PLAY BALL!

Dodger Stadium, Summer 2007 (see note below)
I’m in the middle of project which has kept me from blogging even irregularly of late.

I do have some things to say about the NBA season and I’ll be chiming in here as the season comes to a close but let me drop in and say a hearty “welcome” to the Boys of Summer as the MLB Season officially kicks off stateside tonight in Washington, D.C.

I always look forward to baseball season but this year couldn’t come soon enough. The total historic collapse of my beloved Mets last year was part of it (nothing like a new spring to banish the old demons) but their signing of Johan Santana, done in the midst of the Giants’ amazing Super Bowl run, really got me excited for baseball.

I sense good things for my boys this year and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the field.

To my surprise, I saw that no one on Saturday that ESPN’s Baseball Tonight picking the Mets to even win the NL East. That’s right. Instead, former player Eric Young and former Mets beat writer Buster Olney both picked the hated Atlanta Braves.

I gotta give the A.T.L. its due. They got a nice pitching staff and some great young players and I do think they’re going to be better than the overrated Phillies but I just don’t see how the Mets, barring some major injuries, are going to not win the East by at least four or five games. And really, how much more does Tommy Glavine have left in the tank anyway? As much as I love the guy, I'd be surprised if he wins more than 10 games this year.

Santana is a big reason. When you’ve got a guy like Santana going every fifth day, you’re not going to have many long losing streaks. The bullpen is much stronger and will get even better when Duaner Sanchez returns from injury (he won't until after the Mets break camp in Florida) and Jose Reyes is going to have a monster year, if only to shut up all the folks who said he was taking the game too lightly.

Carlos Beltran and David Wright are going to be battling all year long for the MVP I think. I don’t remember Beltran looking so good, so comfortable this early in the year. And confident.

And if Pedro can continue to throw like he has this spring, the Mets are going to be very hard to beat. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson told ESPN the other day during the Civil Rights Game broadcast that during a pitching session, he complimented Pedro on his throwing. To which he said Pedro answered, "Don't call me Pedro. Call me Picasso." Nothing like competition at the top of the rotation to bring out the fire in a competitive pitcher's belly. He's in great shape after his year-long rehab. He's learned how to pitch to his diminishing skills and speed -- I expect a huge year from Pedro this year.

Think about this: the Mets are a better defensive team than they were last year when they were one of the top fielding teams in the league and they got better in those areas – bullpen, right field where they were suspect. Maybe they could use one more right-handed power hitter but every team is weak somewhere.

All good reasons why the Mets will return to the top of the division this season but the real reason I’m picking them is John Maine.

Maine is the Mets’ big right-hander who pitched 7 2/3 of hitless ball n what at the time was the most important game of the Mets season last year. He started the season last year on a roll and was almost unhittable in April and May.

He ended up winning 15 games last year but he should have won 18 at least and that’s why I’m predicting Maine as the NL Cy Young Award winner for 2008. With this lineup and the way he’s capable of throwing, Maine should win 20 games this year.

Right now, he’s slotted as the number 4 starter behind Santana, Pedro and Oliver Perez and in front of El Duque. He’s always had great stuff but he’s learning how to harness his talent AND keep his focus on the mound. You read it here first: John Maine is going to win 20 games.

Now for my 2008 Predictions:

NL East – Mets
NL Central – Milwaukee Brewers
NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card – Colorado Rockies

AL East – Boston Red Sox
AL Central – Cleveland Indians
AL West - Seattle Mariners
AL Wild Card – Detroit Tigers

World Series: Mets over Seattle

Enjoy the spring everybody!


Full disclosure: Particularly observant fans might note that I've altered this photo, taken at Dodgers Stadium last summer. I actually reversed the score in a game the Dodgers won but it's spring and it's baseball and we should all be able to look at our teams through rose-colored glasses, even virtual ones.

Mets Major Move

What a week to be a New York sports fan, providing you root for the Mets and the Giants. In a move that surprised a lot of experts, the Mets made a deal for Twins lefty Johan Santana on Tuesday, giving them the number one starter they badly needed without having to give up crucial players.

In fact, this deal should go down in history as a major theft, considering how little the Mets had to give up for the best best left-handed pitcher in the majors. None of the prospects the Mets gave up were considered "can't miss" prospects and even though the Mets will have to pay Santana a boatload of cash, his history, his arm motion, his intelligence and talent ought to make it a rare time when paying a pitcher millions over several years makes sense.

