New York is Dead: How Sex And The City Ruined Sports in NYC

Sex and The City...The Girls are BACK!!!

The new Sex And The City movie has consumed New York. After all, everyone wants their SEX.

Girls mingling at 1Oak in their new Madison Hardings, sipping $18 Cosmos and buzzing to their friends about how they are the new "it" girls of the town.

And they owe it all to the big 4: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and the slightly out of place red-head, Miranda.

These girls made New York City SEXY: Trendy fashion, hip nightspots, wild dating, gay best friends and of course... you guessed it... SEX!

They taught New Yorkers everything and anything that is cool. And the best thing about it: We learned all it from the perspective of the depressing 40-something single woman!

* * * * *

These women made New York City chic. They introduced us to the meat-packing district, fancy-colored drinks and overpriced fashion.

Yet of all the major changes to NYC that came from SATC (Sex and the City), the biggest contribution came from the show's 5th main character.

I'm not talking about the scotch-slurping Big or the gay dude who taught Carrie everything she needed to know.

I'm talking about New York City itself.

New York was Carrie's muse. Just as Philly was to Rocky or Boston was to a certain genius named Will Hunting, New York itself played a dramatic role in the life of Carrie and thus to SATC.

In Rocky, we see Philadelphia as blue-collar.

In Good Will Hunting we see Boston as a mix between higher education and struggling working class.

And then there is SATC.

SATC teaches us that New York City is a town of glamour, big events, beautiful people and MONEY.

And any day spent without getting all that we can out of our new friend, the city, is a day wasted.

* * * * *

Sex and The City also came out at the perfect time.

1998.

Smack in the middle of a tech boom that saw a new rise in the mega wealth of Wall Street.

New York City was loaded with cash and guys looking for ways to spend it.

At the same time, New York was being introduced to its prettiest baseball player to date. A guy that would go on to date A-list celebs and even be named "The Captain."

Derek Jeter became the face of the new era of New York City sports.

The 1980's were about the booze and blow of the Mets.

The early 1990's were about the hard-fouling, aggresive, tough guy Knicks.

The Late 90's were about the pretty boy SS who looked good on the cover of GQ.

Like everything else in New York City, sports had become glamorized.

* * * * *

Blame Rudy Giuliani for cleaning up the city or Al Gore for the internet, but New York was beginning to lose its identity.

My favorite t-shirt of all time was one that featured Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason on it that read:

"Tough Town, Tough Team."

Today, that shirt might read: "Fans in button-downs, expensive seats."

New York used to have panache. It was a dangerous city to live in. You came strong here or you didn't come at all.

While there was social change going on all around us, Sex and the City taught us this new way to view New York City. And it changed sports forever.

* * * * *

The Yankees were the first to go.

In the late 90's, the Yankees average about 35,000 fans per game despite being the best team in baseball.

But slowly, the Yankees became the first to fall.

The Yankees became glamorous.

It was no longer enough to have the best team. The Yankees now needed to have the best individual players. The icons that every casual fan would know, even if they didn't love the game.

The Yankees became an All-Star team.

Think about the word All-Star. The key word is "star."

Movie-star, tv-star, All-Star.

Yankee Stadium became a place to see the best.

The best cosmo, the best shoes, the best history, the best in baseball.

Going to Yankee Stadium became an event. This in turn attracted the whales, which attracted the beautiful and SEXY woman, and vice versa.

The Yankees began to sell out Tuesday games against the Orioles. They were making more money and the rest of New York saw this. And they wanted a piece of the action too.

The Mets became baseball's second biggest spenders. Desperate to get out from the shadows of the Bankees, they wanted a piece of the city for themselves.

The Knicks brought in Isiah Thomas to run the show because the owner was an attention-/glamour-craving rich kid who didn't know sports, but knew NAMES.

The Knicks got Isiah the star, not Isiah the savvy front office man. And the Knicks were ruined.

And sports in New York died.

* * * * *

New York is dead

"$50 for a Heineken."

"Every bum passed out holding a bottle, now every homeless cat is a male model. Out of work actor, bachelor, mesh hat shopping backpacker. With an opinion of art and aesthetics it's a farce. It's time to move out of New York and move to Nashville"

"Every young woman under 30 thinks she's pretty, thinks shes a character on Sex and the City."

* * * * *

This town used to be a town of edge and seediness. Now it's a town of Sex and Glamour.

Our rents have tripled, our ale houses have become martini bars and our ballgames have become "a night on the town."

Sports in New York will never be about anything but money.

The casual fan has been replaced by the corporate suite.

New York is dead.

And we owe it all to four slightly attractive over the hill actresses who taught us everything and anything that is cool about this amazing town of ours.

Vaya,
Sip

(Pics courtesy of Newsday.com, businessweek.com, orbitcast.com)

Oh No He Didn't

(Note: Ched's all about the ladies, but he's keeps it hood below following a quick one from A.F.O.M.G.)

I was just minding my own business, just taking a little mental break from work over at the SNY website when I saw it. Something so blasphemous, so sacrelicious that it demands mockery here.

"Moises Alou is like Samuel Jackson now in 'Unbreakable.' He can tear a muscle or break a bone navigating the buffet table in the clubhouse -- never mind left field or the basepaths."

What did sweet Jose Reyes -- the one, the only Mr. Glass in a Mets uniform -- do to deserve such little recognition?

Granted, he's stayed healthy from an almost implausible 2.33 seasons straight now. Granted, Moises Alou very much would deserve this moniker if we had to blow the whole thing up and start over again.

But c'mon, nicknames are sacred. You can't just go calling any Tom, Dick, or Harry "The Babe" or "The Big Unit" or "Three Finger" -- nicknames belong certain people, and to certain people they shall stay.

So, Michael Salfino, quit whoring around the Mr. Glass nickname, would you?

* * * * *

Separate from the unpleasant matter discussed above, Salfino's piece is quite interesting. He does sort of jock Ched's piece about bringing in Bonds, and does offer a particularly compelling thought on the subject:

"Yes, I know [Bonds] wears the scarlet 'S' now that no longer stands for Superman. But it's going to be a bigger spectacle for the organization to lose without him than it would be to win with him -- and win with him they would."

Tough to argue with that logic.

- A Friend of Mr. Glass'

(No) Love in This Club

Bottom nine, after Endy's miraculous game-tying homer, Delgado and Castillo have drawn walks to put two on with two out, and the Maine Event comes in to pinch run for Delgado. Wearing the jacket and everything. Pitchers are so cute. Anyways, jogging out to second base, he goes to high-five Delgado, and Carlos just big-times him. Awfully. Won't even look at him. Completely leaves him hanging.

Maine eventually taps him on the arm as he goes by, to save face, but ugh. It certainly seems that, great comeback win Wednesday or not, there isn't a lot of love in this club at the moment.

[In this club!]

Maybe I'm wrong, and we're just seeing Beltran's moodiness and Delgado's sour grapes rub off on all the other Metsies. We'll hear more about that tomorrow. Certainly, the team celebrated in the bottom of the 11th like there were some good vibes floating around. I think I even saw Jerry Manual twitch, which can't be a bad sign.

But look, every winning ballteam needs to have love in this club. Love in This Club is a crucial element to a successful playoff run. It just is. (The old timers call it "chemistry," but we know what it is. It's Love in This Club.

It's players looking into each others' eyes, and knowing they can trust one another. They know what their teammates are thinking. They know what's on their manager's mind. They know what's required of them.

Sing it, Ursh.

I'm what you want, I'm what you need
He got you trapped, I'll set you free
Sexually, mentally, physically, emotionally
I'll be like your medicine, you'll take every dose of me

The "He" trapping them, in this example, is probably Joel Sherman. The "sexually" thing refers to this little ritual that Guillermo Mota started when he was on the squad and Brian Schneider has continued since he joined. Don't worry about it.

Um ...

[In this club!]


Now, there are at least five teams out there with less Love in This Club than the Mets, and if nothing else today, we can be grateful we're not in their positions.

1) San Diego

Talk about your all-time backfires. They weren't supposed to be a blockbuster, or anything, but they were supposed to compete atop a fairly even NL West with their bomb-ass pitching.

