So my Mets have been playing a little better as of late. They were very shaky coming off the All Star break, but they look better now.
They played well in San Diego (I saw them lose to David Wells from the bleachers at Petco - nice stadium but those seats stink) and in LA (I saw them beat Roberto Hernandez late in the game thanks to Beltran - also from the bleachers, much nicer seats than at Petco. Dodger Stadium is impressive.).
When you've got a chance to play a team like the Pirates though, you've gotta sweep 'em. I know the Pirates are getting better, but they're still the Pirates. Come on.
Great news that Glavine's at 299! I've got my DVR set for #300 on Tuesday. Hopefully all goes well. John Kruk and the boys on Baseball Tonight hypothesized what a great day it would be in Glavine got 300, ARod 500 and Barry 756 all on Tuesday. I don't agree. I would rather have Glavine get his 300th on a very slow day so it gets the most coverage possible. Glavine has been such a steady pitcher his whole career that he deserves all the attention he can get.
What I would like to see is Glavine pitch a complete game on Tuesday for a 4-0 shutout to cap off his 300th win in style. I would also like to see ARod admit what a dirty player he's become (swatting the ball out of Arroyo's hand, yelling at the 3rd Baseman on a pop up, etc. - only since he's been a Yankee, BTW) and I would LOVE to see Barry break both legs and not be able to play another game.
Barry Bonds was one of the top 15 players in baseball when he started taking steroids. Why bother? It doesn't make any sense to me. Now instead of being a venerated player who finished his career with 540 homers or so and still be the only guy headed to the hall with 500 homers and 500 steals, he's tainted his entire career. What a waste. I've never really liked the guy, but now he's a punchline. He's an asterisk. He's a glowing symbol for the entire steroid era. What a wonderful thing to be remembered for.
Idiot.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
Feelings at the All Star Break...
Wow, I haven't posted in a while.
So the All Star Break is here and my Mets are still in first. Boston's on cruise control. I barely even check in with them anymore. If they don't get to the World Series, I'll be shocked. The way they're playing, they might make it to the Super Bowl too. They're basically unstoppable. The only way you beat Boston is to let them beat themselves. Actually, the best way to beat Boston is to walk everyone but Julio Lugo and let him ground into double plays. That's basically your best plan.
My Mets are a little shakier.
I could see the Mets losing this division. Not because the other teams are THAT good. Atlanta needs to spend some money and remove some older talent before they'll be really good again. The Phillies are winning and still don't like their manager, so it's only a matter of time before they fall apart. The Mets might lose this division because they think they'll win the division. That sounds stupid, and it kind of is, but my point is that the Mets have been sitting back assuming the division is their's for the taking. You can see it in the way they play.
This weekend, they dropped 2 of 4 to an Astros team that can just barely see daylight. CoolStandings.com gives the Astros a .2% chance of making the playoffs and the Mets (who's playoff chances are listed as 80%) lost two games to them and it very easily could have 3.
They need to start playing like a team that needs to win games before they become a team that needs to win games!
So the All Star Break is here and my Mets are still in first. Boston's on cruise control. I barely even check in with them anymore. If they don't get to the World Series, I'll be shocked. The way they're playing, they might make it to the Super Bowl too. They're basically unstoppable. The only way you beat Boston is to let them beat themselves. Actually, the best way to beat Boston is to walk everyone but Julio Lugo and let him ground into double plays. That's basically your best plan.
My Mets are a little shakier.
I could see the Mets losing this division. Not because the other teams are THAT good. Atlanta needs to spend some money and remove some older talent before they'll be really good again. The Phillies are winning and still don't like their manager, so it's only a matter of time before they fall apart. The Mets might lose this division because they think they'll win the division. That sounds stupid, and it kind of is, but my point is that the Mets have been sitting back assuming the division is their's for the taking. You can see it in the way they play.
This weekend, they dropped 2 of 4 to an Astros team that can just barely see daylight. CoolStandings.com gives the Astros a .2% chance of making the playoffs and the Mets (who's playoff chances are listed as 80%) lost two games to them and it very easily could have 3.
They need to start playing like a team that needs to win games before they become a team that needs to win games!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
All Star Selections...
Reyes, Wright and Beltran are all heading to the All Star game as starters, as expected and Billy Wagner will be in the pen. I thought it was a little bit of a snub sending Cole Hamels to the All Star game and not John Maine after the way they've both pitched. The more I think about it though, the more I think that Maine didn't deserve to go. He had those three bad starts in a row (right while everyone was voting) and Hamels has scattered his.
The biggest snub I see in the National League is Eric Byrnes. Byrnes is one of the hardest players in the game and he's been great for Arizona this year. He's hitting in the top 5 in average & RBI for outfielders. He's in the top ten for outfielders in steals, runs and homers. He's hit first and fourth for the DBacks. He plays great defense. I mean, I don't know how much better he'd have to do to be considered for the All Star team. Byrnes numbers compare very favorably to who most consider the big snub, Jimmy Rollins. Byrnes is hitting several points higher with 1 more home runs and a couple RBIs. Defensively I'd put them on a par at their positions.
For the most part, I think the voting was dead on. Barry kind of has to go and its nice that he was voted to start. I've cooled slightly towards Barry because I've come to the realization that whenever he breaks Aaron's record, ARod will eventually break Bonds' record and Pujols will break ARod's record and so on. Home runs are more a part of the game now that ever. It's the only way some of these guys get on SportsCenter and for a lot of major leaguers, that's how they judge their careers!
There's been some question as to whether Manny was deserving of getting in as a reserve. I agree that its a same Orlando Cabrera didn't get into the game. This year, Manny probably didn't deserve to go, but the All Star game - whether its the fans or the players voting - is a popularity contest. If anyone had actually seen Cabrera play this year, the voting might have been different. Have you watched an Angels game yet this season? Me neither. Players watch SportsCenter too and if we don't see you, they don't see you. Cabrera deserved to go and its a shame. Think of all the players that deserved to go when Torre selected nothing but Yankees for the bench in 2000.
The biggest snub I see in the National League is Eric Byrnes. Byrnes is one of the hardest players in the game and he's been great for Arizona this year. He's hitting in the top 5 in average & RBI for outfielders. He's in the top ten for outfielders in steals, runs and homers. He's hit first and fourth for the DBacks. He plays great defense. I mean, I don't know how much better he'd have to do to be considered for the All Star team. Byrnes numbers compare very favorably to who most consider the big snub, Jimmy Rollins. Byrnes is hitting several points higher with 1 more home runs and a couple RBIs. Defensively I'd put them on a par at their positions.
For the most part, I think the voting was dead on. Barry kind of has to go and its nice that he was voted to start. I've cooled slightly towards Barry because I've come to the realization that whenever he breaks Aaron's record, ARod will eventually break Bonds' record and Pujols will break ARod's record and so on. Home runs are more a part of the game now that ever. It's the only way some of these guys get on SportsCenter and for a lot of major leaguers, that's how they judge their careers!
There's been some question as to whether Manny was deserving of getting in as a reserve. I agree that its a same Orlando Cabrera didn't get into the game. This year, Manny probably didn't deserve to go, but the All Star game - whether its the fans or the players voting - is a popularity contest. If anyone had actually seen Cabrera play this year, the voting might have been different. Have you watched an Angels game yet this season? Me neither. Players watch SportsCenter too and if we don't see you, they don't see you. Cabrera deserved to go and its a shame. Think of all the players that deserved to go when Torre selected nothing but Yankees for the bench in 2000.
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