Mr. Echo, the Answer to Nails' Prayers, and Our New 2B

So who knew? Mr. Echo is one bad ass mother fucker. For those that do not know what I am talking about, it's time you guys get lost in the ABC hit smash, Lost. It's on 24's level.

Let's back up. Readers of this site know that AFOMG's new year's resolution was to try new things. See, for as long as I've known the kid, he has been one of the better people to walk this earth. You know you have a friend when basically anything either of you say makes the other one laugh.

But man is this kid stubborn. It took me throwing the DVD down his face for him to watch 24 and since, the kid has turned into a zombie.

So hop on board to Lost, AFOMG, and grab the DVD.

For everyone else, e-mail Nfribourg@paulweiss.com if you are looking for a copy. We bought it together and somehow he got ownership rights, so this is me dropping the friendly f-bomb on my old pal "The Voice", by using the powers of the blogosphere.

So if everyone can just click on the link above and shoot the kid an e-mail, it would be pretty funny. The goal is 150 e-mails cluttering his inbox asking him to burn his DVD of Lost -- get on it.

An e-prank you may say... man have I turned into a tool.

So anyway, some big news in baseball today. Two things for that matter.

The Mets signed their first round pick from the 2005 draft, Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey was widely considered the best pitcher in this past June's draft, but due to fears over the contract demands that he and his agent, your favorite and mine, Scott Boras, were expected to levy, Pelfrey slipped to the Mets with the 9th pick of the first round.

Sound familiar? You may notice a symmetry in his tale to a pitcher we drafted a few years back who went on to be part of the worst trade in franchise history. His name is Scott Kazmir.

So in Pelfrey we immediately have our top pitching prospect. Unlike Kazmir, this guy is a giant, standing about 6'7. He's a power guy with #1 starter stuff. On top of that, he went to baseball powerhouse Wichita State which has produced other recent Mets as the great and irreplacable... Braden Looper. SALT.

So anyway, big day for the Muts, I guess, and an even bigger day for the Mike Needhams of the world. For those that don't know Nails, this guy lives and bleeds the Mets' farm system. After two powerful months as an intern at Shea, Nails was ready to give a clinic on each and every player in the Mets' minor league system. Mike Jacobs? Plus-power. David Wright? Plus-defense, plus-plus makeup, plus-power, plus-eye.

But nobody registered like Kid K, Scott Kazmir. Rarely does one man jock another like Nails jocked Kazmir. The idea of this wonder from Texas taking the mound at Shea probably inspired at least one night of soiled sheets, and if it never did, well, Nails sure looked forward to it a whole bunch just the same.

But then something happened. Call it Black Friday. Call it The Purge. Call it what you want to call it, but after the trading deadline the Mets found themselves down Scott Kazmir, who we probably could have traded for any one of the Big Three in Oakland or another established, legitimate superstar, in exchange for... Victor Zambrano.

Nails was crushed. Speaking to him the night of the trade was like speaking to a ghost. The kid was equal parts traumatized and incensed. In fact, he was so outraged that this past season he launched a one-man, one-year boycott of Mets home games.

Now I haven't spoken to Nails about this yet, but I can only imagine (and I sincerely hope so for his sake) that his world has gotten just that much brighter because of the Mike Pelfrey signing. A new horse for you to watch develop, you've earned it, pal -- now go work up a scouting report on this kid so that we'll have something to blog about tomorrow.

On another note and maybe of more immediate importance, according to espn.com, the Cubs today decided that Todd Walker was going to be the odd man out in their infield rotation.

This could be the guy for the Mets. While walker is at best an average defender, he is a very solid lefthanded bat that would serve a much better role in the #2 hole than Paul Lo Duca, whom Willie Randolph, for no good reason, has threatened could hit second when the season opens. Walker is coming off a .300 season and would provide another left-handed bat to the lineup.

For Wheel and Deal Minaya, this guy seems like a no brainer to go after.

I wasn't really sure what to talk about today. Still catching a lot of buzz from yesterday's Jesus lovers post, which for that, I am very proud of our audience. Dudes who love Jesus sure are sweet,but not quite as sweet as dudes who love dudes who love Jesus.

So for all of you out there who were entertained, consider your sense of humors to be solid. For those of you who were not, well, go back to 1989 and think of this line:

"A gun rack... a gun rack. I don't even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack. What am I gonna do... with a gun rack?"

If that doesn't make you laugh then I got nothing.

Off to LA tommorow for the weekend to reunite with some pals from the U and some others from back in the NYC.

Should hit up Spago sometime this weekend, visit my pal and host of that fine institution, the Hulk. Speaking of the Hulk, I couldn't be happier for him considering the Knicks' 5-game winning streak. I'd probably be happier still if the Knicks lost every game and Isiah Thomas got fired, but I'm a pretty vengeful guy when it comes to these sorts of things. NEW KNICKS!

Anyway, as for Spago, word on the street is that it's Keanu's favorite spot in LA, so I'll let you guys know if I can catch a glimpse of the man, the myth himself.

Vaya con dios,

SM