D

He personifies the patience one must have to be a Mets fan. Us normal fans have to deal with just the frustration of the Mets, he has to deal with both the Mets AND Flavor Flav. He is a saint. He is a hall of famer. Congratulations Charles D.

Hilary Swank

We needed a lady on this list, because come on guys, its 2009; chicks dig sports, and the coolest chicks dig the Mets. This isn't just some "chick" though, this an A-List, Oscar Winning, Karate Kidding, Super Woman. Seriously, could a woman who likes the Phillies or Braves take over for Ralph Macchio as the 1st female karate kid? Short answer, no. Long answer, fuck no.

NaS

Look at that jacket? Need I explain any more? The man Top 5 dead or alive, arguably GOAT, and a Met Fan to boot. Now we just need him to show the Mets how to spit that ether.

Chris Rock

This picture is worth a thousands words. Or as Chris Rock would say, "WOMEN BE SHOPPIN'!"
(He would say that to make you laugh and distract you from his horrible form).

I think 7 inductees is good enough for an inaugural class, as there will be more. I didn't include myself because that's not fair, and Bilko is too obvious. Plus he doesn't like to show his face in pictures with his Met gear on so I had no art on him. Damn you blogmaster!

I also would like to add regular folk next time around (not just the elite celebs), with your own special Mets stories and H.O.F. qualifications. If I don't get any of those, I'll make up good ones with my imagination and post funny pictures from around the internets. That's called a Win-Win folks. Later!

I Pick Carlos Beltran

If there is any player in Major League Baseball I want on my team right now, it's Carlos Beltran. Nobody, except maybe that Albert guy, looks even as close to locked in as him. Last night was another big one for Carlos that saw him go 2 for 3 with both hits coming on 2 run bombs. He is again hitting .400 on the season with an OBP of .500. I hate to bring up the whole "edge" thing that has plagued the Mets over the weekend, but if anyone has it on this club right now it's him. When he steps on the ball field he looks like Drago in Rocky IV less the 'roids ("I must break you").

Hell the team just looked pretty good last night. After that walk to David Ross in the second and a little visit by Dr. Dan Warthen, John Maine meant business. Keith even pointed it out that it was encouraging to see him get mad. To finish the inning he made Jordan Schafer looks stupid, and then after battling through a silly error by Luis Castillo got Larry Jones to fly out to end the inning. Aside from his astronomical walk count (6 - which according to Adam Rubin may be because he was battling illness last night), John came through only letting up runs in that second inning. Let's hope he can continue to channel his anger into a filthy fastball for the opposition and not be the self defeatist man he seems to have always been.

This was just an overall encouraging victory for the Metropolitans that leapfrogs us over the Braves in the NL East. I don't want to get my hopes up, because I've said this sort of thing before. Normally this group is jumping out early and petering out as the game goes along. This was just the opposite. I still don't think everyone is clicking just yet at the dish - Reyes, Church, and Castro in particular - yet those players are making up for it in the field by flashing a little leather. If this come behind victory is a sign of things to come once everyone is firing on all cylinders, this team might become a little less frustrating.

Let the Games Begin!

Dear God rain don't fail me now. This is the series we have been waiting for folks. Hoping for a brawl? Check out Brooklyn Met Fan today or a vintage Priced Out of the Citi post by Philly PI Joe Veix. I'm sure the folks over at We're the Team to Beat are going to have great content going all day as well. Jack Curry I don't like your tone. Let's get an impromptu viewing party going folks! Get on the message boards and rally the troops.