Is Willie's Time Up?

Now, I love Willie Randolph. Love. Seriously. An exceptional player. A Brooklyn boy. But this team has so much talent, has spent so much damn money, and has so much opportunity. Last night's loss against the Braves was not just the bullpen or the starting pitching, but slopping fielding and lost hitting opportunities. It's a serious funk. Benching Carlos D isn't a bad idea, but I wonder if that's just throwing the wrong man overboard.

Sometimes when things start to feel Titanic-like, you've got to look around and make some changes. More fundamental than a new player here or letting go a manager coach. Hillary Clinton did it by dumping Patty Solis Doyle, who was a longtime, very loyal staffer. McCain did it by dumping the Bush crew last year. And look at where we are now.

After last year, after this type of start, I just wonder if a complete change of atmosphere is needed for everyone in Mets nation. I'm not screaming in New York-ease, "Get him the fuck out" but maybe it's an option to consider. There, I've said it.

Gotta Have It

So much has happened over the last few days, so first off I apologize for the Jewish holidays breaking into my baseball commentary. The delay was continued for several hours today due to airplane breakdown. Ah, US Airways, the Greyhound of the Skies.

But am now safely ensconced back in DC after both the Mets and I had a marathon weekend in Florida. I was able to share part of it with the Mets, thankfully and got to see Oli's beautiful pitching job on Saturday.

We took the cheap seats way up, although they were right behind home plate which always makes for a great way to see the game. Dolphin Stadium, while (like RFK) designed for football, was not bad. The amenities are waay better than RFK, which is not a tough standard, sadly.

A win in Florida for the Mets this weekend was probably as important as Florida will be in January for a Presidential candidate - it's just gotta happen in order to even hope you'll get the whole enchilada. They came together and while they didn't get all the delegates, 2 outta 3 3 outta 4 ain't bad. In the end you could argue that a win is a win, even if it was awfully tough to get there. In politics, this may matter less than in baseball. This week will tell on at least one front.

A Thousand Cuts

I was on the phone with my Grandma this morning and she asked me what's goin' on with the Mets. She had noticed that their lead in the division has been eaten up and was concerned. For those of you that don't know, they are up from the Braves just game and a half. A lousy game and a half. I cannot even use numbers to describe it as it is so meager.

It's hard to pinpoint just one thing that got us here. I was thinking about this today as I was having lunch and reading today's Washington Post expose on the collapse of the McCain campaign. The article cites rivalries within the campaign as the catalyst, which is not surprising with the elephantine sized egos that you come across in politics. But that sort of stuff breeds all kinds of other even nastier, pettier and more damaging things. In the end, things collapse under their own weight and while you can try to pinpoint the crux, it is ultimately death by a thousand cuts.

For the Mets right now, they are suffering from about 520 cuts - injuries, matzo bats, and no relief relievers. Not sure how the personalities fully factor into this; after all the Mets are not the Yankees with their soap opera like dramas and subplots worthy of a Page Six spread.

Nonetheless, I went on and on about this over the All Star break. So no more moaning and groaning. We know the diagnosis. Now it's time for relief.

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.

Politics and Baseball Part Two

I realize that I have not given readers my temperature gauge of the presidential horse (or pig) race. So here's my latest:

The Mets are John McCain. It 's starting to slip, but it ain't gone just yet.

The Yankees are Fred Thompson. New, fresh and ready to compete. My only warning would be to be careful when you peak. It's August that really matters.

The Democratic candidates are like the NL West - three competitors (Clinton, Obama, and Edwards/ San Diego, Arizona and LA) kinda tied up. But it's only June.

Politics and Baseball Part One

So I have had my blog going for a couple of weeks and I have yet to blog about the nexus between politics and baseball. This was a huge inspiration for me on the TNR blog last year, but politics - once my life's passion- is something that I have been slowly weaning myself off of and baseball has served as my interim methadone.

But it couldn't Iast. I was talking to a dear friend earlier this evening (A Red Sox fan it should be noted. You people are like cockroaches and New Yorkers - you are EVERYWHERE) and she said that once the campaigns really heated up and the season got down to the wire I would have tons of material, which is probably true. In the meantime, all I can do is compare Presidential candidates to baseball teams.

So here goes a couple:

John Edwards is the Cardinals- super hot in 2006, just shy of the basement in 2007.

Mike Gravel is the Nats - some people might not even realize DC has baseball because the team is so lousy.

John McCain is the Yankees - kinda in the toilet right now, but based on history both have the potential to come back and kick everyone's ass.

Mitt Romney is the Red Sox - Hot, hot, hot right now, but let's see where you both are come September