Omar Minaya: Jury Still Out

Over the last 24 hours I have received about 100 Mets-related e-mails. A few that have stood out concern Omar Minaya, the architect of the Mets' offseason. One read very simply, "Omar Minaya is god."

As an aspiring GM, one who plans to take over for Minaya in roughly four years, it is important that I start now to really analyze his moves.

Right now, not one has truly stood out.

Every move Minaya made was a product of paying more than everyone else. While yes, Minaya deserves credit for being able to close deals and land the big names, he has yet to make a single great move.

Let's take a look.

1. Mike Cameron for Xavier Nady

This was apparently the payroll trimming transaction the Mets needed to get Delgado. I'm not buying this completely. The Mets have and had a ton of money to spend.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/tom_verducci/11/29/tom/index.html

This article does a great job of explaining the Mets financial situation, if you are interested.

Either way, the Mets got Nady. If this trade was a precursor to acquiring Delgado, then Nady becomes unnecessary. After all, we have Victor Diaz in RF who in many ways appears to be a Nady clone. Both young, right handed, avg D, potential pop.

Nady did not fill a single need for the Mets. Are we to assume that Cameron could not have netted a solid middle reliever? Would the Padres not have traded us Scott Linebrink or Akinori Otsuka for Cameron?

While I think moving Cameron is OK, I don't think Minaya got enough in return, especially after trading for Delgado.

Grade: B-

2. Yusmeiro Petit, Mike Jacobs, and a minor leaguer for Carlos Delgado + $7,000,000

The end result with this one is great. Delgado is a machine. He is one of the best hitters in baseball year-in and year-out and his glove has improved over the years.

Still, either the Mets gave up too much or did not get enough.

Too much:

With the Marlins desperate to cut payroll and Delgado set to make $48 mil over the next three years, getting rid of him was Florida's No. 1 offseason priority. The Mets knew that. Everyone in baseball knew that.

The Mets' main competition for Delgado was the Orioles. But the O's, refusing to part with prized pitching prospect and J Schubes prospect of the year Hayden Penn, lacked real serious interest.

Essentially, the Mets were negotiating against themselves.

People I talk to say Petit is a #3 at best and we don't need Jacobs if we have Delgado. Both of these comments are 100% true.

But to make the argument is to say you don't want a deep farm system. Maybe give one or the other but not both. By holding onto one, the Mets could acquire bullpen help or simply continue to have strong minor league players. Either way is a plus.

Didn't get enough: If the Mets were to give up Petit and Jacobs and take on a substantial amount of Delgado's salary why couldn't they do what the Red Sox did and demand more?

With the Marlins desperate to dump Lowell's salary, they threw Guillermo Mota into the Josh Beckett deal. This is hardly a throw-in. A year and a half ago, Mota was the premeire setup man in baseball.

I wonder if the Mets could have demanded Luis Castillo or Juan Pierre, two players the Marlins plan on shipping out, and in return taken on Delgado's full $48 mil. Castillo would be the perfect fit at 2b and the top of the order. Pierre, again at the top of the lineup and in RF.

It just seems to me like the Mets out-bid themselves on this one, and were so desperate to land Delgado that they did not fully analyze the situation. I think they could have gotten more or given up less.

Still, the end result is great.

Grade: B

3. Not re-signing Marlon Anderson

Not a backpage story, which Minaya craves, this is a huge offseason blunder for the Mets. In 2005, Anderson may have been more valuable to the Mets than Carlos Beltran. He was the National League's premier pinch hitter, a solid role player and clearly a better option at 2b than Kaz Matsui. Yet he was allowed to walk for 2 yrs, 1.85 mil total to the Nationals.

Anderson played 1b, 2b and LF for the Mets last year and hit .321 as a pinch hitter. Those that followed the team on a nightly basis had more confidence seeing Marlon in the 8th inning than just about any Met not named Cliff or David.

It is one thing if this is a move to allow Anderson Hernandez play on the big league roster, which still may not be sensible, but otherwise what's there to lose for 925K per year?

This is the type of move that will go unnoticed in November but will be remembered in June.

Grade: C-

Signing Billy Wagner

Not a whole lot not to like. Wagner, as I wrote yesterday was a guy the Mets craved, a guy the Mets needed, and they got him.

Minaya waited until after BJ Ryan signed to set the market.

Had he made the move earlier, to guarantee the 4th year and a no-trade clause, the Mets could have saved 3-5 million dollars over the span of the contract, just enough to sign Marlon Anderson and some other bench help.

Still, like with Delgado, the end result is great.

Grade: A-


Overall:

Minaya has made two huge moves this offseason. Acquiring Delgado and signing Wagner generates buzz and instantaneously make the Mets a much improved team heading into 2005.

For that, Minaya has done a great job.

On the other hand, given the Mets' financial flexibility and formerly solid farm system, Minaya hasn't made a single steal since he became the Mets GM.

He gave Pedro an extra year and $18 million more than any other team would.

He gave Beltran another year and $19 mil more than any other team would.

He gave Wagner an extra year and $13 mil more than any other team would.

He gave the Marlins two top prospects in a deal that he could have gotten for the rights to Will B. and the brother of AFOMG.

Yes, all these moves have made the Mets a lot better.

But all these moves are deals that I could have made from my couch.

Money talks. With a ton of money and a desperation to contend, the Mets outbid the rest of the competition. This is not the sign of a great GM. It is a sign of a wealthy organization. Credit the Wilpon's with opening their pockets as much if not more than you would credit Minaya.

Was George Steinbrenner a brilliant baseball mind when he outpaid everyone for Randy Johnson? Now the deal looks terrible, but at the time, the Yankees were getting their Ace. So, was he a genius? Not at all. He was rich.

The Mets and Yankees and Red Sox will always have the ability to outbid teams. Baseball sucks because of that, but well, that is the way the game is.

The way Billy Beane built up the A's not as much the first time but the second time around, is briliant and almost miraculous.

Some of the deals that Mark Shapiro made to build the Indians were brilliant.

Theo Epstein making the deal for Curt Schilling was brilliant.

Hey, what Doug Melvin is getting going up in Milwaukee right now, is brilliant.

But let's wait until Omar Minaya makes a steal before we start calling him one of the best GMs in franchise history. When that day comes I will admit my wrong. But until then, I'm not sold.

Grade: B

Growing up in New York City, in the elite private schools, I had a very different education. I was surrounded by tons of kids that never had to work a day in their lives.

As we got older, they could buy really nice cars and sink $1000 bar tabs to impress their peers and attract a girl.

Then, there is young Sip, son of a starving corporate lawyer living in the projects of West End Ave. I had no Benz, heck, I still don't have a license. My bar tab usually hovered around $20, $26 if you include the two forty ounces I pounded with my fellow deprived youths before we got to the bar.

But still, despite all my shortcomings, I would compete. With strategy and charm I sunk this 5'10 frame into more loving than your average joe.

This analogy, for one, is to show you how tough I had it, and how amazing it is that I know how to read and write, all things considered.

But it is also to point out this fact: With the Mets, Omar Minaya has all the tools to build a winner. He's the guy who can afford running up the $1000 tab. He's the guy who doesn't need to pound a couple forties ahead of time because he knows he's got a bottle of Cristal waiting for him.

I can't criticze Minaya for that. It's not his fault the Mets are one of baseball's wealthier franchises. But it doesn't change the fact that when Minaya was the $20-26 man with the Montreal Expos he could do no more than build a perennial 4th place finisher.

He didn't do anything special when he was there. They never contended partially because he never had the resources, but also partially because he made the wrong moves. In fact, he made one of the worst deadline deals of all time when he traded Bartolo Colon to the Tribe for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and then top 5 prospect in baseball Brandon Phillips. So to call him god because he now has the tools to make it happen is selling yourself short.

And I'll say it again. Even with all these additions, the Mets are not a lock for the playoffs.

Sign Johnny Utah,

SM

Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and The Mets Offseason

(Note to readers: Today we have a double dose of Billy Wagner content for you. The first post, by Sippy Momo, begins immediately after this note. The second, by A Friend of Mr. Glass', can be found immediately after the end of this post, entitled "Closing the Book on 15 Years of Futility".

We hope you enjoy.)

So yesterday we got our guy...Billy f'ing Wagner. The showstopper. I smiled.

Immediately I received 12 e-mails. As you all know, most of my friendships revolve around the Mets. So as you may guess, there were a lot of happy friends of the Sip. Like with Delgado, I wanted to write some things that I love about the deal, some things I like, and of course (you know me), some things I don't like about the deal. For those of you who just went into hysterics, I'll assure you at the outset that I am a hell of a lot more satisfied with this deal than I was with the Delgado deal (see last Wednesday's post).

Things I love

1. This guy has been a top 3 closer in baseball for as long as I can remember. As AFOMG wrote below (see the post immediately beneath this one), we've just never had one of those.

I always hated John Franco. I loved him because he was a Met and bled orange and blue, but I hated the fact that his out pitch was an 81 mph changeup out of the strike zone. Also, the one big pitch he ever made, striking out Barry Bonds in the '00 NLDS, was a ball.

(Editor's Note: Not to get off topic, but as far as I'm concerned, the fact that John Franco was allowed to pitch to Barry Bonds with the game on the line may be the surest proof that Bonds was a completely different player as recently as 5 years ago. A pre-steroids player. The following season, Bonds became what we know him as today. That Franco-Bonds showdown is to me the surest proof that Bonds is a juicer.)

I hated Armando Benitez. As anyone who's seen the Mets can tell you, this guy was the greatest closer ever in games against the Milwaukee Brewers. But when it came to facing the Braves and the Bombers, Chris Berman's patented WHOOP!!! comes to mind.

I'll share a brief story with you about Armando and the original Momo, just because, heck, I think it's a great story.

So it's my sophomore year of college, the fall of 2001. In mid-August, I am sitting at Yankees 2000's restaurant sponsor and beloved second home of the Sip, Chili's, talking shop with some pals and some lovely underclassmen.

I get a call from my cousin, he confirms my suspicion, so we go for it.

$50 at 3500:1 on the Mets to make the World Series.

I fast forward to mid-September, the Mets sit 4 games back w/ 10 games to go and a weekend series against the first place Braves on the immediate horizon. We win 2 of those games and I have a shot at the playoffs. A sweep and we might be there. Bes tof all, I can hedge my bet and take home at least 70G's.

I'm sitting there with my house mate, a fellow New Yorker who is known in the world of journalism as "Robby X". A flamethrower in his prime from the mean streets of New York, Robby was also a die hard Mets fan and an acquaintance of my oldest friend and infamous jinx, BM.

So we get to the 9th up 4-1, and in comes Armando. The sweet sounds of Latin music reverberate in the background. It's my cell phone ringing in the other room. I look at X. He looks at me. We both know.

BM is calling. All hope for the Mets is lost.

Armando, of course, goes on to blow that save, to Brian Jordan nonetheless. That is just what he did in those spots. I hate him.

We go into the other room to check the machine: "SM, you bitch. The Mets are going to the World Series, suck my..."

175G's down the toilet. And I owe it all to Armando and the jinx.

And then there was Braden Looper. Every Mets fan had a clever nickname for him.

My favorites were:

1. The pooper
2. Blooper
3. Guy who made the most awkward face ever before delivering 94 mph 2 seamer directly down the middle

Poops was a good guy, with a great baseball background - I was a big time Wichita St. fan in its heyday.

But Wichita St. or no Wichita St., we all know this guy needed to go.

So today we have Billy Wagner and for the first time we have a gem holding down the back end of the bullpen. At last we have a guy you can count on to slam the door, to preserve those wins for Tommy the Spy and Pedro. For that I am thrilled.

2. The Mets are the talk of the town.

There is no Randy Johnson to counter our Beltran. No Godzilla to counter our Benedict Glavine. The Yankees, for the first time in a long time are stuck with no prospects and a luxury tax that is finally coming to bite them.

It's nice to be on top.

3. As I've said before and will say again, I love seeing my friends happy. I love hearing from Willie B. I love the listserve I am on with many people I am only vaguely acquainted with. But everyone is talking about the Mets. Everyone is fired up for '06. That is awesome.

4. I love the SportsCenter clips of Wagner. They have one of him striking out Chipper and Chipper just looking stupified. You dont see many of those in Armando highlights.

Things I like about the Deal.

1. Market Value

I'll give Omar Minaya credit in his ability to close deals. He has gotten all his targets. But as I will write tommorow, he has gotten the majority of his guys by overpaying.

If this deal was made 2 weeks ago, I would have said Minaya was, again, overpaying.

However, after the BJ Ryan deal (5 years, $47 mil) the market for closers was set. I thought the Mets would have to throw 4 and 48 for Wagner but they did not.

Omar finally paid the market for his guy, which is good.

2. The New Mets are not the New Yankees

Many are skeptical about this one, or uncomfortable at least about the seeming similarities between our beloved Mets and our despised Yankees. I'll admit it, to some extent I'm one of them.

But how fair is it to label us a Yankee clone? Have we really spent as recklessly as our crosstown foes? Looking at the numbers, you'll see that the Mets have shed $33 mil from last year's payroll with the likes of the Monster, Cameron, Poops and Dougy and have so far taken on $25 mil with Delgado, Wagner and Nady.

Player movement is part of baseball as we all know.

The difference between us and the Yankees is twofold. A. We aren't talking about earning our pinstripes or about how Billy Wagner is a true Met... I'm not even sure what that would mean. B. We are not assholes. We do not bring on players and tell them to cut their hair or not be a hick and we do not require our players to be perfect. They are ballplayers not politicians.

3. Addition by subtraction

We got the Phillies guy so, clearly, the Phillies lost their guy. This is huge. The Phils are a really good team that people are forgetting about. They were a game away from the playoffs last year and were young.

I think this is really huge for us.

Things I don't like about this deal

1. I'm not sure where to put this one. Billy Wagner apparently enters the game to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, the same song as Mariano Rivera.

Sadly, "Enter Sandman" was one of my favorite songs growing up. It was the song my 13 year old basketball team at camp entered the gym to. It is an awesome song.

Then Mo Rivera came alogn and took it. The freaks and geeks from section 39 got hardons because of it, and it all of a sudden lost some value to me.

I'm curious to see how it plays out April 4th at Shea.

2. Skeptical of Wagner in many ways

A. This guy hasnt pitched in too many big games.

B. 2 of his 3 losses last year came to the Astros, in the pennant race, in September, in must-win games for the Phillies.

When this guy blows his first save to the Braves or Yankees, hysteria is going to break loose, the papers will kill him and who knows what will happen to him then.

I'm skeptical, so just be wary, this guy isn't god.

C. He's 5'10, 170 and 34 years old. Can his body really last? Will he be throwing 99 mph in '07 or will that slowly drop to 96,95,94...

D. There has been a lot written about a significant drop in velocity when he pitches on the second day of back to backers. Again, something I need to see.

Now I'm sure Willie B is going to respond about how negative I am, but truth is, with this one, I am happy. For me, I have always been a cynic. The second a player puts on a Mets jersey they go from being a hero to a goat until they prove otherwise.

That is why Mike Piazza was so perfect. Here was a guy who came in with all the expectations in the world, and he managed to play up to them.

Now that Wagner and Delgado are Mets, I need to see it out of them. That is all, Will.

All in all, I love the move and I am fired up about this whole thing. Jdubs asked me about a week ago if I caught the Elisha Cuthbert smash, "The Girl Next Door". The answer to that question is yes, roughly 15 times.

I see a lot of Billy Wagner in Danielle (Cuthbert's character). The guy has it all. In the film, Danielle is lights out, perfect, except for one fatal flaw. That kid she likes is too much of a tool, that it is just not believable. People forget about that fact because of everything else she brings to the movie.

My only concern, is that like Danielle, BW has all the stuff in the world, a 100 mph fastball, a nasty slider, but is missing something. He is coming to New York, a place where no player can shine brighter or sink lower.

In Will's eyes the player will always shine.

In my eyes, we will have to wait and see next year in NY.

But for now, lets break out the Champagne glasses. "We're players now boys, Salude!!!"

SM

As always though, I am skeptical.

Closing the Book on 15 Years of Futility

So yesterday was a good day, which was a damn good thing because the day before yesterday, Sunday, was just about as bad as they come. I was still in a serious, serious rut because I’d lost 170 bucks the night before playing in a poker game with Sippy Momo and some friends of his. It wasn’t just the amount of money I lost. It was the speed. I hemorrhaged cash. It was ugly.

So I guess you could say our story actually began Saturday night when I showed up for a friendly poker game

Hey, guys… Oh, nice to meet you, too… Wow, nice place…

only to find myself nearly two c-notes in the hole

Come again! Your money’s always good here!

in the space of maybe an hour and a half. SALT.

So, yeah, Saturday was bad, but I didn’t officially bottom out until around 8 p.m. Sunday night after Jay Feely missed those three would-be game-winning field goals.

Now look, Sippy Momo probably doesn’t want me admitting this, but the truth is that I’ve never been a big football fan. For a long time it was baseball or bust for me. This is less true today than it once was. I’ve started coming around on football this season, watching every Giants game and following the G-Men in the papers to a pretty respectable extent.

But I’m not going to pretend that the Giants can crush me the way the Mets can, not yet anyway. If in any way I needed to be reminded of that, Sunday’s horrible loss to the Seahawks provided a reminder.

Watching Feely self-destruct and Jeremy Shockey – he who had been dancing and celebrating moments before in anticipation of the Giants pulling off the biggest win of their season – and the rest of the Giants going from 60 to 0 almost as fast as I lost money in that poker game, the only thing I could think about were the following four names:

John Franco. Armando Benitez. Braden Looper. Billy Wagner.

As Jay Feely walked dejectedly off the field those three times, and as the Giants collectively walked, head down, off the field and into the clubhouse after the Seattle kicker did his job and gave the Seahawks a 24-21 win, a memory was conjured up almost instantly. More like several memories. Yes, I know that trudge. I’ve seen it one too many times.

It’s the same trudge we saw out of Armando Benitez all those years. The same one we saw out of Braden Looper so often in 2005.

Like on Opening Day when Looper wasted Pedro’s gem and sent the Mets careening to an 0-5 start.

Or when he gave up the game-winning hit to Jason Giambi that kept the Mets from wrapping up their first sweep over the Bombers at Yankee Stadium on June 26.

Or if you missed those, there was Looper on Sept. 7 against the Atlanta Braves blowing the save in a big spot not once, but twice!

In the run up to the 2005 season, I remember some columnist making the point that nothing’s worse for team morale than suffering a truly crushing defeat in a game that seems to be wrapped up. There’s nothing novel about that observation, but it couldn’t be more true.

Mets fans have grown way too accustomed to losing games in such fashion. I can say without hesitation that the Mets have never had a closer in whom I had complete confidence in all my years as a Mets fan (at least those that I can remember, the years dating back to around 1990). That’s 15 years, folks, that’s a long goddamn time. And it’s sure as hell been a lotta goddamn losses.

Now I’m not sure necessarily that what separated the Mets from the NL pennant in 1999 was Armando Benitez, even if he blew the save in Game 6 in Atlanta. And I’m not sure that we’d have won the World Series in 2000 if he’d shut the Yankees down in Game 1. Take back the grand slam by Brian Jordan in Atlanta off Johnny Franco and do the Mets make the playoffs in 2001? Who can say?

Nothing’s certain in any of those cases except the most obvious thing of all: if the Mets had won those games, any or each of them, everything that followed would have been different. Given that each of those seasons ended in disappointment, that's a start at least.

This past year, Looper blew 8 saves for the Mets. That’s eight times that he entered the game with a lead and he didn’t seal the deal. Did the Mets lose all those games? I can’t say for certain. Looking at Looper’s 4-7 record and remembering what I can from the season that was, it’s safe to say he was responsible for the Mets taking several L’s along the way, and it's certain that he was responsible for some of the most devastating ones.

For his part, Billy Wagner blew 3 saves in 2005. He’s blown a grand total of 18 in the years between 2001 and 2005, or slightly more than 3 per season. Correct the Mets’ record for Looper vs. Wagner, and the Mets instantly go from an 83-win team to an 88-win team, from 4 games over .500 to 14 games over.

That may not sound like the difference between night and day, but remember that that’s what Wagner alone should do. That quick calculus doesn’t even take Carlos Delgado into account, nor does it account for what losing Delgado means to the Marlins, or what losing Wagner means to the Phillies.

It also doesn’t account for the impact a combustible closer has on a team’s (and its fanbase’s) collective psyche. The truth is, for a long time there the Mets never had a guy who you could make an objective argument for and say he was the guy you wanted up there in the big spot.

Sure, Sippy Momo used to place the blame for each Franco/Benitez/Looper meltdown on the original Momo (who on more than one occasion bore more than a passing resemblance to the prematurely-celebrating Jeremy Shockey, if Sip is to be believed), but the fact was that none of those guys were that good.

I don’t think people would argue with me on that one regarding Looper or Franco. Some people would argue Benitez. Fair enough. He was pretty automatic in midsummer games against those pesky Cincinnati Reds or those dastardly San Diego Padres, no argument there. But the guy’s track record in big game situations speaks for itself. When you develop that kind of resume, there comes a point when you forfeit all claim to being a money closer. End of story.

