Location: Healdsburg, Ca.
Anybody who grew up a baseball fan in New York would get the irony of this photo. That's my credit card there. The hat was a gift. Only way I'd ever buy one.
Showing posts with label mets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mets. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
365 Photo Project - Day 215
Location: Healdsburg, Ca.
Anybody who grew up a baseball fan in New York would get the irony of this photo. That's my credit card there. The hat was a gift. Only way I'd ever buy one.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Mets Meltdown
As I write this, my Mets are having an epic meltdown, the likes of which their fans used to be used to but haven't seen much of since David, Jose and Omar came to Flushing.Trailing 5-0 in to the Phillies, who have beaten the Mets in six straight games, they managed to find a way to tie it at 5-5. Then with two outs in the fifth, the damn Phillies scored three fucking times. Three fucking times, all on shitty little bloop hits. Not a hard-hit ball among them.
What gives? Are the Mets just not that good? Or is this an anomaly no team avoids in a long season?
Long, dramatic pause.
I think these Mets are just not that good.
There.
I said it.
I'm serious. They seem to have no sense of urgency. No focus. None of the swagger that they used to march through the league last season and come within one inning of going to the World Series.
I don't know who's to blame for this swoon in attitude. Maybe it's the loss of Pedro Martinez, the number one motivator, the one guy in the clubhouse who doesn't speak softly. Maybe it's Willie Randolph, the even-keeled manager who expects his players to play like they've been around the bases a time or two. Maybe it's just the alignment of the fucking stars.
Whatever it is, the Mets have just slid back to the pack. If they don't find a way to come back and win today, they will have a scant two-game lead over the Phillies with the Braves bearing down behind them. And speaking of those Braves, they're up next for the Mets. If ever there were three must-win games this season, the Amazin's are staring them right in the face.
This isn't the time of the season to lose your drive.
It's get right or go home time.
Though I fear that if they don't have "it" now, it's too late to fine it.
I hope they prove me wrong.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Let's Go Mets
The Game, Healdsburg, CA July 2007
It's the second half the baseball season. The All-Star game is over and the division leaders are in place and now it's time to separate the contenders from the pretenders, time to see who's for real and who's going to be playing golf come October.
Anyone who reads this blog knows that S.O.L. is Mets fan central so over the course of the rest of the season, I'll mostly be talking about my boys from Flushing.
It's true I've been down on my favorite team for a few weeks. After a really great season where they established themselves as the team to beat in the National League, stalling only one game from getting to the World Series, they have sputtered and struggled and completely confounded me.
Injuries have been a problem, yes but they don't explain everything. The Mets have been without three starting pitchers, four outfielders and two infielders for long stretches of the season, not to mention two important relief pitchers. But the poor play has been mostly mental. Last year, the Mets won games with a precision that was impressive. They played great defense, their starters pitched well and they got big hit after big hit. This year, it feels like they've lost their focus.
Earlier this month, they got swept by the Colorado Rockies, a young, improving club but no where near as good as the Mets should be. At various times this season, key offensive players have struggled badly. When Carlos Beltran was hot, Carlos Delgado couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. When José Reyes was getting on base, Paul Lo Duca and David Wright couldn't get him home.
But since the All-Star break, the Mets have begun to put a run together. They took three-of-four from a lousy Cincinnati team and even as they lost two-of-three in San Diego, they played well in all but one of the games. Tonight, they took their second in a row in a four-game series against the Dodgers -- the same team that swept them in June.
As usual with the Mets, however, there is bad news mixed with the good. They have lost yet another player. Starting second baseman José Valentín fouled a ball off his shin in last night's victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles and is expected to miss at least six weeks with a broken tibia.
The silver lining here might be in the body of young backup second baseman Ruben Gotay, who is hitting .354 in limited playing time but has been impressive in getting important hits at big moments. Gotay was in the middle of the Mets five-run, ninth-inning comeback against the Cubs in May, for example. Can he handle the load as an everyday player. For now, it appears he'll be given a chance to show what he can do, at least until Damion Easley returns from bereavement leave.
The good news is the Mets won two games this week in very different ways. Thursday they took a six-run lead before taking the field in Los Angeles and held on through a wild game for a 13-9 victory. Tonight, behind a wonderful effort by starting pitcher Oliver Perez, the Mets won 4-1. I love it when the Mets win in Los Angeles for a lot of reasons, not the least of which I’ve seen the Mets play at Chavez Ravine more times than anywhere else. Being a fan of the visiting team will always draw the ire of the hometown crowd but it’s worse when the fans don’t seem to understand or even care about baseball. Yes, I’m generalizing but still, it was in Los Angeles when a fan yelled balk to a pitcher when there was no one on base and every single Dodgers game I’ve been at, the stands have been filled with bouncing beach balls, more often than not when there is actual action on the field. One day some knucklehead is going to be beaned by a foul ball because he was too interested in batting around a fucking beach ball than paying attention to the game. No doubt in my mind this will happen.
Saturday’s game will be tough for the Mets as they face the Dodgers best starter in Brad Penny. He’s 11-1 this season but has a piss poor record against the Mets (a 5-plus E.R.A.) and I’m hoping the stats bear up. There is one other interesting matchup between Penny and Mets rightfielder Shawn Green. Back in June, Penny accused Green of either stealing signs (either while he was on base or during an at-bat when he was peeking to see where the catcher was position).
In the long and fascinating Unwritten Rules of Baseball book, it’s consider old school to steal signs from the base paths but a batter who looks down at the catcher while he’s in the box, that for whatever reason, is a no no. Green is widely considered a smart, old school player who plays by the rules but something riled up Penny – and the Dodgers. In game one of the series, Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent (another old school veteran) clearly said something to Green when he cruised into second for a double. I wouldn’t be the house on it, but it sure looked like Green used a few choice words in response.
In any case, it sets up an interesting scenario for Saturday’s nationally-television game. Sure be fun watching what happens.
It's the second half the baseball season. The All-Star game is over and the division leaders are in place and now it's time to separate the contenders from the pretenders, time to see who's for real and who's going to be playing golf come October.Anyone who reads this blog knows that S.O.L. is Mets fan central so over the course of the rest of the season, I'll mostly be talking about my boys from Flushing.
It's true I've been down on my favorite team for a few weeks. After a really great season where they established themselves as the team to beat in the National League, stalling only one game from getting to the World Series, they have sputtered and struggled and completely confounded me.
Injuries have been a problem, yes but they don't explain everything. The Mets have been without three starting pitchers, four outfielders and two infielders for long stretches of the season, not to mention two important relief pitchers. But the poor play has been mostly mental. Last year, the Mets won games with a precision that was impressive. They played great defense, their starters pitched well and they got big hit after big hit. This year, it feels like they've lost their focus.
Earlier this month, they got swept by the Colorado Rockies, a young, improving club but no where near as good as the Mets should be. At various times this season, key offensive players have struggled badly. When Carlos Beltran was hot, Carlos Delgado couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. When José Reyes was getting on base, Paul Lo Duca and David Wright couldn't get him home.
But since the All-Star break, the Mets have begun to put a run together. They took three-of-four from a lousy Cincinnati team and even as they lost two-of-three in San Diego, they played well in all but one of the games. Tonight, they took their second in a row in a four-game series against the Dodgers -- the same team that swept them in June.