Rumors say Santana isn't totally healthy but I'm thinking that Boston and the Yankees, the other front runners for Santana's services, just didn't want to risk trading viable major-league ready players for the expensive services of Santana. I feel the Yankees made a big mistake because Santana would have been an instant upgrade to their pitching staff, a staff I think is overrated, certainly as yet unproven.

The Red Sox, just off a second World Series title in four years, probably did the right thing by backing off. Trading Jacob Ellsbury, their young, electrifying centerfielder, would have been a huge mistake in part because they just don't "need" Santana. Sure, he'd be great at the front of their rotation but with their young pitching talent already making a name for themselves on the major-league level, with a presumably more comfortable and better adjusted Daisuke Matsuzak, and the hottest pitcher in the majors at the front of their rotation, I'd say getting Santana was not as important as keeping Ellsbury and Jon Lester.

The Mets need Santana in the worst way. He turns them into legit World Series contenders and more important, almost stops the talk about last season's end-of-the-year collapse. Almost. George Vecsey over at the New York Times couldn't help but bring it up today. I think he's wrong, wrong, wrong. I'll get to why as we get closer to the season.

Santana is not only talented but the guy is a serious gamer. A winner who has intelligence and ability and a penchant for rising to the occasion. He will thrive in New York, the hotter the spotlight, the better he'll play. Mark this down but for my money, Johan Santana is going to mean to the Mets what Josh Beckett meant to the Red Sox last year.

As for the Super Bowl, it's only day three of the week of the big game and I'm already over the hype. And I'm a Giants fan. It took more than half of the two week break between the title games and the Super Bowl for controversy to rear it's ugly head.

Oh and to the chick from Mexican t.v. who showed up in the wedding dress yesterday -- thanks for making it even harder for women reporters to get respect. Really. Thanks a whole fucking lot. Maybe you can show up at Jets games next year to entertain the Neanderthals.

You Sweep, We Sweep

I've been traveling again, this time it's back to Los Angeles for a wedding and other bits of business. I have some thoughts about traveling, especially about driving and drivers, but will leave those for when I return to wine country.

Right now, I want to talk about baseball. I know I practically wrote off my Mets last week. Despite their recent turn-around, I still wonder if they have what it takes to make a serious World Series run. Still, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Last we spoke, the Mets had lost four straight to the Phillies, the NL East's second-place team. The Mets win two of those four and the race is all but over but instead, they leave Philly beaten and embarrassed and only two games back. Worse, they were about to face the Braves, their nemesis. The same Braves who had won every series from the Mets so far this year.

Well, the ship seems to have been righted. Pedro's back and Endy's back and so, it seems, are the Mets who went into Atlanta and swept those bad boys and did it convincingly. And after taking the first two against the mediocre Reds in Cinci, put together their first five-game winning streak of the season. Whew. If that weren't enough, they came back to New York and swept the lowly Astros.

Say what you will about all three clubs, but during this streak of winning eight-of-nine games, the Mets beat John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Aaron Harang and Roy Oswalt, not a push-over in that bunch, no sir. You tell me if it's a coincidence that Pedro Martinez returned and won both of his starts, his first two victories since last season.

Ah, but there is no rest for the weary. Six games ahead against those same Phillies and Braves. The Mets can bury them with a strong showing, putting their focus on the postseason instead of a down-to-the-wire race.

We're about to see really what Mets team is for real this season and whether the newfound confidence is an illusion or the start of something big.

Stay tuned ...

More Mets

Pug Mug
A few hours before Barry Big Head's no. 755 sailed over the left field fence in Petco Park in San Diego (welcome to Trivial Pursuit, Clay Hensley), the Mets dropped a tough game in Chicago 6-2, when young John Maine lost his concentration.

During a scoreless game, a close call at first went against the Mets, giving the Cubs a 2-out baserunner and Maine slapped his glove against his side. After that, he couldn't find his focus and within 10 minutes, the Cubs had a 6-0 lead. That was all she wrote. It was a tough loss for the Mets who had won three straight, including a very crisp game one in Chicago, who at the moment was leading the Central Division.

The rubber game is tomorrow. It's a must-win for the Mets who have a string of difficult series ahead of them in the next few weeks, including against their nemesis, the newly retooled Braves.

I like that the offense has picked up in recent days, including David Wright and Carlos Delgado, who have been swinging hot bats. Though Wright had two chances to knock in runs on Saturday and he popped up and grounded out to first. ESPN is broadcasting it as their national game tomorrow night so you can watch history happen in HD, only this is a guy anybody can root for.

Tomorrow night is a big night for Tom Glavine, too. The veteran lefty takes the mound for his second attempt at victory number 300. It's an amazing achievement for a finesse pitcher in an era when getting 150 wins is a big deal.