As of this morning, they're 20-34, somewhere behind the Giants, who I have $250 bucks on to win fewer than 71 games. They have one guy hitting above .280. All of a sudden, Greg Maddux and Trevor Hoffman are again like Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis at the end of "Beetlejuice." And their ace, Jake Peavy, just dodged a major injury scare. As bad as things are at Shea right now, imagine if you had to worry about Johan missing starts with a sore shoulder. You'd be flipping your shit, and rightly so.

MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO LOVE IN THIS CLUB: Chris Young getting his nose broke on a comebacker. In very few circumstances is that much blood a turn-on.

2) Colorado

Back-to-back! Back-to-back! Wait, what's that? Your best two players are hurt? Your pitching staff has turned back into the 2003 version? Mark Redman, one of their new starters, has a 7.81 ERA in seven games; he makes Nelson Figueroa look like Chief Bender. Of course, in five starts, Jorge De La Rosa has produced a 9.00 ERA ... which I guess makes Jorge Sosa look like Christy Matthewson? I don't even know.

The point is, Colorado has gone from the Series to, once again, behind my lovable losing Giants. There's no love in this club except Christlove, and that and four bucks will get your a cup of Starbucks Coffee.

MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO LOVE IN THIS CLUB: Puritanical morals.

3) Detroit

Ugly. The Pistons are in the Eastern Conference finals, the Wings are going to finish off the Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals any day now, and the Tigers can't even keep their bloated heads within sniffing distance of .500. They've had some key injuries (Granderson early, Sheff now) and their pitching has completely fallen apart (Verlander, Rogers, Robertson all with ERAs above .500). This is disappointment on a completely different level. Imagine if the 2006 Mets had sucked from the get-go, and you'll start to see why everyone is so peeved.

As a result, it's getting mighty testy in town. Manager Jim Leyland is sniping at his players in public, who are then offering anonymous quotes to the media behind his back, which just pisses the guy off even more. Not a great situation.

MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO LOVE IN THIS CLUB: Carlos Guillen's awful hemorrhoids. Oh, snap. Check, please.

4) Seattle

Uglier. General Manager Bill Bavasi took the stage this week to defend his manager, John McLaren, and throw his players under the bus. Classy dude. Here he were:

This is not a field managerial issue,” he said. “John is doing a good job. Our performance is not related to his work. It’s purely related to player performance and underperformance and underachievement. Nobody had the nerve to pick us less than second place in our division. We were picked anything from first to second to wild-card. You name it. The expectations were a heck of a lot higher than this, based on any analysts’ evaluation of out players’ individual track records and their age. Their ages are such that they’re not all young guys that they’re inexperienced. But they’re not too old to believe that they would backslide. So, I think those expectations are realistic. They were and they are.

USS Mariner was not pleased:

Lots of people had “the nerve” to tell you that you did a horrible job building this roster, Bill. Lots of people pointed out that this team wasn’t a contender. Lots of people told you that you that you had a roster setup for failure, with collapse potential everywhere. You just don’t listen to those people, because they’re nerds with computers who don’t understand baseball. Or something. ...

This is ridiculous. Build a good baseball team, and you won’t have to talk about all this psycho babble crap that you guys invent to try to justify your horrible decisions. Learn more about baseball than a blogger who lives 2,500 miles from Safeco Field and covers the team as a freaking hobby. I shouldn’t know more about how to build a baseball team than you, but I do, and that’s why you and your entire staff deserve to be fired.

[In this club!]

MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO LOVE IN THIS CLUB: "Girl, why we can't talk any more without fighting?"

5) The Bronx

Joe Girardi is about to find out how long his honeymoon phase lasts. Now, I don't think he's the only guy responsible for how crappy the Yankees are playing. All I'm saying is that if you had prior concerns about his ability to handle and develop young pitching, well, the following lines don't look so hot:

Ian Kennedy -- 37.2 IP, 7.41 ERA
Phil Hughes: -- 22 IP, 9.00 ERA
Ross Ohlendorf -- 29.2 IP, 6.37 ERA

Now, Darrell Rasner looks pretty good, and Mariano Rivera's ERA is somehow lower than Billy Wagner's. Unreal.

MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO LOVE IN THIS CLUB: The herp.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffin, Mike Lupica

(Note: Cheddar pops wise about the game last night immediately following this post from A.F.O.M.G.)

Just read Mike Lupica's interview with Omar Minaya. Interesting stuff. A lot of it fair, a lot of it well-reasoned.

But one part of it sticks in my craw. Like, really sticks in my craw.

"Unfortunately right now a lot of guys are underperforming," Omar Minaya said. "By that I mean they're not reaching the level of past performance. That's a collective thing. A team thing. It's why we're two or three games under .500 in the standings. But how many days over the past few seasons have we had a record like that? Not many. It's why I believe we're going to come out of this."

If you're Mike Lupica, how do you let Omar Minaya get away with that statement? How do you let him hang his hat on that logic? You can look it up. Since this day last season, when the Mets were 32-17, the team has gone 80-83.

How many days have we been two or three games under .500 the past few seasons? We're two or three games under .500 for the last season, and sorry, 2006 doesn't count anymore.

And that's the key. That's the reality everyone in this organization needs to wake up to. 2006 -- glorious, wonderful, halcyon 2006 -- doesn't count anymore, not for these players, not for these fans.

The story of this team is the story 2007, nothing before. In 2007 we were fed the same promise Omar delivered to Lupica yesterday -- that this team has too much talent to fail.

But this team has been failing for a long time now. It failed last year. It's failing this year. It's failed for 16-err-3 games straight.

* * * * *

Some part of me sympathizes with Omar. The Mets were so good in 2006 and so good at the outset of 2007, that when the tides turned it was almost as if somebody had flipped a switch. It's like the team died overnight.

That reality is very difficult to comprehend, and I think deep down all of us are still clinging to the idea that somehow the switch will flip back on and it will be heady times all over again.

But every day that passes, and every lackadaisical effort that comes with it (no offense to last night), seems to confirm that the dream is dead. It's not like this fear snuck up on us. We've openly contemplated on this site whether the team's best days were behind it the day the calendar turned to 2007.

I mean, this team was designed to win in 2006. It played on fumes in 2007, and this year, Johan Santana or no Johan Santana, it's proved to be playing on a prayer that Delgado will mash dongs like he once did or that Alou will stay healthy for, you know, more than a pathetic 14 games.

They say the pitching's too good to fail. They say the lineup's better than this. They say what they want to say but the bottom line is a team, Omar Minaya, that's two or three games under .500 for now and for a long time running.

* * * * *

I hate to be so fatalistic. I want to believe like Omar does. Somewhere I've got that same thought in my mind that I described earlier, that there's a switch out there waiting to be flipped and when it does, watch out.

But we've been patient. We've given the team time to find that switch, and over and over it's come up empty.

And so it is that management needs to take a good long look at this team. They decided not to can Willie Randolph, as we and others had hoped, and so now there's a new deadline: July 31. They have to take the attitude that the team has two months to prove its worth. If it's still stuck in this rut by the trade deadline, it has to be gutted.

Fans can stomach a losing team this year if there's a connection with the players or if they have reason to believe next year might be better. The first one is shot; the fans hate this team.

Unfortunately the second one's shot, too. Our farm system being what it is, there's no basis for believing next year might be better, unless you want to assume the Mets sign Mark Teixeira this offseason, and that they sign a whole lot of other people, too.

If this team continues to tread water, they have to do something.

* * * * *

But maybe they won't, maybe it'll be more of the same. They've shown an inclination to keep this group intact before.

But, hey, maybe I am being too fatalistic. I mean, tell me we didn't win 5-3 last night. One game winning streak, woot, woot! Say it with me now: turning point™!

- A.F.O.M.G.

Good Times, Bad Times

[What up, iTunes? "In the days of my youth, I was told what it was, to be a man. Now I've reached the age, I try to do all those things the best I can. ..."]

Well, that was better. As I mentioned yesterday, we really couldn't have lost last night's game -- our ace against the Marlins in close to a must-win situation and have had any confidence at all heading forward?

Now? Well, we saw the yin and the yang from the Mets Tuesday night, the reasons why they should be so good and the reasons why, so often, they aren't. The pitching was pretty impeccable, but it should be when you're throwing out the Santana-Sanchez-Wagner triptych. If those three guys give up any more than three runs, that's a problem. Santana, again, wasn't quite dominant, but he did more than enough to polish the game off when he needed to, including when his fielders persisted on making things interesting (more on that below). The 'pen looked like it does on paper -- air-tight.