As usual with the Mets, however, there is bad news mixed with the good. They have lost yet another player. Starting second baseman José Valentín fouled a ball off his shin in last night's victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles and is expected to miss at least six weeks with a broken tibia.
The silver lining here might be in the body of young backup second baseman Ruben Gotay, who is hitting .354 in limited playing time but has been impressive in getting important hits at big moments. Gotay was in the middle of the Mets five-run, ninth-inning comeback against the Cubs in May, for example. Can he handle the load as an everyday player. For now, it appears he'll be given a chance to show what he can do, at least until Damion Easley returns from bereavement leave.
The good news is the Mets won two games this week in very different ways. Thursday they took a six-run lead before taking the field in Los Angeles and held on through a wild game for a 13-9 victory. Tonight, behind a wonderful effort by starting pitcher Oliver Perez, the Mets won 4-1. I love it when the Mets win in Los Angeles for a lot of reasons, not the least of which I’ve seen the Mets play at Chavez Ravine more times than anywhere else. Being a fan of the visiting team will always draw the ire of the hometown crowd but it’s worse when the fans don’t seem to understand or even care about baseball. Yes, I’m generalizing but still, it was in Los Angeles when a fan yelled balk to a pitcher when there was no one on base and every single Dodgers game I’ve been at, the stands have been filled with bouncing beach balls, more often than not when there is actual action on the field. One day some knucklehead is going to be beaned by a foul ball because he was too interested in batting around a fucking beach ball than paying attention to the game. No doubt in my mind this will happen.
Saturday’s game will be tough for the Mets as they face the Dodgers best starter in Brad Penny. He’s 11-1 this season but has a piss poor record against the Mets (a 5-plus E.R.A.) and I’m hoping the stats bear up. There is one other interesting matchup between Penny and Mets rightfielder Shawn Green. Back in June, Penny accused Green of either stealing signs (either while he was on base or during an at-bat when he was peeking to see where the catcher was position).
In the long and fascinating Unwritten Rules of Baseball book, it’s consider old school to steal signs from the base paths but a batter who looks down at the catcher while he’s in the box, that for whatever reason, is a no no. Green is widely considered a smart, old school player who plays by the rules but something riled up Penny – and the Dodgers. In game one of the series, Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent (another old school veteran) clearly said something to Green when he cruised into second for a double. I wouldn’t be the house on it, but it sure looked like Green used a few choice words in response.
In any case, it sets up an interesting scenario for Saturday’s nationally-television game. Sure be fun watching what happens.
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Party's Over
Oops.
S.O.L. was wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong about Lebron? Maybe a little but in time I believe he will become the great player he showed in his stirring march to the Finals. Wrong more about the Spurs.
Never have I seen a team not called the Lakers or the Celtics look so dominant with so much ease. Talk about firing on all cylinders.
I hate the way that Phoenix series played out. I'll forever believe they stole it from the Suns. But once the Spurs hit their groove, not even the Prime Time Lakers could have stopped them.
Tony Parker is a man among men now. A top-five player in the league in scoring points in the paint. -- at 6-feet tall. There's refs taller than he is, folks. Okay he's French. And yeah, he's dating a Desperate Housewife (soon to be married to her) but no way no how never can you call this kid soft. And he's 25 years old, folks.
Spurs are team to beat until someone tells me otherwise.
Welcome to the newest NBA Dynasty. T.D. Parker, Bowen, Ginobli. You might argue not one of them is quite in or finished with his prime.
I'm still in H-town. I'll post more about my adventures soon.
Tonight, the Mets are in the House That Ruth Built, on a losing streak that's their worst in two seasons and against a revitalized Yankees club that has won nine straight. Something's gotta give.
I was right about The Sopranos, wrong about the Cavs. So, what's one more prediction?
Mets win two of three.
Signing off from
Santa Moncia, CA
S.O.L. was wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong about Lebron? Maybe a little but in time I believe he will become the great player he showed in his stirring march to the Finals. Wrong more about the Spurs.
Never have I seen a team not called the Lakers or the Celtics look so dominant with so much ease. Talk about firing on all cylinders.
I hate the way that Phoenix series played out. I'll forever believe they stole it from the Suns. But once the Spurs hit their groove, not even the Prime Time Lakers could have stopped them.
Tony Parker is a man among men now. A top-five player in the league in scoring points in the paint. -- at 6-feet tall. There's refs taller than he is, folks. Okay he's French. And yeah, he's dating a Desperate Housewife (soon to be married to her) but no way no how never can you call this kid soft. And he's 25 years old, folks.
Spurs are team to beat until someone tells me otherwise.
Welcome to the newest NBA Dynasty. T.D. Parker, Bowen, Ginobli. You might argue not one of them is quite in or finished with his prime.
I'm still in H-town. I'll post more about my adventures soon.
Tonight, the Mets are in the House That Ruth Built, on a losing streak that's their worst in two seasons and against a revitalized Yankees club that has won nine straight. Something's gotta give.
I was right about The Sopranos, wrong about the Cavs. So, what's one more prediction?
Mets win two of three.
Signing off from
Santa Moncia, CA
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Bronx Bombers
Barry Bonds (25) will be in Shea tonight for a three-game series against the Mets.
Well, shit. The Yankees looked like comeback kids suddenly after taking two-of-three from Boston last week. What a difference a weekend makes. While Yankees fans were celebrating the series victory (a rare one for the Yankees in what is turning out to be an awful season), I wasn't impressed by it.
For this simple reason: the Yanks went into the series trailing the Red Sox by 10 1/2 games. If you're that far back in the standings and you want to get back into the race, 2-of-3 ain't gonna cut it. The Yankees didn't even whiff a sweep, either. They won game one, then lost game two which put them right back where they started the series. Going into the final game of the series, all they could do shave off one game. I'm sorry, but one game when you're down by 10 is like not even starting up the mountain.
The Yankees had reason to worry. On the horizon was a three-game set against the hottest team in baseball -- at that point the Los Angeles Angels. I predicted (elsewhere - you'll have to trust me on that) that the Angels would likely win the series. For one, they're better than the Yankees. For two, they've had the Yankees number even during their good years.
I always predicted that Boston would win it's series -- again not a stretch as they were playing in Texas against the AL's worst team.
Angels did win the series -- they swept the Yankees at the Stadium. Meanwhile, Boston was sweeping the Rangers. Ooops. So much for progress in the right direction.
Monday morning, the Yankees wake up (in Toronto no less - another team ahead of them in the standings) with a 12 1/2 deficit to Boston, closer to last place than first. After a Yankee loss in Toronto last night and a win by Boston against Central-Division leading Cleveland, that deficit is now at 13 1/2 games.
I'm not sure even the Yankees mystique can overcome that many games back. If you're thinking perhaps they could back in a different way, they 7 1/2 behind Detroit in the Wild Card Standings but would have to leap over seven other teams to make it into the playoffs without winning the division. And just to put that into perspective, they are currently tied with perennial doormats Tampa Bay.
The only reason the baseball world hasn't counted the Yankees out yet is because they're the Yankees. They have actual talent (they have the league's best hitter by average and home run leader). And because coming up through the minors is the Second Coming (a.k.a. Roger Clemens). Though I'm wondering if even the Rocket is questioning his choice now. The Red Sox perhaps didn't need him as badly as the Yankees do, but maybe Roger could use the Red Sox more than he could use the swirling bad winds that are prevailing in the Bronx.