But Wagner’s a cut above any of those guys. He’s a different kind of closer. He’s the kind who enters the game and throws the ball 100 mph and, in the words of Roger Dorn, can "strike this motherfucker out". He’s an intimidator. He enters the game, the other team does not expect to win. They can’t help but think that the game is over.

Now raise your hand if you think the opposing team ever thought that when Looper entered the game? Or if the Braves or Yankees ever felt that way about Benitez? Or if opposing teams saw the image of Franco trotting in to “Johnny Be Good” and immedi… you know what, don’t even get me started on Franco.

The Mets made a necessary move yesterday. Some people aren’t going to like the length of the deal, but shoring up Billy Wagner addresses the team’s most glaring weakness by adding one of the league’s special talents. Wagner is in the same class as Eric Gagne and John Smoltz – guys who have proven to be automatic. All of which is to say, Omar's $43 million gamble isn't quite as bad as the $170 one I made Saturday night.

Is Wagner in the same class as Mariano Rivera? Hopefully we’ll have an answer come next October. Until then, his signing makes October baseball a much more plausible scenario for the Mets, and it should mean that that familiar trudge, the one all Mets fans know so well and that Giants fans saw out of Jay Feely three times on Sunday, will someday be replaced with the more pristine memory of triumphant applause, congratulatory handshakes, celebratory high-fives, and champagne showers.

The rut is passed,

A.F.O.M.G.

Seinfeld, "City Slickers", and the Schmoozer

So Happy Thanksgiving all. Old Sip ventured out to Boston to do turkey with the future in-laws. All went pretty smoothly and the food was pretty good.

AFOMG took over writing responsibilities over the break; if you haven't checked out his posts from Thursday and Friday, you should. Like my man K-Fed, AFOMG has some serious flow.

There was one real big story in the news of late: BJ Ryan going to Toronto. All of a sudden, Toronto is spending (they are in the hunt for Brian Giles and AJ Burnett as well), Boston has gotten better (Beckett, Lowell, Mota), and both Tampa and Baltimore are young and only getting better.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are cutting salary and for the first time ever, unable to sign any big names.

Check out the blog tommorow for why the Yankees wil finish DEAD LAST IN THE AL EAST in '06.

Today, after reading the following quote, and taking some time to really think about it, I thought, heck, I'm going to write about this.

From a Steve Somers interview with Jerry Seinfeld on the Fan (NY's local sports talk radio):

Steve Sommers: Is this a Met town or a Yankee town?

Jerry Seinfeld: It depends if you have a personality or if you need a personality. If you have one, the Mets. If you need one, the Yankees.

I've never been a big Seinfeld guy, which my friends kill me about. Truth is, every time Ive watched it, I loved it and I think I need to give it more of a shake.

But reading this quote made me curious about Seinfeld, a Mets fan, in comparison to the Yankees #1 fan, Billy Crystal.

Forget about the fact that George worked for the Yankees, which was more than anything a running gag at George Steinbrenner's expense. Go back in the vault to those first several seasons when the show was really about New York (that's not a knock on later seasons, which were good and sometimes classic, with the notable exception of the last one).

Those episodes were littered with Mets references and imagery. A Mets hat on Jerry's wall. Jerry answering his phone with "If you know what happened in the Mets game don't tell me becuase I recorded it!" rather than "Hello?", only to have his plans dashed by Kramer.

And of course, Who does this guy think he is? "I'm Keith Hernandez".

The show was rife with Mets imagery before it changed in its way. It went from being a show about nothing in New York to a show about nothing. The change wasn't all bad by any means, but it meant leaving certain hallmarks of the city behind. That's show business for you, I guess. It doesn't change the fact of those early seasons, and in those early seasons, not one of those characters would have been caught with Yankee hat on (not even Elaine, who was a Baltimore Orioles fan).

All of which brings me back to "City Slickers". So I remember watching "City Slickers" as a kid and loving it. I loved the story, the characters, that cow/calf and most importantly, that Billy Crystal was a Mets fan. Here was a guy repping my city, in this huge movie and, of course, he wore a Mets hat.

Of course, at the time, New York was a Mets city. In the late 80's the Mets sat among baseball's elite, while the Yankees were nothing more than a Don Mattingly mustache.

The symbol of the Mets then was synonomous with winning just like today. Today it's Yankee hats that are sprinkled throughout popular culture, witness the critically acclaimed frontrunner for Yankees 2000 film of the year, "Get Rich or Die Tryin". (Note: we have not seen this movie yet, but it has to be awesome. I mean come on, the guy will do anything he can to make money, or die attempting to do so... can you say best original screenplay?)

So I bring this up only because I remembered, isn't Billy Crystal a DIE HARD Yankee fan?

The answer is yes. Billy C. grew up a die hard fan of the Mantles and Dimaggios. He even made the HBO stinker "61*", which led me to sign all my papers in high school, Sippy Momo*, but that's yet again, another meaningless sidenote to help you guys get to know your author.

So what have we got? We've got a die hard Yankee fan wearing a Mets hat in a film that the whole country sees. There are a few ways to defend Billy C. in his choice of hats, but let's consider the possibilities:

1. He was a fair weather fan as a kid, loved the Yankees when they were winning then loved the Mets when they became good.

2. The Mets were a better sell, more popular and, thus more relatable to movie audiences. Basically, Crystal was selling out his true passion for box office gross

3. B.C. is full of shit, never cared about baseball and was just trying to overcome his lack of height (just like Eric K. w/ the red hair thing) by pretending to be a huge baseball fan.

All three of these defenses don't hold much for Bily C. Either Billy C. was a sellout, a fair weather fan, or a liar. Rough one.

Now this argument, light-hearted though it is, is not entirely facetious. See, people always ask me,"Hey Sip, would you take the Yankees GM job, today if they offered it to you?"

My answer is always a very strong no.

I always say to them, "I'd rather my son be a ___, than be a Yankee fan." You can fill in the blank according to your own personal distaste.

As a Mets fan I consider orange and blue to be one of the things I stand for. It is a lot of who I am. Working for the Yankees would go against every part of who I am and I could never do it. (Please read: I'm looking for a job in baseball. First Yankees 2000 reader to hook it up gets a signed Sippy Momo West Side little League jersey)

I love Kevin James (fat dude from King of Queens) not only cause he is married to Stacy Karosi (Saved By the Bell) but also because he sits there in the VIP bx to the left of the Mets dugout 10-15 times per year.

If I were celebrity, I think my cause would be the Mets. I would be at every game possible just so some kid could be like, "woah, there's Sippy Momo, he is stunningly attractive AND a Mets fan. Lets go to a Mets game, Dad."

People will make the argument that Seinfeld featured the Yankees a ton, mainly George with George Steinbrenner. Others will make the fair point that Seinfeld didn't demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of the Mets in his interview with Steve Somers.

This just doesn't hold up. See, I would have no problem with Billy C if he gave the dude with the sweet mustache who banged the flight attendant OR the guys from "Home Alone" the Mets hat.

This would have provided the same effect for the movie and Crystal could have come off clean. But he did not.

Jerry Seinfeld, like the Mets, has personality. He stayed true to who he was even if the show moved away from its strict New York emphasis. He never wore a Yankee hat, that's for damn sure.

Word on the street is that despite his midwestern upbringing, Johnny Utah was also a die hard Mets fan and chose Ohio St. over a close second, Columbia University.

Truth and Pride,

SM

Kool Keith and the Rearing of SNY

Note: Sippy Momo told everyone there wouldn't be any posts after this past Wednesday until Monday, but what can I say, I had time on my hands, a fire in my belly, and some things to get off my chest so I wrote a couple pieces.

For those of you who didn't check out the site on Thanksgiving, there's a lengthy tribute to the Mets directly beneath today's post about Keith Hernandez and SportsNet New York. We here at Yankees 2000 hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that you enjoy the unexpected content.

Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass' back at you today. This is going to be a fairly short post, if for no other reason than that my fingertips still hurt from writing yesterday's post.

Anyway, we're all still basking in the afterglow of the Delgado deal with 5 extra lbs to worry about I'm sure, but I was excited to read Andrew Marchand's article in today's New York Post (you can find it here: http://www.nypost.com/sports/31869.htm) declaring Keith Hernandez, old Mex, the frontrunner for the analyst spot at SportsNet New York (SNY) for Mets games next year.

Now I know that Keith rubs some people the wrong way. Some friends of mine say they find him too caustic and self-absorbed. Regarding the latter charge, I've got no argument. It's pretty plain that Keith is pleased with how his major league career played out. Some people get worked up by it, but as for me, by this point I just find it amusing.

As for the former complaint, the truth is that he can be decidedly blunt and undiplomatic. But as far as I'm concerned, so long as the SNY execs don't try to rein him in, his willingness to take players, coaches, and managers to task will be the perfect answer to the propagandistic "analysis" offered on YES.

Listening to a broadcast on YES is like pulling teeth, and I'm fairly certain I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan who despises the Yankees. All the announcers are such cheerleaders. To Michael Kay and the other YES broadcasters, the Yankees can do no wrong.

Thankfully, Mets brass seems to agree that this isn't the way it should be. They respect their fans' intelligence. To that end, they've declared that SNY will have a committment to objectivity and balanced reporting. Love him or hate him, Keith Hernandez offers just that every night he goes to work.

And really that's the point. Ultimately this is about more than holding SNY's objectivity over Yankee fans' heads for YES's jingoism. After so many years of "analysis" from Fran Healy and Tom "Big Boy" Seaver (although Seaver's nowhere near as bad as Healy), it'll be nice to have the incisive and insightful Hernandez on the air every night.

Hernandez always has a read on the in-moment, in-game situation. What I mean by that is he explains what's going through a player's mind or what they're doing right or wrong as it happens, but he also puts individual actions or decisions in the context of the larger narrative of the 9-inning game, 3-game series, or 162-game season.

Between Kool Keith and Gary Cohen (see yesterday's blog, point No. 10 on the list), Mets broadcasts would offer two thoughtful, articulate broadcasters who would enhance the daily listening experience of Mets broadcasts immeasurably. Let's hope Marchand's sources are reliable and that SNY has the good sense to bring Keith on board.

There is of course one other angle to the news that Keith might be joining Cohen in the SNY booth, and that is that he would be leaving his former partner, Fran Healy, behind.

Undoubtedly, no one would be happier about this divorce than Hernandez himself, but as far as I'm concerned, there's good news and bad news (granted, mostly good news). As we all know, Fran's a bit of a hack. He's good for a phrase such as "can 'o corn" or for incorporating plugs to the team's sponsors

"There's a long fly ball headed for the Pepsi Picnic Area!"

into his regular commentary, but beyond that he's pretty useless.

The one down side about the breakup is that no one was more aware of Healy's shortcomings than Hernandez. Nobody knew this better than MikeM over at East Coast Agony, who transcribed the below hilarious conversation following the Mets' game against the Astros on April 13.

As MikeM wrote it up himself (http://eastcoastagony.weblogs.us/archives/2005_04.html):

"When Fran Healy and Keith Hernandez combine in the booth, great moments in broadcasting are never far away. I think this is because they hate each other. Tonight's gem came as [Doug] Mientkiewicz [(RIP)] was at the plate:

Healy: And here's Doug Mientkiewicz. He's a contact hitter --

Hernandez: Don't call him that! He's a line drive hitter.

Healy: Ok, he's a line drive, contact hitter.

Hernandez: That's just wrong. He's a guy who knows he isn't going to hit 20, 25 homers a year, knows what he is capable of, and goes out there with a plan and hits line drives.

Healy (after a pause): I think I've hit a nerve.

Hernandez: Yeah? Just keep going.

So it looks like we may not have moments like this one to savor any more, but that's no matter. East Coast Agony hasn't updated in months and besides, after 22 years of Fran, haven't we earned the best combination available?

For my money, that combination is none other than Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez.

The turkeys have gobbled their last gobble,

A.F.O.M.G.

A Thanksgiving Tribute to the Mets

Hey everyone, A Friend of Mr. Glass' here. If you're anything like me, you've been awake since 8:30 a.m. because you couldn't fall back asleep when there was tons of Mets coverage to be absorbed. So yeah, it's about 2:10 p.m. at the moment, and I've been up for nearly 6 hours. SALT.

But as we all know, today isn't the day to dwell on our gripes, but rather to be thankful. So in the spirit of the holiday, here are 10, no, 11 things I'm thankful for.

1. The Mets are legit again.

Think back to 2002-2004. Remember how bad that was? Amid all the grumbling about how the Mets are becoming more and more like the Yankees, there's something very important to remember. There are an awful lot of Yankee fans out there who don't know what it is to suffer, at least in any fair understanding of what suffering as a fan is.

So sure, the Bombers haven't won the World Series since 2000, and no, they haven't even made the World Series in 3 (!!) years. But they've still got some things going for them. The Yankees have won the AL East in each of the past 10 years.

What about the Mets? Well, in 2004, the Mets finished a dismal 71-91, 20 games under .500, which was actually a fairly substantial improvement over 2003's 66-95 mark. 2002 wasn't quite as bad, but the Mets still finished 9 games under .500. All told, the Mets averaged 71 wins a season between 2002 and 2004, while finishing roughly 29 games out of first place each time. That, Yankee fans, is what suffering is.

But the Mets finally turned the corner in 2005. Finishing four games over .500 wasn't the half of it. More importantly, the Mets played meanin... err, games with playoff consequences in September. Now granted, the team played like it wanted no part of October baseball, but the Mets were still worth getting excited about with as few as 15 games to go.

That's not going to sound too impressive to anyone wearing a Yankee hat right now, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a giant leap forward for the Mets, and it's a harbinger of better days to come. Which brings us to our second entry on this list.

2. Winning Now: The Mets should be serious playoff contenders in 2006 (but nobody say the 'F' word).

Yesterday, Sippy Momo gave us 10 things he hated about the Delgado deal. While I share some of his concerns, generally speaking I'm much bigger on this deal than he is. The truth is that the Mets are built to win now. Pedro Martinez was nasty in 2005. Even if he didn't quite dominate in the second half of the season the way he did in the first, with a stronger supporting cast he might have had 20 wins and a Cy Young award.

More importantly, with a stronger supporting cast, the Mets might have made the playoffs. As a matter of fact, add a big bat in the middle of the order and a closer and I'm pretty sure they'd have given the Braves a serious run for the money. With Delgado on board and, hopefully, a premier closer (Billy Wagner) to come, not to mention the continued development of David Wright and Jose Reyes (more on them later) and the much longed-for reemergence of Carlos Beltran, the Mets should seriously vie for a playoff spot in 2006.

That said, I'm not ready to start calling the Mets the favorites to win the NL East in 2006, even if on paper they probably will be. The Braves have won this division too many years in a row for anyone else to be called the favorite, it's as simple as that. Until we can all open up the newspaper on the day after the final games of the regular season and see anyone besides the team from Atlanta at the top of the NL East column, they're the favorite. So do like your mother told you and don't anyone go saying the "f" word just yet.

3. Winning Later: The Mets should be in position to contend for many, many years.

This is going to be a point of contention with some people I'm sure. To them, the Mets' playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Pedro Martinez, and, to a lesser extent, Benedict Glavine. This line of thought isn't entirely off-base of course, but the Mets are in a position where they've got young, talented players whom they can build around for, potentially, the next 10-15 years. For more on that, refer to Nos. 5 through 8 on this list.

Yes, we had to forfeit our top pitching prospect in the Delgado deal, but for all his strikeout numbers in the minor leagues, something about Yusmeiro Petit never really did it for me. The guy averages something like 11 strikeouts per 9 innings but never throws harder than 86-87 mph.

Any fan who watched Greg Maddux and the pitcher we lovingly refer to as Benedict Glavine dominate the Mets for more than a decade knows that heat isn't the only thing that matters, but somehow I doubt whether Petit's stuff will translate into dominance once he's in the Show.

Either way, we've got younger guys in our system who represent the next wave of Mets pitching prospects, and hopefully one of them will have at least No. 2 potential. The well is never going to run dry on 3-pitchers, nor is it ever going to run dry on the Mets' finances, so let's not go crazy over Petit until he becomes the next Dontrelle Willis down in Florida (or wherever it is that the franchise finds itself in five years).

And yes, we had to give up on Mike Jacobs. As optimistic as Sippy Momo may be about Jacobs, the truth is we don't know if he's the real deal or simply the next Benny Agbayani. He's got a sweet stroke and he certainly looked legit in 100 at-bats in 2005, but sometimes you've gotta buy low and sell high. I suspect that's what the Mets have done here.

The point is that there is a young core in place, one that figures to benefit from the emergence (either next year or in 2007) of Lastings Milledge (see No. 7 below). Between the core players we have and the resources we've got to expend (maybe next year on Barry Zito?), we should be in position to contend so long as management plays its cards right.

4. Pedro.

I really can't say the Mets have had another pitcher quite like Pedro Martinez in all the years that I've been a fully aware Mets fan. I have zero recollection of Dwight Gooden when he first came up. Mostly, my memories of Doc consist of knowing that he was once incredible, but that somehow things had gone awry.

But with Pedro this past year we finally saw a little bit of that again, or for the first time as the case may be. When Pedro was on it was just so much fun to watch. The way he would fool with the hitters by mixing up his pitches and his location, it's just such a treat to behold.

Remember the season opener against the Reds? Most of our memories are bound up with the traumatizing end scripted by Braden Looper and about 800 feet of baseball flight, but go back a few innings and you had one of the most dominating pitching performances of the entire season.

Pedro allowed a first-inning 3-run homer to Adam Dunn, and all of a sudden all the bad thoughts inevitably crept into my mind (refer to No. 1, specifically paragraph 3 for why this was the case)...

Oh my god. He really has lost it.

This was in the midst of my beer bottle cap throwing phase. I was living in a pretty sweet off-campus rez with a fairly nice television set, but had developed the habit of throwing available bottle caps at the screen any time something bad happened.

But this was the next level. You look forward to the season opener for six months and then it goes rotten in the space of 5 minutes (all with 2 outs I might add). So I considered calmly rising from my seat, walking down a flight of stairs to the outside porch, retrieving a rock, returning to my seat, and throwing it at the screen.

But I didn't. And I'm glad I didn't.

Over the next several innings, Pedro delivered one of the most awesome pitching performances I'd ever seen by someone wearing a Mets uniform. He struck out 12 batters over the next five innings so technically he wasn't striking everybody out, but it sure seemed like he was.

He was throwing 95 mph, and was clearly pissed. He wasn't about to let the Reds ruin his Mets debut, so he upped his game and his passion rubbed off on all his teammates, with the notable exceptions of Looper and Manny Aybar.

And this was something we saw from Pedro all year. The passion. Almost equally important to his mastery of pitching is the joy and passion he brings to the game. Whether it was him playing with the fans on Opening Day when his image was emblazoned on the center field ad stand or running through the sprinklers or doing ridiculous commercials for Major League Baseball kids charities, Pedro just brought a smile to the faces of Mets fans.

And there's a lot to be said for that. Remember Roberto Alomar? Talk about someone who just brought a frown to your face. Pedro plays the game with the zest and passion that we fans believe all players should have, and he made watching the team extra enjoyable every fifth day.

Besides, he was also responsible for probably the best quote of the Mets' season. When asked if he would watch the regular season opening game between the Yankees and Red Sox on television that night, Pedro responded: "It's either the Yankees-Red Sox [game] or the Discovery Channel. I love that channel. I love cheetahs."

Me too, Pedro. Me too.

5. David Wright (or, I wish I had David Wright's life).

What more can you say about David Wright? In 2005, DW had a .306 average, 102 RBIs and 27 home runs. The kid can flat out play. Those commercials for MSG in which he talks about "bleeding orange and blue" almost make me cry. A hot blonde waitress at the bar formerly known as Trilogy (beloved by prep school gangsters and high school chicks looking to date I-Bankers in the late '90s, early '00s) was desperate to go out on a date with him (which she was supposed to do, courtesy of a bartender who knew Cliff Floyd, although I don't know one way or another if it ever happened). After losing best friend Joe McEwing during spring training, D-Wright seriously upped his cool factor by buddying up with Floyd and Mike Cameron, as well as Doug Mientkiewicz (RIP).

The best part is that he's 8 days older than I am (which is also really depressing on a personal level). He figures to only improve, and could very conceivably become a high-30s/low 40s home run guy who drives in 120 runs a season. Think about it. He batted 7th for 40-some games and still drove in 102 runs, good enough to finish 10th in the league in RBIs. He finished 8th in hitting. The sky's the limit with this kid. Even if something about his eyelashes makes it looks like he wears eyeliner.

6. My friend, Mr. Glass.

He may not have put up the eye-popping numbers that Wright did. He may not have had an on base percentage higher than .300. He may not have walked more than 27 times despite having 696 at-bats. But those numbers pale in comparison to the one in the games played column for Jose Reyes: 161.

