Baseball's Right Around the Bend

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jeremy Lin, omigosh!

I hate being so cynical. I can’t even stand myself. Furthermore, I’m probably as happy as anyone over our new point guard’s prowess on the court. Just to recap his game for the un-Lin-itiated, he dribbles, he sees the court, he drives and he scores. Let’s see…what else is there? Oh, he steals the ball a bit too.

But is it possible that all this hoopla won’t go to the man’s head? And can we just let things happen instead of predicting what kind of legacy he’ll have before his career is over? How great will he be? Why did everybody pass on him? Is he like or unlike Tebow? Will Carmelo’s return surely doom our local heroes?

Give the guy a break. Let him just play. Things are hard enough. After all, it took the man an awfully long time to get here. He shouldn’t be burdened by all these predictions. Besides, there are some other Knicks playing very well too and the ink runs out before anybody gets to them. And this is a team game after all. Just ask Carmelo.

Okay, this wasn’t meant to be all about the Knicks but what else is there?

Well, it’s hot stove season but I think all the cooking is pretty much done by now. Baseball will resume in a few weeks in Florida and Arizona and it looks as if the Yanks, Rangers and Angels and Phillies and even the Marlins are going to be much better. My Metsies are going to need a lot of luck. The waste of resources known as our legal system will pretty much make sure that the Mets will be in limbo for ages.

The saddest part of this off-season to me is that Justin Turner, the only Met who could drive in runs when it counted, and a guy who ably manned both second and third bases, is no longer being mentioned at second base. Nothing makes me sadder than a guy who outperforms expectations and then is seemingly punished for it. Turner is currently listed as the backup third baseman behind David Wright. Geez, maybe they really will trade David.

On the Yankees front, I hated to see them trade Montero. While I realize that the pitcher they picked up, Michael Pineda, is one of the best young pitchers out there, Montero could’ve hit 40 homers at Yankee Stadium. They seem to be getting away from their Bronx Bombers persona. It looks as if it’ll be still one more year of the pitcher. I can’t say it makes me happy.

All baseball needs to do to end this ridiculous pitchers dominance is enforce the strike zone. As long as the worst umpires in the world are allowed to call strikes 6-inches outside the corner of the plate, the pitching dominance will continue. And all the Jamie Moyers of the world (43-44 years old)will keep getting contracts.

I’ll be making my spring training pilgrimage once again so the Mets will be hearing from me early and often. I may even wear my Johan Santana shirt. If Santana can come back as strong as ever, the Mets might even contend.

One good thing, by the way, about the Mets failure to offer Jose Reyes a contract is that Jose can never be blamed for leaving New York because of money. Jose will always be a hero at Citifield. And I can imagine some big, big performances from Jose each and every time the Marlins face the Mets. In 18 games, Jose will hit ten triples and steal 20 bases. And he’ll be gunning down Mets baserunners with regularity.

We can look forward to loving and hating Bobby Valentine in Boston. We can root for Joba to come back from the knife and throw the way he used to. And yeah, Santana will make some headlines one way or another. Jason Bay might finally relax. I wonder if Granderson and Cano can do what they’ve done once again.

Yeah, I know, it’s just baseball. You have to admit though, that it’s a pretty interesting game. And it’s perfect for television. There are natural breaks between innings for commercials, ample time to pick up a bag of chips and a Coke, and some ice in a nice tall glass.

And there’re games going on every day. There’s no need to build up the next game as in football. Before you can say “Jackie Robinson”, the next game is upon you. If you play fantasy baseball, you’ll have something to look forward to every day, and, inevitably, some regrets for that bonehead pitching move that not only didn’t get you the win but also lost you the battle for ERA and WHIP.

So, while most New Yorkers are probably thinking about Jeremy Lin, and rightfully so, this fellow wil be thinking about baseball and, more specifically, the Mets. Having just heard Francesa’s interview with Sandy Alderson, I’m even more psyched up. With any luck at all, the Mets should be better. The starters will be more experienced, the relief acquisitions should help and the lineup should have a good deal of power.

And Sandy hasn’t forgotten about Justin Turner after all. But he is a little worried about defense. Some of the better hitters on the squad may be giving some runs back somewhere along the line. The pitching depth isn’t where he’d like it to be but he is hopeful of picking up some quality as spring training moves along.

If you would have told me last year that we needed to just worry about pitching depth, I think I would have danced a jig, or maybe even a salsa, as just one more honorarium to Victor Cruz. But that’s where the Mets are today.

Yeah, the Giants were great…. and lucky too. And the Knicks may be the most exciting team in basketball. But I’ll feel a whole lot better when April rolls around, spring is in the air and baseball is right around the bend.