Everything else was a little more complex. We saw the good and the bad from the bench. Fernando Tatis was obviously excellent, knocking in a pair of two-out runs, and even once off a right-hander. Ramon Castro was just as impressive, sending home two runs of his own. But then, there was poor Nick Evans (the new "Doubles Machine") in the No. 8 slot, going 0-fer and leaving seven guys on base and looking as if he wandered in from the local muni league, completely overmatched. He took a couple swings at pitches from Ian Kennedy down in Baltimore. This is what happens when you fill out your roster with AAA players -- you have to always be worried about what's around the corner.

The Mets' stars? Yin yang. They'd look dynamic one minute -- Reyes leading off the game with a double, say -- and then utterly frustrating the next (Beltran, say, lazily popping up with the bases loaded and nobody out later in the inning). Top of the second, say, when the Fish salted the sacks on three straight singles, and Reyes turned a Cody Ross grounder in the hole into a 6-5 fielder's choice, getting the lead runner? That was bananas. Then in the seventh, he and Johan helped give the Marlins back a run, two wild pitches moving Jeremy Hermida around from first to third and Reyes just aimlessly booting a run-scoring grounder from Jorge Cantu. Two-run game to one-run, and for what?

This is nothing new. The Mets have been frustrating since Day Uno, and are probably going to keep it up all year long. [Am now humming "Good Times, Bad Times" loudly enough that my roommate just poked his head in my room to see if everything was cool. Guess I sounded like I was bound and gagged.] There's nothing else you can expect, short of a change in the dugout or the front office or a trade out of far left field. This is the team we've got; as A.F.O.M.G. and others have pointed out, it's a sub-.500 team over its last 162. That's what we got.

I see three things that could, however, turn the Mediocre Times into Better Times. Realistically speaking, that is. (I.e., we're not trading for Roy Oswalt, Carlos Delgado is not going to hit like it's 2003 again. Mike Piazza is not walking through that door.)

Good Times Eventuality No. 1 -- Pedro Pulls a Pedro

'Nuff said. Next week. Keep every finger you have crossed. Cross your neighbors' fingers. Acquaintances. Pets.

Good Times Eventuality No. 2 -- The Bums Get Benched, the Kids Get a Run

Do we really need to see Delgado stride to the plate against a lefty ever again? We do not. Do we need to see him stride to the plate ever again? Very doubtful. Tatis has been solid in AAA for a while, and may deserve a couple of series to show what he can do, but he also might be needed in right field, where Ryan Church's concussion symptoms could be a long-term issue. You just never know with concussions. Marlon Anderson's hammy is torn, not strained; he'll be gone for a while too.

What to do at first base? (Hint: not Damion Easley) Welcome to the future.

Fuck it, let's see Mike Carp. The guy's hitting .333/.395/.516 down at Binghamton, and he's 22 years old, same as Nick Evans. The scouting reports say he's more talented than Evans. So, anyone with a reason why Carp shouldn't be starting at first base this weekend, raise your hand.

Good Times Eventuality No. 3 -- Mets sign Barry Bonds

"You can't sign Bonds! That'll cause a media circus!" Too late, jackasses. That ship, as they say, has flown. The Mets turn out to be lacking home-run pop and don't get on base enough, and have been playing ... how do you say ... NICK EVANS in left field. When Endy Chavez isn't available, that is. Which is fine, if you're the Pirates and don't have a $122 million payroll and don't have vultures circling around base camp 24/7.

The Mets don't owe Moises Alou nothing but the dollar figure on his contract. The Mets don't owe Angel Pagan nothing but the same, and the money ain't a thing. The Mets owe their fans the chance to see a winning team, and right now, a guy who could conceivably be one of the top five players in the league is just dangling out there at a problem position for the Mets.

It won't happen, but it won't happen because Omar and his owners are gutless, not because there's a structural (Mets don't have prospects to trade, really) or space-time (Delgado's reflexes cannot be retrieved from 1999) issue as with other potential remedies. The Mets have the money to sign Bonds. They COULD sign Bonds tomorrow.

That would be Good Times indeed. 24-26, I still seem to care.

Get Worried

We appreciate Nails sneaking onto the comments board and trying to poach away Mets fans to the Rays bandwagon. Especially apropos with Scott Kazmir, Tampa's best pitcher, absolutely atom-smashing the Texas Rangers last night even as his putative replacement, Mike Pelfrey, was getting knocked around by a $22 million roster.

The fourth-place Metsies, you might have noticed, are rapidly reaching must-win territory. In fact, a loss tonight would more or less be a complete portent of doom. We've got the new ace, Johan, going up against a rookie pitcher, Andrew Miller (who, yes, has been hot as of late).

An L tonight would push the Amazins to four games below .500, at 23-27. We'd be 7.5 games back, albeit behind a team I fully expect to finish ahead of when all's said and done, but with both the Braves and Phillies sitting between us and the playoffs.

To get to 93 wins at that point, where I predict the AL East champ is going to wind up, the Mets would need to go 70-42 for the rest of the season. That's a .625 clip. They'd need to leapfrog Hotlanta. They'd need to leapfrog the MVP and the Team to Beat. It would be exceedingly tough.

Something to think about as you watch tonight's contest ....

Welcome Back, Baby

Alou on the DL! A four-game massacre by the Braves! Willie paying off some debts with the old African-American Express!

It's 2008 Mets baseball! It's enough to make you wish you were still following along the Chinese Soccer League!

Seriously, only the fact that the Yanks are even worse off is keeping things acceptable. Speaking of which, didn't the Mets take a series off the Bombers while I was gone? That doesn't seem to have really carried over ...

The Monster is Out of the Game

"I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful" -- Mike Piazza

Well, shit, now doesn't that give you goosebumps?

Mike Piazza has certainly received his fair share of celebration over the years: his first day as a Met emerging from the tunnel at Shea, the day-to-day roars he received at Shea (more about this in a moment), the celebration when he set the all-time record as a catcher, his final game as a Met, his return as a Padre, and even after he went yard against us as a Padre.

And there will certainly be many more opportunities to celebrate The Monster: when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame, when the Mets retire his number (it's outrageous Fernando Tatis is wearing #17 and will be equally outrageous if a washed-up roider is wearing #31 20 years from now).

But on the day he makes official what everybody – himself included – knew was coming, it's important that we celebrate him one more time. Benjamin Disraeli famously said of heroes, "The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." Yes, let's celebrate the great Mets name of Piazza – as we have in the past and will in the future – but let's also see what we can learn from his example.

My parents dragged me out of the city and up to Cape Cod for Piazza's first game as a Met. So there we were. Saturday, May 23, 1998. My family sitting out by the pool and me sitting in the car with the radio on WFAN (this is a bit of a default arrangement… if Glavine hadn't laid an egg in the first inning of Game 162 last year I probably would have missed my cousin's wedding).

It's really difficult to believe – as we look at our $138 million 2008 Mets with superstars from Santana to Beltran to Wagner to Wright – how awe inspiring it was to be listening to a Mets game and hear that Mike fucking Piazza was playing catcher and batting third for us.

Our opening day catcher that year had been Spring Training Sensation Tim Spehr and he lost his job to Alberto Castillo. Now – somehow – Mike Piazza was a Met. In that moment, sitting in a car listening to Murph and Gary Cohen, being a Mets fan meant something completely different than it had for years before.

And then, Mets fans started to boo him. Pretty remarkable now when you look at the stats. In June 1998, Mets fans booed free agent to be Mike Piazza because he hit .318/.365/.511. Kinda makes you laugh when the Sippy and Scott Neff's of the world accuse Mets fans today of being "irrational dickheads" for booing the 07-08 Mets for their 82-80 record over the last 162 games.

Piazza responded to the irrational fans by one-upping himself. He went out and said, ok, that wasn't good enough for you, how's .326/.421/.576 for July? Still not good enough? How about .347/.414/.663 for August? Think I'm a catcher and too beat up by Sept/Oct to keep hitting? Nah, .378/.457/.720.

It is unbelievable how good Mike Piazza was. At the greatest pinnacle of the love affair between Mike Piazza and New York City, we did not appreciate how good he was.