The same Jose Reyes who earned the nickname Mr. Glass after suffering somewhere between 5 and 7 leg injuries in something like a 16-month span. The same Jose Reyes who Mets fans were beginning to doubt would ever remain healthy through an entire season. That same Jose Reyes was healthy enough to play in all but one of the team's regular season games.

And he was no slouch either, in spite of the saber-nazis' grumblings. Over the course of those 161 games, Willie Randolph's "young colt" dazzled fans with his speed and lit up the stadium with that toothy grin every time he dove head first into third with a triple. Wright may be a better player than Reyes is, but the truth is I'd rather watch Reyes play.

When you see Wright play, you just appreciate his talent so much. You sit back and you're amazed at your good fortune that a player of his ability, with so much potential still ahead, somehow found his way to the Mets.

Reyes is different. No doubt, he's got a world of talent in him, and you really get the sense that he could be one of the greatest shortstops of his era if he can stay healthy. But with Reyes you just love to see him play the game.

There's something about the way he turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Something about the way Shea Stadium or the bar or living room you're watching the game from gets this buzz every time he gets on base. Everyone in the place gets terribly excited because you just know he's about to take off and crash into that bag 90 feet ahead of him in a cloud of dust. There's something about the anticipation as you await the umpire's call

Safe!!

that makes watching him play the game fun on an instinctive level. You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy watching Reyes play the game.

On top of all that, for all the grief he gets from callers on WFAN, Reyes improved in several offensive categories as the season progressed. After not walking once through his first 110 at-bats or so, he ended with 27. After stealing 11 bases through the first two months of the season, he ended with 60, tops in the National League. I also read that his post-All Star Break OBP was somewhere in the .330 range, although I can't verify that at the moment.

These are signs that he was still getting used to major league ball at the beginning of the season (not surprising given that he'd been injured the previous 2 years), and also that he was improving throughout the year. That development will continue next year, but in the meantime it's just fun to think of the player he is, and the player he could become.

So Mr. Glass? Here's to you, pal.

7. Lastings Milledge (or, How Omar got rich and the Mets' farm system did not die tryin').

First things first, there's a long way between Lastings Milledge and stardom, not to mention that there's a long way between Lastings Milledge and Shea Stadium. So let's not get ahead of ourselves here. But in Milledge we have a guy who pretty much every scout projects will be a star (and some call him a superstar in the making) who figures to take over RF if the Xavier Nady/Victor Diaz tandem fails to impress in 2006, or in left in 2007 once Cliff's contract has expired.

The truth is that I don't know anything about Milledge that you don't. I've never seen him play, but I know that he's been a beast at every level of play that he's seen so far. He's a guy whose debut we can anticipate almost as anxiously as Wright's or Reyes' (though, thankfully, without the same desperation -- see No. 1 if that is unclear at all).

Is Milledge, the Mets' top prospect and thus Omar's best bargaining chip, certain to remain with the Mets? Of course not. But the fact is that the Lastings Milledge era took a giant step torward realization yesterday with the Carlos Delgado acquisition. Getting Delgado on board drastically reduces the need for Manny Ramirez, and also makes the economics of such a deal almost unfathomable.

Milledge should be safe unless a No. 1 starter is made available at the trade deadline next year, or if Rick Peterson, Pitching Guru, doesn't issue one of his 10-minute edicts regarding a 2006 version of Victor Zambrano, which hopefully he will not do.

8. Aaron Heilman (all is forgiven).

I'll admit it. In April 2005, I hated Aaron Heilman. Let me take you back to Opening Day. I was still negotiating a parking spot in the veritable third world country that exists in the hinterlands of Shea Stadium (for those interested, the going rate is 3 Beast Lights and 324 Dominican pesos, or 10 USD, whichever is more readily accessible) but if I'd been in the stadium in time to see the player introductions, I would have booed lustily like everyone else in the stadium did when Heilman's name was called.

See, Heilman wasn't just a No. 1 draft pick turned bust. He had, for me, become a constant reminder of Scott Kazmir. The day that Kazmir made his major league debut for the Devil Rays, Heilman made his 2004 season debut for the Mets. Kazmir shut out the Mariners through five innings in his big league debut. Heilman? He lasted 3.2 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 8 hits.

It was like a cruel joke played by the Mets front office.

But then something happened. Somebody got the crazy idea that maybe, just maybe, it made sense to have Heilman throw at the arm angle that made him a successful pitcher at Notre Dame, that made him a No. 1 draft pick, rather than the over-the-top motion that the Mets had impressed upon him.

From that point on, things just clicked for Heilman. He worked his way out of Willie's doghouse and posted the second best ERA among relievers in the National League after the All-Star Break. Today he is a central part of the Mets' plans for our bullpen next season.

To some extent, Heilman is emblamatic of the franchise he pitches for. He lost his way for a good while there, and just when everyone else had started to give up on him, he found a way to right the ship and matter again. Let's just hope he (and the Mets) can keep it up.

9. Willie-time.

You know, a lot of Mets fans really seem to hate Willie Randolph. Some of that is because he was a Yankee for so long, but most of the people worth listening to take his decisions to task.

These arguments are not entirely worth ignoring. Willie's not perfect. He started Kaz Ishii for way too long. He batted Wright seventh for way too long. He somehow batted Miguel Cairo second for a good portion of the season. He decided to play Gerald Williams and Jose Offerman ('nuff said). And he found a place in his doghouse for my boy and yours, Doug Mientkiewicz (RIP).

But you know what? I still like Willie.

An admission first, I'm kind of biased on this one. Let me take you back to 1992. I was 9 years old that season and pretty damn cute. After the games the Mets (somehow) won I would go with my Dad down to the area above their dugout, identify the player who had the game ball, look cute, and hope he flipped me the ball. This trick works really well. I probably got about 10 game balls that way.

Anyway, one time I did this and Willie Randolph had the game ball. He pointed to me, flipped it my way, and I was all set to go home happy when some big drunken lug next to me reached over and grabbed the ball mid-flight. I was crushed. The drunken lug was elated. He high-fived his friend and got out of there.

Another ballplayer might not have cared, but not Willie. He put one finger in the air...

Hold on, kid!

... went into the dugout, grabbed a ball and a pen, signed the ball, flipped it my way...

Thank you!

... and we both went on our merry way. I wish I could say I was looking at that ball right now. The truth is I have no idea what happened to it. But it was a class move up and down.

And that's kind of what Willie Randolph has done to the manager's office at Shea. He's not the firebrand that Bobby V (RIP) was, nor is he the empty vessel that was Art Howe. But he's a classy guy. His players respect him. They play hard for him. Besides, he gets his subs fresh toasted and snubs Joe Torre when he does it, what's not to like?

10. Gary Cohen and SportsNet New York (or, the passion of the Fran Healy).

For my money, nobody's better at calling a ball game than Gary Cohen. He and Howie Rose were an absolute pleasure to listen to in car rides this past year (my first as a driver), and it is with great excitement on my part that he's been named the play-by-play announcer for the Mets next year when their new sports network, SportsNet New York (SNY, aka The Metwork), debuts.

Can't you just hear him now though?

There's a long fly ball hit to deep center field. Jones is back... at the warning track... looking up, at the wall... and it's outta here!

Gary Cohen's homerun call is simply the best in the business. I get goosebumps and a smile just thinking about it. Something about the way he says that final phrase

And it's outta here!

like the air and the vibrations are coming from the lower depths of his stomach. It's a guttural cry that captures the excitement of the moment. It'll be fun having it on the tube next year.

As for Fran Healy, well, we've had some good times and some bad, old friend. You've been calling Mets games my entire life. No question about it, I'll miss your trademark calls

Groundball to Reyes... got 'em!

But this was the right time to let you go. If you love something, set it free. I'll pour some out for Fran tomorrow night, and I encourage all of you to as well. But in the meantime, be thankful that Gary Cohen is finally getting his due on the air.

11. The Mets blogosphere.

2005 was a big year for me and the Mets blogosphere. Beyond finally getting involved with a blog of my own, I discovered several sites that have enhanced my knowledge of the Mets and the game of baseball in general. I'm especially grateful to the hosts of the following sites:

http://www.metsgeek.com (no hard feelings for taking down my post referring people to this page, and congrats on the quote in the New York Times)

http://mets.nyfansites.com

http://www.metsblog.com

http://eastcoastagony.weblogs.us (why don't you guys update anymore?)

Also noteworthy are mets.com and msgnetwork.com. These sites are the only thing that get me through the winter months without being able to watch the boys every night. Finally, I have to pay my respects to the Godfather of all Mets blogs, metsonline.net.

Metsonline.net was the original Mets blog, the (hard e, say it like "thee") source for all things Mets-related. It got shut down for having Mets logos or apparel or some such thing on the site.

Anyway, thanks again to all the people who run those sites, and all the people who make up the Mets online community (even you, "Fire Willie").

And lastly, thanks to all of you who read this blog. We're not as big as those other guys yet, but, hey, we got big dreams. Maybe some day.

Gobble gobble,

A.F.O.M.G.

Delgado: Not Too Bad or Salt?

So I woke up this morning to 933 e-mails about the Mets acquiring Carlos Delgado.

Of course, our good friend Willie B has already purchased his World Series tickets. His e-mail this morning read: "I'm sure Sippy Momo is going to find a problem with this deal."

Well, of course, me being the cynic that I am, I do have my problems with the deal... but also a bunch of things that I love and like about it as well. Without further ado...

1 Thing I Love About The Deal

1. Timeliness: This is the only thing that has me salivating about this trade. For the same reason that signing Pedro helped lure Beltran, I think this signing will help show Billy Wagner that the Mets are trying to field a winner.

As I've stated before, Wagner should be the Mets' No. 1 priority and I think that this will be the bait he needs to become a Met.

5 Things I Like About The Deal

1. Delgado is a monster. He adds another huge bat to a lineup that will become one of the better ones in baseball. He is coming off a great season in a pitcher's park, so at least we know that Shea won't be too big of an adjustment and we are not getting Chase Utley's 30 Citizen's Bank Park homeruns.

2. Trading Yusmeiro Petit doesn't bother me. As much as chicks dig the long ball, I dig power pitching. I think it is what wins in the post season (I have this theory that the colder weather slows down bats just a mili second making 95 seem like 98). I'm no scout, but for about three years now real socuts have been forcasting Petit is a 3, which the Mets already have four of, and which are almost always available via free agency.

3. The deal brings optimism to people like Will B. and makes Mets fans really excited about both this off-season and for the season.

4. It's nice to make the first splash ahead of the Yankees. In a city where the Yankees always seem to get their guy, this year that just isnt happening. They have no farm system and will be in the third year of the luxury tax (every year, the further you are over the luxury tax barrier, roughly $110 mil, the higher the percentage per dollar over the threshold you pay) . If I remember correctly from my sports law class, the third year is 40 % meaning the Yanks would owe 40 mil if they have their same $206 mil. Thats a lot of YMCA's.

They are so stubborn about Robinson Cano and Ching Ming Ding Ling Sing because they are trying to mask the fact that finally they just can't spend anymore, it is becoming too expensive. Otherwise, do you honestly think the Yankees wouldn't have traded those two for Beckett and Luis Castillo?

5. Delgado does not have red hair. We have all seen what that done to Eric K.

10 Things I Hate About You (The Deal)

1. Again, Minaya gave up too much. Buster Olney, apparently our clone (Editor's note: somewhere Buster is undoubtedly wondering if it isn't the other way around), has a nice piece about this on espn.com: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster#200511233

About two weeks ago my father told me that the Marlins needed to cut payroll. He has a pal who works with the team. If the desperation was so great that he knew, than clearly something was there.

The Mets got Delgado minus 7 million dollars. That is still 3 years/41 mil or roughly 14 mil per season, which is a ton of money for a 34 year old.

The Marlins would have given us this guy for a bag of peanuts. They got him for his cheap year( 4mil) and were now stuck with a highly overpaid contract. They were dying to dump his salary to the point where they could almost give us someone to take it. I know this because I read it somewhere.

Instead, we give two of our five best prospects for him.

Not to mention, there wasn't a long line of teams dying for Delgado. This wasn't like Josh Beckett, an ace pitcher, that every team in baseball should have sought after. Beckett warranted prospects because there was a huge demand for him. I just don't think it was there with Delgado.

2. I'm not happy about trading Jacobs. As I've said here before, this kid could turn into something. Sure, this deal makes the Mets better now, but who knows 5 years from now.

We have already seen a glimpse of what Jacobs can do. This isnt some kid in AA. He is a guy that proved (granted, for only about a month) that he could be a special hitter. I would have liked to see him get his cracks, and have the Mets go get a RF or 2B if they were looking for power.

3. I'm not exactly sure where we hit Delgado. It makes sense to hit him 4 or 5, but I dont want him and Floyd back to back. No need to let another team bring in a lefty to face them in the 8th, every single game.

3-4-5-6 could be Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Floyd. I know AFOMG doesnt like this move, having Cliffy hit 6th, but I think this is what it is going to be.

Unfortunately, due to matchup problems, I think this deal blocks the Mets from hitting Beltran 2, Wright 3, which bothers me. This is Willie's decision though, not us here at Yankees2000 so we will see.

And now, still, the Mets dont have a 2 hitter...Don't say Kazuo/Cairo

4. With what looks like a second consecutive huge offseason, the rest of Anerica is slowly starting to bunch the Mets with the Yankees. Quoting the camper:

"The Mets are going to sign every ***** alive."

I guess this shouldn't bother me. After all, the Mets are getting better, and they're still not at the point where they're signing players just so their fiercest rivals don't. But I don't want to feel or have this team be perceived as the best team money can buy, which unfortunately, it will be.

5. Could we have gotten in the Beckett sweepstakes? Could we have given Jacobs, Petit and say Mike Pelfrey or Phil Humber for Beckett, Lowell (who would play 1b) and Luis Castillo?

I would die for this deal. I think Beckett is the man. After throwing down 10 bucks at 50:1 back in June '03 for the Marlins to make the World Series, and then watching it unfold before my very eyes, I became a huge Beckett guy.

I grew his patented chin goatee and went on a streak with the co-eds of Upenn like nothing you have ever seen. (Sorry parents)

Castillo immediately solves our problem at the 2 spot and along with Lowell would give us baseball's best defensive infield.

We could then move Trachsel, Seo or whoever for bullpen help. In this scenario, the Mets are a much better and more complete team.

6. This deal is just another indication of the sorry state of baseball. That the Marlins would trade a 30/100 guy to a division rival just because they can't afford him, sucks. This isn't how sports should be.

Baseball is now the only sport with salary dumps. Sure in basketball teams try to move bad contracts, but that is for the purpose of strategizing around the salary cap.

Baseball is a real business and that's just not how it should be. Hopefully, Bud, if you're reading this, you'll take notice and try and do something about it. It may cost some owners some money, but this just isn't the way things should be.

7. This deal comes on the same day that I took the clicker from the living room, preventing my mother from watching her dvr'd shows that she wanted to watch... on her birthday. Talk about bad karma.

I never like to let my mother be right, at least in person, so I'm apologizing to you, mommy, via this blog. I messed up and I do so frequently.

But be thankful. At least I don't have red hair.

8. Timeliness: We all know the baseball offseason sucks, and now with Delgado on board and the pursuit of Wagner winding down, it appears the Mets' major offseason moves could be done by the first week of December, leaving nearly four months until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training.

Sure, there will be minor moves along the way. As the people at ESPN can tell you, these are the deals you never notice but that are felt in a big way come the grind of the 162-game season. The Mets have already lost Marlon Anderson and his ridiculous running stride to the Nationals, so there are holes to fill. That said, it's never quite as exciting when the Mets get a Marlon Anderson on board as it is when they get a Carlos Delgado.

9. You know that feeling when you feel awkward on someone else's behalf? That's kind of how I feel about Carlos Delgado, his agent, David Sloane, and Omar Minaya. Delgado and Sloane publicly served Omar last offseason, rejecting more money and shared Latin heritage to sign with the Marlins.

A year later and Omar has orchestrated a trade bringing Delgado to Los Mets. Does he want to be here? I can't say. All I know is that the conversations Omar has been having with Delgado must have been awkward as shit.

10. I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car, I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme. I hate the way you’re always right, I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call. But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close… not even a little bit… not even at all.

As you can see, we here at Yankees2000 were quite taken with the Larisa Oleynik whopper "10 Things I Hate About You". This movie, which brought Heath Ledger to our mind, body, and soul with such lines as "she's without" and "don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want" (maybe that was Omar's mantra about Delgado all along!) stole our hearts and, in no small measure, inspired this blog. For which, on this the day before Thanksgiving, we here at Yankees2000 give thanks.

A Happy Thanksgiving to all. Without another frontline starter/bullpen the Mets will still come up short. There are talks of a Benson and Brian Bannister for Javier Vazquez swap which I think would be nice.

A friend of mine had the privilege of teaching Anna Benson poker before the World Series, not really sure how but a sweet story nonetheless. He said she is not that hot in person and that she curses every other word she says. Time to get that no class strumpet out of NY.

All I got. I'm out of here for Thanksgiving so we will back and running next Monday. In the meantime, A Friend of Mr. Glass' may decide to post so keep checking back in.

Truth,

SM

The Evil Empire North?

I rolled out of bed this morning at roughly 11:30, brushed my teeth, grabbed some water and went to my computer.

Priority #1. Making sure Yahoo still credited Green Bay Packers WR Antonio Chatman w/ 14 yards instead of 15 (The yardage Al Michaels announced the catch as) which had left a team I need to catch 1 point short of a win this week... HUGE!

Priority #2. Confirm the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell deal for Hanley Ramirez, Anibel Sanchez and a A pitcher. CHECK! Again, huge. In case you didnt get the memo, we dont like the Yankees at this site (or redheaded males from Scarsdale).

Priority #3. Make it later priority to pick up flowers for Mama Sippy Momo. Today is her birthday and damn do I love her

Priority #4. Check the e-mail.

So I checked my e-mail. Back in my better days as a member of the employment line, I used to be an e-mailing machine. See, I didn't do all that much at my job and found e-mails as a way to pass the time, maybe catch a laugh or two, after I had sucked out every ounce of information that ESPN and Yahoo Sports had to offer, and after I had given a thorough read through of the bible, the New York Post.

So I had about 33 e-mails from this one group of friends of mine, they all seemed well.

Then I had one from Sippy Momo Sr. which read:

Are the Red Sox becoming the Evil Empire North? Is that why Theo quit?

Sippy Momo Sr.

At first, I brushed this question off as a father trying to relate to a son (no disrespect, pops). About 2 minutes later though, I thought some more and a million things ran through my head.

1. Why did my father sign his e-mail with his full name? No Dad or D? That just gave me a little chuckle.

2. But had the Red Sox, America's favorite underdog, become the Evil Empire North?

The answer to that is no.

If the Yankees had the prospects to make this deal, it would have been done months ago. Every small team in baseball knows that if they want to dump salary, they go to the Bombers.

The Red Sox payroll still remains roughly 60% of the Yankees. The difference between them equals the salaries of the Royals, Devil Rays and about half of the Tribe. It's enough to fit an A-Rod and a Matsui (the good one, not ours, although you could fit an A-Rod and two Kazuos if you were so inclined) in there.

What is evil about this trade is the shape of baseball today.

Major League baseball has almost established itself into two sections.

1. The Major Leagues
2. Their farm systems

In the majors are all the big teams. The Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs, Dodgers. These are the big city teams with the big money.

In the farm you have the Marlins, A's, D-Rays. These teams have no money and payroll restrictions.

So after five or six years of quality play for one of these farm teams, a player enters his prime and is either traded for rookies or lost to free agency to, surprise, surprise...one of the bigger teams.

Think of what those three aforementioned farm teams alone have lost or will lose in the last 3-4 years, including this one.

1b. Jason Giambi
2b. Luis Castillo
SS. Miguel Tejada
3b. Mike Lowell
RF. Aubrey Huff
CF. Juan Pierre
LF. Julio Lugo (we'll throw him in there, the guy has speed)
DH. Carlos Delgado

SP. Mulder
SP. Hudson
SP. Beckett
SP. Burnett
SP. Pavano

RP. Foulke
RP. Baez
RP. Benitez

This may be the greatest team could have ever been put on a baseball field.

Is there a single one of these players that would have left any of the big teams I listed above? Not one. None of them would let them go.

It'd be like someone telling me that the Mets had to choose between signing David Wright or Jose Reyes and losing the other.

Is this really what baseball has become?

Major league baseball is now the one major professional sport in the United States without a salary cap. Competitive balance has returned to every other sport but not baseball.

Unfortunately, Major League baseball (The Real Evil Empire) has the defense that the small market teams like the A's and Indians remain very competitive.

This argument stinks. You should check the archive, "Thank God The Yankees Play Baseball" from October 26th. It highlights the fact that if the Yankees could do what they do financially, in any other sport, how they would never lose.

It just so happens that baseball is a game that in any given series of three, The Charlotte Bobcats could beat the San Antonio Spurs 2 out of 3.

This would not happen, in basketball or football. And I'm not sure, Sans Goat, that anyone really cares about hockey.

