Just Imagine...

Two years ago we lost him. It was at a turning point in the Mets season, smack in the heart of a pennant chase. The Mets gave up on their kid. They gave up on Scottie Kazmir.

No one understood. Not one person in the world could imagine why the Mets would let go of their rising star, the guy whom just months earlier Fred Wilpon had put his arm around and told all the world that this kid wasn't going anyhwere. While fans continued to come out to the park to watch Piazza and his supporting cast, there was Scottie K waiting in the wings, somewhat insignificant at the time but still a huge part of our lives.

Now close your eyes and imagine a perfect world. Imagine a world where reruns of Saturday Night Live don't force you to change the channel to your fourth viewing of the Matthew McConaughey emotional roller coaster A Time To Kill.

A time when Cousin Larry and Balky were Perfect Strangers.

A time when the Warriors took all their tremendous individual pieces and made a playoff team.

Now imagine that perfect phone call, the one you get from your best pal wheh he excitedly tells you, "Yo Sip, you're not going to believe this. We brought the kid back. Scottie K is back!"

Unfortunately this is not a perfect world. Scottie K isn't back and probably never will. The one hope is that Wheel and Deal or whoever's running the show at that point inks him as a free agent, but even that's not bloody likely.

We all know the most likely scenario is that he emerges as a top tier starter over the next 4 years and then signs with the Yankees. It's the perfect way to get rich and send a big fuck you to the team across town for giving him up for a bum like Victor Zambrano.

So the world isn't perfect, but on Monday we got close.

Scottie didn't come back but someone else pretty perfect did. On Monday we got our first glimpse of Kim Bauer in two years.

She came back and she was perfect. Blonde hair, perfect smile, Keanu Reeves-like acting ability. This girl is can't miss.

I'm not going to spoil 24 for those who didn't watch it, suffice it to say that it's just awesome that we know that Kimmy will be around for at least the immediate future. Hopefully her herb boyfriend is replaced by someone at least as cool as Chase or young Sip himself, but I guess we'll just have to keep tuning in to see how that unfolds, won't we?

While 24 ended with maybe the most depressing moment in the show's history, we did get an important piece back.

There is no Scottie but there is a Kim, and while the Mets may not be that good, 24 always will be.

So I am one happy Sip.

VCD,

SM

By the way... Alton is a beast.