In the year 2000, Piazza finished third in MVP balloting behind Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds. That's right. He finished behind two players from the same team in a poll of what player is most valuable to his team. If Monster's 2000 season (.324/.398/.614, 38 home runs, 113 RBI) had been played as a first baseman in Coors Field, he would've hit .400 with 70 home runs.

I don't know how much of the credit goes to Piazza vs. Valentine vs. Leiter vs. Ventura for the magic of the success of the 1999-2000 Mets. I do know that I cannot imagine Robin signs with the Mets if Piazza weren't with us and who knows if Leiter would have re-upped.

For all of Piazza's greatness, it is worth remembering that the most critical at-bat of the 1999 season was taken by Shawon Dunston and that our outfield from 1999-2000 consisted of players like Rickey Henderson, Brian McRae, Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Derek Bell (RIP). Yet we won 204 games.

So, Monster, for brightening a city for a brief moment after September 11; for tying up Game 6 against the Braves; for blocking the plate as well as any catcher I've ever seen; for always having pitching staff's throw to a lower ERA to you than your backup (can you tell I don't buy the Piazza's a shitty defensive catcher storyline?); for winning the game off Trevor Hoffman; giving us a breath of life against Jeff Nelson; and again against Denny Neagle; for everything else you did as a Met...

Thanks for the memories… and here's hoping somebody on this team finally inherits your example.

- Nails

Did Luis Castillo Really Hit a Home Run?

Like he legitimately, no doubts, no-foolin', actually hit one out of a major league ballpark?

Someone who beheld this occurrence with their own eyes please confirm.

- A.F.O.M.G.

The More Things Change...

(Note: A.F.O.M.G. shares some last impressions of Yankee Stadium below.)

I am thinking of that beautiful moment in Varsity Blues – and really, aren’t they all – where the Ali Larter character (probably in some state of undress – I think she was changing in the car) drawls to Dawson, “things change, Mox. You’re the startin’ quarterback now.”

Things have certainly changed for me lately. I live in the Central Time Zone now, just outside Kansas City, where the hometown Royals are not – I repeat, NOT – one of the only two teams in the American League to have a worse record than the Yankees. Starting a new job in a couple weeks. I’ll be a father in a couple months. Good times.

But, as I sat in my brother-in-law’s house yesterday watching the game (fingers crossed for the cable coming here today), I realized at least one thing remains the same. Even when the Yanks have the 12th-best record in the AL, they are still America’s Team®. Derek Jeter will always be America’s Ballplayer ®.

And really, nothing annoys me more.

Now, I don’t think I personally have anything against Jeter. Seems like a nice enough guy. Got a lot of clutch hits back during the Clinton administration. Heck, I was watching the game with my nephew Derek, who may or may not have been named after him.*

(* Figured I’d try a Pozterisk** here. All we do know is that my nephew was born a few weeks after the ’01 Series, when the whole Mr. November thing got started. And my brother-in-law had the Sports Illustrated in his home. And this little Derek, all six-plus years of him, is already a hit with the ladies.

** So maybe, just maybe, I could feel like I’m 1/1000 as good as Posnanski, who is hands-down, bar-none, the absolute best sportswriter on the planet.)

But seriously, haven’t we gone a little far for some guy who, truth be told, hasn’t won it all since Mike Hampton, Bobby Jones, Kurt Abbott, Mike Bordick, Bubba Trammell, and Operation Shutdown were Mets in 2000? I mean, just this year, Ozzie Guillen called him “the perfect man”. And we have fans arguing with those evil computers over how he could possibly be the not-best fielding shortstop in baseball.

Indeed, as compiled by the invaluable and hysterical Fire Joe Morgan, there are innumerable examples of the media trashing A-Rod’s purported problems in the clutch, but ignoring Captain America’s issues:

Alex Rodriguez ALDS 2007: 4/15, 1 HR, 2 BB, 0 GIDPDerek Jeter ALDS 2007: 3/17, 0 HR, 0 XBH, 0 BB, 3 GIDP

Alex Rodriguez, September 2007: 10 HR, 31 RBI
Derek Jeter, September 2007: 3 HR, 14 RBI

Which slowly brings me to the point of this exercise. Yesterday, as you may recall, Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer down the left field line to give the Mets a 6-0 lead. I remember this because the third-base umpire Mike Reilly, who had the only clear view of the ball, signaled as much.

Immediately, Captain Intangibles sprinted over to Reilly, gesturing wildly that he believed the ball was foul, even though it hit the foul pole and was therefore a home run. Well, we can’t have the Cap’n getting annoyed, so the umpires convened the quickest overturn conference in the history of baseball and Delgado’s home run was immediately nullified. By an umpire who admitted that he “expletived” it up four times in the post-game presser.

Now, that was annoying in and of itself, but not so much as what happened next. You see, in America’s eyes, this now had to be about the Yankees, not about the umpires who blew the call.

So Jon Miller began concocting this story about how “Reilly was hesitating to make the call” – even after a replay showed otherwise – and that “Jeter immediately ran over there to argue” (how brilliant!).

And Joe Morgan also patted Jeter on the back for his resourcefulness, adding that the Mets had gotten a bunch of breaks (i.e., Alou’s check-swing single) so that the Deej was helping the Yanks get a break of their own. It was Michael Kay-ism at its best. The Mets get lucky, but the Captain’s intangibility helps the Yanks succeed.

We know the rest of the story. The Mets won 11-2 and swept the two-game series, which couldn’t possibly be a three-game series because Hank the Bank saw a way to not have Rasner have to pitch against the Mets.

Joe Girardi is on the back cover of the News because the story has to be about the Yanks. (Though David Wright did get at least a piece of Newsday and the Post). And this site will continue to do the Lord’s work, reminding us that the Yanks are in last place.

Finally, if Yankee fans need a new bandwagon, there are plenty of good seats at Kauffman Stadium for next week’s homestand. (You’ll be rooting for ‘em anyway this week as they have 4 coming up starting tonight at Fenway). I’ll be about 30-35 rows back of the field for a couple of the games if you want to wave.

- Cousin Dan

Goodnight, Aura

(Note: Cousin Dan will be in with a guest post later today so keep checking in for that.)

Barring a meeting in the World Series that has, to this early point in the season at least, appeared highly unlikely, and assuming I don't get tickets to some random Yankees-Red Sox game or to the make-up game from Friday's wash-out, chances are last night's game was my last visit to the original Yankee Stadium.

I hate the Yankees, I really do. But like most other baseball fans, I have a certain respect for Yankee Stadium.

It's not the 26 World Championships or the Pinstripes, it's the simple fact that so many giants of the game played there.

Glance at Carlos Beltran patrolling center field and that's where Mickey Mantle once stood; look at Ryan Church in the batter's box and it's the same spot that Babe Ruth used to dig in to. Sickeningly or otherwise, the list goes on and on.

* * * * *

Across the street from the House that Ruth Built rises a new Yankee Stadium. As me and the Hound walked past it yesterday, we both admired the look of it, and agreed that in spite of our distaste for the Yankees, we really didn't begrudge them their architecture.

It's a fine looking building; a bit totalitarian, but why shouldn't it be? I'm sure it will be a great place to watch a ball game next year and all the other years from now on.

But for all its architectural grace and for all the comfort the new seats will surely provide, it will never be the same place that Ruth or Mantle or Joltin' Joe once played. That's the choice the Yankees made.

As someone who hates the Yankees, my opinion doesn't matter much in the office marked "Steinbrenner".

But as someone who respects baseball history, there's a sense of loss. Center field will be where Melky Cabrera once stood. For all Jeter's greatness -- and say what you want about him but he's been a tremendously successful player -- thinking of him digging in to the batter's box evokes none of the same nostalgia as thinking of the Babe or any of those other folks. Some day, maybe, but not any time soon.

It'll just be a different experience.

* * * * *

If you've never been to Yankee Stadium, go. If you've never been to Fenway or Wrigley, go.

If you can swing a game in one of these places when the boys from Queens are there, gravy. And if you can swing a game in one of these places when they win 11-2, that's better, too.

But if you love baseball, you really owe it to yourself to get to these places no matter what. Old ballparks bleed the history of the game. It's not aura and it's not mystique, it's just history.