Basically writing this blog has saddened me. It made me think of my father's second question, to the e-mail that he so appropriately signed with his full name:

Is this why Theo quit?

I hope not, but I'm worried that it might be.

Could it be that baseball's owners are just truly greedy? That they care about the money more than the game? That their team is an investment instead of their pride and joy?

Me and my friends always joke about how if any of us get rich, we will buy a team and we can all run it. But people like us aren't the one's that make that money. It is usually nerds that do that. The nerds that we used to give swirly's too in the bathroom.

Note: Unemployed people that blog and live with their parents is not nerdy, nay, it is the new chic.

So are these Scarsdale born, red headed owners using baseball to get back at us?

I don't really know, but again, this is all making me kind of sad. And I gotta hit the road, call the deli for the SM special, Roast beef sandwich, sour cream and onion chips, rasberry snapple and you know it... A NEW YORK POST.

As the great Ghost Face Killer once said, "Word up Mommy I love you,"

Sippy Momo

The Yankee Way?

Reminder, blog is updated every weekday by 2 p.m.

I never liked Brandon Walsh. Why not you ask? I think it was just that he was too good. He never made mistakes, always got the girl, had all the accolades, etc.

Is Brandon a good guy? Of course he is, but he is hard to relate to. Its easier to relate with the bonehead shenanigans of Steve Sanders or the little brother complex of David Silver.

But Brandon. He did things the right way. You might even say, he did things... "THE YANKEE WAY."

Derek Jeter is the Brandon Walsh of the Yankees. He is squeaky clean, extremely talented, beloved and a killer with the ladies. It is for the reasons that he is so hatable -- he is too perfect.

At the same time, Derek Jeter was a godsend for the Yankees. He became their unquestioned leader in a 10-year period leading up to the present, during which the Yankees became every idealic name you could use to describe an organization:

"America's Team," "Best franchise in sports," etc.

With Derek Jeter -- he of the squeaky clean and classy image and, yes, superior talent -- at the forefront, we were re-introduced to the "Yankee way" of doing things.

The "Yankee way" is often written about in the papers. It is the all-class, all-winning, no-facial hair, fun-loving-but-serious organization.

This idea was cultivated in an era of profound success. Indeed, the reason this concept solidified to so great an extent was that the Yankees were always winning in the late 90's and they happened to be led by a ton of great guys.

Jeter
Williams
Rivera
Posada
Pettitte
T. Martinez

Its hard to find anything wrong with these guys. They were great baseball players who were good guys. They didn't beat their wives or cheat (well, they didn't cheat on baseball. As for their wives, your guess is as good as mine until Jose Conseco releases the sequel to his hit smash "Juiced" entitled "Still Juicing: The Yankee Years"). They did things the "Yankee way" and all of a sudden the Yankees became a team built on the aura produced by some combination of history, present success, and destiny.

As for me, I think the "Yankee Way" is crap.

To read about it all the time sickens me because it no longer exists, especially in recent times.

But how 'bout these players doing things the "Yankee Way."

Jason Giambi taking steroids... The Yankee Way.

Randy Johnson hitting reporters (can I call them colleagues yet?)... The Yankee Way

Jaret Wright with a glob of chew... The Yankee Way

Gary Sheffield calling out his teammates, attacking fans...The Yankee Way

This concept is so outdated it is sickening. Yes, the Yankees were a class organization in the late 90's and basically put together the perfect lineup of talent and quality people. That may be why the team won 4 World Series' in 5 years.

But things have changed. Talent and quality have been replaced with greed and money.

You think the Yankees went after the Big Unit because he was a good guy? Of course not. Unit has always been labeled an introvert, terrible with the media and reclusive in the clubhouse.

Did they bring in Jason Giambi for his morals? No, the guy killed the ball while partying like a rockstar.

How about trading for Sheffield? This guy has been tagged one of the game's bigger assholes since his first day in the league.

It's time that this idea of the "Yankee Way" of running a franchise is finally wiped out. It is truly hypocritical.

There is no greater indication of this hypocrisy than with the current Bernie Williams situation.

As an angry, bitter Mets fan, there is bascially nothing bad to say about Bernie Williams. Ok, thats not true. Bernie Williams throws like a girl.

But here is a guy that was a great hitter, great leader and terrific guy in the New York area for more than ten years. He represented everything the Yankees claim to represent.

So now Bernie's career has reached its twilight. He is looking to come back to the one uniform he has ever worn, in a limited role, so that maybe he can win another championship or maybe because he just isn't ready to hang up the spikes yet.

He is not looking for a ton of money. All he wants to do is be a Yankee. He wants to continue representing the Yankees the way he so proudly has for over a decade.

Their response? We'' think about it, Bernie and let you know if you are a good fall back.

See Bernie Williams just isn't good any more. He could never throw, but now he's lost his range as an outfielder and has a slow bat.

Would I want him on the Mets? Not at all.

But hasn't this guy earned his right to be a Yankee? To be their 4th or 5th outfielder? To be a switch hitter off the bench?

This isn't like the Knicks situation with Patrick Ewing, where the team needed to move on and he was ready for that. (Editor's note: I completely disagree with this claim.)

The Yankees don't need to move on from Bernie Williams, but they might possibly force him to do that.

This is because Bernie Williams doesn't fit the mold of the new "Yankee Way," where baseball is a business and greed has replaced morals.

This to me, just isn't right.

Uh huh, yeah.

Sippy Momo

Publice Enemy #1 and The Happy Mets Fan Speaks

Reminder, blog is up every day at 2 p.m.

I'm gonna be honest here. After throwing back a few too many steveweisers last night, blogging about the Mets -- which, according to one asshole from Wash U, is not COOL -- was not at the top of my priorities this morning. But, heck, we love you guys too much to leave you hanging, so somebody had to do it, and I thought, "hell, I'm unemployed, what else have I got to do?"

Turns out, the answer to that question is nothing, so I saddled up and was all set to write still another piece comparing some aspect of the Mets or Yankees to "90210" or "Laguna Beach", but then I got to thinking again. The thing that makes this site worth it to me and A.F.O.M.G. is the fans who check us out every day, so I thought, "hell, I remember what it's like to have things to do, why not turn the site over to some of our readers for the day?"

So today we unlock the doors, and who better to let into the factory first than Yankees2000's Public Enemy #1, Eric K.

Eric is a close friend of a good friend of mine, JD and of the greatest soccer player ever to walk the fields of Washington University, J Farb. Eric, a redhead from Scarsdale is sooooo cool and such a huuuuge Yankees fan that he loves to talk about how uncool this blog is.

So here he is, Public Enemy #1, Eric K. For those of you who know him and for those who don't, stop by the site next week to learn more about him in 5 potentially mind-blowing blogs. Due to my lack of coolness, (Note: I blog, am unemployed and live w/ my parents - Whoops) all I have is this blog to throw back at him. Well take that Eric K, CYBER BEEF. So here are the five topics.

1. Red hair -- What it does to a kid's self esteem
2. New York transplants from Scarsdale -- Can we trust them?
3. Redheaded Scarsdale kids who become Yankee fans to help them feel better about their red hair induced low-self esteem
4. Yankee fans w/ red hair... Sexy
5. If I wear all black will people not notice my red hair?

Good thing for me, the big bad Kuehne is too cool to read this site, otherwise beef might go down.

Good thing for him it doesn't. I know people.

So now that all this negativity is out of the way, I wanted to reflect on Yankee2000's most positive friend and today's guest blogger, Will B. (Note: how uncool is blogging?)

Will B always sees the glass half full.

See, with the Mets, Giants and all of Will's sports teams, good things are always to come.

Are the Mets going to win the World Series next year, Will? Of course they are!

Is the Pedro signing the greatest of all time, Will? Definitely!

On yesterday's comment board Will, complained about the negativity on this site, specifically, in regards to the Mike Cameron deal.

People refuse to acknowledge that [the] Mets might, possibly, be doing something right. If Billy Beane (as much as I love him) pulled a move like this to free about $6 million dollars to sign Wagner and get to keep Nady by trading a superfluous player--as much as everyone loved him, the sequel to Moneyball would already have hit the presses. Mets fans are the worst. Their negativity is a blight on the franchise.

God do I love Willie. See, I kind of agree with him on this trade, I don't mind it. Nady may not have had the numbers to back it up, but the kid has a bat. Granted, he is already 27, but let's see what this guy can do as a regular player (provided that's what he was brought in to be).

But what I love about Will is the analogy to "Moneyball".

I mean COME ON, Will. Billy Beane has to put together a team with a $50-60 mil payroll. The Mets do not. Sure, if Billy Beane could move Jason Kendall's contract, that would be a miracle. But the Mets moving Mike Cameron did not make or break the team's finances. And yes, the Mets shed a $6 million risk, which I am happy with. But the Mets could still have gotten Manny or Billy Wagner without shedding it to begin with.

But that's Will. The consumate good guy. So today, with my lack of anything to say other than about Eric K, I'm going to pass the mic over to Willie B who talks about someone who deserves some attention here at Yankees2000:

Greetings to Sippy and his crew. Sippy and I go way back to the days when I was his Robin Ventura of New York Ivy League basketball. Interestingly to note, my career very poetically culminated by winning the MVP at the tournament held at Sip's high school, but I digress.

Anyway, in all this talk of comebacks, the hot stove and "Laguna Beach", something has been lost on this Mets-loving audience. I love LB (and Talan and Jason) and Killa Cam as much as the next guy, but I wanted to bring a different story to your attention today. Somehow lost amidst the insanity of the picturesque milieu of Sippy Momo Jr. and Sr. embracing after Mike Piazza's game winning home runs is the lighter side of the Mets, a side that is no less a part of the team than Bobby V. wearing a Groucho Marx mask, Mr. Met being the team mascot, and the litany of embarrassingly bad free agent signings.

There is no greater example of Mets tomfoolery these days than Rick Peterson. Never mind the psycho-sexual death grip Rick Peterson holds on Jeff Wilpon. Never mind the total lack of statistical evidence that Rick Peterson makes a positive impact on a team's pitching staff. Never mind Rick Peterson's infamous boast after watching a tape of Vic Zambrano before the Zambrano-Kazmir trade of "give me 30 minutes with this guy and I'll turn him into Cy Young."

No, what really drives me batty about Rick Peterson and harkens back to the insanity of the Roger McDowell days is his obsession with titanium accessories. In addition to wearing his pants higher than Steve Urkel and always wearing that Mets jacket no matter the temperature, last season, Peterson convinced the entire Mets roster to hitch their fortunes on an increasing number of titanium fashion products.

Making some dubious claim about improving the electrical flow in the body, Peterson has stocked the Mets clubhouse and forced the Mets players to drape themselves in titanium, all of which culminated in a New York Times article over the summer where Peterson revealed that he himself wears titanium underwear.

Why do I bring this up today? Well, as part of my Mets e-mail newsletter (the "Flushing Flash" for those not in the cognoscenti), things have reached an all-time low. The e-mail hawked two products, the Mets kids club -- which is a great way to get your favorite young Mets fan hooked on the team and team-licensed titanium necklaces.

Wait, what was that second part? Team-licensed titanium necklaces? It's one thing if Peterson wants to get his ballplayers in whatever mindset he feels is appropriate, but when the team starts hawking merchandise that on the scale of veracity is on par with used cars, pyramid schemes and Sippy Momo's claims to young co-eds that he'll treat them right, the "Class-o-meter" at Shea is a wee bit low.

Come on, Mets, we're on the verge of turning it around. If we start trusting Peterson to be our marketing guru, the results are going to be a lot more disastrous than trading Scott Kazmir. Sure, we seem to under the spell of Rick Peterson, but let's stop the insanity before there's a scandal about Peterson, some Buddhist life coaches, some young high school pitchers and EAS sales reps meeting under the bleachers for a "tutorial."

More than trading for Manny, salting Season 2 Stephen or imagining throwing back some brews with Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook circa July 1999, I humbly request that the No. 1 priority of Yankees2000 becomes stopping the runaway train of Rick Peterson before it's too late.

Truth from Willie,

SM

This Just In From B.O.A.F.O.M.G.

Hey guys, it's A Friend of Mr. Glass's. This is a real banner day here at Yankees2000. Those of you checking out the site for the frist time today should read the following two entries as well. Our content today consists of the first post from Sippy Momo titled "RIP Killa Cam", the second post from myself titled "Rick Reed for Matt Lawton, Anyone?" and now this third brief post.

I received the following e-mail from my brother (Brother of A Friend of Mr. Glass's) in response to the piece I wrote and decided it had to be posted. I think he and I are on the same page on this one. Here's the e-mail:

Good post. Yeah, this deal, as my 70 yr old Torts professor would say, stinks out loud.

Good point about the ... AND?!?! Seriously? Ugh.

That really about sums up the reaction. The only reasonable explanation in my view is that Omar got wasted last night, got home, drunk dialed the Padres' GM, made this deal, woke up this morning wondering how Xavier Nady made it onto the Mets roster, at which point he slowly reconstructed the prior evening's events, and moaned "FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK" as the realization crept into his groggy consciousness.

That's the only acceptable explanation, as far as I'm concerned.

- B.O.A.F.O.M.G.

The reaction from a lot of Mets fans has been positive, but the Mr. Glass family is presenting a united front. Are we being too negative? We welcome any feedback.

Rick Reed for Matt Lawton, Anyone?

Note: Sippy Momo also posted his thoughts on the Mike Cameron trade. His entry appears immediately beneath this one. Also, this site is updated every week day by 2 p.m. We appreciate your support and hope you'll add Yankees2000 to your daily website-checking regimen.

Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass's here, giving you consecutive content for the first time here at Yankees2000. This is going to be brief and it's going to sound familiar to those ESPN Insiders out there who have read Buster Olney's piece on this trade, but let me do as I did yesterday and take you back into the Mets' recent past.

It was the summer of 2001 and everything was looking terrible for the Mets. Sure, the announcer still bellowed out "Here they are, your 2000 National League Champion New York Mets!" as the players ran out on the field, but by July 2001 it felt like years had passed since the Subway Series.

The Mets would ultimately go on to make things exciting for their fans, but long before Armando Benitez and John Franco ripped Mets fans' hearts out, a deadline deal was struck by Slippery Steve Phillips that left many scratching their heads. On paper, the deal read a little something like this:

"The Mets acquired OF Matt Lawton from the Twins for P Rick Reed."

In the minds of Mets fans, the deal read a little something like this:

"The Mets sent away one of their most consistent pitchers for OF Matt Lawton and... and?... AND?!?!"

Only there was no and. Rick Reed for Matt Lawton straight up. Oooh baby. In the weeks leading up to the trading deadline (back when the team was flatlining and seemingly wanting no part of a third consecutive playoff appearance), Mets fans were dreaming of the possibility of cashing in at the trading deadline and restocking the farm. It didn't do us much good, but one thing we had was a lot of pitching to offer a contending club. The thinking went a little something like this:

Pitching wins championships! Contending teams need consistent pitchers! Rick Reed = trade deadline gold!

Well, that was a nice thought, only Steve Phillips decided to trade him for a guy who sucked for two months and then, four years later, was caught in violation of baseball's steroid policy. The point though is that the Mets didn't get optimal value for Rick Reed, as far as the fan base was concerned.

And that's kinda how I feel about this deal too. Sorry to ape Buster on this one, but the truth is that there are plenty of teams who need a centerfielder (most notably the Yankees and Red Sox, who play in big markets with a fan base that expects them to contend every year) and few quality centerfielders available via free agency. Mike Cameron = offseason gold!

Well, that too was a nice thought, only Omar "Lord of the Living Room, King of the House Call" Minaya got involved. What did he manage to net for the second best centerfielder (behind Johnny Damon) available? A 27-year-old who's never had an OBP over .321, never hit more than 13 home runs in a season and never driven in more than 43 runs. Sure, he set "career highs" in 2005, but please refer to the previous sentence when assigning value to Nady's "career highs".

None of that is to say that this is a disastrous trade. Nady could blossom as a regular in RF. At the worst, you gotta figure that he and Mike Jacobs would form a pretty formidable platoon at 1B (whether we think Jacobs should be platooned at all is another matter altogether, but we're talking worst case scenarios here; I certainly don't mind the Mets having an insurance policy, and I guess Julio Franco doesn't fit the team's "younger, more athletic" mantra when you get right down to it). One thing you can't take away from Nady is that he's consistently handled left-handed pitching, and that's a serious plus. The Mets got younger and cheaper.

But did they get better? Did anyone out there think that the most we would get for Mike Cameron was Xavier Nady?

When you first saw the link saying the Mets had traded Cameron for Nady, didn't you expect to read an article telling you the Mets had gotten Nady and a prospect or two?

I certainly did.

It was just a headline! They didn't have room to mention the prospects we got! They didn't have room in the headline for that live bullpen arm that only Rick Peterson, Pitching Guru, could tame!

Only no. Cameron for Nady. That's it. No one's going to confuse this trade with P Scott Kazmir for P Victor Zambrano, but still I can't shake this sense that we didn't get optimal value for Mike Cameron.

Will this move be parlayed into a trade for Manny or Delgado? Depending on who you read, that's either possible or likely. Between Cameron and Piazza alone, the Mets have saved about 18 million dollars. Of that, 10 is earmarked for Billy Wagner. Another 5 to 6 is going to a catcher. Mets brass won't hesitate to take on some payroll if it means making the playoffs.

If the Mets do pull off a blockbuster and turn this trade into Manny or Delgado, does this trade become better in retrospect? We can't say. It depends on who the Mets give up. (Note: at least with me, the trading of OF Lastings Milledge will not go over well, even for OF Manny Ramirez. Would the Mets make the playoffs with Manny next year? Almost definitely. There's a lot to be said for that, and I won't argue any differently. I guess I just love the idea of Wright, Reyes, and Milledge leading this franchise for the next 15 years).

As for now, to me it just feels a lot like the summer of 2001 all over again, only this time, with the team on the edge of the playoffs, the stakes are so much higher, and missteps will loom so much larger.

- A.F.O.M.G.

RIP Killa Cam?

Reminder, blog is updated every weekday by 2 p.m. EST

On a cold rainy day in Bevery Hills, the worst of the worst happened. In an attempt to make ammends with her mafia father, Antonia Marchette drove over to her father's house to deliver a sign of good will. She left Dylan's house an angel, that greatest woman ever to work the set of "90210". She would never return.

Antonia was murdered by her father's hitman, who thought he was killing Dylan.

Dylan was heartbroken. The words of Lyle Lovett's early 90's classic "Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby" echoed in the background, vocal evidence of the emotional turmoil Dylan was experiencing, to which he ultimatley succombed, dropping to his knees in his grief.

Dylan was at his weakest, things would not turn around for him and already he was starting to show signs of wear from his days as Dylan "Too Cool for School" McKay.

So he left the show, traded to the HBO hit smash "Oz" for that dude from "Sex and The City" who took it to Val and a young Noah Hunter.

See, like Dylan, Mike Cameron (Killer Cam) is lovable. He may be the coolest Met. He is the cooler, more likable friend to the Mets' overly genuine young star, D Wright, aka Brandon Walsh.

But like Dylan he has recently faced a tragedy that he may not be able to overcome.

Moving Mike Cameron now is the move. The guy wasn't much of a hitter before the injury (some of us were spoiled by his .274 avg last year) and there is no saying how the injury will affect his vision.

There are a couple of points that I want to bring up in defense of Cameron's deal.

1. We Mets fans are blind to the finances of baseball. In a city where the Yankees pay 700 billion dollars for their team and we pay only about $100 mill, we feel like we are thrifty.

Fact is, as we all know, compared to the rest of MLB, we are the spoiled ones.

So as the Mets slowly approach the luxury tax, this move is a very sound one financially. In Xavier Nady we are getting a very talented young right handed bat who will be in his arbitration years for the next three seasons (he won't be able to test free agency and so he will be paid less: His salary will be based on the numbers he puts up compared roughly to other players of the same service time).

The Mets will save roughly $5 million dollars in 2006 on this deal, which, if that affords us Billy Wagner, is a very solid swap.

2. Teams crave Cameron more than we need him

In the same way we think Cameron is better than he is, so does baseball. Truth is, he is a dominant defensive center fielder, something the Mets don't need, but other teams crave.

In trading him now, as opposed to letting him test free agency, where he would definitely leave to play CF elsewhere, we are getting some solid value as opposed to nothing.

3. Cameron may never be the same

Who knows what this injury will do to him. In the best possible scenario, he is the same.

Worst case, he is damaged goods, and we are stuck paying him another $6.125 mil without getting anything for him.

4. It is always good to get younger + Nady is good

Xavier Nady is 27 right now, and entering his baseball prime.

All I can remember hearing during Mets broadcasts last year is how badly the Padres wanted to move Phil Nevin so that they could get Nady more ab's.

While he cooled off in the final two months of the season, Nady was putting up very solid numbers through July.

The guy can play RF and play 1b against left handers to spell Jacobs.

5. Why this trade will bother me...

On mlb.com it is suggested that this deal is a precursor to trading for Carlos Delgado. Again, here comes Omar seeking the backpage.

