The Key to New York's 2007

I don't know what it is.

Call me a glutton for the dark.

But last night the Giants gave every reason for a Mets fan to smile. It was a heck of a win.

But when I sat in my shower this morning, the sweet sounds of Late 90's soothing depression blaring from my iPod, all I could think about was baseball.

I am not done with 2006 and I probably won't be until 2007.

So I did some soul searching. I went to my local deli to buy a cup of coffee that would in short time fuck up my stomach enough so that I would have to sit down in my office, a fresh roll of Charmin to my left and my iPod back on.

I was ready to think.

So here I sit, 12:53 on a Tuesday and the entire 2007 for New York baseball made sense to me.

2007 in NYC depends on one player. One guy who likes to play the banjo and meditates to shit that is even too weird for me.

Barry Zito.

For the Yankees, this offseason is the most significant that I can remember. Their greedy fans are extremely restless.

They are calling for better pitching and smarter baseball.

Zito is really option A, B, C and D when it comes to available pitching.

The other marquee names of the hot stove include Jeff Suppan and Jason Schmidt, two guys that would be welcomed to the AL as quickly as Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright.

Then there is Zito.

He is Tom Glavine, minus 12 years, with a better fastball, a much weaker changeup and a dominant breaking ball.

For the Yankees, he is their only hope.

Entering the season with Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina (assuming he resigns) and Chien Ming Wang as their only viable starting pitching options, the Yankees are close to running out a decidedly mediocre pitching staff.

Randy Johnson looks like he is done. It would be sad to me except that I hate him.

Mussina is a year older and while he seems to get smarter with age he is nothing more than a 2-3 starter.

And while Wang looks like he is a solid pitcher, if he wasn't a Yankee people would not be talking about this guy as much as they are.

Yankee fans and the media that covers them for the most part are morons. They tell their fans what they want to hear. Whatever it is that will make them understand how a team as talented as the Yankees can lose.

That is why we think Wang is so good.

That is also why the Yankees' supposed blueprint for improving, getting shittier role players is so exciting to me.

The Yankees saw the Tigers and decided they couldn't win with the greatest lineup of all time.

Instead, they need more effective role players.

Players who do jobs, bunt a guy over, steal a base, etc.

I got an idea. Make your better players do these things when the time calls. There is no one putting a gun to Torre's head telling him not to bunt Sheffield with 2 on and no out. He doesn't do so because he doesn't want to take the bat of a star's hand.

The Yankees are essentially saying that they are incapable of managing their talent, playing baseball the way they feel they should at the risk of offending players' egos.

As a result, the Yankees are actively seeking weaker position players. It's funny.

Which is why Zito is so vital. He is the one marquee name that can swing things in the Bronx. Without him, the Yankees are in trouble.

A scary thought follows, however. Without him, so might the Mets be in trouble.

Without Barry Zito and the Mets are potentially looking at an Opening Day rotation (if we bring everyone back which is by no means definite) of:

Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Pelfrey and Oliver Perez.

That's 4 guys who were essentially out of baseball in June and a 42 year old.

And there is a lot to worry about. After an outstanding first half, Tommy definitely struggled.

El Duque, contrary to popular belief, is not the same guy he was 6 years ago. Yes, he is crafty and capable of being dominant. But he is also capable of imploding.

With Pelfrey and Perez, flip a coin. Who knows at this point.

Then there is by far and away the most intriguing Met, John Maine.

John Maine has the potential in my opinion to be something special. He managed to be a very effective pitcher this year with essentially one pitch -- a low 90's rising fastball.

His changeup and breaking stuff really just haven't developed yet, which is an amazing sign.

Curt Schilling was once a young pitcher who got people out with a dominant fastball, but was essentially a middle of the rotation guy.

Then he developed an out pitch, his splitter, and the rest is history.

Give the Pete a shot with this kid and watch out. That he has overcome the tremendous hype he had in Baltimore, where back in '02 J Schubes was printing out his "Maine Express" t-shirts at a fledgling company named fratbucks.com. He has overcome the major disappointment that he was in Baltimore.

Now, a local hero under America's largest microscope, I am really excited to see what Johnny Maine could become.

Of all the Mets young guys, I think he is by far the most intriguing. His potential just hasn't been touched yet.

So then there is Zito.

Add Zito to the Mets rotation and it is a good one.

Don't and it is very mediocre.

No one can expect the Mets bullpen of '07 to be as good as '06. As Happy Will always points out, bullpens are a flip of the coin.

While Reyes will only get better and hopefully the same for D Wright, you can't expect a lot more out of the rest.

Zito's price will be very high. He will command somewhere between 13-15 mil per over 5-6 years and someone will pay it.

While he is not neccesarily worth it value wise, he could very well be the stability the Mets need in an otherwise very unstable rotation.

Which leads to my closing/favorite point.

Somewhere between my walk to the deli and my trip to the toilet I smiled. I smiled like a man who just canoodled with a female way out of his league.

I smiled like my dad does very rarely, but when he does, you can't help but do the same because it is such a nice thing to see.

In the battle of New York, the Mets are all of a sudden the place to be.

While this bothers me in regards to bandwagon fans and annoying females, when it comes to the free agent game, it is a nice thing to have.

While two years ago we had to beg and plead, now between the Mets and Yankees, players will want to be a Met.

With the Yankees you get overachieving losers with an owner who will publicly criticize you. You go to a place where the best player in baseball hits 8th and is maligned. You got to a place where you have to be a cleancut loser.

With the Mets, you go the most fun clubhouse in baseball. You have an owner that 99 people out of 100 couldn't pick out of a crowd. You go to a place where your superstar is soft spoken and your lineup is electrifed by the happiest person in the entire world, Jose Reyes.

And for the first time in god knows how long, you are going to the better team.

I truly believe that if Barry Zito ends up in NY, which is probably 50/50 at this point he will choose the Mets.

That my friends is a nice feeling.

For a second there I thought baseball, and I didn't get upset.

That second just ended when I looked to my left and realized I was out of toilet paper.

Vaya con dios,

Sip