The Yankees will bring many elements of their history to the new building, but for me, the most important part will always remain rooted in the soil across the street.

And there's no changing that.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Are Cultural Differences Destroying the Mets?

These Amazins sure are falling apart from the seams.

It's amazing how one insane catch by a #5 outfielder can completely break a team down.


.........


And then there was Billy Wagner's rant. As racially driven a speech as you can say in New York without crossing the line and being completely vilified.

Yet it is very clear to all of us not living in the politically correct, one wrong quote and you're out world, of the American media, what Wagner wanted to say.

Since I'm a semi-anonymous blogger I'll just say it.

Racial divide is an issue on this team.

* * * * *

Every home game last season I would take one of my many breaks to watch the Diamondbacks take batting practice. I would sit in left field in a completely empty stadium and watch Mark Reynolds, Byrnesy, J-Up and America's newest darling, Micah Owings, put on clinics in dong mashing.

To me this was as peaceful as it got. I had the all-access pass that we always wanted. That and my slightly above minimum wage salary afforded me Whattaburger about 4 nights a week.

While it was great to see the best in the world practice, what was more interesting was watching the team interaction. See, during batting practice it's just the guys being the guys. Players would gather in clusters around the field shagging fly balls, chewing seeds or dip and chatting with their teammates.

The team seemed to be pretty close.

All the players would laugh with their peers.

Doug Slaten, the rookie left handed specialist appeared to be the team's one loner.

But every day there was one group that completely clung to their own. They rarely if ever intermingled with their other teammates. They were 3 of 25 guys who appeared to be an island.

They were Juan Cruz, Livan Hernandez and Edgar Gonzalez.

Yes, they are all right handed pitchers that rely on their fastball to get ahead in the count to set up their offspeed junk. But more importantly, they were all Latin.

I did not include Jose Valverde or Tony Pena in this list. Also Latin players, they appeared to immerse themselves with the rest of the fellas on a regular basis.

I can't say I have an exact sense of the chemistry of the 2007 Diamondbacks. But from what I saw everyday before the game, during the game, on TV, and in interviews, the team seemed to be a very happy group of guys who got along well.

A team of 25 guys that were all, for the most part, on the same page.

Its leader, a shaggy haired goof ball who played harder than anyone and made his presence in the community: Eric Byrnes, a Cali boy hanging in the desert.

And the team won more games than any other in the National League.

* * * * *

You think back to the '99 Mets or the '04 Red Sox or even the '06 Mets, teams that we easily identify for having great chemistry. In each case, the team was predominantly American.

Players that grew up around the American media and comfortable handling the circus of big city baseball.

Each team had its definite share of "Latin Flavor" but was certainly identified by their American leaders.

As much as the '04 Sox were keyed by Manny and Ortiz, that season will always be remembered for "The Idiots" and "The Bloody Sock."

But not these '08 Mets.

There is a clear cultural barrier on this '08 Mets team.

Let me be the first to say that I completely understand why most of the Latin players gravitate towards other Latin players. People naturally lean on what they feel more comfortable with.

But for the most part Latin players tend to shy away from the media. Manny Ramirez has hidden behind broken English (despite a New York City high school diploma) to dodge the media throughout his illustrious career.

And it may be that the Mets are just overly Latin.

I always joke about this with some of my buddies, but honestly, how many times have you heard Jose Reyes speak in your entire life? (Profesor Reyes excluded).

And how many times have you heard David Wright speak?

Over 162 games, all players need to contribute both on and off the field, especially in New York, the media circus of the world.

Yet this entire season has been one David Wright or Billy Wagner quote after another. And you can't blame the media. It's easier for them.

And then you gotta wonder what's really going on this clubhouse.

Is it simply America vs. Latin America in there? Is this team divided? With such a large group of Latin players are the Mets not one team of 25 but two groups of 12 or 13?

Sure seemed like it coming from Billy Wagner.

The '08 Mets do not appear to have an identifiable core. They look like a team of many great individual talents, without identifiable roles.

If David Wright is the leader of this team, who is following him?

I always thought that this was a reason why the $200 million dollar Yankees faltered. Only with that team, it was not a cultural clash, as much as an ego clash.

Teams need to get along. They need balance. And as cliched as it sounds, they need to have fun.

With the '08 Mets, you don't really see any of that.

Since the Yankees turned into the US military, you never saw much of that with them either.

* * * * *

So who is to blame?

Everyone is ready to send Willie packing. This is probably the safest move right now, though not the fairest.

I think to a certain extent, the blame has to fall on Omar Minaya.

This is the team he assembled. The 25 guys he put together to perform on the field and like each other in the dugout.

There's a reason why teams value the Jason Varitek's and Torii Hunter's of the world, other than for their baseball talents. They are leaders, team players and franchise faces.

After David Wright, who's #2?

Vaya,
Sip

(Pics courtesy of byrnesblog.com, boston.com)

The Zen of Bobby V

Japanese people really love their baseball.

All baseball fans know this on some level, but I really came to understand it while sitting on a ski-lift on Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima, while struggling to have a conversation with an older Japanese gentleman who was very eager to show off his English skills. They were limited.

Eventually, Sip and I somehow figure out that the man is a huge baseball fan and we spent the remaining 5 minutes on the ski-lift naming Japanese players in America – each time eliciting a tremendous laugh from the man. Needless to say, Tsuyoshi Shinjo elicited the heartiest chuckle of them all.

All this is to say, Japanese people really love their baseball.

And so, when you watch ESPN's fantastic new documentary (look out Rhymes, I'm coming after your gig), "The Zen of Bobby V," appreciate that none of the Japanese craziness featured in the movie is the least bit shocking if you've actually been to the country.

Don't believe that a Japanese guy goes to every single Chiba Lotte Marines game shirtless and freaking out because "before baseball, I had nothing important in my life"? I'll raise you 20 screaming Japanese people thrilled to death that they are at a Jimmy Eat World concert with 3 Americans and an Irish dude.

In one scene, we see batting practice before the game. The home plate umpire is also practicing. No, wait. Not only is the home plate umpire practicing, but another umpire is practicing behind the home plate umpire and a third umpire supervisor is overseeing the entire practice. Moises Alou would have no cause for arguing a third strike in Japanese baseball.

"The Zen of Bobby V" captures Japanese culture to a T. It's much more about Japan than Bobby V, but he serves as a tremendous prism to observe the differences between American and Japanese culture. Certainly can't imagine Mets fans dancing crazily while chanting over and over, "Wil-lie Randolph. With him, together we can make our dreams come true."

The movie starts off with a quick montage of Bobby's life pre-Japan. Of course including the moment in his life that he will forever be remembered for… sneaking back into the Mets dugout with glasses and an eye-black mustache.

From that point on, it's classic Bobby V. Most importantly, you see a man who is brilliant with tremendously strong beliefs and also a complete emotional roller-coaster (some might say trainwreck).

After a winning streak, we seem him running through a sprinkler in a Japanese garden as if he's a 10-year-old. Regressing in age to about 8, he then runs inside the mouth of a dragon statue and pretends to be startled by the roar emitted by a speaker inside the dragon's mouth.

After a losing streak, he snaps one-word answers to his wife's questions like, well, an 8-year-old.

From a baseball standpoint, it was pretty interesting to hear how interested Bobby was in the then-Devil Rays job – "that's a fucking challenge." Don't think there's any avoiding the fact that the only eventuality that could cause me to pull a Bressman and change fan allegiances would be Bobby going to the Rays.

One disappointment: Really could have gone for a lot more Benny Agbayani. Certainly nobody but a Mets fan would have this criticism, but was a really cool blast from the past to see him taking some BP cuts and joking back and forth with Bobby V.

You gotta love that big Hawaiian. Seeing him in Japan brings back fond memories of his game-winner vs. the Cubs back in 2000. Those were the days.

- Nails

Everything's Not Lost Part 88: Why the Mets are More Than Ok

I strongly disagree with AFOMG and most Met fans out there.

Now lets rewind.

I had wings and beers (Sick!) with my best friend from kindergarten last night. We hadn't really hung out in 17 years but thanks to Facebook we were able to make it happen. Here's to social networking.

We talked about a lot of things. His twin brothers, now aged 11, who I had never met; Football, his love; and then baseball.