Sure Delgado would be nice, but as I have stated in the past, give Jacobs a shot. Good young talent in baseball is very hard to find and this kid could be something special.

Two years ago he was the AA player of the year before an injury that took out most of his 2004.

Still not convinced? Let's compare some numbers.

Jacobs is 25
Delgado, almost 34

Jacobs' numbers in September/October: 7 hr, 14 RBI, .309 avg.
Delgado's numbers in september/Octoboer: 7, 19 , .351

Is Delgado more of a sure thing in 2006 than Jacobs? Barring the injury risk inherent in any older player, that's probably fair to say. But there's more to this equation than 2006. There's dollars and cents (a lot of dollars and cents, actually, but more on that in a moment), and the fact that Jacobs has tremendous upside while Delgado's best years almost certainly are behind him.

That's not to say that Delgado has shown signs of decline, or that he wouldn't be good for a 30-35 hr/110+ RBI/.300 avg.-type season in 2006. Those aren't the only numbers involved in this deal, however. Here are some others numbers to consider.

The deal Delgado signed last year (when, incidentally, he scorned the Mets very publicly) requires the beneficiary of his services to pay him 48 million over the next three seasons. See, Delgado's 4-year, 52-mil contract was heavily backended (he was only paid $4 mil in '05). Is this guy realy worth the slew of young talent we would give for him, and $48 mil over three years at age 34?

In Jacobs, you're looking at a guy who had a fantastic month and change in his cup of coffee with the big club in 2005. His swing is like silk. He didn't just earn the starting first baseman's job for 2006 (Editor's note: RIP Doug Mientkiewicz), he proved to everyone that he could be special. We've gotta give him a shot.

You guys know Sip and he loves the kids. Back on "90210", letting Dylan go allowed a young, up-and-coming David Silver to blossom into a star.

For the same reason, I think the Cameron deal is solid.

However, if the Mets then go out and trade for a season 7 version of Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue on Melrose Place) then all of a sudden we are back to the old Mets and I will not be happy.

Address the bullpen needs now and we are a 87-90 win team, with upside...Could we possibly ask for anything more?

Woah,

Sippy Momo

Memories of O.O.T.G.C.O.A.T.

Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass's, here, just wanted to share a few of my memories from the Mets-Braves game immortalized first in the hearts of Mets fans and second in the writing of Sippy Momo below.

Sippy Momo calls it the Greatest Comeback of All Time. I'm gonna hedge a bit on that and call it One of the Greatest Comebacks of All Time (O.O.T.G.C.O.A.T.). I've seen that '86 Mets tape too many times and remember being at Shea for Robin's "grand slam single" to call this the greatest comeback in Mets history. Certainly, it involved the Mets coming back from the largest deficit that I can recall for a game of any importance, and it was truly a life-changing event.

With that in mind, I wanted to share my fond memories of this most glorious evening at the ballpark.

First off, if you're a Mets fan, you've undoubtedly seen the shot of Piazza hitting the homerun. It was used in promos for the Mets and for Major League Baseball for years. Piazza connects, the crowd behind him goes nuts, he pumps his fist showing as much emotion on the field as he ever did (that's not a knock on the guy, just the fact was that the Monster always kept a pretty level head). This is the kind of moment you see over and over again and it still gives you goosebumps. It was the summer of 2000, the Monster was out of the clos... I mean cage, and the Mets were on their way to the World Series. It was good to be alive.

I also recall that Robin Ventura made two outs in the inning. Afterward, Robin was quoted as saying that after the Mets had the lead he just wanted to speed the game to its conclusion for those people who had attended mainly to see the July 4th fireworks display (this must have been the Mets' last home night game before the Fourth). Robin was in the midst of his beleaguered 2000 campaign, but was always good for a laugh just the same.

Third, those of you who went to a certain Upper West Side school for boys or those who knew someone who did will recall that the summer of 2000 came in the midst of the name-said-backward craze. For example, "Sippy Momo is Omom Yppis!" or "A.F.O.M.G. is G.M.O.F.A!" We all got a real kick out of this little joke for two, maybe three years.

This exercise always experienced a fresh twist when a person's last name spelled backwards was phonetically the same as it was spelled forward. For example, Eric Cammack, who pitched in either the top half of the eighth or the bottom half of the ninth. Some record must have been sent that night for saying "Cammack is Kcammac".

I remember now! It was the top of the eighth! What triggers this long distant memory? Well, Cammack is Cammack (its phonetic pronunciation) would have been in line for the win in that game if not for a little-known and rarely-invoked rule stipulating that a reliever will not earn the win if he pitches uncommonly badly but still manages to be "in the game" when his team comes out of nowhere to produce an unforgettable comeback.

Normally, the last guy to pitch before his team scores a bunch of runs becomes the winning pitcher; not so in this case. See, Cammack is Cammack's most notable role in that game was that he was the goat who trudged off the field to a chorus of boos after the Braves scored several runs off him in their half of the eighth, theoretically putting the game out of reach.

Enter said little-known, rarely-invoked rule. Because of it, the box score shows that Armando Benitez was credited with the win in that game, even though he normally would have been credited with the save (which he just as well may have preferred given his history of futility in big-game save situations. I can't say I remember being certain that Benitez would blow the "save", but I'm certain that I and everyone else in the joint was thinking the exact same thing when old Armando entered the game).

Lastly, I distinctly recall wondering if my hands had ever hurt as much as they did after that eighth inning. Pounding them together all through the Mets' improbable 10-run inning and then slapping hands and backs with Sippy Momo, Sippy Momo Sr., and just about every other Mets fan in the place, my hands were about as red as they were ever going to get. It was a hell of a game. Truly one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

- A.F.O.M.G.

The Greatest Comeback of All Time

I once thought it was June 30th, 2000.

Today I am not sure.

I entered Monday Night Football up 90-84 in my fantasy matchup against Yankees2000 all-movie cornerback Chris "Goat" Ditata. Once again my team fell victim to terrible luck on Sunday. How do you say 55 points out of Samkon Gado and Carolina's D?

Well, this season for me has been about as frustruating as it can get. My team's record is 3-6 despite posting the league's second most points. I fell victim to 4 straight losses where I scored in the top three of that week. You could say I was truly bitter.

TRULY BITTER.

My team shared the same 3-6 record with this team in our 12-team league despite outscoring it by some 200 points.

QB Palmer Frerotte
QB Brady Warner
WR M. Harrison R. Williams
WR J Horn D Branch
WR T Glenn D. Gabriel
RB Edge K. Jones
RB C. Martin F. Taylor
RB LJ W. Parker
TE A. Gates LJ Smith
D Chicago Pitt

So I needed to close this one out on Monday. Otherwise, my season was done along with my dignity (note: fantasy football comes behind family but in front of friends in my list of priorities).

So entering Monday's game against Goat I had Terry Glenn and he had Brian Westbrook.

And after 56 minutes i was down 97-90.

100 total yds and a td out of Westbrook.
0,0 out of Glenn.

I was angry, distraught, devastated. Give me an angry adjective and Ill give you a Sippy Momo.

Chris and I sat there on IM, the best of friends, but at that moment, the biggest of rivals. It was truly edge of your seat action. One more loss for me and I would be 3-7 and basically eliminated from action.

In my league's scoring, I needed 30 yds and a td from Terry Glenn. I needed a miracle.

So there the drive began, about 4 minutes to go and the Cowboys trailing 20-7.

WHOOP!!! an 11 yd out to Terry Glenn. This was his first touch of the game.

A few plays later, Marion Barber broke a long run to the Eagles' 21-yard line. Here was my chance. I needed it. A 21 yard TD by Glenn here and I would get my win.

I told Chris it was coming to which he responded, "If you win this game, I will fucking kill you."

Then it happened, Bledsoe stepped back and off his back foot he floated a ball into the right corner of the endzone... Touchdown Terry Glenn!!!

Glenn's #'s: 32yds, 1 td= 8 Fantasy points.

The game ticked on and I remained nervous. I couldn't lose. A 14 yd screen to Westbrook and I would tie. But it never happened.

Chris signed offline, saying "I'm not talking to you till the concert" dismissively as he went (In reference to next week's U2 concert we are attending)

JUBILATION! EUPHORIA! It was like my first time all over again!!

Was this the greatest comeback of all time? Was this the greatest comeback that I had at least been a part of?

While it was truly special, it was a close second.

See, every kid that's ever played fantasy football can relate to my story (I assume that is every person that reads this blog sans Sippy Momo Sr.) just like every Mets fan knows where they were for the greatest comeback of our lifetime.

I just happened to be there when it mattered.

I go back to June 30th, 2000. I had just graduated high school and on that day I learned some devastating personal news. I drove with my dad to Shea Stadium but all that I could think of was my problem. It was killing me.

We arrived at Shea for the game against the Atlanta Braves. This was at the peak of the John Rocker/Chipper Jones hatred and in the midst of a very close NL East race.

It was a huge game.

It was a beautiful night.

It was perfect.

We arrived at Shea, me and my dad, and were waiting for our third party, A Friend of Mr. Glass. We got to our seats in Section 47 Row M of the Upper Deck (I save the stub, along with game 5 of the NLCS in my wallet).

These seats were as close to heaven as you could have gotten. (Editor's note: these were the very words he uttered when I arrived).

AFOMG arrived right before gametime and all was good. He was my go-to with the Mets, my neighbor and close friend.

Ironically, I had been calling my father "Chipper" for about a year. His name is Larry, the same name as Chipper Jones' given first name, and it just clicked to me.

I always made sure it was cool with my dad, but being the guy that he was, he would always reply, "Call me whatever you want, as long as it's not 'asshole'."

So the game went on. I dont remember who started for the Mets, but I do remember that it was Kevin Millwood starting for the Braves.

As always, in big game form, the Mets got off to a SHAKY start. A really shaky start. By the bottom of the 8th inning, we were down 8-0.

I remember my father gave me the quick look and look away. This meant that he thought it to be a sensible time to leave, beat the traffic, but he knew that I didn't leave games early. Without a word spoken, our eyes were again glued to the beauty that is Shea Stadium. You could say that this is one of the more beautiful father/son understandings in sports.

Can I recount every play of that inning? I cannot.

That said, I remember a few things very clearly.

Bobby Cox took out Kevin Millwood with a low pitch count.
Kerry Lightenberg was one of the pitchers that came in.
Terry Mulholland came in w/ 2 outs, after about 3 pitchers.
The Mets had a ton of walks to trim the lead

and....

The Monster.

Facing Terry Mulholland with a 1-0 count and the Mets down a run after his teammates had put up a 7-spot in the inning to that point, Mike Piazza hit a bullet of a line drive that couldn't have gotten higher than 10 feet off of the ground. Still, it just kept on going. Before you could blink an eye, the ball went over the left field wall for a 3-run home run. Mets - 10, Braves - 8.

I jumped up and down, my father to my left, my best friend to my right watching the greatest comeback in the recent history of the Mets, my favorite team led by the greatest player to ever wear orange and blue (Editor's note: or, as was the case that night, orange and blue and black) in one of the bigger series' in Mets history.

Moments don't get better than that one. It was EUPHORIA.

Most of that night is blacked out to me. Really my only vision in my head between the home run and my bed was pulling out of the Shea parking lot right before we were to get on the Grand Central back to Manhattan.

Still, that was the greatest comeback I had ever seen.

And Monday night was the greatest comeback in my long and memorable fantasy career.

I sat there and watched Bledsoe to Glenn and thought about Big Mike's perfect moment. Shea's perfect moment. And mine and AFOMG's perfect moment.

I was completely worn out.

Gotta run, catch some waves.

Sippy Momo

Biggest Monday of My Life

Reminder: Blog is up everyday at 2PM ET


Yesterday was a big one.

To put it in perspective, the biggest decision I made all last week, my first of unemployment, was whether or not I should go to the gym before or after watching my rerun of 90210.

But Monday, wow.

A-Rod vs Ortiz

and

Season Finale of Laguna Beach

I was smothered in excitement.

1. The MVP Race.

Yes, I hate A-Rod and I really like Big Papi but there was more to my interest in this race.

In September, me and my one Yankee fan friend threw down two drunken bets. One was for Rookie of the Year, the other for MVP.

BET 1: I gave him 10:2 that Robinson Cano would not win ROY (10 nights of drinking to 2) (Editor's Note: High five, Sip).
BET 2: A-Rod or Ortiz for MVP at 1:1

I knew the first one was a lock which is why I gave him such tremendous odds. As yet another indication of how stupid Yankee fans are, my pal, the Nolester, took Cano not realizing that there was even a team in Oakland.

We made the MVP bet before either the Yankees won the division; how things would play out was a mystery to us, which, it may be worth noting, it was not to those people who voted on the award.

So look, I hate A-Rod, no two ways about it. But that hatred does not prevent me from looking at things evenhandedly. One conclusion I've come to, however, is that no Yankee, in a lineup that resembles an All-Star team, should win the MVP.

As it turns out, a lot of people disagree with me. A-Rod won the MVP. His team won the division and Papi's did not. He played and the field and Ortiz did not. Still, there are four strong arguments against A-Rod that overshadow all of these.

The Batting Order

David Ortiz was the Red Sox' 3rd hitter

A-Rod spent half of the season, including the end, hitting 2 and 5 for the Yankees.

Your best hitter bats 3rd. Ortiz was the Sox' best hitter. He had the best numbers the most clutch hits and by the end of the season, he was being pitched around. That's right, pitched around to get to MANNY RAMIREZ, who, in spite of my prediction that he would resemble Season 2 Stephen in 2006, was actually in pure Stephen Season 1 form in 2005. When you faced the Red Sox, Ortiz was the guy you feared. He learned to hit the high inside fastball, his one previous shortcoming, making him a complete hitter.

For his part, A-Rod hit in the relative safety and obscurity of the 2 and 5 holes. For that reason and others, Gary Sheffield remained the team's greatest weapon and was, as he was apt to point out amid much controversy this summer, the player opposing teams feared most. He hit 3rd. Matsui was the Yankees' RBI-guy so he hit 4th.

A-Rod just happened to put up bigger numbers than either of those two guys and is the bigger name. But he wasn't even the best hitter on his team this season. Or at least he wasn't the guy Joe Torre wanted in either of the two most productive spots in the order.

Talent Around them: Where their teams would be without them

I'm the kind of sports fan who knows no peace. I panic. I just know the ball is gonna get out of the park every time Pat Burrell or Chipper Jones comes to the plate against the Mets, and when it doesn't happen, it just means a three-inning wait until the guy ends up parking one.

When we face the Yankees, I get that same feeling when facing Sheffield. I feel like Matsui is going to drive the ball every time. And I hate to admit it, but every time Jeter comes to the plate I envision him inside outing a ball to RF for another one of the bitch singles that has made him a star.

With all this talent, how can anyone say that A-Rod is MOST VALUABLE? He's not even the most valuable player on his team; he's probably the 5th (throw in Rivera).

But where are the Sox without Papi?

See, you can't walk Papi and Manny every time, but without Ortiz, Manny never sees a pitch. Subtract Ortiz and all of a sudden, you're looking at the Oakland A's lineup in Boston. Yeah, they all get on base, but does anyone really strike fear into you?

No Yankee should ever win MVP, EXCEPT Jeter.

It pains me to say it, but I think it is true. My defense is this. There is not one player on the Yankees whose talent is irreplacable. The fact is, they have too much talent.

The one thing you can say is that Jeter's intangibles and leadership are truly invaluable.

He also drinks wine coolers.

Team Pitching

The Yankees had some pitching this year.

While both the Sox and Yankees had disappointing rotations, you can make a strong case that Johnson, Chacon, Small, Mussina and Wang was a hell of a lot better than Schilling (for 1/3 season), Wells, Wakefield, Clement and Miller.

Yankees Team ERA: 4.52
Red Sox Team ERA: 4.74

The bullpens for each team are completely incomparable.

The Yankees at least had Gordon and Rivera, maybe the best 8-9 combo in the game

Who were the Sox throwing out there? Mike Myers, Jon Papelbon and Mike Timlin.

The fact is, the Red Sox were completely carried by their dominant lineup this year. Going against the conventional wisdom that pitching and defense wins games, the Red Sox won by outscoring you.

Clutch Hitting

I know this concept is replayed over and over but it needs to be. David Ortiz carried the Red Sox at the end of a game. He was the guy for them. He always got the big hit.

You just can't say the same about A-Rod.

As he has shown in this year's playoffs and playoffs past, he chokes in the spotlight. OK, so the sports writers didn't know A-Rod would go 2-for-15 in the playoffs. Fair enough. What about the numbers he put up during the regular season? Truth is, the guy's numbers are inflated.

Take a look at these numbers in what ESPN considers "close and late" situations:

Arod: 75 ab, 4hr, 12 rbi, .293 avg
Ortiz: 78 ab, 11hr, 33rbi, .346 avg

The difference is unreal. Simply unreal. We are looking at the guy who is the best when it counts. The guy who is valuable when his team needs value.

Unfortunately, during these 2 innings when the game is on the line, A-Rod probably made a few put outs.

Who gives a f**k.

David Ortiz should be MVP, plain and simple. The guy was a better player who was more valuable to his team. He was the MVP.

Still, A-Rod was the MVP of something. He was the Yankees' Most Valuable 3rd baseman and just missed out on:

Most valuable member on the left side of their infield.

Top 2 most valuable players on the left side of the field.

Say it with me now! M-V-P!! M-V-P!!!

I had to get that out of my system. Now to the more important stuff.

Laguna Beach

A lot of emotions went with the finale of Laguna Beach last night. I don't really know how to say this other than to just say it.

I love that show.

It's just entertaining. In the spirit of baseball's award season, I thought that I should give out some hardware to memorialize the kids of Laguna Beach High.

MVP: Kristin

While this would have not have flown in the baseball world -- after all, for much of the season, Kristin was surprisingly single and did not play the field -- there's no two ways about it but that Kristin is the glue to the show.

Take her away from Laguna and you just don't have it. Sure, she may not have put up the best numbers, but she is the one you need in that beautiful theme by H. Duff to keep us involved.

Biggest herb in the history of mankind: Cedric

Holy shit this kid was painful. No doubt in my mind he was a Yankee fan. And this kid is going to get fame in LA out of this?

Most under-appreciated: Taylor

I'm a big Taylor guy. What a sweetheart this girl was. She was a real friend to Alex M/H/W/Z. She seemed like a really good person. To top that off, she had some of that "I'm going to be a hot WASP-y mom" thing going for her.

Most Improved Player: Jason

Two months ago, all I could say was how bad this kid was. He didn't talk, except for using the word "cruise" to talk about leaving and he salted on my gal Jessica.

Zoom forward to the present, and I have embraced the kid.

His silent game has gotten him every girl in Laguna.

I realied that Jessica, in fact, needed to be salted on.

And just the other day I told AFOMG that I wanted to "cruise" to the deli.

Biggest Letdown: Steven

This kid just slipped. His quirkiness that was overlooked back when he got Kristen and LC just makes him appear to be the "gay best friend" to them now. This kid has a shot to do something special on reality TV. If he brought back some ridiculous girl from San Fran or that he picked up at In and Out, he could have rubbed her in Kristin and LC's place, cementing himself in reality tv history.

Instead, now he is just going to go out like a chump.

First Inductee to Hall of Fame: LC

I dont think I've been at the edge of my seat since I first saw Scream like I was last night when MTV announced "The Hills" : A Laguna Beach spinoff that follows LC to Los Angeles.

Good for LC.

This could have been you, Stevey. Everyone would have wanted to see a show about you going to LA and using your C-list celeb to do the naughty naughty with Lohan, and get in crashes with P. Hilton...oh wait, your boy Talan is already on that.

And now there is a little LC who is going to be on Season 3 of Laguna.

Talk about a winning lottery ticket. Can you imagine growing up in a town where if you are "cool" enough, you get your own show on MTV?

What? MTV has no love for my all boys high school class of 47? Salt.

So now to the Laguna/MVP analogy.

If you were to have two teams, the guys and girls of Laguna, the girls would probably come out on top. After all, they are the focal point of the show.

So for the girls, we have a lineup of

1. Taylor
2. Jessica
3. Kristen
4. Alex H
5. Alex M

Vs. the guys

1. Stephen
2. Cedric
3. Jason
4. Talan
5. Dieter

The two mvp candidates from this season would have to be Jason and Jessica. They were the ones that stole our hearts and captured our minds.

Like, A-Rod, Jessica is not the most valuable player on her team. She just happened to have the best #'s this season. That award goes to Kristen. Without Jessica, the girls would still have a very strong lineup led by Kristen (their real MVP) and surrounded by solid young talent like Taylor.

Now look at the guys. Take Jason away.

All of a sudden, Talan is cruising with...CEDRIC. Those two would get beaten out of Laguna by surfers.

Factor in the over-the-hill status of Steven and the "never-was" status of Dieter and you see... Without Jason "Big Papi Jr." Wilson, the guys of Laguna Beach would be killed.

Yet another reason why this whole A-Rod thing is a sham and why will miss the LB.

