Groupie Hoes and Baseball Pros

Hey everyone, A Friend of Mr. Glass' here. Busy day today so sorry if this seems a bit rushed.

As was the case yesterday, it's probably best that we don't talk too much about last night's game. I mean, what can you say really? The Mets haven't played this bad, haven't looked this overmatched since the first two games of the series against the Red Sox.

The good news is, we've got a lot less to prove to the Phillies. We had beaten them 8-of-12 coming into this series. We've completely outplayed them all year, and the last two days don't change that.

Sure, we're all somewhat concerned about Pedro, but the truth is I'm actually a little less concerned about him than everyone else. Yes, his numbers have been bad over the last three months, but the raw data belies the fact that he's had some excellent outings in that time.

In his last 10 starts, he's allowed 6 ER 3 times. He's also allowed 2 or less in 5 of those starts. He's been very inconsistent -- either very good or very bad.

In one of those starts where he got beat up, he was potentially injured (Monday against the Phils). In another, he was potentially injured and an emotional wreck (June 28 in Boston). In the third, well, he just got lit up (June 6 in LA).

Am I making too many excuses for the guy? Possibly. But to look at his numbers without realizing that he's been excellent at times (actually, more often than he's been bad) is to treat his case unfairly.

As for El Duque, you know, tough start. He got blasted but I don't think we should be too concerned; every pitcher has starts like that.

What does concern me somewhat is how prone he is to allowing runs in the first inning or two of a ball game. SNY had a stat last night showing that El Duque's ERA in the first two innings his last 4 starts was above 10. As bad as that figure was, it only got worse last night.

And it's problematic because of the little anecdote Gary Cohen shared last night about momentum in a playoff series. He brought us back to Game 4 of the 2000 World Series. The Mets had won Game 3 to bring the Series to 2-1.

How did the next game begin? With a homerun from Deej. Game 4 was a close finish (we lost 3-2), but any momentum generated by our Game 3 victory evaporated with one swing from Jeter leading off the game. If El Duque is going to start potential Games 3 or 4 this year, it would be preferable if he got his early inning issues under control.

But that's all I'm gonna say about the game last night. Wait, one more thing. Mr. Glass. The guy can rake. On a night when everything else went wrong, it was great to see the little guy have a career day.

Note, however, that the Mets are 0-2 in Reyes career days this year (last night and the game against the Reds when he hit for the cycle).

But let's get to the title of this post. I learned something today courtesy of the New York Post. After dauntlessly pursuing a scoop, Post scribe Maureen Callahan has news that even in today's post-feminist America there remains an abundance of young women who are willing to sleep with famous, extremely wealthy, generally well-built young celebrities.

"I do it for the self-esteem boost," says a 26-year-old Major League bicycle who asked Callahan to refer to her only as Melody, "her nom de groupie," to use Callahan's phrase.

Needless to say, none of this would be news if not for Paul Lo Duca's recent headline-grabbing trysts with leggy teenage co-eds. But in case we needed reminding, there's Selena Roberts' column in today's New York Times.

In that column, Roberts registers the same complaint with the Lo Duca probe that we have made on this site before. Specifically, that Lo Duca's cheating heart is as surprising to learn of as Callahan's revelation that young girls are taken with famous, extremely wealthy, generally well-built young celebrities.

"We know so much dirt about the saucy dishes in Lo Duca’s world, but so few details about the only dark part of his life that has public relevance: Does he have a gambling problem that could undo him, the Mets or the league?"

So what gives? Why is there so much information out there about Lo Duca's girlfriend habits and so little about his gambling?

There are two forces at play here. One, sex sells. The aforementioned leggy co-eds have graced the cover of the New York Post several times in the past week. The more leg the better.

The other possibility, which seems increasingly likely with each passing day, is that there is simply no dirt on Lo Duca when it comes to gambling.

The guy bets on horses, we know that. If he were racking up a series of gambling debts, I just have to think that word would have gotten out about it by now. We're what, 10 days into this all Lo Duca, all the time media cycle and still there's nothing?

There probably aren't a lot of people who feel bad for Lo Duca right now, but I guess I'm one of them. I think he's getting a raw deal by becoming the poster child for MLB infidelity, especially when you consider that, from virtually all accounts, 90% of major league ballplayers cheat on their wives. In case you're wondering, my source is Jose Canseco.

That isn't to say, however, that there are no redeeming features to this kind of journalism. After all, without Callahan's article, I would have continued in my ignorance of On The DL, which may soon become my second favorite website behind Yankees 2000.

- A.F.O.M.G.