JJ is a Yankee fan- who doesn't really care- who lives a life surrounded by Met fans who do. Sound familiar?

His question: What do you think about Yankee fans like me?

I laughed.

5 years ago I would have jumped all over this kid. 5 years ago shit like this ruled my life. A Mets win and I was in a good mood. A Mets loss and I was in a bad mood. Meet a Yankee fan and I immediately question their morals. Was this kid picked on as a kid and now in need of the Yankees to make him feel good. You get the picture.

Between getting old, living outside of New York, watching the "New Mets bandwagon" develop and working for another team, I have lost a lot of that umph. Today, I feel like a "cool dad."

I watch most games, follow the team, and enjoy ever minute. But other things mean more to me. This was not always the case.

This change has one advantage. I do feel a lot more objective. I have a much easier time looking at the big picture as opposed to reacting to the smaller one. That is what New York does and that is especially what the New York Media does.

One day we hate Scott Schoenweis. The next day we love him.

One day we question which Johan Santana we got. The next day we love our ace.

One day Willie is the best manager in the game. The next day, Willie is the scapegoat.




I understand AFOMG's sentiments and respect the guy's opinion more than anyone's. He constantly addresses long term themes as opposed to short term shortcomings. He is smarter than every writer in the city but here is where I disagree with him.

.........

The 2007 Mets are not the 2008 Mets.

You simply can not compare a team with the best pitcher in the game with a team that did not have him.

The 2008 Mets have been extremely frustrating.

"They have yet to break out."

"They don't show emotion."

"We need to blow this team up."

I just don't see it.

If Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran were 35 it would be one thing. But they are not. They are all in the middle of or approaching their prime.

So unless you think these guys are done, then we are looking at a team thats 4 games over .500 who have a terribly under-achieving core of their offense.

The fact is this.

The Mets have as good a 1-2-3 as there is in baseball.

Yes, it's even as good as everyone's new darlings, the new dbacks' Webb-Haren-Owings.

And when you have this type of pitching a team can never be bad. You have an above .500 team based on starting pitching alone.

And that's all the Mets have been thus far. An above .500 team. John Maine and Johan Santana have carried this team to where it was.

Carlos Delgado may be lost. He may be a 20-70-.250 guy. So be it.

But fact is this team is 4 games over .500 with a bad Wright, Reyes and Beltran and no Moises Alou, an old guy who should be done, but has proven when healthy he can be an effective middle of the lineup guy.

The Phillies are going to lose a ton of games because of a very bad rotation.

The Braves have already lost one pitcher to age and are depending on a couple of other guys born way too close to 1970.

But the Mets have three stud arms on the right side of 30. And because of that, this team will be more than alright.

To compete against age is hard. To compete against slumps is another story.

Is Reyes done? Is Beltran done? Is Wright done?

As long as this is not the case, the Mets are the best team in the division and a top team in the league.

We can't judge this team until our lineup hits to its potential. Right now, we have three all-stars playing average baseball.


Vaya,
Sip

(Pic courtesy of USAtoday.com)

A Year of Mediocrity

Don't look now but the Mets, all $137 million of them, are 84-78 over their last 162 games.

It's a story that's only going to get more and more depressing as we move further away from our hot start in 2007. As my high school soccer coach might have said, 84-78 is like kissing your sister.

I keep preaching patience, I keep saying the Mets are just one winning streak away.

But maybe they're not one winning streak away. Look at 2005. The Mets perpetually hovered around .500, going 4 games over and 4 games under over and over, up and down like a seesaw. Just one winning streak away, we said.

Then the winning streak came. The Mets blasted through Arizona en route to San Francisco, winning five in a row (I think it was five), pushing their record to a season-best 8 games over .500.

And then, as quickly as the Mets had broken through, they instantly receded to the mean. Losses piled up, and it took a valiant late-season push to finish over .500, ending the year 4 games over .500 (natch) at 83-79.

That constant up and down has been our trademark this season. Apart from a 5-game winning streak in the early going, the Mets have been basically incapable of stringing together a dominant stretch of games.

They look great for two games, then awful for three, then good again for two, and on and on it goes until they're left at, well, 19-17.

* * * * *

I'm not a naturally optimistic fan of my sports teams; whether that's constitutional or just lesson learned after a lifetime of following the Mets is debateable.

But I still think this Mets team is better than its played, and that it will, eventually, get off on the right end of the seesaw.

I find myself reminded of another time when the Mets seemed incapable of breaking through: mid-April through early-June 2006. The timing might surprise you, but indeed, for 45 games in the early part of 2006 when we went 24-21, the Mets looked good but hardly dominant.

As I wrote at the time:

"I'm frustrated.

I'm frustrated with the Mets' inability to put together a decent winning
streak... I'm frustrated that we haven't been able to run away with the N.L.
East...

The Mets look to me like a team in need of a spark."

I wrote those words June 7, 2006. That night, a Wednesday, the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-7, and they wouldn't lose again until the following Friday, winning 8 straight in total.

The winning streak reached its orgiastic peak with a 3-game sweep of the Phillies on their home turf. It was tone-setting, season-defining. The Mets had finally broken through, and from that point until the NLCS, the rout was on.

That was a magical season, but it had, for a time, the same frustrations as any other. One morning I vocalized those frustrations; that evening they began to melt away.

Here's hoping today's post has the same effect.

- A.F.O.M.G.

The Tipping Point

The vultures are circling around Willie Randolph.

It started with the crazies on the Fan. It continued with Tim Marchman in the New York Sun last week. It intensified at Bar/Grill in Brooklyn Heights with one of Nails' patented rants. And it exploded on to the message boards of Y2K yesterday.

The people are calling for his head. Truth is it's tough to blame them.

* * * * *

I don't think the Mets' uninspiring first 32 games are Willie's fault. I think it's the fault of guys like Carlos "Team to Beat" Beltran hitting .218, or Reyes hitting .254, or Castillo .242, or Wright .262 (I won't even mention the ghost of Carlos Delgado).

And I think it's the fault of Aaron Heilman having a rough go of it in the early going, and Oliver Perez, and Jorge Sosa.

Bottom line, the players aren't getting it done. But I feel an old adage coming on, don't you? You can't fire the players so you fire the...

Rick Down died for the 2007 Mets' sins. The team was languishing, underachieving in the dog days of summer. The Mets made a move to jump start the team, jettisoning Down in favor of Howard Johnson and Rickey Henderson.

It was, we prayed, 2007's answer to the Yankee Stadium massacre of 2000, when the 27-28 Mets fired three coaches, won the night's ballgame, and won 67 of their remaining 107 games. In 2000 it worked.

Last year, not so much.

* * * * *

Because of the way last season ended, this year is quite unlike any other, ultimately, in Mets history (and I say that as somebody who despises hyperbolic sports writing). The Mets aren't looking for a jump start, they're looking for something like a rebirth.

One thing everyone -- you, me, Omar, Willie -- agrees on, is that the Mets are better than they've played. The problem is it's been that way far too long.

For other talented teams, a 17-15 start wouldn't be the end of the world. It'd be a matter of working out the kinks, or finding the right lineup or bullpen configuration. Hell, the Yankees have played sub-.500 ball for 40 games the last 4 seasons it seems, and then all of a sudden something clicks and they realize they're the Yankees.

The problem for us is that we can't hang our hat on the team waking up and realizing they're the Mets, because waking up and realizing you're a Met means memories of Heilman serving one up to Yadier Molina, or Franco giving up a grand slam to Brian Jordan, or Benitez blowing Game 1, or Rogers throwing Ball 4, or the team losing 5 straight when one win would've meant the playoffs.

There is no inherent magic for the Mets to unearth. This Mets team, like every Mets team, has to make its own luck.

For almost 162 games now, the Mets haven't made any luck at all. They've looked lackluster. They've looked joyless, directionless, they've looked... mediocre.

* * * * *

I've said for a long time they're one winning streak from turning boos in to cheers, and I still believe that.

So what then?

To those calling for Willie's head... I hear you, but I'm not there yet. I'm giving him until June 1, roughly the one year mark of when things started to go south, to turn things around.

On June 1 we'll have something like 50 games in the books; that was time enough to blow it in 2007, and it'd be time enough to nail it in 2008.

The thing that I keep coming back to is the question of who I blame it on, and right now, I'm not satisfied that it's the manager's fault. I still think it's on the players.