Cruisin to Burger King,

Sippy Momo

One More Time Around

So I know that we have lost some focus with this blog. A good friend of mine pulled me aside to talk to about about this and, truth is, he's right.

I tried to defend myself. There just isn't that much going on in the baseball world and throwing out 1000 words on hating the Yankees every day just isn't that easy.

Still I'm going to try and refocus on spewing anti-Yankee diatribes in the future.

That is, after today as I gotta throw out the defensive side of the ball.

I first wanted to respond to some of the comments in regards to Friday's blog.

I didn't know Sports Guy had written a similar article, but, heck, I love the guy so that doesn't bother me.

As for sight, site and cite...I think I got 2 out of 3 down. Didn't do much grammar back at the U as many of you may know from reading previous blogs.

As for the O-line. Yeah I mixed it up a little bit. Manu was clearly the center. We know that Matteus played on the left side of the line because he pulled on the trap that knocked Rudy out of practice. As for Billy Bob, Bud Light and Reggie Ray, they were all on the right side of the line so I needed to mix them up.

As my good pal and hero Danny D told me, it's like a game of Madden. If you prefer to run to right side, there's nothing wrong with shuffling the line a little bit.

Now to the defense.

I decided to go with a 3-4. Linebacker is by far and away the best position in film and the core of this defense.

DE: Rudy, "Rudy"

What's there not to love about the little guy? Maybe the biggest inspiration in the history of film, Rudy was as much a beast on the field as he was with the ladies. His performance inspired one of film's greatest soundtracks and the chills that I get every time I hear his name chanted are almost unmatched in film. As a camp counselor I forced my kids to watch this movie on each way of a bus trip.


NT: Steve Lattimer, "The Program"

The glowing performance in a somewhat obscure career for the great Andrew Bryniarski. Lattimer spent three years on special teams before juicing up in the summer before his senior season. After a tour of the Balco plant, Lattimer added 35 lbs. Moments don't get better than when he and fellow defensive standout Alvin Mack spit in each other's mouth as part of their pregame ritual. In his steroid rage, Lattimer also nearly raped a woman 7 times smaller than him and ends the movie crying in front of his coach, much like Jason Giambi did to Joe Torre when it was discovered that he was on the juice.

DE: Angus Bethune, "Angus"

What a sweetheart. His best friend, played by a young Chris Owen, later went on to steal our hearts as the Shermanator in American Pie. He helped the girl from Jurassic Park II fight her belemia. And most impressively he managed to steal the show from E from Entourage and Dawson Leary in what turned out to be an All-Star cast. Angus had a ton of size but was also light on his feet. He made the big hit that forced the fumble that helped his freshmen squad win the big game, and propel him to prom king.

LB: Luther "Shark" Lavay, "Any Given Sunday"

Needed to give love to LT and I also needed to pay tribute to "Any Given Sunday". I wasn't sure the name of the massively endowed member of the sharks, and while I love Willie Beamen, the Shark was my go-to. Watching LT in the party scene of this flick is a life changer in film. LT is such a great player and truly a bad guy. This team needed his mean streak

LB: The Waterboy, "The Waterboy"

Maybe the greatest hitter in the history of film, the Waterboy truly dominated sideline to sideline. His infectious personality and love for the chick from "American History X" further contributed to Bobby Buchey's all-around likability. The fact that he made a movie that featured Kathy Bates in a leading role still watchable speaks volumes for this guy's charisma.

LB: Alvin Mack, "The Program"

Maybe the saddest story in football film history. Mack had all the talent. Despite a 4th grade reading level and the fact that this truly had no interest in a college degree, Alvin was still really likable. Face it, the guy was honest. In his defense Mack claimed, "I can read -- that says Adidas," pointing to his shoes. The guy makes a point with that one. His career-ending knee injury ended what would have been a sure fire all-pro career. It's really too bad. What a talent.

LB: The Ice Box, "Little Giants"

She may be the greatest female linebacker to hit the gridiron. Despite a failed attempt to beautify herself, Icebox took care of what needed to get done. "Little Giants", starring Yankees2000's #2 actor Ed O'neill, was a heck of a film. The fat kid from the flick just missed out on a spot on the o-line, but Ice Box needed to be here. Her ability to shut down Spike and the vaunted Dallas running game was the key in the dramatic victory for the Moranis-led Little Giants.

CB: Roland, "Rudy"

The defensive captain on the dominant Notre Dame squad, Roland was as unselfish a leader as you're going to find. He stood up to Coach Devine (Harris from "Major League") initiating the entire team putting their jersey's on the coach's desk, so that Rudy would have a chance to suit up. Roland also plays a position that is poorly represented in film allowing to sneak onto this team is the second member from the cast of "Rudy".

CB: Chris "Goat" Ditata, "Junction Boys"

This is truly an honor for me to write. Chris is a very close friend of mine, my connection to young Hollywood you might say. In the ESPN smash "The Junction Boys", Ditata emerged as a fearless leader in Bear Bryant's grueling training camps. Jake Taylor may have had top billing but Ditata emerged as the star of this vastly underrated ESPN classic. While Ditata's role in the film may have been limited, his desperate fight for face time in the film's final speech may go down as the greatest attempt at career advancement in the history of ESPN original entertainment. Unfortunately, Ditata has put aside his acting career for a future in the law but there are rumors that he is staying in shape for a potential return to the big screen in "Junction Boys II: The Junction Goes On", set to premiere on ESPN in the fall of 2008.

S: Bodhi, "Point Break"

A no brainer. Bodhi's free safety blitz to sack Johnny Utah on the beach showcased both his raw talent and football acumen. Bodhi, the greatest villain ever to hit the big screen, was undersized but had a ton of speed. St. Louis safety Adam Archuleta was quoted as saying, "Bodhi is who I modeled my game around. I loved his aggresive style and, man, could he rob banks." I also felt it was important to unite Bodhi and Utah to play for the same team and maybe even inspire "Point Break II: Still Breaking" for a 2008 release, thereby triggering a much-needed revival of Pat Swayze's career.

S: Eric "Samurai" Hanson, "Neccesary Roughness"

His rare combonation of Kung Fu and Jujitsu helped Hanson to emerge as a defensive stalwart for the Armadillos. Let's just say you didn't see many receivers running through the middle when Samurai was in the game. While his style may have been illegal, it certainly was entertaining. Samurai attempted to catch on with an NFL team but never got the shot. Rumor has it that Hanson started a production company in Japan with "Major League II" star Isuro "Kamakazi" Tanaka and is in fact famous in Japan.

Kicker: Lucy Draper, "Necessary Roughness"

I'm just not sure you can get any sexier than Lucy Draper. She was so perfect, barely edging out the Ice Box as the sexiest woman ever to play football in a movie. On top of that, the girl could really kick. With a Ray Finkel-style soccer approach, Draper got a ton of distance in her kicks. Her affection for Manu Manu showed off her non-superficial side further entrenching her in the top 5 greatest greatest female characters to hit the screen.

Thats all for the D. We're going to try and get back to ball tommorow.

Shrimp and fries,

Sippy Momo

The G.O.A.T.

Some people say Michael Jordan is the best athlete they have ever scene. Others say that Babe Ruth was. Track people might cite Michael Johnson while boxing people may say it was Mohammad Ali.

Well we here at Yankees 2000 see things a different way. This site has gradually progressed into a site that mixes a love for the Mets with hatred for the Yankees while throwing in some pop culture to boot. I guess that ain't so bad. Besides Married with Children Reruns 4 times a day on FX, these may be the three greatest things in the world.

So Bo Jackson played two sports. So did former Mets farm hand DJ Dozier (RB for the Vikings).

But today, we give credit to sports' truly greatest athlete of all time...

Omar Epps.

Omar Epps is a 5-sport athlete.

He patrolled Center Field for a gritty Cleveland Indians squad in "Major League II".
He became a star point guard for the Lakers and won a girl's heart playing one on on in "For Love and Basketball".
He was the third leg of a nationally contending 4 X 200 squad in "Higher Learning".
He was ESU's starting tailback in "The Program" (maybe the most underratted film of our generation).
He even dominated between the ropes in the 2004 blockbuster, "Against the Ropes".

Who knows if it'll ever happen, but can't you just see Epps portraying Tiger Woods in the 2009 film, "Tiger" (Pre-production)?

And on top of his athletic achievements, he made a claim for being the greatest DJ to hit the streets in the urban smash, "Juice".

It has always been a dream of mine to pay tribute to Omar Epps. The guy flat out has it. As we sit here in a time of relative baseball boredom, I feel that it is time to give Omar his due. I also bring up Omar because he is the captain on my All-Movie football team.

Sure the '99 yankees had class, and the '72 win Bulls had a flawless season, but you're not going to put a better team on the field than the Yankees2000 All-Movie football team.

Today, we are going to start with the offense, with the defense to come next Monday.

QB: Johnny Utah, "Point Break"

One word, KEANU. For those who have read this site, you may be aware this is a sight for talking baseball as well as loving "Point Break" and the greatest character ever to hit the screen, Johnny Utah, played by American cinema's greatest actor, Keanu Reeves. Utah edged out the likes of Lance Harbour ("Varsity Blues"), David Greene("School Ties"), Stan Gable("Revenge of the Nerds") and Paul Blake ("Neccesary Roughness"). He has a rare combonation of size, arm strength and the ability to dominate "Tank Girl" cast off Lori Petty that is unparalleled in film. Like Steve Young he was a lefty forcing defenses in the Big Ten to make adjustments that they just couldn't make. If it wasnt for that surgery, Utah may have become the greatest pro ever to hit the screen. Did I also mention that Utah is played by the greatest actor of our generation?

RB: Darnell Jefferson, "The Program"

The first of two from this all-star cast, Darnell Jefferson earned his way into our hearts despite a devastating blow from Michigan and Tim "He could go all the" Wayman. He was able to pass the remedial courses, rap up Hallie Barry, and set all movie rushing records for a freshmen. He coined the phrase, "Darnell Jefferson, starting tailback," that helped to add passion to and cleverness to my rivalry with my close friend and backup catcher in high school: "Sippy Momo, starting catcher." Also, the guy was only a freshmen. Can you say Upside?

(Editor's note: Gotta disagree with you here, Sip. Now I never saw "The Program", but how does Wendell Brown ("Varsity Blues") not have this honor locked up? Do you know how many yards he put up a game? 100? Try 133. If it wasn't for Coach Kilmer/Lance, Wendell would've rewritten the record book for touchdowns by a running back. It was a damn shame that he was gypped then and it's a damn shame that he's being gypped now.)

FB: Charlie Dillon, "School Ties"

Had to give Matty D a shout. As Charlie Dillon he gave up his dream of playing QB for the better of the team. He also threw the key block that brought David Greene into the endzone.

LT: Matteus, "Rudy"

This was the guy, along with Roland, the Defensive Captain, that made sure Rudy stayed on the team. He was instrumental in Notre Dame's victory over Georgia Tech and started the "Rudy! Rudy!" chant that sends chiills through moviegoers' heads to this day. He was also the guy that hit "Rudy" so hard in practice that he was knocked out, only to watch him get back up and showcase his toughness.

LG: Billy Bob, "Varsity Blues"

After they scanned his CAT and he was cleared to play, Billy Bob took over. While Mox and Wendell were the glory guys in the film, Billy Bob dominated in the trenches. He caught the ball on the trick play that secured the win for West Canaan and cemented Lance Harbour's place in coaching history.

Manu Manu The Slender, "Neccesary Roughness"

Not sure you're going to find a better guy than Manu. In fact, he is the name sake for Argentinian superstar Manu Ginobili. This guy could block but also served as the greatest towel rack/shield for a then in her prime Kathy Ireland. He called his QB "Mr." demonstrating his class and respect for his elders. He was just a good guy and a great player.

RT: Reggie Ray, "Not Another Teen Movie"

Had to give Ron Lester, the greatest lineman in the history of film, dual notice. Despite a crushing blow when the WB hit Popular was cancelled, Lester re-emerged as Reggie Ray and made some key blocks for Jake Wiler, an underrated player in his own right even with blood spitting from his ears. Credit The Coach's training staff for getting Reggie Ray back out on the field when he was unable to breathe.

RG: Bud Light Kiminski, "The Program"

Offenses don't get much better than ESU's so we cant forget the guy that set the tone. Bud Light led the nation in pancake blocks and also may have had the sweetest name in the history of offensive lineman. Along with All-Movie defensive captain Alvin Mack, Kiminski stopped a juiced up Latimer from raping a girl he was seven times bigger than.

WR: Rip Van Kelt, "School Ties"

In what was very much a run-dominated offense, Rip kep secondaries honest, preventing defenses from putting "8 in the box". He was a huge target for Greene and also possesed tremendous leadership. He was the person that told the truth that David did not cheat on his exam that would have gotten him expelled. Still, he waited long enough so that in a rain soaked passion Greene was able to yell his famous phrase "Cowards!!!" that won our hearts and led us to the theater in the 1992 sensation, "School Ties".


WR: Hot Hands Hannan, "Little Giants"

After he got over his drops problem, Hot Hands emerged as the go-to guy for Devon Sawa in "Little Giants". He has speed and tenacity and introduced toilet paper as a method for teaching youths to catch.

WR: Charlie Tweeder, "Varsity Blues"

While he may have been undersized, the guy had speed and introduced your author to the joy that is perkasets (Editor's note: this can't be the right spelling). He would win games by day and party by night and even found time to host "America's Funniest Shots to the Nuts". He coined the phrase "bang you with their tongue" which may be the greatest ever description of naked sophomores in high school in the back seat of a stolen cop car.


That's it for the offense. Some say Jeter is a leader, Ill take Manu Manu the Slender. Some like Peyton's arm. I'll take Utah. Some say LT can run. Heck, give me Darnell.

Thats all I got.

Do you know who this is? That's Johnny Utah,

Sippy Momo

Die Tryin'

Yesterday on paper looked like a pretty solid day.

1. 11 a.m. wakeup
2. Write a blog
3. Lunch at Virgil's, my favorite BBQ place for hump day lunch with two pals from work, Nick "The Voice" and JD, and OBF Schubert
4. Come home drop a deuce (Editor's note -- was this really necessary?)
5. Watch 90210 reruns
6. Go to gym
7. Eat dinner
8. Watch ABC's hit smash "Lost"
9. Go see Curtis Jackson's (aka 50 Cent's) new flick, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

I'll be the first to admit that there was a time there in middle school when I thought I was a thug. Baggy jeans, Snoop Dogg CDs, sleepovers with Menace II Society and Fresh on repeat.

While I kicked that phase at about 13, my love for the gangster genre has not died. You may say I was pretty fired up for this flick.

So as I said, on paper, things looked great...That was on paper.

I woke up at about 9:30 and was really groggy.

My lunch at Virgil's was fantastic, but also led to a very bad version of what I have listed as my 4th activity of the day.

The 90210 rerun was all about Donna, and I have a rule that I fast forward thru all Andrea/Donna scenes leaving me with only about 20 minutes of pure 90210 time.

At the gym, I caught a huge blister on my foot.

Lost, of course, was sweet, though they killed off this girl that provides plenty of eye candy.

And then the worst part happened. A few beers deep, flat brim to the side, me and A.F.O.M.G. headed a few blocks over to the theater.

See, I always tell people that they may know him as 50, but I know him as Curtis Jackson. I do that mostly to piss people off and maybe catch a laugh.

Either way, we get to the theater only to realize that the movie was soldout. SOLD OUT at 10:15 on a Wednesday night in an affluent, white neighborhood. SALT...

You might have said the day was about getting rich, but instead I died tryin'.

In yesterday's blog Kerry Kittles' boy asked:

There is a lot of energy being spent on the lineup. I was wondering what pitching moves you see as productive and intelligent. Moves need to be made and I feel that our offense is on the brink. The pitching is my issue.There is talk of Ryan, the hard throwing lefty or (fingers crossed) Billy Wags. Obviously, this would be lovely, but there are plenty of closers out there that can come to Flushing and I am assuming Minaya will not f this up. I worry about starters. Make me feel better. The free agents out there just aren't giving me any comfort. Beckett? eh. Unlikely.

Well Kerry, this is where the Mets' season will be made or broken. There is one thing that all four teams that made it to their respective LCS' in 2005 had in common.

It wasn't a high payroll.
It wasn't a dominant starting rotation.
It wasn't a dominating lineup.

Each team had a dominant bullpen.

White Sox: Cliff Pollite, Dustin Hermanson, Damaso Marte, Neil Cotts, Bobby Jenks
Angels: Brandon Donnelly, Scott Shields, Kelvim Escobar, K-Rod
Cardinals: Al Reyes, Ray King, Julian Tavares, Randy Flores, Jason Isringhausen
Astros: Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, Mike Gallo, Brad Lidge

Team ERAs (rank in all of Major League Baseball):

St. Louis: 3.17 (2nd)
Chicago: 3.23 (4th)
LAA: 3.52 (7th)
Houston: 3.63 (10th)

The Mets finished 13th with an ERA of 3.86. That said, if you were to take away Aaron Heilman's 0.68 ERA in 40 innings after the All Star Break, you'd have a very bad bullpen.

The Mets' goal this offseason should be to build the pen.

The lineup should only get better. Other than Cliff Floyd, you can expect every Met in the lineup to improve on his 2005 season. The starting pitching should remain solid. 1-5 the mets are as solid as it gets.

Considering there isnt much out there free agent wise, I think the Mets, if they are in it, will make a run in August for a front line starter if it is neccesary.

So back to the 'pen. On paper, no one really cares about the bullpen. Signing a middle reliever doesnt make back page headlines.

But for the Mets, a better bullpen is what will get them on the backpage come October.

I, like many Mets fans, feel that Billy Wagner should be our prime target at closer. He remains dominant with no real sign of wear. In addition, this would be addition by subtraction as the Mets would be taking a closer from the Phillies. Losing Wagner and possible Urbina (murder charges) and all of a sudden Philadelphia's biggest strength is it's biggest weakness.

Then there are three names I'd love to see the Mets go after.

1. Julian Tavarez 3-4, 3.42
2. Scott Eyre 2-2, 2.68
3. Joey Eischen 2-1, 3.22

Tavarez is most likely the most familiar of these names. He has been a very solid setup man for the Cardinals for a few years and was a solid closer in the AL earlier in his career.

Eyre and Eischen are two dominant lefties out of the 'pen. They stand out to me because they both gave Cliff Floyd two of the worst at bats of maybe his entire career this fall.

If somehow the Mets could grab two of these guys to put next to Heilman and Hernandez and Juan Padilla, who looked very solid at the end of the year, then all of a sudden the Mets have maybe the best bullpen in the National League.

These moves dont scream "Get Rich or Die Tryin" but that is why 50 always wears Yankee hats.

These moves are sensible and cost-efficient, like Brandon Walsh's decision to go to CU.

Grab me any 2b who can hit better than Miguel Cairo/Kazuo and the Mets' lineup will improve.

All of a sudden, without making too much noise, other than Wagner, the Mets are a much improved ball club.

This is the blueprint in my opinion.

It's become trendy to say almost, but the fact is that the big moves on paper don't always work out, and more often than not it's the smaller moves that people don't always necessarily pay any attention to that turn out to be the most important.

That's all for now. As for me, time for good, old number 4.

#9, Ohio St,

Sippy Momo

The Day After

So yesterday broke records here at Yankees2000. After about a month of trying to write a serious, edgey column about loving the Mets and hating the Yankees we finally found our target audience:

People that like baseball and LOVE Laguna Beach.

We received a number of e-mails here at Yankees2000 in response to the blog and I wanted to take the day to respond.

At the same time I also want to ask our loyal readers who have comments on a blog to post them on this site. While Sippy Momo and A.F.O.M.G. are two voices, you guys, our thousands of fans are so many more.

So, at the bottom of each blog, if you click on Comments, then you can post your opinion and it will give us more to talk about.

MAILBAG:

From J Wool (Alphabet City):

In spite of the bashing he took on the site today, Manny still had an MVP-calibre season in 2005. Considering Big Papi and Manny carried an entire team to the playoffs, I think having Manny on the Mets would significantly increase their chances of postseason play. And I'm sure he has at least three seasons of ass kicking left in him.

Truth is, you don't know. It is my philosophy in baseball that you build from within and surround those pieces with complimentary parts. If in two years Lastings Miledge is David Wright, sans looks, then the Mets would have dismantled 1/2 of maybe the most promising core in baseball in the last twenty years (Reyes, Wright, Kazmir, Miledge).

At the same time, if Manny came in and brought the Mets a World Series I'd look awfully foolish.
The uncertainty of the matter aside, I still think there are cheaper alternatives. If the Mets are trying to win now, throw a ton of money at Paul Konerko.

Think of it this way. Option A) Konerko, Cameron, Petit and Heilman. Option B) Manny, age 35. I think at worst the two options even themselves out now, and the first offers a much brighter future for the Amazins.

From J Wool (Alphabet City):

Couldn't you have used a Dylan metaphor or something?