While the Yankees were playing Boston, the Mets lost two-of-three to their rival Braves to close their Division lead to 1 1/2 games. Worse result but better situation. The Mets did their job. They had to at least win one game to keep the lead. Why? Because their next three games were against a team they've owned lately (Miami) and beyond that a cozy nine-game homestand (not that they've been playing all that great at home this season). In other words, they have breathing room.
(Not that they shouldn't have tried like Hell to beat Atlanta. The Braves are 6-3 against the Mets this year. If the Mets win the division, it won't matter much how they play against the Braves -- except if they meet in the playoffs. So yeah, the Mets have to figure out a way to beat this team again. Like last year.)
Over the weekend, you might be interested to learn, the Mets swept the Marlins as the Braves were getting swept in Atlanta by the surging Philadelphia Phillies. Now the Mets lead is 4 1/2 games. Not world beating but at this stage of the season, it's pretty damn good.
My next big question is when the New York Times will finally anoint the Mets the best team in their city. Even when they were playing those interleague games last week and the Yankees had to win the third game to avoid a sweep, the Times' game stories were all about the Yankees. Maybe in the past, they deserved that coverage, but right now, the Mets should be the lead story, not the fall of the House that Ruth Built. Come on, Gray Lady. Give Flushing some love.
Well, shit. The Yankees looked like comeback kids suddenly after taking two-of-three from Boston last week. What a difference a weekend makes. While Yankees fans were celebrating the series victory (a rare one for the Yankees in what is turning out to be an awful season), I wasn't impressed by it.For this simple reason: the Yanks went into the series trailing the Red Sox by 10 1/2 games. If you're that far back in the standings and you want to get back into the race, 2-of-3 ain't gonna cut it. The Yankees didn't even whiff a sweep, either. They won game one, then lost game two which put them right back where they started the series. Going into the final game of the series, all they could do shave off one game. I'm sorry, but one game when you're down by 10 is like not even starting up the mountain.
The Yankees had reason to worry. On the horizon was a three-game set against the hottest team in baseball -- at that point the Los Angeles Angels. I predicted (elsewhere - you'll have to trust me on that) that the Angels would likely win the series. For one, they're better than the Yankees. For two, they've had the Yankees number even during their good years.
I always predicted that Boston would win it's series -- again not a stretch as they were playing in Texas against the AL's worst team.
Angels did win the series -- they swept the Yankees at the Stadium. Meanwhile, Boston was sweeping the Rangers. Ooops. So much for progress in the right direction.
Monday morning, the Yankees wake up (in Toronto no less - another team ahead of them in the standings) with a 12 1/2 deficit to Boston, closer to last place than first. After a Yankee loss in Toronto last night and a win by Boston against Central-Division leading Cleveland, that deficit is now at 13 1/2 games.
I'm not sure even the Yankees mystique can overcome that many games back. If you're thinking perhaps they could back in a different way, they 7 1/2 behind Detroit in the Wild Card Standings but would have to leap over seven other teams to make it into the playoffs without winning the division. And just to put that into perspective, they are currently tied with perennial doormats Tampa Bay.
The only reason the baseball world hasn't counted the Yankees out yet is because they're the Yankees. They have actual talent (they have the league's best hitter by average and home run leader). And because coming up through the minors is the Second Coming (a.k.a. Roger Clemens). Though I'm wondering if even the Rocket is questioning his choice now. The Red Sox perhaps didn't need him as badly as the Yankees do, but maybe Roger could use the Red Sox more than he could use the swirling bad winds that are prevailing in the Bronx.
While the Yankees were playing Boston, the Mets lost two-of-three to their rival Braves to close their Division lead to 1 1/2 games. Worse result but better situation. The Mets did their job. They had to at least win one game to keep the lead. Why? Because their next three games were against a team they've owned lately (Miami) and beyond that a cozy nine-game homestand (not that they've been playing all that great at home this season). In other words, they have breathing room.
(Not that they shouldn't have tried like Hell to beat Atlanta. The Braves are 6-3 against the Mets this year. If the Mets win the division, it won't matter much how they play against the Braves -- except if they meet in the playoffs. So yeah, the Mets have to figure out a way to beat this team again. Like last year.)
Over the weekend, you might be interested to learn, the Mets swept the Marlins as the Braves were getting swept in Atlanta by the surging Philadelphia Phillies. Now the Mets lead is 4 1/2 games. Not world beating but at this stage of the season, it's pretty damn good.
My next big question is when the New York Times will finally anoint the Mets the best team in their city. Even when they were playing those interleague games last week and the Yankees had to win the third game to avoid a sweep, the Times' game stories were all about the Yankees. Maybe in the past, they deserved that coverage, but right now, the Mets should be the lead story, not the fall of the House that Ruth Built. Come on, Gray Lady. Give Flushing some love.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Pinstripes Look Good in Blue, Too
Mets 3B David Wright with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt after his game winning hit May 9 in S.F.
It's been said that we die hard Mets fans put too much energy into hating the crosstown rival Yankees (after all, we don't have to beat the Yankees to win the National League Pennant). It's not hard to hate the Bronx Bombers. They are (appropriately I might add) arrogant, tough and worse, for the most part in recent years, good citizens and professionals. It might be said that no franchise in the history of sports have been so consistently good for so long. Are we Mets fans just player haters? Maybe, but I feel like it's part of my personal history.
First, I'm a Mets fans and in New York you can be one or the other but not both (if you are, you're a phony or a fence-sitter and I can't be your friend). Second, my family spent summers on Cape Cod and back when I was yae high, they didn't have cable. You couldn't live in Massachusetts ity and watch the New York baseball teams. You could in some cases in some places -- especially where a team was representing a larger regional area -- but basically you were stuck with your home town team. So those summers, I came to root for an appreciate and die for the Boston Red Sox. And of course the Damn Yankees were as big of a thorn in the side of those Red Sox as they are today (though the humiliating, history-making 3-0 comeback by the Sox in 2003, did a lot to ease those previous failures).
But I digress. The reason I'm talking about the Yankees is this weekend begins the Subway Series -- the first of two regular season series between the Mets and Yankees.
For a change, it's the Mets who come into the series on a high note, having just taken three-of-four from the Cubs in dramatic fashion. This after taking two of three from the Brewers last weekend who when they came into Shea had the best record in baseball. The big win Thursday (the Mets overcame a four-run deficit in the last of the ninth inning to win at home) coupled with the Braves' loss in Washington (in a game they led 3-1 late), gives the Mets sole ownership of first place in the NL East. The Mets have the best record in the National League and the second -best in the Majors, trailing only Boston.
The Mets victory today was stirring. S.O.L. might have had something to do with it. With the Mets trailing 5-1 going into the ninth inning, I was just finishing up my workout on my new toy (a refurbished Precor EFX that I got for my birthday - yay me!). I decided superstitiously, to continue the workout until the Mets made the last out. Who knew that last out was never going to come?