There's comes a time when you can't fire the players so you fire -- no, not Rick Down -- you fire the manager. If the Mets play sloppy, uninspired ball for 2 months of this season, on top of 4 months last season, that'll be enough.

The reasons why a manager fails to get the most out of his players goes beyond what you or me can ever know. As much as New York fans think they know everything, on this one we know nothing. We're not in the clubhouse; we're not on the planes or buses; we're not out there near the batting cage.

But that doesn't mean we don't know players falling short of their abilities when we see it. Or more importantly, it doesn't mean we don't know when an entire team is falling short.

Willie's reached the tipping point. He's bending now. I say give him to June 1 to break.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Y2K World Tour

Everyone knows this site is huge in Japan, but what the rest of Asia? Yep, everything you've heard is true -- we're big-time in Red China too. There are four massive sports and entertainment stars in Beijing right now, the ones that headline billboards and dominate the evening newscasts: Yao Ming, Jackie Chan, their top Olympic sprinter, and none other than Sippy Momo. Hey, a billion godless capitalists can't be wrong.

As such, we humbly present the schedule for the China leg of the 2008 Y2K World Tour, sponsored by the tears of Tibetan children. Making live appearances at each location will be Cheddar Ben, Cheddar Sam, and Cheddar Sam's good pal Flopsy, with additional appearances to be announced closer to curtain time. We'll be signing autographs, kissing babies, distributing subversive literature ... you know, a little light comedy.

All shows begin when we're good and drunk:

March 7 -- Hard Rock Cafe, Beijing
March 9 -- Great Wall, the sunny side, near the blood spots
March 12 -- Starbucks, Shijiazhuang
March 14 -- Number One Electronics Shop and Most Excellent Food Emporium, Qingdao
March 16 -- Communist Party Headquarters, Jinan
March 17 -- Japanese Embassy, Nanking
March 20 -- Niketown, Shanghai

Surprise guests will no doubt include the local authorities.

No, seriously, two weeks in a country without baseball is going to provide quite the change of pace. I'll probably be able to pick up the scores if I really want, at least in the bigger cities, but there won't be any of the day-in, day-out rhythm you get from baseball season here. Cheddar Sam reports that their media and attention is totally focused on the upcoming Olympics, so I'll expect to be treated to plenty of construction updates and stories about fencers.

It's not that baseball is absent from the largest nation on the planet. They've got their own league, which is something. They've got Billy Ripken going over there to run youth clinics, which gives them something in common with the citizens of suburban Maryland.

But there's also no evidence they've picked up the same bad habits as, say, their Taiwanese counterparts. And while they unquestionably lack the same baseball tradition as their hated Japanese neighbors, they've agreed to partner with NPB teams to develop their own clubs, which is pretty sensible.

[Sidebar: I was in line in the airport yesterday morning behind a Japanese guy wearing a bomb-ass Chiba Lotte Marines jacket. He didn't speak any English, however, so I was unable to convey how much I approved of the jacket. "I like your jacket" got me precisely nothing, and didn't really get much of a response after I said, "The Marines, Bobby Valentine's team. I'm a fan." Finally he shook his head at me and said, "Chiba Lotte Marines, Japanese team," to which I replied, "'Hai,' Chiba Lotte," and smiled and nodded. He kept shaking his head and frowning at me, though, and said again, "Japanese team," clearly thinking I didn't know what I was talking about. I kept smiling. It was a really nice jacket.

China is going to be a disaster. Anyways.]

While I'm gone, I'd like to see the Metsies go something like 10-4, banking some wins against the overrated Dodgers and the soft Cincy-Washington combination. The upcoming weekend series at Yankee Stadium ... well, anything could happen there, and there's no reason to think ill of the team's chances. For all we know, the Bombers will be throwing out Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner against us. There's nothing wrong with a baseball team that Kei Igawa can't cure.

By the time I get back, I'd like Pedro to have thrown off a mound and maybe, if we're lucky, to have tossed a simulated game. I'd like Moises Alou to still be on the active roster. I'd like to see Ramon Castro waddling around the dugout, and Nelson Figueroa with a couple more major-league wins in his back pocket, and the Phillies on a 15-game losing skid.

But I will settle for just getting out of the place alive. Some over .500 ball would be gravy.

'I Told You So'

"I told you so."

You think Hank Steinbrenner isn't stewing in his cellulite wishing the the Yankees had pulled the trigger on that Santana deal for a package of Ian Kennedy and Phillip Hughes?

Everything about this developing saga is incredible.

First off, it is obviously way too early to pass judgement on the deal, or lack thereof. But this is New York and when the Yankees are playing .500 ball, there always needs to be an explanation. All Steinbrenners are entitled to explanations after one month of the season!

But was Hank right to want to make the Santana deal? I backed him at the time and I will back him now.

Still, there is a reason that Johan Santana didn't go to the game's two biggest teams when he easily could and should have. Hopefully we don't see the answer to that in 2011.

But what if Phil Hughes is a bust and Ian Kennedy never grows into his 87-mph/5th starter potential? (Remind me again why this guy was a top prospect?)

The fact is, the Yankees didn't make what was a tailor-made deal for them.

And the reason they didn't make it is the funny part: There is no one to blame for this deal but the New York media. And you might be surprised why I think this.

It's not because the media didn't think the Yankees should do this deal. Most, in fact did. The media loves the big splash, the backpage, etc.

No, the reason the Yankees do this deal, like with everything else in New York City and its media, the Yankees overhype their prospects.

Remember when Robinson Cano was the next Rod Carew?

This is all a product of an overblown media.

Nothing has annoyed me more this year than any NFL draft analysis that comes from anyone not named Mel Kiper or Todd McSchay.

How many people actually watched enough Ohio State football over the last two years to draw the conclusion that Vernon Gholston "takes off plays?"

Yet there were hundreds of articles in the New York papers in which credited sports writers talked about Gholston's deficiencies without following it up with, "scouts say" or "according to people that actually know what they are talking about."

None of these people know what they're talking about. They heard this info from a few people that do and made it their own. And I got news for you. Most of us did the same.

The exact same thing happens in baseball.

Phil Hughes may have been an excellent pitching prospect. But when you hear or read about Phil Hughes every single day from multiple journalists, all of a sudden his hype soars. Before last season, no one knew anything about Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy. No one probably ever saw them pitch a game before that. And even if you did see them pitch a game, the odds are that you don't have the baseball eye that allows you to pass judgment on a players "projectability."

The Yankees essentially fell victim to their own hype.

I challenge you to rank the following outfield prospects.

Steve McKay
Colby Rasmus
Austin Jackson
A.C. Morris

Take your time.

Think a little bit.

There's a pretty good chance you have heard of one of these prospects.

Austin Jackson is a Yankee. Because he is in the Yankee farm system you have undoubtedly heard his name in trade talk and other speculation.

You probably haven't heard of Colby Rasmus unless you're a real baseball geek. Well this guy is a top ten prospect in baseball, the future of the St. Louis Cardinals, a much better prospect, according to people who know what they're talking about.

As for the other two prospects.

I just combined Dylan McKay and Steve Sanders to make one and AC Slater and Zach Morris to make the other.

Unfortunately, neither exists.

But if I hadn't told you that and instead told you that they were fast rising prospect for the Mets' class A affiliate, you would have probably believed me. We believe what we read, even if we don't really know the source.

97% of Jets fans hadn't heard of Vernon Gholston before the draft. Yet by draft day, every single one of them wanted the speed rusher from Ohio State.

The same goes for Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes.

We read so much convincing us that these guys were going to be the greatest pitchers ever that we convinced ourselves it was inevitable.

As a result, many Yankee fans thought it was OK not to move the pitching tandem for the game's best arm.

Could they still become great? Absolutely.

But if they don't, then the Yankees passed up on Johan Santana. And for a team where dollars and bloated contracts don't matter, they may never be able to forgive themselves.

And from there, the insecure Hank Steinbrenner will forever get to say "I told you so," and the Yankees will continue to fall apart from the top.