Ive always been a Sanders guy myself. Sure Dylan got the girls, but the truth is, Dylan was just a little too cool. He was never really one of the guys; he was always busy chasing demons and the surf instead. Sure, if you had to bet on which of your boys could get the girl, you'd have to throw Dylan at -270. But would you really want to catch a ballgame with Dylan? How about throwing back a 30 banger with the guy?

On the other hand there was Steve Sanders. He was the consumate party guy, loyal best friend of Brandon, who happened to pull some pretty nice tail himself.

While Antonia Marchette (Dylan's murdered wife) may have been my all time #1 on 90210, I gotta say that Celeste (Steve's girl from the dating show) and junior year Clare Arnold (the chancellor's daughter) were a very strong 2 and 3.

Lloyd C. (New York, NY) wrote:

If not a deal for Manny, what other deals do you like for the Mets?

Personally, I think the one position to target is 2b. Assuming Cameron can return to normal, I love having his defense in the outfield. I think Mike Jacobs earned a shot and considering that we could plug him into the 7 spot in the lineup, there wouldn't be a whole lot of pressure on him to perform.

Alfonso Soriano's name has been tossed around. Today's New York Times reports a possible Jae Seo and Yousmeiro Petit (one of our top minor league arms) swap in exchange for Soriano.

In my opinion, this deal is a no brainer.

Soriano would fill in at one of the Mets' two major positions of need, provide a ton of pop in the middle of the lineup and add 30 SB's to what is already the best running team in the league.

With Soriano in the mix, I could hopefully get my wish of seeing Wright hit 3 and Beltran hit 2. I think that while Beltran's power numbers may have been inflated in Houston, the guy is the perfect # 2 hitter. He may have the best intangibles in the game and may be baseball's best small ball player. While people want to see him hit homeruns for his 17 mil, he is best suited at #2.

Meanwhile, D-Wright is the Mets' best hitter and he is only getting better. He should hit .300, 30, 100 for a long time. He is smart enough to let the 1-2 guys at the top of the order take a base, and he's willing to hit a fly ball when needed. In two years he will be the best player in New York.

A lineup of

Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Floyd
Soriano
Jacobs/Cameron
Cameron/Jacobs
Catcher

Is as good as it gets in baseball.

Jon D. (Boston, Mass.) wrote:

Terrific blog today. Never seen lb but loved it anyways. I would have liked to have had you talk more about how handsome Stephen is.

Stephen's a pretty good looking cat. Unfortunately he has failed to grow into his body and is kind of lanky. Lets just say that D Wright puts the kid to shame.

L Boogie (Harlem World) wrote:

I really did like your LB metaphor, mostly because it reminded me of LB. I do agree, however, that Stephen made the unaccountable decision at some point during his freshman year to begin experimenting in sex with men, and that this has hurt his allure back home. Hopefully Manny won't follow suit.

I don't think we have much too worry about Manny. The guy not only has played major league baseball for roughty 10 years but also graduated from a New York City Public School, yet still he has not mastered the English language.

I really think Manny is too dumb to understand the concept of homosexuality. He sees the ball and then he hits the ball and thats about all he has on his plate.

Will B (Yawkey Way, Boston) wrote:

Man-Ram is one of the 5 best hitters in the league, just because another of the top 5 is on his team, doesn't mean he's not good. Manny coming to the Mets would lock up the World Series, future be damned.

No one here ever said Manny wasn't good. We said that his career has started to decline and that the Red Sox have become Big Papi's team.

If I thought Manny coming to the Mets would bring us a World Series I'd say go for it. I just dont think this is the case.

With Manny, the Mets would be able to move Beltran to 2, hit Wright 3, Manny-4 , and Cliffy-5, thereby forming maybe the best lineup in all of baseball.

Still, the Mets would not have nearly enough pitching to win a World Series. If the Mets lose Heilman and Looper, the Mets' already awful bullpen would resemble the WB's failed drama "Just Legal." Sure, Roberto Hernandez has some Don Johnson in him, but the rest of the bullpen would be as ugly as the other kid who starred in the show.

Beyond the 'pen, the rotation is just not World Series quality. While 1-5 the Mets would be as solid as any team in baseball, 1-3 they are crushed. Pedro is the Mets' only dominant pitcher, but who knows if he can pitch those extra 40-50 innings he would need to get us to a World Series.

The Red Sox went Schilling, Pedro, Lowe. The White Sox went Contreras, Buerhle, Garland Garcia.

The Mets would go Pedro, Benedict Glavine, Kris Benson?

Which one of these is not fitting?

Quoting Jenna J (Las Vegas, NV):

Sippy Momo, you are a sports god and I hear you are a monster in the sack. How do you have time to be so perfect at both?

Well Jenna, not sure what to say. Being unemployed I have plenty, and I mean plenty, of free time. I watch a ton of game film, master my playbook, and spend hours in the gym becoming the best sexually charged blogger I can be.

Quoting Tamra (79th btw. Broadway & Amsterdam):

I need a new t-shirt to wear to work on Sundays, preferably of the sports variety, but all I can find on your site is Yankee gear -- got any suggestions?

Glad you came to us with this one, Tamra. No one is encouraged to buy Yankee gear off our advertisements unless it's absolutely essential. The ads get assigned randomly so we've got no control over them.

Seeing as we're stuck with them, though, we want to make two things very clear. 1) Only buy Yankee clothing from our site if you absolutely have to. If you've got a friend from Montana who's new to the City and just has to have a Yankee hat, well, you might as well buy it off one of our advertisers and throw a little change into my unemployed pockets.

2) If you'd rather buy a t-shirt with a little class, perfect for wearing while you're staring blankly and delivering the best nachos and hot wings the Upper West Side has to offer, head down to your nearest Mets Clubhouse Store, Mets.com, or our affiliate, http://www.fratbucks.com, where you can make your own t-shirts.

Either way, best not to rush into anything. Take some time to sit and think this one through. Deep breaths.

That's all for today. Again, please post your comments in the comments section so as to create a dialogue between you guys, the fans, and us here at Yankees2000.

I can't live in a cage, man,

Sippy Momo

Introducing... Post-Counterpost

Hey everyone,

Today we're debuting a new feature here at Yankees2000, the Post-Counterpost. We've got two pieces for you. First, from A Friend of Mr. Glass's, a piece about the much-rumored deal that would send Manny Ramirez to the Mets. Second, from Sippy Momo, a response comparing Manny Ramirez, 2006 edition, to Stephen from Laguna Beach, Season 2 edition.

We recommend reading the articles in the order that they appear, and while either could be read as a stand-alone piece, they attain a level of brilliance rarely witnessed when read as a pair.

We've got a little bit of everything for you today -- hope you enjoy.

- Sippy Momo & A.F.O.M.G.

Post: To Manny or Not To Manny?

What's up guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass's here. The following post comes from a similar one I left over at MetsGeek (http://www.metsgeek.com -- along with Yankees2000, MetsGeek is essential reading for all Mets fans) just now, but I wanted to share it with the distinguished readership of this blog as well. Below you can find a response to this post courtesy of Sippy Momo, who doubtlessly wrote his post while wearing sweat pants, mired in his unemployment.

I was inspired to write this piece after reading in the Boston Herald that the Manny-to-Mets talk has been revived (article available here: http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=111103). Current speculation is that the Red Sox would want a package centering on Mike Cameron and also containing two of the following three Mets prospects -- Aaron Heilman, Yusmeiro Petit, and Lastings Milledge.

You know, I can’t make up my mind on this deal. I really want the Mets to hang on to Milledge, and I liked what I saw out of Heilman last year, but if there is one thing that former “proven commodity” imports have proven to me it’s that when the Mets are looking for a monster bat, they really need a special, top-tier kind of guy.

Mike Piazza was a player of that caliber. Vlad was a player of that caliber. And the fact is that Manny is also a player of that caliber.

That’s not to say that other less highly regarded offensive players can’t succeed at Shea — just look at the numbers Cliff put up this season, or that Bernard Gilkey put up in 1996 (I think that was his monster year). No one’s going to confuse Cliff Floyd or Bernard Gilkey for Manny Ramirez, however, and that’s because each player at his best simply stands on different levels. Floyd and Gilkey top out at 30-plus home runs, 110 RBIs — the kinds of numbers that are taken as a given with Manny, from whom you expect 40/125.

Now with that said, the obvious question is whether Manny will continue to be a special player. Certainly, as much as we all love Piazza, we know he wasn’t the same player the last three years that he was through 2002.

What about Manny? Well, we know that his OPS has decreased each of the past three seasons, down from a ridiculous peak of 1.097 in 2002 to a none-the-less impressive .982 in 2005. Worth bearing in mind, however, is that this past year Manny equaled his career high in home runs (45) and collected more RBI (144) than he had in any season since 1999. Manny has played in at least 152 games each of the past three seasons. (You can check out his career stats here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=2974).

The guy is 34 years old. That’s old but not ancient. Shea is no Fenway, but it’s not exactly like Manny’s stats were puffed up by pop ups that went yard — the guy kills the ball and we all know that. Add him to the lineup and, yes, your outfield defense suffers, but this is much the same deal we struck with Piazza for all those seasons behind the plate. The bat comes every night, all you can do is hope the glove doesn’t get exposed that frequently — with Piazza, it was always bothersome, but only really glaring when we played the Marlins. I imagine Manny would be similar in this regard.

Cameron is expendable, I’m sure we all agree. Petit is interesting but if he is only going to max out as a number 3 starter -- which many scouts seem to project -- then I wouldn’t mind sending him off in a deal for Manny. Milledge should be untouchable given that Floyd’s contract ends after this year.

(You'll note that this last statement was reeled off so tersely that it almost makes it seem unquestionable that he could be traded. I hope that's true. As Sippy Momo has suggested in many a previous post, however, hanging on to prospects when an established, potentially fading superstar is available has always been a difficult deal for New York teams to accept. The good news is that Omar Minaya is said to talk about Milledge as part of the "core" group of Mets that currently includes Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran).

That leaves Heilman. I don’t want to trade him, but as far as I'm concerned the deal should hinge on whether we think we can send him off and still produce a solid bullpen for next year. We suffered through a miserable bullpen in 2005, and you could make a pretty compelling argument that we would have made the playoffs if our relievers could have held up their end of the bargain (if nothing else, it would have meant more wins for Pedro and Tommy the Spy).

None of us want a repeat in 2006, and with good reason. There are two areas of the team that need to be upgraded in order for us to contend next year, our bullpen and our offense. In that order. Is it worth it to weaken the former further in order to bolster the latter? That's just a really tough call.

Some things to consider about our offense. One: Cliff Floyd will probably not be as good in 2006. Two: David Wright could actually be better. Three: Carlos Beltran must be better. Four: Reyes improved in virtually every offensive statistic as the season went on, and finished with 60 stolen bases after swiping only 11 through June 1. Five: No matter what happens, our production out of first base could not possibly be as bad as it was this year (RIP Doug Mientkiewicz -- I'll wear your t-shirt always).

It's an uncertain calculus, no question about it, but it seems to add up to a more productive offense any way you slice it. Add Manny and it could almost be lethal. Subract Heilman from the 'pen, however, and who are we left with? A bunch of guys who put up good numbers in the minor leagues but struggled in the Show (See: Heath Bell, Royce Ring, Tim Hamulack). Our best returning option is 40-year-old Roberto Hernandez (OMG!! 41 in 3 days!! Happy B-Day from Yankees2000, Rob-Her!!). Juan Padilla did well but I'm not ready to hand him the keys to the seventh or eighth inning just yet. Can we sign Wagner? B.J. Ryan? If we do, this deal becomes a lot more palatable.

If you’d have told me seven months ago that Aaron Heilman could potentially be a deal-breaker for Manny Ramirez I probably would have had a nice long laugh. My thoughts on the Manny deal are complicated, but the truth is, that’s kind of how I see it at this point. I invite any readers to respond on the comments board.

One reader has already responded, none other than Sippy Momo. See his post below.

Vote or Die,

A.F.O.M.G.

Counterpost: Manny, aka Stephen from Laguna Beach

So I have to admit, MTV's hit smash Laguna Beach is up there on my list of "Record This Series" on my DVR.

To my loyal readers who may have a problem with this, well, salt. The show is entertaining and it helps me to reflect on my glory days in high school.

So for those of you not familiar with the show, Laguna Beach (LB) is in its second season. Season 1 centered around a love triangle between Stephen, the B-M-O-C senior, L.C., a senior, and Kristin, his sexy underclassman girlfriend. OBVI!!!

Stephen, despite his California quirks that just wouldn't fly in NYC, flat out dominated these two girls. The guy was a star. Unfortunately, Season 1 ended, Stephen and Kristin broke up, and Stephen went off to college.

In the second season the show revolved around Stephen's ex, Kristin, and a couple of up-and-comers, Jason and Talan.

Jason, a cult hero in my eyes, has managed to canoodle with every girl on the show despite being unable to form a complete sentence.

Talan was rumored to have done the deed with Ms. Yankees2000 herself, Lindsay Lohan, so he has some cred.

Then there are a bunch of other high school kids. In case you didn't notice, there is a ton of depth in this show.

In Season 2, despite going to college in San Fran, Stephen manages to find his way back in Laguna Beach as much as anyone. Sadly, the guy has flat out lost it. Neither Kristin nor L.C. want him anymore and all of a sudden he looks desperate trying to get either one of them back.

So why do I bring up MTV's hit smash, Laguna Beach?

Because I think it is a perfect metaphor for why the Mets should not make the deal that my good friend and member of Team Employed A.F.O.M.G. highlighted in the morning blog.

Think of Manny Ramirez as Stephen from Laguna Beach. In his prime, Manny was at the top of the game and you just couldn't argue making this deal for him. He was simply the best and could be the centerpiece of a team, just like Stephen in Season 1 of Laguna Beach.

In 2005, the Red Sox started to transform. All of a sudden they were Big Papi's team. While Manny's numbers were still incredible, they represented a decline from previous seasons.

At the same time, Stephen is still logging some serious air time, on LB, but his notches on the belt per weekend numbers are way down.

So imagine three years from now. Imagine if Stephen were still floating around the streets of LB in Season 5, fresh with a new beer gut and a receding hairline. How sad would that be?

So maybe we can get one more good season on LB out of Stephen, just like we can hopefully squeeze out a few more "Manny" seasons out of Manny.

But then you have to look at what we are parting with.

Aaron Heilman is the Mets' present day version of Talan. The guy isn't headlining the show, but he is pretty damn solid and could definitely be at the core of the team for years to come.

Then you take Lastings Milledge, as sure a thing as the Mets seem to have in their farm system. I think his situation is analagous to Jason, back when Jason was tearing up the JV baseball circuit as a sophomore at Laguna Beach High.

See, Jason was a can't-miss. Sure, he was rolling with Cedric, which could have easily killed his cred just like any number of things could prevent Milledge from becoming a star. But in Sophomore Jason, you had something special in the making.

To top this all off, the Mets would have to give up Killer Cam. While coming up with yet another Laguna Beach comparison is rather difficult, Cam still has some punch in him. If the Mets wanted to start Victor Diaz, they could get 1 or 2 very solid young players for Cam or could easily use him to fill a void in the 'pen.

So looking back, the Mets would be giving up Mike Cameron, Talan, and a sophomore Jason for Stephen 2005.

All this is just too much. Remember the Mets traded for the Monster when he was 30, and while granted he played catcher, the guy was really done by 34.

I would have loved this deal two, maybe three years ago. I don't think there is a price too steep to get the production the Sox have gotten out of Manny in his time with them. But, Manny's time is starting to pass. I'm not sure this deal is worth it if Manny goes for 35, 120 and .285 next year, and realistically, that is what he would probably hit at Shea.

For those loyal readers salted by the subject, I felt a need to cater at least one blog to our loyal female fan base.

I am an F.B.I Agent,

Sippy Momo

While I had a hard time working it into the blog I felt a need to bring up Manny, aka Manny The Distraction. Seeing what T.O has done to the Eagles, and what Manny has been on the brink of causing to the Red Sox with his yearly trade demands, isn't it very likely that Manny could blow up in NY? Combine the pressure of being in the big city, having the Yankees across town and the fact that it is still very possible that even with Manny the Mets wouldn't win 90 games or make the playoffs, and all of a sudden we're looking at a complete and unmitigated disaster out in left field.

What If?

This past weekend I returned to Philadelphia for my University's homecoming. It was a great weekend of Pat's cheesesteaks and sex parties, you know the standard Ivy League shakedown. While college was on my mind, the city of Philadelphia had a different buzz. No one would shut up about T.O.

Walking through the ghetto of South Philly or standing in UPenn's supermarket or overhearing conversations at any bar I walked into, it seemed like every other word spoken was about T.O.

On Sunday, I journied out to the suburbs to spend the day with a family that I am very close with. I was a camp counselor for the two boys about six years back and having spent four years in Philly, they became my surrogate Philadelphia family.

I arrived at their house right before Giants kickoff. I was excited but hungover and barely able to keep my eyes open. A Giants win against the lowly 49ers was expected, whereas a loss would have brought a dreaded sobering reality to all of us Giants fans.

But here, at this nice suburban home, the day was a grind. 4 hours...3 hours...2 hours... until the Sunday night Eagles game.

I sat there in the living room as a family of four, upper class, well-educated people couldn't contain themselves in excitement for a week 9 Sunday night game.

I remembered talking to all my friends from Philly the night before and all they could talk about was how big Sunday night's game would be.

Then I remembered driving around in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the city seemed quiet. I guess it's because the Eagles played sunday night.

See Philadelphia, just like pretty much every other city in the country has one team in every sport. Every person in Philadelphia can look at each other and know that they are both Eagle fans.

The city screams when its teams win and silences when its teams lose. The city is painted green in the winter and red in the spring. People in the worst neighborhoods of the inner city and the nicest suburbs all spend their weeks talking about the same thing, right now, T.O.

So then I thought to myself, What if? What if New York was a one-team town. What if the greatest city with the most energy and most dense population all centered around the New York Mets?

I think about the Mets and the Yankees and the divide that these teams have created in my life.
Growing up, pretty much every single one of my friends were Mets fans. There was one who wasn't, but we peer-pressured him to the point that he had no choice, he turned to the better side.

Then there was my one close friend who was a Yankees fan. In baseball, he was the pitcher and I was the catcher. We both loved sports, girls, drinking etc. (Steve Sanders eat your heart out!) We probably would have been inseparable, only he was a Yankee fan.

The girl that I spent many of my days with in high school. She was beautiful, smart, all my friends loved her, and even she was a great athlete who loved sports. Only she was a Yankees fan.

Hell, in my first day of unemployment (yes, as of today I am officially a free agent if anyone is hiring) the one thing I have going on, besides the smell of Blondies buffalo wings for MNF, is a blog that I write about hating a NEW YORK sports team.

Today I can truly say that in terms of fanship, I go Mets, Giants then hating the Yankees with a very close margin separating two and three.

So where would my life be if New York only had one team? Who would the people that I know be? What would I be doing with my life?

See, I can honestly say that being a Mets fan is a huge part of who I am. Baseball is my hobby and the Mets are my team. I don't go to music shows or read Newsweek, I watch Mets games and read the Post.

Pretty much all the things I love about New York, the people, my neighborhood, Shea, all revolve around the Mets. At the same time, pretty much every ounce of spite I have towards New York I blame on the Yankees.

I associate asshole New York City transplants with casual "why not, its the NEW YORK thing to do" Yankee fans. That girl who is really, really hot but sucks is clearly a Yankee fan for those 2 weeks in October when baseball is more important than Sex and The City. And those assholes decked in all black wandering the streets of Murray Hill, they are obviously Yankee Fans.

Its a really weird thought. What if all of New York just had one? What if everyone just rooted for New York sports? If the city was divided between real fans and casual fans; but when it really mattered, a win was a win for everyone, it was a win for New York.

I think this divide is what kills New York sports, perhaps for the bad, but maybe for the good. Yes, it is a warm feeling being in a city that oozes green (Philadelphia) or blue and red (Boston), which is why I have always argued that those cities are better sports towns. Those cities, as a whole, are happier when their team wins.

But, if and when that day comes that the Mets win the World Series, I know exactly where I'll be and exactly who with. I'll be with my friends, Mets fans. And in that micro section of New York City, there would never be a happier place. I may not be able to walk down the street and hug every person in sight. I might not even find a bar to celebrate where everyone really cares.

But this is what New York has. As Mets fans, we are making the best of it. We don't have to deal with Rick from Wisconsin jumping on our bandwagon nor that awful girl that you can't decide if you want to sleep with or knock out.

We have each other. So while the scale may be smaller the heart is a hell of a lot bigger.

Vaya con dios,

Sippy Momo, free agent

Bittersweet...

So today is my last day in the show. I've been paralegaling at a New York law firm for the past year and finally my time has come to an end.

Here comes the next Theo and if not, I dont know much.

But, I do know one thing.

We were sitting there in the jacuzzi of our Tempe, AZ motel where my high school baseball team would journey to every spring break. We would wake up and play ball for about 8 hours. Then we would return to our Inn Suites hotel for a long afternoon at the pool filled with Jack in the Box tacos, Carl's JR burgers and the Iowa girls softball team also staying at the hotel.

