Sports Light Up a Dreary Day

It’s another gray dreary day. I almost wish it was sultry. But so far the Mets are lighting up the Fish in this 1 o’clock game so that’s good anyway. The new kid Nieuwenhuis opened things right up with a triple to right-center and later scored. And later on I can watch the NFL Draft and wonder what the Jets will do to embarrass themselves further. Then the Rangers will try to get past the first round of their playoffs as the Knicks get ready for their first round matchup with Miami. So it’s going to be a hell of a day. Dreary weather do your damnedest!! So far Jonathon Niese is rolling along. If he can stay the course, that’ll make 3 quality starts in a row after the debacle doubleheader of the other day into night. (God I hate that Geico gecko)! First Santana set them down, then Dickey was Dickey and now Niese has gotten thru two innings unmolested and you can’t deny it’s been of great import indeed with the way the Mets have been hitting. But I really like this Nieuwenhuis kid. He swings the bad awfully well and is really athletic, even if he does outrun a fly ball every once in a while. When Torres comes back from his injury, he’ll lead off but he’ll have to show me something to make me think he should ever displace Nieuwenhuis, who catches a break with Jason Bay’s injury as it gives either him or Torres a slot in left field. Oh well, Gaby Sanchez just crushed one to left off Niese to tie the game. But I really like watching this young team, Duda, Davis, Tejada, Thole, geez, I hope I feel the same way in September. And Collins is doing a good job too. He definitely picked up some points with me when he took Ike Davis out of the lineup the other day. And now he’s moved him down in the lineup, another move that was absolutely called for. If Ike wants to bat 4 or 5, let him earn it. And what a Division the NL East will be this year!! The Phillies would currently be in last place if not for the Marlins playing so badly while the upstart Nationals are in first place. The Braves are holding down 2nd for now but I suspect that could change anytime soon. How ironic is it that last year’s division leader and this year’s favorite for division leader are 4th and last respectively in the standings. I still think the Marlins will come back. But their hitters have been cold, their fielding has been very spotty and their pitching has let them down in big spots too. Their manager didn’t help them out by aggravating the Cuban community either. But all those things can be fixed and I suspect we’ll be hearing from them before the season’s all over. I was totally disappointed by the lack of fanfare attending the return of Jose Reyes to CitiField. Why anyone would boo is just beyond me. The man didn’t get an offer! Maybe most Mets fans deserve whatever they get. They’re too stupid for words. Not me of course. Jose has been doing almost nothing for the Marlins and, as good a sport as Hanley Ramirez has been about moving to third base, that good attitude hasn’t done anything to make him a good third baseman. He’s been barely adequate thus far. Come to think of it, he plays third much as Daniel Murphy plays second. Mets catcher Josh Thole just keeps rolling along, hitting the cover off the ball in the seventh spot and today another new guy, Jordan Valdespin, is batting 8th. He just knocked a pitch about 400 feet into deep centerfield. So things are looking up for the guys in blue and white. It’s really nice to have an afternoon game too, especially since that’ll allow more time to watch the NFL draft tonight, uninterrupted by switches off to the baseball game. Not that there’s any angst at all over who the top two picks will be, the two QB’s Luck and Griffin going to the Colts and Redskins of all people. But that just shifts the attention downward to pick # 3 and there is quite a lot of question about what the Vikes will do with that pick, either move down or take the best player, and who that will be. I’m curious about how many defensive linemen will be taken early, as strength at that position has helped the Giants win two Super Bowls in the last few years. Secondarily, I worry about the Giants picks but they’ve been so good at picking since Reese has come on board as GM that I’d rather just sit back and enjoy the ride. Meanwhile, I’ll hold out hope that they can somehow make a deal for Osi Umenyiora, maybe packaging him off to some other team as part of a deal to move up from 32. Although it was Osi’s bad judgment to sign that long-term contract, his impact on those two Super Bowls should be somehow acknowledged. I may switch over to the Rangers game from time to time. There’s not much to beat a Game 7 in the NHL, even if you don’t pay attention during the long season. The Devils are still alive too but even they don’t seem to think they’ll advance. The Jets will do something asinine. They have a knack for it. If they don’t improve that offensive line, I’ll know for sure that Sanchez won’t be the #1 QB for too long. His body just won’t take the pounding while Tebow could flourish under the same set of circumstances. Then there’s the NBA nonsense where I should care about the New York Carmelos but I just can’t get into it. And the Nets are off to Brooklyn, leaving New Jersey and that early Jason Kidd 2000’s team as my only pleasant memory.