Vaya,
Sip

(Pics courtesy of cnn.net, mlb.com)

Team of Rivals

Hotlanta

So, is John Smoltz the manager of the Braves? Does he draw up the lineup cards behind Bobby Cox's back? Is he the one behind those sharp new blue alternate unis the Bravos have been sporting? I ask only because reports surfaced Thursday that Smoltz is apparently going to return from his DL stint as a reliever, not a pitcher, and contrary to the wishes of his manager. Check out the story if you didn't see it; it's rather unusual.

The best part is that John-John broke the story by texting a reporter from the Atlanta newspaper. The 21st century highly approves, Smoltzy! Not to mention the Dirty South hip-hop community. Next time we need a strikeout, we know who to 2-way.

Smoltz says his shoulder hurts too much for him to go as a starter, and that he can go as a reliever only. This hasn't shown up in the numbers yet, what with his 2.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP as a rotation member, but the guy's 40 years old, and knows his body -- if he says he can't do it, I suppose you have to believe him. The skipper might not be on board yet -- ("In order to win big, John needs to be in the rotation," Cox said.) -- but that's only because Smoltz hasn't had a chance to Gchat with him yet. Once he explains with a pix msg, we should be good. You've got to preserve the health of your best players.

Wait, I think that's Hank Steinbrenner in the far corner calling Smoltz an idiot. Yep, that's him. Just ignore it. From the Mets' perspective, though, anything that dents the Atlanta rotation is all gravy.

Two new Braves you might not know enough about:

• Jair Jurrjens, 22-year-old SP; came over from Detroit in the Edgar Renteria trade; 86th-best prospect in the game according to Baseball Prospectus before the season; throws a mid-90s fastball, a good curve and an okay change with decent command, though it has improved markedly this season; has always been thought of as a low-ceiling starter, but has looked excellent through his first six-pack of starts in the bigs (3.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 28K in 38.1 IP); Keith Hernandez will mispronounce his name somewhere in the vicinity of 50 different ways before all is said and done; likely the Braves' best starter from here on out
  
• Brent Lillibridge, 25-year-old SS; they'll likely get rid of Yuni Escobar before this fella, so this is their starter of the future; horrendously elfin, makes Dustin Pedroia look like Morgan Freeman; profiles similarly to Pedroia as a very solid college hitter who dropped in the draft (to Round 4) due to his size and projectibility concerns, but will hit for more power than you'd think; real nice defensively; not the type of baseballer who wants to run into Nails in a back alley when our boy has had a few Miller Lites

Port of Miami

I don't understand HBO. Its economics, I mean. The budget has to be fairly fixed, right? X amount of subscribers paying $Y per month, with those numbers fairly steady, minus your overhead and the contracts with the movie studios that get you the majority of your content. Does everything else then go into the general entertainment budget? I guess what I'm asking is, does the head of HBO's entertainment division then just have a zillion-dollar budget that it can spend on whatever series it wants? If so, how sweet is that job?

At the same time, that can lead to weird decisions, like making a TV movie about the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election. "Recount," directed by comedy hack Jay Roach and starring way more famous people than you'd think, premiers on May 25, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I'll watch it; I follow politics closely, and I think it could be funny or interesting.

Here's the thing, though -- there can't be nearly enough people like me to justify, in any meaningful sense, the cost of making this movie. No way. I'm sure there's a lot of chatting in offices, and standing in rooms, and that doesn't make for the most expensive shoot in history, but I don't care what it was -- this is a screaming little vanity project guaranteed to get awful ratings. Even if you included the spillover effects from the media buzz, this thing is a revenue sinkhole. I sure hope these big-name actors and a generally expensive director worked for cheap. Bonus strangeness -- this movie was written by a part-time "Gilmore Girls" actor. Look it up.

Wait, the Marlins aren't in first place anymore? Shocking.

Dukes

We here at Y2K have jonesed ourself into a tizzy this week over a winning team sitting a whopping half-game out of first place. Awesome work. Not being a psychic, a mystic, a paranormal detective or possessing a neural net processor (a learning computer), Cheddar Ben is unable to determine whether or not the players are, in fact, the moral vampires of legend; until SNY comes up with a camera angle that allows us to look into the Mets' souls, we're just going to have to assume that they're not powered by demons or concentrated bitterness.

The booing is retarded, and should stop immediately. If you're a fan, booing isn't your first, second or third move; it's a last resort. It's a move you employ when things are bad, and they don't seem like they could get any worse. Now, maybe I haven't been sufficiently spoiled by a string of three solid seasons, but as far as I can tell, things aren't bad, and have the potential to get a lot better, should the players start playing up to their potential.

Some of the Mets' mistakes are mental, and even sloppy-seeming and those are frustrating. But a fan (i.e., someone who wants to see the team win) might ask him or herself, "Will my reaction hurt or help the team in some way?" There's no one answer to this question -- you might believe that players tune out everything going on in the stands, or that they're motivated by the energy of the crowd night in and night out, or any permutation of the two.

But even if you believed that fans' booing has the ability to shake players out of a rut, you'd still want to be judicious about using it as a tool, simply because booing is unquestionably an interaction that produces diminishing returns over time. Seriously. The first boo to escape a fan's lips is always the loudest, and heard the best; the first cavalcade of boos is jarring, and might actually cause a player or coach to pause in thought; constancy of boos might set a tone; after a certain point, everyone's tuned the shit out. It don't take long to go through these steps.

Which is why booing a winning team in the month of April, a winning team running Raul Casanova and Damion Easley and Endy Chavez on the regular, is fucking retarded, and something a real fan simply would not be doing. Which leads us back to Sip's point that many of the people populating the fans at Shea aren't real fans; they're worse than Yankee fans.

I hate to agree, but what else can you say?

Broad Street

Yeah, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are hitting like Gehrig and Ruth. But. Ryan Howard is still ensconced in his Robby Cano-like early-season coma, Rollins isn't playing, and as bad as I think he is, I also don't think Pedro Feliz is going to be hitting .200 all year, or Shane Victorino .230 for that matter. This team will continue to score runs, and lots of them.

The bullpen, on the other hand, is a completely different kettle of cheese steaks. From top to bottom, the Philly relievers are playing way over their heads, and once they start to act their age and not their shoe size, their team is going to start losing a lot of games. Lots of them. (Setting aside, for a moment, the fact that none of their starting pitchers have missed a turn in the rotation yet. Nice.)

The following Philly relievers have yet to give up a home run -- Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Brad Lidge, Tom Gordon, Rudy Seanez. Zero HR allowed in 65 innings on the hill. Lidge and Romero (Romero!) haven't given up an earned run yet. And they're all walking guys, too -- none of the guys I mentioned has a BB/9 below 4.00.

It's smoke and mirrors in Philly at the moment, and that's not a formula for success going forward. (Note: the previous comment does not apply to stage magicians or laser light show operators.)

Beltway

I hear Nick Johnson took a called third strike the other night. What an asshole. His batting average is down to .217. An obvious choker. Yeah, his OBP still might be at .400, which is kind of the point of the entire enterprise, and he's leading the team in RBI, but according to this arbitrary standard of performance I've just determined in my head, he's got warts all over the place. I mean, who takes a called third strike in April? This obvious lack of fire is just killing the team.

Opening Night? Sure, I remember that! After missing the entire year with a broken leg, Johnson came out in his first game back and dumped a ball into the corner for an RBI double. They tried to hold him at first, but the guy steamed around the base and slid into second like a freight train, as if he hadn't just missed 18 months with a Herman Maier-type of injury. Then, in the very next at-bat, ol' Nick gets knocked in by Austin Kearns -- and he gleefully slid in to home as well, just to show he could do it. The crowd went bananas, and the clubhouse was loving it, even Dmitri Young, the guy whose job Johnson took.

But whatever. Sure, he might have loved baseball or played his heart out at some point in the past. Maybe even at most points. But at this precise instant, I've determined he no longer enjoys the game enough to win. I'm a real sensitive dude, and I can suss out subtle gradations in tone and body language and professional intent like that. No problem. It's a talent, and I've got it.

So suck on that, Johnson. I will ride your ass into the ground until you start doing exactly what I want you to do at all times. If I see even a hint of anything suspicious, it won't matter whether we're winning or not -- I've got to stay vigilant, and vigilance entails that I act like a dick to people I ostensibly want to see succeed. It's called being a fan -- and it's what I DO.

It's Not Their Fault

So, yesterday, Sip takes the Mets fan base to task for being concerned about the current state of the team.

According t