The wonderful thing about this game -- and about the Mets in general since Willie Randolph took over as manager two seasons ago -- is that the bench played a big role in the comeback. Utility reserve David Newhan was among five non-regulars to start today's game. Randolph sat Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Paul Lo Duca and Damien Easley to rest them after last night's rain-delayed game went well past midnight. With the Yankees coming this weekend (and the second-place Braves after that), Willie was thinking ahead.
Newhan singled up the middle off of Cubs closer Ryan Dempster -- it was Newhan's second hit of the game one fewer than his total for the entire season. After Ramón Castro made an out (a line shot to right that Newhan nearly blundered into a double play), rookie Carlos Gómez, playing his first week in the majors, singled to right. First and third, one out.
Willie sent up Beltran, the Mets superstar centerfielder to pinch hit. Dempster was already rattled, throwing more balls than strikes, and notoriously fiery manager Lou Pinella was starting to steam in the dugout. With a four-run lead, the Cubs let Gómez take second -- killing any chance for a game-ending double-play. Beltran has only three pinch hits in his career (in 15 at bats) and his hot start has been slowed by leg soreness, but he worked out a walk, loading the bases.
After a visit to the mound by Pinella wherein pitcher and manager were screaming at each other, Endy Chavez came up to bat, fought off some tough pitches and he, too, walked. Only his walk plated Newhan, cutting the lead to 5-2.
Willie surprised a lot of people, including Rubén Gotay, by sending up the backup infielder to hit for himself. Gotay was hitting .150 coming into the game but he'd already stroked a run-scoring single earlier -- leading to the Mets first and until the ninth, only run. The decision looked awful as Gotay (pronounced Go-Tie) went to 0-2 against Dempster.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I was going to be pinch-hit for,” Gotay told the New York Times.
The something remarkable happened. The little infielder rewarded Willie's confidence in him and belted a clean single beyond the reach of slick fielding shortstop César Izturis, plating run number three. That was all Pinella could stand and he almost ran out of the dugout waving his left arm frantically to call on lefty reliever Scott Eyre to face Shawn Green. Willie countered by sending up David Wright to pinch hit - his first pinch-hitting appearance of his career.
The unwritten law about pinch-hitting is to go out their hacking and that's what Wright did, perfectly placing the first pitch up the middle and into centerfield. Cubs 5, Mets 4. Still only one out and the batter Mets cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado coming to the plate.
To say that Delgado, one of the nicest, coolest, most thoughtful guys to wear spikes anywhere, has been in a slump is putting it mildly. A home run hitter, he's only got three this season and his batting average has hovered around the Mendoza line all year.
But on a 1-0 pitch from Eyre, Delgado hit a sharp grounder between second and first and the Cubs sure-handed second baseman couldn't get to it and it bounded into right field for a single. The throw from right wasn't even close as Gotay came all the way around from second to score the winning run. Wow. Amazing. And thirty extra minutes on the workout machine for S.O.L.
It was the largest ninth-inning comeback for the Mets since May 23, 1999, when they scored five runs off of Curt Schilling to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have lost four of six and have posted a losing record since Roger Clemons announced he was coming back to New York to an adoring crowd at the House that Ruth Built. The Yankees are not in first place and at 18-21 are currently nine games behind the Red Sox (who still have the second game of a double-header to play tonight).
Friday night pits the young enigmatic Mets starter Oliver Perez against steady as she goes Andy Pettit. Perez has been as schizophrenic a pitcher as there is in the league, going win, loss, win, loss so far all season. Though his last outing was special, as he gave up just one hit in a win over the high-scoring Brewers. Pettit is 2-2 but is also coming off of a solid game, although the Yankees inability to put runs on the board lately, hurt him in what was a loss to Seattle.
Saturday it's Tom Glavine (4-1, 3.31) for the Mets going after career win no. 296 vs. Darrell Rasner (1-2, 3.28) and then last season Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang (2-3, 4.54) pitches Sunday in the finale against the Mets John Maine (5-1, 2.15) who was the NL pitcher of the month for April, but has only one win so far in May.
The Mets lead the NL in hitting and pitching but this will be a real test for them, even against a Yankees team that (shhhh) isn't really that good. Both teams get up for the Subway Series (even if they claim they don't). They get into it because the fans seriously get up for it and everybody seems to play a little bit harder.
The Mets have big-time momentum and with the Braves waiting in the for an early-season critical series in Atlanta next week, I predict the Amazin's will take care of business.
It's been said that we die hard Mets fans put too much energy into hating the crosstown rival Yankees (after all, we don't have to beat the Yankees to win the National League Pennant). It's not hard to hate the Bronx Bombers. They are (appropriately I might add) arrogant, tough and worse, for the most part in recent years, good citizens and professionals. It might be said that no franchise in the history of sports have been so consistently good for so long. Are we Mets fans just player haters? Maybe, but I feel like it's part of my personal history.
First, I'm a Mets fans and in New York you can be one or the other but not both (if you are, you're a phony or a fence-sitter and I can't be your friend). Second, my family spent summers on Cape Cod and back when I was yae high, they didn't have cable. You couldn't live in Massachusetts ity and watch the New York baseball teams. You could in some cases in some places -- especially where a team was representing a larger regional area -- but basically you were stuck with your home town team. So those summers, I came to root for an appreciate and die for the Boston Red Sox. And of course the Damn Yankees were as big of a thorn in the side of those Red Sox as they are today (though the humiliating, history-making 3-0 comeback by the Sox in 2003, did a lot to ease those previous failures).
But I digress. The reason I'm talking about the Yankees is this weekend begins the Subway Series -- the first of two regular season series between the Mets and Yankees.
For a change, it's the Mets who come into the series on a high note, having just taken three-of-four from the Cubs in dramatic fashion. This after taking two of three from the Brewers last weekend who when they came into Shea had the best record in baseball. The big win Thursday (the Mets overcame a four-run deficit in the last of the ninth inning to win at home) coupled with the Braves' loss in Washington (in a game they led 3-1 late), gives the Mets sole ownership of first place in the NL East. The Mets have the best record in the National League and the second -best in the Majors, trailing only Boston.
The Mets victory today was stirring. S.O.L. might have had something to do with it. With the Mets trailing 5-1 going into the ninth inning, I was just finishing up my workout on my new toy (a refurbished Precor EFX that I got for my birthday - yay me!). I decided superstitiously, to continue the workout until the Mets made the last out. Who knew that last out was never going to come?
The wonderful thing about this game -- and about the Mets in general since Willie Randolph took over as manager two seasons ago -- is that the bench played a big role in the comeback. Utility reserve David Newhan was among five non-regulars to start today's game. Randolph sat Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Paul Lo Duca and Damien Easley to rest them after last night's rain-delayed game went well past midnight. With the Yankees coming this weekend (and the second-place Braves after that), Willie was thinking ahead.
Newhan singled up the middle off of Cubs closer Ryan Dempster -- it was Newhan's second hit of the game one fewer than his total for the entire season. After Ramón Castro made an out (a line shot to right that Newhan nearly blundered into a double play), rookie Carlos Gómez, playing his first week in the majors, singled to right. First and third, one out.
Willie sent up Beltran, the Mets superstar centerfielder to pinch hit. Dempster was already rattled, throwing more balls than strikes, and notoriously fiery manager Lou Pinella was starting to steam in the dugout. With a four-run lead, the Cubs let Gómez take second -- killing any chance for a game-ending double-play. Beltran has only three pinch hits in his career (in 15 at bats) and his hot start has been slowed by leg soreness, but he worked out a walk, loading the bases.