Welcome to New York, Luis

Carlos Beltran in San Franciso
The Mets were among the teams busy during the final hours of Major League Baseball's trade deadline Monday. This is the first major trade deadline of the season, although not the last day a team can acquire a player from another club. Any player who is traded after tomorrow's deadline, has to clear waivers first, which means for a price any team can claim that player, thus voiding the trade agreement in place. It happens very rarely but no one wants to take a chance of another team stepping in and queering a deal.

The Mets acquired Luis Castillo from the Twins, a speedy second baseman known for his glove and (until this year) his high on-base percentage. He fills the void left when starter Jose Valentin was lost for the season after fouling a ball off his shin and breaking his tibia in Los Angeles just after the All-Star break.

I think Castillo is just what the Mets need right now, a player somewhat in the mold of Jose Reyes, but older and smarter and who went through a championship post-season as a member of the Florida Marlins. What I like about him is he's not afraid to get dirty and the three Gold Gloves in his trophy case are proof he'll more than shore up the middle of the infield. Face it, Mets fans, while Valentin handled second better than most expected, it has been a weak spot for them.

So has energy and focus, in my opinion.

With Reyes and Castillo at the top of the order, the Mets should be able to find some of that spark again. Both guys could set the table better for the big bats of Beltran, Delgado and Wright. And with Moises Alou back and Lastings Milledge getting regular playing time, I'm feeling good about the stretch run. Could Pedro's return be not far around the corner?

I do worry about Carlos Beltran, the Mets centerfielder who was signed to a $126 million deal two seasons ago and has spent the better part of his first and now third seasons dealing with various injuries. I'm beginning to wonder if the whispers about him being afraid to play with minor injuries are true. I'm not even close to giving up on the guy but this latest injury (pulled abdominal suffered during batting practice) is worrisome. For what he's making, he needs to gut out the pain and produce.

Update (8:30 p.m. July 30, 2007): Turns out we're all wrong about Beltran. An exam today found out that his strain is worse than first thought. He's going on the 15-day disabled list. Another blow for a banged up Mets squad. Be interesting to see how young Lastings responds. I'm looking forward to watching him show his stuff.

Division rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia both made moves today, the Braves making the biggest splash of the trade deadline so far. I'd like to see the Mets add one more piece -- a starting pitcher perhaps or a reliever like Texas' Eric Gagne. Stay tuned, Mets fans.

You Can't Win Them All

New Moon, May 2007
The Mets proved their current superiority over the Yankees this weekend in the team's first Subway Series of the season. For the most part, it was the Mets who played smarter, more aggressive baseball, had the better starters and came through when it counted.

This trend continued through the early innings on Sunday night as the Mets, having won the first two games of the series, were going for a sweep of their crosstown rivals. They were up 1-0 on David Wright's third home run in as many official at-bats and even though starter John Maine was struggling, the Yankees couldn't seem to capitalize.

But then the wheels fell off, the Yankees got four runs in the fourth and the Mets never really found a way to solve the Yankees 22-year-old rookie Tyler Clippard, who was making the first start of his career.

Give propers to Clippard who had command on his pitches, changed speeds well and never seemed too overwhelmed by such a big stage. But still, the Mets weren't aggressive enough at the plate and when they had chances to drive in runs, they got caught looking a called third strikes or hit weak ground outs. It felt like the Mets were satisfied taking the series and it would have been nice to see them going for the jugular. Especially Maine. The second-year righty has been phenomenal for most of the early season -- winning his first five starts. But his last three -- two losses and a no decision in a game the Mets came back to win to save his ass -- have been dismal. He seems to have fallen back on his old bad habits. He needs to get right, right now.

The Yankees have lost all of their last three series, having fallen 10 1/2 games behind the division-leading Red Sox who they face in a three-game series beginning tomorrow night (Monday) in the Bronx. Will the Yankees rebound and cool off Boston, turning a big lead into a division race? Or will Boston leave New York with a double-digit lead?

Meanwhile, the Mets head to Atlanta for what is a much bigger series than this one with the Yanks was. The Mets have a 2 1/2 game lead over the second-place Braves (who lost two of three to Boston this weekend). A series win will give the Mets a nice cushion at this juncture in the season but a loss would put them in a real dogfight.

Still, the Mets should enjoy their flight to Atlanta tonight and a day off before facing the Braves there, having at least struck first blood against the Yankees. Until the Round Two of the Subway Series, we Mets fans can claim the best baseball team in New York. Sweeter words have never been spoken to a Mets fan.