Not too bad.

So one afternoon I was sitting in the hot tub with 4 of my buddies and a couple of coeds when our asst coach, Noah, came over to us.

Noah was my little league basketball coach when I was 11. He was about as smart a sports guy as i had ever known, and maybe the best coach I ever had. Some how, when we got to high school, he ended up at our school as well.

Noah had all the talent in the world, but he also had a little too much fun. Either way, he was a heck of a guy.

So Noah approached us at the jacuzzi, with the most uneven sunburn I have ever seen. We're talking sunglasses tan, wife beater tan, flip flop tan, etc. He was an absolute mess. It took him about 7 minutes to go from standing up to sitting down.

"How's it going boys... ladies," he asked.

" Not too bad coach, " I replied. " You look like you got hit by a truck."

Noah laughed and replied: " Haha, long night battling the Indians, haven't been to sleep."

Noah was referring to the Indian casino about 30 miles west that all the coaches frequented.

"Not bad, Coach," a friend replied.

We all sort of sat there for a while and then Noah rose up a little bit. He brightened like the nerdy kid in American Pie before he made the speech about how the whole crew needed to get laid. We all watched but didnt really know what was going on.

"Guys," he said. " I got one thing to tell you... I am addicted to the action. Be it sports or women or gambling, I live for the action."

Here was a guy probably 30 beers deep and barely able to keep his eyes open rambling to a bunch of 16 year olds. But for some reason this quote, at least the first part, has stuck with me since then.

Today is a pretty big day in my life. I'm quitting the first job I ever had and probably the last job I will ever have like it. The people were great, the hours were easy and the biggest part of my day is usually writing this blog.

But I need the fucking action. Like my drunken high school baseball coach, I live off that shit. Whether it was the three deals I made off the t-shirt company I tried to form last fall, or Pat William's meaningless interception against the Dolphins last year that he ran back for a TD and an absolutely thrilling backdoor cover, I live for the action.

Every morning when i get to work I go on the internet the first thing I do is check my fantasy teams. For now that is the closest thing I have to Theo Epstein.

For now...

I am inspired on the last day at my first job to make this pact to my roughly 10,000 readers, (margin of error: +/- 9932).

I will be the GM of the Mets within 10 years. I need that for my life to be a success and the Mets need me.

I will be the Theo that brings a championship back to Shea.

Today is one of the better days of my life. The first post-childhood chapter ended and now the rest will begin.

Since every GM job seems to be going to an assistant of one of the bigger name GM's, I'm moving out to the bay area to try and get a job in the A's front office. Give me a few years to become Billy Beane's guy, and then from there...well, you know what.

I write all this cause when I do, I feel the action. I get a rush and I live for this shit.

A Friend of Mr Glass' wrote a blog for today as well that is featured below this one. It really hits the heart and inspires. See I got some ideas but that kid is the brains of this whole operation.

I was kind of flustered all day with the emotion of quitting my job. I couldn't really think of anything with real content. Instead, I give you this rant.

Heck, I'm feeling good. Off to my favorite Scottish pub to get as drunk as possible for my last couple of hours at work. Pops, if you happen to catch today's blog, I'm not a bad guy, just sometimes I do stupid things.

California here I come.

Punk, Quarterback Punk.

Sippy Momo

(Again, see below for Mr. Glass's column -- tickles the heart, definitely have a look).

Sad Day for The Glass

What’s up guys – A Friend of Mr. Glass’ here, not filling in for SipMojo Rising today just giving you a little something to read about before the afternoon post. I was reading the New York Daily News yesterday morning when I came across Mike Lupica’s excellent piece about Theo Epstein leaving the Red Sox (you can check it out here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/361852p-308215c.html). It made me think, it made me mad, I had to vent. Hope you enjoy.

You know, truth is I haven’t really been following the whole Theo thing all that closely. From the few details that have been made available about those fateful final days, it seems there was some sort of power struggle behind the scenes between Theo and his mentor, Larry Lucchino.

It also seems that something in the Boston Globe convinced Theo Epstein to walk away from the job of running the team he rooted for all his life. It also seems like he wasn’t satisfied with the money the Red Sox were prepared to give him.

You know what I think about all that? I think that’s bullshit.

I don’t mean bullshit in the sense that I think those theories are untrue. I mean bullshit as in it’s bullshit that anything in the world could have been powerful enough for Theo Epstein to walk away from the team he’d loved his whole life, walk away from his so-called dream job.

Because at the end of the day, there’s nothing “so-called” about the dream life he was living. Anyone who reads this blog is either a friend of Sippy Momo’s and/or a huge sports fan. I don’t think it’s the least bit presumptuous of me to say that half to all of the people reading this blog would list running the team they grew up cheering for as the best possible job they could imagine.

Part of that (and not an unimportant part either, incidentally) is that a lot of people reading this are recent college grads working jobs as paralegals or corporate grunts that they don’t really like. And yes, life is going to get better for a lot of them (it’s OK to keep your fingers crossed). But part of what keeps a lot of them going is the idea that not only is the dues-paying of today worth it, but also that it leads to something, somewhere, someday that you’ll really enjoy.

I don’t want to turn the guy into a hero or anything like that, but the truth is that Theo Epstein was an inspiration because he was doing just that. Even if you didn’t like baseball, you could look at his story and feel better about yourself, because if he could do it, why couldn’t you?

In a way, Theo always seemed to me like the kid let loose in the candy store, living the dream shared by so many of his peers. You envy him as much as you admire him, but somewhere between envy and admiration is a heartfelt belief that it could just as easily be you someday. That someday you might actually have a chance of realizing the purest, most orgiastic hopes and dreams of your childhood.

The dream that germinates the first few times you throw the ball around with your dad. The dream that grows the first few times you head out to the ballpark and hope to catch a foul ball before falling asleep on the subway ride home. The dream that cements in the car rides home from soccer games or gym classes when all you have to do is argue about who's better, the Mets or the Yankees?

For a guy like me, for a guy like Sippy Momo, and for a lot of guys like you out there, I’m sure that running the baseball team or basketball team or football team or whatever the hell team it was that you grew up rooting for would make you appreciate that you struck gold, won the lottery, and drew a royal flush every day you made your morning commute.

Somehow though, none of that was enough for Theo. Someway somehow, there was a force out there powerful enough to make it actually seem like it was the right decision to step away from the helm of the team you grew up cheering for, the team you watched with your friends, that you made your mother and sister listen to on the radio during long car rides as a family, that built you up to the highest points before breaking you down to the lowest depths, that you loved for doing it all.

I don’t want to believe it was a money thing. That was the whole idea behind Theo. He was the one guy in sports like all the rest of us. He wasn’t in it for the money; he was in it because he was living the dream. Doing what he loved. Actually running the team he rooted for. Imagine all the conversations you’ve had – man, if the Mets can get Billy Wagner that’s gonna put them over the top… – and actually being able to act on them. I don’t want to think you can put a price on that.

So what else is there? Well, I guess I want to believe there was some sort of Faustian clause in Theo’s contract whereby he could only live the dream for a certain defined period of time before the clock wound down, horribly but inevitably. But I know that's not true. I want to believe something to keep from feeling like hopes and dreams can be bought and sold so easily.

So instead I’ll believe Mike Lupica. “Nobody made Epstein do this,” Lupica wrote. “Nobody ran him off. He is 31 and decided to do it on his own, and in the process, as earnest and sincere as he looked and sounded yesterday, he walked away from the best job he is ever going to have.”

The best job he’s ever going to have. That sounds about right. All of which makes me think, there's a reason Red Sox owner John Henry said, "I imagined Theo was going to be general manager for the rest of my life." Why would Henry say such a thing?

First off, ask yourself if you ever thought any differently. Did you ever think that if the relationship ended that Theo would be the one who walked away? Or did that just seem completey unimaginable to you?

I think Johny Henry said that because he assumed about Theo what he (and I) assumes about all fans - that you can't put a price on the loyalty they feel toward the teams they root for. That letting them into the candy store would be the fulfillment of everything they ever wanted.

And for a lot of people it would be. In this case, the trick of fate is that the one guy who got to live the dream happened to be the one who could walk away from it. The angry part of me wants to say that it's just bullshit, but the more pragmatic side can call it what it is: a damn shame.

- A.F.O.M.G.

There Are No Children Here

Last night I oozed in the excitement of the 10:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) tipoff of the Golden St. Warriors vs Atlanta Hawks. Here were two teams that wanted that play fast paced up-tempo basketball w/ starting lineups averaging under 26 years of age.

A friend of mine, known on the streets as a young Maciej Lampe, lives out in San Francisco and is a Warriors season ticket holder. He texted me right before the game, "This place is rockin."

The tv announcers shared an optimism that I haven't seen in a broadcast in some time. They both knew that the Warriors, previously a cellar dwellar in the Western Conference, were a team on the rise. They ended last season 18-10 in their last 28 games and were returning their entire core of young, talented players.

For the first time since Run TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin), Golden State was ready to contend, and the fans flat out loved it.

Watching this pregame alone, I noticed a side of sports that I havent seen in a long time, and it was really enjoyable. These fans and the Bay Area waited for four years to see Mike Dunleavy, Jason Richardson, and Troy Murphy mature. Now, with last season's addition of Baron Davis this team and its fans found their final piece.

Like the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland A's in baseball, here was a team built through its young core that keeps getting better.

This would never happen in New York.

This isn't just a Yankee thing. This is a New York thing.

I have highlighted so many times in this blog about New York's need for a winner. In New York we use our money to get what we want because we are too impatient to watch our kids grow. We have this luxury.

There can be an argument made against this. After all, right in front of our eyes there's Eli Manning, David Wright, Jose Reyes.

These guys are young, right? Of course.

But these guys are different. They are football's and baseball's version of Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony. These guy were can't-miss prospects. These were guys that New Yorkers knew about long before they saw their first big league game. These were guys that New York teams could fully defend themselves for if for some freaking reason, these kids did not blossom into superstars.

Then there is Mike Jacobs. If this guy were on one of17 other teams in baseball, their would be no shot that he would not be their opening day 1b, right now. The guy was a very solid minor leaguer who tore up the major leagues in his last month or so of the season. He is a very solid prospect.

But is he a can't-miss guy? He is not. He has been struggling in winter ball and there are questions about his defense.

So what happens if the Mets give him the shot and he doesn't perform like David Wright? Fans will boo, the media will question, and Omar Minaya will be ridiculed.

This not only puts a ton of pressure on the team and its decision makers, but also a ton of pressure on the player himself. It's no wonder players talk about the pressure of playing in New York.

So then there is option #2. The Mets give up on Mike Jacobs. They throw a ton of money at Paul Konerko or throw a bunch of prospects (Jacobs included, no doubt) to the Marlins for Carlos Delgado.

Joey Public would love this. People behind the desk at the Verizon store would be talking about how "nice" Konerko was in the World Series or what a "beast" Delgado is.

And maybe this is better for the Mets.

But from what I realized from last night's pregame between the Warriors and Hawks, trading youthful promise for instant gratification takes something away.

There is no better feeling in sports than watching your young players mature. Mets fans cream their pants' at the thought of David Wright's potential. At the same time Yankee fans have deemed Derek Jeter god of the world for what he has brought to the Yankees over the last 10 years. Both cases are very valid.

But in New York, we watch young individuals grow to become stars, BUT we do not watch young teams grow into champions.

We watch David Wright become the Mets greatest 3rd baseman of all time.

We do not watch (in no particular order) Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, Coco Crisp, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, CC Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, Cliff Lee etc. grow and mature to now form what is baseball's scariest team in 2006.

A big reason for this is that we have more money than everyone other city and can afford to do this.

But this advantage takes something away.

I think back to one of my earlier blogs in which my friend Ben collected the game winning hit to win us our High School State Championship. See, winning that game was an incredible feeling, almost unmatchable. But watching a kid that has been a brother to me since I was 6 years old win the game for us, that was truly special.

See Bodhi got his money in the end, but he lost his brother. You think he doesn't regret this?

Sippy Momo

PS. I have received a # of questions about my blog on Derek Jeter's porous defense, especially from my father, Old Chipper. How could Derek Jeter win a gold glove if he sucks at D.

Very simple.

Take a look at the American League's 1999 Gold glove winner at 1b. It was Rafael Palmeiro. That year he started 28 games at 1b.

See it is a lot easier to vote for "a name" especially when there is some sort of defense for him (he is at the top of the league in put outs). But is there a real baseball guy in the world that thinks Jeter is better defensively than Juan Uribe or Orlando Cabrera? Find me one and I will start writing a blog about hating the Mets.

Vaya con dios.

The Yanks: Why The Knicks Will Never Be Good Again

Ever since I was three years old I have been going to the same barber, Franco. I grew up on the Upper East Side but moved to the Upper West when I was 6. Still, I always made the trek across town to see Franco. My mother, the best but a very tough gal, would always complain to me and my dad: "Why don't you just go somewhere closer?"

Women...

Every month I would go to Franco and he would cut my hair in the same way, "short" and we would talk sports. Franco had a world of knowledge. Those 15 minutes every month were always some of the best minutes of the year.

Unfortunaely, Franco was a Yankees fan. The Mets vs. Yankees were routinely the subject of our debate often leading us to bet a haircut on a subway series. Thank god he never made me pay up.

So I went by the shop last week, I had my first chance to rub it in to him about the Yankees falling flat in the playoffs, which he laughed and shrugged off.

Then, the focus shifted to the Knicks. He asked me how i thought the Knicks would be the season.

I told him .500 at best. He was not happy.

Growing up I was a huge Knicks fan, but now I just can't stand them. I hate Isiah Thomas and think he is the dumbest person in sports.

I find his management of the Knicks' salary cap to be among the worst jobs humanly possible. This year the Knicks are 60 mil over the cap with no relief in sight and what have they got to show for it? At best a .500 team.

GO NEW YORK GO NEW YORK GO.

In an ideal world, Isiah would set a year, be it 2008/9 to get the Knicks to be far enough under the cap so they could make a run at a real star.

Imagine if they had set that goal two years ago for 2007...You think Lebron is turning down a max extension from the Knicks?

Instead, Isiah's philosophy is to trade every expiring contract (a contract that ends at the end of the current season, helping the team's salary cap situation for the next year) for players that are slightly better than average. Please read: Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry.

Then, he uses his mid level exception (A team over the salary cap can sign one player every offseason for the league's avg salary, roughly 6 mil, even if they are over the salary cap) on Jerome James, who is fat and has never been good.

This leads to a team consisting of slightly above avg players that costs way too much money. Doesn't exactly sound like a winning formula.

Last night I was having dinner with my pal, Nick "The Voice," who was teaching me to drive over the last couple of days for a road test that I went on to fail this morning. SALT.

We talked about the Knicks and my hatred for Isiah and the Knicks' financial situation.

After I shared my dismay, Nick asked me, "Why dont the Knicks just do what you said?"

My response: "Yankee fans."

See, Yankee fans are greedy and often unknowledgable and, surprise, they're usually Knicks fans. (Though I have seen a bunch of Spurs caps in Yankee Stadium)

Greed:

Yankee fans grow livid when the Yankees dont make the World Series and win it. A division title and a trip to the playoffs just isn't enough. This greed and expectation is unmatched in sports.

So do you think Yankee fans would accept an Isiah Thomas saying the Yankees were going to mortgage the next three years so that the they could become a powerhouse down the road? Of course not.

See New York is a city where people like the thing that is "hot". It is for that reason that the Yankees sell out most of their homegames now as opposed to 10 years ago when they average 30,000 fans a game.

It is that reason that my buddies complain about all the loser I-bankers wearing sparkling new Yankee hats that clearly don't belong.

Lack of knowledge:

So I was waiting on line at the Verizon store the other day, which for all you cellphone users out there, you know how much this sucks.

There were three guys standing behind the counter who worked in repair. They sat there talking about the Knicks and "how nice" Jamal Crawford was and how much of "a beast" Eddy Curry was in the paint.

See the Knicks on paper have plenty of names that even an average basketball fan would have heard of. Marbury, Crawford, Q-Rich, Curry, Penny, the rookies...

To the average fan, the Knicks look like they are alright. LOOKS LIKE ISIAH DID HIS JOB.

In truth, the Knicks are a 40-win team. They dont have single player on the team that can defend and they have 4 guys who want 20-shots a game. Im not really seeing Spurs-like synergy there.

So not only does the common fan not realize that the Knicks will be bad this year, but they for sure don't understand the salary cap

When I was with my barber, Franco, I sat there and complained about the Knicks' cap problem to which he responded: "Holy shit, I thought the Knicks were in great financial shape."

Of all people, I would have assumed that Franco would know about the cap but he did not.

To Franco, getting Eddy Curry was a tremendous move because the Knicks added another piece. To basketball people, the Knicks took a waiver on a guy with a bum heart and $60 mil, all at the low low cost of Tim Thomas' invaluable expiring $13 mil contract.

To Franco, Kurt Thomas-for-Quentin Richardson was a power forward for a small forward who could shoot a ton of three's. In reality, it was the Knicks taking on Q-Rich's 5 years/roughly 40 mil contract, his bad back and lack of defense for Thomas' defensive prowess and good contract.

Finally, the Knicks have the most money in basketball. Exactly like the Yankees. They play at the best arena in the game. Exactly like the Yankees. So if this is the case why can the Yankees be GREAT every year and the Knicks STINK?

So then the question becomes, Does Isiah have a choice?

If he mortgages his present for the future, he becomes public enemy No. 1. But if he doesn't, then the Knicks will never get to the next level.

It may just be that there is no good answer. That managing a New York team in a sport with rules that say "you can't spend as much money as possible" is too difficult because the people of New York won't accept it.

The ignorance of the people that love our teams combined with the rush of the city make New York a Yankee town. Unfortunately, that doesnt leave much room for the Knicks to actually go through the time and trouble of developing a championship-caliber basketball team.

Oh well.

I have a bet with a good friend named Ben that the Knicks won't win 45 games this year. Last year we made a similar bet, which he of course lost, by March, and he owed me 100 pushups in public. Be it at a bar or a game or the Dunkin' Donuts by the apartment we shared (RIP), Ben was doing pushups.

This year we upped the stakes. On top of the pushups, the loser has to sit down and eat 10 jack in the box tacos in one sitting.

Can't say im worried.

Like my pal Ace, all I do is lift weights and pick winners.

Sippy Momo

Sad Day for The Sip

So I gotta admit, this Theo Epstein thing has me pretty bummed.

I'll never forget sitting in my parents' country house in Connecticut, about three years ago , when the news that Theo Epstein, 28, had been named GM of the Red Sox first came out.

Here was a non-baseball-playing, Ivy League grad, Jew who was a diehard Red Sox fan his whole life.

Sounded kind of familiar.

My father threw me the Sports Illustrated a couple of days later highlighting Epstein's story and he said to me, "Beat you to the punch."

See my pops is a man of few words. But when he speaks it's usually something that's worth listening to. That day I found my role model.

I grew infatuated with this guy's story. Immediately I cast aside any dreams of becoming an unhappy, coke-railing banker on Wall Street or an 800 k/year partner at an NYC law firm.

I wanted to become Theo.

In the same way that every kid who plays poker and watches The World Series or the WPT thinks that they can be a professional poker player, I thought that I could become the next Theo.

After all, I loved baseball, won my fantasy leagues, knew the game, etc.

I had found my lottery ticket, my dream, my vision of my life twenty years down the line, and it read something like this: "Sippy Momo leads Mets to first World Series win since '86."

It gave me the chills.

So what on earth happened to Theo?

Espn has talked about a Freudian struggle between Theo and his mentor/boss, Larry Lucchino: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2209889

But for 1.5 mil/per and the chance to live your dream, I have to imagine that something else was there. And whatever it is, it sucks.

See Theo not running the Sox saddens me the same way Mike Piazza possibly playing for another team next year does. Sure, the Monster is no longer the answer to the Mets' catching woes, but the guy is a Met.

Bostondirtdogs.com talks about some of the mistakes that Epstein made. Byung Yung Kim, overpaying Renteria, Mike Remlinger.

But for any mistake that was there, the guy was the GM when the Sox won the Series. For that, he he deserved a lifetime contract.

So what's next for Theo?

Word on the street is that the Yankees are going to offer him 6 yrs/90mil to be their asst GM. Makes sense right?

After all, they are going to offer B. J Ryan, the second hottest closer on the market, upwards of 7 mil/per to be their setup man.

Almost the assistant closer role.

Sure, the Dodgers and Phils will throw Theo a ton of money to take over their franchises. And I'm sure he would negotiate a Brian Cashmen type pact where he was given full authority on baseball decisions.

But something about Theo not being in Boston is just wrong.

Like when my buddy Will confided in his friends that after 4 years living in Boston, he had switched allegiances from the Mets to the Red Sox. (Note: after about a day of thought and endless bashing, Will retracted his statement and regrets it to this day.)

All I can think about is Gold Dust in his prime in the 90's WWF and his patented move, "Shattered Dreams."

I kind of feel like yet another aspect of baseball's purity has been taken away.

What can you do?

TYLER!!!

Sippy Momo