After a visit to the mound by Pinella wherein pitcher and manager were screaming at each other, Endy Chavez came up to bat, fought off some tough pitches and he, too, walked. Only his walk plated Newhan, cutting the lead to 5-2.
Willie surprised a lot of people, including Rubén Gotay, by sending up the backup infielder to hit for himself. Gotay was hitting .150 coming into the game but he'd already stroked a run-scoring single earlier -- leading to the Mets first and until the ninth, only run. The decision looked awful as Gotay (pronounced Go-Tie) went to 0-2 against Dempster.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I was going to be pinch-hit for,” Gotay told the New York Times.
The something remarkable happened. The little infielder rewarded Willie's confidence in him and belted a clean single beyond the reach of slick fielding shortstop César Izturis, plating run number three. That was all Pinella could stand and he almost ran out of the dugout waving his left arm frantically to call on lefty reliever Scott Eyre to face Shawn Green. Willie countered by sending up David Wright to pinch hit - his first pinch-hitting appearance of his career.
The unwritten law about pinch-hitting is to go out their hacking and that's what Wright did, perfectly placing the first pitch up the middle and into centerfield. Cubs 5, Mets 4. Still only one out and the batter Mets cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado coming to the plate.
To say that Delgado, one of the nicest, coolest, most thoughtful guys to wear spikes anywhere, has been in a slump is putting it mildly. A home run hitter, he's only got three this season and his batting average has hovered around the Mendoza line all year.
But on a 1-0 pitch from Eyre, Delgado hit a sharp grounder between second and first and the Cubs sure-handed second baseman couldn't get to it and it bounded into right field for a single. The throw from right wasn't even close as Gotay came all the way around from second to score the winning run. Wow. Amazing. And thirty extra minutes on the workout machine for S.O.L.
It was the largest ninth-inning comeback for the Mets since May 23, 1999, when they scored five runs off of Curt Schilling to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have lost four of six and have posted a losing record since Roger Clemons announced he was coming back to New York to an adoring crowd at the House that Ruth Built. The Yankees are not in first place and at 18-21 are currently nine games behind the Red Sox (who still have the second game of a double-header to play tonight).
Friday night pits the young enigmatic Mets starter Oliver Perez against steady as she goes Andy Pettit. Perez has been as schizophrenic a pitcher as there is in the league, going win, loss, win, loss so far all season. Though his last outing was special, as he gave up just one hit in a win over the high-scoring Brewers. Pettit is 2-2 but is also coming off of a solid game, although the Yankees inability to put runs on the board lately, hurt him in what was a loss to Seattle.
Saturday it's Tom Glavine (4-1, 3.31) for the Mets going after career win no. 296 vs. Darrell Rasner (1-2, 3.28) and then last season Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang (2-3, 4.54) pitches Sunday in the finale against the Mets John Maine (5-1, 2.15) who was the NL pitcher of the month for April, but has only one win so far in May.
NOTE ADDED: The Yankees manager Joe Torre announced today that he would not start Wang on short rest on Sunday. Instead, the New York Times reported that Tyler Clippard was removed from the game "after striking out the side in the first inning Thursday for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a strong indication that Clippard will start for the Yankees on Sunday."
Clippards, 22, is a righty who compiled a 3-2 record (2.72 ERA) for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has 41 K's in 39 2/3 innings. He would be the seventh rookie and the 11th different starter to pitch for the Yankees this season. The Mets have started seven different pitchers this season.
The Mets lead the NL in hitting and pitching but this will be a real test for them, even against a Yankees team that (shhhh) isn't really that good. Both teams get up for the Subway Series (even if they claim they don't). They get into it because the fans seriously get up for it and everybody seems to play a little bit harder.
The Mets have big-time momentum and with the Braves waiting in the for an early-season critical series in Atlanta next week, I predict the Amazin's will take care of business.
Monday, May 14, 2007
More Mets and the NBA Plays Rough
Route 101 North, at Sunset May 2007
More important, it seems to have done wonders for David Wright, who started the shearing in the first place. The Mets' poster boy has spent the first month and a half of the season mired in a slump. He seemed to be picking up from where he left off last season when he opened by extending his end-of-season hitting streak from last year, but it was clear he wasn't comfortable at the plate.
He finished April with a .244 batting average, one home run and a paltry 6 R.B.I. Not what you want to see from the number five hitter on the major's best run-scoring team.
But since shaving his head before last Tuesday's game in San Francisco, Wright has 7 hits, three home runs and a game-winning double. You know how swimmers and cyclists shave their heads (and other body parts) so they can be more aerodynamic? Well, Wright's got four stolen bases since the barber paid him a visit to his hotel room, including three in one game (a career high). I'm thinking now that Jose Reyes has finally joined the baldies on the team, I expect him to steal 200 bases this year.
Most important development this weekend is how the Mets played against the Milwaukee Brewers, this year's version of the 2006 Detroit Tigers (or the 2005 White Sox) as MLB's most surprising team. The Brew Crew came into Shea with a swagger -- and the major's best record. They looked like world-beaters in crushing the Mets 12-3 on Saturday but that impressive work was sandwiched between two methodical victories by the Mets. It was the first road series loss of the season for the Brewers.
Rough and Tumble
Right now, the most fun-to-watch teams left in the playoffs are getting beat down by more bigger, more physical teams. Saturday's Spurs-Suns Game 3 was about as physical game as I've seen since the Lakers-Spurs series in 2004. That's when San Antonio crushed the Lakers at home in the first two games in part because this youngster named Tony Parker was driving to the basket with abandon and success. Only when the series went back to L.A., suddenly Parker was mugged every time he went to the hoop -- except the refs weren't calling fouls anymore. In the first two games of the series, the foul calls were even at 51 apiece but over the next four games -- all Lakers wins -- the Lakers got 126 fouls to the Spurs' 87.
I'm not blaming the refs for this disparity, just pointing out the importance of aggressive play during the playoffs. The first two games Parker pretty much scored at will in the paint, driving and scoring layups or dishing to an open man. He seemed to be going at a different speed than the Lakers' defense.
That all changed in Game 3. The Lakers, having nothing much to lose with a 0-2 deficit, started collapsing on Parker when he drove into the paint and making it hard for him to get off a shot. No question he was getting fouled on some of those drives but it was the playoffs, man, and the theory is you don't get those calls in the playoffs. The Lakers held court and then used a miracle shot by Derek Fisher with four-tenths of a second on the clock to steal Game 5 and that was all she wrote for those seemingly fragile Spurs. Parker scored 50 points in the first two games of the series. The last four? That's right, 50 points -- total.
