Sitting Shivah

It's dead. Over. And I did not really talk about it today and asked everyone in the office (the boys really), to not talk to me about baseball today. They didn't.

The rabid NY media have already started feeding on the corpse of the 2007 Mets, so I won't be too harsh as I join the group 'o buzzards. But what I will say is that I don't think Willie deserves to be fired. I think the end result was a team that had a lot of talent, but ravaged by injuries could never again quite find the full glory of those sweet spring days.

Pitching was always a nagging problem and in the end it took us down. Aging pitching, along with young pitching with tons of potential proved to be the wrong combination for a long season. The older bodies couldn't hack it, the younger ones proved to be too inconsistent to deliver every time (although I think both John Maine and Oliver Perez were highlights of this team and will deliver for years to come).

Oli and Johnny were not the only highlights.... David Wright was spectacular all around and we'll see more of him next year. Mosies Alou, at 41, was key to keeping us even half alive in the second half of the season. The youngins' --- Endy, Anderson, and Milledge all have lots of potential.

Just a bit on attitude: Post All Star Break there was definitely a slide in the attitude of some of the players. And this is the thing that lost it for the Mets. They collapsed on themselves.

It doesn't change how sad I am. I will watch the playoffs and will occasionally post my thoughts about them. But I won't be rooting for anyone, my season has passed.

Halfway to the Fall

It's halfway through the baseball season and not quite halfway through the Presidential primary race, so some thoughts on both.

The Mets record is basically on pace from last year, with one disturbing difference- injuries. We have lost some of our best hitters and pitching staff to breaking bodies. I understand, it happens. But if we're gonna make it through the rest of the season and come out on top after playing the tough NL teams like the Dodgers and the Padres, heck even the Braves and the Phillies, our boys need to get to feelin' better.

Injuries are kinda like losing your staff, a la McCain today. But, the future prognosis of the Mets is probably better than McCain's.

I don't want to just be a crapper. The early part of the season was delish. The injuries really hurt our momentum, we just need to find our groove and get back to it.

Our relief pitching continues to lag. The three S's - Smith, Sele, and Schoenweis, as well as Heilman and Mota, must have an average ERA over 3. Somedays are good, but others have been disasters. We need some solid relievers we can rely on.

Our bats continue to be as flat as matzos. And it is way beyond Passover. It's nice to see Carlos Beltran finally hitting, but right now the only regular hitter above .300 is Jose. David Wright is nearly there, as is Shawn Green, but if we are going to the top come October, we are going to need to see the Carloses cracking 'em outta there.

Batting is like the fuel of the win, kinda like money in politics. I wish the Mets were like Hillary or Giuliani in their respective races, but they're probably more like Obama. Doing ok in the money race, but remaining competitive because of lotsa other things.

T.G.I.A.A.S.B

Just had a lovely DC July 4th - fireworks on a friend's roof. Came to home to see we are continuing in the self destructive gulf of bad pitching that has Colorado outscoring us 17-5 going into tonight's game. And it's only getting worse.... the Rockies have now scored 15 runs. And no, they are not a football team. They're 7 games out of first place in the super competitive NL West.

First our hitting is as flat as matzoh. Now, our pitching is no better than a Bill Richardson for President ad. Times ain't pretty, friends.


T.G.I.A.A.S.B - thank God it's almost the all star break.

Martin V. Lo Duca

In today NY Daily News, Bob Raissman writes about the "Elect Lo Duca" campaign and how many in the NY and baseball bloviating world are up in arms about the Mets balls to the wall marketing effort.

Maybe I have been in Washington too long (I have, BTW) and worked for too many politicians, but I see no problem whatsoever with a campaign. Sure, these baseball purist are lamenting the commercialization of the sport and blah, blah, blah.

Look, it's a competitive world. Kids want to play video games and surf the internet. Anything that can engage people in baseball is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
Stuff the ballot boxes, I say. Martin v. LoDuca. Better than Bush v. Gore.

Vote now!