Vick and Pedro:

Really enjoyable Yankee loss last night. Now to business.

It looks like the Michael Vick story is finally done. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are happy that a celebrity is going to prison. Americans, disgusted by Vick's actions are happy that he is going down. But you want to know who the happiest person I know is with regards to the Vick trial?

My good buddy, a die hard Ravens fan who has found his replacement for Steve McNair for the 2009 season.

This is America and this is sports. Don Imus is back on the air 6 months after making very racist comments in a country where Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have as much if not more societal influence than PETA

Ray Lewis killed someone.

Mike Tyson raped someone.

They all returned to what they were doing shortly after the times they committed their sins. The reason. It was spun well and Americans turned their shoulder.

Michael Vick brutally murdered dogs.



And guess what? When he is freed from jail in 18 months and he makes a statement about how sorry he is and he starts a series of anti-dog fighting groups to combat the people he once was, everyone will forgive and forget.

Americans feel great for condemming Vick today. When our celebrities make mistakes, we love to talk about them, because it makes us normal feel better about ourselves. But in 2 years, when this is old news, Americans will forgive and forget.

Because Americans want their teams to win championships and see the best players on the field. It might not be right, but it will happen.

There is nothing I hate more the coverage of celebrity trials. Especially when they are sports celebrities and the first 20 minutes of Sports Center features legal experts that look like every person that goes to my temple.

When I watch SportsCenter I want to see sports, not the court room. I didn't go to law school for a log of reasons, but the main one is that I like sports more.

So with the Vick saga finally behind us, Mets fans can FINALLY fully concentrate on baseball. And while we should still be skeptical, there is a lot of reason to at least feel a little excitement.

The reason: Pedro????


Is Pedro going to come back. He had an awesome start on Monday. He threw 5 innings of 2-hit, 0 ER baseball in a Single A rehab start, by far and away, his best start of his comeback.

When the Yankees signed Roger Clemens I talked about how the signing of Clemens would be huge for the team for two potential reasons. First, Clemens the pitcher. He could have been a #1 starter and any ballclub could use that infusion.

The second, the psychological aspect. When Roger Clemens pitches for you every fifth night instead of Jeff Karstens, you go from having a pitcher you think you will lose with to a pitcher you think you will win with. You go from a rookie to an ace.

As much as I love Brian Lawrence and feel that Lawrence's first start as a Met against his original team should garner backpage headlines like "REVENGE" or "PAYBACK," I would be much happier if Lawrence and his 82 mph fastball never started again in a Met uniform.

Having Pedro out there every fifth day would be huge emotional and psychological boost for this team, even if Pedro is no better than Brian Lawrence. More fans will be in the seats, players will spend a couple of extra minutes at the front of the dugout. Good things will come.

Will Pedro pitch for the Mets this season? I'll still doubt it till I see it.

But it looks more and more like Sip will yet again be wrong. And when Pedro comes back, even if he is nothing more than a fifth starter, it will be an awesome addition to our ballclub.

Oh, and Jeff Conine is a nice guy to have around, too. He'll be the best right-handed bat off our bench, an area of weakness all year. Seems like a nice move.

We cool, Mox.

Vaya,
Sip

(Pics courtesy of CBC.ca, allposters.com)