The Spurs learned a lesson back in 2004 and used it with authority in Game 3 at home against the free-flowing Suns. Two things they did great on Saturday. One is they stayed in front of the King of Point Guards. And two, whenever he did get by a defender, there was always someone waiting to help out on D. But they also played tougher physically and there was a lot of extra-curricular banging and bumping in that game -- by both teams. The only difference it seemed to me, was that the Spurs didn't let it effect them and they made their shots
Nash did not respond to the pounding correctly in the first half -- he looked and acted frustrated. It didn't help the Suns that their biggest man on the floor was saddled with three fouls in the first half and played 19 seconds in the third quarter before picking up ugly number four. But there's hope for Suns fans, in S.O.L.'s view. Nash played a great quarter and for all his youth and too much talking, Amare is a smart kid gifted with an instinct for the game. Plus, for the first time perhaps all season, Boris Diaw played like he did in his coming-out party last year in the playoffs. I believe the Suns are tougher than they get credit for and I predict the series goes to Phoenix tied 2-2.
Up here in the Bay Area, the Golden State Warriors have been all the rage. And why not. They all but swept the defending Western Conference champions out of the playoffs and their open three-point-shooting, in-your-face, speed-demon style is fun as hell to watch. Plus, they opened the playoffs with four victories on their home court, almost all of them by double-digits.
The buzz kill has come in the face of the Utah Jazz. Using tough inside play and showing the discipline to withstand the inevitable roaring-crowd-fueled runs by the young Warriors, the Jazz host Game 5 on Tuesday on their home court leading the series 3-1. No one is really counting out the Warriors but it's hard to see them winning three straight, even with the kind of magical playoffs they've been having.
The Warriors can win if they keep hitting those big threes, but they have to find a way to stop Carlos Boozer from scoring inside. Boozer has become a real floor leader for the young Jazz and he's battling a rep as being too soft under the basket. Okay, so it's not saying all that much against a Warriors team that plays small ball, but still, Boozer has to make those big shots. When he hit two consecutive tough inside jumpers at a critical moment early in the game with a frenzied crowd in his ears, you just had to know he was going to show up at crunch time. And let's face it, if Boozer isn't scoring inside, Fisher doesn't get those open looks in the fourth and maybe they're going back to Utah tied 2-2 instead of up 3-1. It doesn't help Golden State's mojo that Fisher is having a storybook run of his own and Deron Williams and Paul Millsap are growing up before our eyes.
Love watching the Warriors. Love the fan support -- even the Lakers and Kings haven't done what the Warriors did last night -- but I've got a family the magic runs out in Salt Lake.
Speaking of the NBA Playoffs, we all had to watch the games on ABC this weekend. I love Mike Breen - I think he's one of the best broadcasters going these days. But the sexy chicks singing that stupid "right now" song? Please, get rid of that shit. It's beyond bad. It's embarrassingly bad. ABC -- please cease and desist. Right. Now.
The Mets have won four out of five games since shaving their heads. A small sampling to judge whether shaving heads makes you a better baseball team, considering they were 7-3 in the 10 games before they got really short haircuts.
More important, it seems to have done wonders for David Wright, who started the shearing in the first place. The Mets' poster boy has spent the first month and a half of the season mired in a slump. He seemed to be picking up from where he left off last season when he opened by extending his end-of-season hitting streak from last year, but it was clear he wasn't comfortable at the plate.
He finished April with a .244 batting average, one home run and a paltry 6 R.B.I. Not what you want to see from the number five hitter on the major's best run-scoring team.
But since shaving his head before last Tuesday's game in San Francisco, Wright has 7 hits, three home runs and a game-winning double. You know how swimmers and cyclists shave their heads (and other body parts) so they can be more aerodynamic? Well, Wright's got four stolen bases since the barber paid him a visit to his hotel room, including three in one game (a career high). I'm thinking now that Jose Reyes has finally joined the baldies on the team, I expect him to steal 200 bases this year.
Most important development this weekend is how the Mets played against the Milwaukee Brewers, this year's version of the 2006 Detroit Tigers (or the 2005 White Sox) as MLB's most surprising team. The Brew Crew came into Shea with a swagger -- and the major's best record. They looked like world-beaters in crushing the Mets 12-3 on Saturday but that impressive work was sandwiched between two methodical victories by the Mets. It was the first road series loss of the season for the Brewers.
Rough and Tumble
Right now, the most fun-to-watch teams left in the playoffs are getting beat down by more bigger, more physical teams. Saturday's Spurs-Suns Game 3 was about as physical game as I've seen since the Lakers-Spurs series in 2004. That's when San Antonio crushed the Lakers at home in the first two games in part because this youngster named Tony Parker was driving to the basket with abandon and success. Only when the series went back to L.A., suddenly Parker was mugged every time he went to the hoop -- except the refs weren't calling fouls anymore. In the first two games of the series, the foul calls were even at 51 apiece but over the next four games -- all Lakers wins -- the Lakers got 126 fouls to the Spurs' 87.
I'm not blaming the refs for this disparity, just pointing out the importance of aggressive play during the playoffs. The first two games Parker pretty much scored at will in the paint, driving and scoring layups or dishing to an open man. He seemed to be going at a different speed than the Lakers' defense.
That all changed in Game 3. The Lakers, having nothing much to lose with a 0-2 deficit, started collapsing on Parker when he drove into the paint and making it hard for him to get off a shot. No question he was getting fouled on some of those drives but it was the playoffs, man, and the theory is you don't get those calls in the playoffs. The Lakers held court and then used a miracle shot by Derek Fisher with four-tenths of a second on the clock to steal Game 5 and that was all she wrote for those seemingly fragile Spurs. Parker scored 50 points in the first two games of the series. The last four? That's right, 50 points -- total.
The Spurs learned a lesson back in 2004 and used it with authority in Game 3 at home against the free-flowing Suns. Two things they did great on Saturday. One is they stayed in front of the King of Point Guards. And two, whenever he did get by a defender, there was always someone waiting to help out on D. But they also played tougher physically and there was a lot of extra-curricular banging and bumping in that game -- by both teams. The only difference it seemed to me, was that the Spurs didn't let it effect them and they made their shots
Nash did not respond to the pounding correctly in the first half -- he looked and acted frustrated. It didn't help the Suns that their biggest man on the floor was saddled with three fouls in the first half and played 19 seconds in the third quarter before picking up ugly number four. But there's hope for Suns fans, in S.O.L.'s view. Nash played a great quarter and for all his youth and too much talking, Amare is a smart kid gifted with an instinct for the game. Plus, for the first time perhaps all season, Boris Diaw played like he did in his coming-out party last year in the playoffs. I believe the Suns are tougher than they get credit for and I predict the series goes to Phoenix tied 2-2.
Up here in the Bay Area, the Golden State Warriors have been all the rage. And why not. They all but swept the defending Western Conference champions out of the playoffs and their open three-point-shooting, in-your-face, speed-demon style is fun as hell to watch. Plus, they opened the playoffs with four victories on their home court, almost all of them by double-digits.
The buzz kill has come in the face of the Utah Jazz. Using tough inside play and showing the discipline to withstand the inevitable roaring-crowd-fueled runs by the young Warriors, the Jazz host Game 5 on Tuesday on their home court leading the series 3-1. No one is really counting out the Warriors but it's hard to see them winning three straight, even with the kind of magical playoffs they've been having.
