New York Mets

The 12-inning thriller that was the last regular season game ever played at the Metrodome was exactly what I wanted to see.  When the Twins and Tigers played a four-game series in Detroit last week, I found myself rooting for the Twins to close the gap in order to create an exciting finish to the regular season – ideally a one-game playoff.  When that happened, I decided it would be great for the city of Detroit to send their team to the playoffs, but what I wanted most was to see a great game.  My wish came true when the two teams played a nail-biter that could have gone either way, but eventually sent Minnesota to the postseason.  Props to both teams for giving the fans what they deserved.

Continue reading "Twins-Tigers game was exactly what I wanted"

     There are lots of guys like Burt Hooton. 

     Well, not at your local bar, or at church or the grocery store.  Unless former pro ballplayers hang out there.  Former pro ballplayers who won the clinching game of the 1981 World Series.  Against the Yankees.  What I mean by Burt being like lots of guys is that the annals of baseball have so many players we tend to remember mostly the Babe Ruths and Ty Cobbs and –insert random player name here- and so on.  But the game is larger than even the biggest stars.  The game consists of so many players, so many games, so many stats, that unless a player was on your favorite team he may only garner a fleeting memory, an “oh yeah, I kinda remember him” reaction.  If you followed the Cubs in the early to mid seventies, or the Dodgers from 75 to 84, you remember Burt Hooton.  He’ll never get into the hall of fame, but his career is worth a look; there are definitely enough interesting moments to warrant it.  This isn’t some guy who had one or two moments of fame; he had a career’s worth.  Currently he is the pitching coach of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Continue reading "My Interview With Burt Hooton"

What are some of the Braves other needs before the season opener against the Phillies on April 5? Adding an outfield bat seems to be Wren's top priority, but who could it be?

Hopefully not Andruw Jones, who just hit the free agent market yesterday. I just don't think he's worth taking a shot on. After all, the Dodgers did agree to pay him the rest of his contract as long as he stopped hurting their team by taking up a roster spot.

Continue reading "What's left for the Braves?"

Yes, it's great for the Atlanta Braves that Derek Lowe is their rotation's new ace. He's better than what they have now — with the exception possibly being Jair Jurrjens, who might be really, really good one day but is still just 22 years old — and there aren't too many other options out there. Randy Wolf isn't that great, neither is Oliver Perez, and Ben Sheets is exactly what the Braves don't need, another starter who will spend more time on the DL then he will off of it.

Continue reading "Braves overbid for Lowe - but they had no choice"

Francisco Rodriguez just signed a big-money contract with the Mets, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons.  CC Sabathia chose to become the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, signing with the Yankees in spite of the fact that they play in what is considered the toughest division in baseball and failed to make the postseason in 2008.  What drew Sabathia to the Bronx and K-Rod to Queens?  It wasn’t a near-guarantee to return to the playoffs, which they could have had with the Angels.  They didn’t grow up in New York dreaming of wearing Yankee Pinstripes and Met blue and orange one day.  There’s only one thing it could be: money – $161 million for seven years of Sabathia and $37 million for three years of Rodriguez.

Continue reading "Greed takes away from the game"

The offseason is in full swing, so what better time to join the world of blogging than right before things start to get good. 

I’m Mike and I’ve been a Mets fan since I was 2 (courtesy of my dad and the 1986 World Series). On top of having a diehard fan relationship with the Mets, I have a history of being extremely objective and analytical. I have hosted my own sports radio talk show in the past, during which time I’ve had perfect weeks of picking games in the NFL, projected multiple trades in multiple sports months before they’ve actually occurred, and correctly picked every series in the 2007 MLB playoffs. The point is, you’re not reading a typical fan blog. What you read here about the Mets (and often times other teams as well) is well-thought out, intelligent, and often times scarily accurate. 

Continue reading "Critical Offseason for New York Mets"

Every playoff contender has been calling for this guy, the Yankees, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and the surprising Tampa Bay Rays. The price tag is slightly lower then Bay, but still substantial, which would leave those Rays in the lead as they obviously have the deepest minor league system.

Continue reading "The Pittsburgh Swap Market"

At the of 10, I pitched my first baseball game.  By 16, I had pitched my last.  I was a product of a career cut short by tendonitis in the elbow of my throwing arm.  I recall coming home after high school games to the weak therapy of a heating pad which only isolated my pain.  The throbbing would be so intense that I was unable to move my arm enough to pick up a pencil to do my math homework.  I knew things were on their way down when a kid clobbered a 300 some-odd foot homerun off of the first pitch of my career.  It would be the only homerun I gave up all year, but as the season moved on, my stamina withered.  A 5 inning outing quickly turned into 4 innings then 3.  Before I knew it, I was moved to the role of closer.  By the end of the season, I was lucky if I could handle more than 1 innings worth of work.  My fastball steadily declined from the upper-mid 70s to the low 60s.  With only two games left in the season, I broke my left thumb and was done for the season. 

Continue reading "A Call To Young Arms"

>To my future wife,

Whoever you are, all I want is one thing: For you to love the New York Mets.   Now I don't want you to love them anymore than me or our kids (That would just be selfish).  But when saying your prayers at night,please make sure to wish health and happiness for your friends, family and David Wright. He's the cornerstone of baseball's greatest franchise.  And while you're at it, include Jose Reyes, Johan Santana and heck, even Endy Chavez because that guy can do it all.  Just pray for the well-being of my beloved Metropolitans because even if you divorce me, at least I'll still have them.

Continue reading "To My Future Wife"

Billy Crystal got his chance to take a Major League AB today for the Yankees.  He led off the bottom of the first as a DH with a strike out.  Apparently he was able to make some minor con

Continue reading "The Designated Hebrew"

You’re killin me!
These “precautionary” scratches from the lineup are really making me wonder. Carlos Quentin got pulled because of a shoulder. Jerry Owens of course missed that time with a groin, and now is missing more games, which worries me greatly (see end of season ’05 Podsednik). Smoke and mirrors really piss me off. I guess it really is only spring training and I should just let it go.

Continue reading "OH! IT HURTS!"

st year when the hitting went bad, it stayed bad, for a very long time.  And, they are not the New York Mets.  After aquiring Johan Santana, they have become World Series contenders and I do not see the Cubs marching pass them in the playoffs.  After their historic collapse from grace, the Mets are out for blood.

Continue reading "Carlos Zambrano Injured!!!"

sion was far superior even with the lack of hitting Diamondbacks had.  All I got to say is the New York Mets are out for blood after their historic fall from grace with their new top gun Johan Santana.  No way is any team going to march pass them.

Continue reading "Is this the year of Dreams? Think ..."

Johan Santana was traded to the New York Mets for some prospects Tuesday which ended much speculation that he would be a Yankee or a Red Sox. The Mets were the big winner in this trade as they gave up some talent, but this should really help them get over the hump and go deep into the playoffs.

Continue reading "Finally Santana Talk Done"