The Warriors can win if they keep hitting those big threes, but they have to find a way to stop Carlos Boozer from scoring inside. Boozer has become a real floor leader for the young Jazz and he's battling a rep as being too soft under the basket. Okay, so it's not saying all that much against a Warriors team that plays small ball, but still, Boozer has to make those big shots. When he hit two consecutive tough inside jumpers at a critical moment early in the game with a frenzied crowd in his ears, you just had to know he was going to show up at crunch time. And let's face it, if Boozer isn't scoring inside, Fisher doesn't get those open looks in the fourth and maybe they're going back to Utah tied 2-2 instead of up 3-1. It doesn't help Golden State's mojo that Fisher is having a storybook run of his own and Deron Williams and Paul Millsap are growing up before our eyes.
Love watching the Warriors. Love the fan support -- even the Lakers and Kings haven't done what the Warriors did last night -- but I've got a family the magic runs out in Salt Lake.
Speaking of the NBA Playoffs, we all had to watch the games on ABC this weekend. I love Mike Breen - I think he's one of the best broadcasters going these days. But the sexy chicks singing that stupid "right now" song? Please, get rid of that shit. It's beyond bad. It's embarrassingly bad. ABC -- please cease and desist. Right. Now.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
S.O.L. at the Ol' Ballgame
Billy Wagner prepares to shut the door
I went to see the Mets yesterday at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The Mets were nice enough to put together a comeback victory in honor of S.O.L.'s presence, easing the painful costs of our moderately expensive seats.
(All the photos on this page were taken by me at the game and as always you can click on any photo to see it REALLY big.)
The best part of the game was seeing two struggling Mets (David Wright and Carlos Delgado) come through in the clutch (Delgado got the game-tying hit and Wright the game-winning one). The winning hit, by the way, came off former Mets closer Armando Benitez, who self-destructed
Happy Ending
before our eyes, a situation with which Mets fans are all too familiar.
The Mets return home Friday night to face the best team in the majors. We'll see how they measure up -- the Mets I mean.
Mets manager Willie Randolph opted to walk Barry Bonds intentionally early in the game with a two-run lead and first base open. It ended up being a good thing for the Mets who got out of the inning unscathed. Bonds, who hit no. 745 the previous night against the Mets, played a rare day game following a night game on Wednesday. He didn't go yard and actually struck out looking with the game on the line in the later innings.
More photos of my day at the ballpark.
Jose Reyes bats in the second.
Mets starter John Maine warms up. Behind him is third baseman David Wright.
I went to see the Mets yesterday at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The Mets were nice enough to put together a comeback victory in honor of S.O.L.'s presence, easing the painful costs of our moderately expensive seats.(All the photos on this page were taken by me at the game and as always you can click on any photo to see it REALLY big.)
The best part of the game was seeing two struggling Mets (David Wright and Carlos Delgado) come through in the clutch (Delgado got the game-tying hit and Wright the game-winning one). The winning hit, by the way, came off former Mets closer Armando Benitez, who self-destructed
Happy Ending
before our eyes, a situation with which Mets fans are all too familiar.
The Mets return home Friday night to face the best team in the majors. We'll see how they measure up -- the Mets I mean.
Mets manager Willie Randolph opted to walk Barry Bonds intentionally early in the game with a two-run lead and first base open. It ended up being a good thing for the Mets who got out of the inning unscathed. Bonds, who hit no. 745 the previous night against the Mets, played a rare day game following a night game on Wednesday. He didn't go yard and actually struck out looking with the game on the line in the later innings.
More photos of my day at the ballpark.
Jose Reyes bats in the second.
Mets starter John Maine warms up. Behind him is third baseman David Wright.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Ringing in the New Season
Mets at Dodgers, Dodger Stadium 2005
Well, so much for the World Champs. The Mets just finished off a nice first series of the season by destroying the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game sweep and raining on their victory bling parade.
As much as I'm a pimp for the Mets, I have to say they were helped along by the awfulness of the Cardinals who misplayed easy fly balls (three times) and were decidedly impatient at the plate. New York outscored the St. Louis 20-2 and turned eight double plays in the first two games (which hadn't been done in forty years). It's possible they might have had some more in Wednesday night's 10-0 drubbing, but the Cards only got one guy to second and that was in the, um, ninth inning. Ho-hum.
Let's not get too excited. The Mets travel to Atlanta to face the Braves this weekend and so far, the youngins down South have looked very, very sharp. They go into game three against Philly looking for the sweep. Speaking of the Phills, Jimmy Rollins must be feeling a little sheepish
about now as even after a minuscule sampling of games, the Phillies have to be very concerned about their bullpen.
Break up the Pirates - the Bucs swept Houston this week and are 3-0 for the first time in ages and ages. Well you might think that if you looked at their recent record of futility but the last time they were 3-0 was back in '03, a season in which they finished 75-87, four games back of the Central Division champion Cubs.
NBA Down to the Wire
Well, well, well, Lakers fans. What did S.O.L. tell you would happen to Kobe and krew when they started playing teams that belong in the NBA? After tearing up the likes of Portland and Memphis and Sacramento, the Lakers have run into a wall and face the very real possibility of dropping way down the playoff chart as both Denver and the Clippers (and Golden State) are surging at the same time the Lakers are flat-lining.
In the last six games the Lakers have gone 2-4, beating Golden State and Sacramento and losing to Memphis, Houston, Denver and last night, the improving Clippers. All of the losses exposed the Lakers' horrid defense and now only one game in the loss column separates them from losing their hold on the number sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs to Denver or the Clippers. Lucky for the Lakers, the Nuggets have continued to be schizophrenic -- going 5-5 in a series of games where they could have easily gone 8-2 or 9-1, had they not suffered from some last-minute meltdowns and last-second buzzer beaters.
Frankly, after watching Denver play the last couple of weeks, I'm at a loss to predict how they'll do in the playoffs. Being so inconsistent doesn't bode well for playoff success, that's for sure. They are so big and fast and long, you have to think they'd be good on the defense and they've got three legit go-to scorers in Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and to a lessor extent, the improving J.R. Smith. But man, they play like a bunch of idiots sometimes. You wonder if guys like Nene even have any brains in his head. Maybe that's why he only goes by one name. Do not get me wrong. I love the guy. But man, his basketball I.Q. is severely lacking. All you had to do see what I mean about the Nuggets is to watch last night's game against Sacramento, in which they blew a 71-50 halftime lead and ended up playing for their lives in the fourth before pulling it out. This time of year, a playoff-bound team hoping to make any kind of run should not be giving back 21-point leads.
I mean I've never seen a playoff team make so many stupid mistakes. I'm surprised George Karl has any hair left on his head. If these guys could put it together, they could beat anybody. I mean it. Even Dallas and Phoenix.
As for the Lake Show, their game last night against the Clips was a perfect microcosm of their season. After a tight back-and-fourth first quarter, the Clippers outplayed the Lakers on defense and built a double-digit lead by halftime. In the second half, the Lakers tightened up their D and the Clippers just tightened up, and the Lakers got to within one. But the Clippers made the plays and the Lakers did not and that was all she wrote. Kobe finished with 29 points but shot only 13-34 to get them. A few of his shots caromed off the backboard they were so off-line. And this was a game where Lamar Odom and Luke Walton were playing well and yet Kobe still tried to take it all on himself. Two games ago against the Kings, the Lakers won fairly easily by sharing the ball (Kobe had 13 assists and didn't lead the team in scoring) and yet the King of Stubbornness misses the lesson.
The Clippers double-teamed him whenever he got the ball and Black Mamba forced several shots, expecting the refs to bail him out. (Even I thought he got fouled a couple of times only to change my mind on seeing the replay.) The Clippers broadcasters said the game had a real playoff feel and the refs called it like that -- everybody was getting mugged under the basket. But the Clippers played into that and the Lakers didn't. (I mean if there's one thing you learn playing in the NBA is to adjust to the way the refs call the game. They're human. Sometimes they have good games, sometimes they suck. Sometimes, like last night, they're reffing is frustratingly uneven. But there was a time in game where it was clear they were letting everybody play, where they were only calling the most obvious fouls. You have to adjust your game accordingly. )
I'm not sure, having looked at the potential match-ups, how much falling down the playoff seeding chart would hurt the Lakers.
If the season ended today, the Western Conference playoff picture would look like this:
So you see how come to think of it, the Lakers would be fucked no matter who they play, especially the way they're defending the hoop these days. Maybe they can muster enough team defense to slow down Tim Duncan or Tony Parker or Manu Ginobli but all three? I think you can bet the house on that not happening.
The Lakers have a big week ahead of them. After what should be an automatic win at Seattle, they have four games in six games against Western Conference playoff opponents - a home and home with the Suns, a visit to Denver and at home against the Clippers. After that it's smooth sailing with Seattle and a finish at Sacramento, both lottery teams. The thinking goes they'll make the playoffs if they finish at .500, which means they need just two wins in those final seven games. The question is can they win enough games to keep their hold on the sixth spot, and will it even matter?
Well, so much for the World Champs. The Mets just finished off a nice first series of the season by destroying the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game sweep and raining on their victory bling parade.
As much as I'm a pimp for the Mets, I have to say they were helped along by the awfulness of the Cardinals who misplayed easy fly balls (three times) and were decidedly impatient at the plate. New York outscored the St. Louis 20-2 and turned eight double plays in the first two games (which hadn't been done in forty years). It's possible they might have had some more in Wednesday night's 10-0 drubbing, but the Cards only got one guy to second and that was in the, um, ninth inning. Ho-hum.
Let's not get too excited. The Mets travel to Atlanta to face the Braves this weekend and so far, the youngins down South have looked very, very sharp. They go into game three against Philly looking for the sweep. Speaking of the Phills, Jimmy Rollins must be feeling a little sheepish
about now as even after a minuscule sampling of games, the Phillies have to be very concerned about their bullpen.
Break up the Pirates - the Bucs swept Houston this week and are 3-0 for the first time in ages and ages. Well you might think that if you looked at their recent record of futility but the last time they were 3-0 was back in '03, a season in which they finished 75-87, four games back of the Central Division champion Cubs.
NBA Down to the Wire
Well, well, well, Lakers fans. What did S.O.L. tell you would happen to Kobe and krew when they started playing teams that belong in the NBA? After tearing up the likes of Portland and Memphis and Sacramento, the Lakers have run into a wall and face the very real possibility of dropping way down the playoff chart as both Denver and the Clippers (and Golden State) are surging at the same time the Lakers are flat-lining.
In the last six games the Lakers have gone 2-4, beating Golden State and Sacramento and losing to Memphis, Houston, Denver and last night, the improving Clippers. All of the losses exposed the Lakers' horrid defense and now only one game in the loss column separates them from losing their hold on the number sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs to Denver or the Clippers. Lucky for the Lakers, the Nuggets have continued to be schizophrenic -- going 5-5 in a series of games where they could have easily gone 8-2 or 9-1, had they not suffered from some last-minute meltdowns and last-second buzzer beaters.
Frankly, after watching Denver play the last couple of weeks, I'm at a loss to predict how they'll do in the playoffs. Being so inconsistent doesn't bode well for playoff success, that's for sure. They are so big and fast and long, you have to think they'd be good on the defense and they've got three legit go-to scorers in Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and to a lessor extent, the improving J.R. Smith. But man, they play like a bunch of idiots sometimes. You wonder if guys like Nene even have any brains in his head. Maybe that's why he only goes by one name. Do not get me wrong. I love the guy. But man, his basketball I.Q. is severely lacking. All you had to do see what I mean about the Nuggets is to watch last night's game against Sacramento, in which they blew a 71-50 halftime lead and ended up playing for their lives in the fourth before pulling it out. This time of year, a playoff-bound team hoping to make any kind of run should not be giving back 21-point leads.
I mean I've never seen a playoff team make so many stupid mistakes. I'm surprised George Karl has any hair left on his head. If these guys could put it together, they could beat anybody. I mean it. Even Dallas and Phoenix.
As for the Lake Show, their game last night against the Clips was a perfect microcosm of their season. After a tight back-and-fourth first quarter, the Clippers outplayed the Lakers on defense and built a double-digit lead by halftime. In the second half, the Lakers tightened up their D and the Clippers just tightened up, and the Lakers got to within one. But the Clippers made the plays and the Lakers did not and that was all she wrote. Kobe finished with 29 points but shot only 13-34 to get them. A few of his shots caromed off the backboard they were so off-line. And this was a game where Lamar Odom and Luke Walton were playing well and yet Kobe still tried to take it all on himself. Two games ago against the Kings, the Lakers won fairly easily by sharing the ball (Kobe had 13 assists and didn't lead the team in scoring) and yet the King of Stubbornness misses the lesson.
The Clippers double-teamed him whenever he got the ball and Black Mamba forced several shots, expecting the refs to bail him out. (Even I thought he got fouled a couple of times only to change my mind on seeing the replay.) The Clippers broadcasters said the game had a real playoff feel and the refs called it like that -- everybody was getting mugged under the basket. But the Clippers played into that and the Lakers didn't. (I mean if there's one thing you learn playing in the NBA is to adjust to the way the refs call the game. They're human. Sometimes they have good games, sometimes they suck. Sometimes, like last night, they're reffing is frustratingly uneven. But there was a time in game where it was clear they were letting everybody play, where they were only calling the most obvious fouls. You have to adjust your game accordingly. )
I'm not sure, having looked at the potential match-ups, how much falling down the playoff seeding chart would hurt the Lakers.
If the season ended today, the Western Conference playoff picture would look like this:
1. Dallas vs. 8. ClippersThe Lakers have had success playing the Spurs in the past (not that S.O.L. thinks they can beat them this year) and there's just no way Kobe and Kompany wants to see Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki in round one. The Suns aren't the same team they were last year when the Lakers took them to seven games. There is one big difference. (Say it with me everybody: Amare!)
2. Phoenix vs. 7. Denver
3. S. Antonio vs. 6. Lakers
4. Utah vs. 5. Houston
So you see how come to think of it, the Lakers would be fucked no matter who they play, especially the way they're defending the hoop these days. Maybe they can muster enough team defense to slow down Tim Duncan or Tony Parker or Manu Ginobli but all three? I think you can bet the house on that not happening.
The Lakers have a big week ahead of them. After what should be an automatic win at Seattle, they have four games in six games against Western Conference playoff opponents - a home and home with the Suns, a visit to Denver and at home against the Clippers. After that it's smooth sailing with Seattle and a finish at Sacramento, both lottery teams. The thinking goes they'll make the playoffs if they finish at .500, which means they need just two wins in those final seven games. The question is can they win enough games to keep their hold on the sixth spot, and will it even matter?
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